TIFF '06 - Day Four

This afternoon I was Volunteer Captain for the Gala screening of Never Say Goodbye, a new blockbuster "Bollywood" film. I never got to see any of it, but it seemed to be well received.

For me the big story was trying to keep things together in the theatre lobby. Although the screening wasn't sold out the audience and on-lookers were "very enthusiastic" about seeing megastars Amitabh Bachchan and Shah Rukh Khan. This was a problem because we had very few volunteers in the lobby compared to our usual contingent. They'd all been pulled outside to help with the lineups. That left just four of us to handle the crowds inside. I almost got trampled!

The film was also three hours long, with an intermission. This meant that I had to stay at the theatre longer than anticipated and complicated my dinner plans. I'd invited Sheryl's family over for, ironically, a casual Indian dinner. I had a big container of one of my sister-in-law's fabulous gourmet Indian sauces (a Tikki Masala) that I wanted to cook, but I had wanted to tidy the house up first. I never had time for that because of the length of the film, and when I opened the sauce I found that I'd waited too long to use it! I dashed out to pick up a more commercial replacement... The result was still delicious and even Sheryl's grandson, who is a bit picky, tucked into it with enthusiasm.

I ended the evening back at TIFF with Sheryl, trying to get into a Press and Industry screening of For Your Consideration, Christopher Guest's new mockumentary. Unfortunately it was sold out, so we both had a much-needed early night. Last night Sheryl had been out late with a friend and the Producer's reception for Bella, a drama that has a lot of buzz. Neither one of us have seen it though! Tomorrow I'm back at Roy Thomson Hall.

Update: I forgot to mention that the day started at my friend's house watching the Italian Grand Prix at Monza. The day's racing news was that Michael Schumacher, who is Formula One's most successful driver of all time (and also today's race winner), will be retiring at the end of the season. Michael will leave a controversial legacy behind him, but there's no question he was (and is) a very skilled driver. Who will take Michael's place at Ferrari? My favourite driver Kimi Raikkonen, who started on the pole today in his McLaren but finished behind Michael. I've spent years criticising both Michael and Ferrari, I guess I'm going to have to make some accommodations... Fernando Alonso was in contention until late in the race, even with a questionable five place penalty at the start for an incident during qualifying, until his Renault engine failed. Fernando will be taking Kimi's place at McLaren in 2007. Is your head spinning trying to keep track of all the changes? Mine is! The big story from the track was a very strong performance by newcomer Robert Kubica who managed to take third place in his BMW Sauber in just his third race.

Listening to: Marvellous by The Lightning Seeds from Jollification.