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Issue twent y | January 2013

Will ferrellHas fatherhood finally mellowed Hollywood’s zaniest comic?

something fishyHow London’s J Sheekeyhas wowed crowds for well over a century

Bill murrayThe Oscar-tipped star on why comedies never deliver the big prizes

drive of your life?Reasons why the new Range Rover might be the world’s best car

alec

Baldwin

His changing role

from Hollywood’s

bad boy to the toast

of the town

AIR Cover EA_ Jan.indd 1 1/9/13 3:09 PM

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Every Bentley engine has one task:to power the promise of the badge.

The new Mulsanne is the epitome of success. In refinement. In engineering. In pure design aesthetic. And as success begets success, it’s time to experience the most exclusive driving experience in the world for yourself. Contact your local Bentley dealer today.

The name ‘Bentley’ and the ‘B’ in wings device are registered trademarks. © December 2012 Bentley Motors Limited. Model shown: Bentley Mulsanne.

Emirates Dubai Tel: 00971 4 2944492 Emirates Abu Dhabi Tel: 00971 2 6423114 Doha Tel: 00974 4 445 113 Bahrain Tel: 00973 17 238 822 Kuwait Tel: 00965 2473 5199 Beirut Tel: 00961 1 613 670 Jeddah Tel: 009662 2564922 Riyadh Tel: 00966 1 217 3838 Al Khobar Tel: 00966 3 814 4443 Oman Tel: 00968 24 562 729 New Delhi Tel: 0091 11 24121616

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Contents / F e atures

Forty FourAlec Baldwin

As 30 Rock draws to a close, its leading man reflects on the greatest experience he’s ever had

Raise a smile for our funnyman special as we bid to banish those post-festive blues…

FiftyWill Ferrell

On his fondness for playing villains and why being a parent doesn’t curtail his on-screen wild streak

Fifty TwoBill Murray

The quirky comic on his hopes for an Oscar – and not correcting those who think he’s won one already

New Year Cheer

AIR Contents_ Jan.indd 5 12/20/12 3:32 PM

Elegance is an attitude

Simon Baker

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om

The Longines Master Collection

Longines_HQ • Visual: SB2_MC1 • Magazine: Air Magazine (ME) • Doc size: 200 x 265 mm • Calitho #: 12-12-81645 • AOS #: LON_02505 • FM 13.12.2012

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Contents / regul ars

Fourteen Radar

The new online art gallery that’s ripe for investors of contemporary works

Twenty SevenTimepieces

Meet the man at the helm of MB&F, makers of the most unique watches around

Thirty TwoArt & Design

The Dubai gallery on course to change the perception of Middle Eastern art

Thirty SixInteriors

In-the-know Sara Cosgrove reveals the design trends to follow in 2013

Forty Jewellery

The contemporary jewellers who have challenged the conventions of design

Fifty EightMotoring

David Wilkins on why the new Range Rover may well be the world’s best car

Sixty TwoGastronomy

Why century-old J Sheekey is an institution amongst London’s gourmands

Sixty EightTravel

Marking your card for this year’s finest hotel openings across the globe

Seventy TwoWhat I Know Now

Audrey Tcherkoff of Robert Wan on what she’s learned on the road to success

Managing DirectorVictoria Thatcher

Editorial DirectorJohn Thatcher

Advertisement DirectorChris [email protected]

Group EditorLaura [email protected]

Sub EditorHazel [email protected]

DesignerAdam Sneade

Designer / IllustratorVanessa Arnaud

Production ManagerHaneef Abdul

Senior Advertisement ManagerStefanie Morgner [email protected]

Advertisement ManagerSukaina Hussein [email protected]

Advertisement Manager Silviya [email protected]

Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission from HOT Media Publishing is strictly prohibited. All prices mentioned are correct at time of press but may change. HOT Media Publishing does not accept liability for omissions or errors in AIR.

Tel: 00971 4 364 2876Fax: 00971 4 369 7494

AIR Contents_ Jan.indd 7 12/19/12 1:28 PM

L.U.C Lunar One. Chopard brings the universe to the wrist in a stellar model precisely reproducing the pha-ses of the moon and following the celestial patterns governing our division of time into days, nights, weeks, months and leap years.An exquisitely balanced dial highlights the poetry and romance of a starlit sky portraying the orbital moon-phase display, complementing the perpetual calendar functions including a 24-hour scale. These aestheti-cally appealing and useful indications are powered by a chronometer-certifi ed self-winding movement bea-ring the “Poinçon de Genève” quality hallmark.

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Emp irE Av i At ion Group

Contact details:[email protected]

Welcome to this first issue of Air for 2013. It’s an opportunity to look ahead to the year and to recap on another extraordinary 12 months for Empire Aviation Group, which saw the company grow significantly, add new aircraft to our managed fleet of business jets, expand our aircraft management operations into India, and recruit new team members.

In our three main areas of operation – management, sales and charter - we anticipate a continued upswing in interest in the region in 2013, as the regional economy resumes growth.

In Aircraft Management, our focus will be on increasing our support for aircraft owners by providing additional service options, with our management footprint growing in India and beyond. Our new expansion will also add strength to charter operations within the Indian continent.

There is renewed interest from prospective new aircraft buyers in the region, as the global market for aircraft continues to firm up; we are already in discussion with potential buyers in the region.

As our managed fleet of business jets, already the largest in the region, continues to grow and diversify – through the acquisition of new aircraft owners and through our own aircraft sales activity – the availability of a wide range of aircraft options will lead to a steady rise in aircraft charters.

Business and leisure travel will be equally important for the development of the charter business in 2013, driven in part by our ‘Lifestyle’ division, which is growing its portfolio of luxury bespoke jet-away travel packages, and by the need for regional business to search out new opportunities in a rapidly changing global economy.

A new year will no doubt bring new opportunities and partnerships and we look forward to developing our business relationships, which are the foundation of any business.

Whatever your plans and dreams for the year, we wish you a very successful 2013.

Enjoy the issue.

Steve Hartley Paras DhamechaExecutive Director Executive Director

January 2013

Welcome onboard

AIR Welcome Empire Aviation_ Jan.indd 9 12/19/12 4:51 PM

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Emp irE Av iAt ion Group nE ws

EAG’s managed fleet of business jets continues to grow and diversify with new owners opting to bring their aircraft assets under EAG management – in Dubai and in India. This diversity is a critical element of building a managed fleet and especially when aircraft owners look to generate charter income to help offset some of the standing costs of maintaining their aircraft.

Successful aircraft chartering is enhanced by being able to offer aircraft which most closely meet the needs of the charter mission – so, aircraft size and capability, range and flexibility to meet any changes in the charter itinerary and the capability to access a variety of airports and destinations. Longer haul, larger cabin aircraft are especially appreciated in the Middle East where travel often involves family groups and larger numbers of people and luggage, especially for leisure travel. Smaller teams of business people

may be looking for a aircraft that doubles as a boardroom in the air, whilst they hop from meeting to meeting.

The challenge to the aircraft management team is to ensure that appropriate skills, capabilities and experience, standards and procedures are in place to manage an aircraft from any of the major manufacturers – to meet maintenance, quality, safety and any other operational demands specific to the aircraft. There is also the challenge to ensure that type-rated crew are available for the aircraft.

The cumulative operational experience of managing a very diverse fleet of aircraft from different manufacturers is a highly valuable asset, especially when EAG is advising prospective aircraft owners on a new purchase or recommending aircraft for specific charter missions. All this accumulated experience flows into EAG’s aircraft management services, for the benefit of owners.

Empire Aviation Group’s 5-star approach to jet charter services is not confined to the onboard experience – it starts and ends on the ground to provide a seamless experience from charter booking to the final destination.

When time is of the essence, personalized support on the ground can make all the difference. Ports of entry and airport terminals can be negotiated quickly and efficiently with a personalized VIP Meet & Assist service, expediting passage through the formalities of immigration, customs and baggage checks with the support of our local ground staff and operations coordinators, negotiating the occasional bottlenecks that can occur at any air terminal.

Charter clients demand end-to-end /point-to-point convenience and this applies equally to the arrangements for ground transportation. Whatever the requirement – from a family people carrier to a fleet of luxury chauffeured limousines – our services extend to more than 400 cities worldwide and offer a wide range of luxury vehicles along with professional, multi-lingual, uniformed chauffeurs to ensure a totally personalized service and tailored itinerary on the ground, to match the onboard experience.

The safety and security of our clients is our constant priority. In a world which can be unpredictable, carefully planned and tailored security arrangements provide the peace of mind to allow our clients to focus on the travel objectives rather than the security aspects. In some locations, security is a necessity rather than a luxury. Whatever the destination or purpose, our specialist personal security services will plan and deliver support through highly trained expert professionals, anywhere in the world.

Staying grounded – 5-star service on the ground

Strength through DiverSity


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Emp irE Av iAt ion Group nE ws

open for buSineSS in bangalore

Empire Aviation Group has begun the process of replicating its full range of private aviation services in India, with the opening of a new office at the HAL Airport in Bangalore. Empire Aviation in India, the sister company of EAG operating within the Air Works India group of companies, is already managing its first aircraft on the ground and will add further aircraft to bring the anticipated fleet size to five, by the middle of 2013.

There is a real enthusiasm for business aviation in India that

is driving its rapid growth and development and making it one of the most exciting places to do business in the world at the moment. This is being supported by the investment in new infrastructure to support owners and operators and will encourage more businesses – private and listed companies, family firms and investment houses, entrepreneurs and HNIs to come into the market, with the confidence that the real business and other benefits of private aviation (security, flexibility and privacy)

can be realized – especially with the support of professional aircraft management services now available in the country.


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R adaR

> The highly-acclaimed photographer Maude Arsenault has launched an online photo art gallery, theprintatelier.com, which showcases the works of an international art collective. Described as a ‘treasure trove’ of limited edition pieces, the site is shaping up to be somewhat of a go-to place for collectors on the look out for emerging talent, and each purchased piece comes with a certificate of authenticity signed by the artist. theprintatelier.com

AIR Radar_ Jan.indd 14 12/19/12 7:01 PM

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R adaR

> If your coffee table is currently minus a weighty tome, Reel Art Press have recently released 50 Shades, a book which features fifty of the last century’s most iconic celebrities photographed in their sunglasses. Alongside each person is one of their famous quotes – none better than Jack Nicholson’s: “With my sunglasses on I’m Jack Nicholson. Without them, I’m fat and 60.” And behind each pair of shades is a story. Debbie Harry, it’s claimed, used to insist on donning mirrored shades when in negotiations with record executives so that they could see only themselves when looking at her. reelartpress.com


AIR Magazine, November 2012 Issue: Aaron Basha advertisement No.2 (Right Hand Read)

Aaron Basha Boutique • 685 Madison Avenue • New York • 212.935.1960 • www.aaronbasha.com

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Harrods London • Levant Dubai • Ali Bin Ali Qatar • Asia Jewellers Bahrain

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• SAKS FIFTH AVENUE • CHANEL • DIOR • LOUIS VUITTON • PRADA • HERMES • FENDI • CARTIER • VALENTINO • VERSACE

• BALMAIN • CESARE PACIOTTI • BEBE • B IMBA & LOLA • TED BAKER • BLANCPAIN • MASSIMO DUTTI • TAG HEUR

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The KingandI

Words: Alfred Wertheimer


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R adaR

T he year was 1956, and I was working as a freelance photographer in New York City when RCA Victor publicist Anne

Fulchino hired me to shoot a newly signed singer by the name of Elvis Presley. I remarked, “Elvis who?”That was one of the last times anyone had to ask that question again. The 21-year-old singer shot to stardom shortly after I photographed him that Saturday night, March 17, on Stage Show hosted by Tommy and Jimmy Dorsey. Once I stumbled into that assignment and met Elvis, I felt that this guy had something that was unique, and had an interesting story that had to be told. So I followed him on the road and everywhere else for two weeks, taking over 2,500 photographs of the singer who would later be known to the world as the King of Rock and Roll.

