A Distinctive Style Winter 2013 Oscar Issue

wintER 2013

Relationship

RAncH

DEBoRAH LinDquist

Eco-Fashion for the New Year

AnnE HAtHAwAY: ‘2012 Was the

Best Year Ever’

BRAD pitt

Marriage, Kids, and a New Film

BRADLEY

coopER

Plays Mentally Ill Patient

DoLLY pARton

Still Dreaming

DAniEL DAY-LEwis

Perfecting Lincoln

HugH JAckmAn Les Misérables: ‘An Opportunity of a Lifetime’

Over the Rainbow— Simple Gifts

by ThePianoGuys

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Five guys from different walks of life with different skill sets, from different places—each had built their own careers: a piano store owner/videographer (Paul Anderson), a music producer (Al van der Beek), a videographer/ editor (Tel Stewart), a pianist (Jon Schmidt), and a cellist (Steven Sharp Nelson). But all with the same ambition: to inspire the world with the talents given them.

Each met through seeminglyhappenstance, but divinelyinfluenced circumstances.

Combined, they had the tools, the passion, and the drive necessary to independently build one of the most successful music video production companies in the world.

They are famous for taking their instruments (especially grand pianos) and video equipment to unbelievable places. But above all, ThePianoGuys love what they do— and it shows. At the end of the day, they are ordinary guys that love their families and that thank God for the opportunity they have to do what they love.

www.thepianoguys.com

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J O E B O N A M A S S A . COM

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There's a difference in playing from your head and playing from your heart. ~ JOE BONAMASSA

J

oe Bonamassa is a modern bluesrock phenomenon.

Two decades of tireless hard work have already secured him a place in the six string hall off fame, while his continuing dedication as a torchbearer for the blues has lit a new-generation fire under the guitar hero mantle.

Joe Bonamassa began his professional career twenty years ago, on November 11th, 1989, when he played his first gig at The Metro club, in Utica, New York. He humorously describes that night: "After the show I was not able to bask in the glory of a job well done, nor was I able to chat it up with the ladies that night. I was rushed out of the building Elvis-style into a running powder-blue metallic 1988 Pontiac Bonneville by my mother because bed time was 9:30 PM on a school night."

Joe Bonamassa has built his career on the foundation laid by white blues/rock guitar legends like Stevie Ray Vaughan and Eric Clapton. He fell in love with this music very early in life—grabbed his first guitar at age 4, and was landing gigs near his home in upstate New York by age 12. Often associated with other guitar prodigies such as Johnny Lang and Eric Johnson, Bonamassa has developed a style that incorporates numerous blues idioms—a bit of Elmore James, a touch of B.B. King, etc.— but owes more to rock interpreters like Jimmy Page and Jimi Hendrix.

Born and raised in New Hartford, New York, Bonamassa’s parents owned and ran a guitar shop. He is a fourth-generation musician; with a great-grandfather and grandfather who both played trumpet, and a father who plays guitar, Bonamassa credits his parents with, “fostering an appreciation of music in his life as early as he can remember.”

He recalls at age 7, sitting with his parents on Saturdays and listening to Guitar Slim, Bonnie Raitt, Crosby,

“Further on up the Road” Joe Bonamassa & Eric clapton Live at the Royal Albert Hall

Stills, Nash, and Young, Eric Clapton, and Jethro Tull.

Thus, he sees his music as an amalgam of all the various rock and blues he heard as a child.

He was playing Stevie Ray Vaughan and Jimi Hendrix tunes note for note at age 7. At the age of 11, during a short period of being mentored by Danny Gatton, he learned such styles as country and jazz as well as polka.

During this time with Gatton, Bonamassa sat in with Gatton's band whenever they played in New York. He opened for B. B. King at 12 years of age. At 14, he was invited to attend a Fender guitar event; during that trip to the West Coast he met Berry Oakley, Jr., with whom he founded the group Bloodline, along with Miles Davis' son Erin and Robby Krieger's son Waylon. They released one album which produced two chart singles — "Stone Cold Hearted,” and "Dixie Peach."

He has since played with Buddy Guy, Foreigner, Robert Cray, Stephen Stills, Joe Cocker, Gregg Allman, Steve Winwood, Paul Jones, Steve Lukather, Ted Nugent, Warren Haynes, Eric Clapton, Derek Trucks, Eric Johnson, and Jack Bruce.

Bonamassa averages 200 shows every year, and with each gig, he comes more into his own as a virtuoso and a vocalist.

When asked about learning his craft, Bonamassa states: “I think that any time you can learn as much as you possibly can about your craft and your trade, it's fantastic. It's what you do with the training—if you let the training run your playing, or the training run your life, then you'll sound like a book guitarist. But if you learn from that and just play what you feel; there's a difference in playing from your head and playing from your heart. If you play from your heart then that will trump all, and no school can teach you how to play with feeling.

BB [King] didn't need a school to teach him that, that comes from his soul.”

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Magazine winter 2013 masthead c o ve r BRAD PITT

c o ve r ph o to REUTERS

c o ve r m us i c B E T TE R TO G E THE R BY JACK JO HNSON

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Musician Joe Bonamassa

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“Trashed” with Jeremy Irons

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Musician Lindsey Stirling

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“Chasing Ice” Documentary

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Give a Voice to Children with Cancer

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Top 10 Breakfast Cereals with GMO

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How Much Sugar is in Chilren’s Cereal

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Taking a Bath without Water

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Karma Chow Ultimate Cookbook

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Brad Pitt Interview

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“Promised Land” with Matt Damon

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Dolly Parton “Dream More”

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Don’t Let a Disability Stop your Dreams

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Hugh Jackman Interview

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Farmed Salmon – Aquaculture Production

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Daniel Day-Lewis Interview

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“Meat Without Drugs” Documentary

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Monsanto’s New GM Soybean

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Ann Hathaway Interview

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Deborah Lindquist Interview

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Relationship Ranch

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Melissa Rycroft Interview

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Tony Dovolani Interview

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“Craiglist Joe” Documentary

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BRAD PITT

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ANN HATHAWAY

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DANIEL DAY-LEWIS

TONY DOVOLANI

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HUGH JACKMAN

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BRADLEY COOPER

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DOLLY PARTON

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MELISSA RYCROFT

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DEBORAH LINDQUIST

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JEREMY IRONS

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Jeremy Irons is no stranger to taking centre stage, but he may have found his most important role as investigator and guide in TRASHED, Candida Brady's new documentary for which Irons is the Executive Producer.

The documetary looks at the risks to the food chain and the environment through pollution of our air, land and sea by waste.

The film reveals surprising truths about very immediate and potent dangers to our health.

It is a global conversation from Iceland to Indonesia between the film star Jeremy Irons and scientists, politicians and ordinary individuals whose health and livelihoods have been fundamentally affected by waste pollution. Visually and emotionally the film is both horrific and beautiful: an interplay of human interest and political wake-up call.

But it ends on a message of hope: showing how the risks to our survival can easily be averted through sustainable approaches that provide far more employment than the current waste industry.

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Miu Miu ClASSiC EyEwEAr www.MiuMiu.COM

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BY

LINdSEY STIRLING

w w w. Yo u t u B E . c o m / u s E R / L i n D s E Y s t o m p

River Flows In You

At the age of 5, after being influenced by the classical music records played by her father, Lindsey Stirling began to study the violin. She took private lessons for 12 years. When she was 16 she joined a rock band with four friends.

In 2010, at the age of 23, Stirling was a quarter-finalist on the fifth season of America’s Got Talent, where she was described as a "hip hop violinist.” Stirling's performances were dubbed "electrifying" by the judges, and won the acclaim of the audience. but after she attempted to step up the dance level in her quarter-final performance judge Piers Morgan told her, "You're not untalented, but you're not good enough to get away with flying through the air and trying to play the violin at the same time.” Sharon Osbourne commented, "You need to be in a group. ...

What you're doing is not enough to fill a theater in Vegas.”

In her blog, Stirling confided, "I was devastated at the results ... It was painful, and a bit humiliating; however, I had to relearn where it was that I drew my strength.”

Stirling decided to continue to embrace her unique style of performance, promoting herself on the Internet. In a 2012 interview she remarked, "A lot of people have told me along the way that my style and the music I do...is unmarketable. But the only reason I'm successful is because I have stayed true to myself.”

Shortly after her performance on America's Got Talent, cinematographer Devin Graham contacted her in hopes of making a YouTube video together. They agreed to shoot a music video for her song, "Spontaneous Me.” The video boosted Stirling's popularity and she began making music videos regularly for her YouTube channel. Graham has filmed almost all of her videos, while Stirling often does backup camera work and assists with his music videos. Stirling's YouTube channel, Lindseystomp, which she created in 2007 and which is named after her first band "Stomp on Melvin,” is the main repository for her music videos. During 2011, the channel rapidly gained popularity, and as of 14 December 2012, it has over 189 million total views and over 1,135,000 subscribers. Her music is featured on Pandora, Spotify and Last.FM. Pandora, Spotify, and Last.FM. In December 2012, YouTube announced that her song, "Crystallize,” was the #8 top viewed video of 2012.

