Life, Lately

I'm sorry my blog posts have been sporadic, it's been a busy past few weeks for me but I am back on track now ; ). I didn't have time to take any outfit photos this week so I thought I'd fill you all in on what I've been up to lately instead! Clockwise starting from top left: After about 6 years, I finally got new glasses, Sandy and I and Janis and Vickie at the Every Woman Festival a few weeks ago, watching the F/W 2014 LUXX Ready to Wear show at Western Canada Fashion Week (so good!) and with my date Anton (and his cute chelsea boots, on the right) in the audience.

A few weeks ago I appeared on Global Edmonton's Morning Show with Lorraine Mansbridge talking about kids' and teens' spring fashions at West Edmonton Mall, which was a lot of fun. I styled the outfits using clothing from The Children's Place, Simons and Below the Belt. And funny story: when I was around 8 years old I modeled on Lorraine's show she had at the time called 'Good, Good Morning' and we were reunited again many, many years later for this fashion segment. ; )

And this past Tuesday I got to work on the television series 'Blackstone', playing a nurse (again lol.) I had auditioned many times for this show (it's in its 4th season) and was happy to finally book a principal role! I had a couple of fun scenes with one of the main characters who was a hoot to work with. The episode will air this fall : ).

I hope you're all having a great week! Happy almost-Friday!

On Set: 'Cut Bank'

If you follow me on Twitter or Instagram, you may have seen this pic I posted yesterday, on the set of 'Cut Bank,' a movie being filmed in my hometown starring John Malkovich, Billy Bob Thornton, Liam Hemsworth, Teresa Palmer, Oliver Platt and Bruce Dern. (STELLAR cast, right?!) A lot of you were asking questions about the movie, and LIAM (!) etc. so I thought I'd create a post about it. I had auditioned for a bigger role in the film last month but didn't get it. But on Wednesday my agent called saying the extras casting director wanted to cast me in a different role, as a nurse in a scene with Oliver Platt and Liam Hemsworth. It was a teeny, tiny role, a "blink-slowly-and-you'll-miss-me" part with no lines but I didn't care, it was amazing just to be on the set with these amazingly talented actors and watch them work. It was so inspiring. I had an interaction in the scene with Oliver Platt (whom I adore) which was very exciting. He was hilarious. Sadly I didn't get to actually meet Liam, even though he was right in front of me and his trailer was right across from mine. He is a tall drink of water, that one, like 6'3" and was very friendly on set. I saw Billy Bob Thornton but sadly did not get to talk to him either. I'm a huge fan of his and will admit I had a crush on him when he was dating Angelina Jolie! (Don't judge.) After I wrapped I ran into John Malkovich and introduced myself: "Hi Mr. Malkovich, I'm Marie," I said (LOL) and shook his hand and welcomed him to Edmonton. He was extremely nice. He's one of my favorite actors so it meant a lot to me. I wasn't allowed to take pics on the actual set and I was too shy to ask anyone for a picture, I wanted to respect that they were working and didn't want to bother them, even though I'm sure they would have obliged if I asked them. Anyways, it was a great day! And a wonderful experience! I hope this post answers a lot of my readers questions about my time on set yesterday ; ). I can't wait to see the movie. It comes out next year!

Have a great weekend everyone! And Happy Canada Day Long Weekend to my fellow Canucks!

Me On T.V.!

Southside Mitsubishi Commercial
Director: Simon Morgan, Lindisfarne Productions

Producers: PlanItSound 

Boom Operator: Sheena Moore

Cameraman: David Baron

Makeup: Colleen Nuc

Actors: Mark Meer, Colleen Nuc , Alykhan Gulamani and me!

What a flattering picture above hey? Ha ha. Some of you may know that in addition to being a Buyer, Blogger and Stylist, I also do some acting from time to time. It's been my dream and passion since I was a little girl and I've spent many years studying "the craft" and being involved in all sorts of projects -  in Theatre, Television and Film. Unfortunately, where I live, there aren't a whole lot of acting opportunities so when I'm lucky enough to book a job I make sure to give it my all and enjoy every second on set because you never know when and if another opportunity will present itself. This shoot was SO much fun! I lost my voice from screaming for an hour and a half but I didn't care! I loved working with this talented team; there was a lot of laughing on set as you can imagine! I hope you like the commercial and I hope I haven't scared any of my female readers into getting their tubes tied ; ).

