Audition blast! :D Wowwwww!

I am so tired right now but I truly had a AWESOME day in London today!
Did some acting in a promo film, which was really appreciated, got excellent feedback!
I had so much fun and was so much into character that I went on and on and on long after my part was finished, just couldn't slip out of it! Acting is SO MUCH FUN! I love it! I love it much more than I love singing!
Khaleel really impressed me! He has awesome acting skills, we two match on multiple levels it's insane! I love working with him so much, in fact everyone loved his performance too. I guess we  are great together because we inspire each other and we just got great synergy!

Khaleel and I waiting to shoot our "employees" roles

I am very satisfied of today's work and hopefully it will open new doors for me.
I also went to an audition and I loved every second of it!
I was calm on my way there but then when I entered the room I saw about 30 other worried faces and I asked myself: why is everybody so serious? I mean I understand that one does get nervous performing in front of total strangers, but we should never forget the fun part!

me in London today

Thank God when it was about my turn I was with a cool group of people who broke the ice and the tension and we spoke about the monologues we chose and had a bit of a laugh...
When I went in I didn't know what to expect...I picked a monologue from 24 which they probably never heard before and I didn't know if they were going to appreciate it or if they were going to laugh at me...but I thought: who cares, I give it a shot! And when I was done I was so glad to hear that it was really good! When I went out of the room I had other actors giving me the thumbs up for my performance, which was really encouraging!
Now, because of my accent, I have no hope to get any lead roles, unless the lead roles represent someone from another country, but it would be really really nice if I could get a little part at least also because these are featured films and paid roles.
No matter what it really helped me to boost my self confidence a lot, I am still a shy person, although sometimes I don't let it show...but I must say I am happy about today! I wish everyone who participated in the casting good luck!!

Scream Bloody Murder and etc

Oh I didn't go out for a few days as I haven't been feeling so well. I really wanted to go back to Collectormania for more fun but I preferred to stay home and recover instead. I have got a stupid pain in my back that goes all the way from the back of my neck down to my right shoulder. I must have slept in a stupid position and pulled a muscle...it really hurts!
Tomorrow is quite an exciting day as I am finally going to be featured in a British production! Historic moment :D Nothing major, just a little extra role for a promo film but it is nice to begin to do something in this country, apart from" It's Groovy" and "Khaleel 4 Real" which are our own projects we are working on. After that I also have an audition, they are casting roles for 3 different films, let's see if there is anything for me there.
I was a bit bored today so I took a few shots on a website with effects.

comic strip effect

 

I hope I feel better tomorrow as I have a long day ahead of me! So happy Khaleel is coming with me! He is also going to appear on the promo film.
The weather has been really terrible. I honestly don't know what to wear anymore...it keeps raining and it looks like October, then all of a sudden the sun comes out and you sweat!
A few nights ago I watched Scream Bloody Murder (1973) online...what a film!! I really enjoyed it!
It is a really old film and cheaply done, but I have a thing for B horror movies!

Pray it never happens to you! You bet!!



Yes, I am sure you wouldn't want this creepy guy to come anywhere close to you with that hook!



Despite the really bad reviews I enjoyed this film. The main actor, playing Matthew, with that hook instead of a hand, was really creepy! I also loved the main actress who was playing both Matthew's mother and Vera, lead female character who gets kidnapped and then killed.
He killed a lot of people in this film!! It was like 11 people plus a dog...or maybe 12!!
The story was quite interesting too...but I don't want to give out too many details in case someone is reading and hasn't watched it.
Well time to hit the sack now! Good night everyone! x

I leave you with a nightly pic of me, so you forget the evil guy above LOL! No nightmares tonight!

Collectormania 2013 fun fun fun

Wow! It was my first time ever at Collectormania and I must say I had a blast! It was just awesome!
There were many people with costumes and it was full of interesting things and gadgets everywhere!
I really wish I had gone there in my "Widow" outfit, I would have freaked some people out! LOL
It was also nice to see some of the actors...there were quite a few from Dr.Who!
I also saw the man who plays the dwarf in Lord of the Rings...wow he was really tall!
Anyway, here are some photos I have taken today!

YES!!!! Planet of the Apes!! Me so lucky!! I feel that I blend in very well with them :D

R2's cousin?

He ordered me to get down on my knees and put my hands behind my head! I obeyed, game him my puppy eyes and he spared my life!

You can't mess with me! I have my own bodyguard!

