Canadian actor Ryan Gosling may have been nominated for an Academy Award, but that wasn't what people wanted to talk about when he came to the Toronto International Film Festival earlier this month.
Instead, reporters covering the Lars and the Real Girl press conference seemed preoccupied with Gosling's lifeless co-star. In the film, which opens next month, Gosling plays an emotionally troubled misfit who mail-orders a Real Doll -- an anatomically correct female doll made from high grade silicon crafted over an articulated skeleton -- for companionship. Gosling's character proceeds to make his family and friends uncomfortable by transporting his new "girlfriend" Bianca around town in a wheelchair.
"You know," he tells his stunned brother and sister-in-law, "Bianca's a missionary."
HIGH-TECH 'LOVE DOLLS'
Mainstream fascination with Real Doll subculture -- fans are sometimes called iDollators -- seems to be growing. Motley Crue's Vince Neil showed off his Real Doll on an episode of MTV's Cribs. The dolls made repeat cameos throughout a recent season of ABC's Boston Legal, and one was once fashioned to look like actress Kelly Carlson for an episode of the F/X program Nip/Tuck. Late last year, Howard Stern spoke on-air about his personal encounter with a Real Doll, and plans to name a second doll after controversial The View co-host Elisabeth Hasselbeck.
The dolls are also the subject of a fascinating British documentary Guys and Dolls, which follows four men in the U.S. and Britain, each who own their dolls for different reasons.
Mike, a Texan, risks a real-life relationship for his eight dolls. Another owner, Davecat, explains he prefers the security of his inanimate girlfriend over unpredictable, potentially cruel treatment he could be subject to from a real woman.
The documentary also takes a fascinating look inside the San Diego factory where the dolls are made. There, Abyss Creations has been manufacturing Real Dolls at a rate of six to eight each week for more than a decade. What Abyss makes are high-tech versions of "love dolls" dating back to Second World War, where they were introduced by the Japanese and Germans to help their soldiers cope in an all-male environment. The company, which did not respond to requests for interviews, has reportedly sold more than 3,000 of their dolls -- which now sell for $6,500 each -- worldwide.
The very first testimonial on their website is from a Canadian.
"I received my doll today and I don't find my words to describe her beauty," begins an enthusiastic letter from Quebec-based Jean. "She's just wonderful."
Most of the products on the site are marketed to men, although the company does offer a male Real Doll for women. The company says its dolls are sold for sex and/or companionship, but also for many other reasons: They count futurists, artists, art collectors, photographers and those in the forensics and medical communities as customers.
As for Lars and the Real Girl, screenwriter Nancy Oliver says the concept for the film stemmed from "a dark and mysterious place."
"I had a weird job once where I came into contact with a lot of perverse websites and lonely guys," she explained, refusing to say what the job was, "and I kind of took it from there."
Gosling says he was more drawn to the emotional aspects of a Real Doll relationship.
"The idea that you can love something that doesn't love you back ... that it can be real without being reciprocal," he said. "I thought that was really powerful."
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Not everything I post or say on foro are necesarily true facts. <- THAT is a fact! :blankstare:
