The party for the Men Who Stare at Goats premiere was in a modernist glass mansion on Toronto’s exclusive Bridle Path. And the guests, trying not to stare at the movie’s star, George Clooney, were acting strange. When I ran into a friend who refused to shake my hand, I thought she was paranoid about spreading the swine flu virus. No, she said, it was because her hands were “goaty.” She had been petting some goats that were huddled in a pen on the red carpet; they were clad in promo T-shirts that read “Stop staring at me”—the same T-shirts worn by hostesses serving Vitaminwater and vodka cocktails inside.
The Toronto International Film Festival is a kind of marathon staring contest. You gaze at the screen, and the stars, until it makes you crazy. And at the 34th annual edition of TIFF (Sept. 10-19), there was a lot to look at—335 films from 64 countries, and enough celebrities to choke downtown traffic with limo gridlock.
George and Oprah were prom king and queen of the opening weekend. Clooney had two TIFF premieres, the goat movie and Jason Reitman’s Up in the Air, which became an early hit. Crossing the velvet rope, he waded into a throng of fans like a seasoned politician, and worked the media with the panache of a Vegas comic, offering lines like, “I would rather have a prostate exam on live television by a guy with very cold hands than have a Facebook page.”
But while George played the amiable court jester, Oprah’s arrival was hailed like a royal visit. She showed up to launch a juggernaut publicity blitz for Precious, a harrowing drama about an overweight, illiterate Harlem teen who is pregnant with her second child by her own father. The movie premiered at Sundance last January, which is when Oprah jumped on board as executive producer, turning a small underdog film into a cause. Last Sunday, as she appeared with a phalanx of African-American talent—including mogul Tyler Perry and diva Mariah Carey, who both talked of their own history of abuse—a TIFF press conference turned into an inspirational love-in. Its Cinderella princess was the radiant Gabourey “Gabby” Sidibe, the novice actress who plays the title role of Precious—living proof that Oprah can make somebody a star as easily as give everyone a car.
The next day, another African-American icon, Chris Rock, did the rounds for the premiere of Good Hair, a comic documentary about the massive industry that caters to “relaxing” black women’s hair with corrosive chemicals and extending it with expensive weaves and wigs—which are often composed of locks shorn from South Asian women in acts of religious sacrifice. As the film’s host and co-writer, Rock takes a satirical razor to the subject, pointing out that black women spend a fortune on their hair, then forbid men to touch it. But there was one subject he himself was loath to touch. Asked for his expert opinion on Oprah’s hair, he sighed. “I can’t do that. I can’t out people’s hair. I know her. I got to go do her show on Wednesday, and I don’t know what she wants out there. Ask me about another one. Beyoncé, she has a wig. Michelle Obama probably has tracks that run along here [he traces a finger around the base of his head] to give her a little body. I can tell. Her hair is definitely relaxed.”
In the film, Rock jokes about how hair relaxants are really designed to make white folks more relaxed about black folks. My hair is so relaxed, and white, it’s virtually asleep, and as we ended our interview, Rock, who seemed relieved it was over, turned to me and said, “You look like Clint Eastwood in, what the hell’s that movie? Bridges of Madison County. Pick up housewives, love ’em, leave ’em!”
Like I said, TIFF makes people crazy.
