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P.R. vs. Journos: the Toronto Chill
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P.R. vs. Journos: the Toronto Chill

Spontaneity sputters as a film festival is gripped in fear
CHOREOGRAPHED AFFAIR Following the My Policeman premiere at TIFF on Sep. 11, stars Harry Styles and Emma Corrin fielded pre-approved questions. (Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images)

Hosts Janice Min, Richard Rushfield, Tatiana Siegel and Sean McNulty take stock of a new phenomenon on the festival circuit fest: the ever-shrinking and choreographed press conference (20:34). High-profile press conferences — from Steven Spielberg’s autobiographical The Fabelmans to Harry Styles’ period gay drama The Policeman — featured questions vetted in advance (likely a result of Venice’s Don’t Worry Darling debacle), with Styles answering just one question at the My Policeman post-premiere Q&A. “It’s an erosion of the ability to report at a festival,” says Siegel. Also on tap, the hosts tackle the arrival of Thursday Night Football on Amazon (6:19), woeful Emmys ratings (3:52) as well as Bob Chapek and Brian Roberts’ “public negotiation” over Hulu (28:41).

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