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Talking With Stephen Curry & Simon Wincer About The Cup
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- Written by Matthew Toomey
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The Cup has now been released in Australian cinemas and it’s one of our biggest releases of the year given its $15m budget. I recently had the chance to speak with the director and star of the film to find out how it all got made.
You can download an abbreviated version of the interview on my website by clicking here or you can listen to the full version on 612ABC Breakfast Blog by clicking here.
Matt: We’re talking this morning with actor Stephen Curry and writer-director-producer Simon Wincer about the latest Australian film, The Cup. Guys, good morning.
Stephen: Thank you very much for having us.
Matt: The film is based on the 2002 Melbourne Cup. Jockey Damien Oliver rode Media Puzzle to victory just a few days after his older brother was killed. So even without the benefit of the movie it is an event that I can remember from 9 years ago and I know a lot of other people would as well. I guess I’ll start by asking if you guys are horse racing fans?
Simon: I’m not particularly a horse racing fan. I follow the Melbourne Cup as every Australian does. I just think it’s a great background for a film. This isn’t so much a film about horse racing but it’s about triumph over tragedy and the triumph of the human spirit.
Stephen: I’m a fan of big horse races but have been to the races and not seen a horse. So I’m more a fan of dressing up in a nice suit.
Matt: That seems more common than not these days. It’s why a lot of young people go to the races.
Stephen: Look, it’s been a big learning curve for me. To be able to get a look at what happens inside the racing world has been really fascinating. It’s been an amazing experience.
Matt: Simon, where did you start from trying to put this script together as the event itself would have already had a lot of documented footage and a lot of media interviews and such? How did you get to know the key characters in this story and put a screenplay together?
Simon: Mainly by talking to everybody. The idea ironically came from an American from Dallas, Texas called Eric O’Keefe who I co-wrote the screenplay with. He was a journalist who had interviewed me in America about a western I was doing with Tom Selleck. I was finishing that film in Los Angeles when the 2002 Melbourne Cup was run.
Eric rang and asked me to look into the Cup. He said that some of his friends had just gotten back from Australia and they’d told this story about a jockey that had ridden back to scale and 100,000 people were crying. He said I think there might be a magazine article in it.
I went back to Australia and I looked at all the footage and media coverage and thought wow, this is unbelievable. I rang Eric and said this is a Hollywood movie, not a magazine article! He wasn’t sure how to write a screenplay so we agreed to write it together and that’s how it came into being.
Matt: So how easy was it getting in touch with the key characters in the film? Like Damien Oliver and Lee Freedman and Dermot Weld?
Simon: The Victorian Racing Club (VRC) has been fantastic. They introduced me to Damien and to Dermot Weld and all the various players in the piece. Everyone was on side because they saw this as a very positive look at the racing world but as I said, racing is the background to the movie. The foreground is Damien’s anguish during this terrible time in his life and how he overcame it.
Matt: Stephen, did you get to speak to Damien before the film to work out how to play him?
Stephen: Yeah, I did. He was very generous. I spent a lot of time with him and he let me tag along like his little annoying brother who would come and nip at his heels at race meetings, barrier trials and various things. Also, his mate and manager Neil Pinner was a big help. They have as vested an interest as anybody as seeing this story told in the right way.
They were fantastic from the “get go” and no question was too prickly. They were so open and honest about something that was such a horrible time in their lives. Ultimately it was a triumphant moment but at it’s core is this tragic story of not only Jason’s death but Ray’s death 25 years earlier.
Matt: Did you get to talk to Damien after he saw the film for the first time?
Stephen: I did and it’s a bit of a story actually. I watched it for the first time in its entirety with Damien watching it for the first time with his wife Trish. They were in front of me and I was kind of swapping between the screen and them.
It was really quite confronting because I knew that if they didn’t like it then we’d failed. If they don’t think that it pays due homage to Jason and to Ray and to the entire family then we shouldn’t have been there in the first place.
Thankfully at the end of it, we all kind of shed a tear. Both Damien and Trish said they loved it and that Jason would have loved it. That was the feedback we needed.
Matt: I have to admit that I shed a tear as well. The ending of the film comes together so well.
Simon: It’s very powerful. The key is that if you can share this emotional journey that Damien goes through, you’ll share in the triumph at the end of the film as well.
Matt: Stephen, can you talk us through the weight loss? I just went and saw Hugh Jackman in Real Steel where he had to build himself up for the role.
Stephen: Yep, I’m very similar to Hugh Jackman in terms of looks and body. In fact, I got down to the last two for Australia but he just pipped me.
I guess it’s part of it for any role and that you have to be prepared to play the character as honestly and convincingly as possible. Part of this one was looking like a jockey. You just put it down to one of those occupational hazards of dieting and I have to say that I’ve never felt healthier and I’ve never eaten healthier. It took a while and it was a bit of a yo-yo kind of effect because the film got up and fell over a few times before we actually got to the starting line.
Ever since then I’ve managed to put it all back on and maybe an extra gram or two over the last few days.
Matt: So what did you get down to?
Stephen: 59kgs which is top racing weight apparently. That’s where the similarities between me and real jockeys end.
Matt: What are you back to now?
Stephen: 74kgs. That’s my “donut weight”. I’ve got to make the most of any film where I can take my top off because it won’t happen again.
Matt: It’s tricky to tell how much time you spend on a horse during the film, particularly during the race sequences given the special effects and creative camera angles. How did those scenes play out? Did you have to do a lot of race riding?
Stephen: I did a little bit of the riding. Legally, there are certain bits that I can’t do. You need a professional jockey to be riding. There was a guy called Matty Allen who is one of Damien’s great mates and is one of the top professional jockeys going around in Melbourne. He did a lot of my more dangerous riding for me and fortunately, from a distance, we look pretty similar.
