The fluidity aspect

TodaysArt 2014 exhibition

Mounira Al Solh works across video, painting, collages, performance and a magazine that does not get distributed (Not Only Arabic magazine).

Al Solh touches upon the personal, the family, the socio-political and the religious in a not strictly realistic, but often humorist, fictional or even fantastical manner. Most recently, she has been working on language as in her solo “All Mother Tongues Are Difficult” held at Sfeir-Semler gallery in Beirut and in her collaborative initiative titled “noa language school” that she co-organises with Angela Serino.

The video ‘Now Eat My Script’ follows the transportation of a sacrificed lamb in the trunk of the car by the artist’s aunt as a starting point for a reflection on the exchange of goods and food between Syria and Lebanon. Raw meat, sacrificed animals and personal (fictive) information are producing the knowledge to respond to elements like trauma, the current situation in the Middle East and other fragmentary story lines from the (pregnant) and supposedly feminist scriptwriter. The text roams between cities and memories that cannot find a proper place and does not become proper fiction. The fluid, condensed story is one of contradicting, dissolving and collapsing contexts.

The artist resides in Beirut and Amsterdam and studied at the Lebanese University, the Gerrit Rietveld Academie and the Rijksakademie, Amsterdam.

Production stills for Seattle based creative agency and film and video production company Spin Creative. The production stills feature behind the scenes of a shoot for a Treehouse brand film and commercial shot in February 2013 on the Canon C300. Treehouse is a Seattle-based non-profit committed to improving the lives of kids living in foster care. The film will debut at the Treehouse annual fundraising luncheon, “Champions for Foster Kids,” on March 20th at the Seattle Sheraton.

The brand film that Spin Creative is crafting will be constructed in TV commercial form and will have multiple uses and delivery channels after its initial viewing at the “Champions” event. Spin developed the creative strategy and script for the spot and tells the story of who Treehouse is today, its future and the legacy its building upon. Beyond the fundraising event, the spot will be used for awareness-building and as a tool to convey the Treehouse story in an emotive, powerful way.

A huge thanks to all of the organizations and people who donated services and time to make this project happen, including:

•Treehouse clients for doing a superb job sourcing and coordinating locations, casting and talent for the project. Emily Lubenow in particular put in countless hours finding talent, locations and sourcing props and did an amazing job.

•Our crew and project team who donated additional time and services.

•Blanchet High School, Fairview Christian School and All That Dance who donated locations and provided on-camera talent.

Project Credits:

Tom Skerritt, Narrator

Matthew Billings, Director + Editor

Jim Lombardo, Scriptwriter + Producer

Ty Migota, DP

Siobhan Macdona, Stylist

Scott Gwin, DIT + Grip

Miguel Cornelio, Casting + Props + Production Stills

Drew Hisey, PA

Eric Lee, PA

Nick Denke at Electric Muses, Music Composer + Audio Mix

Production stills for Seattle based creative agency and film and video production company Spin Creative. The production stills feature behind the scenes of a shoot for a Treehouse brand film and commercial shot in February 2013 on the Canon C300. Treehouse is a Seattle-based non-profit committed to improving the lives of kids living in foster care. The film will debut at the Treehouse annual fundraising luncheon, “Champions for Foster Kids,” on March 20th at the Seattle Sheraton.

The brand film that Spin Creative is crafting will be constructed in TV commercial form and will have multiple uses and delivery channels after its initial viewing at the “Champions” event. Spin developed the creative strategy and script for the spot and tells the story of who Treehouse is today, its future and the legacy its building upon. Beyond the fundraising event, the spot will be used for awareness-building and as a tool to convey the Treehouse story in an emotive, powerful way.

A huge thanks to all of the organizations and people who donated services and time to make this project happen, including:

•Treehouse clients for doing a superb job sourcing and coordinating locations, casting and talent for the project. Emily Lubenow in particular put in countless hours finding talent, locations and sourcing props and did an amazing job.

•Our crew and project team who donated additional time and services.

•Blanchet High School, Fairview Christian School and All That Dance who donated locations and provided on-camera talent.

Project Credits:

Tom Skerritt, Narrator

Matthew Billings, Director + Editor

Jim Lombardo, Scriptwriter + Producer

Ty Migota, DP

Siobhan Macdona, Stylist

Scott Gwin, DIT + Grip

Miguel Cornelio, Casting + Props + Production Stills

Drew Hisey, PA

Eric Lee, PA

Nick Denke at Electric Muses, Music Composer + Audio Mix

German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 156/3. Photo: Paramount. Ernst Busch and Brigitte Helm in Eine von uns/One of Us (Johannes Meyer, 1931). Collection: Geoffrey Donaldson Institute.

German actress Brigitte Helm (1908-1996) is still famous for her dual role as Maria and her double the evil Maria, the Maschinenmensch, in the silent SF classic Metropolis (Fritz Lang, 1927). After Metropolis she made a string of over 30 films in which she almost always had the starring role. She easily made the transition to sound films, before she abruptly retired in 1935.

Brigitte Helm was born as Brigitte Eva Gisela Schittenhelm in Berlin, Germany, in 1906 (some sources say 1908). Her father was a Prussian army officer, who left his wife a widow not long after. Brigitte gained her acting experience in school productions but never thought of acting classes. After her school exams, she wanted to be an astronomer. But then she was discovered by the famous director Fritz Lang for the lead in Metropolis (Fritz Lang, 1927), then the most expensive German film ever made. Her mother had sent a photograph of her beautiful 16-years-old daughter to Lang's wife, scriptwriter Thea von Harbou. Helm was invited to the set of Die Nibelungen and was given a screen test. She got the double role of the noble and virginal Maria and her evil and sensual twin, the Maschinenmensch, a robot created to urge the workers in revolting and destroy their own city. In their 1996 obituary in The New York Times, Robert McThomas and Peter Herzog note: "The film depicts the world of 2006, a time, Lang envisioned, when a ruling class lives in decadent luxury in the loft heights of skyscrapers linked by aerial railways, while beneath the streets slave-like workers toll in unbearable conditions to sustain their masters. But for all the steam and special effects, for many who have seen the movie in its various incarnations, including a tinted version and one accompanied by music, the most compelling lingering image is neither the towers above nor the hellish factories below. It is the staring transformation of Ms. Helm from an idealistic young woman into a barely clad creature performing a lascivious dance in a brothel." Metropolis made Brigitte Helm a star overnight.

UFA gave Brigitte Helm a contract, and over the next 10 years, she acted in 29 German, French, and English films. She was cast as the evil but oh so seductive protagonist in the Sci-Fi-horror film Alraune. First in the silent version of 1928, directed by Henrik Galeen. Hal Erickson at AllMovie: "Hanns Heinz Ewers' grim science-fiction novel 'Alraune' has already been filmed twice when this version was assembled in 1928. In another of his 'mad doctor' roles, Paul Wegener plays Professor Brinken, the sociopathic scientist who combines the genes of an executed murderer with those of a prostitute. The result is a beautiful young woman named Alraune (Brigitte Helm), who is incapable of feeling any real emotions - least of all guilt or regret. Upon attaining adulthood, Alraune sets about to seduce and destroy every male who crosses her path. Ultimately, Professor Brinken is hoist on his own petard when he falls hopelessly in love with Alraune himself." Two years later Helm also starred in the sound version, Alraune/A Daughter of Destiny (Richard Oswald, 1930), for which the Dutch postcard lower in this post was made.

Brigitte Helm played a helpless blind woman who is seduced by a rogue in the wartime melodrama Die Liebe der Jeanne Ney/The Love of Jeanne Ney (G.W. Pabst, 1927). It was Brigitte Helm's first project with Georg Wilhelm Pabst, the director who could - better than any other director - bring out her mysterious adaptability. In his films Abwege/The Devious Path (1928) and L’Atlantide/Die Herrin von Atlantis/Queen of Atlantis (1932) she proved that she could perform more restrained and emotionally expressive characters. In Abwege, she portrays a spoilt woman of the world who from sheer boredom almost destroys her own life. In L'Atlantide (1932), Helm plays a goddess, the mere sight of whom makes men crazy. Werner Sudendorff wrote in his obituary of Helm in The Independent: "Her power is not of this world, but incomprehensible, magical. This was Helm's last really great role, a legendary mysterious sphinx of the German cinema." These films and Marcel L'Herbier's late silent film L'Argent/The Money (Marcel L’ Herbier, 1928) allowed Helm to act outside the tired cliches she was later often subjected to by scriptwriters and producers.

Brigitte Helm's first sound film was the musical Die singende Stadt/City of Song (Carmine Gallone, 1930) with Jan Kiepura. She also appeared in the French and English versions of her German films. Werner Sudendorff: "In her films of the early 1930s, Brigitte Helm became the embodiment of the down-to-earth, affluent modern woman. With her slim figure and austere pre-Raphaelite profile, she seems unapproachable, a model fashion-conscious woman, under whose ice-cold outer appearance criminal energies flicker." However, her sound films, like Gloria (Hans Behrendt, 1931), The Blue Danube (Herbert Wilcox, 1932), and Gold/L’Or (Karl Hartl, 1934), do not have the artistic cachet of her best silent films. Her relationship with the Ufa happened to be very rocky. While the studio had made her a star and kept increasing her pay, the actress was unhappy with the material the Ufa offered her and she was annoyed about the restrictive clauses dictating her weight.

Reportedly Brigitte Helm was Josef Von Sternberg's original choice for the starring role of Der Blaue Engel/The Blue Angel (1930), but the part went to Marlene Dietrich. Helm was also James Whale's first choice for his Bride of Frankenstein (1935), but reportedly she refused to go to America. In 1935, angered by the Nazi control of the German film industry, she didn’t extend her contract with the Ufa. Perhaps another reason for her decision were the negative press reports about her many traffic accidents and the short prison sentence as a result of it. Her last film was Ein Idealer Gatte/An Ideal Husband (Herbert Selpin, 1935), an adaptation of the play by Oscar Wilde.

In private, Brigitte Helm was a timid, modest, and not very ambitious personality. In 1935, after a short but prolific career of 32 films, she married Dr. Hugo Von Kunheim, a German industrialist of Jewish descent, and retired. Bruce Eder at AllMovie: "in addition to no longer needing to pursue her acting, with which she was never 100-percent comfortable, she was repelled by the takeover of the German movie industry by the Hitler government. Her marital status, coupled with her anti-Nazi political views, made it impossible for Helm to continue working in movies or living in Germany. From 1935 onward, the couple lived in Switzerland. After the war, they divided their time between Germany and Switzerland, but Helm chose to live quietly and remain anonymous." The pair would raise four children. In 1968 Helm received the Filmband in Gold for “continued outstanding individual contributions to German film over the years". She steadfastly refused to appear in a film again, nor even grant an interview about her film career, but she always answered requests from her old fans for her signature. Brigitte Helm died in 1996 in Ascona, Switzerland. In particular, her Evil Maria won't be forgotten. Apt for her is the Mae West line: "When I am good, I am very good; but when I am bad, I am better."

Sources: Vittorio Martinelli (Le dive del silenzio), Robert McThomas and Peter Herzog (The New York Times), Werner Sudendorff (The Independent), Bruce Eder (AllMovie), Hal Erickson (AllMovie), Thomas Staedeli (Cyranos), Film Reference, Lenin Imports, Wikipedia, and IMDb.

And, please check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.

German postcard by Kunst und Bild, Berlin, no. I 477. Photo: EGC / Fernand Rivers / Constantin Film. Publicity still for La Lumière d'en face/Female and the Flesh (Georges Lacombe, 1955).

French actor Roger Pigaut (1919–1989) appeared in 40 films between 1943 and 1978. He also worked as a film director and scriptwriter.

Roger Pigaut was born Roger Paul Louis Pigot in Vincennes, France, in 1919. In 1938, Pigaut attended the theatre courses of Raymond Rouleau and the following year he was admitted to the Conservatoire. But because of the war, he left to the South of France. From 1943, he played in more than forty films. One of his first films was the romantic drama Douce/Love Story (Claude Autant-Lara, 1943) with Odette Joyeux. He co-starred with Madeleine Robinson in the crime drama Sortilèges/The Bellman (Christian-Jaque, 1945). D.B. Dumontiel at IMDb: “Robinson and Pigaut had already teamed up in Claude Autant-Lara's classic Douce and the scenes where they are together (particularly the ball) take the film out on a level of stratospheric intensity that simply rises above the rest.” Pigaut’s most prominent roles were as Antoine in the comedy Antoine et Antoinette (Jacques Becker, 1947) with Claire Mafféi as Antoinette, and as Pierre Bouquinquant in Les frères Bouquinquant/The brothers Bouquinquant (Louis Daquin, 1948). D.B. Dumontiel agaqin: “Antoine and Antoinette retains its pristine charm. It's very well acted, and Becker's camera is fluid, his sympathy for his characters is glaring. Qualities which will emerge again in such works as Rendez-vous de Juillet and his towering achievement Casque D'Or.” Pigaut then portrayed the eighteenth century adventurer Louis Dominique Bourguignon known as Cartouche in the historical film Cartouche, roi de Paris/Cartouche (Guillaume Radot, 1950).

