TIFF 2015 | Scene & Heard Special Edition

Introducing Scene & Heard TIFF 2015 Edition… #GossipAllDayEveryDay #CelebsCanRunButCantHide #TIFF15 #StarsAreBlindItems

Toronto International Film Festival 2015 is finally here, which means our signature Scene & Heard gossip pages practically write themselves this week. That’s why Vv’s Scenesters will be updating this special TIFF 2015 edition of Scene & Heard page for the entire duration of the festival with the hottest buzz and most scandalous celebrity and industry news as it happens. Keep the water cooler abuzz by bookmarking this page and checking in all week long for the latest scoop…

Last Updated: Morning, Friday, September 18, 2015

Spotted in the 6ix
Juice Factor: getting better by the minute

Jeremy Irons heading up to his room at the Four Seasons Hotel after attending a few events. He appeared to be “TIFFed” out.

Johnny Depp likes his wine and certainly has good taste. On Saturday Sept. 12th, he dined at Bosk at the Shangri La and ordered three $2100 bottles of his favourite French wine. On Tuesday evening he ordered two more bottles to his room. Living in France for so many years certainly has influenced his taste in wine – for the pricier.

Michael Keaton exiting the Four Seasons Hotel to race down to the screening of his new movie Spotlight, one that has movie experts buzzing that he may finally get his Oscar. He and his co-stars then celebrated their work into the wee hours at Soho House.

Johnny Depp was seen all over Toronto yesterday but ended up at Michael’s on Simcoe dining at one of our city’s best steakhouses.

It became a magical night at Soho House on Sunday late night when Arcade Fire jumped into the DJ booth to do a spin set until the wee hours of 4am.

Liev Schreiber hanging out having coffee at the Templar Hotel on Monday morning.

Geoffrey Rush entertaining guests with his singing skills in the karaoke room at the Mongrel House on Saturday night.

George Clooney flashing his charming smile and joking around with fans outside the Prince of Wales Theatre on Friday late afternoon. #LobsterPremiere

Also, George Clooney hanging smoothly at the bar at Shangri La Toronto.

Sandra Bullock going into Brassaii for a snack earlier Friday afternoon.

Christopher Plummer, staying at the Four Seasons Toronto while in Toronto, mingling with friends and fans at a casual cocktail for his movie Little Miz at Via Vai Restaurant on Friday evening.

Tanya Kim back on the red carpet interviewing Michael Moore for the premiere of Where to Invade Next – welcome back Tanya! #BecauseWeLoveTanya

Can Raylor please now be the new McGosling?!
Juice factor: 10/10

We’re coining it now as rumours abound at TIFF 2015 that hometown sweetheart Rachel McAdams and fellow Canadian and her True Detective co-star Taylor Kitsch are still dating despite talk they’d fizzled–“Raylor” makes our hearts remember how to feel! McIssch was our second choice, but after seeing the Spotlight star steal the limelight on the red carpet to the Soho House after-party, we were reminded what a ray of sunlight she truly is after the Dark Ages of Canadian celebrity royalty that saw Avril and Chad take over the throne soon after McGosling sadly went their separate ways. Is that why Rach took her sexy brother as her date to the Soho House after-party even though the actress was recently romantically linked to her Southpaw costar Jake Gyllenhaal who’s also in town promoting his latest offerings? Gurrrl, a new day has come.

