Toronto Line-Up Announced

Toronto Film Festival Packs Good Flicks

(Charlie Kaufman’s Synecdoche)

Now that the Venice Film Festival is over, its time to roll over to the next batch of films looking to get bought or do their North American Premieres. Toronto Film Fest will run September 4-11. Among the 249 features to be shown, about 116 of them will be premieres and 61 are first features. Let the races begin…

These are the films our Starworks crew consider “ones to watch”…

MARNI PICKS:

(Philip Seymour Hoffman in Synecdoche)

(1) Synecdoche, starring Philip Seymour Hoffman, Michelle Williams, Samantha Morton

(2) Management, starring Jennifer Aniston and Steve Zahn

(3) Gigantic, starring Zooey Deschanel and Paul Dano

SARAH JENKS DALY PICKS:

(Bryce Howard in The Loss of A Teardrop Mind)

(1) The Loss of A Teardrop Mind: “I’m really looking forward to seeing this film. The original screenplay was written by Tennessee Williams and since it’s set on a Southern plantation, I’m sure the cinematography will be impressive. I’m also a big fan of both Bryce Dallas Howard and Mamie Gummer (Meryl Streep’s daughter)” — SJD

(2) Burn After Reading: “I’m excited to see this film from the Coen brothers, which is quite the departure from No Country For Old Men. Obviously the cast is stacked with A-list names like Clooney and Pitt and Tilda Swinton, but I’m more interested in the performances by Frances McDormand and John Malkovich.” — SJD

(3) Pedro: “I remember watching Pedro Zamora on The Real World: San Francisco in 1994 when I was in junior high school. He was a magnetic and intelligent individual who contracted the HIV virus at a young age and used his platform on reality television to educate a group of young people about the disease. This documentary tells the story of the challenges he faced and the inspiring life he led. I can’t wait to see it.” — SJD

JAURETSI PICKS:

(Waltz with Bashir’s Protagonist flashbacking to the first Lebanon War)

(1) Waltz With Bashir - “Already saw it, but I can honestly say, one of the most beautiful films I have ever seen in my entire life. A must-have Soundtrack. It will be released in the States this Fall. Review + Trailer here.” –J

(2) Synecdoche - “Because I’m a freak for a good Charlie Kaufman script” — J

(3) Public Enemy No. 1 — “Vincent Cassel is a badass. Directed by Jean-Francois Richet, it’s a thriller starring Cassel as legendary gangster Jacques Mesrine” — J

(Vincent Cassel and Cécile de France in Public Enemy No. 1)

GREG PICKS:

(Keira Knightley in The Duchess)

(1) The Duchess: “A period film with Keira. I’m there no questions asked.”–GK

(2) New York I Love You: “Natalie Portman and Scarlett Johannson direct. Mira Nair contributes a segment called Kosher Vegeterian. I’m excited and loved the Paris film.” — GK

(3) Me and Orson Welles: “Zac Efron and Richard Linklater. Nuff said.” — GK

(Zac in Me and Orson Welles. Natalie Portman in New York I Love You)

—————————————————————————————-

GREG’s HONORABLE MENTIONS:

(Mickey Rourke in The Wrestler)

The Burning Plain
Uncertainy
Blindness
Easy Virtue
Lymelife
Gigantic
Wendy and Lucy
Sounds Like Teen Spirit - a Popumentary
Deadgirl

JAURETSI’s HONORABLE MENTIONS:

(Paris, Not France)

“This doc world Premieres at Toronto. Directed by Adria Petty. Title is based off a poll in certain demographics that says more people identity the name Paris with “Hilton”, and not “France”. I can’t tell if I’m amused or disgusted by that thought, but I’m still heavily compelled to see Adria’s doc — plus she’s a cool girl. (P.S. the doc is modeled after a 1960’s pic, Darling)” — J

To all the filmmakers, Break a Leg!

Westwood Homage

Jen Wannarachue is one of the girls behind WorshipWorthy.com, NYC’s downtown female authored website on lifestyle, events, art, and fashion on a more street level. Read their “Confessional” section to see their top picks on hip New York ladies.

(New T-shirt by WW†)

Jen’s clothing line is called WW†. Jen just created this T-shirt of Vivienne Westwood. The T-shirts are described as “super duper thin cotton” so it’s nice to wear them a bit loose….

Jauretsi: Why Vivienne?

Jen Wannarachue: She’s always been a huge inspiration to me, her whole sort of crazy and twisted vibe is something I’ve connected with. It’s an homage to the queen of punk fashion.

Jauretsi: Why did you choose this specific portrait of her?

JW: The photo is of her at her Sex fetish store (in 1976) that she ran with Malcolm McLaren in London in the mid to late 70’s (before it was Seditionaries). The colors in the photo are really gorgeous too. At the time she probably had no idea what a huge influence she’d have on the fashion world and what an icon she’d become.

Sold at TheReedSpace in the Lower East Side, and Bahaus in UK ($60).

DazedDigital makeover

New Website!

