Monthly Archives: January 2015

Interview With Game of Thrones Star Maisie Williams

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Most of us know Maisie Williams from her excellent turn as Arya Stark in Game of Thrones but she is also in excellent new Channel 4 show Cyberbully. Here she is interviewed about her new role.

Interview With Game of Thrones Star Maisie Williams

At 17, Maisie Williams has probably achieved more, seen more than most of us will in a lifetime, yet the star of Game of Thrones remains a remarkably modest, unaffected, eloquent young woman. Here, she discusses her new project, Cyberbully, a remarkable one-off drama for Channel 4 about the dangers lurking on the internet.

Cyber Bully airs on Thursday 15 January at 9pm on Channel 4.

Your new project is Cyberbully. You play Casey. What’s her story?
Casey begins as a young teenager who’s struggling to express herself, and the only way she feels safe is to do that anonymously through the internet. She finds that, using a fake name, she can post honestly about things that annoy her, things that make her laugh, things that make her happy and sad. That’s the way she gets teen angst out of her system, I guess. When we meet her, she’s battling with sharing her best friend with her best friend’s boyfriend, which is a common issue for a lot of teenagers. We see that first-hand in the first few minutes. As the story picks up, she realises that, through hacking and whatever, people can take anything that you’ve written, anything you’ve recorded, pictures you’ve taken, anything like that, and they can turn it into something you never meant it to be. Really, anyone with the power of their computer taken away from them and used against them, even the nicest and most genuine of people can be portrayed as something they’re not, which is something extremely current at the moment. It’s something we’ve seen a lot of, with phone hacking, computer hacking, iCloud hacking, in the news recently. That’s something that really attracted me to the project.

Explain a little more about that. Why were you attracted to this role?
I feel like Cyberbully is a really honest representation of interactions between teens and their parents, and each other. A lot of the time things aren’t always at they seem. Teens get it hard for being grumpy and being rude, and this shows the other side to that, and actually what could be going on behind closed doors, I guess. In a pretty extreme way. She battles with anxiety, and that comes into its own story arc during the hour. We never leave her, we never cut away to anything else, we only see her in her bedroom, and other characters are only referred to through shadows or video clips or pictures and Skype calls. Apart from that it’s just her, in a room – that’s something that’s very different to other things I’ve done.

The fact that it’s really just you, on your own, on screen for the whole time – has that made it quite an intense experience filming it?
Yeah, of course. It’s been one of the most intense two weeks of my life. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed it, but it’s come with its difficulties. For the first week I was quite ill, so that didn’t help at all. But it’s been really exciting, and I’m so glad to have done it. As a young actor, you’re constantly looking for things that are going to push you out of you comfort zone, and show different emotions. With this, I feel like it’s got everything all in one. Such a range of emotions. That’s something you really look for. There’s not very many good, honest teenage roles written, without them being just a platform for the lead character. Teenagers are written pretty poorly, and this was such a good representation of a normal teen, who doesn’t have some extreme family issue or mental issue, or is a drug dealer or something. She’s just a normal girl who gets her life completely changed.

Have you been acting against a blank screen, or have you been interacting with stuff that’s happening on the screen?
We’ve got a full package, which, when you load looks like your home screen and your Facebook page and whatever, but isn’t. That’s really been helpful, actually being able to type, and being able to send messages and minimise browsers and all sorts, all within this one package. It’s been really, really great, and was something that, for our director Ben, was really a must. To really be reacting to a computer screen that’s actually using these words and photos.

Have you even met the other people who have acted in this [appearing on skype calls and in videos etc]?
We had a big rehearsal about a week before we started shooting, which was very beneficial, and we did a big run-through of the whole four acts. That was great, to meet everyone, but apart from that, during shooting I haven’t seen anyone. It’s been intense for that reason, but also necessary.

The story is pretty frightening, in terms of how much a person can hack into and destroy someone’s life. Is everything that happens genuinely possible?
Yeah, of course. There is no one story that Cyberbully is based upon, but everything included is very much possible, or has happened to various different people.

