Lauren Lee Smith, Lyriq, Emily, Callum,Laura (9/10, 9/11, 9/13 TIFF)
Excerpt from The Star 9/11/10: Lauren Lee Smith, Callum Keith Rennie (Zach Lockhart in "Ex Marks the Spot"), Laura Vandervoort (Tina in "Russian Roulette"), Emily Hampshire (Charlotte Cook in "Altered Ego"), Lyriq Bent (Harris in "Within These Walls" and Randall Blake in "The Art of Attraction")
Rob & Rita stickhandle the TIFF parties
Published On Sat Sep 11 2010
Meanwhile over at the rockin' Absolut bash on the roof of the parkade at Bay and Adelaide, Rob caught up with a couple of TV pals, including eTalk's fabulous Traci Melchor and Shattered star Callum Keith Rennie and several of his multiple personalities.
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Giftees at the IT Lounge at 312 Adelaide St. W. have included Colin Mochrie and Deb McGrath, Tonya Lee Williams; Matt Dusk; Blake McGrath; Natalie Brown (Sophie, Happy Town); Devine Brown (no relation); Lauren Lee Smith (A Night for Dying Tigers); Lyriq Bent (Four Brothers); Caitlin Cronenberg; and Corey Sevier (North Shore), who picked up an RW & Co. frock for his sweetie Laura Vandervoort (Smallville) to wear on the red carpet. Awww. The celebs are not just helping themselves, they’re helping raise awareness for IT’s official charity, Artists for Peace & Justice.
Tastemakers Lounge at the Intercontinental Hotel on Bloor has gifted The King’s Speech makers Colin Firth and Geoffrey Rush; Katie Boland (Daydream Nation); Allen Altman (Incendie and Above the Knee); Emily Hampshire (Good Neighbours); A Night for Dying Tigers co-stars Gil Bellows and Kathleen Robertson; Fubar II’s Paul Spence; Wasted on the Young’s Ben C. Lucas, Oliver Ackland, Adelaide Clemens and Alex Russell; Kim Bubbs (who stars in the soon-to-be-released The Thing); and Aaron Abrams, who has to his credits the upcoming films Take This Waltz (directed by Sarah Polley) and Jesus Henry Christ (produced by Julia Roberts). Tastemakers is donating $10,000 to SickKids Foundation.
© Toronto Star
National Post 9/12/10: Lauren Lee Smith | WireImage
TIFF What She Wore: Lauren Lee Smith
Karen Hawthorne September 12, 2010 - 2:00 pm
Lauren Lee Smith attends the Guess portrait studio during the 2010 Toronto International Film Festival at the Hyatt Regency on September 10, 2010 in Toronto. Lauren Lee Smith screams a lot in the film A Night for Dying Tigers. Some people kick-box to de-stress, but she gets to howl on screen. At the Guess studio during TIFF, she poses for a casual portrait - no screaming, just a red-lipsticked smile. Cute, but not terribly exciting. For a daytime photo call, I kinda love this look: underwear-as-outerwear camisole à la Courtney Love circa 1993 and boyfriend jeans. Might’ve loved it even more minus the try-hard peep-toes, had they been brogues though. -Nathalie Atkinson, The Post’s style columnist
© National Post
Excerpt from Toronto Star 9/12/10: Lauren Lee Smith
TIFF Newss Rob & Rita: Hello, goodbye and Fair thee well
ROB SALEM/TORONTO STAR Rob Salem and Rita Zekas Published On Sun Sep 12 2010
Celebs including Molly Parker; Gil Bellows, Lauren Lee Smith and Kathleen Robertson (A Night for Dying Tigers); Peter Fonda; Russell Peters; Blake Lively; Ben Affleck; Jon Hamm; Kat Dennings; Milla Jovovich; Edward Norton; Jeremy Renner and Rebecca Hall have been doing take-away of Thomas Sabo jewellery at ET Canada Studio Lounge on Cumberland St.
© Toronto Star
Excerpt from Elle Canada 9/12/10: Lauren Lee Smith
TIFF: Meet Lauren Lee Smith In conversation with one of Canada’s coolest acting talents.
September 12th, 2010
In A Night for Dying Tigers, Lauren Lee Smith gives a performance with bite. One of the hottest Canadian tickets at TIFF, the film focus on a day in the life of a brilliant, complicated family rocked with tragedy. (Think The Royal Tenenbaums…in Vancouver.) It’s packed with stars-Jennifer Beals, Gil Bellows, Kathleen Robertson-and dark surprises. ELLE caught up with Vancouver-born actress Lauren Lee Smith (CSI, The L Word), who imbues her volatile character, Karen, with humanity, even grace. Smith talks about her favourite scene in the film, bonding with the Tigers cast, plus her style icons, favourite films, top spot in Vancouver and much more.
Karen is such an intense and complicated character. How did you prepare for the role?
“I found out about the film just a few days before we started shooting. Terry [Miles] sent me the script a month or so before, and I fell in love with it, but it looked like I wouldn’t be able do it as I was supposed to be shooting something else. A few days before shooting, the actress for the role of Karen fell out, and Terry called and said, ‘By any chance at all are you available?’ It just so happened my other project had been pushed-I was even thinking of calling Terry just to see if there was any chance. So long story short: There was no real prep. But I knew, from the first time reading it, that Karen was in me.”
Were there any characters or performances from other films that inspired your performance?
“Two weeks leading up to the shoot, I was dealing with some personal issues, that were putting me very much in a ‘Karen’ state. However, in real life I don’t tend to act out the way she does. For me this was all about letting out personal stuff. It was my therapy, if you will!”
In the movie, you’re called on to erupt into extreme emotion. How did you handle that?
“For me, that’s one of the best parts of my job! If you are in a very safe environment and have 100 percent trust in your director and fellow actors, it is such a gift to be able to go to places, even dark places, and act out or express things in a way you never would in real life.”
Was there a particular scene that you found the most challenging, and if so, why?
“Hmmm…the scene in the mirror was a bit strange: To be acting opposite yourself! Usually I try not to watch playback or rushes, because I don’t want to see anything until the film is complete. The few times I have, I find I just become too self-obsessed with meaningless stuff and vanity. So that scene was a bit weird, because, to me, it was actually one of the most emotional scenes I had.”
What’s your favourite thing about the movie?
“My favourite scenes are when we are sitting around playing games, because none of that was scripted. We were all-OK, most of us-were really drinking wine, and we just had so much fun. In the film you just see snippets, but we shot so much of that stuff, and there were times that Terry was shooting when we didn’t even realize.”
You’ve worked with Jennifer Beals before on The L Word - how did the rest of the group bond and get to know each other?
“Because we had no prep time, we knew that we had to bond and create chemistry very quickly-luckily, every cast member is so insanely talented that was not hard to do! We shot almost the entire film in the one house. There was no place to hide for three weeks-there were no trailers for us to go to in between scenes. We all just hung out in the basement and chatted and ate, and Jennifer always had some fun game for us to play. After the first day we were all extremely comfy with each other and felt like we all knew our place in the ‘family unit.’”
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Who are some of your favourite filmmakers?
“David Lynch, Michael Haneke, Tom Tykwer, Fassbinder.”
What are some of your favourite films?
“Tin drum, Ma Mere, Lola, The Piano Teacher, Wild at Heart.”
In fashion terms, is there anyone whose style you particularly admire?
“Lauren Hutton, Katharine Hepburn, Charlotte Gainsbourg.”
What book are you reading now?
“Ken Finkleman’s new novel, Noah’s Turn, and Dr. Eckeners Dream Machine by Douglas Botting.”
What’s on your iPod?
“Bon Iver.”
What’s your favourite way to spend a Sunday?
“Reading in bed while drinking lattes and eating chocolate croissants with my hubby and our two dogs.”
Your dream travel destination?
“Iceland.”
Favourite fragrance?
“Coconut.”
Song you know all the words to?
“Anything by Broken Social Scene.”
Favourite way to spend a day in Vancouver?
“At my house in Cultus Lake with my family.”
