At last! Ever since I heard that my absolute favorite fashion photographer Mario Testino was shooting a campaign with Emma Watson in Paris I have been aching to see the results. The man is french actor Cyril Descours and the campaign is for Lanc�me's new fragrance Tr�sor Midnight Rose.
Perfection.
Images from styleite.com/beauty/emma-watson-lancome-ads/
Sunday, July 31, 2011
Ambrosio and Kutcher for Colcci
Alessandra Ambrosio and Ashton Kutcher model together for Colcci � again! I�ve never been one of those people who think Ashton Kutcher is super sexy but in these pictures there�s just no denying it. Check out the campaign below.
Images from colcci.com.br/blog/fashion-trends/cidade-e-campanha-maravilhosa
Kate Recycles Her Wardrobe For Zara Phillips's Wedding � Again
She did it again! For Zara Phillips's wedding festivities, the down-to-earth Duchess of Cambridge made a weekend of recycling her wardrobe.
First, she wore a green silk Diane von Furstenberg dress for the Friday evening yacht reception the same frock that she wore to an event in Los Angeles.
Then, for the wedding ceremony on Saturday, Kate stepped out in a cream-colored coat that royal watchers have seen on her before: at Laura Parker Bowles's wedding in 2006.
Of course, Kate made a point of switching up her headwear, donning a much larger hat to Phillips's wedding than the festive fascinator she wore five years ago.
First, she wore a green silk Diane von Furstenberg dress for the Friday evening yacht reception the same frock that she wore to an event in Los Angeles.
Then, for the wedding ceremony on Saturday, Kate stepped out in a cream-colored coat that royal watchers have seen on her before: at Laura Parker Bowles's wedding in 2006.
Of course, Kate made a point of switching up her headwear, donning a much larger hat to Phillips's wedding than the festive fascinator she wore five years ago.
UK watches year's second, low key, royal wedding
Queen Elizabeth II's granddaughter Zara Phillips married England rugby star Mike Tindall on Saturday but Britain's second royal wedding of the year was largely a low key affair, with only a hint of the glamor and excitement of Prince William's showstopping nuptials.
Phillips, 30, who is 13th in line to the throne but does not use a royal title, and Tindall, 32, were greeted by hundreds of flag-waving well wishers and the sound of traditional bagpipes as they left their wedding service at Edinburgh's Canongate Kirk following a private ceremony.
The often publicity shy bride wore a traditional ivory silk gown and a full length flowing veil, but posed only briefly for onlookers and gave her husband a fleeting, modest kiss as they left the 17th century church for a reception at the queen's Scottish residence, the Palace of Holyroodhouse.
Unlike William and Kate Middleton's spectacular ceremony in April, the wedding service led by Rev. Neil Gardner was not broadcast on television and crowds gathered in the Scottish city were warned by police there would be little for them to see.
Members of the public packed along Edinburgh's Royal Mile, the city's famed cobbled boulevard, cheered loudly for William and Middleton, now known as the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, as they arrived to join the congregation, traveling in a sleek black sedan with Prince Harry.
Middleton, wearing a biscuit colored coat, dress and large angled hat won a warm reception as she offered a wave, as did the queen and Duke of Edinburgh who arrived shortly before the bride.
While the details of Middleton's wedding gown were a closely guarded secret, Phillips more commonly seen in jeans or sportswear made an expected choice in choosing Stewart Parvin, a British designer favored by the queen. She also wore a Greek Key tiara lent to her by mother Princess Anne, and Jimmy Choo shoes.
Parvin also designed the queen's apricot wool coat and silk dress.
Peta Hunt, fashion director of You & Your Wedding magazine said the ivory gown hinted at the bride's quirky personality.
"Who else could go to a wedding and have their dress done by the same person who does their granny's? It allowed her to move with ease and grace, but had an element of fun and flirtiness," Hunt said.
The occasion was far removed from April's international spectacle at Westminster Abbey, but neatly reflected the couple's unflashy style. Tindall had even proposed in a modest setting, as he and Phillips curled up on a sofa at home watching a movie.
Before the ceremony, royal officials confirmed that Phillips will keep her maiden name rather than be known as Mrs. Tindall, largely because of her sporting career.
Phillips is known better for her sporting achievements than her royal heritage, as a world class equestrian who is likely to compete in the 2012 Olympics. Tindall who Phillips met in 2003 in Australia during England's triumphant Rugby World Cup campaign is a leading rugby player who has captained his country.
The ceremony was the first royal wedding held in Scotland since 1992, when Princess Anne the mother of the bride married her second husband, Timothy Laurence. Anne's elder child, Peter Phillips, married his Canadian partner Autumn Kelly in 2008.
Even the prospect of a brief glimpse of the royal family was enough to entice hundreds to Edinburgh for Saturday's wedding, including a few dozen stalwarts who camped overnight to win a front row view.
Waving a Canadian flag, Margaret Kittle, 76, said she had traveled from Ontario, Canada, and staked out a spot on Friday night. "I flew over last Saturday and have been here since last night. I started following the royals after I saw George VI and the Queen back home in Canada when I was 4 years old," she said.
Helen Sutherland, a 65-year-old from Muir of-Ord in the Scottish Highlands, was wrapped in a warm blanket as she waited for a glimpse of Britain's newest royal couple. "It got chilly through the night, but we want to see the bride and her dress. They seem to be a very happy couple," she said.
Phillips and Tindall hosted a glitzy cocktail party late Friday for relatives and guests aboard the former royal yacht Britannia, which they had hired for the occasion. The famous ship, once used by the queen to tour the world, was decommissioned in 1997.
But the party was a rare moment of public glamor for the couple, who are known for putting their devotion to sports ahead of their celebrity. The couple's honeymoon has been postponed because both are due to feature in major events next week the bride in horse trials, and the groom in England's rugby international against Wales.
Phillips, 30, who is 13th in line to the throne but does not use a royal title, and Tindall, 32, were greeted by hundreds of flag-waving well wishers and the sound of traditional bagpipes as they left their wedding service at Edinburgh's Canongate Kirk following a private ceremony.
The often publicity shy bride wore a traditional ivory silk gown and a full length flowing veil, but posed only briefly for onlookers and gave her husband a fleeting, modest kiss as they left the 17th century church for a reception at the queen's Scottish residence, the Palace of Holyroodhouse.
Unlike William and Kate Middleton's spectacular ceremony in April, the wedding service led by Rev. Neil Gardner was not broadcast on television and crowds gathered in the Scottish city were warned by police there would be little for them to see.
Members of the public packed along Edinburgh's Royal Mile, the city's famed cobbled boulevard, cheered loudly for William and Middleton, now known as the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, as they arrived to join the congregation, traveling in a sleek black sedan with Prince Harry.
Middleton, wearing a biscuit colored coat, dress and large angled hat won a warm reception as she offered a wave, as did the queen and Duke of Edinburgh who arrived shortly before the bride.
