No Botox For Our Cate

If you have ever (as the Shuttle has often) been up close (but not personal) to Oscar winning actress Cate Blanchett you could not help but notice her extraordinary perfect white flawless skin.

Now Cate has revealed that she won't be going under the knife any day soon and botox is out. From an article in The Lady ( Britain's oldest magazine) : Cate is ‘very old-fashioned’ when it comes to things like that.
‘There’s been a decade of people doing interventions on their faces and their bodies, and now people are seeing that [in the] long term, it’s not so great,’ she said in a recent interview with Fashionetc.com. ‘I’m not standing on a soapbox telling women what they should and shouldn’t do. I just know what works for me. I’d just be too frightened about what it means long term.

‘Looking at women in their 20s doing this stuff, in the end all you see is the work. It doesn’t fill me with admiration; it fills me with pity.’

Cate also appears on the cover of the latest The Economist Intelligent Life we are assured, sans make-up, jewellery and air-brushing, looking quite gorgeous.

Now if we could just teach Cate and her husband Andrew Upton how to behave in the cinema.
The Shuttle sat behind the pair at the Sydney premier of I'm Not There in which Blanchett gives a stellar performance as a rambling Bob Dylan visiting England in the 1960s. After introducing the movie and admitting she hadn't seen the final version, Cate and Andrew chatted all the way through the film, only staying silent when the flick reached her piece which is about two thirds of the way through the film.
 We resisted tapping her on the shoulder and shushing her.

Cate Blanchett Talks About The Future

Cate Blanchett and her husband Andrew Upton are one of the great theatre success stories. Not only has their marriage remained strong but their ability to work together has been a spectacular success for the Sydney Theatre Company.

With two major plays under their belts-A Streetcar Named Desire and Uncle Vanya, both of which wowed audiences in Australia and the USA where hard bitten critics on the Washington Post and the New York Times heaped praise upon the productions, the pair have also attracted major sponsors to the struggling theatre company including fashion designer Giorgio Armani.

They have just announced the 2012 season and there are some surprises in store with some old favourites re-surfacing including Dylan Thomas's Under Milkwood opening in May with the mellifluous tones of actor Jack Thompson.

Jacqueline McKenzie

In January Peter Evans presents a bold new production of George Bernard Shaw’s enduring classic of wicked wordplay Pygmalion with Jessica Marais playing Eliza Doolittle.

Two of Australia’s most respected actors, Pamela Rabe and Hugo Weaving ( who acted in Uncle Vanya) play the deliciously deviant Marquise de Merteuil and Vicomte de Valmont in Les Liaisons Dangereuses while the Chicago's Steppenwolf Theatre's Sex With Strangers opens in September with Jacqueline McKenzie.
You can book tickets here.

Cate and Andrew also spoke to Richard Glover on the ABC's Drivetime show about their theatre work and the recent attacks upon Cate when she openly backed a Climate Change tax. Cate also revealed her first acting inspiration was seeing the great Melbourne stage actor Frank Thring (left) on stage and thought that if she could get away with playing Bob Dylan, she thought she could play Thring in a biopic about his life.

 Irreverent/ Irrelevant facts :
# The Shuttle attended the premiere of Don't Look Now and sat behind Cate Blanchett and Andrew Upton. They chatted all the way through the film until Cate appeared on screen.
# Frank Thring's father Frank W.Thring invented the clapperboard, still used in film making today.
# Frank Thring appeared in numerous Australian movies including Ned Kelly (1970), Skippy (1968) and Mad Max (1985) but was in demand for Hollywood costume epics where he acted in El Cid, The Vikings, Hercules Returns, King Of Kings where plays Herod and Ben Hur where he played Pontius Pilate.

Here is a clip recorded not long before Frank died in 1994 with him at his best :

Drama In Double Bay

The chattering amongst the clientele of the cafes, bars and hairdressing salons in the streets of Sydney's up-market Double Bay has been deafening.

Dee Bees : flags are flying but no-one's home

Last Saturday in the late afternoon huge black plastic covers started appearing on the windows of the suburb's most popular coffee shop and restaurant, Dee Bees. Stickers were pasted on the windows stating Closed For Renovations.  Removal vans appeared and the hundreds of photographs that adorn the walls- mostly of celebrities who have visited Dee Bees- began to be loaded into the back.

Many carry signatures of the great and famous who have dined at the restaurant-from Bill Clinton, Bob Dylan, Kylie Minogue to Michael Parkinson.

