September 30, 2004 TORONTO AND ROOTS SHINE AS HOLLYWOOD, SPORTS AND STYLE COME TOGETHER A new chapter in the storied relationship between a big city, visiting movie stars, agile sports celebrities and a forward-thinking company.
By Eli Marcel
TORONTO - They came, they conquered, they left their mark… This month, hundreds of the world’s most talented film actors, directors, producers and athletes converged on Toronto, turning the city into a hub of international entertainment and sports celebrities.
For nearly two weeks, Toronto was buzzing, thanks to the presence of so many high power visitors and the near-fever pitch excitement triggered by the annual Toronto International Film Festival and the World Cup hockey tournament.
Roots was very much part of the scene, true to its long-established and close relationship with the entertainment and sports worlds. The Roots flagship store, at 100 Bloor Street West, proved a major draw, attracting many international celebrities who took a break to go shopping in Toronto.
During the film festival, the two-level store became a veritable Hollywood outpost. Much to the delight of local star gazers, actors Mike Myers (in Toronto also for the World Cup finals), Mark Wahlberg (I ♥ Huckabees), Helen Hunt (A Good Woman), Sophie Okonedo (Hotel Rwanda), Shawn Evans (Being Julia), Cuba Gooding Jr, and directors Michael Radford (Merchant of Venice) and Vadim Jean (Jiminy Glick in Lalawood) all dropped into the store. They checked out the new Roots fall line and picked up their favourite Olympic items.
On the sports front, 100 Bloor West attracted Canadian Olympic medallists Adam van Koverden (Gold and Bronze - Kayak) and Karen Cockburn (Silver - Trampoline), and Toronto Maple Leaf star Ty Domi. Several Team Canada stars took a break from World Cup pressure to come to the store. Captain Mario Lemieux, along with teammates Martin Brodeur, Joe Sakic, Jarome Iginla, Scott Neidermayer, Jose Theodore, Adam Foote, Vincent Lecavalier, Brad Richards, Martin St Louis, and Team Canada Co-Manager and hockey legend Wayne Gretzky and his wife Janet spent time at 100 Bloor. Visiting from Europe, former Leaf great Borje Salming, Finnish team members Teemu Selane, Saku Koivu and Kimmo Timonen, and Czech player Tomas Kaberle were among the prominent Roots shoppers during the World Cup.
“The past two weeks were probably the most exciting time I’ve ever seen at any Roots store,” says Jarar Kazmi, Manager of the 100 Bloor West store. “The presence of all these famous people added something special to the city in general, and to our store in particular. It’s always a great experience to be in the company of big names who really love shopping at Roots and who’ve been wearing Roots for a long time. Whether it’s a celebrity, professional athlete or a regular customer, the Roots lifestyle appeals to so many people.”
Around town, Roots hosted several key events of the Toronto Film Festival, with which Roots has been associated since the film fest was founded in 1976. As North America’s most important film festival, the annual Toronto film extravaganza is a lotmore than movies on view. So much of what makes it so memorable occurs off-screen.
Roots Co-Founder Michael Budman, who has been on the Festival’s Board of Directors and Co-sponsor of the Festival since its inception, helped launch this year’s Festival when he and his wife architect Diane Bald accompanied Wayne Gretzky and his wife Janet to the Opening Night at Roy Thomson Hall for the gala screening of Being Julia.
On the first weekend of the festival, legendary filmHollywood columnist George Christy threw his 20th annual film-fest luncheon, a much sought after event which Roots helped establish in 1984 and co-sponsors to this day. As always, it drew the movers and shakers of the film industry and beyond including Jamie Fox, Annette Benning, John Waters, Brian and Mila Mulroney, Ben Mulroney, and Norman Jewison.
Celebrated photographer Bruce Weber, who was in Toronto for the Festival screening of his new film, A Letter to True, was the focus of a reception held in his honour at the home of Michael Budman and Diane Bald. They hosted the event in their beautiful garden in celebration of Weber and his film. Hilary and Galen Weston,Larry and Judy Tanenbaum, Noah Cowan, Norman Jewison, Piers Handling, Wayne and Janet Gretzky, Peter and Melanie Munk, actor Michael Lerner were among those at the Budman residence.
Mid-way through the Festival, New York-based filmmaker Anthony Green, son of Roots Co-Founder Don Green, had his first film, Pigeon, screened several times at the Royal Ontario Museum after it was selected for the Toronto Film Festival. Stars Michael Lerner and Wendy Crewson attended the post-screening cocktail at the nearby Lobby nightclub.
On Saturday, September 18, Roots orchestrated the finale to this year’s festival, hosting an after, after party in honour of famed actor/comedian Martin Short at the recently opened Spoke Club, a private club for the media, arts and entertainment crowd. Short arrived straight from the Royal Thomson Hall where his latest movie Jiminy Glick in Lalawood, which opens in wide release in January, was shown at a special gala screening that helped closed the festival.
Michael Budman, who directed the event at the Spoke Club, paid tribute to his longtime friend Short in his remarks. Saying how a few days earlier David Letterman had devoted an entire show to Short, Budman then cited 10 reasons why Toronto loves Martin Short. They included that Short has the best character of anybody in show business and that he has single-handedly raised the price of real estate in the Muskoka area north of Toronto.
Juno award winner and jazz legend, pianist and composer Joe Sealy and bassist Paul Novotny provided great sounds, including the accompaniment to Short when he performed a rendition of “I’ve Got You Under my Skin”.
Among those in attendance at the Spoke Club were Bernie Brillstein,Eugene Levy, director Michael Radford (Merchant of Venice), and the cast of Jiminy Glick, director Vadim Jean, Jan Hooks, and John Michael Higgins.
It was a fitting wrap to an incredible two weeks that further cemented the strong relationship and interplay between leading players in the worlds of entertainment, culture, fashion, sports and Roots.
“This kind of remarkable convergence happens very rarely,” said Michael Budman, who the day after the 2004 festival ended was already thinking of ideas for events for next year’s festival, which will mark its 30 th anniversary. “Having Wayne Gretzky at the Festival this year was a major highlight. Anytime you bring Wayne Gretzky into the equation, it always take things to a new level.”
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further information contact:
Robert Sarner, Director of Communication and Public Affairs
416-781-3574 ext 4280
E-mail:rsarner@roots.com
