Yikes! My Film Is OFF SALE!

With the excitement of single-ticket day at TIFF comes some inevitable disappointment. Surging ticket sales and the prospect of all manner of shenanigans at the Ryerson means that, despite a capacity of a whopping 1800 in the theatre, some midnight screenings will sell out ahead of time before you can snag a seat for yourself.

Dude, it's ok! We'll get you a ticket!

But fear not, festival-goers! There are still a couple of ways you can see a Midnight Madness selection even if those dreaded words, 'OFF SALE', come up when you go to buy a ticket.  Using my patented* KRAM system, you may still find a seat at the Ryerson with your name on it.

Keep checking the box office! Tickets come available all the time thoughout the Festival - whether it's because a production company has fewer people coming than expected, or because a band of crazies has abducted several members of the cast, tickets will sometimes be released to the box office on the day of the screening or even before.  I like going in person myself, but you can check online as well. It can't hurt to try!

Rush the film! Think of it like a fun adventure that involves a lot of waiting. Basically, if you join the special Rush line for a Midnight Madness screening you'll be able to score any seats that are remaining when all the ticketholders are let in.  You have a much better chance of getting in if you're in that line as early as possible, with people lining up anywhere from one to three hours ahead for very popular movies.  Also, remember that you can only hold a spot in line for yourself and one other person. Some of the most fun TIFF experiences I've had have been in Rush lines, and I'd definitely recommend trying it at least once - if not for a Midnight screening, then for any other Festival film.

Attend another screening! It may not be as rambunctious as a midnight screening, but you'll still be able to see an amazing film and maybe even remain awake for the entire running time. There are lots of second and sometimes third screenings of Midnight Madness films on the schedule, so check at the bottom of this post for the film's other screening times.


Make a pizza! Because pizza solves everything.

Pizza is a flatbread generally topped with tomato sauce and cheese and baked in an oven. It is commonly topped with a selection of meats, vegetables and condiments.

*not patented

Navigating TIFF Part 5: Getting To, From, and Around The Ryerson Theater

Ticket Holders Line in Yellow. Rush Line in Pink.

The Ryerson theater hosts every first screening of the Midnight Madness Films. It's a 1250 seat venue and here are some details you need to know:

When should I get in line? Diehards  start lining up between 9:30 and 10:00 PM but for decent seats shoot for 10:30 PM. By 11:15 pm the line is usually halfway down Church St. 

What's up with the crazy line?!!? Long lines are part of TIFF. The ticket holders line starts in front of the Ryerson and runs east along Gerrard Street to Church Street. It then turns south along Church to Gould where it turns west along Gould and typically stops. 

Most nights, the line can be .5 km. Once the line starts to move, everyone gets in the venue within 10-15 minutes. The closer you are to Gould street, the more likely you are to sit in the balcony.

The Rush line runs west along Gerrard to Victoria then turns south on Victoria. Rush lines will be covered in an upcoming post.

Is there parking available? Street parking on Church and Gerrard is free after 9pm. Street parking is also available a few blocks east on Jarvis. There are lots south and north of the Ryerson on Church but they're expensive and best used as a last resort unless you're parking there all day and grabbing your car after the Midnight screening.

What's the closest TTC Station? The closest TTC Subway stop is College Station 1 block north of the Ryerson on Yonge and College. The last train leaves around 2:00 AM so don't count on the subway to get you home. Plenty of cabs are available and late buses are also running.

Where are the best seats? In most TIFF venues the best view and sound are always close to the reserved section. The Ryerson has a few rows in the middle of the house roped off. If you want legroom: sit in the sections in the back at stage right or left. The first row of the balcony also has a great view and has the best legroom in the house. 

TUSK Premieres Tonight!

Tusk the latest film from Kevin Smith and one of the most anticipated films of midnight madness 2014 is world premiering tonight! The Ryerson theater is going to be rocking! As someone who has seen Mr. Smith speak in person several times he is extremely, extremely funny. You won't want to miss this screening. Tickets for this screening are in high demand. Check out fellow blogger Sanjay's post on different ways to try and see an off-sale screening here.



TUSK Screening Times:
Sat., Sept. 6th 11:59 PM, RYERSON
Sun., Sept. 7th, 9:45 PM, BLOOR HOT DOCS CINEMA
Fri., Sept. 12th, 3:45 PM, SCOTIABANK 1

Navigating TIFF Part 6: Off Sale? Don't Panic!

I’m sure a lot of you have started to notice screenings are showing up as “OFF SALE” at the online box office (accessible here), “RUSH ONLY” on the boards at the Festival Box Office at 225 King Street West, or generally unavailable by phone at (416) 599-TIFF or 1-888-599-8433.

Don’t panic, there are still ways for you to get tickets. Here are a some options:

1) Don’t give up! Keep checking the various box offices listed above. Many of the seats for films listed as off sale were ticketed during the advance order process last week. Any of those ticketholders could change their mind between now and the screening and exchange their ticket for a voucher. If tickets are available, they'll show up at 7:00 AM when the systems update. FYI The systems only update once a day so there is no point in checking more than once a day.

