HUGH JACKMAN AND DANIEL CRAIG LOSE COMPOSURE AS RINGING PHONE INTERRUPTS SHOW

TWO OF HOLLYWOOD'S TOUGHEST AND MOST SOUGHT AFTER LEADING MEN RECENTLY LOST THEIR COMPOSURE AT A THEATERGOER FOR LEAVING HIS MOBILE PHONE ON WHILE THEY PERFORMED ON BROADWAY. JAMES BOND STAR DANIEL CRAIG AND X-MEN'S HUGH JACKMAN MANAGED TO STAY IN CHARACTER, THOUGH APPEARED STUNNED, AS THE PHONE RANG. BUT AS THE RINGING CONTINUED, THEIR PATIENCE WAS PUSHED TO THE LIMIT AND THEY TOLD THE MEMBER OF THE AUDIENCE TO 'ANSWER THAT CALL'. THE PAIR WERE DEEPLY IMMERSED IN 'A STEADY RAIN'. IN WHICH THEY PORTRAY TOUGH CHICAGO COPS, WHEN THE PHONE SOUNDED. JACKMAN STOMPED ABOUT THE STAGE AS HE ASKED: 'YOU WANNA GET THAT? COME ON, JUST TURN IT OFF. UNLESS YOU'VE GOT A BETTER STORY. YOU WANT TO GET UP AND TELL YOUR STORIES?' THE AUDIENCE LAUGHED AND GAVE JACKMAN A ROARING ROUND OF APPLAUSE FOR TAKING A STAND. SECONDS LATER, ANOTHER PHONE RANG. CRAIG RESPONDED: 'JUST GET THE PHONE.' THEIR COOL APPROACH WAS IN CONTRAST TO ACTOR RICHARD GRIFFITHS, WHO IN 2005, ORDERED A WOMAN OUT OF A WEST END SHOWING OF 'HEROES' AFTER HER PHONE RANG DURING THE PERFORMANCE. SET AGAINST A SPARSE BLACK BACKDROP, THE PLAY TELLS THE STORY OF TWO POLICEMEN AND HOW THEIR FRIENDSHIP IS CHANGED FOREVER BY A DOMESTIC DISPUTE. ALTHOUGH THEY ARE MAINLY KNOWN FOR THEIR DIVERSE MOVIE WORK, BOTH ACTORS ARE EXPERIENCED STAGE ACTORS.

LOUIS VUITTON L'AME DU VOYAGE JEWELRY COLLECTION BY LORENZ BAUMER

PARIS-BASED JEWELRY DESIGNER LORENZ BAUMER (WHO HAS BEEN LONG ASSOCIATED WITH CHANEL FINE JEWELRY) RECENTLY JOINED LOUIS VUITTON AND WILL DESIGN A FINE JEWELRY COLLECTION FOR THE BRAND THAT WOULD BE UNVEILED SOMETIME NEXT MONTH. THE STUNNING NEW COLLECTION WILL BE NAMED L'AME DU VOYAGE (THE SOUL OF THE VOYAGE) AND CONSISTS OF SIX SETS, A ONE OF A KIND NECKLACE WHICH WILL BE THE FOCAL POINT OF EACH. WITH PRICES RUNNING UP TO $2.5 MILLION. THE THEME OF THE COLLECTION IS CIRCLES, WHICH BAUMER DESCRIBES AS A SYMBOL OF PERFECTION. BAUMER SAYS HIS MISSION IS TO HELP VUITTON BE 'RECOGNIZED, ADMIRED AND RESPECTED AS A JEWELER. WE WANTED TO SHOW AT THE BEGINNING THE VISION, THE CAPACITY OF CREATING INCREDIBLE PIECES IN TERMS OF CRAFTSMANSHIP, AND THE ABILITY TO TALL A STORY. IT'S LIKE WRITING A BOOK. WE JUST WROTE A CHAPTER.'
ONE OF THE HIGHLIGHTS OF THE COLLECTION IS A BIB-STYLE NECKLACE DESIGNED IN A SERIES OF CIRCLES I WHITE, RED AND YELLOW GOLD, OVERLAPPING AND GLINTING WITH COLOURFUL GEM-STONES, WHICH BAUMER REFERS TO AS MASAI IN HONOR OF THE BRIGHT COLLARS WORN BY THE SEMI-NOMADIC AFRICAN PEOPLE. WHILE BAUMER IS THE TYPE OF JEWELER WHO EMPHASIZES DESIGN OVER MATERIALS, HE'S DELIGHTED THAT HIS ARSENAL OF GEMS ARE TWO VUITTON DIAMONDS WITH PATENTED CUTS, A ROUNDED-CUT FLOWER AND A POINTED-CUT VERSION THAT MIRRORS THE SHAPES OF THE HOUSE'S MONOGRAM MOTIF. THE STONES, WHICH BOAST BETWEEN 61 AN 77 FACETS, ARE EXTREMELY RARE. 'THERE'S ONLY ONE PLACE YOU CAN FIND THESE DIAMONDS, AND IT'S AT LV', HE SAYS, A BIG SMILE SPREADING OVER HIS BOYISH FACE.

