Tuesday, August 30, 2011

TIME TRAVEL

There's a wonderful slideshow on MSN Lifestyle honoring the year 1946 in the US and all its triumphs. Here are some highlights:


"It's fall of 1946. The war has ended, a new home will cost you less than $3,000, Frank Sinatra just released his first album, and Tupperware containers are coming to a department store near you. Yes, the American Dream is in full swing. From Dior dresses to Dr. Spock's baby advice, here's a glimpse at our lives 65 years ago today."


"With the release of Gilda on Feb. 14, Rita Hayworth would forever be remembered for her seductive striptease scene - in which she takes off (gasp!) a single glove. with her breakout role, the girl from Brooklyn became the face of Max Factor, appearing in ads for the brand's Tru-Color Lipstick, which promised: "glamorous reds, lovely reds, dramatic reds."


"French designer Christian Dior opened his Parisian fashion house, which would revolutionize women's clothing with the designer's "New Look". The iconic Dior style featured ultra-feminine dressed with full, calf-length skirts, cinched waists and shapely bodices."


"On March 12, Judy Garland gave birth to her first child, Liza Minnelli. The same year, births in the US jumped from around 223,000 in January to 339,000 in October, marking the beginning of the Baby Boom."


"With housing tacts being built to accommodate the growing number of new families, architect Richard Neutra introduced the mid-century modern aesthetic to the California suburbs [...] characterized by open floor plans, clean lines, and vast windows that opened to the outdoors."


"At 19, Lauren Bacall starred alongside 45-year-old Humphrey Bogart in To Have and Have Not. The two married a year later and their next film, The Big Sleep, opened in 1946. One of Hollywood's famous love stories, the two stars remained devoted to one another until Bogart's death in 1957."

For more, click HERE.

Monday, August 29, 2011

WELCOME TO THE WORKING WEEK










I was a happy host to those escaping Irene this weekend, although the storm did seem to be something of an anti-climax (at least in major cities). Saturday's lecture provided interesting insight into the auditioning process. If you care to learn some tips, check out Tim Philips - who teaches in both LA and NYC. His book, "Audition for Your Career, Not the Job," will be available in stores soon. The rest of the day was spent getting to know someone new. It's always a rare and happy occasion when the more you learn, the more you like. Sunday the cast got together for another 12 hour day of tech rehearsals. We're down to the wire, so pressure is on. And although the hours are long and the drive, even longer, I'm lucky to be working with good people, whose company I enjoy, and whose work I admire. The week promises to be busy in preparation for opening night on Friday! Welcome to your working week.

photos via: hoodoothatvoodoo

Friday, August 26, 2011

HAPPY WEEKEND



"We do not have to visit a madhouse to find disordered minds, our planet is the mental institution of the universe"
-Friedrich Nietzsche

While the east coast anticipates the apocalypse, this weekend I will welcome a few of my favorite New Yorkers to the kinder coast!  It's always a pleasure to have friends in town, but I'm already feeling guilty about the lack of free time to spend with them. And as much as I love my old friends, its exciting to have the prospect of new ones - especially new ones who give you butterflies (if you know what I mean). Hopefully I can stretch the hours and make time for both. Auditioning seminar on Saturday, rehearsal all day Sunday, but the nights are free to fill darkened rooms, listen to loud music, see good friends, have long dinners, and long conversations, and a long sleep, and, of course, three episodes left of True Blood!! For those of you in California, enjoy the sun! For those of you to the east: rent a movie.

-AK

Thursday, August 25, 2011

WORDY



A Walk

My eyes already touch the sunny hill.
Going far ahead of the road I have begun.
So we are grasped by what we cannot grasp;
it has inner light, even from a distance-

and charges us, even if we do not reach it,
into something else, which, hardly sensing it,
we already are; a gesture waves us on
answering our own wave...
but what we feel is the wind in our faces.

-Rainer Maria Rilke (1875-1926)

photo via: hoodoothatvoodoo

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

AT THEIR WORK

 Pablo Picasso, Artist

 Akira Kurosawa, Filmmaker

 Yves Saint Laurent, Fashion Designer

Philip Glass, Composer

 Yvonne Borre, Ballet Dancer

Douglas Kirkland, Photographer - Marilyn Monroe, Actress

 Sean Penn, Actor

 Richard Serra, Sculptor

 James Dean, Actor - Elizabeth Taylor, Actress

 Richard Avedon, Photographer

Ella Fitzgerald, Singer - Louie Armstrong, Singer/Musician

photos via: impossible cool, awesome people

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

FOLLOW ME




Thank you to everyone who stops by to support Closely Watched! Now that we've reached the milestone of 15,000 views, I feel compelled to ask you loyal onlookers to kindly become followers! Please? Thank you.

I also welcome any and all feedback. Please leave a comment or question or suggestion and it will be very much appreciated. You can do so annonymously, or be a brave soul and clue me in to who you are! Looking forward to hearing your thoughts!

Happy 15,000 views on this sunny California Tuesday!

GET PERSONAL: STEVE MCQUEEN



Steve McQueen was the hard-faced cool guy whose steely attitude and rugged aspect made him the ultimate anti-hero. Born Terrence Steven McQueen on March 24th, 1930, in Beech Grove Indiana, he was the only child to parents Terrence William McQueen and Julian Crawford. His father was a stunt pilot for the flying circus, who abandoned Julian and his young son within 6 months of his birth. McQueen’s mother suffered with the trials of young single parenthood, developing an alcohol dependency problem. Unfit to care for her young child, she sent McQueen to live with her parents in Slater, Missouri. Baby McQueen arrived to his grandparents just as the Great Depression hit hardest. They then moved in with McQueen’s uncle and family on an adjacent farm in Slater.