In Italy, Roger Pigaut played a supporting part in the Italian Peplum Teodora, imperatrice di Bisanzio/Theodora, Slave Empress (Riccardo Freda, 1954) about Theodora (Gianna Maria Canale), a former slave who married Justinian I, emperor of Byzantium in AD 527–565. He also appeared as Le Marquis d'Escrainville in two parts of the popular Angélique series featuring Michèle Mercier, Indomptable Angélique/Untamable Angelique (Bernard Borderie, 1967) and Angélique et le sultan/Angelique and the Sultan (Bernard Borderie, 1968). Other historical films in which Pigaut appeared were the Italian-French J'ai tué Raspoutine/I Killed Rasputin (Robert Hossein, 1967) with Gert Fröbe as Grigori Rasputin, and the romantic tragedy Mayerling (Terence Young, 1968) starring Omar Sharif as Crown Prince Rudolf of Austria and Catherine Deneuve as his mistress Baroness Maria Vetsera. His last film was Une Histoire simple/A Simple Story (Claude Sautet, 1978), starring Romy Schneider, which was nominated for the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film. Roger Pigaut also directed six films, and played in the theatre. For five years, he was the companion of actress Betsy Blair from the late-1950s to the early-1960s (in between her marriages to Gene Kelly and Karel Reisz). Together with Serge Reggiani, they founded the production company Garance Films, with which they produced such films as Cerf-volant du bout du monde/The Magic of the Kite (Roger Pigaut, 1958) and the caper Trois milliards sans ascenseur/3000 Million Without an Elevator (Roger Pigaut, 1972) with Reggiani, and Dany Carrel. Later he was married to French actress Joëlle Bernard. Roger Pigaut passed away in 1989 in Paris. He was 70.

Sources: D.B. Dumonteil (IMDb), Wikipedia (French and English) and IMDb.

I was born in 1989 in Estonia.

I have Estonian citizenship but a Danish father. I have lived in different countries (Estonia, Russia, Sweden and Denmark) because my father was a diplomat.

I became an author as a result of the passing of my mother who died of cancer in 2006 after seven years of illness.

Who am I?

I believe I am a friendly guy. I would personally say that I have no humor. Though I think people around me would say that is debatable. I have a passion for learning and trying out new things. People might find me punctual at times. I have a tendency to appear at least one hour before the start of the meeting.

It started from these extra classes of French I took while I visited my father and my little brother in Brussels (Saint Job). Apparently from Saint Job there were only two trains I could pick either to come two hours before or then 5 minutes late. I picked the first alternative.

About True Story of Dracula:

True Story of Dracula is a horror book. It is written as if Dracula had existed. So it starts with Vlad III, from his early childhood, and tries to give him a character one can relate to, until the moment he was killed and how he was transformed into Dracula. How Dracula was and acted among his fellow humans. Not to forget how he managed to stay hidden for all those years.

Then we begin with the main plot of the book, a class from California traveling to Romania on a research trip. As they are to discover it turns from a research trip to a getaway trip.

I was born in 1989 in Estonia.

I have Estonian citizenship but a Danish father. I have lived in different countries (Estonia, Russia, Sweden and Denmark) because my father was a diplomat.

I became an author as a result of the passing of my mother who died of cancer in 2006 after seven years of illness.

Who am I?

I believe I am a friendly guy. I would personally say that I have no humor. Though I think people around me would say that is debatable. I have a passion for learning and trying out new things. People might find me punctual at times. I have a tendency to appear at least one hour before the start of the meeting.

It started from these extra classes of French I took while I visited my father and my little brother in Brussels (Saint Job). Apparently from Saint Job there were only two trains I could pick either to come two hours before or then 5 minutes late. I picked the first alternative.

About True Story of Dracula:

True Story of Dracula is a horror book. It is written as if Dracula had existed. So it starts with Vlad III, from his early childhood, and tries to give him a character one can relate to, until the moment he was killed and how he was transformed into Dracula. How Dracula was and acted among his fellow humans. Not to forget how he managed to stay hidden for all those years.

Then we begin with the main plot of the book, a class from California traveling to Romania on a research trip. As they are to discover it turns from a research trip to a getaway trip.

I was born in 1989 in Estonia.

I have Estonian citizenship but a Danish father. I have lived in different countries (Estonia, Russia, Sweden and Denmark) because my father was a diplomat.

I became an author as a result of the passing of my mother who died of cancer in 2006 after seven years of illness.

Who am I?

I believe I am a friendly guy. I would personally say that I have no humor. Though I think people around me would say that is debatable. I have a passion for learning and trying out new things. People might find me punctual at times. I have a tendency to appear at least one hour before the start of the meeting.

It started from these extra classes of French I took while I visited my father and my little brother in Brussels (Saint Job). Apparently from Saint Job there were only two trains I could pick either to come two hours before or then 5 minutes late. I picked the first alternative.

About True Story of Dracula:

True Story of Dracula is a horror book. It is written as if Dracula had existed. So it starts with Vlad III, from his early childhood, and tries to give him a character one can relate to, until the moment he was killed and how he was transformed into Dracula. How Dracula was and acted among his fellow humans. Not to forget how he managed to stay hidden for all those years.

Then we begin with the main plot of the book, a class from California traveling to Romania on a research trip. As they are to discover it turns from a research trip to a getaway trip.

Italian postcard by Rizzoli, Milano, 1942. Photo: Ghergo.

Leda Gloria (1912-1997) was one of Federico Fellini’s favourite film actresses, having a prolific career in the 1930s and 1940s but is also remembered as the wife of Peppone in the Don Camillo films.

Leda Gloria, pseudonym of Leda Nicoletti Data was born in Rome, on 30 August 1912. She started her film career already at a young age, winning a film contest held by an American film company in Italy. She dropped her studies as a harpist and acted in various silent Italian and German films, one of which was next to Lil Dagover, the German early sound film Es gibt eine Frau die dich niemals vergisst (Leo Mittler 1930), also with Ivan Petrovich. Gloria’s first film seems to have been the comedy Ragazze non scherzate (Alfred Lind 1929) with Maurizio D’Ancora. With the coming of sound cinema, she became one of the most active and popular Italian actresses. She first made her mark in two films by Alessandro Blasetti, Terra madre (1931) and Palio (1932), playing lively and spontaneous country girls. In Terra madre Gloria played country girl Emilia opposite Sandro Salvini, the former love interest in the silent diva films. Here he plays a duke who wants to sell his estate and move to the city, but after a fire extinguished with the help of the farmers he decides to stay. In Palio, in which jockey’s representing various neighbourhoods (contrada’s) fight each other, love makes blind. Jockey Zarre (Guido Celano) breaks his affair with young Fiora (Gloria) when she is courted by a captain from a rival contrada. When a singer in whom he is infatuated, sets up a trap with his rival in love and horse-riding, Zarre almost fails but stills manages to win the Palio, gaining Fiora back as a bonus. Contrasting the bleak and bloodless 19th-century vamps, Gloria showed a healthy beauty and simple but often convincing and solid acting, as in La tavola dei poveri (Blasetti 1932) and Il cappello a tre punte (Mario Camerini 1934). She encountered a big success with her first dramatic character in Montevergine (Carlo Campogalliani 1939), starring Nazzari and a story about a man bound for revenge as he has been wrongly accused of murder and innocently imprisoned.

Among Gloria’s films from the war years were Antonio Meucci (Enrico Guazzoni 1940) starring Luigi Pavese as the telephone inventor and Gloria as his wife Ester, Anime in tumulto (Giulio Del Torre 1942) on a surgeon’s wife who steals a baby when she cannot have one, and Dagli Appennini alle Ande (Flavio Cavalzara 1943) on a boy (Cesare Barbetti) crossing the ocean and the whole of Argentine in search of his mother (Gloria). After the war she was involved in variety at the Company of Giulio Donadio, returning with a serious, supporting part in the neorealist film Il mulino del Po (Carlo Lizzani 1949), starring Carla Del Poggio and Jacques Sernas and situated in the late 19th-century countryside near Ferrara. Future film director Federico Fellini was one of the scriptwriters for this film. Subsequently, she was satisfied with parts as a supporting actress, often as mothers of the leading characters, but always playing moderated and well-delivered, e.g. as Cosetta Greco’s’s mother in Le ragazze di Piazza di Spagna (Luciano Emmer 1952) and Raf Mattioli’s mother in Guendalina (Alberto Lattuada 1957). Gloria is well remembered as Gino Cervi’s wife Maria Botazzi in the Don Camillo films with Cervi as the communist mayor Peppone and Fernandel as Don Camillo: Don Camillo (Julien Duvivier 1952), Il ritorno di Don Camillo (Julien Duvivier 1953), Don Camillo e l’onorevole Peppone (Carmine Gallone 1955), Don Camillo monsignore… ma non troppo (Carmine Gallone 1961) and Il compagno Don Camillo (Luigi Comencini 1965). She also played Eduardo De Filippo’s wife in the comedy Napoli milionaria (Side Street Story, Eduardo De Filippo 1950) about a Neapolitan cafe owner during WWII. Il compagno Don Camillo was Gloria’s last film. After a long illness, Leda Gloria died in Rome on 16 March 1997. She was one of Federico Fellini’s favourite actresses.

Sources: Adnkronos, Wikipedia (Italian) and IMDb.

Production stills for Seattle based creative agency and film and video production company Spin Creative. The production stills feature behind the scenes of a shoot for a Treehouse brand film and commercial shot in February 2013 on the Canon C300. Treehouse is a Seattle-based non-profit committed to improving the lives of kids living in foster care. The film will debut at the Treehouse annual fundraising luncheon, “Champions for Foster Kids,” on March 20th at the Seattle Sheraton.

The brand film that Spin Creative is crafting will be constructed in TV commercial form and will have multiple uses and delivery channels after its initial viewing at the “Champions” event. Spin developed the creative strategy and script for the spot and tells the story of who Treehouse is today, its future and the legacy its building upon. Beyond the fundraising event, the spot will be used for awareness-building and as a tool to convey the Treehouse story in an emotive, powerful way.

A huge thanks to all of the organizations and people who donated services and time to make this project happen, including:

•Treehouse clients for doing a superb job sourcing and coordinating locations, casting and talent for the project. Emily Lubenow in particular put in countless hours finding talent, locations and sourcing props and did an amazing job.

•Our crew and project team who donated additional time and services.

•Blanchet High School, Fairview Christian School and All That Dance who donated locations and provided on-camera talent.

Project Credits:

Tom Skerritt, Narrator

Matthew Billings, Director + Editor

Jim Lombardo, Scriptwriter + Producer

Ty Migota, DP

Siobhan Macdona, Stylist

Scott Gwin, DIT + Grip

Miguel Cornelio, Casting + Props + Production Stills

Drew Hisey, PA

Eric Lee, PA

Nick Denke at Electric Muses, Music Composer + Audio Mix

[Taken in Paris (France) - 07Apr10]

The Forum des Images organizes the first season of the "Series Mania" festival, showing a selection of around 80 episodes of 33 different tv-shows from around the world.

Conferences, debats, and presentations with and from writers, creators, and specialists take place during the entire week. Two entire seasons (True Blood season 2, and Mad Men season 2) are shown during two 12 hours screening marathons.

See all the photos of this festival in this set : 06-11Apr10 - Séries Mania Saison 01 [Event]

See all the iPhone Hipstamatic app photos in this set : [iPhone - Hipstamatic]

See all the random portraits in this set : Portraits [Random]

See all the photos with written words in this set : [Messages]

Production stills for Seattle based creative agency and film and video production company Spin Creative. The production stills feature behind the scenes of a shoot for a Treehouse brand film and commercial shot in February 2013 on the Canon C300. Treehouse is a Seattle-based non-profit committed to improving the lives of kids living in foster care. The film will debut at the Treehouse annual fundraising luncheon, “Champions for Foster Kids,” on March 20th at the Seattle Sheraton.

The brand film that Spin Creative is crafting will be constructed in TV commercial form and will have multiple uses and delivery channels after its initial viewing at the “Champions” event. Spin developed the creative strategy and script for the spot and tells the story of who Treehouse is today, its future and the legacy its building upon. Beyond the fundraising event, the spot will be used for awareness-building and as a tool to convey the Treehouse story in an emotive, powerful way.

A huge thanks to all of the organizations and people who donated services and time to make this project happen, including:

•Treehouse clients for doing a superb job sourcing and coordinating locations, casting and talent for the project. Emily Lubenow in particular put in countless hours finding talent, locations and sourcing props and did an amazing job.

•Our crew and project team who donated additional time and services.

•Blanchet High School, Fairview Christian School and All That Dance who donated locations and provided on-camera talent.

Project Credits:

Tom Skerritt, Narrator

Matthew Billings, Director + Editor

Jim Lombardo, Scriptwriter + Producer

Ty Migota, DP

Siobhan Macdona, Stylist

Scott Gwin, DIT + Grip

Miguel Cornelio, Casting + Props + Production Stills

Drew Hisey, PA

Eric Lee, PA

Nick Denke at Electric Muses, Music Composer + Audio Mix

Production stills for Seattle based creative agency and film and video production company Spin Creative. The production stills feature behind the scenes of a shoot for a Treehouse brand film and commercial shot in February 2013 on the Canon C300. Treehouse is a Seattle-based non-profit committed to improving the lives of kids living in foster care. The film will debut at the Treehouse annual fundraising luncheon, “Champions for Foster Kids,” on March 20th at the Seattle Sheraton.

The brand film that Spin Creative is crafting will be constructed in TV commercial form and will have multiple uses and delivery channels after its initial viewing at the “Champions” event. Spin developed the creative strategy and script for the spot and tells the story of who Treehouse is today, its future and the legacy its building upon. Beyond the fundraising event, the spot will be used for awareness-building and as a tool to convey the Treehouse story in an emotive, powerful way.

A huge thanks to all of the organizations and people who donated services and time to make this project happen, including:

•Treehouse clients for doing a superb job sourcing and coordinating locations, casting and talent for the project. Emily Lubenow in particular put in countless hours finding talent, locations and sourcing props and did an amazing job.

•Our crew and project team who donated additional time and services.

•Blanchet High School, Fairview Christian School and All That Dance who donated locations and provided on-camera talent.

