'Palo Alto' directed by Gia Coppola

Gia Coppola is not only another Coppola family member (daughter of the late Gio Coppola and granddaughter of Francis Ford Coppola), but also the latest one of the Coppolas who is making the brave move, brave because after 'The Godfather' director the expectations are really high – of making her first feature lenght film. She had already directed some fashion short films for Diane Von Fustenberg or Opening Ceremony and now she's adapting the first book of short stories by James Franco, titled 'Palo Alto'.

The movie narrates a series of tangled stories of troubled kids and troubled teachers starring James Franco, Emma Roberts, Jack Kilmer (with a cameo by his dad Val Kilmer) and even her grandauntie Talia Shire is appearing in the movie and by the looks of the trailer it looks good. It gives major Sofia Coppola vibes so that's a good and a bad thing, bad because she needs to have her own signature style but maybe there's a lot more that we can't see from the trailer. Check it out because it really made me want to see it, and behind the cut, there's the super cute fashion shortfilm 'Non Plus One' for Opening Ceremony, starring her uncle Jason Schwartzman and Sofia Coppola's muse Kirsten Dunst (who were already a royal couple in 'Marie Antoinette') and with music by Schwartzman's band Coconut Records. It's all in the family.

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Between Cut! and Action! Iconic behind-the-scenes photos of cinema productions (part lll)

Roman Polanski and Mia Farrow filming 'Rosemary's Baby' (1968)

Finally, the last post with on set photos taken during the filming of some of the greatest movies of all time (and some of my favourites), there's definately something about production photos and i love seeing these type of pictures so enjoy this last set of photos and be sure you have seen post 1 and 2. More behind the cut.

George Peppard, Audrey Hepburn and the cast of 'Breakfast at Tiffany's' (1961) outside Tiffany's New York.

Lars Von Trier, Kirsten Dunst and Charlotte Gainsbourg on the set of 'Melancholia' (2011).

David Carradine and Quentin Tarantino filming 'Kill Bill vol. 2' (2004)

Wuthering Heights (2011)

(It contains spoilers)
It's been quite a while since i wanted to watch this new version of 'Wuthering Heights' by Andrea Arnold, director of the acclaimed 'Fish Tank', and i think this might be the version that reflects best the whole mood of the story, the whole enviorment, the full essence of the book.

I've got to admit it's not a novel that i really loved, i liked it but it took me quite a while to read it as it's not an easy story to follow, it gets confusing most times and out of the Brontë sisters, i liked 'Jane Eyre' by Anne Brontë better. But Emily Brontë's narration of Heathcliff's and Catherine's passionate love story is something else, something that goes beyond words, beyond life, and the movie really captures that perfectly. The wind constantly running through the moors, the grey, rainy weather, the silence between them, everything that remains unsaid but can be told by their eyes or small gestures, using a great amount of hand shots, the delicacy of the simplicity, the going back to feel like a child when they're reunited in their adulthood (achieved by using flashback scenes or using the younger actors), all that is transferred from the book into the screen and that's the greatness of the movie.

The only bad thing that can be said is that it only narrates half of the story, everything after Cathy's death is missing, but while other movie adaptations have failed in the telling of all of the events of the novel, because quite a lot that happens in the book, this one succeeds precisely in taking its time narrating the never consumated romance, and not wanting to overtell everything. It's true that are many important aspects of the story that are lost this way, but it doesn't fail in the narration up to that point and that's not an easy task for such an iconic novel.

Behind the cut i posted some of the powerful images that appear in the movie, it is so beautifully filmed that i ended up posting a lot so admire the beauty that is this film, and watch it if only to see a remarkable adaptation of this haunting love story.

"You broke my heart. You killed me."

12 years without Aaliyah

One can't help but wonder how would the R&B music industry be today if Aaliyah was still around. A fatal plane crash ended her life on August 25, 2001, when she was flying home from the Bahamas after filming her music video 'Rock the Boat' on location when she was just 22 years old and already a R&B queen.

Just like Lisa 'Left Eye' Lopes from TLC, who died the following year – both deaths a shock to my teenage self – she will be forever missed, and her top chart songs, now classics, serve as inspiration for today's sort of decaying music industry.

So, in honor of her shining career i'm doing a list with my 10 fave Aaliyah songs in no specific order, because she proved from an early age that she was a star in the rising, with her sweet voice and smooth vocals, catchy tunes and always a classy and humble attitude, the original baby girl, her star will never fade. We miss you:

 Back and Forth

Madonna's Marie Antoinette's birthday themed party

Madonna turned 55 last week on August 16th and like the Queen that she is, she threw a Marie-Antoinette themed party in the South of France that looked absolutely exquisite and gorgeous. She invited some of her famous friends like fashion photographers Mert Alas and Marcus or model Jon Kortajarena, her daughter Lola was also there (all grown up and so pretty) and model boyfriend Barhim Zaibat, and Madonna was wearing her Reinvention Tour corset by Christian Lacroix and she looked gorgeous, even though i don't dig eye patches or golden teeth at all.

Anyways, this is my dream party, the ideal themed party that i would love to throw one day and as that day comes, here are some photos of the gorgeous party, party like Marie Antoinette, party like a Queen.

Skins: RISE

I wasn't as eager to watch the last chapter of 'Skins', Rise, as i was with the two before, mainly because i never cared for Cook that much. Like he was ok, but not my favourite at all. So it took me quite a while to watch it and i was left unimpressed. I liked that he was on the run after what happened with Freddie but other than that, his whole story was something way too overdone, something we've seen before in so many other places before. Nothing new at all. I liked though, his reflections about fear and death, that was something really good from both eps, but other than that, it had nothing else for me. I know he's a fans favourite but his story was too dramatic in an unrealistic kind of way. Still, the "I'm fucking Cook" was really on point, a wink to his past self.

