No-one is recognised as knowing more about Hollywood and celebrities than David Hartnell MNZM. He’s not only spent a lifetime reporting on Hollywood’s trivia, gossip and scandals, but he counts many celebrities among his personal friends. Every Monday morning David will give you an exclusive weekly update on the gossip, scandals and trivia of Hollywood’s elite.
David is an award winning broadcaster and columnist he’s also the patron of The Variety Artists Club of New Zealand Inc. Her Majesty The Queen, awarded David the Insignia of a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit (formerly an MBE) in the Queen’s birthday Honours list 2011. In 2012 he was made an Ambassador St James Saviours, the trust formed to save the iconic Auckland theatre. In 2014 he was made an Ambassador to the Prostate Cancer Foundation of New Zealand.
Visit David’s Website
Known by some as the ‘Godfather of gossip’, David Hartnell MNZM has amassed a fabulous resource of detail about Hollywood and television movies and stars throughout his long career interviewing celebrities and reporting on trivia, gossip and scandals. His knowledge ranges easily from the 1950s to the present day.
Now David has written this quiz book as a celebration of the rich variety that the movies and television have brought us over many decades, and the personalities who’ve been working in both industries. Presented in an entertaining but informative fashion, the more than 1,700 questions and answers are arranged in rounds of three, with answers close by. There are also specialty feature quizzes with questions related to a single subject, such as Oscar-winning films, Lord of the Rings, Sequels and Remakes, even TV pets. Collected trivia about celebrities and stars also feature as interesting snippets through the book. People love to be an authority on celebrities – the celebrity pages are the most popular pages of any magazine.
Whether it is used for pub quiz nights, parties or even long car trips, David Hartnell’s Celebrity Quiz Book will highlight to a wide audience the important milestones in the development of this most popular of cultures, and test how well you really know the world of entertainment.
This book will appeal to everyone who watches television or film.This is his ninth book.
Available in all good books store’s and on line, published by New Holland $19.99.;
View David Hartnell
‘Written in the stars – David’s triple celebrations‘ in the NZ Woman’s Weekly. View the article here on David’s website.
Be in to win monthly DVDs
…simply answer a question correctly, from this week’s column and you will be entered into the draw.
This week’s DVD is a copy of The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel.
Question: Name two celebrities from this week’s column. Answer by clicking here.
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Monday 17th Aug 2015
I’m not one to gossip but……………I recently visited Madame Tussauds in Bangkok and was staggered at the true likeness of the celebrity figures, they were all extremely natural. In fact, if you replaced the wax figure with the real person you couldn’t tell the difference. I will be visiting Madame Tussauds in San Francisco early in the new year so I’ll give you a full report on who they have on display. One thing I know for sure is, their figures will be 100% life like. If you miss a trip to Madame Tussauds while in San Francisco you’ll be missing a real treat.
Madame Tussauds San Francisco last week unveiled the wax figure of multiplatinum British pop superstar Sam Smith. The event, which sees Mr. Smith coming face-to-face with his wax figure, comes hot on the heels of his knockout performance at Outside Lands Music and Arts Festival. Which is the real Sam Smith? Okay, easy to tell since his arm is slung around the wax one but I think it’s a damned good likeness.
Mr. Smith’s powerful voice has captured audiences worldwide. The release of his debut album in 2014, In the Lonely Hour, led by the soul-inflected single Stay with Me earned him a No. 2 on the US Billboard Top 200, and garnered him four Grammy Awards in 2015, including Best New Artist, and Best Pop Album. He can now add being immortalized in wax by Madame Tussauds to his glittering accolades.
Sam Smith worked closely with the Madame Tussauds artists who spent hours sitting with the star taking over 250 measurements, identifying exact eye colour, and detailing each strand of hair. Sam generously donated the suit and shoes to his wax likeness.
“I can’t actually believe that I’m going to be in Madame Tussauds,” said Smith of the reveal. “This is the ultimate ‘pinch yourself’ moment. The process was so fascinating and I will never look at a waxwork in the same way again.
“Thank you Madame Tussauds, and hope you all have fun. Feel free to squeeze my wax bum!”
Madame Tussauds San Francisco offers guests the unique opportunity to meet incredible wax likenesses of some of the city’s and worlds most famous stars. Only at Madame Tussauds San Francisco can you get up close and personal with Hollywood A-listers, music superstars, TV personalities, sporting heroes and cultural icons.
Visit www.madametussauds.com/SanFrancisco for more information.
The attraction is open at 10 a.m. 365 days a year, in Fisherman’s Wharf at 145 Jefferson Street, San Francisco, CA, 94133.
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Miley Cyrus looks a million dollars on the cover of Marie Claire magazine’s September issue.
Here’s what the 22-year-old entertainer had to share with the mag:
On her body: “I feel like a 15-year-old boy trapped in the body of a 22-year-old girl.”
On sexism and her sexuality: “There is so much sexism, ageism, you name it. Kendrick Lamar sings about LSD and he’s cool. I do it and I’m a druggie whore.”
On the reason she created the Happy Hippie Foundation: “A lot of us are born into some shit, you know what I mean? Lately, I’ve been talking a lot about my being gender-fluid and gender-neutral. And some people snarl at that. They want to judge me. People need more conventional role models, I guess. But I just don’t care to be that person.”
For more from Miley, visit MarieClaire.com!
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Henry Cavill, 32, recently revealed if he would take on the iconic role of James Bond.
