OCTOBER 2004
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31st October 2004
New Section - Chanel No. 5
- I have now launched a brand new section of this site dedicated to Baz Luhrmann's Chanel No. 5 commercial. Feel free to check out this new section by clicking here. I have also added a new banner to my homepage. The Chanel section will be kept up to date with all the latest news and release dates regarding this much anticipated commercial. If you have any information you'd like to add to this section, as always, please feel free to e-mail me.
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29th October 2004
ATG Update?
- As stated in my 22nd October update, I am anxious to hear what Luhrmann's decision will be regarding whether or not he will be going ahead with his epic version of Alexander the Great. Yesterday, an article was printed in the Toronto Sun that claims Luhrmann's ATG is now "officially dead".
Personally, I will not believe ATG isn't going ahead until
Luhrmann or one of his representatives makes an official statement. There's been so many rumours and misunderstandings throughout the year regarding this project that it's been hard to figure out what exactly is going on.
Indeed, I think the lack of official information has lead to a lot of media speculation and assumptions that ATG won't go ahead. Things have been quiet on the ATG front for a while now and, with Stone's film about to be released, people are probably wondering whatever happened to that other movie by Baz Luhrmann?
Luhrmann said he would make a decision regarding ATG at the end of this year,
presumably after Stone's film is released. Plus, Kidman's comments in the below
article are very brief, and could have been taken out of context. However, on the plus side, perhaps this speculation will lead to an official statement sometime soon! We'll have to wait and see!
:-)
Luhrmann's Alexander is defeated
By Bruce Kirkland -- Toronto Sun
"Baz Luhrmann's keenly anticipated "Alexander The Great" film is now officially dead, according to his Australian friend Nicole Kidman, who was supposed to co-star in it as Olympias.
"No!" Kidman says when asked if Luhrmann was going to go ahead with the much-delayed project, which was going to rival Oliver Stone's Alexander, due next month. In Stone's film, Angelina Jolie plays Olympias to Colin Farrell's Alexander.
"I was too!" Kidman says when told that viewers were eager to compare the two films and that many were more intrigued by the possibilities of Luhrmann's vision.
Luhrmann, who used Kidman as his femme fatale in Moulin Rouge, last worked with her on a spectacular, multimillionaire Chanel ad in which she plays herself, a movie star escaping media hordes in a Moulin Rouge-like fantasy setting."
Craig Armstrong Latest
- The following is the latest e-mail update from Craig Armstrong's official website. Anyone can sign up for e-mail updates, and it is a great way to keep up to date with the work of this brilliant composer. To find out more about Armstrong and his works, click here to visit my Craig Armstrong page, or click here to visit his official site.
"NEWS From craigarmstrong.com
Craig recently played an exclusive one-off performance for Nic Harcourt's acclaimed radio show "Morning Becomes Eclectic" on KCRW
Radio in Los Angeles.
In a 30 minute set of music he played pieces from 'Piano Works' as well as a stunning improvisation of 'The Balcony Scene' from Romeo and
Juliet which he blended with the classic 'Weather Storm' so that listeners were in for a real treat!
Craig was in Los Angeles attending the Premiere of 'Ray' Taylor Hackford's biopic about the legend Ray Charles. Craig's score to the
movie sounds sublime and Craig performed a piano version of the theme in the KCRW session!
You can listen/watch Craig's performance on the KCRW archive by clicking here.
Please feel free to email any comments or thoughts into info@iemusic.co.uk
We have had many requests for sheet music from Craig. There is none available at present but rest assured there are plans in place!
Many thanks,
craigarmstrong.com"
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27th October 2004
Chanel Ad - UK premiere
- Further to my last update detailing proposed release dates, I have now found a newspaper article that confirms Baz Luhrmann's Chanel commercial will premiere in the UK on 20th November. The article was posted on Sunday on The Times Online (there is no direct link, but the article is accessible if you do a search on the homepage). The article is one of the best I've come across so far, and I am now extremely excited about the upcoming UK release date! The article entitled 'The sweet smell of success' reads as follows:-
"Nicole Kidman, couture frocks and £17m worth of diamonds —
Chanel's new perfume ad promises to be more of a cultural event than a commercial. Believe the hype, says Claudia Croft
Some adverts are more than just a hard sell. Ferrero Rocher's ambassador's reception, the PG Tips chimps,
Smash's Martians, Leonard Rossiter spilling Cinzano over Joan Collins — all are memorable television moments. They have a life beyond the 30-second show time. How many of you took a bath while wearing your Levi’s after watching that ad?
