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MARCH 2015 focusmag.us
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THE AMAZING RACE CASTING DIRECTOR
LYNNE SPILLMAN TELEVISON NEWS PIONEER
JOEL TATOR FILM ON FOCUS TV HOST
NIKKI JOEL
KTTV FOX 11 NEWS HOST
LAUREN SIVAN
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AUTHOR & ON-CAMERA EXPERT
TRACY O’CONNOR
BEVERLY HILLS PAWN STAR
YOSSI DINA
LISA MANSFIELD
Realtor, NRT’s Top 1,000 Sales Associates
310.481.4313
lisa.mansfield@sothebyshomes.com www.lisamansfield.com
Operated by Sotheby’s International Realty, Inc.
BRENTWOOD BROKERAGE | 11911 SAN VICENTE BLVD SUITE 200 | LOS ANGELES | CA 90049
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TESTIMONIAL “...thank you for being such an amazing agent, for loving what you do, for getting such awesome results, for being so amazingly sensitive to the needs of my family and children, and for being such a loyal and dependable friend throughout. I’d never buy or sell a home through anyone else, and I wouldn’t let any of my friends either (it’s too funny that all of my new neighbors know you, mostly because you sold them their homes).” – Rachel B.
DID YOU KNOW…? “Based on Freddie Mac’s weekly mortgage survey as of January 22, 2015… the 30-year fixed rate averaged 3.63% and the 15-year fixed rate averaged 2.93%. The low interest rates we are currently experiencing are not going to stay around forever. … Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae, NAR and the Mortgage Bankers Association all agree… interest rates will increase to between 4.3-5.4% by the end of 2015. (The KCM Crew)
…CALL ME TO DISCUSS! DIRECT: 310.481.4313 FOR SALE!!! FOR SALE!!!
LISA MANSFIELD
FOR SALE!!!
11401 11420 802 11863 1270 1433 11363 11351 11374 11350 4031 Hayvenhurst Ave. Encino-S. of Ventura Blvd. Redone 4 Beds+4 Baths+Pool Large Flat Lot, Pool House HayvenhurstAve.com Asking Price: $1,849,000
CELL: 310.993.2303 WHAT’S NEW...!
Hayvenhurst Ave *For Sale!!! Waterford St. *For Lease!!! Washington Ave. *For Lease!!! Texas Ave. #101 *In Escrow!!! Granville Ave. #2 *In Escrow!!! Barry Ave. #105 *Just Sold!!! Waterford St. *Just Sold!!! Albata St. *Just Sold!!! Homedale St. *Just Sold!!! Joffre St. *Just Leased!!!
Contact me to hear about my upcoming listings! – Lisa
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News Savant
Beverly Hills Pawn
Televisionary
Man of Principle
Lauren Sivan takes the job of news reporting seriously, as she co-hosts the evening slot at KTTV Studio 11 LA.
Yossi Dina stars in a reality TV show about the million dollar celebrity items in his Beverly Hills Pawn shop.
Director Joel Tator experienced the early days of TV news in LA and has written the definitive book on it.
Carter Paysinger was student, athletics coach, and is now the principal of Beverly Hills High School.
Mash Up
Only Cosmetic
Maggie Szabo
Nikki Joel
Eden Sassoon co-hosts a hair stylists press event to benefit the Thirst Project.
Dr Gerald Minniti, one of the finest cosmetic plastic surgeons, talks about his craft at his practice in Beverly Hills.
Songstress Maggie Szabo recorded live at the Hotel Cafe in February 2015.
Nikki Joel is host of Focus TV for Film On.
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Eden Sassoon discusses Life and Loss in a candid interview for us.
Samara Wolpe wins The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Man & Woman of the Year on June, 1, 2014
Co-host of Dr Drew On Call and host of Pop Trigger on Hulu, Samantha Schacher’s ‘Day In A Life’.
Light Watkins talks about and signs his new book The Inner Gym.
Golden Girl
Vegas in Hollywood
Dating Naked
Women Like Us
Jesse Golden talks about how she was suddenly struck down with arthritis when she was still in her twenties.
Vegas showman, Matt Goss, in Hollywood for one night to raise awareness for children’s charity, Both Ends Burning.
Reality show star Kristen Williams talks about why she went naked on national TV.
Catt Sadler and Linda Rendleman are on a mission to empower women, through the Women Like Us Foundation.
CONTRIBUTORS
Tanya Memme Tanya enjoys inspiring others to make a house a home, through her DIY projects – exploring the latest trends in home fashions and sharing the hottest products for the home. She hosted two Emmy-nominated TV shows for 13 seasons. tanyamemme.com
4 FOCUS | M A R C H 2 0 1 5
Dana Adams Dana Adams has spent her life working on both sides of the lens. With a few international campaigns running, Adams continues to push the front end of the lens. However, dubbed as a “Photographic Life Coach” her true passion resides in transforming Models into Role Models on the back end. loveinlalaland.com
Danielle Cuccio Danielle is a celebrity private yoga instructor, and offers private yoga sessions customized to your individual needs. Cuccio Yoga Somatology Private Yoga • Retreats • Workshops cucciosomatology.com
Tritia Le Tritia studied television & film at CSULA. She is pursuing on-camera hosting, in addition to her 10 yrs of working in real estate. She is a proud mother of two sons. Her volunteering efforts include the American Red Cross & the Unlikely Heroes. TritiaLe@yahoo.com
Julia Conley Julia is a model and an advocate for being a lady and acting with class and integrity. juliaannconley.com
Anne Stedman Herwick Anne is currently in the film The Blackout and just finished shooting Goner which is out later this year. She also has a Virgin campaign out now with Jane Lynch in Australia. You can check out her new blog posts every week on Chic Mama L.A. chicmamala.com
Sally Colon-Petree Actress, singer and TV host, Sally and her husband, Stephen, started a production company called Dream On Productions. Her documentary ‘Women Like Us’ is set to be released in Spring 2015. dreamonprod.com
Kim Cahn Kim Cahn left her television producer job to be a full time mom to Olive (5) and Buster (1). She writes about their family activities on her blog. andrewjr.com
Michele Kilmer Michele Kilmer is a California Native, whose works have appeared in The Campanil, Where Nothing Happens: The Best of Henry Miller Library, Scheherazde, Anamnesis. She currently lives in Oakland. emmwhykay@gmail.com
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NOTE FROM THE TEAM
Editor Andrew Waldman andy@focusmag.us
We timed this issue well, since it has an OnCamera theme, and we are also preparing to broadcast Focus TV on the FilmOn network.
Focus TV Editor/Host Nikki Joel Staff Writer Felicia Waldman Staff Photographer Dana Adams Staff Videographer Sally Colon-Petree Publisher + Creative Director Mark Castellino mark@focusmag.us Copyright 2015 by Focus Media Agency. Focus (ISSN 2328-1359) is published 10 times per year. Please do not to reproduce any of the content without permission. Subscription and distribution inquiries: promo@focusmag.us
ISSUE 16 Cover photo: Ben Shani Benshaniphotography.com instagram.com/benshaniphotos
There are stories from the casting agent of Survivor, a Fox 11 newscaster, a TV commentator on legal matters and several people who worked in broadcast. We were fortunate to talk to Joel Tator, who experienced the first days of television news. He has wonderful stories about how the television newscasters who are now household names, started in the business. Filming these intriguing stories led us to increase the exposure of the magazine format to mobile applications and you can now see our stories broadcast through Focus TV on Film On. Film On network can be accessed via Roku, Ipad, Iphone and Android as well as your desktop, simply by going to filmon.com. We hope you enjoy the stories in this month’s issue and that you watch them online as well. Happy reading (and viewing)! The Focus Team
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Meet your new addiction. One taste and you’ll understand why. The LA based Art of Caramel artists are taking your favorite childhood treat to a whole new level with three mouthwatering flavors; Vanilla Bean Cocoa Nib, Orange Cognac Kiss and Kentucky Bourbon Black Pepper. The sophisticated treat is available in glass containers and stunning gift sets. Available in specialty gourmet stores and online. theartofcaramel.com
Too busy or lazy for the gym? Try Handstand, one of LA’s top fitness apps! You can sort and book the best LA trainers and instructors to come to you – any time and any place. No more traffic or membership fees! Available on iOS & Android. handstandapp.com
The Golden Secrets Oil is an organic, essential blend that may entice romance. Based on Roman Folklore to cultivate love, abundance, and strength. This synergy will adapt to your own pheromones, creating your own individual, secret scent. All oils are handmade and created by Jesse Golden. thegoldensecretsoil.com
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Soul Rx is an eco casual lifestyle brand. Comfortably sophisticated, the collection is designed to take you from lounge to travel to sunday brunch and anywhere in between. Our core belief is that your personal style can reflect the dynamic role you play without sacrificing style or environment. Soul Rx gives 5% of gross sales to benefit mental health and is proudly made in Los Angeles. soulrxapparel.com
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focusmag.us 7
PEOPLE SHOPPING
Lynne Spillman, Casting Director for The Amazing Race and Survivor, talks about her experiences in reality television, and gives tips on how to be picked for the shows.
How did you become a casting director? I got very lucky! I was in
the right place at the right time, with just enough work experience and confidence to know that I would be good at finding people, who would make good TV. I was in sales since I was 15 years old, the first television show that I worked on was not even on the air yet. It was in the early development stages. I had to find 50 people, three nights a week to drive deep into Burbank for “run throughs” as the producers and writers worked out a new dating show for MTV. Since I was doing most of my recruiting in Santa Monica and Westwood, that was not easy. I worked on MTV’s “Singled Out” and various other dating shows for four years before landing at CBS.
How many people are involved in the casting process?
For Survivor, there are 5 permanent casting producers, coordinators and an editor who work full time during the casting 8 FOCUS | M A R C H 2 0 1 5
seasons. There are many other production assistants and recruiters at different parts of the cycle. Mark Burnett, Jeff Probst and all of the shows producers have a big part in casting as well. CBS is ultimately who has to sign off on the cast, so the executives there are involved almost daily. We have doctors for screening and lawyers who help out with contracts. It’s a big collaborative process that keeps evolving over the years. We are constantly looking for tweaks and improvements. Which shows do you cast for and how long have you been doing it? I’ve been casting Survivor for 15 years (since season one). I also
cast the Amazing Race. I’ve been the casting director for that show for about 14 years, since season one. I’ve been in the business of casting “real people” since the day I moved to LA (well, a week in) – so I’ve been “people shopping” for almost 20 years.
PEOPLE SHOPPING | 03/2015
What are some of the important characteristics that makes someone an ideal candidate to be cast?
They have to have no filters, meaning they have to be comfortable in their own skin and not care what others think of them. We look for people who really want to win! They need to know the show. We are on high alert for people who are wanting to do it for the fame, and not the win or the experience of really getting into it.
Once a person is cast, do you have any further contact with them prior to the show airing or after the show is over in person or by correspondence?
I do keep in touch with almost all of the people who have played, not on a weekly basis, but I try to stay up to date on what’s going on with them. It could just be through Facebook – or another casting person will update me. I consider all of them friends. I have received very nice letters from many of them over the years. They usually make my day when I get good feedback about their experiences. Are you close with any casting directors from other shows?
Lynne Spillman with The Amazing Race host Phil Keoghan. The show has won 10 Emmys.
People are surprised when I say that we are not looking for the most athletic or well traveled person. Survivor, especially has always been a social experiment. What makes it work is that everyone comes in with different life experiences and baggage, yet they are all equals once they hit the beaches. On The Amazing Race, if couples have already traveled the world together, they’ve already had the experience, they know how it’s going to turn out, we like people who have not had that type of challenge on the relationship or travel experiences. Can you explain the process that one goes through to get on the show, from application to interview?
People can apply a few ways to get on the show. They can apply to cbs.com/ casting and fill out some questions and upload a short video. That gives us enough information to know if we want to move forward with a phone interview, Skype interview and eventually fly to LA to meet in person. We also hold open calls throughout the country. People line up and have 2-3 minutes to tell us why they would win Survivor, or anything they want us to know about them. After that the process is the same. We watch all videos that come into the system. Most submissions get looked at twice.
Yes!! I am very close with the other casting directors! When I started in this business there weren’t many shows. All of the great ones have worked for me at one point or another. They spread their wings and have all made amazing careers for themselves. ...I’ve been called everything from the “queen of casting” (which, of course, I love – to “the mom” which is pretty accurate. I’m friends with Robyn Kass who does many shows notably Big Brother, Michelle McNulty from The Voice and Michelle Mock, who has done Top Model and other CW reality shows for years. We are all very supportive of each other and swap stories all of the time. We also use each other as resources for filing systems and tech developments that we have tried, that work or don’t work. And yes, we share network horror stories! Approximately how many people have you cast?
I’ve cast too many to count for Survivor – around 520 people, and The Amazing Race, about 550 people (or 275 teams) over 15 years. Besides those two shows, there have been pilots and short run series where I’ve met hundreds and hundreds of people from all walks of life. I love people and hearing their stories!
great, after about 100 tapes they would start to overheat and chew the videos. We were constantly having to go out an purchase new VHS players each season. We had thousands of videos to watch. Storing these VHS tapes was also a big endeavor. They take up a lot of space. We had storage units all over the city. We had to take flashlights and a team of three to the storage units, just to locate one video. The offices didn’t have the space for a tape library to handle 50,000 VHS tapes. Sometimes it took two 3 full days. Then we switched to DVDs. And now it’s all done online. It used to be a big hassle for people to apply because they didn’t all have a video camera. Creative people would go to Best Buy and “borrow” the camera right there in the store and shoot a video and send it in. Others went to local TV stations to ask for favors. Now everyone has a video camera on their phone and you can just upload from that. It’s so easy! Sometimes I wonder if we make it too easy. Also, the casting team would have to
Early days: Lynne sorting through the thousands of audition tapes which arrived by Fedex.
fly to 16-18 different cities to meet people in person. Now with Skype, we can do just as many interviews without getting on a plane. It allows us to cast in a shorter window and meet more people. As technology keeps changing we have to keep tweaking our systems.
