Debbie Matenopoulos

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Most of the stars at the E! channel are what we would call the all American girl, blonde with blue eyes. However, the two most popular eyes are deep brown and belong to the Greek American TV hostess of “Daily Ten” Debbie Matenopoulos. “Despoinio”, as her Grandma from Greece calls her , presents many red carpet events and of course the Oscars and the Golden Globe Awards for E! channel. In her office a the E! there is Madonna’s guitar with an autograph on it from the singer. Our hope for a normal interview went away when we met her and discover that she is not that type of person. She had just finished the recording for “Daily Ten” and Snoopy Dog was interrupting us with the sms he was sending to Debbie. She was in the mood for an informal discussion which lasted three hours and only some excerpts fit here:

About her Family and the U.S.A.

“I was born in Richmond, Virginia, but all the members of my family were born in Greece. Most of my relatives are from the Greek cities of Xanthi, Naoussa, Thessaloniki, and Athens. My father knew a Greek named Jim who had immigrated to Richmond. They met in the Greek Army and then my Dad thought that it would be a good idea to immigrate, too. My dad always likes change. One day he comes home and says to my mom “ Get ready, we are leaving.” She asks him where he wanted to go and he replies South Africa. My mom told him that he was out of his mind. Fortunately they did not give them visa so they decided to go where “Jim” was in Richmond, Until today I have never met Jim.

From Virginia to MTV

“When I was 17 I was already in college studying journalism and I was working for a local radio station. At that time I sent my resume to many TV shows and I was hoping I will get hired as an intern. One evening the phone rang and it was a lady from MTV, who asked me if I could go to New York for an interview. When I heard the proposition I almost fell down, I could not believe it. My mom was crying and was saying “ where are you going, where is my baby going?” Finally, I went , they saw me, they liked me and I stayed. I was living alone in New York and somebody from MTV helped me to transfer from my college in Virginia to NYU. What else could I ask for? Even if I would die the next day, I didn’t care. I did not have much money so when I wanted to go to the clubs-and that was a lot- I wasn’t eating just to save money for my admission to the clubs. In MTV I was doing whatever I was told, from presenting shows to making copies.”

Her first serious job

“I was in a club and a friend of mine who was working fro Barbara Walters suggested to go to an audition for co-presenting her show. I did not pay attention to what he was saying, and agreed to go. My hair was pink because I had to be ‘punk’ for a character I was doing in MTV. Next day I was in the waiting room for the audition and I was embarrassed because of my hair color. The more I was waiting the worse I was feeling with my appearance and finally I open the door to walk away. At that moment the studios door opens and Barbara calls me. We co-hosted a show for two years and then I came to LA. I worked for TV Guide Channel, Fox and now I am working for E! and Style.

Her Marriage

“My husband is not Greek, but me and my family made him Greek. We baptized him in the Greek church and we had a Greek Wedding. He wanted to go to Greece for honey moon and this is what happened. I wanted to go to Italy for a month and then to spend some time in Greece, too. I had warned him that from our first hour in Greece people will start feeding us , we will put 20 pounds, and everybody is going to tae care of him like he is a little kid. He said he didn’t care and he wanted to go. We went and liked it a lot that , everybody was taking care of us, but of course he could not understand anything. People could say anything they wanted, even make fun of him in front of him, and he didn’t care. All the time though, he was asking me to translate. For three weeks I was a translator and I regretted it we didn’t go to Italy.

About the TV in Greece

“I always wanted to have a show on the Greek TV. My parents came here from Greece and I want to go back and work there. One day I was watching a Greek show where they were interviewing a Greek-American girl who –as they said- was involved in the American fashion industry . I have been working on US networks for thirteen years I had never heard of her. Many times I see people on the Greek TV who say that are important in the US, but actually nobody knows them. Why did they invite these people and they have never invited me?”

Her relationship with her co-hosts

“We have a very good relationship. If you are not friends –in a way- with the other hosts you cannot have a show with them. On the other hand it is called ‘show business’ not ‘show friends’, and you are here to make money and build a career not to make friends.”

The Gossip Magazines

“I really enjoy reading gossip magazines. I read them and think oh, look what she did, or he did , and then I turn the page and she my face and an article that is not true, but I don’t care. I call my friends and we are making fun of the fake stories.

