Okay, it might make your cat disown you and go live with your neighbour, but the few moments of hilarity, and any pictures you manage to grab, will surely make it worth it. This unicorn hat for cats is one of the greatest things EVER.
This funky feline headwear is all you need to make your cat into a Unicorn. Up the cuteness and cracking character that your cat has with this Inflatable Unicorn Horn For Cats.Your feline friend will look awesome, be it grumpy or gorgeous – your moggy will easily pull off this amazing accessory for between their fluffy little ears.Ideally shaped for all cats’ noggins, the elastic strap system helps it sit straight on your kitty’s head without getting on their nerves.
This inflatable dress up feature for your cat is 14cm long, made of vinyl and slips straight over their ears. Available for only £6.95 from www.prezzybox.com now.
Dayton, Ohio rock band, Able Danger, released a special video of their new song “Let Go,” featuring a solo vocal and key performance by lead vocalist Nikki Luttrell.
“Let Go is an emotionally charged song, and people can relate to it for a number of reasons. Nikki personally dedicated her performance in the video to American Veterans who are suffering from PTSD.
You are new and shiny. Take advantage of this. Casting directors will give you an audition just because they have never seen you before. Not so much after you have been auditioning for years. Getting noticed when you are new can really give you a foothold into the industry as every agent, producer and casting director wants to discover the Next Big Thing. You have about six months until the next wave of graduates enter the ring. Sounds brutal and unfair? That’s because it is.
Get An Accurate Headshot.
I cannot stress this enough. Get a headshot that looks like you. I have been on the other side of the casting divide and have always been shocked when an actor comes in with a headshot that is either ten years old or airbrushed into oblivion. You are an actor, not a supermodel. The key to a good headshot is to look like yourself, only better. Have spots and dark circles removed, nothing else. Actors are hired to play real people, not robots (usually). Not looking like your headshot is also the quickest way to upset a casting director. They will look bad in front of the producer or director. Many productions also cast from pictures and, if like the women who was hired to play 1980s era Madonna on a production I was also cast in, you now look completely different than you do in your picture that casting director will never hire you again.
Write To Every Casting Director Who Ever Lived.
Slight exaggeration but you get my point. Start your research. Watch TV and film and write down who the casting director is. Do the same for theatre. Do not just throw mud at the wall however, don’t contact casting directors who only do kids TV shows if you are 30. The key is to contact casting directors who cast your type. Be concise and to the point and remember to include your headshot and contact details. This brings me to my next point…
Know Your Type.
I know, I know. You are an actor dahling. You can play any role. But the acting industry does not work like that. Casting directors have to put you somewhere and the brutal truth is that the acting industry is probably the only industry that can actually discriminate on how you look. And it will. Catherine Zeta Jones may be a lass from the Welsh valley but she is frequently cast as Italian or Spanish because, in a superficial stereotypical world, that is what they think she looks like. I get cast in period roles a lot because I am slim and pale. So work out your type. Ask friends and family. Make a list of who you are and who you are not and market yourself accordingly. It is not all bad however, getting typecast means getting work, and you can always branch out into other roles later.
Catherine Balavage has been an actor for over ten years. Her book on acting, How To Be a Successful Actor: Becoming an Actorpreneur, has gotten numerous five star reviews and has been called the ‘best advice available’ by numerous sources.
In July 2012 Jared Shaw and Chel Browne sent a couple of low-fi demos to Peats Ridge Festival on a whim. Having played only one live show together, their obsession with music was very much a private affair up until then, and neither expected the illustrious Sydney music festival to respond at all. But respond they did, and just a few months later the duo stood together on stage in the eastern-psychedelic-themed ‘Chai Tent’ and warmed an unsuspecting audience with hazy sixties-inspired songs about love, loss and death, blending delicate vocal harmonies with somber misty tones.
Borrowing the name of the building they lived in, and guided by a deep appreciation for the folk and psychedelic pop of the sixties and seventies, the duo quickly expanded to five members as they explored their wider musical tastes. Drawing on the psychedelic sounds of bands like Jefferson Airplane, Jimmie Spheeris, and early Pink Floyd, coupled with an infatuation with nineties alt-psych idols Brian Jonestown Massacre and Mazzy Star, Elstow started work on their debut EP in 2013. Released the following year, AS THE SUN FALLS was five tracks of dreamy psychedelic landscapes fused with a moody folk sensibility. Both personal and surreal, bloggers described it as “music to lose yourself to,” and “a psychedelic romance.” Harnessing an atmospheric and increasingly dynamic live set, the band spent 2014 playing all over their hometown of Sydney, winning over unsuspecting hearts one mind-bending show at a time. Their sound, which has been described as ‘neo-psychedelic-dream-folk,’ has been evolving slowly and surely, refusing to remain static.