What are the big changes in the cast process that you have experienced over the years?
Because of technology, the process has changed considerably over the years. We started with thousands of FedEx packages being delivered, containing the application and a 3 minute VHS tape. The VHS tv/ video cassette player combos were not built
The Amazing Race season 26 and Survivor season 30 both start 25 February on CBS.
focusmag.us 9
BY JULIA CONLEY
NEW YORK STATE OF MIND Julia Conley reminisces about the start of her modeling career in New York. FRANK SINATRA SAID IT BEST IN “NEW YORK”, “IF I CAN MAKE THERE, I CAN MAKE IT ANYWHERE!” THEY AREN’T JUST LYRICS FROM A SONG, IT’S THE TRUTH.
Growing up in Northern California, I was blessed to live in a state fueled by sunshine, but I always knew New York would to be the place that would launch my career. Following my intuition, I packed my bags, my record player, and headed east. After driving for seven days and three thousand miles, I had arrived! I found myself immersed in all the cultural of the world coexisting in what seemed to be a concrete jungle. Being curious by nature, and with eyes wide, every moment became an adventure. Lights, Camera, Action! One of my first and most memorable photo shoots took place just down the street from my building. Because I lived so close, I took a stroll to acclimate myself to my new environment. As I made my way down the street, I couldn’t believe I was actually able to walk to a shoot. This was the last and final shoot that I would be able to walk to. Don’t even get me started on the public transportation. I strongly suggest you learn to whistle or memorize the metro routes if you are going to be on time.
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NEW YORK STATE OF MIND | 03/2015
I walked up a brick skyscraper, pulled open a thick glass door, and presented myself to the front desk. They ushered me to the elevator and up I went, seventeen floors, with the thought that this was the moment I had been waiting for all my life. The elevator door opened and a familiar scent caught my attention. Incenses filled the hallway leading me to the studio’s door. I rang the bell, and was greeted by the photographer whose hair was pulled back into a low ponytail. I felt like I was in more of a yoga studio than a white walled photo studio. As I removed my motorcycle boots at the door, I observed the bohemian décor adorned with tropical leaves and crystals. We sat down by the computer and spoke at great lengths about ourselves. THE WHOLE EXPERIENCE SEEMED LIKE A SCENE IN A WES ANDERSON FILM, especially when we discussed the hair and make-up. The photographer, blank faced, told me that we wouldn’t be using make-up during our shoot. It puzzled me a bit, but I was open to trying a something new. It took me a moment to fully let go and have fun with the shoot. The photographer advised me to close my eyes, take a deep breath, and open my eyes once I had exhaled. This has become my go-to tool when in front of the camera. Taking time to pause resets your mind and allows you to be present and focus on the emotion you want to convey. In this shoot I was able to reveal my truest self in a light I had never done before. Being in my natural state affirmed the idea that we are just as beautiful naturally as we are with cosmetic enhancements. After our shoot, which lasted much longer than planned, I was introduced to Katty, a soothing radiant soul that gave me valuable insight into the modeling industry. She explained the changes that would occur in me in the months to come. If I was going to be serious about my career, my whole lifestyle would have to change, and it did when I treated my body as my temple. With frequent trips to whole foods, ensuring that what I ate was grown naturally, I became more consciously aware of my diet. Although it wasn’t fun replacing my oatmeal cookie with a kale chip, the results proved to be worth the sacrifice. I was beginning to glow from the inside out. Your true self is your most beautiful self, and nothing is greater than that which is organic. Although the natural state is now my favored state, modeling challenges you to embody different looks in sometimes unfavorable environments. As easy as we may make it appear on camera, it requires a resilient personality and a lot of dedicated work. I have been on shoots in the desert when it’s almost hundred degrees wearing ski gear, and had to depict that everything was cool. I have also had to wear swimwear in the freezing cold, and portray an image of warm bliss. With that being said, modeling takes a certain state of mind. You must be completely confident in who you are to be able to speak to the camera. What I have come to realize, living in the harsh and ever changing environment of New York is that you must have a strong will to survive. My auditions are scattered around the city, requiring me to always be prepared to take a journey. Nothing comes easy in this overpopulated city; you must put forth major effort to get where you want to go. Unlike Los Angeles’s laid back style, New York is straight business. Time is considered precious and must not be wasted. I feel as if I am in perpetual motion. There are times where I have been called back or put on hold, only to not get the job in the end. I learned to not take anything personal. There is no time to waste on insecurities. This
city has taught me to know your worth and go after what you want. Onward and upwards! New York has taught me to have a clear direction. If you don’t have a focus, you will get lost in the sea of dreams, making it out with nothing to show for yourself. Being in this fast pace city has motivated me to make every second count and live life to the fullest. I wanted to do bridal editorials, so I told my agent at Wilhelmina, and I ending up landing the cover of Contemporary Bridal Magazine. Not everything comes as easy as that, but if you don’t put yourself out there, you will never know just how far you can stretch the realm of possibilities. When I am not working or in acting class at Lee Strasberg, I am seeing all that this city has to offer. The last three months have been the most exciting times I have ever had walking the busy streets. I have spent afternoons walking aimlessly through Central Park only to discover a live show at the dome. Most of my pass time is spent at museums. My favorite museum is PS1, which contains the most incredible exhibits for contemporary art. If I hop the L train to Brooklyn, I can always create art at a friend’s studio or find treasures at a vintage store on Bedford Avenue. If I want to have a Breakfast at Tiffany’s day, I just take a cab to Fifth Avenue and shop the latest trends until my feet are sore. Style is everything in this city, centering on the concept that you can never go wrong wearing all black. My nights are filled with charity galas, Broadway performances, exploring new restaurants, and outrageous parties, too many to mention. I’ve been to outlandish penthouses uptown, antiquated churches converted into flats, and futuristic jettison style apartments. I am in the epicenter of the creative world. Every morning, before I take my dog on a walk, I look out my window towards lady liberty, and feel inspired by the strength she symbolizes. INSPIRATION COMES FROM MANY DIFFERENT ASPECTS OF LIFE. I AM INSPIRED BY THE MIGHTY SKYSCRAPERS TOWERING ABOVE MY HEAD, WHICH SYMBOLIZE THAT WITH A SOLID FOUNDATION THERE ARE NO LIMITATIONS. When I walk into my agency and witness the energy overflowing through the phone lines, I know this is place where I belong. Inspiration comes from trips to the museums, and seeing the struggle an artist had to go through to finally gain recognition. It’s those artists I keep in mind when I trek in the cold to an audition and have to defrost in the waiting room. Inspiration comes through the brilliant conversations I share with the most interesting characters. All of those who have dared to be great are inspirations to me. New York has been a boot camp as far as it comes to modeling. I have never tried as hard as I have now to be the best version of myself. New York’s energy is contagious and gives me no option but to go with the flow. Considering my career choice, I have chosen the road less traveled. It is a struggle, but the rewards are worth the obstacles I encounter. I am thankful that I get to have the best of both worlds, traveling between Los Angeles and New York. I am looking forward to experiencing my very first fashion week this fall. The best advice I can give is to be strong and believe in yourself no matter how farfetched your dreams may be. When you are in front of the camera, be your true self and nothing more. Go for what you want in life and never look back. You are the creator of your reality. juliaannconley.com @juliaannconley focusmag.us 11
When Tracy Met Molly Author, beauty industry consultant and on-camera expert, Tracy O’Connor talks about writing, being on camera and the book she co-wrote with Molly Sims.
When you are speaking to the camera, don’t just speak to the camera, but pick someone specific to speak to, someone who makes you smile.
12 FOCUS | M A R C H 20 1 5
What prompted you to write the book with Molly?
Molly and I have been close friends for years. I adore her. She is brimming with great advice and… was always telling me what to do! I said to her – you have got to write a book – and I’ll write it with you. Together, with our combined experience, we have so much to share with other women. We have access to the best of the best in the beauty, fashion, and health industries. What is the book about?
Encouraging women to be the very best versions of ourselves that we can be. And everyday that might be different. One of my favorite quotes in the book is from a costume designer, Dayna Pink. She speaks about the tremendous impact how we dress has on how we actually feel about ourselves – good, bad, or otherwise. The book is a great resource that gives tricks, tips, strategies and motivators to being our best selves. It’s serious, but also down-to-earth and lighthearted. In a supermodel-next-door way, we educate women and give advice on fitness, fashion, beauty, and wellness that is accessible to everyone. There are a ton of great takeaways. I even find myself re-reading the book, forgetting what we wrote, thinking – oh yeah – I should do that. That’s a great idea!
WHEN TRACY MET MOLLY | 03/2015
How long did it take you to write it?
Writing a book can be a very long process. From the day of inception to the day of publication it was over 3 years. The actual writing part, fingers to keyboard, probably took me about 9 months. I did a lot of interviews and research with high-profile people and experts. My two favorite interviews were Cindy Crawford and Leigh Kilton, Molly’s acting coach. Cindy was so open and honest, and was incredibly generous with her time and spirit. Leigh Kilton is passionate and after a few minutes with her, you learn a lot about life, acceptance and joy. Do you like being on-camera?
I have so much fun being on-camera. I did theater when I was younger, so being on camera feels more relaxed - there aren’t as many people in the seats. I do a lot of live lifestyle segments for morning television, and often those can seem a bit rushed, which isn’t always comfortable. But I do always enjoy sharing my expertise in a way, that isn’t boring and overly studied. The best part is the collaborative effort involved in every production. I love being a part of a creative team. Do you have some tips for people when they are called to be oncamera as a host?
Prepare. If you are working with people on-camera, do research on them. Find out about their experience, what they like, ask about their family – that way when you are on set with that person, you have a familiarity, a comfort and natural rapport. Genuinely get interested in the subject about which you are speaking – find ways to connect with your on-camera colleagues and the material you are presenting. When you are speaking to the camera, don’t just speak to the camera, but pick someone specific to speak to, someone that makes you smile. That is a great tip I learned from a director.
On the set of Good Day LA with Molly Sims and Lisa Breckenridge.
What are some of your greatest on-camera moments?
Usually, they are the out-takes because I’ve done or said something silly or outrageous. I took my dog surfing in San Diego; it was ridiculous and so much fun! I also had Capuchin monkeys crawl all over me in Bali – and one even had a little nibble on my wrist. I used to do travel segments with Steve Edwards from Good Day LA and always loved working with him. He’s smart. He prepares and is genuinely interested in almost everything. He’s a great interviewer. In general, most of my work is not with a teleprompter, it’s all just studied and improvised –so most often I am proud of being able to remember a lot. What are you most passionate about currently?
I’m currently working on a proposal for another book, and that’s always exciting. In addition, I’m looking at partnering with a friend and colleague to do something original in the beauty industry… very early stages. I used to have really problem skin – so I’m very passionate about skincare! And continuing to take on fun hosting projects, like I have with Fox Good Day LA and Joyus. There are definitely plenty of engaging opportunities coming down the pipeline to keep me busy.
fan of flip-flops, beachy hair and year-round BBQs. I enjoy very much the connection to nature we have, with the ocean and the mountains being so close, the year-round access to healthy food, farmers’ markets, fruits and vegetables at affordable prices. We are so fortunate to live here. There is a tremendous amount of culture, a thriving arts community, great music scene and so much creativity everywhere. And… our sunshine. You can’t beat it.
What do you love most about living in Southern California?
Oh my goodness… I am born and raised a Southern California girl. My dad has always been in the surfwear industry, and I am a huge
@ClubTracy
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PROFILE
Acting, Scent and Psychology Former child actress, Ashley Peldon can help you create a custom fragrance based on your memories.
I remember being on the set of The Crucible at thirteen years old. I was clothed in 17th century wardrobe, complete with a bonnet and a heavy woolen dress. While waiting for my cue to run into the mud, I could smell the fresh Boston sea air, the acrid tang of the muddy water, and the faint scent of Craft Services. I recall the thrill and excitement of being a part of something as magical as the entertainment industry. I was fortunate to have been a working actress for over twenty years. I began acting at three years old, following my older sister into the industry. At six, I became the youngest child nominated for an Emmy award. I loved acting and felt blessed to be continually working in films (Drop Dead Fred, Ghost World) and television (The Pretender, That 70’s Show). My family was very supportive of my career and they encouraged me to pursue higher education.
Ashley with Goldie Hawn in Deceived, 1991.
Ashley with Diane Keaton in Lemon Sisters, 1989.
