Television and the Net – Growing Together, Not Apart

22-07-2010 by admin



The old fashioned wall posters that featured TV and movie stars along with rock bands and that highlighted generations of teen-age bedrooms have been overshadowed, if not replaced, by fan sites on the Internet. There are untold tens (hundreds?) of thousands of them, ranging from amateur idol worship to sophisticated collections of information, photos and often video clips of the person, or shows being lionized.

For the most part, fan sites can upload photos and small clips from films under the “fair use” policy. Generally speaking, fair use is a court-defined copyright principle based on the belief that the public is entitled to freely use portions of copyrighted materials for purposes of commentary and criticism. Short clips or stills of a program or film are usually covered under fair use.

Turning Fandom into Big Business

Like most everything else on the Internet, people are finding ways to make money from the phenomenon. There are indexes of TV fan sites that are peppered with advertising. Sites for the soap opera stars provide particularly potent advertising opportunities. There are “official” and unofficial sites dedicated to public figures in the entertainment world. Many of the unofficial sites have advertising as well, while the official sites often peddle memorabilia. For that matter, so do the unofficial sites.

Any Press is Good Press

What the entertainment industry has learned is that, generally, fan sites have a positive impact on the entertainer or entertainers featured. The old adage about negative news coverage is “Print anything you want about me, just spell my name properly.” In other words, any coverage is good coverage, any exposure is good exposure. The really short version is “there’s no bad press.”

For television, this is particularly important with regard to the premieres of new shows and the launch of new seasons. Web fan sites provide the opportunity for the TV networks to premiere character outlines and even selected promotional clips. This was previously the exclusive domain of morning news programs and entertainment news magazines like Entertainment Tonight.

In the World of Sports

In the sports world, there are several gaming sites – particularly in the UK – that invite viewers to upload their personal videos or photos of pro athletes or games. The entire sports industry, including the gaming segment, is TV driven. Some sites pay for this content. In this country as in Europe, many of the media savvy pro athletes have their own websites. Controversial pros such as Barry Bonds and Terrell Owens use those sites to respond to negative news coverage; you will often see their personal blogs quoted in sports stories. Some athletes peddle their own autographed memorabilia over their web sites.

TV Personalities

Many teen TV and music personalities also have their own websites and provide (ostensibly) personal updates on their lives, careers, etc. It has changed the nature of teen idol worship by bringing the entertainer much closer to the fan. These personal “star” sites have proven to be productive publicity and outreach tools for performers seeking to build a following among the 12-24 age group. They have also helped to build ratings for the TV shows starring these young actors.

Hollywood.com

Hollywood.com is a site dedicated to television and film industry gossip, news and images. You can find television show clips there, presumably placed with permission from the studio. An important component of their content, however, is the index of fan pages for stars of all types – music, movies, TV. All of this content including the fan sites is interlaced with advertising for upcoming movies and many non-entertainment, online products.

You can even find a fan site index entitled “Obsessive Fan Sites – Excess only the Internet can Provide” at http://www.ggower.com/fans/. There is a weekly competition for worst site among the choices posted, along with lots of sardonic commentary.

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Celebrity Skin Care – Enjoy Beautiful Skin Like Your Favorite Celebrities

30-06-2010 by admin



Have you ever wondered how some of Hollywood’s most famous actors, celebrities, and super models maintain young, smooth, and beautiful skin? Many Hollywood stars elect to have expensive surgeries or purchase exotic products that cost a fortune in order to obtain and maintain beautiful skin. Fortunately, attaining beautiful skin is not as complicated or expensive as you might think. In fact, today there are many high profile celebrities using natural remedies as part of their skin care regimens. These natural and organic skin care remedies are great for regular people living on a tight budget.

It Starts With Prevention

Celebrity skin care begins with prevention and protection from the sun. Many celebrities, like Nicole Kidman, who have fair skin, are reducing their sun exposure. Over exposure to the sun’s damaging UV rays can cause major damage to your skin. Most notably, wrinkles, redness, fine lines and premature aging. To offset these conditions, choose skin care products with SPF protection. Today, many sunscreen products contain natural and organic ingredients along with antioxidants to provide anti-aging benefits. Skin care products that provide good SPF protection are produced as creams, sprays, or fluids to make application easier. Also, if you are involved in various outdoor activities, look for waterproof or sweat-proof properties in your sunscreen.
If you spent a day in the sun without any protection, there is still hope for your skin. Use after-sun skin care products to protect your skin from the damages caused by the sun. Many of these products are designed to re-hydrate and moisturize sun damaged skin. Damages like premature aging, wrinkles, brown spots, and sagging. Like the Hollywood stars, you need to adjust your lifestyle from one that’s sun worshipping, to one that avoids lengthy sun exposure.

