August 31st, 2006

Robert Rosen’s Westfield Exhibition -Second View

Uber snapper, Robert Rosen’s exhibition of fashion’ week snaps opened at Westfield, Bondi Junction last night and the centre was thick with fashionistas all wanting to see if they were in the frame and play tribute to Robert.

Robert Rosen and Nicole Adolphe

Annelise Seubert and stylist Alan Keys

Leona Edmiston

Sexy boys - Wayne Cooper and Joe Farage. All pix by Titomedia

August 31st, 2006

Erica Baxter Has A Hit On Her Hands

Erica Baxter

Life couldn’t be better for Erica Baxter now that her boyfriend, James Packer has come onto the scene again, she also has her own imposing home in the millionaire enclave of Sydney’s Vaucluse and now a hit on her hands with the release of her first single, I Spy for Sony/BMG.

I Spy has started to receive that all important air time with the top radio networks and in the I Spy DVD she looks like a total goddess. Whatever happens with James Packer she will have no shortage of admirers. Wonder whether he will accompany her to the ARIA Awards at Homebush? He would definitely enjoy it.

August 31st, 2006

What Next For Jake Wall?

Jake Wall and Jennifer Hawkins

It’s official: Jake Wall and Jennifer Hawkins are Sydney’s ultimate A-list couple now that former carpenter, almost has a matching crown as the proud winner of the woeful Torvill & Dean’s Dancing On Ice. With rival networks Seven and Nine each owning one half of the hot double it will be fascinating to see what Nine will do with Jake Wall next. Personally, I think he should join forces with the adorable, Jamie Durie for the new season of Backyard Blitz which starts on October 6. Jake could put his tool kit back on and be a dab hand at trellises and garden benches. All that wood might pretty well match his personality…

August 31st, 2006

Motorola Tries To Claim Melbourne’s Fashion Set

Tonight will be huge in Melbourne with fashionistas torn between two major events in town. Many will converge on newish restaurant Fog in Prahran for the launch of the Motorola MotoKRZR phone - a fusion of fashion and technology. Since the mobile phone company has the naming rights to the Spring Fashion Festival, they will be pushing hard on this association with Bettina Liano, Richard Nylon (Puhleese!) and Gorman all designing pieces inspired by the phone. Among those who have RSVP’d are former Miss Universe hopeful, Erin McNaught, naughty Angus Kennett and Jaime Reyne.

Meanwhile there is another event on Thursday for Fox Fashion which is also expected to be filled with people wearing black and toting thrilling handbags. One source claims that the organisers of the Motorola’ soiree knew that the events clashed but decided to go ahead anyway. As you do. Naturally we are sending John Curtin - our man on Melbourne’s mean streets to put both events on his radar and tell us what he finds. He will make the call on which event succeeded and which was a flopperooni.   Take a good look at his face, party hosts you will be seeing a lot more of it.

John Curtin with blonde decoys.

August 31st, 2006

No Names - Plenty Of Packdrill…

Which Sydney party queen is surprising even her most loyal supporters with her abrupt language and her capacity to now drink most of them under the table? They are not only calling her an alcoholic behind her back but whispering about a liason in a hotel with a man who was not her husband.

August 30th, 2006

Denee Reviews Macbeth - Ooops!

Sam Worthington
Sam Worthington’s role in the Australian Cinema version of Macbeth, (released on September 21) is being touted as one of the hottest on-screen roles this year.

I saw a media screening last week. Director Geoffrey Wright (Romper Stomper) has valiantly tired to remake one of Shakespeare’s classic tragedies into an edgy contemporary tale, where the old language is retained, but in a modern-day setting. Much like Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo + Juliet in 1996.

Sadly though, this lamentable Aussie film is a tragedy, in the truest sense. Tragic because, despite the seriousness of the subject matter, I laughed the entire way through. How could I not, when comedic actors like Mick Malloy and Bob Franklin are cast to play serious Shakespearian roles? Even Kym Gyngell, a.k.a Col’n Carpenter, makes a cameo. I’m sorry, is there a shortage of male actors in this country that I’m not aware of?

The production is quite good though. In fact, a little too good. One could argue Macbeth looks like it’s been produced with a budget more akin to a rock video, rather than an independent Australian film. An early scene where the three witches greet Macbeth while he’s hallucinating on a smoke-filled nightclub dance floor looks like a bad 1980s film clip, while the banquet scene, in which Macbeth sees the ghost of Banquo, looks like it had been styled by the same people who did Powderfinger’s video clip for The Day you Come.

Speaking of styling, Sam Worthington’s Macbeth, who looks like a bizarre cross between Bernard Fanning and the late Michael Hutchence, wears some of the most ridiculous costumes I’ve ever seen. Leather pants? Embroidered shirts? Printed velvet pant suits? When did Macbeth become a test case for Queer Eye for the Straight Guy?

I wouldn’t have minded this new rock aesthetic has it at least been consistent.
You see, while Macbeth’s sauntering around like a clichéd rock star, you’ve got Rel Hunt (that’s Ryan Scheppers from Heartbreak High) who plays Angus, looking like the fifth member of the Backstreet Boys.

And what about all that blatant product placement? At least it explains where some of that money for the production came form. After leaving the cinema I had a strange desire to buy a Mitsubishi flat-screen monitor, a BOSE sound system and a Nissan car.

Also notable in this modern day take, is the fact Macbeth’s witches are merely three barely legal teenagers with a proclivity for group sex, while Lady Macbeth (Victoria Hill ), in her kaftans and red lipstick, looks like the perfect wife of a 1970s rock star. The Costume Designer obviously didn’t have enough money in the budget for Hollywood Tape though, because Lady Macbeth’s kaftans keep slipping down, repeatedly exposing her nipples. In some scenes she’s unnecessarily unclothed. I’m no prude, but the gratuitous nudity is somewhat irritating.

It’s also kind of irritating the way the supposed ‘modernisation’ of the story is so damn inconsistent. The director has created a strange parallel universe in which Asian Gangs drive hotted up cars, but Macbeth’s home looks like a medieval castle, despite being decked out with the latest whiz-bang technology. The witches are, like all teenagers today, sexually promiscuous trouble makers, yet for some reason they still like to cook with eye of newt and toe of frog, wool of bat and tongue of dog. Do they even sell those ingredients at the local delicatessen? Surely the filmmakers could’ve come up with a more creative way to adapt these medieval elements practices into a more modern setting?

Sam Worthington is a good sort, this much is true. The producers must’ve known that when they wrote in a naked shower scene. But his performance is certainly not his best. He’s admitted in previous interviews that he hated Shakespeare in high school, a fact made obvious by the way he spits out dialogue like he’s learned it by rote.

But, god love him, he’s satisfied this film will serve as an access point to the 17 year old school kids, who, like him, hate English Literature. For the rest of us however, I’d suggest sticking with the real thing.

Macbeth men

Bernard Fanning - there could have been a role for him.

Have you seen a  Macbeth preview yet? Do you agree with Denee? Post your comments here.