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Dear readers I bring you this month's shorter column under great duress. You see my Mac decided to pack up on the second day of my trip to the tropics. I'm on the Caribbean Island of Margarita off the coast of South America on business, and no, I'm NOT bringing in concealed bags of white powder I hasten to add. I am writing this column with a borrowed laptop whose main job is that of a doorstop at best of times. It's archaic. I hate pc's anyway. I don't have all the exact pictures I had edited for this month's column. So it's entirely my fault -The Mac- that we've gone 'live' somewhat late this month. All will be back to 'normal' next month.
Kate Winslet
Mickey Rourke
It's the awards silly season at the moment and it was the BAFTAS turn to dazzle with glitz and glamour. Always the poor cousin of the Oscars, it was brought forward before the Academy Awards 'Oscars' so it could be more relevant. This year it certainly didn't disappoint. The celebrities in attendance included: BRAD PITT and ANGELINA JOLIE, MARISA TOMEI, golden girl of the moment KATE WINSLET, MICKEY ROURKE, PENELOPE CRUZ, CHRISTIAN SLATER who turned up with the lovely and considerable richer than him TAMARA MELON, SHARON STONE, DANIEL CRAIG and loads more.
Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie
Trouble was, the heavens decided to let rip in the middle of the red carpet arrivals. Not nice. So we had many of the stars with umbrellas up. It just doesn't work for pictures.
Gentle 100 decibels 'persuasion' by yours truly ensured they posed without the offending items. OK they got wet, but I got good pictures. Brad and Angie gave me plenty of time for pictures and considering the weather it went well in the end.
Best Actor went to MICKEY ROURKE for The Wrestler and Best Actress went to KATE WINSLET for the The Reader. Best film went to Slumdog Millionaire with it's director Danny Boyle collecting the Best Director award. Other winners included PENELOPE CRUZ -Best Supporting Actress- for Vicky Christina Barcelona and Best Supporting Actor went to the late HEATH LEDGER for The Dark Knight.
Daniel Craig
Sharon Stone
The Oscars shrugged off the effects of the world recession with a particularly spectacular event and as usual everyone turned out en masse with amazing outfits and yes, some horror stories. Taking pictures at the Oscars is like taking pics in a busy procession. The red carpet is very crowded and its almost impossible to have pics with a clear background. Meh! For me the best dress was worn by the lovely NATALIE PORTMAN with a pink gown which looked fabulous. One of the worst dressed was chubby MILEY CYRUS with a weird contraption seemingly bought from a joke shop or the only Stegosaurus skin in the world. Very brave I must say.
Marisa Tomei
As for the main award winners, It was a similar thing to the BAFTAS except for Best Actor going to SEAN PENN for MILK. KATE WINSLET finally won an Oscar for Best Actress -for The Reader- after being nominated so many times in years past. The woman has won everything this year. It can't get any better for her. Attendees included: NATALIE PORTMAN, BRAD PITT, ANGELINA JOLIE, AMY ADAMS, KATE WINSLET, MERYL STREEP, PENELOPE CRUZ, DANIEL CRAIG, MICKEY ROURKE and Oscar winner SEAN PENN amongst hundreds of other celebs.
Meryl Streep
Penelope Cruz-Sean Penn-Amy Adams
It's the one things celebrities love to do besides not eating and squeezing into debatably gorgeous gowns - partying hard, LINDSEY LOHAN style. Every star in town hit up as many Oscar parties as possible last -night Nicole Richie was out until 4 am at a private bash, while REESE WITHERSPOON and boyfriend JAKE GYLENHAAL, KATE WINSLET and her parents hit up the annual Vanity Fair shindig. La Winslet STILL clutching her Oscar statuette. The Academy Awards is sooo long winded with a myriad of award categories that many award presenting celebs -DANIEL CRAIG to name one- left well before the ceremony was over.
Penelope Cruz
Missing out on the Oscars this year was — believe it or not — a deliberate plan for SIENNA MILLER. Unlike fellow tabloid star LINDSEY LOHAN, Sienna's been making a critically acclaimed leap into fashion these last few years with the label Twenty8Twelve, in partnership with designer sister Savannah. Lets face it, Sienna was not going to win an Oscar by ANY stretch of the imagination. And on Oscar night, they made their debut showing at London Fashion Week with a relaxed, stylish collection showcasing the sisters' sort of wearable clothes.
With a celebrity-packed audience including COURTNEY LOVE, KANYE WEST, ALEXA CHUNG and legendary 60's British model Twiggy, the runway show was hailed as a huge success by fashion-watchers.
Sienna Miller
London Fashion Week in full swing
One of the best shows for me as far as the colours are concerned was from talented designer Ashish. Stop giggling at the back!
His shows are often very good and brimming with colour. Great to shoot. The Queen Bee of them all, Vivienne Westwood was in good form with another great show but not as god as her last one. There were a few celebs in attendance which included: KANYE WEST, ERIN O'CONNOR, NICOLA ROBERTS -ugly one out of Girls Aloud- LEAH WOOD, JO WOOD and DAVID WALLIAMS.
Kanye West
Vivienne Westwood
DVD release of the month for me is Transsiberian. Transsiberian is a thriller directed by Brad Anderson, set on the legendary train that links the Far East and Europe, running from China and Mongolia to Russia.
Following a stay in Beijing, Roy and Jessie, a couple who are going through a rocky patch, decide to give their relationship one last go and have another adventure together, travelling on the Transsiberian from China to Moscow through exotic, wild and snow-laden places.
On the train, Roy and Jessie discover that the days of the train's glorious luxury have faded since the fall of the U.S.S.R. The famous train's former glamour has disappeared, leaving cold steel carriages and taciturn fellow passengers, reputed to include drug traffickers. They take refuge in the company of a fellow western couple who arrive in their shared compartment, Carlos and Abby, who travel throughout the world giving language classes and re-selling handcraft, such as, on this occasion, Russian Matryoshka dolls.
She soon discovers that Carlos was in fact a drug dealer who was being pursued by corrupt police officers, and they are now chasing her. Unwittingly, Roy and Jessie get caught up in the dark world of smuggling and betrayal. And they know that while the train is in motion, there is no means of escape. The film is an interesting view of what is like to travel in Russia by these means. It was interesting with a few surprises along the way. Sir Ben Kingsley in particular puts in a great performance as the main Russian detective.
Well dear peeps that's it's for now and hopefully I will not have technical difficulties next month!
Over and out, see ya next month.
JOE ALVAREZ
joealvarez@verycool.co.uk
Website: www.myspace.com/redcarpetspecialist
WORDS AND ALL PICTURES COPYRIGHT JOE ALVAREZ 2009 |
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