Author: CircleMe

Naomi Watts on her Princess Di role

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Australian actress Naomi Watts, who is playing Britain’s Princess Diana in a new film, says she was so focussed on the interview the late princess did with Martin Bashir that she watched it as she worked out.

The biopic film entitled “Diana” will be released soon and Watts said she used the interview with Bashir on the BBC’s Panorama programme to help her fine-tune the Princess of Wales’ mannerisms.

The interview was first aired in 1995 and created much controversy at the time. During the now infamous interview Diana stated: “There were three people in this marriage” referring to Prince Charles’ relationship with now wife Camilla Parker Bowles.

Said Watts to Hello! Magazine: “I ran the Martin Bashir TV interview so often that it got to the point where I was watching it on my iPhone while I was out jogging. ”I had five minutes of her walk, five minutes of her wave, five minutes of her laugh that I’d watch again and again.”

The film will depict the final two years in the princess’s life just after her divorce from Prince Charles and just before she died in a car crash in Paris in August 1997. Watts recently walked out of an interview on BBC radio after becoming uncomfortable with the questions she was being asked about Diana.

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Moderat ready to release second album

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The Berlin techno super group Moderat is preparing to release its second album entitled II later  this year. The group, made up of Modeselektor with Sebastian Szary and Gernot Bronsert and Apparat (Sascha Ring). The trio has been working together for the last ten years after coming together to find ways to explore electronic music after meeting at a festival in Berlin.

One of the highlights of the new album, which was written in the dead of winter, is that all the beats were done from scratch using both sampled and re-sampled music from the studio – analog and looped.

The new album features synths, warm bass tones and rolling drum programming, as well as melancholy vocals. The group says it continues working together because of a shared past in the German city attending illegal parties following reunification.

In an interview with Electronic Beats, Moderat said that all the members worked on getting the album together. “Everybody did everything, it wasn’t like one person was the drum programmer and the other one was making the melodies. It’s really mixed,” said Sascha Ring. “We wanted to resample stuff and use it over and over again. We wanted to wear the sound out on purpose,” Ring added.

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Eggs Florentine, breakfast with “glam”

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For a breakfast with a little more glam and prep time try Eggs Florentine. Eggs Florentine is poached eggs served on toasted sourdough bread with spinach and Hollandaise sauce.

To prepare you will need 4 eggs, 1 bunch of baby spinach, 3 tsp of white vinegar, 2 thick slices of sourdough bread, butter, Hollandaise dressing, 5 black peppercorns, 1 bay leaf, 2 egg yolks,2 tsp lemon juice, 1/2 tsp of salt.

Make the Hollandaise sauce by combining the vinegar, peppercorns, and bay leaf in a saucepan over low flame. Allow to simmer until the mixture reduces to 2 teaspoons. Remove from heat,strain, and set aside.Use a heatproof bowl over a medium saucepan with water. Remove the bowl from the saucepan and bring the water to the boil.

As the water boils use egg yolks and vinegar and whisk until combined. When the water has boiled place the egg mixture over the saucepan and use a whisk to mix for 3 minutes until thick and has doubled in volume. Whisk the mixture and warm melted butter a few drops at a timeuntil incorporated. Mix lemon juice and add salt and pepper.

To prepare the eggs put vinegar in a frying pan with water and boil over a low flame. Break 1 egg into a saucer and use a large spoon to make a small eddy in the water. Then add egg in the middle and poach for 1 or 2 minutes. When cooked transfer to a plate. Cook spinach in water and drain. Toast bread and put on a plate. Add spinach, poached eggs and drizzle with hollandaise sauce.

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Florence, history’s new birthplace

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Florence is a city in Italy’s Tuscany region famous for being the fashion capital of the country as well as the heart of the Renaissance. The city is famous for its history and architecture and is a Unesco World Heritage Site.

