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FABTV: Fiona Apple "Across the Universe"

FabSugar — Sat, 15 Mar 2008 13:00:22 PDT

I still haven't gotten around to seeing Across the Universe, but here's another take on the Beatles song. Fiona, intense as always, did a cover of the song for the movie Pleasantville - which I loved. Her rendition is sleepy and beautiful, and slow. Even though this video is shot in black and white, a main theme of the movie's plot, and slowly pans around creating a soothing effect, there is complete mayhem in the background. It seems Pleasantville extras are wrecking havoc on the local diner. The camera style is an assuage to the violent behavior. Juxtaposition at its best.

Oscar Nominee: Across the Universe for Best Costume Design

BuzzSugar — Sun, 17 Feb 2008 14:00:51 PST

In the days leading up until the Oscars, I'll be featuring the nominees in the various visual categories. This week, I'll be looking at the nominees for Best Costume Design. This category plays a huge role in film making, as costumes can make or break the authenticity of a film, convey things that words cannot, or just add to the overall magic on the big screen. Today's featured movie is Across the Universe.

Though some criticized the overall job Julie Taymor did converting the beloved Beatles songbook into a musical, it is hard to deny the quality of the film's feast for the eyes. Taymor became one of the most innovative forces on Broadway when she brought the Disney animated film The Lion King to the stage in a way no one had ever seen before (think: giant puppets). So it's no suprise that the costumes in this film reach beyond the traditional period piece decadence and into effects that include background dancers dressed in larger-than-life, puppet-like pieces. The overall effect is extremely, well, trippy - which is exactly what a movie musical nostalgic for the psychedelic mood of the '60s should invoke. No wonder Oscar took notice.

To check out a bunch of pictures from the film,

View 12 Photos ›

Photos courtesy of Sony Pictures

What to Netflix: New DVD Tuesday

BuzzSugar — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 07:30:00 PST

All of the new DVD releases hit stores (and Netflix) on Tuesdays. So each week in What to Netflix: New DVD Tuesday, I sort through the best of the batch and tell you what to add to your queue. In addition to the titles below you can view Cate Blanchett's award-nominated performance in Elizabeth: The Golden Age and The Jane Austen Book Club, which I featured as one of my February Must Haves. Additionally, the Jodi Foster thriller The Brave One, which I liked well enough, is now on DVD.

The Assassination of Jess James by the Coward Robert Ford
This movie adaptation of Ron Hansen's acclaimed novel brings to life two infamous personalities of the American wild West. Notorious outlaw Jesse James (Brad Pitt) befriends what amounts to a latter-day celeb stalker, Robert Ford. Played by Casey Affleck who has been nominated for an Oscar for his portrayal, Ford is a man looking for fame and will do just about anything to attain it.

I enjoyed this movie, despite some awkward pacing and artifice. The visualizations of the West and solid performances make this a great choice for home-theater viewing.

It's a fun week for DVDs so

Across the Universe
I once described the look and feel of Across the Universe as a shroom-induced dream set to Beatles songs, and I stand by that description. Using the Fab Four's music, a romantic plot line, and trippy visual effects, director Julie Taymor takes audiences through the ups and downs of the 1960s. The result is an ambitious, psychedelic attempt to capture a moment in time, and I give it an "A" for effort.

The burning question you'll probably have when viewing these crazy visuals is, "How'd they do that?" Thus, the two-disc DVD set is highly satisfying with all its making-of featurettes. Also, the commentary by Taymor gives great background on why she chose the '60s as her backdrop and how the Beatles inspired her.

2 Days in Paris
Julie Delpy wrote, stars in, directed, and composed the music for this comedy that co-stars Adam Goldberg. I had a chance to talk with Delpy about this film, and it was clear she has a serious interest in exploring what makes modern relationships tick. The film follows a neurotic yet lovable couple that spends two awkward days in Paris where Marion's (Delpy's) family forces them to confront their relationship issues, not to mention their cultural differences. Overall, the movie is a charming take on all the work that goes into love nowadays. Special features include five deleted scenes and an interview with Julie Delpy.

