Tag Archives: Catherine Balavage

Frost Loves…Sofia Coppola

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Sofia Coppola- Icon.

She may never be completely separated from that surname (would she want to be?) but she sure is doing a good enough job of making a name for herself in spite of, not because of, dads, brothers, cousins or aunts.

Her style, her photography and her beautiful films are uniquely hers. They waft of her. Her sensitivity and quiet forcefulness. She has won over James wood and Bill Murray. As well as countless other critics and movie fans. No mean feat. She won an Best Writer, Original screenplay Oscar for Lost in Translation in 2003.

I remember seeing a short film she made called ‘lick the star’ and thinking this woman is going places. I raved about her to anyone who would listen. Her last film, Somewhere, was a very European film. Nothing really happened apart from human emotion.

There was always her photography, which was in, amongst other magazines, Nova and Allure. Her clothing range Milk Fed, and then there was the High Octane series for comedy central with her good friend Zoë Cassavetes, her appearances in music videos such as the Chemical Brothers (her favourite band), Elektrobank which was directed by then boyfriend now ex-husband Spike Jonze. In the video Sofia plays a gymnast. She is directing her own music videos now. Who can forget her video for the white stripes ‘I Just Don’t Know What to Do With Myself.’ In which she persuaded Kate Moss (another friend) to pole dance in a black bikini? All shot in black and white.

Her association with Marc Jacobs (she is his muse. Even having one of his bags named after her and starring in his advertisements. ) As well as other creative talent, she seems to be at the centre of a new creative movement. A movement which also includes such people as Wes Anderson, Lance Acord, her ex-husband Spike Jonze, Zoë Cassavetes, Sonic Youth, Beastie Boys, Tamra Davis who is married to Mike Diamond and gave Spike Jonze his first breaks and her brother Roman, who directed his own film CQ in 200, which Sofia appeared in. It all seems to tie together from person to person.

She was born in 1971 and baptized into cinema as a baby boy in The Godfather and said recently that she remembers parts of her life more by which movie they were than anything else. Sofia and her two brothers, Gio,who tragically died in a boating accident when she was 15, leaving behind a daughter Gia and fiancée Jacqueline de la fontaine (Who went on to marry Peter Getty and is now divorcing him and wants $300,000 a month maintenance after she found a full frontal picture of a neighbour on his computer), and Roman (who is one of the new wave of music video directors and also writes and directs his own films), traveled around with mum, Eleanor a documentary director, and dad, Francis as he worked on his movies.

Movies of cinematic greatness like The Conversation, Apocalypse Now and the Godfathers all of which Sofia was in. more prominently in Godfather III for which she was unfairly lambasted by critics with a unrelenting harshness which seems to have lasted, if only to a slightly lesser degree to this day.

This is why Sofia Coppola inspires me. Why I describe her as an icon. She is herself she makes no excuses. Yes her surnames Coppola take it or leave it and she does not pretend to be one of the boys, does not yell. She gets what she wants the way she wants. She has survived a hell of a lot. Was vilified in public and came up to prove them all wrong with sheer talent, guts and determination. It is because she has her own influential style, because she has conquered. Because she is talented and unique and a true artist and even more importantly. She proved all the bastards wrong.

Sofia is 40 now. Has two children and recently married Thomas Mars, of hip band Phoenix, in a celebrity studded wedding in Italy. She is still a fashion icon, still making movies.

Sofia Coppola is definitely one to watch. As she may yet become one of the most prominent and influential directors of our time.

The Only Way is Made in Alton

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Alton Towers Resort offers guests the chance to star in their own reality TV show

The Alton Towers Resort is today introducing a new service that offers theme park visitors 15 minutes of fame by giving them the chance to star in their very own reality TV-show. In the wake of the success of The Only Way is Essex, Made in Chelsea and Geordie Shore, the Alton Towers Resort is hoping its ‘Reality of Alton’ package* will prove a draw to guests hoping to emulate their reality TV heroes.

