How I caught Heather Graham's cold

Yesterday, I went to the fabulous The Flying Machine gala at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF). As luck would have it, Heather Graham sat RIGHT next to me as we watched the film.

Gorgeouses, it was the most random thing I've ever experienced. There I was sitting with my daughter at the end of a long line of writers, and there was an empty seat beside me. We sat there as Heather and the producers gave their opening spiel on stage, and I noticed the guy whom we saw Heather with on the red carpet was being seated one seat away from me. "Is this seat taken?" he asked. "No, go ahead! Sorry about the popcorn my daughter spilled."

The floor was covered in popcorn, and I tried to sweep it away with my foot, but it was a mess. What do you know, though? In walks Heather, in her gorj white gown and high high heels. And she sits right beside ME, MY DAUGHTER (on my lap), and our spilled popcorn.

I turned to my friend Ali, and opened my mouth wide, like, "OMG!"

My daughter waved to Heather, and I didn't say anything. I wanted her to feel comfortable watching HER OWN MOVIE!

Throughout the movie, she chuckled, and I chuckled whenever she chuckled because I guess you're supposed to chuckle at those parts. And at one point she started to cough really sweetly. Hmm, I thought, I'm totally going to catch Heather Graham's cold.

And I did. I'm sniffling here, Gorgeouses! I feel pretty awful. But, hey, it's Heather Graham's cold...!

Here are some more photos of the fabulous day. The press conference with Heather and the producers (you'd never know she was remotely cough-y)....

 

Here's Heather's boyfriend! This was at the end of the film. She waited until the very last credit rolled before even budging. At which point her boyfriend kissed her hand and said, "It was so beautiful and trippy." That's when I turned to her and said, "It was a really special movie...." Yes, so here's her boyfriend. Heather's seat, directly beside me, is empty because she got up to go back up on stage. You can see her walking to the stage on the far right....

 

GORJ! In the private press conference, I did tell her we wanted to know how she stays so young-looking and gorj, and it made her smile, and she said, simply, "Thank you, I do a lot of Yoga."

 

How did Heather become involved with this amazing project? "They offered me the job," she said, "And they sent me all the artwork, and it was so beautiful. It was great when I went to Poland and saw all the miniature sets. It was like a whole world in a studio of rooftops. And everything you saw was real. It was real; it wasn't just drawn. It was a real set with these little dolls and the Paris rooftops.... And everyone was making the tiny flower petals. It was just really cool to see."

Later, Heather added that she was drawn to the film because the vision of the "piano with sails coming out of it was just really poetic."

 

My daughter got to hold one of those "little dolls" and run her hands dreamily along the Flying Machine at the private exhibit we were allowed to really enjoy....

 

"How did you like taking care of kids?" my daughter (6) asked Heather.... "Taking care of kids was fun," Heather said, and everyone laughed.

 

As you can probably tell, Gorgeouses, I'm in love with this film. Because of it, I have a deeper appreciation for Chopin, I had this special experience with my daughter, and I have a Heather Graham's cold. *Wink*!

Stay tuned for my Hello! Canada Magazine TIFF party roundup! So many stars, interviews, photos! (First, to rest....)

Love!

xo Haley-O

Photos: Haley Overland / Todaysparent.com | Flying Machine image c/o Breakthrough Films