I was faced with the question of what to study. I knew a passion for psychology had been alive in me since I was seven years old. At seven, I starred in a controversial film called Child of Rage based on the true story of a young girl who was severely abused and consequently developed a mental health disorder. I became aware of counselors and the power of psychology from the film and I started 14 FOCUS | M A R C H 20 1 5
advocating for child rights and protection. The decision was clear, and soon I was juggling earning my bachelor’s degree in psychology while working on films. STARRING FRAGRANCES
As an actress I had spare time, and soon I found my love of crafting perfumes beginning to grow. I began mixing my own perfumes after finding a lack of fragrances that were natural but still had the glamor and appeal of retail scents. I started my own perfume line, Starring Fragrances, (a shout-out to my acting career), selling them online and to retailers, such as Whole Foods Markets. I found myself at a crossroads: I enjoyed acting, I The Fragrance Bar, where you can mix and loved my perfume match your own fragrances. business, and I was craving to deepen my education in psychology. At a glance, these all seem like dissimilar interests. To me, however, there is one very strong thread running through them – individuality. Actors take on other personas when playing a role, but how does one stay connected with their own internal world and self expression? My perfumery became an outlet of expression for me, I focused on customized scents and offering perfume parties where guests can try their hand at crafting their own unique fragrance. I was fascinated by the choices people made, the memories scent evokes, and the personal story one’s scent could tell. I decided to return to school to begin to dig deeper into these threads of psychology, scent, and persona. I earned my master’s degree in psychology and am now a doctoral candidate in progress earning my PhD in depth psychotherapy. My current research and publications have been about the psychological experience of scent. With this new path emerging, a psychological journey for self expression, I found myself shifting away from my interest in on-camera work. Keeping with my history as an actress, I began to see a need for caring, deep therapeutic work that catered to one’s individuality. I am now in private practice as a pre-licensed therapist specializing in working with actors and other individuals. So however you express yourself, through your craft, through your perfume, or through your personal psychological identity, I hope you continue to be proud of who you are and to pursue your own path. starringfragrances.com
FLIPPING OUT | 03/2015 PROFILE
Flipping Out Realtor, Juliette Hohnen started her career in front of the camera at MTV.
I married actor Steven Weber and I realized that if I wanted to have children we couldn’t both be working and traveling like maniacs in our jobs in television. I wanted to have children and my job at MTV required me working almost 24/7 and being able to travel on a moment’s notice. MTV
I wanted to be an actress and a singer but realized that I didn’t have enough of the ‘look-at-me” gene needed to be a performer.When MTV Europe first started, there were four PA assistant positions available. I had no experience or qualifications so I blagged my way into the Studio position. I worked my way up to running the News Bureau and being on-camera talent for MTV news. ON CAMERA
Most thrilling and challenging was going out with a camera crew the day after the earthquake in LA, and climbing to the top of the broken 10 freeway and doing to-camera pieces and then going to Northridge to interview people who were at the epicenter. By that stage I had done 1001 premieres and award shows and celebrity interviews, and I much preferred interviewing real people about real things. It was edgy and scary and I had trouble even finding anyone who would be my sound and cameraman that day. I also enjoyed sitting in front of Fellini in the press room at the Oscars. Being on the set of the Doors movie was like going back in time. Flying to Russia before the fall of the Wall, and interviewing Roman Polanski was also a thrill. While I worked for TNT, ABC, ET and EXTRA, my time at MTV was the most fun thing. FLIPPING HOUSES
I had been to interior design school before I worked for MTV and I started buying and flipping houses while I had children. It was really more of a hobby but when the writer’s strike happened my husband took a play in London for four months, and we did not have the income we needed. I found a pocket listing in
Malibu and decided to flip it. I would get up, take my kids to school then go to the job site to oversee the work, as I had already cut out the contractor and had hired my own subs and a handyman to do the job. Afterwards, I would go home, cook the children dinner and go to Santa Monica college, where I got my real estate license. Once I had the license and finished the house I put it on the market and sold it in three showings. I had a tremendous rush. It was fun, and also the easiest deal I had ever done, and I was very happy to save the commission. I saw how important pricing and staging and being available at a moment’s notice was to getting your asking price. If only all sellers listened to me like I did! After that, I knew the market was going to crash so I thought it the perfect time to do this professionally and make a living instead of house flipping and that’s how it started! HILTON AND HYLAND
I have been at Hilton and Hyland for almost a year. I have been a realtor for 8 years going on 9. The first four years I was what I call a “stealth realtor”. I was embarrassed and I didn’t’ tell anyone. Most people knew me as someone who had been on camera and married to a celebrity. Now I was putting out signs for my open houses, while my husband was taking my kids to parties. But once I committed to it, I started to be very successful. LATEST TRENDS
Venice/Echo Park, Silverlake and Franklin Hills are the cool, young areas with the walkability factor people now really value. The recent changes with permitting and the coastal
commission west of Lincoln will result in East of Lincoln going up at a much more accelerated rate in Venice. With Santa Monica being so expensive, Mar Vista is now really going up. Santa Monica and Brentwood and Beverly Hills will always be strong. You really can’t go wrong buying in those areas but you need to be willing to slightly overpay or pay all cash if you want a great family property between $2-5 million. Hidden Valley road and Lime Orchard (where I have sold more houses in the last two years than
Hidden Valley
any other realtor) have gone up like crazy. Ashton Kutcher bought Tom Freston’s house off market for over $10 million and Jennifer Lawrence just bought Jessica Simpson’s old house for $8 million. Look for more high end sales in this area which is guard-gated and funky and cool, in a way that is not like most of the ‘desperate housewife’ developments. I also think the new trends in real estate now are not just about pricing properties well or presenting and staging your property well but it’s about being able to market it’s development potential. Real estate tends to go in 7 year cycles, and we are about to go into year 3 of it. As long as interest rates remain low, it will remain a good time to buy or sell. juliettehohnen.com focusmag.us 15
PROFILE
From Courtroom To TV Studio Attorney, Anahita Sedaghatfar is much sought after as a television news commentator.
Anahita Sedaghatfar is a Los Angeles attorney whose record of achievement both inside and outside the courtroom is surpassed only by her energy and passion. In a short amount of time, she has worked fervently to climb the ladder and achieve high levels of success– in the courtroom and in her burgeoning career as a news commentator and on-air personality.
when it comes to stating her opinion—a trait which is attracting a very dedicated fan-base—Anahita continues make the rounds as a network and cable legal analyst both in Los Angeles locally and at the national level. Anahita has been highly sought after for the strength with which she voices her opinions on major court cases. She has been the go-to attorney for expert legal analysis for high profile cases, and has been quoted in a multitude of publications such as Foxnews.com, E!News.com, Yahoo.com, and The Huffington Post–just to name a few. When a noteworthy case is in the news, the major news outlets regularly turn to Anahita for her expert legal analysis. ANAHITA’S LAW PRACTICE
Throughout her career, Anahita has established herself as the go-to attorney for the entertainment industry. She represents a wide range of clients from NBA and NFL athletes, to well-known actors, to prominent record labels and film companies. Anahita continues to bolster a stellar track record of successful litigation, with win after win in the courtroom. She has successfully represented both employers and employees in cases involving the Fair Employment
Anahita’s rapid ascent as a lawyer, educator and public speaker, inevitably has led to her emergence as an increasingly sought after TV news commentator and legal analyst. Combining her sweet personality with her no-nonsense approach to reporting on the issues, Anahita offers a fresh and unique perspective to any debate! Whether she’s preparing a case, speaking at conferences around the country, teaching at Southwestern Law School, or commenting on the latest news on TV, Anahita is an energetic advocate with strong opinions that the public is eager to hear. TV REPORTING AND COMMENTARY
After a chance meeting with a well known attorney – who thought she’d be perfect for legal TV – led to Anahita’s first on-air appearance, she’s been a regular on the TV circuit. Notable appearances on television programs include: FOX News’s The O’Reilly Factor, Studio B With Shepard Smith, Your World With Neil Cavuto, and America’s Newsroom, ABC’s 20/20 and Good Morning America, CNN/ HLN’s Nancy Grace, Dr. Drew On Call, Jane Velez-Mitchell Show and Showbiz Tonight, among others. Anahita is the legal commentator to watch. Fearless
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and Housing Act and wage and hour laws. Anahita has also performed various pro bono services for indigent clients and for members of the California Lawyers for the Arts. Prior to establishing the Law Offices of Anahita Sedaghatfar, Anahita formed a law partnership with Christopher Darden, famed O.J. Simpson prosecutor. Anahita and Mr. Darden favorably litigated multiple sexual harassment, race, religion and age discrimination cases. In addition to currently maintaining her own law practice, Anahita is also an adjunct professor at Southwestern University School of Law, and a volunteer for Jewish Big Brothers Big Sisters of Los Angeles. You can follow Anahita on Instagram and Twitter @anahitaseda and “like” her Facebook page: facebook.com/LawOfficesOfAnahitaSedaghatfar
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Safety First At some point in our lives, we’ve all had to deal with ‘inappropriate behavior’. It can make us feel uncomfortable, annoyed or threatened. Safety expert, Candace Kita, is an actress who has experienced both wanted and unwanted attention in Hollywood. So in her spare time, she teaches women from all walks of life quick and easy safety tips on how to avoid and properly respond to attention they don’t want.
As a Hollywood actress, what makes you a safety expert?
I was just like the thousands of hopefuls that come to Hollywood each year with dreams of stardom in my eyes. I’ve now been an actress for over 22 years. And during this time I’ve experienced both wanted and unwanted attention. I’m not famous. I’m not a Jennifer Lawrence or Angelina Jolie. But, I do earn my living in the public eye. As a result, I’ve had a few situations where people have behaved inappropriately towards me. Usually, they believe they will have a relationship with me. When this doesn’t happen, they have retaliated in the most unlikely ways. I’ve had to go to criminal court against a stalker. And I discovered, for the average woman, there is little guidance available for what you should do if a random, potentially dangerous person decides that you are his reason for living. I also found out that if this can happen to me, it can happen to just about anyone.
Photo: Art Lynch Photography
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SAFETY FIRST | 03/2015
ONLINE SAFETY In the process of protecting my own information, I realized how much personal information is readily available to almost anyone. Online, a staggering amount of your personal information is available to just about anyone. And, with social media, the average person puts out as much personal information about themselves, or more, as I did as an actor. Online safety and keeping your information safe in cyberspace is definitely a hot topic today. In a nutshell, limit the amount of personal information you put on social media websites. Never post your home address, name of the school your children attend or their full names. Also, take the time to be fully aware of each website’s privacy features. This only takes a few minutes and is well worth it. And remember, what you post will be up there forever. So be careful; it may come back to haunt you in the most unexpected ways. SAFETY ON CAMPUS I recently read an article by Camille Paglia. She believes universities and college campuses should be less concerned with political correctness and more concerned with teaching our young women about predator danger. In other words, don’t worry about being “nice, sweet and kind” like we are often taught as girls. Instead, we need to give young women the tools they will need in the face of someone who is behaving inappropriately towards them. I always say that it is not “if ” someone will behave inappropriately towards you, it is “when”. We need to educate young women entering their freshman year of college about dorm room safety, campus safety and travel safety. What is one safety tip you’d want our readers to take away from this article?
Remember, if someone is behaving inappropriately towards you, don’t let him have control. Remember to listen to your gut instinct or your sixth sense. Some may call it women’s intuition. We have it for a reason. If someone seems weird, they usually are. If they seem to want something from you, they probably do. Don’t second guess yourself. It is really that simple. NICE, KIND, SWEET I don’t think having good manners is a detriment. However, I do believe there is a time for courtesy bias and a time to take a stronger stance. As young women, we are often taught to be nice, kind and sweet. We learn to be accommodating. Polite is good; impolite is bad. We don’t want to refuse the guy who wants our number, even though we’re not interested. We don’t want to appear rude, snobby or stuck up. We need to learn how to react properly in an uncomfortable situation and we need to always consider other people’s underlying motives.
NIGHT TIME SAFETY I have very easy, simple safety tips that will not curb your fun or excitement at night. Stay in your group and don’t go off by yourself. Tell someone where you are going that night, whether it is a friend or family member. Charge your cell phone to 100% and keep a charge cord with you in your purse. Always carry cash. Don’t go off with strangers you meet that night. And don’t drink too much that it will impair your judgment. INFLUENCES Gavin De Becker who wrote “The Gift of Fear”, the LAPD Threat Management Unit and the Los Angeles DA, Rhonda Saunders. Where do you see yourself five years from now?
I would ideally like to be speaking to universities and college campuses about safety. Topics would include dating, travel, online safety, travel safety, campus life and safety in the workplace. Candace Kita hottiehandbook.com candacekita.com facebook.com/candacekita twitter.com/candacekita
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TELEVISIONARY | 03/2015
Joel Tator is a pioneer of sorts. He witnessed the birth of news television, and well, he basically wrote the book on it – and it’s called Los Angeles Television.
Televisionary INTERVIEW BY SALLY COLON-PETREE
Text focus to 313131 to watch an extended video interview focusmag.us/tv/joeltator
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Joel Tator has produced and directed more than 8,500 broadcasts and collected 25 Emmy Awards along the way. Sally ColonPetree visited his home, which is a museum to all the television and movie memorabilia he has collected over 40 years – including every TV guide ever printed.
producer of the morning news in 1992 and I did that till 1998. The great thing about starting the job at KTLA was that they will let you do anything if you don’t want a lot of money and you are good at what you do.
didn’t last long. Liberace started on channel 13 with a local show, first time he was ever on television. There were a lot of firsts – technical
Did you start your collection at an early age?
I started with the TV guides. I got issue 1, and pretty soon I collected every issue. I also have a collection of tickets to audience radio and TV shows. I started that in 1953. There were no video tapes so everything was live so they had to film every day. You could walk down Sunset and Vine to ABC, NBC, CBS and Mutual (which was around then), and get tickets to 50 shows in one day. That’s how many there were. Then I started with movie posters and then whatever... I’m not a hoarder! I know where everything is and I’m fairly neat. I like to keep memorabilia. Are you still collecting?
Absolutely, I still buy tickets on Ebay. I have no more room for posters but I buy tickets still.
firsts, entertainment firsts, news firsts that happened in this market. And the pioneers who started it all – well, there’s never been a book about them. I thought I would like to let people know they did amazing things. The first television signal in LA was in 1931 from the 8th floor of an auto dealership. They sent a live picture from one side of the room to the other. That’s how it began. They outgrew that studio and if you look at the Hollywood sign, above
Tell us about the book.