DazedDigital has gone into the lab and re-emerged with a winning product. They have recently launched the Redesign of their website which I think is more straight-forward, streamlined, and easier to navigate. Founder Jefferson Hack said of the Redesign, “We listened to our users and learnt that they wanted more information more quickly, with authoritative and credible reporting. DazedDigital.com is not a magazine web site, it is an ideas factory, a destination site, a reference tool, a content hub, a radar for what’s vital and relevant in an information soaked culture.” —- WORD, Jeff.

Sections I found interesting:

FASHION WEEKS:

The new site offers organized Fashion features and extensive coverage during Fashion weeks. Included are also Designer Profiles complete with visits to their studios. Previous contributers to DazedDigital include Hedi Slimane, Kim Jones, Gareth Pugh, Mariano Vivanco, and Nicole Formichetti who have all experimented with Internet using DazedDigital as their bulletin board. It’s a “ground-zero” playground for Fashion’s pioneering minds.

ARTS/CULTURE (On The Rise):

There’s an entire TAB section on ARTS/CULTURE, which includes names you should keep an eye on … Meaty reading.

FASHION (On The Rise):

They have also created a similar “Rise” section for Designers who are coming up the pipe now… something Starworks always like to keep tabs on.

DJ PLAYLISTS:

Who doesn’t love an educated playlist of the latest music? DazedDigital can be used as a hip radio station in the office for those with an insatiable appetite for new music. Mixtapes are constantly added to this section on a monthly basis.

VIDEOS:

The clever programming for DazedDigital includes a day with Helena Christensen shooting in Egypt to visiting CSS’s frontwoman, LoveFoxxx, in her home. Tons of videos here. Some of the videos are breadcrumbs that lead you back to their Print Magazine edition.

PHOTOGRAPHY: “Flicker Finds”

(Photographer to Watch: 15 Year old Eleanor Hardwick)

Dazed&Confused Magazine has always been a fun read primarily for their forecasting abilities. The website has this feature where they interview new blood they believe in. This month, they discovered a body of work from a girl posted on Flicker. Most of the photos were posted when she was 14 years old. Today, Eleanor Hardwick is 15 years old and she seems to possess a wonderfully dreamy identity in her photos. It’s a heightened sense of reality at its finest.

DazedDigital interviews little Eleanor with a Q&A about her extensive 2,0444 photo collection and her trajectory as an artist developing her voice online. We bet money this girl will be booking a Luxury campaign by the time she’s 18 years old.

(Photography by Eleanor Hardwick)

Get your daily fix at DazedDigital.com
J

Chanel tip-off by MOB

(Chanel Fall 08 Hoops)

Most people who meet me wonder why I have a red sticker that reads “Most Official Bitches” on my Gold Blackberry. Well, the code acronym is M.O.B. — which represents a street clothing line from the streets of New York (Article in NY Observer). The girl crew goes by the Moniker “Married to the Mob” — and comprises a mix of creative ladies, some of who DJ (Fashion Week Event). The coveted hoodies and T’s are sold in cool retail stores worldwide but their NY headquarters lies inside Alife (the sneaker epicenter we posted on last month here).

Anyway, the MOB girls have a blog which is pretty entertaining (MobLiving.com). 17 year old artist/writer Tabatha is my favorite blogger, however this Chanel “tip-off” came from one of their new writers, Tara, who gushes about the new gangster hoops: “Unkie Karl continues to make my heart skip a beat”. Even street girls kneel at the alter of Chanel.

(MOB New Sweatshirt from Fall 08. MOB 07 Sneakers sold at Colette, Paris).

MOB will be sharing their own Fall 08 pieces at the upcoming MAGIC tradeshow in Las Vegas.
J

MarriedToTheMobnyc.com
Chanel.com

Beyond The Hills

Tonite is the premiere of Lauren Conrad and friends’ adventures in “The Hills.” However now that the real life celebrity and drama off camera is more interesting than what MTV can possibly capture, I have to admit my excitement level is tepid.

Now that we have Gossip Girl and the return of 90210, I wonder how many people still care to tune in as they can just read US WEEKLY cover stories to get a quicker weekly fix.

But before we welcome back Serena van der Woodsen and Brenda Walsh, this summer’s teen fix can come via American Teen and Skins.

American Teen is the Sundance documentary breakout centered around a Warsaw, Indiana high school that literally takes the Breakfast Club archetypes and finds their real life counterparts updated for a new generation of jocks, geeks, popular girls, and outcasts. I loved every minute of this film, especially the breakout Hannah. These kids have probably watched Laguna Beach and The Hills to prepare for their closeup, but all the emotions rang true. This movie will be rolling out nationally and coming to the Europe in the Fall.

Skins which just premiered on BBC America last night is a homegrown UK teen television show that any fan of Dawsons Creek/90210/Gossip Girl will be obsessed with. You might remember the lead actor Nicholas Hoult from About A Boy. He’s all grown up now and leads the ensemble of breakout young talent who were all unknowns when the show began. The show is edgier and more fun than what US television allows, but like American Teen, depicts a generational experience that crosses ponds and should develop a cult following here. Skins is already in its third season in UK.