Neil Young withdraws from TIFF appearance
Last Updated: Thursday, September 10, 2009 | 8:50 AM ET
The Canadian Press
The planned TIFF appearance by Neil Young, seen performing in 2008, had been among the most anticipated of the festival's free outdoor events (Jason DeCrow/Associated Press)My my, hey hey: out of the blue, Neil Young's public appearance at the Toronto International Film Festival has been cancelled.
A festival spokesperson told The Canadian Press that Young will not make the planned trip to Toronto to appear at a public screening on Monday of Jonathan Demme's new concert film starring the Canadian rock legend, Neil Young Trunk Show.
The spokesperson did not offer a reason for Young's absence, but said festival organizers were hoping to announce a "spectacular" performer to take his place in the coming days.
Demme, the Academy Award-winning director of Rachel Getting Married and Silence of the Lambs, will still appear in Toronto's Yonge-Dundas Square to introduce a free screening of his film about Young, the spokesperson said.
Neil Young Trunk Show is the second concert film about Young that Demme has directed, following 2006's Heart of Gold.
The new film was culled from two 2007 dates Young played near Philadelphia and shot mostly with handheld cameras.
