Posts from — January 2009

On the blog Abstract Gourmet a debate about the auditions has erupted. There are allegations that the producers are casting on looks and personality and not cooking skills.

Adski said I was in exactly the same position as you and got through to the end of the day, only to be told they didn’t want me any further. Bit strange considering that I can cook, whereas a guy in my group confessed he couldn’t cook and when he did, got his food from dumpsters. He didn’t even have to go to the 2nd interview, they gave him a pass to go straight through to the cooking day! He was a great guy- but he got through on 100% personality and 0% cooking ability. If that’s what the show is based on, I’m not that upset that I didn’t get through.

and Sarah wrote:

My husband auditioned in Syd yesterday and his group all thought his meal was the best of the lot, but he didn’t get through to second auditions. One girl who did get a second audition admitted she didn’t even make her own dish – she bought a balmain bug already cooked?!?! But of course, she was pretty

Foxtel and Fremantle Media are now casting for the second series of Project Runway Australia. Producers will be looking for raw talent and personality when deciding which designers will make it on the show.

Last year Juli Grbac took out the $100,000 first prize. However you don’t have to be the winner to get noticed on the show.

Alison Davis who had the ignomy of being the first designer eliminated from the series has said since the show  she has been approached by agents and had met many great contacts through the publicity of the show.

Alison kindly updated me on what she had been up to since the show.

What have you been doing since the show finished?

 Since the show finished, I went back to college to finish my degree and completed my final collection. I have since then, extended my final collection to show buyers and agents

What are your plans for 2009?

My plans for 2009 are to hopefully be studying at Saint Martins London, where I will get my masters in fashion design.

 Who was your favourite designer on the show?

My favourite designer on the show was Mark and Lou. They both had the most amazing personalities, and are extremely genuine, talented designers.

Is there anything you would have done differently on the show?

 I think I would make better choices within the challenges!!

Designers interested in being part of Project Runway should:

• Log onto www.arenatv.com.au
• Complete an application and provide their cv.
• Upload examples of their designs and/or sketches.
• Upload photos and/or short video of themselves.

Tonight American Idol was inSalt Lake City and not suprisingly an Osmond showed up. You could tell David was an Osmond due to the cheesy song he sang which was Something Within Me  by boy band Take 6.  David Osmond’s uncle is Danny Osmonde, and he definately had the family smile. He got a ticket through to Hollywood, and fingers crossed he does not have a relapse of his mutliple sclerosis beforehand.

I note this week  in both the Jacksonville, and this audition that Randy and Paula were given more air time, so the producers had decided to give us a break from the Kara and Simon show. Also I was glad tonight Kara had covered up her breasts, as last night in the Jacksonville audition she was showing a lot of cleavage. The positive thing about this was I was so distracted by them, I forgot to obsess about whether she had collagen in her lips. Sorry about no recap last night but I have been having computer issues all week.

Tara Matthews  Salt Lake City’s resident medium came dressed as a cross between a goth and a tranvestite (something I presume is illegal in that town). She did a bad rendition of Fly Away, so back to the crystal ball for her. I cannot believe this year the number of contestants who have sung this year who are totally shocked when they are told how crap they are.

Chris Kirkham provided some light relief by bringing a friend dressed up as a pink bunny. For some reason I found it amusing. Sad but true. His voice wasn’t too bad, and I think if he had turned up sans bunny he might have had a better shot at getting the golden ticket.

Megan a 23 year old single mum and font designer (Is that designing fonts for computers? Is that a job?) sang Can’t help Loving That Man showed that if she does not win she can sing in musicals. Apparently Idol contestants are  saving Broadway. Simon loved her as she was different.

Austin Sisneros a 17 year old who is Riverton High School class  President sang a song by Train  he was average, but he got the chance to sing a second song It Takes A Whole Village. He got through to Hollywood, which I was surprised by, I don’t expect to see much of him in top 100 week.

Taylor Vaifanua a 16 year old student who looked and sounded like she was 25 year old.  Her family moved from Samoa to improve her opportunities.  She sang a hymn so clearly the Mormans made a conversion of her families when they were missionaries in the Pacific.