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Global Warming and the Effects of

cHAsing icE

by John LightLe

A

cclaimed naturalist photographer James Balog set off into the Iceland arctic in 2005 and brought home some revealing images that completely changed his global perspective. As a selfproclaimed skeptic to the world’s temperature shift, his expeditionary photographs revealed a climactic change unfolding before his eyes. Balog’s time-lapse photography captured a startling difference in polar decline and glacier retreats that propelled the photographer into the most aggressive project of his career.

Chasing Ice explores the rapidly melting ice caps photographed over several years from across the planet. At the projects inception, Balog assembled a team of young adventurers to travel the world and photograph the significant effects of global warming in relation to the stability of glaciers. As word of his project wove through the artistic community, documentary filmmaker Jeff Orlowski, with a string of credits ranging from his short, “Geocaching: For the Web to

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the Woods,” and “The Strange Case,” teamed with Balog in capturing the multi-year project.

Once Balog returned from his 2005 scouting mission, he organized Extreme Ice Survey (EIS) with the intention of photographing the glacier decline. His previous work capturing nature against environment as a photographer with National Geographic or in his private portfolio of Changing Forest, Endangered Species and Gulf Oil Disaster, beaconed framework for this monumental task. Balog’s original goal was to set 25 cameras across frozen landscapes using time-lapse photography shooting images every hour during daylight. Battling extreme conditions along with sub-zero temperatures, Balog recruited design engineer Adam LeWinter as one of EIC’s field coordinator to construct the custom time-lapse camera packages used in shooting.

Svavatar Jonatansson joined EIC as the Icelandic Field Coordinator as the team fixed cameras onto tripods and into rock for their unprecedented endeavor.

pHotogRApHER JAmEs BALog

Traveling by helicopter, dog sled and miles on foot, the EIC team traversed frozen ground through Iceland, Alaska, Greenland, Montana’s Glacier National Park, the Alps, Bolivia and Canada. They camped inside syntheticskinned tents, ate on the run, and photographed constantly. At one point, Balog removed his boots and rushed into the sea to snap images of melting ice crashing against a frozen coastline. Straddling mountainous ice fins, the EIC team hovered bottomless caverns suspended by repelling ropes in order to photograph a caving glacier. Fording frozen waters, Balog’s team captured majestic images of the carbondriven global warming eroding the arctic landscape.

Orlowski joined Balog using video to record the EIC team in action. As they traveled across the northern hemisphere documenting their adventurers, Orlowski compiled his video and turned the raw footage over to editor Davis Coombe.

The film’s producers Paula Dupre’ Pesman and Jerry

Aronson brought on composer J. Ralph to score the soundtrack, with the theme song performed by Scarlett Johansson. The music lifts viewers from the comfort of theater seats into the still calm of Arctic glaciers.

Beautifully composed with vivid colors displaying icy landscapes, great crags, serene formations, and placid waters, this monolithic film showcases an evolving planet formed only with the hands of nature itself.

Stills move across the screen with the subtle grace of a Ken Burns-style film or span quickly over a bustling Alaskan harbor in a hundred frames pieced together showing a rapidly declining glacier eroding into the sea.

Using a mixed-media package, Chasing Ice won a throng of supporters in raising environmental conscientiousness.

Balog leads us through a dramatic evolution in the warming of our planet, providing significant evidence using visual images of global climate change. www.chasingice.com A Distinctive style . com

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PAriS OPErA www.stuckincustoms.com

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Cancer kills more than 2,500 children in our country every year.

Over 13,500 kids will be diagnosed with cancer in the next 365 days. Though these numbers are significant, the potential market is too small to attract the attention of private industry. This makes the role of the taxpayerfunded National Cancer Institute (NCI) especially critical yet approximately 4% percent of its annual budget is dedicated to childhood cancer. The result is that children are dying every day waiting for promising new treatments that lack funding. This puts an extra burden on families with a child battling cancer. Although many are emotionally and financially devastated, these parents have no choice but to raise the money themselves by holding bake sales, car washes and other fundraisers. Meanwhile the NCI controls billions of taxpayer dollars yet it only releases a fraction of its resources to specifically help children with cancer.

Ironically some of the most significant advances in the battle on cancer in general have been made by studying childhood cancers, with some of the most important genes involved in cancer first found to be mutated in pediatric cancers. Forty years ago childhood cancer was almost always fatal.

Today, through advances in diagnosis and treatment, over 75% of children survive their disease. The challenge is that many children are still dying because progress has been stagnant for the last 10 years due to major funding gaps. Meanwhile the public considers childhood cancer as a largely solved problem and this is far from the truth.

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tHE tRutH 365

A ground-breaking, grass-roots documentary film and social media campaign that gives a voice to all children fighting all forms of cancer. We plan to shine a light on the state of childhood cancer research funding by uniting the childhood cancer community, all members of Congress, top pediatric oncologists and several of the country’s most influential celebrities.

The film is hosted by Melinda Marchiano, an 18-year-old cancer survivior, author and public speaker.

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The top 10 breakfast cereals most likely to contain GMO corn

by Mike AdAMs (www.naturalnews.com)

B

y now, nearly everyone interested in healthy living is aware of the recent research linking Monsanto's GMO corn to cancer tumors and an increase risk of premature death in both men and women. News of the research is spreading like wildfire across the 'net, and support for Proposition 37, which seeks to label GMOs in foods, is growing by the day.

But the media has not yet reported on the everyday foods being sold in grocery stores right now and made with Monsanto's genetically modified corn (GM corn).

Which foods are most likely to contain Monsanto GM corn? To answer this question, I visited a local grocery store in Austin, Texas and purchased 10 breakfast cereals made with high levels of non-organic corn.

According to the Center for Food Safety, up to 85% of the corn grown in the U.S. is genetically modified. This means cornbased cereals that use nonorganic corn have a very high likelihood of containing GM corn.

The following list presents the top 10 popular breakfast cereals most likely to contain Monsanto's genetically modified corn. For the record, none of these cereals claim to be GMO-free, nor made with organic corn. The exact GMO content of these cereals remains a mystery precisely because manufacturers of these cereals refuse to label them with their GMO content.

This lack of full disclosure by the food industry underscores the urgent need for a labeling law so that consumers can make an informed decision.

Legal note: In no way are we claiming these cereals will cause cancer tumors to grow in your body or that they pose an immediate risk to your health. Those

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It’s the children in America who are being fed the most GMOs. This represents a highly unethical food experiment being conducted on an entire generation and the long-term effects of human consumption of GMOs are simply not known.

studies have not yet been done on humans. GM corn is an experimental crop with unknown long-term effects of humans. Breakfast cereals made with GM corn may turn out to pose a significant long-term risk to human health, but that has not yet been determined. This article is presented in the public interest, reflecting reasonable caution over a common food ingredient which French scientists have now convincingly linked to cancer and premature death in studies conducted on rats.

The top 10 popular breakfast cereals most likely to contain Monsanto's GM corn • Cocoa Puffs and Corn Chex • Frosted Flakes and Honey Graham Oh's • Honey Nut Chex and Kashi Heart to Heart • Kellogg's Corn Flakes and Kellogg's Corn Pops • Kix and Barbara's Bakery Puffins Peanut Butter Which cereals contain no GMOs? Nature's Path There is only one brand of breakfast cereal I know of that's 100% non-GMO and 100% organic across their entire product line. That company is Nature's Path: If you buy breakfast cereal, and you don't want to eat Monsanto's GM corn, always choose cereals from Nature's Path. This is my No. 1 most highly trusted cereal company.

Many "natural" brands that appear to be healthful and natural are actually not organic or GMO-free. For example, "Barbara's Bakery" cereals are not organic.

Although they are positioned in store shelves alongside other organic cereals, they are actually made with conventional crops grown with pesticides which may include Monsanto's Roundup.

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Before it gets any further ...

ALZHEIMER FOUNDATION

Ever wonder how much sugar your child's cereal contains? The Rudd Center presents this quick video to answer the question and pose one of our own. Check out the video "How Sweet It Is!"

www.cerealfacts.org

How Sweet It Is!

Cheerios and Honey Nut Cheerios contain possible GMO ingredients such as corn starch and sugar. This video will show the about of sugar used in Honey Nut Cheerios.

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A BAtH witHout wAtER If you had to walk a mile for a jug of water every day, as millions of people do, it's unlikely you'd use that precious water to bathe. Young entrepreneur Ludwick Marishane tells the amazing, funny story of how he invented a cheap, clean and convenient solution to bathing.

22-year-old student at the University of Cape town, Ludwick Marishane, invented a waterless bathing lotion and was named the 2011 Global Student Entrepreneur of the Year — all because he didn't feel like taking baths.

Marishane says, “The inspiration came from a friend that didn’t like taking showers. He was lazy and one day he said, ‘Why doesn't someone invent something that you can put on your skin so you don't have to bathe’?” It was a eureka moment for Marishane !

A few months of research on the Internet, using his web-enabled mobile phone to search on Google and Wikipedia in pursuit of a formula for a waterless bath, brought immediate global recognition for his patented invention called DryBath.

DryBath is the world’s first germicidal gel with a proprietary blend of biocide, bioflavonoids and moisturizers, that provides an environmentally friendly and convenient alternative to bathing.