Thyme For Beautiful Skin

When looking for a natural and inexpensive way to give your face a fresh look, try the herb thyme. It is an effective way to keep your skin healthy. It has potent antioxidant properties, and helps tone your skin. Holly Robinson Peete steams her face with thyme once a month for its cleansing and relaxing effects on her skin. After boiling a few sprigs of thyme in water, Holly pours the steaming water into a bowl, tenting a towel over her head, allowing the steam to cleanse her face for a few minutes. As smooth and clear as Holly’s skin is, it is easy to see why she has this in her skin care regimen. Thyme works by widening clogged pores and softening your skin in order to cleanse the makeup, impurities and dead skin cells off of your face. Once a week, boil a pan of water with the herb, and steam your face for ten to fifteen minutes. The result will be clear and fresh complexion.

Exfoliate To Renew

After a good thyme steam cleansing, follow it up with a gentle exfoliation. Exfoliation removes dead skin cells that cause the face to appear dull. The build up of dead skin cells can also contribute to the blockage of pores, causing acne to develop. Facial scrubs remove the dead skin, in turn, cleansing the skin. When exfoliating, choose a mild exfoliant that suits your particular skin type, and do circular movements avoiding your eyes. Generally, you should exfoliate for only two or three minutes only. However, too much exfoliation will irritate your skin. Exfoliation is a key reason why Natalie Portman has such a youthful and radiant glow. In your quest for beautiful skin, exfoliation must be a priority in your skin care treatments.

Moisturize For Softness

Always use a light moisturizer after cleansing your face. Skin that is well moisturized is soft and supple. Your skin will also age more slowly and radiate a healthy glow when properly moisturized. Be sure to apply extra moisturizer to dry spots. However, remember that too much moisturizer can lead to clogged pores and blackheads. Stephanie Seymour keeps her complexion clear using a moisturizer with a SPF-15. It gives her skin a silky appearance, and won’t clog her pores. Remember, moisturizing is an important function of your daily skin care regimen in your pursuit of beautiful skin.

Beautiful Skin Awaits You

Having beautiful skin is not limited to the rich and famous. There are skin care methods used by A-list celebrities that won’t blow your budget out of the water. As with anything, consistency is the key. Follow these simple skin care remedies, and you will be on your way to having beautiful skin. Perhaps like your favorite celebrity.

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Gossip Boy Chace Crawford Goes Shirtless

by admin



As one of the leading male stars on the set of Gossip Girl, Chace takes on the part of Nate Archibald and as expected, perfectly portrays the character’s complex role in the elite Manhattan Upper East Side. His charisma and strong presence on screen is irrefutable and fans all over the globe are raving about his every appearance in each episode. Shirtless of fully clothed, for fans, Chace Crawford is still worth the chase.

The 23-year-actor is not entirely new to exposing his body on screen. Having been a model himself, Chace has been experienced in taking his shirt off for shoots and being plunged into hunkdom also entails for him to go bare-chested most of the time. This is especially true for his role in the very racy and risqu

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Actors – How To Get A Talent Agent

17-06-2010 by admin



Many aspiring actors imagine the first step in building their showbiz careers is to “be discovered” by a talent agent. While a talent agent will eventually be important to your career, there are several very important steps you must take before an agent will even consider working with you. In this article, I’ll examine the very first step: training.

While it may seem like an obvious first step, many aspiring actors fail to consider training. I suppose they think they’ll develop their acting skills once they’ve been “discovered” and are on the set of their favorite Disney channel show. Unfortunately, that’s not how it works. You must first learn to act before anyone will hire you.

Think about it this way: You would never expect to play basketball for the Los Angeles Lakers if you had never picked up a basketball, would you? The steps to playing professional ball are exactly the same steps to becoming a professional actor.

First, you learn the game. You work with coaches. You develop the fundamental skills by practicing every day, day after day, for years. Nobody would expect to be hired by the Lakers with no experience and then learn to play basketball “on the job”, would they? That sounds ridiculous, doesn’t it?

And yet that’s exactly what many aspiring actors expect. They dream of being discovered by a high powered agent and skyrocketing to fame before they’ve even learned how to act.

Step One: Learn to Act

Acting is just like everything else we do in life… it takes practice to do it well. Talent and desire are important, but without training, an actor will never survive in cities like Los Angeles and New York, where competition is fierce. Every day you’re competing against the very best of the best. You think your desire for acting success is greater than everyone else’s? Well, your competition in the big cities not only has the desire, they’ve also spent years training.