Project Credits:

Tom Skerritt, Narrator

Matthew Billings, Director + Editor

Jim Lombardo, Scriptwriter + Producer

Ty Migota, DP

Siobhan Macdona, Stylist

Scott Gwin, DIT + Grip

Miguel Cornelio, Casting + Props + Production Stills

Drew Hisey, PA

Eric Lee, PA

Nick Denke at Electric Muses, Music Composer + Audio Mix

Production stills for Seattle based creative agency and film and video production company Spin Creative. The production stills feature behind the scenes of a shoot for a Treehouse brand film and commercial shot in February 2013 on the Canon C300. Treehouse is a Seattle-based non-profit committed to improving the lives of kids living in foster care. The film will debut at the Treehouse annual fundraising luncheon, “Champions for Foster Kids,” on March 20th at the Seattle Sheraton.

The brand film that Spin Creative is crafting will be constructed in TV commercial form and will have multiple uses and delivery channels after its initial viewing at the “Champions” event. Spin developed the creative strategy and script for the spot and tells the story of who Treehouse is today, its future and the legacy its building upon. Beyond the fundraising event, the spot will be used for awareness-building and as a tool to convey the Treehouse story in an emotive, powerful way.

A huge thanks to all of the organizations and people who donated services and time to make this project happen, including:

•Treehouse clients for doing a superb job sourcing and coordinating locations, casting and talent for the project. Emily Lubenow in particular put in countless hours finding talent, locations and sourcing props and did an amazing job.

•Our crew and project team who donated additional time and services.

•Blanchet High School, Fairview Christian School and All That Dance who donated locations and provided on-camera talent.

Project Credits:

Tom Skerritt, Narrator

Matthew Billings, Director + Editor

Jim Lombardo, Scriptwriter + Producer

Ty Migota, DP

Siobhan Macdona, Stylist

Scott Gwin, DIT + Grip

Miguel Cornelio, Casting + Props + Production Stills

Drew Hisey, PA

Eric Lee, PA

Nick Denke at Electric Muses, Music Composer + Audio Mix

Belgian postcard. NV Cacao en Chocolade Kivon, Vilvoorde.

Adelqui Migliar aka Adelqui Millar (1891-1956) was Chilean actor who was the male star of Dutch silent cinema in the 1910s and early 1920s. Later on he acted and directed in Britain and Argentine.

Adelqui Migliar Icardi was born 5 August 1891 in Concepción, Chile. His father was Chilean, his mother Italian. He had a happy youth on the farm of his parents and enjoyed playing the cowboy. When he was 14 his father sent him to Italy to do high-school. At his return to Chile, Migliar had a diploma in commercial science, but didn’t know what to do with it, so he joined a touring theatre group and for one year he travelled all around Latin America until he reached California. There he started his film career as extra, which earned more money than his stage acting. According to Caroline Hanotte he worked as double and stuntman, performing the stunts considered too dangerous for the stars. It seems he even participated to some films as – uncredited - assistant-director. Vittorio Martinelli writes Migliar worked at Vitagraph, where his parts slowly became bigger. At the end of 1913 he returned to Italy and found work in Turin as actor with the companies Pasquali and Gloria, though unknown is which film titles. When Italy joined the Allies in the First World War in 1915, Migliar left Italy and went to the neutral Netherlands, where Theo Frenkel senior offered him to play the protagonist in his film Genie tegen Geweld (Genius against Violence, 1916), produced by Frenkel’s own company Amsterdam Film. In those years the Dutch were in dire need of male young actors, as many young Dutchmen were serving in the army. Migliar played Pim Brice, a courageous detective who pursues a gang of jewel thieves, when the daughter of an innocent suspect asks him to catch the real thieves. The film strangely starts with a large nonfiction part on a jewelry factory. After the theft we notice Migliar using all means of transport and performing dangerous stunts such as escaping lions and jumping on a riding train, until he is able to catch the thieves. Apparently his experience as stuntman in the States paid off. Unfortunately the remaining print of the film is incomplete, but it is visible on the site Film in Nederland.

Migliar became a big success, and the Latin Lover of Dutch silent cinema. First he played a violin player who despairs after his wife (Meina Irwen) leaves him, in Johan Gildemeyer’s Danstragedie (Dance Tragedy, 1916). In 1917 he signed a contract with the Hollandia film company of producer and director Maurits Binger and for five years he appeared in 23 films by Hollandia. In his first film for Hollandia Madame Pinkette & Co. (1917) he already acted opposite the diva of Dutch silent film: Annie Bos, but he had to wait until his second film at Hollandia, Kroon der Schande (Crown of Shame, 1917), until they played together as protagonists. Henceforth they were a film couple, lovers split by cruel destinies and reunited in the end in films like Oorlog en Vrede (War and Peace, 1918), Een Carmen van het Noorden (A Carmen of the North, 1919) and Rechten der Jeugd (The Rights of Youth, 1918, released 1921). At Hollandia, Migliar not only played heroes or lovers. He was the grandfather of the protagonist in Zooals ik ben (As I Am, 1920), while he played the sinister Henk Duif in Schakels (Chains, 1919), the film adaptation of Herman Heijermans’ noted stage play. Another villain he was in Wat eeuwig blijft (What Ever Remains, 1920) and Bloedgeld (Blood Money 1920), while he was a revolutionary in De Heldendaad van Peter Wells (The Little Hour of Peter Wells, 1920). Often Migliar played double roles, as father and son in War and Peace, and two brothers in Zonnetje (Joy, 1919). Thanks to the ingenious double exposure photography by cinematographer Feiko Boersma, he played the ghost of a murdered man in Onder spiritistischen dwang (The Other Person, 1921).

Once the First World War was finished Binger struck a deal with the British distributor and producer A.G. Granger and the founded the Granger-Binger or Anglo-Hollandia company. Binger co-directed the films with the British director B.E. Doxat-Pratt, such as Joy (1919) with Annie Bos, Hidden Lives (1920) with again Bos [renamed Anna Bosilova], Fate’s Plaything (1920) with Constance Worth, As God Made Her (1920) with Mary Odette, John Herriott’s Wife (1920) again with Odette, The Little Hour of Peter Wells (1920) with O.B. Clarence, Blood Money (1921) with Dorothy Fane, The Other Person (1921) with Zoe Palmer, and In the Night (1921) with Fane. Many Dutch actors such as Annie Bos lost prominence and were replaced by British actors, but Migliar kept his position. His name was only changed in Millar, a name he kept until the end of his career. Probably Millar’s best films in those years were Een lach en een traan (Laughter and Tears, 1921) and Circus Jim (1921), films Millar both co-scripted, while he was co-director of Circus Jim as well (NB IMDB erroneously equals this film with Laughter and Tears). Laughter and Tears deals about a poor Venetian painter. He dumps his girl Pierrette (played by American actress Evelyn Brent) for a fancy lady when he has his artistic breakthrough. Pierrette doesn’t give up and follows him to Paris, they fight and he thinks he killed her. Cast and crew moved to Venice and Paris for location shooting. The investments paid back, when the film became an international success. It also meant a ticket for Millar’s international career.

Late 1921 Millar moved to Britain, where he founded his own company and where he scripted, produced, directed and interpreted Pages of Life (1922), with again the beautiful Evelyn Brent co-starring. This was followed by I Pagliacci (G.B. Samuelson, S.W. Smith 1925), where he was Canio opposite Lilian Hall-Davis as Nedda, and London (Herbert Wilcox 1926), with Dorothy Gish. In The Arab (1924), shot partly in France and Algeria by the American film director Rex Ingram who was active in Nice then, Millar played the father of another Latin Lover: Ramon Novarro. For his part of Prince Seti opposite Maria Corda’s Moon of Israel in Die Sklavenkönigin (1924) by Mihaly Kertesz aka Michael Curtiz, Millar moved to Austria. Returned to Britain he directed himself and Mona Maris in The Apache (1925), after which had the male lead in Le navire aveugle (Giuseppe Guarino 1927) with Colette Darfeuil, and directed the French Albatros production Souris d’hôtel (1928) with Elmire Vautier and Ica von Lenkeffy.

Late 1927 Millar founded a new company in London, Whitehall, for which he was president. He ambitiously planned to produce six low budget films. The first one Millar directed and interpreted in Spain: Life (1928), in the second, The Inseparables (1929), he left the lead to Patrick Aherne and stuck to directing only, with John Stafford. When the films were ready to be released, however, Whitehall got in trouble, and in 1929 Millar was discharged and his contract annulled. The affair was widely described by noted British film historian Rachel Low, who according to Dutch film historian Geoffrey Donaldson though who was quite prejudiced in her judgement of Millar’s acting, as in her time just one print of a film with Millar was available. Millar’s career was saved when sound came on and Paramount decided to open a sound film studio near Paris at Joinville-le-Pont. He was hired to six Spanish versions of American films for the Spanish and Latin American market, while he also shot the French version of George Cukor’s The Virtuous Sin, entitled Le rebelle (1931), with Suzy Vernon. Millar’s last film at Joinville was Luces de Buenos Aires (1931), based on an original script and only shot in Spanish. Protagonist was the popular Argentine singer Carlos Gardel. The film had a vast success everywhere in South America and was projected in New York as well.

In the 1930s Millar continued his surely tiresome wandering life. In 1934 he shot in Italy Luci sommerse with Fosco Giachetti, Nelly Corradi and Laura Nucci, while the project of a second Italian film failed. In Spain Millar directed Madrid se divorcia, also in 1934. Four years after, he co-directed with the Portuguese filmmaker Georges Pallu Ceux de demain, shot in Paris and starring Jeanne Boitel and Constant Rémy. The outbreak of the Spanish civil war spoiled another project in Spain, so Millar accepted a proposal of the Argentine producer Alfredo de Murua to come over to Buenos Aires. While the Argentine film industry could well have benefitted from Millar’s experience, the opposite happened. While Millar could continue to work in Buenos Aires until 1954, nothing really grand came out of it and much remained on a provincial level. His first film Ambición (1939) was based on the script of his earlier Dutch silent film Laughter and tears, in a small part the Chilean actor Rafael Frontaura is visible. The same year Millar made La carga de los valientes (released 1940), in which he directed a debuting, 19 year old actress: a certain Eva Duarte. She would become famous as: Evita Peron. In the 1940s and 1950s Millar still directed seven films such as Tormenta en el alma (1946), his only Chilean film, which elsewhere was released as El precio de una vida (1947). The film was after Victorien Sardou’s Fedora, with Mecha Ortiz as princess Fedora and with Emilio Gaete as the nihilist who loves her. El domador (1954), starring Elisa Christian Galvé and Oscar Fuentes, was Millar’s last film direction. Adelqui Migliar/Millar died on 6 August 1956 in Santiago de Chile, at the age of 65.

Sources: IMDB, Dutch and English Wikipedia, Film in Nederland, Caroline Hanotte on www.cineartistes.com/fiche-Adelqui+Migliar.html, Geoffrey Donaldson in Immagine. Nuova Serie N. 16, 1990-1991.

The Postcard

A postcard bearing no publisher's name with an image that is a glossy real photograph. The card was posted in Clacton-on-Sea using a 2d. stamp on Monday the 21st. July 1952. It was sent to:

Mrs. L. Glaisher,

12, Eliot Vale,

Blackheath,

London SE.

The pencilled message on the divided back of the card was as follows:

"Dear Mistress,

I am having a fine holiday

and I feel a good bit better

for it.

I hope you are better.

Love to Miss W. and Mrs. N.,

also Mrs. Cyril and Mrs.

Arthur.

I shall be seeing you soon

now.

My family sends best wishes

to all.

Yours sincerely,

Mrs. Hirchley."

The War Memorial

The Imperial War Museum's War Memorials Register contains the following information relating to the Clacton memorial:

First World War (1914-1918), Second World War (1939-1945), Second World War - civilians

Charles Hartnell (Architect)

The memorial is located near to Pier Gap, Clacton-on-Sea Garden of Remembrance, Marine Parade West.

A two-stepped base surmounted by double plinth and bronze winged figure of Victory. Victory holds a wreath in one hand and a branch in the other. Dedicatory inscription carved onto the 6 o'clock face of the plinth in black lettering.

Names in relief on bronze plaques on two sides of the plinth.

First World War: 216 names

Second World War: 165 names

Second World War Civilians: 21 names.

The memorial is Grade II Listed.

Clacton-on-Sea

Clacton-on-Sea is the largest town in the Tendring peninsula in Essex, England, and was founded as an urban district in the year 1871. It is a seaside resort that saw a peak of tourists in the summer months between the 1950's and the 1970's.

The town's economy continues to rely significantly on entertainment and day-trip facilities, and it is strong in the service sector, with a large retired population.

In 1936, Billy Butlin bought and refurbished the West Clacton Estate, an amusement park to the west of the town. He opened a new amusement park on the site in 1937, and then, a year later on 11 June 1938, opened the second of his holiday camps.

This location remained open until 1983 when, due to changing holiday tastes, Butlins decided to close the facility. It was then purchased by former managers of the camp who reopened it as a short-lived theme park, called Atlas Park. The land was then sold and redeveloped with housing.

An Earthquake in California

So what else happened on the day that the card was posted?

Well, on the 21st. July 1952, the Kern County earthquake struck California's southern Central Valley with a maximum Mercalli intensity of XI (Extreme), killing 12 and injuring hundreds.

Jane Rogers (Novelist)

The day also marked the birth in London of Jane Rogers.

Jane is a British novelist, editor, scriptwriter, lecturer, and teacher. She is best known for her novels Mr. Wroe's Virgins and The Voyage Home.

In 1994 Rogers was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.

Jane was educated at Oxford High School, a private girls school in Oxford before attending New Hall, Cambridge to study English. She graduated Bachelor of Arts in 1974, and went on to complete a Postgraduate Certificate in Education at the University of Leicester in 1976.

She now lives in Banbury.

Jane's novel The Testament of Jessie Lamb was longlisted for the Man Booker Prize, and won the Arthur C. Clarke Award.

In November 2015, her adaptation of Dodie Smith's I Capture the Castle was broadcast on BBC Radio 4.

