Remember this saying: behind every great man there is a great woman? Well in similar context, behind every great festival is a great director. Cameron Bailey has been with the Toronto International Film Festival for many years, enhancing international partnerships, innovating the annual festival and developing new programs to engage local audiences. His recent title change to Artistic Director reflects his involvement with the organization and his commitment to bring great film to the city. We had a chance to sit down with the director and talk about many things, including his journey in film, his insight into TIFF 2012, his thoughts about the Indian film industry and the evolution of the TIFF brand.
Bailey began his journey in film as a journalist, writing for Toronto’s NOW magazine and various other outlets. “[It] gave me the opportunity to analyze films and express my opinion”, he said.”I have always liked to do that and communicate with an audience.” Soon after, he joined the festival and its programming team and has remained with the organization since. ” What programming adds to [being a film critic] is the ability to advocate for films, to really say ‘this is something that I love and I hope you love it too and here it is’. So much of programming is really personal. It’s about your own personal passions, your personal taste. You find something and you feel like you have discovered it. Although filmmakers have spent months, sometimes years, making it but you feel like you have discovered it because you have seen it for the first time, sometimes before the public audience has seen it. That ability to respond to your own passion about a film and to bring it, in this case, to the Toronto International Film Festival – which is such a huge public platform – where you can present it to so many people. That’s what being a critic doesn’t give you. It’s that additional ability to present, to advocate for work that you feel is important.”
Posts published in “Entertainment”
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HqvhQBliONA&w=560&h=315]
Here’s the Toronto International Film Festival trailer for The Weinstein Company’s Cannes pickup The Sapphires. The movie about an Aboriginal girl group stars Chris O’Dowd as an unlikely talent scout, Deborah Mailman, Jessica Mauboy, Shari Sebbens and Miranda Tapsell. Screenplay is by playwright Tony Briggs, whose mother and family members were part of the original Sapphires, and Keith Thompson. Directed by actor and theater director Wayne Blair, The Sapphires is also screening this weekend in Telluride.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HqvhQBliONA&w=560&h=315]
Here’s the Toronto International Film Festival trailer for The Weinstein Company’s Cannes pickup The Sapphires. The movie about an Aboriginal girl group stars Chris O’Dowd as an unlikely talent scout, Deborah Mailman, Jessica Mauboy, Shari Sebbens and Miranda Tapsell. Screenplay is by playwright Tony Briggs, whose mother and family members were part of the original Sapphires, and Keith Thompson. Directed by actor and theater director Wayne Blair, The Sapphires is also screening this weekend in Telluride.
Azealia Banks is cementing her place as an “It Girl” in the fashion and beauty realm at lightning speed. In fact, some feel the rapper is now more well-known for her fashion and beauty cred than her music. In the past year, she attended the 2012 MET Gala, appeared in the campaign for T by Alexander Wang and as previously reported, is slated to perform at Fashion’s Night Out at MAC Cosmetics Soho.
Blair Underwood has signed a major development/talent holding deal with Universal Television. Under the pact, the studio will develop a starring vehicle for the actor, with him and Tagline Television attached to produce.
“Beauty may be skin deep, but ugly goes clear to the bone.”
— Redd Foxx, comedian, writer, film & TV actor
EXCLUSIVE: Feature producer Debra Martin Chase is making a major move in television with a two-year overall deal at ABC Studios. Under the pact, Chase will develop series projects through her company, Martin Chase Prods., with the help of a dedicated TV executive she is in the process of hiring.
Forbes magazine has named the hip-hop power couple at the top of their 2012 ‘Highest-Paid Celebrity Couples’ list.
The duo have earned a total of $78 million in the past year. Beyoncé took in $40 million with endorsements, album sales, and royalties, while Jay-Z took in $38 million with his Watch the Throne album sales and tour with Kanye West. The “Crazy in Love” duo managed to accumulate so much and still took time off for the birth of their first child, daughter Blue Ivy.
Jay-Z and Beyoncé replaced last year’s highest earning couple, NFL quarterback Tom Brady and supermodel wife Gisele Bundchen, who amassed a total of $72 million this year. Third on the Forbes list are soccer player David Beckham and wife fashion designer Victoria Beckham, who earned $54 million. Brad Pitt and Angelia Jolie are placed at fourth earning $45 million, and rounding out the list of five are Will and Jada Pinkett Smith with $40 million.
via Forbes: Jay-Z and Beyoncé world’s highest paid celebrity couple | theGrio.
BET founder and chairman of the RLJ companies, Robert Johnson, is developing a faith-friendly channel on YouTube. ALRIGHT TV will produce entertainment, comedy, reality, self-help, music, talk programs and hopes to provide inspirational content to viewers of all ages.
You have to like any award that links Abbas Kiarostami to Sylvester Stallone, Agnes Varda to Al Pacino and, now, Spike Lee — even if it’s one of those career achievement prizes determined more by who’s going to be in town than anything else. Lee, it was announced today, will be the latest recipient of the splendidly named Jaeger-Le Coultre Glory to the Filmmaker Award (named for a film by its inaugural recipient, Takeshi Kitano) at the Venice Film Festival later this month.