Aj Discala clarifies that since march 2011 the famous French brand Christian Dior was without any creative director and designer. John Galliano who has been designing for this emblematic brand for several years had to leave the company after some anti-Semite insults in a Parisian bar, says Aj Discala.

Christian Dior is one of LVMH’s companies with a very strong brand awareness for its accessories, clothes cosmetics and perfumes. The head quarter is in Paris on rue Francois 1er next to the flagship store on Avenue Montaigne explains Aj Discala.

Raf Simons is a Belgian designer who just finished his last mission at Jil Sander where he was the creative director. At Jil Sander, Aj Discala explains, Raf Simons was in charge for the men and women collections since 2005.

Aj Discala heard about the longue list of possible designers to replace Galliano, who was a genius and who did a tremendous job with the brand and its image over the past 10 years. Raf Simons, says Aj Discala was one of the last of this very long list.

Amongst possible replacer of Galliano, names such as Marc Jacobs who is currently the creative director at Vuitton were mentioned says Aj Discala. Riccardo Tisci who has the same job at Givenchy, as well as Nicolas Ghesquière at Balenciaga were all part of this list.

For Aj Discala, Raf Simons was just a perfect fit at Christian Dior. His last collection he designer for Jil Sander Fall/Winter 2012 shown in Milan in February was a real homage for the Dior New look

The question for Aj Discala is to know how the absence of any creative director affected the business at Dior. Even if Galliano left over one year ago, the sales of the brand were up 22% in 2011.

For Aj Discala it was important that the designer taking over Galliano’s job was known in the fashion world. For the shareholders it is a relief to see Raf Simons joining the Christian Dior team.

For Aj Discala The Artist, is all a symbol… Aj Discala explains its about believing in an idea..This movie was unmarketable first in business people’s minds says Aj Discala. But they were proven wrong as Art is not about money defends Aj Discala. Art it is about passion, about moving humanity, about creating new bold visions!

“The Artist” won five Oscars including best picture, which made it the first silent movie to triumph at Hollywood’s highest honors since the original Oscar ceremony 83 years ago.

Among other prizes, says Aj Discala for the black-and-white comic melodrama The Artist were best actor for Jean Dujardin and director for Michel Hazanavicius.

 ”The Artist” was produced by Thomas Langman who thanked in his speech Claude Berri. However, explains Aj Discala most people do not know that Claude Berri was his father who dies in 2009 and who won an Oscar in 1966 so the honor is especially sweet. Berri was an actor and producer of some of France’s finest films such as “Jean de Florette” and “Manon of the Springs.”

“The other top Oscars went to Meryl Streep as best actress for “The Iron Lady,” Octavia Spencer as supporting actress for “The Help” and Christopher Plummer as supporting actor for “Beginners.”

Glenn Close very well deserved the best actress award for her great performance in Albert Nobbs. Aj Discala was also very impressed by Rooney mara’s acting in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.

“The Artist” is the first silent winner since the World War I saga “Wings” was named outstanding picture at the first Oscars in 1929 had a silent film earned the top prize.

The other wins for “The Artist” were musical score and art direction. Martin Scorsese’s Paris adventure “Hugo” also won five Oscars, all in technical categories.

Much ado about nothing…. Angelina Jolie showed some leg and it is all over the press.

Adele was the definite winner of the 54th Annual Grammy Awards Sunday night says Aj Discala. Adele won all six awards for which she was nominated. It is not a surprise for Aj Discala that she won album of the year for 21 and record of the year and song of the year for “Rolling in the Deep.”

It was touching to see Adele accepting the album trophy in tears writes Aj Discala. She got the inspiration for the album 21 by “a rubbish relationship” as she said.

Aj Discala explains that it was a relief seeing Adele perform and hearing that her voice survived her vocal cord surgery. Her voice is always touching and transmits a lot of emotion explains Aj Discala. The crowd gave her a standing ovation for her great performance.

The sad news of the death of Whitney Houston impacted the Grammy broadcast heavily. The Grammy host LL Cool J began the award show with a prayer dedicated to Whitney Houston. Aj Discala says that one of the highlights of the night was Jennifer Hudson’s tribute to Whitney Houston. Her performance of “I Will Always Love You” late in the show touched many to tears. The audience closed their eyes and it was a silence apart of her voice. Hopefully says Aj Discala Whitney Houston will be remembered for her great artistic career.