CHRYSLER MUSEUM PRESENTS TO LIVE FOREVER: EGYPTIAN TREASURES FROM THE BROOKLYN MUSEUM

PYRAMIDS AND PHARAOHS, SPHINXES AND SARCOPHAGI. WHAT OTHER CULTURE EVOKES SUCH RICH IMAGINATION AND ECHOES OF IMMORTALITY AS ANCIENT EGYPT? ON 14.OCTOBER, THE NILE COMES TO NORFOLK WITH THE PUBLIC DEBUT OF 'TO LIVE FOREVER: EGYPTIAN TREASURES FROM THE BROOKLYN MUSEUM'. THIS BLOCKBUSTER SHOW, ON VIEW THROUGH 3.JANUARY.2010 IN THE LARGE CHANGING GALLERY, PROMISES TO BE ONE OF THE MOST EXTRAORDINARY EXHIBITIONS THAT THE CHRYSLER MUSEUM HAS EVER HOSTED. AS ITS TITLE SUGGESTS, TO LIVE FOREVER EXPLORES THE AGE OLD QUESTIONS OF IMMORTALITY AND LIFE AFTER DEATH. FOR ANCIENT EGYPTIANS, DEATH WAS AN ENEMY THAT COULD BE OVERCOME THROUGH A BIT OF INGENUITY AND CAREFUL PREPARATION. IF THEIR EFFORTS WERE SUCCESSFUL AND THE GODS WERE APPEASED, THE END OF LIFE ON EARTH WAS MERELY A PORTAL TO A NEW BEGINNING. FOR ITS FIRST-EVER SPECIAL EXHIBITION OF EGYPTIAN ANTIQUITIES, THE CHRYSLER HAS DRAWN FROM THE EXTENSIVE HOLDINGS OF THE BROOKLYN MUSEUM, RENOWNED AS ONE OF THE RICHEST COLLECTIONS OF SUCH ART IN THE WORLD. MORE THAN 120 RARE OBJECTS, INCLUDING MUMMIES, COFFINS, SARCOPHAGI, STATUARY, JEWELRY AND FUNERARY SHROUDS, TRACE THE EGYPTIANS' ALL-CONSUMING EFFORTS TO OUTFIT THEIR TOMBS TO PLEASE THE GODS, SUBDUE DEATH AND ALLOW THEM TO 'LIVE FOREVER' IN THE AFTERLIFE. THE CHRYSLER IS PROUD TO BE THE ONLY MID-ATLANTIC VENUE FOR THIS REMARKABLE DISPLAY OF EGYPTIAN ARTIFACTS RELATED TO THEIR QUEST TO ACHIEVE ETERNAL LIFE.
FOR MORE INFORMATION VISIT www.chrysler.org/

HERMES PAYS £75 MILLION FOR ASPREY JEWELERS BUILDING

HERMES, THE LUXURY FRENCH FASHION HOUSE, HAS EXCHANGED CONTRACTS TO BUY THE BOND STREET BUILDING THAT THE WORLD RENOWN JEWELER ASPREY OCCUPIES FOR £75 MILLION AND IS THOUGHT TO HAVE AMBITIONS TO ACQUIRE THE STRUGGLING HISTORIC BUSINESS. HERMES, WHICH IS A MAJORITY-OWNED BY ITS FOUNDING FAMILY WITH ABOUT 30% FLOATED ON EURONEXT, IS ABOUT TO BUY THE BUILDING FROM QUINLAN PRIVATE, RUN BY THE FORMER IRISH TAX INSPECTOR TURNED PROPERTY MOGUL. HERMES BEAT CHANEL TO THE 19th CENTURY BUILDING IS A CLOSE BIDDING WAR. THE 172 YEAR OLD HIGH FASHION HOUSE REFUSED TO COMMENT ON THE PURCHASE, WHICH WILL PRODUCE A YIELD OF AROUND 3%, THE MOST AGGRESSIVE PRICE PAID FOR A BOND STREET SHOP IN THE LAST 18 MONTHS. HERMES' PERFORMANCE IS IN A MARKED CONTRAST TO ASPREY'S, ACCOUNTANTS TO THE FIRM EARLIER THIS YEAR QUESTIONED THE ABILITY OF ASPREY TO CONTINUE AS A GOING CONCERN AFTER IT TUMBLED INTO THE RED, SAYING IT RELIED ON THE GOODWILL OF ITS SHAREHOLDERS TO KEEP IT AFLOAT. THE COMPANY HAS HAD TWO CONSECUTIVE LOSS MAKING YEARS AND HAS SUFFERED A DROP IN SALES FROM £17 MILLION TO £13 MILLION. IT WAS BOUGHT IN 2006 BY A CAYMAN-BASED HEDGE FUND IN A COMPLICATED STRUCTURE. THE HERMES DEAL IS THE LATEST INDICATION OF HOW ATTRACTIVE THE UK PROPERTY MARKET IS TO FOREIGN INVESTORS THANKS TO THE WEAKNESS OF STERLING AND A NEAR 50% FALL IN PRICES FROM THE PEAK OF 2007.

