Showing posts with label couples. Show all posts
Showing posts with label couples. Show all posts

Tuesday, October 2, 2012

bits

Crave Online

Kevin Shinick () talks to us about Deadpool, Avenging Spider-Man, theater, & his date w/ Angelina Jolie.

Kevin Shinick on Deadpool and 'Avenging Spider-Man'

The Robot Chicken and MAD writer talks to Crave Online about comics, theater and even his date with Angelina Jolie.

Avenging Spider-Man is in the middle of a wild and woolly two-part story about Wade Wilson trolling around in Peter Parker's subconscious at the behest of the legendary Hypno-Hustler, in a tale that brings to mind some of the hijinks of the venerable Joe Kelly run on Deadpool's first ongoing series back in the 1990s. AvSM #12 is already out, the conclusion will hit comic shops next week with #13, and hopefully it's not the last time writer Kevin Shinick will get to play with either one of these wisecracking heroes.
Shinick is currently one of the creators behind the animated sketch-comedy series MAD as well as a veteran of Robot Chicken, so you know he's got a cracked sensibility. Yet, he's quite multifaceted, with an extensive Broadway history that includes, acting (you may have seen him in Grimm), writing and directing a stage adaptation of the wall-crawler that predates the trouble-plagued musical Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark by years, and impressing Jon Voight enough that he managed to land a date with Angelina Jolie before she was famous. Yes, I asked him about that in this interview, and he was kind enough to actually answer that personal question.
So let's have a chat with Mr. Shinick, shall we? We may learn something about the history of Deadpool and what he may or may not have coming up as far as comic projects go.

***

CRAVE ONLINE: I'm a old-school Deadpool fan, and Avenging Spider-Man #12 finally started reviving some of my love for him. How big a Deadpool nerd are you?

KEVIN SHINICK: My entry into Deadpool was Spider-Man, because I was a Spider-Man nerd first, but once I started getting into him, with the Kelly version of #6, #11 and stuff like that, I was sold. Any world where someone can outdo Spidey in terms of wackiness and jokeyness, I was all on board. I just love him.

CRAVE ONLINE: It is very rare that Spider-Man plays the straight man to anybody.

SHINICK: I know. That's what was so bizarre in approaching this. I thought 'he is the straight man, clearly.' But he also has his own reputation, so you've got to give him a little bit of a leg to stand on, at least in the corniness aspect, anyway.

CRAVE ONLINE: Yes. I've seen people try to write them together before, and Spidey is way too serious, although I suppose it would make sense that he'd overdo the responsibility in the face of Deadpool's complete and utter disdain for it.

SHINICK: It's true, and you know what's so funny - it's a fine line that I had to ride with this comic book. The editor kept reminding me that this is not a Deadpool comic, it's a Spider-Man comic. So I had to make sure that it's family friendly and still get as much as I could out of Deadpool and what you expect from him in a Spider-Man comic. I liken it a lot to Robot Chicken vs. MAD. The network came to me and said 'look, we're looking to a do a Robot Chicken that can air in prime time, that's not so obscene, not so blue, that we can air at 8:00 at night." It's easy to fall on a joke that's a kick in the groin or bleeping out half your dialog, but when you're in prime time, you have to find the funny without having to rely on those things. In a sense, this comic brought those two worlds together. To me, Deadpool is like Robot Chicken. He's raunchy, he's ridiculous, and Spider-Man is more family friendly and funny, but just more approachable. I was trying to marry those two sensibilities that I spend my day jobs doing into this comic as well.


Avenging Spider-Man #12: How To Puncture The Fourth Side of A Quadrilateral


CRAVE ONLINE: It does feel very much like a Deadpool comic. An "Inception" parody with the Hypno-Hustler is very f-ing Deadpool.

SHINICK: Good! That's awesome. Once I landed on that, I thought 'oh my god, this could be a ridiculous romp that I think I'm going to thoroughly enjoy.' To be honest, I try to take on projects as an audience member. I want to write stuff I want to see, whether it's movies or TV or comic books, I'm my harshest critic, because it's just stuff I want to see and I want to read. I go to it from that angle.

CRAVE ONLINE: That's the way you should. There's just one more issue in this arc, right?

SHINICK: Yeah, just one more. It's funny, because there's so much I wanted to do with this story, too, but people forget - or I think they forget - the challenges of wrapping these things up in essentially 40 pages, two issues, 20 pages each of story. The visuals play a big part, so you don't want to crowd a lot of stuff. I had a lot of deeper stuff, too, that I was trying to get in there, but at the end of the day, I had to trim it down and make it fit into a two-issue arc. But I think it works, and I'm excited for the second one to come out.

CRAVE ONLINE: Do you have any more work in the pipeline for Marvel or DC?

