Archive for the ‘Entertainment’ Category
Making the Books!
Friday, August 20th, 2010Dear Marlene!
Monday, August 2nd, 2010Click Here To Go Back To JAM!
Dear Marlene,
Whenever I am auditioning for modeling and acting I get extremely nervous and stiff. What should I do?
Two things: The first thing you should do is practice in the mirror at home and the other is to do jumping jacks before going into the room to audition.
Practicing in the mirror, allows you to see yourself and get comfortable speaking and auditioning. By see yourself, you build confidence in yourself and that will show when you are modeling or auditioning.
Doing jumping jacks is a way to loosen up and get your nerves calm. Performers all have something that they do to get the nerves out. Even people who deliver speeches sometimes go through a series of activities to get them prepared: Mouth exercises, practicing vocal pitch, exercising their arms and legs and even neck stretches to get them loose and ready to speak or perform.
Our August JAM VIP, Lauren Legato, performs all the time and she going to give us her advice and tips that help her before she goes out in front of thousands! Be sure to check the JAM VIP section of JustAskMarlene.com.
TIP of the day: The best way to get into modeling or acting without paying an extreme amount of money is by getting involved in performing arts in your school and community. Join the drama, glee or even dance teams and practice using your talent. Also you can approach retail stores in your area about fashion shows or advertisements that they may have that you can be involved in.
Keep JAMming with the Modeling Cheat Sheet!
A Reason To Be “Glee”ful!
Wednesday, July 28th, 2010Click Here To Go Back To JAM!
Today is September 21! No not really, but we sure wish it was. That is when Fox premieres the new season of the show we love, Glee. Until then, Fox is giving us a taste of those adorable guys at the Teen Choice Awards.
Mathew Imaging/FilmMagic
Cory Monteith (Finn), Mark Salling (Puck), Kevin McHale (Artie) and Chris Colfer (Kurt-wasn’t he adorable dancing to Beyonce’s “Single Ladies”?!) along with Katy Perry, will be hosting the show that airs August 9.
The program honors the year’s biggest achievements in music, movies, sports, television, and fashion as voted on by teens aged 13-19. Have you voted yet?
http://www.teenchoiceawards.com
If you haven’t had a chance to catch Glee yet, it is a show that airs on Fox about a modern Glee club at a fiction high school set in Ohio. Sounds drab and annoying right? Not at all. Full of choreography, music and enough drama to give Gossip Girl a run for its money, it is an amazing show full of talented actors and actresses (which we LOVE!).
It’s exciting to see teens getting their chance to shine on prime time television outside of the reality shows and talent contests. What’s your talent? Can you sing? Dance? Or act? Maybe, you can draw, write or maybe you are great at telling jokes.
In my book “My Self: A Guide To Me,” I talk about giving your self-esteem some steam! Exploring the talents that you have is a great way to find out what you are good at and give your confidence a boost. Even if you are not on prime time television, don’t be afraid to express yourself! There are so many ways to show off your goods-Facebook, Youtube, or start your own blog. Not only will you inspire other people, but you never know who may discover your amazing work!
Keep JAMming with the Self Esteem Cheat Sheet!
From Paper to the Big Screen
Tuesday, July 27th, 2010Click Here To Go Back To JAM!
Making the classic book “Ramona and Beezus,” by Beverly Cleary into a movie production is one of the most exciting things that could ever happen this summer. (Well, besides the fact that the Mr. Softee ice creams trucks are back on every block in NYC!)
Anyone who can remember reading about this rambunctious third grader Ramona (played by Joey King) can remember thinking, that she somehow was just like any other third grader in the world. Ramona was ready and willing to explore the world no matter what crazy mess she ends up in. The books were so interesting that it was so easy to skip the bedtime that our parent’s gave us and hide under the covers with a flashlight just to see what Ramona would get into next. With the addition of characters like her older sister Beezus (played by Selena Gomez) and other editions of books, like “Ramona and Her Mother,” a trip to the library was always welcomed and an adventure to say the least.
It’s a great thing when executives in the movie industry take a great literary work and turn it into a film. It’s as if all the things you’ve imagined while reading a book come to life on the screen. BUT-sometimes, they miss the mark. Although, since it’s release on July 23, “Ramona and Beezus” have been getting rave reviews, there are plenty of book adaptions that have fell through the cracks. It’s also sometimes hard to capture a writer’s emotions and turn it into a screenplay. Which, is why it’s important that we don’t turn away from reading great books!
What’s the last great book you’ve read? With so many options to read online like, e-books, and other other online sources, there’s still nothing like the tattered pages of a book at your local library. Some times those prints can’t even be found online and you never know what you’re missing out on. Especially, if the book becomes a movie. There are hundreds of scenes that have been left out for time sake, or the director’s choice. But by reading the book you have access to so much more of the storyline. Here’s the first chapter of “Beezus and Ramona” here:
http://browseinside.harpercollinschildrens.com/index.aspx?isbn13=9780380709182
Not only that, our local libraries are being forced to shut their doors because of a lack of funds and anxious readers like you! So next time you have a free summer day, visit your library, grab a great book, and head to the beach! You never know what adventure may lie there 
!
