Totally TIFF

So the juggernaut that is the Toronto International Film Festival is well underway and, given that my office is just four streets up from  main venues Bell Tiff Lightbox, Roy Thompson Hall, and Princess of Wales Theatre, I have been witnessing the chaos every day during my walk home.

I usually walk through David Pecault Square on my way to work and this morning around 8:20 I stopped along the fenced off VIP drop-off section to chat to some die-hard TIFF fans who had brought camping chairs to set in for the long-haul. Their goal today was to meet Ewan McGregor. They had met Brad Pitt the day before and said he was really sweet.

As for your truly, we had made out our top-5 "must see" films and were very pleased to score tickets to 2 of them. Our first showing is Tuesday night's Gala Presentation of Kill Your Darlings starring Daniel Radcliffe and Ben Foster. The film is based around the 1944 murder of David Kammerer by Lucien Carr. Radcliffe plays Allen Ginsberg while Foster plays William S. Burroughs. Kammerer is played by Michael C. Hall ("Dexter").

Our second TIFF adventure will be on Saturday, when we will see a Special Presentation of Labor Day starring Kate Winslet and Josh Brolin. Directed by Jason Reitman ("Thank You for Smoking", "Juno", "Up in the Air"), the movie "centres on 13-year-old Henry (newcomer Gattlin Griffith) as he confronts the pangs of adolescence while struggling to care for his reclusive mother, Adele (Kate Winslet). On a back-to-school shopping trip, Henry and Adele encounter Frank (Josh Brolin), a man both intimidating and clearly in need of help, who convinces them to take him into their home. The events of this long weekend will shape each of them for the rest of their lives".

If you can't make it to TIFF, or don't have the time to stand in line to meet your favourite actors, you can head over to TIFF's Live Blog where they are posting as-it-happens pics from the events around the festival.