Post by davidhr on Nov 10, 2009 13:06:44 GMT -5
A week of announcements…
The biggest announcement this week is the opening of the on-line boutique, from which EWIM is available. It can be accessed from the welcome page on the official site. It has much of the same merchandise that is being sold at Lara's concerts: jewelry, photos, posters, lighters, bags, key rings and tee shirts. The jewelry consists of a 'highly affordable' pendant (not the super-expensive one!). Most of the material is associated with the tour, in one way or another. One could imagine it may be expanded to include other material as time goes on.
In conjunction with this addition to the official site, Lara put on a new message (so far only in French). In it she describes all the work that she has been doing, from preparing albums to the tremendous amount of effort that the new show has required. She says she has been overwhelmed - even disoriented - by the love she has received from the audiences. She made a special point of saying how happy she is at the great reception that the latest Farfallina and EWIM have received. With respect to the latter, she notes that the cover photo perfectly portrays her state while recording it - calm and serene; that the original singers of the English songs are every bit as important to her as the French singers from TLFM; and that she knows how much people like it by their comments in the book of gold. She adores it as well - it is simple and direct. She says she continues on her path with and for her fans.
Coming in close second in importance, Lara announced on Direct FM Monday that the anticipated date for the release of her next album 'Le Secret' is October 2010. This is somewhat later than either she or Igor Krutoi had originally indicated, but it would seem feasible given that her tour ends in March, and one doesn't want to release a new album too close to the summer. Of course this presupposes that Universal is happy with it (and also that Universal is still the record company involved…). One also wonders whether the delay in filming the movie that is supposed to parallel the album is also playing a part in the release date.
In a related point, an interview with Lara in 'Celebrity' magazine appeared this week. Scans of it are available at www.larafabiannews.blogger.com.br, where a translation of several of the points covered is also provided. Of particular interest is her comment that the next album will contain 4 languages. We know that of the two new songs presented in Russia, "Demaine n'existe pas" is obviously in French, while "Lou" is in Italian. Is Lara really planning to release an album with these plus English and Spanish songs if the French market is still her primary focus? Or is the collaboration with Igor Krutoi, and perhaps the musical film, implying that it will instead be an international album? And if so, is it still a Universal album, given her recent somewhat fractious interactions with that company over both TLFM and EWIM?
Several other points of interest came up in the interview. Lara noted that her mother is now 70 years old, and her grandmother is 97 - so she comes from long-lived stock! She also noted that her grandfather was from Detroit (hence an American) (something I had never heard before).
With regards to plans even further in the future, Lara said she had not yet had time to devote the 8 months required to the planned projects with Jacques Weber or Carrie Julian (perhaps the Israeli she spoke about in a previous interview?). In addition, she indicated that "Victor Victoria" is now scheduled for October of 2011, to take place at the Folies Bergere, having been pushed back a year due to the scheduled release of her next album. At least the timing for these events now lines up, even though Lara has also indicated that her appearance in this show is still not finalized (and much can happen in two years). Nevertheless, her interest in pursuing acting is undiminished, as she stated in the article; and it was reported that Lara will be the host of an audition for musical comedy roles at l'Académie Internationale de Comédie Musicale (still unconfirmed).
With Lara, much can also happen in two days, as evidenced by Lara's last minute postponement at the beginning of November of her involvement in Igor Krutoi's film, "Madame Zhivago". Apparently the director Alan Badoev was already in Lvov preparing the scenery for shooting, and most of the Russian and Ukrianian stars were there as well, according to the publication "FACTS". On the second day of the epidemic, four women passed away from Swine flu in the city, people started appearing with masks, and there was a lot of pressure. However, the film crew decided to remain, and everything was set up: all they were waiting for was the arrival of 'the main heroine', Lara. But on the third day of the epidemic, Lara called to say she was afraid for her health, and that the insurance company that was on the hook if Lara's European concerts had to be cancelled had forbidden her to appear in places under threat from the flu. As quoted in the publication, the director did not sound happy; he said he thought that the use of masks would have been sufficient to keep people safe, and indeed, no one from the film crew was affected. One can't blame Lara for this, but it is also true that those who have attempted to work with Lara in the past on these more ambitious projects often find themselves 'holding the bag'. "Caveat emptor!"
And to follow the theme one step further: in the thread for last week's update, Restck1989 (Christina) indicated that she spoke with the director of the movie "Charlie" on a web call-in program. He said he would be flying to speak with Lara in Paris later this month about her part in the movie, to be filmed in Italy during Lara's concert break in February. Good luck to him! [Apparently he had not heard anything about Lara's involvement with 'Madame Zhivago'.] The director indicated that Lara would speak Italian in the film, and that her hair color would be dark (presumably a wig, since she will still have concerts after the filming). [If you missed it, see the pictures of a dark-haired Lara in that thread!]
In keeping with the international theme, the new Russian site for Lara (lara-fabian.ru) is now scheduled to open December 1st. Apparently it will also have an English language component.
Lara's performance on 'Chabada' was aired this past weekend. In addition to "TLFM" she sang a medley of songs from Dalida: Elle venait d'avoir 18 ans, salma y samala, and Mourir sur scene. She looked wonderful, with a new hairdo, and sounded great. She seemed to have a lot of fun throughout the whole program. Videos of her selections, as well as the program as a whole, are available on NABBOX and Youtube.
Lara was on RTL radio today, talking about TLFM and the women who inspired it. A video of the interview is available at:
www.rtl9est.com/collectors1.php?id=337
(although unless they have corrected it, the audio and video get out of synch).
The album TLFM dropped 2 places in France, to 64th place, while in Belgium it dropped 13 places to 50th. TLFM the song is being played on Cherie FM in France.
Lara is still on her concert break this coming week, with no obvious media appearances, although we know they can still pop up at any time.