While the details of Middleton's wedding gown were a closely guarded secret, Phillips more commonly seen in jeans or sportswear made an expected choice in choosing Stewart Parvin, a British designer favored by the queen. She also wore a Greek Key tiara lent to her by mother Princess Anne, and Jimmy Choo shoes.
Parvin also designed the queen's apricot wool coat and silk dress.
Peta Hunt, fashion director of You & Your Wedding magazine said the ivory gown hinted at the bride's quirky personality.
"Who else could go to a wedding and have their dress done by the same person who does their granny's? It allowed her to move with ease and grace, but had an element of fun and flirtiness," Hunt said.
The occasion was far removed from April's international spectacle at Westminster Abbey, but neatly reflected the couple's unflashy style. Tindall had even proposed in a modest setting, as he and Phillips curled up on a sofa at home watching a movie.
Before the ceremony, royal officials confirmed that Phillips will keep her maiden name rather than be known as Mrs. Tindall, largely because of her sporting career.
Phillips is known better for her sporting achievements than her royal heritage, as a world class equestrian who is likely to compete in the 2012 Olympics. Tindall who Phillips met in 2003 in Australia during England's triumphant Rugby World Cup campaign is a leading rugby player who has captained his country.
The ceremony was the first royal wedding held in Scotland since 1992, when Princess Anne the mother of the bride married her second husband, Timothy Laurence. Anne's elder child, Peter Phillips, married his Canadian partner Autumn Kelly in 2008.
Even the prospect of a brief glimpse of the royal family was enough to entice hundreds to Edinburgh for Saturday's wedding, including a few dozen stalwarts who camped overnight to win a front row view.
Waving a Canadian flag, Margaret Kittle, 76, said she had traveled from Ontario, Canada, and staked out a spot on Friday night. "I flew over last Saturday and have been here since last night. I started following the royals after I saw George VI and the Queen back home in Canada when I was 4 years old," she said.
Helen Sutherland, a 65-year-old from Muir of-Ord in the Scottish Highlands, was wrapped in a warm blanket as she waited for a glimpse of Britain's newest royal couple. "It got chilly through the night, but we want to see the bride and her dress. They seem to be a very happy couple," she said.
Phillips and Tindall hosted a glitzy cocktail party late Friday for relatives and guests aboard the former royal yacht Britannia, which they had hired for the occasion. The famous ship, once used by the queen to tour the world, was decommissioned in 1997.
But the party was a rare moment of public glamor for the couple, who are known for putting their devotion to sports ahead of their celebrity. The couple's honeymoon has been postponed because both are due to feature in major events next week the bride in horse trials, and the groom in England's rugby international against Wales.
Saturday, July 30, 2011
Hollywood's Top 10 Young Fashion Icons
I came across this �Hollywood�s Top 10 Young Fashion Icons� list from May 2011 online:
10. Selena Gomez
9. The Kardashian sisters
8. Zoe Saldana
7. Whitney Port
6. Taylor Swift
5. Rihanna
4. Lauren Conrad
3. Lady Gaga
2. Leighton Meester
1. Blake Lively
I don�t know about Taylor Swift, I mean� really? And where on earth is Rachel Bilson on this list? I do love Blake and Leighton�s styles, though I think Blake tends to show a liiittle too much cleavage, so I�d vote for Leighton. My Young Hollywood Fashion list would be more like:
10. Georgia May Jagger
9. Mary-Kate Olsen
8. Whitney Port
7. Carey Mulligan
6. Blake Lively
5. Emma Watson
4. Alexa Chung
3. Olivia Palermo
2. Rachel Bilson
1. Leighton Meester
10. Selena Gomez
9. The Kardashian sisters
8. Zoe Saldana
7. Whitney Port
6. Taylor Swift
5. Rihanna
4. Lauren Conrad
3. Lady Gaga
2. Leighton Meester
1. Blake Lively
I don�t know about Taylor Swift, I mean� really? And where on earth is Rachel Bilson on this list? I do love Blake and Leighton�s styles, though I think Blake tends to show a liiittle too much cleavage, so I�d vote for Leighton. My Young Hollywood Fashion list would be more like:
10. Georgia May Jagger
9. Mary-Kate Olsen
8. Whitney Port
7. Carey Mulligan
6. Blake Lively
5. Emma Watson
4. Alexa Chung
3. Olivia Palermo
2. Rachel Bilson
1. Leighton Meester
I also love Lady Gaga�s vivid style, but to be that extreme you�re bound to have some major fashion flops, so I wouldn�t rank her among my top 10 young Hollywood fashion icons. And I have to point out that I love Rosie Huntington-Whiteley�s red carpet style, but she�s not street chic enough (yet) to make my list.
How would you rank Hollywood's young A-list?
How would you rank Hollywood's young A-list?
Amy Winehouse's best fashion moments
In the light of this tragedy I thought I�d put some focus on some of Amy�s good moments; good fashion moments, that is. She wasn�t exactly my idea of a fashion icon, but she did her own thing and had a unique style and I admire her for that. Many people have been accused of copying her (both fashion and music wise) including Pixie Lott, Lily Allen, Duffy, Adele and even Lady Gaga, and this proves what an inspiration she was.
Luxury second hand
I was reading a Danish magazine yesterday (I�m in Denmark at the moment) and found this great secondhand store called Muda Nashi. They sell designer pieces at affordable prices from designers like Alexander Wang, Balenciaga, Chlo�, Miu Miu, Isabel Marant, Vanessa Bruno, Phillip Lim, Stella McCartney and Marc Jacobs, etc. They receive new clothes every day, so there should be something for everyone. And you can order online so hopefully I'll be able to order from other countries too. I'm really excited about it - I hope I can stop by on Monday and see it in real life; I�m going to Copenhagen then anyway and apparently it�s not so far away... as long as I can find it, I don�t exactly have the best sense of direction..
Diane von Fustenberg 1200 DKK (approx. 220 USD) |
Michael Kors 1000 DKK (approx. 185 USD) |
Stella McCartney 500 DKK (approx. 90 USD) |
Miu Miu 1500 DKK (approx 280 USD) |
Proenza Schouler and Stella McCartney debute fall campaigns
�Sometimes, when the fall fashion campaigns roll around, we start wishing it was socially acceptable to paper your walls with magazine tears post-college dorm living.�
I�d definitely like to do that with Proenza Schouler�s campaign! I love the photograph (shot by Willy Vanderperre), love the posing - especially in the second picture (modeled by Zuzanna Bijoch), love the design of the dresses, love the design of the whole campaign: so colorful and refreshing. Flawless. It looks very graphic and futuristic.
Stella McCartney's is pretty amazing too, though not nearly as interesting as Proenza Schouler's.
I�d definitely like to do that with Proenza Schouler�s campaign! I love the photograph (shot by Willy Vanderperre), love the posing - especially in the second picture (modeled by Zuzanna Bijoch), love the design of the dresses, love the design of the whole campaign: so colorful and refreshing. Flawless. It looks very graphic and futuristic.
Stella McCartney's is pretty amazing too, though not nearly as interesting as Proenza Schouler's.