Movie Preview: Across the Universe

BuzzSugar — Wed, 19 Sep 2007 07:30:00 PDT

Directed by Julie Taymor, Across the Universe seriously seems to defy categorization. It's dramatic, romantic, musical and historical, though there are some pretty out-there elements to it as well. As you can probably guess from this image featuring Eddie Izzard, the style is rather whimsical to the point of being, well, trippy.

According to an IMDB description, "An original musical film, Across The Universe is a fictional love story set in the 1960s amid the turbulent years of anti-war protest, the struggle for free speech and civil rights, mind exploration and rock and roll... A combination of live action and painted and three-dimensional animation, the film is paired with many Beatles songs that defined the time."

After viewing the trailer, I've decided that if I had a shroom-induced dream set to Beatles songs, it would probably look a lot like this. The movie is now playing in select theaters, so to check out the weird, but not altogether terrible trailer,

Across the Universe photo courtesy of Sony Pictures

Yogini Kristin McGee Dishes on Bethenny Frankel's Fave Pose and Getting Ready For Beach Season

Lizzie Fuhr — Wed, 23 May 2012 00:36:21 PDT

I was lucky enough to take a class taught by Manhattan-based yoga teacher Kristin McGee right here in San Francisco! Although one busy lady, Kristin traveled across the country to teach Vinyasa Vibes (a new offering at The Sports Club/LA), a flow-based, powerful yoga sequence enhanced by music. The most musical part of the practice? During Savasana, the class culminated in a live sax solo by Grammy-nominated musician Dave Koz. After class, Kristin and I chatted about her yoga journey, getting ready for bikini season, and what it's like working with one of her famous clients, Bethenny Frankel.

FitSugar: Some of the moves in Vinyasa Vibes are Ashtanga-influenced. Is that what your yoga teacher training background was in?
Kristin McGee: My original background was really eclectic because I started in the early '90s. I started taking [yoga] at NYU; some of my very early teachers were Jivamukti teachers who did study Ashtanga. Then I did study with Richard Freedman for a while, who is pure Ashtanga, and Cyndi Lee at OM Yoga. I wanted to get deeper into Iyengar classes and get into the alignment and the detail. Now in my practice I want to get more into Pranayama, more of the breathing, and maybe take some more Kundalini classes. I just feel like it constantly evolves.

FS: The Vinyasa Vibes class has live music during final relaxation. Can you elaborate on the experience of live music and yoga combined?
KM: In yoga practice, it’s a very intimate, immediate place. It's almost like live theater or live music where it brings you right into the moment. Music is a universal language, just like our breath is a universal breath. I think the second we're in this surrounding, in this environment with that live music and the intimacy of a live class, it brings it all together in one beautiful experience.

FS: You’ve collaborated with Bethenny Frankel on some projects. What's her favorite pose?
KM: Bethenny’s all-time favorite pose is Straddle Forward Bend because she says it feels like the weight of the world is falling off of her shoulders. Someone like Bethenny Frankel has a million things going on, and I don’t know how she does it! But I think you also noticed it in the practice tonight. Right when we finally got to that Straddle Forward Hang, it was kind of just like, "Ugh! Such a release!" You feel like you could stay there for quite a while.

Keep reading for Kristin's favorite snack before class and how to get your body ready for Summer.

David Beckham's Road to the Olympics Starts in Greece

Katie Henry — Fri, 18 May 2012 16:39:56 PDT

David Beckham visited the Experimental University School in Athens, Greece, today before traveling to the UK with the official Olympic torch. David, Princess Anne, and various Olympic officials boarded an Airbus dubbed Firefly and embarked on a four-hour flight with the Olympic torch, bound for an airfield in Culdrose, Cornwall. Expressing his gratitude and excitement, David posted a heartfelt message on his Facebook wall, "What an incredible moment, very proud day for me and so excited for the country."