Most of the time, Elvis never even knew I was taking his picture. He was laser-focused on whatever he did, so I would wait until he was engaged – and he was always immersed in being Elvis – whether rehearsing, f lirting with women, combing his hair, buying a ring, or talking to his father about why the plumbing wasn’t working and they had to fill the pool with a hose from the kitchen sink. Elvis gave me complete access to his life – I would even follow him into the bathroom.

My feeling was that the closer I could come to being a f ly on the wall and still produce high-quality work, I didn’t necessarily have to worry about what photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson called the “decisive moment.” I wanted to be an unobtrusive observer – like a good psychiatrist with a camera. Obviously, the decisive moment is graphically strong, but the moments before and after – those images are unusual and there’s often strangeness involved that I like. And from the thousands of pictures I took of Elvis, what I find most appealing are the

“Elvis who?” was photographer Alfred

Wertheimer’s response when he was asked by a record

industry publicist to shadow and shoot an up-and-coming

singer from Memphis. But what he was to see and

capture through his lens was the very birth of Rock ‘n’ Roll.

In an excerpt from a new book released this month, Wertheimer recalls his first encounters with The King

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immediate pre- and post-decisive moments. I can recall Elvis busy washing up at the Warwick Hotel in New York – he had a towel over his shoulder, a toothbrush in his hand and toothpaste on the brush, and the water was running in the sink – and he’s ready to stick the toothbrush in his mouth, in a predecisive moment that everyone who has ever brushed their teeth has experienced. And I just love that picture of Elvis with a couple of pimples on his back.

There are a lot of iconic images that came out of that bathroom session, pictures I wouldn’t have ever captured had I not asked to follow Elvis into his inner sanctum. This was my first year in professional photography, and fortunately I didn’t know any better. So as far as I was concerned, everything was fair game

if Elvis would allow me in. I was experimenting and making up my rules as I went along, whatever it took to come up with some money shots that could be published.

Here I was with somebody who I didn’t know was going to become famous. But I did know two things: I knew that he was not shy – I mean, Elvis was shy in the sense that he was introverted, but he was not shy to the camera. He permitted closeness. And when you get close there is a whole different dynamic to a picture. As I remember Robert Capra saying, “If your pictures are boring, it means you’re not close enough.” Closeness allows you to capture a certain texture, which creates a presence and makes a photograph interesting. The other thing I knew that Elvis had in his favor was that he made the girls cry.


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Cr it ique

FilmPromised LandGus Van SantA life-affirming tale of small-town America doing battle with big business, this timely epic portrays a Mid-West town at the mercy of an oil drilling tycoon. Livelihoods – and lives – hang in the balance.

At best: “This is no vanity project, but a real, solid and legitimate piece of filmmaking.” Film.comAt worst: “A sensitive, thoughtful character drama that eventually turns dispiritingly more predictable and simplistic.” Screen Daily

Les MisérablesTom Hooper Against a poverty-stricken backdrop of 19th-century France, this is a classic tale of redemption, regret and betrayal.At best: “A wonderful film, an all-time-great musical, guaranteed – despite its title – to raise your spirits, as well as make you cry.” Washington PostAt worst: “One would be hard-pressed to describe this, despite the wealth of beauty on display, as anything but an ugly film, shot and cut ineptly.” Slant Magazine

QuartetDustin HoffmanA home for retired musicians is abuzz with rumours of a star’s impending arrival, but the residents are in for a surprise...At best: “Hoffman has a very gentle hand with his ancient cast,

as well as a doting eye for the English country house.” This is LondonAt worst: “Occasionally charming and well acted – but memorable largely as Dustin Hoffman’s first foray behind the camera.” What Culture

LoreCate ShortlandWhen their Nazi parents are imprisoned by the Allies, five children must flee for their lives to Hamburg – some 900km away. A thrilling adaptation of Rachel Seiffert’s novel The Dark Room.

At best: “A fresh, intimate and successful perspective on Germany’s traumatic transition from conqueror nation to occupied state.” VarietyAt worst: “Lugubrious, snail-paced, dramatically inert wartime drama.” What Culture

AIR Critique_ Jan.indd 22 12/19/12 7:37 PM

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BooksThe myths and fables of The Arabian Nights have fuelled creative writings all over the world, but few readers realise the scope of the original Arab-Islamic texts. In her sizeable tome, Marina Warner unravells the most famous of tales, revealing their inspirations and influences (both Chaucer and Shakespeare are said to have drawn themes from the stories). “Warner’s gentle authority proves to be the perfect guide,” writes The Independent’s Lesley McDowell. “The fabulism, the shape-shifting, the play between the figurative and the literal... Her immersion in her subject makes for an enthusiasm that proves to be infectious.” Writing in The Guardian, Robin Yassin-Kassab is also enthralled: “Warner’s chapters, allocated into five parts, are beautifully illustrated and interspersed with 15 tales concisely retold... [This] is a scholarly work that often reads like a fireside conversation. It’s encyclopaedic, a book to be savoured.”

While other Colombian novelists have long drawn inspiration from the

country’s violent past, young writer Juan Gabriel Vásquez has stayed away from the subject. Even his latest novel, which is set during the tumultuous years of the 1980s and ’90s, shuns bloody prose: instead, it focuses on the intimacies and emotions of a group of bystanders who get swept up in the clashes. “While Colombia’s recent wars provide the grim backdrop, Vásquez’s bigger questions are about forgiveness, fate, and about the individual’s relationship with history,” writes Ángel Gurría-Quintana in Financial Times. “This is a poignant and peturbing take about the inheritance of fear in a country scrabbling to regain its soul.” In The Guardian, Maya Jaggi is fascinated by Vásquez’s unusual stance: “[He] focuses on the bewilderment and fear of a society corrupted and taken over by stealth... Although the characters make flawed choices, the novel also hints at how little control they have, their lives ‘moulded by distant events, by other people’s wills’. Vásquez offers no polemic.”

As cinemagoers revel in the hooped crinolines and heavy opulence of the newly-released Anna Karenina film, the literary world is also rich with Russian intregue. Winter Palace, Eva Stachniak’s latest fiction, follows Catherine, the Grand Duchess of Russia’s ascent to the throne – told from the perspective of her confidante-turned-spy, Varvara Nikolayevna. “The period details are dazzling and beautifully orchestrated,” coos Maria Kontak in the Washington Independent Review. “Flirtatious and relaxed at initial touch, imperceptibly it places the reader in thrall... For who among us can honestly deny a fascination with the glamorous, deadly world that is spying?” Reviewing in Canada’s National Post, Sandra Kasturi is less ebullient: “While this is the story of events leading up to Catherine’s coup, the book ends just when things are getting interesting. There’s nothing wrong with telling the tale of Catherine’s ascent, but there should be an excitement, a thrill to this, that never quite gels.”


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Cr it ique

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Henri Matisse’s penchant for artistic experimentation is well-documented, but opportunities to explore his meanderings up-close are rare. Last month, New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art opened Matisse: In Search of True Painting, an exhibition which follows the great artist’s love of repetition and manipulation. Arranged in pairs and trios, Matisse’s duplications of familiar forms – curvaceous models, still life fruit bowls – are given new perspective. Variations in technique, colour and scale grant each work individuality, but the traits that unite them all are unmistakeable. “The textbook simplicity of this format is irresistible,” writes Roberta Smith in The New York Times. “Almost before you know it your eyes are off and running, parsing differences in style, brushwork, colour, detail and overall effect, the expression of emotion that Matisse said he was always after... Matisse’s paintings are almost always hard-won distillations, [and] it is marvellous to see the process so forthrightly chronicled.” P.W. of The Economist is equally energised: “Matisse laboured hard to give viewers the impression that his creations were effortless. This sumptuous exhibition, intelligently curated, is evidence that they were not... Don’t miss it.”

London’s Whitechapel Gallery may sound an unlikely home for the American conceptual artist Mel Bochner’s latest exhibition, but the artist’s punchy colours and bold motifs have proven hypnotic fodder for the Big Smoke’s frost-bitten art lovers. Spanning from Bochner’s early experiments to his more recent (and increasingly rebellious) forays, the collection charts not only the artist’s ascent, but also that of conceptualism itself. “The spats of artistic generations may seem absurd to the viewer, but the visual impression of many of these works remains fresh and

exciting,” writes Zoe Pilger in The Independent. “Two Planar Arcs (1977) is extraordinary; red, yellow, and green shapes are painted straight onto the white wall of the gallery, dripping and ruining the space – in a good way.” Londonist’s Tabish Khan is also engrossed: “His use of vaseline and shaving foam to cover glass plates and then take photographs of them as a light shines through is both magical and mesmerising... [This exhibition] will leave visitors perplexed and inspired in equal measure.”

An incarceration in Iraq’s Abu Ghraib prison is far from an auspicious start to an artist’s career, but for Sami Al Karim it provided an opportunity to hone his craft. “There was a small layer of salt on the cement walls and I used a piece of wood to

make the outline of my paintings,” he tells Christopher Lord in The National – a far cry from his latest exhibition at Dubai’s XVA Gallery. Entitled Rebirth, the collection features manipulated photography – depicting an unsettling but oddly tranquil view of life in modern-day Iraq. “We see ashen aerial photographs of near-abandoned towns superimposed on women’s faces,” notes Lord. “Harking back to his early training as a painter, the softened, yet brooding colours have some Turner-esque echoes.” Writing in Gulf News, Jyoti Kalsi also notes the works’ uplifting qualities: “The deeply personal artworks present his perspective on life, love, beauty and the cycle of destruction and regeneration, and offer a strong message of hope.”


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TheatreAn abandoned hospital in Brooklyn is the unsettling home of New York’s Third Rail Projects’ latest production, Then She Fell, an eerie interactive adaptation of Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland. The ‘audiences’ of just 15 are free to roam the hospital, experiencing the likes of the Mad Hatter’s Tea Party and sipping from suspect potions – and the critics can’t get enough. “The performers inhabit their roles with an almost uncomfortable intensity,” says Franck Scheck in New York Post. “They’re all terrific, particularly Elizabeth Carena as the Hatter, who fits you with gaudy headwear while chattering manically... You proceed – both in small groups and sometimes, tensely, on your own – through the haunting spaces.” For New York Times’s Ben Brantley, the performance tapped in to his childhood experience of the book itself: “I felt like a bewildered but enchanted child, made privy to the arcana of another, darker world... I realised more forcefully than ever just what a genius Carroll was in giving fantastical shape to the thoughts, fears, confusions and uncanny knowingness of children.”

