Thursday, March 28, 2024

TIFF ’11 Rocks: U2 Here, McCartney Absent, Franco Switching

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The Toronto International Film Festival begins tonight with a gala for director Davis Guggenheim and his U2 documentary, “From the Sky Down.” The security at Roy Thomson Hall is tight, tight, tight. “The green room is closed tonight,” says an insider. Well, if this premiere is like the one for “Spider Man: Turn off the Dark,” there will be a very curtained off area for the subjects of Guggenheim’s movie at the after party. But U2 are not the only rockers in town with a film. Pearl Jam is here with Cameron Crowe and their 20th anniversary film, “Pearl Jam 20.” And Neil Young has his third film made by Jonathan Demme– I guess Demme really loves Neil Young! Stay tuned…

One rocker who won’t be here is Paul McCartney. Even though his “The Love You Make” documentary is getting a premiere on Friday night with director Albert Maysles, McCartney is reportedly back in the UK putting his wedding plans together. McCartney and fiancee Nancy Shevell could very well be tying the knot in the next couple of weeks, I’m told. The Beatle premieres his ballet with the New York City Ballet on September 22nd. Maybe he’ll be a married man by then…

James Franco Toronto news: I’m told that Franco’s scheduled “talk with director Gus van Sant, which includes showing his latest van Sant centric project, is getting moved from Saturday to Sunday. The reason is that Franco is shooting in Detroit. Just as well: Saturday here is going to be booked wall to wall with activities anyway.

 

Roger Friedman
Roger Friedmanhttps://www.showbiz411.com
Roger Friedman began his Showbiz411 column in April 2009 after 10 years with Fox News, where he created the Fox411 column. His movie reviews are carried by Rotten Tomatoes, and he is a member of both the movie and TV branches of the Critics Choice Awards. His articles have appeared in dozens of publications over the years including New York Magazine, where he wrote the Intelligencer column in the mid 90s and covered the OJ Simpson trial, and Fox News (when it wasn't so crazy) where he covered Michael Jackson. He is also the writer and co-producer of "Only the Strong Survive," a selection of the Cannes, Sundance, and Telluride Film festivals, directed by DA Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus.
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