Rose Flack a 17 year old student had the sad tale of her parents dying in her early teens. She sang  I Feel The Earth Move  the Carol King version not the Martika version.  She was an interesting looking girl and could be quite a favourite if she get through to the top 36. Her biggest liability will be whether her voice is strong enough to get her that far.

The auditions in Salt Lake City were much stronger then Jacksonville, and I expect to see a few make the top 36.

You would have to be in coma or illiterate  to not know  So You Think You Can Dance Australia is starting this Sunday.

As the publicity machine is in overdrive with the show’s host, Natalie Bassingthwaite, in just about every magazine and newspaper in the country. If Mastermind were to be revived my specialist subject on the show could be “The Bass”.

In the interviews Natalie talks about the criticism she attracted last year. In an article in the Courier Mail she said to expect an improvement:

Bassingthwaighte has two words for her early critics – watch out.

“I just think bagging someone that is just having a go is not healthy for the soul or good for being Australian but, in saying that, I get it and it’s a job,” she says.

“I never said, ‘I am going to do this show and I am the most brilliant host in the world’. I said, ‘I will have a go’. All I will say is I hope that that does make young girls go, ‘I am going to have a go too’. I am OK with it (now, but) at the time it was hard.”

I find it strange that she would think people were not going judge her on her performance? Her role is pivotal to the success of the show. And if it ain’t working of course viewers were going bag it. At the beginning she was not great but by the end of the series that had been a huge improvement and I suspect she will be great this season.

In the TV Week article she say’s the following:

• A lot more professional dancers auditioned this year;
• She is enjoying the role a lot more this year as she is not as nervous,
• She is not in contact with any of last year’s dancers but she does see them out and about every now and then,
• Her film Prey will be out this year,
• She hasn’t had a chance to miss the Rogue Traders,
• Her boyfriend Cameron helped her a lot with her solo album, and they co-wrote a song,
• Her New Year’s resolution is to not take on board too much, and enjoy every moment,
• She will not be returning to Neighbours.

Now if you still need more Natalie Bassingthwaite and SYTYCDA news here is another article in The Age.

At last Channel 9 have released the commencement dates of two of their highly promoted reality TV shows, Farmer Wants A Wife, and Ladette To Lady.

Farmer Wants A Wife Will Commence on Wednesday February 11 at 7.30pm, and Ladette To Lady starts the following Monday the 16 February at 9.30pm. In this late timeslot it is not meant to be family viewing. Those girls are going to rock.

Farmer Wants A Wife will have six farmer, five male and one female trying to find love.  As the Channel 9 press release says The Farmer Wants a Wife is not a competition, there is no prize-money, and the only winner in the end is “¦ love itself.

The farmers are:

Farmer Paul, 36 – cattle farmer from Tarcutta, NSW. A single dad who’s desperate to fall in love and discover someone to share his life with.

Farmer Damian, 29 – a sheep, cattle and dairy farmer who also runs his own artificial insemination business in Caveside, Tasmania. He’s an animal lover and a greenie, but says he finds it hard to meet a local girl he’s not related to.

Farmer Andrew, 25 – a sheep and cropping farmer from Manoora, SA. A fourth generation farmer, he is the youngest bachelor to appear on The Farmer Wants a Wife. Andrew puts his shyness down to the fact that he’s had more than his fair share of rejection from women.

Farmer Ralph, 28 – a cattle and horse breeder from Nambeelup, WA. This playboy farmer has travelled the world playing international polo but now family pressure is on him to settle down.

Farmer Tim, 26 – a sheep and cropping farmer from Mulawa, NSW. With all his mates getting hitched, Tim would like to find that special chemistry with a woman who “doesn’t need much makeup”.

Farmer Jenny, 32 – a cattle farmer from Tumbarumba, NSW. Jenny is a former advertising executive who has lived in Singapore, Norway and Sweden. With her body clock ticking, she’s back on the land and not willing to compromise a farming life for a man.

 The format is the same as the previous series where in the first episode the farmer’s will have 10 potentials to date and they have to whittle it down to five to go on a date with. Channel 9 will also have a Farmer Wants A Wife official website (www.farmerwantsawife.com.au) which will have videos, exclusive interviews and even a discussion forum. Also if you miss the show you will be able to download it from this site.

