TIFF time

Ah TIFF...the week or so of entertainment that bridges me from the melancholy of the end of summer to the new fall television season.

As I mentioned, I was lucky enough to get tickets for 9 of the 10 films I had selected on my pre-order form. I was in box 30 of 78 for the annual lottery mess and they started filling orders with box 9 so I guess I did ok by being in the first third.

My screenings this year are heavily weighted to the 'Special Presentations' programme which seems to have experienced a growth spurt since last year. And other than a couple more 'indie' productions and one documentary, most of them are set to open before the end of the year. For anyone who's interested...here's how I ended up with my film list:

I picked up the giant program book (with all the rest of the folks in line) on Tuesday August 26th. Then I sat at my desk and flipped through the pages pretty quickly and marked all the movies that hit one of two criteria:

1. Was the director or one of the stars someone who I particularly liked
2. Did the title and/or quick perusal of the description grab my attention

Then - as the spreadsheet queen I am - I take all those those movies and throw all the data into excel along with the venues, dates and showtimes for each film. One pivot table later and I have a summary by day, venue and block of time (morning, afternoon or evening) of all the movies I'd be interested in seeing. After that it's all about picking one movie within each block, which is done by asking myself:

1. Is there anything in that block that falls under my 'absolutely must see' list?
2. Is it playing at the Ryerson (my fav venue)?
3. What is the likelihood of anyone associated with the film showing up for a Q&A (one of my fav parts of the festival)?
4. Is there something I wouldn't get a chance to see anywere else?
5. If I haven't picked one by now...maybe 'eeny, meeny, miney moe'? I've never faced the problem :-)

Then I fill out the advance order book. I only put in the request for my first choices and don't provide second alternatives (as you are able to do). I figure I'm only looking for 10 tickets (unlike some festival goers who see 30+ films) and it's easy enough to try to rearrange afterwards.

And after all that, I end up with my package of tickets which for the most part I stick with, though I've exchanged a ticket, picked up extras and missed a screening in the past. Here's where I'm going to be over the next 10 days...maybe I'll see you in line.

TIFF'08 Screenings

1. Me and Orson Welles (Ryerson)
2. Nick & Nora's Infinite Playlist (Ryerson)
3. Zack & Miri make a Porno (Ryerson)
4. Other Man (Ryerson)
5. Religulous (Winter Garden)
6. Gigantic (Isabel Bader)
7. Synecdoche (Winter Garden)
8. Uncertainty (AMC)
9. Every Little Step (AMC)
10. Genova (Ryerson)

Signs of the end of Summer

• I was floating on the lake this weekend, enjoying the weather that we should have had in July, and looked up at the trees to see the edges of the leaves turning orange and red.
• Seeing the back to school ads that always make me feel like it's time for a new year to start.
• Setting my PVR for the start of the new television season. 90210 tomorrow baby!!
• Standing in lines waiting to drop off my order form and then pick up my tickets for TIFF. I was lucky enough to get 9 out of the 10 films I selected :-)
• Enjoying the last long weekend we have until Thanksgiving.

The Final Summer Tally

Weekends at the Cottage: 7

Concerts: 4

Musicals: 2

Weddings: 1

Non-cottage vacations: 1

Pedicures: 4

Margaritas: too many to count

Random Olympic thoughts

• Seeing people achieve their dreams is very inspiring



• Hearing about censorship, fakes at the opening ceremonies and sweeping violent crimes under the rug by the Chinese government is depressing
  


• Switching back and forth between the Canadian and American networks coverage of the games is entertaining



• Reading/hearing all of the negative comments about the Canadian medal performance in the first week of the games swing to support and celebration after several great days and performances in a row is pretty ridiculous.



• I love Simon Whitfield for putting it out there that he wanted to be on the podium, almost forcing Triathlon Canada to put up or shut up and celebrating when it all came to fruition...how Uncanadian of him :-)



• I never look forward to the Olympics at all and then get swept up in watching for the entire two weeks every single time



• I have picked up many, many Olympic boyfriends including but not limited to Michael Phelps, Adam Van Koeverden and Alexandre Despatie

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You are welcome for the gratuitous photos

In Theatre news this week

Avenue Q had the serious potential to be a let down. Only because I've been waiting to see it for so long! The first time I tried to get tickets was in New York in 2005, but I wasn't really surprised when there were none available at the TKTS booth since it had just surprisingly won the Tony the year before. But surely, when we where there in April of 2007 there would be tickets available, right?? Well, I went up to the board to see what was up for grabs and of course I was out of luck. I came back to my friends in line and said I apparently wasn't meant to see this musical at which point the gentleman behind us in line informed me that it was "always" there and had been available just the day before...so not helping! Anyway, just after we arrived back in T.O. last spring Dancap Productions announced it's line up and lo and behold it was coming to Toronto! After purchasing the tickets almost a year ago, I finally got to the show last night.