Gyros

“In LA there is not a place where they sell real Greek Gyros. I think is a great idea to start a business selling gyros. I will bring many famous people to eat. Seriously we can make a lot of money. I want to start some kind of business a some point of my life. The other time I was thinking to build a hotel in Greece , have many celebrities to come stay for free, and then I will sell their news stories to magazines like ‘People’. In the future I want to live in Greece.

Hollywood

“The job I do is not for soft people. You have to know that somebody who is smarter, more beautiful, or have better connections in the industry can take your job any moment. You have to accept it as something obvious because this is the nature of show business.

Politically Correct

“I say whatever I want. I don’t care about what others will say. If something is true I will say it in the way I like it, even if some people will complain. Political correctness has become stupidity in the U.S. Some people have taken the term to the extreme.”

Publicity

“I did not change when I became famous, and maybe this is because I did not have a chance to act differently. I wasn’t born in a famous family and even now when I visit my parents’ home everybody behaves as before. I work in the house, clean and then we all go together to our family friend, Thalassic, as we always did. In public people recognize me but I don’t change my behavior just because of this.

John Stamos

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His father had a restaurant business. Each year the business was going better and and Mr. Stamos was hoping that when his son, John, will grow up he will take over the business. John Stamos though, had other plans for his future. He took acting classes and then he started his career playing a role in the TV show “General Hospital”. Even then his father did not believe that his son will be able to make a living by acting and because of this John had to be every weekend to his dad’s restaurant and work as a waiter. Later he married the supermodel Rebecca Romijin. Their marriage was terminated after a few years. Today John is one of the most popular and well paid TV figures in the US television and has also appeared in many movies. Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen (they were together with Stamos in Full House) still call him uncle because, as they say, he help them in difficult moments of their life like a real relative.

Describe your life as a kid who had a Greek father.

Groing up in the U.S. wit a Greek father helped me a lot. This is where I got all this love that Greek parents know to give to their children.

Where is your father from?

My father was born in the U.S. , but my grandfather was from a Greek town called Tripoli.

How was your life when you started acting?

I had a very good time. When I got my first big role, and people start to recognize me in public I was still working in my dad’s restaurant as a waiter. All the week I was working in the TV show, but the weekends I had to be in the restaurant. Saturdays and Sundays I was serving the tables and I remember people ordering and suddenly stop and asking me “excuse me aren’t you an actor?

Have you ever been in Greece?

Many times. I went for honey moon when I got married with Rebecca. We visited the most Aegean and Ionian islands. I have also been to Santorini with my father before he died.

How did your family responded to your decision to become an actor?

My family always accepted my decisions and helped me in the beginning of my career. When I was seventeen I started taking acting courses and found my first agent. My first big role was in the TV show “General Hospital”, and then I was in “Full House” for nine years.

How did your life change when you start becoming famous?

The biggest difference was that I moved from Orange County to Los Angeles. I lived all the glamour and I liked it, but my family helped me remain a down to earth person.

Besides being an actor you were also a member of a music band and a tv producer …

Yes. Recently I started producing different shows. I also like cinema in which I was more involved the last five years. However, success came for me from the TV shows.

Do you have Greek-American friends?

Yes, I always had. I hang out with Nia Vardalos and Rita Wilson with whom we are very close friends.

What do you think of all the glamour in Hollywood?

Many events are just… bullshit. In some of them though you have to go because it’s part of the game, you got to do it. I am not a big fun of Glamourus events, I don’t spend a lot of time in red carpet events and parties. In my free time I like to do different things. I like to do the garden in my house and cook Greek food, usually lamb. In every plate I cook I add Feta cheese. This cheese has an incredible taste.

John Varvatos Opens Up

A. Makris
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John Varvatos Opens Up

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The most famous Greek-American designer is the opposite of the hysteric character Miranda in the movie The Devil Wears Prada, because he has a great relationship with the employees of his company and takes care of them. Many times, all together have dinner, he helps them set the stores up and he would be ashamed to own a private jet. His name, however, is put together in the American and International market with such names as Ralph Lauren and Calvin Klein. The music band Aerosmith and other music stars ask him to design clothes to wear when they go on tour. He was born in Michigan where he also went to college and got his bachelors degree, but one day found himself working for Ralph Lauren. Today he has created his own company which is based in new York. He is married and he has a 20-year-old daughter and a 22-year-old son. He is a good friend of Ralph Lauren and Calvin Klein, but he does not lead the same lifestyle (even if he has the economic ability), for example when he travels he does not like to stay in luxurious suites. During our interview in his Melrose store I tried to find out if the famous designer is a simple guy or he just fakes it. I understood that he is a down to earth person because I saw him working in the store, doing even what a sales person would do and further more he traveled from New York to Los Angeles to contribute to a fundraising for an organization that helps abused kids.

 How did you get involved in fashion?

When I was in the last day of class of high school I had to get a job because my family was not in its best financial state. I got a job at store that was selling clothes for men as a sales person. I continued working even when I went to university. When graduated I was teaching chemistry part time but I continued to work in the means store because I liked it. Then I found a partner and we opened a men’s clothe store together and after three years I left the partnership and I went to work for Ralph Lauren in Chicago as sales manager for the South West U.S.A. I did it well in that job and after I was promoted to sales manager of the whole company and because of this I went to New York. There I began to work with the designers and see how they work. I really enjoyed working with them and I decided to take classes in designing in the Fashion Institute of Technology. I was going almost everyday to school after my job in Ralph Lauren. One day Ralph calls me in his office and told me that he was informed that I was taking designing classes and asked me what I wanted to do. I said I liked to design and after to weeks I was in the designing department of Ralph Lauren. After I became the head of the designing department in Calvin Klein and then I went back to Ralph Lauren. In 2000 I left and I opened my own company.

How did the companies that you used to work for reacted to the idea that you would start your own company?

I left and I maintained very good relation with the companies, and with many designers we are still friends. On the other hand there will always be competition but this is not bad. Calvin Klein and Ralph Lauren helped me in the beginning. Especially with Ralph we are still very good friends

What is your favorite piece of clothing?

I love vintage. A piece that I always like and wear is a leather jacket that I bought when I was in high school.

What are your plans for the future of your company?

The company gets bigger and bigger every day. We are planning to open more stores in the USA, Asia and our first ones in Europe. My goal is to become better day by day. This is what was happening during our first six years and I want to continue in the same way.

Have you designed costumes for movies?

We often give clothes from our collections to many productions but I have never designed something specifically for a movie. We have worked with many rock bands and singers though. Recently we have designed clothes for bands such as Velvet Revolver, Aerosmith, Stooges and for singers such as Ryan Adams and Jack White. The media, however tend not to be interested in men’s fashion, at least not as they are with women’s. Journalists rarely ask a male on the red carpet what is he wearing. Our clothes are on the red carpet events and this is important, but it is not as with some women’s designers. And am not obsessed with that as they are other designers. If some famous people were our clothes in these events fine, if not this will not make me sad. I don’t care. There are many designers that want to dress everybody on the red carpet events, I am interested to dress as many everyday people as possible.

 Your clothes are more wore by rock types?

I think rock types like them for sure. Personally I enjoy music as nothing else and it is great when musicians that I really admire, as for example the Aerosmith, call me and ask me to design clothes for their next tour.

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How could you describe a typical John Varvatos customer and fan?

I don’t think there is a typical type of customer in our stores. It is a very different, broad and unusual mix of people with different cultures that buy our clothes. There is the cool young guy type from East Village in New York, rock types, even older, a little bit conservative people in their fifties who want to have some relation with fashion and they like the materials we use to make the clothes. For example, one day I was in one of our stores in New York and one customer in his forties came to buy a suit and brought with him his fourteen and sixteen year old sons who bought shoes and t-shirts. After that, the actor Ian McKellen who is in his seventies came to buy the converse shoes. A little while before we close for that day Edge from U2 walked in the store. That night I went to my home and I was so happy because I realized that somehow I managed to create products that many different people with different personalities can appreciate and enjoy.

Are you interested in politics?

 I want to know what goes on around the planet but I never mix politics with business. I am trying to understand what goes on in U.S.A. and I express my opinion and some thoughts through my clothes. One of my companies, John Varvatos Star USA, has the logo of piece and this was a public statement I wanted to make. This logo was created when the war in Iraq started and we wanted to pass the message of peace. Actually combined with the rock element means “peace rocks”.

Are you anti – war?

100%. I am also anti – Bush. I think that this person cannot represent America. Wherever I travel I see that people respect USA but do not respect our president and I do not like this fact.

Do you think that he likes your clothes and he could probably wear them?

I don’t think he likes them and I wouldn’t want him to wear them.

Did you find the right candidate for the next election?

No, but I do not think it is very difficult to find somebody better than Mr. Bush. We just need a strong president. The world has to see that we have a strong person for president.

Do you have any stores in the Middle East?

No, but we send a big part of our production there which is sold in other stores. We do business very well in the Middle East and because of this I think that politics do not affect emotionally the citizens but the governments.

Can you describe us your collaboration with Converse?

It started five or six years ago when I created my first collection. They called me and told me that they were interested in creating something together because they liked the vintage element in my clothes and our two different styles could create a very good mix. I grew up wearing All Star as many others did and I was very happy to work with them. Today we are in the sixth year of our collaboration and it has been excellent. People from all over the world discover my company and my name through the All Star shoes that we created.

Would you like to create more affordable products and open your company to the masses?

At this point of my career no. We are trying to be the best in what we do, in this type of clothes we create. On the other hand we already have the John Varvatos Star USA which is a company that targets to a younger audience and for example you can buy a suit with 800$ instead of buying a suit from the collection which might be 1.500$.

Do you ever go and work at your stores?

When I have time I wear a pair of jeans and I go the stores and work like all my employees do. When we change our stores because their is a new collection I go myself and carry boxes and put clothe on the selves. Sometimes after we finish I take everybody out for dinner and I have a great time going out with people that work in our stores. Now we are opening a store in New Hampshire and I have marked 4 days on my calendar to go and help set up the store.

Do you see any similarities between the real world of fashion and the movie “Devil Wears Prada”?

I think there is a lot of truth in it. I am a member of the board of the Fashion Designers Association and I often meet many personalities that are similar with Miranda. There are many megalomaniacs but there are also many designers that are down to earth people and have great talent. Personally I do not belong in the fashion scene. I am a designer that when I have free time I do not go to stay in a hotel’s suite but in a small town in the north part of the state of New York. I have a simple house there and I prefer to spend my time with normal people that have not any relationship with the fashion business.

Have you been in Greece?

Once. When I was little my parents always wanted to take the family and visit Greece but we did not have the money. My family was not rich. Later I was in school and I was working too so there was no time. Then again I started my career in fashion and again there was not time. Unfortunately I travel mostly for business and in Athens I have been once, two years ago, when we introduced our products to the Greek market. I always wanted to go and because of that when I went out from the plane and as I was going to the center of Athens I was emotionally shocked went I saw the Acropolis. I stayed only two days and my relatives did not believe me when I told them that I could not see due to my busy schedule. This summer I am planning to come for vacation and I hope after that I can come every year.

Do you have Greek-American friends?

When I was in Michigan there was Greek-American community and I was going to the Greek school but after I lost contact with the Greek element. When I came to New York and I started my business Melina Kanakaredes called me and told me that she liked my clothes and she wanted to meet me. We did not know each other before that. She came with her husband and we all had lunch. From then she is one of my best friends.

Did your lifestyle change when you became successful?

When I was a child me and the other 6 members of my family used to live in a three bed-room house . When I started working for Ralph Lauren my financial state changed and I started to live a better life. I never had a luxurious lifestyle though. I just live well. Even now all my money are invested back in the business so I cannot say that I am really rich.

Do you have a private jet?

No, I would be ashamed if I had one. I don’t like to have the crazy rich life. Recently I received a call from a magazine and they asked me what was the best most luxurious suite I have ever stayed. I said that this is not the way I travel. I like to travel well but I don’t stay in suites. I am not this type of person.

Do your children want to follow your path in fashion?

The only relationship that my daughter has with fashion is that she likes to spend money shopping clothes. My son is completely opposite of the idea of fashion. He wears All Star shoes but the classic ones not even these that I designed.

