6 August, 2010 | 1 Comment

Ha ha ha!

Read more: Guardian.

16 July, 2008 | 7 Comments

tomorrow i leave for the south of france. call me crazy, but i figure if i can get the first photos of knox and viv, then i’ll be able to pay off my student loans and buy my own flat and stuff. fingers crossed.

For my Democrat readers: Please note this post contains no satire, irony or wit. There’s nothing to offend you here. Please move along.

22 January, 2008 | 5 Comments

Apparently, the Associated Press has already written Britney Spears’s obituary. While it’s common for news organizations to write obituaries for famous people while they’re still alive, rarely is it ever done for someone under the age of 30. You may be shocked by this, but I actually feel sorry for Britney Spears. I think the odds are pretty good that she will kill herself at some point. Glad the AP is prepared.

In other celebrity news, Heath Ledger RIP.

5 August, 2007 | 7 Comments

I woke up today feeling quite flu-ish — sore throat, headachey, running nose. And on my one day off! Grrrrr. Still, I trekked into the West End for various amusements. And at one point, I found myself swept up into a teeny-bopper mob outside the Duke of York’s Theatre, waiting for Orlando Bloom to emerge from the stage door. He is starring in the drama In Celebration, which has garnered strong reviews.

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29 July, 2007 | 3 Comments

“One thing I never could stomach about living in Santa Carla…all the damn vampires.”

I just read that The Lost Boys, that glorious 1980s vampire movie starring Jason Patric, Kiefer Sutherland and the two Coreys…celebrates its 20th anniversary this year. TWENTY YEARS! How is that possible? I was a teenager when that movie came out. Crikey. I have reached a new level of oldness.

Meanwhile, the two Coreys have their own reality show now on A&E. Check out this video clip of Corey Feldman telling Corey Haim that there’s going to be a direct-to-dvd Lost Boys sequel but that Haim was not invited to be in it. He starts crying. Oh dear.

[My apologies to those of you who were not American teenagers in the late 1980s and don't know who these people are. But to those who were -- I met Corey Haim in an airport once. Lucky me!]

16 June, 2007 | Comments are off

a brief update on my previous post. daft punk is just finishing up their set.  i had to actually turn off the movie i was watching because they were so loud (the loudest by far).  on the other hand, i could hear it so well i just got a free concert.  here’s bad audio footage of their song “one more time” floating over the treetops of london. [best with headphones.]  right now my bed is vibrating.  ahem.

7 June, 2007 | Enter your password to view comments

12 May, 2007 | 6 Comments

I’ve been home working all night under deadline pressure– because the fun never stops chez moi. I’ve been dipping in and out of the Eurovision Song Contest on TV. I’ve never watched it before and I don’t really understand what the fuss is about, but apparently the once-yearly contest is a big deal over here. The BBC has devoted more coverage to this than they did to the Iraq War. [Probably.]

To my American friends, let me explain what Eurovision is. After watching the British act (all dressed up as flight attendants – barf), I think I figured out what this contest is all about:

Each country in Europe (plus Israel and some other non-European countries) sends their least talented, most embarrassing amateur musical act to represent them on worldwide TV. It’s like the opposite of a talent show.

If I’m wrong about this, someone please let me know.

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9 April, 2007 | 6 Comments

This is my last post about my sister’s visit. Her final weekend à Paris was quite a whirlwind. We hit three cemeteries (Montparnasse, Montmartre and Père Lachaise) and toured sites from the movie Amélie in Montmartre. We both love this film. Like so many other kooky gals, we both recognize parts of ourselves in Amélie, one of the most fabulous movie characters ever created.