The torch will make its way across the UK during a 70-day relay before returning to London for the Summer Games opening ceremony. It's been a week full of memorable events for David. David and the LA Galaxy were honored at the White House on Tuesday for their MLS Cup win, and in addition to bringing the torch to his home country, he was also nominated in the category of choice male athlete at this year's Teen Choice Awards.

Danny Seo Celebrates Earth Day With a One Kings Lane Tastemaker Sale to Benefit Charity

Guest Writer — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 04:00:00 PDT

We're excited to present a post from guest writer, eco lifestyle expert, and all-around awesome guy Danny Seo.

Late last year, I had the privilege to sit down with one of the co-founders of One Kings Lane, Ali Pincus, and talk about our favorite places to shop, how I'm addicted to the home shopping site, and to talk about ways I could get involved with One Kings Lane. We came up with the idea for me to do a TasteMaker tag sale where I could collect some of my favorite vintage and antique items from my home and put them up for sale on the site. I agreed under one condition: if we could donate the proceeds to my favorite charity, Baby Buggy.

Baby Buggy, in case you aren't familiar, is the wonderful nonprofit founded by Jessica Seinfeld that has the motto "Love, Recycled." It's so appropriate because they accept lightly used baby gear, clothes, and new baby and children essentials to help families in the greatest need. They are a clearinghouse of sorts that works with a network of nonprofits who call Baby Buggy with a wish list of goods they desperately need. And like a fairy godmother, Baby Buggy always comes to the rescue. With the proceeds from this sale, Baby Buggy will be able to buy the most needed essentials to help families in need. In the spirit of Earth Day, selling vintage and antique items is green for Mother Earth since it's reusing what already exists; the sale proceeds will coincidentally help many mothers here on Earth.

In this special CasaSugar post, I'm excited to give you a sneak peek at three items for sale and the unique story behind them. I've traveled the world for work and always found time to visit out-of-the-way antique stores, flea markets, and galleries to search for beautiful things. I hope whoever buys these goodies will cherish them as much as I have over the years.

Indian ArrowHead Collection When I was filming my TV show "Simply Green with Danny Seo" (all episodes on Hulu now), I made a point to visit a small antique store in the sleepy town of Point Pleasent, PN. Down an alley and past a blacksmith shop (of all things!), I found a little antiques store that was going out of business. Rummaging through box after box, I came across a collection of mounted arrowheads, all hand mounted on colorful felt with a hand pounded metal backing in glossy black frames. What I loved about these pieces is that clearly someone had scavenged the woods of Pennsylvania for each arrowhead, cleaned them, and displayed them in a very beautiful and interesting pattern. I also love the pop of color in the background.

Keep reading to learn about two more special items from the sale

How Your Wardrobe Reveals Your Personality

LearnVest — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 00:15:13 PDT

Your clothes reveal a lot about who you are as a person. LearnVest shares how psychology affects the way we dress and what our clothing styles mean.

It’s no news that your wardrobe says a lot about you.

What you wear can inform passersby of your type of employment, as well as your ambitions, emotions, and spending habits.

And now it’s even launched a whole new type of psychology.

Clinical psychologist Dr. Jennifer Baumgartner literally wrote the book on this phenomenon, which she calls the “psychology of dress.” In You Are What You Wear: What Your Clothes Reveal About You, she explains not only how psychology determines our clothing choices, but also how to overcome key psychological issues your wardrobe might be bringing to light in your everyday life, or even at work.

“Shopping and spending behaviors often come from internal motivations such as emotions, experiences, and culture,” says Dr. Baumgartner. “You look at shopping or storing behaviors, even putting together outfits, and people think of it as fluff. But any behavior is rooted in something deeper. I look at the deeper meaning of choices, just like I would in therapy.”

We spoke with her to figure out why clothes are so revealing (of our personalities, that is), what messages they’re sending and how you can use your wardrobe to change how others perceive you - and even how you think about yourself.

How We Use Clothing as an Aid . . . and a Weapon

Americans rely on clothing as an economic and social indicator because there aren’t official marks of rank such as a caste system or aristocracy, says Dr. Baumgartner.

