I Am Legend / Parkour

Parkour is just getting bigger and better. Did we call it or what? Will Smith's new movie I Am Legend is apparently full of some slick parkour scenes, so naturally we'll be in Times Square with all the opening night hooligans. Not that Will Smith attracts that kind of crowd really. But it looks pretty action-packed. Please don't tell me you still don't know what parkour is. Really? Okay, check it out:
We did a slideshow for V to illustrate the blog and (deep breath) long-ass (but well-researched!) article about parkour coming to America. Cool? We can't really get enough. There's another really good article in The New Yorker, but that one will break your Blackberry if you try to read it in one go...

This guy jumping around is Raquiem, by the way, a model with Red. He didn't know what parkour was either. He just did it. Which, they say, is the pretty much the best way to do it.

Day in the Life of Akon

The only things I really knew about Akon before we shot him was that he and Young Jeezy take it easy and he likes to Smack That --- (til you get sore). We also learned–after a 6am trip to Chicago that turned into a weekend of free time when his manager took us aside at the airport to tell us maybe it wasn't a good day to be shooting him after all, how about tomorrow in LA?–is that he travels with an entourage and can be hard to pin down. No biggie. We're flex. We had gelato with friends in Wicker Park and hooked back up with him when he was shooting his Vh1 Rags to Riches in New Jersey the next week. He was real. He took us to White Castle in his Escalade and signed his fans' boobs in the parking lot. At the concert that night, maybe it was the sparkly jacket (or the thick cloud of ganja in the concert hall) but he turned into a different person. It was suddenly extra clear what it is that makes him star. (Here are some photos from the Day in The Life of Akon, for VMAN9)

The Irreplaceable Bobby Roache (and Friends)

I'm not sayin I was starstruck when I found out that Bobby was the dude in the Beyonce video, but I'm not sayin that I wasn't (the one where she pretends she's about to kiss a guy then rips off his sweater and diamond chain and sends him off in a taxi). There are interviews where he comes off cocky, but in person he blinds you with his personality. Complete superstar of a guy. So when we had a chance to tag along on a recent night out with his brother and some friends, we were there!

There's also a slideshow of our summer shoot with Bobby on our myspace.

Underwear That's Fun to Wear!

How do you take a portrait of an underwear designer? For V, you surround him with models in his designs. For their Powerhouse section (V49, with Brad Pitt on the cover) we dragged Tiago, David A, JT, Matthew L, and Manuel (Request) out into the elements and told them to stand around in their underwear for an hour or two. Not even their underwear actually. And there wasn't really anywhere to change, so the PR girls just closed their eyes (or pretended to). The Undergear designer Paulo had specific requirements ("Your thing must be pointing down!"), and Alan the hair and makeup guy kept making everyone do pushups in between bronzing touch-ups, but otherwise everything was pretty fun and low-key. Well, except when the police came to shut us down (no signs posted that the deserted location we were shooting is part of a national park, but they made it clear we were in violation of one law or another). Everyone got to keep their briefs.

Andre Birleanu, America's Most Smartest Russian Model

Andre Birleanu (Boss) is one of those quintessential bad boys who attracts trouble like an iron rod attracts lightning strikes. He's got the kind of larger-than-life personality that makes for good pictures–when he's not drunk or in jail (or so goes the story in the NY Post). He showed up to our shoot with dirty white low-rider jeans, a bottle of beer, and a fluffy white husky named Priest that happened to match his crew cut, freshly dyed blond. Click for slideshow

Looks like his website is finally up too. Looks pretty good, if we do say so ourselves...

Hallo-V-een

I don't know if it was just the setting (soaring ceilings, imposing stone fireplace, cascades of red velvet, and giant works of modern art in the bar at the Gramercy Park Hotel), but the V halloween party was probably as close as downtown gets to a proper costume party. Supermodels (Gemma, Daria, Behati), the fashion elite (Mario Sorrenti, Donna Karan, Donatella–well, James Kaliardos dressed up as), all in costumes that would win first place at a regular party. But there were no winners or losers here. Just beautiful people at a fashion party. And as expected, people got naked on the pool table, danced on broken glass, and got hauled, passed out drunk on their boyfriends' shoulders, into waiting taxis. Huge success. We took pictures of whoever we thought looked interesting. Which, didn't include Josh Hartnett, whose Bob Dylan costume apparently didn't catch our eye. Oops.