SHINICK: I do. Nothing I can talk publicly about yet, but this, obviously, has gone over very well. So they've been talking to me about doing some more, and I've happily obliged, because I really enjoy doing this. I enjoy Spidey, I enjoy Deadpool, and if I can continue with them, fantastic. But I'd take on more of either, to be honest, because I just love this world. My first foray into comics was a ten-page story in this 80-page giant back in 2009, I think. I had a great time with it on a different level. I spend a lot of my day doing comedy, and I really wanted to get into the characters and the issues they have and not really have much comedy in it. I was able to do that, but again, I think a lot of people's biggest complaint was 'oh, I wish this went on longer,' and I thought 'you and I both!' But when they give you a deadline of 10 pages, you're like 'all right, I've got to make it work in here.'

CRAVE ONLINE: Which story was that, by the way?

SHINICK: It was a Mr. Freeze story called "What Falls Below," and it was really a conflict between Comissioner Gordon and Mr. Freeze on a night where a huge blizzard overtakes Gotham and everything becomes frozen. I had a really good time with it. At the time, I was really looking to stretch those dramatic muscles, if I can call them that. By the time Spidey came around again and they offered me that, I was ready to jump in and have a good laugh time.



CRAVE ONLINE: Do you have time to write comics, with Robot Chicken and MAD and everything else?

SHINICK: You know, I am so incredibly busy, but I always try to take projects that really excite me and work on things that I enjoy doing, so I will carve time out of my schedule to do these things, because it's what I like to do. It keeps me sane, to be honest. I'm also an actor - I was on an episode of Grimm last month. It's things like that that allow me to come back to the day job - the best day job ever, writing MAD - but it takes the pressure off one. You change focus, so that you're refreshed and you can come back to something with new eyes, after you've gone out and used a whole different muscle, be it acting or writing comics or whatever.


CRAVE ONLINE: You also wrote a Spider-Man stage production that was notably NOT "Turn Off The Dark."

SHINICK: I did it for about $60 million cheaper, from what I'm understanding. Yeah, back in 2002, 2003, I was approached by these Broadway producers that I knew, and they had the rights to the country's first theatrical feature-length adaptation of Spider-Man, and would I be interested in writing up a treatment? I thought 'my god, yeah!' My background is also theater. I was on Broadway for a number of years, and I thought 'what a great opportunity to marry, again, a couple of things that were close to my heart.' I wanted to do it justice for the Spider-Man fans out there, but I also knew it would be attracting a younger audience to the theater for the first time. If you do this right, you'll make a fan of kids for a long time, who will want to come back to the theater again. We were playing Radio City Music Hall for one stop, and I just went no holds barred. I wrote this treatment that incorporated everything I thought you could possibly do on the stage, including explosions, multimedia, great acting, great numbers and fight choreography. They said 'yeah, we love it, let's do it!' Marvel said they loved it. And we were sitting around trying to figure out who would direct this thing, and after spending a day trying to brainstorm, I finally said to them "look, I'm totally happy being just the writer, but when I write this stuff, I'm directing it in my head, and I"m just going to say that once." And a month later, they came back and said "yeah, we want you to direct it, too." So that's how that came about.

Beyoncé's audition went surprisingly well, but she insisted on renaming the character "Bugga Boo."


CRAVE ONLINE: Aside from the budget, what would you say is the main difference between yours and "Turn Off The Dark?"

SHINICK: I don't want to knock Turn Off The Dark, because I know some of the people involved in it and it's a huge boulder rolled up that hill, but I think it starts from finding someone who loves this property. I know that the director loves theater and has made such inroads and such lasting memories, but I don't know if she was a Spider-Man fan. All I felt when I left that was that there were a lot of missed opportunities, I thought. Again, I'm looking at it from, I guess, my ten-year-old eyes, even, but just simple entrances - you know, you're like 'wow, that's how you introduce that guy?' That should've been a huge great intro for somebody. I think that was my biggest complaint. A lot of missed opportunities.

CRAVE ONLINE: Was yours a musical?

SHINICK: The two biggest questions I get are 'was it a musical?' and 'was it on ice?' (laughs) No to both. It was just a stage adaptation, which came out the same year as the movie. I wrote it before the movie came out, so they're very similar up until the point where he becomes Spider-Man, and then they go off into their own directions. Still Green Goblin focused.

CRAVE ONLINE: I have to bite on something I've heard about you. You got to go on a date with Angelina Jolie?

SHINICK:  (laughs) Oh my god. Well, like I said, I spent a lot of my early career doing a lot of Broadway stage, and my first Broadway play ever, right out of college in the early '90s - this still blows my mind - but it was a production of The Seagull by Anton Chekov, with Tyne Daly, Ethan Hawke, Laura Linney, Jon Voight, Tony Roberts, Maryann Plunkett and myself. It was like I'd won tickets on a radio show, or I'd won an auction for a walk-on. It was just me surrounded by these heavy hitters. Jon Voight and I just became really friendly during that run. At that point, I don't think Angelina had appeared in anything, really, and one day, he said to me "hey, my daughter's coming to town, how would you feel about taking her to dinner?" And I was like "sure, why not?"