Jane Rogers' Bibliography

-- Separate Tracks (1983)

-- Her Living Image (1984)

-- The Ice is Singing (1987)

-- Mr. Wroe's Virgins (1991)

-- Promised Lands (1995)

-- Island (1999)

-- The Voyage Home (2004)

-- The Testament of Jessie Lamb (2011)

-- Conrad and Eleanor (2016)

Jane Rogers' Prizes and Honours

-- 1985 -- Somerset Maugham Award (for Her Living Image).

-- 1994 -- Elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.

-- 2011 -- Longlisted for The Man Booker Prize for Fiction (for The Testament of Jessie Lamb).

-- 2011 – Arthur C. Clarke Award (for The Testament of Jessie Lamb).

Production stills for Seattle based creative agency and film and video production company Spin Creative. The production stills feature behind the scenes of a shoot for a Treehouse brand film and commercial shot in February 2013 on the Canon C300. Treehouse is a Seattle-based non-profit committed to improving the lives of kids living in foster care. The film will debut at the Treehouse annual fundraising luncheon, “Champions for Foster Kids,” on March 20th at the Seattle Sheraton.

The brand film that Spin Creative is crafting will be constructed in TV commercial form and will have multiple uses and delivery channels after its initial viewing at the “Champions” event. Spin developed the creative strategy and script for the spot and tells the story of who Treehouse is today, its future and the legacy its building upon. Beyond the fundraising event, the spot will be used for awareness-building and as a tool to convey the Treehouse story in an emotive, powerful way.

A huge thanks to all of the organizations and people who donated services and time to make this project happen, including:

•Treehouse clients for doing a superb job sourcing and coordinating locations, casting and talent for the project. Emily Lubenow in particular put in countless hours finding talent, locations and sourcing props and did an amazing job.

•Our crew and project team who donated additional time and services.

•Blanchet High School, Fairview Christian School and All That Dance who donated locations and provided on-camera talent.

Project Credits:

Tom Skerritt, Narrator

Matthew Billings, Director + Editor

Jim Lombardo, Scriptwriter + Producer

Ty Migota, DP

Siobhan Macdona, Stylist

Scott Gwin, DIT + Grip

Miguel Cornelio, Casting + Props + Production Stills

Drew Hisey, PA

Eric Lee, PA

Nick Denke at Electric Muses, Music Composer + Audio Mix

I was born in 1989 in Estonia.

I have Estonian citizenship but a Danish father. I have lived in different countries (Estonia, Russia, Sweden and Denmark) because my father was a diplomat.

I became an author as a result of the passing of my mother who died of cancer in 2006 after seven years of illness.

Who am I?

I believe I am a friendly guy. I would personally say that I have no humor. Though I think people around me would say that is debatable. I have a passion for learning and trying out new things. People might find me punctual at times. I have a tendency to appear at least one hour before the start of the meeting.

It started from these extra classes of French I took while I visited my father and my little brother in Brussels (Saint Job). Apparently from Saint Job there were only two trains I could pick either to come two hours before or then 5 minutes late. I picked the first alternative.

About True Story of Dracula:

True Story of Dracula is a horror book. It is written as if Dracula had existed. So it starts with Vlad III, from his early childhood, and tries to give him a character one can relate to, until the moment he was killed and how he was transformed into Dracula. How Dracula was and acted among his fellow humans. Not to forget how he managed to stay hidden for all those years.

Then we begin with the main plot of the book, a class from California traveling to Romania on a research trip. As they are to discover it turns from a research trip to a getaway trip.

Production stills for Seattle based creative agency and film and video production company Spin Creative. The production stills feature behind the scenes of a shoot for a Treehouse brand film and commercial shot in February 2013 on the Canon C300. Treehouse is a Seattle-based non-profit committed to improving the lives of kids living in foster care. The film will debut at the Treehouse annual fundraising luncheon, “Champions for Foster Kids,” on March 20th at the Seattle Sheraton.

The brand film that Spin Creative is crafting will be constructed in TV commercial form and will have multiple uses and delivery channels after its initial viewing at the “Champions” event. Spin developed the creative strategy and script for the spot and tells the story of who Treehouse is today, its future and the legacy its building upon. Beyond the fundraising event, the spot will be used for awareness-building and as a tool to convey the Treehouse story in an emotive, powerful way.

A huge thanks to all of the organizations and people who donated services and time to make this project happen, including:

•Treehouse clients for doing a superb job sourcing and coordinating locations, casting and talent for the project. Emily Lubenow in particular put in countless hours finding talent, locations and sourcing props and did an amazing job.

•Our crew and project team who donated additional time and services.

•Blanchet High School, Fairview Christian School and All That Dance who donated locations and provided on-camera talent.

Project Credits:

Tom Skerritt, Narrator

Matthew Billings, Director + Editor

Jim Lombardo, Scriptwriter + Producer

Ty Migota, DP

Siobhan Macdona, Stylist

Scott Gwin, DIT + Grip

Miguel Cornelio, Casting + Props + Production Stills

Drew Hisey, PA

Eric Lee, PA

Nick Denke at Electric Muses, Music Composer + Audio Mix

Production stills for Seattle based creative agency and film and video production company Spin Creative. The production stills feature behind the scenes of a shoot for a Treehouse brand film and commercial shot in February 2013 on the Canon C300. Treehouse is a Seattle-based non-profit committed to improving the lives of kids living in foster care. The film will debut at the Treehouse annual fundraising luncheon, “Champions for Foster Kids,” on March 20th at the Seattle Sheraton.

The brand film that Spin Creative is crafting will be constructed in TV commercial form and will have multiple uses and delivery channels after its initial viewing at the “Champions” event. Spin developed the creative strategy and script for the spot and tells the story of who Treehouse is today, its future and the legacy its building upon. Beyond the fundraising event, the spot will be used for awareness-building and as a tool to convey the Treehouse story in an emotive, powerful way.

A huge thanks to all of the organizations and people who donated services and time to make this project happen, including:

•Treehouse clients for doing a superb job sourcing and coordinating locations, casting and talent for the project. Emily Lubenow in particular put in countless hours finding talent, locations and sourcing props and did an amazing job.

•Our crew and project team who donated additional time and services.

•Blanchet High School, Fairview Christian School and All That Dance who donated locations and provided on-camera talent.

Project Credits:

Tom Skerritt, Narrator

Matthew Billings, Director + Editor

Jim Lombardo, Scriptwriter + Producer

Ty Migota, DP

Siobhan Macdona, Stylist

Scott Gwin, DIT + Grip

Miguel Cornelio, Casting + Props + Production Stills

Drew Hisey, PA

Eric Lee, PA

Nick Denke at Electric Muses, Music Composer + Audio Mix

Steve Johnson, CEO of ChoiceStream, an OEM personalization provider, and PC Forum speaker.

If Steve Johnson is truly successful with ChoiceStream, he may harm his customers’ businesses. Yet those customers – AOL, Columbia House, eMusic and [this news just in!} Yahoo! – are eagerly signing up for his software, which personalizes the choices and search results that each user sees. If it worked perfectly, in theory, the user would get the same results based on her own profile, whether she was visiting AOL or eMusic or any other ChoiceStream customer. “The idea is that you can carry not just your credit card but your personality and preferences with you everywhere. But that’s a long way off. For now, our customers look at this as differentiation,” says CEO Johnson. (You could also argue that a person may elect to stress a different side of her personality at different sites: Alice goes to Yahoo! when she’s feeling like a consumer, to Amazon when she wants something uplifting for the family, to Friendster when she’s feeling frisky…)

Before ChoiceStream, in 1991, Johnson founded and built Johnson-Grace Company, an image-compression company. At that point, there wasn’t much need for image compression, since no one was sending around images in the first place, but the idea caught Steve Case’s fancy as a way to differentiate America Online from the other bulletin board services of the day, and in 1994 AOL became Johnson-Grace’s first and only customer. In 1996, when Microsoft started showing an interest in the technology, AOL bought the company outright to keep the capability in-house. Johnson stayed for three years, ending up as VP of software development and working on the integration of the Netscape acquisition. When that was done, in April 1999, he left. Six months later, he founded and funded ChoiceStream, using his proceeds from the sale.

“I figured that if we knew more about the context of the user, we could do better job of determining relevance for each individual. I managed to bring in a few of my old professors, including chief scientist Jay Patel, an expert in behavioral economics and the psychology of judgment from Harvard. And then I just went at problem the way I thought it should be solved,” he says. “We were domain-specific from the get-go, with taxonomies for each category of content that would provide the best predictive value and the clearest differentiation. The challenge was how to translate the content into those attributes.”

Basically, the early choice systems were based on collaborative filtering: Assume Juan likes A and B. If Alice likes A, she will also probably like B. That makes some sense, and it accounts for ineffabilities of taste that can’t be reflected in categorizations as broad as “country,” “rock” and “disco.” But it is subject to all kinds of discontinuities and quirks, as well as the cold-start problem: How can you figure out who will like an item no one has looked at yet? ChoiceStream took on the more ambitious task of trying to analyze the products directly: What 15 attributes does this movie have (including stars, scriptwriter, format)? And, in practice, which attributes seem to correlate most closely with a particular user’s choices? “If you want to get grungy, what we’re doing is estimating coefficients of tastes over each of the attributes and then using a statistical approach called choice modeling,” says Johnson. The company relies both on direct questionnaires and occasional queries, and on watching users’ clickstreams. “People don’t like to be stopped to answer questions, so we try to learn as much as we can while staying in the background,” says Johnson.

The range of things ChoiceStream covers includes movies, music, TV shows, travel, and “shopping,” a catch-all term for everything from sweaters to lawnmowers. “If you weight it by commercial activity, we cover 70 percent of the market with the kinds of products and content we handle,” says Johnson. Now the trick is to sell to the websites that serve all those markets. Currently, Choice- Stream’s lead customer (unsurprisingly) is AOL; it underlies AOL’s My AOL personalized movies, music and TV services, and has movie-taste profiles on 15 million AOL members. For eMusic, ChoiceStream helps users find like-minded music listeners with whom to share and discover new music.

Vintage Italian postcard, 1920s. Ed. Vettori, Bologna, 404.

As far as known, acclaimed opera singer Gabriella Besanzoni (1888-1962) only acted in one silent film: Stefania (Armando Brunero, Brunestelli Film, 1916). Her co-actor in this film was the more active actor Ciro Galvani, who already started at Cines in 1909, was most active in the 1920s and played major parts in Nemesis (1920), La mirabile visione (1921), La nave (1921), La cavalcata ardente (1925), and, later on, Scipione l'Africano (1937). Scriptwriter of Stefania was Fausto Maria Martini, known for his work on Rapsodia satanica (1917) with Lyda Borelli. Yet, the Roman critic 'Fandor' considered the performance of the interpreters insufficient for the filmic medium.

Gabriella Besanzoni was attracted to music from a young age and decided to study opera singing in Rome, at the National Academy of Santa Cecilia, where she was a pupil of Alessandro Maggi and Ibilda Brizzi. During this period she initially set her voice as a light soprano, later forced to modify her training path, realizing that she was more suitable for supporting parts for dramatic soprano and mezzo-soprano and finally obtaining a vocal register which by extension, although capable of reaching shrill high notes , managed to have a robust low register. Her debut took place in Viterbo in 1911, where as a soprano she gave voice to the character of Adalgisa in Vincenzo Bellini's Norma, but it was at the Teatro dell'Opera di Roma that two years later interpreting Ulrica in Giuseppe Verdi's A Masked Ball. a mezzo-soprano career.

Between the twenties and the early thirties Besanzoni was mainly active in South America, singing in numerous opera houses including the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires where she enjoyed considerable success and was praised by the Argentine public. During this period she alternated the South American stages with the European ones, in Berlin as well as in Italy, at the Teatro alla Scala in Milan where she played Orfeo and Amneris, in Havana, Cuba, and in the United States, several times guest of the opera houses in Chicago and at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York where she joined, albeit without much success, Enrico Caruso in the 1919-20 season. In 1920, Caruso and Besanzoni were doing their last performance of Verdi's AIda in Havana when a bomb exploded in the audience. Back in Italy, again at La Scala, in 1932 she successfully interpreted Carmen and Mignon, before returning to Argentina where she sang at the Colón until 1935.

Besanzoni played numerous roles during her career: in addition to those already mentioned, Dalila, Santuzza (by the will of Mascagni himself), La Cieca, Preziosilla, Azucena, Mrs. Quickly, Marina, Leonora in La Favorita by Gaetano Donizetti as well as several Rossinian characters, funny like Isabella, Cenerentola and Rosina, but also the serious one in Arsace's travesti. She took part in several world premieres, including Melenis and Francesca da Rimini by Riccardo Zandonai, respectively on 13 November 1912 at the Teatro Dal Verme in Milan, and on 19 February 1914 at the Teatro Regio in Turin, in the smaller parts of Calpurnia and a slave, and Jacquerie by Gino Marinuzzi senior, in the role of Glorianda di Chivry.

After having had a romantic relationship with the pianist Arthur Rubinstein in 1918 while the two worked together in Madrid, Buenos Aires and New York, Besanzoni married the Brazilian industrialist Henrique Lage in 1924, thus settling with him in Latin America. where, in Rio de Janeiro, she opened a free singing school for young beginners. After having thinned out her public appearances, limited above all to charity shows, Besanzoni wanted to bid farewell to her stage career by resuming her greatest workhorse, Carmen, in Rome, at the Baths of Caracalla, in 1939. Returned almost immediately in Brazil, she was widowed two years later, in 1941, and therefore had to face serious difficulties with the Brazilian authorities in relation to the enormous inheritance of her late husband. In 1951, she definitely returned to Italy, settling back in her hometown and resuming her free activity as a singing teacher.