“The Bond people are wonderful and I’d like to work with them. But it all depends on directors, and scripts, and whether they want me to do it. Plus, there’s a time factor,” Henry told the Men’s Health UK magazine. “Let’s say the DC Universe keeps growing: they haven’t announced any more standalone Superman movies, but they may well do. That takes a full year out. If The Man From U.N.C.L.E. becomes a franchise, there’s that…I’m not too sure when I could fit it in.”
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Sarah Michelle Gellar took to her Instagram account to pay tribute to the late Robin Williams on the one year anniversary of his tragic death.
The 38-year-old actress posted a photo of the famous bench from Good Will Hunting, along with a quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson.
“‘To laugh often and much; to win the respect of the intelligent people and the affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty; to find the beauty in others; to leave the world a bit better wether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition; to know that one life has breathed easier because you lived here. This is to have succeeded.’ #Emerson You succeeded RW #RobinWilliams” Sarah Michelle captioned the photo.
SMG and Robin starred on the television show The Crazy Ones from 2013-2014.
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American actress Kristen Stewart looks so cool and chic on the cover of Nylon magazine’s September 2015 issue.
Here’s what the 25-year-old American Ultra star had to share with the mag:
On her sexuality: “If you feel like you really want to define yourself, and you have the ability to articulate those parameters and that in itself defines you, then do it. But I am an actress, man. I live in the fucking ambiguity of this life and I love it. I don’t feel like it would be true for me to be like, ‘I’m coming out!’ No, I do a job. Until I decide that I’m starting a foundation or that I have some perspective or opinion that other people should be receiving…I don’t. I’m just a kid making movies.”
On the future of finding an identity: “I think in three or four years, there are going to be a whole lot more people who don’t think it’s necessary to figure out if you’re gay or straight. It’s like, just do your thing.”
On her perceived personality: “It’s like I’m involved in a weekly comic book. I have this assigned personality…which I helped create, I suppose. People stand to make a lot of money on people like me—it’s this booming industry, so why would you go and change the character that people are paying for?”
For more from Kristen, visit Nylon.com.
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Ben Affleck holds a cup of coffee while heading to an office building on in Beverly Hills, California.
The 42-year-old actor, who is celebrating his birthday on Saturday, was on the opposite coast of his estranged wife Jennifer Garner. She was seen that day in Atlanta filming scenes for her upcoming movie Miracles From Heaven with her on-screen kids.
That same day, a photo of Ben and Jen’s ex-nanny Christine Ouzounian wearing four of Tom Brady’s Super Bowl rings while on a private plane went spread online. A friend of the actor spoke to Page Six to explain why she was on the trip with him and confirm that there was nothing romantic going on between them.
“Christine flew with Ben from the Bahamas to Vegas because she was helping him with his poker tournament for his charity,” the source said. “There were many other people on the plane, including other assistants and staff working for Ben who were helping with the event, and many of these also tried on Tom’s Super Bowl rings and took photos. Ben and Tom Brady are good friends, and he is grateful that Tom agreed to attend his charity event.”
“When they landed in Vegas, Christine helped out with the organisation of the tournament, assisting clients and guests who attended. She was not hiding, she was there to help out [at the tournament],” the friend added. “After the tournament ended Ben returned to the Bahamas to the family. Christine went home to LA.”
“There was no affair during his marriage to Jen nor since their separation,” the source continued.
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Stephen Fry will join Richard O’Brien and the rest of the cast of The Rocky Horror Show for a charity performance in London in September. Stephen will perform the role of the Narrator.
Spice Girl Emma Bunton and Great British Bakeoff’s Mel Giedroyc will also perform the role on separate dates.
The performances will be in aid of Amnesty International, with cinemas broadcasting from London’s Playhouse Theatre to the UK and Europe.
‘I’ve been a devoted fan of The Rocky Horror Show for most of my life and I have been proud to support the incredible work of Amnesty International for just as long, so to be joining Richard and the cast on stage for this special evening is a dream come true,’ Stephen said.
And Emma added: ‘I am so excited about being involved in the legendary Rocky Horror Show. Richard O’Brien has written something that is a huge part of British culture. I’m looking forward to shaking my tush to the Time Warp!’
The 11 performances will take place from 11 to 19 September before embarking on a UK tour.
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‘A Thrilling Blend Of Old World Circus And Burlesque For The 21st Century’ Broadway World
The Dark Side of Cirque As You Have Never Experienced It Before
Playing in Auckland from 28 October, 2015(Christchurch dates to be announced soon)
Enter the captivating world of LE NOIR -The Dark Side of Cirque, an extraordinary evening of intimate cirque style entertainment starring some of the most incredible acrobatic acts on earth.
Carefully engineered with the deliberate intention of making the audience part of the entertainment offering a 360-degree spectacular view of the stage. Twenty-four of the very best performers from all four corners of the globe, many of them formerly from Cirque du Soleil, are the centrepiece of this production.
LE NOIR will enthral crowds in this spellbinding theatrical journey. LE NOIR is fast-paced, extremely funny and above all entertaining. With incredible displays of balance, contortion, stamina, aerial artistry and death defying acts, such as the Colombian Wheel of Death, the skills exhibited by the cast of LE NOIR is a show that you don’t want to miss.
LE NOIR is contemporary circus at its most thrilling.
