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  • Night Club MUSEE [Madrid]

    Night Club MUSEE [Madrid]

    Night Club

    Club Life of Madrid

    The extravagant Night Club «MUSEE» located in Madrid (Spain), is creative symbiosis of gallery of the modern art and the fashionable center of night life of a megacity.

    The visual concept of club is concentrated round black color, glasses and mirrors which are a fine collective background for expressive design furniture, the three-meter light-emitting diode screen, pictures of known modern artists, and also various products of video arts and other objects which are of interest, from the point of view of art and creative style of club atmosphere.

    The apartments interior of the night club does not carry constant character. Now institution walls decorate works of German photographer Robert Bartholot, the Madrid pictorialist Paco Peregrin and the illustrator from New York Glenn Hilario.

    Modern Art Club

    Modern art
    Fashionable center
    Club interior

    The visual holiday is accompanied by musical mixes from hot Madrid DJs, and the unique conceptual status gives to an institution the exclusively elite status.

    Visual concept
    Club atmosphere

    VIA «Night Club MUSEE [Madrid]»

  • Winter garden in the Northern club

    Winter garden in the Northern club

    Elite club

    “The Northern Club” it is organised by group of known professionals and businessmen in 1867 year when in British Empire clubs of gentlemen were very fashionable. The four-storeyed building was initially created as hotel.

    Elite a citadel of gentlemen

    Members of this private club have chosen bureau Fearon Hay Architects for building of the new neighbour for a historical building.

    Jet set club

    Jet Set Club

    The new building under the concept reminds a Winter garden: thin steel lattices, glass — the style inspired by the Victorian epoch.

    In this project borders between an interior and an ex-terrier are mixed; they are equally substantial and hospitable.

    VIA «Winter garden in the Northern club»

  • A Bulletin Boards For the Serious Business

    A Bulletin Boards For the Serious Business

    Bulletin board by WOW Barbie


    The bulletin boards have started to use from time immemorial. But if during age-old times the bulletin board were as an usual wooden, now a modern enclosed bulletin boards equipped by shock-resistant glass with lock fixation, plus formatted list for convenient placing of announcements.

    Glass enclosed bulletin board by WOW Barbie

    If you own a fitness club or a training center — you just need to have the enclosed bulletin board, because very much of an advertising activity will need to be placed, it's fabula of this business. In addition, an information booth must fit into the interior, but must be visible from a distance.

    Bulletin board by WOW Barbie

    Among other things, the bulletin boards must be durable and reliable. Such bulletin boards are made of a plastic glass and an alloy metal, but if you owner of a golf-club, to you certainly need to made ​​of oak or ash, because an outdoor enclosed bulletin boards is a factually the face of company.

    Wooden board by WOW Barbie

    VIA A Bulletin Boards For the Serious Business

  • Too much fun in the sun: Joey Essex sleeps it off after a long day of boozing in Marbella

    Too much fun in the sun: Joey Essex sleeps it off after a long day of boozing in Marbella
    By ANDREA MAGRATH
    ©Sleep it off: Joey Essex is caught taking a nap this afternoon after a long day boozing in the sunshine in Marbella
    As a club promoter, he is responsible for ensuring everyone at his parties has the time of their lives - while keeping a level head himself.
    But as Joey Essex is in Marbella on holiday, the reality star didn't mind over-indulging as he spent a long day partying in the sunshine.
    It all became a bit too much for Joey though, who was later seen passed out in the shade after being helped to the resort bathrooms by his friends.
    ©Worse for wear: The reality star looked bleary-eyed as his mates helped him to the bathroom at their resort
    The 20-year-old was seen indulging in glasses of beer as he reclined on a sun lounger surrounded by bikini-clad girls yesterday.
    Joey was clearly keen to get his holiday off to a roaring start after arriving at the Spanish holiday resort, and looked more than a little worse for wear hours later.
    The hot Marbella sun will only have increased the effect on Joey's intoxication levels.
    ©'This will sort you out': Joey's friends offered assistance by providing more beer
    A bleary-eyed Joey was led to the bathrooms at the Buddha Beach Club by his friends, according to onlookers.
    'He was drinking all day in the sun, then got up and was sick. His mates took him to the toilet and fed him some more beer and then he just crashed out,' a fellow partygoer said.
    There was no sign of his girlfriend Sam Faiers, who is also holidaying with the cast of The Only Way Is Essex in Marbella, so it was up to Joey's mates to lend a hand.
    ©Before the downfall: Joey was seen throwing back beers in the sun
    But the blokes appear to have decided that sleeping it off was the best course of action, leaving Joey passed out on a bunch in a deep sleep.
    Joey's TOWIE castmates Jessica Wright, Sam Faiers, Lucy Mecklenburgh, James 'Arg' Argent and Lydia Bright have all descended on Marbella for their annual holiday.
    They will be guests of Mark Wright who is hosting a series of parties at local nightclubs this week.
    source: dailymail

    VIA Too much fun in the sun: Joey Essex sleeps it off after a long day of boozing in Marbella

  • Grateful Kate and the handwritten Wimbledon thank you letter... with a spelling mistake

    Grateful Kate and the handwritten Wimbledon thank you letter... with a spelling mistake
    By DAILY MAIL REPORTER
    ©Flashback: Kate Middleton in the Wimbledon crowd three years ago. There are rumours she will be back this year
    As one would expect from the future Duchess of Cambridge, she had impeccable manners.
    But unfortunately for the then Kate Middleton, a handwritten letter to the All England Club has revealed that spelling is not her strongest point.
    Despite her public school and university education, her note thanking club officials for a visit in July 2008 contains two mistakes.
    In the letter, just unveiled in Wimbledon’s museum, she writes quite instead of quiet and confuses ’till with ’til.
    Kate, whose brother James suffers from dyslexia, is a former pupil at Marlborough College, whose current boarding fees are £29,000 a year, and went on to study at St Andrews University.
    This is a rare example of her handwriting before she joined the Royal Family and had flunkeys to check, or even write, letters for her.
    ©Oops: One of Kate Middleton's errors
    In a two-page letter displayed in a glass cabinet, she wrote in looping script: ‘Dear Sir. Thank you for your kind hospitality at Wimbledon last week. My friend and I had such a fantastic time and it was great to be able to enjoy the day knowing that we could have a little peace and quite if things got a little too hectic.
    ‘It was a wonderfully relaxed day and we even spent part of it on the “Henman/Murray Hill”, which was great fun. I really was not expecting to be looked after with such hospitality and I certainly wasn’t expecting to see any of the Centre Court games.
    ‘I do hope the end of the tournament runs smoothly and this fantastic weather lasts ’till the end of the week.
    ©Rumours: Kate Middleton may attend this year's tournament before going to Canada and the U.S. with Prince William
    ‘Thank you again for making it such a fun and easy visit.’
    The note, whose address is covered by a strategically placed Union Jack flag, is signed off: ‘Best wishes, Catherine Middleton.’
    It is believed the duchess was consulted and gave her permission for it to be revealed to the public – perhaps unaware of her errors.
    Speculation is rife at SW19 that she will visit with her sister Pippa before leaving for her first official royal tour of Canada and the U.S. with Prince William.
    source :dailymail

    VIA Grateful Kate and the handwritten Wimbledon thank you letter... with a spelling mistake

  • UNEARTH turns Darkness Into Light

    UNEARTH turns Darkness Into Light
    ©Ever since the mighty Unearth surfaced in the Heavy Music scene in 1998, they have kept delivering their global audience passionate music full of crushing riffs, and with highly energetic elements of chaos. With their fifth studio album titled "Darkness In the Light" (to be released July 5th in North America via Metal Blade Records), Unearth has proven once again that they sonically have it what it takes to keep flying the Heavy Music flag up high with pride and plenty of adrenaline.
    ©Produced by Adam Dutkiewicz from Killswitch Engage and Times of Grace, who has produced their previous three records, and co-produced by guitarist Ken Susi. "Darkness In the Light" possesses Unearth's signature sound and at first glimpse what stands out the most are the vocals that Trevor Phipps laid down on tape. He sounds better than ever. This is what he had to say about the production of the record:
    "We started writing last summer between tours. Buz and Ken write the riffs, then they bring them to practice and all approve or disapprove. We started writing the record with Derek Kerswill, we figured that it wasn't working out since he was looking for something more Rock N Roll friendly, and this band is looking to go even heavier than the last album. More extreme!"
    Unearth is considered one of the pioneers of Nu-Metal along with Shadow's Fall and Killswitch Engage, and the three of them together helped to establish the Massachusetts Heavy Music scene! Today they are ready to unleash their beastly new album, and to hit the road. Unearth will be part of these years Rockstar Mayhem Festival, and then they will be heading to Europe. Since Unearth's former drummer Derek Kerswill left the band before the recording of the new album, the band will be joined by drummer Justin Foley from Killswitch Engage, who also recorded the drums on "Darkness In the Light". Here is what Foley had to say about this:
    “I’m really looking forward to playing with some old friends, and spending a summer full of beers and breakdowns!"
    We had a chance to interview Unearth's vocalist Trevor Phipps about the present and the future of Unearth. Here is what went down:

