Female Nudity Is Alive and WellAnd not only that, but if porn popularized the Brazilian wax, Hollywood 2011 is advocating the return of something that rhymes with ‘tush.’ In several films – including but not limited to director Sarah Polley’s Take This Waltz and William Friedkin’s Killer Joe - lingering shots of completely naked, wax-averse women were cornerstone. Somewhere, a spa technician is sobbing.
The Rock Doc Cometh!
Rock and roll is not only exciting in a concert setting but clearly provides credible and engaging source material for films. Witness these great films by marquee directors: U2 From the Sky Down by Inconvenient Truth director Davis Guggenheim; Pearl Jam Twenty by Cameron Crowe; Neil Young Journeys by Jonathan Demme (Silence of the Lambs); Paul McCartney: The Love We Make (by famed documentarian Albert Maysles) and Paul Williams Still Alive (by Vegas Vacation filmmaker Steve Kessler). Our three-finger devil salute is proudly raised.
Pee… uh, Also Cometh!
As with female nudity, urine was also well-represented at TIFF 2011. Director Steve McQueen’s Shame, Sarah Polley’s Take This Waltz and Paddy Considine's Tyrannosaur all had notable (if not plot-advancing) pee scenes. We’re not sure why… we’re just saying.
The Actor as Auteur
Not simply content with earning millions of dollars and the fawning adoration of fans the world over, actors now increasingly demand to be taken seriously behind the camera; as such TIFF 2011 saw directorial entries from Madonna, Ralph Fiennes, Sarah Polley and George Clooney. This is both good news and bad news.
Swag Really IS Where it’s At
We thank our lucky stars to have been invited to two fantastic swag lounges – the Rock-it Promotions Tastemaker Lounge at the Intercontinental Hotel and Bask-It-Style by Jsquared2 Public Relations Swag in the Bag lounge at the jaw-droppingly beautiful Shangri-La Presentation Suite. At each, we were treated like celebs, learning about great new products and going home with goodie bags filled variously with hair care products, body lotion, jewelry, blue jeans, ear bugs, earrings, books, curling irons, winter hats, pens, facial cleansers and much, much more. This is one trend we hope never goes away.