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In Europe, the return of the festive season marked the return of the pantomime last month – a raucous, child-friendly entertainment that’s as ingrained in tradition as figgy pudding and fir trees. At the Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh, Cinderella took to the stage, delighting families but dividing the critics. “This is a dark but hilarious new take on Cinderella... But Mark Thomson’s strong and focused direction allows many traditional pantomime staples, ugly sisters, shiny

slippers to remain.” writes The Stage’s Thom Dibdin of the production which recasts the prince as a TV reality star. At The Arts Desk, however, Graeme Thomson remains uncharmed: “The plot is unfocused and the tone oddly pitched for its core audience. At the performance I attended no one was booing or screaming... Sure signs that the seasonal magic is misfiring.”

Theresa Rebeck’s Dead Accounts, the tale of a New York banker who flees back to his home town with millions from his job, is one of the season’s most hotly-anticipated performances. Not for its dramatic worth, but because of its leading lady: Katie Holmes. “The exhaustive tabloid chronicles of Holmes’s recent flight to independence provide an amusing subtext, something otherwise lacking in Theresa Rebeck’s superficial new comedy” reviews Hollywood Reporter’s David Rooney. “The setup is capable if a little unhurried, but the payoff is negligible, too often stuffing overworked wisdom into its characters’ mouths”. In LA Times, Charles McNulty writes: “Holmes is charming, natural and, yes, about as fresh-faced as a moisturizer model. But there’s only so much that can be done with a Rebeck play that has more topical urgency than dramatic finesse.”


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“ The people who buy my pieces don’t give a damn about what other people think, and I don’t give a damn either.” They’re not exactly the words you’d expect to hear from the CEO of one of Switzerland’s haute

horology brands, but Max Büsser is no ordinary head honcho. Nothing in the industry divides opinion quite like his creations – and that’s just the way Büsser wants it.

If you like your timepieces traditional, look away now. MB&F may have its roots in the historic Swiss

watchmaking region of Vallée de Joux, but that’s where its conventionality ends. Take the HM3 Frog, with its googly-eyed dials and squat semi-circle design, or the bullet-shaped HM4 Thunderbolt, all titanium gleam and spaceship curves. The dazzling JWLRYMACHINE, a collaboration with Boucheron, fuses grown-up bling (diamonds, sapphires and pink gold) and intricate movements with a cartoonish owl-shaped face. These aren’t just watches, they’re statements – big, brash, and like nothing you’ve clapped eyes on before. “Most people look at our work and go, ‘Oh, that’s weird’,” shrugs Büsser. T

The machine manInspired by spaceships, fighter jets, supercars… MB&F’s timepieces

aren’t for the faint hearted. AIR meets the man with the vision

T imep ieces

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AIR Watches MB&F_ Jan.indd 27 12/19/12 6:51 PM

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“That’s normal, but once they know the story behind it they can connect with the idea – or not!”

When we meet, Büsser is half way through a world tour, 48 hours shy of the release of the next MB&F creation, and totally full of beans. The new timepiece, aptly entitled HM5 On the Road Again, is the glint in his eye – but he’s sworn to secrecy on the details. When the product specifications pop through two days later, I’m captivated. ‘HM5 has a futuristic case design, but it’s from the 1970s,’ it reads. ‘HM5 has a mechanical movement, but it was inspired by an era when quartz was king.’ The design was stimulated by supercars: this watch has ‘dual exhausts’ to drain water, an ‘engine’ where other pieces have movements. It’s mad, but brilliantly so.

“It’s all about creating art, about the machine itself,” says Büsser. “Since the 1970s, we’ve had no more reasons whatsoever to buy a mechanical watch. You can see the time on your phone, your computer – so there is no reason to have something that has 1,500 hours of craftsmanship, that is going to be 10,000 times less precise, and 1,000 times more expensive. So why are people interested in buying these things? Because it’s a work of art.”

But with three and a half years of production time for each design, and a bare minimum price tag of AED300,000, these are (believe it or not) serious timepieces – or, as Büsser calls them, “horological


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machines”. “We create machines that give time, but that’s not their sole purpose – if you want to know the time, go and get it anywhere else. Sure, there will be a time indicator, but we see it as kinetic art.”

Büsser hasn’t always been so radical. His watchmaking career started at Jaeger-LeCoultre, after a chance meeting with its managing director while skiing in the Alps. He was appointed product manager of the then ailing brand, and charged with rejuvenating its output. “Back then, nobody wanted a mechanical watch: it was all about quartz. There was a dream of resuscitating this old idea.” After seven increasingly fruitful years with Jaeger-LeCoultre, Büsser was hot property – and was headhunted by Harry Winston Timepieces. As a company director, he was once again at the helm of a failing enterprise (mechanical watches were still yet to catch on), but Büsser showed his mettle: “When I arrived, the timepieces brand was almost bankrupt, but after a year of 17-hour days we managed to salvage the company – and from then on it was rock’n’roll. We went from a team of eight to 80, and we made it a really beautiful watch company.”

Aged just 35 years old, Büsser was one of the youngest visionaries in the industry – but the death of his father shifted his perspective. “I started thinking about regrets. Even though I had a dream job, I realised it wasn’t what I wanted to do with my life. I had always been creating for other people, with their needs in mind. I wanted to create with no strings attached, with my own very small team.”

In November 2005, MB&F – or Max Büsser & Friends – was born. Armed only with ideas and a third of the cash it would take to get production rolling, Büsser and a designer friend travelled the world to pitch the concept. Six retailers agreed to take on the brand and stump up the rest of the required revenue two years in advance – among them, the UAE’s Ahmed Seddiqi and Sons. “The ‘F’ in MB&F was important even then,” says Büsser. “Those retailers were visionaries too – it’s all about working together.”

Each of the brand’s creations is crafted by Büsser’s burgeoning list of Friends. “We work with really great artisans – all of them are sub-contractors to all the great brands. These people work on wonderful, expensive products but are bound by non-disclosure agreements, so they can’t tell the world about the work they do. We can, however – and you know what? Pride takes you much farther than money.” Over the past seven years, that network has grown by unprecedented proportions, and each craftsman is given his own section on MB&F’s website, his own photo in the brochures.

As we chat, Büsser flicks through the catalogue, spinning it round to me and announcing each of the hundred-or-so artisans’ pivotal roles. But while his team of craftsmen takes on the production of every ‘machine’, Büsser is clearly the ideas man. “Everything we do has a story behind it,” he says. “HM1 was about people coming together, HM2 was about my childhood, up in my room dreaming of sci-fi

heroes. Then we created the frog [HM3], and the planes [HM4] – that’s a tribute to the model aeroplanes I used to make in my youth.” They’re certainly unique designs, I venture… “The people that buy my watches have got real guts,” says Büsser with a chuckle. “When you wear one of my pieces, you live with the fact that people are going to stare but have no idea what it is, and in 90% of cases they won’t even like it. They’ll just go ‘What the hell is that?!’”

One of MB&F’s designs is conspicuous in its formality, however: the Legacy Machine 1, a surprisingly traditional-looking timepiece. Is Büsser going soft? “No! It’s our tribute to the pioneers of watchmaking who lived in the 19th century,” he says. “That’s me thinking ‘What would I have done if I had lived 100 years ago?’ It’s a three-dimensional machine with an incredible flying balance wheel, but with 19-century influences.”

At last year’s Grand Prix D’Horlogerie de Geneve, the LM1 received the award for Best Men’s Watch and the Public Prize – an honour so unexpected that Büsser is still reeling. “MB&F is like a rebellion, so it was a very weird feeling: you see yourself as a pirate, and suddenly the Queen of England makes you a Sir. I’m very happy, but it’s baffling. You shouldn’t be giving me prizes!”

But Büsser’s eye isn’t on the awards cabinet – it’s fixed firmly on the future. “My new love is the MAD [Mechanical Art Devices] Gallery in Geneva. 75% of what’s displayed there is mechanical art from all over the world – for example a hand-made motorbike by a Japanese inventor, or one of the last handmade penny farthing bicycles.” Büsser

‘We create machines that give time, but that’s not their sole purpose...’

gathers the pieces on his travels, and a second gallery is yet to open in Taipei, Taiwan – not because there’s a market there, but because one of MB&F’s Taiwanese customers loves the concept so much that he’s offered to fund the whole thing. “Our clients, our end consumers, are becoming our colleagues,” says Büsser. “Again, the Friends concept is widening…”

Now, plans are in place for a watch in collaboration with Xia Hang, a Chinese artist who creates curious kinetic sculptures. The finished piece will be launched in two years, but Büsser is already excited. “20 years ago, everybody in my industry was a rebel, a crazy person, because nobody wanted a mechanical watch. Now, people can’t get enough. I often say the industry is like a highway – everyone is going in the same direction – but we’ve stopped on the side of the highway, at the jungle, and we’re hacking away with a machete. We don’t know where we’re going, but we’re certainly not getting back on that highway.”Im

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T imep ieces

Frederic WatrelotChristie’s watch specialist on Asia’s booming interest

It has been another incredible period in the horological world. Following our record-breaking Geneva sale in November, last month saw Hong Kong steal the spotlight. I was not there in person, although I watched it online from my office in Dubai – all our sales are open to online bidding, or you can just watch the action, as I did. Whilst it is not a replacement for actually being there, it is a great tool and allows you to bid from the beach, if you so wish.

The total was similar to Geneva, $24 million with 92% of the sale sold. My colleague Sam Hines, Head of the Watches Department in Asia, told me the result marked “the end to the strongest year in the history of the department in Hong Kong”. I was pleased to see some of my clients from the Middle East participating in the sale, a few online. The sale included the Star Calibre 2000 by Patek Philippe which made US$3.2 million, becoming the most valuable watch ever sold in Asia. It was a really wonderful object, a pocket-watch made in 18 carat gold with 21 complications including Westminster chimes, minute repeating, perpetual calendar, leap year, sunrise and sunset and lunar orbit. I’m just sorry I didn’t get to look at it in person. Once again, it was the Patek Philippe watches that dominated – an indication of the lasting value inherent in these exceptionally crafted timepieces. All of the top ten lots were by Patek Philippe, with the majority bought by Asian collectors – a sign of their fascination with and respect for this leading manufacturer.

> Michael Schumacher’s recent retirement saw him end his career as motor racing’s most successful driver of all time, and in tribute to his track triumphs Audemars Piguet has issued the Royal Oak Offshore Chronograph Michael Schumacher. Multiple nods to F1 are included in the watch’s design, including the minute track depicting the black and white pattern of a chequered flag, while its octagonal bezel is made from Cermet, a material that is seven times more durable than steel.

> Montblanc’s exceptional Villeret 1858 collection now includes a new, strictly limited edition watch set: the Régulateur Nautique. To be unveiled for the first time at this month’s SIHH in Geneva, and then made available (one only) at Montblanc’s Dubai Mall boutique, this unique set – consisting of a wristwatch chronograph and a large navigational clock – pays homage to the highly accurate clocks used aboard ships to help the mariner determine their position at sea. In this case, the wristwatch of myriad complications (pictured) tells its wearer the time in both their home city and that of their momentary location.

