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bbclesmis · 5 years

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The Guardian: Les Misérables' Andrew Davies: 'I haven't added much sex to it. Sorry to disappoint'

Britain’s greatest transformer of literary classics on his BBC One adaptation of Victor Hugo’s masterpiece

We’re just minutes into our interview and already the conversation has turned to brothels and sadomasochism. But perhaps this is not entirely surprising. Sauce is, after all, Andrew Davies’s trademark. As Britain’s greatest transformer of literary classics into raunchy, bodice-busting primetime TV, Davies is the man who added incest to War and Peace, put daddy-issue sex into the backstabbing Westminster drama House of Cards, and reinvented Mr Darcy from Pride and Prejudice as a wet-shirt-clad Colin Firth. None of those things, purists note, appear in the original texts.

Despite all these achievements, the 82-year-old writer never quite managed to smuggle his steamiest offerings into the nation’s living rooms. Take his adaptation of Fanny Hill, the 18th-century “memoirs of a woman of pleasure” that became one of the most prosecuted and banned novels. “This is a pornographic book,” says Davies. “There are lots of whips and sadomasochism – and I did try a couple of more explicit brothel scenes. But one works with a producer and a script editor, and they might say: ‘Um, we don’t think this is quite right for the BBC, Andrew.’ And so OK, it was worth a try.”

Speaking with Davies, who lives in Kenilworth, Warwickshire, is not unlike watching one of his dramas: innuendo and humour keep appearing, to spice up the serious and the considered. Conversation can quickly take on the slight sensation of romp, like when he talks about visiting sets. “I tend not to go much during filming,” he says. “As the writer, you don’t have a job so you’re hanging round like the spare prick at a wedding. I’ll go a couple of times, arrive before lunch, tell the actors they’re brilliant, and then leave shortly after.”

It’s easy to forget his advancing years: Davies has a mischievous laugh and still writes every day. But the biggest difference between now and when he started out comes whenever he goes to an award ceremony. “I’ve got a bad back,” he says, “so I don’t do as much dancing.”

As we speak, he is excited about Les Misérables, his much-heralded adaptation of Victor Hugo’s masterpiece of the 1832 Paris uprising. Three years in the making, and about to headline BBC One’s new year schedule, the series is spread over six hour-long episodes and boasts a principle cast of more than 100 – including Dominic West, Olivia Colman and David Oyelowo. The aim, clearly, is to be every bit as epic as the original 1,400-page novel – and, possibly, to banish memories of Russell Crowe bursting into song in the 2012 Hollywood musical version.

“Our tagline is ‘nobody sings’,” says Davies, who has won five Baftas and two Emmys. “It will be interesting to see how fans of the musical react, because I think they will be surprised by how much of Victor Hugo’s original story never made it into the musical. There’s so much more to it than many people know: about the cat-and-mouse relationship between Javert and Jean Valjean, and about Fantine and her early life – her happiness before the misery. We have explored all that. We’ve done it properly.”

The big question is of course this: how has he sexed it up? There have been rumours that Dominic West’s rear end gets an airing. He laughs. “You know, I do think sex is a huge motivation in a lot of these great 19th-century books but not so much in Les Misérables. I don’t think I’ve put a great deal in that wasn’t there. I’m sorry to disappoint.”

In reality, Davies rarely disappoints. He is a master of his craft. His gift lies in taking complex, sprawling novels and, while retaining the original spirit, boiling them down to something fast and fierce, full of fun and frolics. In his adaptations, nothing is sacred. Classic scenes are hacked away and completely new ones added, while beloved characters get killed off early or just never appear.

In House of Cards – his 1990 take on Michael Dobbs’ novel about Tory party skullduggery – he decided he wasn’t keen on the story’s original ending. His solution? To reverse it entirely and have the bad guy win. Dobbs liked it so much that, in a re-released edition of the book, he did likewise. When Netflix transferred the drama to Washington for a new US version in 2013, it followed suit.

“I think we all have this feeling when we’re reading a book: ‘Oh, I wish they’d written a scene between this character and that character.’ Or: ‘I wish this person wasn’t quite so prominent.’ And for me, it’s a question of being alert to those feelings, then writing them in. I do what I would like to see and hope the audience goes with me.”

Generally, it does. His credits read like a best of British TV and include definitive Dickens adaptations of Bleak House and Little Dorrit (in which the reclusive Miss Wade was transformed into an insatiable lesbian). Then there was Tipping the Velvet, complete with taboo-busting dildo revelry, not to mention Sunday night favourites Mr Selfridge and Doctor Zhivago. Among his fans is none other than Vladimir Putin: the Russian president said 2016’s War and Peace “captured the Russian soul, the epoch and the depth” of Leo Tolstoy’s original. “I’m certainly no fan of Putin,” says Davies. “But I’m happy enough he’s a fan of mine.”

He hopes Les Misérables, which has been made by the same team, will receive similar international acclaim. While writing it, he found himself surprised by its relevance, finding parallels between 19th-century France and the world in 2018. “This huge difference between the haves and have-nots still exists,” he says. “People are taking to the streets in Paris right now, but the inequalities are here in Britain too. And you wonder if anything has been learned. We had a very grand BBC launch in Piccadilly and it was pouring with rain and you had beggars sitting there on the wet pavement with nothing as we tiptoed past them in our best clothes and went in for a champagne reception.” He seems momentarily troubled. “There is a huge irony there. I see it, but I don’t know what can be done.”

Davies is rumoured to be the highest-paid screenwriter in the business but he comes from a background more aligned to the have-nots. Born in Cardiff, the grandson of a miner, his main dream as a young writer, he once said, was to “go to London, get drunk a lot and have loose women”. His first TV play, called Who’s Going to Take Me On?, was broadcast when he was 29, yet it was another 21 years before he became a full-time scriptwriter. In the meantime, he moved to the Midlands with his wife, Diana Huntley, had a couple of children and taught at schools and universities while continuing to write screenplays.

In a way, the teaching was a great apprenticeship. “I spent years trying to bring these classics to life for students,” he says. “In a sense, doing it on screen is just a grander, more expensive way of doing a lecture.” He chose to focus on adaptations, he has said, because his original works were always autobiographical – and this was a problem. “I live a very quiet life. There’s not very much to write plays about.”

His most famous work is perhaps 1995’s Pride and Prejudice, a Jane Austen retelling so filled with life, lust and laughter that it revolutionised costume drama. “We wanted to show that these were young people with all the same passions that we have,” he says. “They weren’t just bonnets.”

He is currently working on a new Austen adaptation. Sanditon, which will begin filming in spring, is a reworking of her great unfinished work about the transformation of a fishing village into a seaside town. ITV has described it as “lavish”. “She only wrote 100 pages or so,” he says, “which I’d used up midway through the first episode. So the rest I’ve had to make up. It’s been a blast.”

Yet there have been critics of the project. Some have asked if it is still appropriate for a man to transform the work of a woman. The word “appropriation” has been used. “To adapt a novel,” he says, “whether it’s by a man or a woman, it doesn’t matter what sex you are. You just have to know a lot about novels and a lot about adapting – which I do. You know, Sarah Waters didn’t have any problem with me doing Tipping the Velvet, which is not only by a woman but about lesbians. And I’m not one of those either. Will people say you have to be a murderer to write a convincing killer? It’s barmy.”

Sanditon is not the only thing he’s working on. He may be in his 80s but Davies hopes this decade will be his most productive yet. Another project is his upcoming version of A Suitable Boy, Vikram Seth’s majestic novel set in post-colonial India. It will be the BBC’s first drama featuring an entirely non-white cast.

Another is a series based on John Updike’s Rabbit novels, which may be Davies’s first work made for a streaming service. “It’s early days but that might be on the cards,” he says, mentioning both Netflix and Amazon as potential platforms. “It would be a thrill.” And neither, I suggest, is averse to turning up the phwoar factor. “I know,” he says and gives that mischievous laugh one last time.

• Les Misérables starts on BBC One on Sunday. (x)

#les mis bbc #bbc les mis #Andrew Davies #Interviews

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searbao · 6 years

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(The Sunday Times article for those of you unable to read it)

Last Sunday, just days after being nominated for an Oscar, Timothée Chalamet bounded into a busy London bar like a man who still believes nobody knows who he is. Heads turned. Autograph hunters were in the yard outside. At one point during our interview, he shouted “Boom!” so loudly that tables of drinkers turned, stared, turned back, then turned around again. “It’s, it’s...” one said, slightly uncertain as to who he was or, more likely, how to pronounce his first name.

It’s plain old “Timothy”; and what filmgoers recognise him for is his breakthrough role in Call Me by Your Name, a gay coming-of-age story that has grown from cult hit to mainstream contender. He is smart and sensitive as Elio, who falls for his family’s American hunk of a guest, Oliver (Armie Hammer), during a picturesque Italian summer.

In person, Chalamet’s hair bounces, as does the rest of him. He is thin and wiry; as graceful as a ballerina and as energetic as the Duracell bunny; fond of light physical affection. He talks at the motormouth clip typical of Hell’s Kitchen, New York, where he grew up.

I have never met anyone as delighted to be alive as he is right now. Who can blame him? At 22, he is, for Elio, the youngest best actor nominee since 1944. He would be the youngest ever winner: not bad, considering he was previously best known for a bit part in Homeland and quit Columbia University to audition for, but not be cast in, Manchester by the Sea and the latest Spider-Man. In a fortnight, he will be at the Baftas for both lead actor and the coveted rising-star prize. But everyone knows it’s the Academy Awards that matter most. How does all that feel?

“This is how it matters to me,” he says. “Call Me by Your Name has gone beyond my wildest dreams. People came out because of that film. But I don’t want to be known for something that happened when I was young. So [the nomination] comes with tremendous gratitude and is something I’ll humblebrag about to my friends and family, yet this is hopefully just the start. There’d better be more.”

The good news, I say, is that he is unlikely to win, as voters seem unable to look past Gary Oldman’s prosthetics in Darkest Hour. So the accolade might be a millstone, but not as heavy as it could be. He laughs at my cheek.

“The truth is, you want to prepare a speech, but — I don’t know,” he says, frozen. “These ceremonies are overwhelming enough, independent of having to get up in front of legends and have your mouth move.” A fellow nominee, Daniel Kaluuya, the young British star of Get Out, is equally excited. “When we lock eyes,” he says of Kaluuya, “we give each other a look of ‘What the f*** is happening?’”

The crazy thing is that Call Me by Your Name is only the second best film starring Chalamet nominated for best picture this year. The best is Lady Bird, Greta Gerwig’s exquisite straight coming-of-age story, in which Saoirse Ronan’s titular teen struggles with men and her studies. It’s an astonishingly astute film, with Chalamet playing Ronan’s second boyfriend. He sits by the pool reading literature, looking brooding — which is exactly what Elio does. Chalamet claps along loudly when I bring up typecasting. He’s too hot now to sweat the small stuff.

Gerwig has been nominated for best director at the Oscars, which makes her the story of the night. Although other awards have found room for Lady Bird in several categories, they have overlooked the one that counts: best director. Some thought her film was simple compared to, say, Christopher Nolan’s Dunkirk, with its crew of hundreds moving a boat off a beach, and that such traditionally male-made projects are simply harder to do. Size matters, it seems, to panels of predominantly male voters. Or perhaps they just don’t like women to direct.

“There’s no difference in being directed by a woman,” Chalamet says sharply. “But in the public representation, there is a huge difference, and that’s why it’s so important Greta was nominated, and so shocking she is just the fifth woman to be so.”

He looks bemused as I float the idea it might be easier to make a film that is character-driven, as is Lady Bird, than something on a grander scale. “And it’s interesting,” he adds, “that the conversation is framed in relation to production of the movie, because it’s clear that it’s way harder to get an audience for smaller films. Budgets are significantly less.” He sounds irked, clearly finding questions about the battle of the sexes dated and odd.

Yet Chalamet should be used to this by now. He has come into the industry in the era of Time’s Up, which strives for better treatment for all, especially women. It’s hard being in the middle of a storm that’s still raging. There was a late caveat to this interview, namely that I couldn’t ask Chalamet about Woody Allen. The actor recently donated his salary for the director’s forthcoming movie, A Rainy Day in New York, which he filmed last summer, to funds including Time’s Up. He had made a statement about it a couple of weeks ago, and that was that.

I pushed back. Journalists have been accused of dodging difficult questions, but if the interviewee refuses to be asked, that leaves us in limbo. I was then allowed one specific question about Allen, by email. I asked three. Chalamet answered this one: “You were the first lead to donate your salary for a Woody Allen film. What has been the reaction to your statement?”

He replied: “I’m just focusing on the work as much as possible. I mean, I literally get to have this conversation with you in relation to Lady Bird, which freshly presents a female coming-of-age story, independent of a male romance being the catalyst; and to Call Me by Your Name, which similarly presents male coming-of-age with a new lens… Thanks to these films, I’m getting new opportunities. But I’ve also learnt that, along with the opportunities, I have new responsibilities, and none of this is lost on me.”

I have sympathy for him. Allegations against Allen have been public for years, and it’s not as if established A-listers such as Cate Blanchett or Javier Bardem are quizzed about their decision to work for the director. Chalamet’s feeling, I imagine, is that his salary statement was enough, and such a move has probably helped end Allen’s career anyway. I’d be stunned if anyone sees A Rainy Day in New York, and gobsmacked if a leading actor signs up for his scripts again.

Still, although we can’t talk about Allen, we can discuss Time’s Up. Chalamet is in a business going through a great upheaval. He calls it a “really important moment in Hollywood”, and there’s a sense that, like every new generation, he looks at those above him with suspicion, at times even disdain. “I’m in a new wave of actors that doesn’t stand for stuff like this and is part of that change,” he says proudly. “It’s actually been a lesson for me to learn what the — well, prejudices isn’t the right way to put it — the old-school way of thinking was. How they used to talk about these things.”

Does he expect the change Time’s Up seeks will be organic? “It would be a little passive to say it’s going to be totally organic,” he says bluntly. “But we’ve seen in the last months that there is real momentum.”

I can’t shift from my head some theatre I saw him do online from five years ago. The monologue was from White People by JT Rogers. After a largely satirical diatribe, he ended with a furious — and heartfelt — “What right does any human being have to be hateful?” before storming off stage.

Call Me by Your Name’s fandom is now at such a pitch that it already has its own nerds. They have noticed that the opening line of Love My Way, the track Armie Hammer does an elaborate dance to, is: “There’s an army on the dancefloor.” Cute. “OK, I did not know that,” Chalamet admits. Just that morning, they were discussing a possible film in which “he plays a president and I play a KGB spy”. They are the Brangelina we need right now.

Yet leave any film in the sun for long enough and it will get burnt. First, there has been press and online comment that it’s a story about grooming, which is weird, given that Elio is 17, Oliver is 24 and the age of consent in most American states is 16; in Italy, it’s 14. Still, that criticism persists. As does one about straight actors — which Chalamet and Hammer are — playing gay men. It can’t have been for box office, given that the former was unknown, but critics have questioned why out actors couldn’t be cast instead.

Chalamet pauses, which is rare, and answers carefully, as if they teach actors how to make a statement in the age of the hashtag along with the Stanislavski method.

“Well, first, it’s important for actors of all identifications to be represented, so any propulsion to bring that movement forward is good,” he begins. “But as relates to Call Me by Your Name, this is a story that presents love, sexuality, identification and orientation in a definitionless way. That’s one of the beautiful things about the movie. Ultimately, Luca [Guadagnino] is the best person to talk to, because this is his film and he does what he wants.”

“I don’t know anything about the sexuality of Armie or Timothée,” the director said huffily when I interviewed him last year, before adding that he didn’t think Elio would necessarily be a gay man later in life. Maybe the amount you care about the sexuality of the cast in Call Me by Your Name is directly related to how binary you consider sexuality. The film’s youngest actor, like most of his millennial peers, simply doesn’t care.

What about a sequel? “F***, yeah,” Chalamet says. “It’d be a dream. And the great thing about being an actor is that the storytelling would have nothing to do with me.”

I wish him luck with “those awards” as he leaves for another ceremony. He laughs. I meant the Oscars. “Oh, those awards?” He laughs louder, as if it hasn’t sunk in, and disappears into the lift. Up, up he goes, and, hours later, is named actor of the year by the London Critics’ Circle, beating that Oldman.

#timothee chalamet #call me by your name #lady bird #i hate paywalls #putting under read more so i dont get a dmca for this lol

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sunshinetoday · 6 years

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My Struggle III and many more...