Simon: To give you an idea about how dangerous their business is, Matty fractured his skull in a bad riding accident literally a week after we finished filming. He’s back racing now but shows why it’s recognised as the world’s most dangerous job.
Matt: How did you create these races? You can see the footage on Melbourne Cup day with the huge crowds. Was this shot during last year’s Melbourne Cup?
Simon: No actually. We shot the 2006 and 2007 Melbourne Cups. I had 8 cameras there to get it from every angle. Luckily, in 2006 it was their biggest ever crowd at the Cup and Derby Day was the same. It was a nightmare with 8 cameras as you can imagine.
Then, with the magic of CGI, we could put the audience at the top of the biggest grandstand and see the horses by combining the footage with own restaging of the 2002 race.
We restaged the whole race from a variety of angles. Normally on television, the race is filled with wide shots because punters get mad when you show a close up because they can’t see where their horse is. We were able to get amongst it and make it a lot more thrilling and exciting.
Matt: So if you were shooting footage way back in 2006, how long has this project been on the cards? A long time from the sounds of it?
Simon: It has. We wrote the first draft of the screenplay in 2003. We almost got it up when we cast Stephen in 2006 because Village Roadshow had enough belief in the project to allow us to shoot these sequences.
We shot an AFL football game between the Eagles and the Kangaroos in 2007. Chris Judd and Ben Cousins were still playing for the Eagles back then which helped a lot.
Stephen: It’s interesting to think that all of that footage stood a real chance of sitting on a shelf forever. This film at one stage, just before we started shooting, looked dead in the water.
Simon: Last February I thought the last door had closed but a very good friend of mine came to our rescue. He put some money to make up for the shortfall and the next day we had a movie.
Matt: I have to ask about Brendan Gleeson who plays Dermot Weld. He starred in one of my favourite films of the year so far, The Guard. What was he like to work with?
Simon: Brendan was great. He’s one of the world’s great actors and he has an extraordinary body of work. One thing about Brendan was that I got him on the telephone so I could convince him to be in the movie. He said that he liked the piece but he wasn’t sure about the Irish dialogue. He thought it could be improved a little.
I laughed and said to Brendan that this is Irish dialogue written by a Texan and an Australian who think they know how you guys speak.
Stephen: In the first draft of the opening scene he says “they’re always after my lucky charms” (laughs) and that was just ridiculous so that had to be taken out.
Matt: Is it just me or is every Australian sports commentator in this film? There’s Bruce McAvaney, Stephen Quartermain, Eddie McGuire, Dennis Cometti, Gerard Whatley and even The Coodabeen Champions. How did they all get involved?
Simon: I wanted to ground the film in reality and they’re all so good at playing themselves. There’s nothing worse than seeing an actor who’s obviously an actor trying to act like a media person. They all nailed everything in one and two takes because that’s what they do for a living.
They were thrilled to be a part of it as well. I guess this is a story that has captured everybody’s hearts. They all wanted to be involved.
Matt: The film has a fairly distinctive Australian flavour and of course, we here in Australia know the significance of the race and people like Bart Cummings and Lee Freedman. Is there a chance that the film might be taken overseas to a wider audience?
Simon: Oh yes. We’ve made quite a few foreign sales already. We’re currently finalising an American version of the film that I’ve previewed over there and received a similar reaction sitting in the audience. There are a few little cultural things that they don’t get and so we’ve made changes for that market which is a fairly standard procedure.
Matt: I’m curious about that. A lot of changes?
Simon: No. Relatively minor. It’s about 8 to 9 minutes shorter. We’ve chopped things here and there because it doesn’t work. They won’t get it unless they’re an Aussie. The film still delivers the same punch and in fact there are some things that I prefer in that version. That’s the beauty of being able to go back and tinker with a film after it’s been finished.
Matt: I guess I’ll finish up by asking what’s next in the pipeline for you both?
Stephen: I’m off to India to do a cricket film. That’s going to be a little bit of fun. It’s called Save Your Legs and it’s based on a real live D-grade cricket team from Melbourne called the Abbotsford Anglers who decided to buy themselves some lovely outfits so they could be taken seriously in the sub-continent.
It turns out they were taken seriously and they found themselves playing on these amazing arenas against these teams they had no business playing against. This film follows their story through India.
Matt: So you’re continuing with the sporting theme?
Stephen: Yeah. Well, I’m going from an elite sportsman to a completely useless one. This one’s a bit better for me because I can actually look a little more like a useless cricketer than a jockey.
Matt: What have you got coming up Simon?
Simon: I do the Australian Outback Spectacular shows on the Gold Coast which I write and direct. There’s a new one opening around Christmas. That’s keeping me busy.
I’m doing my next Australian film on the story behind the song Waltzing Matilda. It’s an epic romance set at a torrid time in history when the country was on the brink of civil war with the shearer’s strike. It’s a wonderful story.
Matt: Fantastic. Thanks very much for joining us this morning and best of luck with the film.
You can read my review of The Cup by clicking here.
10 Reasons To Get To BIFF 2011
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- Written by Matthew Toomey
The Brisbane Film Festival is celebrating its 20th anniversary in 2011 and I can’t wait to get amongst it in a few weeks time. I can still remember seeing my first film at BIFF (The Basketball Diaries) way back in 1995.
The Festival runs for 11 days and commences on 3 November 2011. The same three venues as last year will be used – the Tribal Theatre, the Palace Centro and the Palace Barracks. The program isn't as "busy" as it has been in year's past so hopefully that will avoid film clashes. I also note that there seems to be a "rest day" mid way through the Festival (Mon, Nov 7) where there's only one set of screenings at 7pm. Nothing else is shown that day.