What a lovely day! In fact, what a lovely weekend! Collectormania is on tomorrow as well...I may pop by again, as I didn't have enough!

Check out this little video:

Great day in MK!

Oh what a lovely day!! I had a fantastic time with my friend Iuliana! She is so nice, I miss her already! Why is it that all the nice friends live so far away? Well I also have some good friends here of course, but it is indeed a shame when you get along so well with someone that they have to live so far away! Anyway she was my first official visitor in MK and I had a great time showing her around!First we went to my favourite restaurant The Turtle Bay, Caribbean restaurant where we had one of my usual dishes which never disappoints me THE RASTAFARI RUNDOWN!
Yeah! Bob Marley's favourite dish! Mmmm it really turns on my taste buds!


Big smiles cause the vibes are good and the Rastafari Rundown is delicious and totally awesome!!

 

Then after a lovely meal we went out to the centre of MK, went to the Xscape to check out the ski slope and then we took a looooooooooooong walk in Campbell Park.

Indoors skiing in MK! This is MAD!! Can't really compared to what I am used to, that is to say to ski on the amazing Swiss-Italian ALPS, with breathtaking panoramas and such...but hey, this is MK and I got to try this madness some time!!

The weather was really good, compared to the past weeks of rain and freezing cold wind...we have been so blessed. Khaleel kept us some nice company and took many nice photos of us...he is such a sweetheart and always makes me smile! I would be so dead without him!
MK is really beautiful and I really enjoyed my day out with my friend! There should be more days like this one :)



Just having a great time at the park

Out in the city centre

Yes I admit it, I am extremely fascinated by house boats!! I want to get one and just be wild!!

Iuliana and Khaleel looking all gangster style ;)

When it's time for sweets everyone's happy :D

I look MAD on that picture above! LOL! I finally had some ice-cream...or better a few spoons of it, it was nice, but I gave it to Khaleel...I like never eat ice-cream or chocolates, gotta watch the figure!
But hey today I walked for like 7 hours straight! In fact I could use a foot massage right now, my poor feet!
It was an awesome day! Hope to meet Iuliana soon again...maybe in Transylvania next time! Wow, that would be so cool! :D

nice news :=)

What a bad idea to drink coffee in the evening!
I didn't have coffee for two days in a row, so today I went and bought some and I drank a cup as soon as I came home...too bad it was dinner time and I seemed to ignore the fact that coffee does really wake me up and it is always a very bad idea to drink it in the evening!

new headshot

I hope I will manage to fall asleep soon...tomorrow my Romanian friend is coming over and I cannot wait to meet her! Don't want to be all tired...it is going to be a great day inshAllah!
I have got some really cool news...I received a mail today telling me I am among the finalists of Miss Cyberface 2013! Wow! That rocked! I was so happy to hear that, let's see how it goes.
I also got the script for one of the upcoming auditions, I wonder how that is gonna go!



Khaleel took this shot to test the camera...it turned out fine!

I am very satisfied of my work out sessions at the gym! I am working out almost every day and I am getting better and better! I was completely out of shape and now I feel that my body is gaining strength and tone, I am very happy with myself. Sometimes I wish I could go to the gym twice a day!
If it wasn't for my aching muscles I would even do that!
This weekend there is Collectormania in MK, I cannot wait to go see it! That is going to be very interesting! I may meet up with some stars?

life style and stuff

No gym today, but tomorrow I will be back for attack! Too bad I missed Zumba, was out too long in the city centre and lost track of time.
But at least I saw a couple of trainers that looked really nice and were super nice which I may get tomorrow.
I am excited because I just heard that a Romanian internet friend of mine is coming over this weekend and I can't wait to meet her! She is already the second Romanian cyber friend I meet this year, that's so cool :)
Romania actually is a very interesting country which I would like to visit some day...of course being a big fan od Dracula and vampire films I need to visit Transylvania! It must be a truly fascinating place and full of history. Yes, yes Romania is going to be on the list of my travel wish-list.

Yesterday I borrowed this book from the library...I really couldn't believe it myself, pushed by some strange instinct I went straight to the "romance" section and picked up this book:

Me reading a romantic book? I am officially a middle-aged woman!

I don't remember reading many romantic books in my life...maybe the last time I did that I was like 16? Maybe after so many horror books and thrillers I felt like reading something soft and lovey dovey.... or maybe my 40 year old phase is approaching??
Because actually when I was younger I thought it was only women in their late 40's - 50's who were into these books! I read only 60 pages so far but I must admit I really like it.
First off it is set in another time, like in the '800 or so, and that makes it instantly more interesting. Then there is also a lot of intrigues and mystery which is always good.