“A feast for the senses… the intimate experience is unparalleled “- Sunday Times Perth
‘…has you on the edge of your seat’ Sunday Telegraph
LE NOIR – THE DARK SIDE OF CIRQUE is a mesmerizing experience that focuses on the breathtaking skills with less focus on the underlying theme that links them unlike other Circus shows in the modern market.’ Broadway World
This surreal, beautiful, seductive and at times hilariously risqué production will transform The Civic into a hotbed of excitement from October 28. Tickets on sale next Thursday, 20 August with Ticketmaster. This is a strictly limited season. Dates for Christchurch’s newly refurbished Isaac Theatre Royal will be announced soon.
Producer, Simon Painter said, “The original concept behind LE NOIR was to take the very best of the best Cirque performers in the world and rather than create a production in a huge auditorium or arena, produce an intimate style show where the audience is literally inches from the action on stage. Part of the concept is to make the audience experience the show rather than just watch it and a number of sophisticated special effects are employed to make this possible.”
LE NOIR is fast paced, extremely funny and above all entertaining. Never before have New Zealand audiences seen a cast of this calibre, up close and personal – it is not to be missed!
AUCKLAND
Venue: The Civic
Dates: from Wednesday 28 October
Performance Times: Tuesday – Saturday 7.30pm
Saturday matinee 2.30pm
Sundays 1.30pm and 6.30pm
Prices: From $69.90 (Booking and transaction fees may apply)
Bookings: Ticketmaster 09 970 9700 or ticketmaster.co.nz
Groups 6+ SAVE! Call Group Bookings on 09 970 9745
“Le Noir is magnificent in its simplicity but also spellbinding its brilliance.” – Theatre People
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The National Geographic photographer captures images that steal your breath and break your heart.
Intrepid stories and incredible images from photographer Brian Skerry
Auckland Wed 21 October Aotea Centre (ASB Theatre)
Bookings: 0800 111999 | ticketmaster.co.nz
Wellington Thurs 22 October Te Papa (Soundings Theatre)
Bookings: 0800 111999 | ticketmaster.co.nz
Tickets on sale now from $49
National Geographic adventurer Brian Skerry has spent over 10,000 hours underwater, using his camera to tell the story of some of the ocean’s most elusive inhabitants. His images will not only steal your breath but break your heart.
The US-based extreme photographer is coming to New Zealand in October as part of the National Geographic Live series, to share his adventures and offer a unique portrait of creatures from the deep. Brian holds both New Zealand and its species very dear to his heart, having spent a considerable amount of time here in our icy southern waters capturing the world’s most endangered whale, the right whale.
His mission: to enlighten and inspire people to care about the beauty, bounty, and health of the world’s oceans.
Join Brian live on stage for an intimate look at dolphins’ intelligence, hang out with the endearing Arctic harp seal, discover the truth about the global fish crisis, and join him on his adventure with the University of Auckland to New Zealand’s westernmost outpost, Enderby Island, where he’s mobbed by these curious creatures.
“It’s this sort of behaviour that really speaks to their name—they were the ‘right whale’ for whalers to target because they were large, slow, curious and easily approachable—all attributes which led to their demise.”
Having achieved his childhood dream of becoming a National Geographic photographer in 1998, Brian admits he’s succeeded beyond his wildest dreams, but there’s a catch: He set out to capture the wonder of the underwater world but didn’t expect to capture its destruction.
“I wanted to do pretty pictures. In the ’70s, ’80s, I would see these huge schools of fish. I don’t see that today. I would see a lot of sharks, coral reefs. Many of those places, they’re gone now. We’ve lost 50 per cent of the coral reefs in the world, and 90 per cent of the big fish. We kill 100 million sharks a year. That’s visible. What I’ve personally witnessed in those years has been traumatic. My hope is that we can turn it around.”
Brian has also worked on assignment for or had images featured in magazines such as People, Sports Illustrated, US News and World Report, BBC Wildlife, GEO, Smithsonian, Playboy, Esquire, Audubon, Men’s Journal and in countless publications worldwide. He is also the author/photographer of five books.
Through his captivating photography, Brian has helped open the door to a greater understanding of a world unknown to many. On stage Brian is a passionate spokesman for the oceans he loves to photograph, his riveting presentations inspire reverence for the marine realm and most of all they offer hope for protecting the vitality of the world’s oceans.
Some may see this inhibiting, but he consistently delivers thought provoking and captivating images that offer a unique and intimate portrait of creatures from the deep, and draws attention to the large number of issues that endanger their existence.
www.facebook.com/NatGeoLive | www.twitter.com/NatGeoLive|
nglive.org/pacific
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ABSTRACT ENTERTAINMENT proudly presents
ELVIS TO THE MAX
Starring Max Pellicano in “The King in Concert”
The world’s first and most-successful Elvis impersonator MAX PELLICANO, whose uncanny resemblance and equally chilling performance has mesmerised audiences over the last two decades, returns with ELVIS TO THE MAX, complete with live band, to re-create two special nights with THE KING IN CONCERT this September 4th and 5th in Hamilton and Auckland.
Max Pellicano’s tribute show, Elvis to the Max, goes beyond mere impersonation. Critics have described his performances as “Elvis resurrected” and ‘reincarnated’. His recreation of “The King” looks, moves, vocal style, impressions and humour is so accurate, it’s awe-inspiring. Not only is the voice important, it’s also knowing how to become the man himself on stage. There are lots of Elvis impersonators around, but Max Pellicano is considered as the best. The costumes worn by Max are exact replicas made by Elvis‘ personal tailor Bill Bellow. The shimmering encrusted “White Eagle” costume is a $10,000 recreation, identical the one worn by Elvis in 1972. Elvis to the Max production “The King in Concert” will be presented in three stages: “The King of Rock ‘n’ Roll” – The 50’s Masters; the ’68 Comeback Television Special that was regarded as a forerunner of the so-called “Unplugged” concept; and the music concert that was called “Aloha from Hawaii”.
