Quotes from Chris Beal from TUF 18

Chris Beal from The Ultimate Fighter 18:

- "I was told there was a lot of things I wouldn't be able to accomplish and I wouldn't be able to do, but I'm doing it."

- "People said I wouldn't make it but I just kept fighting, because that's what I do"

- "Focussing on fighting, that saved my life completely"

- "I want to show him (his son) that if you work hard, no matter what, you can do it"

The First Review of ALL CHEERLEADERS DIE

The first review of Midnight Madness 2013 opening night film All Cheerleaders Die is in--and it's from Rian Johnson, director of Brick, The Brothers Bloom and 2012 Toronto International Film Festival opening night film Looper. Check out Rian's tweet from this past Saturday:

Don't miss the world premiere of All Cheerleaders Die this Thursday, 11:59PM at the Ryerson.

ALL CHEERLEADERS DIE screening times:
Thu., Sept. 5th, 11:59PM RYERSON
Fri., Sept. 6th, 3:00PM BLOOR HOT DOCS
Sun., Sept. 15th, 9:30PM SCOTIABANK 11

Eli Roth on the Italian Cannibal Films that Inspired THE GREEN INFERNO

Eli Roth brought Umberto Lenzi's 1981 film Cannibal Ferox to the TIFF Bell Lightbox in July 2012 and sat for a hearty Q&A moderated by Midnight Madness programmer Colin Geddes. Use the following links to hear that Q&A, which includes Roth's thoughts on several of the Italian cannibal classics that inspired Midnight Madness 2013 world premiere The Green Inferno: Q&A Part 1 and Q&A Part 2. Credit to YouTube user TheHorrorSection.

If you want to test your stomach before the world premiere of The Green Inferno, seek out Cannibal Ferox (if you're intrigued by the film's alternate title Make Them Die Slowly, you won't be disappointed) as well as the other films Roth discusses. Just one note of warning: These movies are sick. Seriously.

Mountain of the Cannibal God, a.k.a. Slave of the Cannibal God (dir. Sergio Martino, 1978) is plenty gross, but not quite as disturbing as later Italian cannibal offerings mainly because it has actors you'll recognize (Stacey Keach and Ursula Andress). May be a good place to start.

On the other hand, Cannibal Holocaust (dir. Ruggero Deodato, 1980) is the Mother of All Cannibal Films and one of the most disturbing films of any kind ever made. Deodato was famously required to have his actors appear in court in order to prove that he hadn't made a snuff film. Note: The film-within-the-film that the characters are making is called The Green Inferno.

THE GREEN INFERNO screening times:
Sat., Sept. 7th, 11:59PM, RYERSON
Mon., Sept. 9th, 1:30 PM, SCOTIABANK 13

Navigating TIFF Part 4: Pearson Airport to Bell Lightbox for $3 via TTC

Previous posts have covered walking, driving, and bikng around the TIFF village. Today we'll cover how to get there from the airport without spending an arm and a leg.

There are tons of ways to get from Toronto's Pearson Airport to the heart of TIFF but the cheapest is via the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC). It takes about 90 minutes and only costs $3 Canadian . Here's a handy guide that will get you from the airport to within steps of Bell Lightbox.

1) After you leave your gate at Pearson go to terminal 3 and follow these signs:

2) Once you get outside go stand by the TTC pole:

3) Wait for the 192 Airport Rocket (For schedule click here). Before you board make sure you have $3 (Canadian) in exact change. The bus drivers will not make change. If you don't have exact change you can get TTC tokens from some of the shops in Terminal 3.

4) The bus will make 1 stop before it reaches your stop, Kipling station, which is the end of the Southbound line before the bus returns to the airport. Go inside the station and get on the train. This station is at the end of the Bloor-Danforth line so no matter what train you get on you will be heading in the right direction. The Bloor-Danforth line is the green line in the map below.

