-March-

As it is the last day of March, here is my design post for this month. Like before, I have few inspiring items from Etsy again, some architecture and I found some great pieces on art directions and movie posters. For next month I'll try look up some more interior decoration again. And as always, click the photo to see it in larger size.

If you are unfamiliar with Etsy, its a place for everyone to sell their creations, and of course that means most of them are pure crap, but there are some amazing items and some, like these, that really inspire me. Unfortunately I really don't have place here at the moment to create stuff, but maybe when I get back to Finland.

First piece is a fun and bright painting, created with palette knife and impesto paint. The second is something that could easily be made at home, if you are at least a little bit crafty. It is a simple letter, made possibly from some heavier wood, but I'd say it can easily be made from plywood aka wood veneer. After cutting the wood to appropriate shape add some color, basically any type of paint will do, since it is not made to use, but to look at.

 

These next two items are just so fun pieces, though not something that I could ever make. First of the two, is a fun bookshelf made from industrial pipe. It might not be the best way to store the books, but it certainly makes a statement. And the same designer makes it in several sizes and shapes. The second item is a coffee table. And though it might be a pain in the ass to keep clean, it certainly catches your eye. And again the designer has a lot of different items, different tables in sizes and colors. Some of his work is more rustique, but this one is fairly modern.

I do like classic architecture, but I've always had fondness for modern works. It might not always be something that stands the test of time, or the engineering proves to be faulty creating just bad homes. These (to me) seem like those cases. They both have so creative and wonderful details, but when thinking practically, they might not be the ideal houses to live in.

First house is designed by Japanese architect Kimihiko Okada. It is very hard to grasp the whole concept of the house if you look just few picture, so look at these to get some idea of how it really is. I love how light the whole house is, not just because the whole thing is standing on legs, but because you get a view to all sides at almost all times. You all can see how this might not be so practical way to live, but it certainly is creative way to have the space to live and to still have room for garden and playground in a small area.

The second house is certainly not so conventional looking either. The color scheme might be extremely dull on this house in Texas by Steven Holl Architects but it definitely has lots of interesting points. If you look at the floor plan, the whole thing might look like a bit of a mess, which it kinda is. But I like the irregular shape of the windows and in contrast to the straight lines, the curvy shapes of the roofs, and how it kinda spreads to areas outside the walls. Now of course these pictures are without any furniture, which would take the place to the next level. And speaking of levels, I've always liked houses with multiple levels, even if they are just few steps above the others. This house certainly has them as it really adapts to the shape of the ground.

I mentioned some art direction and prints earlier. First I'd like to share this nice timeline of the "Great Moments in Creative Direction" from Details Magazine. It includes some nice pieces, like this De Beers ad, with the first commercial use of the phrase: "A diamond is forever". And on the newest great moment on the timeline, is the funny Old Spice commercial which has spawned hundreds of spoofs on YouTube.

If you are in possession of an original poster for the 1927 sci-fi movie Metropolis, take really good care of it. And I mean really good, because it is extremely valuable. One copy sold for $690,000 back in 2005. Due to recent findings, Vanity Fair put together a piece about the most expensive posters, you can see it here!

I found this from /Film, titled "Cool Stuff", and it truly is! French graphic designer Maxime Pecourt created some amazing posters for all three original Indiana Jones movies, depicting the major artifact of the film created by using small items seen on the movies. See how many you'll find!

And like in previous posts, I've once again found a house on market I'd very much like to own, because its fun to dream. This one represents to more classical architecture I like. It has of course way too much space for any normal family, since it has 7 bedrooms and the property includes 70 acers of land too. It was designed by George B. Post, who also created the New York Stock Exchange building. I didn't like interior design that much, but I think with the pedigree the house has, there might be some restrictions on that. For more pictures go here! With that kind of architecture, the price matches it of course. This beautiful house has the asking price of $9,85 million, ouch! But never stop dreaming.

Weekly post coming Tuesday!

-Singin' in the Rain-

Can't believe I almost forgot all about this. I bookmarked Singin' in the Rain months ago and marked it "March", because March 27th marked the 60th Anniversary of the movie's premiere. Now this isn't a film review per se, but just a reminder for you all the see the movie. To me, it is truly amazing that a 60 year old film still makes me smile, cry and laugh.

The movie tells the story of Don Lockwood, a popular silent film star and Kathy Selden, a chorus girl wanting to become an actress. These two come together after twists and turns, as Kathy is chosen to do the voice-over work for Lockwood's on-screen romance, Lina Lamont, who doesn't really have the voice to star in the new "talkies".

The talented Gene Kelly is the male lead of the movie, while radiant Debbie Reynolds dazzles as Kathy.  Donald O'Conner stars as Cosmo Brown, Lockwood's faithful friend. Gene Kelly was of course the beloved star of 40's and 50's musical films, like An American in Paris and Anchors Aweigh. He also directed the movie adaption of Hello Dolly! starring Barbra Streisand. Debbie Reynolds is still as vibrant as she was 60 years ago,touring most of the year. Her more recent works include playing Grace Adler's mother on Will&Grace. She is also known for her movie memorabilia, which she has recently auctioned a lot. Her collections included the famous white dress of Marilyn Monroe from Seven Year Itch.

