After leaving a screening of Black Swan, I, undoubtedly along with the rest of the audience, felt moved and disturbed by Darren Aronofsky’s new ballet thriller BLACK SWAN. A creative masterpiece yet again from the mastermind who brought us heart wrenching reality films like Requiem for a Dream and 2008′s The Wrestler.  However, this is Aronofsky at his absolute best.

The film, at the center of it all, is about what performers sacrifice to make great art. Everything else around it falls into place to tell this story with tragic, and logical detail. Nina (Natalie Portman) is a ballerina inside the exclusive world of dance in New York City. She lives with her overprotective mother (Barbara Hershey) and is so innocent and virginal, she is perfect for the role of the upcoming revised version of “Swan Lake”, creatively directed by Thomas Leroy (Vincent Cassel). As she is cast in the role of the White Swan, her inability to let go and tap into her darker self to also dance the counter part of the Black Swan, begins to take its toll. At first, we understand this business of ballet is so strenuous and rigorous it is just constant pressure. However, as the film unwraps we realize Nina is losing her sanity, all the while dancing the Black Swan better and better. Added into the mix is new company member Lily (Mila Kunis) who is the opposite of Nina, carefree, free spirited, and wild. As Nina becomes unhinged and paranoid, she thinks Lily is here to take her role, and her love interest.  She also begins to see her face in other women, and has fantisies about self mutilation.

The amount of talent Aronofsky and his team have in creating this visual masterpiece is particulary fantastic. The sound is so claustrophobic, surrounding Nina and her mind, trapping them inside. The director also follows closely the very accurate demanding physicality of ballet; torn ligaments, bloodied feet, the stress, and the grueling schedule.

Black Swan is a film that will stick with you. It will, like the visuals Nina begins to hallucinate in her mind, manifest inside you, long after you have left the theater, and will make you think. The film’s ultimate tragic climax and simple tale of what a performer does for their art will haunt you undoubtedly, long after the film has finished, and the credits have rolled.

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For those of us who were there last night, either as fans of Green Day, Broadway, or their rock opera American Idiot- it was a legendary moment.  Billie Joe Armstrong- lead singer of Green Day, main lyricist, and guitarist of the band for the past 20 years made his Broadway debut appropriately as the character  ‘St. Jimmy’ last night, September 28th at the St. James Theater. (Where he runs through a limited 7 day engagement).

When he first came out onto the stage, mid way through the play, the crowd roared with applause and screams, as if we were at an arena Green Day concert. It didn’t stop through the fiery and fierce 1st song also titled ‘St Jimmy’ where he plays a character who is the fictitious alter ego and personal demon to the main character of Johnny (played by John Gallagher Jr.).

As a huge fan, I’ve seen this musical several times, and it only gets better, and better. The cast stays strong, and continues to grow together as an incredible ensemble. The music gets louder, the passion of the performances from the band and cast, stronger.

Even if not a Green Day fan, you will walk away one. Even if not a Broadway fan, you will walk away one. This is a show for everyone, where I’ve seen 60 year olds and 10 year olds singing along.  But, there is NO better way to witness it than to see Billie Joe Armstrong-the incredible performance he gives, through the songs he wrote- up on stage with these guys.

You will never forget it.

The playing schedule for American Idiot is Tuesday at 7 PM, Wednesday 8 PM, Thursday at 8 PM, Friday at 8 PM, Saturday at 2 PM & 8 PM and Sunday at 3 PM and 7:30 PM. Tickets range from $127-$49 and can be purchased at The St. James Box Office or via telecharge.com (212) 239-6200. Visit www.AmericanIdiotonBroadway.com.

Billie Joe Armstrong runs on a limited engagement through Oct. 3rd.

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If you don’t yet recognize this face yet live in New York City, you may as well be living under a rock.

This week I am featuring one of my favorite young actors, Jesse Eisenberg, because he is just incredible, and should be mentioned in every hot topic column regarding film actors.

Several years ago I discovered for myself the immense talent of Jesse Eisenberg in indie films such as “The Squid and the Whale” and “Roger Dodger“.  I thought to myself – “this guy is great, and he is going to get better and blow up”. Here we are many years later in September of 2010, and I cannot walk anywhere in New York City without seeing a huge poster of Eisenberg’s face as Mark Zuckerberg in the highly anticipated upcoming film “The Social Network” directed by David Fincher. The film, which follows the true life- too insane to be fiction- story of Harvard student Zuckerberg and his friends and how they (or someone else?) invented Facebook is already receiving major Oscar buzz. Mainly for the 26 year old Jesse Eisenberg… And here is when I say “I told you so”…..

It opens soon, and in honor of this young actor who is about to explode into a huge media spotlight, I wanted to recommend a few films from his eclectic background of work. Check out this year’s “Holy Rollers”- where he plays a young Hasidic Jew who is lured into drug smuggling, or see his incredible, awkward talent for comedy in films such as “Adventureland” and “Zombieland“. Or better yet, rent those, but see “The Social Network” when it opens October 1st. This kid will blow you away.

