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Category: Film (Page 11 of 16)

The Burlesque Movie Review

Cherburlesque There's a lot of Cher stuff to talk about and I'd love to cover all the press appearances she's done, print and TV, for this movie. But that will have to wait until next week. The pressing question now is: how was Burlesque, which  opened the day before Thanksgiving competing against Harry Potter (saw it: loved it), the new Disney movie Tangled and the superhero movie Meagamind. Burlesque earned a respectable #4 spot, earning $17 million in its opening holiday weekend.

But the reviews have been vicious. I slogged through about 15 to 20 of them before seeing the movie. I was disheartened. You can read all the reviews aggregated here: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/burlesque/.  There are over 100 if you're masochistic enough to read them all, go for it. I think I read enough to get the gist of their arguments. The average aggregate review was 4 out of 10.

Myself, I didn't think it was all that bad. I kind of enjoyed it and plan to see it again, something I didn't do with Stuck on You or Faithful. I mean  I have come to accept it for what it is: a star-vehicle movie with music for Christina Aquilera. I think if they hadn't opened the movie on Thanksgiving (like it was an Oscar contender), if it was released say in the summer and not billed as "a musical", it may have been accepted as a kind of fluffy, feel-good movie.

It's not a musical. It's just not. It's a movie with music. Musicals are more integrated with their music. Musicals have choruses, overtures, they speak directly to you through musical asides. This movie just doesn't fit right into that genre. Yeah, there's singing in it…

But let's talk about the bad reviews. Amazingly, they most entirely spare Cher of any criticism. They roast Steve Antin mostly, his direction and his script and occasionally jab at Aquilera's acting. The reviews are so angry, you get the feeling they're particularly out to bash Antin's big-budget first film for grievances that exist behind the content of the movie, to cut down the ambitions created from all the pre-publicity. Who knows? But here is the gist of it:

  • "Going to See Burlesque? Snap Out of It (Rex Reed): "a cliche-riddled pastiche of old Betty Grable movies"
  • AP Review: "a shameless vehicle for Christina Aqilera", "plays like an extended version of the "Lady Marmalade video"
  • The Hollywood Reporter: "The worst served is Alan Cumming. Did his role wind up on the cutting-room floor?"
  • Variety: "an overwrought, underwritten hootchy-kootchy turner that desperately wants to be Cabaret but lacks the edge and historical context to pull it off"…"the acting-challenged pop star Christina Aquilera…the least developed of all these characters…a shortcoming, considering how much Tucci and Cher are able to do with their minor roles."
  • USA Today: "Scanty story line hobbles Aquilera, Cher…"
  • NJ.com: "Fifty-odd years ago, Tallulah Bankhead starred in a revival of "A Streetcar Named Desire"–a production so crammed full of camp that it was said straight men were struck gay simply passing the theater. Burlesque may have the reverse effect." (bitchy!) "The whole thing's so safe, so straight, so completely anti-fabulous it could put Elton John in gray flannel."
  • The New York Times: "the old bump and grind receives a squeaky-clean workout…", "Steven Antin hasn't a clue what real life looks like…" "sexless"
  • The Arizona Republic: "not interesting enough to be a disaster."
  • The Washington Post: "the film's chief flaw, which is Antin's penchant for a constantly moving camera and whipsaw editing. There must be good dancing in Burlesque but too much of it gets lost in a Cuisinarted welter of swish pans and jump cuts….Alan Cumming is shamefully underused."
  • Entertainment Weekly: "hokum dialogue", "a crockpot-stew of leftovers…eroticism is safely off the table…synthetic spectacle operated with a newbie's licence by first-time feature writer-director Antin."
  • The Detroit News: "Every Thanksgiving needs a turkey…the groaner of a musical that's part Glitter, part Cabaret, part Showgirls and all fowl….the movie is a dull slog…no pizzazz…never lets Burlesque become the bawdy romp it deserves to be."
  • Village Voice: "montages of body parts…no sense of how the dancers are moving through space."
  • New York Post: "curiously unsexy musical."
  • Yahoo!: "It's entertaining enough, like watching a celebrity workout film with a plot."
  • Time: "It's frivolous fun…a middle-of-the-road musical…the numbers are lively but produced no urge to sing in the shower."
  • Chicago Sun Times: "the story is dumb. The dialogue is intended to be sassy; it's also dumb."
  • MSN Movies: "While it will be impossible to determine which picture wins the title of Most Aggressively Insubstantial Holiday Entertainment of 2010 until Yogi Bear gets its day in court…the original songs are serviceable, nothing more."
  • Chicago Tribune: "corn syrup diguised as dialogue."

