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Far-out Night
The Hangar, Thurs, Feb 17
Talk about a trek.
Downsview Airforce Base was the far-out site of the Canadian Film Centre’s fundraising gala, It Happened One Night. The base’s humongous hangar was the liftoff location for a flight of fantasy back to the golden age of Hollywood glamour in the 30s, 40s and 50s.
Downsview Airforce Base was the far-out site of the Canadian Film Centre’s fundraising gala, It Happened One Night. The base’s humongous hangar was the liftoff location for a flight of fantasy back to the golden age of Hollywood glamour in the 30s, 40s and 50s.
Gotta say that despite the dedicated organizers’ best efforts to revamp the space, we still think of a hangar as a place best suited to Rolling Stones tour rehearsals or storing Jerry Seinfeld’s vintage car collection.
Film Centre executive director Wayne Clarkson cracked that it would make a great location for a rave, too, with a curtained-off space for sleepovers.
Nonetheless, nearly a thousand Film Centre supporters adhered to the dress-to-impress code.
Chaired by Pat DiBratto, Ali DeNure and Kate Alexander, the gala boasted an impressive array of both silent and live auction items, including a trip to Thailand. Life Network’s Images host Adrienne Gold was the night’s MC, with entertainment by the Guido Basso Band and Marc Jordan.
Literally lounging in the cigar bar were Divine Decadence’s Carmelita Blondet, with her partner, artist Ivan Brugnera. “I built my empire with NOW,” boasted Blondet. “I started advertising in 1987 with myself as the model for the vintage clothing. Within six months, business was booming.”
We love it when that happens.
Dapper dressers also included singer Jacqueline Smith publicist Michelle Levy Jordan’s love, singer Amy Sky actor Kim Schraner Drop The Beat’s Mark Taylor and Merwin Mondesir Luna giftwear designer Nancy Moyen, with artist David Arathoon Saab Canada’s Peter Nikell, with Optimum Fusion’s Misa Kim and regally attired, totally bejewelled radio and TV personality Mark Stenabaugh, who was game to show us some bigger baubles he was thinking of wearing – tucked in his pants pocket. We didn’t go there.
Library Lenders
Bistro 990, Mon, Feb 21
The Film Reference Library, a division of the Toronto International Film Festival Group, celebrated its 10th anniversary with a filmic fete at Bistro 990. On display were newly added contributions to the lauded library’s resource collection – which includes 13,000 film books, 900 scripts, 8,000 film posters, 4,000 movies and 6,000 soundtracks.
The stellar donators to the “godsend for researchers” presided over by Sylvia Frank were filmmakers David Cronenberg, Atom Egoyan, Jeremy Podeswa, Bruce McDonald and Don Shebib and legendary publicist Prudence Emery. All but Shebib, who was in Ottawa, were in attendance. And while the last thing we wanted to see on display were the horrifying gynecological instruments used in Cronenberg’s Dead Ringers, well, ya gotta take the good with the bizarre.
Electric Entertainment’s Jane Hawtin was bubbling with news of a 13-part series of half-hour shows in development with co-host Margaret Trudeau.
Said Hawtin, “It’s a show about survival – creative solutions to mid-life crises. We’ve become well acquainted, and she amazes me. I don’t know how she’s managed to survive.”
Also on hand was Cinematheque Ontario’s James Quandt, who was recently honoured with a special citation by the National Society of Film Critics for his programming prowess. Quipped Quandt, “The irony was that I was in New York when the announcement was made, but it wasn’t until I came back four days later that I got the call. Seems I was the last to know.”
McDonald momentum
“Infamous pot-smoking renegade” were the words Toronto film fest honcho Piers Handling used to introduce Bruce McDonald at the above event. In a chat with McDonald, we learned he’s just completed his first commercial for Levi’s, which not only puts some loot in his pocket but provides him with a new wardrobe to boot.
Laughed McDonald, “Now I don’t have to wear dirty jeans all the time. I’m casting my new film, based on Tony Burgess’s book Pontypool Changes Everything, so Levi’s is unwittingly financing my horror/zombie movie.”
