Product Description
One of the foremost fashion and magazine-cover photographers of the past two decades, American photographer Mark Abrahams has straddled the gap between fashion and celebrity portraiture with guileless simplicity and exacting care. A self-taught photographer, Abrahams portrays his subjects with an introspective depth and candor. His subjects run the gamut of the A-list: Julianne Moore, George Clooney, James Franco, Dakota Fanning, Sean Diddy Combs, Beyonce Knowles, Ashley Olsen, Dennis Hopper, Lindsay Lohan, Larry Clark, Michelle Obama, Ed Ruscha, Philip Roth, Roberto Bolle, Evander Holyfield, Kate Winslet, Justin Timberlake, Tom Hanks, Rachel Weisz, Wyclef Jean and countless others. This volume provides a dazzling parade of the glitterati under Abrahams' lens, devoid of affectation or artifice. Abrahams is donating his portion of the proceeds from this book to benefit Hope For Haiti Now.
Mark Abrahams was born in 1958 in Santa Ana, California. The gift of a Nikon FM from his mother ignited his passion for photography. Working as a truck driver by day, Abrahams transformed his tiny bathroom into a functioning darkroom to develop film, retouch negatives and manipulate surfaces at night. Against all odds, in the early 1990s Abrahams found himself shooting iconic musicians, jetting to Milan with supermodels and landing editorial shoots with L'Uomo Vogue, German Vogue and American GQ. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (62)

The ordinary becomes extraordinary
I was surprised at the degree to which I liked this book, as it's full of mostly unlikable characters (with the possible exception of the Wisconsin grandma).The main characters are the child Ann and her beautiful, scheming, narcissistic mother Adele who's constantly putting on airs that she is rich and posh, and trying to land a man who can pay her way.Adele's behavior ranges from the annoying (such as buying houses and cars she obviously can't afford) to the delusional (stalking a boyfriend who's lost interest in her) to the downright dysfunctional (emotionally abusing and sexually exploiting her daughter).It's a tribute to the author's writing skills that she manages to make the story of such a character readable and even a little sympathetic.This is accomplished partly through telling most of Adele's story through Ann and Adele's other family members, all of whom can't help but love Adele a little bit even when they can't abide her behavior.

The book doesn't have much of a coherent plot, but instead is told as a series of vignettes that skip around in time and present episodes from Ann and Adele's life, occasionally peeking into the lives of other family members such as Ann's grandma and aunt.Because much of Adele's story is told from the perspective of the child Ann, there's not a lot of psychological interpretation grafted on, and the reader is left to draw their own conclusions about Adele's motivations and feelings, which in turn play out in Ann's own behavior.At several points in the book Ann's life seems to be emulating her mother's without the author coming right out and hitting you over the head with the comparison.The fact that such parallels are left to the reader to draw makes the book more interesting.

The story begins in Wisconsin, where Adele longs for a better and more exciting life.After two failed marriages, Adele decides it's time that she and young Ann move to Hollywood so Ann "can become a child star while still a child." Once in Los Angeles and away from her Wisconsin support network, Adele's behavior becomes even more erratic, as she chases after men, spends money she doesn't have, skips out on the rent, and constantly tries to cozy up to rich and famous people who don't want her around.Like her grandmother and aunt, Ann excuses her mother's excesses for years, but finally takes steps to get away realizing it's necessary for her own emotional and perhaps physical survival.

The story is told from a female perspective throughout, and most of the pleasure in the reading is the author's descriptive, yet terse, writing style. At one point the author covers literally years of Ann's life, after she has finally gotten away from her mother, in a few short descriptive paragraphs which work surprisingly well.

I would recommend this book with the caveat that some people might not enjoy reading about a "bad mother" who seemingly "gets away with it" with no lasting ill effects to anyone involved.There's no big redemption at the end, only one unexpected surprise twist of the "people aren't always what they seem" variety.

An Unusual Love Between Mother and Daughter Cemented Eternally
This is a wonderful novel.It is about the relationship between a mother and daughter -Adele and Ann.They journey together to California, to a life Adele is seeking but can never attain.She can never attain what she is seeking partly because she is unable to accept what she has, partly due to not recognizing what it is she is and is seeking, and partly due to her crazy longing for a self and way of life that is not embedded in reality.

Adele is crazy, cruel, self-centered , almost sociopathic, yet she has a uniqueness and childlike quality that is almost endearing.ann has her mother's tendencies, but at the same time, the ability to recognize this and want to change herself and escape from her demons while there is still time.The reader views the gradual and almost total disintegration of the last vestiges of Adele's stability.

Adele takes Ann to California so that Ann can become a child star and yet, when Ann actually is able to make it, Adele tries to destroy this possibility.We watch Adele's zany and crazy actions - letting Ann off in the middle of highways, becoming obsessed with her psychiatrist (pretending he's marrying her), her lies, her cheating, and her deceit.