So that was the last episode of 'Skins' ever and because of that it made me a little sad. Like we thought it was over way before this last season was announced and i'm really glad they did it, despite so many viewers saying it has lost its magic, as i said before, that's what happens growing up, and it was reflected perfectly. Farewell Skins.

 

 

"One thing I've learnt is that you should never look back. The past is dead and buried. You get nothing from living there. It's all about today... but I've been having these dreams. In them, nothing's real. Nothing's solid, everything's a fantasy. Fucked. An illusion. In these dreams, I'm a life that's already gone by. Today means nothing. Today is just a ghost that's haunting me. I'm at the end of the world, on the edge of things, and I think about letting go. I think about falling."

sources: kathpierces & yogaboi

The rising Teen Pop Stars back then

When i did the post about today's Rising Teen Queens i didn't include any teen pop stars, mainly, because i lost track of today's teen idols – too old for that – but it reminded me of a bunch of super catchy pop songs i used to listen to back in the day. Two of them (Hilary Duff and Mandy Moore) were already on that cover so therefore, i made a list of the best tunes of those pop queens, no Britney or Christina songs as they already had established careers, but all of them are super guilty pleasures that even to this day, i still listen to some of them, no shame at all, they make me feel young.

I'm starting the list from "best" to "worse" because i'm afraid you wouldn't be listening to the whole thing backwards, i'm not posting videos except for #1 because the styling of the music video is gorgeous, and i highly recommend Mandy Moore's second album (no joke), because it's really good, take a listen!

1. Stacie Orrico 'Stuck'

Orange is the New Black

Little did i know when i watched the first ep of 'Orange is the New Black' that i would like it so much. Like, i watched the first season in less than a week (there's only 13 episodes, but still). I'm really lazy when it comes to start watching new shows, but as i'm only watching three series this Summer – 'True Blood', 'Pretty Little Liars' and 'Skins', which is over now – i needed something new before i started re-watching something like 'Laguna Beach' again, so i couldn't recommend this show more.

It's about a woman in her thirties who's convicted for a crime she committed 10 years ago and has to serve 15 months in prison, and that's as much as i can tell. It's a show with a lot of female characters, which is always a really great thing, and while it has a some drama, because life in prison is tough, it contains a lot of humour and really good twists, so please watch it because i need someone to discuss this with. So, to give you a taste of how this show is like, here's an epic scene, kinda spoilery if you haven't watched the pilot so, just in case, start watching from minute 0.13', "I threw my pie for you":

source: newsxbox & youtube

Skins: PURE

Last two episodes of 'Skins' were about my absolute favourite character from the show, Cassie, and i was really looking forward to it. This time we see a Cassie all alone in London, lost, wandering around all by herself, avoiding home and her depressed dad and trying to find "something else". That's one of the things with Cassie, she always runs away from her problems, she ran away to New York after what happened to Chris and ran back whenever her story with a boy (now confirmed, Sid) had to end. Still the same old Cassie who doesn't see herlsef as beautiful, as someone worth looking at, and while her eating disorder has been left behind, she still doesn't see herlsef properly. That's why i mildly tolerate the stalking guy story, Jacob, it was a little bit creepy that someone was taking her picture without her even knowing but we see how that makes her feel flattered and finally, after seeing the reactions of everyone seeing her photos, she feels good about herself which is a huge step for her, and kinda a relief.

The issue of her eating disorder is explained as well during a conversation with Jacob, though it was kinda obvious in the first two seasons of the show, she felt invisible at home, her mom was all about the new baby and her dad only painted her mom, so she might as well try to fade away by not eating to see if they noticed her. Trying to starve herself to death was just another way to run away.

What i also liked from the second episode is that she went back home and finally faced her family's problems, her dad being drunk and sad while taking care of her little brother. She didn't step up and tried to be the kid's mom as her dad wanted her to, putting that extra stress on her, but gave him space to clear things up and took care of little Ruben while he was gone, as a big sister, not a mother. That was also good for her cause she wouldn't feel as alone in the city, instead of running for cover from one guy to the other one.

I really liked 'Pure', maybe it could have been better (there are so many people disappointed with this season), but i liked Cassie's closure, not a perfect happy ending, but a happy ending for her, indeed. Behind the cut, some precious stills from the two eps, because it's been oh wow, so lovely.

'Flowers in the Attic'

'Flowers in the Attic' is one of those books i've always loved, the story of four kids forced to hide in an attic locked away from the world by their very own mother, so twisted. My mom had all the books and i remember seeing the (lame) movie adaptation when i was little, but so much was lost in that movie from the book, mainly all the dark and twisted stuff that happens. i've always wondered why there wasn't a remake in the making for this book, out of all the unnecessary remakes that take place in Hollywood, this one should be taken into account; and i've always imagined that the perfect director for it would be Sofia Coppola, a story so similar to 'The Virgin Suicides', with kids trapped in their own homes (in this case, an attic, hidden from the outside world). She's even a book lover herself after making the shortfilm 'Lick the Star' all around the book, so it would had been perfection.

But now, Lifetime has announced the TV Movie adaptation of the book, starring Heather Graham as Corrine, the lousy mother, and Ellen Burstyn as the evil grandmother and this second casting choice is perfect. Burstyn was more than flawless in 'Requiem for a Dream', as well as in her complete filmography, but i've always loved that performance better, and i'm really excited about this TV movie. It would had been great if it had been a series of episodes because there's so much to the story but let's hope this turns out nicely. It won't air till next year so in the meantime, i'm posting Sofia Coppola's 'Lick the Star', her first try as a director, not a bad thing at all. Kill the rats:

sources: thewrap, youtube & lostinsofia