My responses to this: I will agree the movie is more like a long music video (a sign of the times) and I completely agree that Alan Cumming should have been entirely cut or used. I agree the movie was sexless (even when it was supposed to be about sex) and is a far cry from an art piece. However, the dialogue wasn't as laughable as I was lead to believe and Christina did a fine job. She did fine.

And although they hated the movie, Cher gets some sweet shout outs as follows:

Continue reading

The Burlesque CD Review

Cher-You-Havent-Seen-Th-last-Of-Me Let me start by saying the soundtrack Burlesque made its Billboard debut at #18 this week. Not too shabby. Not at all. But I have to admit, I was more excited over the clip Cher scholar "Dishy" sent me last week of Cher singing a Christmas version of "One Tin Soldier" from the early 70s.

That's because this is primarily a Christina Aquilera CD. With the exception of Cher's two tracks, this is Aquilera's Yentl. More a star-vehicle than a musical.

Musicals have choruses, duets, themes, overtures. 

Entertainment Weekly liked Christina's tracks on this CD better than her earlier "misfire" Bionic. But they accuse Cher's of warbling and never again mention her tracks at all.

I had heard an early bootleg of Aquilera's track #9 "Show Me How You Burlesque" but it was titled "Spotlight" when I heard it. I thought it was a decent track but kind of emotionless and I was curious to see what kind of range the soundtrack would have.

The CD does have a bit of variety, comprised of a few Etta James inspired performances that Christina Aqulera yells through, alternating with camp, groove, and the musical pillars of the movie–dance tracks about burlesque ("Express", "Show Me How You Burlesque" and "The Beautiful People"), which are catchy but all kind of sound alike after awhile.

I think Aquilera has a powerful voice and I have always liked her song choices and overall articstic message. But I don't feel like these songs are the best of her best. I played the CD about three times in the first few days before seeing the movie and my husband John popped his head in to ask what all the yelling was about.

There's a lot of yelling.

But the truly stand out track is Aquilera's torch ballad "Bound To You" (the song to download according to Entertainment Weekly). In a way it's the only emotive moment in the soundtrack.

Then there are two Cher songs, which is the only reason I now own this CD.

"Welcome to Burlesque" – the lyrics to the chorus (according to Cher on David Letterman) were written by Moonstruck screenwriter John Patrick Shanley who did a polish on the Burlesque script. I like the sort of gypsy-sounding violin parts that wind around in the song, but the rest of the instrumentals behind Cher are plodding and mushy and it never quite takes off for some reason. Like the music drags it down and makes it sleepier than it should be. Cher might have been better served singing a copella.

"You Haven't Seen the Last of Me" — I was initially highly disappointed to hear Diane Warren was penning this. Her contributions to the Cher canon are not favorites as you may know. And her style is so bombastically unique that her song stands out like a toe among the Aquilera songs.

Which brings us to the point of mentioning how uneven the music to this "musical" is, how seemingly  haphazardly the songs were slapped together. Even though I'm not a Warren-fan, it would have been much better if either she or Aquilera had written an actual full score to the movie for musical consistency. 

All that said, this Warren song has gotten into my head like an earworm and stayed there. So maybe I like it more than I want to admit. Again, the music behind Cher on this track sounds murky and plodding, too. Which is why the bootleg remixes have been such infectious fun: http://www.youtube.com/user/InfoVectra#p/u/2/sri9f90JwS4

 

Glory and Tragedy at the Burlesque Premiere

Cher-tina The Burlesque Hollywood premiere was broadcast live on YouTube Monday night. It was lots of fun to embed the code into this very blog and watch all the glamorous happenings. The premiere was held with much hoopla at Grauman’s Chinese Theater on Hollywood Boulevard, truly an old-school location for a potential blockbuster musical.