A first of its kind and available on request, guests can be followed around the park by a film crew who will record every element of their day, before editing the footage to create a one-hour ‘episode’. The cameras will follow the thrill seeking guests as they explore Britain’s Greatest Escape and experience the world’s first free fall drop coaster, TH13TEEN and face their fears on the intense vertical drop coaster, Oblivion before soaring through the skies on Air. Thought to be the ultimate home video experience, the Alton Towers Resort is trialling the bespoke and premium service until the end of the Theme Park season this November.

The personally tailored film also has a range of bolt-on extras including photographers that will tail the group around the Theme Park throughout the day, capturing their every move and red-carpet treatment including the option of adding a celeb voiceover to the footage.

Katherine Duckworth, Head of Consumer Marketing at Alton Towers Resort said, “In the last year alone Katie Price and Kerry Katona have both visited the Resort as part of their reality TV shows, so we thought why not extend this to our guests at Britain’s Greatest Escape. By introducing this premium ‘Reality of Alton’ service we hope to give visitors to the Theme Park a real taste of what it is like to be a reality TV star while they enjoy the ground breaking rollercoasters and attractions that the Resort has to offer.”

For more information about the Alton Towers Resort or to book tickets and hotel packages, log onto www.altontowers.com.

Richmond Question Time With Zac Goldsmith

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Time
20 September · 19:30 – 21:30

Location
Duke Street Church, Duke Street, Richmond, Surrey, TW9 1DH

My friend Ben Mallet worked on Zac Goldsmith’s political campaign and is a member of the Richmond Conservative Future, He invited me to a cross party Question Time debate, I am a political junkie so, of course, I went.

The MPs who took part were Zac Goldsmith MP – Chairing and Hosting, Sam Gyimah MP – Conservative Party, Nigel Farage MEP – UKIP Leader, Serge Lourie – Lib Dem, Former leader of Richmond Council for 9 years , Emily Thornberry MP – Labour Party, Brian Denny – Trade Unionists Against the EU Constitution convenor.

It was a brilliant event, put together by young people interested in politics and making a difference. I had a chat with Nigel Farage who promised Frost a interview. Farage came across as incredibly intelligent and well spoken, as did Sam Gyimah, although he got a lot of negativity for being a Tory. Quote of the night came from Emily Thornberry, who was asked about Labour’s time in power and how much debt they had racked up with the Iraq war, she stated: “We went into debt on purpose”. Which is unfortunate, as it is the rest of the country that is paying for it now.

Nigel Farage revealed he had had death threats against him when the talk turned to a homeowners right protecting their own property and Goldsmith asked him if would have a gun in his house if he lived in America, Farage said: “What makes you think I don’t have a gun in my house in this country?”. Serge Lourie defended faith schools, stating that both he and his children had went to one. All in all, a good lively debate. The main thing I took away was how angry people are about the current world situation.

I asked Goldsmith for his comments on how the evening went: “It was the first QT event in Richmond, and seems to have gone down very well. The audience was uncharacteristically lively, and having been a temporary imposter, my respect for the real David Dimbleby has doubled. We had a diverse and high profile panel, and I hope we’ll be able to replicate the success on other occasions. Huge congratulations to the CF team”.

IMDB: Using IMDB Resume and IMDB Starmeter To Boost Your Career.

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IMDB is a great resource, not only does it have a page on every movie and every film industry professional you can think of, it is also an amazing tool for an actor to promote their career.

IMDB has a resume section that you can join for a reasonable price. When you have IMDB resume you can add pictures to your IMDB, and of course your resume. You can also link your blog and your twitter to your page.

When people google you, it is usually your IMDB link that comes up first, so it is a false economy not to have it. If you do not have a project on IMDB (and you need one! Work for free for an IMDB credit is my advice) then you can still be on it if you get IMDB Resume.

People do lie on their resume, but I don’t recommend this, and do not list extra work unless you were heavily featured or had a line.

