By Lance Avery Morgan Photography courtesy of IMDB
Matt Damon, Jude Law and Gwyneth Paltrow in The Talented Mr. Ripley, 1999
It’s considered one of the most stylish films of the last 50
years and we couldn’t agree more. One of the most talked about films of 2000
when it was released in late 1999 for Oscar competition, The Talented Mr. Ripley, going on twenty
one years old now, has come of age. It competed with other stylish films the
same month it was released: Anna and The King and
The End of the
Affair.
Gwyneth Paltrow
It’s the stylish, brisk, and nonchalant pace of the film,
set it Europe, that gives it the edge of a being a true thriller. With murder,
mayhem and yes, lots of affairs set in the 1950s, it’s one of our favorite
style films of the 2000s, and it holds up remarkably well. In fact, most of the
clothes the stars Matt Damon, Jude Law, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Cate Blanchett with
their innate classic elegance could be worn this very minute.
Here’s are a few more of our favorite of the film’s style moments….la dolce vita.
By Jake Gaines Photography courtesy of Katie Jaffe and
Jennifer Lawson
We love a good book for all ages. That
in mind,Austin-based author
Katie Jaffe along with her mother, Jennifer Lawson, just launched their first
children’s book, Fly, Fly Again and it is a delight.
We feel that Fly, Fly Again is an entertaining and educational book
that introduces young readers to the concepts of flight–lift, gravity, thrust,
and drag. Jenny and Jude accompanied by their pets, Kitty and Hawk,
work together to build a flying machine. The fun story of adventure,
teamwork, and perseverance that begins to lay a foundation for aerodynamics in
an adorable picture book format. It also happens that the foreword for the book
is written by famed NASA Astronaut Buzz Aldrin, and the beautiful illustrations
are by Tammie Lyon, an award-winning illustrator known for her work on
the Eloise series.
Co-author Katie Jaffe
This book is the first in a series of educational and fun books
for children through the authors’ company, Liftoff Learning Studios, and a
portion of the proceeds of Fly, Fly Again benefits children’s
education programs through UNICEF and Buzz Aldrin Ventures. Additionally, the
authors worked with Double A Labs to combine the physical and digital world to
help extend and build on the life of the book. They created an augmented
reality application that can highlight areas of the book which will pull out additional
educational information and 4-D imagery when used with an iPad or iPhone (these
can be shown on TV). How cool is that?
By Lance Avery
Morgan Photography courtesy of Amy
Edwards
Our favorite read recommendation to take with you on Spring Break is a
new tome written by Texas-based Amy Edwards. In The Trouble With Becoming a Witch, author, musician and
multi-talented Edwards delivers a rocking literary debut, destined to become
every woman’s guidebook on coming of courage just when you think it’s too late
to change your life.
The skinny of the book? Veronica thinks she’s happy. She’s got a
beautiful daughter and enjoys the picturesque suburban life everybody wants,
right? But as the fights with her husband become more frequent and intense, she
finds herself drawn to researching witchcraft late at night. When her husband
discovers her new hobby, battle lines are drawn, and her marriage spirals
downward.
Author Amy Edwards
Bristling with wit, compassion, and unflinching honesty, The Trouble With Becoming A Witch is far
from being a “snap your fingers and change” kind of tale. It’s about what
happens when a woman decides to stop living the life everyone has told her she
is supposed to lead and starts living a life true to her desires. Seizing your
own real life kind of magic isn’t easy and Veronica is forced to look deeply
into who she wants to become. Is risking the security of life as she knows it
worth becoming the witch and woman she knows she truly is?
The Trouble With
Becoming A Witch will stick with all women, afraid to become themselves
and fulfill
their own potential. Or, as Edwards puts it, “Take what life puts in front of you and run with it.” So, what are you waiting for? More at AmyEdwards.com and at Amazon.
Our very own Lance Avery Morgan, Texas-based style guy on
the go, was on hand with ABC/KVUE’s Ashley Goudeau the discuss the hits, and
the misses, of the 2020 Oscar red carpet moments…
Here are a few of our favorite looks and see more on ABC/KVUE here.
