For more information on I.D. Sarrieri, visit the brand website.

*Kate Middleton‘s Alexander McQueen was a late addition and Rubenstein had to cut one of the dresses to keep the list to 100. So it was sayonara Nancy Reagan and her white one-shoulder inauguration ball gown. Michelle Obama‘s Jason Wu, however, remained in tact. [WWD, sub req'd]

- The Wall Street Journal called in an expert to explain why Linda Evangelista‘s son needs $46,000 a month from his father, billionaire Francois-Henri Pinault-Hayek. Turns out young Augustin James is ballin’ out of control. [The Cut]

- A report that Jay-Z bought Billionaire Boys Club – Pharrell‘s clothing line — have been refuted by Jigga himself, who claims he’s only “partnering” with the Neptune. [GQ]

Tilda givin’ a little twist in Another by Craig McDean.

1. Tilda Swinton

One of the most striking women in film, on the red carpet and in fashion spreads, look no further for Swinton’s editorial excellence than this month’s W.

Masculin/feminin by Tim Walker.

Photo: Fashionologie

Giving executive realness on her way through Heathrow in a Roland Mouret shift and Smythe blazer with a 2011 Mulberry Polly bag and Manolo Blahnik pumps.

Nicole will be rated on the below categories, five being the highest and 1 being the lowest.

Fit: 5

Appropriateness: 4

Trendiness: 5

Styling: 2

Shoes: 1

Hair: 2

Makeup: 4

Pose: 3

Confidence: 5

What the hell did Kidman do to this poor dress? It seems the version from the runway does not have that strange nude slip underneath, and just as well! She has managed to make this gorgeous dress look crazy with the weird hair and INSANE shoe choice. I know it’s only the CMT awards but COME ON – a little effort never hurt anyone.

Lady Gaga, Karl Lagerfeld, Nicole Kidman, Alber Elbaz, Charlize Theron, Orlando Bloom, Blake Lively, Cyndi Lauper, Victoria Beckham and Gwyneth Paltrow lend their considerable star power to the project which is expected to donate about $1.2 million to relief efforts. [WWD]

What’s your favorite thing to do in your free time?

I love gardening. I have a beautiful backyard in Chelsea which is such a luxury in NYC, and I take full advantage of it planting a great garden every spring. It’s so gratifying to watch the flowers grow, and I really enjoy getting my hands in the dirt. The best perk of having such wonderful outdoor space is getting to entertain often, especially in the summer. It’s a great way to stay connected and treat friends to being outside in nature.

What do you do to find calm during crazy-filled fashion days?

I go to a class called Intensati at Equinox.  It’s super high energy, but I feel great when I leave.  The woman who started the class is Patricia Moreno and she’s a real inspiration.  I also go to the spa.  I love getting a massage and go once a week.

What’s your guilty pleasure?

I love sweets: cupcakes, chocolate and ice cream.  I can never have too much chocolate.

What was your last indulgence?

I just got back from Istanbul and indulged in many of the local delicacies there. I especially loved the Turkish Delight, dried fruits, nuts and kebabs. I ate whatever I felt like eating and experienced amazing local cuisine. The restaurants were fantastic. Two of my favorite discoveries were Simple Restaurant and Al Jamal. At Al Jamal we had a huge traditional feast while watching belly dancers. They even had male belly dancers! Talk about fun!

I also did a ton of shopping. The Grand Bazaar was amazing. I got all sorts of local goodies like leather floor cushions and mosaic lamps. There was a fabulous jewelry store in the Sapphire Mall where I indulged my love of big statement rings.

What are you doing this weekend?

I’ll be spending it at the gym working off all the Turkish Delight!

For more on Mia, check out our team’s full interview with her.

So what is a great Oscar gown? It’s a dress that is memorable, history-making, scene-stealing or just plain fucking perfect. With that, I just don’t get the fuss over Gwyneth‘s pink prom dress and refuse to even acknowledge that gown or the fact that she has an Oscar.

Audrey Hepburn (1954) Auds became a star and a fashion icon that night when she wore Givenchy, beginning a lifetime collaboration between the star and designer. Along with America’s heart, she took home the Best Actress trophy for her debut performance in Roman Holiday.

Elizabeth Taylor (1961) In the pantheon of great movie stars, few shine brighter or longer than Liz Taylor, thus a list of the greatest Oscar gowns could barely be considered legitimate without Liz throwing her white diamonds into the mix — I hear they’ve always brought her luck. Taylor won her first of two Oscars for BUtterfield 8 and wore this gorgeous Christian Dior number to claim her statuette. It’s generally accepted  – even by Liz herself — that Taylor won the award through a vote of sympathy after losing her husband Mike Todd in a plane crash – only to seek comfort with Debbie Reynolds’ then-husband Eddie Fisher —  and suffering a life-threatening illness during filming – at one point she was actually pronounced dead. Six years later she took home a well-deserved trophy for Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

Cher (1984) Cher might have proved that she was a serious actress with her Oscar-nominated turn as Meryl Streep‘s lesbian lover in Silkwood, but she’s still fucking Cher. The icon wore Bob Mackie (natch) to the 1984 ceremony but lost only to win three years later for Moonstruck. And that gown was no less show-stopping, but didn’t have this amazing headdress.

Halle Berry (2002) Halle Berry not only became the first African American to win a Best Actress Academy Award that night, but she also launched Elie Saab into the sartorial stratosphere. This was Berry’s and Saab’s shining moment and everything since then has been an enormous letdown. On both their parts.

Barbra Streisand (1969) Eschewing tradition and helping to usher in a new generation of movie star, Babs wore a see-through sequined sailor pantsuit by Arnold Scaasi. It was a big gamble but La Streisand came out the winner and made history by tying for Best Actress with Katharine Hepburn when they won for Funny Girl and Lion in Winter, respectively. Kate chose not to attend because, honestly, it was her third (of four) Oscars and she couldn’t have been bothered.

Celine Dion (1999) Was it a stroke of genius that caused Celine Dion to turn her Christian Dior blazer back-to-front or did she simply forget to take her medication that day? Either way, Celine was memorable the year after her heart went on and on to win Best Original Song (though the award itself went to the songwriters, I. Dunno and No-one Cares).

Nicole Kidman (1997) Nikki Kids was a greenhorn on the red carpet before this Dior gown and became one of its reigning queens after. Though she gave an incredible performance the previous year in To Die For, she won in 2003 for her brilliant portrayal of Virginia Woolf in the saddest movie ever made, otherwise known as The Hours. Nominated this year for her third Oscar for Rabbit Hole, she’s got some big shoes to fill: her own.

Anjelica Huston (1976) Former Halston model Anjelica Huston looked flawless and managed to do what few people can claim: take attention away from Jack Nicholson, who won his first of three Oscars that year for One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. Huston would claim her own statuette, for Best Supporting Actress, a decade later for Prizzi’s Honor, also starring Nicholson.

Sharon Stone (1999) I usually spell “batshit crazy” S-H-A-R-O-N-S-T-O-N-E, but Stone looked the picture of elegance in a Vera Wang skirt paired with a Gap button down. The marriage of high and low was made in heaven that night, though I still couldn’t tell you why she was at the ceremony that year. But like most things with Sharon Stone, I don’t question it.

Björk (2001) The dress that launched a thousand jokes, Björk’s Marjan Pejoski swan dress was perhaps the last epic thing to stroll down the Oscar red carpet. Nommed for Best Original Song that year, Björk may have left empty-handed but no one will ever forget that she was there.

Who will leave tongues hanging or heads scratching at this year’s Academy Awards. Of the 10 Best Lead and Supporting Actress nominees, I’m most looking forward to Kidman, teen breakthrough Hailee Steinfeld (as well as peer Elle Fanning who will get her own nomination one day), the almost always flawless Michelle Williams and kooky Helena Bonham Carter.

Unfortunately, Natalie Portman is preggers so naturally I have no interest in what she’s wearing and just hope her water doesn’t break while accepting her award.

Photos: Vogue UK, Time

Moore has — unexpectedly — been at work, promoting not one but two movies at the Festival. The first, Margin Call, is an all-star thriller “that revolves around the key people at a investment bank over a 24-hour period during the early stages of the financial crisis.” I guess it’s a comedy/thriller.