Has it made you think about internet security and what you do online?
Yeah, definitely. From the age of 12 I’ve been on the internet, on Twitter and Facebook and things like that, and I’ve had a very different experience of it from most teens of my age. But I can very much see the difficulties it presents, and the difficulties it has caused some of my friends and things like that. I think people always assume that it’s going to happen to someone else. It may not all play out the way it does in Cyberbully, but just because someone isn’t there hacking you and talking to you and manipulating your screen doesn’t mean they’re not there looking at you. In America, for example, everyone always puts a sticker over their webcam, little things like that, which really makes you stop and think. It’s something we’re all very new to. In the grand scheme of things the internet is still so young, and we know nothing about it. So it’s something we need to all think about. You think something’s safe just because it has a password on it, but that’s not always the case.

You mention being on Facebook and Twitter and stuff. With your profile, does that mean you’ve experienced negativity and trolling?
Yeah, of course. Trolling is the biggest thing that anyone faces, and it’s easy to dismiss, but it does hurt. As much as we like to say we don’t care, of course we do. People laugh at me when I try to stop people from behaving like that. Just in my followers, not on the internet in general. But I don’t want that. I don’t want Twitter to be that sort of place. People laugh at that, saying “If you’re trying to teach manners on the internet, you’ve got another thing [sic] coming.”

69 per cent of young people say they’ve experienced some form of Cyberbullying. That’s an extraordinary statistic, isn’t it?
Yeah, it is. Everyone I know is on Facebook, and if they’re not it’s because they’ve had a negative experience with it. That’s just awful. People turn a blind eye to stuff like that until someone’s gets really fucked up and goes too far.

One of the things that struck me about the script is that Casey has inadvertently done a bit of cyberbullying herself. Is that part of the problem, that people just don’t really realise the damage they may be doing to others?
Exactly! You don’t even realise that what you’re saying really does hurt people. And it kind of spirals out of control. “Oh, she’s saying it, so I can say it too.” That’s what was so interesting about it. It’s not all that straightforward. There’s not just an honest victim and an honest predator. We all say things that we regret, and especially on the internet. That was an eye-opener for me. You need to ask yourself “Would I ever say that to somebody in person? Would I be happy for my mum to see that I’d just written that?” Just because you’re hiding behind a fake name doesn’t mean you’re not talking to real people.

Your first ever professional acting role was as Arya Stark in Game of Thrones, a lead in one if the biggest dramas ever on TV. How has your life changed in the last few years?
Completely! But it’s like I’ve never known anything else, really. I was a child, and then I started doing Game of Thrones, and now all of a sudden I’m growing up, I’m nearly 18 and I’m nearly officially an adult. It’s been a brilliant experience for me, I couldn’t really have asked for a better opportunity. So many kids of my age are struggling to know what they want to do for the rest of their lives, or what subjects they’re going to take, or what they’re going to do at Uni. I’ve been so lucky to have been given the opportunity to do something I love for the rest of my life.

Do you get recognised a lot? What’s that experience like?
I get recognised a lot, and it’s usually very lovely. People are always really nice, and it’s the price that you pay for doing this job. It’s still awfully strange. People forget that they don’t know you. Sometimes people get a bit – particularly when its parties or festivals and people are a bit drunk – it gets very intense, and people forget that you’re actually a person, and they’re not allowed to just grab you and pull you by your arm and grab your t-shirt. They’re never trying to be nasty, but sometimes that’s really overwhelming. Sometimes that’s not okay. But usually it’s a very, very positive experience. I’ve got more used to it.

How have you kept up with studies? Are you going to continue with studying, or carry on with acting full time?
We tried to juggle school and film, but it was very difficult. My school weren’t very supportive of it all. So we decided to drop that and do home tutoring, which went well for a few years. It came round to my GCSEs and I landed a role in an Irish movie called Gold, and I ended up not doing the exams and doing the film instead. So to this day I haven’t got any GCSEs, because I haven’t stopped, and that was a conscious decision. We decided that I was going to do acting, and school will come later. I’m still very happy with that decision. At the moment it’s going so well, I’m getting to do so many fantastic roles, I’d rather just stay doing this. That doesn’t mean in the future I’m not going to go back. I’d love to be treated normally as other kids, and not have horrible things written about me because I didn’t do this exam or haven’t got that qualification. But at the moment it’s the decision that we made, and it feels like the right one.

