An Award-Winning Digital Marketing Strategist and Personal Publicist, Joy Kennelly has covered the worlds of entertainment, red carpet events, celebrities, travel, technology, politics, food and fashion festivals for many years.
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PREFACE: Just started writing for Atlanta's Backstage Beat website and wrote my first review of the recent Music Midtown Festival which you can read here: Music Midtown Atlanta... A Great Experience. Do me a favor and like or tweet it out if you like it ok? I would appreciate your support.:)
I'm toying with writing a fashion recap every Friday so if you like this let me know! Send me your fashion tips and highlights here: joykennelly1 (at) gmail (dot) com.
Here's some fun fashion tips and sightings I received over the last few weeks followed by some of the fashion shows I attended a few weeks back.
Happy to hear Jacqueline Laurita is leaving Desperate Housewives of New Jersey. She always seemed too sweet to be part of all the drama. Her tweet said it all, "I can’t be a part of the Charade anymore. It’s unsettling. It’s disturbing & against what I stand for. I’m a REAL housewife.”
She followed up this tweet with her expectations of the future, “I’d like to only focus on positive things now please. I threw the trash out. I’m cleaning now and reorganizing. Starting fresh and new.”
Sounds smart to me. Enough with trashy TV.
Did you hear Gwen Stefani is launching a kid's clothing line at Target? I've always admired her style and music. "Inspired by the playful style found in Japan’s trendy Harajuku district, the collection is Target’s newest design collaboration and Gwen’s most extensive children’s and baby collection to date."
Have to give a little plug for this couple, Simon Helberg and Jocelyn Towne, seeing as I was featured in their independent film, I Am I, before leaving CA. (Click the link to see their amazing Kickstarter campaign too.)
Bet you didn't realize men under 5'8" had a designer who creates their amazing outfits for all the big events, did you? I know I sure didn't! Jimmy Au's claim to fame is helping short men feel and look their best as the US’ ONLY designer short men’s store outfitting actors including 4 of this year’s Emmy nominees including Seth Green, Steve Carell, Mark Wahlberg, Simon Helberg and many others.
All these short men may explain why I'm not cast more often when I'm 5'10"! LOL
And it may explain why Latina firecracker and one of the original Desperate Housewives, Eva Longoria, was chosen for the recent Alma Awards.
Darlings, here's what jewelry she was wearing since I know you're dying to know if you haven't heard already. "Eva Longoria chose four pairs of her favorite Bochic earrings (designed by David Joseph) to accompany her stunning outfit changes at the 2011 NCLR ALMA Awards in Santa Monica, CA. Her look for arrivals was simple and distinct – she chose a smoky pair of oversized drops with diamond detailing at the ear.
While hosting she chose three carved pairs, one archival jade in a pale green color with distinct metal work and one black jet – both with diamond accents - at the ear."
I'm sure this isn't Eva's favorite pic, but hey, you go with what you're given. Aren't the jade earrings gorgeous? So delicate and intricately designed. I'm not sure they're the same as what she's wearing, but I like this pair the best.
Look how cute Demi Lovato looked when she was on Jimmy Kimmel Live recently wearing "statement rings, elegant Philip Press gold multi-hoop earrings with diamonds and a Beverly Jill Designs gold wrap cuff" with her itty bitty leopard print mini.
I saw her recently on The Ellen Show (which I am boycotting today since she had on Nancy Pelosi yesterday who I can't stand and has been getting too political lately. Just make me laugh lady ok?)
I was really impressed on how far Demi's come since her breakdown. Go girl! Now start wearing dresses that cover up more!:) Kinda worried she might have had a wardrobe malfunction any minute here!
Guess strapless dresses with large bracelets and earrings are the going style these days since "Dancing With the Stars beauty Cheryl Burke hosted a pre-Emmy party with cast member Derek Hough on Friday, September 16th in Los Angeles and looked amazing in a red strapless dress accessorized with Prive Jewellery earrings and a Soffer Ari cuff. The star was decked out in diamonds with Prive Jewellery’s white gold and diamond earrings from their ‘Kreol’collection and Soffer Ari’s sterling silver 'Vieux Carre Red Fellas White and Black Diamond Cuff'embedded with skulls and diamonds." (PR writing, can you tell? I love not having to write anything because it makes my life easier.:)
And to wrap up the professional PR plugs (have you enjoyed them? Shall I continue next week?:), here's the Material woman herself, Madonna, wearing YSL Sunglasses.
"Available at SOLSTICE Sunglass Boutiques, these Yves Saint Laurent sunglasses (model YSL2320/S) shades went perfectly with the star’s signature cross necklace. Always a leader in the fashion industry, Madonna also launched her Material Girl clothing line recently with her daughter Lourdes."
Now, on a more personal note, here's some of my fashion pix (blurry ones are more for the effect than trying to be true photos. I thought they kinda looked like surreal art which is why I'm including them. Plus, then you get a little peek into some of the fun Atlanta fashion shows.)
As I mentioned before, had front row seats near Real Housewives of Atlanta Hair Stylist, Derek J, for the Betsey Johnson show. I liked seeing more African American models on the runway out here in Atlanta. Betsey's trends are plaid, taffeta, lots of pink, and black too.
In no particular order, here are some of the fun, flirty fashions showcased. Too junior for me, but well-received by the filled to capacity crowd.
More my taste because of the sheer elegance of the entire event, A Night to Remember, follows. Here's the entrance alone...:) Afterward, I saw one of my favorite African American models from Seventeen because I've followed model's careers since high school and have to admit, teared up meeting her.
I realized I had just attended a one-of-a-kind fashion show featuring all African American models except for one Caucasion woman and it was so special. We will probably never see another one like it, but I wish this wasn't the case because it was stunning and memorable.
She agreed and was so gracious. Always love meeting people I admire and finding out they're just as down-to-earth and humble as everyone despite their achievements. Real class act.
Next up is my Driven Music Conference coverage. I promise!
Recently I was invited by North Avenue Post Director of Marketing, Tracie Kriete, to join Georgia Production Partnership's "Plugged in Producing" Panel (say that fast three times:) at the Rome International Film Festival, considered by Moviemaker Magazine as “one of the outstanding film festivals in the southeast” and “one of twenty film festivals worth the submission fee.”
Now, for those of you who have never heard of Georgia Production Partnership (GPP), it is a "not-for-profit coalition of companies and individuals who are active in the state’s film, video, music, and interactive game industries. (They do) whatever it takes to promote film and television production in Georgia. You might say that the most important achievement to date has been our contribution to the Georgia tax incentives bill. GPP has worked tirelessly on the formulation and passage of, what is officially called, The Georgia Entertainment Industry Investment Act of 2008."
Now what does this mean to you as a filmmaker with a budget of $500,000 or more? You are eligible for a transferrable 30% tax credit for qualified production and post-production expenditures if you shoot in the state of Georgia. I don't know all the details, but you can learn more if you click the link above. I do know it has turned Georgia into one of the top five TV and film production locations to shoot however.
Did you know Denzel Washington is coming to Georgia with Director Robert Zemeckis to film Flight? