The 41st Toronto International Film Festival kicked off Thursday and The Magnificent Seven, a remake of the classic 1960s Western, made its highly anticipated debut.
The Midnight Mass programme also began at 11:59 p.m. with English director Ben Wheatley’s follow-up to High Rise, the Martin Scorsese-produced Free Fire, which stars Cillian Murphy and last year’s Best Actress Oscar winner Brie Larson.
With Toronto facing another hot, muggy day and a heat warning still in effect, TIFF began with the first day of Festival Street, a public promenade spanning King Street between several major festival venues (including Roy Thomson Hall, Princess of Wales, and Bell Lightbox, and the Hyatt Regency hotel, home of TIFF’s Industry operations).
READ MORE: Martin Short, dressed as Donald Trump ‘opens’ Toronto Film Festival
On the street there will be performances, marketing activations, screenings and patios for some of the restaurants. Yesterday’s highlights included a screening of The Man Trap, a classic episode of the original Star Trek TV series.
King St. will be closed to vehicle traffic between University and Spadina until first thing Monday morning.
Red Carpet Walkers
Actor Chris Pratt attends The Magnificent Seven premiere during the 2016 Toronto International Film Festival at Roy Thomson Hall on September 8, 2016.
Pratt plays Josh Faraday, one of seven outlaws who prepare the town for a violent showdown.
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Director Antoine Fuqua attends The Magnificent Seven premiere at Roy Thomson Hall on September 8, 2016.
Fuqua called the Toronto Film Festival his “lucky charm” on Thursday night, before paying tribute to the late composer James Horner for helping him complete his The Magnificent Seven remake.
Actress and TIFF platform jury member Ziyi Zhang arrives at the world premiere of The Magnificent Seven at Roy Thomson Hall on September 8, 2016.
Actor Luke Grimes arrives at The Magnificent Seven premiere at Roy Thomson Hall on September 8, 2016.
The Fifty Shades of Grey actor plays a young farmer named Teddy Q, who goes on a search with a fellow townswoman to find gunmen to help them defend their town from bandits.
Actress Haley Bennet arrives at The Magnificent Seven premiere at Roy Thomson Hall on September 8, 2016.
Bennet is the only female star of Fuqua’s much-anticipated remake.
Actor Ethan Hawke arrives at The Magnificent Seven press conference during the 2016 Toronto International Film Festival at TIFF Bell Lightbox on September 8, 2016.
Hawke plays Goodnight Robicheaux, one of the seven gunmen who find themselves all brought together in the hopes of saving a poor village from the criminal forces that wish to destroy it.
Actor Denzel Washington attends The Magnificent Seven premiere at Roy Thomson Hall on September 8, 2016.
During a press conference preceding the premiere, Fuqua said, “I just wanted to see Denzel Washington on a horse.”
Actress Brie Larson attends the Free Fire premiere during TIFF 2016 at Ryerson Theatre on September 8, 2016.
Larson plays the only lady in a group of guys in this ’70s gangster flick.
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On the other side of town, Canadian model Coco Rocha stunned in a topknot at the Ambi pre-TIFF gala on September 7 to raise money for youth at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Toronto.
Actress Anne Hathaway arrives in Toronto with paparazzi snapping her at the airport. At TIFF 2016, she’s debuting her latest film, Colossal.
READ MORE: TIFF 2016: Canadian movie makers pushing creative boundaries
We hear that Dakota Fanning has arrived in Toronto, ready to hit TIFF for the premiere of American Pastoral on Day 2 of the festival.
She plays a young anti–Vietnam war activist in the film directed by Ewan McGregor, which has heavy Oscar buzz heading into this year’s fest.
We also hear that you could potentially catch celebrities like James Franco, Zoe Kravitz and Michael Fassbender at The Hoxton, a shabby-chic club on King West.
For more candid TIFF shots, take a look through our Day 1 gallery.
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