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I left a screening late last night of “I’m Still Here” disturbed, alarmed, and literally unable to sleep afterward.  The ‘documentary film’ directed by Casey Affleck centers around the retirement of actor and brother in law Joaquin Phoenix, and his decision to descend into a downward spiral into the world of hip hop. After two years of speculation, the film ultimately was not real, and more along the lines of films like “Don’t Look Back” and “This is Spinal Tap”. However, I am not sure where that leaves us.

It debuted this month at the Toronto Film Festival to scathing reviews, mostly questioning “Is this real or not”? and touching base on the disturbing images caught on camera in the 90 minute film.  As a long time fan of Phoenix’s work, I was really shocked and saddened that he planned to retire after Two Lovers.  Being as dedicated as possible to his craft though, he has spent the last two years taking us ALL on an original, mind blowing experimental ride. And by all of us, I mean -David Letterman, Ben Stiller, P Diddy, Edward James Olmos, etc. Affleck has yet to let the audience know which parts were real and which weren’t.  The drug snorting? The hookers? The home videos of Joaquin with his family in Panama?  But I suppose this is the ultimate message of the film. Documentary, performance art-whichever way you see it.  I’ve never seen anything like it.

I suppose in the end, that may just be the beauty of this whole experimental mockumentary. Also a disturbing and heartbreaking lesson on the quick rise and fall of fame, the media, and how cruel Hollywood can be.  If this is all truly a hoax, then this is definitely the best performance I have ever seen, because Phoenix as ‘JP’ followed me straight out of the theater, and I sincerely hope the film, and he get recognized for that.  I recommend  ”I’m Still Here” for those who can come with an open mind, and want to see first hand a story -true or false- about the ultimate disintegration of fame.

Check out the trailer:

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“Picture Me- A Model’s Diary” is the new documentary following the rise of high fashion model Sara Ziff, over the course of several years, by her then filmmaker boyfriend Ole Schell.

It first premiered  at the 2009 Gen Art Film Festival in New York, and it is shocking, honest, and disturbing.

What began as a more or less ‘hobby’ of filming everything–from backstage, to the catwalk, to traveling, daily errands, and everything in between– turned into endless footage, including several unsettling moments caught on tape by Schell. It reveals a side of modeling, that sadly, I am all too familiar with, along with many other former models who saw, witnessed, or experienced the ugly side of the modeling world for themselves.

Ironically enough these topics never graced the stylish, beautiful pages of VOGUE.

This weekend Picture Me makes it’s official New York debut at the Angelika Theater, and Ole and Sara Ziff (co-director, and model) will be holding a Q&A after each 7:30pm show this weekend.

I encourage any young woman who is interested in the modeling business to see this film, in addition to any one else who shrugs modeling off as ‘easy work’.  It won’t soon leave your memory.