*Clicking on links will take you to the original posting of the video/article/tweet… X marks the posting of linked content on Tumblr. It takes you to the post of the Tumblrino who posted it here.*

Okay, I’ll try to do a weekly summary for each episode...we will see how it goes. So let’s see what we have here: Press releases, reviews and of course the premiere of Season 11. It is one hella long list, so loots of stuff is under the cut🙈

The promo of the new season started with the news of David appearing at Jimmy Kimmel. (X) EW announced a special 25th-anniversary, Ultimate Guide to Every Season & Film, being released 5th January. ENews published a short interview with Gillian and David, from the set of The X-files and TV Guide Magazine published a new photo of Mulder and Scully #Shouldertouching! Next was announced that Gillian will be at the late late show with James Corden, 9th January and we got a picture of David jamming with the band when Brick wished everyone a happy new year! (X) Chris Carter did a Reddit AMA, but this is something I don’t wanna talk about. He is a moron. *For all upcoming events, @justholdinghandsok has a calendar running with all the info!*

The night of My Struggle III was off to a good start, @gillianaofficial posting: Gangs all here! Tonight at 8/7c @FOXTV . 👽 Fox released a new promo just before the Premier, in which, we could see Dana Scully in bed, with bare shoulders...and as this is The X-Files fandom, for us it is an absolutely good reason to loos our minds!! So yeah, we were in a happy place😂😂 But Chris Carter was true to himself, did give us a critically claimed bad episode with a twist that was disgusting and controversial at the very least. The fandom exploded, the media was loud, but we did get one thing that was promised to us.; a lot of MSR scenes and Willaim discussions with Gillian and David more at ease. For more, below are the reviews and press releases.

Reviews/Ratings:

The X-Files Season 11 Review (Spoiler-Free) (X)

The new season of 'The X-Files' is both classic and relevant in the 'fake news' era (X)

‘The X-Files’ review: Season 11 is uneven, but mostly pleasurable (X)

'The X-Files' Season 11: TV Review (X)

Review: ‘The X-Files’ in a Familiar Groove (X)

Duchovny, Anderson face new conspiracies, realities in ‘X-Files’ (X)

Variety - TV Review: ‘The X-Files’ Season 11 (X)

David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson Have a Love-Hate Relationship With Their X-Files Characters (X)

‘The X-Files’ Review: Season 11 Premiere Features Some Dangerous Retconning and One Truly Disturbing Twist (X)

The X-Files premiere recap: 'My Struggle III' (X)

TV Ratings: ‘9-1-1’ Debut Tops Wednesday, ‘X-Files’ Returns Down Double Digits (X)

"The X-Files," Season 11, Episode 1 Recap: We Do Our Work aka Paley Guy reviews of Season 11!

Press of the week:

The X-Files - Episode 11.03 - Plus One - Press Release (X)

The X-Files: A Binge Guide for Beginners (X)

Return Of ‘The X-Files’: 11 Things To Anticipate From Season 11 (X)

How The X-Files Keeps Track Of Continuity After 25 Years, According To The Creator (X)

How ‘The X-Files’ will surprise you this season (X)

The X-Files' Gillian Anderson, David Duchovny on 25 Years of Mulder & Scully—And a Satisfying Ending? (X)

Gillian Anderson, David Duchovny and Chris Carter keep seeking the truth that's 'out there' as 'The X-Files' returns (X)

The X-Files: 6 Things the Reboot Needs to Address (X)

Somewhat unexpectedly, The X-Files is deeply relevant again in 2018 (X)

The New ‘X-Files’ Season Is Much Better Than The Last (With One Exception) (X)

The X-Files: Chris Carter on the unscripted surprise that got in 'The Post-Modern Prometheus' episode (X)

The X-Files' Enduring Legacy (X)

Matt's Inside Line: Scoop on X-Files...(X)

The X-Files creator: Show's mythology to go a new direction (X)

The X-Files Creator on How Trump’s Presidency Has Made His Show More Relevant Than Ever (X)

How the influence of The X-Files lives on in today's television hits (X)

'The X-Files' is back, less as a revival and more on its own feet (X)

The X-Files’ Creator Chris Carter on Season 11 and the Show’s Future (X)

The X-Files writer Darin Morgan on the art of satirizing Mulder and Scully (X)

The truth is in here: U.Md. scientist on the set of ‘The X-Files’ (X)

Fox debates X-Files future if Gillian Anderson exits (X)

10 Shows We’ll Be Talking About in January (X)

The truth is still out there as ‘The X-Files’ lands its 11th series (X)

Videos this week:

THE X-FILES Season 11 "Parallel Universe" Promo [HD] David Duchovny, Gillian Anderson (X)

Best Of Agent Mulder | THE X-FILES (X)

Never lose faith in Scully. (X)

Scully Can't Find Her Son | Season 11 Ep. 1 | THE X-FILES (X)

Some new footage. (Edited from an interview with CC by a FOX affiliate station.)

David Duchovny at Jimmy Kimmel with a small part from My Struggle III (X)

X Files - My Struggle III Secret Reversed Message (X)

Visions Of The Future | Season 11 | THE X-FILES (X)

Mulder says “honey” to Scully in My Struggle III and this is canon!

New Hungarian promo of ep 2 with a brand new scene at the end. 😊 (X)

Photos this week:

The X-Files - Episode 11.03 - Plus One - Promotional Photos (X)

Backstage at #Kimmel with @DavidDuchovny #TheXFiles (X)

From the Jimmy Kimmel snapchat

From Jimmy Kimmel Instagram

Promo Photos from "The Lost Art of Forehead Sweat" (X)

What’s everyone watching tonight? (X)

BTS from The X-files Insta Stories

@gillianaofficial posted three BTS pictures during My Struggle III

Me relaxing while my double is being strangled. #TheXFiles (X)

Don’t miss out on vintage Mulder. (X)

Sorry everyone, food called. Here are David and Gillian’s stars!

Gillian Anderson Bafta Tea Party

Some awesome gifsets, pictures and recaps of My Struggle III:

from JK promo 01/02 @mulders-boyish-enthousiasm

Who is joining the European lunacy of middle-of-the-night live streaming on Wednesday? 😆😆 @allyinthekeyofx

EUROPE GETTING READY FOR SEASON 11. @sculdermemez

The most unbelievable part of this is the idea that someone would get out of the hospital and immediately put on a pantsuit. @especiallyoneofyou

FOX MULDER JUST SLIT A MANS THROAT OPEN FOR DANA SCULLY I CANT BELIEVE I JUST WITNESSED THE GREATEST ACT OF LOVE ON MY TELEVISION SCREEN IN 2018 @lattefoam

Does CC really expect us to believe that Special Agent Dana Scully MD didn’t run a single DNA test on that child that she wasn’t supposed to ever have?! @bohoartist

2x08 / 11x01 @daynascully

My Struggle III @aflawedfashion

6.18 // 11.01 @foxscully

My visions are from William. I don’t know how but I know that he’s guiding me…and you @i-heart-scully

mulder, in the middle of threatening evil conspirators who want to commit genocide: have u heard of my wife????? dana scully???? the smartest and most amazing and beautiful human alive????? my WIFE????????? @sapphitarius

20 things I love about episode 1 S11 @becksndot5 also she live posted the episode and created many awesome screencaps, like this one. She keeps doing this for all episodes, so follow her if you wanna get these caps while watching the show!

me: is thinking about this for the rest of my life @gilliansdavid

This man is fucking beautiful @allyinthekeyofx

Visions Of The Future | Season 11 | THE X-FILES @trusttnno1

Mulder and Scully eating muffin in Season 11 Episode 2. @funtasteec

Well, this was a ride to prepare 😄😂 I hope no one minds me including them and their postings but if you do, please message me. Also, message me if I should include your stuff on next week’s list.😊 Lots of love, good reading! ❤️👽❤️️

#pics #gillian anderson #david duchovny #thexfiles #season11 is on

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memoistore · 4 years

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Clare Waight Keller’s Most Memorable Moments For Givenchy

Back in early 2000s I used to work at Pringle of Scotland when Clare Waight Keller was the creative director, so I have followed her journey from the office she used to design the collections from in Sloane Street, London, to Paris for Chloe and Givenchy.

I was shocked to learn that the Clare – the first woman to be the Artistic Director of this legendary Givenchy Maison – was stepping back from her position as artistic director.

Mostly because she made me fall in love with Givenchy again. I did like Givenchy under Riccardo Tisci, but I love how Clare brought the elegance back to the fashion house.

Her occasional ode to Hubert de Givenchy archives received rapturous applause.

