Castor over at Anomalous Material is doing a month long blogging group session to “Build a Better Blog” (its not too late to join!). First task: Write and Elevator Pitch for your blog. So here is mine:

“The World According to Ness, A Life in so many Films”

The Movie Ness is about the beauty of cinema, what it feels like to watch the newest flicks and remember TV shows that have long been forgotten, it is about the difficulty of breaking into the industry and the joy of spending a day on a film set. Here you can read ramblings from an actress, artist, film maker and most importantly, life long movie obsessor. The World According to Ness, A Life in so many Films.

Please don’t forget to vote (daily if possible):

Hi guys, I do realize that I haven’t actually posted a lot lately but please don’t give up on me! My new (and first) acting website vanessalocke.com just went online (if you are wondering, I’m using my dad’s last name). Very exciting!

Also exciting, I have entered the Banana Republics casting call for Mad Men. So please, please vote for me here (you don’t have to sign up for anything and you can vote once every day)!

Here a few more pics from the photo shoot:

And the one that I submitted:

Photos taken by Jeremy Miller (thanks again )

Another Meme…I have been tagged for this one by Castor over at Anomalous Material. If you don’t know his blog yet, than go check it out, it’s great!

1) What was your first movie-going experience?

I honestly don’t remember. I grew up with two movie loving parents and I must have been very young when I saw my first film. The first cinema trip I remember was seeing Beauty and the Beast on my birthday. It was pretty exciting because we went to McDonalds after and all got Kids Meals which had little Beauty and the Beast toys in it. I was so happy to get a little Belle-doll. She is still one of my favorite Disney princesses.

2) How many DVDs do you own?

Hmm…I’m guessing about 50 but they are all back home. Since I got Netflix buying DVD’s seems completely unnecessary. There are a few I would like to have here with me or own but now that everything is going towards Blue-Ray I don’t really want to buy DVD’s anymore. But I’m also not getting a Blue-Ray player because I think the trend will go towards instant downloading.

3) What is your guilty pleasure movie?

So many! I can be quite a girly girl when it comes to movies. I love all the Jane Austen adaptations. Anything with beautiful costumes will do.

4) You have compiled a list of your top 100 movies. Which movies didn’t make the cut?

I’ve been working on my top 100 movies for a really long time now and to be honest, I’m having trouble finding 100 movies that I would put on the list!

5) Which movie(s) do you compulsively watch over and over again?

Don’t judge me but I’ve seen the entire series of Gilmore Girls quite a few times. And every time the last season is over I get upset and want to start again with the first episode.

6) Classic(s) you’re embarrassed to admit you haven’t seen yet?

OK, I knew sooner or later this would come out. I haven’t actually fully seen the 3 Godfather films. I’ve seen bits an pieces of it but always found it rather boring. I will definitely watch them at some point though, mainly because I have claimed to have seen them at a few occasions.

7) What movie posters do you have hanging on your wall?

Growing up I used to have a few movie posters (X-Files, Rome&Juliet and some others). Right now I have a poster of Marilyn Monroe standing in Grand Central station, waiting for the uptown local subway.

If you haven’t been tagged but want to play along, please consider yourself tagged

This is  not directly film related but I saw actress/singer Charlotte Gainsbourg live last night and she was amazing so I have to tell you all about it.

Although she’s been in many movies I always associate The Science of Sleep with Charlotte. I just found her so wonderfully natural and unpretentious in that movie. And she was exactly that in concert. She was wearing no (or invisible) make-up, hair down and she had on a simple white t-shirt and leather biker pants (as you can see in the photos). I always prefer “natural beauties” to the girls that only look good with tons of make-up. Charlotte seemed very humble, slightly nervous and just herself.

The music she played was mainly from her second album (IRM) which I didn’t know at all. I have her first album 5:55 and love it. The music was slightly different, more experimental, from her first album but still good. Too be honest, I don’t know anything about music other then “I like it” or “I don’t like it” so I’m not going to write a music review. I just wanted to let you know that this girl (sorry, woman) really rocks and that if you have the chance to see her perform in your city, you should check it out. We certainly had fun!

I’ve been tagged by the lovely RTM (FlixChatter), so here we go:

1. One of the movies that influenced me most in life is Baz Luhrmann’s version of Romeo & Juliet. I was about 12 when it came out and although I had heard of Shakespeare I hadn’t read any of his work. After the initial shock of the “strange” language  I completely fell in love with it. I remember being in shock at the ending because I had never seen a movie that didn’t have a happy ending before.

2. A large percentage of my CD’s are soundtracks.

3. I started this blog after assisting a journalism seminar about how to set up a news blog. I had never looked at a movie blog (or any other type of blog) before and I can’t quite remember what made me chose to write about movies other then that the teacher said you should have a specific topic and that I love and watch a lot of films. Now it seems like the obvious choice to me.

4. Unfortunately I don’t have my DVD collection in NYC and don’t really have the time anymore but I used to watch my favorite films over and over again, the same as you would listen to a favorite CD.

5. Through a series of events I ended up watching Titanic 4 times at the cinema (which makes this my most often watched movie at the cinema). I thought that 4 times was a lot but one of my best friends saw the movie 8 times at the cinema. Now that’s crazy!