All this was happening while customers were still drinking their coffees around 5pm but it's what happened next that has set tongues wagging. An ashen faced  manager gathered the staff in a corner and soon several were in tears and it's said one even collapsed and had to be revived. Some have been employed at Dee Bees for as long as 15 years. Will Dee Bees ever open again ?.

Times in The Bay are hard and the suburb has numerous empty business premises. As Dee Bee's owner Graeme Goldberg, (known locally as Mr Double Bay) has pointed out numerous times in his Latte Life columns, former properties like the Ritz Carlton Hotel (which he once managed) are lying derelict and empty. For 20 years it was the favourite inn for visiting international celebrities like George Bush Jr, Princess Diana,Tom Jones and Madonna.

Graeme Goldberg

Sam Neill

Goldberg has been a thorn in the side of the snooty Woollahra Council who control Double Bay and has constantly urged them to up their game. He's fought against odd decisions to no avail, like the bizarre 2 hour parking limit imposed a few years ago in the streets in an area where people loved to lunch for hours and then wander amongst the shops.

The Shuttle has been unable to contact Goldberg but perhaps an odd moment said it all as we passed via the back lane on Tuesday. Workmen were seen removing the kitchen equipment and loading it into the back of a van. Watching with a rather puzzled look was a Dee Bee's regular, actor Sam Neill, puffing away on a cigar.

Rats Invade Ritzy Hotel

There is plague of rodents in the uber smart suburb of Double Bay according to 'Mr Double Bay' Graeme Goldberg the owner of the popular restaurant  Dee Bees.



Ritz Carlton Double Bay



Writing in the latest copy of Latte Life where he has a regular column, Goldberg says he and fellow business owners signed a petition asking the Woollahra Council to hire a pest controller. The matter was raised in a council meeting by councillor Andrew Petrie but apparently a Greens councillor nipped it in the bud claiming it was a problem for local business owners.



Diana at The Ritz



Graeme Goldberg



Says Goldberg "Mate you gotta be joking. they're coming out of the drains and last time I checked the Pied Piper of Hamlin didn't own a property in Double Bay. I suggest the council send the experts to the old cinema and the closed down Stanford Hotel"

The Stanford is a sorry sight at present. It closed nearly two years ago and in a previous life it was one of the chicest 5 star hotels in Sydney- The Ritz Carlton.



Bob'n'Blanche Hawke



As the Ritz it enjoyed an illustrious clientele including most visiting celebrities like Tom Jones, Whoopi Goldberg and Bob Dylan. Two US presidents stayed there -George Bush Sr and Bill Clinton and it was a home away from home for the late Princess Diana on her very last visit to Australia. Former Prime Minister Bob Hawke lived there for a year when he left office and was married there to wife Blanche and the late singer Michael Hutchence died in a first floor suite on a Saturday morning in 1997.



As the Standford Hotel the inn gradually declined in favour and a new owner plans to turn the site into luxury apartments but is having problems with local council height restrictions. At present the building remains empty and uninhabited like the suburb's former cinema in New South Head Road.

Goldberg and others want action and believe the problem will escalate fast : "The Bay has always had rats but they wear suits and sip Chardonnay. If there is vermin breeding you don't have to be Einstein to know where to start looking"

Cate Blanchett Snubbed !

Update : after a polite slap across the wrists from the awards committee we must point out that 'Streetcar' and Paul Charlier has been nominated in the Sound Event section.
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In a puzzling move actress Cate Blanchett has been completely overlooked in the nominations for the most prestigious Australian theatre awards, the Helpmann Awards.

Liv Ullmann, Cate & Joel Edgerton

The awards are named after one of the world's greatest ballet stars, Sir Robert Helpmann who was born in a remote country town in South Australia in 1909. When his mother noticed his tendency to dress in her clothes and dance about with great agility, his parents actively encouraged his artistic talents. Eventually he became one of the most renowned dancers appearing in and choreographing ballets from London and New York to Moscow.

Sir Robert Helpmann

At the announcement for the award nominations which will be presented at the Sydney Opera House on September 6th, Cate's "A Streetcar Named Desire" didn't receive a mention. Streetcar was not only an artistic success in Sydney, Blanchett's production which was directed by Liv Ullmann and starred Cate and Joel Edgerton in the main roles was hailed throughout the USA when it toured there as one of the all time great productions of Tennessee Williams' play, earning the Sydney Theatre Company a much needed $3.5M in profit.