In other reality TV related scheduling Gordan Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares USA will commence on Thursday February 5 at 9.30pm, and there will be a sneak peak of Wipeout Australia at 7.30pm Tuesday 3 February.

Padma With New Boyfriend

Padma on Monday night’s episode of Top Chef spat out Ariane cherry martini dessert in disgust. Apparently she has only spat out once before. This would be something of a relief for Ted Forstmann the CEO of IMG who Padma is apparently seeing. Yes there does appear to be an age difference, but she was married previously to Salman Rushdie. Anyway Dlisted gives a much more articulate account on why beautiful models go for older rich guys than I ever could.

Anyway back to the show, Ariane who serves that dessert in her restaurant still couldn’t get it right, but even though this was her second week in a row in the bottom three it was Jill who was booted due to the misuse of a ostrich egg.

As any avid reality TV viewer will tell you that after watching an Amazing Race challenge where the contestants had to eat an ostrich egg, they are not at all tasty. Why would you serve up an ingredient you had never tasted before? For that stupidity she deserved to be eliminated. Here is her exit interview here.

The elimination was to serve New American food to the chef’s who had applied and had not got on the program in Tom’s New York flagship restaurant Craft.

The extremely charming Fabio won (is charm in Italians genes?) with beef carpaccio which looked delicious, but is it new american food?

Petrova Hammond

Petrova Hammond was one of the runners up on last year’s Project Runway Australia. She was particularly lucky, as she had been eliminated from the competition but was given a second chance when she won her place back when she teamed up in a challenge with the much maligned Helen Manuell. See  my post Petrova Needs To Get Down And Kiss Helen Manuells Butt In Gratitude.

She kindly agreed to answer a few questions for me:

Is there anything you would do differently if you were to go back and do Project Runway all over again?

I have a no regret policy! I believe that everything I choose to do on the show was the right decision at that time. Occasionally I think that I maybe should have created a more commercial collection, but then I wouldn’t have been true to myself.

What opportunities have arisen since the show?

Many opportunities have arisen since the show, my boutique LADY has been very busy & pieces from my new A/W 09 collection are going to be featured in several magazines in upcoming months. And the outfit I made for the Myer Basque challenge will be sold nationally in February.

What are your plans for 2009?

I have so many plans for 2009! It is going to be a very eventful year! I am changing the name of my label & boutique from LADY to Lady Petrova. I am renovating my store in Flinders Lane next month to reflect the new labels we will be stocking & the direction we are taking for 09.

Alongside my Lady Petrova label the boutique will be stocking Sretsis, Lucette, Karen Walker, Es Trella, Tristan Blair & many more Australian based independent labels.

I will be updating my website www.ladylovesme.com often with my new designs.
Here are some of Petrova’s designs from her latest collection. They look fantastic, and if I was to wear them I am sure I would feel hip again. I was hip. Once.

Series 2 Farmers - Farmer Wants A Wife

With the season 3 of Farmer Wants A Wife commencing soon it is time to see what the Farmer’s from the previous series have been up to.

Luckily TV Week did all the hard work for me with an article in the latest edition of the mag. Unfortunately they don’t have a soft copy.

Season 2 Farmers:

Rob: As  any fan of the show this couple is now engaged to be married. Expect to see this pair being showcased in the first episode of series 3. He proposed while they were on holidays after only knowing her 7 months, and they will be married this year.

Jo has resigned from her job in Melbourne and is now living on the farm with Rob in Mt Gambier.

Ben: This dairy farmer from Jambaroo looked like he may have found love on the show with a Sydney nanny called Sarah. But they broke up late last year after she moved to the farm to be with him. At the time he said “She ended up getting a job back in Sydney…. and it just wasn’t going to work.”

Nick: The wealthy winemaker has now found himself a girlfriend – who met in a bar in Sydney. “Things are going well” he confirms. “She spends most of her time in Sydney, part of her time on her family farm, and at my place occasionally.”

