MR. WILL-W. ON CP24 TONIGHT

Hey Mavenati!

I hope your day’s going well. It’s been a busy one over here, but I’m just dropping a quick line to remind you I’ll be on CP24 tonight in the latter half of LeDrew Live from 9-10 PM EST.

Although I was slotted originally for two segments, some extra time has been allocated towards last-minute Election Coverage. Watch me talk real fast. LOL

Tonight I’ll be delivering a recap of Celebrity goings-on in the City. If you’re home, don’t forget to tune in or PVR it! Me want Fame. raooorrrrr

xW

CP24 APPEARANCE COMING UP

Hey Mavenati!

I'm just taking a quick break from my Break to let you know I'll be doing two segments on CP24's LeDrew Live on March 24, 2011 at 9:00 PM EST.  I'll be talking about Celebrity sightings around town and lots of other fun stuff.  Don't forget to set your PVRs and let me know who you'd like to hear the dish on!

All Honey, no Vinegar.

xW

THE CAST OF "PRETTY LITTLE LIARS" IN TORONTO PART TWO - PICS & VIDEO

Shay Mitchell & Mr. Will-W.

The Cast of ABC Family's Pretty Little Girls have officially taken over Toronto today and despite some initial setbacks due to a canceled New York City flight, our v. own Shay Mitchell made it into her Hometown midday.

Ashley Benson and Lucy Hale visited CTV's The Marilyn Denis Show earlier today, followed by a visit to CP24 and a taping of eTalk. The duo were joined by Co-stars Troian Belissario and Mitchell afterward, having Lunch on Queen St. before heading back to MuchMusic Headquarters where they greeted hoards of Fans inside and outside the Studio, on staple program New.Music.Live.  Pretty Little Liars airs currently Monday nights on MuchMusic at 8:00 PM EST.

Troian Belissario & Mr. Will-W.

Following a busy day of Press, the Girls headed back to their Hotel, carrying heaps of Shopping Bags, including goodies from popular retailer Aritzia which gifted the Girls generously with merchandise. Although, Benson and Hale were in a hurry to head back to their rooms, Belissario and Mitchell came out to greet Fans, taking Photos and signing Autographs.

After de-compressing for a bit, the Girls got ready to head out to Dinner, with Benson and Hale greeting Fans from their GMC.  A few Autograph Hounds waiting on Basketball Players shouted to Benson, "Nobody cares, Ashley!" and playfully she and Hale both responded with looks of shock before rolling up their windows.  

Watch below:

TUNE IN!

Mr. Will-W. and Stephen LeDrew on CP24's LeDrew Live

Hello Mavenati!

Just dropping a quick line to say "hi".  I hope you've been loving my TIFF Coverage this past week.  I'm totally exhausted after having slept a combined 15 hours over the past six days, but we're approaching the homestretch now and I'm not going to quit just yet.  

TIFF for me has always been about the Movies and of course, the Celebrities.  With the number of stars in the city now dwindling, I can now focus on enjoying the Films over the next few days - so expect more reviews of titles which won't be hitting theatres until later in the year.  I'll be posting a few exciting Giveaways before the weekend is over and from there I'll be taking a couple days of rest from the Blog to re-charge.  I'll ensure you have enough to catch up on so don't you worry!

MR. WILL-W. ON TV

Yes, Mavenati.  It's that time of year again - those ten days that I live for every year!  For those of my readers in and around the Greater Toronto Area and Southern Ontario, you'll be able to catch me throughout the span of the Toronto International Film Festival (September 9-19, 2010) exclusively on CP24 where I'll be delivering you exclusive Footage, Film Reviews, Gossip and maybe a few Giveaways to some lucky readers.  It brings me great excitement to know that upwards of a million viewers will be watching me on Television!

The beauty of CP24 is that their broadcasts are looped throughout the day in case you miss it the first time, but nonetheless, do not forget to tune in!  Although my schedule is still being ironed-out, I will be saying "Hello" tomorrow, Wednesday, September 8th around 9:30 PM EST with News Anchor Nalini Sharma and appearing on LeDrew Live on Thursday, September 9th at 9:00 PM EST.  Please check back here for additional updates to when I'll be on next.

Also, some exclusive content can also be found on one of my favourite Blogs Awards Daily, plus Toronto's legendary CityTV throughout the TIFF, so please remember to show them some love too!  Things are about to get exciting here.  Well, even more exciting than usual, that is.