The film is best known for its signature song, sharing the title of the movie, Singin' in the Rain. During this famous scene Gene Kelly sings about his happiness and dances with an umbrella on the street in the pouring rain. You should watch the film for this scene alone.

The movie is packed with songs, that became very popular, and stayed so, even after 60 years of its release. Both Singin' in the Rain and Make 'Em Laugh have been covered in Glee, and All I Do Is Dream of You was covered by Michael Bublé on his last album. Mint Royale also released their remix of Singin' in the Rain. My favourite song of the film still is Good Morning, I've had it as my alarm sound in the morning for years.

This is truly one of my favourite films, and I intend to watch it this week-end again. I really hope this inspires even one to see the movie, because it should not be forgotten. Though The Artist certainly reminded us of the Old Hollywood glamour.

-13-

Since last week was bit more movie orientated, this week I have more about TV. But first some quotes. I've really gotten into all late night talk shows, Chelsea Lately is my favourite at the moment, so few are from it. Vulture posts daily a compilation of funny late night moments, defo worth bookmarking, like yesterday's Conan with Kristen Chenoweth. But here are the quotes:

"-When men have conversation with women, half of their brain is thinking about the conversation and the other half: "Is she going to sleep with me?"

-So should we just write "NO" on our foreheads?"

 Josh Wolf and Natasha Leggero on Chelsea Lately roundtable

"-What do you do with fans on mall tour?

- Generally, I just wait for them to stop screaming"

Jennifer Lawrence talking about promoting Hunger Games on Chelsea Lately

"Of course no one should fire a lover, I mean think of how frought it was for Governor Schwarzenegger to fire that handsome maid" - Ava

Maya Rudolph on Up All Night

 

"So Dave is really going to fight? Our Dave? The same Dave who wept during Jeremy Renner's Oscar speech?" -Penny

Casey Wilson on Happy Endings

And while we are at Happy Endings, one of the six main stars of the show, Adam Pally, has joined Adam Scott and Amy Phoeler (both currently starring in Parks and Recreation) in their upcoming comedy. The comedy is about a grown man (Scott) who finds himself still caught in between of his parents divorce (Richard Jenkins and Catherine O'Hara). Phoeler is said to play Scott's new step-mother. Jenkins is probably most know for his role on Six Feet Under while I remember O'Hara best as the mother in the first two Home Alone movies.

I'll finish the movie part with some more Hunger Games news. I posted my review during the weekend, but the movie is still pretty much headlining any site with movie news. As said, it was the biggest box office opening for non-sequel, and went on to make over $152 mill during the weekend, making it the 3rd biggest opening weekend ever, just behind Harry Potter and the Deadly Hallows part 2 and Dark Knight. And EW is even talking about early buzz for Jennifer Lawrence to get an Oscar nod, which I'm super excited about! It would be about time that AMPAS starts recognizing acting in bigger budget movies too, and the Academy has proven to like Lawrence even before Hunger Games, she did get nomination on Winter's Bone, and she announced past year's nominees too. I'll keep my fingers crossed.

Then back to TV. As you might have noticed I really enjoyed American Horror Story's season 1, and I'm really looking forward to the second. Now it has been rumoured that Adam Levine is in talks of joining AHS. The Maroon 5 lead singer is already enjoying his success on TV, being a judge on Voice. No confirmation from Levine's side or the show has been released yet.

Though I still enjoy watching The Office, it is true that the show lost a lot when Steven Carrel left. And it looks like the series is slowly wrapping up. Star, showrunner and EP of the show Paul Lieberstein has stepped down from his post to start working on a potential spin-off for the show, centered around Rainn Wilson's character Dwight. Co-star and writer of the show Mindy Kaling is also pulling away to start her own show and one of The Office's core stars, Ed Helms has signed on to star on her new comedy. James Spader has already said he is leaving the show, so what does that leave us with? Especially when rest of the stars are still negotiating their deals. Looks like The Office might be coming to an end, it has been quite a run with 8th season airing at the moment, but lets see.

Some time ago I mentioned prequel series for Sex and The City was in the works, and that Anna Sophia Robb had been cast as Carrie. Now first pictures of Anna Sophia on role have been revealed. Though Patricia Field basically created the Carrie look, she will not be returning as the costume designer for this show. Eric Daman will be taking over her job. He currently works on Gossip Girl costume dept. too, and was also working for SATC original run. 

I also told you, Matt Bomer (White Collar) joins the Glee cast as the brother of Darren Criss' character Blaine. I found a picture from that too. He will star at least in the April 10th episode, when Glee returns form its painfully long spring break. Though some might not know,  Bomer is actually quite talented singer making his mark on Broadway before moving on to TV. He will be performing Duran Duran smash-up on Glee with Criss.

