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Brigitte Bardot

Books

Photos of Celebrities Reading Books About Other Celebrities

By Emily Temple on

When we came across this photo of Steve Martin reading about Bob Dylan, we had a serious celebs-they’re-just-like-us moment. After all, you’d think that biographies of cultural heroes are for us plebs, who would thrill at descriptions of fame, stardom, and emotional breakdowns. Okay, we’re overstating it a little, but still. Turns out, celebrities are just as fascinated with each other as we are with them — especially the rock stars — and we think it’s very enlightening to see which of our cultural icons are fascinated by which. Click through to check out our gallery of photos of celebs reading books about other celebs, and if you’ve spotted another good one, be sure to let us know in the comments! … Read More

Film

The Most Notorious Actor/Director Feuds in Movie History

By Jason Bailey on

A couple of weeks back, we spotlighted a few of the most fruitful and (presumably) harmonious filmmaker/actor collaborations in moviedom. But as we all know, filmmakers can also be a prickly lot, and the recent (mostly tabloid) coverage of director Kevin Smith’s recent swipes at his Cop Out star Bruce Willis (more on that below) got us thinking about some of the less cordial actor/director relationships. We’ve assembled some of the more contentious ones for your reading pleasure after the jump. … Read More

Music

Serge Gainsbourg's Most Memorable Music Collaborations

By Alison Nastasi on

Writer and artist Joann Sfar’s directorial debut, Gainsbourg: A Heroic Life — about legendary French singer-songwriter, actor, and director Serge Gainsbourg — arrives on Blu-ray today. The film stars Eric Elmosnino as the chanteur and follows his beginnings in Nazi-occupied Paris, through his songwriting days in the 1960s, to his death in 1991. Gainsbourg’s prolific artistry helped propel the careers of vocalists like France Gall and Françoise Hardy — and he managed to make them stars while he was simultaneously recording his own brilliant albums. We’ve looked at several of the influential artist’s most memorable collaborations past the break. Tell us what pairings you’d include in the comments below. … Read More

Art

Rare Photos of 1960s Sex Symbol Brigitte Bardot

By Alison Nastasi on

This year, Sofitel is presenting a unique photo exhibition. BB Forever: Brigitte Bardot, La Légende just opened yesterday at Sofitel Los Angeles (where it will run through March), and the show will be traveling to Chicago (April-May), Washington (June-September), and finally New York (October-December). The collection of 30 photographs, presented for the first time in the United States, traces the career of the French actress, singer, and 1960′s sex symbol. French writer and journalist Henri-Jean Servat curated the rare look into the icon’s life, detailing her rise to fame as a screen legend — and in more recent years, an animal rights activist. It’s appropriate that the inaugural opening is in L.A., the cinema capital of the world. Bardot never filmed a movie in the United States, but her Lolita-esque role in her then-husband’s film, Roger Vadim’s …And God Created Woman, was a success in America and put her on the map as a serious star to contend with. Bardot is also being honored at Grauman’s Chinese Theater in Los Angeles.

Past the break we’ve shared several images that are being featured in the exhibition. Bardot looks stunning as always, and it’s great to see her in her Bonnie Parker beret — which she wore while performing “Bonnie & Clyde” with frequent collaborator Serge Gainsbourg. If you haven’t seen the video for the song, check it out over here and worship the way Bardot pronounces, “Bonnnie.” There’s also a great photo of the actress with Vadim circa 1956 in Saint-Tropez. Bardot still resides in the French Riviera town, living a quiet life as she discussed during a recent interview with Vanity Fair.

Click through for a closer look. BB Forever: Brigitte Bardot, La Légende will be open to the general public, as well as hotel guests. … Read More

Fashion

A Brief Survey of Headbands in Pop Culture

By Caroline Stanley on

Headbands are one of those fashion accessories that, while they never seem to completely go out of style, have unexplained resurgences every few years. If the recent smattering on the red carpet at the Golden Globes is any indication, then we’re currently in the midst of one of those popularity surges. This is great news for Hillary Clinton, a longtime headband supporter, who was sporting a festive thin black headband at last night’s State of the Union address. She’s finally on-trend! Inspired by their recent takeover, we decided round up a collection of famous headband wearers throughout the years. Let us know who we missed in the comments! … Read More

Music

Listen to Scarlett Johansson Cover “Bonnie & Clyde” with Lulu Gainsbourg

By Caroline Stanley on

As we’ve previously stated, we feel like a lot of the negative reaction to Anywhere I Lay My Head, Scarlett Johansson’s debut album of Tom Waits covers, was more about who she was as opposed to what she sounded like. Today we bring you the latest cover by the singing actress, a duet with Serge Gainsbourg’s son, Lulu, that will appear on the forthcoming tribute album From Lulu To Gainsbourg. Does her version of “Bonnie & Clyde” live up to Brigitte Bardot’s original performance? Click through and let us know what you think in the comments. … Read More

Celebrity

Pics of Famous Starlets Riding Bicycles

By Caroline Stanley on

This morning A Cup of Jo pointed us in the direction of Rides A Bike, a new Tumblr that’s dedicated to finding photographs of old school movie stars riding bikes. We’ve pulled together 10 of our favorite images after the jump; click through to check out leading ladies from Brigitte Bardot to Doris Day wheeling around, and let us know in the comments which photo you like best. We’re rather partial to the Eartha Kitt. R-r-r-r-aow. … Read More

Photography

Go Ahead and Jump: Philippe Halsman’s Iconic Photos

By Paul Laster on

Although most photographers ask their subjects to sit, the famous 20th-century portraitist Philippe Halsman commanded his sitters to jump. After shooting commissioned portraits for the top magazines of his day — Life, Look, and the Saturday Evening Post — Halsman would take a picture for his personal portfolio, which he published as Philippe Halsman’s Jump Book in 1959.

His whimsical Jumpology series features artists, celebrities, politicians, businessmen, and royals taking the leap of faith. Grace Kelly, who was soon to become a princess, holds her skirt from hiking too far up her legs, while grinning; Dick Clark lets loose in his suit and shiny loafers; Audrey Hepburn jumps barefoot over grass, while Psycho film star Janet Leigh takes sail in the California dunes; and Salvador Dalí paints a canvas in mid-air as cats and water fly past. … Read More