***

I just had a really nice meal and my favourite drink in the world....COCONUT WATER!
Orgasmic to say the least! I don't know why some people seem to think that just because I was in a metal band I am supposed to like beer or wine or other alcoholic drinks...
in reality Coconut water is truly my favourite drink in the world...it is too delicious!
I don't drink any alcoholic drinks. I drink basically only natural juice, water, coffee and tea.
If I really, really want to break the rules I would drink a ginger beer (alcohol free drink) and that's about it!



best drink in the world!

I truly lead a super healthy life style...I don't have any vice, I only eat organic and healthy food. You are WHAT YOU EAT. These days though it is so hard to find genuine organic products... every time I go to the supermarket it takes me ages to shop as I am so careful, I read all the labels of the products I buy. Unfortunately most stuff is full of additives, chemicals and various poisoning agents...what are they trying to do to us?

Star Trek: into darkness and Iron Man 3

Yesterday I really enjoyed myself a LOT! Why? Because I went to the cinema and saw two great films! Star Trek : into Darkness and Iron Man 3!
I loved every second of both these films.
Star Trek was really dark, a tad depressing but really awesome. I just LOVE the actor who plays Captain Kirk, but also Spock and the villain Khan were brilliant.
Khan had such a doll face, because of his delicate features so by looking at him at first glance I couldn't imagine he could play such a tough villain! His face was changing so much, like it was made of rubber! Incredible actor!

Khan

 More and more films this year portray attacks and destruction of the city of London...Fantastic Four 2, GI Joe, Fast and Furios 6, Thor 2...I hope this is not a sign? Are they trying to prepare us for something? Hope not!
 Anyway I just LOVE the way they portrayed London, it reminded me of Dubai...

I love how they portrayed London in the future

poster

Spock and James Kirk

 

 What I loved of this film is that they showed a lot of human drama, lot's of emotions...although I must admit I wish they had shown more of other planets, other spieces, but I guess they are saving it for the films to come. I enjoyed this film that much I would watch it again today!

 

Iron Man 3 was a great surprise...it was very different from the previous 2, in fact I loved it more! It is my favourite of the 3.

They didn't show that much of Iron Man itself, they showed more of Tony Stark...it had a less superhero feeling, with a more human perspective...I loved it.

 

 

Gwyneth Paltrow is really growing as an actress in my eyes, she was really good in this film.

I guess hard-core Iron Man fans felt let down by this film, especially from how they portrayed The Mandarin...but in my eyes it was a very good film! It cheered me up and it had some really awesome effects, like when they destroyed Tony's house....wow...what a breath taking scene!

 

Tony Stark's house gets destroyed

 

 

It really made me feel like I wanted to suit up and fly high up in the sky with Iron Man!

 

How cool is Iron Man!

wow!

Changing the topic, today I went back to the gym...I had a really, really good session!  I trained all muscles and I am very satisfied with all I did. I don't even feel exhausted, although I trained hard and sweat a lot! The muscular pain seems to be gone...I wanted to do some zumba this evening, but I don't want to overdo it and end up like last week, so hopefully I will do the zumba fitness tomorrow.

There are other courses I want to try out...they also have 80´s aerobic! I am sure I am going to love that one and can't wait to try it!

 

Here is a photo of me, almost no make up, back from a tough session at the gym

I can't wait to go back to the gym tomorrow!
Here is another photo of me that I took the other day. I like it because I look happy on it!

I must say that I really LOVE my new gym. It is the 6th gym I train at and one of the best!

It is not as big as IKSU and unfortunately doesn't have a swimming pool, but it is very modern and they have over 40 classes a week in the studio...not to mention it is unbelievably cheap!

In Italy at my old gym I used to pay 3 times more and we are talking about the late 90's!

The bathrooms and changing rooms are brand new and very clean...they even have top class hairdryers and hair straightening irons!

Plus they have a beauty salon inside the gym that I hope to try out soon...they do all kinds of waxing...including something that shocked me: Bollywood waxing!!! I must try that one out someday...for some special occasion ;)



I just LOVE Kill Bill!

