OLD HOLLYWOOD Olivia de Havilland Awarded France's Legion of Honour

Yesterday Hollywood legend--and one of my all-time favourites--Olivia de Havilland, 94, was made a Knight of the Legion of Honour at an investiture by French President Nicolas Sarkozy at the Elysee Palace in Paris.


"[Y]ou honour France for having chosen us," Sarkozy told de Havilland, who was born in Japan to British parents but has long made Paris her home.

He also acknowledged de Havilland's hand in changing the studio system when in the 1940s she fought against roles that she felt were beneath her talents as an actress.


"You are a rebel because you are the only one who dared file a suit against the studios to defend the liberty of actors," Sarkozy said. "You won. It's exceptional."


British born actress Jacqueline Bisset was also awarded the Legion of Honour at yesterday's ceremony.

CELEBS Gaga Does Japanese Men's Vogue

At this point I don't know whether to applaud Gaga for still getting us talking about her outrageous fashion choices, or be annoyed with her for still getting us talking about her outrageous fashion choices...

Well, she's at it again, this time on the cover of the Japanese edition of Men's Vogue wearing what has been described as a meat bikini. Not surprisingly, Peta is already up in arms over the whole thing. (They're about as predictable as the predictability of Gaga's unpredictable attire.) I don't doubt Gaga's authenticity. She truly seems to live through her art, whether it's her music or her costumes. However, how much longer can she continue topping herself? There's something to be said for allowing her talent to shine through and be centre stage... For every epic video like 'Thriller' that Michael Jackson made, there was also a 'Man in the Mirror'. He was a showman, but he also understood simplicity.

At this point you know what I think would be really shocking? Seeing Gaga in jeans and a T-shirt...

MUSIC 'Miss Me' by Drake f. Lil Wayne

This is easily my favourite song of the moment. Drake has been enjoying great success with his debut album, Thank Me Later, released back in June. It's been great watching his meteoric rise to fame as we're both the same age and good Canadian boys. I look forward to evolving and growing in my craft as he does in his...

THEATRE "The Tempest" starring Christopher Plummer

This past weekend I was fortunate enough to attend The Tempest starring Christopher Plummer at the Festival Theatre in Stratford, Ontario. As its run is quickly drawing to a close (the last performance is this Sunday), it has already been long reviewed by such distinguished critics in such venerable publications as Charles Isherwood in the New York Times. I would, however, like to reiterate that this production, by Des McAnuff, is a complete feast for all of the senses. Rarely have I seen such a beautifully articulated production. From the costumes, to the interpretation of these familiar characters, The Tempest serves as a reminder of why Stratford has gained its world renowned reputation.


The Tempest, Shakespeare's great play about the usurped duke of Milan, has often been a swan song for many great actors of the stage. However, Christopher Plummer, never one to adhere to what others have done, has vowed that his Prospero on stage will not be his last; he has no intentions of retiring from the profession he loves. Indeed he will reprise his Tony award winning performance from 1997, the title role in Barrymore, the two man play about another great Shakespearean actor, John Barrymore, at the Elgin Theatre in Toronto for thirty performances. I can't wait.

MUSIC 'Crossfire' by Brandon Flowers

I'm absolutely in love with 'Crossfire,' the first single from The Killers' frontman Brandon Flowers' debut album, Flamingo, due out this month. He doesn't break any new ground here, but it's great nonetheless.

BOOKS Fall Biography Picks

Life writing has always been my favourite literary genre which is probably why I aspire to go to grad school in London for that very subject. The whole process intrigues me and equally as interesting is how some biographies can be wholly captivating that bring to life their subjects while some can be absolute disasters. Four out of five of these books are biographies while the fifth is an autobiography. All four biographies are of often chronicled subjects (well, perhaps with the exception of Hedy Lamarr), and all four are by authors of good repute. The lone autobiography is by Dame Judi Dench. She requires not an introduction nor an endorsement by me. She's just plain amazing. After all, there's nothing like a dame!

1. Cleopatra: A Life by Stacy Schiff

Ever since I saw Elizabeth Taylor's Cleopatra when I was a mere nine years old I have been enamoured by the story of the Ancient Egyptian queen, the last ruler of the powerful Ptolemaic dynasty. As it turns out, Cleopatra VII wasn't the seductress her detractors painted her as. (So much of what we know about her has been filtered through the biased lens of her Roman enemies.)

Now, from Pulitzer Prize winning biographer Stacy Schiff comes Cleopatra: A Life. So far reviewers through Amazon's Vine Program have been mediocre. Not surprisingly they have taken issue with the fact that this book offers no substantial new information. Is this really surprising? As I alluded to, there is so little information known about Cleopatra's life, and it's almost entirely from Plutarch's books on Caesar and Antony from his famous Lives biographical series.