And I'm seriously happy to report that even with my (admitedly) high expectations the show did not disappoint. Funny, raunchy and surprisingly sweet with great performances across the board. I wasn't sure how the whole puppet thing was going to come off but the actors performing (often with their faces right next to the puppets they were playing) were great. The dual movements actually seemed to add to the experience. And if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes I would not have believed that some of the folks were playing the multiple roles on the stage.

Ads for the show loudly proclaim that the material is inappropriate for children...muppet looking puppets aside. And anyone expecting anything different with songs like "Everyone's a little bit racist", "The internet is for porn" and "Sucks to be Me", not to mention the puppet nudity and a character named Lucy the Slut, would be in for a big surprise.

If you were giving thought to the idea of seeing it before it moves on at the end of the month I'd highly recommend getting off your ass and going. I'd hazard to say it may be one of the top 5 musicals on my list!

The most absurd thing I saw last night

Seriously? You push your tiny little dog around in a stroller?!?

And at the Eaton Centre no less, which is officially the Worst Mall in the World for Stroller Navigation?

I know I am...but what are you?

I had an interesting moment of pop culture juxtaposition last week. I was in the the middle of reading Full Frontal Feminism, a book I was finding quite interesting. Though superficially aware of the issues that continue to face many women in their work and personal lives, I know I've lived a pretty cushy existence and have always pretty much taken for granted that I can do whatever it is I choose to do with my life. At the same time, I started watching the first season of Mad Men, the acclaimed AMC series about the lives of a bunch of advertising guys that takes place in the early 60s. Now, I know that this is just a television show but, man, how much would have it have sucked to be a woman born 50 years ago? (Not to mention any time period before that). The career prospects and comments made around the office, a pharmacist doling out birth control pills but warning not to use them lest you become a 'loose woman', the wife/mother role as the be all and end all of existence. The actresses on the show are wonderful but I almost find myself not liking their characters because I want to give them a shake and tell them to give the men in their lives a smack and tell them to smarten up and treat them like people.

Is the fact that I find the show (while very well done) to be so misogynistic a testament of how far we've come (and not in a Virginia Slims kind of way) or am I just being willfully ignorant about the fact that women still face these issues today?

I've had conversations with friends about the idea of feminism and heard a lot of the "Well, I'm not a feminist...but" type of comments (which is also a point that Valenti makes in the book). Why are we so seemingly scared to call ourselves feminists? Why is it that identifying yourself as such seems to automatically also classify you as a bitch? And why, as smart successful women, don't we consider it our responsibility to make sure that other women have the same opportunites?

So yes, I am a feminist and not afraid to call myself one. And in what is possibly the online posting I've forwarded most frequently over the years, I'll let Sars explain why you are too.

A night with David Sedaris

I made my way to Indigo after work tonight for a reading and book signing with David Sedaris. I thought I was getting there in plenty of time for the 7:00 reading when I arrived at 5:45. Yeah, not so much. The seating area was already full and a lineup had started through the aisle. But I picked up my copy of the book and joined the end of the line which very quickly grew to hundreds of people behind me. He was doing about an hour and a half of signing before the reading in order to get a start on the crowd which was a very good idea. I was in the first 30 people in the actual line and I didn't get out of there until 9:30 so he will likely be there for hours yet.

Anyway, if you haven't read any of his books yet get thee to the library or bookstore immediately. Better yet, get a copy of a book on tape because hearing him read is even better.

He started by reading one of the stories from the book, moved on to an "animal fable" that is part of his next project and then finished up the reading with some random diary entries. All of them funny and entertaining. Then he took about half an hour to answer questions from the crowd. And then he took his seat at the table and started signing books and chatting with people. It's to his credit that he didn't rush people through the line and promised to stay until everyone's book was signed.

When my turn at the table came up he took my book and drew a funny little picture and signed it. After guessing my astrological sign (wrong...about 5 times) he came out with "What kind of shampoo do you use?". I wasn't sure where he was going with that one and said that it was usually whatever was on sale. And then he proceeded to pull out a hotel size shampoo from his recent stay at the Copacabana Palace in Rio de Janeiro and hand it to me. I will treasure it forever :-).