February 11, 2005. Hi all! I just got back earlier today from a loverly (and much needed) vacation. I didn't go far or do anything exotic, but it was still just what I needed. A vacation is what you make of it. :) Anyroads, I hope you were all well and didn't blow up the message board in my absence. As a reward, two pieces of Audrey news!
The first is this: The Audrey Hepburn Children's Fund gave $100,000 (US) to aid the tsunami victims overseas. If you would like to donate to tsunami victims through the Children's Fund, either drop by www.audreyhepburn.com and make a donation or snail mail your donation here:
710 Wilshire Boulevard - Suite 600
Santa Monica, CA 90401
As for the other piece of news, there's apparently a new stage show out in England called In Audrey Hepburn's Arms. I don't quite know what to think of the premise of the show (it's hard to tell whether it's a positive or a negative aspect of Audrey's physical appearance), so please just hit the news link and read the article for yourself.
March 12, 2005. Just a quick line to let you all know that I am still around. I started school again at the end of January, and just when I was getting ahead on my schoolwork, there was a sudden illness in the family. Shortly thereafter the person died, which wasn't quite unexpected but still knocked the wind out of me, so all my time after that has been recovering emotionally and catching up with school. It also doesn't help that there's only one working computer in the house now, and it's a loaner and only here in the evenings, and I have to share it. But next week is midterms and a new computer being delivered, so hopefully things will fall back into place. Then I can maybe finally get around to updating around here! Again, if you have any ideas, thoughts, comments, or other suggestions on how to improve this site, please drop me a line or post on the message boards.
May 4, 2005. Today is Audrey's 76th birthday! Celebrate by putting in your favourite Audrey movie and having a little Audrey time. :)
P.S. It's also the two year anniversary of the Fabulous Audrey Hepburn!
June 1, 2005. As most of you know by now, Eddie Albert died recently at the ripe old age of 99. He played Irving Radovich in Roman Holiday, a really memorable role. The circle of Audrey's friends still with us grows smaller and smaller. :(
Another sad news bit: Graham's Audrey Hepburn Page has left us. That's two great websites gone recently. He mentioned something about selling the domain name to the Audrey Hepburn Children's Fund, though, so maybe something good will come of it.
Also, our message boards are acting up. I don't know exactly what's going on, but it's all ezBoard. It's apparently a widespread problem and not just the Fab Audrey board, so all we can do is wait it out. If you want more information, head on over to the board and there's an announcement up from ezBoard themselves. Please read this announcement and check it daily before writing to ezBoard with any problems you may have. Our Community Chest funds have disappeared, but that's supposed to be only temporary, so don't worry if you've donated for this board. All credit information is safe, and it looks like nearly all, if not all, of our forums and posts will be recovered.
And finally, a bit of good news! If you haven't checked it out lately, we've got a couple of new members who signed up to keep in contact with fellow Audrey fans. Please stop by and drop these nice people a line (click the "view members" link)!
June 29, 2005. Another new person has been added to the members page. Remember, if you'd like to get to know more Audrey fans or start up an Internet pen pal, that's the page to go to! We have people from all over the world signing up here. :)
In more aggravating news, ezBoard is still getting back on its feet. If you don't know, our message board is through ezBoard, and the entire ezBoard company was hacked around the beginning of the month. Most, if not all, of our old threads have been recovered by now, but our Community Chest funds won't be reimbursed to us, which makes me very angry. ezBoard still has the money, it was never lost, they just don't want to give it back to us because the user agreement states that stuff like this will happen, so we just have to suck it up (basically). Our Gold service has been extended six weeks for the inconvenience, but if you donated to us (or any other community with them) and are mad that your money isn't going where it's supposed to, write to them! They're setting up a special e-mail account just for this issue. Head on over to the message board to read the original message from them and to find the address to write to.
July 7, 2005. Firstly, I want to extend my concerns to all of our friends out in the UK, especially those around the London area. I heard about the bombings first thing this morning and I really hope that no one was hurt in the explosions. If there's anything your fellow Audrey fans can do for you, please don't hesitate to let us know!
Secondly, if you don't know by now, Sabrina screenwriter Ernest Lehman passed away recently. He wrote many successful screenplays, including North By Northwest, The Smell of Success, and Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? He was 89.
Last, I'm finally updating the links page. With Graham's page gone, Sandy's Italian site gone, and the Hepburn Fans Against Jennifer Love Hewitt gone, there's a big hole left from all of these regular haunts for Audrey fans. If you have an Audrey site that isn't on the links page yet, let us know! You can never have too many Audrey sites.