Even more important than IMDB Resume is the IMDB Starmeter. This is IMDB explaining what the Starmeter is http://www.imdb.com/help/show_leaf?prowhatisstarmeter

The Starmeter is important for actors and here is why: if you get a good starmeter ranking that means you are bankable. If people are searching for you then you will be offered movies and auditions. My starmeter has been as high as 6,000 and is usually between that and 31,000 on a bad week. Which is very good news and has helped my career. So, if your IMDB rank is not very good what can you do? I previously wrote about this in my personal blog http://balavage.wordpress.com/2011/07/25/charting-imdb-becoming-obsessed-with-starmeter/ and I am going to go into more detail here.

Step 1) This site is very good. http://www.karmalicity.com/b/?r=218 I know people who have done barely anything who now have good rankings, the site gives you publicity for your IMDB, Facebook fan page, YouTube and Twitter. It Is free so join now. The premium version is cheap and very good too.

Step 2) Make sure you have your photo on IMDB. Very important. Also put film stills and on-set photos on and modeling shots as well. If you want a photo, you can click the following link and go to add photos only: http://resume.imdb.com/

Step 3) Use social networking. Post your IMDB link. Add it to your email signature, your website, Twitter, anywhere you can think of. Share the films you are in, not just your IMDB page, every time a movie your in goes up, so do you.

5. Create an e-mail list. Only email when you have something to say. Do not spam people. Invite people to a screening, tell them of an award you won, an amazing job you just booked. Add your IMDB link into the email.

6) Get people to click on your IMDb profile (post the link on your Facebook or Twitter profiles, have it in your email signature, etc.)

7) Get interviewed and mentioned in TV guides and news articles.

This brilliant article has a run down of what the numbers mean and it says that a rank of 14,999 – 1,000: This is generally working actor territory and this about 999 – 1: You’re working. A lot. Good chance you’re repped by one of the big 5 agencies…or are about to be. Alternatively, you were recently on the cover of National Enquirer.

Give it a read.

I also recommend you get IMDBpro, and so does Harrison Ford, Blake Lively and Kevin Smith, if you are in the film industry, you need it.

To round up; IMDB is an amazing resource to help your career and I wish I had paid more attention to it earlier. Click on your friends links and put nice comments on their message boards. Keep coming back to Frost for more acting tips and career guidance. If you liked this article give my IMDB a click or post a message http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2952107/

The Gifts We Must Stop Giving: Ideas For Christmas

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Shop smarter, not harder, this Christmas
 
While we all try our best to keep up that polite exterior, most of us have some experience of forcing a smile upon receiving an unwanted gift. Novelty ties, ill-fitting underwear, naff toiletry sets – it seems we are a nation stuck in a never-ending cycle of buying for the sake of it, and receiving useless presents in exchange.
To support the launch of their new range of lifestyle gift experiences, powered by Time Out, Smartbox set out to find out more about the nation’s gifting habits.  They surveyed 845 people, up and down the country, and found that:
Receiving
·         Graciously accepting and quickly returning unwanted gifts is fast becoming the norm. 44% of people have returned a gift that was bought for them, with Londoners he most likely to do so
·         40% of people asked prefer to choose their own gifts
·         When asked to name the worst present received, the most popular response was an item of clothing (particularly socks, ill-fitting pants and hosiery)
·         It’s not all about the money. A whopping 84% said that an expensive gift would not mean more to them, with 95% claiming they’d prefer a gift that’s thoughtful, regardless of cost.
Giving
·         Despite the efforts of the eager 8.5% of the population who begin their Christmas shopping in January, 47% don’t feel their gifts are always truly appreciated
·         66% often spend more on a gift than they had hoped to, with a shocking 42% admitting they often spend more than they can afford.
Garry Barone, Head of Sales and Marketing at Smartbox UK, said: “We all know what it’s like to receive a gift we’re not too keen on, and I think if we’re honest, most of us have bought a gift that we knew wasn’t quite up to scratch. When you think about it, buying for the sake of it is a pretty pointless and sometimes costly exercise – particularly when it comes to Christmas. Our survey found that the average person buys for 10 or more people each year – and spends around £250.
“However, when it comes to receiving gifts, it really is the thought that counts. A Smartbox lifestyle gift experience gives you the best of both worlds. While you choose the themed Smartbox that best suits your loved one, they themselves are able to take their pick from up to 200 experiences detailed within.”
Smartbox is Europe’s leading lifestyle gift experience company. This year, they have joined forces with Time Out to offer an incredible range of gifts to suit every age, personality and pocket.
Unlike your usual gift cards and vouchers, each Time Out Smartbox comes in a quality gift box. The voucher comes with a glossy book featuring full details on each experience, making it really easy to choose. What’s more, the price is nowhere to be seen, so they never need to know how much you spent.
The booking process is easy as the voucher is activated on purchase.  All the recipient needs to do is choose what they want to do, where and when. They book directly with the experience provider and redeem the voucher on site. And with many of the packages available for two people, you can share the experience – bonus!
The Time Out Smartbox range includes:
·         Adrenaline (£119.95)
·         Adventure (£29.95)
·         Charming Getaways (£139.95)
·         Delicious Retreats (£199.95)
·         Gourmet Escapes (£269.95)
·         Table for Two (£59.95)
·         Tastings (£29.95)
·         Unusual Escapes (£89.95)
·         Zen & Spa (£59.95)
Also available:
·         The Michelin Star Dining Smartbox (£169)
Smartbox gift boxes are available at selected John Lewis, Butlers, Beales, Clinton Cards, Waterstones, Heal’s and Cargo stores. See website for full details & terms www.smartbox.co.uk.