The hottest Toronto civilian taking the world by storm
Juice factor: 9/10

Media alert: It’s time to update those “100 Sexiest Canadians” lists that most local publications have barely bothered to modify since Smallville was actually on TV — and people watched actual television sets and not their computer screens, come to think of it. Everyone from internationally-renowned gossip hound Perez Hilton to famed American tabloid Us Weekly is talking about Daniel McAdams, sister Rachel’s aforementioned date to her Spotlight TIFF 2015 premiere at Soho House. The actress’s look-alike bro isn’t just as genetically-blessed as his sis; he’s cut like a young Taylor Lautner training for Twilight, no doubt thanks to running McAdams Fitness here in Toronto — yeah, it’s a local gym that only Canadians know about. Nice try, Madonna and Candy. The sudden world spotlight on Daniel wasn’t exactly a publicity stunt of Angelina’s sibling Oscar kiss proportions. Media-shy Rach wasn’t looking to hook her bro up with her famous friends as they partied in her native land either. He’s been married to this blonde babe since 2013, and from that bikini pic alone we think it’s safe to say she’s hotter than at least 90% of Hollywood stars. But–if Dan’s marital status has you feeling glum that another Toronto hottie is off the market — especially after perusing his Facebook photos — be comforted by the fact that he plays Farmville. Perhaps he’ll just become the new Canadian fitness trainer to the stars. Move over, Harley Pasternak!

What’s wrong with Johnny Depp?
Juice factor: 8/10

Remember when he was with ethereal French icon Vanessa Paradis, after years of inspiring some of the most delicious Hollywood romance legends that still get us hot and bothered (i.e. the Kate Moss champagne bubble bath)? Yeah, neither do we, at least not after seeing the 52-year-old hitting the red carpet at TIFF 2015 for his new film Black Mass. With his 29-year-old blonde bride by his side, he looked more Hugh Hefner circa this morning than the ladykiller we used to know. That didn’t stop Depp from going overboard with the PDA at the after-party, making out with his child-bride like he’d never “heard” of the internet and those crazy camera-phones that make everyone a viable member of the paparazzi in the 21st century. It’s not that we can’t forgive him and Heard for ruining ParaDepp by hooking up on The Rum Diaries. After all, we forgave Brad. What we don’t condone is shamelessly losing your swagger.

Blind Item: Toronto media darling making cold hard cash off TIFF gossip…
Juice factor: 10/10

Canadians have a rep for being nice and leaving celebs alone when they film and promote movies in town, even during the film festival, but we’ll be the first to tell you we don’t live up to the international image behind closed doors. Apart from what you’re reading right now — one of the few gossip pages in Canada intended to be a Page Six for the 6ix — Canadian media have been making easy money selling gossip to the big American tabloids for years, with more than just a couple of our acquaintances working quietly for the likes of Us Weekly and others, on potentially explosive stories that could’ve easily ruined celebrity relationships and careers. Not all of them go out looking to find the most sensational scandals at any price, but this particular media darling actually went into an A-list actor’s garbage to score evidence that he’s not as sweet and reformed when it comes to his partying ways. Sure, she loves doing it for the money, but we can’t help but wonder if she gets a kick out of playing the sleuth–keeping the “evidence” as a souvenir.

Tom Hardy shames Toronto reporter for asking about his sexuality; Gawker’s Defamer defends young Toronto journo!
Juice factor: 10/10

Man, we Canadian civilians aren’t used to this much attention–we’re blushing… and we don’t even know Graeme Coleman from the LGBT site Daily Xtra who was bold enough to ask Tom Hardy about his sexuality at a TIFF 2015 press conference for Legend. Although Coleman clearly fumbles with his words–hey, we Canadians have trouble going full Barbara Walters on celebrities’ personal lives–but Gawker’s Defamer has already sided with Coleman on the matter, insisting his question was not only tied to the Hardy TIFF 2015 film’s subject matter but also to the focus of the Toronto publication Coleman works for. Read a bit from the interview below to cringe for yourself as Hardy tries to eviscerate the young journo, or get double the stomach-twisting sickness from watching the full video of the nightmare interview. Props to Coleman for keeping it real and positive on his social since the Hardy interview. He’s moved on… to Susan Sarandon.

Coleman: “In the film, your character Ronnie is very open about his sexuality but given interviews you’ve done in the past, your own sexuality seems a bit more ambiguous. Do you find it hard for celebrities to talk to media about their sexuality?”

Hardy: “What on Earth are you on about?”

Coleman: “I was referring to your interview given to Attitude magazine a few years ago.”

Hardy: “But what is your question?”

Coleman: “I was wondering if you find it difficult for celebrities to talk about their sexuality.”