I'm interested to see how it stacks up to the Cleopatra books by Joyce Tyldesley and Duane W. Roller. I bought both of them for a paper I wrote on Cleopatra for my Shakespeare class. I found the former insanely readable while the second I put down after a few pages. In my--and the author's--defense, I really got all I needed from the Tyldesley book. Perhaps that will also be the case with the Schiff book. Little, Brown and Company. November 1.

2. Frank: The Voice by James Kaplan

While I've never been much of a fan of Frank Sinatra, I do love a good biography and Old Blue Eyes did live quite the life. While The Voice doesn't cover his entire life, its 800 pages does appear to be an exhaustive look at the years from 1915-1954. (The second volume, which looks at his last 44 years will be released later.)

Sinatra has been chronicled by countless biographers from Kitty Kelley to J. Randy Taraborrelli. This book details Sinatra's meteoric rise to fame, his ebbs and tides in popularity and his comeback with the 1954 classic film, From Here to Eternity, which garnered him an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor. Doubleday. November 2.

3. Beautiful: The Life of Hedy Lamarr by Stephen Michael Shearer

This summer one of the books I read was Hedy Lamarr: The Most Beautiful Woman in Film by Ruth Barton. I found her critiques on Lamarr's films to be definitive, but Hedy Lamarr herself remained elusive. Barton acknowledged that the Hollywood legend is shrouded in myth, primarily due to the somewhat fictitious story weaved by the ghostwriters and presented as truth in her notorious 1960s autobiography, Ecstasy and Me.

Now it's Stephen Michael Shearer's turn with Beautiful: The Life of Hedy Lamarr to see if he can't do any better. His book is substantially longer (480 pages to Barton's 312). Time will tell if Shearer is able to achieve what Barton was largely unable to. Thomas Dunne. September 28.

4. Possessed: The Life of Joan Crawford by Donald Spoto

Donald Spoto's biographies have ranged from excellent (Rebel: The Life and Legend of James Dean and Marilyn Monroe: The Biography are considered by some to be definitive accounts of their respective subjects) to the disappointing (High Society: The Life of Grace Kelley). Spoto next turns his attention to another oft written about Hollywood superstar: Joan Crawford.

For years Crawford's legend has been damaged by her daughter Christina Crawford's notorious memoir, Mommie Dearest--and perhaps even more so by the film it spawned of the same name starring Faye Dunaway--which Spoto hopes to rescue her from in Possessed: The Life of Joan Crawford. Harper Collins. November 2.

5. And Furthermore by Judi Dench
Dame Judi Dench is one of the world's preeminent actors of both stage and screen. Seen most recently on screen in the musical Nine (2009) and onstage in A Midsummer Night's Dream at the Rose Theatre, Kingston (2010) she alternates between both. And Furthermore, "however, [is] much more than a career record. Her marriage (Michael Williams died in 2001), their daughter, and her impish sense of humour contribute vividly to her account of more than half a century as Britain's best-loved actress." Weidenfeld & Nicolson. October 14.

MUSIC 'Teenage Dream' by Katy Perry

Katy Perry may have had the distinction of 'California Gurls,' the first single off her sophmore album Teenage Dream being unofficially heralded as the song of the summer. But now that we're all long sick of that one, she has released the album's second single, also called 'Teenage Dream.' I love it and its equally charming video. It's perfect as we say goodbye to summer.

MOVIES That Time Of The Year Again: TIFF!

Here in Canada you never know what the last few weeks of summer will bring. In this past week alone has been both incredibly hot and bone chillingly cold. But no matter the weather, I know my September will kick off the same way: With frustration at the Toronto International Film Festival's inferior ticketing system.

The web site invariably crashes every year with the incredible demand of the public onsale. Last year it took me three hours to get my ticket to the gala premiere of Precious at the Roy Thomson Hall. To be honest, the frustration is starting to become part of the charm of the whole thing. Almost.

This year, after four hours of refreshing, I finally got tickets to my two desired screenings: the French film Potiche starring Catherine Deneuve, and Brighton Rock starring Helen Mirren.



I haven't been able to locate a trailer for Brighton Rock, the second film adaptation of Graham Greene's 1938 novel of the same name. (The original was released in 1947 and starred Richard Attenborough.)

More so than the actual films themselves I am looking forward to catching glimpses of Catherine Deneuve and Helen Mirren. I almost hate to admit it, but I always choose the galas I go to based on the stars who will be attending rather than the film themselves. Both of these events are the same night, meaning I am going to have to dash over to the Elgin Theatre from the Roy Thomson Hall, missing the ending of Potiche in order to catch a glimpse of Mirren. As frantic as it all sounds, this year's megawatt star power means I am guaranteed not to be disappointed.