Appeals court sides with J.Lo in home video fight
A California appeals court says a dispute between Jennifer Lopez and her first husband over the release of intimate home videos should be handled through arbitration, not the public court system.
A ruling Friday by the 2nd District Court of Appeal states that a Los Angeles judge erred by not granting Lopez's request to move the case to arbitration.
The ruling states Lopez has a valid agreement with ex-husband Ojani Noa and his agents preventing him from releasing "any private or intimate details" about the couple's relationship.
Lopez and Noa wed in 1997. Their marriage lasted just 11 months.
They have been fighting in court for nearly two years over Noa's plans to use portions of more than 11 hours of home videos of him and Lopez for a movie.
A ruling Friday by the 2nd District Court of Appeal states that a Los Angeles judge erred by not granting Lopez's request to move the case to arbitration.
The ruling states Lopez has a valid agreement with ex-husband Ojani Noa and his agents preventing him from releasing "any private or intimate details" about the couple's relationship.
Lopez and Noa wed in 1997. Their marriage lasted just 11 months.
They have been fighting in court for nearly two years over Noa's plans to use portions of more than 11 hours of home videos of him and Lopez for a movie.
Oprah Winfrey to host series recycling her old show
Oprah Winfrey is repackaging her now-ended daytime talk show to make it a key part of the lineup for OWN, her struggling cable channel.
Winfrey said Friday she will host the new series that will recycle episodes of "The Oprah Winfrey Show" as a "classroom" intended to help viewers improve their lives. The show, titled "Own Your Life," will air weekdays at 8 p.m. ET starting Oct. 10.
Appearing at a session of the Television Critics Association to announce the revamped series and introduce Rosie O'Donnell and her new OWN show, Winfrey took the opportunity to reinforce her commitment to the channel.
Friends ask, "Are you enjoying your time in the Mediterranean?" Winfrey said. But she's not on holiday, she said, "I'm here," and working in the Los Angeles offices of OWN.
It was announced earlier this month that Winfrey was expanding her role at OWN beyond the position of chairman, taking on the additional roles of chief executive officer and chief creative officer.
Winfrey is claiming the title once held by Christina Norman, the former CEO who was dismissed in May in the wake of disappointing ratings for the channel. Norman's position has been filled in the interim by Peter Liguori, the chief operating officer for Discovery Communications.
OWN, which premiered Jan. 1, is a joint venture of Discovery and Winfrey's Harpo Inc. Since Winfrey's syndicated talk show ended in May, she has pledged to devote her full energies to OWN.
Acknowledging OWN's rocky start, Winfrey said Friday that one of her biggest concerns was "aligning" the channel's executive teams, "and now we have done that." She cited the help of two executives who are with her Chicago-based production company, Harpo: Sheri Salata and Erik Logan, who share the title of OWN president.
Putting Winfrey on camera, as well as more prominently at the company's helm, is an attempt to turn around OWN's fortunes.
Plans had been in place to pull from the "library" of more than 4,500 "Oprah Winfrey Show" episodes in a show titled "Oprah's Encore." But Winfrey said Friday she realized they could be better used if organized as an on-air educational tool about life.
"At Oprah's core, she is a teacher," Salata said in a release that announced a companion online course to the talk show reruns. Viewers can sign up "to reserve their spot" in class starting Friday at Oprah.com.
School starts with the show's premiere, OWN said. "Own Your Life" will be paired with "The Rosie Show," the new Rosie O'Donnell talk show that will air daily at 7 p.m. ET, right before "Own Your Life," and will also debut Oct. 10.
Appearing before the critics' group, O'Donnell said she was proud to join Winfrey, although she labeled the media queen "aspirational" and tagged herself "relatable."
She joked about viewers saying to themselves, "Oh, if I could only be Rosie O'Donnell: an overweight lesbian who yells too much," then added, "My job is mostly to entertain and be funny."
O'Donnell made that happen Friday, drawing laughs when she said her publicist had fretted that the TV group's members might resurrect O'Donnell's dust-ups with other celebrities.
"I want to thank you for not asking anything about Donald Trump or Barbara Walters," O'Donnell said, smiling.
Winfrey said Friday she will host the new series that will recycle episodes of "The Oprah Winfrey Show" as a "classroom" intended to help viewers improve their lives. The show, titled "Own Your Life," will air weekdays at 8 p.m. ET starting Oct. 10.
Appearing at a session of the Television Critics Association to announce the revamped series and introduce Rosie O'Donnell and her new OWN show, Winfrey took the opportunity to reinforce her commitment to the channel.
Friends ask, "Are you enjoying your time in the Mediterranean?" Winfrey said. But she's not on holiday, she said, "I'm here," and working in the Los Angeles offices of OWN.
It was announced earlier this month that Winfrey was expanding her role at OWN beyond the position of chairman, taking on the additional roles of chief executive officer and chief creative officer.
Winfrey is claiming the title once held by Christina Norman, the former CEO who was dismissed in May in the wake of disappointing ratings for the channel. Norman's position has been filled in the interim by Peter Liguori, the chief operating officer for Discovery Communications.
OWN, which premiered Jan. 1, is a joint venture of Discovery and Winfrey's Harpo Inc. Since Winfrey's syndicated talk show ended in May, she has pledged to devote her full energies to OWN.
Acknowledging OWN's rocky start, Winfrey said Friday that one of her biggest concerns was "aligning" the channel's executive teams, "and now we have done that." She cited the help of two executives who are with her Chicago-based production company, Harpo: Sheri Salata and Erik Logan, who share the title of OWN president.
Putting Winfrey on camera, as well as more prominently at the company's helm, is an attempt to turn around OWN's fortunes.
Plans had been in place to pull from the "library" of more than 4,500 "Oprah Winfrey Show" episodes in a show titled "Oprah's Encore." But Winfrey said Friday she realized they could be better used if organized as an on-air educational tool about life.
"At Oprah's core, she is a teacher," Salata said in a release that announced a companion online course to the talk show reruns. Viewers can sign up "to reserve their spot" in class starting Friday at Oprah.com.
School starts with the show's premiere, OWN said. "Own Your Life" will be paired with "The Rosie Show," the new Rosie O'Donnell talk show that will air daily at 7 p.m. ET, right before "Own Your Life," and will also debut Oct. 10.
Appearing before the critics' group, O'Donnell said she was proud to join Winfrey, although she labeled the media queen "aspirational" and tagged herself "relatable."
She joked about viewers saying to themselves, "Oh, if I could only be Rosie O'Donnell: an overweight lesbian who yells too much," then added, "My job is mostly to entertain and be funny."
O'Donnell made that happen Friday, drawing laughs when she said her publicist had fretted that the TV group's members might resurrect O'Donnell's dust-ups with other celebrities.
"I want to thank you for not asking anything about Donald Trump or Barbara Walters," O'Donnell said, smiling.
Friday, July 29, 2011
Lady Gaga releasing photo book
Pop superstar Lady Gaga is releasing her first book a collection of images taken by top fashion photographer Terry Richardson.