In addition to his performances as Elvis, Max Pellicano has also had roles in feature films such as; De Vinci’s War, The Gangster Chronicles and Sharon, The Portrait of a Mistress. He has performed with The Jordanaires, JD Sumner & The Stamps, the late George Burns, Dion, Helen Reddy, Little Anthony & The Imperials, Dolly Parton, The Coasters, Del Shannon, The Shirelles, Don Rickles and the late Davy Jones (The Monkees fame).
Max Pellicano was born in Monte Carlo, of French and Italian parents. He spent most of his childhood in New York before moving to San Francisco at the age of 14. Today, he is based in Detroit. He has been a professional actor and entertainer since 1974 when he graduated from the California State University with a degree in Dramatic Arts. Max Pellicano first brought Elvis (as an actor) to life on stage in a production of Bye Bye Birdie. “I was doing musicals and theatre and had to study Jailhouse Rock for my role as the Elvis-type character, Conrad Birdie. I studied the way he walked, the way he talked and the way he moved for months. I guess you could say I got into impersonating Elvis in a kind of round-about way” he said. His performance led to an Elvis tribute show and the rest is history.
“I learnt long ago that the fans don’t want the legend to die. They want to keep the memory going,” Max said. He still spends many hours in front of the television listening to records. “I watch a lot of old live concerts and it’s actually kind of easy to study Elvis because I really enjoy watching his shows” says Max. Max stresses that he is an actor recreating a character and it is an illusion. Some see it differently though – one of Max’s strangest requests was when a couple in Los Angeles asked him to bless their child. There are more than 6,000 professional Elvis impersonators in the world and countless amateurs. “It’s hard to copy the original, but what we try and do is recreate the Elvis concert and give people a chance to see what it might have been like to see Elvis perform live”.
Elvis to the Max plays Founders Theatre, Hamilton Friday 4th September Tickets* $45 – $69 Group discounts available. BOOK NOW: www.ticketek.co.nz or 0800 842 538 *Service fees apply
Elvis to the Max plays Bruce Mason Centre, Auckland
Saturday 5th September
Tickets* $45 – $69 Group discounts available.
BOOK NOW: www.ticketmaster.co.nz or 0800 111 999
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Auckland Town Hall, Friday 18 September Christchurch Isaac Theatre Royal, Sunday 20 September
Australasia’s most celebrated opera stars, Teddy Tahu Rhodes and Dame Malvina Major, join TV and theatre star Jennifer Ward-Lealand and Baz Luhrmann’s favourite tenor David Hobson in FROM BROADWAY TO LA SCALA — two beautiful nights of glamour, passion and romance in Auckland and Christchurch next month.
From Puccini to Rodgers and Hammerstein, Bizet to Gershwin and Verdi to Cole Porter, these unique concert experiences at Auckland’s Town Hall on Friday, 18 September and Christchurch’s Isaac Theatre Royal on Sunday, 20 September, will feature many of the greatest songs, arias and duets ever composed.
Joining this magnificent line-up for her New Zealand debut is soprano Greta Bradman -granddaughter of cricketing legend Sir Donald – who is set to thrill audiences with her seamless blend of classical elegance and theatrical glamour.
Tickets are on sale now for these two magical theatrical performances are on sale now.
Auckland Ticketmaster 0800 111 999
Christchurch Ticketek 0800 842 538
Teddy Tahu Rhodes is looking forward to “perform not only some of our favourite songs, but some of the world’s most-loved pieces of music.
Jennifer Ward Lealand said it is a “thrill to be part of this very special concert and, alongside my esteemed colleagues, sharing some of the world’s great music. If you, like me, love opera and musical theatre, you are in for a wonderful experience.”
David Hobson, who is known from his Opera Australia performance as Rodolfo in Baz Luhrmann’s La Bohème, said while he loves the intricacies of opera, “there really is nothing like the spark of musical theatre, so I am really looking forward to being able to perform all the music from genres that I love, all together in one great concert.”
Backed by players from the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra and the Christchurch Symphony Orchestra in their respective cities under the musical direction of Vanessa Scammell, FROM BROADWAY TO LA SCALA will transport audiences with a richly entwined repertoire of all time classics, drawn from two of the world’s most enduringly popular musical genres.
Greta Bradman: “The opportunity to connect with people from all walks of life is such a privilege and one of my favourite parts of being a performer. This concert is really a wonderful way for anyone to enjoy a diverse selection of music, from contemporary masterpieces to world-famous operas, which they might not otherwise get to experience.”
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SOME DVDs TO LOOK OUT FOR!
WIN A COPY OF The Forger starring John Travolta.
A thief works with his father and son to forge a painting by Monet and steal the original. Together, they plan the heist of their lives.
If you’d like to win a copy just tell me the answer to the following question:
The stage show and the movie Hello Dolly were based on which Thornton Wilder play?
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The Lazarus Effect
Medical researcher Frank (Mark Duplass), his fiancée Zoe (Olivia Wilde) and their team have achieved the impossible: they have found a way to revive the dead. After a successful, but unsanctioned, experiment on a lifeless animal, they are ready to make their work public. However, when their dean learns what they’ve done, he shuts them down. However, during an attempt to recreate the experiment Zoe is killed, leading Frank to test the process on her. Zoe is revived, but something evil is within her.
Starring: Evan Peters (X-Men: Days of Future Past), Donald Glover (To Do List), Mark Duplass (Zero Dark Thirty, Parkland, Tammy), Olivia Wilde (Her, The Longest Week)
Cake
The acerbic, hilarious Claire Simmons (Jennifer Aniston) becomes fascinated by the suicide of a woman in her chronic pain support group. As she uncovers the details of Nina’s suicide and develops a poignant relationship with Nina’s husband, she also grapples with her own, very raw personal tragedy.
Directed by: Daniel Barnz (Beastly, Won’t Back Down), Cake stars Jennifer Aniston (Horrible Bosses 1&2, Wunderlust), Adriana Barraza (Drag Me To Hell, Thor), Anna Kendrick (Twilight franchise, Pitch Perfect 1&2), Sam Worthington (Paper Planes, Kidnapping Mr. Heineken), William H Macy (TV’s Shameless, The Lincoln lawyer), Felicity Huffman (TV’s Desperate Housewives, Big Game)
While We’re Young
Ben Stiller and Naomi Watts are Josh and Cornelia Srebnick, happily married middle-aged members of New York’s creative class. They tried to start a family and were unable to — and have decided they’re okay with that. But as Josh labors over the umpteenth edit of his cerebral new film it’s clear that something is missing.
Enter Jamie (Adam Driver) and Darby (Amanda Seyfried), a free-spirited young couple, who are ready to drop everything in pursuit of their next passion — retro board games one day, acquiring a pet chicken the next. For Josh, it’s as if a door has opened back to his youth.
It’s not long before the restless forty-somethings, Josh and Cornelia, throw aside friends their own age — including Beastie Boy Adam Horovitz in a sly supporting role — to trail after these young hipsters who seem so plugged in and uninhibited.
While We’re Young is an openly funny cross-generational comedy of manners about aging, ambition and success, as well as a moving portrait of a marriage tested by the invading forces of youth. No film has better captured the weird, upended logic of urban sophisticates: the older ones embracing their iPads and Netflix, the young ones craving vinyl records and vintage VHS tapes.
Powered by Stiller and Driver’s note-perfect lead performances and loose, comic turns by Watts and Seyfried, While We’re Young is an absolute delight.
Until next week…………………. my lips are sealed!
Copyright David H. W. Hartnell MNZM 2015
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Monday 10th August 2015
I’m not one to gossip but………………. Please come and join me on the 18th of September at my Hollywood Trivia night, it’s to raise money for the Prostate Cancer Foundation of New Zealand. Last year was a sell out and we had a wonderful evening, good food, good company, lot’s of fun and plenty of prizes – not to mention heaps of trivia questions. Why not makeup a team of eight people, just click here to register and get your tickets.
Click here for more
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I was appalled when I read this story in the UK Daily Mail about Rolf Harris, this should never happen. Click on this link and you’ll see what I mean.
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Is anyone else sick to DEATH of hearing Tom Cruise brag about all the stunts HE supposedly performed in his new Mission Impossible movie? Tom seems determined to make himself look like some kind of brave HERO for all the foolhardy chances he took. Even his co-stars talk about Tom’s athletic feats when promoting the movie. What we’d like to know is, if these stunts were actually dangerous, why would the company insuring the expensive production ALLOW the essential leading man to actually risk life and limb? They not only FROWN on such behaviour, they don’t ALLOW it. I wonder if the church of Scientology pay for the insurance…whoops did I say that?
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Fresh off his Oscar win as best actor for his gripping turn as Stephen Hawking in The Theory of Everything, freckle-faced heartthrob Eddie Redmayne may have found a role that’s equally as challenging and ultimately rewarding. The 33-year-old thespian will soon be seen as Lile Elbe, the Danish painter born Einar Wegener who is considered one of the world’s first trans women and who underwent the first gender reassignment surgery in 1930. The complex role was once claimed by another Academy Award-winning performer, Nicole Kidman, who dropped out following a delay in the start of filming. Gorgeous Swedish actress Alicia Vikander, who made a big splash earlier this year in Ex Machina and will soon be the envy of millions as the woman who comes between Henry Cavill and Armie Hammer in The Man from U.N.C.L.E., will co-star as Gerda, Wegener’s wife.
Here’s the film’s official synopsis to give us a brief breakdown:
The Danish Girl is the remarkable love story inspired by the lives of artists Einar and Gerda Wegener (being portrayed, respectively, by Eddie Redmayne and Alicia Vikander), whose marriage and work are cast into the unknown when Einar begins a groundbreaking journey to become one of the world’s first transgender women, Lili Elbe. The Danish Girl has been adapted into a screenplay by BAFTA Award nominee Lucinda Coxon, based on the novel of the same name by David Ebershoff. The film’s cast also includes Matthias Schoenaerts (The Drop), Ben Whishaw (Skyfall), and Amber Heard (The Rum Diary).
The film, directed by Tom Hooper, who won scores of awards for The King’s Speech in 2010, will be screened at film festivals in Toronto and Venice this fall before it opens in theatres November.
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Michelle Dockery, Laura Carmichael and Joanne Froggatt pose for a photo at the Downton Abbey cast photo call during the at The Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California.
“It’s strange saying goodbye to the castle,” Laura said during the panel about the upcoming final season of the show. “It felt like, for a split second, it wasn’t our home anymore — and, of course, it never was our home, but it felt like it. As soon as they said ‘cut’ on that day, you realised it was just pretend. It was very emotional; we didn’t want to leave.”