Hardy: “I don’t find it difficult for celebrities to talk about their sexuality. Are you asking me about my sexuality?”

Coleman: “Sure.”

Hardy: “Why?”

Coleman: “Um…”

Hardy: “Thank you.”

Yikes.

Hollywood Reporter Party Brings More Stars Out to Brassaii
Juice Factor 9/10

It was a Sunday Funday for several A-listers as black limos lined up in front of Brassaii where a party was being held by The Hollywood Reporter bringing out the likes of Kristen Stewart, J.K. Simmons, Tom Hiddleston, Elizabeth Moss, Jeremy Irons, Evan Rachel Wood, Emily Blunt and many more. While King Street is always bustling, the rain and cold weather did not stop paparazzi and groupies alike from catching selfies with all the famous faces.

InStyle Magazine Throws an Epic Bash
Juice Factor: 10/10

It was an epic evening at the Windsor Arms Hotel on Saturday night with the A-list of Hollywood in attendance. From Benicio del Toro to Rachel Weisz to Naomi Watts to Oscar winner Eddie Redmayne, there was no shortage of stargazing. Crowds waited outside in the rain to catch a glimpse of Susan Sarandon, Dakota Johnson, and Sarah Silverman who inside noshed on king crab, lobster, a giant turkey and loads of delectable hors d’oeuvres. We even caught sight of a paparazzo crashing the party but it wasn’t long before he got busted. Ah what people will do to mingle with Hollywood….

Sandra Bullock credits leg lifts for her bare butt scene in Our Brand is Crisis
Juice Factor: Funny

Sandra Bullock was put on the spot at Saturday’s Our Brand is Crisis press conference when a very sassy journalist asked her about the bare butt scene in the movie. She quickly retorted by saying, “That was George’s butt!” She continued by giving kudos to her tireless leg lifts… “I’d clap at my butt, too. It’s hard to keep that up there. That’s not by nature. That’s by leg lifts. That’s a lot of hard work that went into that butt!” Oh, how we love you, Ms. Bullock.

E parties into the early AM
Juice factor: 8/10

It’s been a while since we were enamoured by the boys of Entourage — at least on the small screen — but it’s almost impossible not to scream, “Yo, E!” when New York City native Kevin Connolly is in your presence. Connolly was drinking up TIFF 2015 with a new posse in tow at Patria on King West, carrying the party down the street to Nikki Beach before ending the night at Hollywood’s favourite international private club, Soho House. At least the rain didn’t stop everyone from soaking up the city’s extended nightlife hours… Now, where’s Adrian Grenier if he’s not at Terroni?

The Drake Hotel is where the cool kids are at for #TIFF15…
Juice factor: 9/10

If you’re hanging out around the Shangri-La hoping to catch glimpses of your favourite stars, you’re missing out on the hip Hollywood set who prefer to keep things arty at the Drake Hotel on Queen West. Word is that Game of Thrones hottie Jason Momoa stayed there during the launch of TIFF, and oh-so cool rising style icon Zoe Kravitz already got her TIFF brunch on at the hotel’s resto at the beginning of the week. You can always hunker down at BarChef in between the Shangri-La and the Drake until Twitter or Instagram tells you whether to run east or west…

Blind Item: Toronto media rivals and the lil’ blogger who shit-disturbed
Juice factor: 9/10

Canadian media generally have to take the backseat to the international press who get first dibs on A-list star one-on-one interviews and prime placement on the red carpet. There are really only a handful of Canadian press who actually have any pull when Hollywood sets up camp in the 6ix and, as far as photographers go, two in particular always land the hottest gigs, invites, and prime positioning to shoot the stars. Always displaying their Canadian roots in their mutually-respectful public opinion of one another despite being competitors, TIFF 2015 seems to have brought out the mean-spirited American paparazzo in each of the image makers. That is, if you believe what you hear. A fashion blogger who’s better known for interrupting conversations and overstaying his welcome at parties than he is for breaking stories or setting trends is actually the shit-disturber causing the commotion. While at a private party, the blogger in question was overheard calling the senior photographer to inform him that the competition was talking some serious smack about him and his work with his high-profile friends. Perhaps that wouldn’t be such a big deal if his so-called gossip was actually based on anything he actually heard. Why start a feud that doesn’t even involve you? Honestly, we’ve never understood this guy’s motivation besides clinging to any semblance of a socialite life he can.