John Varvatos

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The most famous Greek-American designer is the opposite of the hysteric character Miranda in the movie The Devil Wears Prada, because he has a great relationship with the employees of his company and takes care of them. Many times, all together have dinner, he helps them set the stores up and he would be ashamed to own a private jet. His name, however, is put together in the American and International market with such names as Ralph Lauren and Calvin Klein. The music band Aerosmith and other music stars ask him to design clothes to wear when they go on tour. He was born in Michigan where he also went to college and got his bachelors degree, but one day found himself working for Ralph Lauren. Today he has created his own company which is based in new York. He is married and he has a 20 year old daughter and a 22 year old son. He is a good friend of Ralph Lauren and Calvin Klein, but he does not lead the same lifestyle (even if he has the economic ability), for example when he travels he does not like to stay in luxurious suites. During our interview in his Melrose store I tried to find out if the famous designer is a simple guy or he just fakes it. I understood that he is a down to earth person because I saw him working in the store, doing even what a sales person would do and further more he traveled from New York to Los Angeles to contribute to a fundraising for an organization that helps abused kids.

How did you get involved in fashion?

When I was in the last day of class of high school I had to get a job because my family was not in its best financial state. I got a job at store that was selling clothes for men as a sales person. I continued working even when I went to university. When graduated I was teaching chemistry part time but I continued to work in the means store because I liked it. Then I found a partner and we opened a men’s clothe store together and after three years I left the partnership and I went to work for Ralph Lauren in Chicago as sales manager for the South West U.S.A. I did it well in that job and after I was promoted to sales manager of the whole company and because of this I went to New York. There I began to work with the designers and see how they work. I really enjoyed working with them and I decided to take classes in designing in the Fashion Institute of Technology. I was going almost everyday to school after my job in Ralph Lauren. One day Ralph calls me in his office and told me that he was informed that I was taking designing classes and asked me what I wanted to do. I said I liked to design and after to weeks I was in the designing department of Ralph Lauren. After I became the head of the designing department in Calvin Klein and then I went back to Ralph Lauren. In 2000 I left and I opened my own company.

How did the companies that you used to work for reacted to the idea that you would start your own company?

I left and I maintained very good relation with the companies, and with many designers we are still friends. On the other hand there will always be competition but this is not bad. Calvin Klein and Ralph Lauren helped me in the beginning. Especially with Ralph we are still very good friends.

What is your favorite piece of clothing?

I love vintage. A piece that I always like and wear is a leather jacket that I bought when I was in high school.

What are your plans for the future of your company?

The company gets bigger and bigger every day. We are planning to open more stores in the USA, Asia and our first ones in Europe. My goal is to become better day by day. This is what was happening during our first six years and I want to continue in the same way.

Have you designed costumes for movies?

We often give clothes from our collections to many productions but I have never designed something specifically for a movie. We have worked with many rock bands and singers though. Recently we have designed clothes for bands such as Velvet Revolver, Aerosmith, Stooges and for singers such as Ryan Adams and Jack White. The media, however tend not to be interested in men’s fashion, at least not as they are with women’s. Journalists rarely ask a male on the red carpet what is he wearing. Our clothes are on the red carpet events and this is important, but it is not as with some women’s designers. And am not obsessed with that as they are other designers. If some famous people were our clothes in these events fine, if not this will not make me sad. I don’t care. There are many designers that want to dress everybody on the red carpet events, I am interested to dress as many everyday people as possible.

Your clothes are more wore by rock types?

I think rock types like them for sure. Personally I enjoy music as nothing else and it is great when musicians that I really admire, as for example the Aerosmith, call me and ask me to design clothes for their next tour.

2varv.jpg

How could you describe a typical John Varvatos customer and fan?

I don’t think there is a typical type of customer in our stores. It is a very different, broad and unusual mix of people with different cultures that buy our clothes. There is the cool young guy type from East Village in New York, rock types, even older, a little bit conservative people in their fifties who want to have some relation with fashion and they like the materials we use to make the clothes. For example, one day I was in one of our stores in New York and one customer in his forties came to buy a suit and brought with him his fourteen and sixteen year old sons who bought shoes and t-shirts. After that, the actor Ian McKellen who is in his seventies came to buy the converse shoes. A little while before we close for that day Edge from U2 walked in the store. That night I went to my home and I was so happy because I realized that somehow I managed to create products that many different people with different personalities can appreciate and enjoy.

