Queer as Folk
Not all the actors leave Toronto when the festival is over. After all, the Canadian city is home to the world's third- largest number of productions at any given time -- after New York and Los Angeles. This week, the crew of TV's Queer as Folk (promoted as a gay "Friends") set up camp on Church Street. They took pains to make the street look like San Francisco's famed Casto neighborhood -- across the street was an American mail box, installed just for the shoot. Actor Mark Henderson (who stayed here after falling in love with Toronto and tiring of "the New York - LA shuttle") took a break from rehearsal yesterday at Wilde Oscar's, the hip pub in downtown Toronto where he enjoyed a coffee while waiting for his call to set.

Lackluster But Some Deals Announced
With the Toronto Film Festival nearly over and many professionals on their way out, there has been a general malaise about the lack of available titles at this year’s event. Perhaps it is the fact that so many of the films here had their premieres at film festivals over the past few months (Cannes, Locarno, Venice) so there have been few surprises. Another factor is the lackluster summer box office for indie and international fare, which Variety reported was actually 20% lower than last year...and this despite a somewhat lackluster Hollywood season as well. As one key distributor, who asked to remain anonymous, shared with me: “The films have been rather underwhelming, and with the increased costs of releasing films theatrically, everyone is much more cautious about what they pick up and what they pay for it”. Even the might flyers, Miramax and New Line, have been remarkably quiet.

An example of the reluctance of distributors is the case of The Weight of Water, a thriller by Kathryn Bigelow, which stars Sean Penn, Elizabeth Hurley and Sarah Polley. The asking price for the film, which is being represented by sales agent Le Studio Canal Plus, was reported in Variety as being $6 million for North America, a rather high price considering the film’s $20 million budget and the very mixed reviews it has received here. When a film by a major director with international stars goes unsold (until now), one has the feeling that perhaps everyone is waiting for things to cool off and to deal with practical numbers in the harsh light of day post-Festival. One bright spot has been the sale of the low-budget, somewhat experimental thriller Memento, directed by US independent director Christoper Nolan and starring Guy Pearce. The film, which screened in the Contemporary World Cinema section, has been acquired by Newmarket Capital Group and will be released in March under the auspices of veteran distribution consultant Bob Berney. The film premiered at the Venice Film Festival but deals were finalized here in Toronto. International sales company Summit Entertainment has the film for international rights.

Trimark Pictures Goes out with a Bang
Trimark Pictures, which was recently sold to Lions Gate Films and will discontinue operations in the coming months, was still quite active here, hosting a big party for the final film on its slate, Attraction, a sexual thriller starring Tom Everett Scott and Gretchen Mol. The film will be the last film to be released under the Trimark Pictures banner. In a related story, Dennis O’Connor, the independent film expert at Trimark who brought the company such high profile indie films as Eve’s Bayou and Slam, has left the sinking Trimark ship and has signed on with Universal Focus, the new independent film division of studio giant Universal Pictures. Universal Focus’ first release will be the crowd pleaser Billy Elliot (aka Dancer), a UK film which marks the screen debut of London theater director Stephen Daldry. The film, which screened in the Contemporary World Cinema section here, is the funny, warm and triumphant story of a young boy from a working class family in northern England who pursues his dream of becoming a ballet dancer. The film has been widely praised and is expected to become a sleeper hit.

Turned Away at Pollock Screening
A riot nearly broke out at the Press and Industry Screening for Pollock, one of the most anticipated films of the Festival. Over 200 people from the press were turned away from the premiere screening of the directorial debut of actor Ed Harris (who also stars as the Abstract Expressionist painter Jackson Pollock). Press desperate to see the film have begged organizers for additional screenings in multiple theaters for one of the Festival’s most buzzed films.

Sandy Mandelberger