Why Chanel No.5 of course... Inspiration Item #46

Chanel has just released a new 'film' (or shall we say VERY expensive ad) starring Audrey Tautou for their fragrance Chanel No.5.

It's release coincides with the French premiere of Coco Avant Chanel, a new film focusing on the young Gabirelle Chanel and her rise to fame as one of fashion's most lauded designers.
The film was directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet, the man behind Tautou's rise to fame in Amelie and it has the same amazing golden colour tones which can't but help warm the cockles of your heart.
If you're wondering who the man is who manages to track Tautou across southern France just by following her scent, he's American model Travis Davenport.
Have a watch of the film below... but if you want the best quality look at http://www.chanel5.com/.



Inspiration Item #46

Bollywood dance beats... Inspiration Item #46

So I was at work awhile back and was talking to one of the girls about Bollywood movies. Her mum is Indian and she loves the big dance blockbusters and mentioned a few of her favourites.

Anyway time passed, exams came along, I got invited to a Sikh wedding and was all inspired so looked up Bollywood music in a bout of study procrastination. These are a few of my discoveries...

First up is Leija Leija from the 2001 hit Khabi Khushi Khabie Gham (meaning sometimes happy, sometimes sad). It has a great intro and there's no holding back on the dancefloor by either sex (plus can I mention it has one of the most beautiful men on the planet feauring as the male lead, Hritick Roshan).

If I need to get moving this next one is definitely my fav, starts off slow and builds with cracking beats. The clip is a bit old but I think the man responsible for this awesome love-song in the rain clip is A.J. Rahman (he wrote and performed Jai Ho which has hit the music charts as the Pussycat Doll's take on Bollywood from the movie Slumdog Millionare).

I stumbled across this song, Eli Re Eli a little while back. Great undulating rythmn and female solos, but the guys are a little weak. What I'm gathering from the English subtitles is that this is some type of empowered Bollywood Bridget Jones called Yaadein (definitely on the list to watch).


This one makes it into the list solely because of Aishwarya Rai's absolute sex-bombness. It has the classic Bollywood depiction of guys vs. girls on the dancefloor... with girls definitely winning out (don't think the guys ever recovered form Aishwarya's amazing hip flexibility).


If all this has been a little too exhausing have a listen to the theme music for Mumbai also by A.R. Rahman. I find it's very relaxing after the soprano notes and ever-speeding beats of the classic dance songs.



P.S. had a chat with my mate from work and we're going to have a Bollywood movie sleepover.. sounds good to me.

Inspiration Item #46

The Hunt for Gollum, the best fan movie ever.. Inspiration Item#45

Trailer 2 - The Hunt For Gollum [2]
Uploaded by HuntForGollum

I just watched possibly the best fan movie ever, The Hunt for Gollum. It was forty minutes of absolute professionalism made on a $3000 budget.

The film was adapted from appendices from The Lord of the Rings and follows Aragorn as he hunts for the creature Gollum to prevent Sauron and the nine riders finding the location of the ring.

Costumes, setting and weaponary were amazing. My sister and I were amazed at the fight scenes, really well doneThe orcs were especially good and if possible even uglier than the Peter Jackson triolgy.Viggo Mortensen was always going to be hard to live up to and fan actor, Adrian Webster did a good job (I couldn't help thinking the whole time that if he'd just tinted his eyelashes and eyebrows he would have looked 10 times more Aragorn like.. superficial, I know).The movie was released independently online on the 3rd of May, to watch go to thehuntforgollum.com.

Inspiration Item 45#

14yr old Duncan Harrison.. Inspiration Item #44

So I stumbled across one of the BBC's latest offerings which sadly hasn't made it to Australia and probably never will.

It's the slightly high-brow reality TV show The Speaker which aims to find the best young public speaker in the UK.

Anyway the winner was the youngest of the bunch, Duncan Harrison, a 14 year old from Bristol.

His final speech was on child education in Malawi - it was brilliant and something I'll pull out and re-watch before my next presentation for uni/work.

Inspiration Item #44

Britain's PMs battle it out... Inspiration Item # 43

Am reading a fantastic book I've been wanting to get my hands on for ages.

It's The Blair Years by Alastair Campbell and as well as being VERY politically informative, it's hilarious.

I've just typed up one of the funniest bits... shows how human Britain's most recent Prime Ministers are.

NOTE: TB stands for Tony Blair and GB for Gordon Brown.


Monday, March 27 1995


"...Arrived in Glasgow. We drove over to Edinburgh and had dinner with his old school friend Nick Ryden. TB told the hilarious story of when he and GB met in Nick's house for one of the big discussions post John Smith's death. Nick left them to it and they went round and round in circles. TB was clear he should stand because he felt that was the best chance for the party, but GB was not convinced. At one point, GB went to the toilet. Minutes passed and TB was sitting twiddling his thumbs and even wondered if GB had done a runner. Eventually the phone went. TB left it, so then the answering machine kicked in and GB's disembodied voice came on: 'Tony. It's Gordon. I'm locked in the toilet.' They both ended up laughing about it. TB went upstairs and said 'You're staying in there till you agree.' "


p.54 The Blair Years Alastair Campbell



Inspiration Item #43

Faulkner ... Inspiration Item #42

"Always dream and shoot higher than you know you can do. Don't bother just to be better than your contemporaries or predecessors. Try to be better than yourself."

William Faulkner (by way of Frankie magazine).

*Picture courtesy of Katy Spade's gorgeous fashion shoots

Inspiration Item #42