Wednesday, 18 June 2008
Monday, 9 June 2008
Classic recordings survive studio blaze
Classic recordings by Bing Crosby, Judy Garland and the Carpenters were among the "thousands of original recording masters" from the Decca, MCA and ABC labels that were originally thought to have been destroyed.
"We had no loss, thankfully," a Universal spokesperson told Billboard. "We moved most of what was stored there earlier this year to our other facilities." The use of the word "most" might not settle the nerves of hardened archivists, there is no cause for panic: Universal had taken the advice of computer geeks who kept reminding them to "back up your data!"
"The small amount that was still there and awaiting to be moved had already been digitised so the music will still be around for many years," the spokeperson said. "[We] also had physical backup copies of what was still left at that location, so we were covered."
Unfortunately, Universal Studios was not able to make digital backups of everything, especially not animatronic gorillas - a 30ft robot of King Kong was among the casualties that did indeed go up in smoke.
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Tuesday, 3 June 2008
Former top model found dead in Paris
Known simply as Katoucha, the former top model for Yves Saint Laurent and other renowned designers was found on Thursday near the Garigliano bridge in Paris.
According to police an autopsy showed no signs of foul play, pointing to the possibility that the 47-year-old may have fallen into the river accidentally.
She had been missing since January and was last seen returning home from a party.
She lived in a houseboat near Paris' Alexandre III bridge, and her handbag was later found on board the boat.
The Guinean-born model told The Associated Press in 1994 that she ran away to Europe at 17 aiming to be a model. Her big break came when a designer at Lanvin spotted her in a line-up.
After quitting the catwalk, she turned to speaking out actively against female circumcision, describing her own experience at age 9-years-old in a book, 'Katoucha, In My Flesh', which was published last year.
"I will never get the incomparable pain out of my head": she wrote in the book, which she dedicated to her three children.
Vanity Fair's fashion and style director, Michael Roberts, said Katoucha was: "One those girls who used her fame to spotlight the misfortunes of others."
In the months before her death, Katoucha took on her first film role, playing a beautiful and rebellious woman, said Leandre-Alain Baker, director of 'Ramata'.
Filming is complete but a release date has not yet been set.