The Veronicas Campaign Against Fur Use With PETA

Aussie pop duo The Veronicas are taking a stand against designers who use fur in their clothing.

Jess and Lisa Origliasso are helping People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) in their latest campaign against animal cruelty.

Their campaign features the tagline 'Here's the rest of your fur coat', and includes a poster of the girls holding (fake) skinned rabbits.

Jess and Lisa appeared in Sydney to promote the advertisement.

"Designers that still use fur, to us it is just ignorant, it is unnecessary and it is unacceptable," Jess says.

They hope that they will raise awareness with young people who might think it's cool to wear fur, so that they can understand where fur comes from.

Just looking at The Veronica's PETA poster below is enough to convince us to become vegetarians!

Source http://www.take40.com/news/20662/the-veronicas-campaign-against-fur-use-with-peta

Glambert rocks Sydney

Gay goth rocker Adam Lambert brought his unique musical style to Sydney on Wendesday night, playing to a packed Enmore Theatre.

It was the American Idol runner-up’s second visit to the Sydney in a year, having played the Mardi Gras party earlier this year.

Lambert was in fine form, singing tracks from his album For Your Entertainment and a cover of Ring of Fire.

And there was one particularly lucky audience member who managed to score himself a little Lambert tongue in between songs.

Source http://www.starobserver.com.au/whats-on/2010/10/22/glambert-rocks-sydney/32294

Australian music sales hit sour note

RECORD sales in Australia have hit an alarming low with a British metal band hitting the No. 1 spot with just 3600 album sales.

British hardcore metal band Bring Me the Horizon made a surprising debut at No. 1 on the ARIA album charts yesterday, with just 3600 copies sold nationally.

This is the lowest sales to achieve a No. 1 album in Australia.

The figure highlights the impact illegal downloading has had on record sales.

As with each album on the ARIA chart, the sales include both physical CD sales and legal online digital sales.

Last week's No. 1 by Linkin Park sold just 4056 copies. Even the new Robbie Williams compilation sold only 2816 copies last week to debut at No. 6.

Sales should pick up this week with the release of new albums by Kings of Leon and John Farnham, who will both battle to be No. 1 next week.

Expected big sellers for Christmas include a "best of" Pink, new albums by Taylor Swift, Kanye West, Rihanna and Jessica Mauboy, and a Susan Boyle Christmas album.

Bring Me the Horizon will tour here in February for the Soundwave festival with their album There Is a Hell, Believe Me I've Seen It. There Is a Heaven, Let's Keep It A Secret.

"To have a number one album, in a country we don't even live in, is amazing," frontman Oli Sykes said.

Source http://www.heraldsun.com.au/entertainment/australian-music-sales-hit-sour-note/story-e6frf96f-1225940393713

Tropfest 2011 kicks off with YouTube

Filmmakers from across the globe are being encouraged to enter the world’s largest short film festival - the 19th annual Movie Extra Tropfest.

For the first time ever Tropfest are offering to fly finalist filmmakers from outside Australia to attend the huge live event and walk the red carpet in Sydney on Sunday 20 February 2011.

Film buffs from around the world now have an opportunity to unlock the door to stardom by seeing their film screened to hundreds of thousands of film fans across Australia, and international film industry luminaries.

Judges have included Nicole Kidman, Naomi Watts, Toni Collette, Rose Byrne, Geoffrey Rush, Russell Crowe, Samuel L Jackson, Baz Luhrmann, Keanu Reeves, Sam Neill, Ewan McGregor, Jane Campion, Salma Hayek, and George Miller.

Whether you are a novice or have a few films under your belt, Tropfest is open to anyone who is eager to tell a story through film. All you have to do is grab a camera, a few mates and start shooting your short film.

Entries close on Thursday 6 January 2011.

To enter, all you have to do is create a film that is no longer than seven minutes. In Tropfest tradition, your film must contain the 2011 Movie Extra Tropfest Signature Item - KEY.

As always, Tropfest will be hotly contested with more than 600 entries expected from across Australia and overseas.

For the first time this year entries will be received online through a new partnership with YouTube, making it easier for international entrants by eliminating the need to provide their film on a DVD.

Tropfest Founder and Director John Polson says the Festival is a phenomenal launching pad for filmmakers.

“This year we really want to encourage films from different places around the world. Hopefully the opportunity to come to Australia on us and have your short film screened in front of hundreds of thousands of people around the nation at the many live outdoor events and on the Movie Extra channel, is the right sort of motivation.”

“This year we’ve made the submission process even easier for international filmmakers with our new dedicated Tropfest YouTube channel. So go on and get brain-storming right now and get your submission in soon,” he says.

For the third year in a row, thanks to Tropfest’s Naming Rights Partner, the event will be broadcast live on Subscription TV channel MOVIE EXTRA, taking the fun and excitement of the festival into homes around the country.