6. I’ve seen Bridget Jone’s Diary so many times that I can speak along with it.

7. I love visiting movie locations. While living in England I went to a lot of estates where they shot movies (including Harry Potter). NYC is obviously a great place to visit film locations as well.

8. I bought the Moulin Rouge! soundtrack before the movie even came out. That’s how much I loved the trailer. Please don’t judge me.

9. I watch at least one movie or one TV episode (on DVD) a day, even when I get home at 10 or 11. There has to be a real reason for me not to watch anything.

10. I don’t have a TV and therefore only watch DVD’s or go to the cinema.

OK, so to continue this little meme I am tagging:

The Dark of the Matinee

Hoping for Something to Hope for

The Flick Chick

Movie Viewing Girl

I have been wanting to write a new post in ages but this time I actually do have a good reason why I haven’t been blogging: I am currently in an Off-Broadway production of Shakespeare’s Macbeth which is taking up a lot of time. We opened last week and I’ve not been to the cinema in weeks because of rehearsals.

So what have I been watching? I’ve really gotten used to coming home late and then watching an episode of different TV series. Every Wednesday I watch the newest Lost on hulu.com. The show is picking up again. At least a few of my questions have been answered but I don’t think this is a particularly good season. Season 1 is still my favorite. The other show I like to watch weekly on hulu is Parenthood. Is anyone else following it? I was curious to see Lauren Graham in another mother-role and she is doing a great job but to me she will always be Lorelai (from Gilmore Girls). The show itself is fun but a bit too lovey dovey for my taste. Every episode ends with a happy ending. I have been alternating The Sopranos and My Name is Earl on Netflix. I’ve finished the Soprano’s first season and am excited about the next. I only started watching it because my teacher George Loros has a recurring (small) role in it but am now hooked on it. Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini) is such a great role! My Name is Earl is a fun little show about a guy who is trying to turn his luck around. Whenever I don’t have a Netflix DVD at home I watch 24 on instant view, which is quite dangerous because once I start, I can’t stop watching it.

What are you guys up to? I do hope you haven’t given up on me I am still reading my favorite blogs even though I haven’t left many comments lately but I haven’t forgotten about you, I promise!

I know I am slightly behind with this post…sorry!

We had a blast watching the Oscars though. As I have said before, we don’t have a TV so we went to a screening at a cinema in Chelsea. If you don’t know, Chelsea is an area in NYC where lots of gay people live. There was a drag queen commenting (or bitching) about everyone and everything that was going on, which was hilarious. The audience was in a really good mood, cheering and booing. It was fun sitting in cinema chairs because it felt a bit like we were in the last rows of the Academy Awards theatre.

The Oscars went fairly smoothly this year, I’d say. No huge surprises. I thought the hosts played it very safe which I didn’t expect. I thought that Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin would be more fun but to be fair, “hosts” is a bit of a stretch of the word anyway because they were barely ever on stage.

What was up with the woman who won Best Costume Design? “I already have two of these at home, so…” BITCH! She is not gonna get another one after that speech!

And poor little Kristen Stewart was so nervous that she had to cough…awww…how embarrassing. I wonder whether she is the sort of actress that will be famous for a couple of years and then just disappear again or whether she will grow out of her Twilight image and actually become a serious actress.

Ok, so where were Angelina and Brad? And Nicole Kidman? Well, I guess you get tired of the whole thing after a few years.

No one was as nervous as Kathryn Bigelow. It was quite charming how real she was. That’s the problem with actors and actresses. They quite often put on a persona for their speeches. But Kathryn was alarmingly close to passing out.

About the dresses: They seemed less crazy this year which I liked. Although there wasn’t one that I really loved. I often like the dresses of the lesser famous people most, because they are not trying so hard. I did like Sandra Bullocks and Rachel McAdams (who is she?) dresses. I did not like Jennifer Lopez dress. Bubble wrap alert!

Was it the short film category where the woman suddenly jumped onto the stage and took over the microphone? So funny!

I was not pleased with Sandra Bullock’s win. I haven’t seen the Blind Side (and probably never will) but to me she will always be Miss Congeniality. Fun but that’s all.

I really wanted Colin Firth to win!!! Jeff Bridges is great and I’m sure he gave a wonderful performance in Crazy heart but I’ve been madly in love with Colin for so long and plus he did give an amazing performance!

That’s all I can remember right now…I might add more to this list later. What did you guys think?

I am very happy to tell you all that Steph from The Flick Chick passed on the Kreativ Blogger Award to me. This is very exciting news to me since I am only writing this blog for fun and am mostly surprised that some people (other then my mother) do read it once in a while.

The rules of this award are as follows:

1. Thank the person who nominated you for this award.
2. Copy the logo and place it on your blog.
3. Link to the person who nominated you for this award.
4. Name 7 things about yourself that people might find interesting.
5. Nominate 7 Kreativ Bloggers.
6. Post links to the 7 blogs you nominate.
7. Leave a comment on each of the blogs letting them know they have been nominated.