© Elle Canada
Excerpt from Richard Crouse & Metro News 9/13/10: Lauren Lee Smith
Up-and-comers hope to take advantage of TIFF launching pad
Published: September 13, 2010 By Richard Crouse
On the short list of TIFF up-and-comers bound for big things are Emma Stone who is sure to grab some eyes for her hilarious turn in Easy A, Kat Dennings, the voluptuous seductress of Daydream Nation and former CSI star Lauren Lee Smith, here with a breakout performance in A Night for Dying Tigers. Calling it a “very simple film with complex characters,” Smith says “it feels really good to be here with a film I’m proud of.”
© Metro News
Excerpt from Red Carpet Diary 9/15/10: Lauren Lee Smith | 680 News 9/15/10
680News video: Lauren Lee Smith for Dying Tigers, at TIFF 2010 - Red Carpet
September 15, 2010
Lauren Lee Smith and Terry Miles sit down with Red Carpet Diary to discuss their latest film, A Night for Dying Tigers.
Travis Dhanraj: Bringing you all the excitement of the Toronto International Film Festival, I'm Travis Dhanraj at the Vehicle Screening Room. In the world premiere of A Night for Dying Tigers, a family tests the saying 'The home is where the heart is.'
Lauren Lee Smith: Everyone can relate to some degree about dysfunction in family units. I mean, we all have had our moments in that. We all came in on the first shooting day knowing that we had to create the chemistry, and a very strong interesting chemistry with all of us very quickly. And I think just knowing that coming in, and everyone coming in so ready and so open to that, it really made for a very quick and easy transition. Karen was, she was such a gift to play, I think. It's pretty rare that you read those scripts and find these characters that are so complex and have so many layers. And it was a ride. It was a really fun ride.
© Red Carpet Diary
Excerpt from Night Life 9/28/10: Lauren Lee Smith
A Night for Dying Tigers: Lauren Lee Smith and Gil Bellows dish out family dysfunction like it's going out of style
Par: Michael-Oliver Harding Publié le 28 Septembre 2010 à 12h25
Vancouver-bred actress Lauren Lee Smith takes on the role of a disparate family’s loose cannon in Terry Miles’ A Night for Dying Tigers, an excellent Canuck film about a family’s last supper of sorts, with the oldest of four siblings (a magnetic Gil Bellows) set to commence a five-year prison term the following day for killing a rapist. And not just any rapist… his mistress’ rapist. No sweat, folks: we’re just getting started. “I think family reunions always make for such interesting dynamics,” a stunning Smith tells me at Toronto’s Intercontinental Hotel during the film’s TIFF press blitz. “Within a family unit, you always have these differing personality types: maybe Uncle Joe is a drinker, perhaps the brother is a religious nut or whatever, so when you bring them all together for Christmas or Thanksgiving, you can expect some interesting fireworks.”
Women on the verge
Smith’s portrayal of the lone, wounded girl (and an adopted one, at that) raised in the shadow of her child prodigy bros recalls Anne Hathaway’s Kym in Rachel Getting Married, with more acrimonious feelings to purge. “Karen’s going through a tough time and, over the course of the night, she consumes every drug and alcoholic beverage she gets her hands on…which doesn’t help matters,” Smith recognizes.
Karen’s delicate balance of vulnerability and recklessness recalls other tough-to-crack characters the actress has portrayed of late, most notably closed-off party girl Leila in Toronto director Clement Virgo’s salacious Lie with me. But while Karen and Leila are long shots in the Best Female Role Model category (if in doubt, refer to the incest subplot involving Karen), they’re complex female parts, which are sadly still hard to come by. “I’m happy to hear you say that, because that’s exactly how I feel about it,” says Smith. “They’re far from being just the one-note crazy girls, and I certainly haven’t read anything in the States lately that’s inspired me much in that sense.”
