A French Honour

Brian * Emile * and Gene Sherman

Gene Sherman owns the up-market Sherman Contemporary Art Foundation Gallery in Paddington. Now for the second time she has been honoured by the French government for her contribution to the arts and culture presented at a small cocktail party as our snap above shows.
Pinning on the medal is France's Ambassador to Australia, His Excellency Monsieur Christophe Lecourtier.

And watching were some proud family members - husband Brian and son Emile. Brian Sherman who sold his investment company for $$mega-millions now concentrates on his charity Voiceless started by he and his daughter Ondine which raises awareness of animals suffering in factory farming and the kangaroo industry in Australia.
 Emile Sherman is probably best known as the producer of the 2011 Academy Award winning film The King's Speech. Currently he's working on several TV series : Love Nina and Codes of Conduct, a science fiction film How To Talk to Girls at Parties starring Nicole Kidman and a re-make of the Lynda la Plante Widows starring Viola Davis.
And if you haven't been to the wonderful Sherman Gallery you'll find it at 16-29 Goodhope Street, just off Five Ways in Paddington.

Will Oscar Be Kind to Emile ?




Emile Sherman (second left) collects a Bafta for The Kings Speech

 

While the hopes of locals are centred on Geoffrey Rush and Jackie Weaver at today's Academy Awards event, one family is hoping The King's Speech comes up trumps for their boy.

Emile Sherman produced the film and was behind a number of Australian films many of which sank from the box office without trace. While Rabbit Proof Fence did well in the European markets, others like $9.99, Candy, The Kings of Mykonos went straight to video after a short theatrical release.

The disastrous The Night We Called it A Day which starred Dennis Hopper as Frank Sinatra and was based on a real life incidence when Cranky Franky was holed up in a Sydney hotel unable to leave after unions put a blanket ban on his movements when he publicly insulted female journalists, was a major box office bomb.

Sherman is the son of noted Sydney philanthropists Brian and Gene Sherman and Emile runs his production office out of mum Gene's Sherman art gallery in Paddington.



Emile's parents- Gene & Brian Sherman



The family are all vegetarians, a trend begun by sister Ondine when she discovered at age 8 that meat came from animals. She refused point blank  to ever eat it again and the family soon followed suit.

Brian Sherman who sold his Equitlink, the biggest private investment company in Australia for billions of dollars  in 2000 now concentrates on charitable ventures and in particular animal causes. He donates millions of dollars to Animal Liberation.

Brian, Gene and Ondine will be watching this morning to see if Emile makes that winning walk to the Oscar's stage.

                                        ********************************
Stop Press : the whoops of joy emanating from the Sherman Galleries in Paddington could be heard from streets away this afternoon as a small family gathering watched the Academy Awards  as Emile Sherman proudly collected an Oscar for The King's Speech.

5 Australians collected Oscars and it's a toss up whether director Tom Hooper should be regarded as one-he collected an award for Best Film with The King's Speech -he's a dual citizen with an Australian mother -who, as in the tale he recounted at the ceremoney was the inspiration behind the film.

Panto Dame Returns !

We all said her self imposed exile wouldn't last. The smell of the greasepaint, the roar of the crowd, the applause-the insults. The rotten fruit hurled. How could she resist ?

 Madame Arcati has announced she is receiving visitors again over the Yuletide period (and hopefully longer).

 How fitting that the silly season is almost upon us and someone will entertain while the hacks of Fleet Street churn out their daily drivel (eagerly read by us ). At last we will have some balance.

Still censored by Google, but that just makes her seem like a very naughty girl..

Go here and read.

Oh, and Madame's long term fiancee,  Molly Parkin's autobiography Welcome To Mollywood is to be published shortly as well.

 

Journalist, artist and Soho fixture there is no-one else quite like Molly around anymore. This book is a must read.                                                      

                                         

*****************************



Gene & Brian Sherman



An ill-wind is blowing over a $500,000 donation to University of NSW College of Fine Arts.

Given by noted philanthropists Brian & Gene Sherman, the gift was to establish a gallery in honour of the British born arts curator Nick Waterlow, murdered a year ago just 2 days after we reported he had attended the opening of an exhibition of ex-Oz Magazine artist Martin Sharp's works.

Student Representative Council president, Osman Faruqi, has said :''students are concerned by what this deal means for the integrity and reputation of a public institution like UNSW,'' 

"''The reputation risk posed to the university far outweighs any financial benefit gained. Students want to see quality education placed before private interests."

The Shermans are one of Sydney's most high profile couples in the art's community. Brian's Equitilink company is the largest private funds management company in Australia. He also dabbles on the stock exchange and was reported to have picked up $45M in one deal during a morning in 2002. Both the Shermans support a number of charities.

The Natural History museum in Sydney near Hyde Park has been revived via the Sherman's donations and in Brian's role as the president of the Australian Museum trust, it's governing body.

Committed vegetarians for nearly 30 years, both Sherman's are active animal right's activists and fund studies on how to end factory farming of poultry and pigs.

The Student body needs to do a re-think here.

The pair emigrated from South Africa a long time ago when they were broke. No-one knows what the Shermans are worth-possibly a $$billion or two-but the only demand from Brian & Gene when donating is for another phone call when extra funds are required.