KILL BILL

Last night I watched KILL BILL again...what a great movie! Each time I watch it I see new elements in it that makes me love it even more.
Maximum respect to Uma Thurman, what an amazing actress!! I really love her.
She has some raw class, she is pretty and she seriously kicks ass! The whole film is one big fighting scene...she did an amazing job! I wonder how much she had to train to master the samurai sword...
she did some really awesome stunts and still moved gracefully...maybe also due to her Top Model body. Not to mention all those parts where she had to speak Japanese...!



Uma Thurman

I love Quentin Tarantino, he is so different...I must say that he is my favourite director by far.
It is one of my biggest dreams to work with him in the future!
It will probably never happen, but one can dream, right? :)
The final fight scene between Uma Thurman and Lucy Liu, in an oriental setting, with dance music as soundtrack was just a brilliant choice! Who the hell would have thought that such a "wrong" type of music would work so fine on a scene like that!
Tarantino dares to try what others would consider insane and that is one of the aspects that makes him so unique. He always has super cool music in all his films.

Final fight scene Lucy Liu vs Uma Thurman

Lucy Liu is beautiful, I really like her too.

Lucy Liu....love her face and freckles!

Her face reminds me a lot of Tila Tequila. She did a great job in Kill Bill...another actress that would have been great for this role would have been Maggie Cheun, who starred in "Hero", one of my favourite movies!

Maggie in Hero

a still shot from Hero

Another character I absolutely loved of this film is Go-Go....the evil school girl!!
She was wayyy cool!!
I just discovered that Chiaki Kuriyama is also in the film "Azumi 2" playing Kozue! This is very exciting, I remember watching "Azumi" years ago, a really violent samurai film which blew me away! I definitely need to get it on dvd as well as "Azumi 2" at this point!

 

 

 My legs are much better today...after 3 days or rest I am back in shape (more or less), which means that tomorrow I am going to go back to the gym! Yes! But I think I am not going to any class, just some free work out with the machines at my own pace. But on Tuesday I need to do some Zumba!

It is so funny and great for fat burning!

 

a funny show of me yesterday in the city centre

Gonna get ready to go out now...off to the cinema to see the new STAR TREK and IRON MAN!!

My poor legs!

Honestly, my work out plan from 0 to hero didn't really work for me...my legs hurt so much I can barely walk! That must mean that I really overdid it at the gym those two days...I knew I was extremely rusty but I couldn't imagine I would get such sharp pain for two days in a row now!
I can't wait to go back and work out but I can't do it until this pain is gone,. So frustrating.
I should have known better and took my time for my body to recover from the work out "shock".

An headshot I took yesterday

I learned a new monologue yesterday, taken from one of my favourite films "Blood Diamond".
There are many people on youtube doing it, I hope it is not something that has been overdone and that people keep hearing at auditions.
I am not really FEELING IT though...it is a bit "too safe" for my tastes, I don't see my personality coming out to my full potential. Then again I am learning, so it is good to try different kind of things out.
I have another idea in mind...there is one particular actress in 24 that I normally imitate just because I think she is brilliant and she makes me smile...she has two quite cool scenes that I want to go through today...I think I can pull it off nicely.
Let's talk a bit about food now... check out this pie I made! I didn't have many ingredients but it was really good! I just put on some peppers, onions and cheddar. When we took it out of the oven it was very very high...it seemed like a pulsing creature, an alien or something LOL! We gnammed it all.

crazy pie
 

For lunch I made some polenta...too bad the photo is blurry, but it was really, really good!
Polenta reminds me of Italy...




Polenta, egg and salad

Gym and monologues

Just came back all sweaty and aching from the gym! But I am in a great mood!
My muscles are sore...I went from zero to hero in one day and I must watch it a bit not to over do it, so tomorrow I am going to take a day off from working out, unless the muscular pain is gone.
Today I tried out Street Fit, which was basically a street dance class. I really enjoyed it, it was cool to learn some moves, I definitely want to try it out again.
I hope to remember the moves I learned today, so I can practise at home till next time.
Loved the instructor, she was really funny and cool!

the gym madness continues

This is an example of Street Fit:



I find it to be a really awesome work out...especially because you dance! It's fun!

After that I got cheated LOL...we were supposed to have zumba toning but they changed the time table so it got replaced by another class which was very tough but very effective as well.
That was a superfast, no breaks, fat burning class, for sure I am going to try it again soon.
Right now I feel totally mashed up, especially my legs hurt a lot, but it is all good.


