Published on Friday, Sep. 07, 2007 12:00AM EDT Last updated on Saturday, Mar. 14, 2009 1:00AM EDT
When Dusty Cohl dusts off his sneakers and dons his pin-adorned cowboy hat, the film festival has officially kicked into gear.
"Hello gorgeous," was his warm and animated greeting to TIFF managing director Michèle Maheux who by all sartorial standards looked resplendent in a champagne-coloured Fifties-inspired Mark Belford cocktail dress.
Business types and reel veterans shook hands and reunited, creating a bubbly bottlenecked entry at the Rosewater Supper Club: Piers Handling, Norman Jewison, Allen Karp and Dagmar Dunlevy of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, she in an animal-print wrap dress.
Ms. Dunlevy came over to Mr. Cohl, his Illinois-based film buddy Kim Robeson and me and showed us that she keeps her cowboy hat pin (only TIFF's most loyal and long-standing supporters have them) tucked safely in her décolletage.
Shoe salesman of the 21st century Ron White let it slip that Hilary Duff and Eva Longoria may stop by his Manulife Centre store on Saturday to check out his "all-day" heels collection. Score one against Manolos.
In the North Lobby at Roy Thomson Hall, the Astral Media 20th anniversary reception and introduction to Jeremy Podeswa's Fugitive Pieces may not have had the star wattage of Pitt, Clooney and Damon. But I started counting my own Ocean's Eleven of power players: Robert Lantos, George Cohon, Paul Godfrey, Ian Greenberg, Atom Egoyan, Mayor David Miller, Liberty Group's Nick Di Donato.
And if salad, poutine, lamb chop and dessert stations artfully prepared by Daniel et Daniel did not provide enough food to sit through the thought-provoking film, guests could a grab a bag of popcorn. Indeed, feast now, fest later.
And, I've been told, Jodie Foster and Terrence Howard enjoyed an authentic Italian meal at Sotto Sotto. They were among the guests celebrating a private party for The Brave One.
If there's anything I've already learned from a turbo-charged 24 hours, it's that everyone involved in the Toronto International Film Festival needs fuel to sustain the onslaught of events, interviews and non-stop action.
"They'll eat the sugar, but that's because they don't eat meals," Elaine Lui of Lainey Gossip celebrity-site fame told me as she lounged on a sofa in the eTalk lounge at the InterContinental Hotel, where shelves are stocked with retro sweets to get stars giddy.
Apparently, the steroid-sized Pixy Stix straws are the biggest draw, having won over Laura Linney, Jude Law and Ewan McGregor last year.
For others, such as Jeff Goldblum, who walked into the eTalk Tastemakers Green Room (same hotel, different floor) two seconds after me, eye candy makes for a good pre-interview boost - a 22-year-old model named Whitney, to be specific.
"It smells so good in here," he purred upon entering the Bullfrog renewably powered suite (same hotel, different floor) dolled up by HGTV's Designer Guys.
In Toronto to promote Pittsburgh, a straight-to-DVD mockumentary not running during TIFF, the former Fly star (and Cronenberg crony) practically drooled over the blond Virginian whose beach-ready body was a perfect fit for a two-piece from V del Sol swimwear.
"What did you do to your toe?" he asked her, far less concerned with the selection of Strellson men's shirts and ties nearby. How's this for a pickup line: "Do you like theatre?"
Whisked away to be prodded by hungry journalists, Mr. Goldblum was assured he could return.
This freed up my attention to focus on two other handsome men in the room: Dean and Davis Factor, the grandsons of makeup legend Max Factor and the faces behind Smashbox Cosmetics, a makeup standby on fashion shoots and television shows such as Ugly Betty.
Dean, 42, who is the business-minded younger brother (by five years) has spent the past week in Toronto with his family doing all sorts of touristy things, including a trip to Niagara Falls. They also spent time with Greg Kinnear (here shooting a film) and his brood.
Over at the IT Lounge, a swag lounge in the Windsor Arms Hotel, I discovered that chocolate is starring in two new roles: an aid for PMS (the mini Jamieson bars claim to reduce bloating thanks to willow bark and artichoke extract) and a way to lower blood sugar and cholesterol (bitter melon and cinnamon get double-billing on the wrapper). Called Heart Chocolate, the latter nutri-sweet helped PR gal extraordinaire Natasha Koifman get through TIFF preparation (she's also liaising with Time magazine on its three major parties, including George Clooney's at the Design Exchange tonight). Hey, whatever works.
Suffice it to say, her heart is large. This swag lounge encourages celebrity visitors to donate their gifts (Esprit clothing, T-shirts from hipster label Trove, House of Beckham fragrances, among other swanky stuff) to Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Toronto.
My movable feast of goodie ogling ended at the Wardrobe Lounge, located in the presentation centre for the MuseumHouse condo, steps away from the Four Seasons Hotel. Designed by Powell & Bonnell (celebs of the decor world) the model suite was as beautifully outfitted as the dresses and men's wear - Escada, RK, J. Lindeberg, Obakki among other predominantly Canadian labels - available to celebs for daily wear (and dry cleaned, for the record, care of Creeds).
So glittery were the Colette Harmon baubles and Lindsay Perry shoes that I didn't realize the only other guest in the "bedroom" was Kristin Booth, the effervescent homegrown star of Young People Fucking. In a gold crochet Laurel dress that she planned to wear for her press conference, she surveyed two pairs of Myles Mindham earrings to wear with her David Dixon cocktail frock for the premiere last night.
While sipping ice wine, Wardrobe Lounge creator Nicholas Mellamphy told me that his goal was to highlight local fashion in a "non-tradeshow" environment. If the civilized setting and tasteful editing is any indication, his forthcoming boutique Hazel, to open this November in the Hazelton Hotel, will definitely attract the city's well-heeled.
In the meantime, I just want my feet to survive the festival, and so found myself accepting a pair of FitFlops from Ms. Lui in the eTalk lounge. If they do their job, I'm supposed to get a workout as I walk but I'd settle for cushiony days to balance out my stiletto-standing nights.
Ms. Lui's survival strategy involves drinking lots of (Fiji) water. Waving around one of the Pixy Stix as she gabbed, she pointed out that the phenomenon of swag suites is different in Toronto from the scene in Cannes, which she covered for the first time this past May.
There, stars have the Mediterranean as a backdrop instead of beige wallpaper, and safari vacations are given away like lipstick (Canadian Cargo cosmetics designed a shade just for eTalk). "Our lounges are more fun; theirs are just ridiculous," she said.
Mr. Goldblum certainly looked like he enjoyed himself.
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