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The Tastemakers’ Lounge: generous to the famous
Swagger: Kat Denning at the Tastemakers' Lounge (Photo courtesy of Rok-It PR)
Where’s a TIFF-goer to head for a semblance of home when they are miles before sleep? To the Tastemakers Lounge, of course. In its tenth year at the InterContinental, the gifting suite to the stars has gotten comfortable, feeling more like a super-yuppie condo than swag showroom.
Upon entrance to the airy, livable room, things soothed and wafted: neutral decor by Croma Design and PC Home, faintly spiced almonds mingling with inoffensive fragrances from D&G (most popular? L’Imperatrice; it translates to “The Star”). Box sets of AMC shows Mad Men and Breaking Bad went over big with the cast of Defendor—Woody Harrelson and Kat Dennings—while bamboo tees by Guats went out on the backs of Colin Firth and Agora’s Oscar Isaac. Ally Sheedy got good hair from a Chiggy’s Touch stylist with Rowenta tools. Amanda Schull (danced most famously in Centre Stage, now more credibly in Mao’s Last Dancer) primped with Joe Fresh Beauty. And Ben Barnes, the wasted anti-hero of Dorian Gray, can now recover with the aid of his new PC Home personal water-filter bottle.
As for us, we just wanted to steal a silky pillow for our hollowed-out heads.
Oscar buzz, vodka and stalking advice doled out at the Hazelton Hotel
To be Blunt: early rumblings suggest Young Victoria could be Emily Blunt's big break (Photo by chloe004)
With two weeks left until the opening gala of the Toronto International Film Festival, reporters gathered at the Hazelton Hotel to get a rundown on the buzziest films (Precious), parties (One X One), possible Oscar contenders (Mo’Nique, the woman from Soul Plane) and TIFF-inspired cocktails (Skyy vodka for all).
CTV film critic Richard Crouse said the Oprah-backed film Precious could mean a possible Oscar nomination for Mo’Nique, while co-star Mariah Carey can finally shake off the tarnished glitter from, well, Glitter. Closing film Young Victoria also got a thumbs-up and was predicted to be Emily Blunt’s big break. But the most intriguing film tidbit (and a brilliant marketing move to boot) was that everyone who went to the pre-screening of Heath Ledger’s last film, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, had to sign a waiver that forbid them from talking about it.
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Top stylist Allan Parss tells us why a $150 cut is worth it
Prime cut: Allan Parss prefers using a razor to scissors (Photo by Carmen Cheung)
If the influx of blow-dry salons in the city is any indication, we are visiting our stylists a lot less these days. Fewer cuts means more money in our wallets, so it’s not surprising Torontonians are developing a penchant for long-lasting haircuts, like the ones stylist Allan Parss is famous for giving at his swank Wellington Street space. We chatted with the 20-year veteran about why a good haircut is worth spending money on now, how the recession has affected his business and why flat, straight hair is on its way out.
Your haircuts usually cost about $200. Why? Read the rest of this entry »
With a good cut, you don’t have to do much the next day—that’s why it’s worth it. Most of my clients get compliments the day after a cut. A good haircut shows off.
TIFF’s documentary films observe an askew planet (ours)
Maple leaf rags: Dressed in Canadian colours, The White Stripes star in a documentary about their tour across the Great White North (Photo by Michael Morel)
Official TIFF blogger Thom Powers says the selection of documentaries at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival reveals a “world out of balance,” with movies addressing our changing oceans (Turtle: The Incredible Journey), struggling Iraq war vets (How to Fold a Flag) and even the coming apocalypse (Chris Smith’s Collapse). We can’t seem to remember a time when documentary makers weren’t saying the world is coming to an end. But no matter, there is plenty of levity here, too, including the premiere of Chris Rock’s look at African American beauty in Good Hair. He may be exploring serious questions about race, but we’re sure it will still be funny. More documentary film notes after the jump.
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