As Artistic Director since 2008 Blanchett, along with her husband Andrew Upton has been guiding the fortunes of the Sydney Theatre Company ( STC) and has revived the company with a number of noted talents for it's 12 productions each year including Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Steven Soderbergh and William Hurt.Cate was also responsible for attracting designer Giorgio Armani as the theatre companies major sponsor.

The Helpmann Awards , one motto being "ensuring the Awards are the most prestigious awards in the industry and the highlight of each Season." ironically has nominated a host of artists who trained at the STC including Neil Armfield and Robin Nevin.

# trivia moment : In 2007 the Social Shuttle attended the premiere of the film 'I'm Not There' at the then new Sydney Theatre Company Theatre in which Blanchett gives a stunning performance as Bob Dylan.

After introducing the movie with a small speech stating she had not yet seen the film, Cate Blanchett left the stage and took a seat next to the Shuttle with Upton and proceeded to narrate various anecdotes to her husband as the film ran.
A woman sitting behind reached over and tapped her on the shoulder and said "could you please keep the noise down-I'm watching Cate Blanchett on screen and can't hear a word she is saying !"


## Channeling Mystic Meg earlier tonight we advised 4 paparazzi not to bother attending a function at the State Theatre which would feature Don Spencer, father-in-law of Russell Crowe who was expected to attend. "Our crystal ball says he won't be there", we said. Russell and wife Danielle can always be relied on to support Don in his ventures. And so it came to pass as the following tweet says:

russellcrowe

Got that flu coming on feeling?Both our boys were sick last week, so bound to happen.Need an early night,not a late one on the giggle juice.3 hours ago
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At tonight's Young Chef Awards (not to be missed-buckets of Bollinger and fine food) the Shuttle happily informed Federal Tourism Minister Martin Ferguson MP that despite the doom and gloom mainly emanating from the Murdoch media in their campaign to bury Prime Minister Julia Gillard, that Labor will be returned or govern with a 3 seat majority but that could be made up of independents/Greens.. I think we made his night. And that too will come to pass. Trust me.

Anna Nicole, Michael, Elvis goodies up for sale

 Show-biz Special :

If you always wanted to own a piece of a dead celebrity this is your chance. At Julien's Auctions in Las Vegas beginning on the 24th June a whole range of star memorabilia is up for sale with some fabulously tasteful pieces including a medical swab from Elvis Presley (expected to sell for about $1000). 

Just think of the assortment of drugs in that swab-percodan,Quaalude, Seconal, Ritalin-the lot. Just sit yourself on a toilet seat with a peanut butter sandwich and you too can feel like The King.

Our personal favourite is Janis Joplin's arrest photos. The best she's ever looked !.

There's a mass of stuff from Michael Jackson's estate including just about everything he ever wore and a few pieces from the Neverland Ranch including a "security badge' to bring out the inner bossy pedo in you.

Anna's doggy's bed

 

Anna Nicole Smith must have collected every bit of Marilyn Monroe tat going. Dozens of handbags with Marilyn's face, mugs, photos, it's all up for sale including some of Anna Nicole's own "art". Gorgeous. And her doggies bed and her fake Louis Vuitton suitcase.

A masterpiece by Anna Nicolle

 

There's something for everyone including from those still breathing-Bob Dylan, Britney Spears and check out Ozzy Osbourne's dreadful office 'suite' which they think may bring $800!. Yuk 

You can bid online here.

                                                   

Santa Baby...

The last time tSS encountered the diminutive Bob Dylan was a year ago in the now closed Ritz Carlton Hotel in Double Bay. That was the inn were Princess Diana hid out on her last ever charity visit to Oz in 1996 and where INXS frontman Michael Hutchence hanged himself. The evening before his death tSS had shared drinks with Hutchence in the hotel bar.

Dylan and a friend entered a lift along with tSS and being near the operating buttons became slightly agitated as the elevator failed to respond to his repeated finger stabbing. "Swipe your room-key" was our advice and -voila !-the lift began to rise as Dylan gratefully responded, "thank's man, you saved my life". A slight exageration-he was only going one  floor. As he alighted holding 2 plastic beakers of take-away coffee tSS was rewarded with a  friendly wave.

Later we learned he had just returned from Graeme Goldberg's DeeBees cafe where he had spotted hanging amongst the flags of the world fluttering outside,a Jewish kippah and asked the waiter why it was there. That was enough to bring Goldberg from his office and 20 minutes later, Dylan left clutching his takeaway coffee after posing for a snap and signing an autograph which now takes pride of place amongst dozens of similar celebrity snaps lining the cafe's walls.

And that's by way of introducing Dylan's new Yuletide offering- Must Be Santa