You know the film festival has kicked into high gear when Marilyn comes to town. Phil’s mom arrived with her friends Pat (left) and Midge (Phil’s high school drama teacher) in tow to see her son’s jaw-dropping starring performance in CAPOTE. We all agreed that CAPOTE is a terrific film, with a complex, well-crafted screenplay, and performances that can’t be beat, particularly from Hoffman and his co-star Catherine Keener (as Harper Lee.)
Saturday evening we hooked up with Kish (center, with friend Glen and Chlotrudis Board Member Beth Curran), Ellen Page’s agent, for a delightful night of good Southern-style food and drink. Kish introduced us to a new Toronto restaurant called Big Momma’s Boys, recently opened by a friend of his. Kish is one of the sweetest and generous guys we’ve met; so counter to the typical stereotype of the Hollywood agent. Marilyn and her posse joined us for the festivities. Arriving in style with their car and driver, Gabriel, Marilyn quickly took court and regaled us with her wonderful stories, such as meeting Jack Nicholson at Cannes a few years ago. 
Scot and Midge hit it off very well discussing drama and theare, while Pat and Kish’s friend Paul gabbed about real estate. Two more of Kish’s friends, Alex, a filmmaker, and Glen, a dancer, joined us for the later part of the evening and let me tell you, it was a lot more fun than the rather sedate Sarah Silverman party we went to on Friday night. Of course, any party with Marilyn in attendance is bound to be lively.
One side note on a film from Friday. I must report that I was disappointed with Thom Fitzgerald’s epic 3 NEEDLES. I am a big fan of Fitzgerald’s work, and 3 NEEDLES is clearly and labor of love for him, spanning three continents and tackling the AIDS virus with all its politics, but I think he overreached on this one, spending a little too much time on sweeping African and Chinese vistas, while skimping on the personal story. We did get to see Thom introduce the film. Thom is pictured on the left with stars Sevigny, Shawn Ashmore, and Sook Yin Lee. The film also features Olympia Dukakis, Stockard Channing, and Sandra Oh.
More soon…