Thereis a telling paragraph - just a few lines - that let us know how Adele had Ann pose for pornographic photos when she was a young child.However, it's a short paragraph, of no tremendous significance in light of the reality of Adele and Ann's relationship.Taken alone, it might be abhorrent.In context, it's merely sad.Their relationship is cemented.Despite love, hate, anger, and all the other emotions that come into play, the reality is their eternal bond - the arc of continuity even in separation and isolation.

The enduring quality of love and the cement of family and relationships is the zeitgeist of this book.And it is a wonderful book indeed.Simpson can describe the ordinary in a visually poetic and profound way.Her imagery is new and jolts the reader with its visual beauty and power.

I LOVED this book.POIGNANT
Beautifully written, great character descriptions and moving.I really loved this book -- it's a true GEM.I will look to buy Mona Simplson's other books.

Great read.....no disappointments here!
I thought this was a very entertaining book. It kept my interest, but it wasn't all the fantasy/la-la land good-feeling typical book. Nothing happens that you expect. It's not a story that you would have thought up, it just has to be someone writing about their life (or so it seems.)

I did just finish watching the movie, and I do have to say I was a little disappointed. I thought it was a cute movie, but the book is soooooooo much better. Ms. Simpson touches on so many more aspects to the character's lives than the movie. It doesn't even come close to getting behind the characters.

I would recommend this book for anyone that is tired of the sappy love/feel good/happy ending books.

A book you can reread endlessly and still find new perspectives..
Like many other adolescents, Ann August is torn between loving and hating her mother. For Adele August refuses to be ordinary...the thing that her young daughter longs for most.

The two embark on a road trip to California, where Ann is to become famous. Really, she is just a pawn for her mother's fantasies.

The story flashes back and forth between present-day and the past, interspersing Ann's perspective with that of her mother, grandmother and aunt.

This is truly Simpson's finest work.

... Read more

Product Description
Scarlett Johansson Asked... is one of those rare books that we never forget. This is beyond a doubt one of the most remarkable abstract literature novels. It is also one of the best. A truly perfect book wows readers today, and for good reason. Its unique language is sophisticated and humorous instead of outlandish, intriguing instead of garish. To get the idea of the book just read the first sentence: "Whilst the taram pam pam were ooh la la on their ooh la la, tra la la constant ha ha ha, the ooh la la, who, of course, ooh la la not taram pam pam to ooh la la their ooh la la." This book is different. Number one on the must list. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A comedic, and sometimes misunderstood, masterpiece
Meet Artie Lange, the hero of Nigel Tomm's tragicomic tale, 'Scarlett Johansson Asked Artie Lange: "Are You Too Fat to Fish Some Natalie Portman?" He Answered: "I Must Have Sex With Adriana Lima, Robin Quivers & Eva Longoria Parker As They're My Life Calendar"'.

This 30-year-old medievalist lives at home with his mother in New Jersey, pens his magnum opus on Big Chief writing pads he keeps hidden under his bed, and relays to anyone who will listen the traumatic experience he once had on a Greyhound Scenicruiser bound for Baton Rouge. ("Speeding along in that bus was like hurtling into the abyss.") But Artie's quiet life of tyrannizing his mother and writing his endless comparative history screeches to a halt when he is almost arrested by the overeager Patrolman Norris--who mistakes him for a vagrant--and then involved in a car accident with his tipsy mother behind the wheel. One thing leads to another, and before he knows it, Artie is out pounding the pavement in search of a job.

Over the next several hundred pages, our hero stumbles from one adventure to the next. His stint as a hotdog vendor is less than successful, and he soon turns his employers at the Bob Levy Pants Company on their heads. Artie's path through the working world is populated by marvelous secondary characters: the stripper Dana and her talented cockatoo; the septuagenarian secretary Miss Dell'Abate, whose desperate attempts to retire are constantly, comically thwarted; gay blade Sal Governale; sinister Robin Quivers, proprietor of Rick's nightclub; and Lisa G, the girl Artie loves to hate. The many subplots that weave through 'Scarlett Johansson' are as complicated as anything you'll find in a Dickens novel, and just as beautifully tied together in the end. But it is Artie--selfish, domineering, and deluded, tragic and comic and larger than life--who carries the story. He is a modern-day Quixote beset by giants of the modern age. His fragility cracks the shell of comic bluster, revealing a deep streak of melancholy beneath the antic humor. Nigel Tomm committed suicide in 1969 and never saw the publication of his novel. Artie Lange is what he left behind, a fitting memorial to a talented and tormented life. ... Read more

Product Description
Luc Besson (The Fifth Element) made his American directorial debut with Leon, a stylised thriller about a French hit man (Jean Reno) who takes in an American girl (Natalie Portman) being pursued by a corrupt killer cop (Gary Oldman). Oldman is a little more unhinged than he should be, but there is something genuinely irresistible about the story line and the relationship between Reno and Portman. Rather than cave in to the cookie-cutter look and feel of American action pictures, Besson brings a bit of his glossy style from French hits La Femme Nikita and Subway to the production of The Professional, and the results are refreshing even if the bullets and explosions are awfully familiar. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

AN EDGE-OF-YOUR-SEAT THRILLER...
How can one resist a movie featuring sexy Frenchman Jean Reno, the beautiful Natalie Portman in one of her earliest roles, Gary Oldman, and Danny Aiello?