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art & des ign

Art across bordersAyyam Gallery has long captured the Middle East’s love of art, and now it’s spreading

its wings to Jeddah and London. AIR meets the man behind the new generation

The Middle East’s love of its art is well-documented, but how does it translate elsewhere? That’s the question that Ayaam

Gallery’s founding director Khaled Samawi will be asking himself as the gallery prepares to open in London this month. Its launch on 143 New Bond Street will mark the gallery’s first foray into Europe – a move that has already captured Samawi’s imagination: “The market in London is very overcrowded so we will have to work hard to ensure our voice is heard,” he admits, “but there is a real thirst for art from the MENA region. Middle Eastern contemporary art has been on the radar for a while but it is only just beginning to be noticed as globally significant, rather than as a regional novelty.”

But the London venture isn’t the only challenge on Samawi’s radar: in February he will also take the

Ayyam concept to Jeddah, adding yet another space to the established Middle East galleries in Damascus, Beirut and Dubai. “We are launching Ayyam Jeddah in response to the recent revival of the Saudi art scene,” says Samawi. “We are very excited to be the first international gallery operating in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. While there is a great deal of energy and youthful vitality circulating around the Saudi scene there is very little infrastructure and very little institutional support.”

In Jeddah, the gallery will exhibit work by both upcoming and established artists, including the likes of Mohannad Orabi, Abdul Karim Majdal Al Beik, Oussama Diab – with a strong focus on the Saudi contingent specifically. In London, by way as a taster of the region’s art, Nadim Karam’s iconic sculptural pieces – a playful blend of brushed-steel forms and quirky animal themes – will open the new gallery, followed by mixed-

media installations by Iraqi film-maker Sadik Alfraji and paintings by Palestinian artist Samia Halaby later in the year.

Breaking into the two unknown markets promises to be a interesting move for Ayyam Gallery, but Samawi is philosophical: “We are not afraid to show work that tackles serious issues, but at the same time we do not want to alienate anyone. People are always excited to encounter, culturally and politically engaged work that hasn’t been over-commercialised.” ayyamgallery.com

1. Nadim Karam & Atelier Hapsitus, Untitled. Beirut.

2. Mohannad Orabi, It’s No Longer About Me. Ayyam Gallery Jeddah.

3. Abdul Karim Majdal Al-Beik, Wall. Ayyam Gallery Jeddah.

4. Mouteea Murad, Trial No. 67. Ayyam Gallery Jeddah.

5. Ayyam Gallery Beirut.

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Art & Des ign

The chairmen

Those with a taste for fine furniture should head to the Dr Susan Weber Gallery in London’s Victoria and Albert Museum for a new glimpse of the world’s most iconic designs. Spanning six centuries, the collection features priceless chairs, classic cabinets and ornate cradles – each a vision of handcrafted perfection – alongside modern masterpieces by the likes of Olivier Mourgue and Allison Thomas. Not only a demonstration of cutting-edge design and peerless craftmanship, the exhibition also traces trends and fads through the ages. A must-see for every interior design-minded city-tripper.

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1. Contour chair, 19682. Chair Thing, by Peter

Murdoch, 19653. Panton Chair, 1960

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inter iors

When it comes to interiors, themes and trends come along less frequently –

and are generally more directional and inspirational indicators – than the overnight sensations that dictate fashion. It is these of-the-moment fashion trends, though which can inspire you to embellish areas of your home every few months to satisfy the urge to inject something new, and there’s plenty to be inspired by in the year ahead, starting with London.

Being based in London, I can’t fail to be inspired, as at the moment here – and in most major cities – private members’ clubs are making a comeback and thriving with establishments like Soho House, The Arts Club, and the recently opened 5 Hertford Street, fuelling a revival in relaxed, low-key club-house-style interiors. Leading with traditional

Interior Trends 2013

Sara CoSgroveHarrods head of interior design Sara Cosgrove rounds up 2012 by sharing her home style prediction for the year ahead…

painted or polished timber panelling, deep-buttoned leather sofas and armchairs, aged desks and ambient lighting, this style is perfect when translated into residential interiors for use in studies and masculine seating areas or ‘dens’. Great examples of this style include the Riviera Desk by Linley, Ralph Lauren’s equestrian-inspired games sets or Timothy Oulton’s Oxford chic furniture.

For the ultimate in personalisation, nothing completes an interior like art. Increasingly, in the most impressive contemporary interiors, there has been a definite surge in the use of ‘eclectic art’ to finish a space off by using mixed mediums adding an element of theatre. To achieve this successfully, I would suggest combining fabulous sculptural pieces with contemporary paintings, or a digital installation, topped off with an original Picasso or Monet. Great sources for creating or developing an existing collection would be The

Halcyon Gallery in London’s Mayfair, with their fantastic selection of modern and more nostalgic pieces. Select originals from Salvador Dali, Ronnie Wood or Dale Chihuly. Christie’s Fine Art Auction House is a great place to acquire more traditional pieces, and occasionally for new young up-and-coming artists. Alternatively, you could work with private collectors such as Kenny Schachter to put a thought-provoking collection together. An interesting combination of pieces sprinkled throughout your interior will make a great talking point.

The retro vibe has been around for the last decade or so, but with American designers such as Jonathan Adler and Kelly Wearstler pioneering the trend for mid-century modern, you can really see this becoming a strong direction for interior design in 2013 and years to come. Great places to look for retro pieces are within the sleek shapes of ’70s-inspired Donghia, or you could select from the timeless

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‘Private members’ clubs are inspiring a revival in relaxed, low-key interiors’

pieces at Vitra, invest in a real classic collector’s item like an Eames chair or a statement piece from the 1960s- inspired Andrew Martin range. These will look fantastic when mixed with accessories from treasure troves such as Talisman and Katherine Pooley.

At The Studio, my design team is often commissioned to design one-off pieces of fitted furniture or to develop bespoke assignments for a main reception or formal area. Most recently, we have integrated crystal and glass into our architectural detailing to create some ultra-luxe showstopping features. Some of the items designed have included stunning wall panels with genuine Lalique crystal and custom-made staircase balustrades with integrated LED lighting. Bespoke joinery with crystal studs and motifs offers a beautiful feminine element in a dressing room or master bedroom, and cabinets with pretty crystal handles complete a winning look for 2013.Im

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Je wellery

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The London Design Museum’s eclectic exhibition is challenging opinion of what jewellery is. AIR takes a look

All That Glitters

the concept: “We have been having an ongoing conversation about the role of jewellery for many years,” says Cohn. “I am hoping that this exhibition will encourage cross-fertilisation between the diverse contemporary jewellery scene and the design profession.

T iffany & Co, Van Cleef & Arpels, Chanel... When thinking ‘jewellery’, a cascade of golden trinkets and diamond-studded

designs are likely to spring to mind. But one exhibition – Unexpected Pleasures: The Art and Design of Contemporary Jewellery – showing now at London’s Design Museum (until March 3, 2013), collates hundreds of pieces from around the world, each of which bestows a contrary look to the high-end designs most of us are familiar with. Rather, these works celebrate designs by leading contemporary jewellers, each of whom has challenged the conventions of jewellery design as we know it.

“The exhibition shows 186 works from 126 individual contemporary jewellers,” tells its curator, Dr Susan Cohn, herself a jewellery designer and maker. “It is a dense overview of many makers from around the world, and shows older important works next to newer pieces. The pieces range from the ordinary to the extraordinary.”

Inside, the curious and curiouser are displayed in ‘special sections’, of which Cohn shares an insight: “In Worn Out there is a collection of extravagant neckpieces, all of which highlight the different themes in contemporary jewellery,” she tells AIR, “and A Fine Line shows some examples of how contemporary jewellers have drawn inspiration from art, design, fashion and craft.”

For jewellery afficionados, it promises to be a thought-provoking line up, which was exactly the intention of Cohn and Design Museum director Deyan Sudjic, who devised

I also hope that people will leave this exhibition with a greater awareness of contemporary jewellery, and how they wear objects.”

For those less familiar with the contemporary jewellery movement, international names to watch for at the exhibit include Wendy Ramshaw (renowned for her complex geometric


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Je wellery

designs) Hans Stofer (his intricate wire-form pieces being most of note), Gijs Bakker (famed for his conceptual adornments) and Dorothea Pruhl (see her delicate and abstract works). And though Cohn is loathe to pinpoint one standout item (“It is impossible to have a favourite”), she does admit to a few highlights. Among them, is Ted Noten’s Tiara for Maxima (2002) – a tiara created for the new Dutch crown prince’s bride. Noten played upon the prince’s passion for biking by creating a polo helmet incorporating a tiara with cut out profiles of former Dutch queens. Or, there’s Mari Funaki’s Bracelet (2009), which sees thin, blackened steel folding like insects’ legs over fuller shapes.

Clearly, these are no ordinary necklaces, rings or bracelets, a fact that Cohn puts proudly down to the designers’ muses: “Contemporary jewellery has always drawn inspiration from the world around it… from art, design, fashion and craft,” she says. “In this way, there has always been a relationship between contemporary jewellery and art. This tends not be the case for traditional jewellery.”

And with vintage jewellery currently topping the trend stakes, does Cohn see contemporary pieces ever rivalling their time-honoured counterparts? “If we consider that all contemporary work is destined to be the historical work of the future, then current contemporary jewellery may well become a focus of future collectors,” she muses, before adding: “Though never in the same way as vintage jewellery today. Vintage jewellery and clothing is a concept that is based in nostalgia, and it has been promoted by some very good marketing. In contrast, contemporary jewellery reflects our culture today, and experiments with different values in much the same way as contemporary art and design explores current thinking.”

But, the question on most jewellery-lovers’ lips is whether the likes of black steel bracelets can actually be worn? “All the works are wearable,” insists Cohn, “even the more extravagant

works. For contemporary jewellers, imagining how jewellery adorns the body is a part of the creative process centered in design and art practice. It may be surprising how carefully wearing has been considered in the making, and how much pleasure is experienced when these pieces are actually worn.”

As for how to get your hands on your favoured pieces, Cohn says “some works are available to buy, some works are owned by private collectors, who enjoy wearing them” – so you’ll need

to pick your favourites carefully. Those seeking items that will increase in value over time, meanwhile, like so many of their vintage peers, Cohn suggests a renewed way of thinking: “Contemporary jewellery offers a different experience, its preciousness is revealed in the personal meaning of the work, especially for the wearer. It is a small creative field, made, worn and collected with great passion.”

One thing visitors can be certain of, is snapping up genuine, one-of-a-kind designs. Im

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Charmed, I’m sureJust when we thought Harry Winston couldn’t get any more charming, the king of diamonds has created a chic daytime collection dripping in some of the world’s finest gems. Charms by Harry Winston pays tribute to the Winston legacy with five pieces (each in pendant or bracelet form) crafted in platinum or yellow gold and diamond set. Available in Harry Winston salons now.