The other film, Another Happy Day, centers around “high-strung”  Lynn (Ellen Barkin) and a wedding at her parents’ estate which hurls her “into the center of touchy family dynamics.” That film also stars — wait this can’t be right — Kate Bosworth. I guess the Recession is over.

And in other improbable news, Demi was joined at Sundance by husband Ashton Kutcher whose new film, No Strings Attached is the number one movie in America.

Did you hear that, Natalie Portman? People actually saw that movie you thought would go straight to DVD just a month away from the Academy Awards!

Let’s hope this doesn’t Norbit your chances at that Oscar. You should’ve taken a note out of Nicole Kidman‘s book — she’s in Just Go With It, and yet doesn’t appear in a single promo poster or trailer.

It’s called being a professional.

Link Love: Daily Mail

The King’s Speech stuttered its way to 12 nominations, while True Grit lassoed in 10. The Fighter came out swinging and took 8 nods, though not one for its leading man, Mark Wahlberg. The Social Network friened 8  nominations as well, but the hype from Black Swan might have stepped on the film’s toes, garnering only 5 nominations — which, by the way, does not include one for Best Costume Design…the Mulleavy sisters are maniacally cackling in their atelier right now.

Black Swan‘s supporting actresses, Mila Kunis and Barbara Hershey were also shut out. Instead, Amy Adams (The Fighter), Golden Globe winner Melissa Leo (The Fighter), Helena Bonham Carter (The King’s Speech), Jacki Weaver (Animal Kingdom) and 14-year-old Hailee Steinfeld (True Grit) will compete for that honor.

In a surprising twist, Mark Ruffalo earned a (well-deserved) nomination for The Kids Are All Right, which was nominated for three other awards including Best Actress Annette Bening (her fourth nomination and thankfully Hilary Swank is nowhere to be seen), Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay.

Ruffalo will compete against Golden Globe winner Christian Bale (The Fighter), Geoffrey Rush (The King’s Speech), John Hawkes (Winter’s Bone) and Jeremy Renner (The Town).

Host James Franco might have to pull double duty should he win Best Actor (he won’t, Colin Firth‘s all but claimed it and already has his name engraved on the statue). Nominated for 127 Hours, Daniel Desario will face (and arm) off against Firth (The King’s Speech), Jesse Eisenberg (The Social Network), last year’s winner Jeff Bridges (True Grit) and surprise nominee, Javier Bardem (Biutiful), who apparently usurped Ryan Gosling for Blue Valentine.

The Best Actress category, however, held no surprises. Along with Annette Bening, Natalie Portman (Black Swan), Michelle Williams (Blue Valentine), Nicole Kidman (Rabbit Hole) and Jennifer Lawrence (Winter’s Bone) will have me on the edge of my seat in anticipation.

I’m so excited! Besides Fashion Week, there’s no other time of the year I love more than Oscar season! It’s the Super Bowl for the gays…besides the new Glee episode directly after the Super Bowl.

Link Love: Oscars

Though she has always denied that her face is full of more formaldehyde than a funeral corpse, La Kidman recentlyadmitted to a German mag:

“I’ve tried a lot of things but apart from working out and a good diet most things don’t help. I even tried Botox but I didn’t like how my face looked afterwards. Now I don’t use it anymore – and I can move my forehead again.”

I wonder what could have brought about this change? Perhaps she’s afraid of the detrimental effects of prolonged use?

Or maybe her body has just started to completely reject the Bo all together prompting her to find an alternative method of deceiving time?

Stem cells anyone?

Either way, I’m glad for Nikki. There’s nothing wrong with aging gracefully —just ask Demi Moore, Sharon Stone or Cher.

Link Love: Daily Mail

On motherhood: “I had kids at 25 and 27 [Isabella and Connor, Nicole’s adopted children with first husband Tom Cruise]. I think I have more patience now but less physical energy. It’s a trade-off: In your 20s, you’re bounding around, they’re attached at your hip, and you can just go and do anything. But I’m much more of a homebody now. My roots are deeper.”

The Aussie Oscar-winner tells Hello! magazine:

“They live with Tom, which was their choice. I’d love them to live with us, but what can you do?”

Not a thing, Nicki.

Kids will do what they want to do, especially when forced by their doting daddy to wear electronic tracking collars and refer to Nicole, particularly to her face, as “That Emotionless Bean-Pole.”

Ah, the joys of motherhood.

Photo: Daily Mail /LINK LOVE: Us Magazine

Cate Blanchett was named Best Dressed for her vintage Christian Lacroix from the SK-II’s “Clear for Life” event; followed by Zoe Saldana in her controversial Givenchy Haute Couture gown from this year’s Oscars; and relative unknown Fan Bing Bing in Dragon Robe by Laurence Hsu that she wore at the Robin Hood Cannes Film Festival premiere rounds out the top 3.

Sarah Jessica Parker got especial kudos for her tireless efforts promoting that giant, turbaned flop Sex and the City 2: The Menopause Strikes Back and earned the ungainly title of “Promotional Tour Star” of the year.

And my future BFF, Leighton Meester was honored for apparently getting her shit together with the “Stella’s Got Her Groove Back”…award, I guess. The RCFA also named Peter Dundas for Emilio Pucci as the “Designer of the Year” and Gucci Première as “Couturier of the Year.”

Overall, interesting choices, but this is the red carpet after all where it’s not just about the clothes, but the celebrity who’s wearing them, and where high fashion isn’t always translated to great effect. As matter of course, there are only a handful of actresses who can truly pull off haute couture, and Cate Blanchett is at the forefront.

Other notables include the always stunning Tilda Swinton, the statuesque Nicole Kidman and former model Charlize Theron. SJP is also up there because she’s got the balls to pull off anything.

Even a bird on her head.

LINK LOVE: Red Carpet Fashion Awards

Despite scathing reviews and dysmal box office returns, The Tourist and Burlesque were both nominated for Best Picture – Musical/Comedy, which just goes to show you that…actually I’m not really sure at all what that goes to show anyone. Other nominees include Alice in Wonderland, Red and  The Kids Are All Right, which has already won by default.

Both Johnny Depp and Angelina Jolie were nominated for Best Actor and Actress, respectively, in the same genre, however Cher is conspicuously absent. Now, who does the HFPA think they’re fooling? They can nominate Depp and Angie for sleepwalking through a movie no one saw, but snub Cher after wielding a crowbar in her first film in over 7 years? Someone call the AARP, the Globes are abusing a senior citizen.

Elsewhere, the Globes mirror the CCAs in their unabashed hard-on for Black Swan, The Social Network and The King’s Speech, each receiving multiple nominations in the acting categories, as well as a nomination for Best Picture – Drama. They’re joined in that auspicious category by Inception and The Fighter, with Danny Boyle‘s 127 Hours mysteriously snubbed.

The flick’s star, James Franco, is however nominated and released a statement to MTV about how “grateful” he is. And he also released a statement to Matt Lauer of the Today show about his love of texting pictures of fat animals.

I’m seriously excited about his various award speeches in the coming months.

Marky Mark Walhlberg (The Fighter) replaces Jeff Bridges in the competitive Best Actor – Drama category, otherwise, the nominees are exactly the same as the Critics’ Choice. Meanwhile, the nominees in the Best Actor – Comedy section will be getting drunk on the free champagne while Johnny Depp chuckles to himself at getting nominated twice for essentially the same character he’s been playing for the past 15 years.

It’s becoming clearer and clearer that the race to watch this year is Best Actress. Natalie Portman, Michelle Williams, Nicole Kidman and Jennifer Lawrence all re-scored the nomination, with Halle Berry somehow sneaking into the Drama category. Annette Bening has already engraved her name on the Best Actress – Comedy trophy, as her only real competition coming from her Kids Are All Right co-star, the incredible Julianne Moore.