Married a second time in 1956, Gabriella Besanzoni died in Rome in 1962, and was buried in her costume of the fourth act of Carmen.

Source: Italian Wikipedia, Vittorio Martinelli, Il cinema muto italiano, 1916, II.

British postcard by Karizzma Enterprises in the series Coronation Street Hall of Fame, ref K K6. Photo: Granada Promotions, 1986.

On 1 March 2016, English television screenwriter Tony Warren (1936–2016) passed away. He is best known for creating the classic soap opera Coronation Street. He was also an actor, created other television dramas and wrote critically acclaimed novels.

Coronation Street (1960-) is the world's longest-running TV soap with more than 8,000 episodes. The British series focuses on the everyday lives of working-class people in Greater Manchester, England. 'Corrie' is now a significant part of British culture and has been one of the most financially lucrative programmes on commercial television in the U.K., underpinning the success of Granada Television and ITV. The programme centres on Coronation Street in Weatherfield, a fictional town based on Salford, its terraced houses, corner shop, newsagents, textile factory and The Rovers Return pub. The fictional street was built in the early 1900s and named in honour of the coronation of King Edward VII. At the centre of many early stories, there was Ena Sharples (Violet Carson), caretaker of the Glad Tidings Mission Hall, and her friends: timid Minnie Caldwell (Margot Bryant), and bespectacled Martha Longhurst (Lynne Carol). The trio was likened to the Greek chorus, and the three witches in William Shakespeare's Macbeth, as they would sit in the snug bar of the Rovers Return, passing judgement over family, neighbours and frequently each other. Other central characters during the 1960s were Elsie Tanner played by Patricia Phoenix and Annie Walker played by Doris Speed remained with the show for 20 years and like Ena Sharples became archetypes of British soap opera.

Coronation Street was devised in 1960 by scriptwriter Tony Warren at Granada Television in Manchester. Warren's initial kitchen sink drama proposal was rejected by the station's founder Sidney Bernstein, but he was persuaded by producer Harry Elton to produce the programme for thirteen pilot episodes. The first episode was aired on 9 December 1960. Between 9 December 1960 and 3 March 1961, Coronation Street was broadcast twice weekly, on Wednesday and Friday. In March 1961, Coronation Street reached No.1 in the television ratings and remained there for the rest of the year. 15 million viewers tuned into Corrie at the end of 1961, and by 1964 the programme had over 20 million regular viewers. Coronation Street's creator, Tony Warren continued to write for the programme intermittently until 1976. Coronation Streetis made by Granada Television at MediaCity near Manchester and shown in all ITV regions, as well as internationally. On 17 September 2010, it became the world's longest-running TV soap opera in production. Coronation Street is noted for its depiction of a down-to-earth working-class community combined with light-hearted humour, and strong characters. After appearing in 288 episodes, Violet Carson and her character Ena Sharples left the series in 1980. William Roache, who plays Kenneth Barlow, is the only remaining member of the original cast,Coronation Street. This currently makes him the longest-serving actor in Coronation Street, as well as in British and global soap history. Emily Bishop (Eileen Derbyshire) has remained in the series since first appearing in early 1961 when the show was just weeks old. Helen Worth as Gail Platt, who appears since 1974 in the series, has played in the most episodes: 1.780, according to IMDb. Today, the programme still rates as one of the most watched programmes on UK television for every day it is aired. Coronation Street is also shown in various countries worldwide. In Australia it was in 1966 more popular than in the UK. Other countries which aired - or still air - Coronation Street are Canada, Ireland, United Arab Emirates and the Netherlands, where it was broadcasted by the Vara between 1967 and 1974. I dearly remember watching the series as a kid with the whole family.

Sources: Wikipedia (English and Dutch) and IMDb.

Production stills for Seattle based creative agency and film and video production company Spin Creative. The production stills feature behind the scenes of a shoot for a Treehouse brand film and commercial shot in February 2013 on the Canon C300. Treehouse is a Seattle-based non-profit committed to improving the lives of kids living in foster care. The film will debut at the Treehouse annual fundraising luncheon, “Champions for Foster Kids,” on March 20th at the Seattle Sheraton.

The brand film that Spin Creative is crafting will be constructed in TV commercial form and will have multiple uses and delivery channels after its initial viewing at the “Champions” event. Spin developed the creative strategy and script for the spot and tells the story of who Treehouse is today, its future and the legacy its building upon. Beyond the fundraising event, the spot will be used for awareness-building and as a tool to convey the Treehouse story in an emotive, powerful way.

A huge thanks to all of the organizations and people who donated services and time to make this project happen, including:

•Treehouse clients for doing a superb job sourcing and coordinating locations, casting and talent for the project. Emily Lubenow in particular put in countless hours finding talent, locations and sourcing props and did an amazing job.

•Our crew and project team who donated additional time and services.

•Blanchet High School, Fairview Christian School and All That Dance who donated locations and provided on-camera talent.

Project Credits:

Tom Skerritt, Narrator

Matthew Billings, Director + Editor

Jim Lombardo, Scriptwriter + Producer

Ty Migota, DP

Siobhan Macdona, Stylist

Scott Gwin, DIT + Grip

Miguel Cornelio, Casting + Props + Production Stills

Drew Hisey, PA

Eric Lee, PA

Nick Denke at Electric Muses, Music Composer + Audio Mix

Review: The Black Mack, a desperado of such a bad attitude, that only few dared to speak out his name, had highjacked the Glacierexpress in order to crunch the innocent Santa Claus and his devoted dog with the help of the rushing train.

You want more details? Look here

However, this monstrous, this diabolic repulsive creep hadn’t thought of the greatest hero of world history: James Bond Bart Simpson. In a heroic, nerve-racking fight and with the help of all his physical and mental strength our hero was able to cause the train jump the trails. Santa Claus was rescued, Christmas was rescued.

But what happened to Black Mack? What to Bart Simpson? Well: Black Mack could escape. Our hero, however, was seriously wounded, lying under tons of steel. It took days until they could rescue him. When he later wanted the recover in a sanatorium, he had to discover, that the scriptwriter had forgotten to arrange for a well-proportioned, blond nurse for him.

So he left the sanatorium already after two days and started looking for his worst opponent: the bokeh cat und the black mask, as he knew that they didn’t plan anything less than to wipe out the dreams of all children: Santa Claus, Easter bunny and the sandman were to be killed. Thinking of the sandman our hero realized, that the malicious cat and the monstrous Mack could only have retired into the desert. Therefore he went to Egypt. And really, there he found the first footprints in the sand (unfortunately they can’t be seen on the photo, since they were blown over by the wind) But what our hero did not know: the footprints were a snare. And thus Bart Simpson suddenly wasn’t only confronted with the bokeh cat and the Black Mack, but also with innumerable Black Mack clones. The repulsive creep hat succeeded in cloning Black Mack.

How would Bart Simpson deal with this new, eerie danger? Could he fight this superiority? Would he be able to rescue the sandman? The Easter bunny? And who had produced all these clones? And what was the next beastly, malicious plan, the scriptwriter had arranged?

All these questions will hopefully be answered in the next episode.

I was born in 1989 in Estonia.

I have Estonian citizenship but a Danish father. I have lived in different countries (Estonia, Russia, Sweden and Denmark) because my father was a diplomat.

I became an author as a result of the passing of my mother who died of cancer in 2006 after seven years of illness.

Who am I?

I believe I am a friendly guy. I would personally say that I have no humor. Though I think people around me would say that is debatable. I have a passion for learning and trying out new things. People might find me punctual at times. I have a tendency to appear at least one hour before the start of the meeting.

It started from these extra classes of French I took while I visited my father and my little brother in Brussels (Saint Job). Apparently from Saint Job there were only two trains I could pick either to come two hours before or then 5 minutes late. I picked the first alternative.

About True Story of Dracula:

True Story of Dracula is a horror book. It is written as if Dracula had existed. So it starts with Vlad III, from his early childhood, and tries to give him a character one can relate to, until the moment he was killed and how he was transformed into Dracula. How Dracula was and acted among his fellow humans. Not to forget how he managed to stay hidden for all those years.

Then we begin with the main plot of the book, a class from California traveling to Romania on a research trip. As they are to discover it turns from a research trip to a getaway trip.

British postcard by Karizzma Enterprises in the series Coronation Street Hall of Fame, ref K K6. Photo: Granada Promotions, 1986.

On 1 March 2016, English television screenwriter Tony Warren (1936–2016) passed away. He is best known for creating the classic soap opera Coronation Street. He was also an actor, created other television dramas and wrote critically acclaimed novels.

Coronation Street (1960-) is the world's longest-running TV soap with more than 8,000 episodes. The British series focuses on the everyday lives of working class people in Greater Manchester, England. 'Corrie' is now a significant part of British culture and has been one of the most financially lucrative programmes on commercial television in the U.K., underpinning the success of Granada Television and ITV. The programme centres on Coronation Street in Weatherfield, a fictional town based on Salford, its terraced houses, corner shop, newsagents, textile factory and The Rovers Return pub. The fictional street was built in the early 1900s and named in honour of the coronation of King Edward VII. At the centre of many early stories, there was Ena Sharples (Violet Carson), caretaker of the Glad Tidings Mission Hall, and her friends: timid Minnie Caldwell (Margot Bryant), and bespectacled Martha Longhurst (Lynne Carol). The trio were likened to the Greek chorus, and the three witches in William Shakespeare's Macbeth, as they would sit in the snug bar of the Rovers Return, passing judgement over family, neighbours and frequently each other. Other central characters during the 1960s were Elsie Tanner played by Patricia Phoenix and Annie Walker played by Doris Speed. y remained with the show for 20 years and like Ena Sharples became archetypes of British soap opera.

Coronation Street was devised in 1960 by scriptwriter Tony Warren at Granada Television in Manchester. Warren's initial kitchen sink drama proposal was rejected by the station's founder Sidney Bernstein, but he was persuaded by producer Harry Elton to produce the programme for thirteen pilot episodes. The first episode was aired on 9 December 1960. Between 9 December 1960 and 3 March 1961, Coronation Street was broadcast twice weekly, on Wednesday and Friday. In March 1961, Coronation Street reached No.1 in the television ratings and remained there for the rest of the year. 15 million viewers tuned into Corrie at the end of 1961, and by 1964 the programme had over 20 million regular viewers. Coronation Street's creator, Tony Warren continued to write for the programme intermittently until 1976. Coronation Streetis made by Granada Television at MediaCity near Manchester and shown in all ITV regions, as well as internationally. On 17 September 2010, it became the world's longest-running TV soap opera in production. Coronation Street is noted for its depiction of a down-to-earth working class community combined with light-hearted humour, and strong characters. After appearing in 288 episodes, Violet Carson and her character Ena Sharples left the series in 1980. William Roache, who plays Kenneth Barlow, is the only remaining member of the original cast,Coronation Street. This currently makes him the longest-serving actor in Coronation Street , as well as in British and global soap history. Emily Bishop (Eileen Derbyshire) has remained in the series since first appearing in early 1961, when the show was just weeks old. Helen Worth as Gail Platt, who appears since 1974 in the series, has played in the most episodes: 1.780, according to IMDb. Today, the programme still rates as one of the most watched programmes on UK television for every day it is aired. Coronation Street is also shown in various countries worldwide. In Australia it was in 1966 more popular than in the UK. Other countries which aired - or still air - Coronation Street are Canada, Ireland, United Arab Emirates and the Netherlands, where it was broadcasted by the Vara between 1967 and 1974. I dearly remember watching the series as a kid with the whole family.

Sources: Wikipedia (English and Dutch) and IMDb.

Production stills for Seattle based creative agency and film and video production company Spin Creative. The production stills feature behind the scenes of a shoot for a Treehouse brand film and commercial shot in February 2013 on the Canon C300. Treehouse is a Seattle-based non-profit committed to improving the lives of kids living in foster care. The film will debut at the Treehouse annual fundraising luncheon, “Champions for Foster Kids,” on March 20th at the Seattle Sheraton.

The brand film that Spin Creative is crafting will be constructed in TV commercial form and will have multiple uses and delivery channels after its initial viewing at the “Champions” event. Spin developed the creative strategy and script for the spot and tells the story of who Treehouse is today, its future and the legacy its building upon. Beyond the fundraising event, the spot will be used for awareness-building and as a tool to convey the Treehouse story in an emotive, powerful way.

A huge thanks to all of the organizations and people who donated services and time to make this project happen, including:

•Treehouse clients for doing a superb job sourcing and coordinating locations, casting and talent for the project. Emily Lubenow in particular put in countless hours finding talent, locations and sourcing props and did an amazing job.

•Our crew and project team who donated additional time and services.

•Blanchet High School, Fairview Christian School and All That Dance who donated locations and provided on-camera talent.

Project Credits:

Tom Skerritt, Narrator

Matthew Billings, Director + Editor

Jim Lombardo, Scriptwriter + Producer

Ty Migota, DP

Siobhan Macdona, Stylist

Scott Gwin, DIT + Grip

Miguel Cornelio, Casting + Props + Production Stills

Drew Hisey, PA

Eric Lee, PA

Nick Denke at Electric Muses, Music Composer + Audio Mix

Production stills for Seattle based creative agency and film and video production company Spin Creative. The production stills feature behind the scenes of a shoot for a Treehouse brand film and commercial shot in February 2013 on the Canon C300. Treehouse is a Seattle-based non-profit committed to improving the lives of kids living in foster care. The film will debut at the Treehouse annual fundraising luncheon, “Champions for Foster Kids,” on March 20th at the Seattle Sheraton.

The brand film that Spin Creative is crafting will be constructed in TV commercial form and will have multiple uses and delivery channels after its initial viewing at the “Champions” event. Spin developed the creative strategy and script for the spot and tells the story of who Treehouse is today, its future and the legacy its building upon. Beyond the fundraising event, the spot will be used for awareness-building and as a tool to convey the Treehouse story in an emotive, powerful way.