What one message would you want young viewers to take away from the drama?
Some people on the internet are never going to be satisfied with any reasoning. The answer is just to close your computer and walk away, because it doesn’t matter. Don’t try reasoning with the trolls or the bullies, don’t engage with them, just walk away. You can’t win, so just walk away, and find people who really care about you.

Beauty Resolutions To Stick With

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The New Year always brings out the best of intentions for everyone whether or not these last is another thing, unlike those pesky Christmas pounds. Some resolutions are worth keeping however and these beauty resolutions will pay off in years to come.

Beauty review, Glowing skin, good beauty products.

Throw Out Your Old Makeup

Old makeup is a breeding ground for bacteria. See that little pot icon with a number and an ‘m’ inside on the back of your products? That is the expiry date in months from when they are opened. It will help if you keep a note of when the product was opened as it is easy to forget. Mascara should be replaced every six months and anything over a year old should probably be thrown out. Make sure you wash your makeup brushes too. Wash in warm, soapy water and then leave them to air dry. You can clean them with some mild shampoo or washing up liquid.

 

Give Your Hair a Break From Heat Damage

Blow drys and hair straighteners can cause significant damage to hair. Hair can end up drier than the Sahara and could even break off. The best way to prevent further damage is to stop using hair dryers and straighteners. Cutting down your use if you can’t quit will help but also use a heat protection spray and a weekly hair mask.

 

Have a Weekly Facial

You don’t need to go to a professional for a facial. You can do one at home yourself. Double cleanse your face, use a good scrub and then apply a face mask. Regular exfoliation helps skin renew itself as we age and a good face mask will give skin a good amount of moisture.

Do it weekly and your skin will thank you. A facial massage is under-rated and really makes a difference to your skin. It leaves you looking fresher and more toned. Use a face oil and gently massage your skin in circular movements. Work upwards and tap your eye socket starting from the outside.

 

Stop Sleeping in Your Makeup

This is a huge beauty no-no and not just for your pillow; your skin repairs itself at night but your skin needs to be able to breathe for this to happen. If it is covered in makeup your pores will be suffocated. Free radicals and dead skin cells also build up on the skin if you don’t wash your face. Wash your face as soon as you get in or keep some cleansing wipes handy. Keep the cleansing wipes to a minimum however as they are not as good as washing your face properly.

 

Always Wear Sunblock

Beauty decisions you make now will affect your looks for the rest of your life. Putting in effort now means looking good ten years down the line. The most important one you can make is to use an SPF everyday. Use a broad-spectrum sunscreen which protects from UVA rays, which are ageing, and UVB rays, which burn. It is not just vanity. This will also protect you from skin cancer, something that should be taken more seriously than it is. Wear at least an SPF 15 everyday. You can buy good moisturisers which have an SPF in but wearing a foundation with one in is not enough, you won’t wear enough to get the benefit nor will it cover all of the needed areas. A foundation with an SPF is still a good idea, just make sure you also use a moisturiser or separate sunscreen.

 

What is your beauty resolution?

 

 

 

A House in Italy by Amanda Brake, Frost’s Le Marche Correspondent

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At the stroke of midnight, an explosion of fireworks cascaded over the medieval village of Force, in Le March on the east coast of Italy, marking the end of one year and the start of the next. My family and I remained in our house, relaxing and drinking our local wine while we watched the display.

It was the best way for us to enjoy the celebrations this year, because, after a Christmas with lots of friends and relatives, the children were whacked. They loved the skating on the rink put on this year in the town square particularly, so the local bars and restaurants will have to wait for next year, before we join them for their fabulous New Year celebrations.