Below, the full list:

Best Picture – Drama
Black Swan
The Fighter
Inception
The King’s Speech
The Social Network

Best Picture – Musical or Comedy
Alice in Wonderland
Burlesque
The Kids Are All Right
Red
The Tourist

Best Actor – Drama
Jesse Eisenberg, The Social Network
Colin Firth, The King’s Speech
James Franco, 127 Hours
Ryan Gosling, Blue Valentine
Mark Wahlberg, The Fighter

Best Actress – Drama
Halle Berry, Frankie and Alice
Nicole Kidman, Rabbit Hole
Jennifer Lawrence, Winter’s Bone
Natalie Portman, Black Swan
Michelle Williams, Blue Valentine

Best Actor – Musical or Comedy
Johnny Depp, Alice in Wonderland
Johnny Depp, The Tourist
Paul Giamatti, Barney’s Version
Jake Gyllenhaal, Love and Other Drugs
Kevin Spacey, Casino Jack

Best Actress – Musical or Comedy
Annette Bening, The Kids Are All Right
Anne Hathaway, Love and Other Drugs
Angelina Jolie, The Tourist
Julianne Moore, The Kids Are All Right
Emma Stone, Easy A

Best Supporting Actor
Christian Bale, The Fighter
Michael Douglas, Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps
Andrew Garfield, The Social Network
Jeremy Renner, The Town
Geoffrey Rush, The King’s Speech

Best Supporting Actress
Amy Adams, The Fighter
Helena Bonham Carter, The King’s Speech
Mila Kunis, Black Swan
Melissa Leo, The Fighter
Jacki Weaver, Animal Kingdom

Best Director
Darren Aronofsky, Black Swan
David Fincher, The Social Network
Tom Hooper, The King’s Speech
Christopher Nolan, Inception
David O. Russell, The Fighter

Best Screenplay
127 Hours, Simon Beaufoy and Danny Boyle
Inception, Christopher Nolan
The Kids Are All Right, Lisa Cholodenko and Stuart Blumberg
The King’s Speech, David Seidler
The Social Network, Aaron Sorkin

Best Original Song
“Bound to You,” Burlesque (performed by Christina Aguilera; written by Samuel Dixon, Christina Aguilera and Sia Furler)
“Coming Home,” Country Strong (performed by Gwyneth Paltrow; written by Bob PiPiero, Tom Douglas, Hillary Lindsey, Troy Verges)
“I See the Light,” Tangled (performed by Mandy Moore & Zachary Levi; written by Alan Menken & Glenn Slater)
“There’s a Place For Us,” The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (performed by Carrie Underwood; written by Carrie Underwood, David Hodges, Hillary Lindsey)
“You Haven’t Seen the Last of Me Yet,” Burlesque (performed by Cher; written by Diane Warren)

Best Original Score
Inception, Hans Zimmer
The King’s Speech, Alexandre Desplat
The Social Network, Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross
Alice in Wonderland, Danny Elfman
127 Hours, A.R. Rahman

Best Foreign Language Film
Biutiful
The Concert
The Edge
I Am Love
In a Better World

Best Animated Feature
Despicable Me
How to Train Your Dragon
The Illusionist
Tangled
Toy Story 3

Stay tuned for the TV Edition…once I freebase some coffee and rip a salvia bong hit.

LINK LOVE: Gawker

The Critics’ Choice Awards are a minor affair since no one cares what critics have to say anyway. But it is one of the early forecasters for the Big Show, the Academy Awards. And if the list of nominees is any indication, shove the geezers out of the way because the kids are taking over the Oscars.

It’s already been announced that Anne Hathaway and James Franco will be hosting the ceremony in February. Franco is expected to be nominated for Best Actor for Danny Boyle‘s 127 Hours, which has received Critics’ Choice nominations, in addition for Franco’s performance, for Best Picture, Best  Adapted Screenplay and Best Director.

Franco faces stiff competition from Ryan Gosling (Blue Valentine) and Jesse Eisenberg (The Social Network) in the Best Actor category, while Goslin’s co-star and current paramour, Michelle Williams will face off against Natalie Portman (Black Swan) and awards show veterans Nicole Kidman (Rabbit Hole) and my personal favorite, Annette Bening (The Kids Are All Right) for Best Actress.

In addition to Best Actress, Black Swan‘s 11 other nominations include  Best Picture, Best Supporting Actress Mila Kunis (a long way from That 70s Show), Best Original Screenplay and Best Director for Daron Aronofsky.

With so many of Hollywood’s hot, young talent being showered with awards this season, the Oscars and other trophy ceremonies will certainly draw in a younger demographic and probably a substantial audience. And I will continue to question what I’m doing wrong in my life.

Full list of nominees:

LINK LOVE: The Hollywood Reporter

After injecting 18 rabbits with a little Bo-Bo, Canadian scientists observed that not only did limbs injected suffer “muscle wastage of up to 50 percent,” but limbs not injected also experienced muscle loss.

On the bright side, those rabbits looked stunning in their backless Versaces.

This study suggests that pricking your forehead with a needle full of Botox could cause “muscle weakness or muscles turning into fat in other parts of [the] body.” Looks like it’s decision time, ladies. Do you want to  look fat or old?

But maybe you won’t have to choose as long as you keep up monthly lipo appointments. Yes, that’s it. Fuck you, Father Time! You’ll never win!

Not if any actress over 40 has anything to say about it.

LINK LOVE: NY Mag, Daily Mail

Now this isn’t so much what Britney would look like if she was from the Midwest so much as what Britney will look like in five years. Hair looks good, girl!

How fitting, Sarah Jessica Parker next to a horse. I love the bridle she’s wearing though. Chanel?

After a long day at the secretarial pool, Jennifer Aniston (who actually would be married in Bizarro Midwestern Land) drops by the DQ for a qucik dinner of ice cream and salty tears.

David Beckham‘s dreams of soccer stardom just didn’t pan out after knocking up Victoria in high school. He settled down, working for Vick’s pop’s insurance company and has several mistresses, like this lamb:

Town skank, Tara Reid. Victoria’s seen her in the parking lot of the A&P and has more than once tried to run her down in her Chevy minivan.

Nicole Kidman is currently serving twenty years in jail for murdering her husband whom she claimed was a “latent homosexual.”

No, not this one. John Travolta is still alive and kicking after his third triple bypass and second double chin-ectomy.

Ah, yes, poor Tom Cruise. He came to a grizzly end when Kidman used a hot waffle iron to make grilled cheese with his face. Then ate it.

On a happier note, Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony are doing just fine. They have twelve kids, and Anthony is 85% sure that at least half of them are his.

After years of living the single life, Ashlee Simpson finally managed to settle down.

She found an unlikely soul mate in Cameron Diaz, but hey, beggars can’t be choosers. Cam may not be the sharpest stiletto on the shoe tree, but Ashlee says she more than makes up for it in the boudoir.

Wild stallion and all-round bad ass, Johnny Depp, can usually be found riding his hog, shooting beer cans or gearing up for a good ole-fashioned lynchin’ with the boys.

As you can see, Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen are still quite the fashion plates. They even made these dresses! Not that you could tell. Ashley made hers from six discarded king size bed sheets. And MK wrapped a towel around her then tied it with electrical tape. Brilliant.

Paris Hilton, unfortunately lost her mind back in the fifth grade when she started showing up to class without any panties, speaking in a strange baby’s voice and claiming to have invented the phrase “That’s hot.” She’s in a mental hospital where she’s especially popular with some of the…more masculine girls.

Pam Anderson has done well for herself. A successful office manager at a funeral home, she gets all the embalming fluid she likes, which she then uses for throwing homestyle Botox parties.

Eyes were raised in town when Michael Douglas showed up with this young chippy on his arm, Catherine Zeta-Jones. But it turns out they’re just father and daughter who have an incestuous relationship. And that’s old hat. For a second, people thought she might have been Mexican or a Jew. Imagine?

A former Ms. Pine-Sol, Gwen Stefani still has her looks, even if she’s keeping them in her hair and cleavage. But she learned that “a woman’s beauty is the only thing she has or ever will have and once that’s gone, she might as well down a bottle of Ajax and wait for Jesus to come and take her back to Heaven in his divine pick-up truck.” Words of wisdom from her mama:

Sharon Stone. 80 years old and doesn’t look a day over 69.

Adding a bit of sparkle to any outfit does not have to cost an arm and a leg.  Nowadays, looking like a million bucks is as easy as shopping at fast fashion stores and boutiques that specialize in affordable jewelry that look like the real thing.  Come awards season, stars like Blake Lively, Mariah Carey, Nicole Kidman, Jada Pinkett Smith and others don expensive jewelry that average American cannot afford.  We aren't as lucky as these celebs to have Cartier and Harry Winston on speed dial. For the rest of us, online stores like MyJewelryBox.com have us covered.

