Film premiere balancing act
PHILIPPE Petit — who deathdefyingly walked between the Twin Towers in 1974 — took an unusual bow on the opening night of the New York Film Festival. When he was introduced before the film, the French showman, now 66, couldn’t help but stand on the arm of his chair at Alice Tully Hall on one leg on Saturday night. His highwire “coup,” as he called it, at the World Trade Center was portrayed in Robert Zemeckis’ 3D openingnight film “The Walk.” The festival’s opening had to be shifted from Friday to Saturday because of Pope Francis’ visit. After Petit and star Joseph GordonLevitt received a standing ovation, Sony Pictures boss Tom Rothman told us at an afterparty at Tavern on the Green of the film: “It’s a love letter to New York.” Petit lives in Woodstock, NY, and still tightrope walks in his yard daily.