How to Hide a Movie Star at the Toronto Film Festival

The Toronto Film Festival sure likes Hollywood A-listers on its red carpets.

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But away from movie premieres and parties, uber-stars do a disappearing act starting with flight arrivals and departures at Pearson International Airport.

Don’t expect Cate Blanchett or Ben Stiller to be jostling at a baggage carousel or going beltless and barefoot through a body scanner at Canada’s busiest airport. Instead, private jet terminals, tricked-out VIP lounges and hidden passageways keep Hollywood stars well under the radar.

TIFF fest organizers even outsource a concierge service to alert airport officials and the Canada Border Services Agency – which handles Pearson’s security and border checkpoints – about who’s coming and going. Festival-bound celebrities can then be shepherded, heads of state-style, to or from flights by skipping check-in and security lines before reaching chauffeured cars in secret pickup zones.

TIFF’s hotel doors-to-flights concierge service also has access to airport personnel with an RAIC — or restricted area identity card — to navigate Pearson’s unmarked passageways.

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And when first class won’t do, mega stars shell out tens of thousands of dollars to be chauffeured to chartered or private jets at Pearson in comfort and privacy. That’s thanks to such private operators dotted around the airport as Skycharter, Landmark and Skyservice. They allow A-listers to exit planes and slip into waiting cars without sunglasses, hoodies or baseball caps to avoid stalking photographers.

Not that they need to bother. Being polite Toronto, Pearson has no hordes of tabloid snappers on its arrivals deck, or yoga studio attendants or juice bar servers downtown ready to rat out visiting stars by selling tips to local reporters. “We don’t have paparazzi like they do in LAX, guys coming and trying to grab a shot,” Karen Mazurkewich, vp communications at Pearson’s Greater Toronto Airports Authority, tells THR .

Hollywood A-listers do opt to fly commercial into and out of Pearson because U.S. Customs is in the terminal, allowing preboarding clearance and flight connections to 174 U.S. cities. That’s unlike Cannes or Venice, where returning Hollywood celebrities need to connect stateside via key airline hubs, before going on to final destinations. “The good thing about Toronto is, when they’re flying out again, there’s way more destinations for them to fly to because we have U.S. Customs in the airport,” Mazurkewich adds.

And once downtown, local hotels do their part to secretly move Hollywood stars around the city. Anthony Campaniaris, GM at 1 Hotel Toronto, says separate private elevators, underground parking entrances and a no-photography policy are part of ensuring no fuss or delays for celebrity guests. “Our staff is trained to respect aliases and ensure that all interactions are handled with discretion,” Campaniaris tells THR .

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