What’s great about any Festival is that you are spoilt with choices. Instead of being limited to the 3 or 4 new films that come out in the major multiplexes each Thursday, you get to choose from a wide array of genres. This year’s Festival is no exception with 135 feature films being shown (of which more than 50 are Australian premieres). If you pick up the program and can’t find something you want to see then I’ll be very, very surprised.
Tickets are on sale from October 9 and the best way to buy them is online at the BIFF website - http://www.biff.com.au/. You can also pick them up at the BIFF box-office which is located in the foyer of the Regent Cinema. It’s tragic that the Regent has now closed but it’s a nice touch that the foyer is still open and will play a small role in this year’s Festival.
On that point, it is disappointing that Brisbane doesn’t have a big theatre that it can use during the Festival. Having just come back from the Toronto (a city with only 500,000 more people), I was amazed to learn that they have 5 theatres in their city that can seat over 1,000 people. The largest is Roy Thomson Hall which can seat 2,600.
Given the closure of the Regent in mid 2010, the largest theatre in use during the Festival is at the Palace Barracks and it seats just 265 people. This makes it a lot harder to attract big name films and stars to the Festival when we can cater for so few people. It’s sad really.
Now that I’ve had my vent, it’s time to get you excited about BIFF for 2011. It’s my goal to get as many Film Pie readers as possible to the Festival – particularly those that have never been before.
On that note, here are 10 reasons why you need to get to the 2011 Brisbane International Film Festival…
1. Warming Things Up With A “Curtain Raiser”
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It can often take a little while for a Festival to gather momentum. Word of mouth doesn’t kick into full swing until the Festival is well underway. By this time, many of the great films have already been screened and some future sessions will be sold out.
In a new move this year, BIFF is having “curtain raiser” films on the two nights prior to the official opening night. For those ready to dive head first into BIFF, it’s a nice way to “ease yourself” into the Festival. For newcomers, it’s a chance to see what BIFF’s all about and what kind of films you can see.
Four great films have been chosen.
Take Shelter stars Michael Shannon (Revolutionary Road) and Jessica Chastain (The Help) and is about a man who has visions of an impending natural disaster and so he builds a storm shelter in his backyard. It leaves everyone, including his family, questioning his sanity.
Tabloid is the latest documentary from Errol Morris (The Fog Of War). It’s the story of an American beauty queen named Joyce McKinney who abducted a young Mormon missionary and used him as a sex slave for 3 days in 1977. The British tabloids went crazy and many differing versions of events have been told but Morris has gone in search of the truth. McKinney is not pleased with her portrayal in the documentary and was turning up at many screenings in the U.S. to protest against the film. It would be hilarious if we saw her in Australia.
Restless (pictured above) is a film I saw in Toronto
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I’m not quite sure how the BIFF team have pulled this off but they’re creating a makeshift drive-in theatre at Hamilton – not too far from the Dendy Portside. It will be used for 3 nights and they hope to be able to fit in roughly 200 cars. It’s a tribute to drive-in cinema and I’m sure it’ll be a great way to reminisce for those who frequented them regularly in their youth. It should offer some great views too of the Brisbane skyline.
6 different films are being shown at the drive-in theatre and it launches with a BYOD to Red Dog. What does that acronym stand for? Well, it’s “bring your own dog”. Sounds like it’ll be a howling success.
Other films you can check out at the drive-in include Drive (an awesome action thriller which I saw at Toronto and stars Ryan Gosling) and the Australian premiere of Crawl (a thriller put together by Paul and Ben China – two guys based on the Gold Coast).
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The old Dendy George Street cinemas closed their doors in late 2008 only to be reopened when the cinema took on new ownership. Now known as the Tribal, the cinema will again be shut down at the end of November following its recent sale. I don’t know if there’s a Johnny Farnham like comeback in store for this classic theatre and so this may be your last chance to see a movie inside its walls.
The theatre is being used throughout the Festival but it’s having a special “farewell bash” on the last Saturday night. It all starts at 6pm when film critic Bruce Redman will host a movie trivia night with heaps of prizes. I asked Bruce how he got the nod and he humorously told me “they wanted someone trivial”.
The trivia is followed by a huge movie marathon that will run until 6am. The programmers have picked out 7 warped films that few people will have seen. As an example, Manborg is about a half-man, half-cyborg solider who has been brought back from the dead to fight an army of Nazi vampires and demons lead by Count Dracula. Sounds like a crazy night of entertainment and a fitting tribute to the Tribal Theatre.
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I realise that not everyone likes Nazi vampire movies and so I should mention some of the more commercial offerings at the Festival.
There are plenty of quality films but BIFF has highlighted 5 special screenings as part of their “Bubbles At BIFF” promotion. The $20 ticket price includes a glass of champagne on arrival (which they can’t mention in the official program due to Queensland’s overly complex responsible service of alcohol laws) and you’ll be treated to a film that won’t be released widely in Australia for at least a few months. The 5 films are…
Like Crazy is the only one I’ve seen
Tinker Tailor Solider Spy has been touted as an Oscar contender and received a lot of buzz when it premiered at the recent Venice Film Festival. It is based on the novel by John le Carre and it centres on a semi-retired MI6 agent (played by Gary Oldman) who tries to discover who the Soviet spy is within their ranks.