The Paparazzi hitmaker allowed the snapper to capture her life through the lens between August, 2010 and February this year (11), while she was on The Monster Ball Tour and recording for her latest album, Born This Way.
The results will be shown in her self-titled release, which will feature more than 350 colour and black-and-white pictures of the star.
Gaga will pen the foreword. The book, produced by Grand Central Publishing, is due to hit shelves on 22 November (11).
The Paparazzi hitmaker allowed the snapper to capture her life through the lens between August, 2010 and February this year (11), while she was on The Monster Ball Tour and recording for her latest album, Born This Way.
The results will be shown in her self-titled release, which will feature more than 350 colour and black-and-white pictures of the star.
Gaga will pen the foreword. The book, produced by Grand Central Publishing, is due to hit shelves on 22 November (11).
Brooke Shields livens up Broadway as a sexy ghoul
The night Brooke Shields' made her debut in "The Addams Family," one of her co-stars was ready to pounce with a prank.
"You have to make fun of her," explained Jackie Hoffman, a comedian highly skilled at improvisational humor who is playing Grandma opposite Shields' Morticia in the Broadway musical.
Shields was prepared. She's no dummy. You don't join hit shows in the middle of runs such as "Wonderful Town," ''Chicago," ''Cabaret," ''Grease" and now "The Addams Family" without expecting some ribbing from the cast.
It came midway through Act I on her debut night: Hoffman, costumed as a wizened woman in her 100s, walked across the stage and, in a cackle, asked, "Know what comes between me and my Calvin Klein jeans?" She then waved her rear end at the audience and answered her own question. "Nothing."
The audience in the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre erupted in laughter, almost everyone recognizing the reference to Shields' famous TV commercials in the 1980s. The person who enjoyed it most was Brooke Shields.
"I have little dents where I've bitten my cheek to try not to crack up," she says.
It seems like whatever gets thrown at Shields, she gamely returns. Few actresses seem as approachable, as sweet or as genuine. At 46 and as stunning as when those Calvins were new � she laughs easily, ego-lessly and often at her own expense.
She has fans across generations as was evident from the folks waiting to cheer her at the stage door: baby boomers who remember her as a preteen from "The Blue Lagoon"; young parents who saw "Suddenly Susan" or "Lipstick Jungle"; hipsters who see her mock her famous friends in "Celebrity Autobiography"; moms who took her side when she sparred with Tom Cruise over postpartum depression; and little kids thrilled to meet the on-air mother of "Hannah Montana" star Miley Cyrus.
She credits her career's longevity to a combination of perseverance and never stopping just because one entertainment medium was cool to her. She has been a model, appeared on TV in both dramas and comedies, written books for adults and kids, been on Broadway, done cabaret and starred in movies, and she earned a bachelor's degree in French literature from Princeton University.
"I'm stubborn enough to say, 'All right, fine. You're not going to give me that movie role? Well, OK. I'm going to go somewhere they appreciate me,'" she says. "You kind of have to be pursuing it all at once and see where the water's warm."
These days, the water's warm again on Broadway. Shields inherited the part of Morticia from Bebe Neuwirth in late June and will be sticking around at least until appropriately Halloween.
Taking over from other actresses is such a familiar hallmark for Shields that she's been called Broadway's Replacement Queen. She offers sagging shows the crackle of celebrity energy, works hard and often leaves them with a much healthier box office.
"I don't believe in replacing somebody," she says. "I can only go in as if I've never done it, never seen it and just been offered this part. Otherwise, you get into a bad no man's land, where you're neither yourself nor something else."
In "The Addams Family," the 6-foot-tall Shields has wriggled into a slinky mermaid gown with a plunging neckline. There is only one dress for Morticia, which gets cleaned once every seven days.
"It's a little ripe at the end of the week," she admits.
She's learned to tango opposite co-star Roger Rees, who plays Gomez. Her high heels sometimes shred the dress and she often needs physical therapy to repair the damage that dancing around on stage leaves. She also gets some of the show's best laughs, revealing a keen comic timing.
"Brooke has this great energy and I think it injects energy into the whole show," says Hoffman. "When she's at her best, she reminds me of a '30s kind of screwball heroine, like a Carole Lombard or something very pretty and very goofy."
Shields showed her goofy side to an audience of millions at the Tony Awards this spring when she flubbed her lines during an opening number with host Neil Patrick Harris. The teleprompter may have had the wrong material in it, but she was mortified. "It felt like I was having an aneurysm," she says.
During a break in the ceremony, she texted her husband Chris Henchy, who co-founded Funny or Die, for advice. She wanted to flee, but he counseled her to get back on stage and let fly the f-bombs in front of Angela Lansbury and Vanessa Redgrave.
"My husband said, 'Just curse. If you just curse it'll be bigger than the mess-up.' I said, 'Really?' He said, 'Just trust me.' I said, 'OK,'" she recalls. "And he was right. He's a comedy writer."
That sense of relishing the absurd comes across in Shield's dressing room. She's decorated it with things to get her in the mood to play Morticia an urn, skull candles and a Victorian lace dress displayed on a mannequin. She's working on a collage of inspiring images on one wall that contains both ghoulish images of vampires and strong women such as Marlene Dietrich.
Shields is polite to a fault and it has sometimes been to her detriment. She confesses that for a long time she was buying tickets to her Broadway shows for random acquaintances. They would approach her and ask for tickets, assuming the star gets tons of them free.
"You're so embarrassed you don't want to go, 'Actually, not,'" she says. "I lost money in 'Cabaret.' Weekly, I was doling out hundreds and hundreds of dollars paying for peoples' tickets."
These days, her family has settled into a new routine. Her daughters Rowan, 8, and Grier, 5, � visit her at work. They introduce themselves at the stage door as "Morticia's daughters" and Skype when they can't. "I don't get to put them to bed, but they're loving this experience almost more," she says.
Up next for Shields is a TV movie about a legal case over eminent domain that she is executive producing and in which she will likely star. She says she's trying to branch out and be part of the creative process rather than just being told what someone else wants.
"I'm at the stage now where it is no longer interesting for me to leave my life and just become an actress-for-hire unless I get to spend a day with Meryl Streep. Then I will get her coffee," she says.
Shields is also keen to shed her Replacement Queen label. She recently starred with Raul Esparza in the premier of the Alan Menken-Glenn Slater musical "Leap of Faith" at the Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles and hopes it might make its way to New York.
The show, based on the 1992 Steve Martin film about a flimflam preacher man, is being rewritten and has a new director at the helm Christopher Ashley, taking over from Rob Ashford. Shields hopes the retooled version is even better and that she can finally originate a part on Broadway.
"I'm definitely for it. I want to carry that burden. I think I'm ready to do it," she says. "It'll probably be a huge success. Though, at the last minute, they'll replace me and the person will get a Tony."
"You have to make fun of her," explained Jackie Hoffman, a comedian highly skilled at improvisational humor who is playing Grandma opposite Shields' Morticia in the Broadway musical.
