• Michelle Kung writes up Toronto from the perspective of plays taking to the screen en masse, like Tracy Letts’s “Killer Joe”… [Speakeasy]
• …which Liddell Entertainment, by the way, picked up at the fest. [Variety]
• Sasha Stone on life after the 2011 fall festival circuit. [Awards Daily]
I opted out of tonight’s screening of “Butter” largely because — sorry to say — the Galaxy theater is just too cramped and uncomfortable and hot to fully enjoy a film experience. For me, anyway. I tend to be a furnace regardless, but they need to pump some AC into that joint. By some accounts, though, it was a delightful if somewhat skippable affair. Instead I took to the party circuit, as three studios chose Saturday to hold their talent-studded affairs.
The night started with Sony Pictures Classics’ annual dinner gathering at La Marmotte. In attendance were “A Dangerous Method” scribe Christopher Hampton, “A Separation” writer/director Asghar Farhadi and “In Darkness” director Agnieszka Holland. Pay close attention to those last two, as they will no doubt figure into this year’s race for Best Foreign Language Film.
I had a few choice moments with Hampton to discuss his collaboration with David Cronenberg. Unfortunately, I haven’t yet seen the film (Sunday night seems to make the most sense), but I did ask about his take on some reviewers (including our own Guy Lodge) preferring a bit of overt and edgy Cronenberg for a clearly sexual project. His response was that austerity was preferred considering a commitment to truth, and indeed, it seems to me a more cerebral approach would be, at the very least, more realistic for a film such as this. I’ll have an opinion soon enough.
(Somehow this post disappeared earlier. No idea why. Apologies.)
• Mother’s Day is coming, so here’s a list of the 40 (yes, 40) best movie moms. [Premiere]
• Has “Wolverine” skewered the intelligent superhero movies? [The Guardian]
• With Cannes around the corner, Tim Robey spotlights the best Palme d’Or winners of all time. [Daily Telegraph]
• Stu VanAirsDale stands up for Sony Classics honchos Michael Barker and Tom Bernard against the jolly mean giant, Nikki Fikke. [Movieline]
• Screenwriter Larry Gross attempts to take yours truly to task on a passing comment that obviously had more behind it by spewing assumption after assumption with verbiage that would bring Bill Strunk to tears. [The Hot Blog]
• Peter Bart writes up former CBS programming head Mike Dann’s new memoir. [Peter Bart]
• Steven Zeitchik presents the MTV Movie Awards as an Oscar cautionary tale: when populism runs rampant. [Risky Biz Blog]
• Back to business. Sasha Grey to follow up “The Girlfriend Experience” with “This Ain’t Star Trek XXX.” [/film]
• Erica Abeel chats up Carlos Cuaron on his latest work. [indieWIRE]
• Anne Thompson wraps up this year’s Toronto/Telluride corridor. [Thompson on Hollywood]
• Jeffrey Wells, meanwhile, recaps the Toronto fest. [Hollywood Elsewhere]
• David Poland thinks Toronto’s “car wreck for expectations” might be a good thing. [The Hot Blog]
• Peter Scieretta reports on a release date for “The Wrestler”: December 19. [/Film]
• James Rocchi chats it up with David Poland via podcast in Toronto. [Cinematical]
• Oscar-winner Kevin Costner defends his Hollywood legacy — and he damn well should. [The Times]
• Patrick Goldstein spends some time with Toronto “smart shoppers” Tom Bernard and Michael Barker, co-chiefs of Sony Pictures Classics. [The Big Picture]
• Kevin Kelly talks to filmmaker Danny Boyle, fresh off his People’s Choice win in Toronto for “Slumdog Millionaire. [Spout Blog]
• Geoffrey Macnabb welcomes Mickey Rourke back to the top with open arms. [The Independent]