I guess Cher's visit there reminded the Gods of Grauman’s that Cher’s tootsies have not yet been laid into the cement there, a fact that is being corrected today at 5pm PST.

http://losangeles.broadwayworld.com/article/Cher_to_Attend_Graumans_Ceremony_1118_20101117

Burlesquestar Cher, is set to take part in a Hand and Footprint Ceremony at Grauman's Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles. The event will take place on November 18 at 5pm.

Unfortunately, after the premiere and a Burlesque party, Ronni Chasen, the publicist working on promoting the movie soundtrack, was gunned down gangland-style on her way driving home.

The MSNBC Story: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/40214433/ns/us_news-crime_and_courts/

ABC Local News: “Slain publicist was a fixture in industryImage7066618g

On the night of her murder she had attended the premier of "Burlesque" and had been hard at work promoting the film's soundtrack for awards.

On Tuesday, A-list publicist Kelly Bush released this statement: "All of us in personal publicity are devastated by this tragic loss. Ronni was a terrific publicist, blazing a trail for women in this business like few others. I greatly admired and respected her."

Paul Bloch, co-chairman of Rogers and Cowan, where Ronni once worked said: "She was a powerhouse in the industry. She was as good as it gets. She was a great woman and a brilliant publicist."

The Atlantic: The Ronni Chasen Mystery: Making Sense of the Publicist's Murder

CBS: Ronni Chasen Slay: "Classic Hollywood Whodunit"

Yesterday’s story from ABC Local: Few leads in murder of Hollywood publicist

Chasen, 64, was found in her Mercedes-Benz early Tuesday morning, shot five times in the chest.

The prominent Hollywood publicist was at the "Burlesque" premiere on Monday night, a film she was helping to promote. Chasen then attended an after party in West Hollywood before heading home to Westwood.

Chasen's black Mercedes crashed into a light pole on Whittier Drive in Beverly Hills and she died less than an hour later at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.

Investigators reportedly sought to obtain surveillance video from the homes in Beverly Hills near where the crime took place as well as the W Hotel, where Chasen had attended a party just minutes before her death.

Fellow publicist Michael Levine said he is establishing a reward fund for information that leads to the capture and conviction of Chasen's killer.

"She was almost an icon in Hollywood, very well-liked, very well-known," Levine said.

The Palm Springs International Film Festival has also set up a reward, offering $100,000 for information.

"Hopefully they'll find the perpetrator and bring him to justice," said Harold Matzner with the festival. " I realize that doesn't bring Ronni back. She's going to be very missed by all of us. She was a very big part of the success of the Film Festival's award gala."

Anyone with information related to the incident is urged to call the Beverly Hills Detectives Hotline at (310) 288-2656.

It's truly an awful story and one that, unfortunately, may haunt the film to some degree.

Of note: Sonny Bono founded The Palm Springs Film Festival.

The premier itself was very festive and no one could predict such a scary event to follow in its shadow.

Untitled-1 On the live premiere broadcast, KISS FM DJ’s hosted a parade of cast-members and a hand-full of celebrity fans including, Kathy Griffin, Isabella Hoffman,  Tyne Stecklein, Chelsea Traille (a So You Think You Can Dance alum), Robin Antin (sister of Steve), George Hamilton (who saw Cher in Vegas and on set and called her "a worker"), Christina Aquilera, Diane Warren (who claims to have written only one song for the film but news stories keep assigning both of Cher's movie songs to her…I guess we’ll find out when we get the CD next week…Diane says this song is the favorite of all 10 or 12 she’s done for Cher), David Walton, Kristin Cavallari, Debbie Mazar, Peter Gallagher, James Marsden, Steve Antin, Choreographer Denise Faye, Linda Perry (who also wrote a song in the movie), Julianne Huff, Patricia Clarkson (who said “I Love Cher”), Terrence J (who gushed about his first movie scene ever…with Cher), the three Kardashians, Eric Dane (who Cher knew as being friends with Elijah), Stanley Tucci (who is said to have stolen the movie), Cam Gigandet, and last but not least…Cher herself who made a dramatic entrance and when was complimented on her look said "I did my best." (Cher with Chaz above)

KISS FM DJ Ellen K. (who had already seen the film) called Cher "The Godess of Pop," said she wanted more of Cher in the movie, and called the film empowering and inspiring for women.