David
The biggest announcement this week is the opening of the on-line boutique, from which EWIM is available. It can be accessed from the welcome page on the official site. It has much of the same merchandise that is being sold at Lara's concerts: jewelry, photos, posters, lighters, bags, key rings and tee shirts. The jewelry consists of a 'highly affordable' pendant (not the super-expensive one!). Most of the material is associated with the tour, in one way or another. One could imagine it may be expanded to include other material as time goes on.
In conjunction with this addition to the official site, Lara put on a new message (so far only in French). In it she describes all the work that she has been doing, from preparing albums to the tremendous amount of effort that the new show has required. She says she has been overwhelmed - even disoriented - by the love she has received from the audiences. She made a special point of saying how happy she is at the great reception that the latest Farfallina and EWIM have received. With respect to the latter, she notes that the cover photo perfectly portrays her state while recording it - calm and serene; that the original singers of the English songs are every bit as important to her as the French singers from TLFM; and that she knows how much people like it by their comments in the book of gold. She adores it as well - it is simple and direct. She says she continues on her path with and for her fans.
Coming in close second in importance, Lara announced on Direct FM Monday that the anticipated date for the release of her next album 'Le Secret' is October 2010. This is somewhat later than either she or Igor Krutoi had originally indicated, but it would seem feasible given that her tour ends in March, and one doesn't want to release a new album too close to the summer. Of course this presupposes that Universal is happy with it (and also that Universal is still the record company involved…). One also wonders whether the delay in filming the movie that is supposed to parallel the album is also playing a part in the release date.
In a related point, an interview with Lara in 'Celebrity' magazine appeared this week. Scans of it are available at www.larafabiannews.blogger.com.br, where a translation of several of the points covered is also provided. Of particular interest is her comment that the next album will contain 4 languages. We know that of the two new songs presented in Russia, "Demaine n'existe pas" is obviously in French, while "Lou" is in Italian. Is Lara really planning to release an album with these plus English and Spanish songs if the French market is still her primary focus? Or is the collaboration with Igor Krutoi, and perhaps the musical film, implying that it will instead be an international album? And if so, is it still a Universal album, given her recent somewhat fractious interactions with that company over both TLFM and EWIM?
Several other points of interest came up in the interview. Lara noted that her mother is now 70 years old, and her grandmother is 97 - so she comes from long-lived stock! She also noted that her grandfather was from Detroit (hence an American) (something I had never heard before).
With regards to plans even further in the future, Lara said she had not yet had time to devote the 8 months required to the planned projects with Jacques Weber or Carrie Julian (perhaps the Israeli she spoke about in a previous interview?). In addition, she indicated that "Victor Victoria" is now scheduled for October of 2011, to take place at the Folies Bergere, having been pushed back a year due to the scheduled release of her next album. At least the timing for these events now lines up, even though Lara has also indicated that her appearance in this show is still not finalized (and much can happen in two years). Nevertheless, her interest in pursuing acting is undiminished, as she stated in the article; and it was reported that Lara will be the host of an audition for musical comedy roles at l'Académie Internationale de Comédie Musicale (still unconfirmed).
With Lara, much can also happen in two days, as evidenced by Lara's last minute postponement at the beginning of November of her involvement in Igor Krutoi's film, "Madame Zhivago". Apparently the director Alan Badoev was already in Lvov preparing the scenery for shooting, and most of the Russian and Ukrianian stars were there as well, according to the publication "FACTS". On the second day of the epidemic, four women passed away from Swine flu in the city, people started appearing with masks, and there was a lot of pressure. However, the film crew decided to remain, and everything was set up: all they were waiting for was the arrival of 'the main heroine', Lara. But on the third day of the epidemic, Lara called to say she was afraid for her health, and that the insurance company that was on the hook if Lara's European concerts had to be cancelled had forbidden her to appear in places under threat from the flu. As quoted in the publication, the director did not sound happy; he said he thought that the use of masks would have been sufficient to keep people safe, and indeed, no one from the film crew was affected. One can't blame Lara for this, but it is also true that those who have attempted to work with Lara in the past on these more ambitious projects often find themselves 'holding the bag'. "Caveat emptor!"
And to follow the theme one step further: in the thread for last week's update, Restck1989 (Christina) indicated that she spoke with the director of the movie "Charlie" on a web call-in program. He said he would be flying to speak with Lara in Paris later this month about her part in the movie, to be filmed in Italy during Lara's concert break in February. Good luck to him! [Apparently he had not heard anything about Lara's involvement with 'Madame Zhivago'.] The director indicated that Lara would speak Italian in the film, and that her hair color would be dark (presumably a wig, since she will still have concerts after the filming). [If you missed it, see the pictures of a dark-haired Lara in that thread!]
In keeping with the international theme, the new Russian site for Lara (lara-fabian.ru) is now scheduled to open December 1st. Apparently it will also have an English language component.
Lara's performance on 'Chabada' was aired this past weekend. In addition to "TLFM" she sang a medley of songs from Dalida: Elle venait d'avoir 18 ans, salma y samala, and Mourir sur scene. She looked wonderful, with a new hairdo, and sounded great. She seemed to have a lot of fun throughout the whole program. Videos of her selections, as well as the program as a whole, are available on NABBOX and Youtube.
Lara was on RTL radio today, talking about TLFM and the women who inspired it. A video of the interview is available at:
www.rtl9est.com/collectors1.php?id=337
(although unless they have corrected it, the audio and video get out of synch).
The album TLFM dropped 2 places in France, to 64th place, while in Belgium it dropped 13 places to 50th. TLFM the song is being played on Cherie FM in France.
Lara is still on her concert break this coming week, with no obvious media appearances, although we know they can still pop up at any time.
David
