Bill Nighy Was Here.

This could not be further from a blog post. It is a personal invitation to Bill Nighy to get together with me tonight.

Every morning on my way to work I cut through U of T main campus. Why? Because it's f*ing gorgeous and looks like you're at f*ing Cambridge in 1886 or something. It's magical. And it actually does cut down my commute. 

Filming of "Total Recall" at Knox College 

Anyway, for the past couple of weeks I have been idly following the assemblage of film production equipment in front of Knox College. I didn't read too much into it until I got an e-mail from U of T Operations regarding parking on campus. Parking would be limited, it read, due to the filming of the feature film, Total Recall, from 7am - 11pm, June 26th and June 27th. (Apparently I should never work in operations, as my announcement would have read BIG NAME CELEBS ON CAMPUS SUNDAY AND MONDAY. BAHH!!! And that's it.) A quick google search informed me that Total Recall, based on it's cast, is actually a massive deal. And my personal favourite, Bill Nighy, is one of the castmembers.

Why is Bill Nighy my favourite, over Colin Farrell, Kate Beckinsale, Jessica Biel, and Ethan Hawke?

The answer should be obvious, but in case it isn't, I'll give you three reasons:

1. He contributed greatly to my favourite film of all time - Love Actually.

2. He contributed greatly to a much loved film (by me) - Pirate Radio.
3. He's simply hilarious.

Love Actually has withstood the test of time (8 whole years) as my #1 favourite movie. So much so, in fact, that over time Love Actually became a screening mechanism for love interests and full-fledged boyfriends alike. Come Christmas season, if they could sit through Love Actually and admit that it was a fantastic movie, for all audiences, despite the romantic title and lack of bloodshed, they could stay.

Then musician boyfriend came along.

"I've already seen it." He said, taking a sip of red wine and leaning against the sill of his beloved apartment window. "Great movie."

Foiled! I clenched my own glass harder and narrowed my eyes at him as he stared, meaningfully, as artist-types tend to do, out at the street below.

Maybe he really had seen it. Maybe he'd just been smarter than the others and read that it was my favourite on my facebook profile, and then lied to increase his chances of sleeping with me again. Either way, I respected it. And so ended the screening process. (I guess that's when you know it's meant to be?)

But Bill Nighy wasn't out of the picture quite yet. 

Musician boyfriend has very...discerning tastes. Let's just say he is hard to impress. In all areas. But, with nothing to lose (see reference to looting of the heart that had taken place previously), this was a challenge I was eager to accept. 

Musician boyfriend also hates movies. (No no, you read this wrong. He DOES have a soul, he just hates movies.) Let me rephrase - he hates most movies but for High Fidelity, Hard Core Logo, The Devil and Daniel Johnson and Once. And apparently Love Actually. So, in the early days of our relationship, the 'hanging out' days to be exact, the pressure was on to counter his last, deep date movie pick. 

I chose Pirate Radio. It was set in the 60s. It was about rebellion, freedom and rock and roll. It took place almost entirely on a boat. It starred Bill Nighy.  How could this fail with the red-wine-drinking-motown-loving-dark-curly-haired-muscian-movie-hating type?

Needless to say it was a success. A success at the early-dating stages no less, when the stakes are high and the probability that you can escape any decision without judgement is low. And with this selection, my relationship with Bill Nighy evolved from determining the longevity of boys in my life to, well, increasing my chances of sleeping with musician not-yet-boyfriend again.

So if you're reading this Bill Nighy, and you are in Toronto, nay - merely a twenty-minute walk from my apartment - please, let's go for a drink. Or a walk. Or a coffee. Just comment on this invitation with your number and I'll call you. (Or I'll text you, and you can call me since you're probably here with a UK number and it would be expensive.) I may be a total stranger to you, but to me you're like an old, trusty friend, who is great for my love life in a completely non-physical way. Is that weird?