Film festival entries are often completed just under the wire, and the Toronto International Film Festival‘s “The Meddler” was no different. After its Monday night premiere, the cast and crew relaxed at Soho House, where writer-director Lorene Scafaria was in need of a drink. “We just finished the film on Wednesday,” she said. (Luckily, the after party was sponsored by Grey Goose.) The project, inspired by Scafaria’s family, tells the story of a widow, played by Susan Sarandon, who follows her daughter to Los Angeles after her husband’s death. “I was shivering while it was playing, but once it was over, the room felt very warm and positive,” said Scafaria, whose mom Gail was present. How did her big screen alter ego compare? “Susan’s a lot cooler and sexier than my mom. No offense, Mom,” said Scafaria.
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Sarandon said she prepared by spending time with Gail before filming. “I’m just so happy that she liked it,” she said. “It was so special to see it with an audience that was responding as much as they did. They got everything. Every nuance, every laugh, every tear.”
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Producer Joy Gorman Wettels was quick to share the film’s fashion connection. “The bridesmaids in the wedding scene all wore Diane von Furstenberg,” she said, explaining that it was a nod to Scafaria’s late father, who ran a factory for von Furstenberg in the late Nineties. Various friends lent their own DVF wrap dresses for filming. Wettels explained, “It would have cost a lot of money to get that many DVF wrap dresses for a little indie movie.” Others on hand for the low-key party included the film’s stars J.K. Simmons and Jason Ritter, who attended with girlfriend Melanie Lynskey.
Later that night, the cast of “Spotlight” including Rachel McAdams, Michael Keaton, Mark Ruffalo, Liev Schreiber and John Slattery, also celebrated their film’s after party at the venue. The affair was jam-packed but talent refused to do press. McAdams stuck by her brother Daniel when she wasn’t chatting up Ruffalo. Schreiber hung out solo on the outdoor patio. Elsewhere, Keaton and Slattery palled around.