If you’ve ever set foot in Montmartre, you know it looks nothing like the world created in Amélie. Filmmakers — they’re such liars! But you can still imagine it. First stop, Café des Deux Moulins on rue Lepic. This is the café where Amélie worked in the film:

Inside, this café is surprisingly dumpy and very tiny. I don’t know how much of the film was actually shot inside this café and how much was shot on a soundstage. Because I have become very pushy since living in Paris (just like the locals), we managed to snag the booth where Nino Quincampoix (Amélie’s crush) sat in the film. If you visit Les Deux Moulins, perhaps the most crowded café in Paris, you are advised to bring an oxygen mask — that is, if you value breathing. The smoking ban can’t come soon enough. Ack!

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14 December, 2006 | Comments are off

I want to help you finish your holiday shopping and buy fabulous presents! So I’ve decided to inspire you with a series of posts on music, books and DVDs that would make lovely gifts. (Well, I guess they’d make lovely gifts if the recipient has the same taste as me.) Nothing I’m recommending is new — they’re all old, trusty favorites.

So today, the glorious world of music. I am a big fan of movie soundtracks. I like the eclectic mix of music and the high probability that at least 50 percent of the tracks will be good (which is more than you can say for the average CD). Also, I like writing while listening to music and it’s easier to write to instrumental — which is where movie soundtracks come in handy.

So here’s a list of some of my favorite movie soundtracks (with links to Amazon US because they have audio clips):

Amélie: The best. Perfect from start to finish. So romantic, so Parisian…

Portrait of a Lady: One of my top 5 faves, this is rather obscure (the Jane Campion movie starring Nicole Kidman is excellent and worth renting if you can find it). The Wojciech Kilar score is very brooding and cello-heavy. My favorite track is #11, Phantasms of Love.

Romeo & Juliet: From the Baz Luhrmann film, a fab collection of 90s pop songs (The Wannadies, Garbage, etc.). I never get tired of listening to this.

Gas Food Lodging: Obscure movie and soundtrack, but fantastic. Many nice instrumental tracks and a few rilly good songs, including one of my favorites, “Love” by Victoria Williams.

Gods and Monsters: The Carter Burwell score to this film is haunting and melancholy and luscious. Very hard to describe.

Orlando: From the movie starring Tilda Swinton, based on the Virginia Woolf novel. There are enough gems in this odd collection to make it a fabulous soundtrack. It’s worth buying just for track #12, The Maze.

Xanadu: Quintessential early-80s disco-inspired pop. The ultimate showcase for the goddess known as Olivia Newton-John. It also features Gene Kelly, Cliff Richard and Electric Light Orchestra. Not many soundtracks can make that claim! This is the first album I ever owned. I still have it and I still love every single song and I’m not ashamed to admit it.

Some Kind of Wonderful: My favorite John Hughes soundtrack — and there are a lot of good ones. My favorite song is Stephen Duffy’s “She Loves Me.”

Kill Bill Vol. 1: Wonderfully eclectic soundtrack to the Tarantino film. I love “Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)” by Nancy Sinatra.

Wonder Boys: A good mix of rock and R&B and generally soulful tunes — the first track, Bob Dylan’s “Things Have Changed,” is my fave.

Prelude to a Kiss: I don’t even remember this movie, but I’ve had the soundtrack for years and love it. A weird mix of romantic and flowery tracks mixed with the likes of The Divinyls’ “I Touch Myself.”

The Piano: Doesn’t everyone already own this?

I could go on and on, but I better stop now…

10 November, 2006 | 7 Comments

At newsstands all over Paris, there are giant posters on display of this magazine cover:

The first time I saw a poster of this cover at a newsstand last week, I stopped in the middle of the sidewalk, aghast. This is the latest issue of Score, a cinema magazine. The battered beauty is international sex symbol Monica Bellucci, who is publicizing her new film Le Concile de Pierre. The cover states: “Monica Bellucci in hostile territory. Chic actress and shocking photos. In Le Concile de Pierre, she passes from a seductress to a woman of action.” There’s an even more disturbing photo inside, accompanying the article that is entitled “Raging Belle.”

