Gerard Butler talks TIFF, Mavericks

Speaking of that film, I caught up with its star Gerard Butler after the premiere of his second film at this festival, Coriolanus. The response was far more subdued for that one. “You could hear a pin drop in those final scenes,” he said. He said he was awestruck by Vanessa Redgrave, who should emerge as the frontrunner for Best Supporting Actress when this contemporary treatment of one of Shakespeare’s most obscure plays opens later this year. I asked Butler if he was enjoying his festival experience with two different films in play, and he said it would be a lot more fun if he wasn’t stuck in a hotel room all day doing interviews. He does give the city of Toronto high marks though. He reeled off a list of cities he’ll be taking his films to next, beginning with San Francisco, so he’s a busy guy. His next film will be Oscar-winner Curtis Hanson’s surfing drama Mavericks, in which he plays a surfing mentor to a 15-year-old kid. He’s just getting into the surfing training now. I suggested he check out the new Greg McGillivray documentary Hollywood Don’t Surf, which screened at the end of Telluride this year. It’s an enormously entertaining look at the checkered history of Hollywood actors and surfing and could be very instructive for Gerry.