One Night In Paris? Here's One Night To Win A Bentley!
14th May 2009 -- http://www.partypoker.com has seen the recent news that Paris Hilton has had her beloved blue Bentley vandalized, with reports suggesting eggs were also thrown. It is not the only reported problem the heiress has had with her luxury four wheels as in April 2006 it was suggested that the multimillionaire had lost a Bentley Continental GT in a poker game. That month, PartyPoker.com offered her the chance to win her car back and now, more than three years later, the online poker room is repeating its offer! The rules are simple - she takes on poker legend Mike Sexton in a heads-up poker tournament for the chance to win a Bentley!
A PartyPoker.com spokesman said: “Forget one night in Paris, we’re offering her one night to win a replacement for her vandalized Bentley! Fortune may be on her side in many ways but when it comes to Bentleys it certainly doesn’t seem to be the case so we’re confident Mike Sexton would win.”
“We challenge her to take us up on the offer. Three years is a long time in showbusiness and we’re sure she’d jump at it now - it is a simple offer for the former Simple Life star. Following the original offer in 2006 the likes of Clonie Gowen also made public challenges to the heiress but so far Paris has resisted.”
“It is reported that in January this year Paris met Lady Gaga but she didn’t show the pop sensation her poker face. We encourage her to not walk on eggshells and show it to Mike Sexton instead!
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Sunday, May 17, 2009
Tuesday, May 05, 2009
Jennifer Hawkins parties with rival Channel Nine at Logies - The Daily Telegraph - 5th May 2009
Jennifer Hawkins yet to re-sign with Seven
Spent most of Logies night at Nine's party
Not on air at Seven at the moment
Pictures: Jen's universal appeal
With her Channel 7 contract up for renewal later this year, Jennifer Hawkins clearly saw the Logies as an chance to flog her perky talents to rival Channel 9.
Hawko has been off air at Seven since the beginning of the year when her two shows, The Great Outdoors and Make Me A Supermodel, were warehoused.
As a result, Hawko made only a brief appearance at the Channel 7 afterparty at Melbourne's Hilton Hotel before moving on to Nine's party at Crown Casino, where she remained until 4am yesterday.
There were claims that in an attempt to sabotage Nine's red-carpet coverage, Seven delayed Hawkins's arrival, The Daily Telegraph reports.
Seven yesterday denied this saying a minder ran through traffic to collect her.
"Jen, like many celebrities, was trapped in limousine gridlock and spent 40 minutes sitting in a car trying to get to the arrivals," a Seven source said.
Hawkins, herself, is said to have become precious after learning her gown's designer was not exclusively dressing her.
"Her representative went off when he discovered Nicola Finetti gowns would also be worn by (red carpet hosts) Lyndsay Rodriguez and Shelley Craft," a Nine source said.
Myer and the Hawkins camp finally permitted the women to wear Finetti, but Hawkins refused to be interviewed by the women on the red carpet, nominating Jules Lund to the task instead. (Credit: News.com.au)
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Spent most of Logies night at Nine's party
Not on air at Seven at the moment
Pictures: Jen's universal appeal
With her Channel 7 contract up for renewal later this year, Jennifer Hawkins clearly saw the Logies as an chance to flog her perky talents to rival Channel 9.
Hawko has been off air at Seven since the beginning of the year when her two shows, The Great Outdoors and Make Me A Supermodel, were warehoused.
As a result, Hawko made only a brief appearance at the Channel 7 afterparty at Melbourne's Hilton Hotel before moving on to Nine's party at Crown Casino, where she remained until 4am yesterday.
There were claims that in an attempt to sabotage Nine's red-carpet coverage, Seven delayed Hawkins's arrival, The Daily Telegraph reports.
Seven yesterday denied this saying a minder ran through traffic to collect her.
"Jen, like many celebrities, was trapped in limousine gridlock and spent 40 minutes sitting in a car trying to get to the arrivals," a Seven source said.
Hawkins, herself, is said to have become precious after learning her gown's designer was not exclusively dressing her.
"Her representative went off when he discovered Nicola Finetti gowns would also be worn by (red carpet hosts) Lyndsay Rodriguez and Shelley Craft," a Nine source said.
Myer and the Hawkins camp finally permitted the women to wear Finetti, but Hawkins refused to be interviewed by the women on the red carpet, nominating Jules Lund to the task instead. (Credit: News.com.au)
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Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Elle of a wealthy bloke, by D. D. McNicoll - The Australian - 27th January 2009
Seemingly ageless Elle Macpherson is said to be dating multi-millionaire British businessman Damian Aspinall. Macpherson, 44, dressed in a black leather miniskirt and leather jacket with knee-high boots, was photographed with Aspinall leaving a performance of Complicit at London's Old Vic Theatre, leading Britain's The Sunday Mirror newspaper to claim the pair had been on a string of dates recently. Aspinall, 47, is said to be worth about pound stg. 45 million ($94 million). He is the son of casino operator and zoo owner John Aspinall, who left his son pound stg. 25 million when he died eight years ago. (Credit: The Australian)
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Saturday, December 13, 2008
American pin-up Bettie Page dies - 12th December 2008
Bettie Page, the bombshell pin-up queen who both titillated and outraged Americans during her legendary career as a model and actress, has died. She was 85.
"With deep personal sadness I must announce that my dear friend and client Bettie Page passed away at 6:41pm PST this evening (1.41pm AEDT Friday) in a Los Angeles hospital," her agent Mark Roesler said in a statement.
"She died peacefully but had never regained consciousness after suffering a heart attack nine days ago."
Roesler said Page had been hospitalised for three weeks with pneumonia and was about to be released when she suffered the heart attack December 2.
Page, with her jet black hair and trademark bangs, attracted national attention in the 1950s with magazine photographs of her sensuous figure in bikinis and see-through lingerie that were quickly tacked up on walls across the country.
Her photos included a centrefold in the January 1955 issue of then-fledgling Playboy magazine, as well as controversial sadomasochistic poses.
Page converted to Christianity in the 1960s — even serving as a Baptist missionary in Angola — and consequently faded into obscurity.
Her popularity resurged in the 1980s, however, and she even gained a cult following.
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Bettie Page
Burlesque
Models
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"With deep personal sadness I must announce that my dear friend and client Bettie Page passed away at 6:41pm PST this evening (1.41pm AEDT Friday) in a Los Angeles hospital," her agent Mark Roesler said in a statement.
"She died peacefully but had never regained consciousness after suffering a heart attack nine days ago."
Roesler said Page had been hospitalised for three weeks with pneumonia and was about to be released when she suffered the heart attack December 2.
Page, with her jet black hair and trademark bangs, attracted national attention in the 1950s with magazine photographs of her sensuous figure in bikinis and see-through lingerie that were quickly tacked up on walls across the country.
Her photos included a centrefold in the January 1955 issue of then-fledgling Playboy magazine, as well as controversial sadomasochistic poses.
Page converted to Christianity in the 1960s — even serving as a Baptist missionary in Angola — and consequently faded into obscurity.
Her popularity resurged in the 1980s, however, and she even gained a cult following.
Media Man Australia Profiles
Bettie Page
Burlesque
Models
Fashion
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Party's over for Playboy king Hugh Hefner - 18th October 2008
Girl trouble, money trouble. This is not supposed to be the Playboy lifestyle. Times are hard for Hugh Hefner.
From the day he picked up a pipe, slipped into a velvet smoking jacket and decided to launch his own publishing empire, Hugh Hefner has proudly told anyone who will listen that his career and self-worth revolve around two extraordinary creations.The first is Playboy, the 55-year-old magazine that pioneered the social and consumer revolutions of the 1950s and 1960s, spawned a global multimedia brand, and to this day symbolises his hedonistic-yet-luxurious version of the American dream. The second great creation, Hefner says, is his own life: a roller-coaster of fame, fortune and willing blondes played out against the backdrop of 10236 Charing Cross Road, the 1920s pile on the outskirts of Beverly Hills that he calls home, known as the Playboy Mansion.
Together they represent quite a legacy. And, although Hefner has never been one to blow his own trumpet, his enduring ability to perform in both the boardroom and the bedroom (even as he nears his 83rd birthday) has elevated him to the status of national treasure.
Yet nothing lasts for ever. In recent weeks, the institution that is Hugh Hefner has been rocked by public and private setbacks that have conspired to throw this elderly, somewhat deaf and increasingly frail man back into the public eye, for all the wrong reasons.
Some of his troubles revolve around the still-promiscuous love-life that jollify the Hollywood gossip columns; others centre on his commercial interests, and are being played out in the business pages. Some involve a trio of blonde girlfriends; others a haemorrhaging share price that leaves his entertainment firm facing an uncertain future. All, however, boil down to a single problem: Hefner's aura of Gatsby-esque sophistication is ever more at odds with his advancing years, and a changing world. The instinctive connection with the zeitgeist that was the secret of his success, and which saw him turn Playboy into one of postwar America's greatest cultural powerhouses, has started to disappear.
On the home front, Hefner was cuckolded last week by not one, but two girlfriends (one of them the supposed love of his life) leaving him deeply depressed. At work, his magazine's profits have evaporated and its circulation is in free fall, forcing Hefner to cut back on staff and, for the first time, to invite paying punters to his once-exclusive private parties. It has made Playboy, a brand that once looked cheeky and cutting-edge, seem out of touch and increasingly seedy.
So, as he enters old age at the Playboy Mansion, with its famous grotto, circular beds, "getting to know you" room, and walls that if they could speak would fill an encyclopedia of Hollywood misdemeanour, Hugh Marston Hefner is facing a sobering reality: his two great creations appear, after all these years, to be unravelling. And he seems powerless to stop it.
The pouting face of Hefner's current troubles is Holly Madison, a former glamour model who is 28 years old, boasts measurements of 36D-23-36 (with the help of extensive surgery), and has for the past seven years lived at the Playboy Mansion as one of his official girlfriends. Madison is one-third of a pneumatic trio of blondes who star in The Girls Next Door, a TV documentary about daily life chez Hefner. Her status, in the show and in real life, is "No 1" girlfriend, meaning that she shares his bedroom, while the other live-in love interests, Kendra Wilkinson and Bridget Marquardt, occupy smaller billets down the hall.
Last week, this cosy domestic arrangement fell apart. After weeks of frenzied speculation, on Monday Madison confirmed rumours that she had left Hefner for a younger and wealthier model, the celebrity magician Criss Angel.
The revelation left Hefner deeply upset. It also represented a severe setback for his long-cultivated public image of master swordsman, on which Playboy relies. But worse news was soon to follow. The following night, Wilkinson also confirmed she had ditched Hefner, telling the chat show host Chelsea Lately that she was in love with a Philadelphia Eagles gridiron player called Hank Baskett and had been indulging in "cybersex" sessions via Skype, from her room at the mansion.
For any man in the public eye, this would represent a bad week. For Hefner, always a creature of habit, it has made for a bewildering upheaval in the domestic set-up he has enjoyed since separating from Kimberley Conrad, his second wife and mother of two of his four children, in 1999. At this point, a brief history lesson: from the moment he bought the mansion in 1971, excluding the decade of his marriage to Conrad, Hefner has filled it with a rotating cast of girlfriends, who get a weekly allowance in cash (roughly $US1000 [$1500] at present) together with being fed, watered, and provided with health insurance, a car and free plastic surgery.
Despite rumours to the contrary, he enjoys energetic sexual relationships with them all (thanks, in recent years at least, to Viagra), and lives out the hypocritical male fantasy of a storybook sheik, expecting girlfriends to remain monogamous despite his own promiscuity. The harem has a 9pm curfew, except on two nights a week when Hefner takes them out, to a restaurant on one night, a nightclub the next.
To some, this set-up sounds suspiciously like a form of prostitution; to others, merely eccentric. But in all these years, Hefner has only twice made concessions on it: first, when he met Conrad, who appeared as a "playmate" in his magazine in 1988 and married him a year later; and when he first encountered Holly Madison in 2002.
Although Madison seemed little different from hundreds of previous girlfriends - short stature, dyed hair and a CV that included a spell as a Hooters waitress - she had since childhood been fixated by Playboy and was vastly knowledgeable about Hefner's career, which no doubt flattered his elderly ego. The two shared a laconic sense of humour, similar interests, and an apparent spiritual connection. In 2003, Madison was invited to move into his room in a newly created role as his "No 1" girlfriend.
Hefner says the relationship developed into a genuine love affair. Though he never gave up his other girlfriends (Madison never asked him to), friends and acquaintances concur. Steven Watts, a professor of history at the University of Missouri who last month published Mr Playboy, a biography of Hefner, says that for five years Madison has represented to Hefner something akin to wife, mother and lover combined. "Since Hef separated from his wife 10 years ago, there have been a lot of girls; seven at once, at one time. But Holly has always stood out," he says. "Hef told me on several occasions that it is the best relationship he has ever had, and that he wanted it to last the rest of his life."
So Madison's departure represents a personal tragedy for Hefner. Last week he gave a distraught interview to Us Weekly, blaming the split with Madison on the failure of attempts to have children with her, together with his refusal to make her his official third wife. "If she says it's over, it's over. But like I've said before, she is the love of my life, and I expected to spend the rest of my life with her," he said. "We tried to have a baby earlier this year and it didn't work out … She became very depressed … I did, too. I've been feeling like roadkill."
The tragedy of the situation is that Hefner's promiscuous private life, for so long a source of personal pride, could have contributed to him losing the one person capable of making him truly happy. While many will find it hard to sympathise with a wealthy man who has made the metaphorical bed he's forced to lie in, those close to him say he worries about spending the rest of his life searching for a soul mate. He is a surprisingly romantic individual, they say, who is particularly prone to a broken heart.
A broken heart is one thing. A broken wallet would be quite another. And in recent years, the foundations of Hefner's vast wealth have rapidly declined. Rumours about his firm's future have swirled around Wall Street for months. But last week, the first real evidence of trouble emerged when the Los Angeles Business Journal said he was "eyeing his household staff and other assistants for possible cutbacks". For the first time ever, it added, he will resort to selling tickets to the famous private parties he holds at his Gothic Tudor pile.
Tickets to parties hosted by Hefner will sell for $US5000 to $US25,000, it reported, depending on the event and the celebrity guests. An invite to this month's Halloween party, which in the past has drawn celebrities such as Paris Hilton, is going for $10,000. In the past, Hefner hasn't charged for such events because he hasn't had to: the rest of his company, Playboy Enterprises, has been very profitable.
Lately, however, shareholders have grown worried. Playboy Enterprises is run by Hefner's daughter, Christie (Hugh is its figurehead, editor-in-chief, and owner of 30 per cent of the shares). Its shares trade at less than one-tenth of what they were 10 years ago.
Martha Lindeman, the senior vice-president, has said reports of Hef possibly filing for bankruptcy were "absolutely untrue and absurd". But, in business, it's difficult to argue with the bottom line. The company's most recent report to shareholders reveals that, in the three months to June, the firm lost $US2.1 million, with revenues declining by 14 per cent to $US73.4 million from $US85.7 million. As a result, the firm has outsourced parts of its operation and is looking to cut down on its 789 employees, imperilling the future of many of the maids and gardeners (but not, so far, the bunnies) at the mansion.
If you want to understand the reasons behind Playboy Enterprises' decline, look at the pages of Playboy.
It is no longer agenda-setting, and its editorial highlight each month is a couple of question-and-answer interviews and pictures of scantily clad, identikit blondes, shot in a glossy style that feels distinctly 1980s. Where serious US magazines can feel like phone directories (a recent Vogue was more than an inch thick), Playboy is a mere 132 pages. Magazine and DVD porn has been devastated by the internet. Playboy, having for years faced rival publications such as Penthouse and Hustler and lads' mags such as Maxim and FHM, is finding it tricky to perform: US monthly circulation fell by almost 10 per cent in 2007, to 2.8 million.
Playboy Enterprises' business model today is similar to the 1980s version. The magazine is a figurehead for a wider branding and lifestyle operation, involving opening nightclubs and casinos around the world (a new London venture, mooted a few months ago, has been shelved). But several are yet to repay their investments
"There's little doubt that this has not been one of the high points in the financial history of the company," Watts says. "Part of the problem is the wider economy. But I would venture two other theories. The first is that Hefner's operation is a victim of its own success. So many things have copied Playboy that it's no longer the fresh face on the block; its long-term appeal has run out. The second is that lots of long-term investments have not yet come to fruition. For instance, in the last few years, he has invested heavily in building a large, new gaming complex in Macau. It's still not been completed, and they have sunk a huge sum into it."
Playboy has always been a unique company and Hefner has for years made a habit of confounding naysayers. But with a recession and businesses facing a combination of challenges unrivalled in modern corporate history, he'll need to be on top of his game.
A former girlfriend, Izabella St James, says Madison's decision to leave Hefner lays bare the potential problems of a system in which Hefner is surrounding himself with girls who are attracted to him because of who rather than what he actually is. "By putting Holly, Kendra and Bridget at the centre of The Girls Next Door, he made them celebrities in their own right, which gave them exposure and contacts, and opportunities they never would have had without the show. And guess what? When he gives someone an opportunity, they leave. Holly swore she would be there until she died. Well, now, of course, she has found someone with deeper pockets."
For now, Hefner is doing what he does best: trying to get over his broken heart (if not his crippled business) by filling the vacancy in his roster of girlfriends. He claimed last week to have two new women in his life, 19-year-old blonde twins (and Playboy models) Kristina and Karissa Shannon. He told Us Weekly they would "probably become my girlfriends". He could have his hands full. It was recently revealed they were arrested once on assault and battery charges. It looks like Hef's woes are set to continue.
Media Man Australia Profiles
Hugh Hefner
Playboy
Media and Entertainment Industry Babes
From the day he picked up a pipe, slipped into a velvet smoking jacket and decided to launch his own publishing empire, Hugh Hefner has proudly told anyone who will listen that his career and self-worth revolve around two extraordinary creations.The first is Playboy, the 55-year-old magazine that pioneered the social and consumer revolutions of the 1950s and 1960s, spawned a global multimedia brand, and to this day symbolises his hedonistic-yet-luxurious version of the American dream. The second great creation, Hefner says, is his own life: a roller-coaster of fame, fortune and willing blondes played out against the backdrop of 10236 Charing Cross Road, the 1920s pile on the outskirts of Beverly Hills that he calls home, known as the Playboy Mansion.
Together they represent quite a legacy. And, although Hefner has never been one to blow his own trumpet, his enduring ability to perform in both the boardroom and the bedroom (even as he nears his 83rd birthday) has elevated him to the status of national treasure.
Yet nothing lasts for ever. In recent weeks, the institution that is Hugh Hefner has been rocked by public and private setbacks that have conspired to throw this elderly, somewhat deaf and increasingly frail man back into the public eye, for all the wrong reasons.
Some of his troubles revolve around the still-promiscuous love-life that jollify the Hollywood gossip columns; others centre on his commercial interests, and are being played out in the business pages. Some involve a trio of blonde girlfriends; others a haemorrhaging share price that leaves his entertainment firm facing an uncertain future. All, however, boil down to a single problem: Hefner's aura of Gatsby-esque sophistication is ever more at odds with his advancing years, and a changing world. The instinctive connection with the zeitgeist that was the secret of his success, and which saw him turn Playboy into one of postwar America's greatest cultural powerhouses, has started to disappear.