Shields was prepared. She's no dummy. You don't join hit shows in the middle of runs such as "Wonderful Town," ''Chicago," ''Cabaret," ''Grease" and now "The Addams Family" without expecting some ribbing from the cast.
It came midway through Act I on her debut night: Hoffman, costumed as a wizened woman in her 100s, walked across the stage and, in a cackle, asked, "Know what comes between me and my Calvin Klein jeans?" She then waved her rear end at the audience and answered her own question. "Nothing."
The audience in the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre erupted in laughter, almost everyone recognizing the reference to Shields' famous TV commercials in the 1980s. The person who enjoyed it most was Brooke Shields.
"I have little dents where I've bitten my cheek to try not to crack up," she says.
It seems like whatever gets thrown at Shields, she gamely returns. Few actresses seem as approachable, as sweet or as genuine. At 46 and as stunning as when those Calvins were new � she laughs easily, ego-lessly and often at her own expense.
She has fans across generations as was evident from the folks waiting to cheer her at the stage door: baby boomers who remember her as a preteen from "The Blue Lagoon"; young parents who saw "Suddenly Susan" or "Lipstick Jungle"; hipsters who see her mock her famous friends in "Celebrity Autobiography"; moms who took her side when she sparred with Tom Cruise over postpartum depression; and little kids thrilled to meet the on-air mother of "Hannah Montana" star Miley Cyrus.
She credits her career's longevity to a combination of perseverance and never stopping just because one entertainment medium was cool to her. She has been a model, appeared on TV in both dramas and comedies, written books for adults and kids, been on Broadway, done cabaret and starred in movies, and she earned a bachelor's degree in French literature from Princeton University.
"I'm stubborn enough to say, 'All right, fine. You're not going to give me that movie role? Well, OK. I'm going to go somewhere they appreciate me,'" she says. "You kind of have to be pursuing it all at once and see where the water's warm."
These days, the water's warm again on Broadway. Shields inherited the part of Morticia from Bebe Neuwirth in late June and will be sticking around at least until appropriately Halloween.
Taking over from other actresses is such a familiar hallmark for Shields that she's been called Broadway's Replacement Queen. She offers sagging shows the crackle of celebrity energy, works hard and often leaves them with a much healthier box office.
"I don't believe in replacing somebody," she says. "I can only go in as if I've never done it, never seen it and just been offered this part. Otherwise, you get into a bad no man's land, where you're neither yourself nor something else."
In "The Addams Family," the 6-foot-tall Shields has wriggled into a slinky mermaid gown with a plunging neckline. There is only one dress for Morticia, which gets cleaned once every seven days.
"It's a little ripe at the end of the week," she admits.
She's learned to tango opposite co-star Roger Rees, who plays Gomez. Her high heels sometimes shred the dress and she often needs physical therapy to repair the damage that dancing around on stage leaves. She also gets some of the show's best laughs, revealing a keen comic timing.
"Brooke has this great energy and I think it injects energy into the whole show," says Hoffman. "When she's at her best, she reminds me of a '30s kind of screwball heroine, like a Carole Lombard or something very pretty and very goofy."
Shields showed her goofy side to an audience of millions at the Tony Awards this spring when she flubbed her lines during an opening number with host Neil Patrick Harris. The teleprompter may have had the wrong material in it, but she was mortified. "It felt like I was having an aneurysm," she says.
During a break in the ceremony, she texted her husband Chris Henchy, who co-founded Funny or Die, for advice. She wanted to flee, but he counseled her to get back on stage and let fly the f-bombs in front of Angela Lansbury and Vanessa Redgrave.
"My husband said, 'Just curse. If you just curse it'll be bigger than the mess-up.' I said, 'Really?' He said, 'Just trust me.' I said, 'OK,'" she recalls. "And he was right. He's a comedy writer."
That sense of relishing the absurd comes across in Shield's dressing room. She's decorated it with things to get her in the mood to play Morticia an urn, skull candles and a Victorian lace dress displayed on a mannequin. She's working on a collage of inspiring images on one wall that contains both ghoulish images of vampires and strong women such as Marlene Dietrich.
Shields is polite to a fault and it has sometimes been to her detriment. She confesses that for a long time she was buying tickets to her Broadway shows for random acquaintances. They would approach her and ask for tickets, assuming the star gets tons of them free.
"You're so embarrassed you don't want to go, 'Actually, not,'" she says. "I lost money in 'Cabaret.' Weekly, I was doling out hundreds and hundreds of dollars paying for peoples' tickets."
These days, her family has settled into a new routine. Her daughters Rowan, 8, and Grier, 5, � visit her at work. They introduce themselves at the stage door as "Morticia's daughters" and Skype when they can't. "I don't get to put them to bed, but they're loving this experience almost more," she says.
Up next for Shields is a TV movie about a legal case over eminent domain that she is executive producing and in which she will likely star. She says she's trying to branch out and be part of the creative process rather than just being told what someone else wants.
"I'm at the stage now where it is no longer interesting for me to leave my life and just become an actress-for-hire unless I get to spend a day with Meryl Streep. Then I will get her coffee," she says.
Shields is also keen to shed her Replacement Queen label. She recently starred with Raul Esparza in the premier of the Alan Menken-Glenn Slater musical "Leap of Faith" at the Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles and hopes it might make its way to New York.
The show, based on the 1992 Steve Martin film about a flimflam preacher man, is being rewritten and has a new director at the helm Christopher Ashley, taking over from Rob Ashford. Shields hopes the retooled version is even better and that she can finally originate a part on Broadway.
"I'm definitely for it. I want to carry that burden. I think I'm ready to do it," she says. "It'll probably be a huge success. Though, at the last minute, they'll replace me and the person will get a Tony."
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Christopher Maurice Brown - R&B singer.