You started in the mailroom…
Yes, such a cliché.. Did you aspire to be a director?
Yes, when I was in high school, I always wanted to be a director since I saw ‘directed by’ so and so on the screen. I had no idea what they did so I wrote to directors of shows that I thought would be interesting to watch, and I asked if I could spend the day with them. Without exception, they all said come on down. And I was with some of the biggest directors – sports, entertainment – and they couldn’t have been nicer. Then I realized yes, this is something I want to do. I started at KTLA in 1960, moved over to the news department in 1962. After I was doing the Rose Parades and such at KTLA, in 1991 they started the morning news but it wasn’t doing too well. They asked me to take a look and I made a few suggestions. I was asked to be executive
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I wanted to make sure I told the story of the original seven TV stations in Los Angeles. 2, 4, 5, 7, 9, 11 and 13. They all went on air between 1947 and 1949. There wasn’t another station till 1962 so they were really the pioneering stations. They invented the medium as they went along. They were there for videotaping, they were there for color. The first TV helicopter was from Los Angeles. And a lot of famous celebrities started on local TV. Betty White was on Channel 13 in 1949 for 5 and a half hours a day live six days a week. Johnny Carson was a staff announcer at Channel 2 in 1951 – he simply did the station breaks. We never saw him. So one day somebody said what can we do with this guy, and they gave him a 5 minute show three days a week from 8.55am to 9am called Carson’s Coffee Break. If you took out the commercial for the coffee, the show was maybe 3 minutes long. Steve Allen in 1949 was a wrestling announcer for Channel 7. They wanted to do a funny wrestling show, make fun of the wrestling. Fans did not appreciate that so it
it you’ll notice a building. That was their second home. When I started at KTLA the station was only 13 years old so I got to meet and talk to the pioneers who put the station on the air. They told wonderful stories and I remembered them all and that’s how I was able to incorporate some of the material in the book. Los Angeles Television is available at Amazon and all good book stores.
TELEVISIONARY | 03/2015
Below the KTLA building was the huge Hollywoodland sign, which was an advertisement for a real estate development. The last four letters were removed in 1949. At 1,700 feet in elevation, the top of the mountain afforded views of both the city and the San Fernando Valley. (Courtesy of the Bruce Torrence Hollywood Historical Collection.)
The former garage at Paramount Studios became the home of the first commercial television station in the West and W6XYZ became KTLA Channel 5. (Courtesy: KTLA)
In 1936, the world’s first regular television service began in London. That same year, the Olympics in Berlin was televised by the Germans. There was a strong Los Angeles connection, as one of the German engineers was a 20-year-old student named Klaus Landsberg. After the Olympics, he moved to America and soon got a job with RCA, when RCA’s NBC introduced television service to America at the 1939 New York World’s Fair. In 1941 Paramount Pictures hired and sent him to Los Angeles to put something together. (Courtesy: KTLA)
At one location 12,000 pounds of equipment was installed. Fifteen minutes before the scheduled detonation, all power was lost at the main site. It was finally restored seconds before the blast. At exactly 9:30 AM on April 22, 1952 the audio and video of an atomic blast was seen and heard across the nation for the very first time. The Atomic Energy Commission reported, “Thanks to the courage, physical endurance and technical brilliance of a single individual who, in turn inspired a great crew of engineers and technicians.” (Courtesy KTLA) focusmag.us 23
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LOS ANGELES NEWSCASTERS | 03/2015
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News Savant Lauren Sivan takes the job of news reporting seriously, as she co-hosts the evening slot at KTTV Studio 11 LA.
“People want to hear opinions. They want to know where you stand, and then tell you why you’re wrong.”
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NEWS SAVANT | 03/2015
YOU MAY RECOGNIZE LAUREN SIVAN from the Los Angeles morning show, Good Day LA, or the irreverent late night chat show Red Eye on Fox News Channel. Maybe you’ve heard her on Talk Radio 790 on KABC, or you follow her on Twitter or Instagram.
Starting this February, you can catch her on KTTV at 5pm, co-hosting Studio 11 LA with Bob Decastro. “It’s happy hour! It’s perfect,” says the reporter, anchor and sometimes weather girl at Fox 11 LA. “We are trying to bridge that gap between TMZ shows in the evening. We are the DMZ between TMZs, if you will.” Lauren Sivan got her start in news at age 19 while still in college at the George Washington University. She studied journalism and political science, and in her freshman year, the Fox News Channel was just starting up. She got a job as a “go-for” delivering research materials to panelists. “I crashed the news van on my very first day. Figured that was the end of my news career. But thankfully, my bosses were forgiving and had insurance.” From there she worked her way up, and after graduation, moved back to her hometown of New York, working as a producer on Fox’s morning show Fox & Friends. “I’ve always loved mornings. I loved the idea of being part of the first thing people
see when they wake up before their day is ruined. (Ha!) The best compliment I ever get is ‘I was late to work because I wanted to hear what you would say next.’ THAT’S huge and THAT makes me realize we can make the news MUST SEE.” That’s why she’s currently creating a digital web panel show with a group of likeminded news junkies including producer Danny Rose (Cougar Town, Scorpion.) “We hope to offer a fun, informative, wacky breakdown of the stories of the day, to an audience who isn’t otherwise watching any news.” We caught up with Lauren while she was working at KABC Radio, co-hosting with her “fair-minded” legal pal, Leo Tyrell. “Radio is a lot different than TV. You can’t have your expression convey the tone of a story or give your co-host side-eye. No one sees it. Everything has to be verbalized. It’s a new skill and I’m still learning. But talk radio is what the big news networks are trying to emulate on TV. People want to hear opinions. They want to know where you stand, and then tell you why you’re wrong. Because let’s face it – you can get your headlines anywhere, especially with the explosion of social media. So let’s change it up, make it a little less formulaic, a little more relate-able and maybe even entertaining. I think the Daily Show does this brilliantly, as well as shows like Bill Maher,
and Last Week Tonight with John Oliver and Red Eye on Fox News Channel. While I don’t think everyone who works news should try to be a comedian, I think there’s room for some fun alongside the serious stuff. I think we should be able to call BS when we see it, and that people will respect us more when we do. No one is following me on Twitter for my breaking news updates. They follow to find out what I REALLY think about the stories I cover, what REALLY went on off camera and occasionally some snarky celebrity-driven comments ( I live in LA after all.) Now I’m going to try to bring the same recklessness to every platform!.”
Text focus to 313131 to watch the video. focusmag.us/tv/laurensivan
Lauren Sivan is on Studio 11 LA at 5pm on KTTV. Twitter @LaurenSivan Instagram @IdiotSivan. PHOTO BY BEN SHANI
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Yossi Dina is the larger than life star of a reality TV show Beverly Hills Pawn and owner of The Dina Collection in Beverly Hills.
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THREE SIGNATURES AND A THUMBPRINT | 03/2015 INTERVIEW BY TRITIA LE PHOTOS BY DANA ADAMS
THREE SIGNATURES AND A THUMBPRINT That’s all it takes to get a loan from Beverly Hills Pawn. Of course, most of the items pawned are worth thousands, (if not millions), of dollars and most of the clientele are celebrities. When Hollywood’s downtrodden and desperate elite fall on hard times, they know exactly where to go to find a lot of cash...fast. Yossi Dina grants multi-million dollar loans at a moments notice for masterpieces, gems, antiques, and priceless Hollywood treasures only attainable by the rich and famous. The Dina Collection is famous for lending fabulously large sums of money in exchange for pricey collateral to wealthy patrons in need of quick cash, but it’s also one of the best places in Los Angeles to get a great bargain on Estate jewelry, watches and fine, original art. In addition to the extraordinarily elegant Estate jewelry including signed pieces by Cartier, Van Cleef and Arpels and Tiffany, The Dina Collection offers a dazzling assortment of diamonds and engagement rings, from fancy yellow and cushion cut diamonds to every size and shape. Dina offers one of the largest collections of watches by Patek Philipe, Rolex , Audemars Piquet and Cartier. And, says Dina, “If you don’t see it, I’ll get it for you, at the best price available.” The Dina Collection also offers an incomparable selection of original art by such renowned artists as Picasso, Chagall, Dali, Kandinksy, Warhol and works by 19th century old masters. Dina is one of only a few pawnbrokers in the country who gives loans on art...up to a million dollars. The Dina Collection has also been giving collateral loans for over 25 years. Loans are made against jewelry including gold, diamonds, watches as well as fine art and automobiles. No loan is too large or too small. Terms are four month cycles which are fully renewable.
need to make a movie and you need half a million dollars, you give us your Picasso and you have half a million dollars immediately. Dominique: It wasn’t always like that. Yossi is the people’s pawnbroker. He used to go door to door, selling jewelry. He grew with his clients over the years. He bases his business on a family style, so we really know our clients intimately – from birth to death for many of them – and they feel very comfortable when they are here. Tritia: Tell us about your clients Yossi: I have all sorts of clients. Some are worth billions of dollars, and some are like me, they survive by working for a living. I will buy anything I can, and I sell anything. I don’t fall in love with the pieces. Tritia: Are they some things that came with a great story and you decided to hold on to them? Yossi: I have a lot of stuff I try to keep but I always have a customer who convinces me that I have to sell it. Dominique: There’s a necklace we’ve had here for so long I swear he’s going to marry it. He’s so in love with it! He won’t take any amount of money for it. Yossi: I think it’s an amazing piece, not just the value of the diamond. I see it as a piece of art. I need someone to really appreciate this piece. Dominique: He’s like a matchmaker of jewelry. He’s really expert in placing items with people. We’re in the nexus of Beverly Hills and we have a lot of wealthy clients. They buy from Tiffany and Cartier and when they tire of it, they can’t go back there, and they don’t want to make it public – so they have a confidential place where they come and make their deals with him, not necessarily on the showroom floor. They are escorted into his backroom office.. Yossi: We deal a lot with art. I sell a lot of watches. They are really for collectors. If I want to tell the time I look at my phone. Dominique: And they pay to make a statement. Next to real estate in this area, watches and art are really top investments. We just had (boxer) Floyd Mayweather in today looking for watches. Dominique: We sell a lot of Hermés Birkin handbags. What I really want to tell women is that you get a better deal here. It’s a great investment. And it’s ‘divorce proof ’. Men will take back jewelry but they will not go into your closet to get your shoes and your bags. Invest in Birkin bags. They fetch $25,000 to $30,000 per bag. Yossi: People who come to us – they can be very wealthy but they need money NOW. They want $500,000. You go to the bank, it takes 2-3 weeks.
Tritia Le interviews Yossi Dina and Dominique from The Dina Collection
Dominique: ...and this much paperwork. Ours is one sheet. It’s 3 signatures and a thumbprint, and you’re done!
Yossi: This pawnshop is different from any place else. Does it look to you like a pawnshop? It’s a gallery, jewelry store. It’s like Rodeo Drive in one place. We have Cartier, Hermes, Van Cleef, Harry Winston... I’ve been in the business for 35 years and built a clientele based on trust. We trade a lot – we buy, we sell – and we give loans. So if you
Yossi: What’s special about our business – we don’t try to take advantage of people because we get people at their worst time, and we work with that. I will not foreclose on a piece. I will work with the guy. If you love what you do, you always do well. love what I do. It’s a passion. focusmag.us 31
How much of the show is real? Yossi: It’s not scripted. It’s the most real reality show. Sometimes we add a story. If you put a camera in my office, it would be the best show America could have. But I can’t do that because people want privacy. They don’t want to be seen. There are a lot of stories you will never hear about. Yossi: You go to any store in Beverly Hills to buy jewelry and you’re paying crazy money. You know how people know they are paying crazy money? When I buy it from them. Dominique: You know when you buy a car and the second you drive off the lot it depreciates in value? It’s the same with retail jewelry. Once they walk out of the shop the price has already devalued. You’re better off to buy Estate. Tritia: What’s the best story about one of your items? Yossi: The book of Lawrence of Arabia that I sold for a couple of million dollars. A guy came to me with the book and wanted to borrow $150,000 to invest in the stock market. It was from the grandson from the person that owned the Huntington Museum. There was eventually a dispute The Dina Collection 249-251 S. Beverly Dr. Beverly Hills, CA 90212. T: 310.888.8888 Email: yossi@thedinacollection.com
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about the ownership of the book between the museum and Pepperdine University, who thought they owned the book as well. He never paid the loan so I sold the book at auction and split the money 3 ways, the museum, the university and me. Tritia: What is the most historic piece you ever received? Yossi: The flag from the raid on Entebbe. They tore a sheet and colored it on the fly, to represent the Ugandan flag so they could drive through the airport to make the rescue. The most expensive piece was a $14 million painting to a customer in South Korea, and I also sold a watch for $1.8 million.
Items currently in store 1. 14k Yellow gold .28ct diamond X ring. $550 (Retail $1500) 2. Patek Philipe 5980. $35,000
Text focus to 313131 to watch the video. focusmag.us/tv/dinacollection
Beverly Hills Pawn can be seen on the Reelz Channel reelz.com/beverlyhillspawn
3. Hermes 30cm Lime Birkin from the Candy Collection. $20,000 4. PABLO PICASSO (Spanish, 1881-1973) Collage with Stick Figures-Journal au profil, 1964. Rinsed linocut with India ink wash 29-1/2 x 24-3/8 inches (75 x 62 cm) No edition, only one trial proof is known Signed in red pencil left of bottom center. $120,000
MAGGIE SZABO | 03/2015
Maggie Szabo From Dundas, Ontario but now living in Los Angeles, Maggie Szabo is a truly gifted singer, piano player, and storyteller-in-song. Maggie’s songs carry memorable melodies inspired from life, love, and relationships.