Rosamund Pike, Julianne Moore and Rooney Mara proved to be the perfect brand ambassadors. I just wish Angelina Jolie had worn more of the brand.

So with Clare’s gracious exit, here is a look back at my favourite red carpet looks from Clare’s reign at Givenchy, which started back in October 2017, when she presented her first Spring 2018 collection.

Rosamund Pike In Givenchy Haute Couture – ‘A Private War’ London Film Festival Premiere

I often like to do these list in date order, but I wanted to start with my favourite Clare Waight Keller for Givenchy Haute Couture look, and that was presented by Rosamund Pike. The class, elegance, sex appeal and modernity still give me goosebumps two years on.

If ‘The Matrix 4’ was casting a female lead. Rosamund would get the part in this outfit

Rosie Huntington Whiteley In Givenchy Haute Couture – The Fashion Awards 2018

Speaking of goosebumps. Rosie Huntington Whiteley’s Haute Couture moment at The Fashion Awards 2018 runs a close second. Yep. It’s another cape. But they always bring so much drama to a red carpet look.

Cate Blanchett In Givenchy Haute Couture – ‘Blackkklansman’ Cannes Film Festival Premiere

There are a lot of Cate Blanchett in Givenchy moments I could’ve listed.

The 2018 British Academy Britannia Awards is one of them, but the ‘Blackkklansman’ Cannes Film Festival Premiere was my ultimate favourite, as the Australian actress looked so statuesque in her proud moment of being jury president, and Queen of Cannes Film Festival 2018.

Rachel Weisz In Givenchy Haute Couture – 2019 Oscars

As we all know Rachel Weisz’s style is pretty straight-laced, so when she hit the red carpet at the 2019 Oscars wearing this red Haute Couture hybrid between a superhero costume and a sophisticated gown, we were all mesmerized.

Lady Gaga In Givenchy Haute Couture – ‘A Star Is Born’ LA Premiere

You might not have expected this one, but it was one of my many highlights from Lady Gaga’s promo tour for ‘A Star is Born’. If only she had kept this same energy for her awards season run.

Emma Stone In Givenchy – Netflix Original Series ‘Maniac’ New York Premiere

We don’t get enough of Emma Stone in Givenchy. But this was a shining example of why she should wear the brand more often.

Rihanna In Givenchy Haute Couture – 2019 Diamond Ball

It was between her Ocean’s 8 world premiere look, her 2020 NAACP Image Awards look, and this stunning creation from the 2019 Diamond Ball.

Ruffles would usually win in most situations, but this silhouette, and the fit on Rihanna still makes me swoon.

Jordan Roth In Givenchy Haute Couture – 2019 Tony Awards

It would’ve been a crime had I not included this iconic moment from producer Jordan Roth in this mixed media, joyous outing.

Leather, ruffles, floral appliqués?

YES, yes, yes.

Zendaya Coleman In Givenchy Haute Couture – 2019 InStyle Awards

We’ve had butterflies. Afro wigs, and plenty of feathers, but Zendaya let elegance stand at the forefront in this Haute Couture creation.

Zhang Ziyi In Givenchy Haute Couture – ‘La Belle Epoque’ Cannes Film Festival Premiere

Yes, my thirsty for all thing shiny draws me to this elevated princess gown, but I stayed for the classic/modern cross-over, and Zhang’s flawless beauty.

Diane Kruger In Givenchy Haute Couture – ‘The Operative’ Berlinale Film Festival Premiere

There was lots to admire about this Givenchy Haute Couture look. So many elements that only someone of Diane’s stature could deliver with such elegance.

Julianne Moore In Givenchy Haute Couture – ‘Rocketman’ Cannes Film Festival Premiere

Like Cate Blanchett, Julianne could’ve had a lot of inclusions in this list, (her red Haute Couture look from the ‘Everybody Knows’ Cannes Film Festival screening being one of them, but this was the most unexpected in terms of style and delivery.

Mena Massoud In Givenchy -‘Aladdin’ Paris Screening

Sharp and elegant. Who doesn’t love a Disney moment with a twist?

Michael B Jordan In Givenchy – Just Mercy’ Toronto Film Festival Premiere

The statement jacket/coat, was definitely a hit with sharply dressed men in Givenchy on the red carpet. And Michael B Jordan proved that sometimes it’s all one needs to stand out.

Chadwick Boseman In Givenchy – ‘Black Panther’ London Premiere

I couldn’t do any Givenchy menswear tribute post without shouting out the man who made the Givenchy statement jacket/coat so very appealing.

Where Chadwick leads, others follow.

Of course this wasn’t his only memorable Givenchy outing. His 2018 and 2019 Oscars looks deserve honorable mentions.

Ezra Miller In Givenchy Haute Couture – ‘Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes Of Grindelwald’ London Premiere

The actor appeared to be paying homage to ‘Harry Potter’s’ Hedwig. A Haute Couture version of course.

It may have been too costumey for some. But I’m sure JK Rowling approved.

Lily Collins In Givenchy Haute Couture – 2018 Met Gala

Met Galas can often lead to disappointment when celebrities don’t stick to the theme.

Lily Collins’ Givenchy Haute Couture look perfectly embodied the ‘Heavenly Bodies: Fashion & The Catholic Imagination’ dress code back in 2018.

This was one of her better outings in Givenchy. As her 2019 BAFTAs look was met with a lukewarm reception.

Nicole Kidman In Givenchy Haute Couture – 2018 Golden Globe Awards

One word. Sensational. This is the type of movie star glamour I craaaavee.

Zoe Saldana In Givenchy – ‘Avengers: Infinity War’ LA Premiere

This list would not be completed without one Zoe Saldana look. The two I had in mind funnily enough were both from ‘Avenger’ premiere’s.

The ‘Avengers: Endgame’ LA Premiere, and the ‘Avengers: Infinity War’ LA Premiere.

The latter stood out as more of a classic Zoe Saldana look, plus the necklace on the ‘Endgame’ dress threw me off a little.

Hunter Schafer In Givenchy Haute Couture – 2020 Vanity Fair Oscar Party

This is easily my favourite Givenchy Haute Couture look of 2020. I hope we get to some more before the year ends.

Rooney Mara In Givenchy Haute Couture – 2018 Met Gala

Now Rooney Mara had more Givenchy moments than most (or tied with Rosamund Pike), but she was the hardest person for me to narrow down one look.

I feel like I selected this 2018 Met Gala look because it didn’t have that déjà vu feel that the majority of her all black and all white looks conjured up.

The runner up will be her 2020 BAFTA gown. But perhaps that because it’s the most recent.

Meghan Markle Weds Prince Harry In Givenchy

I wouldn’t class this as one of my faovurites, but Meghan, Duchess of Sussex’s wedding dress was worthy of an inclusion as it was an iconic fashion moment for the wearer, designer and brand.

Credit: Getty

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wayneooverton · 5 years

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6 totally badass women I’m obsessed with right now

Despite 2018 seeming like it was perhaps a giant dumpster fire for women around the globe, woman did a tremendous job of getting. shit. done.

From the bravery shown by the women of the #MeToo movement, to historic wins for women in the midterm elections in the US (particularly of women of color), to Spain appointing a majority-woman cabinet, to Iranian women watching the World Cup in a stadium next to men for the first time in decades, to women in Saudi Arabia finally being legally allowed to drive, the list is long. It was a good year for us.

In honor of International Women’s Day, I’m sharing a little list of badass women I’m currently obsessed with right now. I cut this list down from 17 to 6 because, holy hell, there are a lot of women that deserve some bragging right now and each one deserves her own blog post. I bow down!

Please leave a comment to let me know who I left out, and who else I should be obsessed with at the moment (because there’s always room for more in my closet shrine!)

1. Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi

If you were alive during 2018 (which I’m assuming you were since you’re reading this article) you probably didn’t escape the year without first hearing about Free Solo.

Perhaps you weren’t interested or didn’t really understand, but surely you’ve heard about the epically superhuman efforts of Alex Honnold, a free solo expert who achieved his dream of scaling 3,000ft of a vertical wall in Yosemite National Park without a rope.

It has rightly been dubbed as one of the greatest athletic feats in the history of mankind (NBD) and watching the event is equal parts exhilarating and holy-shit-I’m-sweating-in-places-I-didn’t-even-know-could-produce-sweat terrifying.

When you hear about Free Solo, people normally talk about two things:

1) how amazing Alex Honnold is (and he is amazing)

2) what a great film Jimmy Chin produced (one of the greatest adventure photographers of all time)

Ok great, enough about them, let’s move on to the real star of the show.