A huge thanks to all of the organizations and people who donated services and time to make this project happen, including:

•Treehouse clients for doing a superb job sourcing and coordinating locations, casting and talent for the project. Emily Lubenow in particular put in countless hours finding talent, locations and sourcing props and did an amazing job.

•Our crew and project team who donated additional time and services.

•Blanchet High School, Fairview Christian School and All That Dance who donated locations and provided on-camera talent.

Project Credits:

Tom Skerritt, Narrator

Matthew Billings, Director + Editor

Jim Lombardo, Scriptwriter + Producer

Ty Migota, DP

Siobhan Macdona, Stylist

Scott Gwin, DIT + Grip

Miguel Cornelio, Casting + Props + Production Stills

Drew Hisey, PA

Eric Lee, PA

Nick Denke at Electric Muses, Music Composer + Audio Mix

French postcard by Sonis, no. C. 943. Photo: Etienne George / Renn Productions. French poster for Astérix & Obélix contre César / Asterix & Obelix Take on Caesar (Claude Zidi, 1999) with Christian Clavier and Gérard Depardieux.

French comic book hero Astérix by Alberto Uderzo and René Goscinny has become a major film franchise, both in animated and live-action form. Most notable is the feature Astérix & Obélix contre César/Asterix & Obelix Take on Caesar (Claude Zidi, 1999), starring Christian Clavier, Gerard Depardieu, and Roberto Benigni. At the time of its release, the film was the most expensive production in French cinema of all time. It was a box-office success and would be followed by several sequels.

In 1927, the French comic book artist and scriptwriter Albert Uderzo was born in the town of Fismes, in the Marne department of north-eastern France. In the 1930s, Albert developed a fascination for American comic and animated cartoons and was particularly impressed with the works of Walt Disney. He was a poor student at school but received good grades in sketching and art-related lessons. By the 1950s, Albert had become a professional artist, and he met his partner René Goscinny in 1951. During the 1950s, Uderzo provided the artwork for moderately successful series such as the historical fiction series 'Oumpah-pah' and 'Jehan Pistolet' (both written by Goscinny) and the aviation comic series 'Tanguy et Laverdure' (written by Jean-Michel Charlier). Asterix debuted in October 1959 in the French magazine Pilote, created by René Goscinny and Uderzo. In 1961, the first stand-alone effort, 'Astérix le Gaulois' (Asterix the Gaul), was released. It was turned into an animation film, Astérix le Gaulois/Asterix the Gaul (Ray Goossens, 1965). The comic book series centres around the titular Asterix, the bravest warrior in a small town in the middle of Roman-occupied Gaul in the year 50 B.C. — and the one burg that has not surrendered to the occupation. Instead, with the help of a magic potion that gives him super-strength (and his best friend Obélix, who fell into a cauldron of the potion as a child, and as such is permanently superhumanly strong), he spends each instalment fighting and defeating the Roman army and keeping his village safe from harm. Asterix became one of the most successful European comic book series. There were many film adaptations, including the animation films Astérix et Cléopâtre/Asterix & Cleopatra (René Goscinny, Albert Uderzo, 1968), and Les 12 travaux d'Astérix/The Twelve Tasks of Asterix (René Goscinny, Henri Gruel, Albert Uderzo, Pierre Watrin, 1976). After the success of Astérix & Obélix contre César/Asterix & Obelix Take on Caesar (Claude Zidi, 1999) with Christian Clavier as Asterix and Gérard Dépardieu as Obélix, followed more live-action adaptations including Astérix & Obélix: Mission Cléopâtre/Asterix & Obelix: Mission Cleopatra (Alain Chabat, 2002) with Monica Bellucci as Cleopatra, and Astérix aux jeux olympiques/Asterix at the Olympic Games (Frédéric Forestier, Thomas Langmann, 2008) with Alain Delon as Julius Caesar. Astérix & Obélix contre César/Asterix & Obelix Take on Caesar combines plots of several Asterix stories, mostly Asterix the Gaul (Getafix's abduction), Asterix and the Soothsayer, Asterix and the Goths (the Druid conference), Asterix the Legionary (Obelix becoming smitten with Panacea) and Asterix the Gladiator (the characters fighting in the circus) but jokes and references from many other albums abound, including a humorous exchange between Caesar and Brutus taken from Asterix and Cleopatra, and the villain Lucius Detritus is based on Tullius Detritus, the main antagonist of Asterix and the Roman Agent (known as Tortuous Convolvulus in the English translation of the comic). "Asterix and Obelix Take on Caesar is not a masterpiece in any shape or form and has its problems but it is not an awful movie", Bethany Cox writes on IMDb: "In the French version there are enough deft touches in the script to amuse I think. The pacing is good, while the acting is fine. Christian Clavier and Gerard Depardieu are well cast in the title roles, while Roberto Benigni sinks his teeth into his role as the scheming centurion. In conclusion, nothing fantastic, but it isn't that bad."

The Asterix series has gone on to sell more than 400 million copies, translated into more than 100 languages internationally. It makes the series the best-selling European comic book series, and the second best-selling comic book series in history after 'One Piece'. René Goscinny and Albert Uderzo collaborated on the comic until the death of Goscinny in 1977. Uderzo then took over the writing until 2009. Since 1951, Uderzo was married to Ada Milani, with whom he had a daughter Sylvie Uderzo. He sold his shares of the company Editions Albert René (which owns the rights to Astérix) to the publishing company Hachette in 2007. He had a public falling out with daughter Sylvie who also owned shares of the original company and disagreed with her father's decision. After a few years of mostly working on short stories and comic strips, Uderzo announced his retirement in 2011. Since Uderzo's retirement, the work on Asterix has been handled by writer Jean-Yves Ferri and artist Didier Conrad under a deal that allows Lagardere-owned publisher Hachette to continue producing the series. The most recent book is 'L'Iris blanc' (Asterix and the White Iris), published in 2023. It is the first to be written by Fabcaro, and the sixth to be illustrated by Didier Conrad. Parc Astérix, a French theme park based on the property, has brought in 50 million visitors since opening outside Paris in 1989.

Sources: The Hollywood Reporter, Wikipedia, and IMDb.

And, please check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.

Vintage postcard, no. Z 1064. Image: British poster for Wild at Heart (David Lynch, 1990) with Nicolas Cage and Laura Dern. Caption: From the director of Blue Velvet.

Nicolas Cage (1964) is an American film actor and producer, who often plays eccentric wisecracking characters. His breakthrough came at the end of the 1980s with the Oscar-winning comedy Moonstruck (1988) and David Lynch's Wild at Heart (1990), which was awarded Best Film at the Cannes Film Festival. Cage won the Oscar for Best Actor with Leaving Las Vegas (1995). The action films The Rock (1996), Con Air (1997), Face/Off (1997) and Gone in 60 Seconds (2000) gave him four of his biggest box office successes in the years that followed. He received another Oscar nomination for his performance as twins Charlie and Donald Kaufman in Spike Jonze's Adaptation (2002).

Nicolas Kim Coppola was born in Long Beach, California, in 1964. He was the son of comparative literature professor August Coppola and dancer and choreographer Joy Vogelsang. His grandfather is the composer Carmine Coppola. His father is the brother of director Francis Ford Coppola and actress Talia Shire. His mother suffered from severe depression, which also led to hospitalisation. His parents divorced in 1976, but Nicolas always kept in touch with his mother. He was interested in the film business from an early age. He took professional acting lessons at the age of 15. Two years later, he dropped out of high school to concentrate on his career. Nicolas had a small role in his film debut Fast Times at Ridgemont High (Amy Heckerling, 1982), starring Sean Penn and Jennifer Jason Leigh. Most of his part was cut, dashing his hopes and leading to a job selling popcorn at the Fairfax Theater, thinking that would be the only route to a movie career. But a job reading lines with actors auditioning for Uncle Francis' Rumble Fish (Francis Ford Coppola, 1983) landed him a role in that film. He changed his name to avoid taking advantage of his uncle's success and being accused of nepotism. He chose the name 'Cage' after comic book hero Luke Cage and the avant-garde artist John Cage. In the same year, he broke through with a lead role as a punk rocker in the comedy Valley Girl (Martha Coolidge, 1983). Many films followed. For his role in Birdy (Alan Parker, 1984) with Matthew Modine, he had a tooth extracted without anaesthetic to immerse himself in his role. His passion for method acting reached a personal limit when he smashed a street vendor's remote-control car to achieve the sense of rage needed for his gangster character in The Cotton Club (Francis Ford Coppola, 1984). In 1987, he starred in two of the most successful films of that year, proving his status as a major actor. In the Coen Brothers' Raising Arizona (Joel Coen, 1987), he played a dim-witted crook with a heart of gold who wants to start a family with agent Holly Hunter. In Moonstruck (Norman Jewison, 1987), he played the man Cher falls in love with. The latter film earned him many female admirers and a Golden Globe nomination.

In 1990, Nicolas Cage played a violent Elvis fan in David Lynch's Wild at Heart. Another important role was Leaving Las Vegas (1995), in which he plays a suicidal alcoholic who falls in love with a prostitute (played by Elisabeth Shue) in Las Vegas. For his role in Leaving Las Vegas, Nicolas Cage received the Academy Award for Best Actor. After proving himself as a serious actor in 1995, a series of big-budget action films followed, such as The Rock (Michael Bay, 1996), Con Air (Simon West, 1996) and Face/Off (John Woo, 1997). He played an angel who falls in love with Meg Ryan in City of Angels (Brad Silberling, 1998) and returned to action films with Gone in 60 Seconds (Dominic Sena, 2000). In the 21st century, he also started a new career, as a film producer. Among others, he produced The Life of David Gale (Alan Parker, 2003), with Kate Winslet and Kevin Spacey. In 2002, he played a heavy double role in Spike Jonze's Adaptation. in which he played both scriptwriter Charlie Kaufman and his (fictional) brother Donald. For this role, he received his second Oscar nomination. In World Trade Center (Oliver Stone, 2006), he played Brigadier John McLoughlin who became trapped under the collapsed WTC for three days. Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance (Mark Neveldine, Brian Taylor, 2012) was the sequel to the Marvel comic adaptation Ghost Rider (Mark Steven Johnson, 2007). In recent years, Cage has been facing major financial problems. Despite receiving over $150 million in total fees throughout his career, he had run out of funds and owed $14 million in taxes due to his lavish lifestyle (including buying exotic properties) after the housing bubble burst. In 2009, he had to sell two houses, several cars, and boats. In 2022, Cage stated that he had paid off his debts. He also pointed out in a '60 Minutes' interview that he never went bankrupt to avoid having to pay off the debt. He earned renewed critical recognition for his starring roles in the action Horror film Mandy (Panos Cosmatos, 2018), the drama Pig (Michael Sarnoski, 2021), the action comedy The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent (Tom Gormican, 2022) and the comedy fantasy Dream Scenario (Kristoffer Borgli, 2023). Cage was married to actress Patricia Arquette (1995-2001), Lisa Marie Presley (2002-2004), and Alice Kim (2004-2016). and make-up artist Erika Koike (2019), but this marriage was annulled the same year. Cage married Riko Shibata in 2021. He has three sons. His eldest son, with Christina Fulton, Weston Coppola Cage a.k.a. Wes Cage, is the singer and guitarist of the oriental metal band Arsh Anubis. In 2014, Nicolas became a grandfather at age 50 when Weston welcomed a son, Lucian Augustus Coppola Cage. Alice Kim gave birth to Cage's second son Kal-El (2005), named after the Kryptonian name of Superman. Cage is a confessed comic book fan.

Sources: Dan Hartung (IMDb), Wikipedia (Dutch, German and English) and IMDb.

And, please check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.

Dutch collectors card by Monty, no. 21, 1970. Photo: Gerard Soeteman. Rutger Hauer in the TV series Floris (Paul Verhoeven, 1969).

Finally I found some collectors cards of my favourite series, Floris (1969). The series was the start of the successful vareers of director Paul Verhoeven, scriptwriter Gerard Soeteman and of course Rutger Hauer. Hauer played the exiled knight Floris. With his Indian friend Sindala (Jos Bergman), he tries to get his birth right papers back from Maarten van Rossem (Hans Culeman), an evil lord. During their quest they get help from Wolter van Oldenstein (Ton Vos), a noble man who offers them a place in his castle. They also meet the pirate Lange Pier (Hans Boskamp).

Source: IMDb.

Sathyan Anthikkad is a Malayalam film director known primarily for family based mainstream movies. He has created many hits, especially when working with Sreenivasan as the scriptwriter.

"Cris af Enehielm (b. 1954) is a provocative artist who works with equal facility as actor, director, scriptwriter, dancer and costume and set designer. Striking a bold feminist pose, the exhibition at HAM showcases af Enehielm’s work with an emphasis on her paintings from the 1980s and 1990s. The show also includes two new monumental paintings and a review of af Enehielm’s work as a pioneer of Finnish performance art."

www.hamhelsinki.fi/en/exhibition/cris-af-enehielm/

crisafenehielm.com/

Production stills for Seattle based creative agency and film and video production company Spin Creative. The production stills feature behind the scenes of a shoot for a Treehouse brand film and commercial shot in February 2013 on the Canon C300. Treehouse is a Seattle-based non-profit committed to improving the lives of kids living in foster care. The film will debut at the Treehouse annual fundraising luncheon, “Champions for Foster Kids,” on March 20th at the Seattle Sheraton.

The brand film that Spin Creative is crafting will be constructed in TV commercial form and will have multiple uses and delivery channels after its initial viewing at the “Champions” event. Spin developed the creative strategy and script for the spot and tells the story of who Treehouse is today, its future and the legacy its building upon. Beyond the fundraising event, the spot will be used for awareness-building and as a tool to convey the Treehouse story in an emotive, powerful way.