On the home front, Hefner was cuckolded last week by not one, but two girlfriends (one of them the supposed love of his life) leaving him deeply depressed. At work, his magazine's profits have evaporated and its circulation is in free fall, forcing Hefner to cut back on staff and, for the first time, to invite paying punters to his once-exclusive private parties. It has made Playboy, a brand that once looked cheeky and cutting-edge, seem out of touch and increasingly seedy.
So, as he enters old age at the Playboy Mansion, with its famous grotto, circular beds, "getting to know you" room, and walls that if they could speak would fill an encyclopedia of Hollywood misdemeanour, Hugh Marston Hefner is facing a sobering reality: his two great creations appear, after all these years, to be unravelling. And he seems powerless to stop it.
The pouting face of Hefner's current troubles is Holly Madison, a former glamour model who is 28 years old, boasts measurements of 36D-23-36 (with the help of extensive surgery), and has for the past seven years lived at the Playboy Mansion as one of his official girlfriends. Madison is one-third of a pneumatic trio of blondes who star in The Girls Next Door, a TV documentary about daily life chez Hefner. Her status, in the show and in real life, is "No 1" girlfriend, meaning that she shares his bedroom, while the other live-in love interests, Kendra Wilkinson and Bridget Marquardt, occupy smaller billets down the hall.
Last week, this cosy domestic arrangement fell apart. After weeks of frenzied speculation, on Monday Madison confirmed rumours that she had left Hefner for a younger and wealthier model, the celebrity magician Criss Angel.
The revelation left Hefner deeply upset. It also represented a severe setback for his long-cultivated public image of master swordsman, on which Playboy relies. But worse news was soon to follow. The following night, Wilkinson also confirmed she had ditched Hefner, telling the chat show host Chelsea Lately that she was in love with a Philadelphia Eagles gridiron player called Hank Baskett and had been indulging in "cybersex" sessions via Skype, from her room at the mansion.
For any man in the public eye, this would represent a bad week. For Hefner, always a creature of habit, it has made for a bewildering upheaval in the domestic set-up he has enjoyed since separating from Kimberley Conrad, his second wife and mother of two of his four children, in 1999. At this point, a brief history lesson: from the moment he bought the mansion in 1971, excluding the decade of his marriage to Conrad, Hefner has filled it with a rotating cast of girlfriends, who get a weekly allowance in cash (roughly $US1000 [$1500] at present) together with being fed, watered, and provided with health insurance, a car and free plastic surgery.
Despite rumours to the contrary, he enjoys energetic sexual relationships with them all (thanks, in recent years at least, to Viagra), and lives out the hypocritical male fantasy of a storybook sheik, expecting girlfriends to remain monogamous despite his own promiscuity. The harem has a 9pm curfew, except on two nights a week when Hefner takes them out, to a restaurant on one night, a nightclub the next.
To some, this set-up sounds suspiciously like a form of prostitution; to others, merely eccentric. But in all these years, Hefner has only twice made concessions on it: first, when he met Conrad, who appeared as a "playmate" in his magazine in 1988 and married him a year later; and when he first encountered Holly Madison in 2002.
Although Madison seemed little different from hundreds of previous girlfriends - short stature, dyed hair and a CV that included a spell as a Hooters waitress - she had since childhood been fixated by Playboy and was vastly knowledgeable about Hefner's career, which no doubt flattered his elderly ego. The two shared a laconic sense of humour, similar interests, and an apparent spiritual connection. In 2003, Madison was invited to move into his room in a newly created role as his "No 1" girlfriend.
Hefner says the relationship developed into a genuine love affair. Though he never gave up his other girlfriends (Madison never asked him to), friends and acquaintances concur. Steven Watts, a professor of history at the University of Missouri who last month published Mr Playboy, a biography of Hefner, says that for five years Madison has represented to Hefner something akin to wife, mother and lover combined. "Since Hef separated from his wife 10 years ago, there have been a lot of girls; seven at once, at one time. But Holly has always stood out," he says. "Hef told me on several occasions that it is the best relationship he has ever had, and that he wanted it to last the rest of his life."
So Madison's departure represents a personal tragedy for Hefner. Last week he gave a distraught interview to Us Weekly, blaming the split with Madison on the failure of attempts to have children with her, together with his refusal to make her his official third wife. "If she says it's over, it's over. But like I've said before, she is the love of my life, and I expected to spend the rest of my life with her," he said. "We tried to have a baby earlier this year and it didn't work out … She became very depressed … I did, too. I've been feeling like roadkill."
The tragedy of the situation is that Hefner's promiscuous private life, for so long a source of personal pride, could have contributed to him losing the one person capable of making him truly happy. While many will find it hard to sympathise with a wealthy man who has made the metaphorical bed he's forced to lie in, those close to him say he worries about spending the rest of his life searching for a soul mate. He is a surprisingly romantic individual, they say, who is particularly prone to a broken heart.
A broken heart is one thing. A broken wallet would be quite another. And in recent years, the foundations of Hefner's vast wealth have rapidly declined. Rumours about his firm's future have swirled around Wall Street for months. But last week, the first real evidence of trouble emerged when the Los Angeles Business Journal said he was "eyeing his household staff and other assistants for possible cutbacks". For the first time ever, it added, he will resort to selling tickets to the famous private parties he holds at his Gothic Tudor pile.
Tickets to parties hosted by Hefner will sell for $US5000 to $US25,000, it reported, depending on the event and the celebrity guests. An invite to this month's Halloween party, which in the past has drawn celebrities such as Paris Hilton, is going for $10,000. In the past, Hefner hasn't charged for such events because he hasn't had to: the rest of his company, Playboy Enterprises, has been very profitable.
Lately, however, shareholders have grown worried. Playboy Enterprises is run by Hefner's daughter, Christie (Hugh is its figurehead, editor-in-chief, and owner of 30 per cent of the shares). Its shares trade at less than one-tenth of what they were 10 years ago.
Martha Lindeman, the senior vice-president, has said reports of Hef possibly filing for bankruptcy were "absolutely untrue and absurd". But, in business, it's difficult to argue with the bottom line. The company's most recent report to shareholders reveals that, in the three months to June, the firm lost $US2.1 million, with revenues declining by 14 per cent to $US73.4 million from $US85.7 million. As a result, the firm has outsourced parts of its operation and is looking to cut down on its 789 employees, imperilling the future of many of the maids and gardeners (but not, so far, the bunnies) at the mansion.
If you want to understand the reasons behind Playboy Enterprises' decline, look at the pages of Playboy.
It is no longer agenda-setting, and its editorial highlight each month is a couple of question-and-answer interviews and pictures of scantily clad, identikit blondes, shot in a glossy style that feels distinctly 1980s. Where serious US magazines can feel like phone directories (a recent Vogue was more than an inch thick), Playboy is a mere 132 pages. Magazine and DVD porn has been devastated by the internet. Playboy, having for years faced rival publications such as Penthouse and Hustler and lads' mags such as Maxim and FHM, is finding it tricky to perform: US monthly circulation fell by almost 10 per cent in 2007, to 2.8 million.
Playboy Enterprises' business model today is similar to the 1980s version. The magazine is a figurehead for a wider branding and lifestyle operation, involving opening nightclubs and casinos around the world (a new London venture, mooted a few months ago, has been shelved). But several are yet to repay their investments
"There's little doubt that this has not been one of the high points in the financial history of the company," Watts says. "Part of the problem is the wider economy. But I would venture two other theories. The first is that Hefner's operation is a victim of its own success. So many things have copied Playboy that it's no longer the fresh face on the block; its long-term appeal has run out. The second is that lots of long-term investments have not yet come to fruition. For instance, in the last few years, he has invested heavily in building a large, new gaming complex in Macau. It's still not been completed, and they have sunk a huge sum into it."
Playboy has always been a unique company and Hefner has for years made a habit of confounding naysayers. But with a recession and businesses facing a combination of challenges unrivalled in modern corporate history, he'll need to be on top of his game.
A former girlfriend, Izabella St James, says Madison's decision to leave Hefner lays bare the potential problems of a system in which Hefner is surrounding himself with girls who are attracted to him because of who rather than what he actually is. "By putting Holly, Kendra and Bridget at the centre of The Girls Next Door, he made them celebrities in their own right, which gave them exposure and contacts, and opportunities they never would have had without the show. And guess what? When he gives someone an opportunity, they leave. Holly swore she would be there until she died. Well, now, of course, she has found someone with deeper pockets."
For now, Hefner is doing what he does best: trying to get over his broken heart (if not his crippled business) by filling the vacancy in his roster of girlfriends. He claimed last week to have two new women in his life, 19-year-old blonde twins (and Playboy models) Kristina and Karissa Shannon. He told Us Weekly they would "probably become my girlfriends". He could have his hands full. It was recently revealed they were arrested once on assault and battery charges. It looks like Hef's woes are set to continue.
Media Man Australia Profiles
Hugh Hefner
Playboy
Media and Entertainment Industry Babes
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Poker Babes and Casino Babes Profiles Updated
Media Man Australia Profiles
Poker Babes
Casino Babes
Mobile Babes
Sports Babes
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Babes
Casino News Media
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Casino Babes
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Monday, October 13, 2008
Sarah Murdoch to host Australia’s Next Top Model - Live News - 13th October 2008
Sarah Murdoch is making a return to TV, as the new host of Australia’s Next Top Model.
There had been a number of names thrown around as to who would fill the shoes of Jodhi Meares, after her controversial exit – but it is confirmed Murdoch will be stepping in not only as host, but also as a producer.
News Ltd reports that as part of her contract with Foxtel, Murdoch will be making documentaries with her production company, Room 329.
Murdoch said she feels it’s important to use her position to portray the models in a positive way.
"There are issues within the show - it's been contentious in the past, in terms of bullying and body image and they are things I'm ready to tackle head-on and ensure there's real care,'' Murdoch told News Ltd.
36-year-old Murdoch, loved her time modeling, and hopes she can help contestants pursue the same enjoyable career.
"It's an amazing business, if you're smart and have the right people working with you,'' she said.
Murdoch has two children with businessman Lachlan Murdoch, and has said the schedule for Australia’s Next Top Model was the best to fit in with her lifestyle.
Murdoch impressed television audiences last year when she hosted Channel Nine’s Today Show for a short period.
Since then Murdoch has been inundated with offers, but the Top Model gig was the one she was most excited about.
"I love being a mum, so this is the perfect time commitment - it really works well.''
(Credit: Live News)
Media Man Australia Profiles
Sarah Murdoch
Australia’s Next Top Model
Foxtel
There had been a number of names thrown around as to who would fill the shoes of Jodhi Meares, after her controversial exit – but it is confirmed Murdoch will be stepping in not only as host, but also as a producer.
News Ltd reports that as part of her contract with Foxtel, Murdoch will be making documentaries with her production company, Room 329.
Murdoch said she feels it’s important to use her position to portray the models in a positive way.
"There are issues within the show - it's been contentious in the past, in terms of bullying and body image and they are things I'm ready to tackle head-on and ensure there's real care,'' Murdoch told News Ltd.
36-year-old Murdoch, loved her time modeling, and hopes she can help contestants pursue the same enjoyable career.
"It's an amazing business, if you're smart and have the right people working with you,'' she said.
Murdoch has two children with businessman Lachlan Murdoch, and has said the schedule for Australia’s Next Top Model was the best to fit in with her lifestyle.
Murdoch impressed television audiences last year when she hosted Channel Nine’s Today Show for a short period.
Since then Murdoch has been inundated with offers, but the Top Model gig was the one she was most excited about.
"I love being a mum, so this is the perfect time commitment - it really works well.''
(Credit: Live News)
Media Man Australia Profiles
Sarah Murdoch
Australia’s Next Top Model
Foxtel
Sarah Murdoch joins FOXTEL
MEDIA RELEASE: Sunday, October 12, 2008
In a major television coup, FOXTEL has secured Sarah Murdoch to host and co-executive produce the most successful series on subscription television – Australia’s Next Top Model.
As part of the multi-year landmark deal, Sarah’s production company, Room 329, will also produce a series of documentaries for the FOXTEL Owned and Operated Factual Channels Group.
Executive Director of Television and Marketing, Brian Walsh, said: “To say we’re thrilled to welcome Sarah to the FOXTEL family is an understatement. Her endorsement of Australia’s Next Top Model takes the series to a whole new level and confirms its status as the marquee entertainment program on subscription television.
“Not only does Sarah have the experience and gravitas as a top model, she is a proven television performer. Her natural warmth both and on and off screen is a perfect fit for our number one franchise.
“And in her role as co-executive producer, Sarah’s extensive experience in the modelling world will continue to push the series to new heights.
“Additionally, I’m confident that Sarah’s interest and passion for documentary filmmaking will deliver some impressive original content for our subscribers.
“We have discussed a range of subjects that Sarah will explore, and the programs will capture Australians from all walks of life telling their stories of compassion, courage and commitment. This will show another side to Sarah’s impressive credentials,” Walsh said.
Sarah said: “I am thrilled to be joining FOXTEL for these exciting new projects. FOXTEL has proven its dominance in television programming and I am very much looking forward to working with the entire team.
“With Australia’s Next Top Model I look forward to being involved on all levels and bringing the experience I have had in the industry to nurture and guide the next generation. Over the years I’ve seen good and bad and I hope to explore both in the series by hosting and co-executive producing the show with Granada.
“In addition, having the opportunity for my company, Room 329 Productions, to produce a series of documentaries on subjects close to my heart is a wonderful opportunity and I can’t wait.“
Sarah will commence her new role tomorrow (Monday, October 13) when she launches the Australia’s Next Top Model audition tour at Westfield Parramatta and on Tuesday (October 14), at Westfield Chatswood.
Granada Productions have produced the first four series of Australia’s Next Top Model for FOXTEL and this very successful partnership continues with series five which will premiere on FOX8 in 2009.
Further information on the audition tour is available at the FOX8 website – www.FOX8.tv/antm
ENDS
For further information, please contact:
Jamie Campbell
General Manager, Program Publicity and Talent
M. 0418 269 088
E. jamie.campbell@foxtel.com.au
Media Man Australia Proifles
Sarah Murdoch
Australia’s Next Top Model
Foxtel
In a major television coup, FOXTEL has secured Sarah Murdoch to host and co-executive produce the most successful series on subscription television – Australia’s Next Top Model.
As part of the multi-year landmark deal, Sarah’s production company, Room 329, will also produce a series of documentaries for the FOXTEL Owned and Operated Factual Channels Group.
Executive Director of Television and Marketing, Brian Walsh, said: “To say we’re thrilled to welcome Sarah to the FOXTEL family is an understatement. Her endorsement of Australia’s Next Top Model takes the series to a whole new level and confirms its status as the marquee entertainment program on subscription television.
“Not only does Sarah have the experience and gravitas as a top model, she is a proven television performer. Her natural warmth both and on and off screen is a perfect fit for our number one franchise.
“And in her role as co-executive producer, Sarah’s extensive experience in the modelling world will continue to push the series to new heights.
“Additionally, I’m confident that Sarah’s interest and passion for documentary filmmaking will deliver some impressive original content for our subscribers.
“We have discussed a range of subjects that Sarah will explore, and the programs will capture Australians from all walks of life telling their stories of compassion, courage and commitment. This will show another side to Sarah’s impressive credentials,” Walsh said.
Sarah said: “I am thrilled to be joining FOXTEL for these exciting new projects. FOXTEL has proven its dominance in television programming and I am very much looking forward to working with the entire team.
“With Australia’s Next Top Model I look forward to being involved on all levels and bringing the experience I have had in the industry to nurture and guide the next generation. Over the years I’ve seen good and bad and I hope to explore both in the series by hosting and co-executive producing the show with Granada.
“In addition, having the opportunity for my company, Room 329 Productions, to produce a series of documentaries on subjects close to my heart is a wonderful opportunity and I can’t wait.“
Sarah will commence her new role tomorrow (Monday, October 13) when she launches the Australia’s Next Top Model audition tour at Westfield Parramatta and on Tuesday (October 14), at Westfield Chatswood.
Granada Productions have produced the first four series of Australia’s Next Top Model for FOXTEL and this very successful partnership continues with series five which will premiere on FOX8 in 2009.
Further information on the audition tour is available at the FOX8 website – www.FOX8.tv/antm
ENDS
For further information, please contact:
Jamie Campbell
General Manager, Program Publicity and Talent
M. 0418 269 088
E. jamie.campbell@foxtel.com.au
Media Man Australia Proifles
Sarah Murdoch
Australia’s Next Top Model
Foxtel
Monday, October 06, 2008
Saturday, October 04, 2008
Thursday, October 02, 2008
Why there's gold in them thar cells, by Carmel Egan - The Age - 6th May 2007
Paris Hilton will earn yet another fortune selling diaries and images of her life behind bars, according to leading publicists.
"She will probably make more money from it than Jeffrey Archer," said marketing guru Max Markson. "But she is very silly. She was warned. She was on a suspended sentence. She deserves to get 45 days."
Hilton's sentence for drunk driving is unlikely to adversely affect sales of Bondi Blonde, the beer she was hired to promote by its maker's part-owner, John Singleton, during a five-day visit to Sydney in January.
But she could use her marketing genius and jail sentence for a good cause, according to Greg Tingle, chief executive of Mediaman. "The opportunity certainly exists for Paris to turn this to a positive because of her strong social influence on youth globally," Tingle said.
"Paris and her close advisers should carefully consider what tactic to take with this. It's a golden opportunity to emphasise the dangers of alcohol abuse."
Since her first media appearance at the opening of a Las Vegas casino in 1999, Hilton has out ditzied Marilyn, built a business like Madonna and will soon have the ex-con marketability of Martha Stewart.
She has been so successful at turning a negative to a positive that she has created a new category of celebrity; the sleazebrity.
Who else could turn a humiliating sex video released by a toady former boyfriend into a global launch pad?
Who but Paris could profit from one million American parents signing a petition to ban a TV advertisement in which she slid across a soapy Bentley to eat a hamburger?
In his ebook Paris Hilton is a Fool, author W. Frederick Zimmerman writes that while the socialite/model/TV star is a fool, she is nobody's idiot. "The evidence seems to support the argument that, although she is no intellectual, she is a pretty shrewd businesswoman," Zimmerman writes.
"She is a risk taker who avoided the easy path of relying on a family fortune and struck out on her own to create an innovative personal career."
But life behind bars will be anything but the simple life for the multi-millionaire hotel heiress.
(Credit: The Age)
Media Man Australia Profiles
Paris Hilton
Millionaires and Billionaires
Bondi Blonde
Las Vegas
Las Vegas Strip
Poker Babes
Casino Babes
Poker Celebrities
Casinos
Casino News Media
"She will probably make more money from it than Jeffrey Archer," said marketing guru Max Markson. "But she is very silly. She was warned. She was on a suspended sentence. She deserves to get 45 days."
Hilton's sentence for drunk driving is unlikely to adversely affect sales of Bondi Blonde, the beer she was hired to promote by its maker's part-owner, John Singleton, during a five-day visit to Sydney in January.
But she could use her marketing genius and jail sentence for a good cause, according to Greg Tingle, chief executive of Mediaman. "The opportunity certainly exists for Paris to turn this to a positive because of her strong social influence on youth globally," Tingle said.
