Being Audrey, in more than one way

Hello all. Thanks for being so patient as I fell off the face of the Earth (yet again). Without going into too much detail, the economic crisis has mucked up my life and I'm afraid I must spend the majority of my time trying to make ends meet until things improve. So I'm sorry for the lack of updates, but thank you for being loyal and hovering about, waiting patiently for more news.

Just now I received a letter from a lady named Michelle, and she has some interesting information that New York Audrey fans will love to hear, I'm sure. I'll just copy and paste Michelle's words, since they say everything that needs to be said so well:

Being Audrey is the story of Claire Stark, the new York woman who has it all: a beautiful life, marital and social bliss, and a view of Tiffany's from her Fifth Avenue apartment. When calamity strikes and her fairytale world threatens to collapse, Claire seeks refuge in her imagination, where she embarks on a hilarious, romantic adventure inspired by the films of her heroine, Audrey Hepburn. As Hepburn's character in the classic films Roman Holiday, Funny Face, Love in the Afternoon, Sabrina, and Breakfast at Tiffany's, Claire's fantastical escape appears complete until she must confront the reality of what she stands to lose. Being Audrey celebrates the variety of life and the themes embodied by one of America's most beloved and enduring movie stars. Music and lyrics by Ellen Weiss. Book by James Hindman. Developed with and directed by Jack Cummings III.

Being Audrey will be performed at the Connelly Theatre at 220 E. 4th St. New York, NY. Tickets are $45 for reserved seats, $38 for general admission. Reservations can be made with our General Manager, Michael Coglan, at coglan@transportgroup.org or (212) 564-0333. Please visit our website for more information, www.transportgroup.org

Sounds interesting, no? Maybe it sounds a little like something we're all guilty of at some time or another? I'll admit to stopping at the Tiffany & Co. in San Francisco a few times and just peering in the windows when I still lived up there, and doing some other Audrey re-enactments to entertain myself. If you live in the New York area or will be in town between March 27th and April 26th, the show's run, then try and check it out! You can't visit New York and not take in any live theatre. That's just . . . wrong.

Speaking of having your own little Holly Golightly moment, someone else was caught having her own moment. Though while people like you and I do it quietly, maybe on the way to work or while wandering downtown, Jennifer Love Hewitt called the paparazzi to document her trip. Apparently this was her 30th birthday celebration, but so far I haven't read anything positive about it. Perhaps everyone's tired of her on and off Audrey fandom? Either way, here's a picture or two, you can make up your own mind:






I'll stay mum on this, but once and for all, I'd like to know what this girl has against Wayfarers! She didn't use them in The Audrey Hepburn Story and she's sporting Jackie O's here. Wayfarers are really hot right now, and personally, I love my pair. What's so wrong with them? They're classic! And very Audrey.

UNICEF, pearls, and the lasting power of Audrey Hepburn

There's a really excellent article about UNICEF and the trials and tribulations of charities in the Guardian today. We've been seeing more and more articles popping up lately talking about the celebrity charity drive and how it can actually hurt charities more than help them, and this article lists some of UNICEF's more recent issues with its image and its partnerships. It also talks about certain big labels doing two-faced work by making their clothes via Third World sweatshops, yet launching conscientious items or lines to raise money for Third World citizens. *cough* Gap Red! *cough* It of course mentions Audrey's work and how she sort of started the celebrity spokesperson trend (though really the credit should go to Danny Kaye, who worked for 40 years as a Goodwill Ambassador and got Audrey involved), and how there are special classes celebrities take now to learn about charities and become spokespeople. Classes. It all seems very strange. Still, I highly recommend reading the whole article.


Next up, a book on Tiffany's pearls! I don't know how I've missed this one before, but Tiffany & Co. has released a book about their history with the lustrous gems. The history tends to be more entertaining than educating, but look who's on the cover:


Also featured inside is Liz Taylor and other pearl-loving stars. More information on the book and purchasing information can be found here.

And lastly, where would we be without another article marveling at Audrey's staying power? This is actually a very good write-up, and lists several recent mentions of Audrey I wasn't even aware of. It also gives a good mini-biography of her and has some good quotes by her and Sean. Go here to read the full article (2 pages).