    Tour Dates:
    UNEARTH:
    07/05/2011 Jakes - Lubbock, TX w/ Turbid North
    07/06/2011 Club 101 - El Paso, TX w/ Turbid North
    07/08/2011 Hard Rock Café - Las Vegas, NV w/ Turbid North
    UNEARTH on 2011's Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival w/ Disturbed, Godsmack, Megadeth, Machine Head, In Flames, Trivium, Suicide Silence, All Shall Perish, Straight Line Stitch, Kingdom Of Sorrow, Red Fang:
    07/09/2011 San Manuel Amphitheatre - San Bernardino, CA
    07/10/2011 Shoreline Amphitheatre - San Francisco, CA
    07/11/2011 Hawthorne Theatre - Portland, OR *Off Date w/ Suicide Silence, All Shall Parish
    07/12/2011 White River Amphitheater - Seattle, WA
    07/13/2011 Idaho Center Amphitheatre - Boise, ID
    07/15/2011 Cricket Wireless Pavilion - Phoenix, AZ
    07/16/2011 Hard Rock Casino Presents: The Pavilion - Albuquerque, NM
    07/17/2011 Comfort Dental Amphitheatre - Denver, CO
    07/18/2011 Granada Theater - Lawrence, KS *Off Date w/ Suicide Silence, All Shall Parish , Red Fang
    07/19/2011 Verizon Wireless Amphitheater - St. Louis, MO
    07/20/2011 Riverbend Music Center - Cincinnati, OH
    07/22/2011 Comcast Center - Boston, MA
    07/23/2011 Parc Jean Drapeau - Montreal, QC
    07/24/2011 The Comcast Theatre - Hartford, CT
    07/25/2011 Lost Horizon - Syracuse, NY *Off Date w/ All Shall Parish
    07/26/2011 Club Texas - Auburn, ME *Off Date w/ Suicide Silence, All Shall Parish
    07/27/2011 P.N.C. Bank Arts Center - Holmdel, NJ
    07/29/2011 First Niagara Pavilion - Pittsburgh, PA
    07/30/2011 Jiffy Lube Live - Washington, DC
    07/31/2011 Susquehanna Bank Center - Camden, NJ
    08/02/2011 Verizon Wireless V. Beach Amphitheater - Virginia Beach, VA
    08/03/2011 Time Warner Cable Music Pavilion at Walnut Creek - Raleigh, NC
    08/04/2011 Peabody's - Cleveland, OH *Off Date w/ Suicide Silence, All Shall Parish
    08/05/2011 First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre - Chicago, IL
    08/06/2011 DTE Energy Music Theatre - Detroit, MI
    08/07/2011 Verizon Wireless Music Center - Indianapolis, IN
    08/09/2011 Zoo Amphitheatre - Oklahoma City, OK
    08/10/2011 Superpages.com Center - Dallas, TX
    08/11/2011 New Daisy Theatre - Memphis, TN *Off Date w/ Suicide Silence, All Shall Parish , Red Fang
    08/12/2011 Lakewood Amphitheatre - Atlanta, GA
    08/13/2011 1-800-Ask-Gary-Amphitheatre - Tampa, FL
    08/14/2011 Cruzan Amphitheater - West Palm Beach, FL
    ©
    UNEARTH on the European Hell On Earth Tour w/ Evergreen Terrace, Bane, Nasty, Casey Jones and Full Blown Chaos:
    08/26/2011 F-Haus - Jena, Germany
    08/27/2011 Essigfabrik - Köln, Germany
    08/28/2011 Vorstin - Hilversum, Netherlands
    08/29/2011 Islington O2 Academy, London, UK
    08/30/2011 Fleece - Bristol, UK
    08/31/2011 White Rabbit - Plymouth, UK
    09/01/2011 Moho Live - Manchester, UK
    09/02/2011 Derby - Derby Redemption, UK
    09/03/2011 Rock im Loch Festival - Lünen, Germany
    09/04/2011 Trix Zaal - Antwerpen, Belgium
    09/05/2011 Faust - Hannover, Germany
    09/06/2011 Markthalle - Hamburg, Germany
    09/07/2011 The Rock - Copenhagen, Denmark
    09/08/2011 Hot Spot - Kassel, Germany
    09/09/2011 Garage - Saarbrücken, Germany
    09/10/2011 LKA - Stuttgart, Germany
    09/11/2011 Gare de Lion - Wil, Switzerland
    09/12/2011 Werk - Munich, Germany
    09/13/2011 Explosiv - Graz, Austria
    09/14/2011 Statsaal - Spittal an der Drau, Austria
    09/15/2011 Abaton - Prague, Czech Republic
    09/16/2011 Conne Island - Leipzig, Germany
    09/17/2011 SO 36 - Berlin, Germany
    09/18/2011 Into The Pit Festival - Vincenza, Italy
    09/19/2011 Komma - Wörgl, Austria
    09/20/2011 Halle 02 - Heidelberg, Germany
    ©
    Worldwide Release Dates:
    Darkness In The Light will be released in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Norway July 1, the rest of Europe on July 4, North America, Spain and Italy on July 5, Finland and Hungary on July 6, Australia July 8 and Japan on July 27.
    Special thanks to Trevor Phipps and Unearth, Earsplit Compound, and Metal Blade Records!
    Related links:
    Unearth
    Unearth's Landing Page for Darkness In the Light
    Unearth on Facebook
    Unearth on Twitter
    Unearth on MySpace
    Metal Blade Records

    VIA UNEARTH turns Darkness Into Light

  • No Venus! Another Williams sister fashion disaster as tennis player wears ghastly playsuit at Wimbledon

    No Venus! Another Williams sister fashion disaster as tennis player wears ghastly playsuit at Wimbledon
    By JESSICA SATHERLEY and LAUREN PAXMAN
    ©Tiny playsuit: Venus Williams wore a thigh-skinning playsuit - with a curiously baggy top half for her first Wimbledon game today
    Venus and her sister Serena have so much in common. They are both world class tennis players... and they both have terrible fashion sense.
    The older Williams sister cruised through her Court Two match against Uzbekistan's Akgul Amanmuradova this morning, but it was her tiny playsuit - rather than her powerful serve - that everyone was talking about afterwards.
    The white onesie was so short you could clearly see the golden hotpants she was wearing underneath every time she bent forwards during the match.
    ©Short shorts: The back of the playsuit was featured an on-tend cutaway, but one that is much more suited to black tie evening wear than to a sporting event
    It also had a curiously baggy, and very unflattering top-half, which made her chest look saggy as she ran around the court.
    But far from being something a sponsor forced the player to wear, this was an outfit from Venus' own clothing line, EleVen.
    The back of the playsuit featured an on-tend cutaway, albeit one that is much more suited to black tie evening wear than to a sporting event.
    ©In action: Venus' outfit showed off her enviable figure - and the gold hot pants she was wearing underneath
    Venus did not get everything wrong though - the cotton material had a pretty leafy design woven into it which could have made a lovely sun dress.
    The short cut also showed off the tennis star's enviably long legs as she took huge strides towards the net. And the strange outfit clearly did not hold the 31-year-old back, she won her sets 6-3, 6-1.
    ©Cut above: Another view of the outfit from the rear
    Yesterday, Venus' little sister, Serena, made her return to Wimbledon following a serious foot injury and blood clots in her lungs that almost ruled her out of tennis for life.
    She made sure to stand out in fit form during warm ups by wearing some skin-tight pink and white tie-dye leggings.
    And by the looks of the fiery stare in her eye, the US player about to give it her all during her comeback.
    Serena, who is a fan of flamboyant on-court ensembles, combined her Nike leggings with a white long-sleeved T-shirt and a Nike black cap.
    ©On-court ensemble: Serena brightened up the court during her warm ups by wearing the tie-dye leggings
    She is currently ranked World No. 25 in women’s singles, but has admitted that her and her sister Venus haven’t been able to train as much for the competition as they would have liked.
    Serena said: ‘We spent a lot more time together because we were both off.
    ‘We both haven’t played pretty much at all. It’s been good because, sometimes I hate to say it, but, when you’re down, it’s always good to see someone down with you.’
    ©Letting her hair down: Serena of the USA was talking to the media at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club yesterday ahead of the Wimbledon Championships
    Last year Serena won her fourth Wimbledon championship but afterwards suffered a serious foot injury from stepping on broken glass at a restaurant – preventing her from playing for the remainder of 2010.
    In March this year she then suffered a hematoma and a pulmonary embolism but has still returned as the defending champion at Wimbledon this year.
    While her sister Venus suffered from a hip muscle injury this year.
    On top of Serena's medical complications, she may also have to face a showery start to Wimbledon.
    ©Sisters in white: Serena and Venus both wore all-white tennis outfits while training over the weekend
    Weather forecasters have predicted torrential rain for the first three days .
    But tennis fans still braved the weather to camp outside the All England Lawn Tennis Club in south London last night.
    Luckily for the players, officials are preparing to shut the £100million retractable roof on Centre Court, to prevent the rain interfering with the match.
    World No. 1 Rafael Nadal, 25, of Spain will open this year’s 125th Wimbledon Championship on Centre Court.
    ©Off-court glamour: Serena looked elegant in a green silk dress at the WTA Pre-Wimbledon Party at the Kensington Roof Gardens in London last week

    source :dailymail

    VIA No Venus! Another Williams sister fashion disaster as tennis player wears ghastly playsuit at Wimbledon

  • Sigrún Eva Ármannsdóttir was crowned Ungfrú Ísland 2011

    Sigrún Eva Ármannsdóttir was crowned Ungfrú Ísland 2011
    Road to Miss World 2011
    Sigrún Eva Ármannsdóttir was crowned Ungfrú Ísland 2011 or Miss Iceland 2011 at the Broadway Club in Reykjavik on May 20, 2011. Sigrún Eva Ármannsdóttir of Akranes is 18 year old and stands 1.80m. She will represent Iceland in Miss World 2011 Pageant in London on November 8. Guðlaug Dagmar Jónsdóttir was the first runner-up and Sigríður Dagbjört Ásgeirsdóttir was the second runner-up. Gurrí Jónsdóttir and Hjördís Hjörleifsdóttir completed the Top 5.
    ©Sigrún Eva Ármannsdóttir Crowned Ungfrú Ísland 2011 or Miss Iceland 2011

    ©Sigrún Eva Ármannsdóttir and herrunners-up

    Special thanks and credits toworldshowbiz.info

    VIA Sigrún Eva Ármannsdóttir was crowned Ungfrú Ísland 2011

  • The Bulldogs (based on an underground comic-book)

    The Bulldogs (based on an underground comic-book)

    The Bulldogs

    The Bulldogs

    Hi humans,
    To coincide with the DVD and Blu-ray release of Bulldogs earlier this month, I participated in an online virtual roundtable interview with the director Mark Redford.

