movie stars

Treasures from the Archives of Alfred Hitchcock

Filed under: Books

The archives of the late, great director Alfred Hitchcock were made completely available for the first time for the publication of a remarkable new book on his life and work. Hitchcock, Piece by Piece by Laurent Bouzereau from Abrams is of course packed with photographs, letters, memos, sketches and other ephemera, many never before published, with the innovative enhancement that facsimiles of several items can be removed from special folders and examined close up. Bouzereau, an accomplished Hollywood producer and director in his own right, provides a personal guided tour of Hitchcock's private life, oeuvre of fifty films, and creative process throughout his sixty year career working with stars like Cary Grant, Jimmy Stewart and Ingrid Bergman. Hundreds of photographs reveal the many facets of the master filmmaker, famed for classics like North By Northwest (one of our all-time favorites) and Vertigo, dating from the days of his youth, along with a a comprehensive filmography and bibliography. As Hitchcock's daughter Patricia Hitchcock O'Connell notes in her foreword, the book is a veritable Hitchcock museum and a must-have for any film buff.

Tags: Alfred Hitchcock, books, Cary Grant, celebrity, cinema, coffee table books, director, Hollywood, movie stars, movies, North By Northwest, photography

The Classicist: Movie Star Style at the Beverly Wilshire's New $25,000-Per-Night Penthouse

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Decor, Luxury Travel & Hotels, The Classicist, Architecture & Design

Following a recently completed $40 million facelift, Beverly Wilshire, A Four Seasons Hotel has just unveiled its newly renovated Penthouse and Presidential Suite for the ultimate in movie star style. The Penthouse, beginning at $25,000 per night, is the largest hotel suite in Los Angeles and now one of the world's most expensive as well. L.A.-based architectural firm Barry Design Associates transformed the historic suites into modern, sophisticated spaces. They even throw in a Porsche. The Beverly Wilshire is a true piece of Hollywood history; the Italian Renaissance-style stone and marble building was completed in 1928 when the city had fewer than 18,000 residents, and its grand suites have played host to many of movieland's most famous faces over the decades.

The three-bedroom Penthouse offers guests 5,000 square feet of space. Positioned on the private top floor of the hotel's Beverly Wing it features floor-to-ceiling windows, high ceilings and a wrap around balcony with sweeping views of downtown L.A. and the Hollywood Hills. An entry way welcomes guests with marble mosaic flooring and Swarovski crystal chandeliers, while a dining room offers seating for 12 people adjacent to a state-of-the-art designer kitchen with Michelangelo marble countertops and Miele appliances. The elegant master bedroom is highlighted by an antique mirror and silver leaf detailed bed frame along with huge walk-in closet finished in stained oak. The master bath is fitted with glass tiles, exotic stones, a marble soaking tub, dual steam and rain shower contains a light and music system. There's also a media room for private screenings of your latest blockbuster.

Gallery: Beverly Wilshire Reborn

The two-bedroom Presidential Suite offers 4,000 square feet of space, entered through a spectacular grand foyer (above) with Corinthian columns and intricate crown molding designed when the Hotel first opened over 80 years ago. Located on the eighth floor of the hotel's original Wilshire Wing, it features sweeping views of the Hollywood Hills and has been graced by numerous celebrities, legends and dignitaries over the years. The suite comes complete with its own living room and library as well, while the master bath is fitted with a soaking tub, steam shower for two and integrated televisions in the mirrors above the black lacquer vanity counters. [continued]

Tags: Beverly Wilshire, California, celebrity, Four Seasons, Hollywood, Hollywood Hills, hotel suites, hotels, library, Los Angeles, luxury hotel, marble, movie stars, penthouse, Porsche, Porsche Panamera, presidential suite, Swarovski, worlds most expensive

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The History of Women's Fashions on Display at the Met

by Bobbie Leigh (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Apparel, Events, Art

The 18-inch waisted-women in the first gallery of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City's stunning new show, American Woman: Fashioning a National Identity , are the great-grandmothers of the sexy screen sirens in the last. On view through August 15, this Costume Institute exhibition presents high-end women's fashions from the 1890s to the 1940s. Visitors walk through darkened circular galleries that reflect the decor and style of a feminine archetype from a particular era. Each gallery has a label starting with the "heiress" era when high fashion meant French haute couture.

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Tags: costumes, glamour, metropolitan museum of art, movie stars

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Dior's Star Earrings

by Anne Metz (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Jewelry

One of things I love most about Dior is if you add the company's initial 'D' to any item, you also somehow transform otherwise tacky baubles into desirable goods.

For instance, take these 2-inch crystal-encrusted Movie Star charm earrings. Without the 'D,' they could probably pass for a pair of earrings purchased for a five bucks at Piercing Pagoda in the mall. But, if you add the 'D,' suddenly they're DIOR every girl on the street wishes she were you.

Is this good? Is this bad? I don't know. But what I do know is that I want them. 'D,' apparently, is for desirable. Price: $185.

Tags: crystals, dior, earrings, movie stars, MovieStars