Text focus to 313131 to watch the video. focusmag.us/tv/maggieszabo Songs and updates, including her latest single “Tidal Waves & Hurricanes”, can be heard by visiting her website allaboutmaggie.com Instagram: @allaboutmaggie facebook.com/allaboutmaggie Twitter: @allaboutmaggie
When did you get the entertaining bug? The first time I sang in public was at the local golf club. I sang “O Canada”. I was 7 years old. When I was 12, I wrote my first full song after my uncle passed away. I was heartbroken, and it was the best way I knew how to deal with it. And songwriting?After high school, I drove by myself to Nashville. It was a 14 hour drive from home, and I wanted to do it all in one day to avoid staying at a weird place in the middle of nowhere all alone. I left Dundas at 5am, and when I arrived it felt like I was in a musical wonderland. I didn’t want to leave. I sang out every night at songwriters’ nights and wrote with other songwriters as much as I could. Your big break? After recording my own EP, it got the attention of a Canadian record label. They offered me a deal to record and release a full album, which meant I would go back to Canada to work on it. It was an amazing opportunity for me, so I took the deal, and moved back to Canada where I wrote, recorded and released my debut album. My first single, ‘Lovesick’ hit the radio and got picked up for major rotation. It was super exciting, and it inspired me to want to write more music that I could share with people. I knew it was time for my next adventure, so I came to Los Angeles for a songwriting trip and fell in love with the city. I made the decision to move here a year and a half ago, and I haven’t looked back since! What type of music to you love to play and who are your influences? Soul, jazz and R&B music - Carole King, Etta James, Ella Fitzgerald, James Taylor, and the list goes on. I think there is so much we can learn from the past, and I love incorporating that into my music. I’m in the beginning stages of a project that I’ll be filming at a Los Angeles record store, where I really dive into old classics, and talk with the owners about their personal experiences with some of the artists that have come in to visit, as well as what it was like growing up with that kind of music. What’s the Lipstick Sister connection? When I first moved to Los Angeles, I didn’t know a single person. It was scary, intimidating, but exciting all at the same time moving to a city like L.A. After playing small acoustic shows around town, one of the audience members brought Hensi, who started Lipstick Sister, out to my show. When Hensi and I met after my performance, she told me about the organization and I was immediately intrigued. After attending the first brunch with all of the girls, I knew I had stumbled upon something pretty amazing. Every girl there was so smart, welcoming, and supportive of everybody else. It was definitely a group of people I wanted to surround myself with. Every Sister has a dream, a passion, and something they’re working towards. Every time I see the girls, I am always motivated, energized, and ready to take on a new challenge. LIPSTICK SISTER Lipstick Sister is an exclusive, members-only organization which brings together talented and dynamic women who connect, share ideas, support and propel each other towards a successful life.
lipsticksister.com focusmag.us 33
Music & Theater
Hollow Wood 13 March, 8pm
Hollow Wood is a young Indie band from Boise who have a new EP called Wallflower. Their music has been described as folk with a big choir sound. Listening to their music might remind you of The Head and The Heart or Mumford & Sons. They consist of front man Adam Jones, co-writer, guitarist and singer Hayden Jensen, 20, bassist Jeff Bull Jr., 21, and new drummer Bryan Konkol, 20. Tickets: $10
The Hotel Cafe 1623 1/2 N. Cahuenga Blvd. CA 90028 hotelcafe.com
Bill T. Jones/ Arnie Zane & SITI Company: A Rite Black Violin 6, 7 March, 8pm
An impassioned scholar waxes
poetic about the cyclical structure of Stravinsky’s work which, in turn, evokes questions about our place in space/time. A shell-shocked World War I veteran finds solace from his battle-scarred psyche in the work’s opening chords while reeling under the relentless assault of The Augurs’ bombastic percussion. A Rite seamlessly joins minds, bodies and voices for a riveting reflection on Stravinsky’s groundbreaking score.
Royce Hall, 340 Royce Dr, T: 310 825-4401 cap.ucla.edu
20 March, 7.30pm
Kev Marcus and Wil B are Black Violin – a genre-busting act of high-energy, classically trained musicians who makea sonic party out of string instrumentals layered with jazz, R&B, and hip-hop beats. Having worked with Kanye West and 50 Cent, the duo has enough hip-hop swagger and seriousness to charm critics at SXSW (Voted “Top 5 New Bands” in 2013), Bonnaroo Festival audiences, and Broadway theatergoers alike. Joined onstage by a turntable artist, drummer, and cellist, “Black Violin works hard, but makes it all look like play” (The New York Times). Tickets $32-$55
The Broad Stage, 1310 11th Street Santa Monica, CA 90401 T: 310 434 3200 thebroadstage.com
David Cassidy 21 March, 8pm
Louis Lombardi: Buddies
Louis Lombardi has been in 50 films and television shows, most notably 24 and The Sopranos. He currently is looking for funding for a short movie called Buddies, which harks back to the classic buddy teams of Laurel & Hardy and Abbott & Costello. Read more about the project and get involved at indiegogo. com/projects/buddies--2 34 FOCUS | M A R C H 20 1 5
David Cassidy has managed to stay at the top of his game for over four decades, with a unique ability to reinvent himself and adapt to numerous genres from concerts to theater, television to Las Vegas, and even actor/ singer to producer/writer/director with a demographic that crosses three generations. David rose to stardom in “The Partridge Family” and became the biggest TV and performing phenomenon in history by the time he was 20. From television to recording and recordbreaking concert tours, from Broadway and London’s West End to Las Vegas production shows, David Cassidy has made his mark and been lauded with nominations and awards in each arena. David has certainly proven that it is talent, creativity and tenacity that keep people coming to shows, turning on the television, and buying his recordings.
Tickets: $48 / $59 / $78 Saban Theatre,
8440 Wilshire Blvd, CA 90211 T: 323-655-0111 canyonclub.net
Culture
Current Exhibitions Islamic Art Now In recent years, the parameters of Islamic art have expanded to include contemporary works by artists from or with roots in the Middle East. Drawing inspiration from their own cultural traditions, these artists use techniques and incorporate imagery and ideas from earlier periods. LACMA has only recently begun to acquire such work within the context of its holdings of Islamic art, understanding that the ultimate success and relevance of this collection lies in building creative links between the past, present, and future. Islamic Art Now marks the first major installation of LACMA’s collection of contemporary art of the Middle East. As the first of a two-part program, this exhibition features approximately 25 works by artists from Iran and the Arab world, including Shirin Neshat, Susan Hefuna, Lalla Essaydi, Mitra Tabrizian, Mona Hatoum, Hassan Hajjaj, Wafaa Bilal, Barbad Golshiri, and Youssef Nabil, among others. LACMA 5905 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90036 T: 323 857-6000 lacma.org
Sink Or Swim
Charles Gaines: Gridwork 1974-89 Until 24 May 2015
Los Angeles-based artist Charles Gaines is celebrated for his photographs, drawings, and works on paper that investigate how rules-based procedures construct order and meaning. Gaines explores the interplay between objectivity and interpretation, the systematic and the poetic. His groundbreaking work of this period serves as a critical bridge between the first generation conceptualists of the 1960s and 1970s and those artists of later generations exploring the limits of subjectivity and language. This is the first museum survey of the early work of a career that now spans four decades, and includes rare and never-before-seen works, some of which were presumed lost.
Hammer Museum. 10899 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90024. T: 310 443-7000 hammer.ucla.edu
A delicate, blown-glass vessel made in Iran in the 10th century likely once held perfume
Until 3 May 2015
Kamil Vojnar Until 21 March 2015
Life is a journey for artist Kamil Vojnar. Like pages from a scrapbook, his images document this journey. But rather than cover wide geographical distances, Vojnar travels vertically through the timeless, wistful emotions of the soul and heart. Soft figures float through ethereal landscapes of muted color as birds, balloons, and airborne ships become forms of surreal locomotion in Vojnar’s current series. The artist’s scenes are comprised of digitally layered photographs on various papers which stand both alone or are adhered to canvas. Drips of wax and oil paint add touchable texture and simultaneously emphasize nuances of color and shadow. “I like to make a satisfying object,” says Vojnar. “A simple photograph is cold to me.” Vojnar’s collaged images provide a sense of spiritual contemplation, as motifs of wings and figures in flight act as modern relics that are both haunting and familiar. Tagg Gallery, Bergamot Station, 2525 Michigan Avenue Gallery D-3, CA 90404 taggallery.com
Sink or Swim: Designing for a Sea Change explores the human story of resilience, from adaptation for survival to ambitious infrastructure planning, in some of the richest and poorest of the world’s coastal communities. Rather than showing pristine architectural photography, the photographs present viewers with various human responses to changes in their landscapes due to sea level rise. Sink or Swim aims to foster critical dialogue through the provocative juxtaposition of diverse responses to a challenge shared by millions worldwide. Annenberg Space for Photography 2000 Avenue of the Stars, CA 90067 T: 213 403-3000 annenbergphotospace.org
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BY GATHERING MARBET
Private and Public Relations Public Relations specialist Jane Owen discovers her family relations are equally fascinating.
INSIDE JANE OWEN’S LIVING-ROOMLIKE WEST HOLLYWOOD PR OFFICE, WHERE ENGLISH COUNTRYSIDE MEETS STREAMLINED WOOD AND METAL MODERN DÉCOR, JANE MANAGES TO BE BOTH PROFESSIONAL AND INVITING IN THE MIDST OF ADDRESSING AN INTENSE FLOOD OF NON-STOP CORRESPONDENCE. “Do you need anything…coffee, tea? Just one moment...” Jane’s melodic British accent sails from where she is perched; her long dark hair is loose, framing her classically beautiful face against the white of her chair. “I have four million emails to address!” she laughs. It’s difficult not to be swept up in the elevated sense of urgency and excitement that fills the room and adjacent office areas, as the clack of typing intermingles with bursts of announcement. “We secured the venue!” and “On the celebrity poker invitation all requests will be referred through you personally, Jane...” fill the air. Her colleagues’ voices overlap, taking calls, collaborating and occasionally commiserating about some aspect of something that has not yet come together. “This is how it always is.” Jane says, relinquishing her grip on her MacBook – placing it down, but not far. “We handle a large number of clients in entertainment; there’s not enough time in the day but we make up for it with determination.” 36 FOCUS | M A R C H 20 1 5
What made Jane, who was born in New York, raised in Greece and educated in London decide that entertainment public relations (PR) was her passion? Jane concedes that at first she was preoccupied with a different aspect of the silver screen. “When I was a kid you couldn’t have convinced me that I would do anything in my life other then acting,” she muses, “but when I found PR after University I realized that it encapsulated all the skills I had; communication, being sociable, writing…it brings you into all of these projects and these amazing people’s lives, around all these great movies and amazing actors. My favorite part is that after the endless hours in the office, you also get to go to the premieres and do the red carpet. You get to enjoy a little snippet of the movie star life. It’s fun.” It’s not only PR’s moments of limelight that Jane gravitates to; she also likes fighting for the little guy. “Almost all of my clients are not huge A-list celebrities, they are up-and-coming. When you’re working with upand-coming talent or a small indie film, you’ve got a huge mountain to climb. You’ve got a lot of barriers in the way. People aren’t falling all over themselves to interview an up-and-coming actor or to write about a small budget movie. You really need to bash the doors down and be inventive,” Jane’s eyes spark; you can see the PR torch burning in her. Jane’s fighting impulse may be genetic. Her great grandfather was Max Perkins, an Editor at Scribner’s publishing firm in New York City at the turn of the century. Max is credited for discovering and nurturing such huge talents as Ernest Hemingway, Thomas Wolfe, and F. Scott Fitzgerald among others. “He discovered all these great authors and fought to get their work published, and one of the writers that he really worked the hardest with was Thomas Wolfe,” Jane articulates this with such fervor that, given a podium, she would bring a full room to rapt attention. “Thomas was a giant man, extremely tall, he used to write using the top of a refrigerator as a desk because he was so tall. He’d write these books, but he’d write them all over the place in no particular order. He used to throw the pages behind him into crates--wooden crates--and he would write thousands and thousands and thousands of pages. He brought this book to Max Perkins--the first book they did together--and it was literally tens of thousands of pages that Max had to work with him to edit down to a readable size of a few hundred pages—which is a huge feat. Especially in those days when, you know, they didn’t have computers, they couldn’t press delete.” NURTURING TALENT Having someone as remarkable as Max Perkins in her family history has caused to Jane pause in considering her own contributions to the world through PR. “I was always told how I had this wonderful legacy…this wonderful lineage. I always looked at what he (Max Perkins) did for Hemingway, Fitzgerald and Wolfe, and tried to see the similarities between what he did for them and what I do in my work.” Though Jane notes the vast differences between PR and publishing, humbled by her grand father’s accomplishments, the similarities between what Jane and Max have dedicated their lives to are striking. Jane describes the majority of her work as “knocking down doors for clients.” She gets on the phone with magazines, TV shows, radio shows and on-line blogs in order to generate as much press coverage as possible for artists, actors, writers, directors, movies and TV series. She travels on press junkets – most recently with Adam Rodriguez of Magic Mike fame – protecting, promoting and furthering her client’s interests. In contrast her
PRIVATE AND PUBLIC RELATIONS | 03/2015
great grandfather, Max Perkins, with his keen editor’s eye also knocked down doors – giant societal doors of resistance to publishing little-known authors whose literary styles challenged the norm. What’s more is that at this very moment, on a set in London, in a twist of fate where Jane’s life skips the idea of imitating art and instead becomes it, Jane’s family legacy is being immortalized in the up-and-coming film, Genius. Genius has had its own winding road to discovery. Its conception began with A. Scott Berg, a Pulitzer Prize winning American biographer. Berg’s first book Editor of Genius, which won a National Book Award, was about Max Perkins’ life. “It took him (Scott Berg) seven years to write and he spent a long time living and being with my family,” Jane explains, caught in the awe of it all. Editor of Genius was published in 1978, then sometime in the 80’s a young screenwriter named John Logan bought the rights to the book--rumor has it, with his first screenwriter paycheck. “When I heard that, it made me really happy because it’s such a passion project,” Jane smiles. John Logan went on to write such huge screenwriting successes as Gladiator, The Aviator, Skyfall and a slew of others, winning Oscars along the way. Though Editor of Genius may have appeared to disappear into wishful-filmmaking obscurity, Logan’s intention to bring Max Perkins’ story to the big screen had not. Now Logan’s Genius is afloat in a sea of production, with first time film director, Michael Grandage at the helm. Colin Firth is bringing his exceptional talents to the role of Max Perkins, Jude Law stars as Thomas Wolfe and Nicole Kidman plays Wolfe’s mistress alongside other actors gracing the cast. Jane is riding the wave, finding the entire experience otherworldly. “I recently had the honor and privilege of visiting the set of Genius with my father, which was a really wonderful experience to share with him because this is such a huge deal for my family. We are so proud that this movie is being made. It’s amazing to us, literally incredible, that people of this caliber--this writer, director and these actors--found this story of this man that no one really knew anything about…this book that was published decades and decades ago, and they found it worthy to be celebrated.” For Jane the making of Genius is cathartic. “I love the fact that by making this movie
Maxwell Perkins, Editor, discovered and nurtured talents like Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald and Thomas Wolfe
Ernest Hemingway
F. Scott Fitzgerald
they are really celebrating the people that help behind the scenes. It’s really beautiful because a lot of times these movies come out and they only focus on the talent… you don’t necessarily see the people around them that helped them get there. This film is equally focused on both sides. It makes me proud, obviously of him (Max Perkins), but also of all the people out there who do jobs similar to mine, where we are really helping someone else’s light shine.” WINNING AWARDS In fact there’s a little light shining in Jane’s direction. Jane Owen PR has recently won an award from the 2014 Los Angeles Business Awards in the category of PR small business agencies. “I’m still considered a small business,” Jane laughs. “I think in order to be considered a large business you have to have over 100 employees.” Jane sees her PR future as ever growing, and though she will always be a publicist, “I love PR and I’m going to do it till the day I die,” Jane also has her sights set on producing. “Producing is kind of my hobby…my ten year plan...” Jane points out that her role as a publicist in Hollywood for the last thirteen years has naturally furthered her filmmaking connections. She can’t help but see the bigger picture. “I want a legacy of my own…maybe it will be a book, or maybe it will be a film, or both and all of those things I will do on the side of my PR.” How do you know if you need Jane
Thomas Wolfe
Owen PR’s services? “I would say only get a publicist when you really have something to talk about. Don’t get a publicist when you just have a script or an idea of making a movie, but you should get a publicist on a movie as early as your first contractual attachment. There’s a lot to be said for making the industry aware of the progress of a project.” In the PR world the name of the game is exposure. Jane points out that some people wait too long to get a publicist, thinking that PR is only appropriate for promoting massive scale projects, “when in fact it can simply get you a job.” Jane will tell you first hand that everyone in Hollywood wears the price tag of notoriety on their heads. “For actors, directors--the more well known your name is, the more jobs you get. The more people will think of you for a job, the more people will pay you for a job. You’re building your value up every time you get press. No you shouldn’t get a publicist if you’re just hoping to be an actor or a director, but the minute you get a job the goal is to get your name out there.”