They’ve studied acting for years, they’ve done countless workshops, they’ve worked with acting coaches, they’ve appeared in numerous unpaid “independent” films, they’ve done hundreds or even thousands of performances. If it sounds intimidating, well… don’t dismay. Even the biggest stars in Hollywood were beginners once. The most important thing is to take action. Sign up for an acting class. Join a workshop. Volunteer at a local theater. It’s good to dream about a successful showbiz career, but don’t let it end there. You must take action.

The most successful actors continue to work with acting coaches well after they’ve begun making their living at it. Even the actors on Seinfeld worked with “dialogue coach”, Judy Kerr. When you realize that even the actors on one of the most successful shows of all time are working to improve their skills every day, you’ll begin to understand the importance of training.

Before you worry about signing with a “big shot” talent agent and becoming a star, first begin training. Work every day to improve your skills. Practice every chance you get. Work with teachers and coaches and directors. You absolutely must develop strong acting skills to succeed in showbiz.

Imagine a young Shaquille O’Neil saying, “I want to play in the NBA one day, so the first step is to get an agent!”

If he’d said that instead of going out and practicing his skills, he would never have made it.

First, learn to play the game.

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Musicals Thriving in London’s West End

08-06-2010 by admin



There have been several high profile musical productions debuting in the West End recently to varying degrees of critical acclaim. But, regardless of whether the autumn openings continue their runs into 2008, musicals look set to dominate the West End box office over the next few years.

Prominent amongst the successful new shows unveiled recently include ‘Hairspray’. The musical opened in late October in London’s West End to rave reviews and has recently extended its run by seven months as a result. First opened on Broadway in August 2002 at the Simons Theatre where it is still playing to packed audiences this American import is now booking until 25th October 2008 at the Shaftesbury Theatre. West End veteran warbler Michael Ball stars as cross-dresser Edna Turnblad with comedian-turned-actor Mel Smith supporting as “her husband” Wilbur and newcomer Leanne Jones plays Tracy, their daughter. Following its success on Broadway, Hairspray has been made into a Hollywood feature film starring John Travolta.

Indeed, productions based on films, or vice-versa, appear to be all the rage in the West End. Dirty Dancing, another recent addition to the West End theatres, has also extended its booking period until April 2009, after a successful opening in late October. Writer of the film’s screenplay Eleanor Bergstein used her own childhood experiences of holidaying with her family in the Catskills in the USA as the basis of the story and has successfully adapted it for this stage production. Josef Brown, who played the lead in the Australian production of 2004, stars as Johnny joined by Sarah Manton as Baby.

Another former film now gracing the West End stage ‘Desperately seeking Susan’, which originally starred Madonna and Rosanna Arquette in the celluloid version, is not doing quite so well in the stage adaptation that features the music of Blondie. The production recently premiered at the Novello Theatre and is currently booking until mid-April 2008, although judging by the unfavourable reviews it may ultimately record a shorter run that that.

Conversely, Grease is taking the West End by storm. Originally a 70’s film musical starring John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John, this production has made a successful transition to the West End stage and looks set to enjoy a long run until the end of the decade.

As well as modern musicals, classics such as Andrew Lloyd-Webber’s Joseph have undergone a successful revival thanks to the BBC talent show ‘Any dream will do’ which has given 26-year-old winner Lee Mead the starring role in his West End debut. That must be one of the best theatre breaks for a young actor since the last BBC talent winner Connie Fisher captured the lead role of Maria in the Sound of Music!

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What’s in a Name? Giving Birth to your Characters

02-06-2010 by admin



So you’ve got your plot outlined, a title lined up and the research is done. You’re ready to start writing your novel. But wait. Now comes the fun part: creating names for your characters. One of the best things about being a writer–besides the innate ability to create imaginary worlds–is giving birth to a character and then bestowing a name upon him or her. True, you didn’t carry the character in your womb for nine months (especially if you’re male). But he or she could’ve been in your head for nine months…or nine years. So choosing a name for your characters seems almost as important as the one you would give your own child.

The name you decide on will dictate the reader’s perception of that character, so select wisely. If your character is an agoraphobic scientist, he or she should not be named Brittany or Rick. Does this bunch of hoo-hah sound familiar to you? Raise your hand now, don’t be shy. I thought so. Now let me remove the rose-colored sunglasses so you all can see the harsh light of reality. The reality being that having a common name conjures up a stereotypical image. What picture forms in your head when you hear the name Tiffany? Pretty, popular, blonde-haired cheerleader? What about the name Melvin? Skinny guy with glasses and a pocket protector? Now what comes to mind when you hear something unique like Lyric? Or Dax?