Cast 
Cast and director

     

TV and Magazine Alerts

Chernewyork Spent last week in Cancun soaking up the sun and swimming with dolphins. Pics and more commentary on Cher's latest interviews to come, including commentary on Vanity Fair and Letterman.

Meanwhile, we have to keep on top of our latest happenings.

Pic to the left: Cher in New York to tape various TV appearances.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

Magazines:

Parade: Cher will be on the cover on Sunday's Parade Magazine. Buy a Sunday Nov 21 paper in your town and get the insert magazine.

Entertainment Weekly: Nov 19 issue has holiday movie previews including Burlesque with a few pages of photos.

TV Appearances:

  • Good Morning America – November 19
  • Regis and Kelly – November 19
  • 20/20 – November 19
  • American Music Awards – November 21
  • Jay Leno – November 24 (This one will be painful for me. I hate that show.)

 

The Burlesque Countdown! Many Alerts!!

Cher-ss07 Hold on, kids!! A lot is going on. Don’t fall off the Cher train.

Be on the lookout for new TV clips, magazines, songs and useless junk to fill your fan-shelves. I know…how can we be so excited about Burlesque when our country is going to hell in a hand-basket. Well, at least the Puppy Mill Proposition Passed in Missouri. That’s somethin.

Anywho, we have lots of Cher stuff to divert our attention today. What I love about the Burlesque  release is that we are getting so much information this time through the web…very exciting. And everything is so multi-sensory: beauty products, music, interviews and retrospectives in magazines, movie clips, contests, dancing, singing, drama, scenery…lots to enjoy. Everything but a Burlesque fragrance (which I would imagine would be arm-pit funk…that is IF they wanted to be authentic).

Major TV and Music

  • CHER will be on David Letterman’s The Late Show Thursday on November 11 (thanks to Cher Scholar Tyler for the heads up)
  • You can also catch a full preview of Cher singing “Welcome to Burlesque” on youtube. Search for it until it gets removed.
  • You can also hear a clip of her song “You Haven’t Seen the Last of Me” here: http://www.kbsradio.ca/News/Entertainment/Story.aspx?ID=1305905

The Magazines

1021-women-of-the-year-2010-cher_at Small article on Cher as Glamour Woman of the Year: http://www.glamour.com/women-of-the-year/2010/cher (the birds totally rock that picture…even they’re fans!) Big news here: she has plans to direct her first film. Accolade of quote: “Cher is one of a handful of entertainers to win a Grammy, an Oscar and an Emmy, and she’s sold 100 million albums over her career.”

 

 

 

Cher will be on the cover of Vanity Fair (with awesome NEW photos)…this drops in NY and LA Nov 4. The rest of us plebes have to wait until Nov 9. (thanks again to Cher Scholar Tyler for the dates). But here are some previews:Vf-cover

My fabulous cousin alerted me to Cher’s six-page style retrospective in the November issue of In Style. Cher actually comments on the pictures herself in this one…so this is an above average retrospective. My favorite line from writer David Keeps:

“Lady Gaga? Please.”

On a side note, there’s a picture of her with Val Kilmer. Kilmer lives a town near us called Pecos. John has co-workers who live there and gripe about Kilmer’s being a jerk to the locals. Kilmer put his house on the market last year for 33-something million dollars and recently downgraded the sale by 10 million.  I don’t know who would need to pay tens of millions for a house in New Mexico since you can get a pretty swell mud-hut for a couple of million. But I digress.

The Stuff:

Burles414zv3w6QRL__SL500_AA300_PIbundle-4,TopRight,0,0_AA300_SH20_que is coming out with some very swell promotional items of a super girlie nature.

Opi Nail polish: You can get the minis in red or the little teasers. http://www.google.com/products?q=nail+polish+burlesque+opi&hl=en&aq=f

 

 

31eua+zAfNL__SL250_ Nail salons are getting a full line of holiday colors that they can place in a custom Burlesque display.