MyJewelryBox.com has a beautiful collection of Swarovski jewelry just in time for fall.  Aptly befitting of the lady-like silhouettes and rich fall colors, the Swarovski collection feature gems that emulate some of the most sought after styles in jewelry.  We love the emerald earrings, brooches and butterfly necklace, which are all reasonably priced. Most pieces are under $200, allowing us all to look glamorous without breaking the bank.

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It’s a rare actress who can skip the ingénue stage and enter Hollywood as a full-fledged star. But that’s what Marion Cotillard did when she appeared out of nowhere (to American audiences, at least) as the living, breathing, singing, and boozing embodiment of Édith Piaf in 2007’s La Vie en Rose. That passionate performance won her an Academy Award for best actress—only the second time a performer has received the award for a non-English-speaking role (the first was Sophia Loren in 1962 for Two Women, 1960). By the time Cotillard took to the stage that night at the Oscars, she had already become a major Hollywood commodity. But the fact that she has managed to make such a fast stake in American cinema when the careers of so many gorgeous, talented foreign actresses have faded after a few accent-heavy roles is a testament to something larger at work. Unlike the only other comparable French import, Catherine Deneuve, the 34-year-old Cotillard doesn’t rely on a glacial seriousness, but instead projects a penetrating, almost wounded sensitivity in her characters, as if she’s thinking about them as having lives, histories, and disappointments that go beyond their time on the screen. Her versatility is evidenced in two prime performances in 2009—first as Billie Frechette, a mobster’s moll, in Michael Mann’s John Dillinger biopic Public Enemies, and then as Luisa Contini, the malcontent wife in Rob Marshall’s Nine (where Cotillard once again got to put her singing voice to use).

Cotillard’s seemingly endless range may have something to do with her upbringing: She was raised by actor parents in Paris and the outlying countryside. Today, the actress still considers Paris her home—not that she’s there very much anymore, with a full docket of roles ahead of her. This summer she appeared in Christopher Nolan’s recently released nightmarish thriller Inception, opposite Leonardo DiCaprio, and she has just signed on to play a doctor in Steven Soderbergh’s Contagion. But the role Cotillard is probably most excited about is leading her back to her native city—this summer she begins filming Midnight in Paris with Woody Allen. shuddddddder For all of her outside projects—she works closely with Greenpeace, is the face of Lady Dior, and lately has taken to dressing up like a man and performing under the name Simone with the French rock act Yodelice—Cotillard still comes across as quiet, innocent, and sweetly optimistic to the point that it’s hard to imagine her capable of channeling the stormy, self-destructive temper of a woman like Piaf. Perhaps that’s because acting is only part of what gives her life meaning—and Cotillard wants to find meaning. She recently reconnected with her Nine co-star (and fellow Oscar-winner) Nicole Kidman, to discuss the mysteries of life, death, deforestation, learning to love what you hate, and how to curb the wasteful nature of craft service on a movie set.

NICOLE KIDMAN: Marion!

MARION COTILLARD: Nicole, where are you?

KIDMAN: I’m in Nashville. Where are you?

COTILLARD: I’m in Paris.

KIDMAN: But weren’t you just in the Congo?

COTILLARD: I was until two days ago. I was in the Congo for a week because I’ve been working with Greenpeace for a while and I’ve been wanting to do a documentary about the forest there. It’s one of the most ancient forests in the world and I met all of these amazing people who are trying to fight against the timber industry cutting down the trees there. People were telling me all about their lives and how they are trying to survive in a country where there is so much corruption. I even slept in one of the forest villages. I really connected to the people there—their hopes and despair and struggles. It was an intense and beautiful trip.

KIDMAN: Are you hopeful that this forest can be saved?

COTILLARD: Well, the situation is pretty dire. The civil war there lasted for almost a decade, which in an odd way actually saved the forest from being destroyed during that time. But now that the war has ended, it’s easier for those who want the trees—businesses from Europe to China—to come in and take the riches of the country. There are really no rules about doing that. For a pack of smokes and a few beers you can gain the right to cut down the trees. So through the first days of my trip the problem seemed really dark. But when I started talking to people, I realized that there was some hope—they want to get their power back. That made me feel like there was hope to make things right. Hopefully I, along with the people at Greenpeace, can be a witness to what is happening over there.

KIDMAN: And serve as the international voice. How did this become your passion, this desire to protect the Earth?

COTILLARD: I think it comes from my family—especially my grandmother. I remember when I was a little girl at her house in Brittany. When she cooked, she wouldn’t waste anything. And my parents always raised me to believe that the most important thing was respect. Respect the place you live, be aware of the impact that you have on things. I was lucky to have this education growing up. I was born in Paris and raised in the suburbs and then lived in the countryside. We had a beautiful house with a huge garden. When I moved to the country, I was really connected to nature and the seasons. So when I finally went back to Paris, I had a very hard time connecting with the city again and the way we waste so much. I started to read and teach myself about the environment—and why it was not organic and natural to be living in the city.

KIDMAN: It’s a beautiful upbringing to have had because it was even before it became so politically correct to be environmentally concerned. It was just ingrained in you from day one. Where we live now, in Nashville, we support the little local farm up the road. We get them to give us vegetables and fruits that are in season and that’s what we eat. But you did that as a child.

COTILLARD: Yes. I’m very happy with what’s happening now and how the awareness is spreading. Because 10 years ago my mind-set wasn’t really normal for most people. I sounded like a crazy person talking about the environment. People saw me as a hippie who wanted to make my own cheese and live with animals in a house without electricity.

KIDMAN: laughs I wouldn’t mind doing that.

COTILLARD: Yeah, just maybe not all my life. It’s a paradox to be an actress, living in the city, taking planes all the time, trying to find the right balance in this life, which is not so eco-friendly, and still try to respect the environment.

KIDMAN: The worst part is probably flying. But I have to say for how you were on the set of Nine, your awareness rubbed off on the people around you. It rubbed off on me. I mean, you changed the way—

COTILLARD: Oh, the trash bins! Cotillard supported a campaign for recycling on set One of the crew members wanted to be the guard of the garbage!

KIDMAN: I remember everyone on the set said the same thing about you. I know Rob Marshall said it on Nine: that you’re otherworldly, that it seems like you come from another planet—and I mean that in the most beautiful way. And yet you are the most Earth-based of all of us. That’s a very strange paradox. You have this fairy quality, like you’re flitting through trees and stars, and then at the same time, you’re really grounded. It’s very hypnotic . . . You don’t have to respond to that. I’ll say that!

COTILLARD: laughs I think the Earth and everything around it is connected—the sky and the planets and the stars and everything else we see as a mystery. I think we connect when we accept that the mystery is also taking place here on the ground. We live on Earth and have jobs and interact in society, but we still exist because there is a moon rotating around us, and a sun we rotate around.

COTILLARD: I think searching is a beautiful thing. There is this thought that goes, If you search and search and stop searching, then ultimately you’ll find what you need. But I think maybe if you don’t search you wouldn’t have the experience of searching and then won’t find it at all. um wat You have to search first, if you know what I mean. It’s the experience of living. We can have one experience that can change our whole lives. I saw a documentary recently about a guy who was attacked by a shark. He was very injured and almost died. After this, he went all over the world killing sharks. Then an even bigger fear entered his mind: “I have killed so many of them. If I go on killing sharks, maybe one day they will all disappear.” The fear of his being responsible for the extinction of sharks made him change, and he then became a defender of sharks.

KIDMAN: Wow.

COTILLARD: I always remember the image of him on a boat. He had been protecting sharks for years but had never had another physical connection with a shark since the day of his attack. He’s standing there and a shark specialist tells him, “Sharks aren’t monsters. You can touch them.” A shark came and he touches its nose and gets very emotional. It’s a great image of how life can suddenly change and you can connect with the very thing that you were trying to destroy.

KIDMAN: People can change. I hate hearing that terrible expression “A leopard never changes his spots.” If that’s true then we’re doomed. I don’t believe we are doomed human beings—or living in a doomed world.