We as writers have been blessed with a wonderful gift. We are a rare species unto ourselves in such a way that we can build alternate realities for the public to enter. We are storytellers that pull ideas out of our bu-that is-minds, invent our own language even, and the only names we can come up with for our characters are Johns, Susans, Kathleens, and Sams? Unacceptable. These are perfectly good names, don’t get me wrong, but they’re safe names. I used to be in an online critique group and someone said that if your main character has an unusual name, the secondary characters should have more common names; that way, it won’t be so confusing to the reader. My initial response wasn’t printable, but I can tell you that it sort of went a little like this: “Who died and made you Ruler of the Writing World? Heaven forbid we throw our readers a curve ball every once in a while.”

It’s called variety, folks. In the Dictionary, this word is defined as “the quality or condition of being various or varied; diversity.” If you don’t step outside your comfort zone and offer your readers some different flavors, you’re not going to sell any books. I decided from the get-go that all the characters in my books were going to have unique names. I wanted to stand out from the pack and dance my own little jig. So here are some suggestions on finding primo names for your characters:

1) Books, Magazines, and Newspapers – These are wonderful sources. In magazines and newspapers, a story, a self-help column or even a product ad could house a name that would be worth writing down. People use baby books to choose names for their children, so why not do the same for your characters? These books can be very in-depth, stating the meaning of the name as well as its origin. I’ve used The Writer’s Digest Character Naming Sourcebook (1994, Sherrilyn Kenyon with Hal Blythe and Charlie Sweet). It features more than 20,000 first and last names and their meanings from around the world: Norse, Slavic, Teutonic, Arthurian Legend Names, and more.

I’ve also discovered the hidden cache of names in other people’s books. I’m severely addicted to the adult romance books that come out every month: Harlequin Blaze and Temptation, and Silhouette Desire. And my favorite authors are Janelle Denison, Kristine Grayson, Carly Phillips, and Julie Kenner. Every once in a while, I’ll find a name in their books that I can add to my continually growing list. Science fiction, time travel and fantasy books are good for names as well.

2) Walk of Fame – Hollywood actors and actresses may have been born with common names like Julia and Brad, but that doesn’t mean their offspring have to suffer the same fate. Will and Jada Smith’s children: Willow and Jaden; Demi Moore’s girls: Scout LaRue, Rumer Glen and Tallulah Belle; Gwenyth Paltrow’s daughter: Apple Blythe; John Travolta and Kelly Preston’s son: Jett; Uma Thurman and Ethan Hawke’s son: Ronin. Singer Brandi’s daughter: Sy’rai; Thomas Jane (The Punisher) and Rosanna Arquette’s daughter: Harlow.

Even some famous faces were lucky enough to have been born with one-of-a-kind names: Keanu Reeves, Jude Law, Jada Pinkett-Smith, Macaulay Culkin, Kiefer Sutherland, Oprah Winfrey.

3) Movies and Television Shows – This avenue isn’t as unorthodox as you might think. I guarantee someone out there could come forward and claim, “I was named after some character on a soap opera.” Ridge and Thorne Forrester, The Bold and The Beautiful; Topanga Morris, Boy Meets World; Teal’c, Stargate SG-1; Leelou, The Fifth Element (my favorite movie of all time); Blade, Ellora Danan, Willow; Teela, He-Man cartoons. Need I say more?

4) Daily Life – For almost two years, I worked the night shift, keying medical claims. Due to that job, I now have a nice long two-paged list of boys and girls names. You would not believe how many wonderfully unusual names I came across every time I flipped a page: Princess, Precious, Treasure, Oreo, Malachi, Ashanti, Treyvon, Diabolique (for real!), Natividad…the list goes on and on. Just think. You could be sitting at your desk, standing in line at the grocery store/coffee shop/fast food joint, listening to a song on the radio, eavesdropping on a conversation, or talking to your neighbor and the next thing you know, you’re bombarded with names for your characters. Being a writer, one can only hope that you’re aware of your surroundings at all times and can see a potential story in everything that goes on around you.

5) Character Naming Contest/Vote – I did this for my third book, which will be Book One in a teen series I’m creating. I had about four different combinations of a name I was trying to come up with for my main character. I sent an email out to my co-workers, close friends and family, asking them to vote on the name they liked best. The name that got the most votes became the name for my character. In return, I’ll be including a special thank-you on the Dedication Page of the book. Although there are too many names to print, if they buy the book, they’ll know they had a hand in choosing the name of the character. If you go the contest route, offer the winner a free copy of the book, a special gift, etc. If anything, you’ll get plenty of names for future books.