Where should we go tonight? Well, what are you hungry for?


So in walks this beautiful woman, but definitely still in her goth phase - pale face, black lipstick, black hair. We were very different personalities, but we had a lovely dinner. She lived in Los Angeles at the time with her mom, and she was just visiting her dad, so we had one lovely dinner, and then she went back to LA. But as I've said in other places, I like to think, to this day, Brad Pitt doesn't let his kids watch MAD because he knows, somewhere deep down, there are still feelings. (laughs)



Happy 20th wedding anniversary to and (Why they're a power couple: )!

Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt


Hollywood's it couple announced they would finally tie the knot in 2012, after seven years together and six kids. It will be a powerful union: Together they earned $45 million last year.




Paging Brad Pitt and his deep pockets: Wright Masterwork Is Seen in a New Light: A Fight for Its Life




Finished filming my scene for ‘Maleficent’ at Pinewood but will have to wait until 2014 to see the results





Brair Rose Productions at Pinewood Studios source another batch FLP geotextiles for "Maleficent", a feature movie staring Angelina Jolie.


 
Ark is leaking. More caulking boys. Good that we found out now.




This may not be a recent sighting but an old sighting just recently recounted to the poster since she writes that they are having a family reunion.  The report is 2nd hand so its hard to tell if what she wrote is accurate, but there is also nothing that proves to me that it isn't true.  We know that Angelina is in the region and Monte Carlo is just a quick helicopter ride away from Miraval so we can't totally discount the possibility that she made a day trip.  I am familiar with the Cafe de Paris as well as the Cafe of the Hotel de Paris.  I would think Angelina would be more inclined to  visit the latter.  Regardless, as with all things, its FYI.


My MotherInLaw who is French, ran into AngelinaJolie in the ladies room in CafeDuParis in Monaco. The words, "tall, too thin, ghostly white" 
Photo from Team Jolie
Shopping with Zahara and Shiloh in Monaco - 12th May 2008

Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Forbes' Power Lists


The World's Most Powerful Couples In 2012



13 Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt

Hollywood's it couple announced they would finally tie the knot in 2012, after seven years together and six kids. It will be a powerful union: Together they earned $45 million last year.

Who says women can’t have it all? On the 2012 FORBES list of the world’s 100 most powerful women, 70% are married, with an average 2.1 kids. Often, these women don’t do it alone. Some have the help of extended family or a stay-at-home husband. Others marry their power equals and scramble to make it work. Here’s a look at the world’s most powerful couples, and what it takes to house two top careers under one roof.
Former U.S. President Bill Clinton and current U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton together form the world’s top power pair. Hillary, the second most powerful woman in the world, made history as one of a handful of women to ever run for U.S. president. In her current role, she is the nation’s chief foreign advisor and is constantly on the go, traveling to over 40 countries in 2012 alone. Meanwhile, Bill served two presidential terms as ruler of the world’s largest economy and remains an active diplomat today.
“Successful couples make lots of different arrangements; it’s not scientific,” says Rosabeth Moss Kanter, a Harvard Business School professor and author of business innovation book SuperCorp. “With a power couple like the Clintons, it was a trade off. She went to Arkansas for him to be governor. He moved to New York with her partly so she could run for Senate.”
In the case of power couple Bill and Melinda Gates, they met on the job. Fresh out of college, she was a new hire at his tech company, Microsoft. They married seven years later, and now are among the world’s richest—and most generous—people. Melinda, the original driving force behind their giving, serves as chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which has made more than $25 billion in grant commitments to poverty eradication, public health and education. Bill has served as the chairman of Microsoft since 1981, and they have three kids.
How do they juggle their demanding schedules? “We set out what’s going to be our work time versus our foundation time versus family time, and we’ll reassess that…sometimes every week,” Melinda has said. “[It’s] very much a collaborative effort. We come at it from slightly different angles, but that’s why it’s natural for us to do it together.”
Several of the world’s most dynamic duos independently rose to power and then joined forces. Actors Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt led separate lives and marriages before they became a pair in 2005. Seven years and six kids later, they are finally planning to tie the knot. It will be a powerful union: Together they earned $45 million last year.
Similarly, performers Beyonce Knowles and Jay-Z raked in their own fame and fortunes in the music industry before marrying in 2008. Together, they are music’s most influential couple, with almost 30 Grammy awards between them. In January, they had their first child, daughter Blue Ivy Carter. Only five months later, Knowles left Blue Ivy with Jay-Z and hit the stage for a sold-out, four-night performance she dubbed “Back to Business.”
“I’m watching the next generation,” says Moss Kanter, “and the men are really involved with the children–even the men with significant careers. They work it out.”
Among the other most notable twosomes are U.S. royals Barack and Michelle Obama; mixed-media stars Diane Sawyer and Mike Nichols; television comediennes Portia and Ellen DeGeneres; and business tycoons Barry Diller and Diane von Furstenberg.

