THE WHALES OF AUGUST

A brilliant cinematic achievement with two legendary grand dames of  the silver screen playing sisters summering in coastal New England. The pace is hypnotic, making you feel like you are there thru their daily lives and relationships with their neighbors. This is a total "feel good" film with two elegant ladies with impeccable manners...though miss Davis can't help but have a few of her "Diva" moments ( & we expect nothing less)!lol

BEFORE THE DEVIL KNOWS YOU'RE DEAD

Master director Sidney Lumet's dark thriller about everything going wrong...and then some!
 Exceptional cast led by Hoffman and Hawke. To think that Mr. Lumet was 83 when he made this very contemporary film in 2007 is impressive. When one loves what one does, one can work forever...
Not a film if you're looking to "feel good"!lol

Photographer Deborah Turbeville dies at 81.

Miss Turbeville infused her photographs with a sensitivity to female melancholy & romanticism that made her work from the early 70's thru to 2013 instantly recognizable. Her eye for elegance allowed her to portray the most dilapidated settings with an aura of beauty & tranquility through her unique photographic techniques which included physically distressing and damaging her precious negatives which elevated her prints to a higher artistic status.
 Her work clearly stood out in the field of male dominated fashion photography with their expected sharp focus technique and aggressively sexualized ideal of women.
 Her trademark style was a special haunting atmosphere that showcased her mysterious models, often more than the clothes.Men very rarely appeared alongside her women in these carefully staged  mini dramas.
For all her gloom and doom, High Glamour was never sacrificed, which tethered her work successfully and continually to Fashion's Idealism in spite of the introverted beauties who populated her fantasies.
Her signature compositions of multiple figures continue to bewitch in her latest ad campaign for Roman Couturier, Valentino, who also worked with her in the 70's.

The charming Kate Moss IS every woah!man

The free spirited Miss Moss references the sweet, playful vibe of 1960's Playboy Playmates for Vanity Fair.
She can morph from Sweet to Sultry, Grunge  to Glam, Badass to Baring all..... in a heartbeat.

Helmut Newton's poolside dramas....perfectly composed.

Model Debra Shaw

An exceptionally stylized model with an original, distinct look... born to be a European Couturier's muse.

American Vogue 11/13.

A rare treat from American Vogue:  A bold and graphic double page spread of a beautifully composed, dramatic photograph and minimal type design. Editor Tonne Goodman collaborates with shutter bug Demarchelier.

Duran Duran Come Undone Y2K remix

Those English lads really have that breathy/whispery vocal delivery down better than anyone. The original song dropped in 1993.

Vogue Editor Tonne Goodman

The Vogue Editor most associated with making the Crisp, Clean, Minimal & very Practical "All American" style look chic, Tonne Goodman shares her great luck story that allowed her to work with fashion's best talents from the very beginning.

Brutalist CHIC

When a girl simply can't relate to "pretty".... she can always run to the comforting safety pinned, crushed  and torn aesthetic of Comme des Garcons....and suddenly feel like....."herself".lol

Oh that naughty MR. FORD!

 Mr. Ford is hopelessly infatuated by the sexual revolution of the late 1970's Disco Era Sexual Liberation movement that pushed the limits of the hedonistic lifestyle to it's most extreme.
Studio 54 was ground zero for this drug fueled  and festive decadence until The Virus shut the party down and took the lives of many, many, stars of the New York Fashion & Art Scene.
Drenched in nostalgia, he enthusiastically celebrates the joys of pan-sexuality through his sizzling advertising campaigns, gleefully offending narrow-minded Americana....but selling alot of product!lol
He used a strong dose of sensuality to reboot the Gucci brand in the late 90's and got even bolder to promote his own brand of luxury accessories and fragrance, happily pushing the limits of sexual imagery in advertising. A master of PR indeed.

The Tempest/1982

 

A brilliantly funny, philosophical, modern interpretation of Shakespeare's famous THE TEMPEST.
The scenes in Greece will make you want to grab the next flight and go adrift ( astray!) in a Mediterranean Paradise.
Fantastic cast, stunning cinematography and John Casavettes and Gina Rowlands( one of the most gorgeous real life Hollywood couples ever)  to anchor the whole experience....with depth and humor.

Woody Allen's masterpiece: INTERIORS.

I don't have the patience to tolerate the over intellectual subtly of Mr. Bergman's Swedish cerebral psychodramas but when Woody Allen wrote and directed INTERIORS in 1978, ( which I didn't see until the late 80's!) I was mesmerized by his "homage" to Bergman about a family in major emotional crisis.

It's my favorite Woody Allen film which is built around the spectacular performance by my favorite American actress, the unique Miss Geraldine Page. She plays an emotional wreck ( her specialty) of an interior designer with the most severe minimalist aesthetic. It's a masterclass in cinematic excellence with a strong supporting cast including the brilliant (& lovable!) Maureen Stapleton, who brings in a splash of much needed humour, warmth and color into this dysfunctional family.

THE KING

A most beautifully shot very dark tale with a shocking twist. Strong cast. Brilliant direction.Slow and steady...until the end.

Mr. Gael Garcia Bernal, at the peak of his charisma, never looked more handsome...creates the most menacing tension opposite William Hurt, a major acting talent.

Vogue Editor Babs Simpson

One Hundred...and sharp as a tack... sharing mid century shoot details, with delight!

A whole new breed of "STUDS"...for the 21 Century.

Cher: Then & Now....

What would Diana Vreeland & Richard Avedon have to say about Cher's " Closer to the Truth" CD cover?
Perhaps...."De-Evolution"?lol

High & Mighty/ Vogue editorial

 


One of HELMUT NEWTON's very last shoots for American vogue in 2009 styled by Camilla Nickerson.
Brilliant concept and execution focusing on the dangerous allure of hellishly high heels.