In the late months of 2014, Elstow went back into the studio to record their new single, ‘Evil Dreams.’ Despite the sinister sounding name, and promises of a “very weird” video to accompany it, the new song is described by Shaw as “a little more upbeat than the EP,” and combines Elstow’s dreamlike psychedelic overtones with a breezy sunshine-laden chorus. ‘Evil Dreams’ swings between verses of doubtful self-reflection and a chorus of daydream surrender. Carefully woven vocal harmonies float amidst an abundance of tremolo guitars, delay, and crisp tambourines; ‘Evil Dreams’ is as ambitious as it is timeless.
The amazing Salma Hayek stars in highly anticipated action movie Everly, directed by Joe Lynch. The film is an action/thriller centred on a woman who faces down assassins sent by her ex, a mob boss, while holed up in her apartment.
Everly is set to be released on the 10th of April in the UK.
It’s easy to see why games producer Visceral made a decision to change up the pace with Battlefield: Hardline. After the much criticised (but nonetheless well acclaimed) Battlefield 4, most players would agree that the typical war format of First Person Shooters (FPS) has been done to extinction. As such Battlefield: Hardline represents a refreshing take in the genre; the Lethal weapon, the Michael Bay, the Die Hard or Bad Boys film. The presentation visuals being instantly recognisable to a weekend cop show and, it has to be said, for each and every moment of distinction it actually feels better for it.
Hardline follows a hard-working, honest young cop as he helps tackle a drug ring, falls afoul of police corruption then tries to set the world to rights. It’s a plot that seems determined to pack in every imaginable cop movie cliché, but wins you over thanks to entertaining dialogue, a little personality and a desire to put you in the thick of some amazing action scenes.
Some of the pillars of previous Battlefield games return: this is still primarily a first-person shooter where you’re propelled along from one objective to the next. Much too is made of the series’ signature destructible scenery, which sees solid-looking stud walls torn apart by shotgun explosions, and a rusty trailer offer little protection when you’re under assault from buggies with mounted heavy machine guns. Yet Hardline does bring something new to the table, by emphasising stealth and infiltration over all-out warfare and by focusing on non-lethal takedowns as well as headshots.
Playing this online game you learn different techniques of getting through each scenario, sometimes you need to sneak up on enemies and take them down one by one, sometimes you need to arrest them with badge and gun. using this method means you rank up faster and unlocking new weapons, customisations and gadgets you can use within the campaign, while the same goes for using your handy scanner to find crucial bits of evidence. You’ll still find sequences where you’ll be forced to fight your way through waves of attackers in a more standard Battlefield style, but these tend to be lobbed in as climactic set-pieces – and even here there are rewards for playing smart. In short, Hardline actually makes something of its whole cops and robbers premise, whether or not it can’t resist the occasional shoot-out, or blow up the entire set with spectacular set pieces.
And what set pieces await you aren’t restricted to the cops and robbers premise, crazy tank vs helicopter scenes out in the desert, car chases through industrial zones or a frantic escape through a ramshackle town and down a mountain, hiding from searchlights and patrols. A great deal of action games boast of being thrillers, but Hardline can be thrilling and quite suspenseful owing to the episodic nature of the campaigns meaning the characters actually have an story arc through the game and as a result you actually start to care about them, compare that to Battlefield or Call of Duty where you could play literally anyone from a multitude of characters who may actually die at the end of the stage.
Yes there is still the occasional classic ‘follow this person and do what they say’ kind of stuff, whilst some episodes are happy to give you an objective in addition to a wide area full of possible routes and bad guys, and leave you to make your own way through. New gadgets, together with a grappling gun and a mobile zip line, play their part, giving you ways to find a way in from the rooftops or over the wall. It doesn’t always work, with suspiciously brilliant sharpshooters, alarms and minimal checkpointing spoiling the fun, but by and large it’s a minor distraction.
I played the game on a PS4 and I was a fan of the quality of the visuals and the trademark Battlefield destructible scenery. Character models, skin and shiny surfaces look wonderful, so does the voice overs although I did spot some lip sync problems a few times. My other problem with the game was the length of time it took to download, my gosh it was hefty. The full download of all the episodes taking a good few hours to complete, this was even when it bought was on a physical disc. I felt annoyed that I actually couldn’t play the game straight out of the box.