TVline (where the last pic is from) also reported that Cheyenne Jackson will return to 30 Rock on its second live episode. He has a recurring role as one of the stars of the fictional TGS on 30 Rock.  This season of 30 Rock has really been great for the audiences, with live episode coming up and past weeks double episodes. The live episode comes out April 26th, and if its anything like the last live episode, it will be hilarious. I wish more shows did this kind of things, to really challenge the actors. I mean Will&Grace aired 2 live episodes years ago, and they were amazing too.

While Glee has been on break, I've really enjoyed watching Smash. Yesterday Katherin McPhee really showed her range, on the otherwise overly dramatic episode, belting out this original song co-written among others by Ryan Tedder form OneRepbulic. This is a totally different side to the original songs for the show, since past songs have really represented more conventional Broadway songs, as you can see from this smash-up (no pun intended) of the previous originals. This video ought to attract more male viewers too, but in case it gets removed, since NBC is pretty strict, you can still hear the vocals here.

This is my last proper TV news. Jimmy Kimmel has been chosen to host this year's Emmy Awards. He is one of those hosts that really has done nothing to offend anyone during his 10 seasons of Jimmy Kimmel Live! and has seems like a truly nice guy. Kimmel has already hosted few bigger award shows earlier and I believe he will do an amazing job on this one too. 64th Emmy Awards will air 23th September and really start the big awards of the season. 

Then some vanity news. As you all may have noticed, Madonna is back with a bang. As the only live press she made for her new album MDNA, she did an interview with Jimmy Fallon via Facebook and LiveStream, you can still see it here for while. She can be kinda bitchy, which she occasionally was, but Fallon managed to keep it light and funny. She even taught him some new moves, which really didn't work that well with Fallon. She also said that Gang Bang from MDNA is her favourite song, while he preferred Love Spent and said that he could learn to play the banjo part if she included him on her upcoming tour.

And lastly, some great 8-bit design movie posters made by Eric Palmer. My favourite was this Titanic one (plus it matches my sites colour scheme), but you can find the rest here, with Matrix, 300, Kill Bill and Iron Man among others.

 

 Weekly post again next week and something on weekend if I feel inspired!

- Hunger Games -

After seeing Hunger Games Friday when it premiered, I felt compelled to write something about this great film. I think it got some if the weirdest reactions of the audience I've ever seen, but more on that later. To me, Entertainment Weekly review by Lisa Schwarzbaum summed up the experience for me perfectly: "The movie shows how, and the book shows why".

Hunger Games is based on the book by the same name, written by Suzanne Collins. This young adult book tells the story of Katniss Everdeen, a young girl living in post-apocalyptic North America, renamed Panem. Panem is divided to 12 districts and the wealthy Capitol. As a punishment for a rebellion against the Capitol, annually one girl and one boy are chosen from every district to compete in televised game to the death, called the Hunger Games. And of course, the heroine of the book is chosen for the game along with Peeta Mellark from the same district.

First of all, I recommend that you all read the book, or even better, read all 3 of the series. Although the movie does a great job on  introducing the whole Hunger Games universe to us, it leaves so much out of it.  As I watched the movie, I started remembering the book which I read few years ago. Truth is, that though we see bits and pieces of the child slaughter on screen, there are so many aspects to it that really can't be conveyed to the audience on screen. Though the director Gary Ross has preciously done mainly drama movies like Seabiscuit and Pleasantville, he fails to bring some of the original resources drama to the game.

It's no wonder that some sources have been disgusted by the films violence, in UK they even cut some of the bloodiest scenes short. Just imagine the whole situation. The Capitol forces 24 kids to the arena with just the clothes they are wearing to kill other children, while the rest of Panem stays home and places bets on the deaths of the tributes, as the contestants are called. The whole event is designed to give the best experience to those watching it, and if things don't go to as planned, the Game Master can alter the huge arena with the likes of a forest fires and mutated creatures.

There are so many aspects to this movie that could be further discussed, like the fact that some of the more trained tributes laugh while they hunt down the other tributes, and try to make it a "good show" for the audiences. But with Ross's direction, all these things are seriously toned down, when compared to the book. And I think that really takes away from the movie viewers, though this helped the movie to get PG-12 rating. Most of the action is filmed with handheld shaky cameras which cut away so fast its hard to comprehend the whole situation sometimes. They might think that this provides more accurate style compared to reality, but truth is, it almost makes the movie unfocused and hard to follow, even for us who have read the book and know the general plot of the film. Maybe on the sequel Ross isn't afraid to slow things down a bit.

This fast paced camerawork also diminishes the minor roles. Haymitch (Woody Harrelson) and Effie Trinket (Elizabeth Banks) are supposed to provide the lighter moments to the film, but their work is lost in the rush. And so is lot of the tributes. I know it can be confusing to the audiences if the film focuses too much on the tributes that die in the massacre, called "hacking", when all the tributes enter the arena at once. But there are so many others, that really deserved more screen time.