A Night for Dying Tigers Screens at the Festival du Nouveau Cinéma October 13 to 24 | anightfordyingtigers.com | nouveaucinema.ca
© Night Life
Excerpt from Its All Style To Me 9/7/11: Lauren Lee Smith | Fashion Magazine | Flickr | YouTube
Toronto International Film Festival: Producers Ball 2011
September 7, 2011 By Spiro Mandylor
Last night that dashing twin duo known to most as simply the Property Brothers, hosted an unofficial kick-off to the Toronto International Film Festival (Sept. 8-18). A celebration of Canadian film, their first annual Producers Ball which was held at the yet-to-be-completed Shangri-La Toronto was also a pre-Gemini Awards party (Sept. 7).
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Actors included Flashpoint’s Amy Jo Johnson, Hugh Dillon and David Paetkau, The Listener’s model-turned-actress Lauren Lee Smith, Rookie Blue’s Travis Milne, star of Being Erika, Erin Karpluk, stars of Call Me Fitz Brooke Nevin and Tracy Dawson, and stars of Highland Park just to name a few.
© Its All Style To Me
Excerpt from TDOT TV 9/12/11: Lauren Lee Smith | Fila Canada 9/13/11
TIFF 2011: IT Lounge Day Five - So You Think You Can Dance… Sing… and Act?
TORONTO, September 12, 2011: NKPR’s IT Lounge showed no signs of festival fatigue today! House of Marley’s DJ pumped out a steady stream of tunes, and FIJI Water was flowing as Mia Michaels, Dustin Milligan, Thomas Brodie-Sangster, James Duthie, Tygh Runyan, Aisling Loftus, JRDN, Danny Fernandes, Brad Dryborough and Lauren Lee Smith showed their support for official IT Lounge charities Artists for Peace and Justice (APJ) and Camp Oochigeas.
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Actress Lauren Lee Smith (The Listener) had a blast at the IT Lounge beauty bar, sitting pretty for an Ardell Lashes application and a touch-up on her lips, before planting her pout on Stila’s “Kiss for a Cause” canvas. She also stocked up on G.M. Collin’s daily ceramide comfort capsules to help keep her skin soft and smooth.
© TDOT TV
Excerpt from TIFF Press Release 8/20/13: Lauren Lee Smith
THE TORONTO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL ROLLS OUT ITS RED-HOT CARPET FOR AN INTERNATIONAL ROSTER OF FILMMAKERS AND ACTORS
TORONTO - The 38th Toronto International Film Festival® welcomes an incredible guest list of celebrated talent from around the globe.
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The following guests are expected to attend the Toronto International Film Festival:....Lauren Lee Smith, Steven Soderbergh, Johnathan Sousa, Hailee Steinfeld, Meryl Streep
Excerpt from Elle Canada 9/5/13: Lauren Lee Smith
Beyond the red carpet: TIFF gets the party started
September 5, 2013, 2:22 pm by ELLECanada.com
Uptown at the ROM was the Producers Ball, which saw actress Megan Heffern in a dangerously low-cut Lucian Matis dress and Lauren Lee Smith in emerging Toronto designer Masha.
© Elle Canada
Excerpt from It's All Style to Me 9/5/14: Lauren Lee Smith
Toronto International Film Festival: Producers Ball 2013
September 5, 2013 By Spiro Mandylor
Toronto, September 5, 2013 - Last night, the Canadian film industry partied amongst the dinosaurs inside downtown Toronto’s Royal Ontario Museum (ROM).
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Also spotted were Ana Golja, Tamara Duarte, Nicole Munoz, Meghan Heffern, Lauren Lee Smith, Gabrielle Miller, Colin Mochrie, George Stromboulopoulos, Seth Scrivner, David Visentin, Kardinal Offishall, and many others. The fashionable film schmooze-fest also raised over $15,000 in silent auction winnings that benefit World Vision.
© It's All Style to Me
She Wired 9/6/13: Lauren Lee Smith | Getty Images
Shot of the Day: Former L Worders Jennifer Beals and Lauren Lee Smith Ham it Up in Toronto
By: SheWired Editors Fri, 2013-09-06 15:11
Seeing these photos of former L Worders Jennifer Beals and Lauren Lee Smith hamming it up in the portait studio at the Toronto International Film Festival is like seeing a pair of old friends. Jennifer famously played power lesbian extraordinaire Bette Porter for six seasons on Showtime's breakout series, while Lauren played Lara the adorable "soup" chef. The pair is in Toronto to promote Cinemanovels, starring Lauren as a young woman whose life is significantly altered while she works on a celluloid retrospective for her late father, from whom she was estranged. Here they are posing with director Terry Miles and costar Ben Cotton. This just makes us miss the good old days of The L Word.