5) After 14 stops you will arrive at the Spadina station. Don't worry about counting stops, just listen to the conductor as they announce each stop as the train pulls into the station. There are also maps posted in the train so you can figure out your location pretty quicky. At the Spadina station you are going to get off the Bloor-Danforth train and follow the signs at the station to the Yonge-University-Spadina line heading towards Finch. Do not go to the platform that says Yonge-University-Spadina heading towards Downsview as those trains are going in the opposite direction of Lighbox. Yonge-University-Spadina is the yellow line above.

6) If the first stop you come to is St. George you are on the right train. If you arrive at Dupont, you went the wrong way. Don't worry, just get off the train an wait for the next train going in the other direction (trains come every 10-15 minutes). From St. George it is 6 stops before you arrive at your final destination of St. Andrew which is a short walk to the Festival Box Office.

Navigating TIFF Part 3: Biking to Venues using BIXI

We've covered walking and driving in previous posts so now we'll cover cycling between the venues. A few years ago, a bike sharing service call BIXI started up in the Toronto area. The picture below shows how a casual user can rent a BIXI bike at one of the many stations setup in the TIFF village.

The downside to BIXI is that it requires a credit card. That isn't big deal for locals, just be aware that there may be foreign transaction fees for those of you who aren't from Canada.You also have to be comfortable riding a bike in a big city where you'll be dodging cabs, pedestrians, bikes, etc. The BIXI website has all sorts of details on how to use the system and here are some maps indicating the BIXI stations nearest the TIFF Venues.

Before you rent a bike you should check the BIXI website to make sure that BIXI dock at your location isn't full.

On the maps below the venue is marked with this indicator:

The BIXI docks look like this:

We'll start with the Bloor Hot Docs Cinema located at: 506 Bloor Street West

Isabel Bader Theater: 93 Charles Street West

Jackman Hall, Art Gallery of Ontario: 317 Dundas Street West

The Princess of Wales Theater: 300 King Street West

Roy Thompson Hall: 60 Simcoe Street

Ryerson Theater: 43 Gerrard Street East

Scotiabank Theater: 259 Richmond Street West

TIFF Bell Lightbox: 350 King Street West

Elgin & Winter Garden Theater: 189 Yonge Street

Navigating TIFF Part 2: Driving Distances and Minimum Cab Fares between TIFF Venues

Though my preferred method of travel around the TIFF village is on foot, sometimes you just have to breakdown and take a cab: like if you want to catch JODOROWSKY'S DUNE on Tuesday the 10th at 8:00 pm at the Bloor but you don't get out of TOM AT THE FARM at the Ryerson until 7:50 pm. Looking at my foot travel time matrix you know that is a 40 minute walk so your best bet is to hail a cab.

The TIFF venues are always near busy intersections so getting a cab when a screening lets out isn't that hard. Just find a cab, stick out your hand, and off you go. The fares in this spreadsheet are based on www.taxifarefinder.com which I've used in the past and have found to be fairly accurate. I'm posting the medium traffic fare without a tip. The fares listed below that are in the $4 - 8 range are accurate +/- ~$1. The fares in the$11 - 15 range are accurate +/- ~$3 to $5.

JODOROWSKY’S DUNE Screening Times:
Tuesday, Sept 10th, 8:00 PM THE BLOOR HOT DOCS CINEMA
Wednesday, Sept 11th, 9:15 PM SCOTIABANK 2

TOM AT THE FARM Screening Times:
Tuesday, Sept 10th, 6:15 PM RYERSON
Wednesday, Sept 11th, 9:00 PM BLOOR HOT DOCS CINEMA

Don't mess with the directors of THE AFFLICTED!

Despite my best efforts to find all you info starved Midnight Maniacs the inside scoop on THE AFFLICTED, I've come up empty handed. Apart from Colin's description on the TIFF site there is just nothing out there. There's more information out there on Makinov than there is on THE AFFLICTED, or its directors: Derek Lee and Cliff Prowse.

I did manage to stumble upon this short the duo directed called, Snakehead. The main character, who goes all "John Rambo meets Bruce Lee" in the short, is Derek Lee. So try to keep you comments polite during the Q&A, okay?





THE AFFLICTED Screening Times:
Monday, Sept 9th, 11:59 PM RYERSON
Wednesday, Sept 11th, 8:45 PM SCOTIABANK 9