Assorted gossip from the Toronto International Film Festival

**Tati** · September 15th, 2007, 07:08 PM

Quote:

The Toronto International Film Festival ended Saturday after unspooling 349 films for thousands of movie-goers during a 10-day cinematic marathon. The writers who covered the festival for The Canadian Press pick some of the highs and lows among the... celebrities they spoke to:

MOST PERSONABLE STARS

Mark Ruffalo, Tom Cavanagh, Woody Allen, Matt Damon, Jennifer Garner, Maria Bello, Hayley Atwell, Cate Blanchett, Patricia Clarkson, Emily Mortimer – all of them were friendly, funny and seemingly delighted to be at the festival.

GRUMPIEST STARS

Tommy Lee Jones, Sean Penn, Joaquin Phoenix, Keira Knightley. Jones was a bear in interviews for In The Valley of Elah, Penn was openly hostile to reporters at a news conference for Into the Wild, Phoenix behaved erratically during the press junket for Reservation Road and even cut the day short, and Knightley was prickly and defensive promoting Atonement and Silk.

HOTTEST STARS

Reese Witherspoon was far prettier in person, sporting glossy golden tresses and a toned, tanned figure as she promoted Rendition.

McGregor and Farrell, chatting it up on stage during a Woody Allen news conference, upped the male hotness quotient at the festival. Hayley Atwell, their co-star in Cassandra's Dream, was equally stunning.

Cate Blanchett was breathtaking in person, with a commanding presence and a flawless complexion to match.

The petite and impeccably dressed Thandie Newton, of Run Fat Boy Run, was also radiant.

No surprise here, but George Clooney was every bit as handsome and debonair as he's said to be, and thankfully not as skinny.

Jennifer Garner was JLo-ed up on the red carpet for Juno, looking sultry and smoky-eyed.

Roy Dupuis, with a few days' growth and astonishing blue-green eyes, turned heads at the downtown Hotel Intercontinental as he promoted Shake Hands With The Devil.

Toronto Star, TheStar.com

DitaPage* · September 15th, 2007, 07:16 PM

*sighs* Cate Blanchett- could she be any more perfect. Love that woman.

LynnieD · September 15th, 2007, 08:44 PM

What the hell is wrong w/Joaquin Phoenix anymore?? HE is just a mess.

pacific breeze · September 15th, 2007, 08:48 PM

Tommy Lee Jones has always been openly hostile to the press. I remember at least 3 occasions during press junkets when he stormed out, upended tables and chairs, and/or accused people of having agendas when they asked benign questions. He is simply a monster in real life. Harrison Ford isn't much better. Penn has always been a major league asshole, so that's nothing new either. It's obvious none of these "tough" guys are mellowing with age!

DitaPage* · September 15th, 2007, 09:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LynnieD

What the hell is wrong w/Joaquin Phoenix anymore?? HE is just a mess.

He never looked approchable or friendly to me.

Jane Doe · September 15th, 2007, 09:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pacific breeze

Tommy Lee Jones has always been openly hostile to the press. I remember at least 3 occasions during press junkets when he stormed out, upended tables and chairs, and/or accused people of having agendas when they asked benign questions. He is simply a monster in real life. Harrison Ford isn't much better. Penn has always been a major league asshole, so that's nothing new either. It's obvious none of these "tough" guys are mellowing with age!

TLJ's addiction(s) probably cause a lot of his hostilities. A few year's back, he entered a very secluded drug/alcohol rehab in South Texas, one where my son was a patient. My son saw him on several occasions but never saw him interact with anyone. He heard he was there for alcohol addiction but who knows.

Bkny Mix · September 16th, 2007, 04:06 AM

Have always felt that TLJones has major demons, as if he could come unhinged and explode in a split second. I've seen a movie or two where his performances were disappointing.
Cate Blanchett, just mesmerizing in whatever role she takes on.
Joaquin Phoenix, well, he's in a zone of his own. Interesting character.
Keira, her days of splendor are dissipating. Media/blogs haven't been kind. She needs to find her way back to her happy and confident self, a stylist would be nice too.

Speranza · September 16th, 2007, 04:21 AM

Keira needs to stop doing always the same movie,step back for a few months,get a decent meal and a laugh

DitaPage* · September 16th, 2007, 04:54 AM

I suppose when blogs and magazines are criticizing your weight and saying you look terrible, you're not going to be all that confident and happy.

Sassiness · September 16th, 2007, 07:38 AM

cutting back on the (alleged) coke would probably help too...

sweet and sexy · September 16th, 2007, 12:46 PM

I kind of want to see the Michael Clayton movie that played at Toronto.

LynnieD · September 16th, 2007, 01:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by StayYoung

He never looked approchable or friendly to me.

Never seemed like a happy guy to me either, but now he is just getting BIZARRE. I read on Lainey that he is a walking disaster. Hope he doesn't end up like his brother..

nycgirl · September 16th, 2007, 01:45 PM

I've read first hand accounts of TLJ and the consensus is he's a major asshole

Elisa · September 16th, 2007, 05:00 PM

I just saw a clip from MuchMusic here in Canada from the Red Carpet at the TFF. A MuchMusic reporter asked Joaquin what he had to say in support of one of his favorite platforms: PETA. Joaquin looked at him weird, appeared out of it and said "Whaaa?" The reporter repeated the question and he replied "Thanks for putting words in my mouth" and then "would you move that (the mic) down". He was rude as hell. The reporter was more than professional and I'm sure they aired that clip just to show the world what an ass he is. I used to like him. Not anymore.

Chimera · September 16th, 2007, 05:18 PM

Cate Blanchette is wonderful - I think she's the Katherine Hepburn of our time. And I love Mark Ruffalo - saw him in Zodiac last night - very impressed!