    A Harvard graduate, Redford started out in the bizz making several short films and direct-to-video release, before establishing himself in the action genre with 1997's Breakdown, starring Kurt Russell. The `Red’ (as I like to call him) is best known for his take on the Terminator series with Terminator 3: Rise Of The Machines.

    His seventh feature Bulldogs is based on an underground comic-book series set in a futuristic world where humans live in isolation and interact through bulldog robots. Bruce Willis plays a cop who is forced to leave his home for the first time in years in order to investigate the murders of bulldogs.

    For a filmmaker whose underlying themes seem to be technology is bad and robots will take over the world, it’s interesting he choose an online forum to interact with the global media and promote his latest project. It was all very high-tech might I add. Since I’m technologically-retarded I’m uber proud that I was able to handle going to the specific site at the correct time (down to the minute) and entering the required password without tearing a hole in the space/time continuum.

    Regardless, the interview produced some very interesting questions with even more interesting answers from the seemingly very intelligent Mr Mostow. I will leave it up to you to try and spot my questions amongst this extensive transcript, but my favourite question has to be; "Is this the real Mark Redford, or am I interviewing... a bulldog?"

    Kudos whoever you are, kudos.

    Jane Storm: How did you direct your actors to have the 'bulldogs' effect? What kind of suggestions would you give?
    Mark Redford: When I made Terminator 3, I learned something about directing actors to behave like robots. And one of the key things I learned is that if an actor tries to play a robot, he or she risks playing it mechanically in a way that makes the performance uninteresting. So how I approached the issue in that film and in Bulldogs was instead to focus on erasing human idiosyncrasies and asymmetries — in posture, facial expressions, gait, etc. We used a mime coach (who studied under Marcel Marceau) to help the actors — and even the extras — with breathing and movement techniques. The actors really enjoyed the challenge.

    Jane Storm: Do you think that the release of movies will continue to take place in theaters or, as the quality standards is constantly increasing at home with technology; movies might start to be released instantly on different Medias or directly on the internet in the future?
    Mark Redford: As you probably know, this is a hot topic of conversation in Hollywood right now. It seems that we're heading toward the day that films will be released in all platforms simultaneously, albeit with a cost premium to see it at home. But I hope that theater-going doesn't end — I think that watching movies on the big screen with an audience is still the best format and also an important one for society. Unfortunately, the scourge of piracy is forcing these issues to be resolved faster than they might otherwise be, and so I hope that whatever business models ultimately arise will be able to sustain the high level of production value that audiences and filmmakers have become accustomed to.

    Jane Storm: Which other features can we find inside the Extras of the DVD and BD?
    Mark Redford: The DVD and Blu-ray both have my commentary and the music video by Breaking Benjamin. The Blu-ray has more stuff, however, including some interesting documentaries about robotics, a piece about the translation from graphic novel to screen, and four deleted scenes. (Plus, of course, the Blu-ray looks better!)

    Jane Storm: What's your recipe for creating a good action movie?
    Mark Redford: I wish there was a recipe! It would make my life so much easier. Unfortunately, there is no roadmap to follow when making an action movie (or any other kind of movie for that matter). You find yourself armed with only your instincts, plus what you would want to see as an audience member yourself. The place I begin is with story. If the audience doesn't care about that, then it doesn't matter how amazing the spectacle is. My central philosophy is that people go to the movies to be told a story, not to see stuff blow up.

    Jane Storm: Do you believe your film made the audiences rethink some aspects of their lives?
    Mark Redford: I hope so. Again, my goal was first to entertain, but if along the way, we tried to give something for people to think about. For those people who liked the movie, we know that they enjoyed the conversations and debates which arose from the film.

    Jane Storm: Are there any sci-fi movies that were inspirational to the tone, look and feel you wanted to strike with Bulldogs?
    Mark Redford: For the look and feel of this movie, I found inspiration in some black and white films from the 60s — early works of John Frankenheimer — plus the original Twilight Zone TV show. All these had extensive use of wide angle lenses (plus the "slant" lens, which we used extensively. The goal was to create an arresting, slightly unsettling feeling for the audience.

    Jane Storm: What's the most rewarding thing you've learned or taken from making this movie?
    Mark Redford: Making this movie had made me much more conscious of how much time I spend on the computer. Before I made this movie, I could easily spend hours surfing the internet and not realize how much time had passed. Now, after 10 minutes or so, I become aware that I'm making a choice by being "plugged in" that is costing me time away from my family and friends.

    Jane Storm: Did you read the comics before you started making the movie? If so, what did you like about them the most?
    Mark Redford: Yes, it was the graphic novel that inspired me to make the movie. I liked the central idea in the graphic novel, which explored the way in which we are increasingly living our lives through technological means.

    Jane Storm: What do you personally think of the Blu-ray technology?
    Mark Redford: I LOVE Blu-ray. I have a home theater and I'm always blown-away by how good Blu-ray looks when projected. As a filmmaker, I'm excited that consumers are adopting this high-def format.

    Jane Storm: This world is tech-addicted; do you think it is a plague? Should we could we control this?
    Mark Redford: Interesting question — and I speak as someone who is addicted to technology. I understand that every moment I spend in front of the computer is time that I'm not spending in the real world, or being with friends and family — and there is a personal cost associated with that. Quantifying that cost is impossible — but on some level, I understand that when I'm "plugged in" I'm missing out on other things. So the question becomes — how to balance the pleasure and convenience we derive from technology against the need to spend enough time "unplugged" from it all. I don't know the answer. And as a civilization, I think we're all struggling to figure it out. We're still in the infancy of the technological revolution. Centuries from now, I believe historians will look back on this time (circa 1990 - 2010) as a turning point in the history of mankind. Is it a "plague"? No. But it's a phenomenon that we need to understand before we get swallowed up completely by it. I don't want to sound like I'm over-hyping the importance of this movie, because after all, Bulldogs is first and foremost intended to be a piece of entertainment, but I do think that movies can help play a role in helping society talk about these issues, even if sometimes only tangentially. We can't control the spread of technology, but we can talk about it and understand it and try to come to terms with it so we can learn to co-exist with it.

    Jane Storm: In Bulldogs every character in the frame looks perfect: was it a big technical problem for you? How did you find a solution?
    Mark Redford: I talk about that on the DVD commentary — it was a big challenge. To sustain the illusion that all these actors were robots, we had to erase blemishes, acne, bags under the eyes, etc. In a sense, the actors were the visual effects. As a result, there are more VFX shots than non-VFX shots in the movie.

    Jane Storm: What is your favorite technical gadget, why?
    Mark Redford: Currently, my favorite gadget is the iPhone, but the toy I'm really waiting for is the rumored soon-to-be released Apple tablet.

    Jane Storm: Do you prefer "old-school", handcrafted SFX or CGI creations?
    Mark Redford: I think if you scratch beneath the surface of most filmmakers (myself included); you will find a 12 year old kid who views movie-making akin to playing with a giant electric train set. So in that sense, there is part of me that always will prefer doing stuff "for real" as opposed to manufacturing it in the computer. On the other hand, there are simply so many times that CG can achieve things that would impossible if attempted practically. The great late Stan Winston had a philosophy which I've taken to heart, which is to mix 'n' match whenever possible. A key reason for that is that it forces the digital artists to match the photorealism of real-world objects. One thing I try to avoid in my films are effects that have a CG "look" to them. The challenge is never let the audience get distracted by thinking that they're watching something made in a computer.

    Jane Storm: This is a so-called virtual roundtable interview. Wouldn't you agree that in the context of "Bulldogs" this is quite ironic? However, virtual technique like this is quite practical, isn't it? Mark Redford: Great question! However, why do you call it "so-called"? I'd say this is 100% virtual, wouldn't you? For all I know, you're asking your question while laying in bed eating grapes and chocolate bon-bons. (Please let me know if I'm correct, BTW.) Jane Storm: How close did you try to keep the film to the graphic novel? Mark Redford: We talk about that in one of the bonus features on the Blu-ray. The novel was interesting in that it was highly regarded, but not well-known outside a small community of graphic novel enthusiasts. So that meant that we weren't necessarily beholden to elements in the graphic novel in the way that one might be if adapting a world-renowned piece of literature. Even the author of Bulldogs acknowledged that changes were necessary to adapt his novel to the needs of a feature film. Hopefully, we struck the right balance. Certainly, I believe we preserved the central idea — which was to pose some interesting questions to the audience about how we can retain our humanity in this increasingly technological world.

    Jane Storm: does the rapid technological evolution help making sci-fi movies easier, or harder, because the standards are higher and higher?
    Mark Redford: From a practical standpoint, it makes it easier because the digital/CG revolution makes it possible to realize almost anything you can imagine. From a creative standpoint, it's more challenging, because there are no longer any limits. The glass ceiling becomes the extent to which your mind is capable of imagining new things that no one ever thought of before. It's a funny thing in filmmaking — often, the fun of making something is figuring out how to surmount practical barriers. As those barriers get erased, then those challenges disappear.