The marketing men have a name for such a phenomenon. When a puff becomes more talked-about than the product it promotes, they call it
"water-cooler advertising". Right now, the nation’s favourite advert features the Guinness horses, but after November 12, all that might change. Because that’s when the new Chanel No 5 ad hits cinema screens, with a first airing on television the following week.
Starring Nicole Kidman, it’s the first commercial ever directed by Baz Luhrmann, whose credits include the Oscar-winning Moulin Rouge! — and in advertising terms,
it's an epic. The full-length version runs for two minutes (four times longer than a regular ad), with production values that are more akin to those of a big-budget Hollywood extravaganza than your average life-insurance infomercial. The project spent six months in post-production, and there is even a
"making of" documentary to accompany it.
Kidman's costumes, designed by Karl Lagerfeld and hand-stitched in the Chanel couture salon, all had to be made in duplicate. She wears £17m worth of real gems in the film, which, with its in-depth characterisations and sweeping Debussy soundtrack, plays like a trailer for an epic movie that has never been made. The whole thing doesn’t so much smell of Chanel No 5 (you don’t even see the bottle) as reek of money. It is rumoured to have cost £5m to make. But add the cost of buying two minutes of prime television airtime in the run-up to Christmas and you see that this
isn't just a commercial, it's a megamercial.
In terms of artistic vision, cost and impact, the film is so ground-breaking that it
isn't really fair to call it an advert. It’s a cultural event that, when shown for the first time on British television (during Channel 4’s screening of Moulin Rouge! on November 20), will be listed in the TV guide, just like the regular programmes.Can you imagine setting your video for the Gold Blend couple? In the long history of water-cooler advertising, this is a first.
If you tune in, you’ll see what all the fuss is about. Kidman plays "the most famous woman in the
world". Arriving at a glamorous event, she's pursued by paparazzi. She bolts from her limo and ends up in the back of a cab with the sexy Brazilian actor Rodrigo Santoro. He plays a bohemian artist so wrapped up in his work that he has no idea who she is. The pair escape to his rooftop garret and, free from the cares of the world, begin a passionate love affair. But
Kidman's character can’t hide for ever, and she reluctantly returns to her celebrity life, leaving behind her lover. The final scene shows her stepping onto a red carpet in a blaze of paparazzi flashbulbs. She gazes wistfully over the rooftops to where her lover lives. The strains of
Debussy's Clair de Lune swell, then fade.
You might coo over an Andrex puppy, but at advance screenings, some viewers were so moved by the love story at the heart of the ad that they cried at the end.
It's rare that you can describe an advert as moving, but the emotional power of the film lies with Kidman herself. The story line — a famous woman, unlucky in love and pursued by the press — mirrors her own life in many ways. When she was beseiged by photographers at the recent Chanel fashion show in Paris, it was as if a scene from the ad had become a reality.
Luhrmann's wife, Catherine Martin, a friend of Kidman's and the production designer, believes the parallels between the actress and character give the film potency.
"She knows that’s part of the territory," Martin says of Kidman's paparazzi-plagued existence.
"But she fulfils all her obligations with such grace. She always treats them with the respect they deserve. People expect her to come looking beautiful and having made an extraordinary effort with her appearance. She does that with enormous
aplomb."
Luhrmann agrees: "I look at her sometimes when we are just hanging out — jeans, glasses, her hair pulled back — and
she's a great gal, but a gal nonetheless. What she can become, though, is inhumanly
glamorous."
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25th October 2004
Chanel Ad - Current Schedule
- Baz Luhrmann's Chanel No. 5 commercial had its world premiere on Australia's Channel 9 on Wednesday, 5th October 2004. This was the first time the ad had been shown to the public in its entirety. It is my understanding that the commercial has not been screened in full to the general public anywhere since, however it is due to be released worldwide over the coming weeks.
I have come across information on the web relating to the commercial's release schedule. Dates should be taken as rumour only and are obviously subject to change. The information I have at present is as follows:
Australia - The commercial will reportedly be shown in Australian cinemas from Friday, 29th October. Presumably it will also be screened on television.
USA - Current rumours indicate the ad will premiere on television in the US from Thursday, 11th November. The ad will also reportedly be shown in US cinemas in the coming weeks (not sure of exact dates as yet).
UK - The commercial will reportedly be shown in full in the UK on Saturday, 20th November. It will be shown in one of the ad breaks during Channel 4's screening of Moulin Rouge. It has also been reported the ad will appear in tv guides as a separate tv event on this night. I will be sure to keep an eye out and report further information here closer to the time.
I have no information about screenings in other countries at this time. However, if you have the opportunity of viewing the ad, wherever in the world you may be, please contact me so I can add the details right here!
