Who does the better Villeneuve impression?
Hello? Quebec director Denis Villeneuve is passionate, fun and can belt out a certain Adele song with panache, say the cast of his new film, Arrival, which makes its Canadian premiere at TIFF.
Villeneuve was unable to attend a press conference for the film on Monday because he’s shooting a Blade Runner sequel in Budapest. “Denis was a joy to work with,” said the movie’s star, Amy Adams. “It’s such a bummer he’s not here . . .
“He’s the best. If you do a good job, he’s like, ‘I deeply love what you have done’ and it’s a beautiful thing that he does,” continued the five-time Oscar nominee, affecting Villeneuve’s voice and accent. “That’s my bad Denis impersonation. I do it all the time. Ryan Gosling does a good one, just so you know, because he’s work- ing with him now (on the Blade Runner sequel).”
The movie was shot in Montreal, which Adams called “a great place to have my family for the summer. It’s got a great karaoke bar, Pang Pang. I took everybody out. Denis does a mean ‘Skyfall.’ He’s going to be so mad at me.”
History lesson: Oscar Isaac says he was “really shamefully ignorant” about
the story of Armenian genocide during the First World War before signing on for the sweeping historical drama The Promise, which premiered this week.
The award-winning actor portrays Michael, an Armenian apothecary who leaves his village in southern Anatolia in Turkey to pursue medical studies.
Isaac said part of his education process involved picking the brain of Irish director Terry George ( Hotel Rwanda) as well as speaking with Armenians. Eyewitness accounts from survivors of the genocide proved particularly powerful.
“They would talk about when they were little kids and they saw their grandma killed in front of them,” Isaac said.
“Or, their mother left their little brother or sister by a tree when the baby was born — really things that are incomprehensible as far as understanding how to even begin to imagine that experience.”