August 10, 2005. Due to recent unfortunate events surrounding this website's message board, security has been upped. Audrey fans are still more than welcome to join the message board community and post to their heart's content, but you must be an ezBoard member and be approved to post before you can view the forum or post in it. Also, any old, unused accounts will be deleted from the community for further security. I'm very sorry for any inconvenience this may cause people, but it's really for the good of everyone involved in the Fab Audrey community and their safety. Thank you all for understanding.
September 14, 2005. Good news! For all you region 1 DVD viewers, Two For the Road is finally available to preorder at Amazon! It's released November 1st.
In other news, a controversial UK play called Breakfast at Audrey's is touring in Glasgow right now. For those of you who haven't heard, this play is supposed to be about a girl who became obsessed with Audrey in Breakfast at Tiffany's and turned to anorexia to make herself as trim as Audrey, ultimately dying from the disease. It's also hinted that Audrey starved herself as well to stay thin throughout her life. You can read more at the news page.
September 19, 2005. Some more news for you guys. First is an item of interest to me personally. Madame Tussaud's Wax Museums are now spreading to Shanghai, and Audrey's wax figure is going to be included in this museum. I don't know if she's at any of the other locations, but I know for sure she's not at the museum in London. Does anyone know if this is the first Audrey in wax?
Secondly, thanks to Yahoo's news alerts, I found out that Renee Zellweger is working on remaking an Audrey film. The pertinent excerpt is here:
I hear she in is New York in acting school and working on a movie about a blind woman who plays a musical instrument -- a remake of the Audrey Hepburn film, Wait Until Dark.Hmm . . . yet another Hepburn film remade and, from what little I've heard, Hollywood-ized. The last remake got a lot of backlash, so I'm wondering how people will react to this.
September 24, 2005. As an added precaution, I've deleted any members who haven't posted recently (recently being in the past few months or year). If anyone is returning and finds that their membership has been deleted, I apologize. It's just a precaution and nothing against you. Just apply to be readmitted and I'll be glad to put you back in the system. I just want to make sure the people who do post are safe.
P.S. I've done a little spring cleaning around the site, and now the update archives and news archives are straightened up and 2004 is where it belongs. :)
October 5, 2005. I'd previously reported that Renee Zellweger was going to star in a remake of Wait Until Dark. Well good news! She's not. I picked up a copy of Variety today and it turns out she is playing a blind woman in an upcoming film, but it's a Japanese thriller in the vein of The Grudge about a blind woman who regains her sight (and then some) after cornea transplants. It's called The Eye. So you can breathe easy, Audrey's films are safe -- for now.
October 11, 2005. Incredible news! Due to someone somewhere forgetting to file a paper, Charade is now a public domain film! Now I know why there are so many weird copies on Amazon. ;) But the best news is that, because it's public domain, you can download the entire film from Internet Archives. Head on over to the news page for a link to the original article and a link directly to Charade's archive page to download it. Enjoy, and spread the word!
October 13, 2005. A little Audrey-related info for you. Apparently, Cameron Crowe's new film Elizabethtown has a running Audrey Hepburn theme. Kirsten Dunst's character is supposed to be a sort of Holly Golightly for our times (but a flight attendant instead of a call girl), and the film even shows clips from Breakfast at Tiffany's and plays "Moon River" throughout the film. Hmm. Check out the news page for links to various articles talking about this.
October 16, 2005. I've been putting in a few late nights lately to fix up some things around here. I never abandoned this place, I just have plans for it that can't be executed right now. But that doesn't mean they won't be . . . In the meantime, I've updated The Audrey Hepburn Story review (why does no one point out typos?!?) and added a Breakfast at Tiffany's DVD review. I'm working on code to add to the reviews so that fans can rate the DVDs themselves, and possibly add rankings to the links page so you can see what everyone's favourite sites are, too. So stay tuned!
later that day
Thanks to Kendal, there's some possibly big news coming soon. Apparently, Keira Knightley has been approached to star in a new biopic on Audrey -- and she has said she'd love to play Audrey. Check out the news page for any and all links on the story as it develops, and tell us what you think on the message boards! We were just talking about another biopic being made, oddly enough.
P.S. Now updated is the links page. I've also updated the lookalikes section, fixing the broken links and updating the lookalike's profiles. I'd love to add some new lookalikes too, if someone would like to suggest some. Hint hint! ;)
October 17, 2005. While rambling around the Internet, I found out that the very Vespa used in Roman Holiday will be on display in Italy! At Milan's Fondazione Mazzotta, for those of you in Italy. Check out the news page for a link to the whole story, and to see running time of the exhibit.