So what makes the movie so great then? Answer is simple, Jennifer Lawrence. Even Ross admitted that Hunger Games wouldn't have been possible without Lawrence.  This 21-yo actress keeps the whole movie together, from the very beginning to the anti-climax at the end. So much in the movie is dependant on her acting, since the film can't possibly go to the depths of her mind, like the book does. In this, she does an amazing job. Though Josh Hutcherson, who plays Peeta, does admirable job too, the script really cuts his role down. And the whole "romance" between the characters is pretty fast played, so that really doesn't leave that much base for Hutcherson.

Due to the fact, that Collins also wrote the original film script and was very involved later on too, the film manages to stay true to the book very well. Of course there are small sacrifices made to accomplish better flow for the audiences who aren't familiar with the book. And the movie manages well the pressure of introducing the whole Hunger Games universe, because we have to keep in mind that there are two sequels following.

Catching Fire and Mockingjay, the sequels are already in process. Lawrence, Hutcherson and Liam Hemsworth (who plays Gale, and will have much larger role in the next parts) have all signed for the whole franchise, while Woody Harrelson has signed on for four films, rising the question: will the last book be split in two? That seems to be the trend anyways.

The whole experience of watching the film or reading the book is pretty bizarre. At some point you will realise that you are rooting for Katniss to win, which in return means you will be hoping for the other tributes lose. So basically we are rooting for the children to die. So I wonder why everyone left the cinema so excited, when the fact is, 22 children died on that arena. If Ross had taken all  the material and really embraced it, I don't think we'd be leaving the theatre smiling. And one very noticeable moment at the audience, was when Rue, 12-year-old girl tribute gets speared and we see her die. I know the acting wasn't perfect, but it seemed the most inappropriate place on the movie to laugh, like surprisingly many in the audience did. But that is one thing about the film and the books I love, they really make us question our morale and values, and challenge us to think what would we do in their situation.

I pretty much agree with the 86% approval rate, the film currently holds at Rotten Tomatoes. Though I might give it a bit less knowing the books, and what it could have been. Overall the acting is superb, and it is very thrilling and emotional film. And I like the art direction of the film, it really is pretty much what I imagined when I read the books, and Jennifer Lawrence fits the role so perfectly. Though the costume designer really dropped the ball at Katniss's and Peeta's fire-outfits when the tributes make their first official appearance at Capitol.

So if you are a fan of the books or newcomer, go see the movie, since we will be hearing a lot about it. Hunger Games has already broken records when it made over $68 millions on Friday, making it the biggest premiere for non-sequel film, beating Harry Potter and Twilight.

Here are some fun things inspired by the movie. First this hilarious video, about how the movie comes across for a drunk viewer. 

Another thing I found, is this great name creator, because as you might have noticed, some of the names are pretty bizarre in Panem. You can enter your name multiple time to get different names. Mine was Velorum Naysmith :D

I hope you'll see the movie and read the books too, so we can make this bigger that that ghastly Twilight.

Weekly post coming Tuesday maybe.

-12-

Since sometimes I feel like smaller news get lost in my post, I want to put this in first. It's actually already a bit older, but still amazing. I keep an eye on the official blog for The Hobbit movies all the time, and they recently posted part 2 of their location journey on the beautiful New Zealand, I suggest you watch the first part too. Find them here!

Now some quotes again:

 "She's like a ninja mom: She sneaks in, destroys your will to live, then disappears without a trace."

- Alan

(Jon Cryer) on Two and a Half Men

"Everybody else has accepted my friend requests: your father, Uncle Mitchell, Adele." 

-Claire

(Julie Bowen) on Modern family

“Well I’m sorry we can’t all belong to ethnic groups as beloved as the Germans.” 

-Jack

(Alec Baldwin) on 30 Rock

"What?! There is something going on here . . . I smell liqueur on my breath, YOU'RE DRUNK"

-Karen

(Megan Mullally) on Will&Grace

There were so many great trailers released last week, so my TV section will be a lot smaller this time. CBS was one of the first US networks to reveal which shows it renewed for new seasons. And because I'm more comedy man, I was happy to see that newcomer 2 Broke Girls is getting second season. And CBS's bigger hits How I Met Your Mother and The Big Bang Theory are moving on too. Melissa McCarthy's Mike&Molly was the fourth comedy to get picked up. And though Two and a Half Man used to provide top nights to CBS, it hasn't been chosen yet, but I doubt they are just going to hack the series suddenly, when it still provides solid ratings.

AMPAS announced the date for the 85th Academy Awards. It will air Sunday 24th February, while the nominations will be revealed on January 15th.  Academy did play with the idea of moving the date earlier. The nomination date is already earlier then last year's. I think the electric voting system might speed things up, so they could hold the Awards earlier, but I really see no point on this. If they change the date of Oscars, that changes pretty much the dates of all the other award shows too, since it is generally considered to be the last show of award season, and no one wants to air against the Oscars, so other shows would have to move up too.

Then the movies. First some casting news again. The cast of the new Percy Jackson movie (which I wrote about few weeks ago), is really coming together. The main cast has already been revealed to stay the same from the first movie. Now the cast has gotten some new additions. Nathan Fillion, mainly known for his work on TV, has been cast as the Greek god Hermes, while Missi Pyle, Mary Birdsong and Yvette Nicole Brown star as the Fates. 