Marishane hopes his product will help conserve water in the poorest parts of the world and says, "DryBath will go a long way in helping communities where millions of people do not have access to water.”

DryBath is currently available to institutional clients only and is not yet available for retail purchase.

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Bradley Cooper hopes the discussion of mental illness in “Silver Linings Playbook” will help spark more discussion about it. by siAn edwArds (theinterviewfeed)

B

radley Cooper was recently nominated for “Best Actor” in “Silver Linings Playbook,” opposite Jennifer Lawrence and Robert De Niro, who were also nominated for “Best Actress” and “Best Supporting Actor.” In his recent interview with A Distinctive Style, Cooper talks about the stigma against mental illness.

Q: What was it like working with Jennifer Lawrence, you’ve done it twice now?

Yeah, back to back. Very lucky, I feel like I latched onto a secret before everybody knew about it. She’s incredible. She’s just an incredible actress and such a professional. It’s easy. I would do every movie with her.

Q: How did you prepare for a role like this in Silver Linings? The guy you play obviously has some

sure. He doesn’t believe an illusion like he does at the beginning of the movie.

Q: Do you think there’s a stigma against mental illness? It’s regarded as a taboo issue?

Is it? I don’t know. Well if it is, it would be nice maybe for this movie to change that.

The hope is that you can relate to these characters, and certainly when we tested the movie, a lot of the feedback was, I could actually relate to these people.

Q: Have you had it yourself?

pHoto: REtuERs

mental issues. Did you visit a hospital?

There wasn’t much time, but David (O. Russell) sent me some material and a bunch of videos. I went online and I remember there was one thing; I saw a documentary of a guy who had recorded his own depression and mental illness for years. And I remember thinking that I could relate to it, the way it was written. It’s set in Philadelphia, and the relationship with the father and the mother, I know that world. So you make connections.

Q: Do you think love is the answer to cure illnesses?

This guy meets a girl and then all is fine?

Well I don’t think he’s cured. I don’t think the message is that he’s cured, I mean as life goes on, he’s made improvements. Did you get the feeling that he was cured?

Q: No, but he looked different in the end.

Clearly. You see a guy who’s gotten his shit together, for

Well, I don’t see these people as mentally ill. (laughter) I don’t think they are mentally ill, I think that they are complicated but I think that they are interesting characters. He’s done a plea bargain, that’s why he agreed to go to the hospital. Remember the plot?

So he did that in order so he wouldn’t have to go to jail. But then when he was in there, he was diagnosed as bi-polar.

Q: He doesn’t have a boundary between what he should and shouldn’t say.

Yeah he has no filter.

Q: Do you think it would be better in life if everyone was like that?

Well aren’t they like that?

Q: No, definitely not.

The press is not like that? Oh, I thought they were. They actually make up stuff? (laughs) Q: Are you like that yourself? Is that how you try to live your life?

I try to be as honest as I can. I mean caring, I would say caring, and you try to be caring.

Q: Do you think it’s important in relationships as well to be completely honest with each other?

I think you try to be loving. That’s the key.

Q: How do you stay positive in your life?

You know, trying to stay in this place of gratitude. I think that sort of perpetuates positivity.

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The Karma Chow Ultimate Cookbook: 125+ Plant-Based Vegan Recipes for a Fit, Happy, Healthy You

by MeLissA CosteLLo Foreword by tony horton

t

he more than 7 million vegetarians and 3 million vegans in the United States alone are proving that chowing down on planet-friendly fare not only helps them look and feel better, but it can be delicious too. In her debut cookbook, Karma Chow creator and celebrity chef, Melissa Costello shares an exciting collection of 125+ recipes that will be a welcome addition for anyone already following a vegetarian or vegan lifestyle or for the growing number of

t o p u R c H A s E B o o k c L i c k H E R E

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people embracing more plant-based meals. As personal chef to celebrity fitness guru Tony Horton, creator of the bestselling P90X® fitness system, Melissa is constantly finding creative ways to keep Tony and her other clients happy, fit, and fueled.

With her "keep it simple" and "make it tasty" approach, she offers a smorgasbord of dairy- and animalfree appetizers and desserts, breakfasts, and dinners, holiday- and company-worthy menus. Recipes include: Mac & Cheeze, Karma Burgers with Chipotle "Mayo," Thai-Style Tempeh Lettuce Wraps, Supreme-Oh Burritos, Roasted Butternut Squash Soup, Korean-Style Tempeh Tacos with Red Dijon Slaw, Enchilada Casserole with Ranchero Sauce, Artichoke and White Bean Dip, Cilantro Cauliflower Smash, Pad Thai in Peanut Coconut Sauce, Stuffed Mushroom Poppers, Indian Spiced Coconut Yam Soup, Chili Sweet Potato Fries, Un-Shepherd's Pie, Strawberry Crème Mousse with Pistachio Nut Topping, Banana Carob Bread Pudding, Apple/Pear Crisp, Brownie Bites, Chocolate Truffles, and Cardamom Chocolate Chippers (a Tony Horton favorite!).

The Karma Chow Ultimate Cookbook (HCI Books -$18.95) shows anyone how to reconnect with their food and honor it as Earth's source for keeping us alive—all while finding it easier to rock their workouts and sculpt a well-defined physique. It's a winning recipe for success for anyone looking to transition to a healthier way of life!

A Word About Alternative Sweeteners There are many sweeteners available that are healthier for you than white sugar, but remember, they are still sugar and should be eaten minimally. Some of my favorites are raw blue agave nectar, grade B maple syrup, and brown rice syrup. These tend to be quite a bit lower on the glycemic index (GI) compared to white cane sugar. For instance, the GI for agave nectar is between 20–30, compared to 55 for honey and 68 for table sugar. There are also a lot of fancy names for sugar: evaporated cane juice, Sucanat, and raw sugar. Do your best to steer clear of these and use the alternatives I have listed in the “Alternative Sweet Stuff” section on page 20.

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DeeP inSiDe The QUeen VicTORiA BUilDing in SyDney Inside, there is a secret letter from Queen Elizabeth II that is to be opened and read by the Lord Mayor of Sydney in 2085.

PhOTOgRAPheR TRey RADcliff

www.stuckincustoms.com

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Brad Pitt Balances Marriage, a Large Family, and a New Film by siAn edwArds (theinterviewfeed)

t

he nuptials between Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie serve as the ultimate realization of Pitt’s lifelong dream of fathering a large family – even if shuttling six children between homes in London, Los Angeles, New York, and southern France can, at times, resemble a covert military operation.

Pitt, however, has no qualms about logistics. He lives for his kids.

When asked what life as a movie star father was like, he responded, “I still have to get up at 6 a.m. and make breakfast for six kids. I don’t see my daily life as being that remarkable, except for the fact that I’ve struck the lottery when it comes to my work and the opportunities it’s given me.”

“Being a parent of several children is exhausting – no matter what,” Pitt continued. “I’m lucky that Angie has so much energy and [she] never gets down or complains.

The only time I’ve ever seen her really tired was after the twins were born. That proved very demanding and made it difficult for her to spend as much time with the other children as she did before. But now that the twins are older, it’s becoming a lot easier for all of us. I mean, when you have a big family, you learn to develop good logistical training and then it’s just like a machine that keeps moving forward,” he laughed.

“I carry on a running conversation with myself about how I’m raising our children, the kind of education I’m giving them and how they seem to be evolving. I want to help them grow up to be independent and aware individuals. The kids are a huge part of my world and

I love being an active and engaged father and family man,” Pitt stated.

Meanwhile, his other job has Pitt playing a mob hit man in “Killing Them Softly.” The ambitious gangster saga draws parallels between organized crime and the Darwinian imperative of modern corporate culture.

Pitt’s character, Jackie Cogan, is sent in to clean up the mess that results from the robbery of a mob-sanctioned poker game. The theft disrupts the local crime business and in the course of his mission to restore gangland equilibrium, Cogan delivers the film’s defining message – “America’s not a country, it’s a business. So pay me, motherfucker!”

“The story is basically a metaphor about business and how business can be very Darwinian and cut-throat.

There’s a danger in society becoming too focused on ruthless competition and losing all sense of community and hope. The financial crisis has made us more cynical about our future and the killings that take place in the film are symptomatic of that,” Pitt explained.

Behind this stark maxim sits an allegorical premise that the current economic recession has led to a growing political embrace of the rule of the free market, which comes at the expense of defending those members of society who are unable to defend themselves. Pitt believes that this is a perversion of the American Dream’s more noble ideals. It’s a myth he embraces, albeit rather cynically.

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Pitt Continued

When asked if the film’s parallel to the 2008 financial consuming as it used to be because my family is my crisis and the recession was an intentional one, Pitt priority and I’d rather spend more time with my kids.”

He continued, “I discovered early on how very replied, “Director Andrew Dominik and I started working on the idea while the mortgage and financial crisis fulfilling it was to be at home and have time where I was picking up speed in 2008. That’s why we thought didn’t have to focus on anything except being a father. the story could, in some way, mirror the harsh reality of I’m very proud of Angie and how she has made this how society has become a victim of financial deregula- family work. I love the fact that we have this incredible tion and the kind of greed we saw [concerning] how the mix of cultures and how they’re growing up together banks and the hedge funds and other financial institu- and feel part of one crazy, happy family. It’s a bit of a tions operated…[it] brought us to the abyss. What’s madhouse at times, but you kind of love it.”