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22nd October 2004
ATG on History Channel
- As the year draws nearer the end, I find myself becoming more and more anxious to hear what Luhrmann's decision will be regarding whether or not he will be going ahead with his epic version of Alexander the Great. Stone's Alexander is set to be released in the US next month, and Luhrmann has reportedly said he will make a decision about his own version of ATG by the end of the year.
Meanwhile, a representative from the US History Channel has contacted me asking me to help promote their upcoming Alexander the Great television special. The three hour programme is due to air in the US on 7th November 2004 - 8pm/7C. The official website can be accessed by clicking the banner above. The site is very informative and a great way to learn more about the life of Alexander. The website also shows an intriguing 'Behind the Scenes' video clip preview of the upcoming television programme and I urge anyone in the US who wants to learn more about ATG to go ahead and watch! If you have the opportunity to watch the programme, feel free to contact me with your comments and reviews.
I have been provided with promotional material for the programme and have created a separate webpage here. It features several screenshots from the programme, along with written explanations for each photo. The show was shot in a variety of locations, many of which were the sites of Alexander's actual conquests, and looks set to be a most enlightening programme.
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18th October 2004
Chanel Commercial
- So much news, so little time! This month there has been a huge flurry of media attention surrounding the launch of Luhrmann's Chanel ad. It premiered in Australia earlier this month and, while I have not yet personally seen the entire commercial here in the UK, I have to say from the stills I have seen online it looks absolutely stunning. Nicole Kidman is as beautifully enchanting as always, and her striking image which is seen in both the commercial and magazine advertisements is spot on, as can be seen in the promotional images above.
I have been collecting all related media articles and accompanying images and am currently working on a new Chanel page. I have been meaning to create a separate Chanel section for some time now, but be assured it is now definitely on its way! Check back soon for a huge Chanel update! :-)
House of Iona Intrusion
- Although this month has been one of excitement and celebration for Luhrmann and co. regarding the successful launch of the Chanel ad, a rather unnerving incident occurred at Bazmark's studios at the House of Iona in Sydney. An article was printed in the Daily Telegraph regarding a homeless man breaking into the house on 9th October. The first sentence of the article reads, "A homeless film buff allegedly broke into direct Baz Luhrmann's studios to sleep among memorabilia from Moulin Rouge." However, further down the article, it seems to me the homeless man was actually just searching for somewhere to sleep and didn't know whose house it was until he got inside. Luhrmann is currently overseas promoting the Chanel commercial, and so the man probably realised the house was unoccupied and went inside. The man was probably not a threat, but this incident may cause Luhrmann to rethink security measures when he returns from Europe. [click here to view the article].
Official Bazmark Site Update!
- It's been a long time coming, but I'm very pleased to announce that the official Bazmark website has at last been updated! The changes have occurred this month and the site now features a giant version of the Bazmark logo with links to each of Luhrmann's major projects underneath. Each link leads to an exterior website, but I'm glad to see that instead of just La Boheme and Moulin Rouge, all of Luhrmann's major projects are now promoted. Strictly Ballroom is linked to the Internet Movie Database information page, and Romeo + Juliet is linked to its official site, which hasn't been updated in a while but is still full of great information. Something For Everybody is linked to the very informative Hollywood and Vine webpage. Moulin Rouge is linked to the excellent official Club Moulin Rouge website, and La Boheme to its own impressive official site. The Chanel ad is referred to as 'No. 5 The Film' and is linked to the official Chanel website. Hopefully, we will see even more changes to the official Bazmark website very soon (perhaps including other interesting links, such as fansites?) ;-)
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10th October 2004
Ewan McGregor in Glasgow!
- Today Ewan McGregor was in Glasgow to promote his new book and television series called The Long Way Round detailing his adventures with friend and fellow actor, Charley Boorman, as they motorcycled from London across Europe and North America to New York. The journey took over 100 days on the road and they encountered some amazing scenarios along the way. The book is released here in the UK this Thursday, and the television series begins on Sky at 9pm on Monday, 18th October 2004.
McGregor and Boorman were interviewed on stage at Glasgow Royal Concert Hall before attending a book signing after the talk had concluded. I got the chance to come face to face with Ewan as he and Charley signed my book and I have to say - he really is a lovely guy (and very handsome too!) Unfortunately, no photos were allowed, but I did get a signed copy of the book and I look forward to reading it cover to cover. Oh, and as much as I wanted to say something about working with Luhrmann on Moulin Rouge, I managed to refrain! :-) Seriously though, he is a genuinely lovely man, and I am now looking forward to watching the television series of The Long Way Round.
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