Here are some photos of Benedict Cumberbatch and Keira Knightley at the photocall/press conference for The Imitation Game yesterday at TIFF. Just FYI: I’ll have the premiere photos in a separate post. I’m currently drunk on all of the new Cumby photos we have, so I’m parceling them out throughout the day. You are welcome!!
Benedict and his costar Keira Knightley seemed very friendly during the press conference and at one point, she was leaning on him affectionately. They’ve known each other a long time and they’ve worked together before. I think they just enjoy each other, quite frankly. Some people even say Keira might score another Oscar nomination for her role in The Imitation Game. Oh, and her dress is Dolce & Gabbana – I don’t like it. For the past few years, she’s been trying to bring long sleeves and high collars back in a big way and sometimes it really does not work.
And because this is The Year of The Cumber, Benedict just won a TV Choice Award in Britain. He was in TIFF at the time, so his parents picked up the award on his behalf. Benny also has some new interviews… I’m looking to see if there’s anything interesting. There’s this piece with the Toronto Sun where he basically spends the whole interview wishing he could ditch the press and go sight-seeing in Toronto. At one point he says: “Everyone tells me great things I can do, but I can’t do any of it. I wish I could. I would have loved to have come early and see Robert’s (Downey Jr.) film, see Toronto, go to the lake. I would love to genuinely experience a bit more of your fine country and Toronto itself and the film festival.”
Most of the major trade papers already reviewed The Imitation Game during Telluride, but now that it’s premiering at TIFF, other papers and critics are chiming in. The general consensus really does seem to be that Benedict is probably going to be an Oscar contender. Don’t count your Cumbers before they’ve Batched though. That’s my new saying: DON’T COUNT YOUR CUMBERS BEFORE THEY’VE BATCHED.
Photos courtesy of Getty, Fame/Flynet.
They been friends for a decade or more. They hang out privately with her boyfriends/husband. Not romantic in the slightest. The leaning in and that is just normal “luvie” behaviour.
I like the work wife/work husband vibe they have in interviews/photo calls etc. I think it’s really cute 😄
I sometimes think she’s a female version of Ben, when it comes to personality and interviews anyway.
Oh Benny! I’d hit it only if he took off the tennis shoes. 👀
Yeah he looks like my dad in those white sneakers.
I was thinking about that too. There are tennis shoes of all colors and styles, why white!?!?!
So… Nothing about this? And the resulting twitstorm?
http://www.vulture.com/2014/09/toronto-woman-asks-to-taste-cumberbatch.html
My face cracked from cringing.
Oh man…poor Cumberbatch. So embarrassing…
I swear.
I dunno. I think it’s funny as hell. Something like that was bound to happen at some point. At least the press con is now more memorable, with something for everyone, including a little fontrum.
O.M.G. I am so embarrassed for him and on behalf of my country. I hope he doesn’t think all the women here are fawning freakin’ airheads. I’m sure all the Cumberbitches (including myself) privately want to “taste that deliciousness”, but dear God, to blurt it out at a bloody Q&A in front of the world (or like, EVER) and embarrass him like that!? Mortifying. I hope she felt like the asshat she obviously is afterwards.
Did you hear what happened at the press conference for this film last night?
Lainey was there and tweeted some IDIOT fan went up and asked a question like “oh can I have some of your yummy-ness” and there was COMPLETE SILENCE.
How mortifying for him in front of his cast mates and the worlds press? I don’t have an opinion on the guy but jesus, why do people call themselves fans and embarrass him and themselves like this?
This whole trend of “fandoms” is just so weird and some people obviously need a reality check on how to act in public.
CRIIINNNNNGEEEE!!!! I haven’t seen the footage but I did read about. I felt so bad for Cumberbatch! That was beyond awkward and in a way, it disregards all the hard work he, his cast mates et al who put into making the film. I thought he handled it quite well trying to take the conversation back to Turing and Clarke , saying he was taken and then pointed at Kiera Knightly.
I’ve heard worse. Not from his fans, just fan girls in general. But yeah that’s pretty F-ed up. I mean Jesus lady, leave the poor man alone.