COTILLARD: I believe in human beings absolutely. Sometimes I’m just a little disturbed by how we rule the world. When I was a teenager I was so angry. I was asking questions like, “Why am I here? Why are we alive? What am I doing?” Now I’ve stopped searching for those answers—which I might never get. I think it’s more important to feel connected. When I was in the Congo I couldn’t speak the language. But I could understand what was happening by looking in someone else’s eyes.

KIDMAN: That’s a wonderful ability, Marion. And I love that your grandmother is 101! I find it sad in this day and age that we don’t value our elders the same way we used to. In most cultures they were the ones who had the wisdom and the power, and that’s gotten lost. I’m trying to teach my daughter, Sunday Rose, to have that respect for older people. I’d love to see that come back.

COTILLARD: How old is your daughter?

KIDMAN: She’s turning 2 next month. She was about four weeks old when she was on set with us . . . Just a tiny little thing.

COTILLARD: Yes, I remember she was such a cute little baby.

KIDMAN: And she eats out of the garden. We just planted our vegetables for the summer and all we have at the moment is lettuce. I’m hoping the corn will be beautiful, because I love eating corn out of the garden. And we just bought some alpacas. They are sort of the cousins of llamas, which I’ve always wanted because of their long necks and eyelashes. Anyway, we should talk about all the films you have out. Inception—I saw the trailer in a cinema in Nashville the other day. Everyone in the audience responded to it.

COTILLARD: I love the story because it has a beautiful balance between an action movie and a movie about dreams. I have a very busy nightlife in my dreams. laughs

KIDMAN: It’s about being able to enter people’s dreams and control them, isn’t it?

COTILLARD: Cobb Leonardo DiCaprio’s character is a specialist in entering people’s dreams. He tries to steal things out of them and manipulate the dreamer’s unconscious. It’s really an interesting idea to enter someone else’s dreams. I would love to be able to do that.

KIDMAN: I couldn’t bear it if anyone was privy to my dreams. It would be like reading my diary.

COTILLARD: You know what? I would love to go into an animal’s dream—like a lion’s or a cat’s. I’m sure that’s pretty awesome.

KIDMAN: I love that feeling when you wake up after a nightmare and go, “Oh, it’s not happening,” when it’s been so vivid and so real. I love that moment when you realize it was just a dream. Then there are those, which I had a lot of when I was young, where you wish that the dream had been real.

COTILLARD: Like flying in dreams . . .

KIDMAN: Yes, like those kind. You’re also about to work on a film with Woody Allen. Is he filming that in Paris?

COTILLARD: Yes, which I’m so happy about because last year I was away from home all the time. I loved being on the road and having the opportunity to travel all over. But I’m happy to be able to be home and asleep in my bed after a day of work. Usually when you work, you make homes everywhere. I’ve made homes in Chicago, London, Africa . . . When I was in Los Angeles shooting Inception, I rented a beautiful house. It was home for a while, but I was aware it wasn’t mine. It might actually be a challenge to get into a character while being in my own place.

KIDMAN: It’s different because you aren’t removed from your regular life. But Penélope Cruz loved working with Woody, didn’t she?

COTILLARD: She loved it. And so did Naomi Watts.

KIDMAN: Yes, Naomi said it was the best film experience that she’s ever had.

COTILLARD: He’s a maestro. I still can’t believe I’m going to do a movie with him.

KIDMAN: I met him once when he was playing jazz at the Carlyle Hotel in New York. My sister and I went to see him. He plays on Monday nights. I think it was right around when Sean Penn had been working with him, and we went with Sean. We sat at a table and just listened to him play and then briefly met him afterward. My sister and I were like, Oh, my gosh, I can’t believe this! I love that he continues to play music. You play guitar, right?

COTILLARD: Well, um . . . laughs

KIDMAN: Yes, you do!

COTILLARD: Well, actually, when I was in Los Angeles last January, a friend called me up who is an amazing singer who goes by the name Yodelice. He said, “Would you come to the studio? I would love for you to sing one of my songs.” So I went down and ended up going from a background singer to being in a duet. Then my friend said he was playing at the Olympia in Paris. The Olympia is one of the most famous places in Paris for concerts. Édith Piaf played there. The Olympia was very close to bankrupt and Piaf saved the place several times. So he asked me if I would sing with him there and I said, “Oh, yeah, of course.” I went to rehearsals with them and he asked me, “Would you play bass guitar?”

KIDMAN: laughs Oh, my gosh!

COTILLARD: I had never played bass guitar before. I was like, “Are you out of your mind? I’m not a bass guitar player!” But it has always been my dream to play bass guitar. o rly He said, “Just try it for a few songs.” I took the bass guitar and suddenly it was so organic. So he said to me, “Would you play piano on this song?” I said, “I don’t even play piano!” He told me to try. I took piano lessons when I was like 5 or 6 but that was a long time ago. I stopped when I was 13. But suddenly it was very organic when I started playing it. So he said, “How about playing the drums?” He made me try, and it went on and on like this for a week. I was part of the band, playing all of the instruments. One day I arrived at rehearsal and my friend said, “Okay, now that you’ve done everything else, how about singing a song by yourself alone?” I said, “Man, you are way out of your mind.” But we did it and I ended up on tour with Yodelice for two months, traveling around to shows in different cities in France and Belgium. I changed my name, of course. I said, “I can’t be Marion Cotillard.” We ended up using Simone, which is my other grandmother’s name. She passed away many years ago but always wanted to be a singer. So sometimes Simone appears with the band.

KIDMAN: What a great guy to do that. I want to see Simone!

COTILLARD: laughs I love being Simone. I’m waiting for my schedule to open up in a month or two so I can pick up with the band and be a musician again.

KIDMAN: Being a musician is a very different life, isn’t it?

COTILLARD: Yes. But I love being one of the musicians in the back. The light is on the singer and I’m in the band. I love that.

Nicole Kidman is an Academy Award–winning actress whose upcoming films include Rabbit Hole and Just Go With It.

source

I swear to god, between this interview and those pictures I don’t see how they can be from this earth

LINK LOVE:This is the greatest post you will see today

Nicole Kidman is featured in the new Vogue Italy Issue. I love her dramatic face!

LINK LOVE: ICYDK

11:15pm  I love/miss/adore/admire Eminem!

10:00pm Prince and Paris Jackson on stage!

10:00pm Why weren’t we warned about this 3D action?

9:57pm Usher is HOT!!!

9:48pm Tribute to Micheal Jackson features a bunch of random famous singers…like Celion Dion!

9:46pm Taylor Swift sings…with Stevie Nixx

9:45pm Ryan Seacrest again?

9:34pm Why is Chris O’donnell still important?

9:32pm Best rock album goes to Green Day ’21st Century Breakdown’

9:20pm Robert Downey Jr announces Jamie Foxx ‘Blame it on the…

9:18pm Record of the year goes to Kings of Leon ‘Use Somebody’

9:10pm Best comedy album (whatever that means) goes to Steven Colbert

8:58pm Is there a cue that says ‘STAND and CLAP’?

8:56pm Up now Black Eyed Peas…it’s gonna be a good night!

8:55pm Once again hate Miley Cyrus!

8:45pm Best new artist goes to The Zac Brown Band…who are these hicks?

8:42pm Pink has taken up aerial acrobatics, was dipped in water, currently dripping onto the crowd.

8:40pm Seal announces Pink!

8:25pm Beyonce sings Alanis Morissett’s You Otta Know…Amazing!

8:18pm Lamest performance EVER!

8:14pm Who the hell are these people?

8:13pm What is J.Lo wearing?

8:11pm Single Ladies!

8:09pm Song of the year goes to: wait for it…Steve pulls out an ipad!

8:07pm Our host Steven Colbert!

8:06pm That was it? Boring!

Giorgio Armani Prive

8:00pm Lady Gag opens! Long platinum blond locks, very revealing green glitter bathing suit, giant bruise on right thigh! Double piano with Elton John.

7:51pm Rihanna looks WOW!!! Some form of white big bird big neck gown thing, apparently it’s Elie Saab!

7:44pm Ciara wore a lace Givenchy pant suit, pulls a Lady Gaga with her visible underwear.

7:42pm Sheryl Crow has a two year old, wore Bottega Veneta.

7:40pm Ke$ha is an idiot! Likes buying tacos, describes her style as garbage can chic!