Keep JAMming with a copy of the JAM books, MY SELF, MY LIFE, MY LOOK & MY BEAUTY NOW!
Rolling Roadshow!
Monday, July 19th, 2010Click Here To Go Back To JAM!
I meant to post something about Alamo Drafthouse’s Rolling Roadshow last week when the schedule was announced. However, these screenings have officially made my week . . . month . . . possibly year. I can get to at least three of them (although not being able to attend the kickoff in Los Angeles totally devastates me). Rolling Roadshow presents free outdoor screenings of 35mm prints in the locations where they were originally filmed. So you can watch Rocky while sitting on the famous steps from the training montage. You can watch The Godfather II on a rooftop high above Little Italy. You can watch The Blues Brothers from outside of Joliet Prison where they began their “mission from God.” Words do not describe how amazing these screenings will be.
Rolling Roadshow 2010 Schedule
August 6th – Jackie Brown at Los Angeles’ Del Amo Fashion Mall
August 7th – Dirty Harry at San Francisco’s Washington Square Park
August 8th – There Will Be Blood at California’s Kern County Museum
August 8th – Convoy at the Ft. Davis drive-in in Las Vegas, N.M.
August 13th – The Blues Brothers at Chicago’s Joliet Prison
August 14th – RoboCop at Detroit’s Russell Industrial Center
August 19th – Rocky I-III at the Philadelphia Art Museum
August 20th – On the Waterfront at Hoboken’s Pier A
August 27th – The Godfather Part II on a Manhattan rooftop near Little Italy
Keep JAMming by asking me your questions and some of them will be answered on the blog this week!
On Bratz
Thursday, July 15th, 2010Click Here To Go Back To JAM!
There’s definitely a problem in the ‘tween toy division and those would be Bratz. In fact, we’ll consider this post to be “in honor” of their July 2010 re-release. I don’t have any problems with their “look” (especially the new Bratz coming out) — but I do have problems with their biographies on the bratz.com.
Problem 1: None of these Bratz seem to have any career aspirations other than “pop star” or “fashionista.” I’d have much more respect for Jade’s uncanny ability to put together outfits if she wanted to be the future editor-in-chief of Vogue or a buyer for an international chain of boutiques. Seriously, JAM girls, we need to DREAM BIG! Don’t settle for being the most popular girl in middle school. Tell yourself that you can be the CEO of a Fortune 500 company, an Academy Award winning director, or a multimillionaire supermodel who can manage herself! (That means learning how to balance your checkbook and making solid business decisions.)
Problem 2: What’s up with their “favorite classes?” The only one who picked something related to math or science was Jade. She chose chemistry because she likes “mixing elements together” (obviously referring to her love of mixing and matching fashion). Seriously? You like science just because it reminds you of fashion? How about being interested in science because . . .
- You can learn how things work?
- You can make brand-new discoveries?
- You can CHANGE THE WORLD?
Bratz, your website exists because scientists (computer engineers) CREATED the Internet. Your dolls exist because scientists (chemical engineers) CREATED plastic. Your clothes exist because scientists (chemical engineers) CREATED synthetic fibers. Scientists did not create Seventeen.
(At least Jade says in her blog that she’s taking an advanced chem class. Good for her! Remember JAM Girls, you want to take honors classes in middle school and AP classes in high school. That will put you on the path to success!)
Problem 3: There are so many other problems that I couldn’t decide on just one. Why do these girls seem to always be logged into Bratz Chat? Don’t they have anything better to do with their time? Why would you ever choose your favorite food because it “looks so cool on a plate”? Why is the blond-haired doll always the athletic one? (Seriously, girls of other hair colors can be athletes too!) And finally, if you like “stylish foreign films,” name one for me, Jade. Just name one.
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Inspiration Italiano
Tuesday, July 13th, 2010Click Here To Go Back To JAM!
You want to know one of my favorite places to get fashion inspiration? Vintage films. I was watching a giallo from the 1970s last night. Giallo was a popular type of Italian film that combined murder mysteries with horror elements. In my opinion, the master of giallo was Dario Argento. His films were not only extremely suspenseful, they also had a phenomenal sense of style! Just check out these photos from his masterpiece, Suspiria:
You can see that he makes a lot of bold color choices that really grab your attention. (That’s why I say in My Look that it takes a lot of confidence to pull off a colorful wardrobe!) You can definitely see how his film stands apart though. Does Suspiria look like any other film that you’ve ever seen?
Even the clothes have their own distinctive look:
(Love this dress. Want this dress.)