Howie: After the show finished, Howie was contacted by plenty of interested women, but only ended up going out with one. Asked whether he’s met anyone special recently he admits, “I might have.”.

Michael: The Goulburn farmer has been on a few dates with the women who contacted him after the show finished, ‘but nothing’s taken my eye.” He’s still good friends with Simone, the he chose, but she has a boyfriend now.”

James: The most unhinged farmer of series 2 would only give a no comment when TV Week contacted him. He said “I woke up this morning, so that’s a good start.”

The Farmers from Series 1:

Chris:  Chris found love with Kim on the show and they were married last year, which was shown on the show. In this article it says they have moved to Geelong to be near Kim’s family. However in the Woman’s Day article it said they were living on a farm on the Byron Bay Hinterland – so if someone know which is correct can they please tell us.

They are planning to start a family soon. Apparently he has a nine year old son from a previous relationship. Was that mentioned on the show? Because if it was I missed it.

Gus: Gus has been seeing a Dubbo girl for about a year who he met after filming wrapped. Could marriage be on the cards. “Maybe” he says “You never know. It’s all going good.”

Jon: Jon decolined to take part in the TV Week story as apparently he is keen to put his reality TV past behind him. Though apparently he has found love with a new lady.

Brad: The spiritual farmer from season one who met a girl just before taking part on the show. They are still going strong. He said “Samara moved in with me at the start of 2008″.

Drew: My favourite farmer from season 1 is “getting to know” a new lady and life on the land is just as healthy. Drew says they’ve caught more than enough rain of late to keep his irrigated crops happy.

Craig: The mothers boy is still single. He has met some nice girls lately but is struggling to find the time to pursue them. Apparently life on the farm hasn’t been easy, either with dry conditions making for a poor wheat harvest.

Farmer Wants A Wife Series 3 is expected to commence on Channel 9 in February.

Australia’s Next Top Model Severs Ties With Vogue Australia

A new host is not the only change of this season’s Australia’s Next Top Model, as Harper’s Bazaar and Cosmopolitan will take over from Vogue Australia as the magazine represented in the show. The Sunday Tele gossip column (scroll down the article) states the split could have occurred because they did not put Demelza Reveley last year’s winner on the cover as they did with Alice Burdeau. However I think this is bollocks as Alice was the first winner ever to be put on the cover and there was never any expectation that other winners would get this honour.

Head Judge For Interior Design Show Home Made Announced.

Belle magazine editor-in-chief Neale Whitaker has joined the team on Nine’s lifestyle reality series Home Made. It is thought his role will be as head judge. Similar to that of Johnathan Adler of Arena’s Top Design. Sorry I should not have mentioned those shows in the same post as apparently they are going to be completely different. Each show is about interior designers competing to design different spaces and a designer is eliminated each week.

The producers Julian Cress and David Barbour of The Block fame, look like they are on a winner with this show. Also they always have high production values. David Heimann, proprietor of Orson & Blake will be the host.

Masterchef Australia – Another Melbourne Chef/Judge Announced.

As a Sydneysider I am about to crawl into a dark corner and curl into the feotal position with shame. Matt Preston a chef from Melbourne has been announced as the third judge to join the other two chefs from Melbourne Gary Mehigan and George Calombaris. Just a minor snipe why no female judge? Are there no good female televisual chefs in Australia?

The show is currently in pre-production and carrying out auditions throughout Australia.

Project Runway Australia Season 2 – Applications Are Now Open.

Project Runway Australia Season 2 applications are now open for aspiring or otherwise fashion designers. It will start filming in April and will launch midyear. Kristy Hinzes will continue to be the host.

Aspiring designers need to upload a CV, design samples and a video audition at arenatv.com.au

There will be a lot of Australian women disappointed when they learn that Gordon Ramsay’s wife Tana will be escorting him when he comes out to Sydney and Melbourne this year for the Good Food and Wine Shows in June and July.

Gordon who when he was here last time alledgedly fraternised with a Julie Vidovic who then sold her story to New Idea. If you happened be holidaying in Bhutan when Gordan’s indiscretions broke click here for further details.

Tana is clearly taking no chances with her reality TV chef and his keeping a tight rein on him.

Full story: here.