I’ve been lucky enough to interview the likes of Tiger Woods, Michael Jordan, Bill Clinton and other famous folks in my long journalism career. But I’ve never had much exposure to movie folks, so that made Sunday a lot of fun.
The good folks at the Ontario Heritage Trust, who are involved with the Toronto International Film Festival, were kind enough to supply my wife and I with tickets for The Report, a new U.S. film about the battle to release top secret U.S. Senate reports that looked at the use of torture by the American CIA in the aftermath of 9/11 and a movie that was making its international debut. The film is focussed on an American named Dan Jones, who worked for Senator Dianne Feinstein of California and handled most of the investigation and report, which almost didn’t see the light of day. Jones pushed hard to get it released, and it finally was made public.
Jon Hamm being interviewed prior to a screening of The Report at TIFF 2019.
The role of Jones is played in the movie by Adam Driver, who some of you may know as Kylo Ren in the last couple Star Wars movies. He’s a pretty dark character in the Star Wars saga, so he probably enjoyed playing the good guy/hero role in The Report. It certainly looks like he did, as his performance is remarkable.
Anyhow, my wife and I had tickets for the show and lined up outside the crazy beautiful Elgin/Winter Garden Theatre on Sunday around 1 p.m. Pretty soon the black SUV’s started rolling up and the cameras started clicking away. We were too far back in line to see what was going on, but I thought I saw Driver get out of an SUV.
As we walked into the glorious Winter Garden Theatre to take our seats under the marvellous, painted garden scenes and faux plants that adorn the ceiling, several of the stars of the movie were being interviewed off to one side of the theatre lobby. Jon Hamm, whose work I got to know watching Mad Men for several years, was there, as he plays the White House chief of staff in the movie. Also chatting with the TV foks was the legendry Annette Bening, who plays Feinstein in the film.
We were maybe five feet away, and I had stupidly only brought my iPhone, thinking they wouldn’t let me in with my big camera. (I think that was wrong, as I saw at least one guy in the audience with a telephoto lens. Damn.) Anyway, I did manage a quick snap of Hamm chatting with a TV person.
The director, Scott Burns, introduced the stars and other folks involved in the film prior to the screening. He was then guided to a seat in the audience, which was directly across the aisle from me. Bening was a row ahead of him, also on the aisle. If she had a box of popcorn, I could’ve shared it with her. So that was kinda cool. I can also report she took her shiny, black shoes off for the performance, slipping them back on after the movie was finished so she could take part in a Q and A with the audience.
Toronto’s Wonderful Winter Garden Theatre on Yonge Street.
That was maybe the best part; listening to them talk about the movie and why they signed up for it.
Hamm said he got the job in his usual way, “because Russell Crowe fell out.” He turned serious for a minute, explaining that he was “appalled” and “transfixed” by the story. Hamm joked that the Senate report from Jones and his group was 7,000 pages, which had to be reduced to a 130-page screenplay.
Burns, who told the audience he grew up in northern Minnesota singing the Canadian national anthem, said he felt patriotic making the movie and helping expose the practices of the CIA. He also took a swipe at folks who promote what he called “American exceptionalism,” saying that’s not something he feels comfortable declaring but that it’s the sort of praise a country should hope is used by other people to describe its actions. To which I saw, “hear, hear.”
Bening said she got choked up during Sunday’s performance as she watched the portion of the film that features an actual clip of the late Senator John McCain condemning illegal CIA interrogation techniques.
“I didn’t always agree with him, but the Senator and I were good friends.” Bening also took a run at President Donald Trump (admittedly an easy target), condemning him for the way he has disparaged McCain.
Burns brought Dan Jones, the whistle blower in the CIA affair, onto the stage as a surprise. Jones was given a huge ovation by the audience.
Driver didn’t provide a lot of sound bites but did talk in earnest about the role and about how helpful Jones was during the making of the movie, helping with advice and background on the report.
All in all, a very cool experience I would highly recommend. It’s not always easy to get tickets for TIFF, but it looked like a number of folks were able to get into the last-minute “rush” lineup and see the movie yesterday. You can always do that if you’re not able to buy something in advance of a screening.
Cocktails at the St. Regis Hotel Toronto Moet & Chandon Champagne pop-up bar.
If you haven’t been down to King Street West, I also highly suggest taking some time to walk the street and see all the TIFF-related booths, including displays by VISA, Air France and others involved with the festival. The street is closed off to cars and streetcars from University west for several blocks, so it’s a great spot to stroll and people watch.
Even better is a visit to the Moet & Chandon Champagne Lounge at the St. Regis HotelSt. Regis HotelSt. Regis Hotel at Bay and Adelaide. They did a marvellous job renovating the hotel a while back (it was formerly The Trump) and giving it a sleek, stylish look. I’ve written before about the great renovations to the lobby and to the restaurant, which now operates as Louix Louis and has fantastic food, superb cocktails and a truly amazing design. LINK?
This time we concentrated on the lobby bar, which normally goes by the name Astor Bar. They’re re-christened it s the Moet & Chandon Champagne Lounge for the film festival as this is the first year the St. Regis has been open during TIFF, of which they’re a sponsor. It’s also in honour of the 150th anniversary of Moet & Chandon’s Imperial champagne, I was told.
The pop-up champagne bar runs until Sept. 15. They’ve got special cocktails and champagne cocktails on the menu, as well as both Moet & Chandon and Dom Perignon champagne by the glass. We didn’t try anything as we were heading to dinner, but there’s also a special menu with oysters, fresh seafood and other items.
The Moet & Chandon pop-up bar at the St. Regis Hotel Toronto.
We sampled a lovely, bright and snappy champagne drink called La Vie en Rose, which came with champagne and some special St. Regis Signature Rose Petal Tea Syrup (the hotel has its own rose petal tea made especially for in-house use). We also tried a cocktail with champagne, vodka, galliano and passion fruit, which was a much fruitier, thicker drink if that’s more your style.
They’ve got live jazz at night, and at 6 p.m. every night is the St. Regis champagne bottle sabering ceremony, a St. Regis tradition around the world in which a fellow with a very sharp sabre and a lot of nerve slices open a bottle of sparkling wine with one quick slash of the sword. I saw it done here at a special ceremony when the hotel was re-opened as the St. Regis, and it’s quite cool.
On top of the great drinks, the space itself is quite pretty. Oh, yeah, I was told Jon Hamm had a seat at the end of the bar the other night.
You’re welcome.