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It was a day … @stellamccartney @carolyntangel @thefashionguitar @mhmakesithappen @jimmychin @alexhonnold @sannimccandless @freesolofilm here we go….@c_albert #oscars2019 @oscardelarenta @idaorg thank you to too many who made this possible thank you #avillage

A post shared by Chai Vasarhelyi (@chaivasarhelyi) on Feb 24, 2019 at 12:38am PST

What no one ever seems to talk about is the co-director and all around inspirational badass Chai Vasarhelyi and her role in all this.

So who is she? I’m glad you asked. Chai is an uber-ambitious 39-year-old woman who grew up in Manhattan and when to college at Princeton. She finished her first documentary, A Normal Life, at age 24 that told the story of 7 college-aged friends in the middle of the Bosnian Conflict.

I can’t even tell you one interesting thing I did the year I was 24. Her film won the Tribeca Film Festival. Casual.

Moving on! She spent the next decade making films about Senegal, honing in on her knack for storytelling and showcasing raw human emotion. Let’s fast forward a bit because I could literally talk for hours about her and we’ve got a lot of women to cover.

Chai found herself in the presence of Jimmy Chin (who she initially blew off because why not, you do you, girl). He asked her for some tips on his film, Meru, which had been kicking around for years, not managing to make it into any film festivals. She let him wait in limbo for three months before she got back to him and agreed to take a look.

Chai turned the now famous Meru from doomed, super bro climbing porn film, to a genuine story that went on gain high praise from elite film festivals everywhere.

How’d she do it? She insisted on re-shooting basically everything except for the actual climbing. All of the storytelling, all of the interviews with the climbers, all of the interviews with the family members. She revisited all of that and pulled out real human emotion that she felt viewers could connect with. And she was right.

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More Ampas / Baftas and more @brockcollection what a break from being a mud drenched Doc filmmaker feels like being Cinderella…..thank you @freesolofilm @thefashionguitar @carolyntangel 🙏❤️

A post shared by Chai Vasarhelyi (@chaivasarhelyi) on Feb 8, 2019 at 11:51am PST

And as a surprise to literally no one, she did the same thing for Free Solo.

She took what easily could have been a niche climbing film and turned it into an oddly relatable and universal story: perfection vs death, love vs. focus, ethics vs. filming an incredible feat. For her efforts and diligence, this documentary made people feel things other than fear and exhilaration.

She gave the audience and understanding of the complexity of the whole project. Oh, and she’s married to Jimmy Chin in case anyone actually cared. And they just took home an Oscar!

2. Jacinda Ardern

You didn’t think I was going to write this list without mentioning one of the most badass world leaders of all times, did you? Especially from the country that was the first to give women the right to vote!

As a leader of the first Labour government in New Zealand in a decade, Jacinda Ardern shares values common of a leftist party: investment in health, education, climate action, public housing, and social justice. Excellent start, but hundreds of politicians share those values and push those agendas.

So what makes Jacinda so special?

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Happy Diwali! If you’re in Auckland (or even near it) pop along to the festival at Aotea Square

A post shared by Jacinda Ardern (@jacindaardern) on Oct 19, 2018 at 8:22pm PDT

For starters, Jacinda has absolutely no time for what others expect of her outside of her job responsibilities.

All those bogus questions about family woman usually get when they run for public office? Nope! Jacinda wasn’t having any of it. She was elected and promptly announced her pregnancy like it was NBD, had the baby in a public hospital and became the first world leader ever to go on maternity leave, where she graced the world with a charming Facebook Live video of her and her daughter Neve.

When she was ready to go back, she went and her partner (not husband, mind you!) stayed home with the baby. I love a good gender role swap!

She continued her year getting shit done as the Prime Minister and also being an amazing parent.

She brought her new baby to the Nelson Mandela Peace Summit where she spoke moments after handing off the babe to her partner (She also got her baby a special UN pass for the event). Through her actions, she is normalizing being in a position of power as a new mom, breastfeeding at work, and having her partner be the primary caregiver.

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Welcome to our village wee one. Feeling very lucky to have a healthy baby girl that arrived at 4.45pm weighing 3.31kg (7.3lb) Thank you so much for your best wishes and your kindness. We're all doing really well thanks to the wonderful team at Auckland City Hospital.

A post shared by Jacinda Ardern (@jacindaardern) on Jun 20, 2018 at 11:14pm PDT

Enough about her baby. Let’s talk about her career accomplishments. In her short time as president, she has already:

Introduced the Families Package that delivers more money to families with children and reduces child poverty

Passed a bill to allow leave for victims of domestic abuse

Made the first year of tertiary education or training fees free

Increase student allowances and living cost loans by $50 a week

Passed the Healthy Homes Guarantee Bill, setting minimum standards for all rentals

Passed law banning overseas speculators from buying existing houses

Set up a ministerial inquiry into mental health crisis

Introduced legislation to make medicinal cannabis available for people with terminal illnesses or in chronic pain

Increased the minimum wage to $16.50 an hour (and announced this year another bump up to $17.70 by April of this year)

Set the zero carbon emissions goal and began setting up an independent Climate Commission, ended all new bids on offshore oil and gas exploration

And announced a phasing out of single-use plastic bags nationwide

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It’s been a while since I gave an update on the work to eradicate M. bovis, so here it is…. We’ve had 74 properties infected so far. 36 farms have now gone through the process of having their farms given the all clear and restocked – I visited one of those farms today to talk about their experience. We still have things we need to improve (and we made a few extra announcements on that today) but we’re also still very committed to eradicating Mycoplasma Bovis.

A post shared by Jacinda Ardern (@jacindaardern) on Oct 8, 2018 at 5:28pm PDT

Oh, and she greeted the Queen of England wearing a traditional Maori cloak. What’s that? A country treating its indigenous population with even an ounce or respect and dignity!?

3. Melise Edwards

Melise has become one of my favorite women to follow on Instagram. Not only is she a sponsored rock climber, but she’s also an actual brain scientist AND social justice warrior.

She refuses to sit behind her climbing success without also tackling issues for women and communities of color in the outdoors. She refuses to accept the erasure of dark-skinned women in outdoor advertising and when she gets hate mail for it, she straight up calls those bullies out.

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The truth is: I've had so many negative interactions in the climbing community in recent years that have arisen due to conversations surrounding diversity, feminism, privilege and inclusion that I find myself sometimes uninterested, angry and afraid to be a part of the local community. . . There have been the friends from my city & back home who block, unfriend and unfollow me, though first letting me know that "demonizing white people" by asking for folks to recognize our many collective forms of privilege and the impacts of recent historical oppression on minorities is divisive and racist against white people. . . There have been the strangers and local climbers who are all too comfortable harassing and trolling me online with the added bonus of getting to see them here in the gyms when I climb. There have been the in-person conversations at where people seek me out to tell me I'm playing the victim and that racism and sexism are not really issues. . There have been the prominent climbers and first ascentionists who vehemently oppose these conversations and message me condescending remarks. There has been a man twice my age writing a blog post on his institute's page about my fragility. And on top of this, we see chronic affronts and attacks on POC & other underrepresented groups within the outdoor community and society at large daily. It comes from friends. It comes from strangers. It comes from leaders and people in positions of power in the industry. It comes from people who would rather not get involved. . . These things make it difficult to "just go climbing" and push myself within a hobby that used to give me so much joy. My life is amazing and I'm so thankful for where I am and all that I do. There are also many incredible people and groups in this industry who are doing invaluable work. But if I am being honest, I am struggling with my waning passion for a community and hobby I used to love. (Photo by @andreasassenrath)

A post shared by Mélise | Seattle, WA (@meliseymo) on Feb 26, 2019 at 12:02pm PST

Her passion and dedication is infectious and makes me want to do better:

“I yearn for the day when multiple women of color can be featured for an advertisement or photoshoot within and beyond the outdoor industry; for the day we don’t need to have several white women or men in the shot for the photo to be inherently successful. . I yearn for the day POC can get paid and aren’t questioned or criticized for wanting to get paid for their work and time. This means valuing their time, chronic advice, labor and the information they provide enough to actually compensate them. (E.g. how do I make my company more diverse?) . . I yearn for the day when more people of color make up the staffing at large companies and folks don’t call on *that one POC you know on Instagram* to ask for chronic free education and labor. . Companies: Diversify your staff. Diversify your marketing. Take actual efforts to support POC in the outdoor community beyond superficial displays that do not get at the root of the problem (e.g. inviting a panel of POC to talk for free at your events.) . Finally, please stop asking POC to only come to your events to talk about diversity instead of their amazing careers in the outdoors, recent adventures or athleticism. We can all do better when we learn how rampant these issues are in our community and seek to change them. I believe in you all.”