For sparkle at your fingertips, look to these new creations for 2013

Mouawad Oriana

Versace Enchant

GarrardEntanglement white diamond

> Garrard’s Entanglement collection (now available at Harvey Nichols – Dubai) is perfect for women who want to make a unique statement: one-of-a-kind collars, pendants, bracelets and rings each feature pave knot designs and, in our opinion, the black sapphire pieces are the most dramatic. Immersed in a century of history, it’s no surprise that Garrard’s latest collection has a tale to tell – inspired by the Cambridge Lover’s Knot tiara, created by Garrard for Queen Mary in 1914 and later gifted to Diana, Princess of Wales, by Queen Elizabeth II, as a wedding gift.

Mahallati Jewellery is known for its rare, handpicked stones and in-house designs, ensuring exceptional pieces not found elsewhere. Look to its new 2013 collections in 10 stores across Dubai. mahallatijewellery.com


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According to Alec Baldwin you need three things to be a male movie star: masculinity, sensitivity and intelligence. While he has been known, off screen at least, to be ‘sensitive’ in the less delicate sense (In 2011 he was kicked off a flight after refusing to finish a word game on his mobile; last year he was involved in an altercation with a photographer), there’s no doubt he fits the bill. Yet his career path has zigged and zagged over the past three decades.

Then came 30 Rock – a brilliant sitcom where week in, week out he essays hilarity as interfering network exec Jack Donaghy (a turn that’s netted him two Emmys and three Golden Globes). In the flesh, Baldwin is scarcely less funny, quipping and riffing with whipsmart suavity. “I didn’t say that,” he corrects another journo when we meet him in Cannes. “You said that. You keep telling me what I said. You must be from America.” Yes, it’s a good idea to stay on his right side; but he’s generally a mellow fellow...

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Words: Matthew Leyland


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How was it to work with Woody Allen again on To Rome With Love? It’s been 22 years since Alice…Well, everybody is a bit older! I think Woody, as most people know, is in a very good place because his previous film, Midnight In Paris, did so well. It was great for me to come back.

Has he changed much as a person?[Laughs] I’m not sure I can answer that in a precise way. I think I used to make movies thinking about the role, where is it going... more about my career. Now I think of it more as “Who do I want to spend a couple of weeks with?” In the end, the older I get, the time that I work is time out of my life. But Woody you never regret.

You play a mentor to lots of young actors. Do you ever find yourself with that role in real life?A little. I mean, I’ve talked at acting schools here and there, where younger people have questions about acting or living your life in public or dealing with success. One of the first things that I normally get asked is, “How do I get an agent?” These people are very driven. I do give a little bit of advice but it doesn’t really happen on set because it’s so busy. The people I was working with [on To Rome With Love], Ellen Page and Greta Gerwig, got to this point by relying on their very good instincts. There was very little I could teach them.

You’ve also just been a part of Rise Of The Guardians. Was it a blast doing a kids’ movie?I’ve done a few of these films and none was more beautiful than that. It is the most beautiful children’s film I’ve seen in terms of the art. It’s gorgeous. It reminds you of the old, old animation cells. It’s very arresting. In the business, regarding these children’s films over the last 20 years, they are now side by side with books as part of children’s cultural upbringing. They define children’s childhoods. If I told you how many times I watched these movies as my daughter grew up… I wanted to chuck them out of the window! I watched these movies 50 times. George Of The Jungle… I knew everything about his body!

Last year we saw you in Rock Of Ages…[Laughs] Well, I would do anything with Russell Brand. He is unbelievably funny.

What about the singing? How did you find that?I hated every minute of that. I’m not going to lie. I hated every moment of it.

You’ve done a lot of comedy in recent years...People either laugh or they don’t. I’ve done plays – with films, you’re not with an audience. You shoot the film. When the audience goes and has the experience, I’m off golfing or doing something or making another film. But in the theatre, for example, you can do a very powerful drama

and if you’re lucky, you can feel the audience is listening. But it’s very hard to discern how people react to drama, whereas with comedy they laugh or they don’t. Yes, I have spent a lot of time doing comedy lately. The TV show [30 Rock]… They’re the funniest people I’ve met in my life. It’s been a very positive experience.

Was it a conscious decision to move into comedy?I think people that are funny are always funny. They don’t always get the chance to display that but I think what you’re suggesting maybe is that as you get older, you want to laugh more. You want to enjoy yourself more. The idea of contorting yourself emotionally into some kind of a knot in order to achieve something in a film… It’s worth it if the part is there, but those parts aren’t always there, so when you come across a script that’s funny… I am much more in the mood to have a good time now. I mean, I would definitely put myself through a certain process to make a film if it was a great film. But if it’s not a great film or a great script, I don’t think I would bother with that anymore, whereas in the past you might try that, you might work very hard to find things inside of a film that just weren’t there.

Is there a difference between funny for adults and funny for children?I think it’s different. I mean, there are things you’re not going to say, that are inappropriate for children. That’s another thing I love about the TV show, that we did it on network TV – we couldn’t be too dirty. I’m very proud of the writers on our show and I still say they’re the greatest writers in television today. They did it on network TV where you can’t go too blue, as they say in America. You can be on HBO and Showtime, and you can say the F-word here and the F-word there and people take their clothes off. But in network TV you still have a line that you can’t cross, and it makes it tremendously difficult. These guys write all the stuff and I just sing the song. The television show has been the greatest experience I’ve ever had.

How have things changed over your 30-year career?When you’re young and beautiful, you have infinitely more opportunities. When you get older and you cross 40 – especially for women, unfortunately – your opportunities are cut in half. The task for you is to learn to act while you’re young so that when you don’t have your youth on your side anymore, you have ability and talent. That’s the thing you have in your pocket for the journey, because you’re not young and beautiful anymore. All actors, as they get older, their opportunities contract. You have your time when you make a lot of movies. For me, 1988 onto 1996, 1997 – I had eight, nine years, 10 maybe.

Perhaps your most memorable film role is spitting profanities in Glengarry Glen Ross. how did you feel when you read the part?


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‘IIhated every minute of that [singing]. I’m not going to lie. I hated every moment of it’

It was tough. When you play a role with a jock… I mean the old cliché is, “If you’re going to play Hitler, you better play Hitler.” So in Glengarry I was working with all these people who I admired and I had to have all of these negative values. It was very stressful because I wanted to go there and have a good time! But it was all confrontation. The director [James Foley] called and told me, “You’re like a general commanding an army and rallying his men by any means necessary.” So I had to nag.

You got an Oscar nomination for your role in The Cooler. How was the experience? Did you get swept up in the whole promotional circus?Oh no, not at all! I didn’t do any… I was shocked that I got nominated because I thought only five people saw the film. I lost to Tim Robbins with Mystic River and I guess that Mystic River was a more popular film, so I didn’t have any delusions at all.

And you’ve been on the other side now – you hosted the Oscars in 2010. were you excited, nervous?I was very nervous. The thing that did make it easier for me was Steve [Martin], who is just a great co-pilot – very calm, very elegant, very smart and very sophisticated. I really could not do better than to pair up with Steve in that situation. The actual show and the ceremony was pretty tough because the Academy is very proprietary about the show, it’s a tremendous source of income for them. You’re very hopeful that you’ll have the success that we had – the ratings went up 16 per cent and the year after they went down nine per cent. I hate to be so Hollywood about it, but the numbers do not lie. I think we did a pretty good job.

Is it true that you gave yourself a deadline in 2009 that you would withdraw from the film business by 2012?My goal was to stop acting and to do something else.

What sort of something else?I don’t know. Go to school again. I would still do some acting, but not full time. I wrote a book [A Promise to Ourselves: A Journey Through Fatherhood And Divorce, published in 2008] which


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‘They want me to do reality shows with my brothers.

I think I’d rather die!’


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was a criticism of the family law system in this country [America] and how divorce is litigated in this country. It wasn’t necessarily an attack on my ex-wife [Kim Basinger, 1993-2002] per se, but it was more of an attack on the system. You know, I really enjoyed writing that book and I would like to write another book maybe. Plus, I’ve just got married. And I want to have this be different. When I was younger, I was married to a woman who was very successful. When you’re both in the business, you both know that you’re going to light one [film] off the other. It’s like chain smoking. You just have to do one after the other. You sense that this isn’t right, that you have this daunting, overwhelming, overarching priority that takes you away for long periods of time. If you took a stopwatch and a calendar and you mapped out how much time you really got to spend that was private and real, it’s startlingly little. You put a lot of your energy into your work. Now I’m with someone who’s not in the business, and I would like to have a different life this time, have it be more normal.

So do you ever regret that you worked so hard?You do the best you can at the time. But a marriage has to be a priority.

What are your memories of growing up in theBaldwin house?We all lived in a big family. My sister and I, we were workers. We helped take out the garbage, cook the food, wash the dishes... And my other brothers and sisters were... [whistles]. Then people leave home. It’s the same for other people, whether they’re in the business or not. They leave home, they go off, they go to school. The seminal things are when they get married. Everybody in my family was very much in each other’s lives, physically, and we would see a lot of each other until people had children. And then, on top of that, when their children go to school… The moment that your kids are on teams and they’re doing dance and they have commitments, you stop. Everybody’s less mobile.

Would you like to do a film with all your brothers?You know, I had a project once we were going to do together and then we got too old! It required everybody to be closer to 40 than 50. They were in their thirties and I was close to 40. This is 10, 12 years ago. If something came along that was a good project… [shrugs, smiles]. But I’ve never got a good script to do with all of them. Never. I’ve had reality shows. They want me to do reality shows with my brothers. I think I’d rather die!

Are there any younger actors you really admire?An actor who I admire to the end is Ryan Gosling. He has all the things you need to be a male film star. You need three things, really. You need masculinity, sensitivity and intelligence. He does – like Brando, Pacino, like all the great leading men… And at the same time, he’s making smart choices. Because there’s a lot of pressure. What’s it

like to be Brad Pitt? How do you make the decisions? When you make the movie Moneyball, there’s what, ten other movies you don’t do? Every movie they make, when you’re at that level, there’s ten movies you don’t do. These people have scripts that could fill this room. Gosling is in that situation now.

You ask what it’s like to be Brad Pitt. Well, what’s it like to be Alec Baldwin?I think the TV show has been the predominant thing in my life for a long, long time now. That’s going to end, and that’s very challenging because everyone got very used to the lifestyle. I got to stay home and live the whole year round in New York. It’s been really, really lovely not having to travel too much. When I come out of that orbit to make a film, it’s very specific now. I’m very narrow. When I make them, they have to be special. I worked for Woody. I did the movie with Meryl. I did Rock Of Ages with Adam [Shankman, director] because Adam’s a friend and they shot my stuff in just four weeks. And then I did Guardians. I loved that movie.

Looking back on your career, have you accomplished all that you wanted to achieve when you set out?Well, I think no, I haven’t. Some people have that career. Hanks, Sean Penn... they win multiple awards, they make great, great films, films you could go see again. You know, how many films can you honestly say you’d actually go see again? I didn’t have a lot of those experiences in the film business but I’ve had them in the theatre. Every movie you do, you’re hopeful. People don’t realise, when you make a movie everybody huddles up every day and they make their best effort. You work very hard and put the film together and the film finally, a year or so later, comes out. And when the films don’t perform, it’s very dispiriting.

