For a few weeks now there was persistent talk about how most of the Toronto International Film Festival’s lineup was going to be available digitally for press. Yesterday, we got a rude awakening when the TIFF screening schedule was released — as it turns out, lo and behold, all the big titles (safe for “The Power of Dog”) will not be made available to screen digitally.
“Dune,” “Last Night in Soho,” “Spencer,” “The Eyes of Tammy Faye,” “The Forgiven,” and “Belfast” are among the films being shown only at in-person screenings. If only TIFF had warned us earlier then maybe more journalists would have have had the time to plan out their trips to Toronto for this coming September’s event. Alas, many are justifiably irked by this communication breakdown and are now scrambling to book flight and hotels.
All of this to say I’m probably headed to Toronto on September 9th. I was ready to just skip this year’s in-person screenings, but the lack of press accessibility is maddening. What I do know is that this year’s TIFF is a total shitshow. Who was the brainiac that decided it was the right move to screen “Dune” and “Last Night in Soho” at the same time? Also, if press was told they can be at TIFF from the 9th to the 13th, why is there a lone press screening of Spencer on the 15th? Questions that will likely never be answered …
As expected, Snyder's latest is being torn apart by TIFF attendees. No mercy given. The film, which had its world premiere this evening, is being called by some one of the worst movies to ever premiere at the festival.