“It was really surreal to walk around the Blindness party last year, and bump into Danny Masterson while Moby was DJing.”
How do you prepare for TIFF? Its a madhouse at our office. I am working on getting our temporary office set-up, organizing cars and hair & makeup, gathering materials from studios, assisting on press schedules, helping organize parties, setting up press screenings and….. getting all of my day-to-day work finished ahead of time, since I won’t really have time during the festival.
Where would we most likely find you during TIFF at 2PM? In the stairwells at the Intercontinental, frantically running between floors from our office to the interview suites (or vice versa) trying to get something to someone as fast as I can for whatever press is happening.
What has been your most memorable TIFF party? Last year was my first festival and the Blindness party at the City TV offices was my first BIG red carpet party. I got to go inside and enjoy the party for a bit after we were done and it was really surreal to walk around and bump into Danny Masterson while Moby was DJing.
What are the three things you need during TIFF to survive? Blackberry (with charger!), comfortable shoes, and caffeine. Lots and lots of caffeine.
If you are looking for a moment of peace and quiet within the ten days – where do you go or what do you do? For a moment of peace and quiet, I go into an empty hotel room (where we conduct interviews), lock the door, lay down on the floor (cos they remove all the beds) and put on my iPod for about 5 minutes.
Which celebrity run-in has been your favourite? Or had you the most awestruck? Hands down, Brad Pitt. He was in town last year for Burn After Reading and I had the chance to see him at the after party. I definitely made a detour so that I could walk by his table. He is the penultimate movie star and soooo dreamy.
What has been the strangest interaction you’ve had during TIFF? Strangest interaction is definitely with the fans who stalk the entrances of the hotels with their cameras & autograph books. Often I run errands with our car & driver, so when I roll up in one of these luxury vehicles people always expect Gwyneth Paltrow to jump out. They’re always audibly disappointed when they realize its just me.
Which film are you most looking forward to this year? Is it weird to say Antichrist? Yeah, okay… I’m really excited for The Trotksy.
What’s your best advice for someone who’s never attended TIFF before? If you ask a celebrity for an autograph/picture, you’re guaranteed that they will never be your friend.
Best SWAG ever? Sadly, not too much swag for the assistant. We did have a giant freezer full of ice cream last year. That was pretty amazing.
You have a huge smile on your face at TIFF – what just happened? Someone just bought me a Booster Juice.
If you could pick the brain of one filmmaker – who would it be? Pedro Almodóvar
If you could grab a drink with one celeb – who would you choose? Charlotte Gainsbourg. She’s seriously the coolest chick alive (helloo, the spawn of Jane Birken and Serge Gainsbourg) and also, Antichrist?! What the fuck?!?
What’s the first thing you’ll want to do once the insanity is over? Sleep!