Legendary Hollywood screenwriter slams Toronto and people seem to agree
A legendary Hollywood screenwriter criticized Toronto while attending the North American premiere of his latest film at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF).
Acclaimed American screenwriter and film director Paul Schrader took to his Facebook page over the weekend to discuss some of Toronto’s negative qualities, which, according to his opinion, included the sheer number of identical-looking high-rises.
Schrader is best known for writing the screenplays of Martin Scorsese’s Taxi Driver and Raging Bull and directing several notable films, including Blue Collar, Hardcore, American Gigolo, Affliction, and First Reformed.
“When I first started going to Toronto in the ’60s it was like a hip Boston,” Schrader wrote. “It’s now become the Manhattan skyline with Los Angeles sprawl. Many of the high rises that have been built in the past 30 years are indistinguishable from each other — like Sim City replicants.”
Schrader was recently in town for the premiere of his latest film, Oh, Canada, which stars Richard Gere, Jacob Elordi, and Uma Thurman.
The director’s controversial take on Toronto quickly amassed over 400 likes and was quickly reshared on other social media platforms, including X. While some agreed that Toronto had quickly turned into a concrete jungle, others noted that there are still many aspects of the city worth admiring.
“Manhattan skyline with Los Angeles sprawl” oh it’s over for toronto
— samantha (@babymyapologies) September 15, 2024
“I live there and it’s sad seeing all the culture being replaced by these eyesores and subsequent skyrocketing real estate (and everything else), that’s actually decreasing the existential value of living there,” one person wrote under Schrader’s post.
he’s right it sucks now
— nancy (@jandalphthegay) September 15, 2024
“Like any major city, it has its own share of good and bad. Architecture has not been top of mind for many of the buildings and the traffic is… well Toronto is an hour from Toronto wherever you are going. However, it still has a diversity of cultures that are easily accessed and despite its size, often has the feel of a small town in the best way. I could go on,” another person chimed in.
He’s absolutely right, GTA builds hilariously tall towers directly along the busiest highways and arterial roads (yummy tire particulate) and then the rest is cheap and tacky single family homes, slummy lowrise apartments and parking lot deserts. Can’t wait for to be a real city
— Shiddy Doodoo (@CofIndustry) September 15, 2024
“I’ve lived in Toronto for over 30 years and I would never characterize it as being anything like Manhattan,” one comment defending the city reads.
While Schrader didn’t have the best impression of Toronto during his recent visit, one fan asked the screenwriter what he thought of Montreal instead, to which he replied, “Montreal survives.”