7:33pm Beyonce had glitter highlights added to her weave.

7:32pm Taylor Swift is sparkly head to toe, in a teal off the shoulder gown.

7:30pm Nicole Kidman towers over everyone around her, wore a black Prada halter gown.

7:28pm I hate Miley Cyrus!!!

7:26pm Jaime Fox has two grown daughters…how old is he?

7:24pm Carrie Underwood is super cute, wearing a white A line gown.

7:20pm Pink: platinum blond mohawk, another mermaid gown.

7:15pm Jennifer Hudson: looks like her head is shaved besides her bangs and high pony tail. If the dress looks familiar, that is cuz it’s Victoria Beckham!

7:12pm Trendspark: purposeful shirt half tuck, loving this look!

7:10pm Keri Hilson nominated for best new artist, looks gorgeous in a long nude mermaid gown by Dolce & Gabbana

7:09pm Seacrest talks to the Fray, they are currently working on a new album.

7:03pm Black Eyed Peas talk to Seacrest, Fergie looks glowy, Josh joins on stage. Boy is he Hot!

7:02pm Heidi Klum looks amazing post baby!

7:00pm. Oh god. Tony Braxton has a half shaved head.

Image via ICYDK

The always engaging Navo gives us his picks for best films of about photographers. He also gives us a little picture into why he became a photographer. Read it, memorize it, bring it up in conversation. The Navo will be happy.

DAMN, I NEED TO HIT THE GYM AGAIN

Why did I become a photographer? Do I really love taking pictures or I just like the idea of being a “photographer”? Do I have the right reasons for my passion and obsession for this hobby, for this job? Can a person fake his talent, his eye, his happiness, his vision? Can I just act like a photographer for decades, for the rest of my life and get away with it? Can I just be easily a photographer the moment I invest in a digital camera? I think the most important question is - CAN I FOOL MYSELF AND THE WORLD? I was 18 when I took my first pictures in art school, that was right after I gave up painting and writing and focused on my photography and after a couple of years worked as a graphic designer in Saudi Arabia and Dubai, later Hong Kong, my designing job supported my love for travelling and documenting them, the skylines, the people, the parties, the beaches, the friends, then one day got tapped in Dubai to shoot a DSquared2 advertorial and the rest is history as they say, that was roughly 6 years ago, and the first 3 years was a slow pace into the transition to photography and giving up graphic design altogether, once you learn to love something you need more time to care for them, being a camera person keeps me busy and occupies most of my days for the past years, I take portraits of beautiful people, “Damn, I need to hit the gym again” is the no# 1 reaction to my work, especially with men, I don’t know if thats a good sign, but for some reason I think I should get a commission to all the countless gym memberships I sold, I take pictures of men like I take pictures of buildings, they have to look magnificent, naked, architectural and mysterious.

THE ARTIST & THE POLITICIAN

It’s been a work in progress and a never-ending learning and developing my style that I could call my own, I love the struggle, makes life more interesting and journal-worthy. But like any other industries, you don’t only have to worry about your trade and your own business, the industry of beautiful people is also filled with the nasties, politics is deeply entrenched in the very structure of the fashion industry machine. There’s more politics in the fashion house than the white house, and half the wit and education, thats the irony. Thousands of very talented individuals, countless photographers gave up the battle, lensmen who loves photography to their bones, but hates the politics, artists who can’t stomach it, or just basically not built for it. Everytime you look at a billboard in Time Square,  you can’t help but wonder, what this people behind this beautiful pictures have to give up, have to sell, have to kill to get this job? Yes, gone are the days when photography is only about taking good pictures, knowing the camera, going to an art school or just get a Photography for Dummies book, it’s not only about lenses and tripods and reflectors, it’s not only about models and lighting and creativity anymore. You have to be a hustler, a mobster, a bully, a pimp, a thief or a prostitute to be on the top of the foodchain, and unfortunately there’s no university in the world you can learn Fashion Industry Politics or even a Fashion Politics for Dummies book.

MIDNIGHT MEAT TRAIN, THE SEQUEL

L. B. ‘Jeff’ Jefferies, Billy Kwan, Harlen Maguire, Anna Cameron,  Jeff Kohlver, Laura Mars, Dick Avery, Seymour ‘SY’ Parrish, Lucy Berliner, Alexandre Rodrigues, Russell Price , Charles Castle, Robert Kincaid and Richard Boyle are some of the most unforgettable characters that I’ve ever seen in the silver screen and there’s one thread that binds them all together. The hunky thespians (some of my favorite actors today)—Jude Law (Sherlock Holmes 2009), Patrick Wilson (Watchmen 2009), and Bradley Cooper (Hangover 2009),  cinematic legends—Clint Eastwood (Gran Torino 2008),  James Stewart (The Man Who Knew Too Much 1956), Fred Astaire (The Sky’s the Limit 1943) and Robin Williams (Mrs. Doubtfire 1993), and Hollywood megastars—Nicole Kidman (The Portrait of a Lady 1996), Julia Roberts (Pretty Woman 1990), and Faye Dunaway (Bonnie and Clyde 1967) have something in common. They will always be my personal favorite actors, because they played once in their remarkable careers a role with bravado, grace and intelligence—the role of a photographer.

If your life is a movie, will it be a Romance? A Thriller, a Mystery or Crime saga?  Perhaps Drama, a War or Adventure Epic? A Horror or a Comedy? A Musical or an Action Sci-fi? Some people who thinks they know me (the Frenemies**) will say my life is a downright HORROR movie, a gay psychopath monster photographer who makes everyone’s lives miserable, sounds like “The Midnight Meat Train, The Sequel” to me, some people say I’m also DRAMATIC, so i guess, there’s a possible bromance lurking between the bloodbath, my life has been casualy summarized into a D-list cult flick in the 70’s.

OSCARS LOVES SHUTTER BUGS

Obviously film and photography are close relatives both use film or digital cameras to capture the world as they see it and tell their different stories. The Academy Awards (Oscars) obviously loves photographers, most films featured on the list are either nominated or have won a major award, most of them for their roles as photographers, many iconic and important films all over the world revolves around that guy (or girl) holding a 35mm, whether they’re risking their lives to reveal a monster of war or a revolution, psychopatic photographers tracking or stalking the protagonist or a photographer tracking a psychopath,  fashion photographers having illicit and scandalous sexual affairs, shutter bugs falling in love with their muse or just becoming obsessed with their subjects, or a combination of all that, these are the characters that have helped millions of moviegoers around the globe (including me) a glimpse into the life of the imaginary, the gritty, the tender, the romantic, the obscene, the savage, the genius and the human—the photographer.

**a future article you’ll find here in Dangerously Naive.

1.

Rear Window (1954)
Through his rear window and the eye of his powerful camera he watched a great city tell on itself, expose its cheating ways…and Murder!

The legend Alfred Hitchcock exerted full potential of suspense in this masterpiece.  Could easily be my favorite movie of all time. James Stewart as L. B. ‘Jeff’ Jefferies, a wheelchair bound photographer spies on his neighbours from his apartment window and becomes convinced one of them has committed murder. Grace Kelly co-stars as Jeff’s girlfriend Lisa Carol Fremont. Nominated for 4 Oscars (Best Cinematography, Color – Robert Burks,  Best Director – Alfred Hitchcock,  Best Sound, Recording – Loren L. Ryder, Paramount,  Best Writing, Screenplay – John Michael Hayes and other 4 wins and 5 nominations.

Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Writers: John Michael Hayes (screenplay) Cornell Woolrich (short story “It Had to Be Murder”)
Release Date: 14 January 1955 (Japan)
Genre: Crime | Mystery | Romance | Thriller

2.

The Year of Living Dangerously (1983)
A Love Caught In The Fire Of Revolution.

A young Australian journalist (on his first job as a foreign correspondent), Guy Hamilton (played by Mel Gibson) tries to navigate the political turmoil of Indonesia during the rule of President Sukarno with the help of a half- Chinese dwarf photographer Billy Kwan as Guy’s local photographer contact, a role for which Linda Hunt won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. Jill Bryant (Sigourney Weaver) as Guy’s love interest, a British Embassy officer. Combining political intrigue, steamy romance, and engaging characters, Peter Weir’s well-crafted, highly enjoyable adventure is one of the few successful efforts to make a Casablanca-like movie for modern audiences. The film was shot in both Australia and the Philippines. An Oscar win and other 7 wins & 15 nominations. Also on the list of my all time favorite classics.