I attended a book festival in Prescott, AZ last year. A mother and daughter came up to my table, read the back covers of both books, then walked away. A half hour later, they came back and purchased my first book (Secrets and Kisses) because the female character’s name was Skylar. For whatever reason, the name meant something to that young girl. It could’ve been her name, the name of her friend, a relative…who knows? The point is, your readers are going to appreciate an “anomalous, exceptional, extraordinary, far out, incomparable, inimitable, special, standout, strange, uncommon” name. Now, you are ready to begin writing your novel. Your character has been born, breathing passages cleared (nice set of lungs there), weighed, measured…and awaiting a name. Get creative, step outside the box and remember… a rose by any other name should be something besides Tom, Dick, Harry and Jane.

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Celebrity Style: Forget the Bling, Bring Back Old Hollywood Glamour with Pearls

30-03-2010 by admin



Call me old fashioned, but I’ll take glamorous stars like Marilyn Monroe, Grace Kelly, Audrey Hepburn and Elizabeth Taylor over spoiled pseudo-celebs like Paris Hilton, Ashlee Simpson, Nicole Ritchie and their ilk any day of the week. Whereas Old Hollywood oozed class, sophistication and mystery, today’s overexposed starlets lack grace–and sometimes even talent! Take the way they present themselves: Today’s stars walk the red carpet barely clothed, dripping in outrageous, tacky bling, yammering on about their personal lives. Yesterday’s icons–Jackie O and Lady Diana also come to mind–projected a glamorous elegance one would actually strive to emulate. They dressed with flair, accessorized with style and kept their private lives private. What’s more, many of the Old Hollywood elite wore my favorite gem, the pearl, whose ladylike, demure reputation is so fitting for these elegant women. Luckily for me, and the rest of the world, pearls are making a big comeback. Let’s hope Hollywood revives old-style ladylike behavior along with the ladylike gem. As an homage to Old Hollywood glamour, let’s take a look at the pearl jewelry made famous by some of our most beloved female icons.

Elizabeth Taylor

Perhaps the most famous jewelry collector of our time, legendary actress Elizabeth Taylor also owns the most famous pearl, La Peregrina. Given to her in 1969 by then-husband Richard Burton (yep, he’s the one Liz married twice), La Peregrina, an enormous, pear-shaped white pearl, was found by a slave in the early 1500s in the Gulf of Panama. First given as a wedding gift to Mary Tudor, the daughter of King Henry VIII, the rare and extraordinary gem was owned by a succession of royalty before being purchased at auction by Burton for Taylor as a Valentine’s Day gift. (Why she divorced him I don’t know. Why she divorced him twice is even more of a mystery. Any man who gave me jewels like that would be a keeper.) After receiving the huge pearl, which was hanging from a thin chain, Taylor instructed famous jewelry designer Cartier to create a ruby and diamond necklace incorporating the gem. The breathtaking result is absolutely stunning. (Search online for a photo; the necklace is truly special.) Trivia: Taylor once lost the famous La Peregrina pearl in her home. A frantic search turned up the enormous white gem…in her dog’s mouth! Thank goodness Taylor found it before it was scratched!

Marilyn Monroe

You wouldn’t think luscious Marilyn, emulated by every modern day celebrity from Madonna to Lindsay Lohan and Christina Aguilera, would sport a demure single strand of pearls. With her blonde locks, eye-popping cleavage and breathy voice, the Marilyn Monroe we love is more over the top than that–but a single strand of pearls is exactly what she wore. Marilyn received the luminous saltwater pearl strand from baseball slugger Joe Dimaggio, her second husband. Joltin’ Joe presented Marilyn with the gorgeous 16-inch Mikimoto necklace made from forty-four matched round white Japanese akoyas while they were on their honeymoon. Perhaps Dimaggio, in giving luscious Marilyn the gorgeous pearl strand, was trying to turn the sexy star into the perfect 1950s housewife? They were known as Mr. and Mrs. America, after all. Alas, their marriage lasted but a year.

Audrey Hepburn

Breakfast at Tiffany’s is a classic film not only because it’s a wonderful romantic comedy that stars beloved screen legend Audrey Hepburn, but because it showcased the waiflike Ms. Hepburn’s elegant and effortless style. The dress she wore in the film, her now-famous simple black sleeveless style, was the perfect backdrop for the six-strand pearl and rhinestone necklace she sported as adorable Holly Golightly. (In the film, the beguiling but penniless Golightly would endearingly stare in the renowned jeweler Tiffany’s window, daydreaming of owning the treasures within.) Trivia: Hepburn’s necklace in the film is faux, made from marquise-shaped rhinestones (not diamonds!) that cascade gorgeously from the imitation pearls. Faux or not, the ornate pearl necklace looks just gorgeous on Hepburn’s graceful neck.