“I miss the peace of this world where everybody knew their place and accepted it. Life seemed so quiet by comparison. I think that’s part of the appeal and escape [of the show]. In today’s world, we contend with more information than we can actually absorb. In the world of Downton, we only know the circle that’s right in front of our face. There are limits to that life, of course, but it’s peaceful,” Elizabeth added about what she will miss.
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They will forever be linked in cinema history as doomed lovers Ennis Del Mar and Jack Twist in 2005’s Brokeback Mountain.
Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal both earned Academy Award nominations for their portrayals of two ranch hands who fall deeply in love then struggle to try and lead heterosexual lives after going their separate ways.
Ledger died just three years after the film’s release at the age of 29. His death deeply shook Gyllenhaal who has rarely spoken of it publicly.
But on the occasion of their film’s 10th anniversary, Gyllenhaal shared some of his memories of Ledger.
‘I’d known Heath for a really long time before that movie. We were friends,’ he tells Out Magazine.
‘We went to a sort of boot camp, where we’d all hang out and learn to ride. Heath already knew how to ride really well, but we’d ride and hang out on the ranch outside of Los Angeles. It was really, really amazing.’
Gyllenhaal recalled that for the first month of shooting the film, cast and crew lived by a river in small trailers, would wake up and make breakfast for each other and would walk to the set.
‘You know, in a world driven by commerce, particularly in the movie business, there’s no time spent together – relationships are fleeting,’ he said. ‘But in the old-school way, people really used to spend their time together. They became a family. And that’s what (director Ang Lee) created on the movie. It’s why we are all still close – not just bonded by the success of the film, but bonded by the experience. It was an intimate project in that way. … Heath and (co-star Michelle Williams) fell in love. It was a really special, special time.’
Gyllenhaal recalls Ledger being acutely sensitive about anyone making any jokes about the film’s gay subject matter.
‘He was extraordinarily serious about the political issues surrounding the movie when it came out,’ he said. ‘A lot of times people would want to have fun and joke about it, and he was vehement about being serious, to the point where he didn’t really want to hear about anything that was being made fun of.’
Brokeback Mountain would mark the first and last time the two young rising stars ever got to work together.
Said Gyllenhaal: ‘While there are many parts of the real story that are sad, one of the saddest things is that I won’t be able to exchange ideas creatively with Heath again, because that was one of the most beautiful things to come out of that
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Kiwi born singer Keith Urban, 47, released a behind-the-scenes video that day showing the making of his song John Cougar, John Deere, John 3:16, which happens to be his fastest-selling single in a decade.
“It was constantly frustrating to me, because there was another way to go, and I didn’t know what it was,” Keith says in the clip. “Then I noticed there was a bass at the studio and I grabbed the bass guitar and I thought maybe that’s what it is — the bass guitar and drum machine going together.”
“So it wasn’t a totally new thing for me to play [bass] and sing. This one is just more funky,” Keith told Rolling Stone Country. “And for me, playing bass while singing actually helps the groove of the vocal.”
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US singer/super star Taylor Swift looks stunning on the cover of Vanity Fair magazine’s September 2015 issue!
Here’s what the 25-year-old entertainer had to share with the mag:
On her relationship with Kanye West: “I feel like I wasn’t ready to be friends with him until I felt like he had some sort of respect for me, and he wasn’t ready to be friends with me until he had some sort of respect for me—so it was the same issue, and we both reached the same place at the same time. I became friends with Jay Z, and I think it was important, for Jay Z, for Kanye and I to get along. It started with both of us really liking Jay and wanting him to be happy. And then Kanye and I both reached a place where he would say really nice things about my music and what I’ve accomplished, and I could ask him how his kid’s doing.”
On her letter to Apple Music: “I wrote the letter at around four a.m. The contracts had just gone out to my friends, and one of them sent me a screenshot of one of them. I read the term ‘zero percent compensation to rights holders.’ Sometimes I’ll wake up in the middle of the night and I’ll write a song and I can’t sleep until I finish it, and it was like that with the letter. I read it to my mom. She’s always going to be the one. I just said, ‘I’m really scared of this letter, but I had to write it. I might not post it, but I had to say it.’”
On her group of BFFs: “That doesn’t happen. We even have girls in our group who have dated the same people. It’s almost like the sisterhood has such a higher place on the list of priorities for us. It’s so much more important than some guy that it didn’t work out with. When you’ve got this group of girls who need each other as much as we need each other, in this climate, when it’s so hard for women to be understood and portrayed the right way in the media … now more than ever we need to be good and kind to each other and not judge each other—and just because you have the same taste in men, we don’t hold that against each other.”
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Kristen Stewart strikes a pose on the cover of Elle UK magazine’s September 2015 issue.
The 25-year-old actress opened up about social media and her normal everyday face.
On her resting b*tch face: “The whole smiling thing is weird because I actually smile a lot. I literally want to be like, ‘Dude, you would think I was cool if you got to know me.’”
On social media: “I’m not anti-social media. I just haven’t decided to do it. The idea of addressing such a massive group. If I don’t know who I’m talking to it doesn’t make any f–king sense to me.”
The full interview appears in the September issue of Elle.
