You’ll have to excuse the huge Canadian flag plastered all over this article. It’s just... there was a lot of swagger to go around last night at the opening of the 2011 Toronto International Film Festival as Bono and the Edge arrived to screen Davis Guggenheim’s From The Sky Down, a documentary about Achtung Baby, the album that brought the band back from the brink. It has been 20 years since Achtung Baby. I used to listen to One like a typical 17 year old, personalising the song like no one else was doing the same when everyone else was doing the same - corny, but as One.
Ten years ago on Sunday, something horrible happened. And many of you have told me your stories. One is for you.
As for what it was like last night - well, there were rock gods on the carpet, so how do you think it was? Elisabeth Shue, married to Guggenheim, was super cute about it. Like a super fan herself. Did you grow up a little on Elisabeth Shue? Karate Kid? Adventures in Babysitting? Cocktail?
Cocktail!
I did not get to interview Bono. Ben Mulroney is the host of our show and he represents our show, always, on opening night. Of course I harassed him on bbm all night for details. And Dylan too. Dylan was shooting. Dylan’s typical first observation was, “He’s short like a girl”. Both however agreed that Bono and the Edge are very, very gracious, very, very polite, aware of their iconic status but not in an arrogant way (think Madonna), just, like, how can you deny it?, and engaging and interested at the same time. They also went to the official after-party which I love so much because a lot of them, especially with names as big as theirs, bail on the “official” events, which often include, literally, thousands of people, for the more exclusive, selective affairs. Not U2.
There’s a rumour that a summit with Clooney happened at some point last night too. I’m still waiting for a bottle count on the Moet that was consumed.
Photos from Wenn.com and Flynetonline.com and Jason Merritt/Sonia Recchia/Gettyimages.com