You’ve got to work with Martin Scorsese…I was going through a pretty tough time in my life a few years ago. Then the phone rang and I was told that I was going to have this small part in The Aviator and get to work with Marty for the first time. It really, really saved me. I mean, Marty is… he’s… he’s a river, you know? He’s a river, this guy. He’s a mountain. He’s a person who just being around him is one of the most wonderful experiences, let alone working with him. He’s just the greatest guy. He is so committed, so knowledgeable. This is a man who is a legend in filmmaking and has made so many contributions to filmmaking and just doesn’t want to stop giving back. I worship him as a person and as a filmmaker.

Is working with him your career highlight?The most gratifying thing for me is the people I got to meet. Not only actors but also directors, cinematographers, writers, designers, people like that. I got to work with such great people. Some of my most vivid recollections are of experiences I’ve had with the people off camera.Im

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Will, I AmAIR catches up with Hollywood’s hottest comic

AIR Will Ferrell_ Jan2.indd 50 12/19/12 5:59 PM

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Despite being known for playing the funny guys, you’ve also played the bad guy [in Everything Must Go]. Did you like that role? I don’t usually get offered those kind of parts. It was great fun, I think villains are the most interesting characters to play in a way, because they’re extremely flawed and have a lot of problems. They also have the best costumes.

What’s your experience working with non-comedic actors on comedy films? Are they particularly competitive, or do they go into their shell a bit because you’re the guy who gets the laughs?You know, I haven’t known that to be the case. We had tons of experience with that on a show like Saturday Night Live because from week to week it wasn’t usually comedians that came in and hosted the show, it was usually straight actors who would come. But we always welcomed that because we found that dramatic actors would just commit to the character and not worry about being funny. And conversely would end up being the best hosts because you could really write to their strengths in that way.

When you’re starting a riff, do you know where you want to go with it, or are you just lost in the moment?You kind of just go out on this limb. It’s analogous to starting to swim out into the ocean and sometimes you

‘I don’t think I’ll ever feel pressure to change, to make a choice that changes’

find land and other times you just drown. But if a director allows you the freedom to fail then that’s the key. If you set up an environment where failing is encouraged then you want to try everything. It’s obviously the best way to work.

Have you ever drowned?I’m a really good swimmer.

A lot of actors change the type of roles they take when they become parents, has that been the case with you?They have a clear sense that what I do is make believe, so I don’t think I’ll ever feel pressure to change, to make a choice that changes… In other words streaking naked down the road in Old School, I would do it with a family now. I wouldn’t think twice.

Have they seen any of your films? I did show them the streaking scene over and over, on a loop, in their bedrooms: “Don’t do this!”.

Given your workload, do you ever say no to anything?Oh yeah, tons.

What sort of excites you then, what draws you in?Just, you know, hopefully original ideas, working with people that I haven’t gotten to work with, you know, which can range from actors to directors, certain writers, things like that. But there’s a massive amount of stuff that we say no to.

Who is on your wish-list to work with, in an ideal world?Huh… I would love to work with Bill Murray. I’ve always been such a big fan. I think he’s obviously a great comedic actor but also a really interesting actor.

In the film Megamind your character thinks he knows what he wants, gets it and then realises that’s not what he wanted. I wonder if you, in your career, are where you always wanted to be right now?You know, I have to say I’m pretty satisfied as to where I am. I don’t really try and think too far ahead because I think each step has been… First I got on Saturday Night Live, which is kind of a dream on its own. For any American comic, that’s such a dream job. But of course, they make it so that you can’t ever get too cocky because with your first contract you’re guaranteed nine shows, and then you’re supposed to be guaranteed the next 11, but then they changed it mid-season, and guaranteed just six more shows. So, you always felt like: “Oh, is my flip going to fall

through the floor?” So, getting that was just one step, and then being on the show for a while was another step, and actually getting notoriety from it was the next one. And then leaving and getting to do films… So, I’ve just kind of been happy with every gradual step.

In terms of your Saturday Night Live legacy, where does the cowbell sketch rate? And is Christopher Walken someone you’d like to work with again?I would love to… even though I saw him… a few years’ back. He was doing a show on Broadway and I went to say hello to him back-stage and he was like [in character]: “You know, you’ve ruined my life!” I guess at curtain call people would bring cowbells to the play. [Laughs]. But that’s a prime example of… That sketch is a classic example of how you never know exactly what’s going to land with the audience. It was a sketch I’d tried earlier in the season and it didn’t even make it into the show, and it didn’t even make it past the read through table, but then I re-submitted it again and wrote the part more for Christopher Walken and now it’s played at sporting events and has had this whole crazy life, which is great.

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‘I hate to give away

my secrets, but I do

almost nothing

to prepare for a role’

Words: Fabian Waintal

AIR heads to the movies with iconic funnyman Bill Murray to discuss his Oscar-tipped film Hyde Park on Hudson

AIR Bill Murrey_ Jan2.indd 52 12/19/12 1:12 PM

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Just in time for the Academy Awards season, good comedians like you, Helen Hunt and Tom Hanks are coming up with dramatic movies. What inspired you to cross that path? Is it more rewarding as an actor doing the dramas rather than comedies?Helen Hunt and Tom Hanks? Oh well they have to get work, they have to do dramas. [laughs]. They have to do drama and they can’t do comedy, either one [laughs].

I think that there’s really nothing quite like comedy. You don’t win prizes, you don’t win Oscars and those kinds of things for doing a comedy, but in the world I think people really appreciate comedy. It’s more valuable as a buffer, as an effervescent life. I don’t hear people saying, “I was really sick and feeling miserable and then I watched Shawshank Redemption, and I felt great.” They say: “I got stuck watching some Charlie Chaplin films and I just started laughing and I walked outside and I cut the lawn, and I went for a walk with my dog.”

‘I still have a lot of revolutionary rage’

You hate to compare them, it’s not either or, but I love doing comedies and I think what’s funny in this film [Hyde Park on Hudson] is that part of what makes the telling of the whole story so possible. I think it’s the light things that Richard has written into it, and the sort of humour and naturalism that these people have that makes you go in. It makes you dig in to see the sort of deeper stuff that they are working with, that humour, there’s a reason for it, there’s a purpose for it, it’s to get us to the next moment, where we can look a little deeper.

Do you take advantage of your sense of humour on set when the camera is off? Well, the camera only rolls some of the time, and I’ve come to believe that part of whatever sense of humour I have is best used to keep the mood of the crew light, or try to anyway, to try to loosen it up and keep people just relaxed. Relaxation is key to any successful operation, so just try to keep people relaxed and aware that their work is being noticed and attended to. And it’s not life or death, we are all going to make mistakes, and if the soundman screws up a couple times, it’s like okay, don’t worry, because I’m going to mess up a couple of times here now.

How important is it to get an Oscar with the buzz about this movie, and how do you recall the times that you were nominated?Well, I went through the Oscar experience once before [Lost In Translation], and it’s nice to get nominated; you get to go to dinners and tell little stories and then you get dressed up in a tux a couple of times and you can be on TV, sweet. You can either win or lose, and in my case you are supposed to not say lose when you are talking about the Oscar, you are supposed to say “not chosen,” or something like that.

And I guess it’s not that funny when you are not the one chosen?It was fine, I later realised I was, even though I didn’t know it at the time, caught up in the possibility of winning, so I was like, shame on myself for getting caught in it. But I won a lot prizes for that film and thought – well, it didn’t seem unnatural to expect – that I would be rewarded just one more time [laughs]. So when it didn’t happen I was like, well, this is odd. I know it’s a funny thing, and people get prizes, they don’t get prizes, and that’s not why you work, but it’s nice when you do. The most important thing is, the wonderful thing is, an extraordinary number of people, and I am not exaggerating, actually think I won! I try to say, no that’s not true, I just say you are so kind.

Is there much difference to shoot a movie in Hollywood, compared with other parts of the world, like England where you went for Hyde Park on Hudson?Well it’s certainly a little different. One of the wonderful things about working in England is they can build such amazing things, they can build such amazing sets, and they have a lot of old stuff. In fact, they have a lot of really cool old stuff, ’cause they are so very old over there. They are really old, they have old buildings and they have old silverware and they have old dishes, and it feels old, so it’s kind of easy to walk in, and it helps you work a little bit. They don’t like to listen to music on the set over there, though, that was the really big problem that I had with them. They just don’t like to hear music. If it’s not a fife and drum, they just do not understand it [laughs].

And then they have the food over there too, which we have to talk about. There’s movie food and then there’s movie food. None of it is any good, but at least it gave us an opportunity to be homesick. And the one nice thing was they are


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higher up in the hemispheres, and it really was the most civilised work that I had ever done.

Do you mean that they are not civilised in Hollywood?I had never worked with anyone like the director Roger Michell, who came to work when the sun was already up, and worked until about 5.30pm or so, and then it was like, “all right, let’s go home”. And the sky, because the sun is up very late in the summer, you have this beautiful sunset every night and it made you feel like you were alive and on the planet. When I work here in North America, we are up and at work when it’s dark, and we would go home when it’s dark. And you don’t see the light and the day. You don’t ever see it and you can feel sad and lonely, almost Scandinavian, because you just don’t see light at all. [laughs].

How did you prepare to play President Roosevelt?I didn’t do much. I hate to give away my secrets, but I do almost nothing to prepare for a role. I did a lot of reading, though. I studied the accent of the area, I worked with a fellow who is a specialist in sound, and I tried to behave as well as I could – I was working with English people so that was a test [laughs]. And I tried to just keep it together, as I still have a lot of revolutionary rage. I just tried to put a damper on that, and it was a difficult time for me. Let’s just leave it at that, please.

What do you think about President Roosevelt’s secret lover?She was probably the most discreet person that he knew in his life. If you read his letters and you read her letters, he’s far more intimate with her, he tells her like state secrets, he tells her National Security secrets in his letters, and he wouldn’t open himself to anyone. Comparing what he writes to other people and what he wrote to her, it’s ridiculous. This woman was a vault, he told her something and it went nowhere. He could absolutely tell her anything, and feel secure that he was safe; it was just between the two of them. She never spoke about this man. It was extraordinary. It’s a real powerful person that can do that. A secret is not something that you have to hide; a secret is something that you are able to hold to yourself.

Did you listen to his old radio recordings to hear how Roosevelt used to sound? Most of the Roosevelt recordings that I have

heard were speeches and so they are much more formal. That’s the word, I guess. None of our scenes are like that, ours are all intimate, household conversations pretty much, so it’s a different voice, it’s a more relaxed voice. I feel uncomfortable when I watch someone who has a death grip on a voice, and attitude, an accent or something, so I try and avoid doing that myself. But I’m also slightly lazy, and that works well for me, too.

Did you always stay on script? Were you allowed to improvise?I don’t remember. Staying on script, it’s really only important if the script is good, so in this case it was like, it was so good that you didn’t even think about staying on script. You just sort of hoped that it would make you who that guy was. If you had ever said anything that was slightly different from the script, it didn’t feel like you were changing anything.