Speak Out

This post has nothing to do with fashion but it's very important to me and I wanted to share this with you. Back in October I acted in a commercial for the Edmonton Police's "Speak Out" campaign, urging victims of domestic violence to make themselves heard. The campaign launched yesterday, with two 15-second commercials (see mine, above and also this spot) as well as posters on billboards and at LRT stations across Edmonton. Filming was very intense and sad but I am so happy to be a part of something that will hopefully have an impact on victims, and will urge them to get help. To read more about the campaign, please click here.

A Life Update

Last week I mentioned that I had some exciting things were going in my life so now that Western Canada Fashion Week is over and I have time to breathe I thought I would share them with you all : ).

#1 I styled a photo shoot by myself for the first time last Monday and got to work with the amazing Harvey Miedreich. Here's a sneak peak from the shoot. I will share the rest with you once Harvey releases them.

I took this photo which is why it's not centered

#2 I filmed a commercial a few days ago! On a Vespa! Funny (and long) story actually: My agent sent me an email saying he had submitted me for two roles: the "Scooter Girl" and the "Dancer."  (Not that kind of a dancer, people.) He knew about my dancing background but he said if I couldn't ride a scooter that I shouldn't go for the "Scooter Girl" role because they want someone with experience. So I went to the audition thinking I would be up for the dancer role only. But when I got into the room and the producer asked if I was trying out for both I  suddenly changed my mind and blurted out, "Yes!"  Why not double my chances, right? He said, "You can ride a scooter?" And I said, "Well I ride motorbikes." I do not ride motorbikes.

 Anyways on camera he asked me to tell him about my experience with riding and I told him a (true) story about when I was 13, driving a motorbike near my family's cabin at the lake,with my cousin on the back, I almost ran into a tree after gawking at shirtless teenage boys and instead of putting on the brakes after I swerved I put the gas on all the way, and then the brakes (you could call it a "reverse reaction") and I flew off the bike onto the road and broke my humerus which wasn't funny (ha ha, yes I actually used that line. Call me extra cheesy.) If you're wondering what happened to my cousin...nothing! She ended up with a hole in her sock and that's it. But I quickly followed up with, "I'm much more comfortable riding motorbikes now," which was a lie wasn't true because the accident scared me away from riding anything with two wheels, minus a bicycle. When the producer asked me what type/brand of bike I last rode I came up with, "Ummm...it was a small one. It was my friend's, I think it was a Honda? Yeah, it was a Honda!" I was sure the producer saw right through me but he let me go on to audition for the dancer role and I had to two-step with myself because I didn't have a partner, which is as hard and as awkward as it sounds by the way, but I felt I did a pretty good job. Anyways, a couple of days later my agent calls me to tell me the "good news." I thought for sure I got the role of the dancer! Nope. I got the other one. Shit! Now I had to learn how to ride a scooter! And fast! And in heels. Dear Lord. So D.'s friend gave me a quick one hour lesson on his scooter a couple of days before the shoot and I felt comfortable enough to be able to drive one in the commercial.

No broken bones this time! And I kept the coat ; )

You gotta fake it 'til you make it right?? I had to follow that truck with the camera on it with only about 5 feet between us, without going out of frame and I'm proud to say I did it and I did it well, apparently. The director said I looked so calm while riding and I replied with, "That's where the acting comes in." He didn't know that in my head I was saying the Hail Mary and praying I wouldn't lose control or ram into the truck in front of me. But thankfully everything worked out well and after I calmed my nerves I actually had fun. Unfortunately I can't tell you what the commercial is for yet but it will be airing in Canada sometime this month!

#3 The most exciting news: I'm going to be an Auntie again! My sister-in-law is pregnant and due at the end of April/beginning of May. I am over-the-moon! The baby will join my nephew, Kayden (below), who hopes he'll be getting a brother "or two" although my sister-in-law is not having twins unless they're not telling us something ; ).

He's not always this dirty, I swear.