'THE VENUS FIXERS' TELLS HOW SOLDIERS SAVED ARTWORKS DURING WORLD WAR II

FARRAR, STRAUS AND GIROUX, RECENTLY PUBLISHED 'THE VENUS FIXERS: THE UNTOLD STORY OF THE ALLIED SOLDIERS WHO SAVED ITALY'S ART DURING WORLD WAR II. IN 1943, WITH THE WORLD CONVULSED BY WAR AND A FASCIST DEFEAT IN EUROPE FAR FROM CERTAIN, A FEW VISIONARIES, CIVILIANS AND SOLDIERS ALIKE, SAW PAST QUESTIONS OF LIFE AND DEATH TO REALIZE THAT VICTORY WASN'T THE ONLY THING AT STAKE. SO WAS THE PRICELESS CULTURAL HERITAGE OF THOUSANDS OF YEARS. IN THE MIDST OF THE CONFLICT, THE ALLIED FORCES APPOINTED THE MONUMENTS OFFICERS, A MOTLEY GROUP OF ART HISTORIANS, CURATORS, ARCHITECTS AND ARTISTS, TO ENSURE THAT THE GREAT MASTERPIECES OF EUROPEAN ART AND ARCHITECTURE WERE NOT LOOTED OR BOMBED INTO OBLIVION. THE JOURNALIST ILARIA DAGNINI BREY FOCUSES HER SPELLBINDING ACCOUNT ON THE MONUMENTS OFFICERS OF ITALY, QUICKLY DUBBED "THE VENUS FIXERS" BY BEMUSE TROOPS. WORKING ON THE FRONT LINES IN CONDITIONS OF GREAT DEPRIVATION AND DANGER, THESE UNLIKELY SOLDIERS STRIPPED THE GREAT GALLERIES OF THEIR INCOMPARABLE HOLDINGS AND SENT THEM INTO SAFETY BY ANY MEANS THEY COULD; WHEN TRUCKS COULD NOT BE REQUISITIONED OR 'BORROWED', A TIEPOLO ALTARPIECE MIGHT MAKE ITS MIDNIGHT JOURNEY ACROSS THE COUNTRYSIDE BALANCED IN THE FRONT BASKET OF A BICYCLE. THEY BLOCKED A NAZI CONVEY OF 200 STOLEN PAINTINGS, INCLUDING DANAE, TITIAN'S VOLUPTUOUS MASTERPIECE, AN INTENDED BIRTHDAY GIFT FOR HERMANN GORING. THEY WORKED WITH SKEPTICAL ARMY STRATEGISTS TO MAKE SURE AIR RAIDS DIDN'T TAKE OUT THE HEART OF AN ANCIENT CITY, AND PATCHED UP RENAISSANCE PALAZZI AND ANCIENT CHURCHES WHOSE LEAD ROOFS WERE SOMETIMES MELTED AWAY BY THE SAVAGERY OF THE ATTACKS, EXPOSING THEIR FRESCOED INTERIORS TO THE HARSH TUSCAN WINTERS AND BLISTERING SUMMERS. SOMETIMES THEY FAILED. BUT TO THE ASTONISHING DEGREE, THEY SUCCEEDED, AND ANYONE WHO MARVELS AT ITALY'S ARTISTIC RICHES TODAY IS WITNESSING THEIR HANDIWORK. IN THE COURSE OF HER RESEARCH, BREY GAINED UNPRECEDENTED ACCESS TO THE PRIVATE ARCHIVES AND PRIMARY SOURCES, AND THE RESULT IS A STUNNING BOOK AT ONCE THOROUGH AND GRANDLY ENTERTAINING, A REVELATORY TAKE ON A LITTLE KNOWN CHAPTER OF WORLD WAR II HISTORY.

