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Hi peeps! I bring you a short and sweet version of my hallowed column, as I'm away on business in South America/Caribbean at the moment. The 53rd London Film Festival wound down recently and although busy it was as always a poor man's Cannes. Although it has to be said is slowly improving. This year we had red carpets! Hooray! Biggest celebrity in attendance was the indefatigable GEORGE CLOONEY, who was in attendance to plug his new flicks: Fantastic Mr Fox, The Men Who Stare at Goats and Up In The Air. Yes, THREE films. Greedy and lucky git. George can be humble -seriously- he told me in Toronto that he knows he's lucky. He is well aware that he has got this far not through talent, but luck. He remembers very well all his bad films, and TV work.
GEORGE CLOONEY
So you can understand his perennial big smile. No WILL SMITH syndrome here. (Uber Ego) This year he has done the rounds as he has been promoting his films in Venice, Toronto, Cannes, and London. I, having photographed him in the last three festivals, have hundreds of pics of the man, sadly, all in a grey suit. In the odd occasion a tuxedo. So not easy to sell almost identical pics of George in the same attire. I look forward to the day when he gambles on wearing something somewhat different. BILL MURRAY also showed up with a devil may care attitude as he was dressed like a student who slept in his clothes after a pub crawl. Not easy pleasing the media at the best of times!
BILL MURRAY
I recently shot the stills for the RADOX bubble bath TV advert. The advert, starring ex Eastenders actor ROBERT KAZINSKY who played Sean Slater in the popular soap, was shot at IL Botaccio in London. The whole idea was aimed at people to just kick back and relax in a hot bath. Funny thing was that the actual bubble bath used was not from Radox but from arch rival Imperial Leather! Funny old world.
I happened to be in South America at the moment -Venezuela to be precise- doing a picture documentary for a well known press agency. It also involves a shoot in Margarita island in the Caribbean, which belongs to that troubled South American state. I call it a state, because it is in a STATE of decline, in a right state, meaning a complete mess. Caracas, the Capital is ugly, dirty, badly maintained, and stinks in most places. It really has nothing to see. Of course, there are many people trying to have a go and keep the country decent, but they are outnumbered heavily by criminals which includes most of the corrupt government, who have not the faintest idea in how to govern. The quasi communist dictator in charge of that 'wanna be' failed state is the bipolar HUGO CHAVEZ. There would be less hungry and poor people in that country is he stopped eating for five minutes. You only need to listen to one of his speeches to realise the state -ha ha- of his delusion and lack of education. The country is sinking faster than the Titanic, only in this case it seems it has been struck by three icebergs to say the least.
Chavez graffiti
Squatted building
Clapped out taxi
Much is made -by left leaning media- of the giant oil reserves of Venezuela, but in truth it means absolutely nothing. As they have NO idea as to how to begin to extract it, let alone fund the infrastructure to do with it. There's no money to even drill it. Many oil wells have closed as there's no money for maintenance. The country has to borrow money just to keep the power supply -electricity- running. The rest is just stolen. With the country's spiralling foreign debt and their fixation with communism, they have scared western investors. The Chinese seem to be doing well here as they have been doing in Africa, but nevertheless, despite of that, on the ground, I can't say I've seen anything to make me think the country is beyond help. With a murder rate way higher than Iraq and Afghanistan combined -and 99% goes unsolved- you can understand my pessimism. 'The political climate in Venezuela is highly polarised and volatile. Violent crime is a serious problem, and the capital city of Caracas has been cited as having the highest per capita homicide rate in the world. Kidnappings, assaults and robberies occur throughout the country'....(quote from US State Department) The country's 'cancer' goes way further than this. Chavez hides it by clowning around like an uncouth gorilla that he is in a red 'commie' shirt. The masses are lied to on a daily basis, with promises to wipe out poverty. What a JOKE. He only enriches his electoral fan base, by paying them a fee and their travel costs to go and vote on marginal areas of the country where the opposition might have a chance of winning. He buses in poor folk from the countryside -most of them illiterate- for this sole purpose. Even farms, buildings, and factories are expropriated and handed over to supporters to squat in as my pictures show. This place makes Hackney -in London- look like Copenhagen. Believe me, I'm just telling you the 'tip of the iceberg' here. The Venezuelan government is rotten to the core. The country has no chance -under its present leadership- to make anything decent of itself. Not that much of the world cares anyway. Why should they?
Kite surfer
I'm not here for fun believe me. I had camera equipment stolen here last year also.....I hope I make it back!
The only nice thing the country has to offer is the geography, flora and fauna. It has got very nice beaches. (As well as awful ones.) Here are some nice ones as well as other nice views of Margarita Island, in the Caribbean. -Belongs to Venezuela- The main Margarita church, and fort, is the legacy from the Spanish colonialism.
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 |