Pitt continued, “Angie and I do everything we can frightening and disappointing is that they escaped virtually unscathed from the mess that they helped create to carve out some semblance of normalcy for our children.” and nothing has really changed “It’s not unusual for the kids to when it comes to the rules as to be covered in paint,” Pitt shares how the financial system continues Angie and I know when asked how he and Angelina to function. We have to decide find a balance between work and whether we want responsible capithere’s a bounty on family. He continues, “We have talism or brutal, unregulated capitalmud fights. It’s chaos from mornism... That’s where government has our heads for photos. ing until the lights go out and a role to play in preserving the kinds sometimes after that… I love playof democratic ideals that go far being around at night with the older yond the law of the marketplace.”

We’re hunted for ones or sitting down and reading “The decision to film “Killing books with Mad. It’s the most satThem Softly” in New Orleans was a that reason. isfying feeling in the world.” personal one,” Pitt explained, stat~BRAD PITT Pitt fondly remembers when he ing, “In a way, it was a very fitting decided to leave the university he setting for a city suffering from economic hardship. I have a special connection to New Or- attended and drive to L.A. “You never forget that kind leans and I’ve been trying to play my part in helping of a moment in your life where you decide to change direbuild the city and bringing a little hope to the people rections and follow your instincts. I was thinking that who live there. I love New Orleans and the people there the life I thought I wanted for myself was all wrong. I and I thought it would be a great idea to shoot there, didn’t want to look for a job at some newspaper or find pump several million dollars into the local economy and something just to pass the time. I had about two weeks hire as many crew members and technicians as we pos- left to go before graduation and I knew I had to get out and do something different with my life. I had this idea sibly could.”

When asked if acting was still as meaningful today as to go to try acting and see where that would take me. it was in the beginning of his career, Pitt responded, It was something I had to try... So I loaded up the car “It’s different. I’m very happy with the projects I’ve and headed for Los Angeles. I had $300 to get me there been involved with lately. I still have a great passion for and somehow get started. It was just something I storytelling that has been part of my life ever since I was needed to do for myself.” a kid when my parents would take us to drive-in movies.

As an actor, I love being able to explore all the complex “Killing Them Softly,” based on the 1974 George V. aspects of human nature and how we’re constantly in Higgins novel “Cogan's Trade,” is now playing in various stages of conflict with each other. But it’s not as theatres.

“

“

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Promised Land a new contemporary drama directed by Gus Van Sant (Good Will Hunting, Milk). Matt Damon plays Steve Butler, an ace corporate salesman who is sent along with his partner, Sue Thomason (Frances McDormand), to close a key rural town in his company's expansion plans. With the town having been hit hard by the economic decline of recent years, the two outsiders see the local citizens as likely to accept their company's oer, for drilling rights to their properties, as much-needed relief. What seems like an easy job for the duo becomes complicated by the objection of a respected schoolteacher (Hal Holbrook) with support from a grassroots campaign led by another man (John Krasinski), as well as the interest of a local woman (Rosemarie DeWitt). Promised Land explores America at the crossroads where big business and the strength of small-town community converge.

ViEw tRAiLER

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After decades Of dreaming, dolly Parton Says, ‘dream More’

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w

hen Dolly Parton told her high-school classmates that she planned to go to Nashville and become a star, the whole class burst into laughter. In her book “Dream More,” Dolly Parton explains the principles behind her success and describes how she became one of the best-selling recording artists of all time.

“I’ve never lost my faith, and I never lost momentum, I never got off-track. I never turned loose from my dream. And I’m still holding onto it as tight as I can.”

Based on the hugely popular commencement speech Dolly Parton gave at the University of Tennessee that became a sensation, Dream More is a deeper and richer exploration of the personal philosophy she has forged over the course of her astonishing career as a singer, songwriter, performer, and philanthropist.

Parton is one of world’s true superstars and in Dream More she recounts her deeply held philosophy of life and shares her heartfelt hopes for everyone. Based in part on the hugely popular commencement speech Dolly gave at the University of Tennessee in 2009 Dream More expands greatly on the themes of that speech to dream more, learn more, care more, and be more.

The book is an exploration of the personal and spiritual philosophy she has lived by over the course of her extraordinary career. It is a funny, poignant and uplifting anthem for people who want to take charge of their lives and forge a future on their own terms.

Dolly said, “I know that I’ve learned some things in my life that are important to me, and I think maybe they might be good ideas to pass along to you. Not as advice, but as information that I have found has helped me over the years. Enough to share, and a little to spare.”

Commenting further, Dolly said, “If you’re lucky, your dreams will never die, you may not always achieve them, but if you always have dreams and reach for them, you’ll never be a failure. I still have dreams of what I want to do next.”

Parton has always been a dreamer. As a girl in Tennessee she stood on her porch, turned a tin can on a tobacco stick into her microphone, imagined herself dressed in a sequined frock, and sang with all her might to the chickens in the yard as though they were her biggest fans. She held on to that dream of singing on

stage to thousands and it carried her from a shack at the foothills of the Smoky Mountains to the heights of the entertainment world.

One of Parton’s biggest dreams was always to give back to her hometown in Sevier County, Tennessee. In addition to opening Dollywood, her own award-winning theme park, she also began the Dollywood Foundation to inspire children in her home community. The foundation currently provides the Dolly Parton Imagination Library to promote early literacy. According to Parton, the key to learning more is being inspired to read more.

The Imagination Library, through its partnership with local sponsors, gives every registered preschool child a book per month from the time he or she is born until the child reaches kindergarten. Penguin Group (USA) has been the exclusive provider to the program since 2001 and the program has distributed more than 41.5 million books since then.

Through the Imagination Library Dolly aims to instill a lifelong love of learning and to inspire all children to dream more, learn more, care more and be more. And now with the publication of Parton’s new book she can share her singular and inspiring message with all of us.

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I realized it was my

by JiLLiAn MerCAdo (BeautyLish)

G

rowing up I would watch my mother put her makeup on and wished one day it would be me in that Revlon red lipstick. We would head downtown to Macy’s down by 34th street, my mother in her Calvin Klein shoes, me in my wheelchair.

I have been disabled since birth. When I was born, a student doctor displaced my hip, but my parents didn’t realized this had affected me till the age of three. From then on, I was the wheelchair girl.

But no matter how I was regarded, I still had a fascination with fashion and style. At a very young age, I would watch while my mother made dresses. I studied people’s clothing choices. It seemed like I always had fashion in my blood. I remember wanting to see more colors and different styles instead of the same boring blue jean and tee shirt. Why couldn’t people dress up? They seemed sad—their choice of clothing expressed that to me.

I was lucky to grow up in this wonderful island New York.

As a child living in the Upper West Side, I was always fascinated with the city; full of electricity, energy and style. But I was afraid that a girl in a wheelchair would not be accepted into a community where you are judged by your appearance. Little did I know that I was soon going to change that. I would be the one woman who looked different at fashion shows. But that would be years later. First, I needed to learn how to like myself and understand how I could be beautiful too.

Not that I wasn’t obsessed with fashion from that start.

Throughout school I always had some sort of a beauty product in my bag. Whether it was a those over-the-counter Wet n Wild lip glosses or black eye liner, I would make sure I was ready. Most girls my age went for the all-natural look, but makeup made me feel powerful, and that feeling alone boosted my self-esteem. Although that feeling would come with a price. I would get strange looks from people as I rode around the streets and classroom hallways in my skinny jeans clothes and my Cover Girl bright pink lipstick, and it took a lot of self-determination to keep being me. Being that I am in a wheelchair, looking or feeling beautiful was something that I didn’t think I could feel.

As I grew older and bolder, I experimented with different makeup products and clothes. Slowly, I started understanding what suited me best. Not everything that’s trending fits you, so you pick and choose to what represents you best—for me it was print leggings, bold accessories, and button up shirts. I

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duty to show the fashion industry that my wheelchair had nothing to do with my passion. began styling myself. I graduated high school and enrolled at Fashion Institute of Technology for Merchandising Management. Many girls had completely different looks and ideas of how to mix and match outfits. I felt as if these people got me, they didn’t look at me funny—they were welcoming, supportive and impressed at my differences and how I took the time to dress up. With their daring clothing and experimentation, they understood my way of looking at the beauty and fashion world, as a powerful tool.

In the FIT dorms, we would all wake up minutes earlier just so we would have time to add that perfect eye wing or that hot pink lip liner with lipstick on top so it wouldn’t featherproof. We held our heads high as we moved down those hallways. Having makeup on and dressing as we wanted was empowering. Then we graduated, and it became time to leave the bird’s nest and enter the sometimes difficult real world of the fashion industry. Living in New York, there are times when a door closes just because of your looks. Searching for an internship, I would sometimes get rejected on the spot, which was even worse than getting rejected in an email a week later.

