Tale of man burned alive a haunting film

Man on Ground @amc - an interesting film about xenophobia in South Africa by Akin Omotoso.

The film is  set in Johannesburg's slums. It is a film about carrying baggage from one's past and making choices, the director said in the Q and A following the film.

It is based on riots that swept Johannesburg in 2008 when a Mozambican immigrant was burned alive. A haunting film about a serious issue that still plagues many parts of the African continent.

- Debra Black

A luxurious wait

Wonder of wonders! Am at amc for Man on Ground and we're actually waiting in another cinema in — wait for it — SEATS! Yahoo!

— Debra Black

50/50 is 100 per cent not a bromance, Seth Rogen says

Categorize made-in-Vancouver dramedy 50/50 any way you want, but don't label it a bromance, says co-star, Canadian actor Seth Rogen.

Rogen co-stars in the movie written by his close friend Will Reiser and inspired by the real story of how they dealt with Reiser's cancer diagnosis. Joseph Gordon-Levitt plays Adam, who is based on Reiser's character.

"I hadn't even heard the word "bromance" until a few years ago," Rogen told a press conference at the TIFF Bell Lightbox Monday afternoon. "To me, it's like an invented thing. We don't sit down and say "yes, a bromance, what do we need? We need weed, we need beer jokes."

"I was best friends with Will. He got sick. I was f------ useless. It seemed like a good movie," concluded Rogen with a laugh.

50/50, which  premiered at TIFF Monday, opens at theatres Sept. 30. Anna Kendrick, Anjelica Huston  and Bryce Dallas Howard also star.

— Linda Barnard

(Photo of Seth Rogen by Steve Russell/Toronto Star)

About The Silver Cliff

The Silver Cliff, a world premiere, is an interesting look at a woman coming to grips with the fact her husband has left her. The film, lovingly shot, provides lush imagery of Rio.

No more lining up or movies  until tomorrow night. A break to take everything in. — Debra Black

Emily Blunt's fishing success

Emily Blunt tells the post-screening crowd at Salmon Fishing in the Yemen Saturday night she tried fishing for the first time in Jackson Hole, Wyo. "I caught eight fish," she said to applause at the Princess of Wales premiere.

No line for 'Gerhard Richter Painting' but Atom Egoyan is there

Dinner with friends. Everyone talked movies they'd seen so far at TIFF. Got to Bell Lightbox phenomenally early. My friend Cathy told me over dinner that there was pedestrian gridlock on the sidewalk at Yonge St. in front of the Elgin and the Visa screening room. People waiting for stars obviously. As for me, no lineup for the international premier of this doc Gerhard Richter Painting. We have the best seats in the house and Atom Egoyan just walked in. Its unnerving however for my friend Cathy who said this: "I've never been first in line!"

-- Debra Black

 

Jon Hamm has deja vu

Jon Hamm was in a reflective mood yesterday as we talked about Friends With Kids, the directing debut from his longtime girlfriend Jennifer Westfeldt. They also co-star in the comedy which premiered Friday night. It screened again Saturday at the Isabel Bader Theatre, the same place where Kissing Jessica Stein starring Westfeldt premiered at TIFF 10 years ago to the day. "It was a real sense of deja vu," Hamm said. --Linda Barnard

When the cat doesn't come back, cast a wolverine

Now it can be told: the reason for the mysterious stuffed wolverine that is front-and-centre in Keyhole, Guy Maddin's madcap ghosts-and-gangsters movie at TIFF.

"I was supposed to be a cat, a living cat," says star Jason Patric, who plays a gangleader named Ulysses.

"And I'm allergic to cats. And Guy had a wolverine in his apartment. So I said, 'Why not make it that wolverine?'"

Maddin says he readily agreed to Patric's suggestion.

"A couple of other people were allergic to cats, too.  It was a lot simpler using the wolverine, because you dont' have to have a cat wrangler. And they take off like a shot as soon as you put them on the set. You spend 20  minutes chasing the cat down, and things like that. So just having a taxidermied what-not was fine with me."

He had a choice of stuffed animals, though.

