Backstage with George

Star Trek star George Takei is in Australia on a speaking tour where he talks about his treatment in an internement camp during WW2 and the prejudice Asian actors face in Hollywood. We managed to get some snaps backstage after his Sydney talk tonight.

 Pics by William Yang

Vivid Sydney

The amazing light show is almost upon us. This is what you can expect:

exclusive: A new competitor hits town

The invasion of foreign newspapers continues with one of the world's greatest broadsheets The New York Times opening a Sydney office and advertising for staff to produce local content.

They join The Guardian, Huffington Post and the Mail Online, all producing Australian content. Industry insiders say while both the Guardian and HuffPost are doing well, the most read newspaper on the planet, the Mail Online is costing more money than it makes from advertisers. How will the NYTimes fare?. After they were attacked by President Donald Trump subscribers to the NYTimes skyrocketed with over 250,000 new online subscribers alone in under three months. While the local Fairfax newspapers and Rupert Murdoch's News Corp tabloids are losing staff hand over fist along with fleeing advertisers, the arrival of the NYTimes adds another worrying dimension for the locals.
Prospective employees can go here to apply for a perch at the New York Times.

A Day at The Races

A perfect Autumn day in Sydney and the races at the Royal Randwick Racecourse is as good as a Saturday gets in this city.

Here is a roundup of some of the folk and fashions spotted on the day.

No outfit is too outrageous and indeed it's encouraged. It's all good fun and the excitement is palpable as a race reaches it's climax.

There are thrilled shouts as a backed winner romps home and any tears of disappointment at a lost wager are soon forgotten once you hit the Champagne Bar in the magnificent Queen Elizabeth 11 Grandstand.    

And when it's time to leave so many of Sydney's inner city pubs and clubs now ensure the party continues (take a taxi !).

We even spotted a chap (right) wearing the latest in Rayban sunglasses - well that's what our pal said.

Just In

He's in Sydney and he's appearing tonight in his (almost) sell out show and Whispers will be there. It would be mean not to publish the latest snaps of Justin Bieber from his Calvin Klein adverts. Not nude but, hey who cares,

Cate Blanchett channels Dusty Springfield

Occasional Sydney resident Cate Blanchett made a surprise visit last week to New York's famous Stonewall Club to aid the Newtown Action Alliance. And - in Givenchy of course -  looking sensational, she lip-sinced to Dusty Springfield's famous hit You Don't Own Me and we have the video for your viewing pleasure:

Arrivals

 

Oh the glamour. Pictured is model Adam Williams arriving at Royal Randwick for the races on Monday. Saturday's races were cancelled because of the unseasonable heat with horses being regularly hosed down  to prevent heat stress.

And that's how hot it actually was : for Aussies to abandon the chance of a day betting on the gee gees is unheard of.
Back to Adam. The amazingly sculptured Adam, an ex-boyfriend of celebrity hairdresser Joh Bailey is a model, dancer, choreographer and event compere and he's extremely popular throughout Asia where he is a role model for 1000s of young men who, well want to look just like him. And that gleaming auto is a special edition of a BMW. Everything sparkles! Isn't life so grand at times?

Happy Christmas to our loyal readers

We get around 2500 regular readers from all over the world every day plus a whole more visiting. This sorta sums up Christmas Day in Sydney. It has everything : sand, a beach, cocktails, Bondi, drag queens, sundshine and a few social identities in that crowd.

Elle Macpherson with scissors

 
The Body wielded a pair of scissors Tuesday morning at a small reception to open a new boutique in Myer in the Pitt Street Mall. She's planning to open several of these stores called Elle Macpherson Body around the world and was jetting off the next day to New Zealand to do likewise.

Whispers chatted to Elle's mum Fran Macpherson who told us she had recently returned from visiting Elle in her Miami home which she says is sensational and the weather is always perfect. 

As for her other children? Daughter Mimi is loving her life in Noosa in Queensland and son Ben is in Los Angeles wheeling and dealing in the movie business.

Barry wins the Archibald

 Louise Hearman's portrait of Barry Hunphries has won the 2016 Archibald portrait contest

Finalists 'Pat  by Alan Jones * Peter Weiss by Nicholas Harding* Deng by Nick Stathopolous* Self by Benjamin Aitken

                                                           Wendy Whiteley by Natasha Bieniek

Winner of the Wynne Prize:Spring Frost by Eiloth Gruner

           The Archibald Portrait exhibition is now open at the art Gallery of NSW : entry is free

Register Now !

There are still some spots left for the amazing A Moveable Feast which will happen on Saturday 30th July at The Carriageworks. A MOVEABLE FEAST is an original and unique series of large scale experiential dining events, one for each season at a different location, with playful dress up styles, curated menus by renowned guest chefs, performances and installations. Gather up your friends and plan for a fantastic evening of food and good wines. Go to their website here.

Vivid Sydney

Whispers ventured out on a chilly night with our Box Brownie to check out the cities colourful Vivd Sydney festival.

The Yartz Party

 The Federal Election is almost upon us and while arguably the most artistically inclined
prime minister Malcolm Turnbull will be fighting for his political life a new party has been launched and is hoping to pick up one million votes.
The Arts Party "exists to encourage a more creative, cultural, educated and prosperous life for every Australian.". The first candidate will be Lou Pollard who will be standing for the North Sydney seat.
And the party is now crowd-funding to raise money for the coming election. You can read more or join the party at their official website here.
And there are some real heavy weight show biz names already spruiking for the campaign including Bryan Brown, Geraldine Turner and Lex Marinos. The only thing missing is a word from Australia's Cultural Attache to the Court of St James Sir Les Patterson.

The Star lights up for Summer !

Whispers can't really think of a better spot to party during summer than at the Terrace Rooftop Bar at The Star in Pyrmont. With sensational views as you can see above- gorgeous Laura Csortan checks it out - and lots of pretty people plus drinks & fine food with cool harbour breezes. What more could a mortal want? And the following list of lovely celebs at the launch shindig all swear they put in regular appearances and that includes Richard Wilkins, actor Dan McPherson, Laura Dundovic, singers Nathaniel & Samantha Jade. beautiful Jodi Anasta and Sally Obermeder. They're in our pictures below and most are Ambassadors for the Terrace so you can guarantee it will be a great place for star spotting. And where else can you play flamingo croquet?

 We've only just discovered this game : you pile wood bricks on top of each other and keep removing one to place at the top. And then they all fall down !. We thought it looked like fun.

 X-Factor discovery Nat Conway (right) sang at the launch: it's tad noisy but that's because folks were having so much fun !! Below : Richard Wilkins captures the action on the Flamingo Croquet pitch.

 

Dramas in Casablanca

 One of the stars of the unexpected hit TV series Gogglebox Angie Kent (right) has lashed out at Double Bay's uber nightclub Casablanca after her brother who suffers from Aspergers was refused entry. According to Angie security guards questioned whether the chap was drunk or drugged. The party lot then moved on to The Sheaf pub where they had more success with security who whilst initially questioning the man, allowed the group entry.
 Angie really should have made contact with Casablanca's amiable manager Karim Gharbi (pictured above) who features regularly in these pages. We feel Karim would have only been to happy to put the names of her group at the door as VIP guests given his penchant for publicity.

As the success of the show keeps resonating Whispers hears that at least 2 stars of the show are now being courted by advertising agencies to promote products. Indeed Whisper encountered one of Googlebox's stars in a shopping centre a few days ago and asked if the rumour was true (we've known this person for many years). She just laughed off the suggestion but didn't actually say "no". So that's a yes then.

Bar De Thé opens

A smart new bar Bar De Thé opened last night in Victoria Street, Darlinghurst. Here are some snaps from the opening party. It's all very swish and pretty nice and a welcome addition to Sydney's nightlife.