We LOVE all things Wes Anderson and were over the moon when the trailer for his newest film, The Grand Budapest Hotel, was released last week. With a stellar, pure Andersonian cast (Jason Schwartzman, Bill Murray, Owen Wilson, et al) that also includes some fantastic new faces in his oeuvre (Saoirse Ronan, Léa Seydoux, Mathieu Amalric), we think it could be his best film yet. Set to come out on March 7, 2014, we quite seriously wait with bated breath.
http://www.grandbudapesthotel.com/
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| Photograph of Diana Vreeland by George Hoyningen-Heune |
In the midst of the world’s fashion weeks — New York ended yesterday, London starts today and Paris on September 24 — I’m thinking not so much about present day fashion culture but instead about the trailblazing fashion editors and retailers from the first half of the 20th century. Foremost in my mind is the unequaled Diana Vreeland whose twenty-six years as fashion editor at Harper’s Bazaar starting in 1936, subsequent seven years at Vogue, and final eighteen years at The Costume Institute were legendary. Her work in fashion and publishing remains among the most impactful and influential in history. Her great style, huge personality, vitality and curiosity transcended well beyond. I own several books about Mrs. Vreeland, but what brought her most to life for me was the intoxicating 2012 documentary, Diana Vreeland: The Eye Has to Travel, by her granddaughter-in-law, Lisa Immordino Vreeland. And the newest book about her, Diana Vreeland Memos: The Vogue Years by her grandson Alexander Vreeland, is coming out in October. It will definitely be on the top of my reading list.
www.dianavreeland.com
AS A DIRECTOR/PRODUCER YOU HAVE WORKED WITH COUNTLESS ARTISTS AND MUSICIANS ON LIVE FORMAT CONCERTS ALL OVER THE WORLD. WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR MOST THRILLING PROFESSIONAL MOMENT AND WHICH ARTIST HAS SURPRISED YOU THE MOST?
I have worked with many and tend to forget more than half of them. The one that truly stands out is the Canadian artist Loreena McKennitt. She is an incredible musician and seeing one of her performances is awe-inspiring. There are very few artists that surround themselves with the caliber of artists that she does. Filming a multi-cam performance with her at the Place Des Artes in Montreal will truly stand out as one of the most memorable professional experiences of my life.
DESCRIBE YOUR DREAM PROJECT.
An original music series I created three years ago which has been accepted by public television. The show celebrates the history of American music through the eyes of major contemporary artists. I only call this a dream, because it has not been realized yet. As someone who has totally lost faith in television, ie: reality tv, this represents a return to what I hold hope in for both the television and music industries in general. We have been trying to get sponsors for over a year now. It’s been a tough fight, but we will get there!
WHAT ARE YOU WORKING ON RIGHT NOW?
Developing several projects right now. In post production on a multi-cam stand up comedy show which I filmed in Atlanta just a week ago.
WHAT BRINGS YOU JOY?
Morning. Enjoying my first cup of iced coffee as I watch my daughter emerge from the bedroom with a huge smile on her face and her stuffed piggy in tow.
COMB OR BRUSH?
My hair is so short that neither will have an impact.
DO YOU LIKE YOUR NAME?
I love it. I am named after the man who most inspires me.
FINISH THIS SENTENCE: MY AGE IS…………….
45. Whatever!
WHAT’S FOR DINNER TONIGHT?
Left over tikka masala kabobs. Yummy!
Last night we sojourned to the Angelika to see Before Midnight. For sure, we are fans of Before Sunrise and Before Sunset. But truly, this film far outshines them both. And Julie Delpy — so smart, so funny, so REAL — is better than she has ever been. Just brilliant.
I recently saw Gilles Bourdos’ gorgeous new film Renoir. Set in the summer of 1915 at the great Impressionist painter’s farm on the French Riviera, Renoir is all about beauty, inspiration and naturally, the importance of an artistic life. Veteran French actor Michel Bouquet is sublime as the aging Renoir. And the cinematography of the genius Mark Lee Ping Bin (whose most recent work includes the exquisite Norwegian Wood) is breathtaking, fully capturing the rich palette and lushness of the Cote d’Azur and this artist’s world, so much so that you feel as if you are in a Pierre-Auguste Renoir painting itself. Certainly my idea of a perfect summer movie.
I have recently had the great privilege of seeing Five Dances, the beautiful new film by Alan Brown. It is visually stunning with simply the studio and the city as the backdrop. The music is perfectly chosen, including an exquisite original score by Nicholas Wright, and very much becomes the sixth element or dance in this film. Cast entirely with professional dancers, the acting is quiet and intimate. It is almost impossible not to feel close to the characters and quite drawn in to the film. And of course the movement and dance are mesmerizing, created by internationally renowned choreographer Jonah Bokaer. Five Dances, in keeping with Brown’s previous films, is indeed a work of art.
http://fivedancesthemovie.com/
This weekend marks the close of the 28th International Festival of Fashion & Photography organized by Villa Noailles in Hyères, France. This festival seems the perfect legacy for the owners and creators of the villa — Vicomte and Vicomtesse Charles and Marie-Laure de Noailles. Legendary modern art patrons and collectors, they commissioned numerous works of art and financed films in the 1920s and 30s by their surrealist friends Man Ray, Jean Cocteau, Luis Buñuel and Salvador Dalí. Man Ray’s film was actually shot in part at their Hyères residence and starred, among others, the Vicomte and Vicomtesse themselves. The villa was designed by architect Rob. Mallet-Stevens, and is considered one of the earliest and most important modern structures in France. Completed in 1925, its original furnishings represent the work of some of the leaders of the modern movement including Eileen Gray, Pierre Chareau, Georges Djo-Bourgeois and Francis Jourdan. The much-lauded Cubist garden was designed by Josef Hoffmann-trained architect Gabriel Guévrékian. Today, the Villa Noailles through its programs, residencies and exhibitions very clearly represents the keen vision of the Vicomte and Vicomtesse to support and encourage emerging artists and designers. We imagine they would be very pleased.
www.villanoailles-hyeres.com
I finally watched Oslo, August 31st, Joachim Trier’s newest film released in the U.S. last spring and starring the brilliant Norwegian actor (and musician and practicing physician) Anders Danielsen Lie, whose performance is quiet, exquisite and completely devastating. Like Reprise, their 2006 collaboration, this film is at once haunting and tragic, beautiful and poetic. I find Trier’s work so compelling — its very distinct look and tone, very uniquely Scandinavian, very much his own. Check it out.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0QpTqYoEzto
We noticed this fantastic and super stylish short film from Justin Kern and Stephanie Danan of the clothing line Co on Style.com over the weekend. This is the third film they have created, one each season, to pair with their newest collection. Written and directed by Stuart Blumberg and starring Marisa Tomei, Élodie Bouchez, Aubrey Parks and David Wain, it is really kind of perfect. We just had to share it.
www.style.com, www.co-collections.com
I had a very nice occasion to visit the Joffrey Ballet School over the weekend — still located in the hallowed landmark Greenwich Village building at 6th Avenue and 10th Street where it was founded in 1953 by Robert Joffrey and Gerald Arpino. It was a great pleasure to be in the studios where some of the most relevant ballets of the mid to late 20th century were conceived and created and where some of the most legendary figures in dance collaborated. The history of the Joffrey Ballet is so fascinating and distinctly parallels that of New York City and this country both politically and culturally. It is also a story of perseverance, survival and rebirth. Joffrey: Mavericks of American Dance, a 2012 documentary and the opening night film at last year’s Dance on Camera Film Festival at Lincoln Center quite wonderfully tells this story. It is definitely worth a look.
