Stars Are Flocking To Toronto

One will not need to look up at the skies starting next Wednesday in the Canadian metropolis of Toronto. There will be as many stars at street level (make that red carpet level) as there will be in the heavens as the 2011 edition of the Toronto International Film Festival begins its two-week run.

Brad Pitt, George Clooney, James Franco, Rachel Weisz, Salma Hayek and Viggo Mortensen will be backing a flurry of Hollywood and indie movie bows in Toronto, as will Keira Knightley, Clive Owen, Gerard Butler, Michelle Yeoh, Ewan McGregor, Neil Young, Glenn Close, Hugh Laurie, James Gandolfini, Jane Fonda, Ethan Hawke, Tilda Swinton, Jason Reitman, Albert Brooks, Gerard Butler, Jon Hamm, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Antonio Banderas, Willem Dafoe, Catherine Deneuve, Charlotte Rampling, Emily Blunt, Erin Brockovich, Geoffrey Rush, Hugh Laurie and Jane Fonda, Abbie Cornish and members of the Irish rock band U2.

The Festival red carpet is as much about fashion as it is about film, so paparazzi will be snapping photos aplenty of such fashionistas as Joely Richardson, Selma Blair, Jennifer Hudson, Juliette Lewis, Kirsten Dunst, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Marisa Tomei, Robin Wright, Megan Fox, Michelle Williams, Mira Sorvino, Juliette Binoche, Kyle MacLachlan, Luke Kirby, Nicolas Cage, Oliver Platt, Sam Neill, Sarah Silverman, Terrence Howard, Akshay Kumar, Emile Hirsch, Ewan McGregor and Freida Pinto.

Homegrown Canadian stars who should get the crowds roaring include Ryan Gosling, Jay Baruchel, Seth Rogen and Christopher Plummer will also be turning heads in Toronto, as will local directors Jean-Marc Vallee, Sarah Polley, Eric Canuel, Mary Harron, Deepa Mehta and Lea Pool. Other A list directors expected in town include Cameron Crowe, Francis Ford Coppola, Gus Van Sant, Joe Schumacher, Jonathan Demme, Bobcat Goldthwait, Werner Herzog, Michael Winterbottom, Geoffrey Fletcher, the Dardenne brothers, Janine Fung, Kore-Eda Hirokazu, Luc Besson, Chantal Akerman, Darrell Roodt, Dain Said, Emmanuelle Millet and Davis Guggenheim, who will open TIFF on September 8 with his U2 documentary. We will be covering the event from all angles so stay tuned. For more information on the full program, visit: www.tiff.net

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