Here are some color swatches: http://beautyofasite.wordpress.com/2010/10/03/opi-holiday-burlesque-swatches-part-1/

Names and descriptions for the 12 full-size bottles:

* Simmer & Shimmer – In this glitter bit of blue.
* Let Me Entertain You – Multi-talented fuchsia glimmer.
* Sparkle-icious – Multi-color glitter-iciousness
* The Show Must Go On! – With this deep pink shimmer on your nails!
* Ali’s Big Break – This glowing red shimmer breaks through in style.
* Tease-y Does It – In this tempting burgundy shimmer.
* Rising Star – Lustrous glimmering gold.
* Glow Up Already! – You’re ready for this glittering green.
* Bring On the Bling – A gold that glitter that’s beyond dazzling.
* Extra-va-vaganza! – This orange glitter is not for the shy.
* Take the Stage – A warm orange spotlight shimmer.
* Show It & Glow It! – If you’ve got this fuchsia glitter, flaunt it!

Hairspray Hairspray by Sebastian: This was supposed to come out Oct 1 enclosed with a movie ticket but they have yet to be seen anywhere. Stay tuned.  http://modernsalon.com/Article.aspx?oid=1275479
http://cocoperez.com/2010-10-19-smashbox-cosmetics-and-sebastian-professional-release-burlesque-themed-products

 

 

 

Smashbox Smashbox makeup: You can buy the small kit as follows…

• Limitless Liquid Liner Pen in Jet Black
• Shadow & Liner Quad in Risque
• Loose Shimmer in Burlesque
• Double Ended Lip Gloss in Peep/Show

http://www.sephora.com/browse/product.jhtml?id=P270008

http://www.amazon.com/Smashbox-SmshBx-Burlesque-Beauty-Collection/dp/B00440ZWZK

Smashbox2

 

Or you can fork over $80 for the large case exclusively at Nordsroms as described below…

Sultry, provocative, sexy. Bring out your ultra-glam side with this collection of limited-edition shades and products inspired by ‘Burlesque.’  Re-create looks featured in this film about a small-town gal who makes it big in Hollywood in the new film premiering November 2010.

 

Kit includes:
– Hyperlash Mascara in Blackout.
– Limitless Liquid Liner Pen in Jet Black.
– Double Ended Lip Gloss in Peep/Show.
– O-Glow Intuitive Cheek Color.
– Cream Eyeliner Palette in Vixen.
– Eyeshadow Quad in Entice.
– Fusion Soft Lights in Tease.
– Loose Shimmer in Burlesque.

A tiny brochure comes inside with instructions on how to “get that look,” that look being: “Stardom” or “Nightclub”

http://shop.nordstrom.com/S/3130040?cm_cat=datafeed&cm_pla=gift%2Foperational:women:gift_set_(beauty_only)&cm_ite=smashbox_’burlesque’_beauty_collection_%26_train_case_(nordstrom_exclusive)_(%24250_value):322050&cm_ven=Froogle&mr:trackingCode=712295C6-57CE-DF11-A880-001B2163195C&mr:referralID=NA

Oscar Buzz

Awards Daily is predicting a few songs from Burlesque may be nominated for Oscars this year:

Burlesque / “Bound to You” – Performed by Christina Aguilera
Referred to as the “voice of her generation,” Christina Aguilera makes her theatrical film and musical debut as the lead character in Burlesque. Her electrifying vocals on the films track “Bound To You” will remind you why this starlet is a 5-time Grammy winner!

Burlesque / “You Haven’t Seen The Last Of Me” – Performed by Cher
Music has very few living legends, but Cher is one of them. She commands the screen in her first starring role in a decade, performing “You Haven’t Seen The Last Of Me” written by the incomparable hit maker and six time Oscar nominee Diane Warren (acclaimed writer of Cher’s past megahit “If You Could Turn Back Time”). This ballad is a true show stopper in this film.

http://www.awardsdaily.com/2010/10/best-song-and-score-is-the-academy-not-cool-enough-for-reznor-and-ross/\

Win Stuff

Win tickets to premier:

MTV Burlesque dance contest: http://burlesque.live.seven2.net/

BurlesqueCONTEST-560x348

News of when the contest stopped in my hometown (who recently passed the Puppy Mill Prop): http://wearemoviegeeks.com/2010/10/burlesque-mtv-dance-contest-in-st-louis-this-saturday/

Etc.

