A SINGLE MAN – a film by Tom Ford

Aparently it did well at Cannes and Colin Firth is being tauted as a shoe-in for an Oscar nomination. I read great things about it, but the trailer is ridiculously ambiguous -no dialogue, fast cuts of artsy-looking people looking miserable — so that has me worried that it’s all hype.

Fashion designer Tom Ford talks to two semi-naked male extras on the set of his directorial debut movie, “The Single Man”. The film is based on Christopher Isherwood’s 1964 novel of the same name and is set over a day in the life of a man who suddenly loses his lover in a tragic accident.

It’s not exactly going to cross over into the mainstream. It looks exquisite – as you’d expect – but it’s a bit airless and while not being completely shallow, it lacks depth. You admire the clothes and interiors, etc., but it’s not particularly engagin on an emotional level.

That’s what I was afraid of — all style and no substance.But you can bet he’ll be in every frickin magazine during the film’s release, staring at us contemptuously with his little white shirt and black jacket.

‘The Princess and the Frog’ [Disney and Kids]

Actors Bruno Campos, Terrence Howard and Jim Cummings arrive at the premiere of Walt Disney Pictures’ ‘The Princess and the Frog’ at the Disney Studios on November 15, 2009 in Burbank, California

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French love gangsters doing “it” in style [criminal culture]

French criminal culture is far away from what could happen around the world, rules breakers and rogues are litterally loved and celebrated as long as they do it with style of course.

Last thursday,Tony Musulin -a security van driver- made headlines when he stole 11 millions euros from the Bank of France and disappeared with the loot.The media landscape went aghast, triumphantly informing the public that the French Police aka Chicken did not have a clue as to where the hell he was.Overnight Tony has become an internet star in France ,he now has a fan club on Facebook wich describes as hero and “Best Driver for 2009”.

French celebrate obessesively the criminal culture, they are always smart and charming when portrayed in films as opposed to dimwit cops.

In september, a man accused of the brutal murder of two women escaped from a jail in Burgundy.Jean Pierre Treiber hid inside a cardboard box in the prison workshop and had himself “delivered” to the outside world as part of a consignement stationnery.On the run ever since, Mr Trieber has managed to outwit the dumb cops at every turn not to mention ridiculing them in front of the entire nation when he sent his prison identity to a french magazine and love letters to his girlfriend.French simply cheered on him.Film makers meanwhile are already penning the script.

The bank robber Michel Vaujour made history in 1986 when he fashioned a replica gun from a bar of soap and barged his way on to the prison roof where his obliging wife(having cleverly learned to fly a helicopter in her spare time) hovered above the prison and scopped him up and away from prison.

Of course, his 27 years behind bars was smartly turned in a psychological account on how to cope and jail breaking.At the screening well educated, well dressed, Parisian women were tearfully thanking him for his honesty, humility, and humanity.

Even Jacques Chirac,Nicolas Sarkozy predecessor, was voted the most popular French politician alive though he was ordered by French magistrates to stand trial on embezzlement charges.Meanwhile Nicolas Sarkozy hit an all-time low in the opinions poll..

source BBC

 

 

Hollywood : The Next Generation

Anthony Mackie was named the actor to watch in The Hollywood Reporter’s”Next Generation” issue!

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more about “The Next Generation“, posted with vodpod

Ephraim, triple threat in the entertainement industry

As “Ephraim Benton” was the top terms people used to find my blog,I’ve decided to profile him for those whom cares and are willing to know much more than a picture took at the  precious screen recently in LA.Naturally, I went through his website ephraimsworld.com and was surprise how fresh and funky the site was though it’s a big mess to navigate through all the sections, the colorfull teddy bears made me think about the cover of “ late registration.” From Kanye west.

Unsurprisingly, we learn that Ephraim Benton don’t play and he’s hungry enough to become a “triple threat in the entertainement industry”.On the top of producing an animated documentary about the life of President Barack Obama titled “HIStory” that was released for free virally this past January, he has already executive produced, written, directed and starred in two short films, “Brown Paper Bags” and “3 Quarters of Face Value”. In 2009, he started with his cameo appearance in Oprah’s movie “PUSH: Based On The Novel By Sapphire”.For more info, check out his website or interact with him on Twitter.

ephraimsworld.com

Follow Ephraim on Twitter

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Everybody comes to Hollywood

As Madonna Put it so well ; “Everybody comes to Hollywood.They wanna make it in the neighborhood.They like the smell of it in Hollywood.How could it hurt you when it looks so good”.Well,Tanya Keyser (Public Relations) think same thus she organised  an event -‘Welcome To Hollywood’ breakfast- yesterday morning at Cecconi’s Restaurant aimed to show us how inspiring and cute her talent pool is.Besides being another boring publicity stunt for her clients, the idea of showcasing new talents is not a bad one, except it could  have been more appealling  if we had at the same time a press release or a footage.Just in case we wanna know a little bit more than a picture and a name.Aren’t they cute ?

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Last Night in Hollywood

Oprah Winfrey  and director Tyler Perry arrive at the screening of ‘Precious: Based On The Novel ‘PUSH’ By Sapphire’ during AFI FEST 2009 held at Grauman’s Chinese Theatre on November 1, 2009 in Hollywood, California.

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related  2009 Soul Train Awards