I also started to prepare two monologues for my audition on the 30th May, one very different from the other, but I love them both. One is  very staged, the other one feels more spontaneous and natural. I hope I will have the chance to do them both, but I guess they just want me to do one.
Mmm I got so hungry right now...I am thinking to cook some sweet potatoes...I wish I had spinach to go with them...yummy!

Zumba workout, Deep Red and Dark Water

OMG I love Zumba!
Just came back from the gym, I had a serious session! It's tough to keep up with the fast pace, my heart was pumping very very fast, but Alhamdulillah I resisted until the end and I had a GREAT time! I am sure I am going to see great results on my body very soon.
I changed so much, years ago I used to be such a loner, very antisocial and always on my own and I was dreading group work out at the gym. Now I am just the opposite, I find it way more stimulating to have these group sessions, as everybody tries to do one's best to keep up with others, which makes it easier to push onself to the max. I love it!
In fact I can't wait for the next zumba class. I will become a lot more flexible and less stiff, not mention I will probably go down one dress size, which is good too.



back from the gym after an intense work out

I see that they have many different classes, I want to try most of them, I am very curious about body combat, I am going to try it out soon.

Yesterday I watched Profondo Rosso, "Deep Red" as it is called in English.

I must say that the first part of the film is more like a thriller than a horror film, but then as the film evolved it got more scary and gory. It is not very easy to scare me these days but I could tell why I got so scared when watching it as a child. Cool, I am happy I bought it. It brings some early childhood memories back.

I also watched "Dark Water" again, the Japanese film...it is really good!

I have a weak spot for Asian films, especially horror films. They are so well done!
Dark Water is pretty original as well. It's cool to see what a good film can be made with just 2 main characters, an old apartment and very little effects. It plays on the psyche and that is what makes a film scary. The acting was fantastic!
The main character, Yoshimi played by Hitomi Kuroki
was brilliant...so beautiful and very classy, you could read every emotion on her face...fantastic actress!! Very good for dramatic roles.

Hitomi Kuroki
 

The little girl in the film playing Ikuko, played by Rio Kanno, was so lovely!! I wish I had a daughter that beautiful and talented! You never know...one day inshAllah! :)

Ikuko and Yoshimi

 I loved her hair...from this recent picture of her, we can see she is still sporting her awesome bob!
Lovely girl!

Rio Kanno

 

Improving my life one step at a time

Things are piling up so quickly so I had to buy myself a calendar today! It is going to come in very handy as I have several auditions coming up and different appointments, plus all the new interviews and filming days for more episodes of It's Groovy! Technology is not always the best solution, I prefer pen and paper when it comes to these things :)
I love the cover, it makes a statement that is very very true: I <3 my life!!

I give THANKS to the Most High for all the blessings that I keep receiving...my life hasn't been always good though, last year I had a horrible year and I was very depressed that is why I had stopped blogging, but now things have become so good again and I am full of enthusiasm!
So I like these good vibrations...yes I do love my life! Each day is a blessing from God!
I also made a much needed step today...after months of blabbling I finally registered with a gym!
I think I am going to start tomorrow. I want to lose some weight and get fit again and most of all gain that confidence and strength that I had when I was training on a regular basis.
I am very lucky in the sense that my body reacts very quickly to physical exercise, so now that I have my gym membership it is just to put on my trainers and go for it!
I also signed up for classes, I would like to do some aerobics and zumba...especially zumba. It is very hard but so fun!! I love dancing...so I may learn something new here and maybe even make new friends, which is always good.
The other day in Harlesden we went to eat at this little Jamaican restaurant and I loved the food soooo much!! It was super tasty and super delicious!! One of the best Caribbean I ever eaten!
They even had a dj playing some old school reggae tunes...how awesome was that!
I love the atmosphere in Harlesden, it doesn't even look like England...loved it!



Jamaican little restaurant in Harlesden

Yesterday I bought a "Profondo Rosso" aka in English as "Deep Red" dvd...by Dario Argento, probably the most famous Italian horror director in the world....I may watch it tonight.
The soundtrack, by Goblin, used to haunt me when I was little and was a great inspiration for my project Dreamlike Horror. I only saw this film once when I was like 6 or 8 years old and had such a great impact on me back then, together with "The Exorcist" and "The Omen" was one of the scariest films I had ever seen. I am sure I am not going to have the same feeling again while watching it now, after watching so many horror films all these years and I hope it will not look cheesy...but back then it was the bomb! Oh yes!




Walking in Camden with Mariangela