A Day in the Life of TIFF – Day 6: Manchester By the Sea, Deepwater Horizon & Justin Timberlake?

We are now, unfortunately, more than half way through the Toronto International Film Festival.  Only a few more galas, a few more celebrity sightings to go before the city replaces the hectic festival madness with its regular hustle and bustle.  However, one of the biggest celebrities in town made his red carpet debut Tuesday night, and it’s likely that most of the festival goers didn’t even know he was here.

Matt Damon, who was here last year with the world premiere of The Martian was the first to arrive for the red carpet of Manchester by the Sea (read our review), one of the most talked about films of the festival.  However Damon doesn’t star in the film, he’s attached as producer meaning he flew low on everyone’s radar.  That said, Damon signed autographs and took selfies with many of the people present (including me!).  Casey Affleck, who is sporting quite a long hair do, and Michelle Williams were also present to support the film.

Down the street, another heartthrob was busy wowing fans at the premiere of Deepwater Horizon.  It seems unusual to have such a large commercial film showing in the midst of the festival, however Mark Wahlberg fans didn’t mind.  They came out in full force Tuesday for the star, who also did an on stage interview, part of the “In Conversation With…” series that TIFF holds yearly.  Horizon was also a family affair with Kurt Russell and Kate Hudson walking the carpet together.  Co-star Gina Rodriguez (Jane the Virgin herself) was also there, and had a great Q&A session on twitter prior to the big premiere.  She was clearly pretty excited about being in Toronto!

Another unusual pick for a TIFF gala this year is the concert movie Justin Timberlake + the Tennessee Kids.  That is until you realize it’s directed by Academy Award winning director Jonathan Demme (Silence of the Lambs, Stop Making Sense).  The director has been taking in other films at the festival, most notably asking a question during the Q&A for the buzzed about film Moonlight.  While on the red carpet Justin Timberlake seemed to be having a great time with the crowd, taking pictures of them with a look of pure excitement.

Also in town was Jennifer Garner and Bryan Cranston (who last year was here with Trumbo) who were on board to present the premiere of Wakefield.  The film chronicles a man who decides to just up and leave his life – but instead of running away, he takes refuge in his attic, hiding there for weeks while he observes his family deal with his disappearance.  From all accounts, Toronto was lucky to get Cranston this year – he’s a busy guy.  On his IMDb profile he has six 2016 credits to his name and is currently shooting Power Rangers.