Lady Gaga more powerful than Queen

Gaga is placed higher than The Queen in magazine's findings
Battle ... Gaga is placed higher than The Queen in magazine's findings
7

LADY Gaga is officially more powerful than THE QUEEN, a new survey reveals.

The Born This Way singer clinched a higher place than the British monarch in business bible Forbes magazine’s annual survey of the world’s most powerful women.
Gaga – real name Stefani Germanotta – made it into the 100-strong list at 14, ahead of Elizabeth II who only made it to number 26.
Aged 26, Gaga is the youngest woman on the list, while the Queen is the oldest at 86.
The only other Brit to feature in the annual rundown is Harry Potter author, J.K. Rowling, 47,who ranked 78th.
J.K. Rowling
Brit ... J.K. Rowling came in at 78
Crazy In Love singer Beyonce also made the cut in The World's 100 Most Powerful Women – featuring at 32 - six places ahead of Jennifer Lopez.
Beyonce
Super star ... Beyonce
Hollywood star Angelina Jolie, 37, came in at 37 while singer Shakira was fortieth.
 A-lister ... Angelina Jolie
German Chancellor Angela Merkel and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton are the world’s most powerful women, coming in first and second place.
The list covers women in politics, business, media, entertainment and non-profit organisations.
Their rankings are determined by calculating wealth, media presence and overall impact.
It is not the first time Lady Gaga has cemented her power – the pop star is also the queen of Twitter with the most followers on the social media site.
She has over 28.6MILLION followers — closely followed by Justin Bieber with nearly 27m followers, Katy Perry on over 25m.


Final Jubilee present as Queen jumps 20 places in Forbes Most Powerful Women list (but Kate doesn't feature in top 100)

By Helen Lawson
|

The Queen was today announced as one of the most influential women in the world as the impact of the Diamond Jubilee sent her soaring 20 places up the annual Forbes most powerful women list.
The monarch has risen to 26th in the magazine's annual list after a year where she celebrated 60 years on the throne, dazzled viewers with her appearance along side Daniel Craig's James Bond as she opened the Olympics, and also made the historic gesture of shaking hands with former IRA commander Martin McGuinness on a trip to Ireland.
At 86, the Queen is the oldest woman on a list that represents leading figures in politics, technology, entertainment and philanthropy, but there is no sign of the Duchess of Cambridge, a year after her wedding to Prince William.
Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge and the Queen
There's no place on the Forbes annual list of the world's most powerful women for the Duchess of Cambridge - yet - but the Queen soars up the list to 26th place
Instead, Kate, 29, is tipped by the magazine as a woman to watch over the coming year as she embarks on her charity work.
For the second year running, German Chancellor Angela Merkel tops the list, cited as the 'lead player in the eurozone economic crisis' and praised for embracing social media by answering citizens' questions on YouTube.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff hold their second and third places respectively.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel
German Chancellor Angela Merkel holds the top spot as the world's most powerful woman, commended for her leadership in the eurozone crisis

Hillary Rodham Clinton
Brazil's President Dilma Rousseff
U.S Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is second on the list for the second year running, while Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff retains third place
Clinton is planning to bow out of public life after the upcoming American elections in November, despite praise for her handling of the WikiLeaks diplomatic cables crisis, while Rousseff is enjoying approval rates of 77 per cent among Brazilians ahead of running for another term in 2014.
The women on the list were ranked according to influence, the amount of money they control or earn, and media presence.
Moira Forbes, president and publisher of ForbesWoman, said: 'These power women exert influence in very different ways and to very different ends, and all with very different impacts on the global community.'
Michelle Obama
Michelle Obama's campaigning against childhood obesity and commitment to military families sees her at seventh place on the Forbes annual list
Jennifer Lopez
Lady Gaga in Vienna
Jennifer Lopez, left, is a new entry on the 2012 list for her philanthropy while Lady Gaga's campaigning sees her stay in the top 20 at number 14
Beyonce Knowles
Beyonce Knowles came in at 32nd after a year where she promoted her album 4, had her first child and supported Obama's 'Get Moving' campaign
The average age of the 100 power brokers from 28 countries is 55. They have a combined 90 million Twitter followers.
Also in the top five were Melinda Gates, co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and wife of Microsoft Corp co-founder Bill Gates, and Jill Abramson, the first woman executive editor of the New York Times.
Sonia Gandhi, president of the Indian National Congress, rises one place to number six in the list since last year, while U.S. First Lady Michelle Obama moves up from eight to seventh.
The list featured newcomers such as actress and performer Jennifer Lopez and the widow Apple founder Steve Jobs, Laurene Powell Jobs, a billionaire philanthropist.
Burmese pro-democracy campaigner Aung San Suu Kyi rises from 26 to 19 in the 2012 Forbes rankings.
Leading figures from the media include Oprah Winfrey at 11, Diane Sawyer at 23, and British-born U.S. Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour at 51.
Anna Wintour
Aung San Suu Kyi
U.S. Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour is acknowledged as the world's 51st most powerful woman while pro-democracy campaigner Aung San Suu Kyi rises to 19th
Sheryl Sandberg, chief operating officer, Facebook
Facebook Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg is ranked as the 10th most powerful woman in the world
Meg Whitman
Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer
Hewlett-Packard's Meg Whitman (18th) and Yahoo's Marissa Mayer (21st) show the growing influence of women in technology
Celebrities such as singers Lady Gaga (ranked 14) and Shakira (number 40) are lauded for their charity work.
Notable exclusions from this year's list include Republican politicians Sarah Palin and Michelle Bachmann after failed bids for the White House. In 2011 they were ranked 22 and 34 respectively.
Forbes said: 'So many of these women are in policy or political roles, and their influence ... is only growing so it's not surprising that someone like Merkel or Clinton would continue to be present on the list year to year.'
Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner
Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner has overseen a drop in poverty rates and a rise in GDP