One morning, I went for an interview at a well-known fashion magazine company for a position as a beauty assistant. The front desk girl saw me and asked if I was in the right building, I told her that I was in for a meeting. Her look said it all. She took a half hour to tell me that they had to reschedule. Two days later, I got an email from the editor and she explained how I wasn’t suited for the job but wished me luck—just one rejection out of many that I experienced when I first started making my mark in the industry.

During my college days, I interned for Allure Magazine in the

beauty department. I never complained when I was given mundane tasks like opening products and organizing them in the closet or filing thousands of Fashion Week photos by the last name of the designers. At every meeting, we would sit in and take notes on what trends were going to be a hit next season, or how a runway photo can turn into a makeup look— this was more for us to get a sense of how each page created a magazine. I was among some of the best editors and graphic designers in the city, and that feeling was life-altering in itself.

Everyone came dressed as if Fashion Week was every day.

My favorite thing about working there was the sound of heels walking down the hallways. My skin would crawl with excitement because everyone was working hard, dedicated to what they were doing in the most fashionable way. There was one editor who I loved to watch walk; she had her desk near mine. I remember she was wearing a high-waisted pencil skirt with an Alice + Olivia shirt, a Hermes bag, and YSL pumps.

With that walk alone, I felt her power. That’s when I knew, that this is what I wanted to be like in years to come.

The experience you get interning for a magazine provides a huge education on the industry as a whole, but for me it was more than just a job. I learned that I offered a different point of view that no one had tried before, and I realized it was my duty to show the fashion industry that my chair had nothing to do with my passion. From then on, I would have the freedom to express my fashion style without the thought that someone was going to judge me.

So here I am, still living and fashion blogging in New York City and working for celebrity photographer Patrick McMullan as a creative assistant. Being a part of the fashion world has taught me a lot of things, but one thing stands out most of all: people may not accept how you look or what you wear, but that doesn’t matter. You’re not here to please everyone.

Being yourself is all that truly matters.

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Hugh Jackman as Jean Valjean photo courtesy les MisĂŠrables

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Hugh Jackman: Les Misérables, Life, Friends and Family Starring in “Les Misérables,” opposite a stellar cast including Anne Hathaway, Amanda Seyfried, Russell Crowe, Sacha Baron Cohen and Helena Bonham Carter, Hugh Jackman is a frontrunner for an Oscar for his role as Jean Valjean.

by siAn edwArds (theinterviewfeed)

Y

ou probably know Hugh Jackman for his leading role as “Wolverine” in the “X-Men” film series.

You may also recognize him for his role in “Real Steel.” Or perhaps, you’ll recall how he was dubbed the “sexiest man alive” by People Magazine in 2008. And now, in “Les Misérables,” the word around town is that his performance in the role of “Jean Valjean” has made him the shoe-in for an Oscar!

Jackman underwent an incredible transformation for his role. The change was so dramatic that his wife, Deborra-Lee Furness, gasped when she first saw the him in character.

Equally striking is the contrast between his on-screen rivalry with Russell Crowe and their off-screen reality.

In real life, they’re really good friends. “Russell and I have been friends for a long time. I owe a lot to Russell in many ways,” Jackman explained, pointing to Russell Crowe’s decision to turn down the role of Wolverine.

In fact, he even recommend Jackman to the director.

Jackman shared, “I have asked his advice on several occasions and he’s always been generous to me and a good friend. This is the first time I got to work with him though.”

In fact, Jackman has plenty to say on Russell’s legendary cast parties. “If you ever get invited, take a song with you because you are singing. Everybody sings. He brings out his guitar and he loves it. The hard-

est thing is leaving because when you are at Russell’s parties, it’s always great fun,” Jackman said.

While he’s generous with his compliments, Jackman isn’t afraid to admit his faults and past mistakes. “As Russell just reminded me, I’m very bad at saying ‘no’ to my wife. I am a double booker. I am indecisive. I am a terrible handyman. And I can be incredibly vague,” he joked, adding, “I’m an actor, don’t trust an actor.” Perhaps this is a reference to a sticky-fingers incident from his childhood. “I would have gone to jail for nineteen years! It was a pack of Chickadees. I was very hungry and I certainly wasn’t starving like in this movie, but I was very hungry and I said, ‘Oh, I want something to eat!’ And my brother said, ‘Well let’s go to the shop’ and I said, ‘I don’t have any money.’ And he goes, ‘You don’t need money.’ He was a bad influence. I was led astray,” he admitted. Like most child thieves, he was caught. “Busted and belted. That’s how it was back then, but I wasn’t punished for nineteen years,” he laughs, making a reference to the Les Mis storyline.

Jackman doesn’t hesitate to admit that acting in the role of Jean Valjean is the opportunity of a lifetime.

“You know, Valjean, I think for any actor, is right up there with a Hamlet. It’s one of those sought-after Continued next page

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Jackman Continued

roles that’s been played many, many, many times by many, many great actors and will be played by many more after me as well,” he explained, adding, “But on stage and on film, all around the world, it’s an incredible character. It’s one that demands everything in the musical sense. It’s not just emotional and physical, but it’s also vocal. So in every way it was demanding, more than I had ever been asked to play before and often, all at once.”

But even with the pressure of living up to past renditions, Jackman doesn’t suffer from insecurity. In fact, he’s quite confident in his acting abilities. “Occasionally I feel, ‘Okay, that’s okay.’ Most of the time it’s like, ‘There’s a better take!‘ I’ll think, ‘Why did he make that choice? I could have done this better!’ Whatever, but I probably have felt this less [with “Les Misérables”] than I have in other things.”

But regardless of how taxing the role may be, Jackman doesn’t hesitate to talk about the perks of this very special experience. “This felt different. We all felt like we were in it together and we rehearsed for nine weeks together, which, if you don’t know, is probably the length [it takes to film] most movies. So it was a thing of discovery for all of us.”

“Les Misérables” isn’t Jackman’s first musical experience. “I came to musicals as an actor and it surprised the hell out of me. I thought my agent was on drugs when she put me up for a musical when I was twentysix,” he recalled, adding, “I hadn’t had a singing lesson before and I worked so hard with musicals to make it feel natural. It’s more natural to me now than it was twenty years ago.” The Les Mis crowd will probably thank his agent for making that choice, especially for some of the harder scenes.

Life experiences have also played a role in his acting.

In a scene where Jean Valjean prays for redemption, Jackman feels like he has the ability to relate. “I have spiritual belief and I believe in quietness, quiet is the way to get those answers. I am also very lucky to have an incredible wife who I pretty much share everything with, warts and all, so in that way I suppose that’s who I communicate with most, but all of us have that need at some point and always will, because we constantly

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“Les Misérables is a really spiritual book, in a nonreligious way: ‘To love another person is to see the face of God.’ We can live tough lives, but the human spirit is stronger, seemingly, than anything. There is redemption, hope, and love.

There is beauty and bliss.

Even though the title doesn’t make it sound like a romantic comedy, in the end it is. There is something for everybody in it.” ~HUGH JACKMAN

make mistakes.”

He’s also extremely honest with his thoughts on the themes of the movie and how it will affect the younger generation. “I am going to be honest, I think the younger generation is more switched on to social issues than my generation was. I think it would be great for young people to read the book. It’s hard to read the book and find a positive case for the great inequality in the world being natural and I think Victor Hugo very starkly points out that it’s not natural and it’s avoidable,” Jackman remarked.

pHoto: REutERs

As for his acting career, it seems that Jackman constantly plays the hero, especially when it comes to “XMen.” When asked what fans can expect in the latest installment, he joked, “There’s a lot of singing in it.

[Laughs] After Les Mis, everything is going to be sung!”

He added, “No, I would be spat at on the street by many Wolverine fans. That’s one character that I will tell you never will sing. But I am very, very excited about it. I think it is the best one we have done, so I am very happy. Jim Mangold directed it and he did a great job.”

The short-term excitement of fulfilling prestigious acting roles aside, Jackman finds contentment in his decision to become an actor. “It was never clear to me that I was meant to do anything else. I was always one of those people who didn’t know what I wanted to do and when I studied acting, that’s the first time I felt I loved it and, I suppose, that’s what I wanted to do,” he concluded.

“Les Miserábles” is now playing in theatres. The next installment of the “X-Men” series, “The Wolverine,” is slated for a July 2013 release.

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FARmED sALmon: Unhealthy and Unsustainab

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ble

While ďŹ lming Call of the Killer Whale in British Colombia, Jean-Michel Cousteau and his team heard a consistent message from the scientiďŹ c community, First Nations and marine conservation organizations.

That message was that open-net salmon farms are killing many of the wild salmon runs of British Columbia

and are creating biological and social degradation that could last for decades.

Open-net salmon farming is one of the most harmful aquaculture production systems in the world and, as consumers, we can use our purchasing power and make a dierence!

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by siAn edwArds (theinterviewfeed)

n

o stranger to tackling difficult material, Daniel Day-Lewis, 55, plays America’s most revered president, Abraham Lincoln.

The award-winning actor, often described as a recluse, doesn’t talk about his personal life, but graciously granted this interview to talk about his transformation into the 16th President of the United States.

Q: What did you see as your greatest challenge in bringing this iconic character to life?