"Paris and her close advisers should carefully consider what tactic to take with this. It's a golden opportunity to emphasise the dangers of alcohol abuse."
Since her first media appearance at the opening of a Las Vegas casino in 1999, Hilton has out ditzied Marilyn, built a business like Madonna and will soon have the ex-con marketability of Martha Stewart.
She has been so successful at turning a negative to a positive that she has created a new category of celebrity; the sleazebrity.
Who else could turn a humiliating sex video released by a toady former boyfriend into a global launch pad?
Who but Paris could profit from one million American parents signing a petition to ban a TV advertisement in which she slid across a soapy Bentley to eat a hamburger?
In his ebook Paris Hilton is a Fool, author W. Frederick Zimmerman writes that while the socialite/model/TV star is a fool, she is nobody's idiot. "The evidence seems to support the argument that, although she is no intellectual, she is a pretty shrewd businesswoman," Zimmerman writes.
"She is a risk taker who avoided the easy path of relying on a family fortune and struck out on her own to create an innovative personal career."
But life behind bars will be anything but the simple life for the multi-millionaire hotel heiress.
(Credit: The Age)
Media Man Australia Profiles
Paris Hilton
Millionaires and Billionaires
Bondi Blonde
Las Vegas
Las Vegas Strip
Poker Babes
Casino Babes
Poker Celebrities
Casinos
Casino News Media
Monday, September 22, 2008
Jodhi Meares departs Australia's Next Top Model - Foxtel Press Release - 22nd September 2008
FOXTEL announces Jodhi Meares’ departure from
AUSTRALIA’S NEXT TOP MODEL
And gets set for fifth series of the top rating Subscription TV series
FOXTEL announced today that AUSTRALIA’S NEXT TOP MODEL host Jodhi Meares has decided not to return to the smash hit FOX8 series.
FOXTEL Executive Director of Television and Marketing, Brian Walsh, met with Jodhi in Sydney last week to discuss her role in the program and has accepted her decision to leave.
“Jodhi has made an invaluable contribution to AUSTRALIA’S NEXT TOP MODEL and to FOXTEL. In the two seasons she hosted the program, it has become the most-watched entertainment series on Australian subscription television,” Mr Walsh said.
“Jodhi brought an earthiness and honesty to the role of host, which endeared her to contestants and viewers alike. Her down-to-earth demeanour was an asset which helped take the show to great success and I would like to publicly express to Jodhi our gratitude.
“I understand and accept her decision to leave AUSTRALIA’S NEXT TOP MODEL but I am pleased to say that we have agreed to explore other television projects in the future.”
AUSTRALIA’S NEXT TOP MODEL will be back on FOX8 in 2009 with a new host at the helm of its highly-anticipated fifth cycle.
The series follows the transformation of young women into potential supermodels as they are initiated into the high-stakes world of modelling.
The nationwide audition tour to select the finalists for series five will be held in October on the following dates:
Sydney: Westfield Parramatta on Monday October 13
Westfield Chatswood on Tuesday October 14
Brisbane: Westfield Helensvale on Thursday October 16
Melbourne: Westfield Southland on Monday October 20
Westfield Fountain Gate on Tuesday October 21
Adelaide: Hotel Richmond, Rundle Mall on Thursday October 23
Perth: Westfield Carousel on Friday October 24
Newcastle: Westfield Kotara on Sunday October 26
More regional locations to be announced, along with full details on how to apply.
www.fox8.tv
For further information:
Brooke Cashell
FOXTEL Publicity
(02) 9813 7397
0422 729 721
brooke.cashell@foxtel.com.au
It’s All Here! For non-stop entertainment, pleasure seekers across Australia look no further than FOX8. With exclusive series, event television, the hottest international shows and local productions, FOX8 delivers it all, 24 hours a day. FOX8 has your entertainment needs covered. AUSTRALIA’S & AMERICA’S NEXT TOP MODEL, AMERICAN IDOL, THE CONTENDER, WWE RAW, WWE SMACKDOWN!, FUTURAMA and, of course, THE SIMPSONS we’ve got 100% high velocity TV.
FOXTEL is Australia's leading subscription television provider and is connected to more than 1.5 million homes on cable and satellite through retail and wholesale distribution. FOXTEL strives to ensure subscribers find TV they want to watch every time they switch on through delivery of more than 100 channels covering news, sport, general entertainment, movies, documentaries, music and children’s programming. FOXTEL is owned by Telstra Corporation Ltd (50%), The News Corporation Ltd (25%), and Consolidated Media Holdings Limited (25%). Further information: www.foxtel.com.au
Media Man Australia Profiles
Jodhi Meares
Foxtel
AUSTRALIA’S NEXT TOP MODEL
And gets set for fifth series of the top rating Subscription TV series
FOXTEL announced today that AUSTRALIA’S NEXT TOP MODEL host Jodhi Meares has decided not to return to the smash hit FOX8 series.
FOXTEL Executive Director of Television and Marketing, Brian Walsh, met with Jodhi in Sydney last week to discuss her role in the program and has accepted her decision to leave.
“Jodhi has made an invaluable contribution to AUSTRALIA’S NEXT TOP MODEL and to FOXTEL. In the two seasons she hosted the program, it has become the most-watched entertainment series on Australian subscription television,” Mr Walsh said.
“Jodhi brought an earthiness and honesty to the role of host, which endeared her to contestants and viewers alike. Her down-to-earth demeanour was an asset which helped take the show to great success and I would like to publicly express to Jodhi our gratitude.
“I understand and accept her decision to leave AUSTRALIA’S NEXT TOP MODEL but I am pleased to say that we have agreed to explore other television projects in the future.”
AUSTRALIA’S NEXT TOP MODEL will be back on FOX8 in 2009 with a new host at the helm of its highly-anticipated fifth cycle.
The series follows the transformation of young women into potential supermodels as they are initiated into the high-stakes world of modelling.
The nationwide audition tour to select the finalists for series five will be held in October on the following dates:
Sydney: Westfield Parramatta on Monday October 13
Westfield Chatswood on Tuesday October 14
Brisbane: Westfield Helensvale on Thursday October 16
Melbourne: Westfield Southland on Monday October 20
Westfield Fountain Gate on Tuesday October 21
Adelaide: Hotel Richmond, Rundle Mall on Thursday October 23
Perth: Westfield Carousel on Friday October 24
Newcastle: Westfield Kotara on Sunday October 26
More regional locations to be announced, along with full details on how to apply.
www.fox8.tv
For further information:
Brooke Cashell
FOXTEL Publicity
(02) 9813 7397
0422 729 721
brooke.cashell@foxtel.com.au
It’s All Here! For non-stop entertainment, pleasure seekers across Australia look no further than FOX8. With exclusive series, event television, the hottest international shows and local productions, FOX8 delivers it all, 24 hours a day. FOX8 has your entertainment needs covered. AUSTRALIA’S & AMERICA’S NEXT TOP MODEL, AMERICAN IDOL, THE CONTENDER, WWE RAW, WWE SMACKDOWN!, FUTURAMA and, of course, THE SIMPSONS we’ve got 100% high velocity TV.
FOXTEL is Australia's leading subscription television provider and is connected to more than 1.5 million homes on cable and satellite through retail and wholesale distribution. FOXTEL strives to ensure subscribers find TV they want to watch every time they switch on through delivery of more than 100 channels covering news, sport, general entertainment, movies, documentaries, music and children’s programming. FOXTEL is owned by Telstra Corporation Ltd (50%), The News Corporation Ltd (25%), and Consolidated Media Holdings Limited (25%). Further information: www.foxtel.com.au
Media Man Australia Profiles
Jodhi Meares
Foxtel
Thursday, August 07, 2008
Image is everything, by Kellie Hush - The Sydney Morning Herald - 7th August 2008
Labels spend millions on ads featuring famous faces, some hit the mark, others backfire badly.
So what does a million bucks or so buy when signing a beautiful somebody as the face of a brand? Giorgio Armani secured David Beckham for what must have been a thick wad of cash but it paid off with the football player's bare chest sending Armani underwear sales through the roof. Kate Moss can sell any luxury product, even in the middle of a tabloid scandal. And Nicole Kidman did wonders for Chanel No. 5 when she fronted its campaign in 2004. All three have perfect resonance with the target market, which their sponsor wants to lure into store.
David Jones is convinced it has found the perfect bait in Miranda Kerr, the department store's new fashion ambassador. Kerr took on the official role earlier this year, this week hitting the catwalk for the first time at DJs spring-summer 2008 fashion launch in Sydney.
At 25, the girl from Gunnedah, NSW, seems to have it all: killer body, lives in New York, dates Hollywood star Orlando Bloom and also has a million-dollar contract with Victoria's Secret. She's also one of those rare, genuine girls in the competitive world of modelling. But most importantly, young fashion-loving women aspire to be like her - which is what David Jones chief executive Mark McInnes banked on when he signed Kerr for a five-year deal.
"Miranda Kerr is one of those things that happen in business where you are surprised by the outcome," McInnes says. "When we first started speaking to Miranda she hadn't quite taken off yet; she was on the cusp.
"But you have to have the vision to see where these women can take their careers - they also have to be of a personality type that can represent your brand. We want fun, fashionable and aspiring women representing our brand who are definitely not the Lindsay Lohans of the world."
McInnes wasn't looking to find another fashion ambassador at all but when Megan Gale decided last year, at 32, to hang up her stilettos, the David Jones team had to jump into action (Gale remains onboard as a brand ambassasor).
"If you think about David Jones's transformation in the past five years, we really have gone from the dowdy old department store to the fashion department store," McInnes says. "That's resulted from the fashion labels we have bought and the way we have marketed the store. Megan Gale was a big part of that from a positioning perspective. Miranda has been with us for seven months and changed the David Jones world."
Not all partnerships translate into sales - which is ultimately what all the hoopla is about. But more often than not, it pays off - which is the reason big companies are eager to find a celebrity or beautiful face to flog its wares, even if the fit isn't quite right.
Jennifer Hawkins, who was flown to the Dior Paris haute couture show last month by Dior watches, was one of those misfits. Hawkins is gorgeous, but not high style. She resonates with the average Australian because she is the ultimate girl-next-door-done-incredibly-good - the reason why she is such a perfect fit for brands such as Myer, Lovable and CoverGirl. She looked the part in head-to-toe Dior but no one in the City of Lights knew who she was. There was no front-row seat, either, for the model whose trip must have cost Dior at least $60,000. If I had $30,000 to spend on a diamond watch, I don't think seeing Hawkins wearing one would drive me to the Dior boutique. It may even persuade me to spend my money elsewhere.
When Versace hired Madonna to front its campaign in 2005, it was an advertising disaster. The fit was all wrong according to Robert Passikoff, US marketing consultant and author of Predicting Market Success. "Madonna for Versace didn't do well - in her life she has been a chameleon so she has no established values," Passikoff told The Sydney Morning Herald last year. "If you asked people about her, you would [get] five different answers."
And Sarah Jessica Parker wasn't a winner when she modelled for Gap. "Sarah Jessica Parker is connected to high-style fashion: Jimmy Choo, not Gap," Passikoff says.
The jury is still out as to whether Kerr has the same mature sophistication and broad appeal of Gale. If there is one criticism of Kerr, it's that she doesn't appeal to the older market, as Gale did. Sarah Murdoch for Bonds is an example of a brand ambassador who has broad appeal across different age groups. According to Myer's director of marketing, Paul Bonnici, Hawkins, 24 does, too. Before signing the former Miss Universe for her four-year deal, Myer undertook market research, which David Jones didn't perform for either Gale or Kerr. "As brand ambassador, Jen has in many ways helped us to position Myer as a contemporary brand," Bonnici says.
"But the thing with Jennifer she has to appeal across the masses and she has that broad appeal. Immediately the data said that our customer loved her - whether a customer was 18 or 65, they loved her."
Young and beautiful may be a winning combination but a new focus has emerged internationally with luxury retailers trying to woo the baby boomer consumer. After all, they're the ones with $US2.07 trillion ($2.12 trillion) spending power. The result is a turning away from the twentysomething models on the international catwalks and the rehiring of older faces. Linda Evangelista, 43, is Prada's new girl; Christy Turlington, 39, is the face of Escada; Claudia Schiffer, 37, is modelling for Chanel; Elle Macpherson, 44, is the new face of Revlon and Eva Herzigova, 35, is back at Louis Vuitton.
Obviously if a brand is targeting the young consumer, it would be lethal to hire a model nearing 40. Chanel tried to tap the Clearasil market last year, hiring Keira Knightley, 22, to replace Kate Moss, 32, as the face of its youth fragrance Coco Mademoiselle. Harry Potter star Emma Watson, 18, is Knightley's replacement.
At Sportsgirl, no one model represents the mass-market brand; rather, a posse of young beauties make up team Sportsgirl. "We have always used a variety of models because we want to connect with girls on all different levels," Sportsgirl marketing manager Kate Rees says.
Kerr, of course, looked incredible to all ages (and sexes) when she hit the catwalk on Tuesday night. No wonder McInnes's confidence is unwavering: "We are fashionable, approachable, yet aspirational and Miranda represents that."
Media Man Australia Profiles
Models
Fashion
So what does a million bucks or so buy when signing a beautiful somebody as the face of a brand? Giorgio Armani secured David Beckham for what must have been a thick wad of cash but it paid off with the football player's bare chest sending Armani underwear sales through the roof. Kate Moss can sell any luxury product, even in the middle of a tabloid scandal. And Nicole Kidman did wonders for Chanel No. 5 when she fronted its campaign in 2004. All three have perfect resonance with the target market, which their sponsor wants to lure into store.
David Jones is convinced it has found the perfect bait in Miranda Kerr, the department store's new fashion ambassador. Kerr took on the official role earlier this year, this week hitting the catwalk for the first time at DJs spring-summer 2008 fashion launch in Sydney.
At 25, the girl from Gunnedah, NSW, seems to have it all: killer body, lives in New York, dates Hollywood star Orlando Bloom and also has a million-dollar contract with Victoria's Secret. She's also one of those rare, genuine girls in the competitive world of modelling. But most importantly, young fashion-loving women aspire to be like her - which is what David Jones chief executive Mark McInnes banked on when he signed Kerr for a five-year deal.
"Miranda Kerr is one of those things that happen in business where you are surprised by the outcome," McInnes says. "When we first started speaking to Miranda she hadn't quite taken off yet; she was on the cusp.
"But you have to have the vision to see where these women can take their careers - they also have to be of a personality type that can represent your brand. We want fun, fashionable and aspiring women representing our brand who are definitely not the Lindsay Lohans of the world."
McInnes wasn't looking to find another fashion ambassador at all but when Megan Gale decided last year, at 32, to hang up her stilettos, the David Jones team had to jump into action (Gale remains onboard as a brand ambassasor).
"If you think about David Jones's transformation in the past five years, we really have gone from the dowdy old department store to the fashion department store," McInnes says. "That's resulted from the fashion labels we have bought and the way we have marketed the store. Megan Gale was a big part of that from a positioning perspective. Miranda has been with us for seven months and changed the David Jones world."
Not all partnerships translate into sales - which is ultimately what all the hoopla is about. But more often than not, it pays off - which is the reason big companies are eager to find a celebrity or beautiful face to flog its wares, even if the fit isn't quite right.
Jennifer Hawkins, who was flown to the Dior Paris haute couture show last month by Dior watches, was one of those misfits. Hawkins is gorgeous, but not high style. She resonates with the average Australian because she is the ultimate girl-next-door-done-incredibly-good - the reason why she is such a perfect fit for brands such as Myer, Lovable and CoverGirl. She looked the part in head-to-toe Dior but no one in the City of Lights knew who she was. There was no front-row seat, either, for the model whose trip must have cost Dior at least $60,000. If I had $30,000 to spend on a diamond watch, I don't think seeing Hawkins wearing one would drive me to the Dior boutique. It may even persuade me to spend my money elsewhere.
When Versace hired Madonna to front its campaign in 2005, it was an advertising disaster. The fit was all wrong according to Robert Passikoff, US marketing consultant and author of Predicting Market Success. "Madonna for Versace didn't do well - in her life she has been a chameleon so she has no established values," Passikoff told The Sydney Morning Herald last year. "If you asked people about her, you would [get] five different answers."
And Sarah Jessica Parker wasn't a winner when she modelled for Gap. "Sarah Jessica Parker is connected to high-style fashion: Jimmy Choo, not Gap," Passikoff says.
The jury is still out as to whether Kerr has the same mature sophistication and broad appeal of Gale. If there is one criticism of Kerr, it's that she doesn't appeal to the older market, as Gale did. Sarah Murdoch for Bonds is an example of a brand ambassador who has broad appeal across different age groups. According to Myer's director of marketing, Paul Bonnici, Hawkins, 24 does, too. Before signing the former Miss Universe for her four-year deal, Myer undertook market research, which David Jones didn't perform for either Gale or Kerr. "As brand ambassador, Jen has in many ways helped us to position Myer as a contemporary brand," Bonnici says.
"But the thing with Jennifer she has to appeal across the masses and she has that broad appeal. Immediately the data said that our customer loved her - whether a customer was 18 or 65, they loved her."
Young and beautiful may be a winning combination but a new focus has emerged internationally with luxury retailers trying to woo the baby boomer consumer. After all, they're the ones with $US2.07 trillion ($2.12 trillion) spending power. The result is a turning away from the twentysomething models on the international catwalks and the rehiring of older faces. Linda Evangelista, 43, is Prada's new girl; Christy Turlington, 39, is the face of Escada; Claudia Schiffer, 37, is modelling for Chanel; Elle Macpherson, 44, is the new face of Revlon and Eva Herzigova, 35, is back at Louis Vuitton.
Obviously if a brand is targeting the young consumer, it would be lethal to hire a model nearing 40. Chanel tried to tap the Clearasil market last year, hiring Keira Knightley, 22, to replace Kate Moss, 32, as the face of its youth fragrance Coco Mademoiselle. Harry Potter star Emma Watson, 18, is Knightley's replacement.
At Sportsgirl, no one model represents the mass-market brand; rather, a posse of young beauties make up team Sportsgirl. "We have always used a variety of models because we want to connect with girls on all different levels," Sportsgirl marketing manager Kate Rees says.
Kerr, of course, looked incredible to all ages (and sexes) when she hit the catwalk on Tuesday night. No wonder McInnes's confidence is unwavering: "We are fashionable, approachable, yet aspirational and Miranda represents that."
Media Man Australia Profiles
Models
Fashion
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Brooke Hogan's sexy bikini shoot - The Daily Telegraph - 23rd July 2008
Brooke Hogan's wrestler dad Hulk used to insist his daughter wasn't left alone with a man, or even allowed to go on a date. But now she is embracing her sexuality.
Steamy photos, obtained by The Daily Mail show the 19-year-old aspiring pop star is now in control of her own destiny.
The shots were taken to promote her new reality TV show - Brooke Knows Best.
The teenager found fame in her parents' TV show Hogan Knows Best, but after the collapse of their marriage she has moved into her own home in Miami.
Her attempts at a pop career have been ridiculed in the American press, but this hasn't stopped Brooke from pursuing her ambition, followed by the cameras.
In the VH1 show the six foot-tall blonde goes on her first date and considers getting a tattoo.
The show also shows her parents adjusting to life after their separation.
Gallery: Bikini babes sizzle in Miami.