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Summerset NZ Young@Heart Chorus
Upcoming Shows
August/September 2015
Dear fans and supporters
Thank you so much for your ongoing interest and support. We invite to come along to our upcoming exciting shows
Winters End Benefit Concert – Supporting the Counselling Services Centre at the Hawkins Theatre in Papakura 30th August – 4pm – 6.30pm
With Gray Bartlett, Brendan Dugan, Jodi Vaughan and more
We shall be backing some of the professional singers and presenting some songs of our own
Tickets available from Chorus Members or at www.eventfinda.co.nz
Angels – with a little love and affection at the Playhouse Theatre in Glen Eden 12th September, 7pm
Thanks to the kindness shown to us we are able to re-schedule our annual show which was to have been on the boards in June this year. You may not know that it was cancelled on the night due to unforeseen electrical problems.
Paying tribute to you our supporters who have been our ‘ Angels’ for the last four years, we showcase new songs, new soloists and the children’s choir Variety Voices. Book soon to avoid disappointment – half the tickets are sold already!
Tickets available at www.iticket.co.nz
The Events by David Grieg – At the Q Theatre, Queen Street, Auckland 26th September 5pm
A Silo Theatre production starring Beulah Koale and Tandi Wright and a different choir every night. This is an R16 production tackling a very moving story of happenings in a community.
We perform ONLY on the 26th September and we are enjoying the challenge of singing some very different music.
Tickets available at http://silotheatre.co.nz/the-events
Christmas 2015
We are now open for bookings for your Christmas functions. Please contact Sheila at bookyoungatheart@gmail.com
We can promise you a show full of fun and Christmas cheer tailored to your requirements.
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Actress Kirsten Dunst takes the cover of Town and Country Magazine’s September issue wearing an all Prada look.
Here’s what the 33-year-old actress had to share with the mag:
On the expectations for actors: “What people expect of an actor is totally ridiculous. It’s unfair that an artist is expected to speak really well in public and have skin tough enough to withstand sometimes really hurtful criticism, but also, in order to do the job, be really sensitive and in touch with their feelings. So all you can do is be yourself – just be who the hell you are.”
On her boyfriend Garrett Hedlund: “We’ve been together for three and a half years, so, yes, it’s going really well. We’re the same age. We have similar backgrounds. He feels like family to me.”
On being discouraged by the Hollywood boys club: “You know what? I felt that way when I was younger, particularly being on the Spider-Man sets, which was pretty much all guys. But the older I get, the less I feel that way. What I’ve found is that the cool guys now want to hang out with the cool girls.”
For more from Kirsten, visit TownandCountryMag.com
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SOME DVDs TO LOOK OUT FOR!
THE KNICK: SERIES 1
Set in downtown New York in 1900, The Knick is a new Cinemax drama series from Steven Soderbergh. It is centered on the Knickerbocker Hospital and the groundbreaking surgeons, nurses and staff who work there, pushing the boundaries of medicine and morality in a time of astonishingly high mortality rates and zero antibiotics.
Academy Award and Emmy nominee Clive Owen stars as Doctor John Thackery, a brilliant surgeon and whose ambition for medical discovery is tempered only by his secret addiction to opiates and cocaine. Thackery is the newly appointed leader of the surgery staff and leads a team of doctors including his protégé Dr. Everett Gallinger; the young Dr. Bertie Chickering Jr. and Dr. Algernon Edwards, a promising surgeon who’s been recently thrust upon him.
The Knick stars Clive Owen (whose performance earned him a Golden Globe nomination for Best Performance by an Actor in a Television series – drama). Steven Soderbergh directed all ten episodes of the first season.
Special Features include: Post-Op Episode 2, Audio Commentary Episode 1, Post-Op Episode 3, Post-Op Episode 4, Post-Op Episode 5, Post-Op Episode 6, Post-Op Episode 7, Post-Op Episode 8, Audio Commentary Episode 7, Post-Op Episode 10, Audio-Commentary Episode 10.
PRETTY LITTLE LIARS: SERIES 5
Pretty Little Liars returns for another suspenseful season filled with mystery and intrigue.
Based upon the best-selling book series, the one-hour drama follows four teenage girlfriends — Aria, Emily, Hanna and Spencer — who each began receiving threatening messages from someone named “A” one year after the supposed murder and disappearance of their friend Alison, a notorious queen bee. The messages led the girls to believe that Alison might actually be alive and watching them.
Somehow “A” knew their most private secrets; things the girls hoped would remain hidden.
As the torment and manipulations continued, destroying relationships and affecting their loved ones, tension builds and Aria, Emily, Hanna and Spencer discovere strengths they didn’t know they had and experienced scares they could never have imagined.
Get ready for more twists and thrills as season five of Pretty Little Liars begins in the moments following the epic season four finale, in which Ezra was shot. Plus, Alison is alive, and everyone is affected by her return. Also returning is Hanna’s ex, Caleb, who comes back a changed person. With more questions than ever and other familiar faces back in Rosewood, it’s sure to be another season of emotion and intrigue.
Pretty Little Liars stars Troian Bellisario (Lauren), Ashley Benson (Spring Breakers), Tyler Blackburn (Ravenswood), Lucy Hale (Scream 4), Ian Harding (NCIS LA), Laura Leighton (Melrose Place), Shay Mitchell (Aaron Stone), Janel Parrish (Celeste and Jesse Forever) and Sasha Pieterse (X-Men: First Class).
Special Features include: Celebrating a Pretty 100th; Christmas in Rosewood: Designing The Ice Ball; Pretty Little Liars:
The Duff
You either know one, you have one or you are one.