The film centers around the relationship that develops between a beautiful and precocious twelve year old girl, Mathilda (Natalie Portman), and an Italian hit man named Leon (Jean Reno). Mathilda and her family live in the same run down building as Leon and are, in fact, neighbors.

It seems that Mathilda's dad (Michael Badalucco) has run into a problem with rogue Federal Drug Enforcement Agent Stansfield (Gary Oldman) over some missing cocaine. When Stansfield and his crew gets into a shootout with dear old Dad in the family apartment, wiping out her family, Mathilda alone survives. When Stansfield realizes, however, that there were three children in the family and only two are accounted for among the dead, he knows that he has to hunt her down before she denounces him for what he is, a cold blooded, killer cop.

Mathilda turns to Leon for help in her rather precarious situation. Of the two, Leon and Mathilda, it is hard to decide who is the more innocent. Leon gets his hit contracts through an intermediary, a wise guy named Tony (Danny Aiello). Tony always assures Leon that he is holding all his earnings for him, as Leon cannot read and write. Leon is your quintessential killer with a heart of gold. Mathilda, on the other hand, though still a child, is a pretty wily little miss with nerves of steel. It would be difficult to pull the wool over her eyes. Together, however, Leon and Mathilda go on a voyage of discovery, as each finds in the other something that captures the heart.

Notwithstanding this, the film is very much an action film. It is a rip roaring journey, as Leon and Mathilda try to evade Stansfield, the killer cop with no heart and a drug habit that would kill off lesser humans. Some of the situations are absolutely ingenious and a total trip. There is enough action in this film to satisfy even the most jaded of thrill seekers. Luc Besson, the director, has turned out a top notch, first class thriller.

Natalie Portman is luminous as Mathilda, a kid from the school of hard knocks. Her beauty, as well as her acting talent, is evident even at this early stage of her development, and there are a few almost uncomfortable Lolita-like moments in the film. There is even a scene somewhat reminiscent of the rose petal scene in the film "American Beauty", sans the rose petals.

Oldman is positively chilling with his almost over the top, edgy, manic performance. Danny Aiello is terrific as Tony, the smooth talking mob guy whom the viewer knows is taking advantage of Leon's simplicity and trust, enriching himself in the process.

Jean Reno, however, will melt your heart, becoming an almost mythic, romantic hero. I have to wonder why this amazing, sexy actor never made it really big in the United States. He is sensational as the killer with a heart. He also has some high voltage action scenes in this highly stylized film that will take your breath away.

The uncut international version of this film with an additional twenty four minutes of footage is the version to buy. It is definitely a film worth adding to one's personal collection. Bravo! ... Read more

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This issue features a cover photo and fashion layout & interview with Natalie Portman, a feature on Jake Gyllenhaal, Behind the Scenes at America's Next Top Model, a layout of Bianca Jagger, lots of fashion layouts, and much more! ... Read more

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Features Natalie Portman, Jon Bon Jovi, Matt LeBlanc, & Much More! ... Read more

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The perky authority on all things girl since 1944, Seventeen magazine still provides advice and encouragement to masses of young misses. Although the primary focus is fashion and famous folk, this teen zine is not mere eye candy. Mixed among the cutting-edge styles (and multitudinous ads) you'll find short but plentiful articles. ... Read more

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On the cover - The Good Girl: Hollywood actress Natalie Portman pursues her other passion -- global activism. Also in this issue - Fashion at Work: Buddy System: Model Erin Wasson helps designer Alexander Wang prep his pring line. Model Scout: Newcomer Kasia storms the catwalk. Beautiful Mind: She may play an underdog on the big screen, but in real life, actress Junee Smollett is a winner. Beauty Blogger: Eva Chen tries her hand as a hairstylist at Phillip Lim's eco-conscious fashion show. Music Blogger: U.K. pop sensation Kate Nash on her rise to the top of the charts. Rebel, rebel: Penn Badgley takes Manhattan on the addictive soap "Gossip Girl." Plus much, much more! ... Read more

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Celebrity Sleuth is the magazine devoted to uncovering the hottest actresses! This issue features women of fantasy and science fiction, and includes sexy and/or nude photos of Natalie Portman, Terri Welles, Carrie-Anne Moss, Rachel Weisz, Gillian Anderson, Julie Strain, Angie Everhart, DeDe Lind, and many others! ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Very Pleased
Ordered item received intact and packaged to protect. Also responded immediately to my inquiry. I highly recommendand would gladly purchase items from this seller in the future. ... Read more

Product Description
Features - Natalie Au Natural: Natalie Portman talks, and the intimidating Susan Sarandon listens, Wise Girl: Elizabeth Hurley talks to Mafia expert "Rocco the Butcher" about Hugh Grants needs, Christina Applegate spills her guts, We Make Wishes Come True: Ben Stiller, and much more! ... Read more