The 12th annual official kickoff of the Toronto International Film Festival — a.k.a. the Hollywood Suite TIFF Breakfast — saw another full house upstairs at the Omni King Eddie.
Hollywood Suite president and co-founder David Kines welcomed the throng, pointing out that this is the first full-throttle post pandemic fest, judging by the number of big name stars in town to walk the red carpet. Katy Perry, Ben Stiller, Orlando Bloom and Demi Moore have already made the scene.
The opening night film screened at the fest was “The Tragically Hip: No Dress Rehearsal.” Much of that production was shot in and around Kingston, Ont., home base for the group.
Despite being up late the night before, executive producer Jake Gold, who was also the band’s manager, attended the Hollywood Suite breakfast. He told me shooting began four years ago in order to capture on film some of the key venues in the life of the band. A few, such as the high school the band members attended, were either torn down or about to be renovated. Gord Sinclair, Rob Baker, Johnny Fay and Paul Langlois were all, through the decades, members of The Hip.
As most Canadians know, lead singer Gord Downie died in 2017 after a courageous and inspirational final tour where he fought through memory loss brought on by inoperable brain cancer. His brother, Mike Downie, also at the Suite breakfast Friday, directed the four-and-a-half-hour feature.
Prior to ducking into the breakfast, Gold and Downie guested on four different TV morning shows promoting the film. Besides the rest of the surviving band members, the film features fellow Kingston lad and Hip enthusiast Dan Aykroyd. Will Arnett, Jay Baruchel, Geddy Lee and Bruce McCullogh from The Kids in the Hall also put the band’s unique contribution to Canadian culture in perspective.
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It was guest host Aykroyd who, in 1995, introduced The Hip to America on Saturday Night Live. Gold says rare footage of that appearance, showing Canadians Lorne Michaels and Mike Myers watching from the wings, was obtained and is seen in the doc.
“The Tragically Hip: No Dress Rehearsal” launches in four parts Sept. 20 on Prime Video. It’s an emotional film, says Gold, best enjoyed, “with Champagne and Kleenex.”
Also at the Hollywood Suite event were two gentlemen from a horror series the streaming platform will begin showing in November — Creepy Bits. Shot in and around Hamilton, Ontario, director David Fernandes says the series consists of ten to 15-minute episodes spun off from his previous web series. Think bite-sized horror.
Hollywood Suite is a sponsor here at brioux.tv.