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Marketing in the outdoor industry and society at large is strikingly homogenous. Even attempts to diversify marketing efforts will usually feature one light skinned, white passing or racially ambiguous woman still out numbered 10:1 by white models and a usually all white staff. . . Similarly frustrating is the chronic expectation for POC to continually offer free labor to *thank* companies for daring to care about diversity. Superficial means of supporting diversity will be offered without ever addressing the issue at the community, staff, company and marketing level. . . Companies need to do better to represent the diversity of our communities. . I yearn for the day when multiple women of color can be featured for an advertisement or photoshoot within and beyond the outdoor industry; for the day we don't need to have several white women or men in the shot for the photo to be inherently successful. . . I yearn for the day POC can get paid and aren't questioned or criticized for wanting to get paid for their work and time. This means valuing their time, chronic advice, labor and the information they provide enough to actually compensate them. (E.g. how do I make my company more diverse?) . . I yearn for the day when more people of color make up the staffing at large companies and folks don't call on *that one POC you know on Instagram* to ask for chronic free education and labor. . . Companies: Diversify your staff. Diversify your marketing. Take actual efforts to support POC in the outdoor community beyond superficial displays that do not get at the root of the problem (e.g. inviting a panel of POC to talk for free at your events.) . Finally, please stop asking POC to only come to your events to talk about diversity instead of their amazing careers in the outdoors, recent adventures or athleticism. We can all do better when we learn how rampant these issues are in our community and seek to change them. I believe in you all. (PC @andreasassenrath)

A post shared by Mélise | Seattle, WA (@meliseymo) on Feb 2, 2019 at 9:56am PST

4. Cristina Mittermeier

In case you haven’t heard, global warming is real. It’s happening right now and us humans who have expedited global warming are generally not being helpful at all.

Good thing there are people like Cristina Mittermeier to show us the way forward. (And if I haven’t lost you at this point, congrats, you understand science!)

The Mexico-city born marine biologist has some notable accolades but her strength goes beyond her studies and awards. Cristina is an expert storyteller and sheds light on what’s going on in the world, whether at the bottom of the ocean floor or in some of the most remote indigenous villages in the world. She photographs them, tells their story and gives hope for the possibility of a mindful, sustainable future.

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What might seem like a featureless snow-covered landscape to us is an invisible map filled with smells that lead to prey and mates for polar bears. While the future of this incredible species remains uncertain and concerning, the unwavering hope that so many of you have for vulnerable wildlife tells me that our ability to protect them has never been more diverse and more promising.

A post shared by Cristina Mittermeier (@cristinamittermeier) on Oct 7, 2018 at 9:23am PDT

At her core, she wants her audience to really truly think about what it means to be a human and our undeniable link to other species and the responsibility to look after fellow life forms.

In 2005, she created a league of Conservation Photographers (hello new dream job!) to help give a platform for photographers working on environmental issues. She’s also co-founded a nonprofit called Sea Legacy, with legendary photographer Paul Nicklen, that works towards protecting the world’s oceans through storytelling.

If that’s not enough to convince you to be obsessed with her as well, I’ll leave you with this quote.

“To roam the farthest corners of the Earth, where wild creatures live, is a privilege reserved for an adventurous handful. But even though most of us may never feel the chill of Arctic air through the frozen flap of an icy tent, images can help us understand the urgency many photographers feel to protect wild places. My work is about building a greater awareness of the responsibility of what it means to be a human. It is about understanding that the history of every living thing that has ever existed on this planet also lives within us. It is about the ethical imperative—the urgent reminder that we are inextricably linked to all other species on this planet and that we have a duty to act as the keepers of our fellow life forms.”

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Blue whales are the largest animals to have ever existed, reaching mind-boggling dimensions of 100 feet long and upwards of 200 tons on a diet composed almost exclusively of krill, tiny-shrimp like crustaceans. It was a joy to be in the water with this gentle giant off the coast of the Azores. I had never had an encounter with a blue whale before. While the hunting of blue whales was banned by the International Whaling Commission in 1966, endangered fin whales are still being hunted in Iceland in defiance of a world wide ban of commercial whaling in 1986. Follow the link in my bio to learn more. This work was performed under the authorization n.0 XX-ORAC-2018 issued by the Government, on February 22, 2018.

A post shared by Cristina Mittermeier (@cristinamittermeier) on Jun 23, 2018 at 8:42am PDT

5. Mirna Valerio

There’s a myth in the medical world that fat people cannot be considered fit.

There’s phony talk about the importance of BMI (spoiler: it’s absolutely worthless for determining health) and the unarguable need to shed pounds to achieve health.

This simply is not true and Mirna Valerio is here to prove it.

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Guess what y’all? I’m a swimsuit model too! I loved this shoot with the talented @insecto, Carlos Palacios, in Costa Rica for @skirtsports! I never thought in a million years I’d be doing #swimwear photoshoots on a beach on top of a SUP board in #halfmoonpose baring, well not quite all, but more than I am used to… ## WELCOME TO MY NEW WORLD! Also this bathing suit is available the link in my bio—use code MIRNAVATOR for a 20% discount! #swimsuit #beachphotography #womenwhomove #optoutside #bathingsuit #bareitall #bodypositive #bopo #photography #bodylove #effyourbeautystandards

A post shared by Mirna Valerio (@themirnavator) on Feb 25, 2019 at 11:30am PST

Mirna has essentially been an outdoors obsessed athlete all of her life. From field hockey and lacrosse in high school to now being a full-on ultramarathon runner in her adult life. She started blogging (Fat Girl Running) in 2012 as she was training for her first marathon and as her support systems grew, so did the haters, flooding her inbox with negative comments. But Mirna never let the haters get her down. She loves her body and is consequently chasing our stereotyped perception of what fitness and health look like.

“They don’t like to see me on a cover of a magazine because I do not represent what fitness means to them,” she says. “I want to continue sticking my big ass into places where people think I don’t belong. That has been the nature of my life—I’m going to do it and I’m going to do it proudly.”

“We are much more than our bodies. Whether it’s body image, our choices to be moms or not, our career choices—we are more than our bodies,” Valerio says. “We’re so powerful beyond our wildest dreams.”

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An excellent morning on the #wildwoodtrail at #forestpark in Portland with new friends @erin.nicksmartin and @rossmaxloudness from my awesome Facebook Group FATGIRLRUNNING. We had a great time exploring the #trail, enjoying the peeks of sun, and most of all, each other’s company. So happy to have our community! #fatgirlrunning #trailrunning #optoutside #runtrails #trailandultra #trailrunning #outdoors #urbantrails #portlandtrails #runner #zapposrunning #empoweredbyrunning #hylandspowered

A post shared by Mirna Valerio (@themirnavator) on Dec 27, 2018 at 12:51pm PST

As a runner, author, and educator, Valeria has secured her voice encouraging everyone, especially the youth, to get outside where they can test their own mental and physical strength. She advocates for green spaces in cities and supports more price-public funding for school trips.

“It’s not just a necessity for urban kids, but it’s a necessity for kids all over no matter what their level of privilege is and no matter what their level of exposure and access is,” she says. “Whenever I think of the outdoors, it’s not only a place to be myself and live in my introverted ways, but I also look at the outdoors as a place of bonding with other people and having these really deep, profound experiences with nature that you can’t have looking out a window.”

6. Pattie Gonia

Pattie Gonia is the world’s first backpacking queen and honestly, this is exactly what we need right now in these trying times.

Some days the news is so dark and our world leaders are so questionable that you might want to crawl into a tiny cave and not come out until everything is fixed but then, like a ray of sunshine and hope, emerges Pattie Gonia, the viral drag queen who dances on top of mountaintops in platform heels and everything in the world seems a little more manageable.

Yes!