Director: Peter Weir
Writers: C.J. Koch (novel) C.J. Koch (screenplay)
Release Date: 21 January 1983 (USA)
Genre: Drama | Romance | War

3.

Road to Perdition (2002)
Pray for Michael Sullivan.

Jude Law as Harlen Maguire a psychopathic assassin who likes to photograph his victims, Harlen tracks hitman Michael Sullivan Sr. (Tom Hanks) and son in Illinois during the Great Depression. Paul Newman (in his final theatrical screen appearance) as John Rooney, an Irish American organized crime boss of Sullivan Sr., and Daniel Craig as Connor Rooney, the crime boss’s son. A story that had minimal dialogue and conveyed emotion in the imagery. Somber, stately, and beautifully mounted, Sam Mendes’ Road to Perdition is a well-crafted mob movie that explores the ties between fathers and sons.  Winning several awards, 17 wins & 51 nominations, including the Academy Award for Best Cinematography win, and nominations for Best Actor in a Supporting Role- Paul Newman. One of the best film produced this decade in my list.

Director: Sam Mendes
Writers (WGA): Max Allan Collins (graphic novel) and Richard Piers Rayner (graphic novel)
Release Date: 12 July 2002 (USA)
Genre: Adventure | Crime | Drama | Thriller

4.

Closer (2004)
If you believe in love at first sight, you never stop looking.

Julia Roberts as Anna Cameron, a quietly independent divorce and successful art/portrait photographer, Jude Law as Dan, a thoughtful but unsuccessful novelist and journalist, who authors a book about Jane (Natalie Portman), a gorgeous young runaway from New York’s seedy sex industry, and Clive Owen as Larry, a dermatologist with the lust and manners of a soccer hooligan. The plot revolves around the infatuation of the couples for one another, an elaborate character study of two London couples as they engage in an ultimate game of partner swapping. The film was recognized with several awards and nominations, including Oscar nominations (and Golden Globe wins) for both Portman and Owen for their performances in supporting roles, and other 8 wins & 20 nominations.

Director: Mike Nichols
Writers (WGA): Patrick Marber (play) Patrick Marber (screenplay)
Release Date: 3 December 2004 (USA)
Genre: Drama | Romance more

5.

Hard Candy (2005)
Strangers shouldn’t talk to little girls.

After three weeks chatting with the 32-year old fashion/portrait photographer Jeff Kohlver (Patrick Wilson - Watchmen 2009) ‘Lensmaster319? in Internet, the mature 14-year old Hayley Stark (Ellen Page – Juno 2007) finally meets. Suspecting that he is a pedophile, she goes to his home in an attempt to expose him. The first feature film for director David Slade, who previously had worked mostly in music videos. Disturbing, controversial, but entirely engrossing, a well written with strong lead performances. A movie that stays with the viewer long after leaving the theater, garnering 5 wins & 6 nominations in different award giving body.

Director: David Slade
Writer (WGA): Brian Nelson (written by)
Release Date: 14 April 2006 (USA) more
Genre: Drama | Thriller more

________

One Hour Photo (2002)
The things that we fear the most have already happened to us...

Robin Williams as Seymour ‘SY’ Parrish, a creepy photo developer and photographer. He has a vast knowledge of modern photography and develops photos at a one-hour photo lab in a local department store and becomes obsessed with one of his customers, a young suburban family, the dad, Will Yorkin (Michael Vartan), the mom Nina Yorkin (Connie Nielsen) and their kid. Williams won a Saturn Award for Best Actor (2003) for his work in the film, other 5 wins and 14 nominations.

Director: Mark Romanek
Writer (WGA): Mark Romanek
Release Date: 13 September 2002 (USA)
Genre: Drama | Thriller

6.

Cidade de Deus/ City of God (2002)
If you run you’re dead…if you stay, you’re dead again. Period.

Based on a true story, a shocking and disturbing, but always compelling story of two boys growing up in a violent neighborhood slums of Rio de Janeiro take different paths: one becomes a photographer (Alexandre Rodrigues as Buscapé – Rocket), the other a drug dealer (Leandro Firmino as Zé Pequeno – Li’l Zé). The story is told through eyes of Buscapé, a poor young fisherman’s son who dreams of becoming a photographer one day. The film received four Academy Award nominations in 2004: Best Cinematography (César Charlone), Best Directing (Meirelles), Best Editing (Daniel Rezende) and Best Writing (Adapted Screenplay) (Mantovani). Before that, in 2003 it had been chosen to be Brazil’s runner for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, but it was not nominated to be one of the five finalists.

Directors: Fernando Meirelles  Kátia Lund (co-director)
Writers: Paulo Lins (novel) Bráulio Mantovani (screenplay)
Release Date: 2002 (Russia)
Genre: Action | Crime | Drama

________

The Midnight Meat Train (2008)
The most terrifying ride you’ll ever take.

Bradley Cooper as Leon, a documentary/art photographer who attempts to track down a serial killer named Mahogany (Vinnie Jones) dubbed the “Subway Butcher” and discovers more than he bargained for under the city streets of New York. A creative and energetic adaptation of a Clive Barker 1984 short story of the same name (which can be found in Volume One of Barker’s collection Books of Blood), with enough scares and thrills to be a potential cult classic. 4 wins in different categories.

Director: Ryûhei Kitamura
Writers (WGA): Jeff Buhler (screenplay)
Clive Barker (short story “The Midnight Meat Train”)
Release Date: 7 August 2008 (Russia)
Genre: Crime | Drama | Horror | Mystery | Thriller

7.

Funny Face (1957)

Fred Astaire as Dick Avery, a fashion photographer in search for an intellectual backdrop for an air-headed model, expropriates a Greenwich Village bookstore. When the photo session is over the store is left in a shamble, sales girl Jo Stockton (Audrey Hepburn) comes to the rescue. They offer Jo a modeling contract, which she reluctantly accepts only because it includes a trip to Paris. Eventually, her snobbish attitude toward the job softens, and Jo begins to enjoy the work and the company of her handsome photographer. Richard Avedon designed the opening title sequence and consulted on the film, and Bill Avery was the still photographer. Nominated for 4 Oscars and other win & 5 nominations.

Director: Stanley Donen
Writer: Leonard Gershe (written by)
Release Date: 13 February 1957 (USA)
Genre: Romance | Comedy | Musical

________

The Bridges of Madison County (1995)

Clint Eastwood as Robert Kincaid, a photographer in the farmlands of Iowa on assignment for National Geographic magazine and wanders into the life of a bored, middle-aged Italian housewife Francesca Johnson (Meryl Streep), for four days in the 1960s. They fall in love, but she’s married with children. A film adaptation of Robert James Waller’s wildly popular, bestselling novel. Eastwood and Streep, who was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress in 1996 for her performance in the film, other 6 wins & 6 nominations.

Director: Clint Eastwood
Writers (WGA): Richard LaGravenese (screenplay) Robert James Waller (novel)
Release Date: 2 June 1995 (USA)
Genre: Drama | Romance

8.

Under Fire (1983)
This wasn’t their war but it was their story…and they wouldn’t let it go!

Nick Nolte as Russell Price , a star photographer, one of the journalists in a romantic triangle are involved in political intrigue during the last days of the corrupt Somozoa regime in Nicaragua before it falls to a popular revolution in 1979. Ed Harris as Oates and Gene Hackman as Alex Grazier. Nominated for Oscar. Another 2 wins & 3 nominations.

Director: Roger Spottiswoode
Writers: Clayton Frohman (screenplay) Clayton Frohman (story)
Release Date: 21 October 1983 (USA)
Genre: Drama | War

________

Salvador (1986)

James Woods as Richard Boyle , an American photojournalist down on his luck in the US, drives to El Salvador to chronicle the events of the 1980 Salvadoran civil war. While trying to get footage, he becomes entangled with both leftist guerrillas and the right-wing military.  The film was nominated for two Academy Awards: Best Actor in a Leading Role (Woods) and Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen (Stone and Boyle), and other 3 wins & 6 nominations

Director: Oliver Stone
Writers: Oliver Stone (written by) and Rick Boyle (writer)
Release Date: 23 April 1986 (USA)
Genre: Biography | Drama | Thriller | War

9.