Among the most famous museums in Florence are the Uffizi Gallery and the Pitti Palace. Other sites which may interest tourists are the famous Santa Maria Fiore cathedral, the Campanilewhich sits nearby, and the Baptistery and the Palazzo Vecchio and Ponte Vecchio. ThePiazza della Signoria is in the city’s centre.

The city is on a basin near the Senese Clavey Hills and the Arno River. The city has a humid sub-tropical and Mediterranean climate and has hot humid summers and cool damps winters.

Food is very important in Italian culture and also in Florence as well as wine. The city sits in Italy’s Tuscany region famous for its wines. Not far from Florence is the Chianti region.

The Osteria Vini e Vecchi Sapari is the most highly recommended restaurant in the city where reservations are mandatory. Food includes tripe and lampdredotto, antipasti, and salt less Tuscan bread. The city is served by the Amerigo Vespucci Airport and also has a city bus and tram and railway stations.

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Dame Judi Stars in lost and found

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philomena
British actress Dame Judi Dench is to star as a woman searching for her long lost son in the film “Philomena”. In the movie, Dench, who has also had starring roles in such films as “Mrs. Brown” in which she played Queen Victoria and as the title character’s boss M in the James Bond films, plays a woman who was forced to give up her son for adoption by the Catholic Church.

Her search begins 50 years later. The film also stars British actor Steve Coogan who has had a recent successful turn in the film “Alpha Papa”. Coogan plays political journalist Martin Sixsmith who intended to write the story of the search but ended up helping Philomena instead.

The film is directed Stephen Frears who also directed such flicks as “My Beautiful Laundrette” and “The Queen”. “Philomena” will be released in British cinemas on November 1. Dench has won a Best Supporting Actress Academy Awards for her role in “Shakespeare in Love” as well as a Tony for Best Actress in a Play for “Amy’s View”.

She has also won a slew of BAFTA Awards as well as Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild Awards. Her most recent role was in 2012’s “Skyfall”.

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How Theo Hutchcraft adores Jeremy Irons

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Hurts band member Theo Hutchcraft is a big fan of British star Jeremy Irons. According to Hutchcraft, who was doing a piece for Electronic Beats website, he was once told that the films a person likes and the star a child idolises are the people and things you emulate as an adult. For Hutchcraft, that person is Irons who for him is the consumate actor.

“I found this really great, stark black and white picture of him the other day wearing a monocle and a polo neck by the photographer Michel Comte in an Interview Magazine from 1990“, says Hutchcraft.

“There’s another photograph that I really like where he’s wearing a suit matched with a pair of Nike trainers. It’s something about his demeanor that suggests a romantic back story that I want to rifle through“.

Irons has of course won Academy Awards for his role in such films as “Reversal of Fortune“. He has also played in “The Man in the Iron Mask“.

Said Hutchcraft: “He’s this established Hollywood star so he probably has a beautiful house and a nice car; but it’s about more than the usual trappings.

He looks like he could live in some sort of house in Paris or somewhere in rural France with a vineyard. Or else he looks like you might see him on a yacht or a small canal boat tending to the flowers on the roof”.

And Hutchcraft thinks that while Hurts isn’t a lot like Irons they have managed to fool people into thinking that. “If I’m like Jeremy Irons when I’m old, I’ll be a very, very happy man”.

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Macaroni and Cheese pie

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The macaroni and cheese is one of the simplest meals available and with the right spices can be extra tasty. To make you need cooking spray, 2 cups uncooked elbow macaroni, 1/2 cup butter, 2 cans evaporated milk, 1 tablespoon black pepper, 3 eggs, salt, 4 cups shredded Cheddar cheese, and paprika.

To prepare, preheat the oven to 425 degrees F and spray a small casserole dish with cooking spray. In a saucepan add water and salt and bring to a boil before adding macaroni. Add oil to prevent macaroni pieces sticking together. Once cooked, remove macaroni and drain.