In other news, Kendal found yet another interesting story for us. It seems that Audrey's son Sean Ferrer has finally finished filming a pet project of his dating back from the mid-80s. At the end of the interview, he talks about how his mum influenced him and gives a little bit of information on the Audrey Hepburn Children's Fund.
October 20, 2005. Wow. It was 41 years ago today that My Fair Lady had it's world premiere in New York. Can you believe it?
Also, if you happen to live in (or are just visiting) San Francisco and are free tomorrow night, at the Mechanics' Institute Library, they're screening Charade. It's $7, and afterwards there will be a "salon-type discussion," on what, I don't know. I've never been to or heard of this institute, so I don't know what to expect. I'd definitely go if I could, though!
And, if the bitter review/recap isn't enough to quell your bitter curiousity about The Audrey Hepburn Story, it's playing tonight on WE (Women's Entertainment channel) at midnight. I can't tell which time zone it applies to, but I'm guessing Eastern, since that's what most Internet guides go by. Obviously, check your local listings if you are going to watch it. Playing soon on October 29th at 10 am is The Lavender Hill Mob on Turner Classic Movies. It's an early Audrey film and she doesn't have a big part, but it's still an enjoyable film if you're interested. Speaking of which, there is supposedly a remake of this film being made, but no solid evidence shows that it's anything other than a random thought on the IMDb. Check the news page for what details there are.
Lastly, and not quite as on-topic, I've added another article to the Keira-Audrey section on the news page. This article mainly focuses on British cinema trends and Keira's acting abilities in general, plus a mention of her being touted as the lastest Audrey Hepburn (in a long line of dark haired, dark eyed actresses, as we know).
October 24, 2005. Sorry for the sudden lack of updates, but Audrey Hepburn news dried out quite a bit lately. Everything I get is either repeats of what's already been reported, or else it's just a casual reference to her that's not even worth mentioning (like one article that talked about "the Audrey Hepburn of mushrooms" ???). The board is still alive and well, and we're still thinking over that whole Keira-Knightley-as-Audrey thing. If you have any opinions, stop by and drop them!
October 25, 2005. Still nothing Earth shattering news-wise, but I did find two neat articles that are worth sharing. The first is an ad for chocolates, but they also give you suggestions on how to spend the extra hour you'll gain from Daylight Savings coming up on the 30th. Here's my favourite:
6. Go early morning window shopping Audrey Hepburn style and find your own Tiffanys.
Isn't that great? Besides that, there was a really interesting article I found about modern celebrities and how they just can't seem to stack up against the celebrities of yesteryear. Is it the papparazzi, the media saturation, the talent, the lack of class? A good read if you're interested. Hit the news section for the links.
October 26, 2005. There's a review of the Two For the Road DVD (coming November first!) that has some nice screengrabs that show just how much the film has been restored. I'm absolutely itching to have it now, since it's always been one of my favourites. Click the picture below to go to the review:
Also, there's a new section up on the message board now. It's a private section for people to post their Audrey dress-up pictures or other pictures they'd like to share with fellow Audrey fans. As usual, anyone is welcome to post at the Fab Audrey message board, but to protect the privacy (and identities) of our posters, you must be a registered member of ezBoard (not just a guest) and request a password from the moderator to visit this section. This is the only section under such security. That way, people feel free and safe posting images of themselves, and they also shield themselves from any potential rude spammers. Hope to see you there!
Lastly, it seems that we're on page three of the Audrey Hepburn Guide. It's a database that's gathering all of the Audrey fansites it can find and posting a screengrab from each site's front page, along with a link and short blurb about the site. You can also rate each website after you've visited it on a scale of 1 to 10. Also, if you have any websites you'd like to suggest to the owners, they are more than happy to receive your requests. :) Go to www.audreyhepburnguide.com to see.
October 27, 2005. A day of random news, but it's all interesting. The first is a photo exhibit in London that sounds pretty neat (even though it is alcohol-centric). A drink called Cointreau is pairing up with Getty Images to bring a collection of strong, iconic women throughout the years who changed their world. Of course, Audrey is mentioned! There is no capture of the photo(s) the exhibit is showing, but it sounds interesting enough. Hit the news section for more information and the full story.
And now to sandwich something unpleasant in between. I came across this story and felt the need to post it, since it sort of echoes what a lot of Hepburn fans have felt and said in the past and even now. Money does not equal elegance or class. There's some British tart engaged to a football (that's soccer for Americans) player, and she's suddenly decided that since she has his money, she's going to go from tracksuits to diamonds. £1 million worth, to be exact! I like the fact that she's decided to get out of those ugly things, but she's just gone to parroting Audrey. Anyways, I think this is a good example of what not to do, kids. It's wonderful if you aspire to be a good, decent person like Audrey and you want to dress tactfully. But keep your own personality and don't become a clone. As usual, go to the news section for the full article and pictures.
