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DeFore in Toronto: On the red carpet: Some schlub in glasses
Let me take back what I said last night about religiously steering clear of the glitz and glamour. Today I became an accidental participant.
Stumbling through a lobby after my tenth movie in three days, I noticed that a well-dressed doorman was pulling the door open for me and that the pavement ahead was draped in red. A throng of gawkers — the people who’ve been staking out sidewalks for hours watching doorways for a famous face — were staring straight at me.
Oops. Step back inside, John. “Um, excuse me, sir — is there a back way out of this joint?” Yes there was, and I strolled through an alley where limos and black SUVs hovered for those with actual reasons to dodge the paparazzi.
Why the carpet? Because this was the Hazleton Hotel, evidently one of the city’s swankiest pads. I wasn’t staying there, of course — I’m fairly sure I couldn’t have afforded a drink at the bar — but had been in, get this, the hotel’s private screening room. (Seeing a strange and very sweet Ryan Gosling movie you’ll be hearing lots about soon, “Lars and the Real Girl.”)
I’ve been in some beautiful movie theaters (the Paramount among them), but this was something that would impress P Diddy, or whatever he’s called this month: a small, tastefully decorated room in which long leather couches were split by wide armrests into a few dozen of the most comfy theater seats imaginable. I don’t often go for the front row, but when I saw the ottomans down there, I did. Sitting there, trying to look inconspicuous so nobody would notice my jeans and wrinkled shirt weren’t up to snuff, I overheard enough conversations to realize that even the jaded L.A. folk behind me were impressed.
One woman in the room was talking about getting into an elevator earlier in the day and finding herself cooped up with the stars of the new Coen Brothers movie, Javier Bardem and Josh Brolin. I hope those shutterbugs out in front of the Hazleton got to see beefcake of that caliber in between glimpses of pasty-faced movie nerds like me.
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