Jackie O: Surprisingly, Jackie O’s famous and much-photographed triple strand pearl choker is also simulated. The gorgeous pearl choker she’s known for featured round white “pearls” on strands of graduated lengths, and typified Jackie’s signature crisp, elegant style. The necklace’s popularity went through the roof when Jackie was photographed holding her son John-John while he played with her pearls. Trivia: Jackie’s triple-strand faux pearl necklace went up for auction in 1996. The simulated pearls, nearly valueless were it not for their association with Jackie, were expected to fetch $500-$700. The Franklin Mint bought the piece for $211,500!

Princess Diana

Another beloved icon of style, wealth and class, Princess Diana’s most famous pearl piece is probably her dangling pearl and diamond tiara. Dubbed the Cambridge Love Knot, this gorgeous tiara was given to the princess by her mother-in-law, the Queen of England. Copies of Lady Di’s pearl tiara are now worn by brides the world over on their wedding day. But Lady Di wore the Spencer family tiara on her wedding day, not the Cambridge Love Knot, and paired it with a sapphire and pearl choker she received as a wedding gift from her husband-to-be, Prince Charles. Over the top? Not when you consider the dress this jewelry was meant to accessorize: Princess Diana’s ivory silk gown had a 25-foot long train and was decorated with 10,000 pearls and sequins. Fit for a princess, indeed.

Other famous pearl admirers

When dishing about celebrity pearl jewelry, no article would be complete without mentioning fashion maven Coco Chanel, the scrappy French designer who made pearls her signature look in the 1920s. Wearing pearl ropes as easily as other women wear jeans, Coco’s House of Chanel used pearls in many jewelry pieces, and put out such gorgeous jewelry as a bracelet made of 105 akoya pearls surrounded by diamonds and gold. Recently, the Paris-based fashion house premiered its annual jewel collection, which features one-of-a-kind pearl pieces priced from $29,000 to $450,000.

When talking about celebrity pearl jewelry, we must also mention Sarah Jessica Parker, the actress and modern day style icon who made layered oversize pearl necklaces chic in her memorable Gap ads from last year. Nor can we neglect Rene Russo. The necklace the model- turned-actress wore throughout the movie Tin Cup, which featured white pearls evenly spaced on fine chain, received almost as much attention as the Golden Globe-nominated romantic comedy. Rene’s Tin Cup necklace, now a jewelry staple, sparked a new trend in modern, sophisticated pearl jewelry. Today, several stunning variations of this simple and elegant Tin Cup necklace can be found in jewelry stores worldwide.

Speaking of modern chic, Kiera Knightly rocked pearls at the premier of her movie The Black Pearl by sporting a black baroque pearl choker made with different shades of Tahitian pearls. (Lucky girl not only gets to wear gorgeous jewelry, she also gets to work alongside Orlando Bloom and Johnny Depp.) Life isn’t fair! And we can’t forget style icon Kate Moss; the fashionable model is also frequently seen in pearl strands.

So how about it young Hollywood? Why not drop the outrageous bling, daring dresses and outlandish behavior in favor of the ladylike glamour, sophistication and enigma that surrounded the screen legends of the past? America is sorely lacking screen icons that we admire, much less want to emulate. Let’s bring back style, class, and pearls.

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Are Actors Raging Narcissists?

28-02-2010 by admin



Self-centered, vain, conceited, egocentric – these are some of the variations on the idea of being narcissistic. We need a healthy degree of positive self-regard, of course, but when it becomes distorted, it is considered narcissism, a personality disorder in its extreme form.

A number of actors have talked about some of the problems with being too self-obsessed, and how it interferes with creative expression.

Ben Affleck thinks narcissism is “the one quality that unites everybody in the film industry, whether you’re an actor, a producer, a director, or a studio executive.”

But, he adds, “It’s a nightmare. Narcissism is the part of my personality that I am the least proud of.”

Kristen Bell says that for her film “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” she “just looked into the depths of the most hard-to-admit or vulnerable or bad characteristics of my own personality and what an actress can become if given that kind of self indulgence or that amount of vanity.”

She also thinks actors and especially actresses tend to be self-obsessed, because that’s part of the nature of their career.

But what is narcissism? The basic idea is being obsessively self-absorbed, always putting your own needs first, having poor empathy or appreciation for other people’s needs etc. But what is behind someone operating that way?