© She Wired
Excerpt from Delectably Chic 9/6/13: Lauren Lee Smith, Monika Schnarre (Riley Morgan, "The Prophecy")
The Suite Lounge: Where Stars Come for Style
September 6, 2013 By Cynthia Cheng Mintz
On Wednesday, I had the opportunity to visit The Suite at Kelly Claman’s studio in the King and Portland area. Courtesy of Gail McInnes’ The Stylist Box, the space is filled with clothing and accessories from various designers, all perfect for celebrities to pick out for the galas, premieres and press events during TIFF.
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According to a press release, expected VIPs include Lauren Lee Smith (Cinemanotes, The Listener), Gia Milani (director, All The Wrong Reasons), Katie Boland (Gerontophilia) and supermodel Monika Schnarre.
© Delectably Chic
Excerpt from The Toronto Star, on Jac Out of the Box Jewelry 9/7/13: Lauren Lee Smith | Pictures on Yahoo 9/4/13: Lauren Lee Smith attends the 2013 Bask-It-Style Media Day, The Gate 9/7/13: Lauren Lee Smith at TIFF Tastemakers Lounge & WireImage 9/8/13: Lauren Lee Smith attends W Magazine Portrait Studio With Caitlin Cronenberg At The NKPR IT - IT Lounge - Day 4
Celebrity gifting: TIFF stars expected to flock to Toronto’s most luxurious gift lounges
By: Vinay Menon Staff Reporter, Published on Sat Sep 07 2013
AMC DPA Gift Lounge YEAR IT STARTED: 2008 DATES OF OPERATION: Sept. 6-9 VENUE: fourth floor, Storys building, 11 Duncan St
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CELEBRITIES EXPECTED THIS YEAR: Scarlett Johansson, Keira Knightley, Adam Levine, Stephen Moyer, Alfre Woodard, Brendan Gleeson, Matthew Weiner, Paolo Sorrentino, Vanessa Paradis, Lauren Lee Smith, Bokeem Woodbine, Emily Hampshire, Anna Hopkins, Sharon Leal, Adèle Exarchopoulos
© Toronto Star
Excerpt from The Grid, on Jac Out of the Box Jewelry 9/14/13: Lauren Lee Smith
Battle of the gifting lounges
BY: Rob Duffy Sat Sep 14, 2013
What: Tastemakers Gifting Lounge
Where: Intercontinental Hotel, 225 Front St. W.
Organized by: rock-it promotions
The setting: At the end of a long hallway, a discreet hotel suite brightly lit and filled with eye-catching items.
The gifting vibe: Practical essentials. The stuff that a jet-lagged visiting celeb would actually appreciate (and use) during the festival.
Celeb visitors include: Wes Bentley, Anton Yelchin, Ingrid Veninger, Katie Boland, Lauren Lee Smith, Sianoa Smit-McPhee, Anna Hopkins, Demian Bichir, Drew Nelson, Liane Balaban, Meghan Heffern, Kate Drummond, Colin Mochrie, Deb McGrath, and more.
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What: DPA Gifting Lounge
Where: AMC STORYS building, 11 Duncan St.
Organized by: DPA
The setting: STORYS functioned as a prime party spot by night but, during daylight hours, the fourth floor of this historic building at Pearl and Duncan was transformed into a splendorous smorgasbord of luxury items.
The gifting vibe: Pure luxury. These rare experiences and one-of-a-kind, Canadian-made items are hand-picked for the star who has everything.
Celeb visitors included: Steve McQueen, Alfre Woodard, Anna Hopkins, Iram Haq, Jennifer Podemski, Lauren Lee Smith, Charlene Amoia, Liane Balaban, Tara Spencer-Nairn, Lauren Seiling, Irrfan Khan, and more.
© The Grid