“I don’t know if I ever knew that playing Lincoln was the right choice.” ~daniel day-Lewis

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Apart from everything you mean? (laughs) I think really the most obvious thing was trying to approach a man’s life that has been mythologized to such an extent that in a way you can’t get close enough to being able to properly represent it. I just wasn’t sure that I would be able to do that. Beyond that, I felt that probably I shouldn’t do it (laughs) and somebody else would do that instead.

Q: Obviously when you are creating a character out of a real human being with a tremendous amount of biographical data but also in this case, historical, political information as well, what did you learn about Mr. Lincoln that you did not know previously? What were you surprised by?

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Well that was easy for me because I knew nothing about him, so I had everything to learn and apart from a few images, a statue, a cartoon, a few lines from the first inaugural, a few from the Gettysburg Address, that would be my entire knowledge of that man’s life. I think probably the most delicious surprise for me was the humor. To begin to discover that was an important aspect of his character.

Q: Would it be fair to say that it was tactical humor?

At times it could be, but not necessarily I don’t think, no. I don’t think it was really, I think it was tactical in the political sense, and I think at times it was undoubtedly used in a conscious sense for some purpose to make some point.

It’s not about what you are asking but there are accounts of people who came to ask him a question, which to them was of great importance, and found themselves in his presence, got a handshake, a story, and were out of the room before they even realized (laughs) and that’s good politics. (laughs) But no, I think it was innately part of him, I think there was a very joyful element to him actually, yes.

Q: When you look back on your cinematic life, this isn’t the first time we’ve seen you in previous centuries in America.

be the person to help him to do the thing that he wished to do. And also, least of all, did I want to be responsible for irrevocably staining the reputation of the greatest President that this country has ever known, (laughs) not just in a self-serving way, but quite literally. It seemed to me a very difficult thing to try and tell that story, very difficult to try and do that in such a way that it could live.

And I just really felt I wasn’t the person to do that.

Q: So what changed your mind?

Yes, I am just sort of reflecting a little bit on my entire life, (laughs) and I am thinking that I spent a certain amount of time in the 17th century America, quite a bit of time in the 18th century America and so much time in 19th century America that I don’t know if I will ever get out to join the modern world (laughs). Some things have been going on during these years, but my experience has been that historical movies are well represented. (laughs)

Q: After leaving this movie, what do you think about government in this country and what is equal?

Q: You spoke about your reluctance to take on this role. What was the depth of that reluctance and talk about the wooing process, how were you won over to this challenge and when did you know it was the right time to say yes?

Well it’s a work in progress isn’t it? It’s the word amendment itself that is an encouraging thing because it tells of a system of a government that allows for the improvement of itself. And yeah, just move forward a little bit one day at a time.

Well I don’t know if I ever knew that it was the right choice, but I ran out of excuses at a certain point, (laughs) I understood that for Steven (Spielberg) to put the idea in front of me, not that I didn’t take it seriously from the word go, but it seemed inconceivable to me that I could

Q: Was it strange to take on this role after Liam Neeson left the project?

It really was for me a combination of meeting with Steven, which was, even if nothing had come from it, still would have left me with a really wonderful memory at the time spent talking about Lincoln.

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DANIEL DAY-LEWIS Continued

I would just love to say something, I feel I have to because Liam is a friend of mine and Liam was committed to Lincoln for a period of time, working with Steven and there came a moment when reasons that were clear to both of them that Liam needed to do other things. Steven was going to do other things, but for that period of time, whilst Liam was committed to the project, it wouldn’t have occurred to me to consider it. From the moment that Liam decided it was something that he would no longer be engaged in, he has been in touch with me about it and has given me incredible encouragement, and just in the most generous possible way. He encouraged me about whether I was undecided when I should do it. He gave me a lot of encouragement toward that decision as well so I just feel like I should say that.

Q: One of the most relatable and human elements in the film to me is just seeing Lincoln and Tad. Can you talk about Lincoln as a father and that very complicated relationship that we see play out?

Some people are much better dads in their second marriage than their first. It certainly seems true that there was a relationship between them, the relationship between him and his eldest son, Robert who you see in the film, was perhaps the least involved, the least explored of his relationships. There was a distance there I think, largely because of the work that he had been doing on the judicial circuit which had taken him away for six months. And also he was in office and with Robert at University and so on, so there had been a certain distance there. By the time we meet him in the story, he’d lost two sons, he had lost a child when they were in Springfield as well.

Q: He was quite a modern father.

He had a very interesting attitude towards parenthood which is surprisingly modern, almost. It exceeds the degree to which we are able to be modern. (laughs) And he believed in the total absence of any parental authority whatsoever.

And that was a conscious decision. It may have largely been influenced by the very harsh disciplinarian that he had as a father himself and his experience of childhood would have been a very bleak, very difficult one. He was forced to, as many young people were at that time, from the moment I think that they moved from Kentucky to Indiana, already

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he and his sister were struggling to survive, almost on their own when his father went back to bring Sara, the lady who became his stepmother. He was away for a long time and they just had to exist in the wilderness and get on with it.

I think he had to grow up very quickly. His father was certainly a man who didn’t have much tolerance for books, and that created I think a great conflict. There was no love lost, but he made a wonderful statement and it’s a strange image to use because it conjures up an image of slavery but I think he used the image of love to create the links that chain a child to the family, to the parent. But anyhow, to cut a long story short, there was absolute chaos in the White House because I think he enjoyed watching the chaos that Tad created. He was armed to the teeth apart from anything else, with all kinds of weapons, cannons and flintlocks and swords and the goat drawn carriage that he had which was always kind of careening about the corridors of the White House.

I think Lincoln really enjoyed watching, observing the bedlam that ensued from all his adventures, but also, I think it was just pure love he felt for him. I’m not saying that this is good parenting in contemporary terms, that you just let them do whatever the hell they want, but it’s an interesting choice to make at that time, in that place.

And of course Mary again, during this part of the story, is more or less an absentee as a parent.

And therefore the bond between Tad and Lincoln became so very precious to both of them, because he was the primary parent at that time. Sorry, that was a rambling account. (laughs) “Lincoln” is currently playing in theatres everywhere.

wAtcH wHAt You EAt...it couLD sAVE YouR LiFE!

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newlywed

AnnE HAtHAwAY dishes on her recent wedding, Motherhood and Career

“I can say with absolute assurance that 2012 has been the best and greatest year of my life.” by siAn edwArds (theinterviewfeed)

F

rom the awkward young woman in “The Princess Diaries,” to the college graduate searching for a job at a fashion magazine in “The Devil Wears Prada,” to the seemingly evil (yet actually noble) catwoman in “The Dark Knight Rises,” actress Anne Hathaway has flourished on the big screen. Also named one of the world's “50 most beautiful people” in 2006, it wouldn't come as a surprise that this combination of talent and beauty has made it big.

In her most recent venture, Anne Hathaway takes on the challenging role of “Fantine” in “Les Misérables.”

“The first time I really remember connecting with Les Mis was when I went to see my mother perform the

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role of Fantine. After that I wanted to be involved in the film because my mother had been,” Hathaway shared.

The group of actors really bonded during the filming of Les Mis, especially at Russell Crowe's famous Friday night sing-a-longs. “He would have us over, make everyone a steak and then make fun of me for being vegan,” she chuckled. “But he did make me a very nice carrot salad.”

Acting can be challenging, especially when you go from one role to another. However, finding the similarities between Fantine and cat-woman enabled Hathaway to use the transition to her advantage. “They are both warriors. They are both incredibly strong and all

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the physical training I did to play Selena Kyle translated into the current role and made me stronger mentally. I became more disciplined and a much harder worker,” she admitted, adding, “I needed all of that to play Fantine.”

Having to cut their hair for the role may have been a point of contention for some actresses, but not Hathaway. “There was a time when my hair was about an inch long – it was this kind of sweet Mia Farrow thing that I really liked.” Just watch the movie and you'll know what she's talking about!

Her experiences have taught her a lot about life and provided insight along the way. “I regret that I felt so insecure being in the company of the [other] actors when filming ‘The Devil Wears Prada’ that I didn't let myself enjoy the experience. I learned that you need to fight through that feeling, you need to take stock of where you are at, and even if you don't know if you've deserved it or earned it, enjoy it,” she said. She doesn't forget to give credit where it's due. “I think I enjoy a greater degree of trust in my life, and David Frankel was one of the directors who taught me that there are people out there who are worth trusting.”

When asked if she believed in the kind of love at first sight like found in the movie, she admits, “I believe in soulmates; I believe in soul recognition, but love at first sight…I think that it doesn't always pan out.”

Despite her skepticism, it’s hard to ignore the fact that Hathaway has seemingly found her very own fairytale ending with Adam Shulman.

While filming, they started spending time together onset. Hathaway admits that she had to chase him off at times.

“In the beginning, he was going to come and stay with me when I had to do the weight loss because I would be so depleted. It was about three days into the weight loss when I realized I was going to have to ask him if he didn't mind me being by myself because he was making me so happy,” she laughed.

“I was having way too much fun, and I said I really need to be a bit more miserable…he went home, and I crawled inside the misery of my character.”