janeowenpr.com focusmag.us 37
Kids
Cahnicles
The Adventures of the Cahn Family Los Angeles has no shortage of art and entertainment options for little ones. It’s a struggle to narrow down my list of favorites, but I’ll try. Disney’s El Capitan Theater - Every child should see a movie at this historic spot at least once in their lifetime. It’s more than just a movie theater – it’s a total Disney experience! There is almost always a pre-show, exhibits, and other fun surprises. You can also head next door to the Ghirardelli Soda Fountain and Chocolate Shop for a milkshake or to purchase Disney memorabilia after the show. elcapitantheatre.com Pantages - Every season there are usually one or two musicals perfect for children at this historic Hollywood landmark. Restored in 1999 to its original splendor, it truly is a beautiful venue. Wicked is now playing until March so get your tickets for your budding theater goers soon! hollywoodpantages.com LACMA - If you aren’t a NexGen member at the Los Angeles Contemporary Museum of Art – sign up now! It’s a free youth membership for anyone under 17. You can visit the museum at any time with an adult and both get in for free. Don’t miss the Boone Children’s Gallery (closed Wed), where your little artist can learn the art of East Asian brush painting. No experience is necessary and the staff are super friendly and helpful. There are even high chairs for your littlest painters. A few exhibits for kids Metropolis II - Chris Burden’s kinetic sculpture is a must when visiting the museum. Kids can sit forever watching the whizzing cars and trains pass by in this miniature city. Remember it only runs 4 times a day Friday thru Sunday - so check times on the website. Urban Light Kids LOVE running through the forest of lamp posts. The lights come on at dusk so get your cameras ready. Levitated Mass Who wouldn’t like walking under a 340 ton boulder? Penetrable in Neon Lime - This temporary exhibit won’t be at the LACMA forever so if your kids haven’t experienced it yet - hurry! Constructed of rubber tubing (looks like thick, long pieces of spaghetti) attached to a metal ceiling above, little ones can play in it for ages! lacma.org
Kim Cahn left her television producer job to be a full time mom to Olive (5) and Buster (1). She writes about their family activities on her blog andrewjr.com Watch this space for Kim Cahn’s family adventure next month!
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Childrens Books
Entertainment themed books curated by VERONICA MAJD
The Berenstain Bears and the Talent Show By Stan Berenstain Ages 0-4 Bear County School is organizing a talent show, which Brother Bear is responsible for scouting special talent participants. Brother Bear finds cubs with all sorts of unique skills, from those who can tell funny jokes to those who can balance poles on their noses. Find out who has the best talent of all! Celestine, Drama Queen By Penny Ives Ages 5-7 Celestine the Duck knows it’s her fate to become a Super STAR. She has determination and seeks opportunities. However, the moment she encounters a chance for her big break, she gets stage fright! Will Celestine find solutions to overcoming her fears so she can achieve her dream? Read this book to find out. My Hero By Apple Jordan Ages 7-9 Penny and her dog, Bolt, are stars in a television series in which they act as heroes. Bolt’s role is to keep the bad guys away from Penny and assure she remains safe. However, Bolt believes their acting time is reality. Will he ever realize they are just actors on a television set when handling these “bad guys”? Find out by checking this book out via LAPL. Break a Leg! The Kids’ Guide to Acting and Stagecraft By Lise Friedman Ages 9-12 Want a career in the acting world? Would you like tips on how to work with agents – and nail auditions for parts in television, theatre or films? If so, this course book is for you! It covers the preparation you need to enhance your acting skills, to make you more marketable. It also provides information for stage management, lighting and costumes.
Veronica Majd is the children’s librarian at Donald Bruce Kaufman - Brentwood Branch. For comments, suggestions, questions or follow-ups, please email her at vmajd@lapl.org
Kids
DIY With Tanya Supermom, Tanya Memme has the best job in the world – creating DIY projects for the tv show Home & Family. Armed with a glue gun, each week she shows us how to make some of her favorite projects.
MATERIALS:
Crayons cutting board knife large bowl baking sheet oven silicon molds
*Gather up all of the broken old crayons you have laying around the house and peel off all of the paper on the crayons. *Lay them on the cutting board and chop into small pieces. (the smaller the better) Then place them in the bowl and have the kids stir them up and mix all of the colors up!
DIY Crayons Don’t throw away all of those old broken crayons! Make them into fun shapes and letters for the kids! You can make them into letters, stars, hearts trees or anything you want! These are great for birthday parties, valentines day, christmas or any occasion since they can be made into themed shapes! Kids love them and they save mom a few extra bucks too!
*Have the kids place them into the silicon molds and make sure they are filled to the top. You can buy silicon molds at any craft store in the baking section, or you can order them off of the internet. *Place the filled silicon mold on a baking sheet so it lats flat. *Then place in the oven at 250 degrees for 10 - 15 minutes or until melted. Once melted, let them cool for at least 40 mins so they harden and are completely cold to the touch so the kids don’t burn themselves. *Pop them out of the molds and you’re done!
focusmag.us 39
Only Cosmetic
Cosmetic Surgeon, Gerald Minniti whose clients include Hollywood celebrities, talks about cosmetic surgery, and also has some tips on how to avoid it.
How do you find the best cosmetic surgeon?
A plastic surgeon is trained in reconstructive surgery and cosmetic surgery. What people need to know about is training and certification. And the most important thing they should know is that a doctor who specializes in cosmetic surgery should have a whole breadth of training, which means they are board certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgeons.
Dr. Gerald Minniti cites one of his inspirations for becoming a surgeon as “Hawkeye Pierce”, played by Alan Alda on the hit television show *Mash* in the 1970s. You can see the similarities, as both doctors depict an affable exterior, beneath which lies a competent and confident surgeon. Dr. Minniti is a native New Yorker who received his training in general and plastic surgery in Boston, New York, and Providence. He came West to practice and is now one of the premier aesthetic plastic surgeons in Beverly Hills. With more than 14 years of experience in cosmetic plastic surgery, he is an innovator of many surgical procedures for which he lectures to other surgeons, and is published in leading plastic surgery journals. Dr. Minniti specializes in primary and revision surgery of the face, breast, and nose, as well as body contouring procedures including procedures for massive weight loss patients. Dr. Minniti is renowned for the “24-hour recovery” for all breast augmentation patients. He has extensive experience in complex revisions surgeries of the breast involving implant complications as well as soft tissue issues. Dr. Minniti is expert in fat grafting to the face, buttock, and breast, as well as for revision of liposuction deformities. Body contouring procedures include abdominoplasty, body lifts, arm and thigh lifts, and liposuction.
Do you think that the best surgeons are drawn to LA, and Beverly Hills in particular?
I was born and raised in New York and I trained in the Boston province area. By and large, when it comes to cosmetic plastic surgery, I think there is a tendency for that surgery to be more refined, a little less overstated. Here in Los Angeles and in Beverly Hills, there is a tendency to see more overdone work. And I’m not criticizing the surgeons – it’s largely patient driven. But that’s the biggest difference that I can see between New York and LA. Patients out here want a little bit more. My patients want to look like they didn’t have plastic surgery. And to my mind that is the best plastic surgery. There are people who say it’s a terrible thing – you can see them walking down the street. Occasionally, you are going to see somebody who had bad plastic surgery – but for every one that you see there are probably 2 or 3 more who had surgery that you didn’t notice. In LA there are lots of people who are health driven but they also want to look good. Being healthy, unfortunately, doesn’t always mean that you age well. Certainly, there is that Hollywood aspect that does influence people, who are not in that business, to want to look good anyway. What procedures do you do?
I pretty much operate from head to toe. I operate on the face, body and breast. On any given day I could be doing surgery on the eyebrows or eyelids and maybe a neck. The next day something about breasts – breast implants or breast lifts or breast reductions. Another day, I could be doing liposuctions or a tummy tuck. It’s really varied and that’s one of the reasons why I got involved in cosmetic plastic surgery. There are so many different operations – it makes life fun, as a surgeon. If I had to pin down what I do the most, it would be breast and nose surgery. Are there certain trends?
The American Society of Plastic Surgeons keeps tabs on procedures undertaken by its member surgeons, and it really hasn’t changed that much over the years. Liposuction and breast augmentation vie for first place every year. For men it’s rhinoplasty and liposuction. Also for men, a big procedure is breast reduction. For women it’s eyelid surgery, facial surgery and rhinoplasty. Are there any new techniques?
There has been a shift toward body implants, other than breast 40 FOCUS | M A R C H 2 0 1 5
ONLY COSMETIC | 03/2015
implants. Mostly for men. The most important procedure we hear about now is fat grafting. You hear a lot about stem cells. We’re just getting a handle on it. Fat grafting is a fantastic adjunct to facial surgery, breast surgery, revision liposuction surgery and even buttock enhancement. Buttock implants are not that popular in the US (for good reason. I think they are problematic), but fat grafting to the buttocks is a fantastic way to shape and enlarge them. How long do the procedures and recovery take?
Most plastic surgical procedures are real surgical procedures. We take them really seriously. Granted, it might not be heart or brain surgery. It’s not life and death but it’s real surgery. It starts with planning. We make sure our patients are healthy and we clear them medically. The procedures vary in range and time. The average time is around an hour for a breast augmentation. Around 3 hours for a breast reduction or tummy tuck. And facial surgery, depending on how much is done, can go 6 or 7 hours. The important thing is safety and we have modern anaesthetic techniques which keep people safe. The recovery period depends on what we have done surgically. It can vary from 2 weeks to a month or more. TV shows make it seem like the surgery is all done and they are back to work in a week – that’s not the way it is. It takes time. A lot of people can get back to their daily activity in a short period of time. They may have a splint on their nose or a band around their head or a special bra. Most people are getting about within a week – but they are not fully recovered so we have modified activities. Nobody gets to go back to the gym, for instance, but most are doing their normal activities, including driving, within a week. People who have a facelift can really look fantastic quickly, and they can get out and about in just a few days. Do you deal with medical procedures as well?
