The Toronto International Film Festival begins tonight with a gala for director Davis Guggenheim and his U2 documentary, “From the Sky Down.” The security at Roy Thomson Hall is tight, tight, tight. “The green room is closed tonight,” says an insider. Well, if this premiere is like the one for “Spider Man: Turn off the Dark,” there will be a very curtained off area for the subjects of Guggenheim’s movie at the after party. But U2 are not the only rockers in town with a film. Pearl Jam is here with Cameron Crowe and their 20th anniversary film, “Pearl Jam 20.” And Neil Young has his third film made by Jonathan Demme– I guess Demme really loves Neil Young! Stay tuned…
One rocker who won’t be here is Paul McCartney. Even though his “The Love You Make” documentary is getting a premiere on Friday night with director Albert Maysles, McCartney is reportedly back in the UK putting his wedding plans together. McCartney and fiancee Nancy Shevell could very well be tying the knot in the next couple of weeks, I’m told. The Beatle premieres his ballet with the New York City Ballet on September 22nd. Maybe he’ll be a married man by then…
James Franco Toronto news: I’m told that Franco’s scheduled “talk with director Gus van Sant, which includes showing his latest van Sant centric project, is getting moved from Saturday to Sunday. The reason is that Franco is shooting in Detroit. Just as well: Saturday here is going to be booked wall to wall with activities anyway.