Gerard Butler will save the world, or at least the president of US, in his upcoming movie Olympus Has Fallen, which has been described as "Die Hard in the White House".

 Maybe fellow action star Kiefer Sutherland can share his expertise on how to foil terrorist plans, after all, he did save the president inside the white house at least once. I lost count of his world-savings after few seasons. He did unfortunately get some bad news, as did all 24 fans. Fox has been reluctant to grant bigger budget to the upcoming 24 film. But to be more precise, it seems that is mostly because Mr Sutherland wants more money for himself, though he avoided the question pretty well on Jimmy Kimmel few weeks ago, when he told "they had problem with his schedule".  I don't quite know which side I'm on, since Fox could spare some money for the production, after all the millions 24 has brought in during the years, but then again, Sutherland could settle for his current $2 Million salary. Current budget of the movie is said to be around $30 Millions (In comparison Bridesmaids budget was $32 Millions, and that is comedy, not big action movie).

On to some lighter news then. Madagascar 3 will premiere this May on Cannes. DreamWorks has usually been very much present at Cannes with past releases. Kung Fu Panda 2 premiered there, and last year Puss In Boots did some heavy promoting there. It also provides more mass appeal to the event. In the movie the gang is slowly making its way towards NY from Madagascar. Last time they stopped in Africa and now they've made it to Monte Carlo. UPDATE: Madagascar got new trailer too, see it here!

Now to the new trailers. This year looks to be pretty awesome if you are Charlize Theron, if not, enjoy her movies. She stars in two of the big summer blockbusters this year, both coming out in June, just one week apart. First of the two is Snow White and The Huntsman, telling the classic Snow White fairytale, but with bit more action and darkness. She seems to make a superb job as the icy cold queen, and manages to look stunning at the same time. See the trailer below, and if you are interested, you can find some behind the scenes footage here!

Her other movie, Prometheus, released just a week after Snow White, was said to be the prequel for sci-fi classic Aliens, but some prefer to call it original story, so it doesn't step on the foot of Aliens lore. I don't really care for Aliens that much, but the movie looks visually amazing! This is definitely good year for Charlize, and on top of this all she adopted a baby boy! That lucky bastard...

 It's good year for Tim Burton too. He is producing a movie called Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, which explores this fictional side of the great American president. It might be a cool movie, the story is certainly absurd enough, and vampire trend is still very strong. See for yourself: 

The other Tim Burton movie I'm talking about is more my style. Once again he teams up with his star Johnny Depp. This remake of '60's supernatural soap opera has amazing cast, that includes Helena Bonham Carter, Eva Green, Chloe Moretz and Michelle Pfeiffer among others. The plot is bit hard to explain, so see the trailer to get a glimpse on this surprisingly upbeat film. Any trailer with Barry White can't be bad.

 Then few clips from genres I'm not so familiar with. Frozen Planet, seven part documentary series for Discovery Channel about the nature on the arctic areas starts this month. And we know how harsh nature can be, so I suggest if you like seals, don't watch this clip. After this I'm definitely over Free Willy. The show is narrated by Alec Baldwin and at least the pictures released from the series look stunning, it would almost require big screen to watch them.  And how the hell did they get so close to get all this footage?

Other genre I hardly watch is horror. But Chernobyl has always kind of intrigued me.  Chernobyl Diaries is a movie about a group of friends who decided to take an extreme vacation and visit Chernobyl. Well things don't turn out quite as expected...

Okay that was the last video I'll post. Just few more things. If you like computer animated films and action, you need to see this short film by Wes Ball. It's called Ruin, and it takes place in green post-apocalyptical Earth, and is just beautiful. You can find his previous Junior Oscar winning short on the site too. Check them out!

And although this poster is fake, made by French graphic artist Pascal Witaszek, it got very much buzz online, and this would definitely be a film I'd go see. I biopic about Walt Disney starring Ryan Gosling as Walt. And notice the Mickey Mouse cloud outside. Witaszek did more posters too, some better than others, Olivia Wilde as Elizabeth Taylor was pretty convincing too, find them here!

That's all for this week! I hope the my blog doesn't get too slow with all the videos.

-Proust Questionnaire-

I realised that I haven't told that much about me in this blog, and I see people taking these questionnaires about themselves to reveal bits and pieces of their personalities. And I wanted to do something classy, nothing with: "How many people have you slept with?"- type of questions. 

Then I remembered that there is one very clever one on every issue of Vanity Fair. That questionnaire is based on the famous Proust Questionnaire, which is falsely credited as being invented by Proust, but it was actually just made popular by him. The one in Vanity Fair is just one version of it, second that comes to mind is from Inside Actors Studio, a TV show which I've lately grown to like very much. In ISA, James Lipton gives his version of the questionnaire to his quests (actors, directors, etc), but that is bit boring one, so I chose the Vanity Fair.

In the same time, this is also a challenge to all the other bloggers,  you can answer the questions yourselves at Vanity Fair and see which celebrity chose answers most like you. Just remember to take the answers up before completing, so you can write them to your blog, as you won't be able to see them after completing the questionnaire, but you have to take it again, or copy my text and replace with your answers.

