TOUCHED BY THE TOOTH FAIRY

Life is good.  Calm, merry and interesting. The more positive I feel the better it becomes. I learnt long ago from fairy tales and drama school, that it was the best way to be.
 I went to Annabels, the nightclub in Berkeley Square, to listen to Nicky Haslam sing my favourite 1940-s numbers.  Nick Rhodes, Gary Kemp, Cilla Black and Bob Geldof were sitting with me in the front row. Bob's girlfriend Jeanne Marine  looked pretty, dancing in time as they all clapped and stamped their feet. Nicky went from number to number.  What I like best about my wonderful friend, is that he wishes to get the most out of life. Whatever happens, he participates and squeezes every second out of it.  Totally fabulous. I laughed and sang, not wanting to leave. In fact I could have stayed until the sun popped up, leaving the tired moon to sleep. I can't wait to listen to his new Album, Total Control as I am singing in it right at the end, in fact all his friends are.

THE POSITIVE ENERGY OF THE TOOTH FAIRY

I was also surprised and elated to be taken  to see the latest Dreamworks film "The Rise of Guardians", directed by Peter Ramsey, by a friend from Soundology, the composer Nainita Desai. Despite it being yet another children's film. I was totally enthralled. A wonderful film for children, teaching them that positive thought and cheerfulness gets you everywhere. With the cast of Chris Pine, Alec Baldwin, Hugh Jackman, Isla Fisher and Jude Law you cannot go wrong.   Light, happy and beautifully directed with incredible music. Beautiful to look at.  You get lost in the hurly burly of Jack Frost, Father Christmas, The Sandman, Easter Bunny and The adorable Tooth Fairy. If you are between 8-12 which I am, you will feel happy that these characters actually exist.  You are taken into caves, over window tops, fighting a greyhound and painting Easter eggs, collecting teeth etc. Well directed, with an exceptional score by the charismatic composer Alexandre Desplat. This man never stops working and his music suits this enchanting  story. Finally there is a huge bonus being able to listen to Renee Fleming, her beautiful voice singing "Still Dream" just added to the whole 3D digital experience.
Nicky Haslam clearly benefited from  happy childhood stories. It has carried him through his successful and interesting life, and a lesson to us all. Clearly he too was touched by the positive Tooth Fairy, I too did not want my dreams bashed.

IF WE HAVE TO GO TO HELL

If we have to go to hell what better company to keep than Nick Rhodes's or Charles Saatchi's whose birthdays are today, well actually Nick's was yesterday.  The 9th June will stick in my memory forever as my Wedding Anniversary and the birthday of my first husband, Sebastian Riley Smith.  If I had stayed married to Johan Eliasch I would have been celebrating my 24th year of wedded bliss, but that sadly did not happen.  Instead though, it is the last day of directing my first film which I have thoroughly enjoyed, and, if I had kept the ring, I would not have been allowed to do.  So good things come out of parting and saying good bye to your past.   

Sitting with Pigs from Polly Morgan's Show at All Visual arts.

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Last night I went to Hamiltons to see an exhibition put together for Nick Rhodes celebrating his  50th Birthday, he was on top form, looking a glamorous as ever in full make up.  He still strikes a handsome figure and along with Boy George,  doesn't allow old age to effect his dress sense.  Good for him. 50 is definitely the new 30. What a relief. Hell looks further away than ever.

It has been quite a week.  I loved Polly Morgan's show at All Visual Arts, celebrating the circle of life in quirky forms, an octopus entangled with the fox and pigs drinking sap from a tree.

Justine Glenton on the set wearing Top Shop dress

Amanda Eliasch wearing Top Shop dress

I still have the lovely George Blodwell staying from Los Angeles who sweeps in to make sure that Justine and I look incredible for my film.  One dress from Top Shop has been most popular in fact all the actresses and my house keeper have stolen one, a black stretched dress with a peplum.  

So it is a wrap tonight and tomorrow I can get some extra well deserved beauty sleep. 


A huge thank you to Julia Laverne who worked tirelessly doing hair and make up, George Blodwell styled the actors and stole from my wardrobe, Fredrik Andersson and Jack English were my DP's, Alex Webster on lighting and Phil Scala did the sound. Of course they all crossed the lines of their job descriptions as they should.  Justine Glenton, Charles Eliasch, Giulia Laudano and Adam Urosevic, Mimi, Katy Barker and Tilly Woods were wonderful actors and singers, and lastly Antoine Monot who was the Line Producer, not an easy job.  Thank you.