Melt butter in a pot over a low flame and add evaporated milk and pepper until warm. Beat eggs in a bowl and add evaporated milk mixture whisking until smooth.

Continue to warm over the low flame until thick and add macaroni and stir. Put macaroni mixture in a dish. Add shredded cheese and top with more macaroni. Do this until macaroni is finished, then top with cheese. Bake for about 20 minutes in a casserole.

To add extra flavour to a macaroni and cheese you may also add finely chopped onions and chopped bell peppers. In some recipes the onions and peppers may be blended with the milk and egg mixture for added taste.

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Miami beach, incredible destination

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Miami is a city located on the southeastern coast of Florida and is ranked as the richest city in the USA. It is the top cruise passenger port in the world and the busiest port for tourists.

The area is good for shopping as well as a few tourist sites with the nearbyFlorida Everglades and the Downtown Miami Historic District which dates back to 1896 and nearby South Beach and Miami Beach.

Miami is an eclectic mix of Latin American and Caribbean cultures with a huge population of Cubans and Dominicans and is known as the Capital of Latin America.

The city has a tropical monsoon climate with hot humid summers and warm winters. Visitors can experience a number of cultural showcases including annual festivals such as the Calle Ocho Festival and Carnaval Miami.

Among the performing centres are the Ziff Ballet Opera House and theCarnival Studio Theater. There exist many museums including the Frost Art Museum, History Miami, Miami Art Museum, and the Miami Children’s Museum.

For those who wish a quieter visit, there are many parks includingBayfront Park and Bicentennial Park. Other destinations include the Jungle Island, Zoo Island, and Zoo Miami as well as the Miami Seaquarium.

Food is heavily influenced by Latin folk with the Cuban sandwich and medianoche as well as Cuban espresso being quite popular. One can visit the Versailles Restaurant in Little Havanaand other more popular brands exist such as Tony Roma’s. 

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British star Naomie Harris to play Winnie Mandela

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British actress Naomie Harris is to play Winnie Mandela the former wife of former South African president Nelson Mandela in an upcoming film and according to Harris has gotten the blessing of Mandela.

Harris has had smaller roles in movies but got a key role as Miss Moneypenny in last year’s James Bond film “Skyfall”.

The actress, who is of Jamaican parentage, but has lived in England, said she visited Mandela who was Nelson’s second wife and revealed that the black heroine who remained married to Mandela while her was in prison on Robben’s Island for 27 years was ok with her role in the upcoming flick “Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom”.

According to Harris the meeting was a fantastic experience in which she asked Mandela who she wished to be presented and what was the take away she wanted people to have from the movie.

Harris told Empire magazine that Mandela’s response was “’I just want the story to be told truthfully. You’ve done your research, you’ve read enough about me just make it your own.”

British actor, Idris Elba, will play Nelson Mandela in the movie which is set to be released in cinemas January 2014.

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Zagreb Festival coming up

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The Electronic Beats Fall Festival continues with some magnificent stops this year in places such as Budapest, Hungary; Dresden, Germany; Vienna,Austria, and Podgorica, Montenegro.

The festival stops in the Croatian capital city of Zagreb on November 8 with four of the biggest names in electro beat music. The festival will be staged atBoogaloo in Zagreb. The Danish group Efterklang, who released the LP Piramada last year, will headline the night’s events with their orchestral pop music.

Also on the line up will be German Deep House DJ and Producer Fritz Kalkbrenner from out of Berlin. Fritz is brother to Paul and he will bring with him a blend of soul, hip-hop, and techno music.

The brothers worked on the music for the film “Berlin Calling” back in 2008. His last single releases were Little by Little and Get A Life from 2012.

The up-and-coming Dena also performs and comes highly recommended with an older groove with a mix of 90’s beat R&B and a more modern groove.

The final act planned for the evening is MS MR from New York City. Electronic Beats stages a series of live concerts, club nights, and festivals across Europe.

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