Angelina Jolie
Actress Sofia Vergara
Actresses Angelina Jolie and Sofia Vergara make the list in 66th and 75th respectively. Angelina is acclaimed for her humanitarian work and Sofia for business ventures

Diane Sawyer
Christiane Amanpour
Television giants ABC's Diane Sawyer, 23rd, and CNN's Christiane Amanpour, 55th, are acknowledged by Forbes for their influence
Colombian pop singer Shakira

Colombian pop singer Shakira's Barefoot Foundation promotes education and school construction for young children around the world

FORBES' TOP 100 OF WORLD'S MOST POWERFUL WOMEN

1 Angela Merkel, Chancellor, Germany, 58, Germany, Politics
2 Hillary Clinton, Secretary of State, United States, 64, United States, Politics
3 Dilma Rousseff, President, Brazil, 64, Brazil, Politics
4 Melinda Gates, Co-Chair, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, 48, United States, Humanitarian
5 Jill Abramson, Executive Editor, New York Times Co., 58, United States, Media
6 Sonia Gandhi, President, National Congress Party, India, 65, India, Politics
7 Michelle Obama, First Lady, United States, 48, United States, Politics
8 Christine Lagarde, Managing Director, International Monetary Fund, 56, France, Humanitarian
9 Janet Napolitano, Secretary, US Department of Homeland Security, 54, United States, Politics
10 Sheryl Sandberg, COO, Facebook, 42, United States, Technology

11 Oprah Winfrey, Entrepreneur and Personality, 58, United States, Celebrity
12 Indra Nooyi, Chairman and CEO, PepsiCo, 56, United States, Business
13 Irene Rosenfeld, Chairman and CEO, Kraft Foods, 59, United States, Business
14 Lady Gaga, Musician and Philanthropist, 26, United States, Celebrity
15 Virginia Rometty, President and CEO, IBM, 54, United States, Technology
16 Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, President of Argentina, 59, Argentina, Politics
17 Ursula Burns, Chairman and CEO, Xerox 53 United States Technology
18 Meg Whitman, CEO, Hewlett-Packard, 56, United States, Technology
19 Aung San Suu Kyi, Chair and Parliamentarian, National League for Democracy, Burma, 67, Burma, Politics
20 Maria das Graças Silva Foster, CEO, Petrobras-Petróleo Brasil, 58, Brazil, Business

21 Marissa Mayer, CEO, Yahoo, 37, United States, Technology
22 Anne Sweeney, Co-Chair, Disney Media Networks and President, Disney/ABC Television Group, Walt Disney, 54, United States, Media
23 Diane Sawyer, Anchor of World News, ABC, Walt Disney, 66, United States, Media
24 Angela Braly, CEO, WellPoint, 51, United States, Business
25 Susan Wojcicki, Senior Vice President, Google, 44, United States, Technology
26 Queen Elizabeth II, Monarch, United Kingdom, 86, United Kingdom, Politics
27 Julia Gillard, Prime Minister, Australia, 50, Australia, Politics
28 Nancy Pelosi, Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, United States, 72, United States, Politics
29 Arianna Huffington, Editor-In-Chief, Huffington Post Media Group, AOL, 62, United States, Media
30 Yingluck Shinawatra, Prime Minister, Thailand, 45, Thailand, Politics