THE BEST AND WORST OF TIFF 2009

Great news. I've just heard back that my TIFF 2009 photos and coverage helped bring in some record numbers for CP24! To all my new friends who discovered this blog through CP24, thank you all for helping make this happen. I hope that you'll stick around for more goodies after the festival has ended, so please Bookmark my blog and visit often.

It was also a great pleasure to receive a congratulatory e-mail on this blog from Lainey Lui at Lainey Gossip today. What an honour, as I have great respect for the work she does!

Now without further a due ado, here are my absolute bests and worsts of this year's festival.

Most Gratuitous Male Celebrities:
1) George Clooney
2) Matt Damon
3) Nicolas Cage
4) Colin Farrell
5) Colin Firth

Most Gratuitous Female Celebrities:
1) Drew Barrymore
2) Megan Fox
3) Jennifer Garner
4) Emily Blunt
5) Amanda Seyfried

Most Impossible Celebrities To Stalk:
1) Oprah Winfrey
2) Mariah Carey
3) Natalie Portman
4) Ellen Page
5) Ashton Kutcher & Demi Moore 

The Even Hotter In Person Shortlist:
1) Megan Fox
2) Emily Blunt
3) Rob Lowe
4) Tom Ford
5) Robin Wright Penn 

Top 10 TIFF Films:
1) Love and Other Impossible Pursuits
2) An Education
3) Whip It
4) Precious: Based On The Novel "Push" By Sapphire
5) Coco Chanel & Igor Stravinsky
6) Up In The Air
7) London River
8) Mother & Child
9) The Private Lives of Pippa Lee
10) The Informant!

 

Five Most Memorable Moments:
1) The most star-studded red carpet ever for Precious: Based On The Novel "Push" By Sapphire. Stars included: Oprah Winfrey, Tyler Perry, Gayle King, Lee Daniels, Mariah Carey, Mary J. Blige, Robin Thicke, Gabby Sidibe, Paula Patton, Robert DeNiro, Sheri Shepherd....
2) Megan Fox drawing record size media turnout to red carpet at Jennifer's Body premiere
3) Two words: George Clooney
4) Drew Barrymore's week-long pimp-a-thon to promote Whip It.
5) Hugh Hefner's arrival in Toronto with Bunnies in tow.

Biggest Disappointments:
1) Roy Thompson Hall's new red carpet formation, making it near impossible for fans to interact with stars.
2) Johnny Depp's noticeable absence.
3) Precious cast's lack of interaction with fans on red carpet.
4) Penelope Cruz arriving very late to gala for Broken Embraces and fans getting shut out of a chance to see her.
5) Drew Barrymore's hair (!!!)

Special Acknowledgment:
Finally, I'd like to give kudos to TIFF for listening to our feedback this year for reduced ticket pricing for second day screenings of galas at Elgin Theatre. It makes little sense to charge moviegoers $40 for second day screenings of movies which often the stars don't even show up to. The new $21 price point is much more reasonable. TIFF also better ensured that the more popular titles were screened at appropriate-sized venues. I had little difficulty getting into the films I wanted to most this year. Cheers to that!

If you'd like to go through my TIFF 2009 Gallery, you're welcome to click here for more photos.

xW

(Photo credit: Mr. Will-W.)

TIFF DAY 9 - LOVE AND OTHER IMPOSSIBLE PURSUITS REVIEW

Nothing much to report today other than that I was blown away completely by Natalie Portman's performance in Don Roos' Love and Other Impossible Pursuits. Portman plays Emilia, who falls in love with a lawyer Jack (Scott Cohen) while he is still married to Carolyne (Lisa Kudrow). The story is full of tension as Carolyne makes no mystery about being a jealous ex-wife and controlling mother to her child with Jack, Will (Charlie Tahan). Emilia and Jack also have a child who dies of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome and this adds further strain to their relationship, culminating in a boiling point. Portman plays her part with biting anger that matches her Golden Globe-winning performance in Closer. The film still hasn't found distribution yet and this is a shame because it is a gem truly; it deserves to be seen. I cried four times! Grade: A

I just got back from the red carpet of director Terry Gilliam's The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, more popularly known as Heath Ledger's last film. It boasts an all-star cast which also includes Johnny Depp, Jude Law, Colin Farrell and Christopher Plummer. Only a few cast members were able to make it out tonight including singer/songwriter Tom Waits, Verne Troyer, Lily Cole and of course the legendary Plummer.