Photographing Fairies (1997)

Toby Stephens as Charles Castle, a photographer numbed with grief after the sudden death of his young wife, devotes himself to his work as a photographer in World War I. Charles is given some photographs purporting to be of fairies. His search for the truth leads him to Burkinwell, a seemingly peaceful village seething with secrets where he becomes drawn into a web of passion, romance and violence. Ben Kingsley as Reverend Templeton. 5 wins and 3 nominations.

Director: Nick Willing
Writers: Chris Harrald (written by) Steve Szilagyi (book)
Release Date: 19 September 1997 (UK)
Genre: Drama | Fantasy | Mystery

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High Art (1998)
A story of ambition, sacrifice, seduction and other career moves.

Ally Sheedy as Lucy Berliner, a very talented drug-addicted lesbian photographer that contributes with high-art photography magazine Frame meets a young female intern for the magazine, Sydney ‘Syd’ (Radha Mitchell) both of whom seek to exploit each other for their respective careers, while slowly falling in love with each other. Berliner’s photography (Sheedy) was based on Nan Goldin’s work. The photographs themselves were made by Jojo Whilden. 7 wins and 14 nominations.

Director: Lisa Cholodenko
Writer: Lisa Cholodenko (writer)
Release Date: 12 June 1998 (USA)
Genre: Drama | Romance

10.

Eyes of Laura Mars (1978)

Faye Dunaway as Laura Mars, a very successful high-end fashion and advertising photographer and Tommy Lee Jones as Detective John Neville notes striking similarities between her art photos and those of real crime scenes. The screenplay, adapted from a spec script titled Eyes, written by John Carpenter, was Carpenter’s first major studio film. Producer Jon Peters, who was dating Barbra Streisand at the time, bought the screenplay as a starring vehicle for the actress, but Streisand eventually decided not to take the role because of “the kinky nature of the story”, as Peters later explained. The role went to Dunaway, who had just won an Oscar for her performance in Network. It was shot entirely in New York and New Jersey. The famous sequence where the Laura Mars character photographs a group of models against a backdrop of two burning cars was filmed over four days at New York’s Columbus Circle. Gallery Exhibition Images of Laura Mars are shot by Helmut Newton. Despite its lukewarm critical reception, the film was a box office hit, earning $20M off of a $7M budget, 1 win and 1 nomination.

Director: Irvin Kershner
Writers: John Carpenter (screenplay) and David Zelag Goodman (screenplay)
Release Date: 2 August 1978 (USA)
Genre: Horror | Mystery | Thriller

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Blow – Up  (1966)

David Hemmings as Thomas, a successful mod photographer in London whose world is bounded by fashion, pop music, marijuana, and easy sex, feels his life is boring and despairing. But in the course of a single day he frolics with young models, then meets the mysterious Jane (Vanessa Redgrave), he accidentally captures on film the commission of a murder. The film was nominated for 2 Oscars and other 7 wins and 4 nominations.

Director: Michelangelo Antonioni
Writers: Michelangelo Antonioni (story) Julio Cortázar (short story)
Release Date: 18 December 1966 (USA)
Genre: Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Other film’s that centers around the life of a lensman:

Fur: An Imaginary Portrait of Diane Arbus (2006)
Nicole Kidman as Diane Arbus
Robert Downey Jr. as Lionel Sweeney

Mad Dog and Glory  (2000)

Gentlemen’s Relish (2001) (TV)

No Small Affair (1984)

Stardom (2000)

Head in the Clouds (2004)

Femme Fatale (2002)

The Notorious Bettie Page (2005)

Fairy Tale: A True Story (1997)

The Photographer  (2000)

Harrison’s Flowers (2002)

The Truth About Cats & Dogs (1996)

Catch & Release (2007)

Pecker  (1998)

Let’s play ‘who can find 10 things wrong with this image?’

LINK LOVE: Dlisted

Thursday night, Project Runway viewers tuned in before the premiere of the new season to see some of the most memorable contestants from past seasons battle it out for $100,000. Actress Nicole Kidman made a video appearance on the show that included the announcement that whoever wins will have their red-carpet dress worn to the premiere of her new movie “Nine.”

The designers were all quick to assume that Nicole Kidman herself would be the one wearing the dress, although it was not said who would walk the red carpet in it. Now, season two finalist and all-star champion Daniel Vosovic is making it clear that he wants Kidman in his black-and-white ensemble.

So, now the question is who exactly plans on wearing the dress? Truth be told, someone’s assistant could even be the one on the red carpet to sport it. While that would be a big blow to Vosovic, at this time, it still isn’t clear what the plans are. I guess we’ll all have to wait to see the photos from the premiere.

1. The Golden Compass- Nicole Kidman is so killer in this movie. All of the floor length, fur-lined coats and the glamourous dresses are to die for.

 

2. Loser- So much 90s grunge, so much goth from Mena Suvari, so many motorcycle pads. We love it.

3. Once Upon A Time In Mexico- Enrique pre-mole removal days+Johnny Dep post 21 Jump Street days = good movie. This is a great good cop, bad cop flick with Spanish-infused styling.

 
4. Romeo and Juliet- The prime Leo days, the costuming for this modern-day Romeo and Juliet film is flawless. Minus the sole patch

 

5. Rear Window- This is one of my favorite films ever, detection at it’s finest, and tons of old-school glamour (Grace Kelly is a dream!). This trailer isn’t too good, check out the film for the full effect

 

6. Black Dahlia- Old school glam, total pinup style. We love Scarlett Johansson in red lipstick.

7. Gangs of New York- Leo does it again! (and how sweet is that part when all of those guys have top hats on)

8. Cruel Intentions- Ultimate country club kids, plus Sarah Michelle Geller wears a ton of sexy lingerie.

9. Sky Captain- I’m a huge fan of women being badasses. Gwenyth is still total glam and sexy while being a badass, and Angelina is just, well, being as hot as she is in every other movie.

 

10. Domino-Kiera Knightly as a bounty hunter that still wears red lipstick despite being a total badass? Win.

 

11. Hedwig and the Angry Inch- We had to include one more on this list because Hedwig has the craziest rock-tranny style ever! Not only that, the members of ‘her’ band make great rock stars (for the 80s), and then there is her little goth boyfriend.  All sorts of styles going on in this film, and all sorts of greatness

What films do you think have the best style?

Nicole Kidman with Slumdog Millionaire child star Rubina Ali star in a new commercial for Schweppes drinks.

In it, Kidman plays a princess en route to a palace in India, where the handsome Bollywood actor Arjun Rampal meets her.

Filmed in India, the commercial was directed by Shekhar Kapur (Elizabeth) and produced by Ridley Scott (Gladiator).

The numbers are in from magazine land and we have our list of best selling and worst selling celebrities. Angelina Jolie, Victoria Beckham, and Lauren Conrad on the cover sold the most issues in 2008. Issues with Nicole Kidman, Carrie Underwood, and Rachel Weisz on the cover sold the least. So if you want to make cash, skip out on Kidman and give us more Conrad.

LINKAGE: Attention Cash-strapped Monthlies: Don’t Put Nicole Kidman on the Cover

Now look at this picture of Tom’s second wife Nicole Kidman. Once considered the most stylish woman in the world, Kidman’s outfit is a mishmash more suited for Helena Bonham Carter.

What is Tom Cruise doing to these women and their poor fashion sense?

Here are some newly released stills from the movie. It film won’t be out till November but I am already deeming it a film of style. Look at these costumes!

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Guess who’s on the cover of the new Vogue? Nicole Kidman! Who else could it be? In preparation for new film Austrila, directed by Baz Luhrmann (which doesn’t come out until NOVEMBER), Annie Lebowitz went down to Oz to document the period-piece extravaganza. However from the looks of these photos it seems like someone from Lebowitz’s crew photoshopped Nicole Kidman into the frame. How fake do these pictures look? Can we all agree that airbrushing has gone way too far? No one wants to see wrinkles (i.e Sarah Jessica Parker’s June Cover), but then again no one wants to think someone photoshoped Nicole Kidman into the Australian outback.

You Deciede Indie Readers:

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