The official movie web site: http://www.burlesquethemovie.com/

An early review (is the movie out for reviews yet?): http://www.thedailyaztec.com/entertainment/film-fashion-issue-burlesque-has-dance-drama-cher-1.2376355  Quote of note:

Burlesque has dance, drama, Cher

Complete with a number of inventive musical routines, a star-studded cast and a juicy plot, “Burlesque” is sure to please.  The film is similar to its 1995 predecessor “Showgirls,” and what it lacks in racy nudity it makes up for in creative performance. Aguilera offers her contribution not only as an actress but also as a writer for the film’s soundtrack. Writer and Director Steven Antin pulls out all the stops with this musically inspired romantic drama.

Behind-the-scenes video: http://www.afterld.com/showthread.php?19622-VIDEO-Meet-The-Burlesque-Dancers-amp-Hair-Stylist-Martin-Samuel

Article from the LA Times on the costume designer Michael Kaplan (who also did Blade Runner, Fight Club and Flashdance): http://articles.latimes.com/2010/oct/31/entertainment/la-ca-sneaks-burlesque-20101031 Says he was inspried by surrealist Rene Magritte and “a bit of Man Ray.” Quote of note:

“Cher always put her imprint on everything she was wearing. I’d put clothes in her room every day and she’d walk out combining them in a different way than I thought she would. Cher and Tess are not that unalike…both are show business troupers.”

Press conference photos: http://www.wireimage.com/gallerylisting.asp?navtyp=gls====460251&source=rss&nbc=1

 

Lots of new Cher toys to play with, huh?

 

The Burlesque Movie Book

LaTour_Educ_Virgin And FINALLY… FINALLY I received my Burlesque book! Jesus but this took effort and the patience of some higher power than me. Because I was DYING to get my little hands on it! My first order accidentally went to my old Redondo Beach address. And the forward didn’t work. Calling Amazon and the post office got me nowhere, the book was lost in postal space…so after  two weeks I just reordered the darn thing. I was a bit unsure what to expect. People on the Cherfreaks lists here and there were NOT raving about it…in fact they were complaining about the dearth of Cher pics in it.

The book is smaller than your typical coffee table book but I have to say I really like it.  It begins with a very generous 3-page introduction by Cher.  She talks about her first magical movie experience seeing Cinderella at Grauman’s Chinese Theater in LA and memorizing “A Dream Is a Wish Your Hearts Makes” so she was able to sing it for her parents on the way home. Very cute. She talks about coaching “this beautiful child” Christina Aquilera, Stanley Tucci (Cher agrees with Meryl  Streep…although Cher gives no last name, just Meryl…that Stanley never has a false moment in his performances). She calls “K-Bell” a fire cracker, Peter Gallagher wonderful and fun. Eric Dane full of charisma, and Cam Gigandet a sort of James Dean.  She talks about writing a scene from the movie and I wont tell you which one but it has to do with her mother and her friends. She says “They were all so beautiful and I was an ugly duckling” a comment which of course reminded me of sad things women continually say on Ru Paul’s Drag Race (of which I’ve been watching reruns I’ve already seen and been crying all over again!).

Cher’s essay reminded me again of how long her professional relationships have lasted. Not the situation of a nasty DIVA. She lists a long line of long-time compatriots, her agent, her managers, the professional advice of David Geffen, her makeup artist, her costume wrangler,  and the loooong-time assistant of many-trades Deb Paul. She also thanks newbies like the movie’s Director of Photography Bojan Bazelli (“I will never look this good again”), the movie’s wigmaker Carol Robinson and most incredibly her assistant on set, Jennifer Ruiz (“she’s the girl you want in your foxhole”).  It was a very generous of her to use the space to thank everyone.

Christina also adds a forward in which she calls Cher her mentor and working with her a “dream come true.” She ends by saying she thinks the film is something Etta James, Josephine Baker and Bob Fosse would be proud of.