31 Kathleen Sebelius, Secretary, US Department of Health and Human Service, 64, United States, Politics
32 Beyonce Knowles, Actress, Entrepreneur and Musician, 30, United States, Celebrity
33 Diane Von Furstenberg, Owner and Fashion Designer, Diane von Furstenberg Studio, L.P., 65, United States, Business
34 Helen Clark, Administrator, U.N. Development Programme, 62, New Zealand, Humanitarian
35 Georgina Rinehart, Executive Chairman, Hancock Prospecting, 58, Australia, Billionaire
36 Amy Pascal, Co-Chairman, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Sony, 54, United States, Media
37 Margaret Chan, Director-General, World Health Organization, 65, China, Humanitarian
38 Jennifer Lopez, Actress, Musician and Philanthropist, 43, United States, Celebrity
39 Sheri McCoy, CEO, Avon Products, 53, United States, Business
40 Shakira, Musician and Philanthropist, 35, Colombia, Celebrity

41 Mary Barra, Senior Vice President, Global Product Development, General Motors, 50, United States, Business
42 Zhang Xin & family, Co-founder and CEO, Soho China Ltd., 46, China, Business
43 Alice Walton, Chairman, Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, 62, United States, Billionaire
44 Laura Lang, CEO, Time Inc., Time Warner, 56, United States, Media
45 Angela Ahrendts, CEO, Burberry Group, 52, United States, Business
46 Sue Naegle, President, HBO Entertainment, Time Warner Cable, 43, United States, Media
47 Ellen DeGeneres, Comedian, Personality and Philanthropist, 54, United States, Celebrity
48 Safra Catz, President, CFO, Oracle, 50, United States, Technology
49 Laurene Powell Jobs & family, Founder and Chair, Emerson Collective, 48, United States, Billionaire
50 Rosalind Brewer, President and CEO, Sam's Club, Wal-Mart Stores, 49, United States, Business

51 Anna Wintour, Editor-in-Chief, Vogue, Conde Nast Publications, Inc., 62, United States, Media
52 Helene Gayle, President, CEO, CARE, 57, United States, Humanitarian
53 Christiane Amanpour, Chief International Correspondent, CNN, Time Warner, 54, United States, Media
54 Rosalia Mera, Investor and Philanthropist, 68, Spain, Billionaire
55 Cynthia Carroll, CEO, Anglo American, 55, United States, Business
56 Cher Wang, Co-founder and Chair, HTC, 53, Taiwan, Technology
57 Abigail Johnson, President, Fidelity Personal, Workplace and Institutional Services, Fidelity Investments, 50, United States, Business
58 Padmasree Warrior, Chief Technology and Strategy Officer, Cisco Systems, 51, India, Technology
59 Chanda Kochhar, Managing Director and CEO, ICICI Bank, 50, India, Business
60 Gail Kelly, CEO, Westpac Banking Group, 56, Australia, Business

61 Margaret Hamburg, Commissioner, US Food and Drug Administration, 57, United States, Politics
62 Ellen Kullman, Chairman and CEO, EI du Pont de Nemours, 56, United States, Business
63 Drew Gilpin, Faust President, Harvard University, 64, United States, Humanitarian
64 Shari Arison, Investor and Philanthropist, 54, Israel, Billionaire
65 Mary Schapiro, Chair, US Securities and Exchange Commission, 57, United States, Politics
66 Angelina Jolie, Actress and Philanthropist, 37, United States, Celebrity
67 Miuccia Prada, Owner and Fashion Designer, Prada, 63, Italy, Business
68 Carol Meyrowitz, CEO, TJX Cos, 58, United States, Business
69 Ertharin Cousin, Executive Director, World Food Programme, United Nations, 55, United States, Humanitarian
70 Sue Gardner, Executive Director, WikiMedia Foundation, 45, Canada, Technology

71 Joyce Banda, President, Malawi, 62, Malawi, Politics
72 Sri Mulyani Indrawati, Managing Director, World Bank, 49, Indonesia, Humanitarian
73 Bonnie Hammer, Chairman, Cable Entertainment and Cable Studios, NBCUniversal, Comcast, 62, United States, Media
74 Koong Chua Sock, Koong Group CEO, SingTel, 53, Singapore, Technology
75 Sofia Vergara, Actress and Entrepreneur, 40, Colombia, Celebrity
76 Ho Ching, CEO, Temasek, 59, Singapore, Business
77 Tina Brown, Editor-in-Chief, The Daily Beast and Newsweek, IAC/InterActiveCorp., 58, United States, Media
78 J.K. Rowling, Author, 47, United Kingdom, Celebrity
79 Chan Laiwa & family, Philanthropist, 71, China, Billionaire
80 Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, Founder, Chair, Biocon Ltd., 59, India, Technology

81 Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Minister of Finance, Nigeria, 58, Nigeria, Politics
82 Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, President, Liberia, 73, Liberia, Politics
83 Gisele Bundchen, Entrepreneur, Philanthropist and Supermodel, 32, Brazil, Celebrity
84 Mary Meeker, Partner, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, 51, United States, Technology
85 Shaikha Al-Bahar, CEO-Kuwait, National Bank of Kuwait, Business
86 Marjorie Scardino, CEO, Pearson, 65, United States, Media
87 Solina Chau, Director, Li Ka Shing Foundation, 50, Hong Kong, Humanitarian
88 Jan Fields, President, McDonald's USA, McDonald's, 57, United States, Business
89 Weili Dai, Co-founder, Marvell Technology Group, 50, United States, Technology
90 Risa Lavizzo-Mourey, President, CEO, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, 57, United States, Humanitarian