Frost Interviews: Jason Croot.

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1) How did you get into making films?

I guess it started 10 years ago I made a experimental short film then made a few more and then progressed into professional features

2) What is your background?
I started acting 10 years ago before that I have around 30 jobs I never could settle in one but I guess I use a lot of life experience in my films and acting

3) How did you get your first film off the ground?

Le Fear was a real world wind 3 weeks after coming up with the idea the film was in the can, it was a great experience and really made my love for film making grow much stronger, we were stuck in post production for a while then the film was picked up for distribution I’m awaiting the release date which will be great

4) You act, write and direct, which one is your favourite?
I really can’t pick between acting and directing, I would say acting is like my first love and will never end, film making was my bit on the side during the acting years but now has become my full time love affair

5) You will be making Le Fear, Le Sequel soon. What was the idea behind the film? I was walking to the supermarket one day and had this idea to make a film about a film, using my experiences as an actor I was on one film shoot and the sound guy was texting during a take, I put a lot of misfits together and it worked out well, Le Sequel is the follow up to the first film this time I’ve had longer to plan and develop the storyline

6) What are you up to at the moment?
I’m in the middle of co directing my fourth feature film Meeting Place the film is based in a restaurant and follows conversations of 80 different actors some of which play 2 characters it’s been a good shoot

7) Who are your favourite actors/directors?
I have so many but to narrow down some, Steve McQueen, Max Von Sydow, Peter Sellers, early De Niro,Pacino & Brando, Jean-Pierre Léaud, Gérard Depardieu and the wonderful Roberto Benigni, directors Olivier Assayas, Jim jarmusch, Ingmar Bergman, Martin Scorsese & Quentin Tarantino

8) What advice to you have to people who want to get into film?
I guess never give in no matter what and don’t rely on anyone but yourself

9) What is your favourite thing about the film industry?
Being on set as an actor or director and working it

10) And the least?
Recalls just bloody cast me ;]

Thank you for taking the time to read this find out more on me on IMDB http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2907429/

London Fashion Week | Vivienne Westwood Red Label Spring- Summer 2012

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On 18th September 2011 Vivienne Westwood’s Red Label Spring- Summer 2012 catwalk show took place at the historical Smithfields Market, London.