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SURPRISE BISH !!!! park ranger pattie is here to write you a ticket for being TOO DAMN FABULOUS. 👑 & o no sis we’re not done yet. 💥 your fine is to tell someone u know needs to hear it how fabuluz they are too. 🧚🏻‍♂️ & u know y??? because this is our year to shine TOGETHER. so u better watch out u better not hide i’ll be patrolling these here parts & should u choose to be too fabulous again just watch me i’ll pop out from behind a tree (BOO!!) w these au natural hairy leggz & say u too wonderful AGAIN here’s another 1 !!!! . whooole lewk by queen @katienashbeauty photo by queen @erinoutdoors photographed on jumanos native lands . #servingyounationalparkSERVEice #nationalparkservice #nationalparks #outdoors #neature #nature #alewk #amajorlewk

A post shared by Pattie Gonia (@pattiegonia) on Mar 4, 2019 at 12:30pm PST

Pattie graced us with her presence less than six months ago but has already made waves across the world.

Pattie is portrayed by fellow Nebraskan photographer and Eagle Scout Wyn Wiley. If you aren’t familiar with various state identities in the USA, let’s just say that Nebraska is not the easiest state to be apart of the LGBTQ group.

Nevertheless, Wiley unapologetically embraces his inner queen and we’re all a lot better because of it.

But Pattie Gonia is more than a feel-good IG feed to make you smile. Wiley’s ultimate goal is for Pattie Gonia to inspire more people to get outside and enjoy mother nature, especially those who have historically been excluded from the outdoor community, including the LGBTQ community, people of color, and bigger folks.

He hopes to achieve this by having Pattie Gonia lead groups of newbie hikers and using sponsors to help provide gear for those who can’t afford it, because let’s be honest, outdoor gear can be as expensive as hell and historically, spending leisure time outside is a huge fucking privilege.

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THE BEND & SNAP TRAIL EDITION ♻️💃🏼🌲 ugh isn’t trash on the trails the most sad moment??? let’s keep our trails clean & do it while looking fab && snatched & cute as a bb prancing deer. not only for us but for all the animal babes friends we share mother natch with!!! remember, we have one earth to have our party, let’s not leave the house trashed. pick up your trash. it’s simply good etiquette, queens. . keeping our trails is clean is as easy as you brining a simple plastic bag to not only pack out your trash but what was left behind by other people. even if you pick up a piece or two of trash on a 30 min hike that can do wonders to keep mother natch looking snatched. . outfit by clothes my mom got me for christmas video by @charlieronan edit by @adamkingman #recycle #packout #packinpackout #protectourparks #nationalparks #hikevibes #litter #trash #stateparks #parksandrec #11thessential #leavenotrace #staywild #colorado #redrocks #denver #nature #fierce #drag #dragqueen #dance . video taken on cheyenne and ute native land

A post shared by Pattie Gonia (@pattiegonia) on Feb 7, 2019 at 12:22pm PST

On a more personal level, Pattie is a way for Wiley to explore his more feminine sides.

“In my normal life, I’d say I’m pretty straight-passing,” he says. “But when I put those boots on, it feels like a girl when she puts on mascara for the first time – it unlocks a different side of you that you haven’t seen before. I think femme is important. I think masculinity is important. I think it’s all inside of us.” If everyone accepted this gender fusion, the world would be a much better place.

Trust me. Better yet, trust Pattie.

Spill! Who are some badass women you’re obsessed with right now? Comment below and share some inspo!

The post 6 totally badass women I’m obsessed with right now appeared first on Young Adventuress.

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princessanneftw · 20 days

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We are saddened to hear of the passing of Sir Paul Fox CBE.

Sir Paul was awarded a BAFTA TV Fellowship in 1990 and had a long career in television that has had a lasting impact on the industry. His commissions include much-loved shows Dad's Army, The Two Ronnies and Parkinson.

@BAFTA | 9 April 2024

#rip #i wish she was still President of BAFTA #princess anne #princess royal #paul fox #BAFTA #british royal family #brf #throwback

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bestmovies0 · 6 years

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Annette Bening Opens Up About Hollywoods Sexist Past and Brighter Future

” I truly had to pis .”

That, as the terribly alluring Annette Bening tells it, is how she landed the role of Gloria Grahame in director Paul McGuigan’s Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool .

It actually took Bening twenty-three years to play the scandal-ridden screen siren. That was when producer Barbara Broccoli, current gatekeeper of the Bond films, first floated the idea to the actress. Broccoli is longtime friends with Peter Turner, and, having witnessed his affair with the much-older Grahame firsthand, wished to adapt his 1987 memoir chronicling their Liverpool-set romance during the Oscar-winning actress’s final years. It was a labor of love. But Bening was far too young, and the script far away from ready.

Cut to the UK’s BAFTA accolades seven years ago. Bening is there , nominated for Best Leading Actress for her dazzling turning as one-half of a lesbian couple in The Children Are All Right .

” It was this ceremony with no bathroom transgresses ,” she chortlingly remembers, so Bening absconded to the loo, where she ran smack-dab into Broccoli, whose bladder likewise overfloweth. The two got to talking and agreed that the time was finally right to adapt Turner’s tome into a cinema.

After several stops and starts, it’s finally here: a sensuous production featuring yet another stunning performance by Bening as Grahame, who reached the height of her fame in the 1950 s with the cinemas In a Lonely Place , The Bad and the Beautiful , The Big Heat , and Oklahoma ! em >, before her career was tarnished by tabloid scandal after romancing and later marrying Tony Ray, the actor-son of her second spouse, Nicholas Ray.

Following their split in the’ 70 s, and having failed to find work stateside, a 58 -year-old Grahame moved to England, acting in stage productions and falling for the decades-younger Turner, a mild-mannered Liverpudlian played in the film by Jamie Bell.

Over coffee, The Daily Beast chatted with Bening–a four-time Oscar nominee–about capturing the essence of Grahame, the present Hollywood # MeToo reckoning, and much more.

It’s a fascinating tale, Gloria Grahame’s. So many crazy highs and lows.

An amazing story. Crazy highs and lows–and lots of scandal. I recommend the book. It’s this tasteful, impressionistic memoir, because Peter Turner had this relationship with her, they’re thirty years apart in age, he’s from Liverpool, she’s this ex-Hollywood superstar. It’s this weird confluence, but they had this very real connect.

In the movie, we greet your Gloria Grahame after she’s experienced so many adversities. After she allegedly experienced electroshock therapy following a mental breakdown.

It’s interesting: I don’t know if that actually happened. I met Tim–her oldest son, the one who’s in the film–in England when we did our premiere. I didn’t want to invade his privacy since we were at the premiere, but I wanted to ask him a million questions, and that would have been one of them. Because there are a lot of stories about her that simply aren’t true. There’s a really trashy volume about her that you can’t trust. I’m not saying none of it happened, but we’re not sure.

” Does it go all the way up to the presidency? Well, we’ll see if people have to answer for their behaviour .” div>

— Annette Bening

One of the things alluded to in the film is her crippling nervousnes over her looks–particularly her lips.

That’s true.

There was so much sexism within the old studio system, as far as the lane these studio chiefs treated girls like props and erected them whole cloth–like how Harry Cohn Anglicized Rita Hayworth via a name change and plastic surgery. These studio heads used to bully actresses into surgery or fill them with such anxiety over their lookings.

And that’s not that age-old. I know on a studio film I did, I recollect the administrator tell people about the studio making notes, and he said,” They ever talk about the men’s performances and the women’s appearing .” And they were putting pressure on me to get on the case of the people who were doing my makeup, and the lighting, and everything. It’s like, I didn’t want to worry about that stuff. It’s still there.

Was it Mars Attacks ! em >? Or what movie was it?

Nah! They wouldn’t do that to Tim Burton. Tim Burton they left alone! But[ Grahame] had surgeries done on her upper lip.

There were tales that Grahame would kiss her costars with cotton balls lodged in her mouth.

Now, that’s something I don’t know is true. It would be great to know but I don’t know it’s true. I do know that she had surgeries on her lips. She was very self-conscious about it. She wanted to make them seem fuller. And now people are preoccupied with that, putting things in their lips.

In my inexpert sentiment, it doesn’t seem to have a the highest success rate.

[ Laughs ] I know! It objective up looking kind of goofy!

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How do you discover Grahame? On the one hand she’s a sort of tragic character but on the other there’s something quite lovely about the style she was able to live out her final years.

I don’t see her as tragic. I mean, the story is very sad, but for all of her defects and frailties–and she had them–she was a survivor. And she didn’t take her life or herself as an actress that seriously, and it’s a beautiful thing about her. She was a live wire. She was someone you met and would be like,” Hey, I’m going to this thing tonight. Are you around ?” and she’d be all,” Yeah, let’s go! Let’s do it! Let’s have fun !” She was all about enjoying life and letting get-up-and-go of the pain and the difficulties, because she had them for sure . And her relationships were very tempestuous. That’s why I guess gratifying Peter, a decent guy from Liverpool from this huge household, was such a positive experience for her.