It must have been truly horrible if Lainey wrote about it in her intro for today.
That’s so gross of that fan to say that. Write about what you want to say on Tumblr or Twitter or call your friends, but leave the dude alone. And what, exactly, did she think he would say?!?
What’s worse is that it wasn’t asked at the press conference. That question was asked at the PREMIERE. After the premiere screening at TIFF, they usually have the cast members and any core production people come out for a really, really brief Q&A (maybe 4 questions, usually 15-20 minutes). These questions are usually very thoughtful, professional questions about the movie or the craft. It’s not like a Comic Con Q&A.
So after the movie finished and the credits were rolling, the entire theatre (about 2000 people) stood up and turned to where the cast was sitting to give them a standing ovation. Then the cast and the attending producers, screenwriter, director etc went onstage. Heading into the Q&A, the mood was pretty warm. That question turned it, immediately. The programmer who was moderating tried to rein in the questioner, but it was mortifying. Benedict handled it well, but yeah. It was pretty awful.
And it was followed up with another question directed at Benedict that had already been answered in an earlier statement he’d made.
If that woman works for a blog or magazine, she’s either had a talking to or was fired for such insolence.
That’s just it – they opened the microphones to the entire audience. So it wasn’t just press or bloggers. It was a public premiere. It’s entirely possible that she was just a random nutter. If you track down any of the videos, you can hear the crowd react to her question – there was what I’d describe as an audible pearl-clutching, and some boos.
Dammit, Toronto! This is why we can’t have nice things!
I’m going to say it again, Keira and Mark Ruffalo were wonderful in this summer’s “Begin Again.” Very poorly marketed, which is why it came and went instead of being a moderate hit for adults in search of a not-quite-rom com adult film amidst the CGI, blockbuster junk pile.
Keira’s dress here is awful. It makes her look like a dalmatian.
I LOVED that movie! Rom-coms (which is what that was being marketed as) usually make me horrendously angry but “Begin Again” was sweet and lovely and just generally all around charming. Plus Adam Levine was actually fairly decent too.
I refuse to believe that Levine was fairly decent. 😉
mimif, well, he was playing himself 😉 But he wasn’t distractingly awful. And his role is mercifully small. See it!! 🙂
@mimif – what @thecountess said 😉 he was playing a cocky rockstar so I don’t believe he had to stretch too far for it.
Okay okay, I’ll check it out. But only because the awesomeness that is Mos Def will cancel out the cringe of Levine (and CeeLo!).
Levine was playing somebody who wasn’t decent and he did a decent job of it. Everybody else was awesome and I loved the way the back-up band came together.
I will maintain that Mark Ruffalo is just too nice to truly be convincing as a kinda sleazy down-on-his-luck A&R guy but there’s a scene where he talks about how his marriage broke down. He pretty much just rips out your heart and stomps on it.
With James Corden and Mos Def and Catherine Keener too. I really enjoyed the film and i really liked the clothes Keira wore in it. I don’t like this dress either. I would like it better without the black dots.
I can def see an Oscar nom for “Lost Stars”. But I think thats all it will get.
I thought I read/heard somewhere that the film is being re-released again to theaters? As a “Just in case you didn’t get to see it” type of promotion.
I saw the movie, and liked it, esp the music. However, REDEMPTION was the theme, and no subtleties with it. And also- I love Catherine K, and she deserves better parts than the put-upon ex-wife/cheated on spouse( see this film, The Last Quartet, and the Julia L-D film with James G)- grrr!
I think he looks lovely! (I’m squinting veeeery hard though to keep the horrendous sneakers beyond my field of vision). Also, here’s another guy with unevenly tanned forehead 😀
As for the press-con thing… I truly feel for Ben. Poor man. Lots of (purely platonic) hugs to him. I don’t understand how deeply below zero a woman’s self-esteem must reside so that she’d do something like that.
@Innie Outie I cringed at the sneakers too
Poor guy, just watched the thing on the net… He was pretty good at managing her idiotic question…
Keira has a serious case of black spot disease. Whoa…this could have been cute but….giant black spots…..