Tropfest’s mobile category, Telstra Mobile Masterpieces, is back for the second year giving filmmakers an opportunity to unleash their creativity on their mobile phones. The same rules apply as the main competition, with the winner receiving $5000 cash and a trip to the 2012 Sundance Film Festival.

2010 winner Abe Forsythe says Tropfest propelled his career. “Winning Tropfest was a fantastic experience. I encourage everyone out there to enter whether you’re a beginner, at film school or if you’re a seasoned professional. It could actually change your life,” he says.

Source http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/breaking-news/tropfest-2011-kicks-off-with-youtube/story-e6frf7jx-1225938536449

Kanye West screens his film in Sydney

Kanye West has showcased his new film Runaway to a select audience in Sydney as the rapper completed a worldwide publicity blitz.

The US hip-hop star described making the new 40-minute music video as a "dream come true" after taking to the stage at Fox Studios dressed in a designer tuxedo.

The film is set to songs from his forthcoming album My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy and has been premiered at similar invite-only shows in Paris, London and Tokyo.

West's directorial debut follows the star's fantastical romance with a feathered phoenix, played by actress and model Selita Ebanks, who falls from the sky and attempts to integrate into his life.

The pair embark on a series of abstract adventures, including a firework parade and banquet turned ballet, with the phoenix slowly realising that her existence on earth is doomed.

After explaining to West that human kind is anything but - "everything that is different you try to change" - she runs away and sets herself in flames.

After the screening on Monday evening West hosted a Q&A session in which audience members quizzed him about the film and his recent work, which includes an internship for Italian fashion house Fendi.

The rapper said Runaway would be the first of several projects combining music and film, and he hoped to emulate the work of Michael Jackson.

He also hopes to reinterpret the film as a theatrical performance intended for Broadway.

West said the film's themes were drawn from fantasy but also inspired by the fallout from his infamous stage storming at the VMA Awards when he interrupted Taylor Swift's acceptance speech and declared that Beyonce should have won.

"The story parallels my career and my career burning to the ground," he revealed to the audience of hundreds at Hoyts Cinema.

"For a year and two days now I haven't had a cell phone to get away from the commercial and pop worlds."

The singer behind hits like GoldDigger and Stronger said he had "worked on character flaws" and also promised a musical departure from the Kanye of old, taking hip-hop back to the sounds of A Tribe Called Quest and Wu-Tang Clan in favour of the digital experimentation and autotune that characterised his last album.

My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy will be released on November 22.

Source http://news.ninemsn.com.au/entertainment/8103906/kanye-west-screens-his-film-in-sydney

Big Day Out doubles up in Sydney

A SECOND Big Day Out show has been added for Sydney after tickets sold out in minutes on Wednesday morning.

Music fans are being offered the chance to see headliners Tool, Rammstein, Iggy And The Stooges and dozens more acts at a second date on Thursday, January 27.

It's only the third time in the festival's 19 year history that two shows have been staged in one city, after a second Sydney show was added last year.

Big Day Out will also be staged in Melbourne, Gold Coast, Perth and Adelaide with ticket sales staggered to cope with expected high demand.

Source http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/breaking-news/big-day-out-doubles-up-in-sydney/story-e6frf7kf-1225934961151

Parklife does Sydney and Melbourne

The Parklife juggernaut made its two biggest stops over the weekend, with back-to-back shows in Melbourne and Sydney. Saturday saw pristine weather at Sidney Myer Music Bowl, resulting in a festive atmosphere for the afternoon. While AFL tragics were appeased by their own area to watch the grand final, those who came to party were treated to standout sets from Classixx, Medhi, Kele and of course Soulwax, who proved as unstoppable as ever.

The most love, though, was reserved for Missy Elliot, whose bombastic stage show was met with so much adoration that 2manydjs admitted to inthemix they were a bit worried about taking over from there. After a laser-kissed send-off from Groove Armada, it was time to pull up stops and head to Sydney.

Parklife’s original home wasn’t as lucky on the weather front, with frequent spells of rain throughout the afternoon, but it wasn’t enough to dampen spirits. For crowd-amping, the prize had to go to Mixmaster Mike, but he had valiant competition from Busy P’s ‘Busy Pictionary’ antics. The clouds dispersed by the time the Dewaele brothers hit the stage in their 2manydjs guise, and the synched visuals were dazzling in the darkness. It was up to Groove Armada again to provide the Superstylin’ mainstage finish, while across the field The Glitch Mob did their thing in style.

Parklife’s final hurrah for 2010 is in Adelaide on Monday 4 October, and when ITM bailed up Busy P, he said everyone is looking forward to some well-earned rest. Check out the photos below!

Source http://www.inthemix.com.au/news/aust/48212/Parklife_does_Sydney_and_Melbourne