(Credit: The Daily Telegraph)
Media Man Australia Profiles
Models
Fashion
Steamy photos, obtained by The Daily Mail show the 19-year-old aspiring pop star is now in control of her own destiny.
The shots were taken to promote her new reality TV show - Brooke Knows Best.
The teenager found fame in her parents' TV show Hogan Knows Best, but after the collapse of their marriage she has moved into her own home in Miami.
Her attempts at a pop career have been ridiculed in the American press, but this hasn't stopped Brooke from pursuing her ambition, followed by the cameras.
In the VH1 show the six foot-tall blonde goes on her first date and considers getting a tattoo.
The show also shows her parents adjusting to life after their separation.
Gallery: Bikini babes sizzle in Miami.
(Credit: The Daily Telegraph)
Media Man Australia Profiles
Models
Fashion
Saturday, July 19, 2008
Robert Fulford on Playboy's Hugh Hefner: Establishment man, Dan Goldbloom - National Post - 18th July 2008
It’s 55 years since Hugh Hefner created a new mass-media image of sexuality. But even today, as a Dutch historian argues, “We are living in the Hefnerist era.”
Hefner continues to enjoy the age he designed. At 82, he still plays a character from the pages of his own magazine. Long ago, he expressed gratitude to the developers of Viagra.
He and Playboy look dated, but still cast a shadow across the planet. On Monday, far away in India, an on-line news service reported on Hefner’s domestic dispute, which in his case meant a quarrel among three live-in girlfriends. In England, the newspapers announced Hefner’s plans to re-open a Playboy Club in London, where his first club closed in 1981 after a police raid over suspected infractions of gambling law. London’s Daily Mirror recruited Michelle Johnstone, 50, mother-of-two, from Barkingside, Essex, to describe a bunny’s life in the original club. She wore bunny ears and bunny tail, with toilet paper stuffed into her brassiere, her ladylike demeanour monitored at all times by the Bunny Mother. She dreams of returning, this time as Bunny Mother herself.
Beginning with the publication in 1953 of the first Playboy (with Marilyn Monroe as nude Playmate), Hefner built a business empire on an audacious approach to sex. It was the perfect moment for overturning taboos. In the courts, free speech was slowly extinguishing anti-obscenity laws. Boycotts against Hefner’s magazines (or his imitators) never gathered much support from the public or the storekeepers.
Hefner liked to portray himself as a hero, much beset by enemies among the police and the politicians, but soon it became clear that his revolution had no effective opposition.
That’s what we need now, in the view of Dylan van Rijsbergen. He’s a historian and blogger, born in 1975, founder of a left-wing think tank that hopes to generate fresh social ideas. He sees himself as an anti-Hefner, pointing the way to a more humane view of sexuality. He speaks of the need for a Slow Sex movement — an analogy with the Slow Food movement, whose war on industrialized food has expanded to dozens of countries since it was founded in Italy two decades ago. A Slow Sex movement would emphasize the qualities that Hefnerism ignores, focusing on sex as “elusive, exciting, intense, playful, authentic, dynamic and sublime.” It would stretch sexuality “beyond the single moment of the male orgasm.”
At Erasmus University Rotterdam last fall, Van Rijsbergen took part in a public meeting that discussed whether widespread pornography degenerates into erotic boredom and eventually smothers genuine desire. He wrote a kind of manifesto, Sexing the Handbag, that started with a description of a billboard in the Netherlands. It showed part of a female body, wearing nothing but a bra, with a little handbag covering the pubic area. The heading read, “Lesson 84: lead him into temptation.” To Van Rijsbergen, the billboard suggested that the little bag and the vagina were interchangeable commodities standardized and ready for sale.
Behind this and millions of other images, Van Rijsbergen sees the dark genius of Hefner, whose corporation “made him incredibly rich and made sexuality incredibly boring.” He casts Hefner as the Stalin of the sexual revolution, a man who suffocated us with his own narrow definitions of freedom and progress. Van Rijsbergen’s essay has since been widely reproduced on the Web.
Unlike the feminists who seized on this subject a couple of decades ago (and then dropped it), Van Rijsbergen doesn’t imagine that legislators, courts and police should bring the end of Hefnerism. In fact, he sees no value in restoring the old anti-obscenity laws. He wants instead to alter Hefner’s heritage through literature and discussion: “Our task is to individualize and diversify the images of sexuality we see everyday.”
In the 1960s, Hefner wrote a series of 25 articles, “The Playboy Philosophy,” totalling 150,000 words. It pictured him as the fulcrum of change. The point was to prove that everything he did was not only legal but also progressive.
He won the argument, and the results are all around us. But what seemed to be a triumph of individualism was really the reverse. Pornography took sex from the private sphere and made it public: first the magazines, then the advertising, later popular music, then a multitude of impossible-to-ignore billboards and most recently the Internet. Eventually, this process stereotyped the image of sexuality as it exists in mass communications.
In the name of freedom, Hefner erected concrete barriers around the erotic imagination. And now, we may be watching the start of a new movement trying to batter them down. Who would have thought, half a century ago, that this one-time cultural guerilla would come to define the sexual establishment?
robert.fulford@utoronto.ca
Media Man Australia Profiles
Hugh Hefner
Playboy
Models
Hefner continues to enjoy the age he designed. At 82, he still plays a character from the pages of his own magazine. Long ago, he expressed gratitude to the developers of Viagra.
He and Playboy look dated, but still cast a shadow across the planet. On Monday, far away in India, an on-line news service reported on Hefner’s domestic dispute, which in his case meant a quarrel among three live-in girlfriends. In England, the newspapers announced Hefner’s plans to re-open a Playboy Club in London, where his first club closed in 1981 after a police raid over suspected infractions of gambling law. London’s Daily Mirror recruited Michelle Johnstone, 50, mother-of-two, from Barkingside, Essex, to describe a bunny’s life in the original club. She wore bunny ears and bunny tail, with toilet paper stuffed into her brassiere, her ladylike demeanour monitored at all times by the Bunny Mother. She dreams of returning, this time as Bunny Mother herself.
Beginning with the publication in 1953 of the first Playboy (with Marilyn Monroe as nude Playmate), Hefner built a business empire on an audacious approach to sex. It was the perfect moment for overturning taboos. In the courts, free speech was slowly extinguishing anti-obscenity laws. Boycotts against Hefner’s magazines (or his imitators) never gathered much support from the public or the storekeepers.
Hefner liked to portray himself as a hero, much beset by enemies among the police and the politicians, but soon it became clear that his revolution had no effective opposition.
That’s what we need now, in the view of Dylan van Rijsbergen. He’s a historian and blogger, born in 1975, founder of a left-wing think tank that hopes to generate fresh social ideas. He sees himself as an anti-Hefner, pointing the way to a more humane view of sexuality. He speaks of the need for a Slow Sex movement — an analogy with the Slow Food movement, whose war on industrialized food has expanded to dozens of countries since it was founded in Italy two decades ago. A Slow Sex movement would emphasize the qualities that Hefnerism ignores, focusing on sex as “elusive, exciting, intense, playful, authentic, dynamic and sublime.” It would stretch sexuality “beyond the single moment of the male orgasm.”
At Erasmus University Rotterdam last fall, Van Rijsbergen took part in a public meeting that discussed whether widespread pornography degenerates into erotic boredom and eventually smothers genuine desire. He wrote a kind of manifesto, Sexing the Handbag, that started with a description of a billboard in the Netherlands. It showed part of a female body, wearing nothing but a bra, with a little handbag covering the pubic area. The heading read, “Lesson 84: lead him into temptation.” To Van Rijsbergen, the billboard suggested that the little bag and the vagina were interchangeable commodities standardized and ready for sale.
Behind this and millions of other images, Van Rijsbergen sees the dark genius of Hefner, whose corporation “made him incredibly rich and made sexuality incredibly boring.” He casts Hefner as the Stalin of the sexual revolution, a man who suffocated us with his own narrow definitions of freedom and progress. Van Rijsbergen’s essay has since been widely reproduced on the Web.
Unlike the feminists who seized on this subject a couple of decades ago (and then dropped it), Van Rijsbergen doesn’t imagine that legislators, courts and police should bring the end of Hefnerism. In fact, he sees no value in restoring the old anti-obscenity laws. He wants instead to alter Hefner’s heritage through literature and discussion: “Our task is to individualize and diversify the images of sexuality we see everyday.”
In the 1960s, Hefner wrote a series of 25 articles, “The Playboy Philosophy,” totalling 150,000 words. It pictured him as the fulcrum of change. The point was to prove that everything he did was not only legal but also progressive.
He won the argument, and the results are all around us. But what seemed to be a triumph of individualism was really the reverse. Pornography took sex from the private sphere and made it public: first the magazines, then the advertising, later popular music, then a multitude of impossible-to-ignore billboards and most recently the Internet. Eventually, this process stereotyped the image of sexuality as it exists in mass communications.
In the name of freedom, Hefner erected concrete barriers around the erotic imagination. And now, we may be watching the start of a new movement trying to batter them down. Who would have thought, half a century ago, that this one-time cultural guerilla would come to define the sexual establishment?
robert.fulford@utoronto.ca
Media Man Australia Profiles
Hugh Hefner
Playboy
Models
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Claws Out at the Playboy Mansion - TMZ - 16th June 2008
MEOW! It's cat fight central at the Playboy Mansion!
TMZ spies tell us Hef's number one Bunny Holly Madison is ruling the Mansion with an iron fist ... causing major drama with the staff and on the set of "The Girls Next Door." We're told everyone "hates" Holly, but no one more than Kendra Wilkinson, Hef's other Bunny-in-Waiting.
It's gotten so bad, those two can't be in a room for more than five minutes without totally going at it. And that's posing major problems for producers of the show who have to shoot around the flying fur. As for Bridget, she's Switzerland, often trying, but failing, to keep the peace.
Our spies also say Holly's ambition is spilling over to the magazine too. She wants to have editorial control over the mag's spreads -- which is not going over well with longtime employees.
For their part, "Girls" producers tell us they're "not aware" of any rift between the ladies -- affecting the show or life at the Mansion.
Media Man Australia Profiles
Playboy
Playboy Gaming
Playboy Casino
Models
TMZ spies tell us Hef's number one Bunny Holly Madison is ruling the Mansion with an iron fist ... causing major drama with the staff and on the set of "The Girls Next Door." We're told everyone "hates" Holly, but no one more than Kendra Wilkinson, Hef's other Bunny-in-Waiting.
It's gotten so bad, those two can't be in a room for more than five minutes without totally going at it. And that's posing major problems for producers of the show who have to shoot around the flying fur. As for Bridget, she's Switzerland, often trying, but failing, to keep the peace.
Our spies also say Holly's ambition is spilling over to the magazine too. She wants to have editorial control over the mag's spreads -- which is not going over well with longtime employees.
For their part, "Girls" producers tell us they're "not aware" of any rift between the ladies -- affecting the show or life at the Mansion.
Media Man Australia Profiles
Playboy
Playboy Gaming
Playboy Casino
Models
Sunday, June 15, 2008
In Business Q and A - In Business - Christie Hefner
Christie Hefner, chairwoman and chief executive of Playboy Enterprises, joined the company in 1975 and became its president in 1982 before being elected to her current position in 1988.
She is credited with restructuring the company and shifting the focus away from some of its unprofitable endeavors and toward electronic and international expansion.
She recently talked with In Business about the marketing of Playboy in Las Vegas, including the opening of a Playboy Club at the Palms, the challenges of taking over and changing the business model of the company founded by her father, Hugh Hefner, and what's ahead for Playboy.
Question: How did the partnership with George Maloof and the Palms come about?
Answer: The company had a lot of success with the casino in London and some other properties, so we know a little bit about how strong the connection between Playboy and entertainment and gaming is. I had watched with interest the development of Las Vegas as a market that is no longer just about gambling, but very much an entertainment market. A majority of revenues now don't come from the casino, but from entertainment, merchandise, and food and beverage. We started to think about whether there was a way to be in the locations there and maintain a business that made sense. We developed the idea of finding the right local partner who would have enough of a footprint to do a really exciting, multifaceted Playboy entertainment center that would include a great club, gaming and other elements like a store and dining, depending on the location. Las Vegas is the entertainment capital of the world, and that's where we wanted to be. I spent a lot of time learning about the market and who was planning to build and what position (they had) in the market. Las Vegas is such a broad market, you can be successful with positioning your product at lots of different levels. We had a chance to meet almost everybody in town to talk about their plans to see if it was a good fit with our plans. Out of those conversations, we concluded that the absolute best partner for us would be George and the Palms.
He's very good at recognizing how to market a brand here, isn't he?
Absolutely, and I felt (he had) his finger on the pulse of the kind of young contemporary market, from the music business, or Hollywood or sports, which was very much what we wanted Playboy to connect to. You can see it in everything George has done, from the MTV "Real World" initiative a few years back, to his own hands-on involvement, to the guests and celebrities who come to his property.
Were there other venues considered for the Playboy Club?
Yes.
Can you reveal any of them?
No. It really was just a great combination of the right partner, the right brand positioning and timing because when we started talking, George was already thinking about wanting to build a new tower. So thinking about getting into the market with a project that was imminent was very appealing to us. Of course, having a 30-foot rabbit head looking out over Las Vegas is a pretty nice position.
How active has Maloof been in the branding and marketing of Playboy in Las Vegas? Obviously he has provided the venue, but in what other ways has he contributed?
He was very involved, as was Michael Morton of the N9NE Group, (owners of the venue's Nove Italiano restaurant) in all the design work. It was very collaborative. We have an outstanding creative director, Aaron Duncan, and he and our head of location-based entertainment and even my dad, particularly with regard to the Hugh M. Hefner Sky Villa (got involved). So, we had a team on our side, and George and Michael on their side, and we really worked on everything from the details of the carpeting to such big elements as the design and use of graphics.
How has the branding of Playboy changed in recent years?
I think to a great extent the positioning of the brand has been a constant. One of the reasons, I think, for the success of the company over five decades has been that from the beginning the magazine struck a chord as representing an attitude toward life - kind of a celebration of the good life and the romance of life. That turned out to be very appealing and a dramatic change from the more conservative era of the '50s when Playboy was launched, but it has turned out to be almost eternally appealing and universally appealing, especially as we have expanded globally over the last couple of decades.
It seems the "Girls Next Door" television show has helped widen the appeal of the Playboy brand. Would you agree, and, if so, can you elaborate on that?
Having the highest rated show on the E! channel gives us another marketing tool for the brand. The fact that it's profitable as well as a marketing tool is all the better. I do think it's reinforced the relevance and appeal of Playboy to young women. That's something that we started to see with our own Playboy TV, which is principally watched by couples, and then really developed through our consumer products and Playboy stores around the world. We do about $800 million a year in the sale of fashion jewelry, apparel and home furnishings, about 40 percent in Europe, 40 percent in Asia and 20 percent in the United States. In fact, we have a very successful Playboy store in the Forum Shops (at Caesars) as well as the Playboy store at the Palms. About 75 percent of our products around the world are women's products. So I think the "Girls Next Door" helped kind of solidify the relevance and appeal of the brand as a quality, stylish, sexy brand for women and men.
The appeal of the Playboy brand seems to vary greatly. For example, the magazine, while it does have women readers, seems to appeal mostly to men, while the retail merchandise and the TV show have seemingly targeted the female audience. First of all, is this accurate and was this anticipated?
It's definitely true that the brand originated as a men's brand as expressed by the magazine. Although as you alluded to, it's always had a sizable number of women readers. I think, frankly, it's because of the quality of the magazine. Whether it's reading a short story by Joyce Carol Oates, or an interview with (Thomas) Friedman, women have those interests too. But we did find it was possible as time evolved, starting with television because it's a more social medium than print, to make the magazine relevant to women. Our approach is to honor the fact that the brand is, at its core, a men's brand, but to leverage the fact that it has strong appeal to women, and we did that. We built our consumer products business, and we definitely do that with our location-based entertainment. If you go into the Playboy Casino Club at the Palms, it's not like boys' night out; it's men and women, and that's very important to us. We have shows like the "Girls Next Door" and also a movie coming out this summer starring Anna Faris, called "The House Bunny," that's written by the people who wrote "Legally Blonde." It has that same kind of charming heroine who, at first, is kind of overlooked in terms of not being a force to be reckoned with and then, of course, triumphs.
We consciously do things that we think appeal to the broad market of the younger consumers. It goes both ways, I think there's a real generational shift. The division between men and women and what was appropriately sexy was much sharper for the Baby Boomer generation that I'm in than it is among young (men and) women. You see them liking the same kind of entertainment. You see young women being very comfortable with their sexuality, and I actually think that's a very positive change.
How has this broadening of the audience affected the bottom line?
Our licensing business has been our fastest-growing business and our highest-margin business. As I mentioned, about 75 percent of our products are cosmetics and lingerie and swimsuits and jewelry for women, but it is a dual audience. We're going to be launching a men's fragrance this fall with Coty. We definitely feel the brand has an appeal to an attitude, to a psychographic, to people who enjoy life, feel life is a celebration and enjoy the finer things. And that is equally true of men and women.
To what do you attribute this resurgence in the Playboy brand?
I think it's been steady, so I wouldn't necessarily use the word resurgence, because that sort of suggests we're coming off a period where it wasn't popular, and I don't think that was ever true. I do think it's true that the brand is more popular today than it's ever been. The two single biggest contributors to that fact is the ability to relate the brand to women as well as men, which we've talked about, and the ability to expand the brand globally. In the early years the company was really domestically focused, whereas today 80 percent of our consumer products are sold around the world. We're building an even larger club casino venture in Macau that will open at the end of next year. We have 25 editions of the magazine all around the world that are almost always the most popular magazine in each country, just as Playboy is here in the United States. The new technologies of the Internet and mobile and even things like satellite radio have allowed us to reach more people as the media have evolved.
Can you talk about the changes in Hugh Hefner's public image?
Well, I think part of what has kept Hef in the popular culture as such an iconic figure is that he is the classic American entrepreneur who borrowed money and created this magazine, literally on our kitchen table. It was something that if you had asked anyone who was a publishing executive, they'd have told you that that was impossible. And (it) wound up not just the most popular magazine for men in the world, but an iconic brand that, as we've been discussing, successfully extended itself into television. We're celebrating our 25th anniversary of Playboy TV online. We were the first magazine to go up on the Web and through consumer products and entertainment venues. So he has this wonderful authentic history, rather like a Richard Branson (chairman of Virgin Group) of being a maverick who charted his own course, who dreamed a dream and believed in it. (Hef's) been willing to live his life in the public eye. And I think he was surprised to find that when his marriage ended and he started dating again a number of years ago - when he would go out to a nightclub - it was people in their 20s and 30s who were most in awe of him, wanted an autograph, wanted a photo with him. So he has sort of created this position for himself that is represented in his "Charlie's Angels" type role on the "Girls Next Door" as a sort of bigger-than-life figure that has become timeless.
He has also, at least from my perception, seemed a very authentic, what-you-see-is-what-you-get, kind of guy.
I think that's actually a very astute read, and I think that comes through to people. You know, in a world where ... there are a lot of examples we can all think of, of people who seem to exemplify hypocrisy. My father is just at the other end of the spectrum in terms of being true to his own values and ideals, having lived a very honorable life. There's going to be a book published - I think at the end of the year - that I think is going to be a very interesting and successful biography by a very well-regarded journalist who has written only two other biographies. And when I tell you who they were, you'll see my point. He clearly chose people who he felt were simply iconic figures in America in the 20th century, and those two other people were Walt Disney and Henry Ford.
