Friday, September 07, 2007

Yorkville, Faux Hawks, Codice Rosso, and props on my Italian speaking skills

My boss's assistant has proclaimed Toronto to be one of his favorite cities. He was born and raised in Venice, California and his hometown, Amsterdam, and now Toronto are the cities he enjoys the most.

One thing he brought to my attention last night was people here do not all look or dress the same. Not all the men are wearing faux hawks, in fact I haven't seen any yet.

Unless your name is Maddox Jolie-Pitt or you are this guy,


please, I beg all wanna be actors, reality stars and 85 percent of the male population of Los Angeles, to try something new.

J and I went to meet our boss at his place then we walked over to Yorkville. This area reminded me Montana Avenue in L.A., cool shops and restaurants but pricey. The Four Seasons is in this neighborhood and it's where most of the film industry people are staying during the Toronto Film Festival.

All of us went to Cafe Nervosa. Our food was very good but spicy (I am a wimp when it comes to spicy food so it could be just me.) Our waiter was Italian and complimented me as we were leaving on my "excellent" italian. Let's see, I only said vongole (clams), buona sera, grazie, and prego but I appreciated the props. LOL

Speaking of Italian, I caught Codice Rosso (Code Red) the Italian version of Emergency! (does anyone remember this show from the late 70s with Randolph Mantooth...I just liked saying his name) the other night. There was a lot of yelling, fighting, and reflection going on during the finale. I understood maybe 1/4 of the words. The next morning when I clicked on the TV that channel was on and I starting to get aggravated that my Italian had declined so much already from not being in classes or speaking it regularly during the last 6 months. That it was a kid's show with some kind of muppets made me more irritated.

Hello, the show was in Spanish. Doh! The channel I was watching, TLN, has half of its progamming in Spanish and half in Italian. The Sopranos, uncut, also comes on at 10. It's in English. This is not a premium cable channel and yet every F-bomb and Bada Bing breast was shown. They do say a very clear and specific parental advisory though before the show starts and at the end of every commerical break. I remember when I was in London, my friend said Sex and The City came on regular TV at 10. Again uncut. That would never fly in the States, we clearly can't figure out by ourselves what our kids should or shouldn't be watching.

Today is the last day of pre-production. We start shooting on Monday. The suits (the studio execs, including the head of the studio) are coming in for the Festival but will also be stopping by the set. No pressure. Ha.

8 comments:

Giulia said...

Ha, I am a wimp when it comes to spicey food too! The faux hawk thing has GOT to go! Yeay, you start shooting on Monday. Don't worry about the head honchos coming in on set. You'll be fine! :)

Michelle | Bleeding Espresso said...

Exciting times in Toronto! And I'm sure your Italian was just stellar--any Italian bigwigs coming on Monday so you can show off? ;)

Roam2Rome said...

"One thing he brought to my attention last night was people here do not all look or dress the same."

The great thing about Canada is that the country loves and appreciates diversification, and do not demand assimilation like many other countries :)

So it's an enjoyable place to be :)

Jen said...

I hope it all goes well on Monday. BTW... I have my Pavarotti post up now.

Wanderlust Scarlett said...

Sounds like things are going well so far... yes?

Certainly hope that you really have a great time there, perhaps you will meet someone of the opposite gender... some really nice fellow to spend some time with.

Have a great time!

Scarlett & V.

modelbehavior said...

Everyone says the Toronto festival is the most fun!

Have a good time for me too! Sounds amazing! I loved Toronto when I went and it wasn't even festival season.

nyc/caribbean ragazza said...

guilia - grazie.

sognatrice - purtroppo no.

roam 2 rome - true, I was talking to a crew member about the incredible diversity.

jen - beautiful post.

wanderlust - hehe, there some very attractive men here in Toronto. me like.

model behavior - Toronto is packed right now with the festival being in town. I am looking forward to exploring the city more once the crowds die down.

Liane Spicer said...

Gosh, I'd forgotten Randy Mantooth. He was hot!

Here in Trinidad, with the East Indian influence on food, it it isn't hot, it isn't good. Hot meaning spicy, of course. Flaming at that.