So what brought me to Italy in the first place?

pic 1 Le Marche

I suppose it was the same as so many other people: the stunning countryside, the wine, the food, the lyrical language, and of course the Mediterranean warmth. Italy is full of history and culture and this is what intrigued me when I first visited the country at the age of eighteen. I was introduced to the Le Marche area, by friends. It was the up and coming place to buy, ‘the new Tuscany it was labeled, but a lot cheaper

On my first morning in the area, I threw open the slatted shutters of my rental accommodation and the view was more than breathtaking: the mauve coloured mountains stood out like giants in front of me stretching out from the valley. Even to this day, though I live here, and could become careless of its charms, this stunning area never ceases to impress, especially with the changing seasons and weather.

Today, in early new year, we have the magical deep snow of winter contrasting with the deep blue skies, or the tumble of snow clouds, before moving onto the rich greens of the rolling hillsides, in the hazy heat of the summer.

pic 2 Le Marche

I won’t say the twelve years here have not been challenging with Le Marche’s old antiquated ways, which often make us feel that we are living in a world that is closer to the UK fifty or sixty years ago. But of course, that is part of the reason for be being here in the first place.

Things are so different. If a house starts to crumble, a house that has been in the same family for generations, the family just build another next to it.

‘Piano, Piano’ is the common expression meaning ‘slowly, slowly’ everything in good time, which gives you time ‘to smell the roses’. You have to learn a completely different pace, and to remain laid back when the work that needs to be done for you, takes forever.

Here, in Le Marche, they inhabitants grow their own food, and breed their own animals. The small hamlets and villages are full of culture, their individual history not to mention a long line of local families. Each area has its own dialect, which makes learning the language challenging.

pic 3 le marche

Those native to Le Marche are slow to embrace you but if you, in turn, embrace the local environment and activities, you one become part of their community more quickly than you would have thought possible.

So, come, if you are thinking of a new life at the start of 2015. Just remember that you are not living in an ex-pat community. You will need to live as the Le Marche people do. Live, drive (an experience) work and local schooling can all help one to settle

I still struggle to adapt sometimes, but trust me, letting the old ways go and doing things the Italian way instead opens up your life more than you could ever hope.

So, what do we do, here, to earn a living? My boys have taken up most of my time up while my partner has found some building work, some house maintenance, or gardening. Whatever is about reallya little house maintains, gardening whatever is about really. As time has passed and the house has become more together, we have decided to start adventure holidays.

The area is packed with activities: mountain bike tracks, 4×4 off-roading, climbing, horse riding, rafting, beaches. This coming year we are hoping to provide accommodation above and beyond our existing self-catering apartment for back-packers, as the hiking potential in this area is limitless, in addition to our self-catering apartment.

You can see that our life here is a work in progress, but it is such a good life, though a hard working one. Like I always say to our two boys nothing is easy without a little effort.

 

 

Ashton Kutcher On Dating, Food And The UK

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Fans of new father and, possibly, newlywed Ashton Kutcher are in for a treat. Here he is on dating, food and the UK

 

Ashton on, dating 

 

The biggest mistake people make on dates is that they try to be someone that they’re not and they try to sort of over perform and then they start to set expectations for relationships which they can’t keep up with over time, so I would say the best thing you can probably do is sort of be yourself and have enough self-humility to drive whatever car you have and go to whatever restaurant you can afford to go to and then just sort of depend on you, because you’re probably good enough. 

Ashton Kutcher on set of Wrigleys/ Orbit shoot in LA

Ashton on, Food  

 

You know what’s surprising about the best food, is that it’s surprising where you find the best what; like the best Dim Sum I’ve ever had is in London, which is like weird right? I’ve been to Bejing – you’d think oh boy, they’re gonna have great Dim Sum? The best Dim Sum is in London; that’s like a weird thing. I love Italian food so Italy kind of has my heart there, I would say like the best overall cuisine, French in France has the best overall cuisine. The greatest variety of good food; I would say is in the United States of America.