What was there in the script about Franklin Roosevelt that made you want to do this role? You know, I can’t really answer that question, I don’t remember. I remember reading the script, and thinking, “oh, I’m being asked to play like a very, very big important person,” but I don’t remember what it was in the script that made me go like that’s it. I remember thinking that I could do this; that I’m capable of doing this, but I couldn’t answer what it was: I just knew that I had to do it.

Were there any historical qualities of Roosevelt that made you think “This is my role, I could finally get an Oscar now”? Well, no, not to begin with. I mean, I knew he was someone that my parents sort of honoured, and that middle class people and lower middle class people, and certainly poor people, just adored. I knew that there was something that he spoke to that I could respond to. And because I knew somehow what it was he was saying to people, I figured I could say that myself. Im

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‘You don’t win prizes, you don’t win Oscars and those kinds of things for doing a

comedy, but people really appreciate it’


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Motoring

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AIR Motoring_ Jan2.indd 58 20/12/2012 15:11

Just how good is the new Range Rover?

Words: David Wilkins

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AIR Motoring_ Jan2.indd 59 20/12/2012 15:11

T he old Range Rover, even in the tenth year of its life, was just about the best SUV you could buy, and the latest fourth generation model surely inherits that title, thanks to a series of upgrades that make it more effective than ever when the going gets rough.

But the new model is also a serious contender for another, completely different, title. With drastically improved on-road performance and a new emphasis on improving the lot of rear seat passengers, the latest Range Rover is good enough to challenge the world’s best luxury saloons on their own terms as well.

If that doesn’t sound like a monumental achievement, it’s only because the past generations of Land Rover’s f lagship model have already done so much to bridge the yawning gap between the previously separate worlds of rugged 4x4s on the one hand, and top-end passenger cars on the other.

Before the first Range Rover came along, the notion that the Land Rover, an untrimmed, ultra-basic, super-slow, leaf-sprung hard-core off-roader might one day spawn a rival for Rolls, Bentley and Jaguar would have seemed ludicrous. Imagine the Kia Picanto, for example, combining its credentials as one of the nippiest urban runabouts with a secondary role as a bit of a Ferrari basher on the high-speed driving front as well, and you have an idea of the stretch involved.

So just what is it that makes the new Range Rover special? After all, a quick initial look at the new car’s exterior suggests a high degree of continuity with the old one, rather than any radical breakthrough. The

continuity thing is certainly important; you don’t lightly mess with the sort of success that Land Rover has been having with the Range Rover line since 1970, but the more you look at the new one the more you realise that Land Rover’s talented designers under the leadership of Gerry McGovern have moved things on quite a bit. The nose is much rounder and the windscreen pillars are more sportily raked. The new car is less barrel-sided, while the wheels are pushed out more towards the corners, and they appear to fill the wheel-arches more fully.

But the under-the-skin changes are enormous. First there is a new all-aluminium body structure, the world’s first for an SUV. That chops an enormous 350kg off the

Motoring

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‘The biggest improvements are in on-road performance and passenger comfort’

900mm. Those are just two additions to the Range Rover’s already formidable arsenal of off-road kit, which, combined, help the new model maintain its edge over the rest of the SUV pack.

But the biggest improvements have been made in the areas of on-road performance and passenger comfort, particularly for those occupying the rear seats. The new model’s drastically reduced weight means it feels far more agile than the old – although you never forget you’re driving something pretty tall – and it accelerates much more zippily as well. On the move, it feels quieter than just about anything else on the market; I sampled the two diesel engine options, the 3.0-litre TDV6 and the 4.4-litre TDV8, and, thanks in part to exceptionally long gearing, both were almost silent motorway cruisers. The smooth V8 doesn’t sound or (enormous torque apart) feel like a diesel at all – if anything, it’s more like a good petrol V8. The V6 has a slightly growlier but also rather appealing engine note. Of course it’s a shade slower than the V8 – it takes 7.4 seconds to get to 60mph as opposed to 6.5 seconds – but if you never tried the larger engine you wouldn’t miss it. The supercharged petrol nudges into supercar territory, with an artificially limited top speed of 155mph and a 0-60mph time of 5.1 seconds.

Sound insulation in the new car is exceptional; very little noise makes it into the cabin from the outside, and on the move, wind noise is very low indeed, thanks to aerodynamic tweaks and acoustic laminated glass. A modest stretch to the wheelbase means that rear seat

passengers have much more legroom than before, and tweaks to the car’s packaging mean that their seating position is more comfortable as well. The cabin ambience matches just about anything this side of a Rolls or a Bentley; the dash design is recognisably an evolution of the old but has been tidied up considerably, with fewer visible buttons. Finally, the Range Rover’s SUV background gives it one unbeatable advantage in the battle against more conventionally laid out super-saloons – its raised ride height and low beltline gives its passengers a much more commanding and interesting view of their surroundings.

Land Rover has also worked hard to minimise this car’s environmental impact, a traditional point of criticism for SUVs. Half of the aluminium in the new car’s body is recycled, and because the body shell is mainly riveted and bonded rather than welded, far less energy is used in its production. Even the leather trim, from traditional Scottish supplier Bridge of Weir, is produced using a low carbon process. And don’t forget that a car as durable, desirable and timeless in its look as the new Range Rover is likely to be cherished long after its less versatile and appealing four-wheeled contemporaries have been sent to the scrap heap – that can help the planet too.

So if the new Range Rover is the most desirable SUV you can buy, and has managed to lay at least one hand on the trophy for best luxury saloon as well, does that make it the best car in the world? That’s an impossible question to answer but it probably has a greater breadth of capabilities than just about anything else on four wheels.

weight of the latest car when it’s fitted with upgraded versions of the engines carried over from the old one, the 339 PS 4.4-litre SDV8 diesel and the 510 PS supercharged 5.0-litre V8 petrol. But the reduction in body weight also gave Land Rover the opportunity to offer an additional smaller engine option, the 258 PS 3.0-litre TDV6 diesel, while roughly maintaining the performance of the old TDV8. The adoption of the smaller, lighter engine takes the total weight saving on the base car to a whopping 420kg.

And a new, automatic version of Land Rover’s Terrain Response system makes it even easier to tackle the most difficult off-road conditions. Sensors detect the nature of the terrain and the system tweaks parameters such as ride height, engine mapping and so on without any intervention from the driver. It’s still possible to select the settings for conditions such as snow or mud manually but the automatic system works very well. Another new feature, a clever, vertically arranged funnel-like system of air intakes hidden away at the level of the bonnet shut-line, increases the new car’s maximum wading depth to a staggering

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gastronomy

A Fish TaleJohn Walsh salutes the discreet but

celeb-haunted J. Sheekey

W alk down Charing Cross Road, in London’s West End, past Leicester Square Tube station, past Wyndhams Theatre where the jukebox

musical Dreamboats and Petticoats is packing ’em in, and turn into the little St Martin’s Court enclave. Before you on the right, under eight awnings, is a striking establishment. The frontage is a camp extravagance of dusty magenta. You can’t see through the tinted windows, but there’s something decidedly raffish about the place. It’s old but still lively, like a panto dame in plum taffeta.

Push through the door and you’ll find yourself in a shrine to British theatreland. The walls are festooned with portrait photos of venerable thespians: Olivier, Wolfit, Hepburn, Niven. The decor is old-fashioned, but in a good way. The napery is as white as Scarlett Johansson’s teeth, the cutlery shines. French waiters in dinner jackets and bow-ties regard you with a just-about-friendly supercilium.

You have entered, gentle luncher, the hallowed temple of fish cooking that Londoners call Sheekey’s. Under its trade name J Sheekey, it’s been here, in many incarnations, for 116 years, through wars and Blitzkrieg, Swinging London and Recession London, highs and troughs of fortune, but it survives and flourishes. Its appeal is partly its expertise with fish – the chefs know everything about the lifespan, breeding habits, succulence and texture of the piscine world – and partly the patina the restaurant has taken on with years. It’s not London’s oldest eating house – that would be Rules in Covent Garden – but it is to fish cookery what that elderly shrine is to game. And its antiquity gives it class, like a small stately home. Once, in the main restaurant, I clocked Anita Brookner lunching with her agent Bill Hamilton; she smoked all through her main course, holding a cigarette in the same hand as her fork, inhaling after bites, the image of posh-county decadence.

Without waiting for its 120th anniversary, its owners, Caprice Holdings, have commissioned a handsome cookbook, J Sheekey Fish – 320

Words: John Walsh

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gastronomy

pages of fishy, crabby, scallopy, lobstery, shellfishy, haddocky loveliness, with words by Allan Jenkins, editor of Observer Food Monthly. We learn from him that the original J Sheekey was Josef, though no one knows his nationality. He was a fish and oyster trader in Shepherd’s Market, Mayfair, who in 1896 was granted a licence by the Marquess of Salisbury, “to serve poached and steamed fish, shellfish and seafood” to the public in St Martin’s Lane, provided he also supplied meals to Salisbury’s legendary after-dinner parties.

Beyond that, says Jenkins, the history is a little sketchy. “On the day the book was published, I heard from Martin Fielding, the son of Leslie Fielding, who was manager of Sheekey’s in its 25-year heyday, from 1947 to 1972. Leslie was the nephew of Josef’s daughter Mrs Emmy Williams, a formidable matriarch. We learned from Leslie that in Sheekey’s early days, there were no male chefs in the kitchen, only women cooks. One of them used to talk cooingly to the lobsters, just before she lowered them into boiling water. And we learned that Charlie Chaplin was a regular when he visited London once a year.”

Over lunch at the newish (2009) J Sheekey Oyster Bar extension, I meet Tim Hughes, executive chef of the Caprice Group. What, I ask him, were the key differences between cooking in 1896 and today? “In those days there was a lot more steaming and poaching,” he says. “The British palate used to be blander than it is now.

Sheekey’s was famous for its boiled fish, mainly because the Earl of Salisbury wouldn’t allow frying on the premises. He thought it was too déclassé, and would downgrade the area.

“They used to cook everything for such a long time,” Hughes continues. “Scallops came as Coquilles St Jacques, on the shell with a Mornay sauce and mashed potato – cardiac stuff. All the sauces in those days were classic, very heavy. These days it’s much lighter and lets the fish taste of the sea.”

Oysters used to be the poor man’s food in Victorian times, but they now sell in Sheekey’s at £15 for six. Have the fortunes of other shellfish changed over the century? “Razor clams,” says Hughes, “they’ve come into their own quite recently. Before, they didn’t know how to cook them properly. You’ve got to steam them until they pop open. If you cook them a second longer, they are like rubber. Scallops have always sold, but they used to soak them in water until they went spongey. A scallop should never touch water.”

Some of the Sheekey menu is posh comfort food – fish pie, fish and chips – but some aims for more ambitious flavours. Such as their monkfish osso bucco with gremolata, and their smoked haddock with colcannon, poached egg and mustard sauce. Mostly, though, their watchword seems to be simplicity. Hughes believes that, when cooking fish, less is all.