Here are some snaps I got:

I must express my disappointment at how the new red carpet area has been set-up at Roy Thompson Hall. It makes it virtually impossible for fans to interact with the stars and many in attendance also expressed disappointment at this. Perhaps the team at TIFF needs to take note of this as many stars do not even notice the hoards of fans behind them as they exit their Escalades. Not good.

TIFF DAY 8 - THE PRIVATES LIVES OF PIPPA LEE AND LONDON RIVER REVIEW

I enjoyed two very good films today starting with a screening of director Rebecca Miller's The Private Lives of Pippa Lee this morning at Scotiabank Theatre. The film stars Robin Wright Penn playing the role of Pippa who is married to a made almost twice her age, Herb (Alan Arkin). The story of her life prior to meeting Herb runs in tandem with her current story, with Gossip Girl's Blake Lively playing a younger Pippa. Lively puts on an impressive performance as does the always excellent Maria Bello as her mother.

Pippa devotes herself completely to her husband in relocating from the city to a suburban retirement community, where she is miserable. Mysteriously, she starts sleepwalking and this leads her to build a bond with Chris (Keanu Reeves) who works at a convenience store where she buys cigarettes during these nocturnal occurrences. Wright is absolutely amazing in a challenging role that requires her to be lifeless yet endearing for most of the film. Definitely a film to look out for if you are into strong female characters. The Private Lives of Pippa Lee hits theatres November 27, 2009 and as an aside, is produced by Brad Pitt. Grade: A-

TIFF DAY 2 - CONTINUED | THE INFORMANT REVIEW

I just got home from my assignment as CTV/CP24's official TIFF Correspondent and it was a blast. George Lagogianes made me feel at ease and he even texted me afterwards on my Blackberry to tell me that I was amazing to work with. I'll be popping in and out throughout the festival, so remember to stay tuned if you're in the Toronto area. It seems a bunch of you found my blog through my appearance, so a warm welcome goes to all of you!

So apparently Megan Fox and Michael Caine of all people, were seen shopping together at the Roots flagship store in Yorkville around 8:00 PM. Although they might seem like an odd pair, it turns out that Fox was recently cast in the role of Catwoman in the next Batman film, in which Caine also stars. Ahh.

And earlier in the evening I attended a screening of the latest Steven Soderbergh film The Informant! starring Matt Damon. The film wasn't quite what I was expecting as it turned out to be much more a comedy than I was anticipating. Damon immerses himself completely in this role as an obsessive-compulsive liar who is startlingly convincing. He spins a web of lies as an informer to the FBI, leaking information about his company's involvement in a price fixing scandal. As the story continues however, you begin to see his character flaws revealed very gradually. I didn't love it, but really enjoyed Damon's performance as he carried the whole film with appearances in pretty much every scene. Grade: B

On my way into Elgin Theatre, I crossed paths with Damon by chance and he posed graciously for this photograph for me. This photo is so amazing it deserves a post of its own!

After the gala, Damon treated his parents and the crew behind The Informant! to a big dinner at celeb haunt Sassafraz in Yorkville, reserving the whole top floor. It was pretty much chaos outside the restaurant, which is only minutes from my flat. Take a look for yourself:

Anyhow, I've got a slew of screenings to attend tomorrow including the new Pedro Almodovar film Broken Embraces, which stars Penelope Cruz. 9:30 AM is way too early for subtitles! Later in the day, I'll be seeing the Hugh Hefner documentary and yes, Hefner himself will be in attendance. Surreal.

I'm beat. See you tomorrow!

xW

TIFF DAY 2

Just taking a quick break after an afternoon of Press Conference gawking. It was amazing getting up close and personal with Amanda Seyfried (again!), Diablo Cody (again!), Megan Fox (!!!), Jeff Bridges, Scott Bakula... Matt Damon (!!!!) and get this, George Clooney (!!!!!!!). It was mass pandemonium for the latter two.

Damon was extremely kind posing for photographs and signing as many autographs as he could, as was the case with Clooney who arrived today with a cast on his right hand. Not quite sure what the story is there but he is truly amazing. I was lucky enough to get both Damon's and Clooney's signatures also. Gratuitous.

My good friend Josh is going to squeal when he receives my personalized copy of Transformers: The Movie signed by Fox herself. Happy Early Birthday!

Check out these photos I got below:

Off to attend the gala for Steve Soderbergh's The Informant!, starring Damon. For those of you in the Toronto area, I'll be on CTV/CP24 around 9 PM EST as their TIFF correspondent, so don't forget to tune in! I was on earlier today being interviewed by George Lagogianes and that segment should also be on loop throughout the day.

xW