Here are my answers, and remember to not over think the answers, they are supposed to be answered in rapid session.

1. What is your idea of happiness?

Home

2. What is your greatest fear?

Failure

3. Which [historical] figure do you most identify with?

Walt Disney

4. Which living person do you most admire? 

Natalie Portman

5. What is the trait you most deplore in yourself?

Too high expectations

6. What is the trait you most deplore in others?

 Arrogance

7. What is your greatest extravagance?

Magazines and sweets

8. On what occasion do you lie?

When its more beneficial to all than the truth

9. What do you dislike most about your appearance?

 My big feet

10. When were you happiest?

In Central Park, NY few years ago

11. If you could change one thing about yourself what would it be?

My disease

12. If you could change one thing about your family what would it be?

Boundaries (More or less)

13. What do you consider your greatest achievement?

Accepting who I am

14. If you died and came back as person or thing what do you think it would be?

A bird, probably a stork.

15. What is your most treasured possession?

 My iPod (always with me)

16. What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery? 

 Drug abuse

17. Who are your heroes in real life?

 Directors

18. What is it that you most dislike?

 Filth

19.  How would you like to die?

Unknowingly

20. What is your motto?

Live by your rules

My closest celebrity matches were Oscar De La Renta and Aretha Franklin, what were yours?

~~~

Weekly update coming in Tuesday probably

-11-

I figured I'd add some new features to this blog. Since the award season is over I've got a little black hole on my writing, so I might finally start adding some film reviews. I'll mostly start with older movies and not the ones running in cinemas, since I like to see the films few times before making up my mind. And besides, there are so many great movies to write about already.

Second thing I'll start adding to the blog, are quotes from  TV series I've watched during the week. Some are from brand new episodes, and some are from old classics. So here are few:

"You are so epically grounded"

- Julia  

(Debra Messing) on Smash  

"-Earlier today I was trying to give my underbrows a little color, and got some spray tan on my eye. Now I admit that was a little dumb...

- You are not using the word dumb right"

 - Laurie and Ellie

(Busy Phillips and Christa Miller) on Cougar Town

"Oh god, don't adopt, that child is better off in Somalia, he could be a pirate or a warlord's concubine"

- Liz Lemon

(Tina Fey) on 30 Rock

"- I don't snore!

-Oh please! I had to turn you away from the window so you wouldn't inhale the drapes"

-Dorothy and Sophia

(Bea Arthur and  Estelle Getty) on The Golden Girls 

Then to the business, first some casting news again. Few weeks ago I told you that Angelina Jolie was cast as the Maleficent in the upcoming movie based on Sleeping Beauty fairytale, but now the film has gotten its princess. 14 years old Elle Fanning is the rumored star of the film, but these are still just talks. She might actually do a great job on the role, she certainly has the Disney looks already. She is best know for her role in last years critical hit Super 8. 

Elle is also the younger sister of Hollywood actress Dakota Fanning, and she has a new movie coming out too. On Now Is Good she plays a young girl with terminal cancer and a very strong British accent, which is a good effort, but knowing her previous work makes it sound little too much, and yet I kinda want to see the movie. Her co-star on the movie Jeremy Irvine rose to fame last year on Steven Spielbergs' War Horse, which was his fist movie role.

Last bit of casting news, Tom Cruise might star in Clint Eastwood's remake of A Star Is Born, making this the fourth version of the movie. Beyonce will take on the leading role previously acted by Judy Garland, Barbra Streisand and Janet Gaynor. The filming was previously postponed by Beyonces pregnancy, but the project still seems to be doing strong. Cruise is next starring on Rock Of Ages, a film adaption of Broadway musical.

Then some TV news. Last Saturdays SNL with Jonah Hill was a bit boring actually, except for the Weekend Update section, with recurring guest Stefon visiting and Andy Samberg as Sarah Palin. But what I was most excited about, was that Sofia Vergara will be hosting April 7th. This hilarious and beautiful star of Modern Family will be hosting for the first time. I love her, but she might have difficulties hosting since her accent is so strong and I just hope they don't typecast her in every sketch.

During SXSW's (South By Southwest) Film event in Texas, Family Guy-creator Seth MacFarlane shed some light on his upcoming and highly anticipated project, reboot of the classic animated series Flintstones. He told they would stay pretty much true to the original visual concept, and make the most difference on writing. And thank god he also told the show wouldn't be as edgy as Family Guy, since that would really mess up the vibe of Flintstones, which is so much more innocent. The reboot is set to air sometime in 2013

Then for movie news. First story is pretty bizarre: In 2000 group of nerds broke into the house of actor Nicholas Cage and stole a comic book, but not just any comic book. It was the Action Comics No. 1, from 1938 which introduced Superman to the world. The same issue was sold in 2011 for $2,1 million after its recovery. Now this story is being adapted to the big screen. In my mind its Ocean's Eleven with real nerds, so it might be fun. And don't get your hopes up, Nic is very unlikely to star in the movie, but has not yet objected it in anyways.