Cosmetic surgery can sometimes cross the line into medical, functional surgery. People who have excessively large breasts, for instance. We know that they have a decrease in quality of life. People who have problems breathing through their nose. Chronic stuffy nose, sinusitis can sometimes be helped with surgery that can improve the function as well as the shape of their nose. Eyelid and brow surgery can vastly improve people’s vision. The case that’s most prominent when I think of cosmetic and medical necessity is breast cancer surgery – the repair and reconstruction of that. We have seen an evolution in how we repair the breast after cancer surgery and also an evolution in how cancer is removed from the breast. 50 years ago it was a very radical surgery. Now that we have an understanding of the biology of breast cancer, we can tailor an operation and combine it with other operations including chemotherapy and radiation so that it’s not such a mutilating surgery. We have 2 ways we can reconstruct a breast – one is by implant and the other is with their own natural tissue.
same from doctor to doctor. Having said that, some are wildly expensive and others are suspiciously cheap. You don’t have to overpay for good plastic surgery but I would be wary of someone who is much more inexpensive than everyone else. On average, Breast augmentation is around $6000 Facelift surgery can be upwards of $20,000 if you are having a lot of procedures. Is any of it covered by insurance?
Sometimes, yes. If the surgery has potential medical aspects. For instance, nose surgery is covered by insurance when we are operating on the internal aspects of the nose. Anytime we change the shape of the nose for cosmetic purposes it is illegal for me to bill insurance. Frequently we can get insurance to cover parts of the surgery. Breast reduction surgery can frequently be entirely covered but women have to meet criteria of their insurance companies. What are some preventative measures people can take to avoid cosmetic surgery?
There are a lot of things we can do to make us look better. Most important is diet. It’s not a question of being overweight. Eating well, avoiding processed foods and doing it for a long period of time. Not a one week or one month cleanse. Year after year, eating right is going to make you look better. You’re going to be healthier. Your skin is going to show it. Your skin is the window to your insides so nothing can surpass eating well. Sleeping enough. We’re in a society where some people brag about sleeping 2 hours a night. The data is coming in about sleeping 8 hours a night and there doesn’t seem to be anybody that would’nt benefit from sleeping 8 hours a night. If you can strive to sleep a lot more than you’re sleeping now, it’s probably a good thing. Some of the more obvious things are drinking and smoking. We all know the hazards – it leads to death but it also definitely has a negative impact on our skin and appearance. Two products that are really important for your skin are a moisturizer and sunscreen. Wearing that consistently through the years is going to make your skin look better and slow the aging process. You have to treat your skin in the same way you treat your hair and your nails. You don’t do it once a year because it needs that regular upkeep. The skin is more or less the same structure as nails and hair and it needs constant upkeep. It’s important if you want to maximize the vitality of your skin that you visit an aesthetician, and do it regularly. They can take your skin to the next level by using an assortment of chemicals and compounds that help the skin stay vital and young. The dead cells are removed, sloughed off and you have new healthy skin cells below.
What are some of the strangest things you have been asked?
The strangest things I’ve been asked to that I did not do, are what I believe to not be the standard of care. It includes things like removing earlobes, splitting the tongue, amputating the breast for no reason other than the woman did not want any breasts at all. What are typical surgery costs?
The cost of plastic surgery varies. In general it’s pretty much the
120 South Spalding Drive, #330 Beverly Hills, CA 90212 Phone: (310) 904-6297 drminniti@drminniti.com Office Hours Mon – Fri: 9:00am – 5:00pm drminniti.com
Text focus to 313131 to watch the video. focusmag.us/tv/drminniti
focusmag.us 41
MORNING GREEN ENERGY SMOOTHIE BY DANIELLE CUCCIO PHOTOGRAPHY: KIMBERLY GENEVIÉVE
I have to say, I’m a little obsessed with this one. A healthy smoothie that has you craving it every morning? Yes, please! Packed with protein, greens, antioxidants and more, this smoothie will keep you feeling energized all day. As a Celebrity Private Yoga Instructor, Health Blogger for TheBeautyBlender.com and CEO of Cuccio Somatology, this smoothie is my go-to breakfast energy drink every morning (I need every bit of energy I can get!). It can be somewhat difficult to get in your greens daily and this smoothie does the trick first thing! The banana gives it a sweeter taste so even people who don’t love eating their greens (and would prefer pancakes), tend to like this one! A healthy smoothie for all and a great healthy addition to make this New Year a whole lot healthier!
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This smoothie has become so popular it has been featured on Dr. Junger’s Clean Program and Style Me Pretty Living! INGREDIENTS
DIRECTIONS
1/4 cup Almond Milk
Using a Vitamix or type of blender, mix together all ingredients.
Handful blueberries 1 banana Handful kale 1 serving of Vanilla CLEAN Essentials Shake Nutritional Mix or Any Vanilla Protein Powder
Pour & enjoy!
Handful ice cubes
For Danielle’s e-book, “The Total Guide To Wellness, Beauty & Happiness”, Yoga DVD or to schedule a private yoga session, visit CuccioSomatology.com or Danielle’s Blog: TheBeautyBlender.com
BLOG SPOTLIGHT | 03/2015
BLOG SPOTLIGHT
POST RANCH INN IN BIG SUR
Last week my husband and I celebrated our ten year wedding anniversary (we made it!) by going to the POST RANCH INN in Big Sur, California. Let me tell you, it was perfect. It sits 120 feet above the Pacific Ocean so the views are out of this world. There are over 100 acres to explore and hike around, with breathtaking views of the ocean and mountains everywhere you look. There are 39 free-standing rooms all built with natural, yet modern architect that matches the dramatic beauty around you. Full story at chicmamala.com
CHIC MAMA BEAUTY LOVES PMD PERSONAL MICRODERM
I’ve been using my PMD PERSONAL MICRODERM for the past couple of weeks and I have to tell you, my skin has never looked better. This personal at-home microderm device not only removes my dull skin to give it a more youthful look, but it also literally saves me thousands of dollars on facials. Now I can easily give myself facials in the comfort of my own home, and let me tell you it’s so easy to use!! Full story at chicmamala.com
LEDLOW RESTAURANT IN DOWNTOWN LA
With restaurants opening all the time, it can be hard to keep track of the newest culinary gems. But if you only visit one new place in 2015, I’d recommend LEDLOW. Josef Centeno (owner of several downtown resturants such as Orsa & Winston and Bäco Mercat) is the mastermind behind taking over and transforming former artisan burger joint Pete’s LA. Now instead of a late-night burger, patrons can get an amazing taste of American cuisine with a Los Angeles twist. Full story at chicmamala.com
CHIC MAMA LA chicmamala.com
Anne Stedman Herwick Creator of Chic Mama LA chicmamala.com This Texan always knew she wanted to be an actress. She moved out to L.A. as soon as she got her SAG card from her first feature film with Richard Linklater called Newton Boys, starring Matthew McConaughey and Ethan Hawke. Anne went on to quickly land roles with Ashton Kutcher and director Clint Eastwood and her career took off from there. After having two children, she decided to take a break from acting to focus on raising her two boys.
That’s when she created her blog, Chic Mama L.A. From fashion, to beauty, to restaurants, to cool things for kids – you name it, Anne writes about it. Now that her boys are in school, she’s back to acting and enjoys juggling both career and motherhood.
Anne is currently in the film The Blackout and just finished shooting Goner which is out later this year. She also has a Virgin campaign out now with Jane Lynch in Australia. You can check out her new blog posts every week on Chic Mama L.A. to get all the news on what’s chic in L.A.
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Bev Hills Principal Carter Paysinger Principal of Beverly Hills High School.
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MAN OF PRINCIPLE | 03/2015
Text focus to 313131 to watch an extended video interview focusmag.us/tv/carterpaysinger
Former pupil and subsequent athletics coach of Beverly Hills High School, Carter Paysinger forms a heroic alliance with a student he once mentored.
Man Of Principle BY MICHELE KILMER PHOTOGRAPHY; DANA ADAMS
What happens when a William Morris Endeavor agent turns his own talents towards public service and reconnects with his high school coach to make a difference? In the city of angels, it’s a book deal and movie magic. Steven Fenton, former talent manager for WME, and Carter Paysinger, 30-year veteran coach and teacher for Beverly Hills High (BHHS,) sparked in each other a passion that transformed the school they both love. The evidence is clear, the year after Paysinger took over as principal it posted the highest test scores in the state. Reform however, didn’t come without its fair share of struggle. Paysinger grew up in South Central Los Angles attended BHHS on a “multi-cultural permit”, in 1971. Fenton, who graduated in 1988, grew up in Beverly Hills, and although they share an alma mater, they didn’t exactly come from the same place. Paysinger spent his youth navigating two worlds, one of the wealthiest neighborhoods in the country and that of his own neighborhood, which was anything but. “Keeping the two worlds separate was the best way to do it.” Paysinger said, in an interview with Focus Magazine. Those two worlds would eventually collide. When Paysinger was the assistant baseball coach for BHHS, he and Fenton formed a bond that would inspire Fenton long into adulthood, and prove its mettle off the field. Paysinger related to Fenton immediately because, like himself, he was the smallest player on the field, and he brought a similar intensity to Paysinger’s own. Through athletics, Paysinger was able to motivate studentathletes, like Fenton, well into their adult lives. “The common thread of athletics that [translates into other fields] is time management, discipline, respect and responsibility,” said Paysinger. “Many students point to [athletics] as the one thing they held onto, moving forward in their lives.” Fenton co-wrote the recently published book that is soon to be a movie, Where a Man Stands. It was his election to the board of BHHS that was instrumental in Paysinger becoming principal. The
qualities taught by his former coach are evident in the kind of man he has become. Fenton is a man who gets things done. When Fenton decided to run for a seat on the board he won by a landslide, even though he was unmarried at the time and had no children. There was turmoil within the district and teachers were retiring early, with frustrations surrounding the direction in which the administration was going. “The district was doing away with the old and reinventing the wheel.” Paysinger said. When the alliance between Fenton and Paysinger formed, they didn’t imagine that putting a beloved coach and teacher in the principal’s office would meet with any resistance. It never occurred to either one of them that neighbors and friends alike would turn their backs on them both. Change has a funny way of doing that. The kid from the “wrong side of the tracks”, who is different in class, race and religion from those whom he wants to lead, coupled with the school board member, who quickly went from insider to outsider because he wanted to shake up the status quo, might stir up some controversy. Stir up they did, but with the foresight to follow through and improve an institution they both felt deeply committed to—all the ingredients necessary for an inspiring story. So when a book agent approached Fenton about a deal, both he and Paysinger were a bit hesitant but they soon realized it was an opportunity to hone in on a message in which they really believed. In an interview with ABC News Fenton said, “We felt that this book was going to really inspire people to stand up. Carter and I, two ordinary people, willing to do something extraordinary.” Ordinary people engaging in extraordinary actions, now there’s a storyline to make an audience feel good. focusmag.us 45
Kindness Diaries Leon Logothetis – a former broker who refuses to conform to an uninspired life, decided to go in search of a meaningful one – as he set out from Los Angeles on the trusty vintage yellow motorcycle he’s named Kindness ONE. Circumnavigating the globe with no food, gas, money or lodging, The Kindness Diaries chronicles his remarkable journey and adventure traveling through almost twodozen countries and four continents fueled solely on kindness.
What was your favorite moment of the entire journey?
The favorite moment of my journey was when I met a remarkable homeless man in Pittsburgh. Tony was someone who on the outside had nothing. He had been struggling on the streets for some time, yet on the inside he was the richest man I have been fortunate enough to meet. He offered me to stay with him on the streets and promised to protect me whilst we slept on the sidewalk. What Tony did was to teach me a priceless lesson; that true wealth is not in our wallets but in our hearts. I found myself sleeping rough for one night next to a man who offered me his spare clothes for my long journey ahead, some food and oceans of wisdom and compassion. He changed my life that night. And I was fortunate enough to change his the next day, by offering him a new apartment to call home and a chance to go back to school. His act of kindness was so powerful that it literally cracked open my heart, and to this day I vividly remember my random meeting with Tony. A man who was once homeless, but because of a chance meeting with an Englishman he is on a new journey; a journey of redemption and reclaiming a well deserved life. If you are reading this Tony, thank you for your friendship, my friend. What was the biggest surprise you encountered? Were you ever scared?
The Biggest surprise I encountered on my journey was the outpouring of generosity I experienced. People from all walks of life came to my rescue. From Rickshaw drivers in India, to businessmen in Italy I was swept across the world on a wave of generosity. A wave that I tried my very best to repay in the best ways I knew how. Ways that I hoped would inspire people to live their dreams. Along with this wave of generosity, there was a wave of ‘reality’ that followed me too. By a wave of reality I mean that not everything went according to plan. Yes, there were wonderful people out there, but there were also some scary moments. A few days after I had slept in the sidecar of my motorbike in the city of Patna, India, a bomb exploded killing 7 people. Whilst I was riding through Cambodia & Vietnam a deadly Typhoon was slowly catching up with me. I spent countless nights in the sidecar unable to find someone to help. And at one stage I was denied entry into Vietnam as my bike didn’t have the legal papers to enter…Things were not always rosy. But as Winston Churchill once said “Never, ever, ever Give up!” And I didn’t. And I never will.
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KINDNESS DIARIES | 03/2015
In what ways did this trip change your life?