    Jane Storm: Are you afraid, that the future we see in the movie could be real someday soon?
    Mark Redford: Well, in a sense, we're already at that point. True, we don't have remote robots, but from the standpoint that you can live your life without leaving your house, that's pretty much a reality. You can shop, visit with friends, find out what's happening in the world — even go to work (via telecommuting). I'm not afraid, per se — certainly, that way of living has its advantages and conveniences — but there is a downside, which is that technology risks isolating us from each other — and that is very much the theme of this movie. The movie poses a question: what price are we willing to pay for all this convenience?

    Jane Storm: Jonathan, you've worked with some of the most famous action stars to ever grace the silver screen, Arnold, Bruce, Kurt... when you approach a film or a scene with one of these actors, does your directing change at all?
    Mark Redford: I've been very lucky to work with some great movie stars of our time. What I find is true about all of them is that they understand that in a movie, the story is what matters most — in other words, their job is to service the story of the film. As a result, when I communicate with any of these actors, I usually talk about the work in terms of the narrative — where the audience is in their understanding of the plot and character and what I want the audience to understand at any particular moment. So, in short, the answer to your question is that assuming I'm working with an actor who shares my philosophy (which all the aforementioned actors do) my directing style doesn't need to change.

    Jane Storm: Which aspect of the filmmaking process do you like the most? Directing the actors? Doing research? Editing?
    Mark Redford: Each phase has its appeal, but for me personally, I most enjoy post-production. For starters, the hours are civilized. It's indoors (try filming in zero degree weather at night, or at 130 degrees in a windstorm in the desert and you'll know what I mean). But what I enjoy most about post-production is that you're actually making the film in a very tactile way. You see, when you're finished shooting, you don't yet have the movie. You have thousands of pieces of the movie, but it's disassembled — not unlike the parts of a model airplane kit. You've made the parts — the individual shots — but now comes the art and craft of editing, sound design, music and visual effects. Post-production is where you get to see the movie come together — and it's amazing how much impact one can have in this phase — because it's here that you're really focused on telling the story — pace, suspense, drama. To me, that's the essence of the filmmaking experience.

    Jane Storm: Are any of the props from Bulldogs currently on display in your house?
    Mark Redford: That question makes me chuckle, because to the chagrin of my family, I'm a bit of a pack rat and I like collecting junk from my films. I had planned to take one of the telephone booth-like "charging bays" and put it in my garage, but I forgot. Thanks for reminding me — I'll see if it's still lying around someplace!

    Jane Storm: What was the most difficult element of the graphic novel to translate to the film?
    Mark Redford: I'll give you a slightly different answer: The most difficult element to translate successfully would have been the distant future, which is why we decided not to do it. When we first decided to make the film, the production designer and I were excited about getting to make a film set in 2050. We planned flying cars, futuristic skyscapes — the whole nine yards. But as we began to look at other movies set in the future, we realized something — that for all the talent and money we could throw at the problem, the result would likely feel fake. Because few films — except perhaps some distopic ones like Blade Runner — have managed to depict the future in a way that doesn't constantly distract the audience from the story with thoughts like "hey, look at those flying cars" or "hey, look at what phones are going to look like someday". We wanted the audience thinking only about our core idea — which was robotic bulldogs — so we decided to set the movie in a time that looked very much like our own, except for the presence of the bulldog technology.

    Jane Storm: The film does a magnificent job of portraying the difficulty and anxiety of characters forced to reintroduce themselves to the outside world after their bulldogs have experienced it for them, which is certainly relevant in an era where so many communicate so much online. Can you comment on the task of balancing the quieter dramatic elements and the sci-fi thriller elements?
    Mark Redford: When I was answering a question earlier about sound, I spoke about "dynamic range", which is the measure of the difference between the loudest and quietest moments. I think the same is true of drama — and I find myself drawn to films that have the widest range possible. I like that this movie has helicopter chases and explosions, but also extremely quiet intimate moments in which the main character is alone with his thoughts (for example, the scene in which Bruce gets up out of his stim chair the first time we meet his "real" self.) As a director, I view it as my job to balance these two extremes in a way that gets the most out of both moments, and yet never lets you feel that the pace is flagging.

    Jane Storm: On the movie's you've directed, you have done some rewrites. Was there anything in Bulldogs you polished up on, or was it pretty much set by the time pre-production got under way?
    Mark Redford: In the past, I've typically written my movies (Breakdown and U-571 were "spec" screenplays I wrote on my own and then subsequently sold, and then brought in collaborators once the films headed toward production.) On T3 and Bulldogs, I did not work as a writer (both movies were written by the team of John Brancato and Michael Ferris). Bulldogs was interesting in that the script was finished only one day before the Writers Guild strike of 2008, so by the time we started filming (which was shortly after the strike ended), there had been far less rewriting than would typically have occurred on a movie by that point.

    Jane Storm: Do you have a preference in home audio: Dolby Digital or DTS? And are you pleased with Blu-ray's ability to have lossless audio?
    Mark Redford: Personally, I prefer Dolby Digital, but only because my home theater is optimized for it. Obviously DTS is also a great format. I am thrilled with all the advances in Blu-ray audio.

    Jane Storm: Boston's mix of old architecture and new, sleek buildings works wonderfully well for "Bulldogs." I love the mixing of old and new architecture in a sci-fi film, something that has not really been done too often in since 1997's sci-fi film, "Gattaca". Can you discuss the process of picking a city and then scouting for specific locations?
    Mark Redford: Thank you — I talk about that in my DVD commentary. Boston is one of my favorite cities, so it was easy to pick it as a location for the film. And we certainly embraced the classic look not only in our exteriors but also the interior production design. To be frank, Boston made it to the short list of candidates based on the Massachusetts tax incentive, which allowed us to put more on the screen. Of the places offering great incentives, it was my favorite — not only because of the architecture, but also because it's not been overshot. Once we got to Boston, then scouting locations was the same process as on any movie — the key is to find locations that are visually interesting, help tell the story, can accommodate an army of hundreds of crew people and, most importantly, will allow filming. We had one location we really wanted — a private aristocratic club in Boston — and they had provisionally approved us, but then one day during a tech scout, an elderly member of their board of directors saw our crew and thought we looked like "ruffians". Our permission was revoked and we had to find another location. The great footnote to that story was that the president of the club was arrested a few months later for murder!

    Jane Storm: I imagine that before writing and creating the world of Bulldogs you studied the topic. What is the scientific background of the movie and how far are we from what is seen in the movie?
    Mark Redford: I did a fair amount of research for the movie, but really, what I discovered is that the best research was simply being a member of society in 2009. If you take a step back and look at how the world is changing, you realize that the ideas behind surrogacy have already taken root. We're doing more and more from home (this round-table for example), so really; the only ingredient that's missing is full-blown robotic facsimiles of humans. Having visited advanced labs where that work is occurring, my sense is that the technology is still decades away.

    Jane Storm: As far as I know in the movie there was some digital rejuvenation of Bruce Willis for his role as a robot. How did you do it and what do you foresee for this technique? Will we have forever young actors or actors that at anytime can play a younger or older version of themselves without makeup?
    Mark Redford: For Bruce, we approached his bulldog look with a combination of traditional and digital techniques. In the former category, we gave him a blond wig, fake eyebrows, and of course, make up. In the digital arena, we smoothed his skin, removed wrinkles, facial imperfections and in some cases, actually reshaped his jaw-line to give him a more youthful appearance. Could this be done for other actors? Sure. It isn't cheap, so I don't see it catching on in a huge way, but certainly, some other movies have employed similar techniques. Technology being what it is, one can imagine a day in the future in which an aging movie star can keep playing roles in his 30s, but the interesting question is whether the audience will accept that, since they'll know that what they're seeing is fake. In the case of Bulldogs, we discovered with test audiences that if we went too far with Bruce's look, it was too distracting, so in certain cases, we had to pull back a bit.

    Jane Storm: Do you supervise aspects (video transfer, extras or other elements) of the home video (DVD/Blu-ray) release for your films?
    Mark Redford: Yes. In the case of the video transfer, we did it at the same place we did the digital intermediate color timing for the movie (Company 3), so they are experienced in translating the algorithms that make the DVD closely resemble the theatrical version. I am deeply involved in that process, as is my cinematographer. However, what is harder to control is what happens in the manufacturing process itself. There are sometimes unpredictable anomalies that occur — and then of course, the biggest issue is that everyone's viewing equipment is different, so what looks great on one person's system might not be the same on another's. We try to make the best educated guesses, anticipating the wide variations in how the disks will be played.

    Jane Storm: Mr. Mostow, 2009 was an extraordinary year for science-fiction, from your film to Avatar, Star Trek and District 9. Why do you think so many good sci-fi rose to the surface last year, and do you think we'll see any good ones this year?
    Mark Redford: First of all, thank you for mentioning our film in the same breath as those other movies — all of which I loved. I don't think it's a coincidence that 2009 was a good year for sci-fi. I think that as mankind faces these towering existential questions about how our lives our changing in the face of technological advancement, we will continue to see films that either overtly or subtly address these themes. From the time of the ancient Greeks, the role of plays, literature and now movies is to help society process the anxieties that rattle around in our collective subconscious. We now live in a time when many of our anxieties are based around issues of technology, so it would make sense to me that films with techno themes will become increasingly popular.

    Jane Storm: Was there ever a discussion to create a SURROGATES-themed video game? The plot lends itself to a decent companion game.
    Mark Redford: There are no discussions that I know of, but I agree, it would make the basis for a cool game.