“When you don’t have a specific system, people come up with their own,” she explains. It’s what “helps you figure out where you fit in. Especially now, with the economy, with people losing status, maintaining a sense of who we are becomes even more important. Our clothes help place us where we think we want to be. ”

She cites the Real Housewives TV series as an example: “Look at the way they focus on money. When they fight, they use logos and designers as a way to put each other down. They’re using clothes and accessories both as a tool to know where they fit in and as a weapon against others.”

Read on for more.

Do Gorgeous People Earn a Higher Salary?

LearnVest — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 00:15:24 PST

We're thrilled to present this smart LearnVest story here on Savvy!

Pretty is as pretty does? Maybe according to some. But when viewed through the lens of economics, beauty may be your ticket to getting hired, earning more, and landing a wealthier spouse.

Or so says Daniel Hamermesh, a professor of economics at the University of Texas at Austin and author of the new book Beauty Pays: Why Attractive People Are More Successful.

According to his calculations, a good-looking person will earn, on average, $230,000 more over the course of a lifetime than someone who is perceived as less attractive.

We didn’t like the sound of this, so we decided to speak with Hamermesh about his controversial stance. We sat down with him to discuss why being unattractive hurts men more than women at work, and the one factor that will influence what you earn even more than beauty.

You’ve pioneered the field of pulchronomics - or the economics of beauty. Why?

I started working in this stuff 20 years ago. I had seen some data about beauty and realized that beauty is scarcity, and since economics is about scarcity, this is an economic field of study. Before, there were only studies that had been done with very small sample sizes, and there wasn’t much analysis of the findings. Now there are a huge number of people working on research.

Does everyone agree on who is beautiful?

We don’t all agree perfectly on who’s a five and who’s a one, but we do agree pretty closely, even across cultures.

Symmetry is part of it, but you can’t do this mechanically. Is it age? It’s no question - yes. I say it in the book and show it with data: if you ask someone to rate someone’s looks adjusted for age, we simply can’t do it. We rate younger people higher. It’s especially true for women, unfortunately.

Read on for more.

"Should I Move Across the World For School and My Boyfriend?"

Tres Community — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 03:05:00 PST

This question is from a Group Therapy post in our TrèsSugar Community. Add your advice in the comments!

I've come to a fork in the road in my life; I have the opportunity to start studying halfway across the world or stay at the small university I'm currently at and I need to decide soon. I've been thinking about this for a couple months, but I still haven't been able to make up my mind. I'm drawn to the city by three main things:

The city itself-I've only been there for a weekend, but it was one of the happiest weekends of my life... something just really clicks.
My long-term boyfriend who will be living there.
Personal growth, independence and a respectable university education.

My boyfriend of two and a half years grew up in a foreign country. He recently got an offer to work at Google in the same country, and he will be moving back there in the next few months. He is the sweetest, most wonderful companion I have ever had. I'm not exaggerating at all-he has an incredibly gentle heart, we have logical discussions instead of angry arguments, and we work together to support each other and grow in so many ways.

At home I have a very big family that is constantly expanding, and I love them all very much! However, some of my siblings seem to have something against my boyfriend. Whenever I ask them if something's wrong, I never seem to get a straight answer. Could it be that they are mad about him possibly taking me far away? I at least know that my dad trusts and respects him.

So, herein lies my problem: I want to move to the same country to attend the university and be with my boyfriend, but this is a huge life decision! Is it the right thing to do? Am I wrong to leave my entire family behind? Although I do have the financial freedom to live halfway across the world if I want to, I find myself feeling guilty at the prospect of leaving. On one hand, I can live somewhere completely new, exciting, and challenging with the love of my life, but have to deal with very jealous siblings and miss my family back home. On the other hand, I can take it easy and continue studying at my small university in a town that I want to escape, and have family and friends fairly close, but probably end my relationship. What should I do?

Have a dilemma of your own? Post it anonymously to Group Therapy for advice, and check out what else is happening in the TrèsSugar Community.