“When I heard my name, it was all in slow motion for a moment, like a car accident, just one way, much better.”
Film producer J. Miles Dale describes the moment he took the stage at the Dolby Theater in Hollywood, in front of millions, to accept the Oscar for Best Picture, alongside Guillermo del Toro, for “The Shape of Water.”
As the somewhat hectic task of releasing Del Toro’s “Nightmare Alley” begins this month, the main takeaway from the previous awards season, Toronto’s rigamarole, was this: how lengthy the process can be. From the Venice International Film Festival, where the film won the Golden Lion in late August 2017, to the Oscars in early March 2018, it was six long months. “Frankly though, I really enjoyed it,” says Dale. “I met a lot of very interesting people and learned what it takes to run a proper advertising and marketing campaign.”
For her partner Sylvie, awards season meant a lot of dresses. For him? “It’s easy as a guy in your only tux,” which he bought at Tom’s Place in Kensington Market, he says, “and a couple of suits. But women can’t really repeat dresses on the many red carpets. Talk about a first world problem, right?
Sneaking through another Kensington, namely the Palace, during a British Academy of Film and Television event – not too bad. That applies to the opening of “Hockey Night in Canada” when he came home, after the Oscars. “Truly the culmination of every Canadian kid’s dream week,” he says.
Bradley, check it out. Cate, look.
And now … it’s time to do it all over again. He’s back with the black period movie “Nightmare Alley” (much of which was filmed, like “The Shape of Water” in 416), starring Bradley Cooper and Cate Blanchett. “The actors really want to work with Guillermo,” says Dale, “so all these actors, who were our first choices, luckily they all said yes.”
The film, which had a spectacular three-city premiere on December 1 at New York’s Lincoln Center, Los Angeles’ David Geffen Theater and Toronto’s TIFF Lightbox, is about this, in Dale’s opinion: “The importance of the truth and the danger of believing our lies. Quite relevant to what is happening around us these days. “
Producing a film that had to be closed six weeks after shooting due to the pandemic presented many challenges. “The whole world was blown away,” he recalls, “and I spent the summer of 2020 in what I call ‘growers’ medical school,’ figuring out what it would take to get back.”
As for reassembling the cast, it was a job in itself, as the actors were in high demand for other projects. On top of that, she shares, “Rooney Mara had a baby in the middle of the pandemic, and quite bravely she came back to us just a month after giving birth.”
When asked what makes his and Del Toro’s partnership tick, Dale says: “We share a similar sense of humor and managerial sensibilities, so the chemistry and mutual trust have continued to develop over the years.” .
On and off the ice
Dale’s home away from Hollywood can be found on Thelma Avenue in the heart of Forest Hill Village, “a street of little row houses where all the help for Forest Hill residents used to live,” he says. “Being within a hundred yards of all the Village amenities is a blessing,” he adds, citing Mashu Mashu as a particular favorite, “who makes the best chicken shawarma in town in my opinion.”
Dale, who has also directed episodes of television shows such as “The Strain” and “Shadowhunters,” got his desire for show business from his father, Jimmy Dale, who is better known as the musical director of “The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour. “.
One thing that took a back seat for the past year and a half: Dale’s own hockey game. Used to hitting the ice at Moss Park Arena with a bunch of other “dads,” he says, “we had to stop playing when COVID hit, and we just started over this fall.” I’m pretty rusty and thinking about hanging up the blades and concentrating on sharpening my tennis game. When you start wondering where they keep the defibrillator in the sand, that should be the suggestion. “
Were the boys on skates impressed by their Oscar win? It reads as follows: “They were certainly more impressed by my Oscar status than my level of play.”
Reference-www.thestar.com