A huge thanks to all of the organizations and people who donated services and time to make this project happen, including:

•Treehouse clients for doing a superb job sourcing and coordinating locations, casting and talent for the project. Emily Lubenow in particular put in countless hours finding talent, locations and sourcing props and did an amazing job.

•Our crew and project team who donated additional time and services.

•Blanchet High School, Fairview Christian School and All That Dance who donated locations and provided on-camera talent.

Project Credits:

Tom Skerritt, Narrator

Matthew Billings, Director + Editor

Jim Lombardo, Scriptwriter + Producer

Ty Migota, DP

Siobhan Macdona, Stylist

Scott Gwin, DIT + Grip

Miguel Cornelio, Casting + Props + Production Stills

Drew Hisey, PA

Eric Lee, PA

Nick Denke at Electric Muses, Music Composer + Audio Mix

It all started in 1994. TV scriptwriter Stefan Struik had an interview with a meditating hermit in Baarn (NL) who was complaining about gnomes who disturbed the power network in his house. A month later he ran into trolls in a Norwegian clothing store in the Dutch-Frisian village Dokkum. A year before he got surprised by the amount of one meter high garden gnomes just across the border between Germany and Poland. It all seemed to point into a new direction he would hit a few months later. In December 1994 he opened with his sister a small game and bookstore in Delft (NL), named Elf Fantasy Shop. The games were a golden opportunity. Three years later the duo could open an second store in The Hague.

In 1995 Stefan also started a new adventure with a free magazine called Elf Fantasy Magazine. In 2001 the magazine became professionalized and despite it never realised any profits it existed until 2009.

Stefan and his sister already organised lectures in the Elf Fantasy Shops about druidism, Tolkien and other fantasy related subjects. In 2001 Stefan decided to combine a few things into a totally new and unique festival concept that later would be copied many times: the Elf Fantasy fair. Starting in the historical theme parc Archeon (NL) it moved the year after to the largest castle in the Netherlands: castle de Haar. With the exception of 2004 (castle Keukenhof, Lisse) it remained in castle de Haar, Haarzuilens since then. In 2009 a second version of the Elf Fantasy Fair started 400 meters from the border with Germany in the small village Arcen in Northern Limburg. In January 2013 the name Elf Fantasy Fair™ was replaced by the name Elfia™. The spring edition of Elfia is also called the 'Light Edition', while the autumn edition is characterized as the 'dark edition'.

(History.com) Alfred Hitchcock, the macabre master of moviemaking, is born in London on August 13, 1899. His innovative directing techniques and mastery of suspense made him one of the most popular and influential filmmakers of the 20th century.

Born the son of a grocer, Hitchcock attended St. Ignatius College, a Jesuit school in London where he studied engineering, and took art courses at the University of London. In 1920, he began to work in the silent-film industry, writing and illustrating title cards. Determined to become a filmmaker himself, he rose to the positions of art director, scriptwriter, and assistant director. In 1925, he directed his first film, The Pleasure Garden. With The Lodger (1926), the story of a man wrongly suspected of being Jack the Ripper, Hitchcock began making the suspense dramas with which he was to become identified.

His Blackmail (1929) was Britain's first widely successful talking feature, and Hitchcock used sound effectively and imaginatively. During the 1930s, he gained international fame with immensely popular thrillers such as The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934), The 39 Steps (1935), and The Lady Vanishes (1938). In 1939, he left England for Hollywood, lured by its superior technical facilities. His first American film was Rebecca (1940), a drama starring Laurence Olivier that won an Academy Award for Best Picture and further cemented Hitchcock's reputation.

Hitchcock remained in Hollywood and directed a string of memorable thrillers in the 1940s, including Suspicion (1941), Shadow of a Doubt (1943), and Notorious (1946). By the 1940s, he was serving as his own producer, thereby ensuring greater artistic control over his films. The psychologically complex and technically innovative films that followed are regarded as his most brilliant. These masterpieces of moviemaking, which starred some of the leading actors and actresses of Hollywood, include Strangers on a Train (1951), Dial M for Murder (1954), Rear Window (1954), To Catch a Thief (1954), Vertigo (1958), North by Northwest (1959), Psycho (1960), and The Birds (1963). In these meticulously orchestrated films, protagonists descend out of everyday life into tense and nightmarish situations where nothing is as it seems. To build and maintain suspense, Hitchcock employed unusual camera angles, elaborate editing techniques, dynamic soundtrack music, and touches of wry humor and the macabre.

With his courtly manner, pear-shaped figure, and farcical drawl, Hitchcock became a celebrity in his own right, and in the 1950s and 1960s he produced and hosted two mystery series on television, "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" and "The Alfred Hitchcock Hour." He also made cameos in most of his films, and movie fans stayed alert to catch his fleeting, often humorous appearances on the screen.

Although he never won an Oscar for his film direction, he received the prestigious Irving Thalberg Award from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in 1967. In 1980, he was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II of his native Britain, even though he had long been a naturalized U.S. citizen. Hitchcock died later that year, having directed nearly 60 films in his long career.

Another "iconic" shot of acclaimed Filipino scriptwriter Ricky Lee's first novel entitled PARA KAY B, during the book's launch at the state university. With my trusty Nikon D40 and love for Adobe Photoshop CS3, this came out particularly cool.

Aima Baig Vs Momina Mustehsan(Who Is Your Crush)Pakistani Singers Today we make a video about Aima Baig Vs Momina Mustehsan(Who Is Your Crush)Pakistani Singers. Who doesn’t admire beauty? Especially when it comes to the subject of women, the most valued thing is considered to be beauty. It’s the only thing that adds up to the colors of a woman. A beautiful woman is like a rainbow, comprising of colors of all kinds attractive enough for everyone to fall for. Beauty gives women confidence, self-worth, faith, and respect. It can create wonders out of nowhere for you. Aima Baig: Aima Baig is a Pakistani singer and scriptwriter. Momina Mustehsan: Momina Mustehsan is a Pakistani singer-songwriter, musician and social activist. In 2017, BBC named her one of the 100 most influential women, and the following year, Forbes featured her among its "30 Under 30" Asia list along with nine other Pakistani individuals. #Aboutmore Subscribe Us: bit.ly/2VPUPom #AimaBaigVsMominaMustehsan #AimaBaig #MominaMustehsan #BeautyBattle #PakistaniActresses #Actresses #HottestPakistaniActresses #HottestActresses #PakistaniActresses Check Others Video: Sanam Chaudhry Vs Bidya Sinha Saha Mim(Who Is The Best) Link: www.youtube.com/watch?v=3CWh-... Miss Universe India Vs Miss Universe Bangladesh2019||Who is the Best? Link: www.youtube.com/watch?v=xhFFN... Top 10 Hottest Hollywood Actress 2019(Hollywood Sexiest Actresses) Link: www.youtube.com/watch?v=LaR10... Hot Actresses in Bollywood(Top 10 Hottest Bollywood Actress 2019) Link: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sde9Z... Top 10 Hottest South Indian Actress 2019(South Indian Sexiest Actresses) Link: www.youtube.com/watch?v=onYu2... Hottest Bengali Actresses In India(Top 10 Most Sexiest Kolkata's Actress) Link: www.youtube.com/watch?v=nrlTn... Top 10 Most Beautiful Women In Hollywood||Hottest Hollywood Actresses Link: www.youtube.com/watch?v=hO1MH... You Can Check Our Other Playlist too. 1.Netflix Playlist: bit.ly/2Gj0kYu 2.Hollywood Movies Playlist: bit.ly/2MVkW9D 3.Animated Movies Playlist: bit.ly/2MXer69 4.Beautiful World Playlist: bit.ly/2DmtkKR 5.Bollywood Movies Playlist: bit.ly/2SKm8C9 6.Tv series Playlist: bit.ly/2E1YKrC 7.Horror Movies Playlist: bit.ly/2I4cTs4 8.Hollywood Celebrity Playlist: bit.ly/2UOmS6s 9.Bollywood Celebrity Playlist: bit.ly/2I5u2lg 10.Actor Best Movies Playlist: bit.ly/2DpnCba 11.Action Special Playlist: bit.ly/2GjdX9J 12.Cast (Then And Now): bit.ly/2Gvn3zI Background Music: Track: Lost Sky - Fearless [NCS Release] Music provided by NoCopyrightSounds. Watch: youtu.be/9rujCfYXhQc Free Download / Stream: ift.tt/2vW631p For More Regular updates stay-Tune with Us! And Feedback about this video. And Recommended Us What you want to see next time. Thanks,, Everyone.

Production stills for Seattle based creative agency and film and video production company Spin Creative. The production stills feature behind the scenes of a shoot for a Treehouse brand film and commercial shot in February 2013 on the Canon C300. Treehouse is a Seattle-based non-profit committed to improving the lives of kids living in foster care. The film will debut at the Treehouse annual fundraising luncheon, “Champions for Foster Kids,” on March 20th at the Seattle Sheraton.

The brand film that Spin Creative is crafting will be constructed in TV commercial form and will have multiple uses and delivery channels after its initial viewing at the “Champions” event. Spin developed the creative strategy and script for the spot and tells the story of who Treehouse is today, its future and the legacy its building upon. Beyond the fundraising event, the spot will be used for awareness-building and as a tool to convey the Treehouse story in an emotive, powerful way.

A huge thanks to all of the organizations and people who donated services and time to make this project happen, including:

•Treehouse clients for doing a superb job sourcing and coordinating locations, casting and talent for the project. Emily Lubenow in particular put in countless hours finding talent, locations and sourcing props and did an amazing job.

•Our crew and project team who donated additional time and services.

•Blanchet High School, Fairview Christian School and All That Dance who donated locations and provided on-camera talent.

Project Credits:

Tom Skerritt, Narrator

Matthew Billings, Director + Editor

Jim Lombardo, Scriptwriter + Producer

Ty Migota, DP

Siobhan Macdona, Stylist

Scott Gwin, DIT + Grip

Miguel Cornelio, Casting + Props + Production Stills

Drew Hisey, PA

Eric Lee, PA

Nick Denke at Electric Muses, Music Composer + Audio Mix

Comic Relief is a British charity organisation that was founded in the United Kingdom in 1985 by the comedy scriptwriter Richard Curtis in response to famine in Ethiopia. The idea for Comic Relief came from the noted charity worker Jane Tewson, who became head of a British NGO Charity Projects and was inspired by the success of the first four Secret Policeman's Ball comedy benefit shows for Amnesty International (1976-1981). Initially funds were raised from live events and the best known is a comedy revue at the Shaftesbury Theatre in London which was finally broadcast on television on the 25 April 1986.

One of the fundamental principles behind working at Comic Relief is the 'Golden Pound Principle' where every single donated pound is spent on charitable projects. All operating costs, such as staff salaries, are covered by corporate sponsors or interest which is earned while money raised is waiting to be spent (granted) to charitable projects.

Red Nose Day is the main way in which Comic Relief raises money. It is held in the spring every other year, and is often treated as a semi-holiday, with, for example, schools having non-uniform days. The day culminates in a live telethon event on BBC One starting in the evening and going through into the early hours of the morning, but other money-raising events take place. As the name suggests, the day involves the wearing of plastic/foam red noses or simply doing something funny. (My office had a cake bake and wear something red for a donation).

Since the Charity has started in the 1980s, Comic Relief has raised over £600 million.

Production stills for Seattle based creative agency and film and video production company Spin Creative. The production stills feature behind the scenes of a shoot for a Treehouse brand film and commercial shot in February 2013 on the Canon C300. Treehouse is a Seattle-based non-profit committed to improving the lives of kids living in foster care. The film will debut at the Treehouse annual fundraising luncheon, “Champions for Foster Kids,” on March 20th at the Seattle Sheraton.

The brand film that Spin Creative is crafting will be constructed in TV commercial form and will have multiple uses and delivery channels after its initial viewing at the “Champions” event. Spin developed the creative strategy and script for the spot and tells the story of who Treehouse is today, its future and the legacy its building upon. Beyond the fundraising event, the spot will be used for awareness-building and as a tool to convey the Treehouse story in an emotive, powerful way.

A huge thanks to all of the organizations and people who donated services and time to make this project happen, including:

•Treehouse clients for doing a superb job sourcing and coordinating locations, casting and talent for the project. Emily Lubenow in particular put in countless hours finding talent, locations and sourcing props and did an amazing job.

•Our crew and project team who donated additional time and services.

•Blanchet High School, Fairview Christian School and All That Dance who donated locations and provided on-camera talent.

Project Credits:

Tom Skerritt, Narrator

Matthew Billings, Director + Editor

Jim Lombardo, Scriptwriter + Producer

Ty Migota, DP

Siobhan Macdona, Stylist

Scott Gwin, DIT + Grip

Miguel Cornelio, Casting + Props + Production Stills

Drew Hisey, PA

Eric Lee, PA

Nick Denke at Electric Muses, Music Composer + Audio Mix

French postcard in the Acteurs Français series by Les Editions Gil, no. 5.

French actor Bernard Giraudeau (1947-2010) was with his bright blue eyes one of the most attractive but also talented stars of the French cinema. For his roles, he was twice nominated for the French Oscar, Le César. Giraudeau also worked as film director, scriptwriter, producer and writer.

