Festive Film Fest: HIFF 2021 Celebrity Moments

Hamps hopping with stars last weekend. Red carpets, rendezvous roundtables at 1770 House, and cocktail parties had the in-person vibe back to semi-normal. Drive-ins are soooo last year.

The Crown star Josh O’Conner didn’t like our one day of rain. “I was in Montauk a week ago and it was so hot and I got really burned, and so when I said I was coming out again for the film festival my partner said, ‘Don’t forget the suntan lotion,’ and now I don’t think I need it. This is London weather.”

Maggie Gyllenhaal brought her directorial debut The Lost Daughter to Guild Hall. What advice would she give first-time directors? “Movies have a ‘tone’ and when you hear that, I call it ‘being in the current,’ when you’re hitting that tone, trust your instinct. And I did that. And you can like it or not like it, but it is my film.”

Finally, Alec Baldwin says Oscar winners come here first.

“My favorite moment was in 2009 when we had Louie Psihoyos here for our SummerDocs series with The Cove. And we showed it, and I did a Q and A with him and it was in August. And seven months later I hosted the Oscars with Steve Martin and I handed the Best Documentary Oscar to Psihoyos. So yes, you have to come here to be considered for an Oscar.”

Quick Takes:

Bob Balaban got a sit-down dinner for The French Dispatch that also honored David Nugent and HIFF executive director Anne Chaisson.

Standing ovation for one of the heroes who saved those 12 Thai soccer players when he came out for a surprise Q and A after The Rescue.

Movies I loved? Belfast, The Real Charlie Chaplin, Mothering Sunday and The Rescue. See the last one on the big screen and bring a Xanax. I was less enthusiastic about Spencer. Kristen Stewart is fine but the rest of it? Not my cup of tea.

And that’s a wrap.