McQueen’s youth on the farm was not unhappy. He had a stable and healthy environment that, once again was shaken when Julian called to take him back. She had remarried and felt herself able to care for her son. McQueen was heartbroken to leave the farm. Not only did he strongly disapprove of his step father, but his crippling Dyslexia and partial deafness made school incredibly difficult. Frustrated with his new life, McQueen began lashing out in school and with his friends. His behavior prompted Julian to send McQueen back to the farm with his uncle and grandparents. McQueen was bounced back-and-fourth for the last time when Julian and his step father made their final attempt at parenting. They moved McQueen to Los Angeles, where the couple had been living. Again, McQueen’s behavior was less than acceptable. He became involved in street gangs and engaged in criminal activity. After much struggle and argument, McQueen was sent to the California Junior Boys Republic in Chino, California.


Although McQueen did not initially accept the rules and regulations of the Boys Republic, he eventually learned to love it, becoming a model citizen and example for younger boys. McQueen left the Boys Republic and moved to New York, where he took odd jobs as a janitor, oil rigger, carnival salesman, and construction worker, until he joined the marines in 1947. McQueen rose in the ranks very quickly, becoming a Private First Class. Although he was demoted seven times for behavioral issues, he eventually dedicated himself to the service and performed heroically.

After his service in the Marines, McQueen used his G.I. finances to support acting classes at the Sanford Meisner Playhouse in New York. He earned additional wages competing in motorcycle races on the weekends. McQueen developed a passion for racing, which he continued to explore for the remainder of his life. He was a collector of motorcycles and bikes and was a racing enthusiast.


McQueen worked some small acting jobs while studying in New York, but his big break came in the early 1950s with Somebody up There Likes Me. His Broadway debut came not long after, performing in A Hatful of Rain in 1955. After this moderate success, McQueen moved to Los Angeles to further pursue his career. He then booked a reoccurring role on the television western, Dead or Alive. At 29 he booked the film Never So Few, starring Frank Sinatra, directed by John Sturges. Sturges enjoyed working with McQueen and cast the new talent in his two following films, The Magnificent Seven (1960) and The Great Escape (1963). The trilogy of Sturges films made McQueen a star in his own right, performing a memorable motorcycle scene in The Great Escape that gave him huge notoriety. In 1966 he was nominated for his only Academy Award for The Sand Pebbles.

It was on the set of The Getaway that McQueen met and fell in love with Ali MacGraw, whom he married. At the time, McQueen was the highest paid actor internationally, but his decision to take a hiatus to pursue motorcycle racing significantly dropped his favor.


McQueen may also have turned down some of the most famous movie roles of all time, including: Breakfast at Tiffanys, Oceans Eleven, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, and Apocalypse Now!  


McQueen political standing was extremely conservative. He voted against the grain on most contemporary politics, approving entirely of the Vietnam War. He was known in Hollywood to be an avid exercise enthusiast, weight-lifting and running 7 days a week, but his motorcycle riding was, ultimately, his life’s greatest passion.

McQueen died on November 7, 1980 in Chihuahua, Mexico, due to complications from a controversial surgery to remove metastatic tumors from his neck and stomach.

McQueen will be remembered for his gritty aspect and ultimate coolness, that transcended the film industry and made him an icon in his own right.


Monday, August 22, 2011

WELCOME TO THE WORKING WEEK








An almost wonderful or, I should say, potentially wonderful thing happened this weekend. Our office was temporarily occupied by a top-secret commercial shoot at the end of last week. On Friday afternoon I stopped by to cover for the site rep, who left for an audition. While manning my post at the temporary site rep, I was scouted by the commercial director who came up to me and said: "have you ever considered acting before?" These are the words of dreams! "Yes," I had considered acting and, even better, was currently working as an actress. After taking a quick photo of me on his phone and writing down my information, I have yet to hear from him. But I shouldn't lose hope so quickly - if I wasn't included in that particular job, there will certainly be others. This event, however small, confirmed once again the importance of timing in this industry. Luck, they say, is a combination of preparation and timing and you need em both to get ahead. Two weeks until opening night of my show means scrambling to get things finished. On Saturday we did a photoshoot for promotional ads, which I hopefully will post by the end of the week. Here's to finding some luck this week! Now, get to work.

photos via: hoodoothatvoodoo, HC

Friday, August 19, 2011

WORDY



oh god it’s wonderful
to get out of bed
and drink too much coffee
and smoke too many cigarettes
and love you so much
Frank O’Hara (American, 1926-1966)

Photo with Grace Hartigan (American, 1922-2008) - via: HC

Thursday, August 18, 2011

FABRICA DE SUENOS/DREAMS FACTORY


Tickets are officially on sale for the premiere production of Fabrica de SueƱos/Dreams Factory, directed by Julio Villegas and written by Alejandro Velasquez Waldo!! Bilingual Actors Repertory Theater presents a black comedy and cautionary tale of being careful what you wish for, following a elderly impresario who erects a wish-granting factory after his death in an effort to redeem his life-long selfishness. But the road to hell is paved with good intentions...

The show will be performed in both English and Spanish, alternating weekends starting September 2nd in Spanish.  I encourage those in Los Angeles to see the debut of this play! If you speak or understand Spanish, I recommend seeing it in its original language.

Plus, I'M IN IT!

For tickets, click HERE

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

CAT EYE

No one wore black liner better than these almond-eyed ladies.

 Faye Dunaway

 Anouk Aimee

 Anouk Aimee

 Sophia Loren

 Anna Karina

 Audrey Hepburn


Jean Seberg