Bianca is a content high school senior whose world is shattered when she learns the student body refers to her as ‘The DUFF’ (Designated Ugly Fat Friend) to her prettier, more popular friends. With her universe turned upside down, she ignores words of wisdom from her favourite teacher and enlists Wesley, a slick but charming jock, to help set her apart from the pack and erase her label forever. In doing so, she hopes to land her crush Toby, and find the confidence to overthrow the school’s ruthless label maker Madison by reminding everyone that no matter what people look or act like, we are all someone’s DUFF… and that’s totally fine.
Directed by Ari Sandel, from a screenplay by Josh A. Cagan (based on the book by Kody Keplinger), The Duff stars Mae Whitman (Parenthood), Robbie Amell (The Flash), Bella Thorne (Shake it Up!), Bianca Santos (The Fosters), Skyler Samuels (The Nine Lives of Chloe King), Romany Malco (The 40 Year Old Virgin), with Ken Jeong (The Hangover) and Allison Janney (The West Wing).
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Until next week…………………. my lips are sealed!
Copyright David H. W. Hartnell MNZM 2015
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Monday 3rd Aug 2015
I’m not one to gossip but………………. Like the sirens of Greek mythology, Marilyn Monroe was an irresistible temptress who captivated powerful men and movie audiences around the world. Some say she was the Hollywood blonde goddess who knew too much. A walking time bomb, she could topple political dynasties and jail Mafia dons, not to mention being one of Hollywood most bankable stars.
In my estimation the best book every written on Marilyn Monroe is Marilyn at Rainbow’s End by Darwin Porter (published by BloodMoon Productions) who gives us this scenario.
Imagine it is today: Marilyn in her mid eighties with remaining traces of her former beauty. Sitting on the couch beside her is her twenty-five-years-old boyfriend, her latest conquest. With champagne, still her favourite drink, there watching the latest Monroe-inspired movie, TV series, or documentary.
As the credits role the young man asks, “Marilyn, is that what really happened? I mean, did you really go to bed with President Kennedy?”
She giggles as she reaches over to kiss him. “Something like that, sweetie, something like that. Memory fades as time goes by. But what a hell of a story, from an orphan who nobody wanted.”
Marilyn Monroe, on Hollywood: ‘It’s a place where they’ll pay you $50,000 for a kiss and 50 cents for your soul.’
Marilyn Monroe died on the 5th August 1962 at the age of 36. Here’s some things trivia about Marilyn!
– Marilyn was buried in an $800 (US) coffin, wearing a simple green dress with a green scarf tied around her neck. She was wearing the diamond white gold wedding ring she wore when she married Joe Di Maggio. This was at the request of Joe even though they were not married at the time. It was rumoured that she and Joe were getting married again; they were to announce their engagement the week after she died. She married Arthur Miller twice: the first time in a civil ceremony, then in a Jewish (to which she had converted) ceremony two days later.
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– The tiles at her Brentwood home had a Latin inscription CURSUM PERFICIO, which means “the end of the journey.” Marilyn was spooked by the saying and was going to have them removed but never did. This was the only house she ever owned, she died in the house six months after moving in.
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– At six am the Sunday morning after Marilyn died, Life magazine’s bureau Chief, Richard Stolley was told to go to the morgue and shoot any pictures of Marilyn he could. “I rounded up three bottles of the most expensive whisky I could find. It was a bribe to the guy in the morgue. ‘Ever seen a dead body before? ‘He asked before he led me to a steel-lined refrigerated corridor. “He opened a door to wheel out a corpse. A white sheet covered her body. He tied a tag on her left big toe. Its inscription read in capitol letters CRYPT 33 – MARILYN MONROE.” That’s how the now famous picture of Marilyn in the morgue came about.
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– Lena Pepiton, Marilyn’s one-time maid, privately told friends that one morning she caught her step son Joe Di Maggio Jr and Marilyn in her bed, both of them nude. This happened while Marilyn was married to Joe Di Maggio Sr, who at the time was out of town.
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– Marilyn’s house was down a right away no exit road in the leafy Los Angeles suburb of Brentwood. It was 2900 square foot hacienda style house which she bought for $77,500(US). On the day after she died, it is said her estate received a half-dozen offers to purchase the home. She carried a loan on it and punched the mortgage to the tune of $320 (US) a month. Despite a somewhat unclear ownership paper trail, we know that the last time the house changed hands was in 2010, when the purchase price was in the vicinity of $3.5 million (US). The address was 12305 Fifth Helena Drive, Brentwood. Veronica Hamel, an actress, bought Marilyn’s house in 1972. She claimed that when she was renovating the house she discovered an extensive system of wire-taps which were put in the house by the FBI.
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– On June 7, 1961, fourteen months before her death, Marilyn flew to Las Vegas after accepting an invitation from Frank Sinatra to attend a lavish party at the Sands hotel in honour of Dean Martin’s forty-fourth birthday. After the party Marilyn had a one night stand with Eddie Fisher, who at the time was married to Elizabeth Taylor. Later she told friends, “I just wanted to experience firsthand what turns Elizabeth on.”
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– Marilyn had the private unlisted phone number of President John F. Kennedy, with whom she had a long affair. She believed that he would leave his wife Jackie and marry her. She was scheduled to give a press conference telling the world this, the day after she died.
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– Actor Peter Lawford always claimed that he was the last person to speak with Marilyn, although how he knew was never revealed. Marilyn’s bugged phone – by the FBI – indicates there was no final call from Peter to her. In 1975, during the police enquiry into Marilyn’s mysterious death, Peter told police that her last words were, “Say goodbye to Jack (President John F. Kennedy) and say goodbye to yourself because you’re a nice guy.” No such call ever came into Marilyn’s house, judging from today’s evidence.