Are you interested in politics?

I want to know what goes on around the planet but I never mix politics with business. I am trying to understand what goes on in U.S.A. and I express my opinion and some thoughts through my clothes. One of my companies, John Varvatos Star USA, has the logo of piece and this was a public statement I wanted to make. This logo was created when the war in Iraq started and we wanted to pass the message of peace. Actually combined with the rock element means “peace rocks”.

Are you anti – war?

100%. I am also anti – Bush. I think that this person cannot represent America. Wherever I travel I see that people respect USA but do not respect our president and I do not like this fact.

Do you think that he likes your clothes and he could probably wear them?

I don’t think he likes them and I wouldn’t want him to wear them.

Did you find the right candidate for the next election?

No, but I do not think it is very difficult to find somebody better than Mr. Bush. We just need a strong president. The world has to see that we have a strong person for president.

Do you have any stores in the Middle East?

No, but we send a big part of our production there which is sold in other stores. We do business very well in the Middle East and because of this I think that politics do not affect emotionally the citizens but the governments.

Can you describe us your collaboration with Converse?

It started five or six years ago when I created my first collection. They called me and told me that they were interested in creating something together because they liked the vintage element in my clothes and our two different styles could create a very good mix. I grew up wearing All Star as many others did and I was very happy to work with them. Today we are in the sixth year of our collaboration and it has been excellent. People from all over the world discover my company and my name through the All Star shoes that we created.

Would you like to create more affordable products and open your company to the masses?

At this point of my career no. We are trying to be the best in what we do, in this type of clothes we create. On the other hand we already have the John Varvatos Star USA which is a company that targets to a younger audience and for example you can buy a suit with 800$ instead of buying a suit for the collection which might be 1.500$.

Do you ever go and work at your stores?

When I have time I wear a pair of jeans and I go the stores and work like all my employees do. When we change our stores because their is a new collection I go myself and carry boxes and put clothe on the selves. Sometimes after we finish I take everybody out for dinner and I have a great time going out with people that work in our stores. Now we are opening a store in New Hampshire and I have marked 4 days on my calendar to go and help set up the store.

Do you see any similarities between the real world of fashion and the movie “Devil Wears Prada”?

I think there is a lot of truth in it. I am a member of the board of the Fashion Designers Association and I often meet many personalities that are similar with Miranda. There are many megalomaniacs but there are also many designers that are down to earth people and have great talent. Personally I do not belong in the fashion scene. I am a designer that when I have free time I do not go to stay in a hotel’s suite but in a small town in the north part of the state of New York. I have a simple house there and I prefer to spend my time with normal people that have not any relationship with the fashion business.

Have you been in Greece?

Once. When I was little my parents always wanted to take the family and visit Greece but we did not have the money. My family was not rich. Later I was in school and I was working too so there was no time. Then again I started my career in fashion and again there was not time. Unfortunately I travel mostly for business and in Athens I have been once, two years ago, when we introduced our products to the Greek market. I always wanted to go and because of that when I went out from the plane and as I was going to the center of Athens I was emotionally shocked went I saw the Acropolis. I stayed only two days and my relatives did not believe me when I told them that I could not see due to my busy schedule. This summer I am planning to come for vacation and I hope after that I can come every year.

Do you have Greek-American friends?

When I was in Michigan there was Greek-American community and I was going to the Greek school but after I lost contact with the Greek element. When I came to New York and I started my business Melina Kanakaredes called me and told me that she liked my clothes and she wanted to meet me. We did not know each other before that. She came with her husband and we all had lunch. From then she is one of my best friends.

Did your lifestyle change when you became successful?

When I was a child me and the other 6 members of my family used to live in a three bed-room house . When I started working for Ralph Lauren my financial state changed and I started to live a better life. I never had a luxurious lifestyle though. I just live well. Even now all my money are invested back in the business so I cannot say that I am really rich.

Do you have a private jet?

No, I would be ashamed if I had one. I don’t like to have the crazy rich life. Recently I received a call from a magazine and they asked me what was the best most luxurious suite I have ever stayed. I said that this is not the way I travel. I like to travel well but I don’t stay in suites. I am not this type of person.

