The stars come out in Toronto

By Barbara Vancheri / Sept. 4, 2008 

TORONTO - "Star Wars," the headline in orange type proclaims.

It has nothing to do with light sabers and Wookies. It's the Toronto International Film Festival, as the photo of a smiling Anne Hathaway on the free weekly underscores, with the promise:  "Like you've never seen her - totally messed up in 'Rachel Getting Married.'  "

That's one of 249 feature films playing here through Sept.13. By the time I checked into my hotel at 2:30 p.m., the festival was already under way, with 35 screenings for press and industry representatives today alone. After picking up my press badge, I headed for "Appaloosa," in preparation for a press conference tomorrow with star-director-co-writer Ed Harris and actors Viggo Mortensen (left, photo credit: Evan Agostini), Renee Zellweger and Jeremy Irons.

The Western is based on a Robert B. Parker novel and while it features a romance between Harris and Zellweger, it's really about the bond between the men trying to keep the peace in the lawless New Mexico territory of 1882. Mortensen and Harris, both with expressive blue eyes, sun-weathered faces and an economy of motion, nicely convey the friendship of a marshal and his deputy who can handle an eight-gauge shotgun as well as a test of loyalty.

Trying to map out a plan for the festival seems a little (maybe a very little) like covering, say, the Olympics, but you have to decide who might emerge as the Michael Phelps of the movies. Between 9 and 10 a.m. tomorrow, there are 10 movies playing but I plan to line up early for the Coen brothers' "Burn After Reading."

You can't go wrong with Brad Pitt or George Clooney or onetime Pittsburgher Frances McDormand.

As always, the city is percolating, with pedestrians, bicyclists - lots of places to park bikes at what look like sawed off parking-meter posts - cars, streetcars and taxis zipping through the roads, some of which are narrowed by construction. As a cab driver told me last year:  There are two seasons, construction and winter.

Some things are the same north or south of the border, where I crossed over without anyone even asking for my new passport. Perhaps on the way back into the States I'll get to show it off.

In the meantime, I'm enjoying the famous politeness of Canadians. Even a down on his luck man asking for money sat on the sidewalk with a sign that announced, "If you can spare it, great. If you can't, that's OK." And then it said, "Have a nice day."