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I just saw Bruce Kirkland on CBC News acting as a mouthpiece for the fluffy thesis that TIFF is no longer “the people’s festival.” The basis of his argument is that the average guy can’t dance on the red carpet with Brad Pitt.
I guess this is the news angle: It’s hard to get tickets for massive gala premieres with a bunch of huge celebs. All the tickets are going to evil corporate sponsors. Maybe ol’ Bruce should take an economics class. If there is a hot ticket and limited supply – that creates…DEMAND!
Let me provide my own newsflash: Festivals need sponsors, sponsors have money. If Mr. Kirkland doesn’t like this premise perhaps he’ll be willing to make a multimillion dollar donation so that guys as common, pure-hearted and salt-of-the-earth as himself can rub shoulders with top celebs.
Maybe Bruce has been too busy watching DVD screeners to get out to C’est Pas Moi, Je Le Jure, a work of genius I saw plenty of regular people at. I’ve seen regular people everywhere I’ve been: The much-anticipated Pontypool, the ultra-hip When Life Was Good, even the hottest Canadian ticket Cooper’s Camera was full of normals, many sitting in the immediate vicinity of Jason Jones and Sam Bee.
I guess quaint old Bruce thinks the people shouldn't settle for these opportunities. If they can’t wrap their arm around George Clooney at least once, is it really worth their while?
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