She pulled a Pacino.
After causing some old-school mayhem in TIFF’s belly on Friday, Taylor Swift shrugged it off in a much more composed manner over dinner, according to an eyewitness account. Found through a side entrance in Opus, the classic restaurant on Prince Arthur, just north of Bloor. Away from downtown all these Swifties, their faces alight as angels, had gathered – to sing, dance, just bear witness – on King Street, in front of the lightbox.
After her much-hyped performance on the Toronto stage, it headed straight to Opus, TaySwift — the very low-key venue that “Michael Corleone” actually stopped by for a surprise dinner, too, when he was at TIFF for a few talks years back, when i remember She settled down with a few people on the back patio area. A kind of secret garden.
The Opus, which turned 30 this year — an almost unheard-of feat in restaurant land these days — remains one of those places that exudes a kind of understated luxury. Regulars (and now, in many cases, their kids) have long come here for dishes like “roasted foie gras and maple apples with redcurrant puree” or “black pepper crusted tuna sirloin on shredded vegetables with spring onion beurre blanc.” ” Oenophiles have long had a soft spot for the place as it also happens to have one of the best wine cellars in town and it’s also the sort of place stars like Robin Williams would regularly hang out when he was in town working. I once had a very memorable night there with the late great comedian when he stood behind the bar and spontaneously started doing a ‘set’.
Here in 2022, meanwhile, the city is still buzzing on a Swift high. In any case, she really enchanted the audience during her earlier on-stage chit-chat associated with her new short film. Not only did she reveal that she’s a huge Guillermo del Toro fan, but she also shared that her favorite movies are Breakfast Club, Marriage Story, and The Way We Were. No discussion here!
Another moment stood out during her time on stage: at one point, when a woman stormed onto the stage, security threw herself in, prompting the pop princess to intercept. “It’s okay. It’s just flowers.”
In the meantime:
Another millennial icon, Zac Efron – who was in town for his zany gala The Greatest Beer Run, starring Russell Crowe – was in a self-confessed mood when he recently revealed he suffers from agoraphobia. “I just don’t go out,” he told Men’s Health for a cover story, citing “people in large groups” as a “trigger” for his anxiety disorder. (A career gamble for a movie star, I would think. And TIFF certainly challenging, if that’s the case).
The red carpet razzmatazz will definitely be a big departure for him from how Efron has spent most of his pandemic – secluded in Byron Bay, a beach enclave in Australia. According to the magazine, “He slept on a hammock in the trees. He has arranged to meet a civilian.”
Likewise:
Hillary and Chelsea Clinton are sure to be making the rounds in Toronto. Popped up at the Middle Eastern-inspired Shook on Portland Street on Friday. Was a reception for her Netflix documentary “In Her Hands” – about an inspiring young Afghan woman. Huma Abedin, Hillary’s trusted adviser? She was there too. Pass the tahini. Later that evening, the Clintons were also spied on in Louix Louis at the St. Regis. It needs a village – and it also needs fuel.
Finally:
“I haven’t seen a party like this since my bar mitzvah,” gushed Billy Eichner about the swanky party Variety threw for him — and his big fat rom-com “Bros” — at the Hotel Le Germain on Mercer the other night . That was just hours before the rave reviews the film later received at its world premiere at Roy Thomson. Something I’ve heard over and over again in terms of reactions is that it not only satisfies all your ’90s rom-com itch — think of it like a gay “You’ve Got Mail” — it gave in fact, so many rapid-fire zingers that a lot of people have missed some of the jokes because they’re too busy laughing at the joke that was zinged just before!
Shinan Govani is a Toronto-based freelance culture and society columnist. Follow him on Twitter: @shinangovani
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