And lastly, more fun news. If you live in Southern California and are free this weekend, why not see Wait Until Dark on the big screen? San Diego is airing it tonight through Saturday. You know the drill, hit the news section.
Lastly, the message board's security is back down. Anyone is free to view our goings-on (we have nothing to hide!). To post, though, you must make a username through ezBoard. You can have a local account, which means it's just good on the Fab Audrey board, or you can create a global account and post at any ezBoard. It's fast and free, keeps the spammers down, and lets you join the fun!
later
Now what was I just saying about money not being able to buy class? There's an interview with Simon Doonan, author of Confessions of a Window Dresser (which is incidentally going to be made a movie) on Salon.com, and apparently Salon has run out of talented people to interview and are now unearthing Neanderthals. I mean, I understand that not everyone's a Hepburn fan. To each his own, and Audrey certainly never lost any sleep over people not loving her public self (despite what The Audrey Hepburn Story had to say), but this guy is just being a jerk to be one. This guy has made a career the hipster way: laughing at everything and declaring it kitch while making a living off of it. Ignorantly telling the interviewer that Audrey had an eating disorder is just the beginning, too. While I love reading about fashion (being an ex-design student), this is one book I definitely don't feel the need to pick up. Hit the news page for a link to the interview and information on his book. Then hit him for wearing his ignorance like a badge.
October 28, 2005. Bravo has released a list of the Top 100 Scariest Movie Moments, and #10 is Wait Until Dark! Maybe, to get yourself in the Halloween spirit, you could turn the lights off and watch that film . . . all by yourself.
later
Well, Variety has been busy! To celebrate their 100th birthday (and perhaps distract everyone from the horrible box office slump that's been going on), they've been coming out with "Top 100" lists left and right. They've already released a list, The Top 100 Entertainment Icons of the Century, and Audrey showed up at number 43, if I counted correctly. Right above Kate Hepburn! There weren't many women in the top 50, so I'm pleased for this. Also, these are people from all walks of entertainment, so musicians were included as well, hence the low number. Through Variety's 100 Most Iconic Moments in Cinema, My Fair Lady came in at 82. This list has only been unveiled from 71-100, so I have to keep going back to see if she shows up again. In the 100 Best Moments in Film Music, Charade's score came in at 85. This list, too, has only been unveiled from 71-100, so I'll keep an eye on this one, too. I'm expecting "Moon River" to be pretty high up there. :) Lastly, Variety has also unveiled numbers 71-100 of the 100 Best of Awards Fashion. Audrey isn't listed yet, but you have to know that she will be. I'll keep you posted of all these as they get updated (10 per week per list).
October 31, 2005. I just wanted to take a break from my scary movie marathon to wish everyone a Happy Halloween! We've posted a couple of costume pictures on the message board, but if you've dressed as Audrey (or even if you haven't) and want to share, drop by! Oh, and don't forget that Two For the Road is out on DVD tomorrow. Cheers!
November 1, 2005. Did you get it? Did you get Two For the Road? I'm going to watch my copy right now. ;) I don't know if this is the case everywhere, but I went to Best Buy and picked up a copy for $9.99! It's retailed in the booklet inside for $15, but Best Buy usually has good deals (if you can find it there). Anyways, let us know what you think of it!
Also, I found an article today talking about a really neat event that took place last week that I wish I could have gone to. There was a hospital fundraiser that was Breakfast at Tiffany's themed, and it was also supposed to be their most successful yet! Hit the news for a link to the whole story, which is a very good, very touching read.
November 4, 2005. Two interesting things today. One: did you know that Audrey made an uncredited cameo in the Paul Newman film A New Kind of Love? I didn't until today. And two: there's a retro designer that's apparently designed a sofa/lounger set called the Lampert, after Audrey's own Regina Lampert in Charade. It's unclear whether the set pictured in the article is the Lampert set, but it still looks very much like something out of Audrey's 60s movies. As always, hit the news page for more information and links.
later
A lot of you know that around 1990, Audrey did a very special presentation of From the Diary of Anne Frank. There was a musical accompaniment while she read excerpts from Anne's diary, and this was a much talked about event. No official video or sound recordings exist, but I have heard that bootlegs were taken (I'm looking for some to share with everyone). It's supposed to be exceptionally good. Anyways, this presentation is finally going to be played again, this time in the Philippines. A different narrator is performing, obviously, but it still looks to be as moving as the original performance with Audrey. For the full story with the performance date and time, check the news page.