So how does battlefield measure up on-line? Well, the cops and robbers modes play out a bit like ‘Heist’ ‘Payday’ and ‘GTAV’ rolled into one. Having said that I am going to go on record and say that they are not all as brilliant as you might expect, variants of the genres we’ve seen and played before ‘capture the flag’ is heist under another guise, where one team has to grab a bag from a vault and take it to the extraction point while the other team try to stop them.
Hardline affords four separate classes – Operator, Engineers, Enforce and Specialist – with loads of unlocks and weapon upgrades available, there’s no shortage of scope for detailed customisation. Similarly, the maps won’t yield up all their secrets overnight, with vantage points to discover, interactive elements to mess around with and some great rooftops and towers where you can put the grapple gun and zipwire to good use.
Verdict:
I really like Battlefield: Hardline; the single-player campaign just works brilliantly and it has a fantastic set up as a big, dumbass cop action thriller. As a game it easily fits into the class of ‘next gen’ in terms of the quality of graphics and sound. Multiplayer too is enjoyable and competitive. Yes hard Hardline does have faults but in my opinion they are minor faults in what otherwise is one heck of an enjoyable romp.
Not known as a shy or withdrawn couple, Kanye West was his usual attention-seeking self when he published nude photos of his 34-year-old wife Kim Kardashian West to celebrate her 30 million followers on Twitter. We wouldn’t be amused if our other half posted nude pictures of us online but we are, ahem, less body confident then Mrs Kardashian West. The topless pictures from the second least shy person in the world (her husband takes the crown) were captioned with the words “I’M SO LUCKY”. We have to give it to you Kanye, fair is fair, she is indeed beautiful.
Here’s a challenge, describe Halo: Nightfall in multiples of two words.
Hmmm let’s see how about “Bad Ass”, “Computer Game”, “Action Movie” “Special effects” or “Xbox Classic”? How about “Mike Colter”, the actor who plays the role of “Agent Locke”?
In case you didn’t know Halo: Nightfall is set between the events of Halo 4 and the eagerly anticipated Halo 5: Guardians and is the second full-length live-action feature for the Halo franchise.
From Executive Producer Ridley Scott (Prometheus, Blade Runner) and award-winning Director Sergio Mimica-Gezzan (Battlestar Galactica, The Pillars Of The Earth), Halo: Nightfall features an all-star cast including Mike Colter (The Good Wife), Christina Chong (24: Live Another Day), Steven Waddington (Sleepy Hollow) and Luke Neal (Final Prayer).
Halo: Nightfall tells the personal story of Jameson Locke, a legendary manhunter and agent with the Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI), Earth’s most powerful and secretive military branch. The film provides the background to this pivotal new character in the Halo universe, who will play a key role in the next gaming instalment.
Whilst investigating terrorist “chatter” on the distant colony world of Sedra, Locke and his crew are caught in a horrific biological attack. Led by Locke, ONI agents are forced to coordinate with the local command who have a deep-rooted mistrust of ONI. As they unravel a plot that draws them to an ancient, hellish artefact, they are forced to fight for their survival and to make the ultimate choice between their loyalty and their lives.
I caught up with Mike to find out more about his experiences of playing a part in such a coveted franchise.
How was the experience filming Halo: Nightfall?
Well, it wasn’t a glamorous shoot. One word that comes to mind is rigid. It was a rigid, rigid shoot. We were filming in Iceland for most of it so the location was beautiful, but it turned out that the weather was not like what we were expecting – it rained the whole time. We were up against the elements, and I think this added to the overall essence of what we were looking for in this film, being destitute on a foreign planet without a way home. In this sense it helped, but at times walking around in heavy armor for hours was tough.
What was it like filming in Iceland?
Iceland was really phenomenal; I’d love to go back on a leisure journey or holiday. I went to the Blue Lagoon – actually, I went here about three times! It really helped my back. Soaking in that water is so wonderful and regenerative. Just sitting in there gave me so much energy and made me feel so relaxed. I definitely recommend it if you ever get a chance to visit Iceland – when you leave the airport get your driver to head straight for the Blue Lagoon, don’t even go to the hotels first. It’s a phenomenal experience with not that many tourists.
I like it here, there were times I’d be driving past waterfalls, volcanos and icecaps, its such wonderful scenery. It’s such a great place, I really like it a lot, the food is great and the people are very nice here.
What were your first thoughts when you were first presented with the role of Locke? And being part of the franchise. We’re you familiar with its huge global following?