Melancholia is the latest from off-beat Danish director Las Von Trier (Breaking The Waves, Antichrist). Star Kirsten Dunst won the best actress award at the Cannes Film Festival but Von Trier was kicked out of the Festival (rightly or wrong) for saying that he felt sympathy for Adolf Hitler. A shame we can’t get Von Trier here for BIFF – I’d love to get a few controversial sound bites from him myself.
Goodbye, First Love is the latest from French director Mia Hansen-Love. I loved her last film, Father Of My Children, and can’t wait to see this. It’s the tale of a 15-year-old trying to overcome her heartbreak when her first boyfriend leaves for South America.
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The film that seems to be generating the most of amount of pre-Festival interest is The Orator. While I was being taken through the program by the BIFF team, Sarah Ward (Marketing Manager for Screen Queensland) told me she’d received a tonne of emails from people trying to find out if it was in the BIFF program.
The interest has come from the Samoan community here in Brisbane as The Orator is the first ever Samoan feature film to be entirely shot in Samoa, in the Samoan language and with a Samoan cast and story. As it was financed by the New Zealand Film Commission, it has become New Zealand’s entry for best foreign language film at next year’s Academy Awards. It’s the first time in history that New Zealand has made a submission.
Another film to keep on the radar is Uma Lulik, the first documentary entirely filmed and made in East Timor by an East Timorese filmmaker. Focusing on one family, it looks at the way in which the people of East Timor remember the spirits of those who have passed away. I believe director Victor De Sousa will be at the Festival to talk about his film.
It’s a shame the above two films are screening on the same day at the same time. The good news is that The Orator has a second showing later in the week for those trying to get to both.
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It’s not as costly as you might think to attend a film festival. Unlike major theatrical shows or music concerts, you won’t get charged $100+ for a ticket.
The cost of a single ticket to most films this year is $16 – up slightly from last year’s $15 but still good value if you ask me. It’s just $14 if you’re a BIFF Film Club member, full-time student, pensioner or senior.
If you plan on seeing a few films, you can pick up multi-ticket passes. The prices are $84 full / $72 concession for 6 tickets, $156 full / $132 concession for 12 tickets and $300 full / $250 concession for 25 tickets.
The price for opening night has come down this year to just $30. It includes a ticket to the Australian premiere of the English comedy Attack The Block and a post-film party that will include a BMX riding display (as a tribute to the film) outside the Palace Barracks. The film is about a group of London teenagers caught up in an alien invasion.
The closing night film is also $30 and is for Pedro Almodovar’s latest The Skin I Live In (pictured above). I missed this at TIFF but my partner in crime in Toronto, Sam Dagan, went to the screening and came back with many positive things to say. He said it tells the story of a plastic surgeon played by Antonio Banderas who perversely addresses the question - as people change how much of it is really them and how much is just skin deep?
In a good move this year, the closing night festivities have been moved from Sunday night to Saturday night (similar to other major film festivals). So whilst there’s still one more day to go and the Festival isn’t officially “closed”, it’s a better time to schedule it as people can let their hair down and have a few drinks (which is often tricky late on a Sunday evening).
Another film which is slightly more expensive at $20 is Talihina Sky: The Story Of The Kings Of Leon. Fans of the band won’t want to miss this documentary and I believe the BIFF programmers are working behind the scenes to see if they can get The Kings Of Leon there for the screening. They’ll be in Brisbane performing a show at the Entertainment Centre just two days after the film is shown.
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One of my favourite movie genres is the documentary and it’s obvious that Richard Moore, the Head of Screen Culture, shares a similar love.
This year’s program includes many documentaries and to help distinguish it from other Australian festivals, there’s a $25,000 cash prize going to the doco chosen as the best of the Festival. This makes it the richest prize on offer for a documentary filmmaker in this country. A four member jury has already been selected to judge the films and select a winner which will be announced at the Festival’s conclusion.
There are too many documentaries to go through here but as a sample, you may be interested in…
Comic-Con Episode IV: A Fan’s Hope (pictured above) which is the latest from Morgan Spurlock (Super Size Me) and looks at the crazy fans that go to San Diego’s Comic-Con each year.
The Tall Man had its world premiere in Toronto and reconstructs the events that led to the death of Cameron Doomadgee on Palm Island back in 2004.
The Trouble With St Mary’s looks at rogue Brisbane priest Father Peter Kennedy and how he and his parishioners broke away from the Catholic Church for their views on issues such as same sex marriage and the role of the pope.
A Bitter Taste Of Freedom provides an insight into the life of Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya who was murdered in 2006 for her articles which criticised the Russian government for their part in Chechnya.
You’ve Been Trumped is one I won’t miss given my love for golf. It’s the story of an ordinary guy who tried to stop Donald Trump from tearing up the Scottish landscape and building a golf course.
If you’re interested in actors and filmmakers, you’ll find documentaries focusing the camera lens on South Korean director Kim Ki-duk, legendary actor Tony Curtis, renowned Australian director Paul Cox and popular English actress Charlotte Rampling.
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Fantastic Fest is an annual film festival in Texas and it’s developed a reputation as one of the biggest in terms of genre films. I’m talking about horror, science fiction, fantasy, action and cult.
Lars Nilsen, a programmer from the Fantastic Fest, will be flying out to Australia and will be bringing a film with him on the plane. No one knows what it will be – including all the members of the BIFF team.
Sounds like it could be a really fun night!
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The Human Centipede 2. The film was denied classification by the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) as they felt the film posed “a real risk of harm”. Wow. 32 cuts were made to the film (totalling just over 2 minutes) and they managed to get it through the BBFC with an 18+ rating. It’ll be interesting to see what version we get here at BIFF and I’m sure it’ll draw a big crowd.
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The program includes many iconic films. Older audience members can relive the experience of seeing them on the big screen. Newer audience members can experience them for the first time.
