Tough market for filmmakers in Toronto

By Michael Cieply at the Toronto Film Festival for The New York Times:

Mr. [Dean] Zanuck, speaking by telephone at noon on Monday, said he was standing outside the Ryerson Theater, watching for potential buyers who might be attending a screening. “We’ve all realized gone are the days of the overnight sale,” he said. “Everyone is coming in with great caution.”

In fact, the cocktail party chatter here has been less about the big score than about so-called service deals (in which the filmmaker pays to put a movie in theaters) or, in the latest catch-phrase, do-it-yourself distribution.