The TIFF 2015 party that’s officially “making” the 6ix
Juice factor: 9/10

It may not have been the most scandalous party thus far at TIFF 2015, but the AMBI Gala Supporting Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation on opening night of the festival set the bar high for A-list celebs (James Franco and Heidi Klum headlined the chic and charitable gala while hometown boy Martin Short played host), well-to-do who’s who attendees (Suzanne Rogers and bestie Sylvia Mantella were there making fashion statements and future best-dressed pages), a once-in-a-lifetime iconic mini-show by none other than Diana Ross (Diana freaking Ross!! Who by the way, still HAS it), and an almost seamless 5-star evening (at the Four Seasons, no less).

Media tastemakers and gossip mills alike are already declaring it on par with the most star-studded fundraisers in the world, like the annual Met Gala. It’s a party that, like the festival itself, will keep Toronto’s star on the rise as a city that–dare we say–is now cutting edge. Two words: Diana Ross. You had to be there.

Scandal on King West… but not the usual barefoot drunk girl crying into her iPhone kind
Juice Factor: 7/10

King West has its good, bad, and ugly haunts–seemingly more of the latter on Saturday nights when the 905s descend upon the 6ix for bottle service. But two weeks a year when TIFF rolls around, the velvet ropes, guest lists, and doorman of the notorious party strip actually seem kinda chic… if you squint and focus on whoever in view looks most like Ryan Gosling. That said, new burlesque-meets-carnival club Candyland opened to not-so-welcome fanfare despite a ton of early buzz painting it as the sexy traveling circus that happened to stay put. We imagine mastermind Michael Ullman likely hoped his new King West nightlife would score big points this week with Hollywood types still enamoured by Canadian export Cirque du Soleil. Turns out not even the locals were impressed when the line-up of guests waiting to attend the grand opening were told to — no joke — come back in an hour. Maybe they could have blamed it on a staff member’s sudden acrobatic injury, but disappointed party peeps heard hammering as they made their way to the closest PizzaPizza. And, no, hammer-throwing isn’t a Canadian twist on a circus act.

Toronto Life TIFF party gets, well, new life
Juice factor: 8/10

TIFF is always a gong show of parties, late-nights, early mornings, hangovers, repeat. That said, this year’s Toronto Life Best-Dressed TIFF party was worth the throbbing headache the next day (read: this morning). Sure, one “nominated” local fashion icon who ended up not making it into the final list of fashion trendsetters of the 2015 was quite vocal about how tactless he thought it was to invite nominees who didn’t make the cut without telling them in advance, but that’s part of what actually made the party interesting. Revellers were actually excited, disappointed, thrilled, embarrassed–all of which are perfectly good reasons to drink up and shake it off on the dance floor. Remember that PR changing of the guard we told you about earlier this year? This party was clearly proof the gamble paid off.

Blind Item: The big shot who left his friend with the bill…
Juice Factor: 8/10

This multi-millionaire powerhouse might have his feet planted firmly in the fashion world, but his accessible brand is not only beloved by celebs but also lends him a lot of clout no matter what crossover project he dabbles in. In celebration of TIFF’s 40th anniversary, he asked a good producer friend who happens to be in possession of never-before-seen Hollywood images, to showcase them at a private party in his home. Despite the heavyweight’s industry pull, the exhibition party was an apparent bust before it even had a chance to flop, with the fashion mogul pulling the plug despite spending thousands of dollars for customized frames and then sticking his producer friend with the bill. Perhaps the producer friend should reconsider this friendship?

Related Link: Scene & Heard: Kylie Jenner TIFF 2015 heats up + #KingHew

Come back tomorrow for more updates on who’s doing who, what and where 😉 Gotta tip? Email info@viewthevibe.com!