War Inc Will be premiered in Toronto
"War Inc" will be making its World premiere in Toronto at the Toronto International Film Festival in September, as said in Canada.com
From canada.com:.... Page 1 of the story ...
Hilary Duff, nearly 20, is not a child phenom any more; but she's no less busy than during her coming-out days, which included the Disney-produced TV show and a Santa Claus-titled CD. She's shooting movies, launching a fashion line (stuff by hilary duff) and touring on the strength of her more-adult CD, Dignity.Take War, Inc., the new John Cusack movie that may be released at the Toronto Film Festival in September. Duff says the role of an eastern European pop star is quite a departure for her.
"She is a little girl inside that never really had a chance to grow up and never had a childhood, that puts on this front of being this like overtly sexual, like in your face, intense get what you want (person) by like using her body and knowing how to work guys," says Duff in a recent interview. "But she's really not that person at all, and she hates that she is, but doesn't know how to be any other way."
The character is involved with a group of powerful men, and is set to marry the son of one of them.
"They keep her protected in kind of like this crazy war zone," says Duff. "She does what she wants, and does what they want and is very controlled by them and she is desperate to get to America.
"As serious as I just made that sound, she has very, like, redeeming qualities and you get to see the part of her that makes you kind of pull for her.
"The movie is very funny but it's also very serious in a way that you're just like wow, that's so messed up. It's very political, very controversial. It's great. I actually just saw it. It's a very creative John Cusack movie.
"It was just such a life-changing experience for me. It was such a departure from anything I've ever done."
Duff said the War, Inc. role was hard to do at first, "but then it became really fun. I just got to be a totally different girl and John really gave me the confidence to do that.
"It's scary . . . as I get older, to take roles and to do things that challenge me. I guess I just have to understand that's not me . . . it's a character that I'm playing."
Duff has also recently voiced a character in the new animated movie Foodfight, for which a release date has not yet been set.
Meanwhile, she's on tour showcasing the songs from Dignity, not quite the soft pop rock Duff has been known for in the past.
"Some songs kind of sound hip hop, and some sound more electronica, a little '80s, some have more of an island feel -- kind of all over the place," she said. "My sound before was more pop rock.
"Last year was a really big year for me. A lot of things happened that were pretty hard to deal with.
"If you know anything about me, the songs are pretty self-explanatory. And they're quite serious, but they're not done in a serious way. You want to dance to all the tracks. I thought it was an interesting way of making a record, for me, that was totally different than before.
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"The show is really exciting, too. I have dancers this time around, which I never had and I'm dancing a lot . . . it's been so much fun to step out of where I feel comfortable and do something new."
Duff asks all concert-goers to bring non-perishable food items with them. It's part of her support for USA Harvest, a philanthropic organization founded by Stan Curtis. Duff joined Curtis in creating its counterpart, Canadian Harvest, which gathers food and distributes it through the Salvation Army.
"Last year we got to feed two million people in America just off my tours," said Duff.
She has also recently helped found Blessings in a Backpack, a program that ships food home with underprivileged schoolchildren. It has just started in an east Los Angeles school.
"None of them were getting hot meals except at school, for breakfast and lunch. A lot of them weren't eating dinner, or enough for dinner."
With help from the school, 1,000 backpacks were filled with food for the weekend. Students took the backpacks home on Friday and on Monday, 98 per cent brought their backpacks back, Duff said.
"Their test levels went up, their grades went up, the teachers said their focus levels in class was much more there. And a lot of graffiti disappeared from the school. They're not as bored, they're not as angry."
Getting involved in philanthropy of this sort is very rewarding, says Duff, who admits to taking things for granted as many people do.
"It really makes you appreciate your life and other things . . . good memories, a roof over your head, you know, and new shoes, being able to walk and use your arms and have a car. It just makes you feel grateful for everything -- and family, having a family."
All of this -- music, movies, a product line and activism -- may seem like a huge balancing act, but Duff says she relies heavily on her staff.
"It might seem huge to someone who isn't around all day every day with me," she said.
"It's not me that's doing it alone. I have a lot of really great people around me . . . they really like to schedule it out meticulously. I get plenty of time to myself, and to act my age. I do work every day from really early in the morning until late at night, but I get some days to see my friends and be home."
It all began when Duff, her sister Haylie and their parents were enjoying some quiet family time in Texas last week. The family was dining at the Pier 36 Seafood and Oyster bar and as soon as word got out that Duff was there, two 9-year-old girls arrived carrying posters and T-shirts and hoping for autographs.