Do your children want to follow your path in fashion?

The only relationship that my daughter has with fashion is that she likes to spend money shopping clothes. My son is completely opposite of the idea of fashion. He wears All Star shoes but the classic ones not even these that I designed.

Partying like rockstars for a good cause!

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The 6th Annual John Varvatos Stuart House Benefit was an incredible success raising an incredible $450,000 for the organization. The event took place at the John Varvatos boutique on Sunday, March 9th, and it was hosted by Cindy Crawford & Rande Gerber. Attendees included music guests Cheap Trick and celebrity guests Casey Affleck, Justin & Keisha Chambers, Angie Harmon, Elisabeth Rohm, Jeremy Piven, Brendan Fraser, Michael Urie, Melina Kanakaredes, Danielle Panabaker, Dylan McDermott, Paul Reiser, Tracy Edmonds, Joely Fisher, Alice Cooper, Jeff Garland, and Nia Vardalos.

All came out to enjoy an afternoon of fun-filled family activities such as customizing kids’ Converse, creating Rock Star Build-a-Bears, and the always-popular celebrity storytelling. Justin Chambers arrived book-in-hand ready to entertain the throng of kids circled around. Michael Urie, Angie Harmon, Elisabeth Rohm, and Danielle Panabaker also lent their talents during story time. Chambers, Crawford, and Harmon later spent time helping their kids personally design a pair of Converse.

Outside of the kids’ corner, the adults were also having fun. Guests shopped in the John Varvatos boutique, bid on fantastic silent auction items and gave as big as their hearts during the live auction. Oscar nominee Casey Affleck kicked-off the program by introducing John Varvatos. Auctioneer Viveca Paulin-Ferrell, wife of funnyman Will Ferrell, lead the live auction with the help of NY Giants owner Steve Tisch and Heather Thomas Brittenham. Cindy Crawford & Rande Gerber generously purchased a 2008 Holiday Party for Stuart House, which involves the couple sponsoring a memorable holiday get-together for the children and families served by Stuart House.

The highlight of the day, however, had to be the massive performance by rock legends Cheap Trick. With the band decked-out in John Varvatos, Cheap Trick kept the crowd on their feet during the 45-minute set including their many hits such as “I Want You to Want to Want Me.” Guests’ jaws dropped when surprise guests Alice Cooper and Wayne Kramer of MC5 joined the band on stage to close out the stellar performance.

Visit John Varvatos

Entry deadline approaching for 2008 Student Academy Awards

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The deadline for U.S. student filmmakers to submit their films for consideration in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ 35th Student Academy Awards is Tuesday, April 1. The Student Academy Awards is a national annual competition designed to recognize and encourage promising new filmmakers.

Applications and a complete list of rules are available online at www.oscars.org/saa/application/index.html. All entry forms for the 35th Student Academy Awards must be submitted electronically. Additionally, filmmakers must send a DVD of their film and a hard copy of their signed application to the appropriate regional coordinator. Complete entries must be received by the deadline to be considered (it is not a postmark deadline).

Each year over 500 college and university film students from all over the country compete for Student Academy Awards and the accompanying cash grants. Films are judged by Academy members in four categories: Animation, Documentary, Narrative and Alternative.

Past Student Academy Award® winners include Spike Lee, Gary Nadeau, Bob Saget, Trey Parker, and Oscar® winners John Lasseter and Robert Zemeckis.

At the 80th Academy Awards, honoring the films of 2007, two former Student Academy Award winners received Oscar nominations in the Documentary Short Subject category: James Longley for “Sari’s Mother” and Amanda Micheli (with Isabel Vega) for “La Corona (The Crown).” Over the years, former Student Academy Award winners have garnered a total of 35 Oscar nominations and have won or shared six awards.

The 35th Student Academy Awards will be presented on Saturday, June 7, at the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater. The ceremony is free and open to the public.

Kalomoira goes to Eurovision

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[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XxCkCJOwz3Y 285 250]

The Greek in Charlie Wilson’s War

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The Greek in Charlie Wilson’s War

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Besides the entertaining and smart character of Avrakotos the movie has nothing to do with Greece or Greek culture. However, the character of the Greek CIA agent is very well developed and fantastically played by Hoffman that is worth the three Greek stars.