Not really actually, just the basics, I knew that it was a popular game that people enjoyed which has a huge following; It’s a great brand that people are really dedicated to, and it always made me curious about it, to find out more. And so to be offered this part in Halo made me look deeper into what is was about. It gave me some opportunities to do things that I wanted to do, which was doing more action projects, like this, like sci-fi, to give me an opportunity to branch out and diversify and also get a chance to do a voice-over.
Did you prepare for the role by playing a lot of the Halo games and immersing yourself in that world, to help you become more familiar?
No, playing the game wouldn’t have helped me much, as my character, at that point, hasn’t been created or introduced in the video game. As far as the film, he was the only character who wasn’t a Spartan, and in the game it is primarily just Spartan super solders who can do these awesome things, that’s above everything humanly possible, and have these incredible suits on, I on the other hand, had to focus on my character’s journey and origin story, and what’s the fate of his team when he left the planet. It’s more of him only as a solder and not so much what he was going to be when he becomes a Spartan, which is where the video game picks up from. It’s more of a human story that we’re trying to tell. There are very little situations where I’m actually doing anything like the video game; it’s not very similar.
You started with getting the voice-over role in the game, which explicitly led to your role in the film, is that right?
It was actually the other way round. I signed up for the film and then that led to the video game and the motion caption character, which would then go into the video game. I was approached as an actor to audition for the role in the digital film, that was the first thing that happened, then we moved on to creating the character for the video game.
It must be quite a unique experience playing the same character in both the film and video game. Has their been much cross referencing and how have they correlated?
The first thing is that they are both so different, acting on film verses doing motion caption verses doing voice-over is all different medias, so it’s not the same as what your trying to convey. I’m used to acting, which relies on your total being in front of the camera trying to convey what the character is experiencing, but when your doing voiceover work you really have to get all that expression and emotion and everything through your voice and sometimes that can feel a little phony, because you’re trying to convey something that people can’t see and at times you feel like you’re doing too much, it was a bit weird at first but Amanda Wiseman, who directed the voice over sessions guided me through and you eventually get used to it. The motion caption was very technical thing and very subtle. You have to walk around in these funny suits with a camera right in your face, which can get a bit tedious at times. Watching it all back was surreal, the technology in these video games are incredible.
What can you tell us about your character in Halo: Nightfall?
Locke is a ‘think first, act later’ kind of guy; always making a decision based on the fact that it can affect so many people, so that is something that he doesn’t take lightly. He’s a very logical methodical man, and even though there are lives at stake, he always understands and knows that this is what he signed up for. I got in touch with my character, but I think it’s something that a lot of people would find hard to relate to – unless you’re in the military, people who put their lives on the line everyday – I’ve tried to understand that and try to feel what it would be like as a solider with nerves of steel and not be afraid.
What was it like working with the other cast members and crew?
We had a great time. They assembled a great tem – our production crew were some on the few that worked on the game, and in Iceland and some that had worked on The Game Of Thrones, so they were incredible, just used to working long hours and shooting in weird locations. They were very professional all the way through. The cast were great; a lot of the cast were actually from the UK, I got to meet a lot of people and still keep in touch with a few of them and formed some lifelong friends. We had a great time even though the elements were harsh, we still had a great time and a lot of laughs; it would be cold, raining and we’re stuck on a mountain, tired and sleepy but what can you do, it was great. We had a fun time.
You obviously enjoy energetic, action movie roles, but were you allowed to perform your own stunt & action scenes?
I’m getting quite a bit more ‘sign off’ to do more. Unless you could potentially die doing a scene or stunt then it’s usually ok. But I’ve never really been the type to throw myself in to do my own stunts, because stuntmen are trained and tend to be adrenaline junkies – they like it! One stunt guy wanted to fall from a large building, it was a huge fall. Huge! But he wanted to do it, but in the end we decided against it and used CGI. But that’s part of their job I guess, they love it. I do as much stunts as I can, when all the proper precautions are in place, because it’s not so much fun when you get hurt.
Do you think there are any pressures that come with a role in a film with the Halo brand, having such a huge fan base?
They’re trying to change a little bit of the narrative for Halo, and give it a story that would be able to connect to a reach a wider audience. One that would not have necessarily have been a fan of Halo video game series, and create a stand alone film that you could watch and connect to the characters and the story, and I guess generate an interest in the video game, regardless of who you are. I don’t think you have to just be a sc-fi fan or gamer to enjoy this.
Halo: Nightfall is released digitally on March 17 2015 and internationally on March 17th. Check out the trailer below for a taste.
Okay, it might make your cat disown you and go live with your neighbour, but the few moments of hilarity, and any pictures you manage to grab, will surely make it worth it. This unicorn hat for cats is one of the greatest things EVER.
