Well, it's about time Midnight Madness got its very own theme song.  Thankfully, fate aligned this year that we found something that completely works with our program and that we can use unofficially, so as to not have to pay for it.

Our tune comes from a band called The Sprites, aptly titled "George Romero".  The song praises the Diary of the Dead director (left, opposite, talking to Shaun of the Dead director Edgar Wright) for the educational value of his back catalogue with lyrical gems like:

"It's the end of the world; I want to live inside a shopping mall".

Not only does the song help educate a new generation of freak shows just like you and me, but it also sends props to other stars of this year's Midnight Madness like Dario Argento (Mother of Tears) and Stuart Gordon (Stuck).  The song also mentions Tom Savini and Sam Raimi.

So, there's your 2007 theme music courtesy of Colin Geddes and the Madness gang.  If someone can manage to play this song loud enough for Colin or any of our bloggers tonight, I'm sure we can work out some kind of prize to give you.

I'm going to save everyone the trouble of asking questions after Wednesday night's screening of The Devil's Chair.

The score, you will soon realize, is absolutely killer.  Not only that, but it's done by none other than local cellist Zoe Keating and if there's one thing she can teach us, it's that cello is the new punk.

Zoe uses pedals and loops to form a one woman string quartet, and her score for The Devil's Chair is nothing short of incredible.  It's ambient.  It's chilling.  It's just going to blow you all away!

A Guelph native, Zoe has toured extensively with her former group Rasputina, as well as in support acts like Belle and Sebastian and Imogen Heap.

There are plenty more Zoe videos on YouTube, so if you want to make your day that much better, I encourage you all to take a look.

Hip-hop superstar Wyclef Jean played to a pumped-up crowd at the Ghosts of Cité Soleil premiere after-party last Saturday. Jean helped write the score for Ghosts, a film based in his native Haiti. The film follows the story of 2pac and Bily, brothers who are two of many gang leaders reputedly hired by former Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide to dispose of his enemies. Director Asger Leth presents an intimate portrayal of these thugs, not just in their street lives, but also in their love lives as they both fall for the same woman. Leth's footage remarkably captures the lead up to Aristide's overthrow in 2004 while providing and on-the-ground look at Haitian life.

If you would like to comment on this film, please submit your thoughts to the Doc Blog...

One of the most anticipated films of this years festival, Kurt Cobain  About a Son, made it's worldwide premiere tonight, and did not disappoint delivering a rock-umentary unlike any other. The film is based on a series of audio interviews conducted by journalist Michael Azerrad (right), allowing the voice of Kurt to speak for himself . Young director, AJ Schnack (center) made his way to the microphone to introduce a project that he said means so much to him, and it showed as Schnack could barely get his thank yous out as he got choked up in front of the packed house at the Cumberland theatre.

Cobain's impact on our culture could be felt in the line-up outside, as fans waited for hours in the rush line hoping to see the film. Inside the theatre, the presence of Azerrad and photography legend Charles Peterson (left) echoed their tremendous support for the project, as did the contributions to the amazing soundtrack by Ben Gibbard (Death Cab For Cutie) and Steve Fisk, also present. Azerrad, seeing the film for the first time tonight, said that one thing this film does do for him is give him a sense of closure.

To share your thoughts on the film with its director, please contribute to the Doc Blog...

Rock and peace icon Yoko Ono was greeted by hundreds of fans today as she walked into the premiere of The U.S. vs. John Lennon. Many of these fans didn?t even have tickets but lined up for hours to get a glimpse of the legendary Ono. Inside, Ono received a standing ovation before the film, which was received greatly by the packed house at the Ryerson Theatre, including director Michael Moore, who also got a round of applause. The film documents the struggles John and Yoko faced from the late 60?s to the mid 70?s in their quest for peace in a world that was similar in many ways to our own today. In fact, Directors David Leaf and John Sheinfeld (left and right above respectively, with Yoko Ono Lennon) said they tried four times in the past 15 years to sell this film, but no one was buying until a post 9/11 world created a context relative to the 70?s. Lennon and Ono were such a threat to the establishment that the US government attempted to have the couple deported back to England, away from their activist friends and the legions of young American followers.

In the post-screening Q & A, Leaf and Schoenefeld said they are proud Americans and noted that it is important to remember that John loved America too and in the end, the law of the land prevailed allowing him to stay in his adopted home of New York City. When asked if she thinks people today are active enough, Ono?s messaged echoed the lingering sentiment of the film: war is over, if you want it and peace still has a chance.

Comment to the directors about the film by signing on to the doc blog.

American rockers, The Flaming Lips were on the scene at TIFF for Summercamp! (left), singing to a boisterous crowd last night at the post-screening party. The Lips supplied songs for film's soundtrack and came to TIFF to support its debut.

First the Lips attended the film's debut screening, donning the blinking, neon visors, with all the enthusiasm of the outrageouly dressed directors. Later, the Lips took another stage at Gabby's on Bloor to play to a pumped up crowd who ate roasted-marshmallows and scored some of those neon visors. The band played a low key but lively outdoor set, including some tunes from the film and a cover of Plastic Jesus, a song from the classic film Cool Hand Luke.

CBC reporter Matthew McKinnon interviews TIFF Documentary Programmer Thom Powers here. Below is an excerpt...

[Right: Made in Jamaica]

Q: What specific challenges were involved in shaping this year?s lineup?

A: Music-related documentaries has always been a strong genre, but this year more than ever. We have [programmed] a great range, from Kurt Cobain: About a Son to Made in Jamaica to several others, not to mention the biggest attention-getter of all the docs at the festival, Dixie Chicks: Shut Up and Sing.

[Today begins a series of postings by TIFF directors discussing different crafts that go into documentary making: archival research, shooting, editing, music - Ed.]

Dick. Shamus. Slewfoot. The slang varies, but the job is the same throughout decades of crime films -- navigating a noir-ish jungle of torpedoes, fakeloos, shysters, tomatoes and roscoes to obtain information.  

Although hardly as treacherous, making The U.S. vs. John Lennon did involve quite a bit of hard-boiled detection. Lennon was one of the most photographed and filmed personalities of the 20^th century, so uncovering imagery was not hard -- uncovering the perfect footage to illustrate a given story point?and finding it in the best quality possible?that was the real challenge.  

My partner in producing crime, David Leaf, refers to me as an AVAD ("Awesome Video and Audio Detective"). I confess ? I do love gumshoeing my way into people's hearts, minds, data bases and closets in search of audio/visual material that has not been seen in a zillion other Lennon/Beatles-related documentaries.  

We cast a wide dragnet, relentlessly pursuing our sources worldwide, above and below ground. Sometimes we know specifically what we want, other times our requests are completely general in hopes of uncovering buried visual treasure. There are, of course, far-too many dead ends to such sleuthing. Personnel turnover at libraries, archives, morgues (I am speaking now of the newspaper variety), lack of knowledge or just plain laziness, often results in, ?Sorry, we don?t have anything like that.?  

For example, to make our ?Bigger Than Jesus Controversy? segment truly compelling, we wanted more than just the usual imagery seen in the Beatles Anthology and other documentaries on the Fab Four.  News archives told us time and again that what we saw was all there was. Beatles collectors had nothing. However, as mountainous phone bills will testify, endless calling and cajoling (not to mention occasional begging) finally brought the desired results. Two reels of raw film were discovered in the far corner of a news archive where they had lain unseen and un-transferred since they were shot in 1966. After months of AVAD-ly digging, a portion of John?s ?apology? press conference was located in living color. 

Footage of the day John triumphed over the US government was more problematic. We were told repeatedly that such footage did not exist. And yet, we had photos showing that cameras were swarming around the Lennons as they stepped out of a New York Courthouse that hot July day in 1976. Certainly photos would serve our purposes, but I wanted film! For nine months we wandered down numerous dead-end alleys. And then, with a mere three weeks to go before locking picture, we found it. Buried deep in an archive, misfiled, mislabeled, was a roll of un-developed film. David and I used that footage to create a truly memorable moment near the end of the movie.  

Between our efforts and the generosity of Yoko Ono, we believe THE U.S. vs. JOHN LENNON is overloaded with rare and unseen imagery and sound. And that, as Sam Spade would say, is the crop.

[See Greencine for links to other pieces on The US vs. John Lennon - Ed]

Here come the Dixie Chicks (left) and dozens of other great documentary subjects. Tune in here to read diary entries from the programmers and doc makers in the festival with daily updates on world premieres, parties and business deals.

This is my first year as the Toronto International Film Festival?s documentary programmer. But I?ve been coming as a visitor to the Festival since 1988 when I attended to catch Ron Mann?s Comic Book Confidential. (This year Mann is back with another comics-related doc Tales of the Rat Fink). Over the years I?ve experienced many unforgettable doc screenings at TIFF such as Terry Zwigoff?s Crumb, Steve James? Stevie and Michael Glawogger?s Megacities. (This year Glawogger brings us his fiction film Slumming).

Docs have come a long way at TIFF. When the field got its own section with Real to Reel in 1996, there were only 12 slots. This year there are over 30 offerings in RTR, plus several other docs spread out in Masters, Visions, Special Presentations and other sections. 

To get this blog going, I asked notable people in the doc field to contribute some of their favorite memories from TIFF. Here?s the first of many to come. From the two time  Academy Award winner...

BARBARA KOPPLE: I had the honor of bringing the first film I  directed to the inaugural Toronto Film Festival. It was one of the first times that  Harlan County USA had played in front of an audience, and it  was an experience I?ll never forget. I remember walking into the theater and seeing the huge audience there to see the documentary that I?d  finished just a few months before. It meant so much to me to see the audience engaged and reacting to the film, asking great questions and  offering their support. I had the privilege of bringing another film, My Generation, to the festival in 2000. That year there was also a  tribute to the films that showed in that first festival. I was amazed at  how many people came up to me and said they were there years ago in that  original Harlan County USA screening. It said so much about the remarkable  and supportive audiences that filmmakers find at the Toronto International  Film Festival. It?s an extraordinary event, and I?m excited to be there once  again this year with Dixie Chicks: Shut Up and Sing, which I directed with  Cecilia Peck. I?m sure it will be another unforgettable  experience.