PROFILE |
Birth Name - Christopher Maurice Brown |
Birth Date - 5-May-89 |
Birth Place - Tappahannock, Virginia, USA |
Famous as - R&B singer |
Claim fame - Single "Run It!" (2005) |
Height - 6' |
Nationality - American |
Hair Color - Black |
Eye Color - Black |
Father - Clinton Brown |
Mother - Joyce Hawkins |
Sister - Lytrell Bundy |
Occupations - Singer,writer,dancer,rapper,actor |
Zodiac Sign - Taurus |
Favourite games - Basketball and Football |
Quote |
"I didn�t understand I could sing until I was 11 or 12 years old. My mom heard me singing around the house and she said, �What are you doing? You can really sing!� So then I went to school and starting singing to the girls." |
Chris Brown Tracklist | |||
Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
Intro | Christopher Brown,Edmund Clement | Eddie Hustle | 0:56 |
Run It! | Scott Storch, Sean Garrett | Scott Storch | 3:49 |
Yo (Excuse Me Miss) | Johnt� Austin, Andrew Harris, Vidal Davis | Dre & Vidal | 3:49 |
Young Love | Vinnie Barrett, Antonio Dixon | The Underdogs | 3:38 |
Gimme That | Storch, Garrett | Scott Storch | 3:06 |
Ya Man Ain't Me | Erik Dawkins, Dixon, Thomas, Mason | The Underdogs | 3:34 |
Winner | Brown, Bryan-Michael Cox | Bryan-Michael Cox, WyldCard (co.) | 4:04 |
Ain't No Way (You Won't Love Me) | Garrett, Warren Felder, Zhang Fu-Quan | Sean Garrett, Oak (co.) | 3:23 |
What's My Name | Brown, Andre Lyon, Marcello Valenzano | Cool & Dre | 3:52 |
Is This Love? | Dawkins, Dixon, Mason, Russell | The Underdogs | 3:17 |
Poppin | Austin, Harris, Davis | Dre & Vidal | 4:25 |
Just Fine | Brown, Daniel Glass, Bennett | Lance Bennett, Michael Winans, Slam | 3:52 |
Say Goodbye | Cox, Dean, Shropshire | Bryan-Michael Cox, WyldCard | 4:49 |
Run It! (Remix) | Ermaine Dupri, Garrett, Shad Moss | Jermaine Dupri, LRoc (co.) | 4:04 |
Thank You | Christopher Brown | Shea Taylo | 4:12 |
Gimme That Remix Featuring Lil | Dwayne Carter, Scott Storch | Luc Besson, Bill Pohlad, Dede Gardner | 3:56 |
Waywarddaughter - a stylish blog with unique fashion taste.
"Wayward daughter" one of my favourite blog in internet. Cait, shares her unique and stylish dressing sense throught this blog. And moreover you can fine some classic,beautiful photographs, I think its all around Scotland since she is a Scottish. If you are realy a fashion lover and have the habit of surfing good pleasent things, then just visit Wayward-daughter.
She really got passion for fashion.
She really got passion for fashion.
And I posted this just for guiding viewers of my blog, to a good stuffed area.
Thank you,
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Winehouse family, friends attend singer's funeral
Wearing dark suits, black dresses and the occasional beehive hairdo, friends and family said goodbye to Amy Winehouse Tuesday with prayers, tears, laughter and song at an emotional funeral ceremony.
"Amy was the greatest daughter, family member and friend you could ever have," said her father, Mitch Winehouse, in a section of the eulogy released by a family spokesman.
The singer's father, mother and brother were joined by Winehouse's close friends, band members and celebrities including producer Mark Ronson for the service at Edgwarebury Cemetery in north London. Media personality Kelly Osbourne was one of several women to wear their hair piled beehive-high in an echo of the singer's trademark style.
Fans and photographers thronged the lane outside, but the funeral was for several hundred friends and family only.
Mitch Winehouse told mourners that his late daughter had recently found love and had beaten her drug dependency three years before her death, but he admitted she was still struggling to control her drinking after several weeks of abstinence.
"She said, 'Dad I've had enough of drinking, I can't stand the look on your and the family's faces anymore.'" Mitch Winehouse said.
He said Amy had been playing her drums and singing in the home the night before her death.
"But knowing she wasn't depressed, knowing she passed away, knowing she passed away happy, it makes us all feel better," he said, adding that he hopes to set up an Amy Winehouse Foundation that would help people beat substance abuse.
The cab driver and jazz singer, who helped foster his daughter's love of music, ended his eulogy with the words "Goodnight, my angel, sleep tight. Mummy and Daddy love you ever so much."
The Jewish service was led by a rabbi and included prayers in English and Hebrew.
It ended with a rendition of Carole King's "So Far Away," one of Winehouse's favorite songs.
"Mitch was funny, he told some great stories from childhood about how headstrong she was, and clearly the family and friends recognized the stories and laughed along," said family spokesman Chris Goodman.
"He stressed so many times she was happier now than she had ever been and he spoke about her boyfriend and paid tribute to a lot of people in her life."
Family friend Alfie Ezekiel, 55, said the service had been a "joyful" celebration of the singer's life.
"Mitch gave a very good eulogy and he managed to get through it very well, considering," he said.
Close family and friends including Winehouse's recent boyfriend, Reg Traviss � moved on to Golders Green Crematorium, where the singer was cremated.
Several mourners, including Ronson who co-produced Winehouse's breakthrough album "Back to Black" looked emotional as they left the red brick structure, which has seen the cremations of thousands of ordinary Londoners and many celebrities, including psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud, comedian Peter Sellers and drummer Keith Moon of The Who.
The family was then due to hold two days of shiva, a Jewish traditional period of mourning.
The soul diva, who had battled alcohol and drug addiction for years, was found dead Saturday at her London home. She was 27.
An autopsy held Monday failed to determine what caused her death. Police are awaiting the results of toxicology tests, which will take two to four weeks.
Winehouse released only two albums in her short career winning five Grammy awards for "Back to Black" and often made headlines because of drug and alcohol abuse, eating disorders, destructive relationships and abortive performances.
Since her death, her records have re-entered album charts around the world, and tributes have poured in from fans and fellow musicians.
George Michael called her "the most soulful vocalist this country has ever seen," and soul singer Adele said she "paved the way for artists like me and made people excited about British music again."
"Amy was the greatest daughter, family member and friend you could ever have," said her father, Mitch Winehouse, in a section of the eulogy released by a family spokesman.
The singer's father, mother and brother were joined by Winehouse's close friends, band members and celebrities including producer Mark Ronson for the service at Edgwarebury Cemetery in north London. Media personality Kelly Osbourne was one of several women to wear their hair piled beehive-high in an echo of the singer's trademark style.
Fans and photographers thronged the lane outside, but the funeral was for several hundred friends and family only.
Mitch Winehouse told mourners that his late daughter had recently found love and had beaten her drug dependency three years before her death, but he admitted she was still struggling to control her drinking after several weeks of abstinence.
"She said, 'Dad I've had enough of drinking, I can't stand the look on your and the family's faces anymore.'" Mitch Winehouse said.
He said Amy had been playing her drums and singing in the home the night before her death.
"But knowing she wasn't depressed, knowing she passed away, knowing she passed away happy, it makes us all feel better," he said, adding that he hopes to set up an Amy Winehouse Foundation that would help people beat substance abuse.
The cab driver and jazz singer, who helped foster his daughter's love of music, ended his eulogy with the words "Goodnight, my angel, sleep tight. Mummy and Daddy love you ever so much."
The Jewish service was led by a rabbi and included prayers in English and Hebrew.
It ended with a rendition of Carole King's "So Far Away," one of Winehouse's favorite songs.
"Mitch was funny, he told some great stories from childhood about how headstrong she was, and clearly the family and friends recognized the stories and laughed along," said family spokesman Chris Goodman.
"He stressed so many times she was happier now than she had ever been and he spoke about her boyfriend and paid tribute to a lot of people in her life."
Family friend Alfie Ezekiel, 55, said the service had been a "joyful" celebration of the singer's life.
"Mitch gave a very good eulogy and he managed to get through it very well, considering," he said.