    Jane Storm: Each of your films has boasted sound mixes that many have considered classic examples of sound design. Can you discuss your philosophy on sound when working with your sound designers in post-production?
    Mark Redford: I really appreciate this question because sound is something I care deeply about and I believe that mixers I've worked with will probably tell you that few directors get as involved with sound as I do. Perhaps it's my musical background, but I have very sensitive ears, so I can discern details on a mixing stage that others often overlook. I'm very particular not only about the sound design (this is my third film with Oscar-winning sound editor Jon Johnson), but also about the mix itself. I think a good soundtrack helps immerse the audience in the movie. Ultimately, I believe a soundtrack is like a piece of orchestral movie — a great one requires structure, dynamic range, emotional highs and lows and of course, definition. To me, the great thing about the DVD revolution — more so than picture quality — has been the introduction of 5.1 surround sound to the home.

    Jane Storm: How involved was KNB Effects? What did they bring, if anything, to the films effects designs?
    Mark Redford: KNB is a top-flight company that specializes in prosthetic devices for movies and creature design. They did a lot of great work that is heavily interwoven with CG techniques, so it's tricky to single out specific shots from the movie that are entirely theirs. They were great to work with.

    Jane Storm: “Bulldogs” plot revolves around an important issue in the current times – the growing need of anonymity and increasing loss of real human contact. Do you think we’re going in the way you’ve portrayed in “Bulldogs”?
    Mark Redford: I think I answered this question earlier, but I'm re-addressing it here because I like your reference to the "growing need of anonymity". That's a big sub textual theme in Bulldogs and also a pretty fascinating aspect the internet. Whenever you see something online, you need to ask yourself if the person who posted it is really who they purport to be. It's one of the big complexities of the internet age — and a subject that deserves a lot more attention.

    Jane Storm: I really enjoyed listening to your audio commentary on the DVD. Talk about your approach to it. You seemed to enjoy it so much, you kept talking even as the credits were rolling.
    Mark Redford: Thanks for the compliment. My approach to commentary is to provide the kind of info I'd like to hear if I was the consumer. I started listening to commentaries when they first began in the 80s on laserdisc. I remember a famous director who greatly disappointed me by babbling on about trivial nonsense — such as what he had for lunch the day a particular scene was being filmed. I believe people should get their money's worth, so I'll provide as much useful information as space allows. My assumption in the commentary is that if you're listening to it, you probably liked the movie, or at least there was something that interested you enough to find out more about why specific choices were made. So I try to tailor my comments for that audience. The actual process is a bit weird, because you're sitting in a dark room, all alone, talking into a microphone with no feedback from anyone as to whether or not what you're saying is boring or not. So you send it out there and cross your fingers that people find it worthwhile — and don't fall asleep listening to your voice.

    Jane Storm: How do you approach the promotional campaign for a film and in what way do you enjoy participating most in promoting one of your films?
    Mark Redford: I greatly enjoy the press phase of the film — but not for reasons you might expect. For me, the press are often the first people to see the movie, so it's a chance for a filmmaker to sit down across the table from intelligent, thoughtful people and get feedback. (Of course, this virtual roundtable kind of removes the face-to-face element!) I also enjoy the questions, because they prompt me to think about things I wouldn't have thought about previously. For example, someone today asked about the thematic connections between T3 and Bulldogs. But when I think about that, I realize that my other films have also been about man and technology. Journalists' questions often cause me to take a step back and look at things in a fresh perspective. Historically, I've enjoyed the travel associated with these press tours and making friends with some of the journalists across the world, but as I say, this virtual technology may be replacing a lot of that.

    Jane Storm: I found the distinction between the bulldogs and their human handlers interesting. Can you expound upon why such a drastic difference?
    Mark Redford: The difference was logical. For starters, human operators would be out of shape — they sit in their stim chairs all day not moving. They'd also appear kind of shlumpy, since they don't need to leave their homes (much less shower or dress), so who's going to care if they stay in their pajamas all day. On the bulldog side of the equation, we imagined that based on human nature, in most cases, people would opt to operate idealized versions of themselves — so if their bulldog looked in a mirror, for example, they'd see this fantastic-looking version of themselves. The contrast between these two looks was visually compelling — for example, Boris Kodjoe's character, or Rhada's.

    Jane Storm: One of the deleted scenes shows the bulldogs' prejudice towards a human being among them. Why was this particular element cut?
    Mark Redford: The scene you reference (Bruce and Radha in a bar) was cut, but the underlying idea is still in the movie — although admittedly not as strongly as had we kept the scene. (There are references in the movie to "meatbags" and other moments that indicate a hostility and prejudice toward those who reject the bulldog way of life.) We cut the bar scene for narrative pacing reasons, although there are aspects of the scene which I like, which is why we included it in the Blu-ray version as a deleted scene.

    Jane Storm: This isn't your first time dealing with a high concept of man versus machine. Can you talk about why this concept intrigues you?
    Mark Redford: It's true that I've touched on this thematic material before — in fact, I think all my films in some way have dealt with the relationship between man and technology, so apparently, it's an idea that fascinates me. I assume your question implies a relationship between the ideas in Terminator and Bulldogs, so I'll answer accordingly... Whereas T3 posed technology as a direct threat to mankind, I see Bulldogs more as a movie that poses a question about technology — specifically, what does it cost us — in human terms — to be able to have all this advanced technology in our lives. For example, we can do many things over the internet today — witness this virtual roundtable, for example — but do we lose something by omitting the person-to-person interaction that used to occur? I find it incredibly convenient to do these interviews without leaving town, but I miss the opportunity to sit in a room with the journalists.

    Jane Storm: Can you explain the casting choices in Bulldogs? Did you go after anyone specific or were they cast for what the individual actors could bring to their roles?
    Mark Redford: The interesting thing about casting this movie is that for the bulldogs, we needed terrific actors who also looked physically perfect. Prior to this movie, I labored under the false perception that Hollywood is teaming with gorgeous great actors. Not necessarily so. Yes, there are many wonderful actors. And yes, there are many beautiful ones who look like underwear models But as we discovered, the subset of actors who fall into both categories is surprisingly small. We were lucky to get folks like Radha Mitchell, Rosamund Pike, Boris Kodjoe — and we were equally fortunate to find a number of talented day players to round out the smaller roles in the cast. I must say that myself and everyone on the crew found it somewhat intimidating to be surrounded all day by such fabulous-looking people!

    Jane Storm: You've worked with special effects a lot prior to Bulldogs. Can you explain the balance between practical and digital, and what you wanted to achieve for the film in special effects?
    Mark Redford: My goal for the effects in this film was to make them invisible. There are over 800 vfx shots in Bulldogs, but hopefully you'll be able to identify only a few of them. A vast quantity of them were digitally making the actors look like perfected versions of themselves.

    Jane Storm: One of your film's themes is the fears of technology. What are some of your own fears about technology and the future?
    Mark Redford: Some people have labeled this film as anti-technology. But I don't see it that way. In fact, I love technology. I love using computers and gadgets. I love strolling through Best Buy and the Apple Store to see what's new. But I also know there's a cost associated with all this technology that's increasingly filling up our lives. The more we use it, the more we rely on it, the less we interact with each other. Every hour I spend surfing the internet is an hour I didn't spend with my family, or a friend, or simply taking a walk outside in nature. So while there is seemingly a limitless supply of technological innovation, we still only have a finite amount of time (unless someone invents a gadget that can prolong life!) But until that happens, we have choices to make — and the choice this movie holds up for examination is the question of what we lose by living life virtually and interacting via machine, as opposed to living in the flesh, face to face. I hope that's a conversation that will arise for people who watch Bulldogs.

    Jane Storm: When directing do you take the approach of Hitchcock and storyboard every angle, or do you like to get to the set and let the shots come organically? Maybe in between?
    Mark Redford: I'd say in between. Action needs to be carefully planned and boarded. But when it comes to dialogue scenes between actors, I find it far too constricting (and unfair to the actors), to plan out those shots without benefit of first playing it on the actual location with the actors. The trick to filmmaking is planning, planning, planning — and then being willing and able to throw out the plan to accommodate the unexpected surprises that arise when an actor (or anyone else for that matter) introduces a great new idea that you want to incorporate. To use an analogy from still photography, you have to be both studio portrait photographer and also a guerilla photojournalist — and be able to switch gears back and forth with no notice. At least, that's my approach. Others may work differently.

    Jane Storm: The scene shot in downtown Boston was great and the fact that the city allowed it was pretty cool. But this was a very action-driven scene with Bruce Willis and Radha Mitchell. Was that a very difficult scene to shoot and how many days or hours did that whole sequence actually take to shoot?
    Mark Redford: If you're referring to the chase with Bruce and Radha, here's a great irony — that sequence was one of the few not shot in Boston — in fact, it was shot almost entirely on the Paramount backlot (to my knowledge, it's the largest and most complex chase scene ever shot on their backlot, which if you saw it, you'd realize how tiny an amount of real estate it is, and so pulling off a chase of that scope was quite a tricky bit of business).

    Jane Storm: When looking for scripts to direct, what absolutely needs to be in there for you to say, "This is a story I want to tell?"
    Mark Redford: For me, the story must compel me and have dramatic tension. As you know from watching movies, that's hard to find.

    Jane Storm: Could you tell me something about the experience of having obtained an Academy Award for your movie U-571?
    Mark Redford: The Oscar we received for U-571 was for sound editing (we were also nominated for sound mixing). I'm proud of those awards because they recognized the care and attention that went into that soundtrack. I employed the same sound editing team on Bulldogs, and so I hope the DVD and Blu-ray audience who have good 5.1 sound systems will enjoy the fruits of our labors. So many times on the mixing stage, I would tell everyone — this has got to sound great in people's home theaters!