In the cinema, she swingings back and forth between crippling anxiety about her age/ career and beaming confidence. There’s that sequence where she’s just finished performing in the play-act, is slipping through backstage, and Peter becomes to her and says something of the implications of,” That guy wants to sleep with you ,” and she turns to him and is like,” Honey, everyone wants to fuck me .”

” Everyone wants to fuck me !” That’s a great line. It’s a kind of contradiction, isn’t it? Because on the one hand she seemed like, fuck it, I don’t care! I’m living my life, doing theater in England, living with this young guy I like; and then on the other hand, there was the part of her that was conscious about aging, self-conscious about not being the sun that she had been.

One of the things she did that I found out about that I know is true is, when she went back to New York she took acting class with Stella Adler , who’s this legendary, brilliant woman that my husband examined with. Robert De Niro analyse with her too, and he’d told my husband that[ Grahame was there ]. I called De Niro and asked about it and he said,” Yeah. I was in class, like 18 or 19, and I didn’t even know who she was. I was a kid, and was ignorant about it. But person said,’ Gee, you know who that is ?'” He said that she didn’t get up and do scenes, but I thought that said a lot about Gloria and her aircraft. She’d won an Academy Award but was trying to get run, couldn’t get run, so went to England.

Your first cinema ever was The Great Outdoors , writes to the late, great John Hughes .

Written by John Hughes! I was so excited to just get a movie, and The Great Outdoors was like my nightmare come true.

I love that scene where[ John] Candy takes down” The Old 96 er .” That massive steak.

[ Laughs ] I was just remembering that we were on a reservoir various kinds of near Yosemite, and we were living in these little cabins–which I thought was the neatest thing in the world–and we’d “re going to have to” get up and drive around the lake. So it took about an hour to get to set, so we’d be leaving at around four in the morning, and I remember thinking,” This is so great! Oh my god !”

I mean, you started off your job with The Great Outdoors , Valmont , Postcards from the Edge , and The Grifters . That’s a fairly good run.

Milos Forman never mentioned The Great Outdoors ! The entire time I was filming [ Valmont ] I was guessing,” Did he know I induced that movie ?!” Because I don’t think he would’ve ever hired me for Valmont if he knew! [ Laughs ]

Grifters was a Harvey Weinstein movie, of course. What was your experience with Harvey like ? I’ve had my own experiences with Harvey, although it’s pretty clear that he acted very differently toward men–particularly men who are reporters–as opposed to up-and-coming actresses, which you were at the time.

I didn’t have any serious issues with Harvey. I had a couple of not-serious minutes with him. I entail, I was 31 and I was marriage. I don’t know. I believe I was lucky. Harvey sort of set the feelers out for most people–well, that’s not fair. But I didn’t have any issues with him.

How do you feel about this long-overdue guessing in Hollywood? It’s an industry that’s always been pretty outspoken when it comes to progressive makes but its therapy of the status of women has long been its glaring blind spot. The ” casting couch” goes back to its inception , and was almost treated as a punchline when it’s anything but.

It seems like a tipping degree. That’s how I think of it, is there’s been this incredible buildup over so long, and it’s a tipping degree. People can focus on it because it’s happening in show business with a lot of famous people, but now it’s rippling out into your business, journalism, and into the tech world. It’s in all the businesses, and that’s why it’s so significant: it’s become a tipping point for the whole culture. The hope is that it not only changes things in my business and your business and the more high-profile firms, but what’s really important is that it changes for the average working women who have no clout and no leveraging. A single momma working for low wages who cannot miss a period of study or a paycheck, is it going to change for those women? Or those men, too? I think it’s as difficult–or sometimes more difficult–when it happens for men, as there can be an added level of shame involved. But that’s really the measure for all of us: Does it actually go down to average working people? And does it go up to members of Congress? And does it go all the way up to the presidency? Well, we’ll see if people have to answer for their behavior.

Right. We’ve lately considered Donald Trump’s sexual-assault accusers attain the news rounds , and senators like Kirsten Gillibrand call on Trump to resign from the presidency over the allegations.

And his own diplomat to the United Nations[ Nikki Haley] has said that these women have a right to listen to. So, this is serious stuff.

It does seem to be a reaction to his election, doesn’t it? It seems like more than a coincidence that the Harvey Weinstein story violated on the one-year anniversary of the Access Hollywood videotape. When you elevate person like Trump at the very highest office of the land–and really, stimulate his the face of the nation–it forces-out the country to do a lot of soul-searching.

Yes. This can’t be the emblem of the free world–of the leader of the free world. No, I agree with you. I envision all of us are doing a lot of soul-searching only generally, in your work and in my job. What are “weve been” doing? Because, with these forces of nationalism, populism, xenophobia, racism and ugliness becoming more culturally acceptable, what happens to the culture? Culture tends to shut down and people tend to get discouraged. So I belief those of us that are trying to entertain people, we have a responsibility not to lose hope and not to become cynical. The whole thing you’re talking about is part of that–including the reckon on sexual harassment, and being able to have a nuanced dialogue about the inappropriate sex come-on or groping, and harassment and assault, right? They’re not all the same thing. There needs to be nuance.

My take on it is that there was just never any sort of accountability here, and since bad boys were able to act with impunity for so long, when the guessing comes–which appears to be now–there’s going to be an overcorrection. So I generally think it’s good that there’s increased accountability on behavior that moved unchecked for ages.

Clearly. I entail, it’s a little scary–the sheer number of people in our world that ought to have taken down, and whose behaviour we had not known about.

The Kevin[ Spacey] material was pretty shocking .

Yes. Utterly.

In the wake of the allegations, reports surfaced that several of his productions had been beset by his sexual misconduct issues. There were numerous stories from the fixed of House of Cards , and Gabriel Byrne likewise came forward and “re just saying that” production on The Usual Suspects was halted over Kevin’s” inappropriate sex behavior .” Were there any such problems during the filming of American Beauty ?

No. We didn’t have any of those problems. He was altogether professional. I considered him health professionals colleague, and we got on very well. I had no issues–and didn’t see any problems, either.

Coming back to the cinema, one of the points that I really enjoyed about it is that it does provide a frank depiction of an older woman’s sexuality. There aren’t nearly enough of these tales being told by Hollywood, an industry that’s not very kind to ladies past a certain age. You’re really an exception to the rule, having managed to carve out a great space for yourself.

Yeah, I feel really lucky. It’s an extension of love–sexuality is–and it doesn’t stop at a certain age, and Gloria was someone who that was very true for. I do think it’s something that a lot of people would leave out of narratives, the fact that girls far older than Gloria maintain and have active sex lives. People don’t really want to dramatize that. But now, that’s changing. Helen Mirren is an example of someone who’s playing very complex females. Judi Dench. That notion that women’s sex lives stop when they start having children is just a myth. Women have sexual relationships into their sixties, seventies, eighties, and nineties. Hello ? This is what happens! This is the case for a lot of people. We, as ladies, want to play real-life people. We necessity these kinds of characters who have nuance, and faults, and strengths, and weaknesses, and sometimes they seem sexy, and sometimes they don’t, just like all of us. It’s a relief to see that happening.

One scene that I really loved–and that I feel communicates Gloria’s emotional quandary–is that early one where she and Peter have just returned from the bar, they’re a bit liquored up, and she sits on the couch and takes her top off. She’s feeling very empowered and sexy but then she senses some misgiving on his part, and even though it’s just nerves, she’s overcome by insecurity, and then embraces herself up.

In trying to find the moments for a character the hell is truthful, you get to explore some of your own true sentiments in a way that’s safe. I appreciate you saying that. I think she used. In one moment she’s feeling really confident and hey, I can do this! I can flirt with this guy! And then in the next moment she’s like, wait a minute…what am I doing? I’ve uncovered myself. I need to cover myself up, literally. When you gratify someone you really like that maybe you’re attracted to, part of you is like, yeah! And then maybe you think, well, I have this rolling here and…am I appealing? I think that’s something we all go through.

Read more: https :// www.thedailybeast.com/ annette-bening-opens-up-about-hollywoods-sexist-past-and-brighter-future

from https://bestmovies.fun/2018/01/06/annette-bening-opens-up-about-hollywoods-sexist-past-and-brighter-future/

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