 

Ashton on, the UK

 

Well you know I’ll tell you my favourite British food is fish and chips done well, and if it’s done well its exceptional and I’ve seen like a lot of variations on fish and chips that I think are interesting, but bad fish and chips…break up. It can be nasty.

 

Ashton Kutcher has been unveiled as the new Wrigley’s Extra brand ambassador. The new ad featuring Ashton will air from January 1st 2015 in the UK as well as 40 countries around the world. Are you a fan?

 

 

 

People Who Were Fired For Tweeting: Why We Should Be More Careful On Twitter

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The importance of social media training was highlighted by Labour MP Emily Thornberry tweeting a picture that many found condescending and classist. Many people tweet without thinking and those in a position of power routinely get themselves into trouble because of this. Reputation is everything in business and it can be destroyed with a single tweet. Twitter is a great resource but many forget how powerful it is and that tweets are not private. Clicking ‘tweet’ can ruin careers.

emilythornberrytweet

Thornberry’s infamous tweet featured the St George Cross flag, draped from a suburban home which had a white van parked in the driveway. The now ex-shadow attorney-general for Labour lost her job because of the tweet which not only damaged Thornberry, but also the Labour party as a whole. Ed Milliband was said to be ‘furious’. Communities Secretary Eric Pickles said: “We should have pride in flying the Cross of St George – don’t knock the national flag of England.”

Prime Minister David Cameron also said the Labour MP’s actions were “completely appalling” and made a suggestion that she was “sneering at people who work hard, are patriotic and love their country”.

After the incident Twitter founder Jack Dorsey was asked if the reaction to Emily Thornberry’s tweets made him frightened at the power of his creation. He said: “I don’t think it’s any different from what we’ve been doing as a humanity – it’s just faster.”

Other people who have lost their jobs because of inappropriate tweets include:
firedbecauseoftweet

CNN Middle East editor Octavia Nasr wrote a controversial tweet regarding Lebanon’s deceased Grand Ayatollah Mohammad Hussein Fadlallah. Nasr wrote of her “respect” for Fadlallah, who was very anti-American and was also linked to bombings that killed more than 260 Americans. She later said she had been referring to Fadlallah’s “attitude” and apologised for trying to discuss a complex figure on Twitter.
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Politician Stuart MacLennan was fired by the Labour Party after making a number of offensive tweets. He referred to Commons Speaker John Bercow as a “t**”, David Cameron a “t***” and Nick Clegg, the Liberal Democrat leader, “a b******”.” He also referred to elderly voters as “coffin dodgers”. He apologised for the tweets and was removed from the party’s ticket.
racist-tweets-are-always-offensive

Former MLB pitcher Mike Bacsik lost his job as a radio producer after drunk tweeting racist comments during a Mavericks-Spurs game.
this-joke-cost-a-comedian-her-job

Comedian Catherine Deveny was fired from a job writing for Australian newspaper The Age when she tweeted about her hopes that Steve Irwin’s daughter gets laid.

Her former boss, editor Paul Ramadge, said, “We are appreciative of the columns Catherine has written for The Age over several years but the views she has expressed recently on Twitter are not in keeping with the standards we set at The Age.”

 

TV extra on Glee, Nicole Crowther, tweeted about some plot spoilers she had heard on set. A big no-no in the entertainment industry. She was then fired via Twitter by the show’s producer, Brad Falchuk, when he tweeted in response: “Hope you’re qualified to do something besides work in entertainment.”

 

Comedian Gilbert Gottfried was the voice of the Aflac duck and made jokes about the Japanese tsunami. “Japan is really advanced. They don’t go to the beach. The beach comes to them.” He tweeted. Unfortunately for him Aflac is the largest insurance company in Japan and he was fired.

 

A woman called Connor Riley got a job offer from Cisco and tweeted: “Cisco just offered me a job! Now I have to weigh the utility of a fatty paycheck against the daily commute to San Jose and hating the work.” Cisco employee Tim Levad then replied: “Who is the hiring manager? I’m sure they would love to know that you will hate the work. We here at Cisco are versed in the Web.” Oops.