November 5, 2005. Apparently, The Nun's Story was supposed to be released in a few days on DVD, but has been pushed back to sometime vague in spring of 2006. I guess that explains why Amazon failed to ever notify me that it was coming out. The funniest part is that Amazon lists the DVD as coming out on December 31, 1969, and then lower on in the page, says it's released on July 18, 1959. Since time machines are looking to be a definite possibility, I guess I should book my trip to get my DVD. ;) Amazon is so useless.
later
If you're really interested in seeing My Fair Lady on the stage, the Cameron Mackintosh/National Theatre revival is bringing it's incarnation to the Hippodrome in London (where Audrey herself once performed in her early stage days). The show runs from November 9 through December 3, and has a highly recommended cast that most Britons would recognize, I'm sure. For more information, hit the news page.
November 13, 2005. Hi all. Sorry for the sudden drop off here, but I've been away from the computer and Internet for a while to shop for a new place to live, and now I'm getting ready to move. So some more slow time here, especially until I get Internet set up at the new place, but please just hang tight. I haven't missed any big news while I've been gone (at least, that I've heard during the interim), and hopefully it'll stay that way. Thanks for understanding, everyone! I'll be back ASAP.
November 14, 2005. As usual, UNICEF is having their annual Snowflake Ball to honor a humanitarian (and raise funds, of course). Quincy Jones is the honoree this year for his work over the past 30 years, and Pamela Fiori, the editor-in-chief of Town & Country, will receive this year's Audrey Hepburn Humanitarian Award. T&C is also the magazine that featured a large, 20 page spread on Audrey two years ago and had an interview/excerpt from Sean and his now-published book, along with an interview with Robert Wolders on Audrey's UNICEF work and her final days. For more information on the awards and the ball, and to order tickets (if you're richer than rich), hit the news page.
November 15, 2005. In February 2006, Berlin will hold a film retrospective on 50s female film stars, Audrey included. No particular films are listed yet, but I'm sure more information will become available as the time draws closer. For the full story (no ticket information is available yet), hit the news page.
December 3, 2005. Guess who finally has the Internet again? I'm really sorry for the sudden drop off, but things were moving fast. Now I'm pretty much settled into the new place and my Internet was hooked up this afternoon, so things are back to normal! In fact, they're better than normal. I have a better, faster connection, which means goodies for you. :) "As an added inducement, I have all sorts of news."
First: Profiles in History, the same group that sold the famous My Fair Lady Ascot dress a while back, is now auctioning off an original Cecil Beaton sketch for Eliza's ballgown from My Fair Lady. (Also from MFL, another embassy ball costume sketch.) They are also auctioning off two Marjorie Best costume sketches for Audrey's all-white Congo habit from The Nun's Story, as well as the postulant habit (the black skirt, black jacked, and white collared shirt).
Second, a definite release date has been set for the 45th anniversary DVD of Breakfast at Tiffany's. Mark February 7th on your calendars! This DVD features a commentary (unfortunately, not with director Blake Edwards, like I was hoping), and a featurette on Audrey, plus three others.
Lastly, it was 54 years ago November 24th that Gigi opened on Broadway and Audrey's career really started to take off. I'm sorry I couldn't post that on the actual day.
As always, hit the news page for more information.
December 6, 2005. Thanks to Carl, I've found out that yet another biography is set to come out! This one is due next summer, and the author has done tons of celebrity biographies, so it doesn't look like a trashy book. Hit the news section for links and more information.
In other news, I have been keeping an eye out for any new developments in that rumor about a new biopic on Audrey coming out, possibly with Keira Knightley playing her. It still just appears to be rumors, at the most it's something in pre-production with producers sounding people out for the project. Nothing new has come up since about September, where someone asked Keira if she was interested in it, but besides that, nothing. (Let's hope it stays that way!)
December 11, 2005. Not much going on right now (that I know of), but there's one neat little thing you could possibly beg for for Christmas, if you're so inclined. There's a new coffee book out on the golden days of Italy, and of course Audrey's Vespa riding princess is included. Hit the news page for buying information.
December 13, 2005. I was out on the town killing some time before an appointment when I came across a tourist-y Hollywood merchandise place. Well, I knew this place had had Audrey merch in the past (I had scored a set of nesting tins, sort of like the Russian matryoshka [nesting] dolls, that was Breakfast at Tiffany's themed there last year), so I went looking for some this year. And guess what I found?
Pretty neat, huh? I found two places online where you can order them, since I figure they'd be pretty hard to find in person, especially since Christmas is already just about here and they might be selling out. Hit the news page for your shopping links. :)