FOLLOWING THE LIVES OF INTERESTING FRIENDS: JULIE ANNE RHODES

Julie Anne Rhodes is a fellow blogger from Los Angeles and delicious cook.

Which Hollywood star do you find attractive? 
I'm afraid I'm doomed to living in the past - Cary Grant was my ideal man.

What moves you emotionally? 
I'm double Piscean, way too many things.

Which film director inspires 

you? 
I've always been a big Scorcese fan. 

What food do you most enjoy? 
I'm fickle, but at the moment I'm vibing on Moroccan food. Anything hot and spicy, sweet and savory.

Which designer do you like to wear most?
 Right now I'm lusting after Marchesa's gold lame gown, the one that's ruched into a rose at the hip.

What was your most successful moment? 
Giving birth to my daughter.

What makes you happy? 
Observing wildlife in their natural habitat. 

Which film director interests you? 
I'm intrigued by Angelina Jolie's first stab at directing, and would like to see more from her.

What piece of music do you like listening to? 
Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring.

Where do you like to live? 
Planet earth, although my head spends a lot of time in the clouds.

What piece of art inspires you? 
I have eclectic taste, but Monet's lilies invoke a sense of relaxation and creativity in me.

What shoes do you like to wear?
 I'm over wearing six inch heels, and loving Manolo's lower pointed pump in nude.

What made you most happy in your career? 
Launching JulieAnneRhodes.com. I get a thrill coaching people past their kitchen phobia to rocking out dinner in a snap, and gasp, finding out they can have fun doing it!

What person inspired you? 
My matriarchal grandmother and her lust for life. Her elegant six foot frame dressed in couture, dancing on tabletops, traveling to every remote corner of the globe, practicing Transcendental meditation, and knitting bandages for the lepers. She was a radically cool eccentric, fearless and the strongest woman I've ever known.

What sport do you most enjoy? 
Sports are strictly a spectator sport for me, but I grew up a tennis brat. My father was a Davis Cup and USLTA promoter.

Where do you find serenity? 
I'm an island kind of girl. Give me the casual yet decadent elegance of an Oliver Messel home on the beach, the sound of the surf, a sunset, and I'm completely chilled.

What do you like to eat? 
Cupcakes.

What is your biggest sin? 
Cupcakes.

What piece of advice can you give someone? 
Always trust your gut, over someone else's advice.

What do you like to do at the week end? 
Sunday lunch with my friends.

 

Julie Anne Rhodes, Simon Ortiz Patino, and Chantal Ribeiro

Julie Anne Rhodes in MaxMara

Julie Anne Rhodes caught with cupcake at home

DEAR FATHER DEAR FATHER.

Bloggers all seem so surreal. Do people really exist? Could I pinch them? Something about the internet is still so far fetched for me that when I meet a fellow blogger I want to test them to see if they are alive.
Last night, I had a most delicious dinner cooked and given by Julie Anne Rhodes, Nick Rhodes' ex-wife - Duran Duran blah blah - who, I can report, definitely exists, lives in West Hollywood and writes a blog that you can easily follow. Her house has a Snow White feel to it, with large leopard skin chairs and beautiful paintings. (She obviously loves leopard big time, and had some very camp chairs dotted around the place.) Meanwhile, her aubergine dining room looked so cosy as the back drop to her home-made food. We started with an asparagus soup and ended with quite the most delicious fat-free, gluten-free cheesecake ever. Conversation was Hollywood and the Kabbala followed by wonderful ghost stories from a friend of hers, whose house had been haunted.
I know all about being haunted. A few years back, my late father arrived, his ashes in a box, from the States. As I hadn't lived with him, I wanted them near me. However, my housekeepers told me he was haunting the house - and I told them they were mad. Then, one morning I'm listening to a CD of my son singing, go downstairs to change it and find that what is playing is the Verdi Requiem. But Charlie was singing Mozart only a few minutes before! So I go upstairs and the same thing happens again. Again I go downstairs, and I think I'm going to go mad. I ring the housekeepers and they say: 'We told you, your father is haunting the house.' So I go to Julie Laverne, the friendly witch, and ask her to get rid of him. She comes over and says: 'Go up to the box with your father's ashes, hit it and say, "If you don't be quiet, we'll scatter you down the street".' And do you know, I never heard anything again.
As for blogging, I think my father, Anthony Cave Brown, would approve. He was an old-school Cold War writer, when there was fear in the world - which he delighted exporting through the newspapers. Well I am here exporting love through blogs. Farewell, father, dear father.