Caravaggio-the-calling-of-saint-matthew And beyond that, the book is full of tidbits about the making of the movie.  Antin defines burlesque as he sees it, and the many stories of it taking nine months of chasing Cher “shamelessly” to make the film. He calls Cher “the coolest chick I’ve ever met."  Choreographer Denise Faye talks about how they created organic routines to match the storylines, set people talk about the dramatic look they were going for, inspired by the paintings of LaTour (1st above) and Caravaggio (at right), how they researched the “main character”, the burlesque lounge, and what inspired them. Designers discuss the specialized costumes and wigs, the use of Swarovski crystals, they symbolism of the color red, the use of monochromatic lighting for non-club scenes, the special Christian Louboutin shoes for Christina, the bartenders outfits, and even the zinc bar top. The book talks about who greenlit the movie, what producer gave it credibility, the makeup methodology, how the footlights work to serve the opening scene, how Steve Antin grew up in LA and particularly appreciated the sunlight at Hollywood and Vine. Even the news that Bob Mackie designed Cher’s “Welcome to Burlesque” outfit.  This book is like a Burlesque CliffsNotes.

Julianne Hough says “no detail was sparred and nothing is boring.” Alan Cumming says “If you like Cher, you’ll love this movie…this movie is Cher Christmas.”

It’s about time for some Cher Christmas!
 

Burlesque: Posters, CDs and…Stick Faces?

!Bvwn4HQEGk~$(KGrHqZ,!hQEv1+0DS-bBMF6I10Nww~~_35 The soundtrack was first to be released November 16 but then was pushed back to Nov 22 (the film hits theatres November 24).  So that’s STILL enough time to memorize all the songs before you see the movie.

 

 

The soundtrack track listing was posted as follows:

1. 'Welcome to Burlesque' – Cher
2. 'Something’s Got a Hold on Me' – Christina Aguilera
3. 'Tough Lover' – Christina Aguilera
4. 'Long John Blues' – Kristen Bell
5. 'Diamonds' – Christina Aguilera
6. 'You Haven’t Seen the Last of Me' – Cher
7. 'Express' – Christina Aguilera
8. 'But I Am a Good Girl' – Christina Aguilera
9. 'A Guy Who Takes His Time' – Christina Aguilera
10. 'Bound to You' – Christina Aguilera
11. 'That’s Life' – Alan Cumming
12. 'Spotlight' – Christina Aguilera

LA Times recently did a story (10/11/2010) on real LA Burlesque shows.
http://www.latimes.com/la-ca-burlesque-20101010,0,6250789.story

Burlesqueis alive and well, having gone from 2 shows per month to about 4 a week in Los Angeles.

Lili VonSchtupp, Augusta Avallone, Steve Antin and choreographer on “Dancing with the Stars” and former Pussycat Doll Lindsley Allen are interviewed for the story. (Steve Antin’s sister Robin Antin was a founder of the Pussycat Dolls).

They talked about shows like “Monday Night Tease”, “The Rendezvous” at the King King, and even the famed Actor’s Gang group getting into the fun. Hmm…I don’t think I need to see Tim Robbins stripping…but okay.

LA even has a burlesque school called The Striptease Symposium.

To define burlesque, they used words like vaudevillian, tongue-in-cheek, 18th/19th century European theater, specifically Italian commedia del’arte, French cabaret,  pastiche (a form of literary impersonation), definitely with a sense of humor and surprisingly innocent.

Some interesting new movie press items have also been released.

The hand stick faces: do you think this will be a collector's item someday?

!Bvwn-h!!2k~$(KGrHqF,!hcEv1+z1dv3BMF6JMJEnQ~~_35 
And the hot and tangy Japanese poster is out.

Japanese poster 
The new Japanese website: http://burlesque.jp/
See the trailer with subtitles.

And I wish I was still in LA to see this!! Burlesque ads on the Sunset Strip!! (Facebook's Team Burlesque posted the photo)

Burlesque on sunset  

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

And there's a LOT more stuff to comment on…soon!

  

Entertainment Weekly This Week: Burlesque Book

Tess The Burlesque book is featured in this week’s book review in Entertainment Weekly: “Cher and Xtina Strut Their Stuff” page 76, “The official companion to the upcoming song-and-dance film.”

And the Facebook group “Team Tess” has been posting many cool photos lately, including pics from the book. I’m getting very jealous watching others riffle through their Burlesque books, I tell you what.

Due to my own goof in pre-ordering mine, I won’t get it until next week. OH THE HUMANITY!!

Cher looks awesome!

Team Tess has also been posting very lovely movie stills from Cher’s movies past:

Cabaret

Chas

Moonstruck
 

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