Check out the film’s official trailer here:

~~~

Playing at:

Angelika Film Center & Cafe189 2nd Ave # 2S, New York, NY 10003-5782(212) 871-9093

• Directions

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I don’t ordinarily feature films in the ‘De Profil’ section on THM, but I figured this is a grand exception.  As I walked past the Aneglika today in Manhattan, I saw a film poster for “The Concert” starring a wonderful French actress named Melanie Laurent. I decided to check it out, and was blown away by this amazing, little film that came out of nowhere!

“Le Concert” is about Russian conductor who is demoted to janitor under the Communist Party for his support of Jewish musicians. Years later, he intercepts an invitation from the Bolshoi Orchestra to play in Paris and uses the opportunity to reassemble his old orchestra-30 years prior- and finish the concert that was interrupted by the Communist authorities all those years before.

A classic triumph of the underdog tale– beautiful classical music and incredible acting. After the finale, I was reduced to what I like to call- ‘feel good tears’.

I must say this a gem, and completely unexpected. I highly reccomend you to see it, if you are in the area. You won’t leave dissapointed.

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Mark your calendars for next Wednesday, August 18th, fellow New Yorkers.  NWF is throwing a huge charity, live music event in Manhattan, bringing out some great talent from across the country, including my dear friend-singer, songwriter Beau Davidson.

What: NATURE’S NIGHT II

– Supporting Gulf Oil Spill Restoration

– featuring National Wildlife Federation’s celebrity naturalist David Mizejewski

Where: The Gates, 290 8th Ave, New York, New York

When: Wednesday, August 18, 2010, 7 p.m. to 11:00 p.m.

Who: Society’s Choice and members of New York’s arts, business and entertainment communities; guest speakers from the National Wildlife Federation and other environmental groups reporting on the status of wildlife rescue efforts in the Gulf.

The event will include entertainment by six top recording artists and dancers from across the country.

• Larry Love and his band
• Zach Maxwell and his band
• Beau Davidson
• Dianne Wesley
• Cynthia Angua
• Ilyana and James Harell (in place of Dalal)

www.facebook.com/SocietysChoice

Tickets right now, are 25$ in advance, or 35$ at the door. This is an excellent cause, and a helping hand to spread around. If you like great music, I assure you this is the place to be!

Check out Beau Davidson on CMT now!
Artist Page: www.cmt.com/artists/az/davidson__beau/artist.jhtml
Video: http://www.cmt.com/loaded/index.jhtml?vid=202396

Hope to see you there!

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It has been a long 13 years since hiphop artist EMINEM burst onto the music scene and the charts with his first studio record, “The Slim Shady LP”.  An ecclectic and shocking album, 5 more equally shocking albums would follow, and be placed at number 1 on the American Billboard Charts for years to come.

It wasn’t until 2006 or so, that Eminem (aka Marshall Mathers) announced he would be retiring, and also seeking help for personal problems and rehablitation.  As a fan, and someone who never knew hiphop until I first heard Eminem when I was 13 years old, I was devastated.  This is an artist that came out–angry, loud, and full of energy and rhythm I had never heard–someone who exposed me to a kind of pain I was feeling–from the most unexpected source– the land of hip hop, and he was finished? Done? Over?

Flash forward to June 2010, and Eminem is back with a vengence with his latest album “Recovery”.  What a great, heartbreaking record.  Scattered with famous samples from old tunes, to rock to rap, to everything in between, the album is a personal diary . . . of an artist’s struggle with his career, the spotlight, drug abuse, and domestic abuse.  He has since left behind what made him famous– his constant dissing, and dropping of derogatory terms in a joking context, to something true, honest, and painfully detailed.  Never, in my opinion has an artist been able to bounce back, survive, and ultimately be so frank with his audience, maybe a true rock star. This is why I admire Eminem, Marshall Mathers, whatever the name, this person. The musical genius indeed.  His has stepped up to the table, lived through his war and decided to let the world know his personal story.  That is a real rock star.

Check out the video for his first single “Not Afraid”

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I am fascinated with driven entertainers who do more with their beautiful mug and talent than the average human. In saying this, no one fits this mold better than German sensation Soraya Garcia.  Born in Hannover to Spanish parents, Soraya has risen out of an array of fashion models and musicians to stand alone. She labels herself a “rebellious, liberal democrat” and as her career is about to explode, I figured I would sit down with her and grab a few quick thoughts from her creative mind, before I am having to wait in line like the rest of the Universe …

Would love to get a breakdown of your background, it’s so interesting? Where are you from? Your heritage? How has that shaped who you are today?

Thank you very much! My family is actually from Valladolid, a city close to Madrid in Spain. I was born and raised in Hannover, Germany though…which is quite interesting since I feel that both countries are so different from each other. In Spain, we are pretty passionate and we know how to enjoy life whilst Germans tend to be very driven by hard work and discipline… So…I often feel this cultural mix keeps me balanced and makes me more tolerant and understanding of other cultures.

How did you break into Fashion? Where do you see yourself going next? Acting wise, especially?

I got into this industry when I was around 19. Paul Mitchell was casting models for a hair show, I happened to more or less “run into” the casting agents and hair stylists from L.A., and got to do the whole runway thing with eight-inch heels and their latest hair-style creation on my head – which included about ten tons of hair-spray and more hair gel I ever thought existed. All in all a funny experience, that led to more and more shoots, including fashion,beauty and commercial print. Another big focus of mine is music though, my electronica band Excess-bition is just about to release our first cd “Intellectual Property”, I am more then exited to start dj-ing very soon too. I love creativity so much, and i just think all arts kind of flow together; that is why I would love to expand all my possibilities, and since modeling is a little bit of acting too, I would love to try that on a small scale as well. I just love to have the best of all ALL worlds, haha.

I know you are multi lingual. What languages do you speak and or study?

Well… I speak German, English and Spanish fluently, plus some basic French and Italian. I also studied Latin for six years, since my dad wanted me to become a lawyer or a doctor…well..not quite, haha.

I also know you are very well known for your constant voice in animal activism. What is your daily lifestyle/outlook like? Also, I know you support the German organization BUND-can you tell me more about this organization?

Sure! I have been a vegetarian since I was twelve years old, and a vegan since I turned nineteen, meaning I do not use any animal product at all. Animals are just so important to me; having two cats myself, I feel that an animal is more than a potential steak or sausage. I know people classify animals into categories, meaning e.g you can eat a cow but not a cat in our society, but I choose to not make this distinction. They say that a society is also characterized by the way it treats their animals…if so, we still have a lot to learn, I guess. I know that not everybody will stop eating meat or wearing fur just for the sake of it, but I wish people would realize that animals actually DO have feelings, they do feel pain, and that it is completely unnecessary to kill or exploit them in my opinion. Apart from other charities dedicated to animals, I support the German “BUND”, which helps to protect the environment and animals alike. Their latest campaigns are intended to save the whales, and to protect endangered animals. Please feel free to find out more at: www.bund.net.

***

There she is!  I’m delighted to introduce New York City to her. To listen to Soraya’s music on Reverb Nation, Go here.

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