TRON 3 is also in the making, though in very early stages. The third installation will be a direct sequel to Tron: Legacy. The movie is still under some threat, since Disney didn't think the previous film was successful enough with $400 million from the box-office. It is in talks to start filming in 2014. I truly hope this sequel will happen, since Legacy was visually superb and the soundtrack was great too. To me it is a lot like Avatar, it is so beautiful film, that it doesn't matter that the acting isn't quite Oscar-winning level.

A new comedy coming out this May, What To Expect When You're Expecting, with ensemble cast including Jennifer Lopez, Cameron Diaz, Matthew Morrison and Elizabeth Banks, has released its second trailer. To me it seems like it will be a critical failure, but make up for it at the box office. with the cast dragging in the viewers. See what you think, "She's like a magical pregnancy unicorn": 

Another movie starring Elizabeth Banks, which I've featured heavily on this blog, is Hunger Games, which recently released another peek of the movie. This time it's a behind the scenes video with glimpses of Peeta's (Josh Hutcherson) combat training and other scenes. There is pretty much no audio on the video, but enjoy it still.

New Update coming next week and maybe something during weekend if I feel like it.

-10-

First of all, I'd like to pay my respects to a Disney legend Robert B. Sherman, who died yesterday of old age. He was a songwriter and composer, who worked closely with his brother Robert M. in such classic Disney films as Mary Poppins (for which they won Academy Award for Best Song: Chim Chim Cher-ee), Bedknobs and Broomsticks, Jungle Book, and Many Adventures of Winnie The Pooh. He also wrote the classic Disneyland tune It's A Small World. These songs are what most of us grew up with and I hold in such high regard.

Here is one of his most beautiful songs Feed The Bird, from my all-time favourite musical film Mary Poppins. This song is also told to be the favourite of Walt Disney, who worked very closely with this production. They don't make movies like this anymore.

In other Disney-related news. Another animated classic is getting its live action remake. Cinderella has been under works for a while, with Chirs Weitz writing the script. He has tackled his share of blockbusters as a director with New Moon from Twilight Saga and Golden Compass.  His writing credits are far smaller, but lets see what happens.

Last week there was a lot of buzzing around the new season of American Horror Story. It was first confirmed that Jessica Lange would be on the upcoming season, but with a brand new role. Then Zachary Quinto joined the cast, with Evan Peters, Sarah Paulson and Lily Rabe from the previous season. It will be fun to see what Ryan Murphy (creator of the show) will do with the characters, as they will all be playing different roles. Murphy has also revealed that the show will focus on Lange, who won Golden Globe and  SAG Award among others for the past season. The new haunting will take place somewhere at the US East Coast. With last season being such a hit, there is a lot of pressure.

Though Taissa Farmiga (younger sister of actress Vera Farmiga) didn't get a role at the new season, this 17-year old actresses' career is doing fine. She was confirmed as part of the cast of Sofie Coppola's new movie about a group of thieves who broke in to celebrity homes, based on facts. She will be starring along-side with Emma Watson.

Director Kathryn Bigelow's Osama Bin Laden film Zero Dark Thirty has hit a bit of a rough patch. While preparing the production at India, local activists have protested the filming , since they film scenes taking place in Pakistan at small village in India. There has also been some concern in US about how much the government is leaking information to the film crew.

Well some films are past that production phase, and are doing strong in promotion, which really pays off apparently. With excessive promotion and probably a good movie too, Lorax, the CGI-animated Dr. Seuss adaption has become this year's biggest opening. It harvested $70,7 million dollars during its opening weekend.

Another well promoted film, The Avengers, are releasing a lot of cool promo stuff, such as the poster I shared at last post, and these new photos of Cobie Smulders (How I Met Your Mother) as Maria Hill. Definitely weird to see the comedienne in an action role. Marvel also released a new trailer packed with action and drama. See the trailer here!

The Avengers star Scarlett Johansson is already planning the next projects. She has been cast as Janet Leigh, star of classic Alfred Hitchcock film Psycho. The new movie with Johansson, is called Making of Psycho, and like the name says, it focus on the making.  The film plot reminds me a bit of My Week With Marilyn,which was essentially Making of The Prince and The Show Girl from Marilyn's point of view. In the new film there is no one big star, but a focus on Hitchcock, Leigh and other characters too. Anthony Hopkins will play the famous director.

Another of this year's biggest blockbusters is Hunger Games, coming out in just few weeks. And they have kept the promos coming too. This time they released a very emotion packed TV Spot, which focuses on the drama instead of the action. With Taylor Swift's Safe and Sound, one of the film's official songs, playing on the background. I'm definitely waiting to see the film, with even author of the books Suzanne Collins praising the movie. I could go on a bout the small details that the spot reveals about the film, but that might go on and on, so enjoy!

Ice Age: Continental Drift got its official trailer too. Fourth installation of the popular animation films is coming this summer, and definitely offers an interesting theory of how the continents drifted apart. The major voice cast will be returning, and the new movie will feature new stars like Nicki Minaj and Heather Morris (Glee) in minor roles.

And finally a treat for all us Game Of Throne fans. On last Sunday's Simpsons, instead of a small typical cough gag, we saw a Games type opening, with Springfield presented as Westeros, mimicking the cogs and machines in the original HBO title sequence. See the video here!