There’s a tribute to director Arthur Penn and some of his best work from the 1960s and 1970s. You can see The Left Handed Gun (with Paul Newman), Bonnie & Clyde (with Warren Beatty), Alice’s Restaurant, Night Moves (with Gene Hackman) and The Missouri Breaks (with Jack Nicholson and Marlon Brando).
There’s also a salute to Australian surf movies. I didn’t know we’d made this many but the list includes Puberty Blues (director Bruce Beresford will be at BIFF), High On A Cool Wave and Morning Of The Earth. Most are screening as part of a “Surfin’ Saturday” that will include a couch discussion on surfing movies with free snacks and beverages.
Frederico Fellini’s La Dolce Vita will screen along with a documentary that shows what went on behind the scenes of this landmark film. It’s a film I’ve never had the chance to see so perhaps I can remedy that at BIFF.
That’s 10 very good reasons if you ask me to get to this year’s Brisbane International Film Festival. You’ll be able to follow my own progress during the Festival on twitter at @icestorm77 and on my website at www.thefilmpie.com.
I better see you there!
Matt's Wrap Of The 2011 Toronto Film Festival
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- Written by Matthew Toomey
My daily video blogs were available on my website throughout the Festival and I was posting reviews of all the films that I'd seen through my Facebook and Twitter accounts.
I thought it an opportune time to bring it all together in this week's Film Pie blog. Below, you can see all of my video blogs (day 5 is a particular favourite), a few photos and a quick review of every film I was able to see.
It was an exhausting experience (I only went to bed once before 3am) but still heaps of fun. I hope to be able to do it again sometime soon.
A few more photos are up on my Facebook group which you can view by clicking here.
You can also listen to my 45 minute show from ABC Digital which includes my inteviews with George Clooney, Seth Rogen, Geoffrey Rush, Charlotte Rampling, Alexander Payne, Fred Schepisi, Fernando Meirelles and Jonathan Levine. It can be downloaded from the 612 ABC website by clicking here.
On that note, here's my summary of the 2011 Toronto Film Festival...
Day 1 - Thursday, 8 September 2011
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It was an exciting start to the Festival for me. I flew in around 12pm, picked up my press pass and then had my first look around Toronto. You can find out more in my video blog above.
Films seen on Day 1...
Coriolanus is a great story. Ralph Fiennes (with his nose back) and Vanessa Redgrave are terrific. Sadly, the film's impact is lessened by the choice to use Shakespearean dialect in a modern day setting. Grade: B.
Restless is more greatness from Gus Van Sant. It's the story of two teenagers and their interest in death. It's a simple, heartfelt tale that Van Sant tells in a non-Hollywood manner. There are no unnecessary subplots or characters. It simply focuses on these two and their growing friendship. Grade: A-.
Day 2 - Friday, 9 September 2011
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Films seen on Day 2...
The Artist is so nearly a perfect film. Doesn't get much more original and creative. A silent film set in the 1920s about silent filmmaking and the transition to "talkies". The film gets a little too bogged down with drama in the later stages but the comedic elements more than compensate. Grade: A-.
Sarah Palin: You Betcha! is a poor documentary that offers very little fresh insight into the life of the 2008 Vice Presidential candidate. Many of the interviews were dull and the continual narration and references to himself left me thinking that director Nick Broomfield wanted to be the centre of attention (and not Palin). Grade: C.
Friends With Kids is a nice debut feature from Jennifer Westfeldt (who wrote and starred in Kissing Jessic Stein). It's a rom-com that does an admirable job in breathing new life into this familiar genre. The dialogue is intelligent, the cast is strong and the bluntness of certain characters will get plenty of laughs. Grade: B+.
360 is the latest from director Fernando Meirelles (City Of God, The Constant Gardener) and brings together a bunch of short stories to show how are lives are affected by the choices we make, both good and bad. It's a curious film but I felt a little empty at the end. Was hoping it would add up to more. Grade: B.
Day 3 - Saturday, 10 September 2011
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Films seen on Day 3...
The Hunter is a compelling Australian drama about a guy in remote Tasmania in search of a Tasmanian Tiger. Not a lot of dialogue in places but the setting is beautiful and the story keeps building towards a moving climax. This film sucked me in quickly and Willem Dafoe is great (as always) in the leading role. Grade: A-.
The Ides Of March fits in a genre I really love - political dramas. The pieces fit together a little too neatly at times but the cast is superb (especially Ryan Gosling) and the storyline will hold your attention all the way through. Grade: A-.
Moneyball once again proves the value of Brad Pitt as an actor. He's not just a pretty face and he continues to pick good roles. He plays the GM of a baseball team and tries to turn their fortunes around through unconventional means. It's a touch long and a few parts are glossed over but it still left me with a warm, fuzzy feeling. Grade: B+.
The Descendants is a thing of beauty. Director Alexander Payne (Sideways, Election) again proves his wizardry of mixing both comedy and drama to maximum effect. This is a touching story of a work-a-holic father who reconnects with his two daughters after their mother is badly injured in a boating accident. The best at TIFF so far. Grade: A.
Drive is a crazy action-thriller (and I say that in a good way). It starts out fairly innocuously and then takes a few unexpected turns (some of them quite violent). The soundtrack is one of the year's best and Ryan Gosling is perfect in the leading role. A shame his relationship with Carey Mulligan is underdone. Grade: A-.
Day 4 - Sunday, 11 September 2011
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Films seen on Day 4...
Take This Waltz was a funny, sweet, emotional and real experience. We've seen many films about people cheating on their spouses and whether it's the right thing but I love this level headed perspective from director Sarah Polley. Grade: A.
