Toronto Film Fest Dispatch #2

Toronto in full movie promo mode: A gimmicky stunt to boost the conservation documentary Sharkwater. Raarrrrrrrrr!

Uber-gay journalist Lawrence Ferber is up at the Toronto International Film Festival seeing films, chasing celebs, chatting up filmmakers and getting the scoop on the gay movies which will be coming your way. Here's his second report from up north this week:

TORONTO FILM FEST DISPATCH #2
Celebs Eating! Gay Israelis & Palestinians on Film! And Murder?

By Lawrence Ferber

Film festivals are a crazy nonstop mix of movies, mingling, parties and biz-driving buzz. Anxious to escape the hustle-bustle of the festival’s main beat and brouhaha in Toronto's Yorkville 'hood, I headed way downtown to the St. Germain Hotel’s fabulously chi-chi Chez Victor restaurant for a dee-licious dinner—and Cilantro Martinis, so citrusy and refreshing!—with a trio of Mexican journalists, one of whom had just interviewed Sean Penn, who—big surprise!—talked politics, politics, politics. But the festival knows no bounds. By dinner’s end we had seen Joshua Jackson, Paul Haggis (director of Crash), Mark Ruffalo and Sarah Polley.

Stars Scott Caan, Mena Suvari and Giovanni Ribisi: Their movie's like, really straight.

Polley was also spotted at the Norman Jewison barbecue (no, they didn’t cook the guest of honor), while Mena Suvari opted to dine at popular—and affordably priced!—Asian restaurant Spring Rolls. And I spotted an uber-blonde Juliette Binoche at the Unifrance Luncheon. Also in town (but no dish on where they’re eating): Vince Vaughn, Viggo Mortensen, Giovanni Ribisi (whom I narrowly missed, along with Suvari, at the way-straight pub party for The Dog Problem), Yoko Ono, Jeff Goldblum, Tim Robbins, Jude Law (hubba hubba!), Samuel L. Jackson, Matt Damon (another hubba!), Kate Winslet, and Toby Jones, who plays Truman Capote in the upcoming Infamous, which is like a gayer version (he locks lips with 007, Daniel Craig!) of last year’s Capote.

Infamous star Toby Jones (he plays Truman Capote). He got to kiss James Bond and you didn't.

Binoche goes blonde! Tres jolie!



Jude and Kate: Hitting the town, looking cute.

Back in Yorkville, I cabbed to the Phoenix Concert Theater again, this time for a party celebrating two Israeli films, The Bubble—a lively romantic dramedy (from the duo who produced and directed Yossi & Jagger) about an Israeli/Palestinian gay couple that’s quickly becoming the fest’s next big gay buzz title—and coming-of-age drama Sweet Mud. Queer filmmaker Elle Flanders approached friends with T-shirts supporting the first-ever Palestinian Women’s queer organization in Haifa, ASWAT (www.aswatgroup.org). Yummy openly gay Israeli singer/musician Ivri Lider, who contributed score and songs to The Bubble, performed a small set that kicked off with a luverly rendition of “The Man I Love.” But comedian Scott Thompson was the party’s entertainment headliner, and he tested out raunchy new material from his upcoming solo show, “Scottastrophe.” Thompson also canvassed the audience for a new boyfriend, telling prospective candidates, “Meet me over there and tell me everything I want to hear!”

The Bubble's producer/writer Gal Uchovsky and director/writer Eytan Fox.

German gay film magnate (of the Berlin Film Fest and its Teddy Awards) Weiland Speck.

Palestinian gay activist Elle Flanders: Wanna T-shirt?

Scott Thompson on stage. Date him, already!

I also ran into Here! TV’s Mark Reinhart, who said we can expect a new 6-part series called Lesbian Sex & Sensuality in January. And Seventh Art Releasing has a documentary, Born Again, about a fundamentalist-turned-out lesbian, hitting the fest circuit or cable next year.

Today, I saw one of the festival’s most anticipated, controversial titles, D.O.A.P. (aka “Death of a President”) a faux documentary that imagines President Bush’s assassination during an anti-war protest, and its potential repercussions. The industry audience was mostly silent when Bush gets shot—it’s accomplished via a seamless mix of actual footage and special effects—but laughed when the film’s protestors celebrated the news. But the film is no pro-assassination statement. Instead, it paints a chilling picture of how much worse things could get if someone actually went through with such an action.

Meanwhile, a real-life murder—a grisly triple homicide by knife at a downtown hotel—stirred up some morbid chatter (Overheard: “So does this mean they have a vacancy?”). But let’s end for today on a happy note. A gay publicist was having a moment this week when a woman suddenly approached him. “Do you know whom you look like?” she asked. He paused from his funk to hear which fabulous, handsome star he resembled: “Harvey Fierstein!”

And with that, rather than sour further, he lightened up. “I figure God was telling me to have a laugh,” our good-lookin’ publicist admitted with a wide smile.