The Scoop on the Red Carpet at the Toronto International Film Festival

Each year, the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) is the festival of choice for many filmmakers to debut their movies. There are plenty of other festivals to choose from, but TIFF manages to get its share of big premieres. Directors love the fact that so many members of the press come to cover the festival. Plus, it doesn’t hurt to debut your film in the fall if you want it to be fresh in voter’s minds once the Hollywood awards season starts in the winter.

The paparazzi and press are out in full force in Toronto during TIFF, covering not only the movies being screened but also the celebrities who come to walk the red carpet. In fact, some might argue that the action on the red carpet is a bigger deal than the movies the stars are there to promote. In recent years, so much attention has been paid to which designers and what colors and styles celebrities wear, that it is hard to say whether the red carpet is a bigger deal than the films or not.

The casts of some films come wearing fairly casual clothes, some from their own wardrobe. Others dress to the nines, borrowing expensive couture outfits from designers and wearing shoes that cost more than many mortgages. Lots of blogs and magazines spend countless hours critiquing all the clothing.
At the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival, the casts of some films stood out much more than others. Undoubtedly, the most anticipated red carpet event was for the film “On the Road.” Some of the interest stemmed from the fact that the film is an adaptation of Jack Kerouac’s cult classic novel of the same name. Most of the interest, though, was because of star Kristen Stewart.

The red carpet at TIFF marked the first public appearance for Stewart since the news broke in July 2012 that she had had an affair with Rupert Sanders, who directed her in “Snow White and the Huntsman.” This might have been all right had Sanders not been married to model Liberty Ross. Stewart was also in a longterm relationship with Robert Pattinson, her costar in the “Twilight” series of movies. Although Stewart has released a public statement expressing regret after photos of her and Sanders went viral, she has yet to make an official appearance. A few blurry photos of her shopping in Los Angeles have surfaced, but TIFF is her big moment in the limelight.

Lead actors Kirsten Dunst and Garrett Hedlund stepped out of the car first and onto the red carpet, but barely captured a moment as Stewart stepped out of her car. Lights flashed blindingly as she showed off her Zuhair Murad Couture dress with embroidered flowers on a jet-black fabric. She also wore black Jimmy Choo heels, though she switched to her signature sneakers by the time the cast reunited after the screening for the Q&A.

Although the cast of “On the Road” was by far the most photographed, a few other stars had their chance to shine on the red carpet. Much was made of the cast of “Silver Linings Playbook,” which included Bradley Cooper and “The Hunger Games” star, Jennifer Lawrence. She wore a floorlength Christian Dior gown that looked like it had been tiedyed with a few pink streaks.

“Cloud Atlas” had been much anticipated since the first trailer for the ambitious film was released. Tom and Lana Wachowski, who brought “The Matrix” trilogy to the big screen, coproduced it. Star Halle Berry is no stranger to making a big splash on the red carpet, and she did not disappoint at TIFF. It is fairly unusual for the ladies to wear pantsuits on the red carpet, but Berry dared to do just that. Her purple suit was not only different from the attire of the other Hollywood starlets, but it was also quite sheer. With all the camera bulbs popping, you could easily see her underwear beneath the seethrough material. This caused quite a stir and was talked about for days on fashion blogs and columns. There were plenty of big red carpet premieres at the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival, but in terms of fashion, the premieres of “Silver Linings Playbook”, “Cloud Atlas” and “On the Road” stood out the most. Because writing about fashion takes as much ink as writing about movies, TIFF red carpet attendees would be better off hiring a stylist and starting a costume search before the festival. Click here to know more details on film festivals.

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Paul McDonald

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Paul is a freelance photograher and graphic designer and has worked on our most recent media kit.

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