Dark Horse comes from the creative mind of writer-director Todd Solondz (Welcome To The Dollhouse) and is the story of a complete loser - both in his personal life and professional life. I laughed out loud a few times but I was expecting more from the story, especially the ending. Grade: B.
Eye Of The Storm has a superb cast but I found this story rather tedious. Perhaps it's because I can't relate. It's the story of a brother and sister and their attempts to reconcile with their eccentric mother in the final days of her life. Grade: C+.
Shame is a gripping, unflinching eye opener about a sex addict living in New York. The audience watched this film in stunned silence. The cinematography, editing and score are all excellent. Director Steve McQueen (Hunger) again shows he's not afraid to tackle issues which are kept from public view. Grade: A-.
The Student is an Argentinean film about a university student who gets caught up in the world of student politics. As an Australian, it was hard for me to understand their political system and terminology but I could follow it for the most part and it ends on an appropriate note. Grade: B.
Day 5 - Monday, 12 September 2011
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Films seen on Day 5...
Albert Nobbs stars Glenn Close as a woman who dressed as a man in 19th Century Ireland to conceal her sexual orientation. Directed by Rodrigo Garcia (In Treatment), this is one amazing character study. Close portrays Nobbs as a person who has completely lost her identity and social skills after having suppressed her urges for so long. Grade: A.
50/50 received the first standing ovation I've seen at TIFF and for good reason. It's about a 27 y/o guy (played by the wonderful Joseph Gordon Levitt) who battles cancer. The film left me appreciating my life and the importance of having great friends. Can't ask for much more. Grade: A.
Ten Year has about 4,000 characters and revolves around a high school reunion. It felt like I sober at a party where I didn't know a single person. Everyone looked like they were having fun but I wasn't in on it. Grade: C.
Day 6 - Tuesday, 13 September 2011
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Films seen on Day 6...
The Oranges features a large ensemble but this comedy about two families and their odd relationships felt too fake for my liking. It felt like I was watching a sitcom at times. The film deserves points for avoiding a cliched ending. Grade: B-.
Like Crazy is a nice, sweet, simple romantic drama about long distance relationships. It won the audience award at Sundance and the performance of Felicity Jones highlights her natural ability. I can't wait to see her in more roles. Grade: B+.
Sisters & Brothers is a low budget Canadian film that takes four short stories and uses them to illustrate the complex relationships that are shared between siblings. The film takes a while to warm up but the feel-good ending will resonate with audiences. Grade: B.
Day 7 - Wednesday, 14 September 2011
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Films seen on Day 7...
Damsels In Distress marks the long awaited return of director Whit Stillman (Last Days Of Disco). It's a quirky comedy revolving around a group of moronic guys and girls at a college. The writing is sharp but the strange storyline makes it hard to go along with. Grade: B.
Peace, Love & Misunderstanding isn't big on backstory but it's a warm, comforting crowd pleaser which sees a mother and her two daughters all find love in a short period of time. Jane Fonda is great as their hippy grandmother. Grade: B+.
Rampart is about an "old school" cop (Woody Harrelson) who becomes a PR nightmare for the LAPD after a series of indiscretions. It's a gritty drama from director Owen Moveman (The Messenger) but the lack of a resolution for most the characters left me empty at the end. Grade: B.
Day 8 - Thursday, 15 September 2011
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Films seen on Day 8...
Anonymous puts forward a theory that Shakespeare was never a playwright. Rather, it was another man who penned the famous works in an attempt to undermine the Queen. I didn't like this. The story jumps back and forth in time and I struggled to keep up with each character and their motives. Grade: C+.
That Summer is a sleepy French couple about two couples and their differing relationships. When I use the term "sleepy" I mean that the film almost put me to sleep. Zzzzzzzz. Grade: C.
Breathing is a German film that focuses the camera lens on a 19 y/o who is trying to get his life back on track after serving a lengthy stint in a youth detention centre. I found this honest, real and uplifting. Glad I found the time to see it. Grade: A-.
Violet & Daisy marks the directorial debut of Geoffrey Fletcher (the Oscar winning writer of Precious). It's about two teenage girls who kill people for a living. Mixing a myriad of genres, I'm not sure what to take away from it. The post film Q&A didn't help either with Fletcher very coy about his answers. Grade: C+.
Hysteria is a safe comedy set in the late 19th Century and centres on the man responsible for creating the vibrator (yes, that's right). The writers have tried a little too hard to make this a "feel good" flick but the charm of Hugh Dancy and Maggie Gyllenhaal will win the hearts of many. Grade: B.
Locking In Selections - Matt's Dream 2011 TIFF Program
- Details
- Written by Matthew Toomey
I’ll soon be jetting off to New York and Washington DC for a quick holiday and then it’s off to the 2011 Toronto Film Festival. Can’t wait!
My media accreditation has been approved which will get me into the press/media screenings. Those times haven’t been released as yet and so if they are more suitable than what I’ve listed below, I may juggle some things around.
As I noted in an earlier blog, tickets for many of the films below are handed out via a lottery system. Hopefully I’ve given myself the best chance to get what I want with an upgraded membership. Some of the films though are special premieres and I’ll have to try to secure single tickets when released publically on September 3.
All of that said, I’ve sifted my way through the 444 page program (you can check out a photo here) and I’ve picked out my dream program.
I’ve gone with a few left field choices but for the most part, I’m sticking to the more commercial releases. I’d like to be at the forefront when trying to generate Oscar buzz for those films that deserve it.
There are hundreds of films that look great but I’ve had to limit it to 30 films over the 8 days. The list includes 17 world premieres and 11 North American premieres. Not sure how I’ll hold up in terms of stamina but if these movies are as good as they look, the adrenalin might help me get to the finish line.
In all, there are 268 feature films at the Festival. They include 112 world premieres and 98 North American premieres. That's a staggering number. 33 different screens across Toronto will be used to fit them in.
Sep 3 Update - This list has now been updated following the allocation of tickets. I missed out on a couple of films I was after and there were a few clashes but here in my locked in TIFF program for 2011…
Thursday, 8 September 2011
Restless
North American Premiere
9:00pm – Ryerson Theatre
Director: Gus Van Sant (Good Will Hunting, Elephant)
Plot: Two young teen outsiders are drawn to each other through their fascination with death. Both have secrets from their past that explain this common bond and as their relationship deepens we come face to face with their separate tragedies.
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Friday, 9 September 2011
Friends With Kids
World Premiere
6:00pm – Ryerson Theatre
Director: Jennifer Westfeldt (Kissing Jessica Stein)
Plot: When a few members of a close group of married and single friends start to have children, it has a big impact on everyone. Stars Kristen Wiig, Megan Fox, Jon Hamm, Maya Rudolph and Edward Burns.
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360
World Premiere
9:00pm – Visa Screening Room (Elgin Theatre)
Director: Fernando Meirelles (City Of God, The Constant Gardener)
Plot: Director Fernando Meirelles reunites with his Constant Gardener star Rachel Weisz, who stars opposite Jude Law, Anthony Hopkins, and Ben Foster in this uncompromising dramatic thriller fuelled by the notion of how sexual relationships can transgress social boundaries.
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Saturday, 10 September 2011
The Ides Of March
North American Premiere
11:00am – Visa Screening Room (Elgin Theatre)
Director: George Clooney (Good Night, And Good Luck)
Plot: George Clooney is back in the director’s chair for this edgy political drama set in the days leading up to a fictional presidential primary. Clooney also stars as a Democratic candidate who schools his idealistic campaign press secretary (Ryan Gosling) in the dubious machinations of modern politics.
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Moneyball
World Premiere
2:30pm – Visa Screening Room (Elgin Theatre)
Director: Bennett Miller (Capote)
Plot: Bennett Miller’s follow-up to 2005’s Capote stars Brad Pitt as Billy Beane, the Oakland Athletics’ general manager whose unorthodox approach to fielding a team had a major impact on the game. Jonah Hill and Phillip Seymour Hoffman co-star in this clever and compelling work of sports realism.
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The Descendants
World Premiere
6:00pm – Visa Screening Room (Elgin Theatre)
Director: Alexander Payne (Election, Sideways)
Plot: George Clooney plays the leader of a storied Hawaiian family as they are forced to decide what to do with their last, vast parcel of land. At the same time he learns a secret about his critically ill wife.
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Drive
Canadian Premiere
9:15pm – Ryerson Theatre
Director: Nicolas Winding Refn (Valhalla Rising)
Plot: Ryan Gosling plays a stunt driver by day, getaway driver by night in this lean and mean crime thriller by the director of Valhalla Rising that won Best Direction in Cannes.
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Sunday, 11 September 2011
Take This Waltz
World Premiere
12:00pm – Ryerson Theatre
Director: Sarah Polley (Away We Go)
Plot: Sarah Polley makes a welcome return to directing with her first feature since 2006 Festival favourite Away from Her. Luke Kirby, Seth Rogen, Sarah Silverman and two-time Oscar-nominee Michelle Williams star in this bittersweet story about a married woman struggling to choose between her husband and a man she's just met.
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Dark Horse
North American Premiere
2:30pm – Visa Screening Room (Elgin Theatre)
Director: Todd Solondz (Happiness, Storytelling)
Plot: Todd Solondz creates an intimate dark comedy about a manchild whose desire for a romantic relationship runs smack into reality.
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Shame
North American Premiere
7:00pm – Princess Of Wales Theatre
Director: Steve McQueen (Hunger)
Plot: Michael Fassbender plays a New York man confronting his sexual compulsions and the self-destructive acts of his sister (Carey Mulligan).
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The Skin I Live In
North American Premiere
10:00pm – Princess Of Wales Theatre
Director: Pedro Almodovar (All About My Mother, Talk To Her)
Plot: Pedro Almodovar's disturbing and gripping new thriller sees the director reteaming with star Antonio Banderas after 21 years. Banderas plays an accomplished plastic surgeon who creates a new kind of synthetic skin and uses his worst enemy as a guinea pig.
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Monday, 12 September 2011
Albert Nobbs
World Premiere
12:30pm – Winter Garden Theatre
Director: Rodrigo Garcia (Six Feet Under, In Treatment)
Plot: Glenn Close co-wrote and stars in this adaptation of the play about a nineteenth-century Irishwoman who disguises herself as a man and works as a butler for twenty years. Mia Wasikowska, Jonathan Rhys Meyers and Aaron Johnson co-star in this intelligent and often surprising period drama.
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50/50
World Premiere
6:00pm – Ryerson Theatre
Director: Jonathan Lavine (The Wackness)
Plot: As far as movie formulas go, cancer and comedy shouldn't mix. But 50/50 defies these odds by finding the perfect balance of humour and honesty. Joseph Gordon-Levitt stars as a 27-year old nice guy who's been diagnosed with a rare form of cancer. Luckily, he doesn't have to face this dark journey alone: by his side are his best friend (Seth Rogen), his doctor (Philip Baker Hall) and a therapist-in-training (Anna Kendrick).