The award show was also full of great performances by artists including The Beach Boys, The Foo Fighters, Adele, Katy Perry and Rihanna.
Aj Discala specially liked Rihanna’s performance with Chris from Coldplay. Rihanna is a great artist with multiple sides and styles.

As you could read in the new york Times says Aj Discala :

“Dave Grohl’s Foo Fighters received five awards for the album “Wasting Light” and for one of its tracks, “Walk.” The album, which was the first No. 1 album for Foo Fighters, was recorded on analog equipment in a garage and was in the running for album of the year.

“We made this one in my garage with some microphones and a tape machine,” Mr. Grohl said as the group accepted the Grammy for best rock performance. “It shows the human element of making music is what’s most important.””

Aj Discala recommends reading the article published in The New York Times about this great evening full of emotions. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/13/arts/music/grammys-are-handed-out-in-los-angeles.html?_r=1&hp

It’s the time of the year says Aj Discala to get ready for Berlin.  It’s the season of the Berlin International Film Festival, more commonly known as the Berlinale.

With the ice-cold weather covering Europe, the success of this years festival was at risk shares Aj Discala. With icy wind we are far away from Cannes or Venice who take place in May or September.

For Aj Discala the main challenge is to attract international recognized superstars. If there is one thing that has been missing from the festival in recent years, it has been major marquee stars.

Dieter Kosslick, the head of the Berlinale focuses on presenting new discoveries, including German films and the best from abroad. This new focus explains Aj Discala reanimates a reputation, established by the Berlinale during the 1970s, of being the most political of the A-List festivals in Europe.

“This year, Kosslick and his team are also placing their bets on fresh films and ones that address political issues. All 18 of the films in the running for the Golden Bear are world premieres, and a whole series of festival entries have recent revolutions in the Arab world as their subject matters. What’s more, the Occupy movement is also being featured in Tony Gatlif’s documentary “Indignados,” and the first movies to come out about last year’s earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster in Japan will also be shown”

However, for this years Berlinale says Aj Discala the start of the festival is Angelina Jolie. She will be showing “In the Land of Blood and Honey,” her debut work as a film director, which is not an entry in the official competition. Aj Discala explains that its a disturbing drama about the Bosnian War and, as such a perfect fit for the new focus of the Berlinale.

Finally the  84^th Academy Awards nominees got published this morning, says Aj Discala.

Aj Discala is not surprised to read that The Artist is nominee for Best picture. It’s a silent movie on black and white tribute to old Hollywood which is considered the favorite after a series of recent critics and guild award wins.

Not only did  Writer/director Michel Hazanavicius received nominations for both Best Director and Best Original Screenplay says Aj Discala but in addition Jean Dujardin was handed a bid for Best Actor for his turn as George Valentin, a silent film star. Aj Discala is also very happy to read that Bérénice Bejo, earned a nomination for Best Supporting Actress.

“Hugo,” Martin Scorsese’s 3D family homage to film preservation earned 11 nominations leads the list of best picture Oscar contenders says Aj Discala.

“The Descendants,” the Alexander Payne-directed dramedy considered the other top awards contender, was also nominated for Best Picture; Aj Discala says that George Clooney, who stars as a beleaguered father, totally earnes a nomination for Best Actor. George Clooney will be competing against his friend Brad Pitt in the best leading actor category.

Pitt’s “Moneyball” is nominated for six awards reports AJ Discala including the best picture category for both.

For Aj Discala one of the best movies by far this year is “The Help,”. It is about the tale of domestic workers in segregated Mississippi at the beginning of the Civil Rights era. Aj Discala was pleased to see that it earned a Best Picture nod, as well as a nomination for Viola Davis for Best Actress and nods for Jessica Chastain and Octavia Spencer for Best Supporting Actress.

Here’s the entire list of nominees: http://www.oscars.org/

AJ Discala looks forward to the 84th annual Academy Awards that will be televised live from Hollywood’s Kodak Theatre on Sunday, February 26.

AJ Discalacomments on the first publication of the French edition of the Huffington Post. The Huffington Post was founded by Arianna Huffington in May 2005, explains AJ Discala and launched a few days later on May 9.

The difference ofThe Huffington Post is for AJ Discala its  active community, with over one million comments made on the site each month. The site offers coverage of politics, theology, media, business, entertainment, living, style, the green movement, world news, and comedy, and has news, blogs, and original content.