91 Sun Yafang, Chair, Huawei Technologies, 56, China, Technology
92 Sheikha Lubna Al Qasimi, Minister of Foreign Trade, United Arab Emirates, 53, United Arab Emirates, Politics
93 Guler Sabanci, Chairman and Managing Director, Sabanci Holding, 57, Turkey, Business
94 Greta Van Susteren, Anchor, FOX News, News Corp, 58, United States, Media
95 Mary Callahan Erdoes, CEO, J.P. Morgan Asset Management, JPMorgan Chase, 45, United States, Business
96 Mindy Grossman, CEO, HSN, 54, United States, Media
97 Patricia Woertz, Chairman, CEO and President, Archer Daniels Midland, 59, United States, Business
98 Judith Rodin, President, Rockefeller Foundation, 67, United States, Humanitarian
99 Beth Brooke, Global Vice Chair - Public Policy, Ernst & Young, 53, United States, Business
100 Sheikha Mayassa Al Thani, Chair, Qatar Museums Authority, Qatar, 29, Qatar, Humanitarian

Wednesday, August 8, 2012

France's Favorite Couples



William and Kate voted one of France's favourite couples as Sarkozy and Carla Bruni fall drastically out of favour

By Peter Allen
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The French have voted Prince William and his wife Kate among their favourite married couples – while scorning Nicolas Sarkozy and Carla Bruni.
Britain’s world-famous royals head a list of power couplings along with Jean Dujardin, star of the hit film ‘The Artist’, and his actress wife Alexandra Lamy.
A Harris Interactive poll for Gala magazine saw 17 per cent of people voting for Dujardin-Lamy as their favourites, with William and Kate just behind them on 13 per cent.
Celebratory clinch at the velodrome: William and Kate have been dominating French TV screens and newspapers during their appearances at the London Olympics
Celebratory clinch at the velodrome: William and Kate have been dominating French TV screens and newspapers during their appearances like this one at the London Olympics
Favourites with the French: The Duke and Duchess have been hugely popular across the Channel following their wedding last year
Favourites with the French: The Duke and Duchess have been hugely popular across the Channel following their wedding last year
But former president Mr Sarkozy and his former supermodel wife managed a dismal three per cent of the vote.
Neither has been seen for more than five weeks after anti-corruption police raided their Paris mansion after Mr Sarkozy was accused of accepting illegal cash payments from L’Oreal heiress Liliane Bettencourt, France’s richest woman.
Fallen out of favour: Nicolas Sarkozy and Carla Bruni got just three per cent of the votes in the poll of France's favourite 'dream couple'
Fallen out of favour: Nicolas Sarkozy and Carla Bruni got just three per cent of the votes in the poll of France's favourite 'dream couple'
The Sarkozys, who married in 2008, have frequently been criticised for their multi-millionaire ‘bling-bling’ lifestyle and obsession with super-rich friends.
William and Kate have, meanwhile, been dominating French TV screens and newspapers during their appearances at the London Olympics.
The couple’s wedding was also hugely popular across the Channel last year, with some French bemoaning the fact that they have not had a royal family of their own since the 1789 Revolution.
First place pairing: The Artist actor Jean Dujardin and his wife Alexandra Lamy topped the list
First place pairing: The Artist actor Jean Dujardin and his wife Alexandra Lamy topped the list
Dujardin and Lamy, who married in 2009, are – like William and Kate - viewed as having taste and modesty, as well as large amounts of money.
US President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle are also high up the list of  ‘dream couples’ with 12 per cent of the vote.
American dream: U.S. President Barack Obama and wife Michelle were also high on the list
American dream: U.S. President Barack Obama and wife Michelle were also high on the list
Well-liked: Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie were voted the fifth most popular couple in the poll
Well-liked: Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie were voted the fifth most popular couple in the poll

FRANCE'S FAVOURITE MARRIED COUPLES

  1. Jean Dujardin and Alexandre Lamy (17 per cent)
  2. Prince William and Kate (13 per cent)
  3. Marion Cotillard and Guillaume Canet (12 per cent) 
  4. Barack and Michelle Obama (12 per cent)
  5. Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie (9 per cent) 
Hollywood stars Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt, who have spent a great deal of time in France, are in 5th position on nine per cent.
Towards the bottom, however, are Prince Albert of Monaco and his wife, the former South African swimmer, Charlene.
Many have pointed to frailties in their marriage, especially since Charlene tried to flee home just before their opulent wedding last year.
The Sarkozy couple are on just three per cent of the vote, although their lack of popularity is beaten by Gallic Elvis Johnny Hallyday.
The ageing crooner, who was once a close friend of Mr Sarkozy before they fell out over France’s high taxes, and his wife Laeticia managed just one per cent of the vote.
The Harris Interactive poll was carried out between July 30th and August 2nd, with 1448 adults across France asked to list their favourite dream couple.

