Eye | Lifetime's Whitney Houston Biopic | Hollywood & Gaza | Cindy Crawford On Why Supermodels Happened

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Angela Bassett Directs Whitney Houston Biopic

Lifetime TV premiered on Saturday January 17 ‘Whitney’ with ‘The Butler’ alum Yaya DeCosta as Houston, directed by Houston’s ‘Waiting to Exhale’ costar Angela Bassett in her directorial debut.

Elle.com interviews Angela Bassett about her relationship with Whitney Houston and the pressures on her to deliver a film true to Whitney’s life and spirit, while maintaining the truth about the superstar’s demise and death.

Cindy Crawford On Why The Supermodels Happened

‘I feel like I lived through the heyday of modelling,’ true supermodel Cindy Crawford told London’s Evening Standard in ‘It’s not so super for models now … magazines want stars on their covers’.

Crawford explains: The reason supermodels could come into being was because Hollywood actresses wanted to be taken seriously. They didn’t want the red carpet to be a catwalk, which it has now become.

Crawford and husband Randy Gerber are good friends with George and Amal Clooney, being in the tightest circle around the couple at their Venice wedding last September. The supermom of two explained:

 “I think George decided — and Amal, too — which I thought was smart of them, typically, that either you spend all this time and energy trying to make it secret or you go, ‘You know what? We’re getting married in Venice and we’re going to have this great party and we’re going to do exactly what we want.’

“So that’s what they did and I really respect them for it.”

NY Post Andrea Peyser Jabs At Amal Clooney

It wasn’t only the row over Amal Clooney’s Golden Globes white gloves that made headlines this week. Rupert Murdoch’s New York Post columnist Andrea Peyser moved against the influential human rights lawyer over her proposed role on a three-person commission investigating rules of war violations in the Gaza Strip.

It wasn’t enough that — for whatever reason — Amal Clooney cited a too busy schedule to allow her participation — a point not clarified at the Golden Globes podium.

Could the reason be the possibility of her future husband running for political office? Whatever the reason, declining was not enough for Peyser, who criticized Amal for the following statement:

“I am horrified by the situation in the occupied Gaza Strip, particularly the civilian casualties that have been caused, and strongly believe that there should be an independent investigation and accountability for crimes that have been committed.”

AOC hates to tell Peyser that many Americans are concerned about what happened in Gaza in the summer of 2014. Israeli actions in Gaza produced a significant split in Hollywood, with actors and industry notables expressing the same concerns as highlighted by Amal Clooney.

Hollywood’s Concerns for Gaza

Javier Bardem and Penélope Cruz have been heavily criticised by some Hollywood industry figures after speaking out against the summer 2014 Israeli offensive in Gaza.

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Boys Club | Blogger Raif Badawi Case Referred Back To Saudi Supreme Court

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The second lashing of Saudi blogger and father of three young daughters Raif Badawi has been sent back to Saudi Arabia’s Supreme Court. Badawi was not flogged yesterday, based on a doctor’s assertion that it might kill him, after last week’s 50 lashes.

Given the lack of a penal code in the Saudi court system, we’re not exactly sure what this means. All are hopeful, however, for the release of Raif Badawi.

The current punishment calls for Raif Badawi to receive 1000 lashes over a period of 20 consecutive weeks, along with 10 years in prison and a fine of about $260,000. Badawi, 31, was found guilty of offences related to his blog, the Saudi Free Liberals Forum, as well as accusations that he insulted Islam.

Protests erupted worldwide and on AOC,  as news of the punishment came via UK’s Amnesty International. To add insult to injury, Saudi leaders marched in Paris last Sunday in support of free speech. Thankfully, the whole world was watching the ultimate in national hypocrisy by the Saudi government!

Protests to free Raif Badawi erupted around the world in front of Saudi embassies. Ensaf Haidar, the blogger’s wife, believes that if leaders such as UK Prime Minister David Cameron and — presumably — US Secretary of State John Kerry put pressure on the Saudi government, her husband would be deported to join her in Quebec, Canada.

Haidar and their three children fled to Canada after a Saudi cleric issued a fatwa against her husband in 2011, leading to an attempt on his life. The Guardian writes:

Haidar revealed that because of the attention the case was getting she had to tell her young children – Najwa, 11, Terad, 10, and Miriam, seven – what was happening. “Raif is all over the internet, so I wanted them to hear from their mother and not from someone they don’t know. It was very hard for them to understand. It’s a very brutal thing for children to hear and they were very sad. They had a lot of questions and they were very worried for him.”

Haidar’s own family have been forced to disown her and Badawi’s father had to appear on Saudi television to condemn his son – the Saudi authorities will punish entire families of those they see as dissidents.

 

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Eye | Lara Stone In Vogue China February 2015 | Warwick Yarn Bomb Kitchen |

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Ultimate Warwick UK Yarn Bomb Kitchen For Jumpers & Jazz Featival

The project is on display at Warwick Art Gallery in England as part of the city’s Jumpers and Jazz art festival. Gallery director Karina Devine says the project is a bold take on a global trend: yarn bombing, or knitting and purling sweater-like wraps for inanimate objects. “Yarn bombing is an international phenomenon,” she says. “This wasn’t about going out in the middle of the night and whacking something up on a fencepost. This was carefully planned.”

Lara Stone By Mario Testino In Vogue China February 2015