I probably don’t need to point out how disturbing it is that a battered woman is being presented in such a glamorous way. Given the way Bellucci is styled — with her perfect hair, make-up and couture — the only conclusion one can draw is that a bruised and bloodied woman is sexy. Some tiresome people will argue that in the new film, Bellucci is an action heroine, that she’s tough and that this just proves women aren’t delicate creatures but can kick butt just like men. Hail feminism! (I can always predict such arguments — they’re so…predictable.) To me, that’s just a bullshit rationalization for cheap shock value and publicity that is highly irresponsible and repugnant. If she’s so tough, she sure got an ass whooping from somebody. The message this sends to the countless children and teens who are seeing this image on posters all over town is that women are victims, that if you’re a girl you should expect to be beaten up, that suffering is female, that violence against women is acceptable. If this offends you, you can write to Score Magazine at: contact@score.fr. It doesn’t matter if you don’t know French. I guarantee you that members of their staff speak fluent English. If nothing else, send them a link to this post.

And while I’m on this topic of violence against women, there are movie ads for The Black Dahlia all over town — everywhere. I snapped this photo in the métro station the other night — the third one I’d seen in less than an hour:

In this ad, we see a dead woman portrayed as an object of beauty and lust. The dead woman in question is Elizabeth Short, aka Black Dahlia. She was murdered in horrific fashion (and presumably raped and tortured first). Her corpse — which was chopped in half and mutilated — was dumped in a vacant lot. To me, this just screams sexy!

The fact that Elizabeth Short — a real woman who died a savage death — is being portrayed like this is disgusting and shameful. I don’t know about you other ladies out there, but if I ever have the misfortune to be tortured to death and mutilated by a psychopath, I hope a salacious movie is made of my life and that perverts around the world enjoy getting off while looking at glam images of my rotting corpse.

We never see sexy images of men who’ve been beaten or killed like this — why not? Because those pictures don’t sell magazines or movie tickets. But images of suffering, beaten or glamorously dead women are titillating, apparently. When we view such images, we assume that a man inflicted the violence or death upon the woman. Therefore, for many twisted individuals, such images reinforce notions of (perceived) male physical power over women and of women’s status as helpless victims. The dynamics here are much the same as with pornography — the dehumanization and degradation of women that results in sexual gratification for the viewer. (The kind of viewer, I might add, who would be aroused by the sight of a dead woman because no woman with a pulse would have him.) In many ways, these images are worse than pornography because they’re dressed up as something of artistic value. But underneath the Hollywood veneer, they’re nothing more than trash designed to play on the viewer’s base impulses.

[tags]Score Magazine, Monica Bellucci, Black Dahlia, le Dahlia Noir, violence, pornography[/tags]

2 November, 2006 | 1 Comment

As I wandered around my neighborhood over the past few weeks, I became intrigued by rue Beautreillis. It’s only three blocks long, but I explored it and took photos and returned several times. It was only last night that I discovered the street is rather famous for its connection to everyone’s favorite dead American rock star in Paris.

I was interested in rue Beautreillis because there is a façade from an old hotel on the street. Two giant doors are all that is left of the Hotel Jean Louis Raoul:

The doors are striking to see in person — and it’s so odd that they’ve been left there. The whole scene is strange and beautiful and romantic. (You can see a side view here.) The street also attracted me because it’s sort of desolate and creepy, especially on the weekends. There are very few pedestrians or cars around and you can walk in the middle of the street and take pictures:

I decided to do a little internet research into the mysterious hotel doors and a search of “rue Beautreillis” revealed that Jim Morrison had lived at #17. I was quite shocked to discover this. He died in the bathtub in his apartment there on 3rd July, 1971, at the age of 27. (Or did he?)

I’ve walked by this building several times without realizing its infamy. I’ve never seen anyone else around there taking photos. I guess all the Morrison fans are at Père Lachaise (which, incidentally, is not that far from here). I have to admit I was skeptical that this was where he died until I saw it on the death certificate.