“Dover sole costs a huge amount and you can’t do anything with it, except season it, cover it

‘You may spot famous faces from the acting and writing worlds, but you never feel they’ve come to Sheekey’s to be seen’


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with butter and grill it for 10 minutes,” he says. “I find that quite pure. Same goes for salt-baked bass – you just cover it in salt and cook it. But sometimes we might add ceps, because their earthiness goes great with the beautiful sweetness of bass. We don’t use vegetables with big flavours that don’t go with the fish. We do sauce on the side, but keep the natural flavours. We stick to European styles of cooking. We don’t have any tuna on the menu, or anything exotic, like swordfish.”

The only contemporary touch in Hughes’s conversation is his keenness on sustainability and seasonality. As well as tuna, he won’t have skate, eel or huss, “because they’re on the endangered list”. He won’t use plaice in autumn “because they’re full of roe” but recommends Dover sole, brill and turbot. “And the native oysters are in,” he says with pleasure, as though welcoming back long-missed friends.

Familiarity is what Sheekey’s is about. Generations of fish- and shellfish-lovers have come to trust that they’ll be served the best fish in the land at Sheekey’s, and it won’t be mucked about with. But it’s also well-known as a hang-out for the rich, theatrical and famous. How does it differ from its Caprice Holdings’ stable-mate, Scott’s of Mayfair?

“The clientele here are Londoners, it’s very much a theatre restaurant, but it’s not a showy place,” says Hughes. “It has lots of little rooms. You can come with your grandma, your kids, anyone, and enjoy it and not be on show. Whereas Scott’s is Mayfair, it’s a bit grander, it’s a show-off place.”

In my experience, people feel they have a relationship with Sheekey’s, a familiarity with the barely-changing menu, a feeling, on arrival, that you’re about to have a predictably warm and enjoyable couple of hours. You may spot famous faces from the acting and writing worlds, but you never feel they’ve come to be seen.

“We never get the paps [paparazzi] here,” says Hughes, “because it’s down a backstreet and – well, it’s Sheekey’s. The paps are usually outside the theatre, looking for the B-list actresses. I remember when Sienna Miller was playing in the theatre around the corner, when she and Jude Law were breaking up. All the paps were outside the stage door. Then, walking past them up the alley are Ron Howard and Tom Hanks, who are here to film The Da Vinci Code. Here are two of the most powerful Hollywood celebrities in the world. They walk up and down, come in, have their food, and go. And the paps are completely oblivious. That sums up Sheekey’s for me.”


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1. No visit to Toronto would be complete without a trip to Kensington Market, where the city’s finest food artisans come together. Tuck into the day’s catch grilled to perfection, or sample handmade bakes plucked straight from the oven. It’s a lively way to sample hearty Canadian fare – and the bustling produce stalls are where the city’s best chefs pick up their ingredients, so you’ll be in excellent company too.

2. The Royal Ontario Museum boasts a vast collection of local and international treasures. It’s the largest museum in Canada, and its exterior is just as impressive as its hoard: the piquant glass entrance created by architect Daniel Libeskind marks the institute’s designs on the future, although its aesthetic merits have left the city’s art critics divided.

3. The CN Tower was created in 1976 as a communications monolith, but it has become famed for its crowning observation deck. At 553 metres high, the needle punctuates the city skyline, and the view from the top is a must-see on every visitor’s itinerary. It held the title of World’s Tallest Tower until 2010, when it was topped by Dubai’s Burj Khalifa.

4. Lake Ontario is the focal point of this water-loving city: dotted by no fewer than 11 islands and bordered by two states, it earns its title as one of Northern America’s Great Lakes. Flowing from the Niagara River, its nutrient-rich banks are a favoured pit-stop for migrating birds.

5. The mammoth Rogers Centre is the focal point of Toronto’s sport-fanatic citizens. When not hosting baseball games for the treasured Toronto Blue Jays, it’s the go-to venue for concerts and tournaments. In 2015, the stadium will hold the Pan American Games, attracting thousands of supporters to the city.

6. In a city obsessed with the great outdoors, even the water is ripe for exploring – and nothing sums up the Canadian thirst for adventure quite like its myriad sailing tournaments. On summer weekends the harbour is brimming with spectators. To soak up the atmosphere in style, head to the waterfront and enjoy a front-row view over lunch.

7. The Gothic-style turrets of Casa Loma are an unlikely feature of Toronto’s skyline. The mansion (now a museum) was built by financier Sir Henry Pellat in the early 20th century, who wanted to create a Scottish Baronial residence complete with billiards room, five acres of gardens, and private ice rink.

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Hotel Hot List 2013

Everyone harbours a few favoured retreats, but for those seeking to expand their travel horizons, 2013 rolls in packed with prospects – and

a plethora of luxury names (Banyan Tree Hotels, Peninsula Hotels, Taj Hotel Group, the list goes on…).

Even for hotelier big wigs, this year marks a period of firsts: Banyan Tree Hotels & Resorts launches in India for the first time (an opening that’s tipped for May 2013), which will send you south, to Kerala. Perched on the private island of Nediyathuruthu, a 10-minute boat ride delivers you to a private jetty, beyond which nestles an all-pool villa hideaway, each abode flanked by waterways and canals. While the resort promises contemporary comforts (restaurants, spa, yoga pavilion, kids’ club), its architectural accents breathe a bygone feel throughout, with gabled rooves and carved wood façades. For gourmands, AIR is told standout dining experiences are in the pipeline too, from dining aboard a palak boat (ordinarily used by Indian royalty) or upon a specially-built tower, constructed on the island’s highest point, where you can savour the likes of Keralan fish curry while admiring India’s iconic state.

What does the New Year hold? A bevy of hotel debuts the world over. AIR highlights its most promising new entries…


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Those who find themselves in India at the end of the year will also be able to experience GHM’s 42-suite bolthole, The Aayu Mumbai. The highlight, for foodies at least, has to be its eatery from culinary stars Joël Robuchon and Hide Yamamoto, both of whom make their first entry into India.

Peninsula Hotels, a Hong Kong company, is best known for its

properties in Asia and the USA (The Peninsula Beverly Hills being the hotel of choice for A-list celebrities during Oscar season) – until now. The Peninsula Paris, its first foray into Europe, will open its doors later this year, and Peninsula regulars will instantly recognise the group’s penchant for luxury and location: the hotel sets up residence inside

a century-old Beaux-Arts building (formerly The Hotel Majestic) reinventing the grande dame of a property on the esteemed Avenue Kléber, a stroll from Champs Elysées.

Shangri-La, meanwhile, is making for London where its first luxury opening in the city takes place inside the much-anticipated The Shard (at 1,016 feet-tall it’s one of Europe’s

‘The blue-shuttered property stretches before a backdrop of snow-capped Atlas Mountains’

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tallest buildings), where it will assume the architectural wonder’s 18 upper f loors (34 to 52). While it will shelter 195 rooms and 170 deluxe guestrooms, it is the presidential suite that you’ll most want to check in to – a main draw being its glass-enclosed ‘winter garden’ balcony. As will, we suspect, its 52nd-floor spa (for spa aficionados, it’s Europe’s first CHI spa) complete with Chinese and Himalayan healing therapies and, uniquely for London, an indoor infinity swimming pool from which to drink-in the city’s skyline.

Also in London will be a boutique gem from hotelier great Ian Schrager who will transform the 177-year-old Berners Hotel (set in London’s Fitzrovia) into an Edition Hotel, complete with trendy high tech rooms, first-rate dining and an indulgent spa.

A stellar city stay can also be had inside the Big Apple’s latest recruit: The Quin Hotel, New York, which opens in February. Best of all is its historic 57th Street Buckingham Hotel residence – a venue once frequented by musical legends and Metropolitan Opera greats (Giuseppe De Luca and Giovanni Martinelli among them). Now restored, it’s set to build on its artistic heritage with features like its very own art gallery and a location close to cultural hotspots, like the Museum of Modern Art.

If it’s all-out extravagance you crave, it awaits you in the form of the Taj Palace Marrakech, which debuts

next month. The Taj’s trademark touch was evident even at its earliest stages, with Stuart Church – the famed Orientalist architect – taken on to preserve the authentic Moroccan craftsmanship throughout (it is furnished entirely with locally-crafted fabrics and art). While the blue-shuttered property stretches before a backdrop of snow-capped Atlas Mountains (making for jaw-dropping views), its Moroccan-style Riads are AIR’s pick for privacy. Just four border the hotel’s ‘main palace’ and afford guests’ personalised service, private gardens and fountains. Suite-lovers, meanwhile, should look to the 500 square-metre Royal Suite – tucked away on the top floor of the Palace wing, complete with berber rugs laid on dark wood floors, plus handpainted ceilings and gold leaf cornices.

Another authentic trip of an African ilk can soon be experienced courtesy of Sir Richard Branson’s exclusive Virgin Limited Edition collection, which is set to welcome Mahali Mzuri. Part of the on-trend wave of eco-friendly retreats, this safari camp is home to just 12 luxurious tents, each of which are elevated on platforms and shelter a bedroom, sitting room, en suite bathroom and, best of all, a terrace with sweeping views of Kenya’s roaming wildlife.

For a return to Arabian opulence, you can now experience ‘Ritz glitz’ closer to home. The Ritz-Carlton Abu Dhabi Grand Canal promises palatial features, from a 17,000-square-foot pool, to Renaissance-inspired architecture and a grandiose lobby – from which, if you peer through, you can spy the Grand Mosque. Said mosque influences the hotel’s interiors too – the marble flooring, door design, bed linens and even elevator interiors replicate designs from inside the mosque, while the hotel’s private villas have gardens and terraces with Grand Mosque views – plus butler service, so there’s no question of lifting a finger. Happily, reservations are being taken now - a fine starting point on your 2013 travel map.

1. Banyan Tree Kerala2. Taj Palace Marrakech3. Taj Palace Marrakech 4. The Peninsula Paris5. The Aayu Mumbai

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I don’t take anything for granted. I’d always thought I’d simply enter and finally take over the family business started by my grandfather – that was his ambition for me since I was five years old. But my mother had other ideas, telling me I had to prove myself in another job first, and though I was very upset at the time, I now know she did so because she loved me. It gave me the chance to embark on a career that I truly love.

There will never be a perfect time to do something. Whatever you want to do, just do it, because if you wait too long for an opportune moment it won’t ever arrive.

Don’t rely on anyone to create opportunities for you. Everything I have achieved has come from my own hard work and persistence. At the age of 25 I convinced Robert Wan to employ me as the company’s first dedicated representative for the Middle East region, and I was sent to Abu Dhabi on my own, a place I’d never even visited previously. I found it tough at first but I was determined to succeed, and I went from manager to general manager to CEO in a short space of time.

I work really hard, usually from 7am-midnight every day, and I travel a lot too. It takes its toll on my body, so one of the things I have learned is that exercise really helps alleviate stress. I get up and run every day, regardless of what time I got to bed the night before.

It’s very important to strike a balance between your work and personal life, that’s key to being happy and successful on both fronts.

You must be prepared to take risks. If you’re not, you can’t be the CEO or MD of a company as every day you face tough decisions that have to be taken.

What I KnoW noWAudrey Tcherkoff

CEO, Robert Wan

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