"It was either a wolverine or an emu. The emu is in my wife's apartment."

-- Peter Howell.

Creating U2's music 'like making sausages,' Bono quips

Bono signs autographs as he walks to the opening of U2 documentary From the Sky Down/Reuters

U2 singer Bono set stomachs rumbling in Roy Thomson Hall Thursday night before getting the TIFF opening night audience's minds blown with the world premiere of From the Sky Down, Davis Guggenheim's documentary on the band.

He compared the creating of music to making sausages, and warned that it's "not that pretty" to watch either being made.  Not what you'd expect of a group with such rock classics as "With Or Without You," "Where The Streets Have No Name" and "Mysterious Ways."

The band had to think hard about having Guggenheim film their recent rehearsal sessions, preparing for a Glastonbury Festival performance in June of songs from the 1991 album Achtung Baby.

"We are very protective of our privacy, particularly the creative process," said Bono, who was joined on the Roy Thomson stage by bandmate The Edge, director Guggenheim and members of TIFF's executive and programming teams.

"Not just because we're precious -- which we are! (Songwriting) is not that pretty. And that old adage, 'If you knew what went into the sausage, you wouldn't eat it?' You've got some sausages and mash going on, ladies and gentlemen!"

All joking aside, it seems the members of the Irish rock quartet are  pleased with From the Sky Down. Bono and The Edge wanted Guggenheim to show them warts 'n' all, because "we didn't want some lukewarm thing."

Guggenheim may have taken that a little too far, The Edge said.

"If it was up to us, we'd have a lot more jokes, a lot more asides."

And where were their fellow bandmates, bassist Adam Clayton and drummer Larry Mullen Jr.?  Back home with their families, the audience was told, resting up after a recently concluded band tour that broke many rock records.

-- Peter Howell.

TIFF Lightbox has packed fall program - from Hitchcock blondes to John Hughes tributes

The TIFF Bell Lightbox has rolled out its fall programming plans and whether you love Hitchcock, John Hughes, horror or singing along with hot ’80s teens, there’s something there for you. It’s the most wide-ranging slate so far, including appearances by director Guillermo del Toro and Canadian actress Kim Cattrall.

Grace Kelly: From Movie Star to Princess is on at the TIFF Bell Lightbox Nov. 4 to Jan. 22, 2012 (Handout)

Among the highlights:

Grace Kelly: From Movie Star to Princess: an intimate glimpse into the life of the actress-royal and celebrity style maven, including a display of her dresses, a replica of her wedding gown and her Oscar. Two film programs, Icy Fire: The Hitchcock Blonde and Grace on Screen accompany the show. On from Nov. 4 to Jan. 22, 2012.

TIFF Cinematheque retrospectives on directors Henri-Georges Clouzot, Lars von Trier (including screening his new film, Meloncholia) and Steve James. Hollywood Classics presents the first part of a centenary retrospective on American director Nicholas Ray, which will continue in 2012.

Back to the ’80s: Teen Edition: As TIFF puts it, “an homage to life, love and the mix tape.” It kicks off with Matt Austin’s doc Don’t You Forget About Me (2008), a love letter to writer-director-producer John Hughes. There's also a Singin’ in the Dark: ’80s Edition booked for Toronto’s sixth annual Scotiabank Nuit Blanche Oct. 1. Have the time of your life as singer Shawn
Hitchins hosts a full night of sing-alongs to ’80s classics like Fame, Footloose, Flashdance and Dirty Dancing.

Fright Nights: Four nights of horror courtesy of Rue Morgue and Guillermo del Toro during Fright Nights: Guillermo del Toro Does Halloween.

Limited Run: A Clockwork Orange. Mark the 40^th anniversary Stanley Kubrick’s film with a new print, Oct. 28 to Nov. 1.

Python in Excelsis: Oct. 8 to Dec. 10: Screening the restored prints of Monty Python and the Holy Grail and Monty Python’s Life of Brian.

For more on the special fall programs at the Lightbox - and there's a lot more - go to tiff.net

-Linda Barnard