Close family and friends including Winehouse's recent boyfriend, Reg Traviss � moved on to Golders Green Crematorium, where the singer was cremated.
Several mourners, including Ronson who co-produced Winehouse's breakthrough album "Back to Black" looked emotional as they left the red brick structure, which has seen the cremations of thousands of ordinary Londoners and many celebrities, including psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud, comedian Peter Sellers and drummer Keith Moon of The Who.
The family was then due to hold two days of shiva, a Jewish traditional period of mourning.
The soul diva, who had battled alcohol and drug addiction for years, was found dead Saturday at her London home. She was 27.
An autopsy held Monday failed to determine what caused her death. Police are awaiting the results of toxicology tests, which will take two to four weeks.
Winehouse released only two albums in her short career winning five Grammy awards for "Back to Black" and often made headlines because of drug and alcohol abuse, eating disorders, destructive relationships and abortive performances.
Since her death, her records have re-entered album charts around the world, and tributes have poured in from fans and fellow musicians.
George Michael called her "the most soulful vocalist this country has ever seen," and soul singer Adele said she "paved the way for artists like me and made people excited about British music again."
Schwarzenegger now open to paying Shriver support
Arnold Schwarzenegger has amended a divorce filing and withdrawn a request that a judge terminate Maria Shriver's rights to spousal support.
The actor and former California governor's filing replaces a document he submitted last week that also indicated he wanted Shriver to pay her own attorney's fees. The amended response filed Monday in Los Angeles states Schwarzenegger is also willing to pay his estranged wife's attorney.
The former couple's 13-year-old son has been released from the hospital after a body-boarding accident on June 17 left him with a collapsed lung.
Shriver filed for divorce July 1. Her petition to end the couple's 25-year-marriage came weeks after Schwarzenegger revealed he fathered a child with a member of his household staff years ago.
The actor and former California governor's filing replaces a document he submitted last week that also indicated he wanted Shriver to pay her own attorney's fees. The amended response filed Monday in Los Angeles states Schwarzenegger is also willing to pay his estranged wife's attorney.
The former couple's 13-year-old son has been released from the hospital after a body-boarding accident on June 17 left him with a collapsed lung.
Shriver filed for divorce July 1. Her petition to end the couple's 25-year-marriage came weeks after Schwarzenegger revealed he fathered a child with a member of his household staff years ago.
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Denim Jumpsuits � Choice of almost all Celebrities.
Year 2010 saw the stimulation of the jumpsuit and without any doubt many, in the fashion world are praising it as a very viable and smart option. They are with designs that are comfortable and also convenient to be worn during the hot months. As contrast to earlier impressions about these jumpsuits being rather unusual, these controversies have been changed totally and people are now ready to wear them quite often. The truth that many of the celebrities and models have also taken to it with great interest has encouraged designers to come out with exclusive styles in order to fit various personalities.
Denim jumpsuits also have become a fashionable option for women. They are now happy to wear them for parties with friends, dinners at night. The main factor driving this reception is the comfort and the fact that there is no need to think too much about coordinating garments due to its single piece.
Even designers are taking lively interest in both jumpsuits and denim jumpsuits. Body structure does not matter much since the designers have taken the exertion of incorporating various styles that suit one and all. Some of the popular denim jumpsuits have the Skinny Leg Jumpsuit as well as the Jackie O Knit Jumper styles. It is one piece item whereas the latter is a classic similar to the style that Jackie O made famous. This too has skinny legs but has other sharp contrast topstitching and frontal zip closures. The back pocket bears the apple-shaped logo.
Both ordinary and denim jumpsuits are made of stretch material and are being preferred due to the smooth feel. Jumpsuits have a much tailored look about them and make for a better fit. They can be machine washed and therefore easy to maintain. The fact that besides straight blue, there are other attractive colors also available make them all the more popular and in demand. White denim is in vogue and those who do not like white have the choice of going for stone washed varieties.
Spongy denim material inflated with leather trimmings as well as lumber stitches are much sought after due to the feel on the body and the stylishness exuded by leather. Along with suitable accessories, they make for a wonderful picture. If you are looking for a lot of style, then you would do well to go for Wide Leg Jumpsuits with straps that are adjustable.
Belted Skinny Jumpsuits are the other ones that are a rage among the youth. These have difference stitching along with a rather low cut zipper. It is however the snap-button type of fitting and graceful belt that lends it a unique style.
Out of 'Office,' Carell turns focus to movies
Steve Carell is not going through Michael Scott withdrawal at least not yet. "I don't sit at home and think of 'that's what she said' jokes and wish that I could do them one more time," says the actor, laughing. "But it's only been a few months, too, so I haven't really had any time. All of that is still fresh to me."
Carell's sendoff from "The Office" (for which he received a parting Emmy nomination) is still fresh in many viewers' minds, too. The emotional hubbub over his exit after seven seasons caught Carell by surprise. He was flattered, he says, but, with typical humility, considers it "just an actor leaving a show."
He moved on to spend more time with his family (wife and former "Saturday Night Live" cast member Nancy Ellen Walls and their two children) and to expand the movie career he had previously squeezed into summer breaks from shooting the hit NBC comedy.
The first glimpse of Carell's post-"Office" days is "Crazy Stupid Love," an ensemble romantic comedy in which he stars and that he produced.
"It is sort of a new phase," Carell said in a recent interview at the Ritz-Carlton. "We'll see how it goes. It's just, just started. You're witnessing day one of the new phase. So far so good."
"Crazy Stupid Love" mirrors the type of movie Carell wants to pursue, particularly its blend of comedy and drama, and its focus on character-based realism.
Carell plays a suburban father who, when his wife (Julianne Moore) cheats on him and they separate, remakes himself as a lady's man with the help of a suave pick-up artist (Ryan Gosling). The film also examines love stories in different generations (Emma Stone pairs with Gosling).
Glenn Ficarra, who directed with John Requa, calls the role a "transitional piece" for Carell that shows he can smoothly range into more serious material.
"Steve's a writer, so he's always thinking about scenes in a slightly different way, not just as an actor," says Ficarra. "Like '40-Year-Old Virgin' is a very kind of crass concept, but it's a very heartfelt movie. Steve always approaches everything he does trying to come from a real place, as opposed to a wacky place. So I think it's a natural extension to move toward dramatic stuff, because you're just dealing with reality."
After memorably funny roles in "Bruce Almighty" and "Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy," 2005's "The 40-Year-Old Virgin" (which Carell co-wrote with Judd Apatow) catapulted Carell's movie career. The former Second City stand-out and "Daily Show" correspondent responded with a steady string of movies.
He has vacillated among blockbusters ("Get Smart," ''Despicable Me"), box-office flops ("Evan Almighty") and absurdist comedies ("Dinner for Schmucks"). But he's shown a respectable inclination for adult-minded comedies such as "Dan in Real Life," ''Date Night" and "Little Miss Sunshine."
But in the constant back-and-forth between movies and the mockumentary-style "Office," some TV habits were hard to break.
