Atonement was one of the major movies of 2007 having its big North American premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival last September, and I was fortunate enough to be able to attend. After the film had its premiere showing at the Elgin theater,


a lavish affair was put on at the Rosewater Supper Club where the film's star, James McAvoy, circulated quickly around the room to heavy congratulations by just about everyone in the room. The poor guy couldn't talk to anyone for more than 5 seconds before someone else was in his face or whisking him away to talk to someone else. He was nice enough to give me a few seconds of his time where I asked him how many takes it took to get that incredible shot of the Dunkirk scene. "Three takes, one day," he said with animated gestures to make sure I heard him clearly above the din of the crowd (or maybe so that I didn't misunderstand his strong brogue). Then he turned around and went to chat with Harvey Weinstein (hey, no problem, I know where I rank in that pecking order).




To the left, James McAvoy, Keira Knightley, and Joe Wright at the Atonement Premiere in Toronto.



Also hanging out at the party were director Joe Wright, Jessica Alba, and Simon Pegg, fresh of off Hot Fuzz  fame, who was in Toronto to promote Run Fatboy Run, his new movie directed by David Schwimmer. I never did see Keira Knightley at the party.

As this was one of the most anticipated films showing at the festival this year, I asked most of the partygoers for their thoughts. Naturally those involved in the making of the film were very pleased with the results and the very positive reception it received. But the buzz around the room, and the next day around the city, was that the film was a huge success and the first reviews were very positive, and it wasn't too soon for the word "Oscar" to start getting thrown around. You can read my interview with Screenwriter Christopher Hampton here to learn more about the production and the effort he and director Joe Wright put into staying faithful to the novel.

Check out our Atonement page for more clips and exclusives from the film.
 --Dan

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