Happy film schedule day! I'm sure it comes as no surprise to anyone that today's entry is pre-written and scheduled to post as I'm busy studying film synopsis and screening times.
In keeping with stories about films (might as well make it two days in a row), I want to tell you about the former glory that was the Roy Thomson Hall rush line.
A reception and gala with ticket obtained in advance aside, I haven't been to Roy Thomson Hall (RTH) to see a film in 6 or 7 years. Even in the final few years I tried my best to avoid it. Not so when I first started volunteering for the festival.
The rush line for RTH extends along King St stretching west, there's a ledge there that's perfect for sitting, which you're gonna want to do when you're lining up 2 hours or more in advance for your chance at last minute tickets (aka Rush tickets, offered at sold out shows right when the film starts and there are unoccupied seats because people didn't show/tickets were returned).
I've spent many hours sitting in that line, it was like a miniature version of the overnight line where we would gather to chat, socialize, and perhaps have take-out dinner before a film. They often gave out samples of food and other items in line (I remember Jae once won a free flight to somewhere in Canada), and people with extra tickets would sometimes just give them to us. It really was one of the happiest spots in the festival.
How does it differ from any other rush line you ask? Well, aside from freebies and a place to sit, RTH also offered up the best odds of any TIFF venue to get in via Rush. If you were amongst the first 50 people, it was pretty much in the bag.
There was one time where the Rush situation got a little nerve-wracking. We under-estimated the popularity of a little Chinese period drama called Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, and when we showed up just under two hours before the film's start time, we found ourselves pass the 200 person mark in line.
As the film's starting time neared we began moving forward, they usually start with groups of 20 or 25, then groups of 10, etc. We inched along nervously, so anxious to see Ang Lee's latest epic, and it even started to rain! (yuck) We got to the front where they relayed that the intros were starting and they might have to cut the line. But then... some extra rush entry tokens became available! They managed to find seats for like 230 people to a sold out show - amazing!
Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon of course was fantastic, I've seen it at least twice in theatres and who knows how many times on DVD since. To date it remains my greatest rush line success story.
In subsequent years, for reasons unbeknownst to me, the success rate of the RTH rush declined. I found myself 40th in line for Woody Allen's Cassandra's Dream and being turned away, rumours swirled that even the 10th person in line wasn't guaranteed entry into the 2000+ seat venue. TIFF began using other large venues such as the Ryerson and Winter Garden and so we started trying our rush line luck somewhere else. I can't really comment on what the rush line situation is like now at RTH, but I've never gone back.
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