The 21-to-34-year-old demographic has become a huge target market in Las Vegas - have you targeted that audience with your branding here and elsewhere?
Yes, definitely. It kind of goes back to that question about why we chose to work with the Palms and George. I felt that is really where they are focused and that's where we want to be. That's the demo for our consumer products, that's the target demo for our media properties. Indeed we're very proud of the fact that over the last 10 years, even in the magazine, and I say even because we all understand that more entertainment is being accessed online and on television than in print, but even in the magazine we've had a 20 percent increase in the number of our readers who are in the 18-to-29-year-old demo.
Is Playboy still considering a role in online gaming?
We do have online gaming now in Europe with a company called CryptoLogic. So we're doing both poker and casino games in Europe, and we're looking at other markets. We would not launch gambling in the United States - we think that clearly is not appropriate under the law - although we are looking at different kinds of skills games online in the United States.
With the return of the Playboy Club, the Playboy Bunny also returned. How is the Bunny of today different from the '60s and '70s model?
Well, one of the things that's different is because society has changed to a great extent. In the '60s and '70s, the women themselves wanted to be protected from having customers ask them out, so there was a hard-and-fast rule that customers could not date the Bunnies. This was something that they wanted and was consistent with the fact that all the clubs had a female Bunny Mother who was the personnel director, so there was a woman in management at all the clubs. In today's environment women who work as Bunnies want the choice. I've actually sometimes had conversations with people who remember the old clubs who will say, "Oh, it's too bad, I'd love to ask so-and-so out," and I'll say, "Actually, you can. I can't say if she'll want to go out with you, but you can ask."
Is that the biggest change?
Yeah, I think it is. It's still a highly desirable position. First of all, the pay is very good. A lot of the Bunnies, even in the '60s and '70s, built careers off the money they were able to make in the clubs. Many went on to be famous, like Lauren Hutton and Deborah Harry of (the rock group) Blondie, and many just went on to have their own lives. There has been both a book written and a television special - one about the interesting experiences that the women had - that are kind of fun walks down nostalgia lane. A lot of that sense that you are being treated as special remains part of the allure of being a Bunny.
There was some criticism that the original bunnies were exploited. Did you consider that when bringing them back and did you do anything differently as a result?
I don't think that was the sense. There were some things written and a television special done where independent people went out and interviewed dozens of the women that worked (at Playboy). The thing that people do remember is that Gloria Steinem was a budding journalist at the time and she worked as a Bunny undercover and then wrote a rather scathing critique that itself was rather roundly denounced by the other women (who worked as Bunnies). It seemed to not have much in common with the experiences that they had.
Have you ever thought about doing the Playboy magazine interviews for television?
We have done some of them on our own channel and given the success we have had producing the "Girls Next Door" for the E! channel, we're actually looking at a range of different program ideas that might be appealing to other channels - so stay tuned. I think it's the gold standard of Q&A journalism.
Now you are recognized as an industry leader, but how tough was it at first, as a woman taking over the most recognizable brand in a male-dominated industry?
There were definitely even fewer women heading public companies. Actually media and entertainment were more hospitable to women earlier than, say, oil and gas or heavy manufacturing. Maybe curiously, but still true, Playboy had been a very good place for women to work. There were women in positions of responsibility at the company before I ever joined it. Even in the magazine, going back to the '70s - a period of time when women who worked at places like Time and even newspapers were literally going to court because they felt that there were not equal opportunities for women and they were being ghettoized in the copy department and not given the opportunities - Playboy had lots of senior editors on the masthead who were women. It was more challenging just being out in meetings and working with different people, you were frequently the only woman, whereas today the law firms we use or the bankers we use or the investors we meet with, it is much more common for women to be in those situations as well.
Was it difficult to make the changes, which many say reestablished Playboy's position atop the industry, to your father's company?
Well, candidly, the company was in some financial trouble when I became president. Like a lot of American companies, it had just diversified so broadly and gotten into so many different businesses, all of which it owned and operated. It had a modeling agency and movie theaters and a limousine company and a book club and a book publishing company and a record company and hotels and etc., etc., etc. When it moved out of gaming that first time, that was its most profitable business and - absent those profits -- (it was evident) the company was not profitable. In a way that was helpful because when things aren't going well people are open to change. They know things have to be done differently and so they are looking for leadership. The other thing that helped me was that my father trusted me completely, and people knew that I cared about the long-term success of the company and the protection of the brand because it is a family company.
To what extent do you collaborate with Mr. Hefner on concept changes and other major business decisions?
He's the majority shareholder, so I would always consult with him on major decisions. But I think he would be the first to say that what he loves doing most is being the chief creative officer for the company, and part of why I think our collaboration has been so successful is that we're very complementary in terms of skills.
What projects are in the works for the Playboy brand, here in Las Vegas and nationally?
Definitely we are talking to potential partners in a number of other markets for similar exciting entertainment venues. We have kind of a simple mantra: We want a good location a good partner and a good deal. And we certainly got that with George in Las Vegas, we certainly got that in Macau and we're quite confident that there are going to be a number of other opportunities. We're also very excited about continuing to do unique Playboy events. Part of what makes the property in Las Vegas so successful is that we do unique events that are appealing to people, whether that's a Playmate of the Year Pool Party that we did with our Playmate recently, or whether we do special events that are timed to themes of parties that Hef does, like our lingerie party at Midsummer Night's Dream or our Sunday After Dark event. So we're going to be doing more events at Las Vegas and elsewhere, and we're excited about that, too.
Can you share any of those markets?
No, we've found that, particularly as a public company it's better to announce when the deal is done, not announce what we are looking at.
Mark Hansel covers retail and real estate for In Business Las Vegas and its sister publication, the Las Vegas Sun. He can be reached at (702) 259-4069 or by e-mail at hansel@lasvegassun.com.
Media Man Australia Profiles
Playboy
Playboy Gaming
Playboy Casino
Hugh Hefner
Las Vegas
Men's Magazines
Models
She is credited with restructuring the company and shifting the focus away from some of its unprofitable endeavors and toward electronic and international expansion.
She recently talked with In Business about the marketing of Playboy in Las Vegas, including the opening of a Playboy Club at the Palms, the challenges of taking over and changing the business model of the company founded by her father, Hugh Hefner, and what's ahead for Playboy.
Question: How did the partnership with George Maloof and the Palms come about?
Answer: The company had a lot of success with the casino in London and some other properties, so we know a little bit about how strong the connection between Playboy and entertainment and gaming is. I had watched with interest the development of Las Vegas as a market that is no longer just about gambling, but very much an entertainment market. A majority of revenues now don't come from the casino, but from entertainment, merchandise, and food and beverage. We started to think about whether there was a way to be in the locations there and maintain a business that made sense. We developed the idea of finding the right local partner who would have enough of a footprint to do a really exciting, multifaceted Playboy entertainment center that would include a great club, gaming and other elements like a store and dining, depending on the location. Las Vegas is the entertainment capital of the world, and that's where we wanted to be. I spent a lot of time learning about the market and who was planning to build and what position (they had) in the market. Las Vegas is such a broad market, you can be successful with positioning your product at lots of different levels. We had a chance to meet almost everybody in town to talk about their plans to see if it was a good fit with our plans. Out of those conversations, we concluded that the absolute best partner for us would be George and the Palms.
He's very good at recognizing how to market a brand here, isn't he?
Absolutely, and I felt (he had) his finger on the pulse of the kind of young contemporary market, from the music business, or Hollywood or sports, which was very much what we wanted Playboy to connect to. You can see it in everything George has done, from the MTV "Real World" initiative a few years back, to his own hands-on involvement, to the guests and celebrities who come to his property.
Were there other venues considered for the Playboy Club?
Yes.
Can you reveal any of them?
No. It really was just a great combination of the right partner, the right brand positioning and timing because when we started talking, George was already thinking about wanting to build a new tower. So thinking about getting into the market with a project that was imminent was very appealing to us. Of course, having a 30-foot rabbit head looking out over Las Vegas is a pretty nice position.
How active has Maloof been in the branding and marketing of Playboy in Las Vegas? Obviously he has provided the venue, but in what other ways has he contributed?
He was very involved, as was Michael Morton of the N9NE Group, (owners of the venue's Nove Italiano restaurant) in all the design work. It was very collaborative. We have an outstanding creative director, Aaron Duncan, and he and our head of location-based entertainment and even my dad, particularly with regard to the Hugh M. Hefner Sky Villa (got involved). So, we had a team on our side, and George and Michael on their side, and we really worked on everything from the details of the carpeting to such big elements as the design and use of graphics.
How has the branding of Playboy changed in recent years?
I think to a great extent the positioning of the brand has been a constant. One of the reasons, I think, for the success of the company over five decades has been that from the beginning the magazine struck a chord as representing an attitude toward life - kind of a celebration of the good life and the romance of life. That turned out to be very appealing and a dramatic change from the more conservative era of the '50s when Playboy was launched, but it has turned out to be almost eternally appealing and universally appealing, especially as we have expanded globally over the last couple of decades.
It seems the "Girls Next Door" television show has helped widen the appeal of the Playboy brand. Would you agree, and, if so, can you elaborate on that?
Having the highest rated show on the E! channel gives us another marketing tool for the brand. The fact that it's profitable as well as a marketing tool is all the better. I do think it's reinforced the relevance and appeal of Playboy to young women. That's something that we started to see with our own Playboy TV, which is principally watched by couples, and then really developed through our consumer products and Playboy stores around the world. We do about $800 million a year in the sale of fashion jewelry, apparel and home furnishings, about 40 percent in Europe, 40 percent in Asia and 20 percent in the United States. In fact, we have a very successful Playboy store in the Forum Shops (at Caesars) as well as the Playboy store at the Palms. About 75 percent of our products around the world are women's products. So I think the "Girls Next Door" helped kind of solidify the relevance and appeal of the brand as a quality, stylish, sexy brand for women and men.
The appeal of the Playboy brand seems to vary greatly. For example, the magazine, while it does have women readers, seems to appeal mostly to men, while the retail merchandise and the TV show have seemingly targeted the female audience. First of all, is this accurate and was this anticipated?
It's definitely true that the brand originated as a men's brand as expressed by the magazine. Although as you alluded to, it's always had a sizable number of women readers. I think, frankly, it's because of the quality of the magazine. Whether it's reading a short story by Joyce Carol Oates, or an interview with (Thomas) Friedman, women have those interests too. But we did find it was possible as time evolved, starting with television because it's a more social medium than print, to make the magazine relevant to women. Our approach is to honor the fact that the brand is, at its core, a men's brand, but to leverage the fact that it has strong appeal to women, and we did that. We built our consumer products business, and we definitely do that with our location-based entertainment. If you go into the Playboy Casino Club at the Palms, it's not like boys' night out; it's men and women, and that's very important to us. We have shows like the "Girls Next Door" and also a movie coming out this summer starring Anna Faris, called "The House Bunny," that's written by the people who wrote "Legally Blonde." It has that same kind of charming heroine who, at first, is kind of overlooked in terms of not being a force to be reckoned with and then, of course, triumphs.
We consciously do things that we think appeal to the broad market of the younger consumers. It goes both ways, I think there's a real generational shift. The division between men and women and what was appropriately sexy was much sharper for the Baby Boomer generation that I'm in than it is among young (men and) women. You see them liking the same kind of entertainment. You see young women being very comfortable with their sexuality, and I actually think that's a very positive change.
How has this broadening of the audience affected the bottom line?
Our licensing business has been our fastest-growing business and our highest-margin business. As I mentioned, about 75 percent of our products are cosmetics and lingerie and swimsuits and jewelry for women, but it is a dual audience. We're going to be launching a men's fragrance this fall with Coty. We definitely feel the brand has an appeal to an attitude, to a psychographic, to people who enjoy life, feel life is a celebration and enjoy the finer things. And that is equally true of men and women.
To what do you attribute this resurgence in the Playboy brand?
I think it's been steady, so I wouldn't necessarily use the word resurgence, because that sort of suggests we're coming off a period where it wasn't popular, and I don't think that was ever true. I do think it's true that the brand is more popular today than it's ever been. The two single biggest contributors to that fact is the ability to relate the brand to women as well as men, which we've talked about, and the ability to expand the brand globally. In the early years the company was really domestically focused, whereas today 80 percent of our consumer products are sold around the world. We're building an even larger club casino venture in Macau that will open at the end of next year. We have 25 editions of the magazine all around the world that are almost always the most popular magazine in each country, just as Playboy is here in the United States. The new technologies of the Internet and mobile and even things like satellite radio have allowed us to reach more people as the media have evolved.
Can you talk about the changes in Hugh Hefner's public image?
Well, I think part of what has kept Hef in the popular culture as such an iconic figure is that he is the classic American entrepreneur who borrowed money and created this magazine, literally on our kitchen table. It was something that if you had asked anyone who was a publishing executive, they'd have told you that that was impossible. And (it) wound up not just the most popular magazine for men in the world, but an iconic brand that, as we've been discussing, successfully extended itself into television. We're celebrating our 25th anniversary of Playboy TV online. We were the first magazine to go up on the Web and through consumer products and entertainment venues. So he has this wonderful authentic history, rather like a Richard Branson (chairman of Virgin Group) of being a maverick who charted his own course, who dreamed a dream and believed in it. (Hef's) been willing to live his life in the public eye. And I think he was surprised to find that when his marriage ended and he started dating again a number of years ago - when he would go out to a nightclub - it was people in their 20s and 30s who were most in awe of him, wanted an autograph, wanted a photo with him. So he has sort of created this position for himself that is represented in his "Charlie's Angels" type role on the "Girls Next Door" as a sort of bigger-than-life figure that has become timeless.
He has also, at least from my perception, seemed a very authentic, what-you-see-is-what-you-get, kind of guy.
I think that's actually a very astute read, and I think that comes through to people. You know, in a world where ... there are a lot of examples we can all think of, of people who seem to exemplify hypocrisy. My father is just at the other end of the spectrum in terms of being true to his own values and ideals, having lived a very honorable life. There's going to be a book published - I think at the end of the year - that I think is going to be a very interesting and successful biography by a very well-regarded journalist who has written only two other biographies. And when I tell you who they were, you'll see my point. He clearly chose people who he felt were simply iconic figures in America in the 20th century, and those two other people were Walt Disney and Henry Ford.
The 21-to-34-year-old demographic has become a huge target market in Las Vegas - have you targeted that audience with your branding here and elsewhere?
Yes, definitely. It kind of goes back to that question about why we chose to work with the Palms and George. I felt that is really where they are focused and that's where we want to be. That's the demo for our consumer products, that's the target demo for our media properties. Indeed we're very proud of the fact that over the last 10 years, even in the magazine, and I say even because we all understand that more entertainment is being accessed online and on television than in print, but even in the magazine we've had a 20 percent increase in the number of our readers who are in the 18-to-29-year-old demo.
Is Playboy still considering a role in online gaming?
We do have online gaming now in Europe with a company called CryptoLogic. So we're doing both poker and casino games in Europe, and we're looking at other markets. We would not launch gambling in the United States - we think that clearly is not appropriate under the law - although we are looking at different kinds of skills games online in the United States.
With the return of the Playboy Club, the Playboy Bunny also returned. How is the Bunny of today different from the '60s and '70s model?
Well, one of the things that's different is because society has changed to a great extent. In the '60s and '70s, the women themselves wanted to be protected from having customers ask them out, so there was a hard-and-fast rule that customers could not date the Bunnies. This was something that they wanted and was consistent with the fact that all the clubs had a female Bunny Mother who was the personnel director, so there was a woman in management at all the clubs. In today's environment women who work as Bunnies want the choice. I've actually sometimes had conversations with people who remember the old clubs who will say, "Oh, it's too bad, I'd love to ask so-and-so out," and I'll say, "Actually, you can. I can't say if she'll want to go out with you, but you can ask."
Is that the biggest change?
Yeah, I think it is. It's still a highly desirable position. First of all, the pay is very good. A lot of the Bunnies, even in the '60s and '70s, built careers off the money they were able to make in the clubs. Many went on to be famous, like Lauren Hutton and Deborah Harry of (the rock group) Blondie, and many just went on to have their own lives. There has been both a book written and a television special - one about the interesting experiences that the women had - that are kind of fun walks down nostalgia lane. A lot of that sense that you are being treated as special remains part of the allure of being a Bunny.
There was some criticism that the original bunnies were exploited. Did you consider that when bringing them back and did you do anything differently as a result?
I don't think that was the sense. There were some things written and a television special done where independent people went out and interviewed dozens of the women that worked (at Playboy). The thing that people do remember is that Gloria Steinem was a budding journalist at the time and she worked as a Bunny undercover and then wrote a rather scathing critique that itself was rather roundly denounced by the other women (who worked as Bunnies). It seemed to not have much in common with the experiences that they had.
Have you ever thought about doing the Playboy magazine interviews for television?
We have done some of them on our own channel and given the success we have had producing the "Girls Next Door" for the E! channel, we're actually looking at a range of different program ideas that might be appealing to other channels - so stay tuned. I think it's the gold standard of Q&A journalism.
Now you are recognized as an industry leader, but how tough was it at first, as a woman taking over the most recognizable brand in a male-dominated industry?
There were definitely even fewer women heading public companies. Actually media and entertainment were more hospitable to women earlier than, say, oil and gas or heavy manufacturing. Maybe curiously, but still true, Playboy had been a very good place for women to work. There were women in positions of responsibility at the company before I ever joined it. Even in the magazine, going back to the '70s - a period of time when women who worked at places like Time and even newspapers were literally going to court because they felt that there were not equal opportunities for women and they were being ghettoized in the copy department and not given the opportunities - Playboy had lots of senior editors on the masthead who were women. It was more challenging just being out in meetings and working with different people, you were frequently the only woman, whereas today the law firms we use or the bankers we use or the investors we meet with, it is much more common for women to be in those situations as well.
Was it difficult to make the changes, which many say reestablished Playboy's position atop the industry, to your father's company?
Well, candidly, the company was in some financial trouble when I became president. Like a lot of American companies, it had just diversified so broadly and gotten into so many different businesses, all of which it owned and operated. It had a modeling agency and movie theaters and a limousine company and a book club and a book publishing company and a record company and hotels and etc., etc., etc. When it moved out of gaming that first time, that was its most profitable business and - absent those profits -- (it was evident) the company was not profitable. In a way that was helpful because when things aren't going well people are open to change. They know things have to be done differently and so they are looking for leadership. The other thing that helped me was that my father trusted me completely, and people knew that I cared about the long-term success of the company and the protection of the brand because it is a family company.
To what extent do you collaborate with Mr. Hefner on concept changes and other major business decisions?
He's the majority shareholder, so I would always consult with him on major decisions. But I think he would be the first to say that what he loves doing most is being the chief creative officer for the company, and part of why I think our collaboration has been so successful is that we're very complementary in terms of skills.
What projects are in the works for the Playboy brand, here in Las Vegas and nationally?