Alice Miller writes in her book The Drama of the Gifted Child about childhood harm leading to compromised emotional life as an adult, including those kinds of behaviors and thinking.

She writes in the book about “how inconceivable it is really to love others (not merely to need them), if one cannot love oneself as one really is.”

For an actor, it may be difficult to maintain contact with and love of your authentic self, if you are continually portraying “other people” and getting notice or even fame for those personalities.

Stephen Sherrill writes in his New York Times article Acquired Situational Narcissism about how fame can stimulate narcissism.

He refers to the work of Robert B. Millman, professor of psychiatry at Cornell Medical School, who developed the idea of “acquired situational narcissism.”

Sherrill explains, “People who aspire to stardom tend to be more narcissistic than others, but they don’t develop a true narcissistic personality disorder until they begin to achieve success: the first platinum album, the first appearance in Vanity Fair’s ‘Young Hollywood’ issue, the first public fling with Winona Ryder.”

Having these sort of narcissistic tendencies doesn’t mean you are “crazy” or necessarily need therapy.

But it can be helpful to our emotional growth and power as creative people to be more aware of how we operate emotionally and mentally.

Richard Gere once commented, “The more I grow, the less I become this egocentric thing that is prone to anger and hatred and all this other stuff. The trick is to get out of the way of the ego, so that whatever is of value illuminating inside you or me or the waiter or anybody else can be seen. The job of the creative person is to get out of the way.”

Actor Vera Farmiga cautions, “This business is tough, it is so tough. But my first and foremost thing is like, ego always gets in the way. You gotta keep that in check – you got to.”

There are many excellent personal growth books on emotional intelligence, spirituality, awareness and positive psychology that can help any of us develop healthy self-regard.

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The Outsider’s Tool to Break Into Hollywood

22-02-2010 by admin



Everyone knows that in baseball a pitch is when the ball is thrown for the batter to swing at. But, in the world of entertainment, a pitch has a whole different meeting. A pitch in Hollywood is when the “pitcher”(the person with the idea for a TV show or movie) explains the idea to a “catcher” (a person who works with a company that could produce this idea). Pitching is the lifeblood of how deals get made in the entertainment world.

There are many people who watch television and movies and think to themselves, “I’ve got a better idea than this….or if this actually got on TV or in the theaters, then surely my idea could do the same.” But, they think that if they don’t have any industry contacts or experience, then there’s no way that they could get someone in Hollywood to take them seriously. However, what they’re not aware of is that there is a vehicle created by the enterainment industry that gives novices a chance to pitch their ideas to real industry players who could possibly produce their concept.

So, while for the most part if you are an outsider to the gates of Hollywood it’s very difficult to get such a chance to pitch an idea, there are certain components of the Hollywood system that give outsiders a chance to get their voices heard.

The truth is that while it’s the job of the gatekeepers to keep unknown outsiders out, there is still an interest from the “powers that be” to hear what ideas these unknown outsiders might have….because everyone in the television and movies is scrambling to find the next great big “home run” project.

Thus, a concept called a “pitch event” was born. What happens is an organizer assembles a group of producers who are willing to hear pitches from people without representation and credentials. Then, the clients (the people who want to sell their ideas) pay a fee to the organizer to receive a certain amount of pitch meetings.

Although these meetings are brief (usually about five minutes), they often take place with legitimate people in the industry. I have personally concluded successful deals that began from a meeting at a pitch event.

I have pitched my projects at these events several hundred times and the way it breaks down is always the same. You quickly locate the company you’re going to pitch to at the table they’re sitting at which will have their name on a sign. There is a quick exchange of names, but you don’t want to waste much time on pleasantries as the duration of the meeting will be very quick…usually about five minutes. If I think I know what kind of projects they’re interested in, I’ll confirm that or if I’m not sure, then, I’ll say something like, “I’d like to pitch you the projects I have that are most likely what you’re looking for. Is your company looking for something specific?” Once I’ve gotten an idea of what’s my best chance I give them a brief explanation and then be quiet. If they’re interested they ask questions or sometimes they just say it sounds great, go ahead and send them more information. Or if there’s no match, they explain why. Before you know it, the meeting is over and you wish them well as you vacate the seat to make room for the next hopeful pitcher.

If you think you have an idea for a reality show or a movie and would like to try attending a pitch event these are the basic steps:

1) Select a legitimate pitch event

There are a number of well known organizers of these events that you can find by doing a search on a major search engine and putting in a keyword phrase like “pitch TV and film.” A few examples of legitimate organizers are: Fade In Magazine, Hollywood Film Festival, Hollywood by the Bay, and VIP Pitch Player Tours.