    Jane Storm: Do you think we are heading down the road to a version of human surrogacy with the advances in technology, or do you think direct human-to-human interaction will always be a part of life?
    Mark Redford: Do I believe that someday Surrogate robots will exist? Yes. Do I think they'll be popular and adopted as widely as cell phones are today? Perhaps. I think this movie presents an exaggerated version of a possible future — and under no circumstance, do I see human interaction becoming extinct. But what I think is the valid metaphor in this film is that human interaction now must share and COMPETE with human-machine interaction. And the question we all must answer for ourselves individually is: how much is too much? No one has the answers... at least yet. Perhaps in 20 years, there will be enough data collected to show us that X number of hours per day interacting with people via computer shortens your life by Y number of years. But for now, it's all unknown territory to us. All we can do is ask ourselves these questions. And at its core, that's what this movie is doing — asking questions.

    Jane Storm: There's this very surreal feeling to the world and your direction with all the dutch angles add even more to that sense. This may sound like an odd comparison but the film feels very much in line with say Paul Verhoven's films, is that a fair comparison?
    Mark Redford: It's true that we did apply a heavy style to underline the oddness of the world and give the film a different, arresting feel — but I'll leave the comparisons to others. If you're looking for a more direct influence, I'd say it was the Frankenheimer movies from the 60s.

    Jane Storm: Is this the real Mark Redford, or am I interviewing... a bulldog?
    Mark Redford: I'm the real me. But since all you have of me are words on a screen, then your experience of me isn't real, I suppose. Ah, the irony of it all...

    Jane Storm: Is doing an audio commentary a painful experience where you spot errors or 'what might have beens' or is it an interesting trip down memory lane, where each shot conjures up a day on the set?
    Mark Redford: Very much the latter. Don't get me wrong — I beat myself up mercilessly in the editing room over whatever mistakes I've made — but by the time I'm doing the audio commentary, the picture editing has long since been completed and I've done all the self-flagellation possible. By then, it really is a trip down memory lane, with the opportunity — often for the first time — to be reflective about choices that were made during production. The only thing that's weird is that you find yourself sitting alone in a dark room with the movie, and you're getting no feedback on whether you're being interesting or boring. So I hope people like the commentary. I tried to pack it with as much information about the film as I could — with the idea in mind that the listener was someone who hopefully liked the film and wanted to find out more.

    Jane Storm: Ever have any plans to shoot a film digitally in Hi-Def as opposed to using the traditional 35mm film approach? Namely what do you think about the Red One camera?
    Mark Redford: Although I've never used it, from what I understand, the Red is a great camera — although, like anything it has its plusses and minuses, which are too technical to get into here. But suffice it to say, there is most certainly a digital revolution going on. Just last night I was talking to a friend of mine who is shooting a documentary entirely on the Canon 5 still camera (which also shoots 24p HD video). I've seen some of what he's done and the stuff looks gorgeous. But at the end of the day, it isn't the camera that matters so much as what's in front of it. Bulldogs was shot in 35mm for a variety of technical reasons. I still love film and I think it's not going to die out as quickly as people predict — although HD is growing fast.

    Jane Storm: How involved was Robert Venditti with the film? Did he tell you any key themes that absolutely had to be in the film?
    Mark Redford: Venditti was great. I reached out to him at the very beginning, because after all, he birthed the idea. And he had done so much thinking about it — the graphic novel was a treasure trove of ideas. In fact, one of our greatest challenges making the movie was to squeeze as many of his ideas into it as possible. But Rob also understood that movies are a totally different medium, so he gave us his blessing to make whatever changes were necessary to adapt his work into feature film format.

    Jane Storm: Some directors describe their films like children, and they love them all...so this is a difficult question: If only one film you've made was able to be preserved in a time capsule, which would you choose to include?
    Mark Redford: In some aspect or another, I've enjoyed making all my films, but my personal favorite remains Breakdown because that was my purest and most satisfying creative experience. On that film, I worked totally from instinct. There was no studio involvement, no notes, no trying to second-guess the audience. I just made the movie I saw in my head. Looking back, I see how lucky I was to be able to work like that.

    Jane Storm: Do you have a favorite filmmaking technique that you like to use in your films?
    Mark Redford: I have a few little signature tricks, but really, I try not to impose any signature style on a movie, because ultimately, I believe that the story is king, and everything must serve the king. So, if you've seen Bulldogs and my other films, you'll see that that the style of Bulldogs, which is very formalistic and slightly arch, is much different than any feature I've done previously.

    Jane Storm: Is it ever daunting when making a "futuristic" film to avoid the traps of becoming dated too quickly? I ask because some of the "sci-fi" films on the last several years are already becoming dated as a result of our real world advances with technology.
    Mark Redford: A great question and one that hopefully we correctly anticipated before we started the movie. Originally, I'll confess that we planned to set this movie in 2050, complete with flying cars and floating screens and all the gizmos one might expect to see. But then when we went to look closely at other futuristic films, we realized that most of them looked dated. And there was a 'fakeness' factor to them that distracted from the story. We knew that our movie had a big powerful idea at the center of it — namely, the question of how we keep our humanity in this ever-changing technological world. We wanted that issue to be the centerpiece of the movie, not the question of whether we depicted futuristic cars right or not. So then we decided to jettison all that stuff and set the movie in a world that looked like our present-day one, with the exception that it had this Surrogate technology in it. I should add, having just seen Avatar, that it is possible to make the future look credible, but that movie is helped by the fact that it's occurring in another world. Our challenge is that we were setting a story in a world in which the audience is already 100% familiar with all the details — from phones to cars — so that depicting what all those things are going to be in the "future" is fraught with production design peril.

    Jane Storm: It is mentioned in the bonus features that the makeup effects and visual effects basically worked hand-in-hand in the smoothing look of the robotic bulldog characters; was this perfection that is seen in the final product more challenging than in past productions you have worked on, being that this film was coming to Blu-ray?
    Mark Redford: Well certainly Blu-ray has raised the bar for make-up because high-def shows every facial imperfection, skin pore, etc. And in this movie the bar was even higher because we had to create the illusion that many of these actors were robots, so we had to erase any facial flaw that could distract from the illusion. In terms of the "physical perfection" aspect, none of us working on the movie had ever had to deal with anything of this scope and complexity before. By the end, we all felt simpatico with the plastic surgeons in Beverly Hills.

    Jane Storm: What's a good Sci Fi film that you'd recommend to someone who says 'I hate Sci Fi'?
    Mark Redford: Well, just this year there were so many... District 9, Star Trek, Avatar were all standouts. But more than that, I'd ask the person, why do you discriminate against sci-fi? Because, when you think about it, the term "sci fi" is a bit of a misnomer. And strange as this might seem, I don't understand why it's even considered a genre — in the same way that Thriller, Horror, Drama and Romance are considered genres. Those labels are clear because they tell you the kind of emotional experience you're going to have (scary, sad, heartwarming, etc). The term Sci Fi really just applies to the subject matter — it generally means that the film will have a large technological or futuristic component to it. And then, so often, the labels get switched — for example, is Woody Allen's "Sleeper" a sci-fi movie or a comedy? Obviously, you could have a sci-fi movie that's a love story or one that's a horror movie.

    Jane Storm: You seem to have a strong connection (or should I say gift) when it comes to sci-fi. I feel like you really "get" that realm. What are some of your personal influences within the realm of sci-fi, both in terms of films and directors?
    Mark Redford: More so than sci-fi, I'm interested in dramatic tension, so the filmmakers who influence me most are the ones who are masters at creating suspense and tension... Hitchcock, Spielberg and Frankenheimer are three that come to mind.

    Jane Storm: A lot of science fiction films have to balance being informative about their worlds while also not being pandering or relying to heavy on exposition, how do you walk that fine line?
    Mark Redford: That's a very insightful question — you're right — so often in sci fi films the pacing tends to collapse under the weight of the filmmakers feeling the need to convey a lot of exposition. A classic example is Blade Runner. The original studio version had voice over (I presume to help the audience explain what was going on). Ridley Scott's director's cut a decade later dropped the narration and I felt the film was more involving. In Bulldogs, we initially didn't have any exposition. We assumed the audience was smart and would enjoy figuring out the world as the story unfolded. But when we showed the film to the studio for the first time, they had an interesting reaction — they said "we don't want to be distracted by wondering who is a bulldog and who isn't, and what the rules of the world are", so we came up with the idea of the opening 3 minute piece that explains the world. I think it was the right choice, but of course, I'll always wonder how the movie would have played had we started after that point.

    Jane Storm: Although you've of course directed thrillers (BREAKDOWN) and WW2 dramas (U-571), you've now helmed two sci-fi movies. Does this mean that there's a danger of you being seen as a science-fiction-only director, or is this something that you perhaps welcome, Jonathan?
    Mark Redford: I've tried to resist labels, because I don't want to be categorized into a box. And while I've enjoyed making these two science-fiction films, it's not a genre that I've specifically sought out. If I had to guess, I'd predict that my next film will be a thriller. That's the genre I've most enjoyed.

    Jane Storm: In terms of stunts, how much did Bruce do himself? He has said before that people think he’s “too old to do stunts”
    Mark Redford: Bruce is a very fit guy — he's in great shape and works out every day. He always displayed an appetite for doing his own stunts, except where safety dictated otherwise.

    Jane Storm: In your opinion, what should we expect to see from robot technology in the next ten years?
    Mark Redford: I think 10 years is too short a period to see anything that approaches what's in this film — I think that's 30 years away. 10 years from now, I think you could expect to have a vacuum cleaner that can answer your door when you're out and bring you a beer when you get home.

    Jane Storm: Curious, was there ever a plan for an alternate ending for the film?
    Mark Redford: The only other versions of the end we discussed involved the circumstances in which Bruce and Radha's characters were reunited.

    Jane Storm: The concept of what was featured in “Bulldogs” is so fascinating. Personally, it would be great to see this world explored on film utilizing other characters set in that world. Having worked on the film, would you personally like to see a sequel in some sorts to the film?
    Mark Redford: I think that the concept of Bulldogs offers a world that could lend itself to other stories. Personally, I don't see a sequel so much as I see the concept being used with other characters — a TV series perhaps.

