Walk Among The Stars

Monday, 16 November 2009

The Last King of Scotland was in Germany

When Jane Fonda arrived and told us that she had a cold as was not going to sign, Bud Spencer decided to take the wrong side of the stairs and Christian Slater decided to stay home, we already felt our trip to Düsseldorf was in vain... But then Forest Whitaker finally arrived! He was very friendly, signed for everybody who asked and posed for pictures.

Whitaker's greatest success to date is, of course, the "The Last King of Scotland". To prepare for his role as dictator Idi Amin, Whitaker gained 50 pounds, learned to play the accordion and immersed himself in research. He read books about Amin, watched news reports and documentary footage and even spent some time in Uganda meeting with Amin's friends, relatives, generals, and victims. He evenlearned Swahili and mastered Amin's East African accent.

His performance earned him an Academy Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role, making him the fourth African-American actor in history to do so.

Forest Whitaker
actor (Platoon, Last King of Scotland, Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai, Phone Booth, Bird, The Shield, Street Kings, The Color of Money, Panic Room, ...)

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Posted by Gregory at 22:05 | 0 comments

Sunday, 15 November 2009

Tommy Hilfiger recognized his design !

The fashion guru that I am, I also had the chance yesterday to meet Thomas Jacob. He is better known as Tommy Hilfiger or the founder of the clothing brand with the same name.

After moving to New York City in the early eighties, Hilfiger was offered design assistant positions with Calvin Klein and Perry Ellis, but turned them both down with greater plans in mind. In 1984, he founded the 'Tommy Hilfiger Corporation', that went public in 1992, introducing his signature menswear collection. By 2004 the company had 5,400 employees and revenues in excess of $1.8 billion.

When signing autographs for other people waiting at the Maritim Hotel where the UNESCO Charity Gala took place yesterday evening, I asked him if he would mind having his picture taken with me. First he refused, since there were too many candidates, but after recognizing one of his own designs I was accidently wearing, he quickly changed his mind... :)

Tommy Hilfiger

fashion designer

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Posted by Gregory at 21:56 | 0 comments

Voyage of the Rock Aliens

... it is the only movie Jermaine Jackson ever played a role in, but that's of course not the main reason why I had my picture taken with him yesterday evening. Like Michael, Jermaine began a solo career while still a member of The Jackson 5, and had a hit with the cover "Daddy's Home". When The Jackson 5 left Motown Records, Jermaine left the group and stayed at Motown.

Jermaine was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance for his 1980 album "Let's Get Serious". A duet with his brother Michael, "Tell Me I'm Not Dreamin'", hit the first place on the dance charts in 1984. In 1985, his duet with Pia Zadora "When the Rain Begins to Fall", topped several singles charts in Europe. His final chart success, 1989's "Don't Take It Personal", hit number one on the Billboard R&B singles chart.

At the memorial service for his brother Michael on July 7, 2009 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, he performed the song "Smile" by Charlie Chaplin, which was believed to be Michael's favorite song. He is planning a stage show based on his family's life and work to be released in the UK.

Jermaine Jackson
singer

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Posted by Gregory at 21:45 | 0 comments

Have You Given Blood Lately ?

One of the surprise guests at this year's UNESCO Charity Gala, was none other than Stephen Dorff who is most famous for his role as the evil vampire Deacon Frost in the horror film "Blade".

To his credit, Dorff has taken on roles that few men in the industry could or would dare to tackle. He played luckless fifth-Beatle Stuart Sutcliffe in the band bio "Backbeat", iconic transsexual Candy Darling in "I Shot Andy Warhol" and kidnapping psycho director in the comedy "Cecil B. Demented". In 1996 he also starred in the movie "Space Truckers".

Dorff’s career has never really followed a straight line, but lately it seems as if he’s finally getting the recognition he’s deserved for all of his brilliantly scattershot filmography. In 2009 he appeared in "Public Enemies" and "Black Water Transit". But the most important of all is that he is set to reprise his role as Deacon Frost in the upcoming trilogy of Blade prequels.

Stephen Dorff

actor (Blade, Felon, I Shot Andy Warhol, XIII, Blood & Wine, Public Enemies, World Trade Center, FeardotCom, ...)