More news next week!

-February-

Even with Leap Day February went by too fast, almost forgot monthly design update, so here it is. I've gathered up some pretty cool stuff.

I'd like start with something I've been holding onto for a while now, last months cover of Vanity Fair. The best issue of the year: The Hollywood Issue, 18th so far. The magazine is full of actor profiles, amazing pictures and stories. So if your local stores haven't replaced it with the newest magazine, with Julia Roberts on cover, go get your Hollywood Issues now! The amazing photo by Mario Testino includes such young starlets like Jennifer Lawrence, Lily Collins, Elizabeth Olsen, Jessica Chastain and Shailene Woodley. Also if you haven't heard of the Hollywood Issue before, see the earlier but equally beautiful covers here!

Click the photo for larger view.

Etsy has recently become my favourite site to search for inspiration. It is a great site to sell your home made decorations, cloths, furnitures, etc. Here are some few items I found. The first is a modern abstract painting by Susanna Shap. It is created with a pallet knife using impasto technique to create the texture, now this could be used to create a lot of fun paintings with different use of the knife. The second is just a simple letter print, but it is something that could easily be adapted to use yourself, just print out the letters you want, cut out the silhouette and use sponge to add the colour to the base. And with infinite fonts you can create whatever and where ever you want. The third is a fun piece of art, created simply by nails and string. Hammer the nails to create the form you want, in this case its the state of New Jersey, and string them together with the nails on the middle. Now again, I suggest a cut out of the shape you want, to help you.  With different string colors and shapes you can create lot of cool designs, like flowers for example.

Winston Wächter Fine Art Museum recently had a dual exhibition of Hiro Yokose and Christopher Boffoli. Now Hiro Yokose's paintings have a great misty way to create almost dream like landscapes, but Boffoli's fun art was the one that caught my eye. He combines small miniatures and adds them to his arrangements creating a feeling à la Gulliver's Travels.  Here are few of the results:

 

Ralph Pucci may have stared his career with creating mannequins, which he still continues, but his showrooms also hold great exhibitions. Now Mr. Pucci has released a book called Wall which features all the custom made art work has commissioned to his showroom in his NY penthouse. Most of them are very graphic and modern, which I like very much. This particular one I chose, since it has very similar furniture to the chair I featured in last months post. Click the Pucci link to visit the full site.

This beautiful room is a good transition to architecture. Another New York resident has created a fine living space for herself. I'm talking about fashion designer Diane Von Frustenberg, a woman know for his graphic and bold design has decorated her pent house in NY Meatpacking District accordingly. But what I was more interested was the cool architecture of the place built on the roof of her fashion HQ by WORKac, which itself is worth checking out. The lighting of the place has been taken great care of with the upper level created almost entirely of glass. If you want to see the pictures of interior design, filled with great art, go here.

Von Frustenber wasn't the only star who recently made AD, Julianne Moore's garden was also featured in one of my favourite magazines. I don't really know that much about gardening, but I thought hers had a great contrasts with dark wood, red brick walls of the 1905 built house, and the lush green forming almost cloud like formations of bushes and trees, note also the plants on the wall! See more photos at AD .

A famous hotel in LA preferred by the starlets of old Hollywood hoping to escape their busy lives, has reopened its doors, the Hotel Bel-Air. Many interior designers were included on the renovation, that tried at the same time reinvent the place, but also keep the feeling of old glamour. Both of the aspects are well presented on this picture of the Grand Deluxe guest room, decorated with classic furniture and color scheme of cream white and black. More photos at their site. Trivia: Wolfgang Puck is the head of their kitchen, he was also responsible for the food at Academy Awards last Sunday.

I also found this amazing looking building, which is currently under construction in China. It is a exhibition center with over 1.3 million square feet (120 000 square meters) making it one of the biggest projects currently on earth. It is designed by architecture company Coop Himmelb(l)au. They often design buildings with steel or other metal covers and some of them are really gravity defying.

And like I said in last design post, I like to dream, and AD's "Homes For Sale" is the best way to do so. Here is my favourite pick from last month. A very classic modernist house form 1930's designed by Ezra Winter. It has a very clean look, and still very interesting one. I always like a house with lots of light and huge windows. I also like the yard, that has a very clean cut look to it.

I've always admired Walt Disney, as a kid I loved his films, and now as a bit more grown up. I admire his enthusiasm and business smarts. Starting from scrap and creating one of the biggest and well know companies on the world. He always had a very specific view, especially his favourite project, Disneyland. Here is small clip about his private quarters in Disneyland, his escape place with very "Disney" feeling, decorated by Emile Kuri. See the full interview of Diane Disney Miller, daughter of Walt's, here.

Hopefully I remember to watch calendar this month, and maybe write  the March design post actually in March.

Weekly Update coming next week with few new trailers, and casting news about one miss Emma Watson.