Definitely we are talking to potential partners in a number of other markets for similar exciting entertainment venues. We have kind of a simple mantra: We want a good location a good partner and a good deal. And we certainly got that with George in Las Vegas, we certainly got that in Macau and we're quite confident that there are going to be a number of other opportunities. We're also very excited about continuing to do unique Playboy events. Part of what makes the property in Las Vegas so successful is that we do unique events that are appealing to people, whether that's a Playmate of the Year Pool Party that we did with our Playmate recently, or whether we do special events that are timed to themes of parties that Hef does, like our lingerie party at Midsummer Night's Dream or our Sunday After Dark event. So we're going to be doing more events at Las Vegas and elsewhere, and we're excited about that, too.
Can you share any of those markets?
No, we've found that, particularly as a public company it's better to announce when the deal is done, not announce what we are looking at.
Mark Hansel covers retail and real estate for In Business Las Vegas and its sister publication, the Las Vegas Sun. He can be reached at (702) 259-4069 or by e-mail at hansel@lasvegassun.com.
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Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Biggest Loser trainer bags socialite, by Ros Reines - The Daily Telegraph - 12th May 2008
The latest supremely fit couple on the social circuit is none other than The Biggest Loser trainer, Shannan Ponton and bikini model Jaime Wright.
"It's really early days though," Wright cautioned.
"We're just hanging out and enjoying each other's company. He is a lovely man and this is something rare on the Sydney social circuit.''
The two were outed at the recent launch of the Underbelly DVD and then they next embarked on a shopping expedition together, with Wright helping her man find an outfit suitable for the Logies.
"I had hoped that Shannan would help me with an event I am holding on Wednesday,'' said Wright, who rose to fame when Paris Hilton made her the face of Bondi Blonde beer.
"But unfortunately he has to go to Bali next week.''
This is a bad move for Ponton, who will not be helping Wright celebrate her 28th birthday at the Butterfly Foundation charity event that she is holding at Ravesis to raise public awareness of eating disorders.
Among those reportedly supporting the sometime shoe queen on the night are Gracie Otto, Jordan Loukas, Mark Goldman and Jason Dundas.
Let's hope that Shannon returns from Bali with a pretty good birthday gift to make up for his glaring absence.
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Jaime Wright
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Models
"It's really early days though," Wright cautioned.
"We're just hanging out and enjoying each other's company. He is a lovely man and this is something rare on the Sydney social circuit.''
The two were outed at the recent launch of the Underbelly DVD and then they next embarked on a shopping expedition together, with Wright helping her man find an outfit suitable for the Logies.
"I had hoped that Shannan would help me with an event I am holding on Wednesday,'' said Wright, who rose to fame when Paris Hilton made her the face of Bondi Blonde beer.
"But unfortunately he has to go to Bali next week.''
This is a bad move for Ponton, who will not be helping Wright celebrate her 28th birthday at the Butterfly Foundation charity event that she is holding at Ravesis to raise public awareness of eating disorders.
Among those reportedly supporting the sometime shoe queen on the night are Gracie Otto, Jordan Loukas, Mark Goldman and Jason Dundas.
Let's hope that Shannon returns from Bali with a pretty good birthday gift to make up for his glaring absence.
Media Man Australia Profiles
Jaime Wright
Ravesis
Models
Saturday, May 10, 2008
Spirital healing helps Holly Graham - The Daily Telegraph - 10th May 2008
She led a glamorous life mixing with stars including Sophie Monk and Jennifer Hawkins, but Holly Graham turned her back on modelling for a spiritual life.
The blonde's sexy pout and curvaceous body made her one of the "most sought-after models'' when she was modelling three years ago.
See some of her work here.
However, she abandoned the glossy magazines to pursue yoga and tantra meditation.
Fellow model Sheridyn Fisher, a protege of Holly since the age of 17, said her down-to earth attitude marked her out from other members of her notoriously shallow profession.
"I can't believe this has happened to her. She was really lovely. She wasn't like some of the other models you meet who can be quite bitchy," she said.
"I used to cut out clippings of her and say to my mum 'I want to be like her one day','' she said.
See Sheridyn's portfolio here.
Eighteen months ago the 28 year old worked as a cocktail waitress at Star City casino before following her dream to be a fitness instructor.
Yesterday Ms Graham's family issued a statement on behalf of their daughter, who is recovering in Royal Prince Alfred Hospital after being shot twice in the stomach and once in the thigh.
Shooting scene gallery.
Father John Graham said: "We feel her fitness and healthy lifestyle will greatly assist her recovery,'' .
"She is devastated at what has happened but her focus is on recovering and getting back to life.
"Holly's colleagues cared for her in the minutes after the shooting, and then the ambulance officers and the police were fantastic.''
Last night it was business as usual at the casino's health club, where Ms Graham worked.
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AutoBabes
Mind, Body and Spirit
Models
The blonde's sexy pout and curvaceous body made her one of the "most sought-after models'' when she was modelling three years ago.
See some of her work here.
However, she abandoned the glossy magazines to pursue yoga and tantra meditation.
Fellow model Sheridyn Fisher, a protege of Holly since the age of 17, said her down-to earth attitude marked her out from other members of her notoriously shallow profession.
"I can't believe this has happened to her. She was really lovely. She wasn't like some of the other models you meet who can be quite bitchy," she said.
"I used to cut out clippings of her and say to my mum 'I want to be like her one day','' she said.
See Sheridyn's portfolio here.
Eighteen months ago the 28 year old worked as a cocktail waitress at Star City casino before following her dream to be a fitness instructor.
Yesterday Ms Graham's family issued a statement on behalf of their daughter, who is recovering in Royal Prince Alfred Hospital after being shot twice in the stomach and once in the thigh.
Shooting scene gallery.
Father John Graham said: "We feel her fitness and healthy lifestyle will greatly assist her recovery,'' .
"She is devastated at what has happened but her focus is on recovering and getting back to life.
"Holly's colleagues cared for her in the minutes after the shooting, and then the ambulance officers and the police were fantastic.''
Last night it was business as usual at the casino's health club, where Ms Graham worked.
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AutoBabes
Mind, Body and Spirit
Models
'Bubbly' ex-model stable after shooting, by Arjun Ramachandran - The Sydney Morning Herald - 9th May 2008
The yoga instructor shot multiple times at a gym in Star City Casino yesterday was also a full-time model.
Holly Graham, 28, is in a stable condition at Royal Prince Alfred hospital after four hours of surgery yesterday, a Star City colleague said.
Ms Graham was working in Turbines health club at Star City in Pyrmont when she was shot multiple times, allegedly by 37-year-old Todd Devaney.
It has emerged that in addition to her work as an instructor at the gym, Ms Graham is described on the online motoring magazine, AutoBabes as "one of Sydney's most hottest and sought after models".
Ms Graham initially joined Star City 18 months ago to work as a cocktail waitress, her colleague said.
"She started as a cocktail waitress but always looked to go into the fitness area.
"She's been working for the fitness centre for more than a year where she is one of our most popular instructors.
"She's a very bubbly personality and a lot of people want to attend her classes."
Anestis Montsouranis, who photographed Ms Graham for the AutoBabes publication, said she's a "`lovely girl, very radiant''.
"She was one of the most sought after girls in the team. She was a well-balanced, intelligent, beautiful young girl,'' he said.
"She gave up modelling in 2007 and that's when she moved to the more spiritual realm, like the yoga.
"She died her hair brown and changed her look and became more corporate.
"[She said] she was looking for something different.''
Mr Montsouranis worked with Ms Graham in 2006 after she sent an application, and was attracted to "her looks and her potential''.
Ms Graham also appeared on a Channel 9 TV show Body Work, in which she discussed her use of cosmetic surgery to help maintain her appearance.
Plastic surgeon Dr Jeremy Hunt said he could not comment on Ms Graham due to doctor-patient confidentiality.
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AutoBabes
Media Companies
Models
Holly Graham, 28, is in a stable condition at Royal Prince Alfred hospital after four hours of surgery yesterday, a Star City colleague said.
Ms Graham was working in Turbines health club at Star City in Pyrmont when she was shot multiple times, allegedly by 37-year-old Todd Devaney.
It has emerged that in addition to her work as an instructor at the gym, Ms Graham is described on the online motoring magazine, AutoBabes as "one of Sydney's most hottest and sought after models".
Ms Graham initially joined Star City 18 months ago to work as a cocktail waitress, her colleague said.
"She started as a cocktail waitress but always looked to go into the fitness area.
"She's been working for the fitness centre for more than a year where she is one of our most popular instructors.
"She's a very bubbly personality and a lot of people want to attend her classes."
Anestis Montsouranis, who photographed Ms Graham for the AutoBabes publication, said she's a "`lovely girl, very radiant''.
"She was one of the most sought after girls in the team. She was a well-balanced, intelligent, beautiful young girl,'' he said.
"She gave up modelling in 2007 and that's when she moved to the more spiritual realm, like the yoga.
"She died her hair brown and changed her look and became more corporate.
"[She said] she was looking for something different.''
Mr Montsouranis worked with Ms Graham in 2006 after she sent an application, and was attracted to "her looks and her potential''.
Ms Graham also appeared on a Channel 9 TV show Body Work, in which she discussed her use of cosmetic surgery to help maintain her appearance.
Plastic surgeon Dr Jeremy Hunt said he could not comment on Ms Graham due to doctor-patient confidentiality.
Media Man Australia Profiles
AutoBabes
Media Companies
Models
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Megan Gale's Wonder Woman flick 'canned' - The Daily Telegraph - 23rd April 2008
Big sunglasses? Tick. Hollywood tan? Tick. Toting chic purchase from hip LA retailer, Kitson? Tick.
To all appearances, Megan Gale has taken the transition from runway to real actress in her stride.
Megan Gale in depth
That is, except for reports that her scheduled debut performance as Wonder Woman in Justice League of America could well be grounded before it takes off.
(Meanwhile, Tahyna Tozzi is going from strength to strength. Find out why.)
Gallery: Gorgeous Megan's modelling work
Confidential's studio spies claim Gale and the comic book hero cast have been "let go" after the troubled production was reportedly canned.
Originally slated to begin filming in Sydney in January, finance troubles saw the production - and its stellar cast including O.C star Adam Brody and Aussie starlet Teresa Palmer _ cool their heels.
When Federal Government dollars failed to materialise, director George Miller announced League would move to Canada and roll mid-year.
But industry insiders claim cast and crew have been told the film is officially off the books, with Gale left to work on new opportunities in LA.
An agent for Gale and Palmer told Confidential yesterday: "To our knowledge the production is still going ahead and we are just waiting for shoot dates to be confirmed. We have not heard anything otherwise."
However, film forums that have accurately predicted the pitfalls of the production so far are claiming the film had been canned.
"There's a glimmer of hope that it will still be done . . . but that's a lot of planets to align," one cyber insider told us.
Miller did not respond to Confidential's inquiries.
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Megan Gale
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To all appearances, Megan Gale has taken the transition from runway to real actress in her stride.
Megan Gale in depth
That is, except for reports that her scheduled debut performance as Wonder Woman in Justice League of America could well be grounded before it takes off.
(Meanwhile, Tahyna Tozzi is going from strength to strength. Find out why.)
Gallery: Gorgeous Megan's modelling work
Confidential's studio spies claim Gale and the comic book hero cast have been "let go" after the troubled production was reportedly canned.
Originally slated to begin filming in Sydney in January, finance troubles saw the production - and its stellar cast including O.C star Adam Brody and Aussie starlet Teresa Palmer _ cool their heels.
When Federal Government dollars failed to materialise, director George Miller announced League would move to Canada and roll mid-year.
But industry insiders claim cast and crew have been told the film is officially off the books, with Gale left to work on new opportunities in LA.
An agent for Gale and Palmer told Confidential yesterday: "To our knowledge the production is still going ahead and we are just waiting for shoot dates to be confirmed. We have not heard anything otherwise."
However, film forums that have accurately predicted the pitfalls of the production so far are claiming the film had been canned.
"There's a glimmer of hope that it will still be done . . . but that's a lot of planets to align," one cyber insider told us.
Miller did not respond to Confidential's inquiries.
Media Man Australia Profiles
Megan Gale
Hollywood
Models
Fashion
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Friday, March 21, 2008
Hugh and his Playboy empire: 'luckiest guy on planet', By Jon Friedman - The Daily Telegraph - 20th March 2008
OVER the course of my one-hour chat last week with Hugh Hefner at the Playboy Mansion's library, the king of hedonism told me about his strict upbringing in Chicago, the early days of Playboy magazine and how the conservative nature of the 1950s helped spawn a media empire.
At that point, I couldn't resist asking Hef, as his associates affectionately call him, the question to which every outsider wants the answer. I leaned in with a smirk. The mythology surrounding his life wasn't really true, was it?
The 81-year-old Hefner, whose three live-in girlfriends - "The Girls Next Door" of the popular E! cable-television show - whose ages are a fraction of his, nodded.
"Yes, it's true," he replied coolly, without a shred of irony, "beyond anything you can imagine - and in sweeter ways."
The legend of Hef
Mythology does surround Hefner, in the form of his iconic bunnies, his glamorous girlfriends, his bacchanalian parties and his suave bathrobes (one of which he wore during our interview). But when I visited the Playboy Mansion, the scene was low-key and businesslike. Just my luck.
For the prior 16 months, I had gently badgered Hefner's public relations associates to grant me an interview. I wanted to get inside the head of the most iconoclastic magazine pioneer since Time co-founder Henry Luce.
True, Hefner's daughter Christie (a former board member of MarketWatch, the publisher of this column) has been running Playboy Enterprises (PLA: 8.61, +0.35, +4.23%) for about two decades and supervised its expansion beyond magazine publishing. Still, when you think of Playboy, Hef's name and face immediately come to mind.
Hefner, like all successful entrepreneurs, is a product of his times. "The '50s were very conservative, socially and politically, with (President) Eisenhower, (Senator) McCarthy and the Cold War," he said. Anybody who acted at all left of center "was looked at suspiciously."
In the early 1950s, Hefner worked as a promotion copywriter for Esquire. When the magazine turned down his request for a $5 raise, he quit his job and decided to launch another publication geared to young men.
Hefner originally wanted to call his creation Stag Party, but another magazine called Stag ordered him to "cease and desist," he recalled. So, he'd need another name. A business associate had noticed an operation called the Playboy Car Co.
"The name was in relative disuse," he said. "It seemed like an old-fashioned name."
Sure enough, it stuck, and America would never be quite the same again.
Playboy made its debut a few years after the Kinsey Report had openly discussed human sexuality. It was a ground-breaking study published following World War II. Hefner considered it to be "the most important book published that year."
"It was the right place and the right idea," he said of Playboy's origins. He raised $8,000, just enough to publish one issue of the magazine. His mother contributed $1,000 - "not because she believed in the idea, but because she believed in her son," he explained. "My father was an accountant who thought it was a bad investment."
Playboy magazine hit newsstands in December 1953, shrewdly featuring Marilyn Monroe on its first cover. That issue sold more than 50,000 copies.
Within a few years, Playboy's circulation topped 700,000 and then surpassed the 1 million mark, eclipsing rival Esquire along the way. Its circulation is now about 2.6 million, according to a spokeswoman. When Playboy celebrated its 25th anniversary at Tavern on the Green in New York City, Esquire's former editor Clay Felker presented Hefner with a replica of a $5 bill.
"My face was on it," Hefner said with a smile. "Felker told me, 'All is forgiven. Please come home.'"
Hefner was gratified by his success, but not exactly mystified that Playboy became a monster hit. "I realized it very quickly," he said. "It was a remarkable, unprecedented response from readers, especially in college towns and cities."
The reaction was mixed. Readers were delighted with the magazine, while critics lashed out about its open sexuality.
Besides the pictorial displays of sexy young women, the magazine's signature has been the Playboy Interview. He smiled when he recalled that then-presidential candidate Jimmy Carter said during a Playboy interview that he lusted "in my heart."
Hefner hopes to get Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton to consent to interviews. In this campaign, Hefner says he's supporting Obama, whose victory "would send a message" that the U.S. truly is a "country of dreams."
His own spotlight
When it comes to Hefner's public image, he said he long ago stopped worrying about how to protect his privacy. "My life is an open book," he said with a shrug.
What about the perennial criticism that Playboy exploits women? Sexism, he said, "is in the eye of the beholder."
An entrepreneur to the core, Hefner believes he could have been successful at any other point in history.
"I would look to the Internet if I was (now) going to be doing the equivalent of what I did," he said. "A Hugh Hefner today would be creating MySpace and Facebook."
That statement is classic Hef. It reeks of his self-confidence, grand ambitions and wild optimism.
He appreciates the advantages that the Internet has over traditional publishing vehicles. "Having a dialogue with your readers is exciting," he pointed out.
He boasts that Playboy was the first magazine to establish "our own Web site and one of the first to use television in a promotional way."
Hefner takes pride in his legacy, which he characterizes as "having some part in shaping the social sexual revolution, which not many people get an opportunity to do."
He smiled when he pondered his life. "From my point of view," he said, "I'm the luckiest guy on the planet."
Media Man Australia Profiles
Huge Hefner
Playboy
Media Companies
At that point, I couldn't resist asking Hef, as his associates affectionately call him, the question to which every outsider wants the answer. I leaned in with a smirk. The mythology surrounding his life wasn't really true, was it?
The 81-year-old Hefner, whose three live-in girlfriends - "The Girls Next Door" of the popular E! cable-television show - whose ages are a fraction of his, nodded.
"Yes, it's true," he replied coolly, without a shred of irony, "beyond anything you can imagine - and in sweeter ways."
The legend of Hef
Mythology does surround Hefner, in the form of his iconic bunnies, his glamorous girlfriends, his bacchanalian parties and his suave bathrobes (one of which he wore during our interview). But when I visited the Playboy Mansion, the scene was low-key and businesslike. Just my luck.
For the prior 16 months, I had gently badgered Hefner's public relations associates to grant me an interview. I wanted to get inside the head of the most iconoclastic magazine pioneer since Time co-founder Henry Luce.
True, Hefner's daughter Christie (a former board member of MarketWatch, the publisher of this column) has been running Playboy Enterprises (PLA: 8.61, +0.35, +4.23%) for about two decades and supervised its expansion beyond magazine publishing. Still, when you think of Playboy, Hef's name and face immediately come to mind.
Hefner, like all successful entrepreneurs, is a product of his times. "The '50s were very conservative, socially and politically, with (President) Eisenhower, (Senator) McCarthy and the Cold War," he said. Anybody who acted at all left of center "was looked at suspiciously."
In the early 1950s, Hefner worked as a promotion copywriter for Esquire. When the magazine turned down his request for a $5 raise, he quit his job and decided to launch another publication geared to young men.
Hefner originally wanted to call his creation Stag Party, but another magazine called Stag ordered him to "cease and desist," he recalled. So, he'd need another name. A business associate had noticed an operation called the Playboy Car Co.
"The name was in relative disuse," he said. "It seemed like an old-fashioned name."
Sure enough, it stuck, and America would never be quite the same again.
Playboy made its debut a few years after the Kinsey Report had openly discussed human sexuality. It was a ground-breaking study published following World War II. Hefner considered it to be "the most important book published that year."
"It was the right place and the right idea," he said of Playboy's origins. He raised $8,000, just enough to publish one issue of the magazine. His mother contributed $1,000 - "not because she believed in the idea, but because she believed in her son," he explained. "My father was an accountant who thought it was a bad investment."
