Dear Gossips,
Yesterday I posted about Naomi Watts on the LifeStyle page and her Venice Film Festival wardrobe. Naomi’s on the jury, led by Guillermo del Toro. Christoph Waltz is there too. And Sylvia Chang and director Malgorzata Szumowska. And Trine Dyrholm. Oh …and Taika Waititi.
So if we’re talking about festival wardrobes, well, check out what Taika wore to the jury photo call today. That looks like a gi, right? Or a gi-inspired top. I like the look. And, clearly, he’s feeling it too. As you can see from the way he’s posing. And/or goofing.
Taika, as he does, is there to have a good time. To see films and take them seriously, of course, but also to have a good time because otherwise what’s the point? This is the same attitude he applies to his work. There is meaning to it, no doubt. There is pathos, always. But there is also joy, and silliness, and there can be goofing. Suffering isn’t the only quality that qualifies the artistic experience. It doesn’t even have to be the predominant quality, although, sometimes, where someone like, insert deep, exhausted breath, Ethan Hawke is concerned, that’s how it’s often presented. I wonder what it would be like for the Ethan Hawkes and also the, say, Joaquin Phoenixes to be on a Taika Waititi set. What would that experiment look like?
For now, we have ten days of Taiki in Venice to look forward to. And, perhaps, a gi in every colour.
Yours in gossip,
Lainey