Across the street from 17 rue Beautreillis, at #18, is a restaurant that was frequented by Morrison and his girlfriend, where he ate one of his last meals. (It used to be called Restaurant Le Beautreillis):

It’s hard to imagine Jim Morrison lived in this neighborhood, particularly on this street. It’s very low-key and quiet, but I guess that’s what he wanted. Apparently, he spent a lot of time walking around and exploring the Marais — it’s an addictive habit. Funnily enough, I’ve developed a wee obsession with doors recently and rue Beautreillis and an adjoining street, rue Charles V, have some amazing doors, like these and these. Jim Morrison must have walked by the aforementioned hotel doors all the time — my favorite doors in all of Paris.

[tags]Jim Morrison, The Doors, 17 rue Beautreillis, smack[/tags]

21 September, 2006 | 3 Comments

Before my DVDs arrived this afternoon, I experienced a ‘mindless entertainment’ drought, what with not being able to understand anything on television. So I downloaded episodes of Reno 911! from iTunes. And sometimes while watching this show, I laughed so hard I’d nearly cry. How sad is that? And why am I admitting to this?

4 September, 2006 | 1 Comment

I may be a dork for admitting this, but I feel sad that Steve Irwin was killed. It was only a matter of time, I guess, but he seemed very sweet and refreshingly naive and child-like. I’m sure everyone is going to say he was irresponsible, blah, blah, blah, but it really doesn’t matter now.

[tags]Steve Irwin[/tags]

9 July, 2006 | 1 Comment

I found a few links to my most favorite Saturday Night Live skit ever:

“I got a fever, and the only prescription is more cowbell!”

I hadn’t seen it in a few years and it always cracks me up. You can watch it here, here, or here. It’s bizarre how many websites there are dedicated to this skit, not to mention all the merchandise surrounding it. It first aired in 2000. Christopher Walken said the cowbell sketch was career-defining for him. I have no idea why this is so hilarious. It just is.

[tags]more cowbell[/tags]

1 July, 2006 | 6 Comments

I’ve seen links to the My Heritage website on several blogs over the past few days, so of course I must do my part to promote this craze. You can upload your photo and using their state-of-the-art facial recognition technology, My Heritage will tell you which celebrities you look like. [Warning: You have to enter your e-mail and create a log-in.] According to them, I look like:

Pop Starlet Natalie Imbruglia

Former Pakistan Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto

Hmmm, not sure I see the resemblance, but the results could be worse…

13 June, 2006 | 2 Comments

My favorite English chat show has to be The New Paul O’Grady Show, which is on each day at 5:00. Nothing makes me laugh more than the mere sound of Paul O’Grady’s voice. He is famous for hosting a variety of TV shows in drag as the character Lily Savage, but now he’s appearing as himself. He is wonderfully neurotic and funny and campy. His dog Buster usually sits on his desk during the show. Each day at the start of the program Paul reads letters from viewers (and cringes in horror if they address him as “sir”). Last week someone wrote to ask if he would make an appearance in the Big Brother house. He was disgusted by the thought and said he wanted to seal off the Big Brother house and turn on the gas. How can you not love someone who sees the world like that?

I recorded him reading one of his viewer letters this afternoon, just so my American readers can hear his Liverpudlian accent. His show is going on hiatus after this Friday to make room for Richard & Judy. Boo hiss!

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

[tags]Paul O’Grady[/tags]

12 June, 2006 | 1 Comment

Tonight, Britain’s Channel 5 will begin broadcasting Big Love, the American sitcom about polygamists living in Utah. In the US this show was broadcast on HBO, a premium cable channel, but here it’s being shown on terrestrial (network) TV. As I’ve already written on this blog, this show is disgraceful. It glamorizes and sanitizes a group of people who are nothing more than sub-human trash. Is this what the world has come to? Is it cool to make mindless entertainment about a “lifestyle” that promotes and encourages child rape, domestic abuse and even murder?

If you have any common sense, you won’t let yourself be subjected to this garbage.