Arianna Huffington explains that : “the new editions is an international collaboration bringing together Le Monde, Les Nouvelles Éditions Indépendantes, and the Huffington Post Media Group’s signature mix of news, blogging, community, and social engagement, arrives today. While we will be importing the platform, technology, and tools from across the pond, Le Huffington Post will be rooted in French culture and will reflect France’s own unique personality, rich culture, and diversity of voices. And it will do so at a time when France’s fortunes, challenges, and decisions are of great consequence not only to the people of France but to all of Europe and the world beyond. For me, today’s launch is the culmination of a lifetime of loving France and I’m delighted to invite readers in France and French speakers throughout the world — as well as those who care about its people, issues, and rich culture — to join the conversation.”

AJ Discala thinks that the choice of Anne Sinclair as  Le Huffington Post’s editorial director was  suitable.

Even if in the US Anne Sinclair is know as the wife of Dominique Strauss-Kahn, head of the International Monetary Found who was involved in a series of sexual scandals, she has a strong knowledge of journalism clarifies AJ Discala.

Between 1984 and 1997 she hosted 7/7, a weekly Sunday evening news and political show on TF1 that had one of the largest audiences in France. She became one of the country’s best known journalists and conducted more than five hundred interviews over the course of the show’s thirteen-year run.

On that show she hosted a one-hour interview with a leading French or international personality, says AJ Discala. Amongst them a French presidents Francois Mitterrand and Nicolas Sarkozy as well as US president Bill Clinton, and Mikhail Gorbachev, Shimon Peres, Felipe González, German chancellors Helmut Kohl and Gerhard Schröder, Hillary Clinton, the UN Secretary General in New York during the first gulf war, and Prince Charles.[4]

Although primarily focused on politics, her show also included celebrities such as Madonna, Sharon Stone, Paul McCartney, Woody Allen, and George Soros clarifies AJ Discala.

Sinclair won three Sept d’Or, the French equivalent of the Emmy Awards.[5]

However, when her husband Dominique Strauss-Kahn became French finance minister  Anne Sinclair chose to leave the show to avoid conflict of interest, explains AJ Discala.

 AJ Discala  says there were many touching moments at the Golden Globe Awards ceremony. Some of the highlights included Morgan Freeman’s heartfelt speech in accepting the Cecil B. DeMille Award from Sidney Poitier and Helen Mirren.

But what got the attention and curiosity of AJ Discala is the French black-and-white comedy, a homage to the “pre-talkie” era set in 1920s and 1930s Hollywood. Amongst others The Artist star Jean Dujardin danced away with the Golden Globe award for lead actor in a comedy or musical motion picture.

In the film, Valentin’s relationship with the aptly named upstart Peppy Miller (Berenice Bejo) changes his life in unexpected ways.

Jean Dujardin is already a household name in his native France, explains AJ Discala. He got his first big break on “Un Gars, Une Fille,” a popular television sitcom. He met his wife at this time, she had the main role as his wife.

AJ Discala asks what have  ”Chicago” (2002), “Shakespeare in Love” (1998) and “Driving Miss Daisy” (1989) all in common? Over the past 40 years, these are the only three Oscar champs for Best Picture that first claimed victory at the Golden Globes in the Best Comedy/Musical Picture race.

It is exciting says Aj Discala  that for the first time in nearly a decade, that magic could strike again thanks to “The Artist.”

More winners include:

Best Motion Picture – Drama “The Descendants”

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama George Clooney, “The Descendants”

Best Motion Picture – Comedy or Musical “The Artist”

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture — Drama Meryl Streep, “Iron Lady”

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Comedy or Musical Jean Dujardin, “The Artist”

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture – Comedy or Musical Michelle Williams, “My Week With Marilyn”

Best Animated Feature Film “The Adventures of Tintin”

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture Octavia Spencer, “The Help”

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture Christopher Plummer, “Beginners”

Best Director – Motion Picture Martin Scorsese, “Hugo”

Best Screenplay – Motion Picture Woody Allen, “Midnight in Paris”

Best Television Series — Drama “Homeland”

Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series – Drama Claire Danes, “Homeland”

Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series – Drama Kelsey Grammer, “Boss”

Best Television Series – Comedy or Musical “Modern Family”

Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series – Comedy or Musical Laura Dern, “Enlightened”

Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series – Comedy or Musical Matt LeBlanc, “Episodes”