And that's that. Not everything in my life has been hunky-dory though. (Does anyone else still use that word besides me and my Grandmother? Hunky-dory?) My car broke down, not sure what's wrong with it but it won't start so I've been driving around in D.'s dirty clunker I call "The Bomb" until my Dad can take a look at it. I also found out I'll need gum surgery on both sides of my mouth and two crowns which, even covered by mine and D.'s benefits will cost me a few thousand dollars. Yikes. But I'm trying to focus on the positive: at least I still have teeth, right?

I hope you're all having a good week so far! We're closer to Friday already : ).

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Bummed

via

I mentioned last week on Twitter that I had driven to Calgary and back twice in less than 24 hours (that’s about 11 hours of driving) but I didn’t mention why. Well I went there because I had an audition for a lead role in a movie on the Monday, got home at 10:30 p.m. and my agent called me that night telling me I had to go back to Calgary for a callback the next day at noon! Two road trips in two days!

I knew who was directing the movie but I didn’t think he was going to be at the callback, I’m not sure why because usually the director is always there for the second audition so when Jason Priestley came out of the bathroom in the lobby I was waiting in, smiled at me and said hello I almost shit my pants. I was nervous enough for the audition itself but as soon as I knew I’d be auditioning in front of Brandon freakin’ Walsh (who has the most beautiful, clear blue eyes I’ve ever seen by the way) my anxiety sky rocketed and my hands started shaking. Still, I went into the nerve-wracking audition room filled with the producers of the movie, the casting director, camera operator, reader and of course Mr. Priestly himself, shook his hand and performed my two scenes which had him laughing. (A good sign because the scenes were supposed to be comedic.) It wasn’t my best audition because I was so nervous but I think I did an okay job.  I just wish he would have had me do both scenes over, when I had relaxed a little but I think he was satisfied with my performance the first time. Anyways, I drove home thinking what I could have done better like I always do after auditions. I had been waiting anxiously to hear if I got the role for a week during which time I fantasized about what it would be like to work with such a talented Canadian actor/director and thinking, “He has to pick me! I’m blonde and his wife is blonde! All the other girls at the call back had dark brown or black hair!” and I found out this morning the coveted role went to someone else. (Probably a brunette dammit!) My agent said a "bigger name" had been cast. Bummer, I know. It would have been such an amazing opportunity and a fun part to play! But that’s okay, another opportunity will come along soon and who knows? Maybe someday in the future I will be able to work with the dreamy J.P. And when one door closes, another one opens, right?

This could have been me!

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Me in the Movies! (My Demo Reel)

So remember in this post I talked about having done some acting here and there over the years and that I had a demo reel I wanted to show you? Well here it is : ) ***WARNING: One of the clips contains content that is quite graphic and disturbing. (Don't say I didn't warn you!)

Oh, and I finally gave in and hopped on the Twitter bandwagon, you can follow me here if you like!

Boo!

I'm okay! It's just make-up ; ) I've mentioned before on this blog that I do a little bit of acting here and there - well, whenever I'm lucky enough to book a gig - and I thought I'd share some "scary" pics (since it's Halloween and all) of me on the set of NBC's "Fear Itself" which I had the pleasure of working on in 2008. The star of this episode was Elisabeth Moss who plays Peggy on "Mad Men." I actually wanted to show you guys my scenes from the show but I'm having trouble uploading my demo reel to a site like Youtube without it being blocked by Lionsgate Entertainment and taken down due to copyright issues. Grrrrrr...D.'s still working on it and hopefully I'll have something to show you soon! And if any of you know how to get around this "issue" without me being sued please let me know ; ). I hope Lionsgate doesn't read this and if they do c'mon, I was a part of the show! Let me SHOW it! Pleeeease.

I played the role of a serial killer's victim he tortures. Here's a pic in between takes getting my makeup retouched.

You can't see it in this photo but I was handcuffed and tied to the chair I'm sitting on for a very long time while we filmed. In my underwear.

The makeup was amazing! The "blood" is actually corn syrup.

I know, ewwwww, right?! Here I am with talented director Stuart Gordon and actor Stephen R. Hart who played the serial killer. Stephen is 6'11 and has the deepest voice I've ever heard. Although he looks freaky in the photos he's a real sweetheart off screen, I swear! Filming this episode was so much fun, it was my greatest acting experience to date.

I hope you all have a great Halloween weekend!