2) If it is the day of the screening and you still can’t get a ticket at any of the box offices, your last resort is the rush line. Rush seats become available when people decide not to exchange tickets like I described above and simply just don’t show up. 

Remember, the festival's goal is to make sure that every seat in a theater is sold. The earlier you get in line the better. If the film is *HUGE* you want to get there at least 3 hours before the film starts. For midnight screenings the line will be crazy long, but it probably has a lot of people rushing a 9:00pm or 9:30pm screening. Once those people leave, you should be close to the front of the line. Make sure you are in the rush line (not the ticket holders line) and confirm which line you are in with a volunteer. The Ryerson seats over 1200 people so the odds are good if you are at the front of the line you've got a shot at a seat but there is no guarantee that seats will be available.

 

3) Catch a repeat screening. The atmosphere is more relaxed than the midnight screenings and there is always a chance that some of the talent is still in town to do a Q&A.

4) Watch social media. Keep your eyes on the Midnight Madness Facebook page and Twitter. If there are contests for tickets to sold out screenings, they're likely to be posted there.

5) Hang out in the autograph line. If you get to the rush line late and it is ridiculously long you might want to hang out behind the red carpet and hope the talent will offer you a ticket. It's rare but I've seen it happen. The autograph line is behind a barricade opposite from the entrance to the Ryerson.

The Kindness of Strangers--A Heartwarming Tale

While the Midnight Madness crew is usually more interested in chilling you to the bone or scaring you into unconsciousness, sometimes we come across a nice little story that reminds us that our audience is the best in the world and it warms the cockles of our long-dormant hearts.  Over on Reddit, a user named 'Etheo' has such a story and wanted to pass on a little good Karma to the TIFF volunteer that helped him into the Midnight Madness screening of Smuggler:

Here be the story to celebrate a man who was almost our hero that fateful day, but we will remain forever grateful for your action. For those of you who don't care, please do not waste your time reading this and move on with your life.

So last week during the last week of TIFF event... my girlfriend and I went down to see Smuggler at the midnight launch event. We bought these groupon coupons that are essentially 2for1 ticket, and didn't know that we had to redeem these coupons prior to seeing the film. It sucked, but we sucked it up and lined up at the rush line to see if we could get in.

After 1.5 hours of lining up, while I went to retrieve my car to park closer to the theater, my girlfriend had a rude awakening from the staff at the line and was told that our coupons would not be redeemable at the rush line as well. It was rather unimpressive to know we had lined up for so long for nothing.

Fortunately, behind her, you stood out as a shining statue of human being in the form of a Jamaican friend (which I could only assume due to the strap he was wearing). You casually gave her a voucher that was given to TIFF volunteers only, letting her know that your friends ditched you and you have no use for the voucher. My girlfriend was taken aback at your gracious offer, and hesitantly let you know that I was also in line so the voucher would be useless to her. You, being the amazing altruist that you are, casually gave her another voucher in strides.

When I returned to the line she let me know of the situation, and I believe we humbly thanked you (at least I hope we did--we're too reserved to know how to handle these situations and thank people properly). Since we had no cash with us on our persons, we offered you coffee, tea or food from Starbucks as it was the only currency we had. We were sadden that you did not take our offer as you don't like coffee and weren't hungry. There was not much else we could have offered. We stood in line awkwardly as I thought of every possible way to make it up to you for your kindness.

When we were able to get into the theater, we tried to use our coupon at the ticket booth, and fortunately they had accepted the coupons in exchange for the admission tickets. I had to survey through the entire theater, but I was successful in finding you and returning the vouchers to you. You, again, casually took the vouchers and thanked us. And then we parted ways and proceeded to wait another hour for the movie to begin.

So thank you, random TIFF volunteer, for your kind acts towards 2 total strangers at the rush line. Your friends were asses to ditch you for the movies. You're the man.

TL;DR GF and I went to line up for TIFF, after waiting for hours we were almost told to leave the line but a random TIFF volunteer behind us gave us free vouchers for the movie. We end up didn't use the vouchers and returned, but he was a pretty nice guy.

Just wanted to let people of Toronto know that chivalry and human kindness are not dead, and there are pretty awesome people in Toronto too, not just jerks.

Edit : Smuggler was awesome. Can't hide the smell of fear.

Edit² : Also I witnessed a few people in TIFF giving up their tickets to people waiting in the rushline as well--some were selling, but some were giving. You guys made TIFF pretty cool.

So next time you luck your way into an extra ticket and think about selling it, why not brighten someone's day by helping them out? You might just find yourself immortalized here on the Midnight Madness blog, with all the parted velvet ropes and champagne bubble baths it affords.

And now back to your regular hammer-shots to the face and head.