The Toronto International Film Festival didn't wait until today's kick-off to find its first controversy: Rumors hit last weekend that Paris Hilton's camp is hustling behind the scenes to derail the world premiere of the all-access documentary Paris, Not France. Early word was that the Hilton clan in general was less than pleased with its depiction in the film, directed by music-video auteur (and daughter of Tom) Adria Petty; as such, her people demanded TIFF programmers drop every screening but one scheduled for Sept. 9. Today, however, Page Six fields a different story entirely, quoting a Hilton rep who rather plainly acknowledged manipulating the basic tenets of Paris supply-and-demand. Who to trust? We called Toronto directly to find out."Any film is a very complicated set of business relationships, interpersonal relationships, etcetera," said TIFF documentary programmer Thom Powers, who denied his "miffed" characterization in today's NYP item. "In the context of a film festival, where a film is making its world premiere, it stirs up a lot of..." He took a moment, reached for a word. "'Drama' is, I guess, the best word I could say." In this particular drama, Powers said he had dealt only with the filmmakers; he could neither address the "machinations" happening between Hilton and TIFF organizers nor confirm Paris's newly reported plans to attend next Tuesday's premiere. He did stand by the film, however, whose pared-down schedule — including its only press screening — could also imply that it's unfinished, thus potentially as damaging to its distribution chances as its subjects. "In this case, nothing could be further from the truth," Powers said. "And in fact our press department is bending over backwards to accommodate the press that would have normally gone to a press screening to get them into a public screening. Which in a way I'm kind of more happy about. I wish the press was always watching films with the public, especially in Toronto. It's a much different experience." We can vouch for that (see Borat's misbegotten if memorable non-premiere from 2006), and maybe even are prepared to take Camp Hilton at its hype-heightening word. Which, of course, also suggests that it has a stake in the film's commercial prospects. Naturally, that's where Hilton's rep finally clammed up with Page Six; neither her nor her allies' names appear in credits available on the fest's Web site, and Powers told us he is "not privvy to those details." Either way, look for the critical orthodoxy to instinctively hold its nose — guys like the Post's Lou Lumenick, who's likely the first of many to gripe all the way to the border about Hilton's commandeering of the prestigious fest. Powers, meanwhile, is a little more philosophical. "What's interesting is to see how news of this film plays out as a further commentary of what celebrity means in the culture," he said. "I have films in the line-up like Food Inc., which has serious material based on the reporting of Eric Schlosser and Michael Pollan that's vital to understanding what we eat and the future of food in America, and yet that doesn't get the headline in Page Six. Paris Hilton does."