Hathaway admits that while she has always enjoyed an extremely close relationship with her new husband, marriage has definitely led to some changes. It changed their relationship “in a way that I didn't realize that I was aching for,” she declared.

In fact, the very mention of the word “husband” makes her blush. “I'm so super into it. I say the word way too much. I like saying it. It feels wonderful and natural and still very delicious,” she admits.

While on the topic of the future, it’s hard to avoid the topic of children and motherhood. When asked about the possibility of motherhood, Hathaway explained, “I just want to be one that they love, and I just want to be their guide towards being good people. And I've wanted to be a mom since I was sixteen!” But of course, she'll also have no problem with saying “no” to her children if that’s what’s most beneficial. “I was told 'no' many times in my life. It's a very healthy thing.”

Nicknamed “every girl's BFF,” Hathaway has quite a reputation to maintain. “I have the most wonderful, friendships with my girlfriends, my group of friends from high school. We are all still friends and we get together every few months and have dinner, and we are all still very up to date with each other's lives,” she divulged. It’s these very same wonderful friends who would eventually become her bridesmaids. Though in Hathaway’s case, there was one exception. “[I was] looking around and [realized] that I actually had a guy. I called him a bridesmate,” she laughed.

And just how many bridesmaids/mates did she have at her wedding? “Seven. I have a lot of friends. Some of my friendships date back to, like, the day I was born.

And I’ve been best friends with most of my bridesmaids for twelve years.”

She also revealed a little bit about their shared history. “We've all grown up alongside each other and helped each other grow and rooted for each other and held out faith for each other when we stumbled. I know they have for me,” she grins, “So yeah, my friendships are an incredibly important part of my life.”

With the combination of an incredible career, wonderful friends, and a fantastic love life, it’s fair to say that Anne Hathaway currently “has it all.” And she agrees. “I can say with absolute assurance that 2012 has been the best and greatest year of my life.”

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“Being green is part of my lifestyle from the way I eat to what products I use to clean my house.” ~DEBORAH LINDQUIST

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GREEN QUEEN

DEBoRAH

LINdQUIST Shares her fashion passions, and creative goals for the new year

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I grew up on a farm in rural Minnesota,” explains California-based designer Deborah Lindquist, whose childhood consisted of “climbing trees and coming up with constant creative projects.” One of those projects was sewing, which a then 5-year-old Lindquist learned from her grandmother. “I made doll clothes, and then clothing for myself. We had an amazing stash of vintage clothing in the attic,” she recalls.

And that’s really how—and where—a love of nature and vintage all began for Lindquist. Her appreciation of vintage fabrics blossomed into her teen years, and she even launched a trend—unbeknownst to her at the time.

“I remember being fairly creative about my fashion approach,” says Lindquist, who, in the 70s, once wore “a lime green skirt with a purple bodystocking and a matching scarf,” that made her best friend cringe.

When Lindquist spotted the exact same outfit in a fashion magazine; she knew she was on to something big—and colorful.

She relocated to New York in the 80s, attended fashion design school, and started out as an accessories designer before transitioning into eco-friendly clothes.

She’s currently one of LA’s most popular environmentally-conscious designers, and creates clothing using a mix of recycled, sustainable and organic fabrics.

“The 80s was a great time,” recalls Lindquist. “The economy was good, customers wanted to buy luxury goods, and there were many young designers like myself launching businesses and creating interesting things.”

Today, Lindquist creates clothing that is more high fashion. “The added bonus is that it’s green. Being green is part of my lifestyle at home—the way I eat, what products I use to clean my house… So, it makes sense for me,” she says, adding, “In the fall/winter line, I create and cut a LOT of appliqués since its cashmere season. The garment shapes are simple and basic—cardigans, pullovers. The detail is in the appliqué embellishment.”

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She also created a fashion shoot of “bright colors mixed with neutrals. It’s been creative and fun.”

Lindquist’s fashions and home accessories are sold at boutiques in the United States, United Kingdom, Norway, and online. In 2013, she aims to expand her wedding collection.

“Mainsteam wedding dresses are usually made from imported polyester” she explains. “I use vintage materials such as lace, embroidery, and beading in the bodice of the dresses blended with organic and sustainable materials such as hemp/silk satin or organic linen.”

LINDQUIST Continued

This year was a busy one for Lindquist, whose clothing has been worn by celebrities such as Jessica Alba, Pink, and Christina Aguilera. “This year, I’ve collaborated with photographers, makeup artists, and models to create editorial-style shoots that have themes,” she says. “One of my clients wore one of my cashmere sweaters over her bathing suit in Palm Beach. Everyone loved the look and wanted to buy her sweater. So, I styled a shoot with cashmere sweaters over my pinup-girl-styled swimwear.”

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C li c k t o v i e w m o re d e s i g n s

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Her first bridal photo shoot was “a re-write of Cinderella, and then I did another shoot of a shape shifter couple who both turn into wolves and then at the end, birds.”

Lindquist has even created beaded wool and cashmere wedding dresses for brides seeking a winter-appropriate style. “I work with each bride to make her dress unique and special to her.”

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Healing and R with the help o

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Reconciliation of the horses at

sHip RAncH sEE stoRY nEXt pAgE

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by mAtt kRAmER

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n a horse pen in Colorado, an angry young boy cannot find the words to express his feelings to his therapist. A stallion, the biggest, most powerful horse in the herd, comes over and stands a few yards away. The therapist looks at the horse and turns back to the boy. "Sol has come over to help you. I understand you cannot talk to me; will you talk to Sol?" The boy nods; the therapist walks away. The boy starts talking to the horse, then starts to cry. The stallion, weighing over half a ton, walks over to the boy and puts his head down to the boy's level. After a while, the boy stops crying, gets angry and throws a handful of sand towards the fence. Sol moves back a few yards and stands watching.

After a moment, the therapist returns to the boy. She asks if he would like to try and get Sol to come back.

The boy nods; the therapist leaves. The boy throws another handful of sand, then starts to cry. Sol returns, puts his head down again and waits patiently until the boy stops crying. This time, when the therapist returns, the boy is calm and spent, and appears to be much less distressed.

In that session, the boy learned that sadness was not weakness and that he could get more of what he wanted when he was "real." By being in tune and acknowledging his vulnerability, instead of masking his pain with rage and anger, he would be better able to get the at-

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tention he needed. Message: it is ok to be angry but may not be safe for horses or people to be around you during your anger.

Relationship Ranch in Louisville, Colorado, is run by equine therapists Lottie Grimes and Nancy Hamilton.

They have found their four legged associates to be extremely effective partners in their therapeutic practice.

Almost everyone who owns a cat or a dog can share a story about how their pets have tuned into their pain and provided solace during difficult times.

Horses have those same sensibilities; highly sensitive and astute instincts that serve them well as they assess whether the human standing before them is a friend or a threat. In their interview with A Distinctive Style, Hamilton and Grimes shared several stories about seemingly miraculous interactions between their horses and their clients.

Unlike the patriarchal norm for most human cultures today, a horse herd in the wild operates within a matriarchy. An older, wiser alpha mare who has earned the trust of the herd decides when the herd will move, where they will stop to eat and, when food is scarce, who gets first access to that food.

Rather than keeping their horses penned in separate stalls, Hamilton and Grimes work to replicate a natural environment for the herd. While this approach may not be ideal for a number of reasons, the presumption is that it helps the horses to be minimally affected by

www.gRounDwoRkcoLoRADo.com www.mYBRAintHERApist.com/RELAtionsHip_RAncH their proximity to humans, allowing more of their natural instincts to be available.

Linguist Deborah Tannen, a researcher of gender communication styles, asserts that men and women tend to use distinctly unique verbal cues and body language in their communication. Such differences in style often complicate and interfere with communication between couples and within families in conflict. Horses have no interest in mixed messages and subtext; they require their humans to be very present, in the moment and very clear in expressing what they want.

While humans often talk themselves out of their gut feelings, horses rely on gut feelings that, over millions of years, were critical for making the right survival decisions.

This dynamic was very telling in the tale of a couple that came for help in their relationship. The alpha mare was very friendly with the wife but would not go near the husband, nor would she allow any of the other horses to come over to him. Later the wife confidentially revealed to the therapists that she experienced physical and emotional abuse in the relationship.

Couples and families who have come to Relationship Ranch to work on their issues, go through exercises with the horses, learning to lead and direct them, not with a rope or bridle, but through intention and body language. If the clients are unclear, unsure or posturing in any way, the horses will not cooperate.

Grimes related a story about a couple struggling with power issues related to money management. Their history included the husband's presumption that he was more experienced and better equipped to make the financial decisions for the family. Integrating a dialogue about money management with a session directing a horse around the pen, the husband couldn't help but notice that his wife's ideas were more effective at getting results with the horse. This contributed to a more equal balance of power between the couple, leading to a significant improvement in their relationship.

A horse will not do what you ask it to do unless there is respect with the request. The client has to earn the respect of the horse. Horses ask clients to mean what they say, and say what they mean.

Clients have to try things out, see what works; trial and error is ok. Horses live in the moment, as they ask you to do, and they generally are forgiving as you're learning how to work with them. When you learn to be as open, present and respectful with your family as you have to be with a horse, you can experience miraculous improvements in your relationships.

