You've got to love Tom Ford and Colin Firth.
As TIFF's madness takes its toll, turning harried journalists into a messed-up blur of wardrobe wrinkles, Ford and Firth sail far above that fashion frazzle.
Uber-elegant in their well-cut black blazers, the two men walk into their TIFF conference for the new movie, "A Single Man."
Crisp white shirts, elegant handkerchiefs placed just so in their breast pockets. But hey, when you've got Tom Ford -- the man who reinvented the House of Gucci -- as your director, you know schlepping isn't an option at this photo call.
"For me fashion is creative, but it's a commercially creative expression. Film is something else. The two things mean very different things to me," says Ford, 48, who makes his directorial debut with "A Single Man."
Based on Christopher Isherwood's 1964 book, Ford tells the tale of a middle-aged gay man who learns that his long-time lover is dead. The revelation instantly yanks his comfortable, secure world right from under his feet.
"You never really know how you would react if you have the world torn out from under you," says Ford, who also wrote the script. "For me, this book was about the true self looking at the false self. But it isn't just a gay story. It's a universal love story."
In fact Ford, not Isherwood, was more of an inspiration for George's character, says Firth
"A great deal of the George I was taking on was Tom," says British star Firth, 49 ("Dorian Gray," "Bridget Jones's Diary"). "Everything George wears, right down to his cufflinks, makes him able to walk out the door and face the world. Take just one pin away and he can't do it."
Trusting Ford's designer eye is one thing. But trusting him as a newbie director? "It was no problem at all," says Firth. "There was nothing for me but intrigue right from the beginning."
Don't expect this to be Ford's last film.
"This wasn't just a film for me. It was a deeply moving experience. I want to make films that are important to me and other people," says Ford. "If you have something to say and no one to see it you haven't achieved your goal."
Yesterday it was Aragorn, today it's Eowyn...
Yesterday I found myself shaking hands with "Lord of the Rings" star Viggo Mortensen. Today I'm standing in an elevator with Miranda Otto, aka the lovely Eowyn of the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy.
Thank you TIFF!
In town to promote her new film "Blessed," the stunning, 41-year-old Aussie actress slid past me and into the foyer of Toronto's Intercontinental Hotel.
Two minutes later Otto was sitting at a nearby table next in the Intercon, doing an interview as I chatted with "Cairo Time" star Alexander Siddig.
It's tough to concentrate on my subject, especially when you hear Otto's voice. Suddenly the sight of Eowyn in her long flowing gowns fills my mind, almost making me flub one of my questions to Siddig.
"She could have had Viggo," two waitresses laugh ruefully as they bring nuts and soda water to my table. Other women and men within earshot joined in the laughs, shaking their heads as they looked at Otto through the window and said, "I know! I know!"
Baby in production
It's a delicious pang Colin Farrell's presence also inspired over at the Sutton Place Hotel.
There to promote Neil Jordan's new film "Ondine," the Irish actor had journos and fans swooning as he walked into the TIFF conference. Big brown eyes, beaming smile, that Irish humour...Farrell's magic never cracked, even when one journo asked him about the new baby he's expecting with "Ondine" co-star Alicja Bachleda."
"There's no name yet," Farrell smiled. "I'll just be happy when the little one gets here."