Bernard René Giraudeau was born in 1947 in La Rochelle, France. In 1963 the 15-years-old enlisted in the French navy as a trainee engineer, qualifying as the first in his class a year later. He completed two around the world cruises before his service ended. He served on the helicopter carrier Jeanne d'Arc in 1964–1965 and 1965–1966, and subsequently on the frigate Duquesne and the aircraft carrier Clemenceau before leaving the navy to try his luck as an actor. He studied acting at the CNSAD (Conservatoire National Superieur d'Art Dramatique). Giraudeau first appeared on film in the Franco-Italian crime film Deux hommes dans la ville/Two men in Town (José Giovanni, 1973) starring Jean Gabin and Alain Delon. He played a kidnapper in Revolver (Sergio Sollima, 1973) with Oliver Reed. Two years later he had a supporting part in another crime drama by José Giovanni, Le Gitan/The Gypsy (José Giovanni, 1975), starring Alain Delon and Annie Girardot. In 1977, he played the male lead in the coming-of-age erotic romantic drama Bilitis (1977) directed by photographer David Hamilton with a music score by Francis Lai. It starred Patti D'Arbanville as Bilitis. The film was shot in the soft-focus schmaltz style that was common of David Hamilton's photography. Giraudeau also co-starred with Jodie Foster in the French film Moi, fleur bleue/Stop Calling Me Baby! (Eric le Hung, 1977). He co-starred again with Alain Delon in the futuristic war film Le Toubib/The Medic (Pierre Granier-Deferre, 1979), and appeared in the hit comedy Boum/The Party (Claude Pinoteau, 1980) with Sophie Marceau in her film début. Then followed his breakthrough as a handsome dashing officer who falls desperately in love with an ugly but passionate woman (Valeria d’Obici) in the Italian drama Passione d'amore/Passion of Love (Ettore Scola, 1981). The film was entered into the 1981 Cannes Film Festival and served as the inspiration for the 1994 Broadway musical Passion by Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine. Soon followed leading roles in international films like the French-Swiss drama Hecate (Daniel Schmid, 1982) with Lauren Hutton, the French-Canadian crime film Le Ruffian/The Ruffian (José Giovanni, 1983) also starring Lino Ventura and Claudia Cardinale, and the French drama L'année des méduses/The Year of the Jellyfish (Christopher Frank, 1985) with Valérie Kaprisky. Another box-office hit in France was the buddy-action film Les Spécialistes/The Specialists (Patrice Leconte, 1985). in which he co-starred with Gérard Lanvin. DB Dumonteil at IMDb: “A deft, energetic buddy movie interspersed with unexpected twists, suspenseful chases and stunts and a sharp humor into the bargain. Everything you could wish for to spend a comfortable evening in front of the telly without reservations. (…) One shouldn't forget the two main actors which contribute in making the film a little winner. Gérard Lanvin and Bernard Giraudeau are on top form.”

In 1987, Bernard Giraudeau made his first film as director the TV film La Face de l'ogre (1988), though he continued to work as an actor. He co-starred with Isabelle Huppert in the romance Après l'amour/Love After Love (Diane Kurys, 1992). In the drama Le Fils préferé/The Favourite Son (Nicole Garcia, 1994), he played the brother of Gérard Lanvin and Jean-Marc Barr. He also appeared in the lauded historical drama Ridicule (Patrice Leconte, 1996), set in the 18th century at the decadent court of Versailles. The film won the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival and received several César awards, but Giraudeau was only nominated as best Supporting Actor. He played Molière in another historical film, Marquise (Véra Belmont, 1997) with Sophie Marceau and Lambert Wilson. In Italy he appeared in the drama Marianna Ucrìa (Roberto Faenza, 1997). In France he starred in François Ozon’s drama Gouttes d'eau sur pierres brûlantes/Water Drops on Burning Rocks (2000, based on a German play by Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Tropfen auf heisse Steine, written when he was 19 years old. Elbert Ventura at AllMovie: “The movie has an undercurrent of absurdist humor, but its laughs are muffled for the most part, with the exception being an out-of-left-field dance number that injects some needed energy into the dour, claustrophobic story. Beautifully structured and meticulously filmed, Water Drops on Burning Rocks is clearly the work of an intelligent filmmaker.”Also interesting is 'Une affaire de goût/A Question of Taste (Bernard Rapp, 2000). About the growing dependency between a rich CEO (Giraudeau) and a handsome young waiter (Jean-Pierre Lorit) whom the C|EO hires at an astronomical sum to serve as a personal food taster. David Anderson at Bunched Undies: “A Matter of Taste is a well-executed film: excellent production, nicely photographed and well-acted. But by the time it’s over, like the principle characters, you may find yourself feeling a bit empty.” The film received 5 César Award nominations, including nominations for Best Film and for Giraudeau as Best Actor.

As a writer, Bernard Giraudeau wrote the text of books of photography and published children's stories (Contes d'Humahuaca, 2002) and several novels. He was also the reader on the French audiobooks of the Harry Potter series. Since 1976, he was married to actress and author Anny Duperey, whom he had met while acting in the same play. They acted together on-screen in five productions, the TV series La nuit des Césars/The Night of the Césars (1976), the crime drama Le grand pardon/Grand Pardon (Alexandre Arcady, 1982), Meurtres à domicile/Evil in the house (Marc Lobet, 1982), La face de l'ogre (Bernard Giraudeau, 1988), and Contre l'oubli/Against Oblivion (Bernard Giraudeau a.o., 1991). They divorced in 1993. From 1996 to his death, he was the companion of Tohra Mahdavi. Giraudeau and Duperey had two children: son Gaël and daughter Sara. Sara Giraudeau achieved success as an actress. In 2000 Bernard Giraudeau suffered a cancer which led to the removal of his left kidney, with a subsequent metastasis in 2005 affecting his lungs. He said that the cancer led him to re-evaluate his life and understand himself better. He devoted some of his time to the support of cancer victims through the Institut Curie and the Institut Gustave-Roussy in Paris. His later films included La petite Lili/Little Lili (Claude Miller, 2003), featuring Ludivine Sagnier, the comedy Ce jour-là/That Day (Raúl Ruiz, 2003), and . the thriller Je suis un assassin/The Hook (Thomas Vincent, 2004) with François Cluzet and Karin Viard. In 2010, Bernard Giraudeau died of his cancer in a Paris hospital. He was 63.

Sources: David Anderson (Bunched Undies), DB Dumonteil (IMDb), Wikipedia and IMDb.

The Postcard

A Forget Me Not Series postcard produced by C. Corn Ltd. of Cardiff. The card is a glossy real photograph.

The card was posted in Curragh on Tuesday the 2nd. November 1909 to:

Miss Louie Cornwell,

34, Osborn Villas,

Margate Road,

Ramsgate.

The message on the divided back of the card was as follows:

"Dear Louie,

Just a P.C. hoping you are

quite well as it leaves me

the same.

From your loving brother

Will xxx".

Mr. Hamilton Deane

Hamilton Deane (1880–1958) was an Irish actor, playwright and director. He played a key role in popularising Bram Stoker's Dracula as a stage play and, later, a film.

-- Hamilton Deane - The Early Years

Deane was born in New Ross in County Wexford, Ireland, and grew up in Clontarf, a suburb of Dublin. His family lived close to the families of both Bram Stoker and Florence Balcombe (Stoker's wife), and his mother had been acquainted with Bram Stoker in her youth.

Deane entered the theatre as a young man, first appearing in 1899 with the Henry Irving Company (Stoker was stage manager for Henry Irving for many years).

-- Dracula

Even before he formed his own troupe in the early 1920's, Deane had been thinking about bringing Dracula to the stage. Stoker had attempted this in 1897 but the verdict from Irving consigned it to the waste-paper basket.

Unable to find a scriptwriter to take on the project, Deane wrote the play himself in a four-week period of inactivity while he was suffering with a severe cold. He then contacted Florence Stoker, Bram's widow, and negotiated a deal for the dramatic rights.

Deane re-imagined Count Dracula as a more urbane and theatrically acceptable character who could plausibly enter London society.

It was Deane's idea that the count should wear a tuxedo and stand-up collar, and a flowing cape which concealed Dracula while he slipped through a trap-door in the stage floor, giving the impression that he had disappeared.

Deane also arranged to have a uniformed nurse available at performances, ready to administer smelling salts should anyone faint.

Deane’s play premiered at the Grand Theatre, Derby in June 1924. Despite critics' misgivings, the audiences loved it. With Raymond Huntley as the Count and Deane as Van Helsing, it was a huge success and toured for years.

Deane had initially intended to play the role of the count himself. When the play crossed the Atlantic in 1927, the role of Dracula was taken by the then-unknown Hungarian actor Béla Lugosi.

For its US debut, Dracula was rewritten by the American playwright John L. Balderston. The show ran for a year on Broadway and for two more years on tour, breaking all previous records for any show put on tour in the United States.

It is the Deane/Balderston interpretation upon which the classic Tod Browning film Dracula (1931) was based.

William Frith

So what else happened on the day that Will posted the card to his sister?

Well, the 2nd. November 1909 was not a good day for William Frith, because he died on that day.

William Powell Frith RA, who was born on the 9th. January 1819, was an English painter specialising in genre subjects and panoramic narrative works of life in the Victorian era.

He was elected to the Royal Academy in 1853, presenting 'The Sleeping Model' as his Diploma work. He has been described as:

"The greatest British painter of

the social scene since Hogarth".

French postcard by Edit. Chantal, Rueil, no. 9. Photo: Industrie Cinématographique. Publicity still for Douce/Love Story (Claude Autant-Lara, 1943).

French actor Roger Pigaut (1919–1989) appeared in 40 films between 1943 and 1978. He also worked as a film director and scriptwriter.

Roger Pigaut was born Roger Paul Louis Pigot in Vincennes, France, in 1919. In 1938, Pigaut attended the theatre courses of Raymond Rouleau and the following year he was admitted to the Conservatoire. But because of the war, he left to the South of France. From 1943, he played in more than forty films. One of his first films was the romantic drama Douce/Love Story (Claude Autant-Lara, 1943) with Odette Joyeux. He co-starred with Madeleine Robinson in the crime drama Sortilèges/The Bellman (Christian-Jaque, 1945). D.B. Dumontiel at IMDb: “Robinson and Pigaut had already teamed up in Claude Autant-Lara's classic Douce and the scenes where they are together (particularly the ball) take the film out on a level of stratospheric intensity that simply rises above the rest.” Pigaut’s most prominent roles were as Antoine in the comedy Antoine et Antoinette (Jacques Becker, 1947) with Claire Mafféi as Antoinette, and as Pierre Bouquinquant in Les frères Bouquinquant/The brothers Bouquinquant (Louis Daquin, 1948). D.B. Dumontiel agaqin: “Antoine and Antoinette retains its pristine charm. It's very well acted, and Becker's camera is fluid, his sympathy for his characters is glaring. Qualities which will emerge again in such works as Rendez-vous de Juillet and his towering achievement Casque D'Or.” Pigaut then portrayed the eighteenth century adventurer Louis Dominique Bourguignon known as Cartouche in the historical film Cartouche, roi de Paris/Cartouche (Guillaume Radot, 1950).

In Italy, Roger Pigaut played a supporting part in the Italian Peplum Teodora, imperatrice di Bisanzio/Theodora, Slave Empress (Riccardo Freda, 1954) about Theodora (Gianna Maria Canale), a former slave who married Justinian I, emperor of Byzantium in AD 527–565. He also appeared as Le Marquis d'Escrainville in two parts of the popular Angélique series featuring Michèle Mercier, Indomptable Angélique/Untamable Angelique (Bernard Borderie, 1967) and Angélique et le sultan/Angelique and the Sultan (Bernard Borderie, 1968). Other historical films in which Pigaut appeared were the Italian-French J'ai tué Raspoutine/I Killed Rasputin (Robert Hossein, 1967) with Gert Fröbe as Grigori Rasputin, and the romantic tragedy Mayerling (Terence Young, 1968) starring Omar Sharif as Crown Prince Rudolf of Austria and Catherine Deneuve as his mistress Baroness Maria Vetsera. His last film was Une Histoire simple/A Simple Story (Claude Sautet, 1978), starring Romy Schneider, which was nominated for the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film. Roger Pigaut also directed six films, and played in the theatre. For five years, he was the companion of actress Betsy Blair from the late-1950s to the early-1960s (in between her marriages to Gene Kelly and Karel Reisz). Together with Serge Reggiani, they founded the production company Garance Films, with which they produced such films as Cerf-volant du bout du monde/The Magic of the Kite (Roger Pigaut, 1958) and the caper Trois milliards sans ascenseur/3000 Million Without an Elevator (Roger Pigaut, 1972) with Reggiani, and Dany Carrel. Later he was married to French actress Joëlle Bernard. Roger Pigaut passed away in 1989 in Paris. He was 70.

Sources: D.B. Dumonteil (IMDb), Wikipedia (French and English) and IMDb.

Vintage German postcard. Photochemie, K.2699. Photo by MacWalten, Berlin.

Little is known about German stage and screen actress Ria Alldorf (?-?), who had a short film career between 1917 and 1921, acting in some 11 films. She surely had a career as stage actress before debuting in German cinema in 1917, in the Harry Higgs detective film Giovanni's Rache (Rudolf Meinert, 1917), starring Hans Mierendorff as Higgs. She then acted mostly in comedies in the years 1918-1919 at companies such as Karfiol-Film (Amor in der Klemme, 1918; Die Seebadnixe 1919 - both directed by William Karfiol), Eiko (e.g. Der Kampf der Geschlechter, Joseph Delmont, 1920, with Paul Hartmann). and Rire-Film (e.g. Der Badegatte, 1919).

In the early twenties Alldorf was e.g. the star of the two-part film Die Brilliantenmieze (Wolfgang Neff, Ima Film 1921), opposite Karl Falkenberg, also with Henri Peters-Arnolds, Margarete Kupfer, Bella Polini, and Grete Weixler in her last film role. The film was scripted by the highly productive Jewish scriptwriter Jane Beß, nom de plume of Herta Rosenthal (1891-1944), who was married to Ima-Film manager Alfons Fruchter and often collaborated with Neff. Her last film acting part Ria Alldorf probably had in Gerhard Lamprecht's film Die Erlebnisse einer Kammerzofe (1921).

Sources: IMDb, Filmportal.