Reuters reports that the celebrity gift bags at the Sundance Film Festival are getting a little lighter this year.
Robert Redford chafes at the descent of what he calls "ambush marketers" on the celebrities attending the Sundance Film Festival he founded as a showcase for independent film without all the commercial trappings of Hollywood.
But he may be encouraged by the latest trends in so-called "swag" on the sidelines of this year's event. Celebrity gift baskets, a phenomenon driven by companies' hopes that celebrities will be shown using their products, are becoming lighter and greener and just a bit more discreet.
Stars at Sundance also have more opportunities to make donations to charity, from underwear for a local women's shelter to phone cards for soldiers.
And who is playing the leading role in this new version of swag? None other than the tax man.
Last year, months before the Academy Awards, the Internal Revenue Service launched a swag crackdown, putting Hollywood on notice that the $100,000 goodie bags for Oscar participants -- stuffed with Hawaiian hotel suites and surfing lessons -- were not gifts but rather compensation and subject to taxes.
"The rule has always remained the same -- people have to pay their taxes. But the awareness of it, that has changed," said Karen Wood, founder of the Backstage Creations Gift Retreat, set up this year on Park City's Main Street.
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Kari Feinstein, who has been running gift lounges at Sundance for seven years, said there are fewer big-ticket items like computers or jewelry this year because companies have to notify the IRS about giveaway items worth more than $600.
But in her lounge, a stand offering Apple laptops with a declared value of $1,099 and iPods was the rage.
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A new company, Luxestar, allows Sundance luminaries take a more discreet approach by giving them a computerized gift card -- the value depending on their level of celebrity -- and choosing their gifts off a Web site over the course of a year.
Deliveries are made to the star's home or office, and the general public can track what celebrities are buying online.
No celebrity event these days would be complete without "green" options to cater to the growing group of eco-conscious Hollywood stars emulating the likes of Leonardo DiCaprio.
It sounds to us like the swag bags aren't getting lighter at all -- the retailers and celebs are just getting sneakier about it. Didn't they learn anything from the Wesley Snipes' current IRS troubles?