COCA COLA ITALY COLLABORATES WITH FASHION DESIGNERS FOR CHARITY

ITALIAN FASHION DESIGNERS DONATELLA VERSACE, ALBERTA FERRETTI, ANNA MOLINARI FOR BLUMARINE, VERONICA ETRO, SILVIA VENTURINI FOR FENDI, CONSUELO CASTIGLIONI FOR MARNI, ANGELA MISSONI AND ROSSELLA JARDINI FOR MOSCHINO, HAVE TEAMED WITH COCA COLA FOR A STUNNING FUND RAISING CAMPAIGN IN SUPPORT THE ABRUZZO CHARITY PROJECT WHICH WAS ESTABLISHED IN ORDER TO HELP RAISE FUNDS FOR THE YOUNG WOMEN IN THE ITALIAN REGION, DEVASTATED BY THE TRAGIC EARTHQUAKE IN ABRUZZO, ITALY, THAT OCCURRED 6.APRIL.2009. THE FAMOUS LUXURY FASHION DESIGNERS DRESSED THE ICONIC 'COCA COLA LIGHT' BOTTLES WITH A FLURRY OF FANTASY AND COLOUR, WHICH WERE RECENTLY SOLD AT AN AUCTION DURING "TRIBUTE TO FASHION" SHOW IN MILAN. THE EIGHT DESIGNERS, WHICH WERE ONLY WOMEN, CREATED AMAZING LIMITED EDITION ARTWORKS IN EACH OF THE FASHION HOUSES TRADEMARK STYLE. THE LIMITED EDITION COLLECTION OF COCA COLA LIGHT WILL BE AVAILABLE FOR SALE IN ITALY AFTER 25.SEPTEMBER.

SMITHSONIAN ACQUIRES TWO 'LION KING' COSTUMES

PRODUCERS OF "THE LION KING" MUSICAL ARE DONATING TWO OF THE BROADWAY SHOW'S ELABORATE COSTUME PIECES TO THE SMITHSONIAN'S NATIONAL MUSEUM OF AMERICAN HISTORY. MUSEUM OFFICIALS ACCEPTED SIMBA'S MASK AND THE COSTUME FOR TRIBAL SHAMAN AND SHOW NARRATOR RAFIKI WHICH WILL BE PLACED IN THE ENTERTAINMENT HISTORY COLLECTION. THEY'LL BE IN RARE COMPANY AMONG OVER 50 OBJECTS FROM BROADWAY, INCLUDING COSTUMES FROM "HELLO, DOLLY!", "FIDDLER ON THE ROOF", "RENT", AND "CATS". "WE'LL HAVE RAFIKI NEXT TO DOLLY LEVI. THAT'S A BIG THING", SAID A GIDDY THOMAS SCHUMACHER, THE SHOW'S PRODUCER. "THE RAFIKI COSTUME REALLY SPEAKS TO THE DESIGN AND SOUL OF THE SHOW", HE SAID. "THIS IS A COMPLETELY ORIGINAL COSTUME THAT DOESN'T LOOK LIKE ANYTHING ELSE. THAT'S KIND OF THRILLING." DESIGNER JULIE TAYMOR CREATED THE COSTUMES, PUPPETRY AND SCENIC DESIGN THAT BROUGHT THE 1994 ANIMATED DISNEY MOVIE TO LIFE ON STAGE IN 1997. THE HIT SHOW HAS NOW BEEN SEEN BY OVER 50 MILLION PEOPLE WORLDWIDE, THE FIRST AMERICAN MUSICAL TO HIT THAT MILESTONE AND ONLY THE FOURTH IN THEATER HISTORY. THE STUNNING SHOW, FEATURING THE MUSIC OF ELTON JOHN AND TIM RICE, INCLUDING THE ACADEMY AWARD-WINNING "CAN YOU FEEL THE LOVE TONIGHT", HAS BEEN PRESENTED IN 13 DIFFERENT COUNTRIES. MUSEUM CURATOR DWIGHT BLOCKER SAID THE SHOW REPRESENTS AN EVOLUTION IN BROADWAY DESIGN, ONE REASON WHY HE SOUGHT OUT THE "LION KING" PIECES. IT ALSO HAS A INTERGRATIONAL APPEAL, WHICH HE SAID IS RARE BECAUSE MUSICAL TASTES TEND TO VARY BY AGE GROUP. "THE MUSICAL IS AN INDIGENOUS AMERICAN ART FORM IN TERMS OF HOW WE KNOW IT", BLOCKER SAID. "THE LION KING", HE CONTINUED, "TOOK THE MUSICAL TO AREAS IT HAD NEVER EMBRACED BEFORE, BRINGING ANIMALS TO LIFE WITH LIVE PUPPETRY AND GROUNDBREAKING COSTUMES." THE MUSEUM HOPES TO DISPLAY THE OBJECTS IN LATE 2010.