EDIT: The Audrey reference mentioned in the last article about the TV show "The Class" is this; it's Halloween and a little girl has had help with her costume. She comes out like this:

Her mom doesn't get it. "Hello?!? Audrey Hepburn, Breakfast at Tiffany's!" It's cute, but I wouldn't have mentioned it if I hadn't noticed what a spectacular job the costuming people did on the outfit. The tiara is great, the necklace is spot-on, and the dress is a near clone. Even the sunglasses are like mini-Wayfarers! Which made me wonder what one earth was wrong with the costumers on The Audrey Hepburn Story, if a 6 year-old could out-dress Jennifer Love Hewitt:

"It's just another form of expression"

I've been thinking up a new project for the site, and hopefully tomorrow it'll be up and running. It actually would have been today, but certain programs decided to be fussy today, so tomorrow it is. (Thanks, Adobe.) Anyway, people from all over the world come and visit the site, and they seem to be a little shy about speaking up on the site, so maybe the language barrier has something to do with it. On this new page, people can talk about why they love Audrey and what makes her so special in any language they like, and it will be posted completely unedited for anyone to read, along with the author's favourite picture of Audrey. This way other visitors who may not be comfortable with English can still get the message about why Audrey is still so loved today, and maybe your words will make a new fan! So start thinking in any and all languages you know, and tomorrow will have the information you need to start sharing your thoughts.

Other than that, the contest page is now set up for the next contest. Since so many people voted in the poll, I figured the most fair way to choose a winner would be by drawing again. This contest is open to anyone in the world, as long as they can receive a package, though I must point out that the Gardens of the World special edition seems to only be out in Region 1. If that's not the case, please let me know! But if that is the case and you're not in Region 1 or don't have a Region 1 DVD player, maybe you could check your computer. Most newer models can play any region DVD, so that might be an option for you. Oh, and second prize is the new Taschen book, which actually isn't out yet, like I'd previously thought. Amazon changed their page (again), and when I checked at my local bookstore I ended up talking to the guy who orders all things Taschen and he said that they hadn't shipped yet, but they should be shipping out around the end of November. So by the time the contest is over and winners are announced and contacted, the book should be available.

On to other news! I found an article about a Givenchy designing jewelry for Sotheby's, and after some searching, I found that this Givenchy is James Givenchy, nephew to Audrey's great friend and designer Hubert de Givenchy. I guess high class talent runs in the family! To learn more about James, go here.


Next up, Liza Minelli's frog of an ex-husband, David Gest, is claiming that he was once chummy with Audrey and Sean. Apparently, he's going to be on a UK celebrity reality show, and he was bragging to a co-star about being best friends with Sean and having Audrey cook him dinner once. I'm just rolling my eyes, but you can judge for yourself here.

I got bored today and started wandering the Internet, like I always do, and found a page on the VH1 website about The Audrey Hepburn Story. There's really no information on it, but there is a trailer for the biopic on this page, and I'd never seen it before. I think I vaguely remember seeing a commercial for the special before it aired on ABC back in the day, but never a full trailer. I think it's sort of telling that the entire first half of the trailer has people talking at "Audrey," or they cut away before she opens her mouth. At just about the halfway point the trailer mentions Audrey winning an Oscar, and Jennifer Love Hewitt's first words as Audrey are, "An Ohskar, EEEEE!" It quickly goes downhill from there. If you're morbidly interested, then click here.


Speaking of, if you really really want to waste 3 hours of your life, the Women's Entertainment Channel (WE) is showing The Audrey Hepburn Story this month. You can view airtimes here, as well as seeing what better Audrey films are playing, and when.

For the last bit of news for the day, the Phoenix Art Museum just opened a new exhibit called "After Dark: 100 Years of the Evening Dress." While the article talks about Audrey and her iconic LBDs (Little Black Dresses), it's unclear on whether any actual Audrey clothing is in the display. The original article is here, and I've found a little more information (and a picture of one beautiful dress) here, at the museum's actual website. Even if Audrey memorabilia isn't included, it would still be a great exhibit and something worth seeing.



P.S. Regular reader Ankit posted this in response to the "Keats or Shelley?" post. Say it ain't so! Well, I guess now we have the answer to both questions.

Contest is over! Plus, new technology will make the Gap ads look like child's play

Well folks, the first Fab Audrey contest ended last night at 11:59 (to avoid semantics arguments about which midnight counts on which day). A big thank you to everyone who entered, and a heads up saying that winners will be notified sometime today.

And news is suddenly slow on Audrey, if you don't count all the repeat articles making their rounds. The only shareable thing I've found lately is an article on gossip site Defamer, talking about new technology that will make it possible to take old, possibly dead celebrities and make them act in completely new ways in new movies. So if you thought cutting and pasting Audrey from Funny Face was bad, or Fred Astaire dancing with a vacuum cleaner was blasphemous, then just wait until people start to take advantage of this new technique. I can't even bring myself to cite bad examples, because they just might come true. Can you think of any future Audrey horror stories? (Okay, I'll submit one: since Jennifer Love Hewitt claims to be such a big fan [though she stopped mentioning Audrey once The Audrey Hepburn Story was in the can], imagine her helping Audrey "cross over" on Ghost Whisperer, while Audrey praises Hewitt and her ego to the sky. Is that bad enough?) Here's the full article.