2) Prepare your pitch:

You will only have five minutes to convince the producer that your idea is a blockbuster in the making, so you need to be concise. You will want to create what’s called a “logline.” This is a one sentence explanation of 30 words or less which explains the gist of your idea. For example, if you were creating a logline for ABC’s reality hit, “Dancing with the Stars,” it might be something like:

“Celebrities are paired with ballroom dance professionals and compete each week in an elimination contest to see who can become this year’s champion.”

Besides a logline you’ll want to have a few other items:

If you’re going to pitch a reality TV show, then you should have a breakdown of what will happen during shows and a sample of what a season’s worth of shows will contain.

If you are trying to sell a true life story, then you will want to be able to explain what will happen during the movie. In other words…who is the protagonist, who is the antagonist, and what is the big problem? You should also be able to explain how it will have a beginning, a middle, and an end.

3) Do the Pitching:

At a pitchmart, the “catchers” are bombarded with hundreds of ideas from a huge onslaught of people. To differentiate yourself from the crowd, you want to present yourself as relaxed, intelligent, and well prepared. Pleasantly introduce yourself, hand them a sheet of paper that has the information about your project and your contact information. Then tell them about your idea. If they like it, they will let you know how to proceed. Some producers may want to e-mail you later or others may give you a card and tell you to contact them. If they don’t think the project is for them, most will explain so.

Attending a pitchmart is a fairly intense experience that can feel like a lot of pressure, but if you’re an outsider who wants to get a shot to pitch your idea to real Hollywood entities, a pitchmart is one viable option very much worth considering. For more information on how to sell your reality shows, true life stories or your scripts go to:

http://www.smallbizriches.com/breakingintohollywood/

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So You Say You Wanna Be Discovered Eh? – Advice For The New Actor

08-02-2010 by admin



Here Is Some Advice For The Brand New Actor

It does happen that people get ‘discovered’. How often does it happen? To answer that question. Here’s another one. What are the chances of winning the lottery?

Getting discovered is like hitting the luck of the draw, so to speak.

On the other hand there is a saying I really like, which says:

“The more prepared I am, the more luck I seem to have.”

That said, if you want to really be discovered, you have to position yourself to be discovered. You have to work hard to build a base.
You have probably heard that it is a difficult profession to pursue and there is truth to that. If you have a method and a strong character, you can be successful. I have been in contact with young and older aspiring and new actors over the past few years and I was inspired to write a book for them.

Many successful people in different walks of life as well as successful actors have the following things in common or they do/have done them very well. It is my advice to you as well.

4 Key Areas

1. YOU: Get to know yourself better, your strengths, weaknesses, the opportunities you have, the resources you have at your disposal (and not just financial, but intellectual, skills, capabilities, talents, etc.)
Figure out what you want out of your life first (specifically). Figure out how acting fits into that. Then figure out what you want out of your acting career. (specifically) Doing these two things will help you save a lot of time, effort and maybe even money down the road.

2. YOUR ATTITUDE: Develop your creativity to invent ways for you to position yourself ahead of your competition and to find new ways to promote yourself.
BIGGIE! Figure out what it is that motivates you and learn how to keep yourself motivated to get done the things you need to get done and to help you deal with the rejection that you will inevitably encounter in this business. Figure out how to develop a strong sense of perseverance if you don’t already have it. There is much to do and you MUST be motivated or you will have difficulty.

3. YOUR PLAN: Put together a solid plan that will ensure that you will get to where you want to go in your actging carreer and have a real chance at achieving the success you want and stick to it. Learn how to plan effectively.

4. YOUR BUSINESS: Find out what the business skills you need to run your business of being an actor. You are an actor. You are a company. And you are a business. You are the CEO of that business. You are/will be a free lance professional. You have a product and that product is you. You have to know how to market it, how to sell it and how to create value for those who ‘invest’ in you.

There are short cuts, but very often, if you skip one of those steps, in the long run, unless you are lucky, it will slow you down and it just might mean that you won’t reach your goal at all.

So what could your next steps be?

1. Try to really understand what it means to be a working actor and start working on the things I mentioned above. Here are a couple of links to get you started, but I would advise you to get a lot of different perspectives of what successful and non-successful actors do in their daily activities.

2. And in the meantime, start taking acting classes. Study acting technique. Study. Study. And develop your SKILL. Without it, you won’t go very far.

3.Start boning up on the business skills you will need to be successful at promoting yourself as an actor when the time comes. I have seen many a wonderful actor, not get much work for this very reason. Not always the best actor gets the work!

Just wanted to give you some food for thought.

There’s a lot more where that came from.

Good luck to you!!!

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