By
Lance Avery Morgan Photography courtesy of Joseph Alexandre
And to think it all started in Paris, New
York…and Dallas. Dallas? French designer Philippe Starck created a sensation
in the mid-80s by creating the first European-style nightclub in Dallas, named appropriately, Starck Club. It took the city
by storm, as well as the state because it was in complete contrast to the
ostentatiousness of the times. Then something happened. Philippe Starck brought
cool and clean to what was, at that time, a very cluttered state. From his five-minutes-from-now
contemporary vision sprang a streamlined, white warehouse club that the world,
and certainly not Texas, had ever seen before. There was the night Grace Jones
came in riding an elephant during the 1984 Republican Presidential Convention. And,
the night Prince had a party after he performed at nearby Reunion Arena.
Everyone has a story about the Starck Club. We caught up with the producer of
the Warriors
of the Discotheque documentary, Joseph Alexandre to learn more about this
look back at how the first designer nightclub came to be, as seen in his film:
Club goers at Starck Club, 1980s
Lance Avery Morgan: Why were you compelled
to tell the story about the Starck Club?
Joseph Alexandre: I was compelled to do
the documentary primarily because it left an indelible imprint on me as a kid.
Being originally from New York, but too young to do the clubs, I’d vicariously
live through my uncle’s stories of him going to Studio, Xenon, Area, and other
great clubs of the day. He worked on Wall Street and was a great tennis player
and he loved meeting McEnroe and Geralitus back in the day. So, when we ended
up in Texas (my dad was a retail executive, so we moved around a bit), I’d
heard about this new kind of Euro club called the Starck Club couldn’t resist.
It was a Sisyphean task
just finding the place at 703 McKinney (where the address was supposed to be
was just a dirt path going under the freeway). It made no sense, so I kept
circling around. I finally drove down that dirt path and voila, I was in the parking lot of The Brewery building which
housed the actual Starck Club. I discovered later it was easier to come from
Stemmons freeway and take the Commerce exit since it was more clearly
marked. Moreover, it was unlike any club I’ve ever seen since. I’ve been
in Los Angeles for some time and several other major cities and not a single
night club comes close, in any way shape or form, particularly not design wise.
LAM: Why do you think Texas was the original spot
for Phillipe Starck to choose for his club?
JA: How Philippe came to design the club in Texas is an interesting matter of some debate. It seems primarily that one of the key investors, Christina DeLimur (a.k.a. Sita) had connections in France that lead to hiring Philippe. More specifically, with a couple of guys named Chuck and Dino who were early investors, it seems Dino knew Philippe on a personal level and that lead Blake Woodall to hire him to create the club. Conversely, for Philippe, it seems he was concerned about the Soviet Union invading Afghanistan and possible turmoil in Europe. So, the opportunity to come to the U.S. was very appealing to him, as well as to expand his brand to a market like Dallas in the U.S. and eventually to places like Manhattan and Miami.
The dance floor scene at Starck Club
LAM: What did you learn from helming the doc that
surprised you about the subject matter?
JA: I think the thing I found most surprising about
this project was how seemingly little interest there was in Philippe Starck’s
first major design in the U.S. simply because it was in Dallas. In one case, a
reviewer on Amazon gives it a low rating and simply says ‘it’s in Dallas’ as if
that alone should be a disqualifier. I was also kind of surprised as to the competitive
nature that ensued over the legacy of the Starck Club. I took a lot of heat
simply because I did not have Blake Woodall in the project, even though I tried
many times.
Having done this project
in phases by doing a little teaser, then a short film, then the feature, I knew
of this kind of resistance, or lack of interest in the Starck Club ,because
of proximity and other factors. Even though it was the birthplace for EDM, rave
and Ecstasy, it was a tough sell all the way around. My feeling about the
competing projects in this case was we would need all the attention that we
could get. Ultimately though, having written a TV pilot on the Starck Club
that’s getting traction, as well as the film, the jury is still very much out.
LAM: Joseph, congratulations on your team’s and your
talents to make this happen and to tell the real story behind a legendary pop
cultural phenomenon.
For
more information to view this documentary, visit:
