0
0
Okay…so when we last left off, I had checked in for the roundtable and was anxiously gulping bottled orange juice…
Since I’d never been to a big festival like this one, I’d never been to a roundtable. I did, however, know what to expect. Or so I thought. Upon returning from Comic-Con this summer, some of my colleagues told stories of roundtables in big halls, with a long table filled with directors and celebrities and things on a stage. Something like a press conference, I guess. So that’s what I was expecting when I decided to make my way back to the Jasper room to get my seat for my roundtable. I wasn’t sure what the four rooms were for, though. Maybe they were going to broadcast it, and we’d just get to see a TV image of the people we were supposed to be covering. Who knew…
As I wandered off down the hallway, looking for my room, I noticed a series of doors with paper signs on them, saying things like “The Brothers Bloom: Mark.” One-on-one interview rooms, I told myself. Just like Notting Hill.
Finally, though, I found my room. I opened the door and made my way into the entryway. It was a tiny hallway, with a bathroom at the end. I continued around the corner into the room. And it wasn’t anything like what I was expecting. Instead of a big room filled with folding chairs, it was much like a big hotel room — without the beds. But what I really noticed was the two banquet-sized round tables in the middle of the room, pushed together. There were maybe 15 chairs around them, one of which was leaned up against the table.
And at that point, I think I may have stopped breathing for just a second.
Then I went walking back out down the hall, back to John and Clay. I looked at them, my eyes wide with terror, and explained the situation to them. I explained that there were only a few people in the room — with one seat for rotating talent — and I definitely wasn’t prepared for that. I was prepared to sit in the back of my first roundtable and let everyone else ask the questions. Now, however, I figured I might want to start preparing some questions. So I rushed back to the Jasper room to take a seat and prepare…something (all the while trying to control my breathing).
Though there were a few people in the room already, no one seemed to want to sit at the one round table where the talent was sitting. I couldn’t say that I did, either, but it was either that or plop down between two members of the press who were already sitting there. So I chose the Talent Table. I did, however, get as far away as I could — two seats between me and that leaning-forward chair. Then I pulled out my voice recorder (which I still wasn’t exactly sure how to use) and started scribbling down questions. The last thing I wanted was for all eyes to suddenly be on me to ask a question — and not to have one.
Gradually, more press people showed up, grabbed some waters and coffees from the bar at the end of the room, and chatted with those they knew, comparing notes on upcoming screenings and interviews. As we were all settling in, a couple of guys walked in. No one really paid too much attention until one said, “Hi guys.” Through our fiddling with drinks and notebooks and voice recorders, everyone said their quiet “hi”s. And then he continued, “I’m Rian.” And he sat down at the leaning chair.
Suddenly, everyone snapped to attention. There were a couple of “OH!”s from the group. We hit record on our recorders and pushed them to the front of this friendly guy in a white shirt and tie. This was Rian Johnson, director of the movie.
With barely a hesitation, the questions began. Rian took them all in laid-back stride, talking about the movie and his career and his next movie — a sci-fi movie. Then someone came in and told us that our time was up, and he had to move on. “Already?” he asked.
“20 minutes each,” they told him. And he sighed, said his goodbyes, and moved on to the next room.
We had a few minutes for a break between talent. I stopped my recorder and hoped that it had worked. Then I got up and got a tiny bottle of Evian from the bar and came back to my seat to prepare for Round 2. Things had gone really well with the first one. Though I had plenty of questions for Rian, so did everyone else. And there were maybe four people who pretty much asked all the questions. And I was perfectly okay to sit back and let them ask — as were a few other people, who silently took their notes.
A few minutes later, Adrien Brody walked through the door and took his seat. Adrien was dressed as many of his characters would: in a white shirt with the collar unbuttoned and a black vest. His hair was perfectly shaggy, and he was sporting a beard (which he stroked through his interview). As the questions flew, Adrien was cool and thoughtful. He took his time answering questions, and though he was friendly (and he told all kinds of great stories), he was still rather aloof and mysterious. And did I mention cool?
After Adrien came Mark Ruffalo. Mark looked like the Midwestern boy that he is. My first thought was that he was smaller than I expected. He seems to be bigger on-screen. Mark was an easy-going guy who admitted to having a hard time playing the role of the confident older brother in the movie. But after playing the role, he’s “learned how to fake it.”
And, finally, there was Rachel Weisz, who walked in wearing a gorgeous blue dress with while piping. She was absolutely stunning, with big, expressive brown eyes. And as she talked to us, she talked all about her career, her experiences on location (which then led to a discussion about laws regarding bears in Canada), and boyfriend Darren Aronofsky’s new movie, The Wrestler, which is also showing at Toronto.
Then our final 20 minutes were up, and it was time to head out. I grabbed my recorder, confident that I’d gotten it all, and rushed out to call everyone I knew and tell them all about my morning. Now that it was over, I no longer had to be the calm and collected member of the press. I could leave the building, call my husband, and completely freak out (which is pretty much what I did).
Then I met back up with John and Clay, who had been in a different room, and we found a cool little restaurant down the street for lunch. Over lunch, we compared notes and talked all about our new “friends.” We analyzed their reactions and shared more stories, and Clay laughed his deep Santa-Claus laugh at my excitement over it all — though he did admit that it was pretty cool.
After lunch, we headed back up Yonge street, since we had tickets for a movie at the AMC on Yonge and Dundas at 2 — an Irish film called A Film with Me In It (which, when I told Clay about it, thought I was talking about a film that I was really in). We made it to the theater in perfect time and settled into our seats (separately, since John has to sit up front, with a little extra leg room, while I prefer to sit where I can actually see the screen — and where, as an added bonus, I don’t get motion sickness — and Clay sat with me), and Clay and I spent more time rehashing our morning and discussing our next couple of days.
Quite often, when you see a film at Toronto, you also get to see the filmmakers. In the case of A Film with Me In It, we were joined by director Ian Fitzgibbon, writer/star Mark Doherty, star/comedian Dylan Moran (you might remember him from Run Fat Boy Run, or any other role that calls for a slacker Irishman), and one of the producers. They were all introduced, along with the movie, before the screening began — and they promised to come back for a little Q&A afterwards.
A Film with Me In Itwas quite accurately described, by the woman introducing it, as a “dark slacker comedy.” It’s the story of a struggling actor (Doherty) who discovers one day that his run-down flat is literally a death trap. And it was just my kind of movie. I wasn’t the only one, though — the rest of the audience seemed to love it, too. And there were plenty of questions when it was over. The Q&A time was almost as amusing as the movie itself — and it was insightful, too. In the end, I decided that it was well worth my $20.
After it was over, though, I had to run (or at least speed-walk) back to the scary parking garage. I had to hop in the car and drive out to the ‘burbs to meet up with my in-laws and drive out to Uxbridge for Ed’s big CD-release gig. So while John and Clay wandered off to find dinner before their next movie, I rushed off to my car (which was approximately 15 miles away). And while John and Clay claim to have had a great time at their movie, I’m pretty sure my night was even better. The show was incredible, and I even got to ride on that crazy, spinning spider ride with my sister-in-law before the show began. Then, after it was over, I headed back to the apartment to catch up on some notes and things and prepare for Day 3 before crashing and slipping into a deep, deep coma.