So here go the 7 things that you might find interesting about me (and some you might already know):

(1) I have a B.A. (Hons) in Film Production and majored in production design. (Now you are probably wondering why my reviews aren’t more in depth)

(2) I am currently studying acting at the Lee Strasberg Institute in NYC.

(3) One of my real passions is traveling and I’ve lived in seven different cities (so far).

(4) I have the same kind of scar on my cheek as Arwen in LOTR but didn’t get it from fleeing from the Nazgul.

(5) I have an unusually bad long term memory and tend to forget whether I have seen films or not after a couple of moths (this is one of the reasons why I started this blog).

(6) I am obsessed with face cremes and body lotions and go crazy if I don’t have any hand creme after I have used soap.

(7) My friend and I made a kick-ass adaptation of Titanic when the movie first came out. We had no boat and we had no water and we were the only actors in it. Best film ever made!

Here are some of my favorite blogs (if you are not on this list, it probably just means that you have already received this award from somebody else):

(1) Hoping For Something To Hope For I have been following David Bishop’s blog for a really long time now and always enjoy his reviews. It is a real pity that lately he hasn’t been writing much and I am hoping for a comeback soon!

(2) Bitchin’ Film Reviews I don’t only like this blog for its great title but also for its fantastic film reviews.

(3) M.Carter @ the Movies This is a blog that I found receintly and have been following it ever since. I especially like her Listmania! It’s always great to read another girls opinion!

(4) CinemaWatch Thomas writes about all the movies he sees and I find his opinions very interesting.

(5) Anomalous Materiel Movies I have recently discovered Castor’s blog (or maybe he discovered mine) and very much like the style of it. His opinions on movies are opposite to mine quite often but I always like reading what someone very much unlike me thinks.

(And two non-film related blogs that I love:)

(6) Where the Lovely Things Are Mallory posts a lot of really lovely art/design/fashion links. I don’t know how she finds all of them but its a real joy to look at everything.

(7) Color Me Katie This blog really makes me happy. Katie is a photographer with a very unique vision and I find her joy of life very inspiring.

The 60th anniversary poster.

Kid in the Front Row is hosting a blogging collaboration where we all write about a memory we have of a particular cinema visit. I have to tell you, I go to the cinema a lot. In different countries, to different cinemas with different people. So I am having trouble remembering a lot of it. I thought about writing about the time when I was interning at a cinema magazine and got to see a lot of movies before they came out, together with “other” members of the press. Or about going to the cinema while away on holiday (which I always do), or maybe about the amazing Everyman Cinema Club in Hampstead, London but I guess the memory that sticks out the most is of three of my friends and me going to the Cannes Film Festival in 2007 (I know, technically, 2007 isn’t “long ago” but to me it feels like this was in another life time).

Quentin watching an independent documentary.

We had submitted a couple of films to their Short Film Corner for which we got extremely bad accreditations to the festival. But the worst accreditations to the Cannes Film Festival are still like a pot of gold to young impressionable film students (for those of you who don’t know: I studied Film Production at an Arts School in England). There we were, in the place to be if you love film and film people. Cannes is just amazing and I highly recommend going to the festival if you can. It is the kind of festival where you find yourself sitting a row away from Quentin Tarantino and where Martin Scorsese walks past you while you are waiting for a friend.

Gael Garcia Bernal making his way through the crowd.

Cannes is a very traditional Festival and there is a dress code for evening premieres. This meant that whenever we wanted to see an evening premiere we had to drive back to our rented apartment (which was slightly outside the city, due to incredibly high rental prices during the festival), get changed and drive back to the cinema. You can also only attend these evening premieres if you get an invitation. Our accreditations did not include invitations which meant we had to queue just off the red carpet and wait until everyone else was inside to see if there were some seats left. Because all of this takes such an effort, we only did it a couple of times.

Finally going up the stairs.

It is a very strange feeling standing in a sort of cage next to the red carpet while Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt and George Clooney walk past you, followed by a herd of extremely well dressed photographers (they are not excluded from the dress code). It certainly shows you where you are in the greater scheme of things… Although there were also a lot of spectators and fans standing on the other side of the street behind barricades and hanging off trees to take pictures of the stars. Another way to get into the premieres without an actual invitation is standing outside the film market with a sign “Need tickets for such and such a film”. An option which a lot of people chose.

Inside the main cinema.

After all the invited guests are inside, the “gates” open and all the people who were queuing hurry inside to get the last remaining seats. It’s great fun! The main cinema in Cannes is really big and since everyone is dressed up it does feel like a very special occasion. My dad (who goes to Cannes every year) said that last year they played Disney’s UP in 3D as the opening film and everyone had to wear these ridiculous looking 3D glasses which must have been quite a sight. They just don’t go with all the beautiful evening gowns (alright, this was probably the girliest sentence I have ever written on this blog)!

I know I was supposed to write about a cinema visit that went right/wrong or funny/tragic but I wanted to share a memory of a cinema visit (or 10 days worth of cinema visits) that impressed and fascinated me. I could probably go on talking about the festival for another 10 paragraphs but I am gonna stop here. Hope you enjoyed it and hope you get to go to the festival at some point .