"The one thing that's hard getting away from is looking into the camera," says Carell, laughing. "This happened all the way through 'The Office,' when I would go off and do a movie. For the first week, I would continually look into the lens of the movie camera. I'd stop myself and go, 'What the hell am I doing? This isn't the documentary.'"
Directors have often praised Carell's ability to improvise on the spot, performing repeated alternative takes in comedies to twist a scene in different directions. An admirer of great actors such as Alan Arkin, Jack Lemmon and Peter Sellers, Carell has always favored character-based comedy and detests "jokey jokes."
"In real life, people don't walk around telling jokes to each other," Carell says. "That, to me, is not what's most funny about real life. Real human situations and responses are what really make me laugh. When you hear a joke and it depends on the context and the movie you feel like you're being set up that way and manipulated. I never like that in a movie. I would much rather buy into a character and laugh at what they're doing as opposed to how funny they're trying to be."
Julianne Moore, who has won Oscar nominations for roles in such dramas as "Far From Heaven," ''The Hours" and "Boogie Nights," believes Carell's approach works, regardless of genre.
"Steve has got a kinetic acuity like nothing I've ever seen," she says. "It is effortless � or seemingly effortless. ... He's great at connecting and noticing things that are going on around him."
"Crazy Stupid Love" is the first film produced by Carell's production company, Carousel Productions. As a producer, he picked the directors, contributed to casting and had input on keeping the tone of the movie as realistic as possible using "treacle cutters," he says, to weed out sentimentality. In one low-point scene for his character, his wife leaves and it begins to rain. Carell improvised a self-conscious line: "Ah, what a clich�."
Carell is producing a documentary on the last six decades of comedy, to be hosted by David Steinberg. Upcoming acting jobs include co-starring with Meryl Streep and Tommy Lee Jones in "Great Hope Springs," another tale of marriage woes. He will also play a magician in "Burt Wonderstone," and he recently shot the independent romantic comedy "Seeking a Friend for the End of the World" with Keira Knightley.
Carell, who hasn't been credited as a writer since a few 2006-2007 "Office" episodes, plans to write more now that he has time. He knows wistful emotions might kick in when, in a few weeks, "The Office" returns to production for its fall season without him, but thus far, he's relishing his new period particularly his time with his kids.
"It's been great," he says with a smile. "It's been exactly what I hoped it would be."
Carell's sendoff from "The Office" (for which he received a parting Emmy nomination) is still fresh in many viewers' minds, too. The emotional hubbub over his exit after seven seasons caught Carell by surprise. He was flattered, he says, but, with typical humility, considers it "just an actor leaving a show."
He moved on to spend more time with his family (wife and former "Saturday Night Live" cast member Nancy Ellen Walls and their two children) and to expand the movie career he had previously squeezed into summer breaks from shooting the hit NBC comedy.
The first glimpse of Carell's post-"Office" days is "Crazy Stupid Love," an ensemble romantic comedy in which he stars and that he produced.
"It is sort of a new phase," Carell said in a recent interview at the Ritz-Carlton. "We'll see how it goes. It's just, just started. You're witnessing day one of the new phase. So far so good."
"Crazy Stupid Love" mirrors the type of movie Carell wants to pursue, particularly its blend of comedy and drama, and its focus on character-based realism.
Carell plays a suburban father who, when his wife (Julianne Moore) cheats on him and they separate, remakes himself as a lady's man with the help of a suave pick-up artist (Ryan Gosling). The film also examines love stories in different generations (Emma Stone pairs with Gosling).
Glenn Ficarra, who directed with John Requa, calls the role a "transitional piece" for Carell that shows he can smoothly range into more serious material.
"Steve's a writer, so he's always thinking about scenes in a slightly different way, not just as an actor," says Ficarra. "Like '40-Year-Old Virgin' is a very kind of crass concept, but it's a very heartfelt movie. Steve always approaches everything he does trying to come from a real place, as opposed to a wacky place. So I think it's a natural extension to move toward dramatic stuff, because you're just dealing with reality."
After memorably funny roles in "Bruce Almighty" and "Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy," 2005's "The 40-Year-Old Virgin" (which Carell co-wrote with Judd Apatow) catapulted Carell's movie career. The former Second City stand-out and "Daily Show" correspondent responded with a steady string of movies.
He has vacillated among blockbusters ("Get Smart," ''Despicable Me"), box-office flops ("Evan Almighty") and absurdist comedies ("Dinner for Schmucks"). But he's shown a respectable inclination for adult-minded comedies such as "Dan in Real Life," ''Date Night" and "Little Miss Sunshine."
But in the constant back-and-forth between movies and the mockumentary-style "Office," some TV habits were hard to break.
"The one thing that's hard getting away from is looking into the camera," says Carell, laughing. "This happened all the way through 'The Office,' when I would go off and do a movie. For the first week, I would continually look into the lens of the movie camera. I'd stop myself and go, 'What the hell am I doing? This isn't the documentary.'"
Directors have often praised Carell's ability to improvise on the spot, performing repeated alternative takes in comedies to twist a scene in different directions. An admirer of great actors such as Alan Arkin, Jack Lemmon and Peter Sellers, Carell has always favored character-based comedy and detests "jokey jokes."
"In real life, people don't walk around telling jokes to each other," Carell says. "That, to me, is not what's most funny about real life. Real human situations and responses are what really make me laugh. When you hear a joke and it depends on the context and the movie you feel like you're being set up that way and manipulated. I never like that in a movie. I would much rather buy into a character and laugh at what they're doing as opposed to how funny they're trying to be."
Julianne Moore, who has won Oscar nominations for roles in such dramas as "Far From Heaven," ''The Hours" and "Boogie Nights," believes Carell's approach works, regardless of genre.
"Steve has got a kinetic acuity like nothing I've ever seen," she says. "It is effortless � or seemingly effortless. ... He's great at connecting and noticing things that are going on around him."
"Crazy Stupid Love" is the first film produced by Carell's production company, Carousel Productions. As a producer, he picked the directors, contributed to casting and had input on keeping the tone of the movie as realistic as possible using "treacle cutters," he says, to weed out sentimentality. In one low-point scene for his character, his wife leaves and it begins to rain. Carell improvised a self-conscious line: "Ah, what a clich�."
Carell is producing a documentary on the last six decades of comedy, to be hosted by David Steinberg. Upcoming acting jobs include co-starring with Meryl Streep and Tommy Lee Jones in "Great Hope Springs," another tale of marriage woes. He will also play a magician in "Burt Wonderstone," and he recently shot the independent romantic comedy "Seeking a Friend for the End of the World" with Keira Knightley.
Carell, who hasn't been credited as a writer since a few 2006-2007 "Office" episodes, plans to write more now that he has time. He knows wistful emotions might kick in when, in a few weeks, "The Office" returns to production for its fall season without him, but thus far, he's relishing his new period particularly his time with his kids.
"It's been great," he says with a smile. "It's been exactly what I hoped it would be."
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