Playboy magazine hit newsstands in December 1953, shrewdly featuring Marilyn Monroe on its first cover. That issue sold more than 50,000 copies.
Within a few years, Playboy's circulation topped 700,000 and then surpassed the 1 million mark, eclipsing rival Esquire along the way. Its circulation is now about 2.6 million, according to a spokeswoman. When Playboy celebrated its 25th anniversary at Tavern on the Green in New York City, Esquire's former editor Clay Felker presented Hefner with a replica of a $5 bill.
"My face was on it," Hefner said with a smile. "Felker told me, 'All is forgiven. Please come home.'"
Hefner was gratified by his success, but not exactly mystified that Playboy became a monster hit. "I realized it very quickly," he said. "It was a remarkable, unprecedented response from readers, especially in college towns and cities."
The reaction was mixed. Readers were delighted with the magazine, while critics lashed out about its open sexuality.
Besides the pictorial displays of sexy young women, the magazine's signature has been the Playboy Interview. He smiled when he recalled that then-presidential candidate Jimmy Carter said during a Playboy interview that he lusted "in my heart."
Hefner hopes to get Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton to consent to interviews. In this campaign, Hefner says he's supporting Obama, whose victory "would send a message" that the U.S. truly is a "country of dreams."
His own spotlight
When it comes to Hefner's public image, he said he long ago stopped worrying about how to protect his privacy. "My life is an open book," he said with a shrug.
What about the perennial criticism that Playboy exploits women? Sexism, he said, "is in the eye of the beholder."
An entrepreneur to the core, Hefner believes he could have been successful at any other point in history.
"I would look to the Internet if I was (now) going to be doing the equivalent of what I did," he said. "A Hugh Hefner today would be creating MySpace and Facebook."
That statement is classic Hef. It reeks of his self-confidence, grand ambitions and wild optimism.
He appreciates the advantages that the Internet has over traditional publishing vehicles. "Having a dialogue with your readers is exciting," he pointed out.
He boasts that Playboy was the first magazine to establish "our own Web site and one of the first to use television in a promotional way."
Hefner takes pride in his legacy, which he characterizes as "having some part in shaping the social sexual revolution, which not many people get an opportunity to do."
He smiled when he pondered his life. "From my point of view," he said, "I'm the luckiest guy on the planet."
Media Man Australia Profiles
Huge Hefner
Playboy
Media Companies
Monday, March 17, 2008
Lawyer for call girl says photos used without consent - WCAX News - 14th March 2008
Associated Press - March 14, 2008 10:55 PM ET
NEW YORK (AP) - The lawyer for the prostitute linked to the downfall of Gov. Eliot Spitzer lashed out at the media Friday for thrusting the 22-year-old woman into the "public glare" without her consent and publishing revealing photos.
Since her identity was disclosed, newspapers and Web sites have splashed photos of Ashley Alexandra Dupre in suggestive poses on front and inside pages. Dupre was known as "Kristen" in court documents accusing Spitzer of paying thousands for prostitutes' services.
Her attorney, Don D. Buchwald, said she did not consent to the use of her photos in this manner, and the usage may be a violation of federal copyright laws. He said the photos have appeared on commercial Web sites without her consent.
Buchwald stopped short of saying Dupre would sue media outlets, but he contended that she is not a public figure and said he would take "all steps that we deem necessary or appropriate to protect Ms. Dupre from any unwarranted exploitation of her name, picture, voice or likeness for purposes of profit."
He did not specify the publications to which he was referring. The New York Post ran four photos Friday in which Dupre, topless, barely covers her breasts, as well as two other images of her scantily clad. The pictures, credited in the paper to Wesley Mann at Contact Press Images, have become an Internet sensation. The Post had no comment on Buchwald's statement.
The Daily News of New York also published a photo in which Dupre appears to be topless, but it wasn't clear where the image came from. The Daily News did not return calls seeking comment Friday.
Other media outlets, including The New York Times and The Associated Press, published other images that were from Dupre's MySpace page. The AP distributed 3 of those images, in 1 of which she is wearing a bikini, and issued a disclaimer authorizing the use of the photos only with reports or commentary on the Spitzer scandal. The photos were also restricted from commercial sale.
"The Associated Press discussed the photos obtained from the MySpace page in great detail and found that they were newsworthy," said Associated Press National Photo Editor V.W. Vaughan. "We distributed the photos that were relevant to the story. Those photos did not show nudity, nor were they explicit."
The Times did not return calls seeking comment.
Spitzer resigned earlier this week amid the prostitution scandal. The married father of 3 teenage girls was accused of spending tens of thousands of dollars on prostitutes - including a tryst with the call girl "Kristen" in Washington the night before Valentine's Day. Lt. Gov. David Paterson is taking his place Monday.
Buchwald said the montage of Dupre's suggestive photos has nothing to do with the Spitzer story.
"While the circumstances surrounding Governor Spitzer's resignation are newsworthy, some publications, in violation of journalistic norms, have used the occasion of Gov. Spitzer's political misfortunes as an excuse to exploit Ms. Dupre's persona for commercial purposes," he said.
But media interest in Dupre still swirled. Hustler Publisher Larry Flynt told the AP Friday that he had e-mailed Dupre, offering her $1 million to pose nude for his magazine. He said he hadn't heard back.
"It will be something that will very tastefully done," Flynt said of the proposed photo spread, but he added that Dupre would have to appear completely naked and not just topless.
"Hustler readers don't like to compromise," he said. "They want the whole enchilada."
Flynt acknowledged he wasn't sure whether Dupre would accept, adding she is likely being approached with offers from other men's magazines, as well as book publishers and other media.
Media outlets had been camped outside her apartment in Manhattan's Flatiron district for days. A spokesman for her building issued a statement Thursday night saying she was not there and indicated Dupre's fellow tenants - who pay $6,595 for two-bedroom apartments - were fed up with the media circus and curiosity-seekers.
Associated Press writer John Rogers contributed to this report from Los Angeles.
Media Man Australia Profiles
Politics
Men's Magazines
Models
NEW YORK (AP) - The lawyer for the prostitute linked to the downfall of Gov. Eliot Spitzer lashed out at the media Friday for thrusting the 22-year-old woman into the "public glare" without her consent and publishing revealing photos.
Since her identity was disclosed, newspapers and Web sites have splashed photos of Ashley Alexandra Dupre in suggestive poses on front and inside pages. Dupre was known as "Kristen" in court documents accusing Spitzer of paying thousands for prostitutes' services.
Her attorney, Don D. Buchwald, said she did not consent to the use of her photos in this manner, and the usage may be a violation of federal copyright laws. He said the photos have appeared on commercial Web sites without her consent.
Buchwald stopped short of saying Dupre would sue media outlets, but he contended that she is not a public figure and said he would take "all steps that we deem necessary or appropriate to protect Ms. Dupre from any unwarranted exploitation of her name, picture, voice or likeness for purposes of profit."
He did not specify the publications to which he was referring. The New York Post ran four photos Friday in which Dupre, topless, barely covers her breasts, as well as two other images of her scantily clad. The pictures, credited in the paper to Wesley Mann at Contact Press Images, have become an Internet sensation. The Post had no comment on Buchwald's statement.
The Daily News of New York also published a photo in which Dupre appears to be topless, but it wasn't clear where the image came from. The Daily News did not return calls seeking comment Friday.
Other media outlets, including The New York Times and The Associated Press, published other images that were from Dupre's MySpace page. The AP distributed 3 of those images, in 1 of which she is wearing a bikini, and issued a disclaimer authorizing the use of the photos only with reports or commentary on the Spitzer scandal. The photos were also restricted from commercial sale.
"The Associated Press discussed the photos obtained from the MySpace page in great detail and found that they were newsworthy," said Associated Press National Photo Editor V.W. Vaughan. "We distributed the photos that were relevant to the story. Those photos did not show nudity, nor were they explicit."
The Times did not return calls seeking comment.
Spitzer resigned earlier this week amid the prostitution scandal. The married father of 3 teenage girls was accused of spending tens of thousands of dollars on prostitutes - including a tryst with the call girl "Kristen" in Washington the night before Valentine's Day. Lt. Gov. David Paterson is taking his place Monday.
Buchwald said the montage of Dupre's suggestive photos has nothing to do with the Spitzer story.
"While the circumstances surrounding Governor Spitzer's resignation are newsworthy, some publications, in violation of journalistic norms, have used the occasion of Gov. Spitzer's political misfortunes as an excuse to exploit Ms. Dupre's persona for commercial purposes," he said.
But media interest in Dupre still swirled. Hustler Publisher Larry Flynt told the AP Friday that he had e-mailed Dupre, offering her $1 million to pose nude for his magazine. He said he hadn't heard back.
"It will be something that will very tastefully done," Flynt said of the proposed photo spread, but he added that Dupre would have to appear completely naked and not just topless.
"Hustler readers don't like to compromise," he said. "They want the whole enchilada."
Flynt acknowledged he wasn't sure whether Dupre would accept, adding she is likely being approached with offers from other men's magazines, as well as book publishers and other media.
Media outlets had been camped outside her apartment in Manhattan's Flatiron district for days. A spokesman for her building issued a statement Thursday night saying she was not there and indicated Dupre's fellow tenants - who pay $6,595 for two-bedroom apartments - were fed up with the media circus and curiosity-seekers.
Associated Press writer John Rogers contributed to this report from Los Angeles.
Media Man Australia Profiles
Politics
Men's Magazines
Models
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Tuesday, February 05, 2008
Jennifer Hawkins follows Megan Gale to America - Herald Sun - 4th Feb 2008
WHERE Megan goes, Jen will follow.. all the way to America. Supermodel Megan Gale's bound for a US acting career, and now her model rival is heading for New York too.
But Jennifer Hawkins has no intention at this stage of following Gale onto the big screen.
"Megan will be great as Wonder Woman,'' says Hawkins who, in her role as Myer ambassador, is leading a team of Australian designers keen to break into the New York scene.
"It's fantastic for her, but I'm only 24 so I haven't really thought too much about the acting path.
"If I do choose to do something else, I want to be prepared, to study the craft and not just suddenly say: 'I'm an actor.'''
Hawkins will catch up with billionaire Donald Trump, who made her when she won his Miss Universe competition in 2004.
She will kick-start the competitive fashion season and appear at a drinks party at New York's chic Gramercy hotel for a swag of Myer-stocked designers including Jayson Brunsdon, Camilla & Marc, Leona Edmiston, Josh Goot, Donna Karan and Rebecca Taylor.
She won't be taking to the runway, but will be sitting in the front row at Jayson Brunsdon's show next Thursday night.
Celebrities including host Carson Kressley and Elle Macpherson will join the party.Her retail rival and David Jones 'face' Megan Gale is quitting the runway for movies and there is speculation she will be replaced by Miranda Kerr.
That would be fine by Hawkins.
"What she has done with Victoria's Secret is fabulous and let's face it, whoever is chosen to replace Megan, I just hope she's nice,'' she said.
"I don't mind who it is as it really doesn't affect me and my Myer role at all.''
Hawkins is determined to run her own life and over the last year has developed a confidence not often seen in a 24-year old.
"I have fun. I run my life that I love, I have a great boyfriend, family and friends and couldn't wish for anything more at the moment.''
And any more rumours about wedding plans to long-term boyfriend, Jake Wall: "Not all all,'' she says emphatically.
"We are happy as we are and as for wedding plans, I'm only 24 for goodness sake!''
When Hawkins returns to Sydney she will host the autumn/winter launch on February 27 in Sydney before heading to Melbourne for the Myer Fashion Festival.
But Jennifer Hawkins has no intention at this stage of following Gale onto the big screen.
"Megan will be great as Wonder Woman,'' says Hawkins who, in her role as Myer ambassador, is leading a team of Australian designers keen to break into the New York scene.
"It's fantastic for her, but I'm only 24 so I haven't really thought too much about the acting path.
"If I do choose to do something else, I want to be prepared, to study the craft and not just suddenly say: 'I'm an actor.'''
Hawkins will catch up with billionaire Donald Trump, who made her when she won his Miss Universe competition in 2004.
She will kick-start the competitive fashion season and appear at a drinks party at New York's chic Gramercy hotel for a swag of Myer-stocked designers including Jayson Brunsdon, Camilla & Marc, Leona Edmiston, Josh Goot, Donna Karan and Rebecca Taylor.
She won't be taking to the runway, but will be sitting in the front row at Jayson Brunsdon's show next Thursday night.
Celebrities including host Carson Kressley and Elle Macpherson will join the party.Her retail rival and David Jones 'face' Megan Gale is quitting the runway for movies and there is speculation she will be replaced by Miranda Kerr.
That would be fine by Hawkins.
"What she has done with Victoria's Secret is fabulous and let's face it, whoever is chosen to replace Megan, I just hope she's nice,'' she said.
"I don't mind who it is as it really doesn't affect me and my Myer role at all.''
Hawkins is determined to run her own life and over the last year has developed a confidence not often seen in a 24-year old.
"I have fun. I run my life that I love, I have a great boyfriend, family and friends and couldn't wish for anything more at the moment.''
And any more rumours about wedding plans to long-term boyfriend, Jake Wall: "Not all all,'' she says emphatically.
"We are happy as we are and as for wedding plans, I'm only 24 for goodness sake!''
When Hawkins returns to Sydney she will host the autumn/winter launch on February 27 in Sydney before heading to Melbourne for the Myer Fashion Festival.
Dey's day on the way - St George & Sutherland Shire Leader - 5th February 2008
STEPHANIE Dey could soon grace the cover of Inside Sport magazine.
The aspiring Cronulla model became a finalist in the national model search by winning a regional heat at the Intersection Hotel, Ramsgate last November.
Stephanie hails from Perth but said she has called the beachside suburb home for the past two years.
The 24-year-old brunette has won several modelling competitions and runs a personal training business.
The Inside Sport model search competition was launched 10 years ago.
If she wins, Stephanie will follow Aussie beauties Jodhi Meares and Megan Gale to the Inside Sport cover and receive $20,000 in cash and prizes.
The winner will be announced in March.
Media Man Australia Profiles
Fashion
The aspiring Cronulla model became a finalist in the national model search by winning a regional heat at the Intersection Hotel, Ramsgate last November.
Stephanie hails from Perth but said she has called the beachside suburb home for the past two years.
The 24-year-old brunette has won several modelling competitions and runs a personal training business.
The Inside Sport model search competition was launched 10 years ago.
If she wins, Stephanie will follow Aussie beauties Jodhi Meares and Megan Gale to the Inside Sport cover and receive $20,000 in cash and prizes.
The winner will be announced in March.
Media Man Australia Profiles
Fashion
Monday, January 07, 2008
'I'm no fan of Tara's' - Jaime - The Daily Telegraph - 6th January 2008
PARIS Hilton turned her heal on a deal to spruik her shoe label last year but Jaime Wright is hoping she will be a shoe-in when she moves to the US this year.
The Bondi Blonde babe plans to head off for six months in June.
"I want to get into one big store like Sacks or Bloomingdale," she said. "I've already had a few yes's from boutiques."
Wright will head over to La La land next month to check out her soon-to-be 'hood and fulfil commitments to fashion week there before returning to Sydney for a few months to pack up her things.
The red carpet regular is also on the lookout for presenting roles and an acting gig if the right one comes along.
"I don't claim to be a major actress," she said. "I'd like to play an evil vampire . . . or a Scary Movie Sophie Monk-type role."
The 26-year-old returned to Adelaide on the weekend, where she managed to attend her second cousin's 21st and her 10-year high school reunion on Saturday night.
Getting to know Hilton and Bra Boy Koby Abberton at the launch of John Singleton's beer at Bondi Icebergs' last New Year's Day has given her plenty of kudos among her old school chums.
She was voted "most successful" by her mates from Murray Bridge High School.
Wright also hosed down rumours American Pie actress Tara Reid would be the face of her label.
"I had my picture taken with her . . . (but) I'm not a fan," she said.
"I never really wanted anyone to be the face."
Strange, given what her publicist in December, after Jaime and Tara caught up for cocktails:
"Tara was very open to it and we are planning a meeting with her on Wednesday before she leaves Australia."
Media Man Australia Profiles
Tuesday, January 01, 2008
The 2008 fashion forecast - The Sydney Morning Herald - 19th December 2007
We've consulted with the gurus and the verdict is in: the storm of froth and frills has subsided; in it's wake is the cool, fresh look of glammed-up mod minimalism and tailored shabby chic. Read on for our full fashion forecast for 2008.
What the fashion editor thinks:
Fashion Editor at InStyle magazine Clementine O'Hara:
What we'll be wearing:
- Black and white and grey, with one really strong vibrant hit of colour like pink, purple, green, blue or yellow.
- References to the 1920s, with luxe beading and old style glamour
- Shift dresses
- "Mod squad" black, white and red graphic shapes.
- Flat, patent boots
- Ballet flats
- Patent leather accessories
- High-waisted, wide leg jeans and trousers
- Bohemian glamour
- Bangles
- Pendants
- New minimalism, a lot of black and white basic, geometric shapes.
- Black cropped trousers, worn with a plain white T-shirt.
Must haves:
- Cropped black leather jacket
- Ankle boots
- Statement chunky knits
- Patent leather accessories
- Black berets
Celebrity style to watch:
- Kate Moss
- Katie Holmes
Australian fashion houses on the rise:
- Willow
- Ginger and Smart
- Marnie Skillings
What the designer thinks:
Australian designer Alex Perry:
What we'll be wearing:
- Really high wasted pants and skirts
- Sleek, tailored shapes
- Pencil skirts
- Fitted dresses and a return to "body-skimming" gowns.
- Use of georgette and silk fabrics
- Metallic accessories
- European-style accessories like tote bags.
What we won't be wearing:
- Bumster jeans - "I'd be happy to see the rear end of that."
- "Sack" dresses
Celebrity style to watch in 2008:
- Megan Gale
- Rihanna
- Gwen Stefani - "the new Madonna"
- Christina Aguilera
- Nelly Furtado
- Beyonce
- Cate Blanchett
- Keira Knightley and Jessica Alba - " the new Hollywood glamour girls".
Media Man Australia Profiles
Exclusive: The Real Story Behind the Nancy Benoit Photos for Hustler Magazine, by Anna Elizabeth Anderson - The National Ledger - 31st December 2007
In an exclusive interview published on Monday by Wrestling News Desk.Com the editors of Larry Flynt's controversial Hustler Magazine gave new details on the nude photos of the late Nancy Benoit that will be revealed in the magazine's upcoming edition.
At first, Larry Flynt Publications did not want to discuss the pictures on the record with anyone from the press. Calls to Mr. Flynt's offices, the executive offices, and editorial guru Bruce David's offices were all met with resistance.
"This is a different situation for Hustler, which usually thrives on controversy and being tasteless," Wrestling News Desk.Com editor Matthew Cooper stated, "This is not just outing a celebrity with a secret past. These are pictures that are almost 25 years old, of a woman who had the originals destroyed. This is also a woman who left the spotlight behind and became a full-time Mom, only to be murdered alongside her 7-year-old by her world famous husband."
In the exclusive interview with Hustler's editorial staff, Cooper was told the photos, which will appear in the Hustler issue to be released nationally on January 8th, were "taken over 20 years ago by radio disc jockey Mark Samansky."