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Ten Year
World Premiere
9:00pm – Ryerson Theatre
Director: Jamie Linden
Plot: A group of high school friends meet again at their high school reunion and discover that the passing of time changes some things--and others not at all. It stars a large ensemble cast that includes Channing Tatum, Rosario Dawson, Justin Long, Kate Mara, Anthony Mackie and Chris Pratt.
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The Incident
World Premiere
11:59pm – Ryerson Theatre
Director: Alexandre Courtes
Plot: When a power outage hits a high security mental institution, three cooks working in the kitchen endure a cat and mouse chase with the maniacs on the loose.
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Tuesday, 13 September 2011
The Oranges
World Premiere
12:00pm – Ryerson Theatre
Director: Julian Farino
Plot: A guy falls for the daughter of a good friend, resulting in a massive upheaval for all the families involved. The cast includes Hugh Laurie, Catherine Keener, Oliver Platt, Allison Janney and Adam Brody.
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Killer Joe
North American Premiere
3:00pm – Ryerson Theatre
Director: William Friedkin (Rules Of Engagement, The Exorcist)
Plot: Emile Hirsch plays a desperate Texas debtor who plots to kill his mother, with help of his family (Thomas Haden Church, Gina Gershon). They hire a crooked cop (Matthew McConaughey) to do the job, but Killer Joe asks for their teenage daughter (Juno Temple) as a "retainer."
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Like Crazy
International Premiere
6:00pm – Ryerson Theatre
Director: Drake Doremus
Plot: Anna (Felicity Jones) notices Jacob (Anton Yelchin) in one of her college classes in Los Angeles. In a move worthy only of her youth, she scribbles a love poem and leaves it on his car. The pair soon catapults into that most potent brand of romance: naïve, pure and possibly fleeting.
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Sisters & Brothers
World Premiere
8:30pm – AMC 6
Director: Carl Bessai
Plot: Carl Bessai’s third installment in his familial trilogy is a bracingly funny look into the lives of four sets of siblings. Brimming with affection, hostility and a healthy dose of guilt, it is a rich and gratifying journey through siblinghood's love and dysfunction and features an impressive ensemble cast that includes Cory Monteith from Glee.
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Wednesday, 14 September 2011
Damsels In Distress
North American Premiere
9:15am – Scotiabank 4
Director: Whit Stillman (The Last Days Of Disco)
Plot: Damsels in Distress takes a unique look into the psyche of privileged American youth, focusing on a group of undergraduates at a leafy East Coast university that has only recently begun to accept female students.
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Peace, Love & Misunderstanding
World Premiere
11:00am – Visa Screening Room (Elgin Theatre)
Director: Bruce Beresford (Mao’s Last Dancer, Driving Miss Daisy)
Plot: Australian film veteran Bruce Beresford delivers a heartfelt comedy that centres on a conservative lawyer (Catherine Keener) who, after splitting with her husband, takes her two teenage children to meet their estranged, eccentric grandmother (Jane Fonda).
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Butter
World Premiere
2:30pm – Visa Screening Room (Elgin Theatre)
Director: Jim Field Smith (She’s Out Of My League)
Plot: Olivia Wilde and Hugh Jackman star in this deliciously unlikely comedy about a Midwestern misfit thrown into the hostile, high-stakes world of competitive butter carving. Also starring Jennifer Garner, Ashley Greene, Alicia Silverstone and cult-comedy favourites Rob Corddry and Kristen Schaal.
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Heleno
World Premiere
6:00pm – Scotiabank 1
Director: Jose Henrique Fonseca
Plot: Rio in the forties was an oasis in a world fraught by war. Its star was Heleno de Freitas, (a stand-out performance by Rodrigo Santoro), a footballer, whose violent temper both on and off the pitch led to his decline in the late fifties. Shot in luminous black and white, José Henrique Fonseca’s latest feature film evokes Heleno’s glory days when he was king of Rio’s night and day, to his lonely end in a sanatorium due to untreated syphilis.
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Jeff, Who Lives At Home
World Premiere
9:00pm – Visa Screening Room (Elgin Theatre)
Director: Jay Duplass and Jeff Duplass
Plot: When he leaves his house on a banal errand for his mother, Jeff discovers that the universe might be sending him messages about his destiny. Stars Jason Segel, Ed Helms, Judy Greer and Susan Sarandon.
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Thursday, 15 September 2011
That Summer
North American Premiere
12:00pm – TIFF Bell Lightbox 1
Director: Philippe Garrell
Plot: A couple living together in Paris, he a painter, she a film actress, befriend a couple of film extras who fall in love with each other. All four go to Rome where their relationships undergo profound changes as emotions shift and change.
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Breathing
North American Premiere
2:45pm – AMC 3
Director: Karl Markovics
Plot: An 18-year old boy incarcerated for accidentally killing a minor consistently fails to hold down a job through the day-release program as if he never really wants to get out.
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Violet & Daisy
World Premiere
6:00pm – Visa Screening Room (Elgin Theatre)
Director: Geoffrey Fletcher
Plot: Oscar-winning screenwriter Geoffrey Fletcher's visually adventurous directorial debut is a brutal fable about a pair of teenage assassins, played by Saoirse Ronan and Alexis Bledel, who believe they've landed a straightforward assignment but soon find themselves thrown off their game when their latest target isn't who they expected.
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Hysteria
World Premiere
9:30pm – Roy Thomson Hall
Director: Tanya Wexler
Plot: Maggie Gyllenhaal and Hugh Dancy star in this cheeky romantic comedy about the invention of the vibrator. Victorian London is brought to life in vivid colour as a young doctor (Dancy) struggles to establish himself while confronting the gutsy daughter of his boss (Gyllenhaal). Rupert Everett and Felicity Jones play supporting roles.
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