Links:

Warren Jeffs on FBI’s 10 Most Wanted List

Tapestry Against Polygamy

ChildBrides.org

The Principle

[tags]Big Love, Polygamy, Channel 5[/tags]

8 June, 2006 | 6 Comments

A round-up of delectable gossip just for you…

My mom sent me an instant message the other night. [She’s just recently learned how to do this. I usually stay up quite late and when she sees that it’s past midnight and I’m still online, I’ll get a message that says “What are you doing up so late?” It's quite heart-warming to think that her nagging has travelled 5,000 miles.] So anyway, the purpose of this particular instant message was to let me know that she bought a baby gift for Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie and that I shouldn’t worry – she remembered to put my name on the card. Do you see what kind of wacky family I have?

I just can’t let the birth of the Chosen One pass without comment. Isn’t it lovely how Angelina has embraced life in Namibia? Like most of the women there, she flew in her L.A.-based obstetrician to oversee the birth of her child. Aren’t there any doctors in Africa good enough for Angelina? Of this whole disgraceful PR campaign, NYT columnist Caryn James wrote: “Remarkably, the press has swooned for this stunt, recasting the cad and the femme fatale as humanitarians instead of two people who brought along their Los Angeles obstetrician and who knows how many other loyal retainers to Africa to stage-manage their baby’s birth.” This is celebrity whoredom at its worst – and that’s saying a lot.

Moving on…I have been debating whether to retire my celebrity crush on Russell Crowe. This isn’t a decision to be taken lightly. I’ve fancied Russ since I saw him in Gladiator – that’s a bit of a long-term commitment, eh? But I’ve finally come to the realization that Russell is toxic and that he should be banished from my life. Yesterday I read a nasty exposé of him in the Sydney Morning Herald and you know, he’s just yuck.

And finally, this is my favorite celebrity-related headline of the week:

Keanu Reeves Says He Wants to Get Married

There are so many jokes I could make about this – so so so many jokes. But I have decided to rise above it.

[tags]Angelina Jolie Can Bite My Ass[/tags]

10 May, 2006 | 4 Comments

My sister works in Hell-ay as a film editor. Last night she told me a juicy bit of Hollywood gossip (or “goss” as the tabloids here write) concerning the star of a hot TV show that is extremely popular on both sides of the Atlantic. The lead in this ensemble cast is a fine piece of eye candy. Even straight men and lesbians would have to concede this point. Much of the show’s advertising on television and in print plays off his image – if you live in London, then you’ve seen his visage on the side of a bus at least once, I guarantee it. However, I should point out that he’s not the typical Hollywood hunk. He seems mysterious and intellectual and sweet.

So anyway, big surprise, he’s gay. This news comes from a reliable source that is in the know. This actor is locked away in the Hollywood closet and will probably never emerge. Now, I love gay guys as much as the next gal (perhaps too much, but that’s a post for another time). However, this is a fairly devastating piece of news. Whenever a cute/smart/charming guy turns out to be gay it’s a major disappointment to straight women. The feeling is hard to explain. It’s like, Damn, lost another one!

I never suspected this guy was gay – I guess he’s a better actor than I thought. While I was never a faithful viewer of his show, it is far less appealing to me now. I am a horrible, horrible, evil, wicked person! It’s not like I thought I was going to meet this guy and fall in love with him. I know virtually nothing about him. (Well, except that now I know he likes to sleep with dudes. Thanks sis!) I probably wouldn’t have even wanted to meet him if given the chance because in my experience, meeting celebrities is always a disappointment. But my reaction to the news that this actor is gay startles me. It’s interesting to really think about how a TV show like this plays on its hero’s relationship with the female audience – a relationship that is a total illusion but a powerful one. When the illusion they’ve created is shattered, the audience can no longer suspend disbelief so easily. I know this is how Hollywood works. I’ve written and published on this before. But I’m surprised that I still get sucked into this madness.

I guess the moral of this story is that I’m shallower than I’d care to admit and that Tom Cruise’s publicist really does earn her pay.