Tuesday, August 7, 2012

Forbes' Couples list

Forbes is very savvy at repackaging the same information for more hits.  Nothing new here other than the headline.  The same info was already in their Highest Paid, Most Powerful and Celebrity lists.


The World's Highest-Paid Celebrity Couples

It’s been a tough year for celebrity couples. From Katy Perry and Russell Brand to Heidi Klum and Seal to Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher and, ultimately, Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes, the love affairs of the rich and famous seem to be falling apart everywhere these days. Still, there are some couples out there in Tinseltown and beyond who have not only managed to stay strong but are also laughing all the way to the bank together.

Take Beyonce Knowles and Jay-Z, for example. Last year’s runners-up on the list of The World’s Highest-Paid Celebrity Couples, the duo has now climbed one spot to top this year’s ranking. Knowles, who took a break from her hectic touring schedule in 2011 to give birth to daughter Blue Ivy Carter, still collects big paychecks from old hits. Besides, the singer’s new album went platinum in the U.S., not to mention her non-musical ventures and endorsement deals, which all helped to bring her total earnings between May 1, 2011 and May 1, 2012 to $40 million, according to data from the latest Celebrity 100 list.
And as the male half of music’s first couple, Jay-Z isn’t far behind his wife. The hip-hop mogul made millions from Watch the Throne, his musical collaboration with pal Kanye West, and even more from the tour that followed. Add to that a bevy of non-musical enterprises such as ad firm Translation and cosmetics company Carol’s Daughter and the result is a staggering $38 million that he has brought home in twelve months, putting the couple’s annual income at $78 million.




Coming second on the list are last year’s winners Gisele Bundchen and Tom Brady. The 32-year-old supermodel remains an unparalleled force within the fashion industry, racking up modeling gigs, endorsement deals and independent licensing ventures that bank her some $45 million a year. Brady, on the other side, this year became just the second quarterback after John Elway to lead his team to five Super Bowls, only to be defeated at the hands of the New York Giants and failing to win a fourth ring.

Don’t feel sorry for him, though. Apart from his four-year, $72 million contract extension with the New England Patriots that runs through 2014, Brady is also following on his wife’s footsteps and signing modeling gigs with the likes of Under Armour and UGG Boots. On the field and off it, he made $27 million, hauling a total of $72 million along with Bundchen between May 2011 and May 2012.

The other royal couple from England, David Beckham and Victoria Beckham grabbed the third place on the list. Still strong on his hard quest to popularize soccer in America, Beckham re-signed with the Los Angeles Galaxy of MLS in January for another two years. But the player’s pot of gold is his endorsement portfolio, which includes Burger King, Sainsbury’s and Samsung. As the world’s highest-paid soccer player, he makes about $46 million a year.

And it seems like Mrs. Beckham, who’s preparing for a Spice Girls reunion performance at the London Olympics, is on her way to catching up with her husband when it comes to earnings, thanks to her passion for fashion. Victoria’s eponymous clothing range is a success, generating over $40 million annually in sales, with growth at double-digit rate. Victoria’s kickback on her fashion line of wool dresses and $3,000 purses, plus other sources of income such as royalties from Spice Girls’ hits, puts her annual earnings at $8 million–a total of $54 million for the Beckhams.

Hollywood’s most famous couple, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, came in fourth on the list, with a combined $45 million annual income. Pitt earned his third Oscar nomination this year for Moneyball, but yet the bigger news was his proposal to long-time partner Jolie. Balancing arty pictures like Tree of Life with his life as a tabloid target, he folded about $25 million. Also a tabloid-friendly celebrity, Jolie earns millions from big studio flicks, residuals and endorsement deals for companies like Louis Vuitton. Only between May 2011 and May 2012, the actress cashed in some $20 million.

Last but certainly not least are superstar Will Smith and his wife, the also actress Jada Pinkett Smith. After taking a short break from the big screen, Smith came back in a big way. The star of Men in Black 3 (box office: $619 million worldwide and counting) and After Earth, an upcoming science-fiction thriller film directed by M. Nigh Shyamalan which co-stars his son Jaden, Smith is one of Hollywood’s most bankable actors, earning $30 million between May 2011 and May 2012.

Jada also had a good year, thanks mostly to her part on the movie Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted, which grossed over $500 million worldwide. One of many celebrities to invest a combined total of $10 million in Carol’s Daughter, a line of beauty products created by Lisa Price, she has also acted as a spokesperson for the brand. Her earnings have totaled $10 million this year, making hers and Smith’s combined annual salary $40 million.