There are lots of other directors who impact my fashion choices. The distinctive look of the “Hitchcock blond” definitely provides inspiration: Tippi Hedren in Marnie, Kim Novak in Vertigo, Ingrid Bergman in Notorious and Spellbound, and (of course) Grace Kelly in Rear Window.
(Yes.)
(Yes.)
(No.)
That last one is a costume of Tippi Hedren under attack by crazed birds in the aptly-titled film The Birds!
Keep JAMming with tips about beauty on the cheap!
Shadow Casting
Monday, July 12th, 2010Click Here To Go Back To JAM!
This weekend, I watched a screening of a movie with a shadow cast. Shadow casts are groups of dedicated fans that act out whatever’s happening in the film in front of the screen (usually adding some gags along the way). So while you’re watching the film, you’re also watching a live performance going on at the same time! The most famous shadow cast film of all time is Richard O’Brien’s The Rocky Horror Picture Show but other films are gathering up shadow casts (and cult followings) like Darren Lynn Bousman’s Repo! The Genetic Opera. Shadow casts are frequently used with movie-musicals.
Shadow casts often have pre-show entertainment. This can include giving away prizes for trivia contests, “sacrifices” (where people who’ve never seen the film before have to perform crazy stunts), teaching dances from the film to the audience, pledges of allegiance to the film, etc. These films also usually have audience interaction. Audience members are encouraged to shout out comments during the film.
If you and your friends have a favorite film, you can get a shadow cast together! (We would love to see a High School Musical shadow cast!) Just gather up all of your friends and have them choose their characters. They’re responsible for getting their costumes together (try to look as much like the characters as possible!) and learning their parts. Have some rehearsals so that everyone knows the dances and songs. And then invite everyone over for the pre-show and performance. Make sure to explain exactly what the audience is supposed to do beforehand! Are they supposed to get up and dance? Are they supposed to yell at the screen? Are they supposed to sing along?
Check out some tips from Repo ShadowCast about starting a shadow cast. And here are some examples of what shadow casts can look like:
(“Testify!” from Repo! The Genetic Opera)
(“At the Opera Tonight” from Repo! The Genetic Opera)
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One Huge Success!
Tuesday, July 6th, 2010Click Here To Go Back To JAM!
I finally caught up on my ABC Family viewing with the pilot of “Huge,” the new comedy about teens at a weight loss camp. Can I tell you how much I’m in love with this show? It’s great to finally see teens of all shapes and sizes on television. (And Hayley Hasselhoff is gorgeous beyond belief!) On the show, most of the teens are attempting to lose weight but Willamina (played by Hairspray‘s Nikki Blonsky) doesn’t see anything wrong with her plus-size physique. She makes the argument that teens are programmed to hate their bodies but she doesn’t see any reason to change.
Willamina is 100% right here. Think about the magazines that you see in the grocery store. How many of them have articles like “Get Your Best Bikini Body” or “Five Easy Ways to Drop the Weight”? We’re taught that our bodies are somehow not good enough, that they’re something that we need to fight against and change. News flash: no matter what size or shape, your body is AMAZING! As long as you’re living a healthy lifestyle (getting all those vitamins and minerals), you don’t need to change a thing — and no one should be pressuring you to change.
And that’s why we need more shows like “Huge.” We need shows that affirm that plus-size women are just like everyone else. We especially need shows that show that, yes, plus-size girls do get the guy! (It was great seeing Hayley Hasselhoff pairing off with the super-cute gym trainer.) Getting that boy in homeroom to notice you has to do with confidence, not looking like you stepped off the cover of a magazine.
Catch the second episode at 8 PM tonight on ABC Family! (By the way: how much do we love the fact that the main character is named Willamina? LOTS!)
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The Problem with Twilight
Friday, July 2nd, 2010Click Here To Go Back To JAM!
I finally got out the my local Loews to see Eclipse last night. And I have to admit that I have some problems with the entire Twilight series. These problems have nothing to do with enjoying the books because I LOVED them. I couldn’t put them down when they first started coming out back in 2005. But I do have a couple of issues with Bella Swan, our heroine.
I’m not the first one to argue that Bella isn’t the greatest role model. She’s willing to give up everything for her romantic relationship — including her family and her career. No man (even one who looks like Robert Pattinson) should require that you give up your entire identity to be with him, which is basically what she’s doing when she asks him to “change her” into a vampire. If a man ever sabotaged my car because he didn’t trust me to make my own decisions, that would be the end of the relationship. I know that he was just trying to protect her; however, trying to control someone doesn’t mean that you love her. (In fact, it usually means the exact opposite.)
So please remember while you’re reading your Twilight books (or watching your Twilight DVDs) that while this is an entertaining onscreen relationship, it’s probably not one that you should aspire to in real life. (Don’t go out looking for a man just like Edward Cullen. He’s not the kind of man that you want to date.)
