Day Three of TIFF - What TIFF is like without Jake

Day three of the Toronto International Film Festival and the city goes insane for Brad. With Jake Gyllenhaal apparently gone and missed, today has been all about the absurdity of SUV watching. I have never seen anything like it! This is Chinese Whispers on a mad scale - and yet, it is absurdly polite. When one gathers in a crowd/rugby scrum outside one of the principal hotels, the etiquette is to apologise to those around you in advance. You know it is likely that the push of the mob will throw you onto the toes of the person in front - I think I accidentally drew on the back of a pap photographer yesterday with my autograph pen - and he may get a few bruises, but you form a good relationship prior to injury based on the following exchange: 'Who are you waiting for?', 'Anyone'. Here is one such typical scene at the Hazelton, followed by another at the Four Seasons.


The Hazelton, the Four Seasons, the Intercontinental and Sutton Place stand out in the street because of crowds, paps, security and a progression of SUVs with blackened back windows. They park in front of a door or back exit for just long enough that you think you might faint with the humidity and heat and, just when you're about to give up, desperate for air, the door of the hotel opens and someone you can't quite make out runs to the SUV, which then has to pull away without knocking anyone out with a wing mirror, while a few feet behind you, at another exit, a car makes off with the celebrity you were expecting.


Today, for instance, the attention was on the Four Seasons hotel, which was the site of the press conferences for both George Clooney's and Brad Pitt's films. When walking round there this morning, I saw a man approach his friend, saying to her 'Are you ready for the madness?' It was another hot day, the SUV was parked outside one of the hotel's side doors, and the security was trying to keep people off the road. It's addictive - you know it's too hot to wait in the crush but you know everything will happen the instant you move away. So we stuck with it and at long, long last one of us was blessed with a glimpse of the pony tail of Charlize Theron. Meanwhile, Woody Harrelson escaped from the back exit and I heard the security say to each other 'Brad's in the building'. The following photos were taken at the gala of Brad Pitt's The Assassination of Jesse James.


It's been all about Brad Pitt and George Clooney today. As we left the Rendition gala last night at the Roy Thomson Hall we literally ran into the George Clooney Michael Clayton Gala. That seemed pretty insane, but this evening we decided to go down to the Elgin Theatre - the theatre where Brokeback was played - to see what a Brad Pitt premiere was like. My lasting feeling from this experience was sheer relief that the Rendition gala was nothing like this. The crowds were huge and most, including us, couldn't see a thing. The best one could hope for was to wave a camera in the air in the direction of screams. The screams were doubled because Angelina was there with Brad. I saw brief glimpses of Brad and Angelina and I saw Brad's hand wave and that was absolutely it. The atmosphere was unbelievable and goodnatured but it left me not wanting to be part of a crowd for quite some time - and very grateful that I'm a Gyllenhaalic. In the first one below you can just make out Brad and Angelina glowing in the surreal glare.



Jake's gala night

Today some details emerged about the complicated schedule of Jake and his co-stars last night. It appears that the actors disappeared for a quick dinner during the film before miraculously reappearing in the centre of the back of the stalls for the standing ovation. Jake then went to George Clooney's party at the Four Seasons. Here the frustration of attending the festival as a fan comes to play. I was having a coffee between the Four Seasons and Jake's hotel, the Hazelton, which are just across the street from each other. Little did I know Jake was so close! But I bet George knows how to throw a party, and Jake must agree, judging by his haste to get into the party! Maybe it was thirst... it was a hot night, after all.




I don't like Cilantro

I've never even heard of Cilantro, which, I've been reliably informed, is Coriander in the UK, but it turns out Jake doesn't like it. I love to find out these little details and thanks to Green as a Thistle for asking questions for us. It was less fun to discover that '“I don’t have my puggle … I don’t have my puggle.”

Incidentally, the beautiful portraits of Jake taken in a hotel room yesterday reminded me of something and I couldn't think what. Now I remember: the bedding is identical to that in my own room and so I think these photos were taken at the Sutton Place Hotel, the site of the press conference.


Congratulations to Ang and Heath

It was good to learn today that Ang Lee's Lust, Caution won the top Golden Lion award at the Venice Film Festval, and Heath Ledger's I'm Not There shared the special jury prize. Congratulations!

Thank you Prophecy Girl and Felicia for being such wonderful companions in one of the strangest, but definitely one of the most wonderful, adventures I think Jake has ever led me to.
Includes pictures from IHJ.