Like many journos, my mate said she had a screenplay. Now it’s a Kate Winslet film
By Various
WATCH / Miller’s tale
Kate Winslet is the co-producer and lead actor of Lee, a film about Vogue photographer turned war photojournalist Lee Miller.
I’ve lost count of the number of journalists with a screenplay or novel in their bottom drawer that’ll never see the light of day. Heck, I have one myself. So when Brit fashion writer and one-time Vogue Australia editor Marion Hume started whispering of penning a screenplay about the World War II American photojournalist Lee Miller, I didn’t pay too much attention. Even the hint of Kate Winslet being attached didn’t mean, to my mind, that it would ever actually hit the big screen.
More fool me. Lee, in Australian cinemas from Thursday, tells the story of Miller, a New York model turned Vogue contributor who, through sheer force of will, got herself from Paris onto the front line in Nazi Germany. Developed over eight years, the film finally got made thanks to another determined woman: Winslet herself, who is co-producer and lead actor. The upshot is a compelling film about an impressive woman, one that doesn’t gloss over her faults or “Vogue” her up for the bloody scenes she bore witness to.
Miller was one of the first into Dachau after its 1945 liberation and, later that day, visited Adolf Hitler’s old Munich apartment with her friend, Life magazine photographer David E. Scherman (Andy Samberg). There, the pair created an iconic image of Miller in Hitler’s bathtub – on the same day that the dictator took his own life in Berlin.
Hume shares the writing credits with Australian John Collee and American Liz Hannah. Next time she mentions a bottom-drawer project, I won’t be quite so blasé. Katrina Strickland
LISTEN / Between the lines
Squeeze lyricist Chris Difford’s podcast explores the craft of songwriting with guests including Sting, Norah Jones and Andrew Lloyd Webber.
The best way to get a songwriter to open up is to have another songwriter interview them. That’s exactly what happens in Chris Difford’s podcast, I Never Thought It Would Happen. If that title is familiar to you, you’re probably a fan of Difford’s band, Squeeze, whose songs include Cool for Cats, Up the Junction and Tempted. He connects with everyone from Sting to Norah Jones to Andrew Lloyd Webber, and his musical knowledge and easy-going conversational nature prompt them to open up about their music and their lives. The podcast is made in partnership with Help Musicians (Difford is an ambassador), a charity that’s been supporting struggling UK artists for a century; in each episode, along with the headline interview, young musicians talk about their own journeys so far. Barry Divola
COOK / Soul food
Yotam Ottolenghi’s latest book stirs fresh cooking inspo with (from left) Verena Lochmuller, GW’s own Helen Goh and Tara Wigley.
Ever heard of a Dutch baby? Well, if a pancake and a crêpe had a little jiggle, this golden, eggy confection, with a hint of soufflé “puff”, would be the result. Give it a whirl and we’re confident it’s all anybody in the family will be able to talk about, especially the kids. Same goes for the stroganoff meatballs. And the crispy, roast potatoes with rosemary and (trending) za’atar. Oh, and the chocolate ripple fridge cake. All of these are beautifully showcased in the new, aptly titled Ottolenghi Comfort ($65), in which the Israeli-born, London-based food tsar, Yotam Ottolenghi, joins forces with his three favourite collaborators – Verena Lochmuller, Tara Wigley and GW‘s very own Helen Goh – to bring us more than 100 recipes specially plucked from the foodies’ collective, international memory bank for their ability to spark comfort, joy and, yes, safety. A cookbook that feels as kind and reassuring as a hug while still being totally inspiring? Why yes, it’s right here. Sharon Bradley
SHOP / Windows on the world
A deserted amusement-park ride in Kurdistan, snapped by Susan Meiselas: one of the images in Magnum’s Square Print Sale this year.Credit: Susan Meiselas
Iconic photo agency Magnum has been documenting our changing world for more than 75 years and, in 2014, launched its first, limited-edition Square Print Sale to the general public. This year, to celebrate the 10th anniversary, it has partnered with The Photo Society, a National Geographic photographers’ collective, to create Eden, a bank of more than 120 images that celebrate Earth’s beauty at the same time as they depict its fragility and precariousness. A case in point? This eerily deserted amusement-park ride in Kurdistan, snapped by Susan Meiselas.
The 6x6″ prints, each one signed or estate-stamped on museum-quality paper, will be on sale for one week from midnight AEDT on October 22 (from $160). Tegan Sadlier
WEAR / Retro running
Coloured kicks are having a moment, as in this Veja x Make My Lemonade collab.
Box-fresh white sneakers are always in style, but coloured kicks are having a moment, thanks to celebrities like model Adwoa Aboah. Jump on the loud-and-proud trend by embracing this cute-as-a-button collaboration between French sneaker brand Veja and cool-girl clothing label Make My Lemonade, which is available in three ’70s-inspired colourways ($250): Kiwi Orchard (lime-green/pink), Steel Pumpkin (blue/orange) and Cognac Mary (tan/pink). Emily (in Paris) would approve. Melissa Singer
EAT / Tart with heart
For a limited time, add a piece of Melbourne-made smoked pecan and butterscotch tart to a Yo-Chi fro-yo.
A pair of cult brands has teamed up for a flavour-popping win. Melbourne bakeshop Tarts Anon is collaborating with frozen yoghurt chain Yo-Chi, delivering its smoked pecan and butterscotch tart to all branches of the fashionable fro-yo store from October 23 until November 10 (or, realistically, until they sell out). Moist chunks of the sweet-salty-smoky-nutty confection will be stacked on the help-yourself counter alongside all the other usual toppings ($4/100g). Founder Gareth Whitton reckons Yo-Chi’s signature “tart” flavour is the best base for his creation, delivering a double-whammy of yumminess. Dani Valent
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