This journey changed my life in many profound ways. From giving me a sense of perspective about the world we live in, to inspiring me to fully engage in my life. To Live. Fully. However, the greatest single way it changed my life was to realize that the power of human connection is truly transformative. The power of human connection heals. It can heal profoundly. I started my travels around the world as a way to flee from a disconnected existence behind my “slab of wood” in a brokerage firm in London. I felt hopelessly disconnected, uninspired and depressed. Little did I truly know that by escaping into the vastness of the world I would find myself. And I would find myself in the camaraderie of my fellows.
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For the first time I would be seen. And for the first time I would truly see others. My journey across the world on my vintage yellow motorbike showed me that all we truly need & want is to be seen. I see you. You see me. When this magical dance occurs the rest is simply details…
I am committed to serve my clients with exceptional service and practical solutions with full transparency and integrity.
I find that too many of us stay tethered to our comfort zones. We are too scared to step out of our routines and by doing this we fail to taste the true essence of life. We are stuck. Most of the time in a rut. A rut that often lasts a lifetime. If there is one way that I could offer some inspiration to others it would be to take some risks. Jump out of your comfort zone and begin to live. Living doesn’t necessarily mean riding a yellow motorbike across earth. Living can mean starting that college course you have been putting off for years. Living can mean having the baby you have so desperately wanted. Living can mean sharing your truth with a trusted friend. Living, my friends, its why we are here, yet so many of us let life pass us by. I say. No more! Go for it! Go for it with 100% of your soul. Jump into greatest adventure there is. Life.
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How can others find inspiration every day?
KindnessOne.com @LeonLogothetis
Please call with questions or interest. ALI RAD
11755 Wilshire Blvd, Suite 1650 Los Angeles, CA 90025
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Member FINRA/SIPC
focusmag.us 47
Happenings MASH UP 24 January 2015 Renaissance Hotel, Long Beach
Text focus to 313131 to watch this video. focusmag.us/tv/mashup2015
48 FOCUS | M A R C H 20 1 5
The beauty industry’s “best of the best” showed up to support the MashUP fundraiser and press party for the THIRST PROJECT which took place at the Renaissance Hotel, Long Beach, California on Saturday Jan 24 2015, hosted by MashUP CoFounders and industry leaders, Tony Beckerman and Teri Donnelly. “Down the green carpet” interviews were hosted by Vidal’s daughter Eden Sassoon and Tony Beckerman. “It was indeed a marvelous night, noted Beckerman, “We raised thousands of dollars for the THIRST PROJECT and I think Vidal would have been proud to see hairdressers giving back to such a great cause.” Over 250 people attended TheMashUP Press Party in Long Beach from across the US and hairdressing friends from Australia sent a video with their best wishes. The night featured a special presentation of “HANDS-in-HAIR” hairdressers giving back, featuring three large murals showcasing artistry and philosophies from participants. “Tonight we’re making the world a better place,” Beckerman states, “Like so many of us who have contributed to changing and improving the “craft” over the last few decades, we can now stand together by giving back to something we can’t live or work without – CLEAN WATER.” At theMashUP, Evan Wesley Director of the Thirst Project conducted a powerful and moving presentation, showing the challenges of dirty water and highlighting the amazing results that the Thirst Project has achieved to combat this and how we can make a difference. Donnelly led the Hands-in-Hair presentation with a call to action that reached out to the hairdressing community to celebrate what makes a great hairdresser great –artistry, community and humanity! Each participating artist pledged $100 or was sponsored by a company who helped co-sponsored the event.
HAPPENINGS | 03/2015
focusmag.us 49
A traumatic car accident involving her dog Zoey, prompted Lindsay Gores to create her own line of natural dog food. Tell us about yourself Lindsay
I am an LA native, born and raised – a true Valley girl at heart. I am family oriented. I am an animal lover and I am a foodie. I spent the first 10 years of my working career in the entertainment industry. I was a Makeup Artist for ABC’s Desperate Housewives. After the on set experience, I made a shift to the business side of entertainment. First in the A&R department at Warner Brothers Records, then in the Business Lindsay Gores with Zoey Affairs department at Lionsgate Entertainment, and finally, I worked at Paradigm in the Marketing department. Today, I am the proud creator and founder of Pure Dog Food. I love what I do and couldn’t be more excited to be giving dogs a healthier way to live. What prompted you to create PURE Dog Food?
Zoey was hit by a car and suffered from 8 pelvic fractures and possible neurological damage to the left side of her brain. Days went by as Zoey was carefully monitored at the ER and the brain swelling eventually went down, making her a candidate for surgery to repair her broken pelvis. It was during this time that I realized how much our little friends rely on their owners to take care of their every need. Nursing Zoey back to health was a job in itself. She would only eat chicken which was shredded and hand fed to her. After two weeks of Zoey’s shredded chicken, hand fed diet, a friend suggested I put Zoey on a homemade diet. Being a natural caretaker and pet lover, this seemed like a great plan. Once Zoey started eating the homemade dog food, she would eat each meal in full, all on her own. It was incredible. Zoey has now made a full recovery and still LOVES her homemade diet. What differentiates your product from other organic dog foods?
I take pride in the overall aesthetic of PURE Dog Food. The look. The feel. Most importantly the smell! We don’t use any animal organs in our food. All of our food is produced in a commercial kitchen in Los Angeles. Our kitchen staff are certified food handlers and our kitchen is regulated by the health department. The food is cooked low and slow, and each batch is mixed by hand. Our ingredients are purchased weekly, from places we get our own groceries. If it’s something we wouldn’t eat, then neither will your dog! Preservatives, fillers and dyes are the culprit of most unknown pet allergies. You could spend countless dollars at the vet trying to figure out why your dog scratches all day and night, or why your dog is chewing their paws. Antihistamines 50 FOCUS | M A R C H 20 1 5
and medication can be expensive as well. It’s a tedious routine for most dog owners. What the vets don’t tell you is that the dry bag of dog food, or the can that sits on the shelf at the pet store for months on end, contains ingredients contributing to these ailments. If you compare the reason humans eat real foods vs processed foods… it works the same way for our pets. A diet of soda and fast food would probably leave you lethargic, inflamed and unenthusiastic about your next meal.
How do people buy your products and what is the cost?
The food is all prepared by hand, using all natural and organic human grade ingredients.
Currently, PURE Dog Food is a delivery service when orders are placed online. You can also buy our food at local farmers markets in the Los Angeles area which are listed on the home page of our website www.puredogfood.com (Sundays at Brentwood on Gretna Green Way and West Hollywood on Melrose Place). Our food comes in 2 sizes and pricing ranges from $6 to $13. Treats are approximately $4. Depending on the weight of your dog, our food can cost as little as $2 per day.
Pet lovers often are hesitant about changing foods. How should one approach offering your product as an alternative?
I usually recommend going slow and having an open mind. I will say that it’s not for everyone and that’s ok. You can’t force someone or push them to change their dogs diet. It takes patience and time in the beginning because every dog reacts differently to a new diet. The owner also has to understand and appreciate the benefits of a natural diet. The end result, (usually 10 days), is phenomenal. The 30 day mark is even better. What are the best sellers?
Dog owners are on a grain-free kick these days. Our Quinoa Clean Chicken and Proactive Beef and Pumpkin are both grain free and dogs LOVE those two flavors. Our Turkey Tried and True is a perfect starter formula. It’s light and easy to digest – great for transitioning from ordinary dog food to a natural diet. As far as the treats go, The Chicken ‘N Parsley Bites are most dogs favorite. Most of my customers have to hide them in a cupboard up high because their dogs will jump on the counter to try to grab them. Those are also grain-free. puredogfood.com
Photos: Annie Shak
A Natural Diet For Dogs
DOG ADOPTION | 03/2015
Dogs In Need of A Home
JANE
ELLIE
LAURENT
HANNAH
MARY
ABBY
Female 5 yrs old Chihuahua
Female 3 yr old Powder Puff Crested
Male 8 yrs old Chinese Crested
Female 8 yrs old ‘Deerhead’ Chihuahua
Female 9 months old Cockerpoo
Female 9 month old Poodle/Cockerpoo
Her owner has terminal cancer and can no longer care for this cutie pie.
Shy but loves other dogs and would do best in a household with another dog.
Kept in a crate his entire life, he is timid but learning to trust.
Starved, she had a mammory duct tumor (removed) and is on the mend.
She is the gentlest puppy. She is getting surgery on her knees.
Walks in a sitting position with a slight curved spine but is learning to use her wheelchair
CAIDEN
GABBY
HARLEY
Female Chihuahua Beagle Mix
Female 5 Month old Dachshund/Chihuahua
Male 1.5 yr old Poodle
Raised 5 puppies which have since been adopted
She had surgeries to repair her diaphragm, right femur & pelvic bones – she has healed wonderfully.
Survived two fractures in the back of his skull.
CHRISSY
MARIAH
The Pet Collective creates uplifting and cute videos about our furry friends! We publish 10 videos each week featuring the cutest puppies, the fluffiest kittens, and stories that will warm your heart! Watch the story of Abby, Noah, and Mary from their rescue to their heartwarming transformation into happy, healthy puppies! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G8ONJlkV0hg FIND US:
YouTube.com/ThePetCollective Facebook.com/ThePetCollective
SAM
Female 5 yrs old Maltese
Female 10 week old Chihuahua Terrier
Male 5 yrs old Chihuahua
Recovering from a fractured jaw, this tiny angel is being spoiled at her foster.
Healing from a staph infection caused from stress and lower immune.
He is sweet and his tail never stops wagging
These cute dogs were rescued from area shelters and are in need of love, hugs, and a HOME! Focus Magazine, together with Saving K9 Lives Plus, will proudly donate the full adoption fee paid by anyone choosing to add one of these adorable pets to their family, enabling this amazing organization to rescue another dog. With your help we can save twice the number of dogs on this page! As an added bonus, Focus magazine will feature your new, precious family member in an upcoming issue.
savingk9livesplus.org
Rescue these wonderful dogs today with Focus Magazine’s pledge to #payitforward Find out more from: Jackie Goodman jaclyndgoodman@gmail.com
Nikki Joel Host and Producer
Sally Colon-Petree Executive Producer
Jacqueline Gunn Producer
Dana Adams Producer
Focus TV is now available to watch FREE on FilmOn. We bring you lifestyle, food, home, fashion and fitness shows, with an empahsis on California living. FilmOn is an online network and is available anywhere in the world, 24 hours a day. Film On currently has 65 million viewers and it is accessible on Roku, Ipad, Iphone, Android and desktop devices by visiting www.filmon.com
#focustv 52 FOCUS | M A R C H 20 1 5
EV E N T C OV E RAG E Focus Events is a division of Focus Media Agency, which publishes the Focus magazine. As part of our event coverage for businesses and charities, we offer a customizable service of event graphics, photography, video footage, red carpet and a dedicated reporter for your event.
REAL ESTATE 580 CHAUTAUQUA BLVD Pacific Palisades
Video coverage of party for realtor to showcase new construction. Video coverage/photo gallery focusmag.us/tv/hamptonsinla
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HERITAGE WINES STORE OPENING 9400 S Santa Monica Blvd
TROT Pacific Palisades
Coverage of store opening in Beverly Hills
Red carpet coverage of 5K Thanksgiving, charity-based event.
Video coverage/interviewer/photo gallery focusmag.us/tv/heritagewines
BANC OF CALIFORNIA TURKEY
Co-branded/banner/Red Carpet/ Interviewer/ Video coverage/Photo gallery focusmag.us/turkeytrot
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54 FOCUS | M A R C H 20 1 5
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Christophe 348 N Beverly Dr,
Urth Cafe 8565 Melrose Ave.
Nate ‘n Al 414 North Beverly Dr
Kinsley 1009 Broxton Ave Westwood CA 90025
Sofitel Hotel 8555 Beverly Blvd.
Urth Cafe 267 S.Beverly Dr.
MALIBU
SHERMAN OAKS
Whole Foods 239 N.Crescent Dr.
Malibu Gym 29575 Pacific Coast Hwy
Kinsley Westfield Mall 14006 Riverside Drive Sherman Oaks
Unplug Meditation 12401 Wilshire Blvd, Suite 101 Bank of America 287 26th Street., Sweet Crush 11753 San Vicente Blvd Vicente Foods 12027 San Vincente Blvd. Brentwood Library 11820 San Vicente Blvd. SANTA MONICA Coogies 2906 Santa Monica Blvd. One West Bank 1630 Montana Ave. Groundwork Coffee Shop 1601 Montana Ave. Marmalade Cafe 710 Montana Ave.
Shu 2932 Beverly Glen Circle CA 90077
Malibu Health Club 22917 Pacific Coast Hwy PC Greens 22601 Pacific Coast Hwy Colony Liquor 22523 Pacific Coast Hwy CVS 23841 Pacific Coast Hwy Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf 3835 Cross Creek Chipotle 3828 Cross Creek
CA 91604
Beverly Hills Market 311 N.Crescent Dr.
MARINA DEL RAY The Studio 330 Washington Blvd Marina del Rey CA 90292
Mercedes 9250 Beverly Blvd.
STUDIO CITY Optical Connection 11996 Ventura Blvd Studio City CA 91604
On Newsstands STUDIO CITY Laurel Canyon News 12100 Ventura Blvd Studio City CA 91604 BRENTWOOD Marcks Newsstand 11737 San Vicente Blvd Los Angeles CA 90049
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HOME + LIFE IN LOS ANGELES
LA HOME magazine showcases the unique and diverse homes and life in Los Angeles, California. It’s a source of inspiration and aspiration – with in-depth interviews, home tours and tips from the best interior designers, architects, landscape designers, art dealers and product designers who shape the culture and habitat of our city.
For submissions and advertising inquiries email hello@lahomemag.com
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Coming Spring 2015