Happy Sunday everyone. And greetings from Toronto where I (Richard) am surveying what remains of the festival, and seeing how much festive spirit Hollywood can muster during this very trying moment. First thing that stands out: thanks to this festival, Toronto has created something of a film community that time forgot. While the rest of the world grapples with the future of cinema, many, many thousands of locals turn out to see the highlights of the year in world cinema. Even without stars, even in different languages, even micro-budget, oblique, far-corners-of-the-world dramas fill up their theaters with Torontoites who take a week to be… excited about film. For those of us who care about the medium, that’s fairly exciting to see. Despite the relative lack of stars, there are still more than plenty here. Part of that is the year’s big trend: stars as directors. Kristin Scott Thomas, Patricia Arquette, Viggo Mortensen, Anna Kendrick, Michael Keaton and Sean Penn are all debuting films here this year. (The bulk of which, so far, have been pretty well received, so you can take your snottiness elsewhere.) There are still receptions and after-parties going on late into the evening — although fewer and smaller than in years past. And the usual festival circus of festival sideshow persists: Dicks the Musical’s pre-show party at Hooters; a gallery show of the art of Sly Stallone (not bad!). Beyond that, looking to the industry side of the festival, it’s bizarrely subdued. There are plenty of industry players on hand; the hotel lobbies are filled with kibbitzing execs, agents and producers, but they seem to be doing a sort of Thorazine Shuffle, marching listlessly through the paces without much enthusiasm. There are still deals getting done; people still compare notes about the night’s premieres. But there’s a certain dread behind it all, as every conversation turns to: what do you think is going to happen? With no one at the moment anticipating anything good to come. I’ll have more on the fest in my Tuesday column. And until then, here’s the highlights of this week in The Ankler, just in case you missed it: Today is Day 132 of the Strike
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