Samansky was a hot radio dj at Rock 100 WDIZ in Orlando, Florida from 1983-1992, working the 5:30 - 10:00 am shift with Alan Baxter. The duo were billed as Baxter and Mark, and had a big following.
Apparently, Nancy was considering going into a different field other than wrestling. During the time period that Nancy was married to her 1st husband Jim Daus, Hustler claims "the photos were intended to springboard Nancy into the world of adult modeling. But before the photos could be sent anywhere, Nancy met and married wrestler Kevin Sullivan, beginning her life as a wrestling personality. While the original print negatives were destroyed at Nancy’s behest, the video survived."
Nancy Toffoloni Daus Sullivan Benoit was a major sex symbol in the wrestling world. She was known as "Woman" in Ted Turner's WCW and Paul Heyman's original Extreme Championship Wrestling promotions, where she managed such wrestling stars as Nature Boy Ric Flair, The 4 Horsemen, and The Sandman. But before she was known as Woman, she was as known as The Fallen Angel, a sadomasochistic sex kitten beholden to Kevin Sullivan's implied Satantic Cult in the now-defunct Championship Wrestling From Florida promotion. Sullivan wrote all the storylines and characters on the show, and Nancy's exposure and popularity was widespread. Because she was such a popular subject of the multitude of wrestling magazines, she sold a series of THE PRIVATE PHOTOS OF FALLEN ANGEL risque pictures through wrestling magazine ads in 1986. Those photos and more are here.
Way before Sunny and Sable and Trish Stratus were the pioneers of the beautiful women in World Wrestling Entertainment, Nancy was a non-wrestler with a huge fan base. A smart marketer, she knew there was a huge audience for pictures of her in various stages of undress. "She was a very smart marketer," Cooper stated, "she was really ahead of her time."
On June 25, 2007, authorities in Fayetteville, Georgia discovered a horrific scene at the home of Chris and Nancy Benoit. Investigators pieced together that over the course of the weekend that had just ended, professional wrestler Chris Benoit, who married Nancy after she divorced Kevin Sullivan, murdered Nancy and their 7-year-old son Daniel, before taking his own life.
While speculation is rampant, including lurid tales of steroid abuse and a blind eye turned by WWE towards Benoit's apparantly damaged brain due to the number of concussions he suffered from wrestling, no one has ever been able to decisively figure out what drove Benoit to the double murder suicide.
Media Man Australia Profiles
Wrestling
Fashion
At first, Larry Flynt Publications did not want to discuss the pictures on the record with anyone from the press. Calls to Mr. Flynt's offices, the executive offices, and editorial guru Bruce David's offices were all met with resistance.
"This is a different situation for Hustler, which usually thrives on controversy and being tasteless," Wrestling News Desk.Com editor Matthew Cooper stated, "This is not just outing a celebrity with a secret past. These are pictures that are almost 25 years old, of a woman who had the originals destroyed. This is also a woman who left the spotlight behind and became a full-time Mom, only to be murdered alongside her 7-year-old by her world famous husband."
In the exclusive interview with Hustler's editorial staff, Cooper was told the photos, which will appear in the Hustler issue to be released nationally on January 8th, were "taken over 20 years ago by radio disc jockey Mark Samansky."
Samansky was a hot radio dj at Rock 100 WDIZ in Orlando, Florida from 1983-1992, working the 5:30 - 10:00 am shift with Alan Baxter. The duo were billed as Baxter and Mark, and had a big following.
Apparently, Nancy was considering going into a different field other than wrestling. During the time period that Nancy was married to her 1st husband Jim Daus, Hustler claims "the photos were intended to springboard Nancy into the world of adult modeling. But before the photos could be sent anywhere, Nancy met and married wrestler Kevin Sullivan, beginning her life as a wrestling personality. While the original print negatives were destroyed at Nancy’s behest, the video survived."
Nancy Toffoloni Daus Sullivan Benoit was a major sex symbol in the wrestling world. She was known as "Woman" in Ted Turner's WCW and Paul Heyman's original Extreme Championship Wrestling promotions, where she managed such wrestling stars as Nature Boy Ric Flair, The 4 Horsemen, and The Sandman. But before she was known as Woman, she was as known as The Fallen Angel, a sadomasochistic sex kitten beholden to Kevin Sullivan's implied Satantic Cult in the now-defunct Championship Wrestling From Florida promotion. Sullivan wrote all the storylines and characters on the show, and Nancy's exposure and popularity was widespread. Because she was such a popular subject of the multitude of wrestling magazines, she sold a series of THE PRIVATE PHOTOS OF FALLEN ANGEL risque pictures through wrestling magazine ads in 1986. Those photos and more are here.
Way before Sunny and Sable and Trish Stratus were the pioneers of the beautiful women in World Wrestling Entertainment, Nancy was a non-wrestler with a huge fan base. A smart marketer, she knew there was a huge audience for pictures of her in various stages of undress. "She was a very smart marketer," Cooper stated, "she was really ahead of her time."
On June 25, 2007, authorities in Fayetteville, Georgia discovered a horrific scene at the home of Chris and Nancy Benoit. Investigators pieced together that over the course of the weekend that had just ended, professional wrestler Chris Benoit, who married Nancy after she divorced Kevin Sullivan, murdered Nancy and their 7-year-old son Daniel, before taking his own life.
While speculation is rampant, including lurid tales of steroid abuse and a blind eye turned by WWE towards Benoit's apparantly damaged brain due to the number of concussions he suffered from wrestling, no one has ever been able to decisively figure out what drove Benoit to the double murder suicide.
Media Man Australia Profiles
Wrestling
Fashion
Saturday, October 27, 2007
Australia's Next Top Model - Press Release - 25th October 2007
Media Release:
Thursday, October 25, 2007
WHERE IS AUSTRALIA’S NEXT TOP MODEL?
Nationwide Audition Tour Begins
The FOXTEL search is about to begin for AUSTRALIA’S NEXT TOP MODEL, with a nationwide audition tour starting on October 31 to select the finalists who will star in the fourth series of the exclusive FOX8 hit reality program.
Hosted by Jodhi Meares, AUSTRALIA’S NEXT TOP MODEL follows the transformation of young women into potential supermodels as they are initiated into the high-stakes world of modelling.
Auditions will be held from October 31, beginning on the Gold Coast and then onto Sydney, Perth, Melbourne and Adelaide.
Girls who think they’ve got what it takes can simply turn up on the day of auditions and strut their stuff in front of the judges.
Entrants must be Australian females aged between 16 and 27 and over 170cm tall.
Last years winner Alice Burdeu, graced the cover of VOGUE and has since been signed to \nNew York’s \nElite Model Management, who also represent Nelly Furtado, Carmen Electra and hot new face Coco Rocha.
Following the nationwide audition process, 13 finalists will be chosen to live together in the top model house and star in the next series of AUSTRALIA’S NEXT TOP MODEL, premiering on FOX8 in early 2008.
Auditions will be held from October 31, beginning on the Gold Coast and then onto Sydney, Perth, Melbourne and Adelaide.
Girls who think they’ve got what it takes can simply turn up on the day of auditions and strut their stuff in front of the judges.
Entrants must be Australian females aged between 16 and 27 and over 170cm tall.
Last years winner Alice Burdeu, graced the cover of VOGUE and has since been signed to New York’s Elite Model Management, who also represent Nelly Furtado, Carmen Electra and hot new face Coco Rocha.
Following the nationwide audition process, 13 finalists will be chosen to live together in the top model house and star in the next series of AUSTRALIA’S NEXT TOP MODEL, premiering on FOX8 in early 2008.
Wednesday October 31: 10am-2pm
Restaurant – Level 3
The Park Terrace – Level 7
Auditions will be held in David Jones stores around the country on the following dates:
GOLD COAST
Wednesday October 31: 10am-2pm
David Jones Robina Town Centre
Restaurant – Level 3
Centre Drive, Robina
SYDNEY
Thursday November 1: 10am-2pm
David Jones Elizabeth Street
The Park Terrace – Level 7
SYDNEY
86-108 Castlereagh St, Sydney
SYDNEY
Friday November 2: 10am-2pm
David Jones Warringah Mall
Restaurant - Level 1
Pittwater Rd and Cross St, Brookvale
PERTH
Monday November 5: 10am-2pm
David Jones Hay St
Restaurant - Level 4
MELBOURNE
David Jones Bourke St MELBOURNE
Wednesday November 14: David Jones Chadstone 622 Hay St, Perth
MELBOURNE
Tuesday November 13: 10am-2pm
David Jones Bourke St Mall
The Gallery - Level 3
310 Bourke St, Melbourne
MELBOURNE
Wednesday November 14: 10am-2pm
David Jones Chadstone
Restaurant Air – Level 1
Princes Highway, Chadstone
ADELAIDE
Thursday November 15: 10am-2pm
Richmond Hotel – Level 2
128 Rundle Mall, Adelaide
Further information visit www.FOX8.tv/antm
Fiona Rae
FOXTEL Publicity
02 9813 7397 / 0400 457 398
fiona.rae@foxtel.com.au
ABOUT FOX8
For non-stop entertainment, pleasure seekers across Australia look no further than FOX8. With exclusive series, event television, the hottest international shows and local productions, FOX8 delivers it all, 24 hours a day and has your entertainment needs covered. From ‘the sizzling reality of ‘AUSTRALIA’S’ & ‘AMERICA’S NEXT TOP MODEL’, add ‘PRISON BREAK’, ‘BONES’, ‘WWE RAW’, ‘WWE SMACKDOWN!’, ‘FUTURAMA’, ‘THAT ‘70s SHOW’ & of course, ‘THE SIMPSONS’ and you’ve got 100% high velocity TV. Drama, Comedy, Reality and Action... It’s all here on FOX8!
FOX8 is available on the FOXTEL, AUSTAR and OPTUS TV platforms.
About FOXTEL
FOXTEL is Australia's leading subscription television provider and \nis connected to more than 1.443 million homes on cable and satellite through \nretail and wholesale distribution. FOXTEL provides subscribers with a digital service that delivers over 100 channels of news, sport, general entertainment, movies, documentaries, music and children’s programming. FOXTEL is owned by Telstra Corporation Ltd (50%), The News Corporation Ltd (25%), and Publishing and Broadcasting Ltd
FOX8 is available on the FOXTEL, AUSTAR and OPTUS TV platforms.
About FOXTEL
FOXTEL is Australia's leading subscription television provider and is connected to more than 1.443 million homes on cable and satellite through retail and wholesale distribution. FOXTEL provides subscribers with a digital service that delivers over 100 channels of news, sport, general entertainment, movies, documentaries, music and children’s programming. FOXTEL is owned by Telstra Corporation Ltd (50%), The News Corporation Ltd (25%), and Publishing and Broadcasting Ltd (25%).
Thursday, October 25, 2007
WHERE IS AUSTRALIA’S NEXT TOP MODEL?
Nationwide Audition Tour Begins
The FOXTEL search is about to begin for AUSTRALIA’S NEXT TOP MODEL, with a nationwide audition tour starting on October 31 to select the finalists who will star in the fourth series of the exclusive FOX8 hit reality program.
Hosted by Jodhi Meares, AUSTRALIA’S NEXT TOP MODEL follows the transformation of young women into potential supermodels as they are initiated into the high-stakes world of modelling.
Auditions will be held from October 31, beginning on the Gold Coast and then onto Sydney, Perth, Melbourne and Adelaide.
Girls who think they’ve got what it takes can simply turn up on the day of auditions and strut their stuff in front of the judges.
Entrants must be Australian females aged between 16 and 27 and over 170cm tall.
Last years winner Alice Burdeu, graced the cover of VOGUE and has since been signed to \nNew York’s \nElite Model Management, who also represent Nelly Furtado, Carmen Electra and hot new face Coco Rocha.
Following the nationwide audition process, 13 finalists will be chosen to live together in the top model house and star in the next series of AUSTRALIA’S NEXT TOP MODEL, premiering on FOX8 in early 2008.
Auditions will be held from October 31, beginning on the Gold Coast and then onto Sydney, Perth, Melbourne and Adelaide.
Girls who think they’ve got what it takes can simply turn up on the day of auditions and strut their stuff in front of the judges.
Entrants must be Australian females aged between 16 and 27 and over 170cm tall.
Last years winner Alice Burdeu, graced the cover of VOGUE and has since been signed to New York’s Elite Model Management, who also represent Nelly Furtado, Carmen Electra and hot new face Coco Rocha.
Following the nationwide audition process, 13 finalists will be chosen to live together in the top model house and star in the next series of AUSTRALIA’S NEXT TOP MODEL, premiering on FOX8 in early 2008.
Wednesday October 31: 10am-2pm
Restaurant – Level 3
The Park Terrace – Level 7
Auditions will be held in David Jones stores around the country on the following dates:
GOLD COAST
Wednesday October 31: 10am-2pm
David Jones Robina Town Centre
Restaurant – Level 3
Centre Drive, Robina
SYDNEY
Thursday November 1: 10am-2pm
David Jones Elizabeth Street
The Park Terrace – Level 7
SYDNEY
86-108 Castlereagh St, Sydney
SYDNEY
Friday November 2: 10am-2pm
David Jones Warringah Mall
Restaurant - Level 1
Pittwater Rd and Cross St, Brookvale
PERTH
Monday November 5: 10am-2pm
David Jones Hay St
Restaurant - Level 4
MELBOURNE
David Jones Bourke St MELBOURNE
Wednesday November 14: David Jones Chadstone 622 Hay St, Perth
MELBOURNE
Tuesday November 13: 10am-2pm
David Jones Bourke St Mall
The Gallery - Level 3
310 Bourke St, Melbourne
MELBOURNE
Wednesday November 14: 10am-2pm
David Jones Chadstone
Restaurant Air – Level 1
Princes Highway, Chadstone
ADELAIDE
Thursday November 15: 10am-2pm
Richmond Hotel – Level 2
128 Rundle Mall, Adelaide
Further information visit www.FOX8.tv/antm
Fiona Rae
FOXTEL Publicity
02 9813 7397 / 0400 457 398
fiona.rae@foxtel.com.au
ABOUT FOX8
For non-stop entertainment, pleasure seekers across Australia look no further than FOX8. With exclusive series, event television, the hottest international shows and local productions, FOX8 delivers it all, 24 hours a day and has your entertainment needs covered. From ‘the sizzling reality of ‘AUSTRALIA’S’ & ‘AMERICA’S NEXT TOP MODEL’, add ‘PRISON BREAK’, ‘BONES’, ‘WWE RAW’, ‘WWE SMACKDOWN!’, ‘FUTURAMA’, ‘THAT ‘70s SHOW’ & of course, ‘THE SIMPSONS’ and you’ve got 100% high velocity TV. Drama, Comedy, Reality and Action... It’s all here on FOX8!
FOX8 is available on the FOXTEL, AUSTAR and OPTUS TV platforms.
About FOXTEL
FOXTEL is Australia's leading subscription television provider and \nis connected to more than 1.443 million homes on cable and satellite through \nretail and wholesale distribution. FOXTEL provides subscribers with a digital service that delivers over 100 channels of news, sport, general entertainment, movies, documentaries, music and children’s programming. FOXTEL is owned by Telstra Corporation Ltd (50%), The News Corporation Ltd (25%), and Publishing and Broadcasting Ltd
FOX8 is available on the FOXTEL, AUSTAR and OPTUS TV platforms.
About FOXTEL
FOXTEL is Australia's leading subscription television provider and is connected to more than 1.443 million homes on cable and satellite through retail and wholesale distribution. FOXTEL provides subscribers with a digital service that delivers over 100 channels of news, sport, general entertainment, movies, documentaries, music and children’s programming. FOXTEL is owned by Telstra Corporation Ltd (50%), The News Corporation Ltd (25%), and Publishing and Broadcasting Ltd (25%).
Friday, May 18, 2007
Jennifer Hawkins' secret past - Woman's Day - 21st May 2007
Jennifer Hawkins' secret past
The truth behind her $6million makeover!She's one of Australia's most successful models, an A-list celebrity, a TV presenter and the face of Myer. But Jennifer Hawkins never expected her life to become such a fairytale. In fact, she almost ended up an anonymous legal secretary, making a bit of extra cash by cheerleading at weekends for the Newcastle Knights Rugby League team.
She's a multimillionairess now, but life wasn't always so glamorous for the former Miss Universe. She once struggled to scrape together enough work to pay the rent on a tiny apartment in Bondi, and she came close to giving up on her modeling dream before her sudden and unexpected rise to fame after winning the title of Miss Universe 2004.
See this week's issue of Woman's Day (on-sale May 14) for all the details about her secret past, plus shock photos from before she was famous.
Credit: ACP Magazines - Woman's Day
The truth behind her $6million makeover!She's one of Australia's most successful models, an A-list celebrity, a TV presenter and the face of Myer. But Jennifer Hawkins never expected her life to become such a fairytale. In fact, she almost ended up an anonymous legal secretary, making a bit of extra cash by cheerleading at weekends for the Newcastle Knights Rugby League team.
She's a multimillionairess now, but life wasn't always so glamorous for the former Miss Universe. She once struggled to scrape together enough work to pay the rent on a tiny apartment in Bondi, and she came close to giving up on her modeling dream before her sudden and unexpected rise to fame after winning the title of Miss Universe 2004.
See this week's issue of Woman's Day (on-sale May 14) for all the details about her secret past, plus shock photos from before she was famous.
Credit: ACP Magazines - Woman's Day
Friday, March 09, 2007
Cosmopolitan Magazine - Arina Manta coming up
Arina Manta, Miss Fitness, will soon be appearing in ACP Magazine's Cosmo Magazine. Thanks to Flavia Fayet and Tamara Vahn for research assistance, fact checking and the like.
Jac Bowie has a habit of getting the most gorgeous goddesses into some of the fab parties we are invited to. Got to love burlesque beauties.
Media Man Australia Fashion Profile updated. FHM showcase Zoo Weekly Inside Sport
Media and Entertainment Babes
Jac Bowie has a habit of getting the most gorgeous goddesses into some of the fab parties we are invited to. Got to love burlesque beauties.
Media Man Australia Fashion Profile updated. FHM showcase Zoo Weekly Inside Sport
Media and Entertainment Babes
Sunday, February 26, 2006
Welcome to Models Media Blog
Models Media compliments the modelling related business of Media Man Australia.
Over the past 2 years we have been building the modelling art of our business, we we feel it's time that we have a dedicated blog for the models.
A good overview of our work can be located at:
Models, Modelling, Brands and Fashion and The Media and
Media and Entertainment Babes
We look forward to providing you, the reader, with more modeling related news via this blog and via the Media Man Australia website. Thanks.
Best Regards
Greg Tingle
Director
Media Man Australia
e: greg@mediaman.com.au
e: models@mediaman.com.au
w: www.mediaman.com.au
Over the past 2 years we have been building the modelling art of our business, we we feel it's time that we have a dedicated blog for the models.
A good overview of our work can be located at:
Models, Modelling, Brands and Fashion and The Media and
Media and Entertainment Babes
We look forward to providing you, the reader, with more modeling related news via this blog and via the Media Man Australia website. Thanks.
Best Regards
Greg Tingle
Director
Media Man Australia
e: greg@mediaman.com.au
e: models@mediaman.com.au
w: www.mediaman.com.au
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