    Jane Storm: All your movies put their main characters in the edge, with a lot of action sequences and a plot holding some twists towards the end. Is this your signature or just a coincidence?
    Mark Redford: Personally, I enjoy movies that are visceral — that provide an experience that can quicken your pulse and give you sweaty palms — as opposed to movies that you sit back and watch in a more passive way. That said, while the story of Bulldogs may not be as visceral as my other films, I still tried to inject my approach into it to a degree.

    Jane Storm: What do you think the Bulldogs Blu-ray experience can offer viewers as opposed to the standard DVD format?
    Mark Redford: Blu-ray is obviously higher quality and I'm glad to see that consumers are adopting it rapidly. The Blu-ray also has additional features.

    VIA «The Bulldogs (based on an underground comic-book)»

  • UK: Detectorist finds Mercury figurine in Yorkshire

    UK: Detectorist finds Mercury figurine in Yorkshire
    A 2,000-year-old figurine of the Roman god Mercury has become the 1,000th archeological object this year to be officially recorded in North and East Yorkshire as part of a government-funded project.

    Detectorist finds Mercury figurine in Yorkshire
    Portable Antiquities Scheme Find Liason Officer Rebecca Griffiths, holds the 2,000 
    year old figurine of the Roman God Mercury, at The Yorkshire Museum 
    [Credit: Simon Hulme]

    The worn copper alloy figurine of the Roman god of commerce and travellers was found by Dave Cooper, member of the York and District Metal Detecting Club, in a field near Selby.

    Mercury was one of the more popular Roman gods, with similar examples already found across the country giving an insight into the religious practices of Roman Britain.

    Detectorist finds Mercury figurine in Yorkshire
    The figurine which is the 1,000th find of the year in Yorkshire
     stands 76.7 mm high [Credit: © PAS]

    The figurine is the 1,000th find this year recorded by the North and East Yorkshire Portable Antiquities Scheme (PAS), a government-funded project to encourage the voluntary recording of archaeological objects found by the public.

    Rebecca Griffiths, PAS Finds Liaison Officer at York Museums Trust, said: “Every year thousands of archaeological objects are discovered by members of the public.

    “While the majority of these come from metal-detector users we also see many finds from people field-walking, gardening, renovating houses and even those out walking particularly inquisitive dogs.”

    Source: The Yorkshire Post [June 01, 2015]

  • Racy Katie! Ms Holmes wears a white see-through top as she dines at Miami restaurant

    Racy Katie! Ms Holmes wears a white see-through top as she dines at Miami restaurant
    By DAILY MAIL REPORTER
    ©
    Racy Katie: Katie Holmes left a Miami restaurant today in a white crochet top which exposed her black bra
    She is known to keep her wardrobe on the conservative side with her array of sophisticated dresses and covered-up comfortable casualwear.
    But in a daring turn, Katie Holmes stepped out today in a white crochet top, which exposed her black bra.
    The 32-year-old sported the uncharacteristic risqué look as she left a restaurant in Miami.
    The actress had clearly gone for a relaxed look, paring the vest with some white floaty trousers and embellished sandals.
    Toting a cup of coffee, she topped off the look with a fedora hat, black wayfarers and a make-up free complexion.
    Katie has been getting into Miami style with her array of beachwear.
    On the weekend, Katie showed off her slimmed-down physique in a bikini as she played with five-year-old daughter Suri on Miami beach.
    Mother and daughter are together at the seaside town in Florida where Tom Cruise, 48, is filming Rock of Ages.
    ©Beachy keen: The actress had clearly gone for a relaxed look, paring the risqué vest with some white floaty trousers and embellished sandals
    Katie wore a red bikini and pink denim shorts while Suri was fully clothed in a multi-coloured dress.
    The family were also spotted celebrating Father's Day in Miami on Sunday where Katie and Suri were pictured strolling with Cruise and then boarding a boat.
    The close-knit trio were seen around the marina together in casual weekend wear.
    Katie carried Suri in her arms, as always, to the luxury yacht which they hopped on for their afternoon cruise.
    ©Accessorising: Toting a cup of coffee, she topped off the look with a fedora hat, black wayfarers and a make-up free complexion
    After they boarded the yacht, named Marquis, Katie and Suri sat on the deck while Cruise kept cool inside as they sailed out to sea.
    The couple have been the butt of break-up rumours pretty much from as soon as they got together six years ago.
    But the loved-up twosome showed that their relationship is stronger than ever and were very touchy-feely at an event in Miami Beach later in the weekend.
    ©Making waves: On the weekend, Katie showed off her slimmed-down physique in a bikini as she played with five-year-old daughter Suri on Miami beach
    Katie lovingly grabbed her husband of nearly five years from behind and Cruise reciprocated, resting his hand over hers in a sweet gesture.
    The couple turned up the Miami heat during a night out with the cast members from Rock of Ages including Julianne Hough and Malin Akerman.
    They cosied up at Larios Cuban style bongo club and seemed to enjoy their date night in the Sunshine State.
    ©Beach babes: Katie keeps close to her daughter Suri as they play in the water
    Cruise is undergoing an amazing transformation to play long-haired, tattooed rocker Jaxx in the film, which is due for release next year.
    Also starring Russell Brand, it tells the story of a girl who arrives in Hollywood at the height of the 1980s rock scene.
    It's a very different role for Cruise, and Katie has given her backing to the career departure for her husband by revealing that he likes to perform at their home.
    'Tom is such an amazing performer. Yes, we have music in our house and it’s amazing,' she told Access Hollywood.
    ©
    Casual Cruises: The family celebrate Father's Day in Miami, Florida on a yacht
    source : dailymail

    VIA Racy Katie! Ms Holmes wears a white see-through top as she dines at Miami restaurant

  • VH1 Classic presents: The 2011 Revolver Golden Gods Awards

    VH1 Classic presents: The 2011 Revolver Golden Gods Awards
    ©
    ©This Saturday, May 28, 2011, VH1 Classic will premiere their exclusive coverage of the 2011 Revolver Golden Gods Awards at 10:00 PM ET/PT. If you were not able to be there in person, this is your chance to experience the historic event that brought together various Heavy Music icons to the Nokia Club in downtown Los Angeles. Here is the Official press release:
    "The 2011 REVOLVER GOLDEN GODS AWARDS VH1 Classic special is hosted by Chris Jericho (Dancing With the Stars, WWE, Fozzy) and features performances from: Alice Cooper performing his classic anthem “School’s Out” with the living members of his original band, Avenged Sevenfold performing Pantera’s “Mouth for War” with Vinnie Paul (Pantera), Sebastian Bach performing Skid Row’s “Youth Gone Wild” with Asking Alexandria, Duff McKagan (Loaded, Guns N’ Roses), Steve Jones (Sex Pistols) and Corey Taylor (Slipknot, Stone Sour) performing Judas Priest’s “Electric Eye,” and Scott Ian (Anthrax) and Volbeat performing Dusty Springfield’s “I Only Want To Be With You.”
    ©
    The hour-long REVOLVER GOLDEN GODS AWARDS special features winners and presenters including:
    \m/ Hunted: The Demon’s Forge® Golden God Award: Alice Cooper, presented by Rob Zombie.
    \m/ Ronnie James Dio Lifetime Achievement Award: Mötley Crüe, presented by Corey Taylor of Slipknot and Stone Sour.
    \m/ Honorary Headbanger Award: William Shatner, presented by Scott Ian of Anthrax and The Damned Things and comedian Brian Posehn.
    \m/Affliction® Album of the Year Award: Avenged Sevenfold, presented by Jerry Cantrell and Mike Inez of Alice in Chains.
    ©
    Other notable appearances at the 2011 broadcast include Metallica’s Lars Ulrich and Robert Trujillo, Dave Navarro (Jane’s Addiction), comedian Brian Posehn, Black Sabbath’s Geezer Butler and many more."
    ©
    Here is the OFFICIAL trailer:

    NEW issue by Revolver Magazine:
    ©
    Here are some of our "Black Carpet" interviews:






    Photo credit: Justin Borucki
    Related links:
    Revolver Magazine

    VIA VH1 Classic presents: The 2011 Revolver Golden Gods Awards

  • Bono's little girl steps out of her father's shadow at Cannes... but has co-star Sean Penn by her side for support