Who was Avrakotos in real life?

According to Wikipedia “Gust L. Avrakotos December 1 was a Greek-American case officer and division chief for the United States Central Intelligence Agency. Avrakotos is best known for the massive arming of ‘s mujahideen in the 1980s in the Soviet war in Afghanistan. Avrakotos’s partnership with Charlie Wilson in this operation was chronicled in the book Charlie Wilson’s War: The Extraordinary Story of the Largest Covert Operation in History, by George Crile III, and the film Charlie Wilson’s War, released December 21.

Avrakotos was born in Aliquippa, Pennsylvania the son of a Greek American soft drink manufacturer. He briefly worked at Jones and Laughlin Steel mill in Aliquippa before graduating valedictorian from Aliquippa High School in 1955. Avrakotos attended the University of Pittsburgh, where he graduated summa cum laude and later attended the Carnegie Institute of Technology, which is now a part of Carnegie Mellon University. He joined the CIA after college and his assignments included an anti-terrorist mission in Greece and duty in the CIA’s Langley, Virginia headquarters. Avrakotos retired from the CIA in 1989, then worked for TRW in Rome and for News Corp., for whom he began a business intelligence newsletter, working in Rome and McLean, Virginia. He returned to work on contract for the CIA from 1997 until 2003. Avrakotos split time between homes in Virginia and Moon Township, Pennsylvania. He died of a stroke in 2005.”

If you want to learn more about Avrakotos’s life go to :

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/12/24/AR2005122400871.html

2008 LA Greek Film Festival

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After the tragic and extensive disasters that Greece suffered this past summer, the Los Angeles Greek Film Festival 2008 organizers decided to invite filmmakers to submit their films for a special program titled “Wildfires: Greece, Summer 2007”. Interested filmmakers may submit short or feature-length (2-hour duration maximum,) documentary, fiction or experimental films provided they refer to or are about this theme. A selection of the films submitted will be included in a special program during the second annual Los Angeles Greek Film Festival (June 25-29, 2008) . An honorary Orpheus Award will be given to the best film in the program.The submission deadlines for the 2008 Los Angeles Greek Film Festival are quickly approaching! Be sure to submit your film or script by March 31, 2008.About the festival:The goal of the event is to promote Greek Cinema while bridging the gap between Greek filmmakers and Hollywood. The festival also offers retrospective programs of film masterworks, seminars on important contemporary film issues, and tributes to significant Greek filmmakers and performers. Orpheus Awards are given to the most outstanding new films in the dramatic, documentary and short film categories.Festival Directors: Angeliki Giannakopoulos, Ersi DanouFor more info visit www.lagreekfilmfestival.org

A Greek play is coming to town

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theater.JPGThe Hellenic Group Theater announces the production of “Babades Me Roumi” or “Baba-Rum” written by Thanassis Papathanassiou and Michalis Reppas. This black comedy is produced by the Hellenic Group Theater, directed by Aris Katopodis and will be presented at the Odyssey Theatre Ensemble, 2055 South Sepulveda Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90025, starting March 15th, 2008 through March 30th 2008. The play explores the human greed for riches, where two couples, a neighbor and a cunning Bulgarian woman will go through extremes to attain it.Cast: Angel Bazigou, George Christopoulos, Mae George, Georgia Tripodes, Demitra Tsioulos, and Stavros Zorbalas. The play will be performed in Greek.Production: Michael Hadjioannou, Vasilis Kageorgis, Dimitra Kasdagli, Alexandra Katsas, George Palilis, Antonis Kourkoumelis and Daphne ValentinaPerformances: March dates : Saturday15th at 8pm, Sunday16th at 7pm, Thursday 20th at 8pm, Saturday 22nd at 2pm, Sunday 23rd at 7pm, Thursday 27th at 8pm, Saturday 29th at 2pm and 8pm and final performance on Sunday March 30th at 7pmSimultaneous live audio translation from Greek to English via headsets will be available for the March 22nd at 2pm and March 23rd at 7pm performances. Headset reservations are strongly recommended.For ticket prices please call or email: (310) 337-9015 hellenicgrouptheater@gmail.comFor tickets, please call: (310) 477-2055 ext. 2

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