c a s a f o r t e

Sunday, December 18, 2011

In Memoriam : Vaclav Havel (1936-2011)

Enrique Gomez De Molina's impossible taxidermism

«The impossibility of my creatures brings me both joy and sadness at the same time. The joy comes from seeing and experiencing the Fantasy of the work but that is coupled with the sadness of the fact that we are destroying all of these beautiful things.»

Wednesday, December 07, 2011

Tuesday, December 06, 2011

Monday, December 05, 2011

Skyfall update : Helen McCrory & Ola Rapace

As Q has returned to the series in "Skyfall", fans have also been expecting a new Miss Moneypenny for Daniel Craig's third outing as 007.

But actress Helen McCrory, who was widely assumed to be playing the MI6 secretary, has revealed that she will be starring as a different character.

The official site confirmed today: "Actress Helen McCrory appeared on British breakfast TV show Lorraine early this morning talking about her work in the Harry Potter series, Scorsese's Hugo and of course, her upcoming role in "Skyfall". She'll be playing a politician and member of the British Parliament called Clair Dowar".

Swedish actor Ola Rapace has also broken his silence for the first time about his involvement on "Skyfall".

Speaking to local press in his native Sweden, the 39 year-old actor said working on Bond was very enjoyable.

"We have had great fun. Bond filming is like a playhouse, you can ride a motorcycle, fighting and shooting automatic weapons and things like that. So it's fun and has been really good."

He said he has already completed his work on the film for this year, but will come back early next year for more. "I will shoot 007 during March, April and May. So there will be a few more months."

Sean 1971

Sunday, December 04, 2011

Diamonds are forever 40° anniversary : architecture and design

For Diamonds Are Forever Ken Adam created a full set of wonders, including Willard Whyte's penthouse. One side of the set existed of a windowfront, from where you had a complete overlook of Las Vegas. The part of Willard Whyte was angelehnt an Howard Hughes. Cubby Broccoli, a friend of Howard Hughes, told Adam that Hughes handeled a lot of buisness on the toilette. So Ken Adam created a toilette set with all kind of electrical gadgets like telephone and so on and with the correspending luxury.

Sean Connery’s final official turn as Bond, also put on display the work of John Lautner who designed Elrod House.

With all the extravagances in Diamonds are Forever, this scene is arguably one of the most memorable.

Perhaps that has something to do with Bambi and Thumper, the athletic female duo that gleefully pummel Mr Bond. Even so, the spacious interior, panoramic vista and interplay of diagonals with circular forms, leaves an ever-lasting impression.

The living room, a conical concrete dome divided by fans of glass, opens to the surrounding landscape and a semi-circular pool. Lautner’s ability to define spaces using diagonals and curved surfaces in the same context with equal deftness is where he surpasses his famous mentor, Frank Lloyd Wright.

All these qualities prove ideal for film. It’s as if the Elrod House had been designed for the 2.35:1 frame aspect ratio of Diamonds are Forever. His architecture continued to make appearances in movies from Lethal Weapon 2 in 1989 to 1998’s The Big Lebowski.

the Elrod house: