"Are they going to let women direct?"
It's tough to imagine that question ever coming from Jane Campion, one of only three women in Oscar history to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Director.
But remarkably it did back in the 1980s, long before films like "The Piano," "An Angel at My Table," and "The Portrait of a Lady" turned the New Zealand-born director into an international sensation.
"I wanted this next movie to play on your sensations," Campion says about "Bright Star," her latest bit of elegant eye candy.
Mission accomplished Jane!
With countryside vistas and intimate, drawing-room romance, "Bright Star" is an awesome visual ode to the love affair between 19th-century British poet John Keats (Ben Whishaw) and his fashion-loving muse, Fanny Brawne (Abbie Cornish).
"She designs her world stitch by stitch," says Campion of Brawne, who is played to perfection by Aussie actress Cornish, 27.
As in real life, "Bright Star's Brawne is opinionated and strong. She's brilliant yet repressed by the times she lives in. More important, Brawne creates clothes to free her spirit just as Keats (Ben Whishaw) strings words together for his romantic poems.
"Fanny's obsession with sewing was her art form. Her personality came out in her sewing," Cornish told TIFF journos on Sunday at Toronto's Royal York Hotel.
It's enough to distract Keats, and inspire him to write with heavenly new vision right up until his tragic death at 25.
"It would feel fusty, old and impenetrable if you just picked up a book to get a handle on Keats. You get to the poetry here through their lives," says English actor Whishaw, 28.
Oscar buzz is already swirling about "Bright Star," pegging Campion and Cornish -- a dead ringer for a young Nicole Kidman -- as all-out faves for Academy Award nominations.
"I try not to think about all that," says Cornish. But like the character she plays, Hollywood's "it" girl puts serious thought into making an entrance and a fashion statement.
"I'm wearing Vera Wang and the shoes are Vivienne Westwood -- they're animal-friendly," Cornish grins, flashing a smile that could floor Keats, Byron, Shakespeare and the boy next door.
"When she's in front of the camera something kind of happens," Whishaw's blue eyes gleam. "Yeah, she's a bright star."
Precious moments
Oprah Winfrey, Mariah Carey, Mary J. Blige. Oh my! TIFF's star factor shot through the roof when the ladies of "Precious" rolled into T.O.
Oprah Winfrey and the cast of "Precious" drew out journos in droves on Sunday morning at Toronto's Four Seasons Hotel. In town to promote the new film "Precious, based on the 1996 novel "Push," Lady O, Mariah Carey, director Lee Daniels and new-comer Gabourey Sidibe stole the show at this early-morning press call.
Mariah strutted on stage with her long diva locks and curvaceous bod shown to perfection in a tight black mini-dress.
Oprah wowed 'em with a classic pony tail and that big, friendly, famous smile.
Gabourey Sidibe, who plays the downtrodden, hopeful lead Clareece, surprised everyone with her articulate composure. Not bad for a girl starring in her first movie!
And Lee Daniels rocked the room, telling tale up on tale of what it was like to get Mariah Carey in front of his camera without any makeup. "You knew what you were doing to me Lee," Carey accused him with glee. "And you loved it!"
But that's not all.
This story about an overweight, illiterate African-American teen in Harlem is tough to watch. Just as she's about to give birth to her second child, Clareece is accepted into an alternative school. Her teacher (Paula Patton) helps her find that "Ah ha!" moment that puts her on a path to a new life.
From Tyler Perry to Mary J. Blige the stars of "Precious" shared their "Ah ha!" moments from this project with the crowd. Their mega-watt words of wisdom woke everyone up better than a vat of Starbuck's best.
"People say we've never seen a character like Clareece before. They have. They just passed her by...I wanted to give her a voice and a soul that would not be dismissed by society."
--Sapphire, author of "Push"
"What did it take to make this movie? Faith. I slept with this book under my pillow. It touched my soul...Movies likes these are made with love, bubble gum and Popsicle sticks...You pray someone will come along and buy your work."
--director Lee Daniels
"When I finished watching this movie...I recognized myself in that character. I have seen the precious girls of the world and they have been invisible. We cannot allow these precious girls...to be invisible again."
--Oprah Winfrey, executive producer
"I don't think this movie is dark at all. It leaves me with hope no matter what situation you may go through."
--Tyler Perry, Executive producer
"I was a psych student and receptionist the day before the audition...I got so much of an education on set. I've learned so much. I was a smart girl but now I have a different knowledge...What I learned was that I was wrong. I didn't have to be a receptionist all my life."
--Gabourey Sidibe, actor
Serious flicks, serious glamour
Day three at TIFF put the focus on two serious Oscar contenders: "The Road" and "Precious." From Viggo Mortensen to Oprah the themes of apocalyptic devastation on Earth and surviving poverty and rape made audiences weep.
But TIFF's mood only got better because of these heavyweight entries -- and a lot more glam.
Viggo Mortensen handled his press conference at Toronto's Sutton Place Hotel with all the easy elegance and smarts fans have long admired.
Day three of TIFF started off with the glam girls of "Precious." Oprah, Mariah, Mary J. Blige, Paula Patton...Tough competition to beat. Yet Patricia Clarkson gave these women a run for the money when walked into Toronto's Winter Garden Theatre.
The "Cairo Time" star arrived in a sleek, sophisticated little back number with thigh-high slit that stopped fans in their tracks.
Clarkson's wardrobe in this romance, particularly one gorgeous blue gown worn against the backdrop of Egypt's pyramids, conjured up the memory of Grace Kelly in "To Catch a Thief." Iconic and awesome, the 49-year-old star of such films as "Whatever Works" and "All the King's Men" rocked the red carpet in a way even Megan Fox could not.