See Grimes and Hamilton in action in an amazing video on Nightline by clicking the video link above. You’ll see how a couple close to the breaking point achieves healing and reconciliation with the help of the horses of Relationship Ranch.

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MARVELOUS

mELissA By rACheL sokoL

d

ancing with the Stars (DWTS) is one of ABC’s highest-rated reality shows, and just wrapped up its fifteenth season. What made this season so special and fun was that fan favorite celebrities from previous seasons were brought to strut their stuff on the dance floor once again—with a professional partner.

After the glitz and glam subsided, in the end, Melissa Rycroft—a correspondent for Good Morning America and Entertainment Tonight—and her pro-dance partner Tony Dovoloni emerged the winners of Dancing with the Stars: All-Stars.

The duo—who was also paired up when Rycroft first competed in Season 8—received DWTS’s coveted glimmer- ball trophy.

Just two days after her exciting November 2012 victory, the ever-cheerful Rycroft spoke with A Distinctive Style once again from her Dallas home about the entire experience—and how she went from feeling like an underdog to a top cat!

“I’ve Grown”

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“It just doesn’t feel real—I still have to tell myself I won,” she gushes. “The first time I was on the show, right after I was on The Bachelor Season 13, I was very guarded. I sometimes feel when I watch clips from my Season 8, I look like a little girl; my eyes are so big....”

Her voice trails off, remembering. “It’s been three and a half years since then. Now, I have a husband, a child.

(Husband Tye Strickland is an insurance agent; the couple has a young daughter, Ava) I’ve grown up a lot since then, and this time around, Tony (Dovoloni) and I had more fun with it all. Plus, you have a different type of freedom on DWTS. Unlike The Bachelor, cameras aren’t with you twenty-four seven. They’re there when you practice, but you have your own life.”

Rycroft and Dovoloni became close friends during the whole experience. “I credit my confidence this time around to Tony,” says Rycroft. “Tony said don’t worry what you look like!” I’m my own worst enemy. Even if I looked like ‘the awkward girl,’ he always made me feel like I was a great dancer. He’s been one of the few people who has been here from the beginning of this whole journey.”

The dancing duo bonded over their children, too. “We had so much more to relate to, we understood each other when one of us said, ‘I’m not mentally here now, I need to talk to my kids, my husband...we got it--we had the same priorities this time, which bonded us’.”

Rycroft says she felt America’s support week after week, as fans voted for their favorites to remain in the competition. “I would think, ‘we must be doing something right and we don’t even know what it is! I kept thinking, ‘Don’t underestimate yourself’.”

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RYCROFT Continued

Friends till the end What Rycroft will miss the most—besides her amazing abs, she jokes—is the friendships she formed on the show.

“Shawn (Johnson, an Olympian and fellow contestant) and I were just texting yesterday; we got real close this season. I’m going to miss her. It was a really great environment. This time around, it could have been uncomfortable and competitive, but I’m so grateful it was the exact opposite.”

For more about Melissa Rycroft, follow her on her Twitter feed: www.twitter.com/ MelissaRycroft

Fight or Flight Although both Rycroft and Dovoloni were sidetracked by injuries this season, she insists her neck is doing much better. Not only did she get back out on the dance floor after her neck strain, but her co-stars used her as a human jump rope in a group dance the very next evening!

“It must be an optical illusion, I promise my neck didn’t move, I looked more contorted than I really was,” she insists, adding that doctors gave her the OK to dance again.

“It’s in my nature to say ‘no’ when faced with physical pain, but this circumstance brought out the fight or flight in me. It’s kind of cool when you’re a bit stronger than you thought you were.”

Rycroft looks forward to reclaiming her full title as mom and wife now that DWTS is over. “This is the stuff that makes me happy—family,” she beams.

As for her 2013 career plans?

She’s got more tricks up her sleeve, but remains mum on them.

“My worst case scenario is that I live in Dallas, and I’m a wife and a mom and that’s not so bad.”

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Professional dancing partner Tony Dovolani is thrilled about his long overdue Dancing With the Stars’ victory and looks forward to season 16.

TONY dOVOLANI’S AmAZing JouRnEY WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/OFFICIALTONYDOVOLANI

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fter winning the glitzy mirror ball trophy he received with his Dancing With the Stars: AllStars (Season 15) partner Melissa Rycroft, Tony Dovolani is (still!) walking on air After a whirlwind season with the popular ABC dance competition; Dovolani retreated to his Connecticut home with his wife and kids.

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During our afternoon phone chat on a rare day off for the Kosovo-born actor, who relocated to the United States as a teenager, Dovolani shared his excitement about his very first, well-deserved win. When he was previously paired up with TV-personality Rycroft back in Season 8, the duo made it to the finals but fell short of winning—until now.

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“This time, Melissa and I had a great time from beginning to end,” he says of his beloved partner.

“She’s family to me. It was a joy working with her everyday; and watching her grow into this wonderful young woman.” Dovolani adds, “I’m so proud of her.”

Maturity leads Like Rycroft, Dovolani says on Season 8, his dance partner Rycroft was awkward and unsure, feeling scarred and hesitant from her time on The Bachelor.

Now, he says, Rycroft is a married mother and the two have more in common, especially since Rycroft has “come into her own.” The two remained close friends since Season 8 and “got along great this season— there was no fighting—because we knew what to expect from each other; and the show. But every life experience matures you, and that’s partly why I think Melissa excelled this season. Plus, we brought it all to the table.”

They also supported each other through various injuries they endured during this physically-demanding season—Rycroft’s neck, Dovolani’s back…

Speaking of his back…“I’m glad this season I didn’t really take my shirt off this time around!” Dovolani laughs, admitting his kids questioned him about that in the past.

“They love coming to the set, the show. They love Melissa, but they’re into gymnastics so they loved meeting (fellow contestant and Olympic gymnast) Shawn Johnson, too.”

The journey He called his Season 15 victory an “incredible journey” and acknowledged that runner-up Johnson, who won Season 8—“was so happy for us. Everyone was! I never made it this far on the show, so winning was a real triumph.”

Dovolani also confessed, “I liked when the contestants bum-rushed me on stage when we won and lifted me on to their shoulders.”

Pay it forward As enjoyable—and crazy!—as winning Season 15 was, on a more serious note, Dovolani’s wife and three children were home in Connecticut when Hurricane

Sandy blew through his beloved East Coast, wrecking havoc in parts of New Jersey, New York, and Connecticut.

Thankfully, Dovolani’s family was fine, but the superstorm made him (even more!) homesick, since he was out in Los Angeles for the show, at the time.

“Connecticut is a wonderful place to raise a family and I love New York City—I was just at the Albanian parade there celebrating the country’s 100th anniversary. I love the diversity in New York, and I missed it greatly during Sandy.”

One of the lower Manhattan dance studio’s Dovolani co-owns with his friends and fellow dancers Maksim Chmerkovskiy and Valentin Chmerkovskiy lost power for a few days, but re-opened post-Sandy. “Some of our dance instructor’s homes were badly affected,” he recalled.

“It could have been worse at the downtown studio, thankfully there was no flooding, but New York is like a brother or sister to me; I understand what everyone went through during that storm. I have compassion for the families who lost their homes and businesses,” he says. “New Yorkers have an understanding with each other and are so strong, In Los Angeles, that’s something I really miss about New Yorkers—that strength, that camaraderie.”

Dovolani teamed up with his friends—including Maksim and Valentin Chemerkovskiy—to help raise money and goods for those in need, post-Sandy.

“Actress Kirstie Alley—who danced on the show— sent a huge truck we filled with canned goods and water to parts of Brooklyn, to help the residents who needed it. So many of us pitched in to help her collect items.”

When asked why his assistance went unnoticed by the press, the humble dancer responded, “I didn’t want to draw any attention to myself. I’m glad we did what we could without taking attention away from the Sandy victims.”

Next steps At press time, Dovolani is gearing up for Season 16 of Dancing with the Stars, working with the studios he coowns, and enjoying family time; East Coast style.

“I’m excited to see snow, and just be with my wife and kids this winter—we’re all outdoorsy,” he gushes.

“They’re all just so cool.”

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From transportation to food, from shelter to companionship, Joe would depend on the generosity of people who had never seen him and whose sole connection to him was a giant virtual swap meet known as Craigslist. Would America help Joe? As of recent, the United States found itself in one of the most precarious financial meltdowns in modern history. News programs spoke of the worst economy since the great depression and demise of the American Dream.

Unemployment was soaring and millions were losing their homes. Rather than banding together and helping one another, people started pointing fingers and casting blame. Many feared the sense of community that had once carried us through tough times had dissolved into an attitude of ‘every person for himself.’ Many were skeptical that today’s selfinvolved society would be able to weather the storm without its traditional social supports.

It was in this climate that 29year-old Joseph Garner cut himself off from everyone he knew and everything he owned, to embark on a bold adventure.

Armed with only a laptop, cell phone, toothbrush, and the clothes on his back – alongside the hope that community was not gone but just had shifted – Joe lived for a month looking for alms in America’s new town square: Craigslist.

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