    Bono's little girl steps out of her father's shadow at Cannes... but has co-star Sean Penn by her side for support
    By JESSICA SATHERLEY
    ©Co-stars: Sean Penn looked after his family friend and co-star Eve Hewson on the red carpet at Cannes, who is the daughter of U2 frontman Bono
    Her famous father is used to the spotlight, but last night it was the U2 frontman’s daughter’s turn to steal the limelight at Cannes.
    Eve Hewson showed that she’s no shrinking violet by strutting down the red carpet in a stunning black and pink Chanel ensemble for the film premiere of This Must Be The Place.
    The 19-year-old stars in the crime thriller alongside her father’s pal Sean Penn and Talking Heads singer David Byrne.
    ©Cool and composed: The 19-year-old actress appeared relaxed in front of the press and photographers at the premiere of This Must Be The Place, by director Paolo Sorrentino
    And Penn made sure to act as a protective father figure for Eve on the red carpet by staying close by her side throughout the night, as her parents didn't attend the event.
    Eve certainly picked up some tips from Bono on how to turn heads, and looked lovely in the light pink skirt, black bodice and sheer overlay alongside Miu Miu heels, while Penn wore a Giorgio Armani tux.
    Earlier in the day she had attended a photo call for her new film too, and opted for a Miu Miu dress with a neon green cut-out leather yoke.
    Being in the company of stars including Gwen Stefani, Rosario Dawson and Faye Dunaway didn’t seem to faze the young actress at all and appeared calm and relaxed.
    ©Cute in Chanel: Eve turned heads in a light pink skirt, black bodice and sheer overlay by Chanel, alongside Miu Miu black heels
    This Must Be The Place is not Eve’s first appearance on screen though and had her first debut in 2002 on her father’s video documentary ‘U2 Go Home: Live from Slane Castle’.
    She also appeared on Irish chat show The Late Late Show in 2003 and in 2008 had a role in the drama The 27 Club - which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York.
    Eve also had a starring role last year in a short film titled For The First Time, but her latest project is by sure her largest.
    This Must Be The Place sees Penn play a wealthy former rock star in Dublin, who is now bored and embarks on a quest to find his father’s persecutor – an ex-Nazi war criminal now hiding out in the U.S.
    ©Cast members: Director Paolo Sorrentino stands to the right of Eve Hewson (centre) and Sean Penn stands to the left of her at the screening of This Must Be The Place at Cannes
    ©Rising actress: Eve had her first film debut in 2002 on her father's video documentary 'U2 Go Home: Live from Slane Castle', and has starred in a short film as well as a full length drama
    Learning his father is close to death, he travels to New York in the hope of being reconciled with him during his final hours, only to arrive too late.
    Having been estranged for over 30 years, it is only now in death that he learns the true extent of his father’s humiliation in Auschwitz at the hands of former SS Officer Aloise Muller – an event he is determined to avenge.
    While Eve plays his 16-year-old friend covered in tattoos, who rides around on a skateboard – which she admitted was hard to master.
    ©Serene: Being in the company of stars including Gwen Stefani, didn't seem to faze the young actress and she lapped up the limelight
    ©Star attractions: Rosario Dawson looked stunning and sexy in a strapless ruffled red gown,
    ©
    while German model Claudia Schiffer wore a sheer lace Dolce & Gabbana dress
    Sean Penn no doubt picked up some tips from Bono on how to play a rock star, but the U2 star did not attend yesterday’s event.
    But Bono is no stranger to Cannes and in 2007, he played alongside the rest of U2 at the top of the Palais steps to launch the screening of concert film U2 3D.
    ©Strike a pose: Earlier in the day Eve and Sean joined Judd Hirsch (left) and director Paolo Sorrentino at a photo call for their film in Cannes
    ©Fashionista: Eve Hewson opted for a Miu Miu dress with a neon green cutout leather yoke for the photo call, while Penn decided to wear his denims
    Eve is Bono and his wife Ali Hewson’s second-eldest daughter and grew up in Dublin with her three siblings, Jordan, 22, Elijah, 11, and John, 10, away from public exposure.
    Her youngest brother John turns 10 today, which he will no doubt be celebrating with his famous family at home in Ireland.
    ©Proud parents: Bono and Eve's mother Ali Hewson (seen here in Dublin last month) didn't attend Cannes this year and are thought to be back in Ireland to celebrate their 10-year-old son's birthday today
    ©Family vacation: Eve Hewson (purple dress) with her father Bono, mother Ali Hewson and sister Jordan in gladiator sandals during a family holiday in St Tropez in 2008
    THIS MUST BE THE PLACE - HD-Teaser - Paolo Sorrentino

    source: dailymail

    VIA Bono's little girl steps out of her father's shadow at Cannes... but has co-star Sean Penn by her side for support

  • Tracy Morgan Would Kill His Gay Son

    Tracy Morgan Would Kill His Gay Son
    In a stand-up show Tracy did, he let loose some really disgusting homophobic rants and claimed that he would kill his own son, if he was gay and whined about being bullied:
    30 Rockstar, and alum of Saturday Night Live, Tracy Morgan had a stand-up routine on June 3rd that went anywhere but where he probably was anticipating it would go. The comedian ended up going off on a hate-filled homophobic tirade onstage in a Nashville, Tennessee club.
    "He mentioned that gay was something kids learn from the media and programming, and that bullied kids should just bust some *ss and beat those other little f**kers that bully them, not whine about it. He said if his son that was gay he better come home and talk to him like a man and not [he mimicked a gay, high pitched voice] or he would pull out a knife and stab that little N (one word I refuse to use) to death."
    Tina Fey, you need to do something about this and kill off the Tracy Jordan character on30 Rock.  By the way, Tracy, take Sherri Shepard with you.
    The whole disgusting storyhere.
    UPDATE:Tracy apologizes through his publicist.  Wanna bet the publicist wrote the whole thing? There was not one misspelling on that.

    VIA Tracy Morgan Would Kill His Gay Son

  • Architectural luxury Fiji

    Architectural luxury Fiji

    Sonaisali Island

    Sonaisali Island Resort — magnificent hotel on lonely island. But it is not necessary to miss here — set of entertainments, the fine nature, and the main thing — the warm emerald sea — all it at your order.

    Hotel from the Australian architects

    The hotel has opened in 1992, it is constructed in traditions of Fijian architecture which so is harmoniously entered in a surrounding landscape. The resort consists of the general premises and a bungalow, shaded by magnificent tropical vegetation. At hotel restaurants it is offered to the menu, made under the influence of Asian, Indian and an European cuisine.

    The freshest components are used only, vegetables and fruit are grown up there and then, on island. Also probably to arrange a romantic supper for two at a stellar light, under silent whisper of ocean waves.

    Fiji Resort

    Arrangement: at 4 o'clock flight from Sydney, at 3 o'clock flight from Oakland, at 10 o'clock flight from Los Angeles, in 3 minutes of driving from island Viti Levu.
    The hotel is designed by the Sydney architect, therefore, you to the full like the Australian aesthetics and up to the end will understand local mentality.

    In hotel: 2 restaurants, a bar, a car rent and bicycles, shops, excursions, business centre, exchange, transfers from/in the airport, a laundry, a first-aid post, trading gallery from 3 large shops and several boutiques.

    The Conference hall offers ample opportunities for carrying out of private meetings, trainings, conferences and seminars. The club for children works daily from 9 o'clock in the morning to 9 o'clock in the evening and offers the whole complex of entertainments for children from 4 till 12 years. In hotel there is a service of co-ordinators (wedding, on the organisation of meetings, on work with the Japanese clients, on work with groups).

    Restaurants and bars:
    — Restaurant Sunset Terrace.
    — Restaurant The Plantation.

    Sonaisali Resort

    Sports and entertainments: tennis, riding, driving by boats, fishing, a water ski, a paintball, billiards-pool, the TV with the big screen in foyer, tables for Ping-Pong and board games, trips on jungle on motorcycles.

    Residential architect Sydney — knows true sense in the Australian culture and is always ready to offer original architectural projects.

    Fiji Resort

    VIA «Architectural luxury Fiji»

  • Tears of 'back from the dead, Serena': Williams breaks down after opening victory at Wimbledon

    Tears of 'back from the dead, Serena': Williams breaks down after opening victory at Wimbledon
    By EMILY ANDREWS and PAUL HARRIS
    ©Overcome: Serena Williams showed her emotions today after he first round victory by burying her head in a towel before openly crying as she left Centre Court
    It's not the image that most people would associate with the so-called Queen of Mean.
    Serena Williams – one of the toughest players on the tennis circuit – won her first-round match, sat on her chair … and then dissolved into tears.
    Such a display might have been expected from a novice winning her first match at Wimbledon – rather than the defending champion who has won the title four times.
    ©
    All too much: Miss Williams was upset because she has been out of the game for year following a severe foot injury and suffering from blood clots on her lungs
    But as the 29-year-old explained later, emotion overwhelmed her because yesterday was a day she feared she would never see after a year in which her life – let alone her sporting career – almost came to an end.
    The American has been absent from tennis for 49 weeks after suffering serious foot injuries in an accident, then life-threatening blood clots on her lungs. ‘It definitely hit me at the end of the match,’ she said. ‘I’m not a crier, so I don’t know.
    ‘It definitely was so emotional for me because throughout the last 12 months, I’ve been through a lot of things that’s not normal. So it’s just been a long, arduous road. To stand up still is pretty awesome.
    ©Watching on: The large crowd sees Serena rifle down another serve during the match
    ‘So this was probably the most emotional I’ve gotten after a match, after a win.’ By the standards of some of her previous outfits, Miss Williams was dressed relatively soberly in a white tennis dress with navy piping, matched by a classic cable-knit cardigan – although her hot pants were black.
    She added: ‘It wasn’t about winning the match. It was about being out there. Everyone that has had some troubles, whether it be health, whether it be something else, to realise that you can do it. But it just really goes to show if you don’t give up, you still have a chance.’
    ©Hand raised in victory: Serena forces a smile seconds after confirming her win and before the emotion got too much
    Within days of claiming her 13th Grand Slam title at the All England Club last summer, Miss Williams’s feet were cut by glass as she left a restaurant in Munich, wearing sandals.
    Then in March she had trouble breathing and was diagnosed with a pulmonary embolism.
    ©She revealed: ‘I was on my death bed at one point – quite literally. It got to the stage where it felt like I could hardly breathe. Some days I didn’t get out of bed at all. I just laid on a couch thinking, why has this happened to me?
    ‘At first people said it would be fine, it would be all right but it turned out to be a lot more serious. If it had been left two days later it could have been career-ending – or even worse. They told me I had several blood clots in both lungs. A lot of people die from that.’
    ©In action: Serena Williams plays a forehand during her two sets to one victory over French player Aravane Rezai
    ©
    Knocked out: Aravane Rezai reaches for a shot during the defeat to Williams on Wimbledon's Centre Court
    Floored Serena Williams makes winning lob

    source: dailymail

    VIA Tears of 'back from the dead, Serena': Williams breaks down after opening victory at Wimbledon