Currently Reading....

This is my first post on my new iPad! Blogging seems to be the only challenging thing about moving from my *whisper* dying laptop onto my brand spanking new iPad. I have to write amidst HTML code so please Blogspot adapt to the iPad soon otherwise I have to look at moving!

Anyway! Enough about me and more about this fabulous book that has had me enthralled!

I have enjoyed this so much, it's full of fascinating stories, Natalie's upbringing and family are almost straight out of Gypsy. I particularly enjoyed the charting of her acting style and methods as they develop. She worked with some incredible actors and directors and seemed to soak up everything she could.

I am looking forward to looking up some of her great movies. I watched Splendor in the Grass recently and it was superb!

"I didn't know who the hell I was. I was whoever they wanted me to be."

- Natalie Wood

Just Read...



This is Yvette Edwards' debut novel and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It created an atmosphere for me complete with smells, tastes, feelings. It was like dipping into someone else's world. Once I finished it I held it for about 5 minutes afterwards, savouring it. I haven't had that feeling about a fictional book for a long time.

If you can, read it. You won't regret it, in fact like me you probably won't be able to put it down.

“Reading a book is like re-writing it for yourself. You bring to a novel, anything you read, all your experience of the world. You bring your history and you read it in your own terms.”

- Angela Carter

Just Read....

This was a birthday gift from one of my cast mates and it was fascinating, I don't know a great deal about the silent movie era and this book charts the relationship between a young ingenue, Greta Garbo, and an Actor at the top of his game,  John Gilbert.

As her star rises his falls. It reveals the politics of the MGM studio, the world of early celebrity and the culture clash between two very different people. It's a really good read.

"Being a movie star, and this applies to all of them, means being looked at from every possible direction. You are never left at peace, you're just fair game."

- Greta Garbo 

Just Read...

It was a really good read, loads of insightful stories of her time at MGM, some crazy anecdotes about other stars such as Joan Crawford, Bette Davis and Ava Gardner. You can definitely hear her voice in it and although she obviously tries to make you agree with her point of view it's written in such a way that you have room for your own, in my case, conflicting, opinions on her choices.

It's definitely made me want to watch some of her movies, I don't think I've ever seen one.

"Clark Gable was the first to have called me a mermaid."
- Esther Williams 

Reading:

While in Sydney, to help make the most of my random jet lag (waking up v early and crashing for much needed naps at 4pm) I am reading - 

So far, it's a good read...

I just finished - 

which was heartbreakingly beautiful. 

"Always read something that will make you look good if you die in the middle of it."

~P.J. O'Rourke

Being Bookish

It was recommended to me by My Mate Rich as a research aid for my next job. Started it today and it's already got me gripped.

I've just finished

and it was really great, drew me right in and moved me to tears. It was a much appreciated birthday present from a lovely, highly valued mate who I call Spaghetti Arms.

"A book is the only place in which you can examine a fragile thought without breaking it, or explore an explosive idea without fear it will go off in your face.  It is one of the few havens remaining where a man's mind can get both provocation and privacy."

- Edward P. Morgan

My Bible...

I am currently reading (for the umpteenth time), 'The Girl Who Walked Home Alone', a personal biography of my all time professional idol, Bette Davis.

Charlotte Chandler interviewed Ms Davis over many months before her death in 1989 and simply presents; their conversations (about her upbringing, her studio life and her relationships), synopses of each of her movies and anecdotes from the many people who played a part in her life and career. It is fascinating and bursting with quotes from the sharp tongued star.

I find her so inspiring, she achieved such an incredible career against the odds. She was raised by a strong and determined single mother who after being abandoned by her husband, faced many nearly dire financial struggles. Finally making it to Hollywood after struggling to make ends meet in rep theatre, Bette wasn't considered 'Moviestar attractive' and so had to fight the studios (and often the directors) to be recognised as a highly accomplished actress.

It's a battle that is still being fought in the industry. The fact she conquered and redefined the Hollywood stereotypes fills me with hope for my career. Despite her many professional and personal hurdles she became one of the greatest and most celebrated actresses in the world.

As an actress, her contained and almost repressed style to emphasise her character's vulnerability is a skill I constantly reference. As an individual, well what a lady! Not afraid to speak her mind or to be unpopular in order to stay truthful to herself and her beliefs.

"Hollywood always wanted me to be pretty, but I fought for realism."

- Bette Davis