The collection was inspired by a Degas Painting of young girls watching Spartans exercising and the ancient games- with classic cuts and tailoring all taken from the Vivienne Westwood archive collections. The chalk patterns from the painting influenced the strong silver palate through the collection with the ancient look somehow transforming into a space age Barbarella which was also reflected in the hair and make-up. Tropical wool from our classics and Price of Wales checks in cotton created sharp smart suiting looks.

The show also introduced the Rainforest charity, Cool Earth, and a campaign that is very close to Vivienne’s heart- a plan to save the most vulnerable Rainforest areas by 2020.

“Cool Earth has a plan to save the Rainforest.

If we don’t save the Rainforest- Forget it!

First we saved the Rainforest.

Will they ever know we saved the planet?”

Vivienne Westwood

The Spring/Summer 2012 Red Label Fashion Show also marked the launch of an ongoing partnership between Vivienne Westwood and Sony music, enabled with the support of the British Fashion Councils- Bazaar Fashion Arts Foundation. Communicating an important message about our world’s rainforests, a limited number of Vivienne Westwood designed MP3 players, a badge that plays music, were distributed to guests at the show containing a short recording from Vivienne herself and an excerpt from Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro supplied by Sony Music. This limited edition Playbutton acts as a teaser for a more extensive commercial collection to be launched in stores November/December 2011. The Playbutton is an innovative mix-tape of music that doubles up as a fun accessory. With all the typical functionality of a mini MP3 player, the Playbutton pairs the concept of a great album with the classic button for the perfect wearable way to listen to music. The Playbutton is coming soon to Vivienne Westwood stores worldwide and a select number of boutiques.

Sitting front row alongside the fashion royalty were celebrities Kelis, Pamela Anderson, Erin O’Conner, Tracey Emin, Jaquetta Wheeler, Portia Freeman, Zara Martin, Eliza Doolittle, Paloma Faith, and Sunday Girl.

Kelis (fresh from her fuax pas of accusing London of being a ‘racist’ city when she was actually insulted in Spain) chose to wear a silver blouse with a printed pencil skirt from the Autumn-Winter 2011 Gold Label collection.

Erin O’Connor chose to wear a blue wool suit with a light blue cotton shirt from the Red Label Autumn-Winter 2011 collection with silver sequin wedge shoes from the Autumn-Winter 2011 Gold Label collection.

Paloma Faith wore a Gerent sienna skirt with a Holes vest and Hunter arm warmers with sequin silver knee-high boots from the Autumn-Winter 2011 Gold Label collection.

Jessie J unveiled as Glaceau vitaminwater's Olympic ambassador – as she launches 'Flavour Creator'

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Glacéau vitaminwater is proud to be worldwide partner and best mate for the London 2012 Olympic Games

September 2011, Glacéau vitaminwater® is proud to announce its partnership of the London 2012 Olympic Games. The original, great tasting enhanced hydration from New York, is announcing its status as worldwide partner and best mate of the London 2012 Olympic Games.

Glacéau vitaminwater is also announcing that British pop sensation and style icon Jessie J, has been brought onboard as a brand ambassador. Glacéau vitaminwater will be inviting and inspiring people to get involved in a series of exciting projects and events, in which Jessie J will be bringing to life the colour, personality and fun of Glacéau vitaminwater.

The first of these projects will be Flavour Creator, an exciting and inspiring competiton that will be inviting the public to co-create, with Glacéau vitaminwater, the flavour of the Olympic Games. Jessie J will be encouraging Britain to co-create this new limited edition flavour of the Olympic Games via a unique Facebook application www.facebook.com/vitaminwater <http://www.facebook.com/vitaminwater>

Scheduled to hit the shelves in time for London 2012 this will be the official Glacéau vitaminwater flavour and the first time Flavour Creator will be activated in the UK – to celebrate the London 2012 Olympic Games.

Jessie J said, “The London 2012 games is a once in a lifetime event and I am so excited to have the chance to be part of it. It is a chance to show Britain at its best with music and sport and creativity combined. Good times.”

To help Glacéau vitaminwater pick its London 2012 Flavour go to:
www.facebook/vitaminwater <http://www.facebook/vitaminwater>