TORONTO — While local fans and media tripped over themselves to be part of the star-studded action at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), the celebrity weeklies south of the border largely ignored it.
Of the seven top celebrity magazines on U.S. newsstands, only three gave coverage to TIFF’s first five days — the busiest period of the festival.
A fourth, Star magazine, published a single photo of Kristen Wiig blowing out the candles on a birthday cupcake on a TIFF red carpet.
InTouch, Ok and Life & Style ignored TIFF. Adding insult to injury, they featured photos of TIFF guests like Olivia Wilde, Scarlett Johansson and Reese Witherspoon taken in other cities.
Read more: Complete TIFF coverage
In its new issue, People published five photos from TIFF on pages 24 and 25 and, on page 49, one-page of “buzz” about some of the films that were showcased.
“Risk met reward in Canada, with gutsy performances and powerful films we’ll be talking about for years,” People declared.
New York Fashion Week, by comparison, earned nine photos in the magazine, which has a circulation of 3.5 million.
Us Weekly‘s latest issue gave TIFF a single page of coverage with six photos. “Film’s Finest take Canada! Stars light up the Toronto International Film Festival,” reads the headline on page 42.
The magazine, which has a circulation of about 2 million, published five pictures of celebs at the U.S. Open.
Entertainment Weekly, which tends to be more industry-focused, includes a page 4 Editor’s Note with six photos of stars attending the magazine’s TIFF party.
EW‘s coverage of the festival appears over two-and-a-half pages starting on page 25.
“Toronto is not just a film festival. It’s a battleground,” wrote Anthony Breznican. “Each September, many of the year’s best movies head north for the annual screening series, which Hollywood regards as the official kickoff to the Oscar race.”
The report included three photos of stars like Sandra Bullock and Michael Fassbender at TIFF.
EW has a circulation of about 1.8 million.
An editor at one of the popular magazines, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said TIFF simply doesn’t have the glamour the U.S. magazines are looking for.
“It’s an urban festival and the stars tend to dress accordingly,” she said. “And the festival is littered with unsightly metal barricades and photo walls covered in logos — things we simply don’t want to feature in the magazine.”
Indeed, of the 21 photos from TIFF published in People, Us Weekly, Entertainment Weekly and Star, none fully show the festival’s logo or those of its sponsors.
“It’s an important festival,” the U.S. editor added, “but it’s an ugly festival.”
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