I don’t get his sex appeal at all. Ditto for Hiddleston. Good actors but sexy? Nope.
I wouldn’t be so sure about Oscar nomination. I think Redmayne or Cumberbatch is going to get a nom. Or worst case they will cancel each other out.
Two of the larger UK papers did not like it or his performance. It does seem to be going down better with USA who may not be as familiar with his life story. Some interesting comments by people who still know some of the people who worked with Turling during the war.
Turing not Turling.
according to indiewire, this film is going to be Harvey Weinstein’s ‘big’ awards push.
Indie wire gave it a mixed review and they were only voicing what most people were saying before it was reviewed
He’s looking quite orange in the face. Him and Hiddles need to lay off the tanning.
We were just commenting on the Hiddles blog today about Tom’s lack of orange lately.
DON’T COUNT YOUR CUMBERS BEFORE THEY’VE BATCHED
Kaiser, you are brilliant!
Weren’t people saying that last year was going to be the Year of the Cumber too? Just saying…
No. Never. Stop asking. He is not attractive at all.
Maybe to you, but for me, those eyes and that voice do it for me everytime.
He’s all yours. 🙂
If only we lived in the same city, I’d totally hit on him and not in a twi-hard way. We are both only children afterall (always wanted to date a fellow only).
I don’t understand why he wears this pancake makeup to press events, he winds up looking like my mother in the 70’s with the Cover Girl Clay Face.
Sadly, he has already left Toronto, right after the premiere.
He probably couldn’t get away quickly enough after the Twi-hardy fans from the press conference.
That was embarassing and sad for who did that. I am a fan of his but would never embarass myself or an actor like that.
When I first read this post and saw the accompanying photos I thought mmmm, I’d love to run my fingers through those cumbercurls! But then I read about what happened with the crazy fan at the press conference Q&A and now I’m loathe to say anything that might put me into a similar category with that person.
Appalling.
Am I the only one noticing Keira put on some weight? Her face seems fuller. She looks lovely.
I’ve really come round to enjoying Kiera a lot. She’s such a great interviewee, and I dig her style too.
(Particularly a recent powder blue Prada day dress, utterly prim, pin-tucked/pleated front with a full, 50s vibe skirt and demure collar…..it was my 1960s boarding school summer uniform!, though Kiera looked heavenly in it, in contrast to moi.)
She’s in this month’s (UK) InStyle, which points out her love of silver or otherwise metallic leather shoes……another thing I adore.
She makes me smile.
Knightly needs to ease up on the lip injections. She is lovely without.
They worked together on Atonement with McAvoy and Romola Garai. He was the chocolate heir rapist and she got to wear the most amazing green gown and bang McAvoy on a bookshelf. Depressing as hell but a great movie.
The green dress was so fabulous,and I actually like this one too. Benny Will just have to live the the fact that I would not “hit” him, I’m sure he’ll cope!
Attonement was brilliant and the ending really hits you in the gut
I really liked KK’s dress – the giant polka dots added some fun to it. There’s a pic out there of BC and KK striking a thinking pose together and she’s in that dress – very cute 🙂
Aw, I saw that pic! It’s really adorable, lol. I rather like how she’s working the old fashioned sleeves and high necks–it’s a nice change from seeing an actress’ vulva if they bend over and their tits flopping out the side of the dress (she never has, but I’m talking popular H’wood fashion in general).
He could probably have a wonderful time in Toronto, if he didn’t come for anything to do with his work, but just went as any of us would – as a tourist. When he goes somewhere officially, then everyone knows he’s there and they’re all on the look out. Cumberbatch, take a vacation somewhere else besides Greece some time.
No I would not hit it. He looks like an alien and I just do not get his appeal! I keep hearing that his voice is super sexy, but I saw him interviewed on Letterman and…eh. He just doesn’t do it for me at all.
Keira is an elegant and ageless beauty. Never looked better btw. Gorgeous hair and complexion.
Her dress is atrocious. Why would you wear this when you have the entire Chanel collection and closet at your disposal?
I don’t see what is special about him.