Posted by Gregory at 16:05 | 0 comments

Weekend of Horrors VI @ Bottrop, Germany

This freak show takes place in the middle of Germany twice a year... it's the Weekend of Horrors in Bottrop, close to Düsseldorf. A gloomy convention hall sets a very strange mood. For this fall edition they covered the whole toilet with blood like somebody was brutally murdered there. Sorry, no pictures of that.

What I do have are photos with me and the guests I was able to meet there yesterday... In the evening the German premiere of already the sixth instalment of the "Saw" franchise took place in Bottrop in the presence of the former editor, now director of "Saw VI", Kevin Greutert. However, we didn't stay for that, instead we went to Düsseldorf to the 2009 UNESCO Charity Gala near the airport. More pictures of that will be online soon!

Sonny Landham
actor (Predator, 48 Hrs., The Warriors, Lock Up, Poltergeist, Best of the Best 2, Gloria, ...)

Miko Hughes
actor (Mercury Rising, Apollo 13, Spawn, Tropic Thunder, Escape To Grizzly Mountain, New Nightmare, Pet Sematary, ...)

Chris Sarandon
actor (The Princess Bride, Dog Day Afternoon, The Nighmare Before Christmas, Child's Play, Fright Night, ...)

Scout Taylor-Compton
actress (Halloween, Halloween 2, 13 Going on 30, April Fool's Day, ...)

Kristina Klebe
actress (Halloween, Zone of the Dead, The Accidental Husband, She Hate Me...)

America Olivo
actress (Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, Bitch Slap, Friday the 13th, Iron Man, House M.D., ...)

Kevin Greutert
director (Saw VI) and editor (Saw I-V, Repo! The Genetic Opera, ...)

Posted by Gregory at 12:07 | 0 comments

Sunday, 1 November 2009

Brucia La Terra! Andy Garcia was here!

Friday afternoon before the weekend of F.A.C.T.S. I met Andrés Arturo García y Menéndez... "Who" you'll say? Andy Garcia of course! He was in Ghent to promote his new movie called "City Island" in which he and his daughter, Dominik García-Lorido, play as father and daughter of a family that might get along a lot better if only they could tell each other the truth. I haven't watched it yet, but it gets very positive reactions.

In 1989, Francis Ford Coppola was casting "The Godfather Part III". The character of Vincent, the illegitimate son of Sonny Corleone, was an exceptional part in a highly anticipated film. García was one of many capable actors who wanted to be cast, but he also bore a resemblance to the young Al Pacino. He eventually won the part of Vincent, which earned him an Academy Award nomination as Best Supporting Actor for his performance and became an internationally acclaimed star because of it.

Nowadays Andy is known for his many roles in box office hits such as "The Untouchables", "The Godfather: Part III", "Ocean's Eleven", "Modigliani", "Things To Do In Denver When You're Dead", not to forget "Beverly Hills Chihuahua" and many others... He signed a whole bunch of my dvd's and posed for pictures without any hesitation! That's my kind of actor! :)

Andy Garcia
actor (The Untouchables, The Godfather Part III, Black Rain, Smokin' Aces, Hoodlum, Desperate Measures, Jennifer Eight, Modigliani, ...)

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Posted by Gregory at 21:28 | 0 comments

F.A.C.T.S. 2009

F.A.C.T.S. = Fantasy, Anime, Comics, Toys and Space. It’s the largest convention of its kind in the Benelux. This year it moved to a bigger location outside the city of Ghent, but that wasn't a good choice in my opinion. Now the convention looked just like those typical huge conventions in the US and UK. Before, F.A.C.T.S. was a cosy market to hang out, now it was more like an international SciFi congress...

Anyway a tremendous amount of people was there during the weekend (14.000, as opposed to last year’s 9.000!). Let's hope this success will translate itself in a bigger amount of guests next year.

Besides some 15 comic artists, only 4 media guests were present at this years' show. Initially Marc Singer (Beastmaster) and Lou Ferrigno (Hulk) were going to make an appearance, but eventually cancelled. Kevin Sorbo (Hercules) was only attending on Saturday, but I was only able to go there the day after so I missed him. Anyway, on Sunday I met Christopher Judge (Stargate), Leah Cairns (Battlestar Galactica) and Jimmy Jean-Louis (Heroes).

Jimmy Jean-Louis
actor (Heroes, Tears of the Sun, The Bourne Identity, Derailed, Phat Girlz, ...)

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Leah Cairns
actress (88 Minutes, Battlestar Galactica, Sanctuary, Supernatural, Kyle XY, ...)

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