The Malaysian Insider :: Showbiz
The Malaysian Insider :: Showbiz |
| Vienna set to party like it’s 1899 Posted: 06 Feb 2013 07:15 AM PST  US actress Mira Sorvino and her host Richard Lugner arrive for a news conference in Vienna February 6, 2013. — Reuters pic "I feel like I'm going to be in a fairy tale ball, like Cinderella walking into the ball," she told reporters. "I just hope I am able to do the waltz correctly." Reports about which big names were coming and what they would wear to tomorrow's dance have saturated Austrian media for days. The posh affair — boxes cost up to 18,500 euros (RM75,000) each — gets live television coverage that last year drew 1.6 million viewers in a country of 8.4 million. German fashion designer Harald Gloeoeckler plans to arrive in a carriage drawn by six horses and with six footmen in rococo costumes, he told the Heute newspaper. "The Opera Ball stands for radiance and glamour like no other event in the world except perhaps the Oscars. It takes place in a wonderful city and traditional location. And no prizes are awarded, so no one has to fear going empty-handed. You simply have to be there," he said. The dress code for the sold-out ball is white tie and tails for men, long evening gowns for women. Sorvino is the guest of Vienna construction magnate and socialite Richard Lugner, 80, who invites famous people each year to accompany him to the opulent event. He is also bringing in Italian film actress Gina Lollobrigida this year. Paris Hilton, Dita von Teese and Sophia Loren have all been Lugner's dates in the past, but Hollywood star Lindsay Lohan and actress Bo Derek snubbed him after failing to agree terms. He raised eyebrows in 2011 by inviting Karima el Mahroug, the teenage dancer known by her stage name Ruby Rubacuori (Ruby Heartstealer) at the centre of a political storm around Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. Actress Hilary Swank will be the guest of an Austrian investment company, media have reported. The ball has been held in the Opera since 1877, when Emperor Franz Joseph dropped his resistance to having dances in the building that opened on the famed Ring road in 1869, but was interrupted during the First and Second World War eras. Supermodels, captains of industry and government ministers rub elbows at the event, which gives them the chance to show off awards and medals as they waltz to the music of the Vienna Philharmonic. But new anti-corruption laws passed last year prevent politicians and government officials from accepting corporate invitations to the event. Austrian media have estimated that Patricia Schalko, friend of real estate tycoon Georg Stumpf, paid 150,000 euros for an Elie Saab dress that she told the newspaper Oesterreich had been hand sewn by 100 seamstresses. — Reuters |
| A Minute With: Soderbergh about his new film ‘Side Effects’ Posted: 06 Feb 2013 07:06 AM PST  Aldrich Award recipient Michael Apted (R) poses with presenter Steven Soderbergh (L) at the 65th annual Directors Guild of America Awards in Los Angeles February 2, 2013. — Reuters pic Rooney Mara and Channing Tatum play a couple whose lives unravel when she begins taking a new anti-anxiety medication prescribed by her psychiatrist, played by Jude Law. Soderbergh, 50, spoke with Reuters about his own experiences with prescription drugs, shooting in New York and what he plans to do on his self-imposed hiatus from film-making. Q: "Side Effects" shows characters either taking medication or prescribing them. Have you ever needed to take medication for your mood, for example? A: "Luckily, my equilibrium is fairly consistent, so I've never been in a position of wanting or needing something to stabilize my mood. The Inderal beta blocker, what they call the "speaking drug," is miraculous. I use that. A buddy of mine turned me on to it because I said, "I really hate getting up in front of people." He says, "You've got to try Inderal." It keeps you calm and keeps you from getting anxious. That's my only pill experience." Q: No pain-killing drugs that have landed so many in rehab? A: "I had kidney stones once, which were not fun. They give you (pain-killer) Oxycontin and I thought, 'Oh boy, this is the one.' People turn their lives upside down to try and get this stuff. But it did nothing for me." Q: You shot "Side Effects" in New York, which is where you live. What were some of the challenges shooting there? A: "I was really fascinated by how the paparazzi came around when we were shooting out on the street. The unwillingness on the part of the city to give you certain physical parameters to work within that allow some amount of privacy to do your work was shocking. There were times where I was literally bumping in to them while we were trying to work." Q: You're officially taking a break from film. How are you staying busy? A: "I'm still working on stuff, just not movies. I've got this website (Extension765.com) that's going to go up sometime in March or April where (personal and movie items will be) accessible to get or buy." Q: Like what? A: "I have closets full of memorabilia, slates, scripts with my notes in them, badges from film festivals ... I can auction it off (online) and give the money to charity. I will also have my photography and a whole line of film related T-shirts." Q: What's the concept behind the T-shirts? A: "When they were being designed, I would test them out by wearing them to the set to see if people knew the movie references. There was this one Black Pony Scotch shirt. That's a very, very obscure reference from a famous film noir from the 1940s where there is a five-second pan across a table and you see this bottle of Black Pony Scotch." Q: What's the movie? A: "Laura" (by director Otto Preminger). Q: Is the name of your site another obscure film reference? A: "'The Conversation.' Whenever Gene Hackman calls to find out what's going on, Harrison Ford answers the phone and says, 'extension 765.'" Q: Are you up to anything else at the moment? A: "Yes. I've also designed a pair of super high-end audiophile headphones — what will be limited edition. I've been work working (on them) with the RED (digital) camera people." — Reuters |
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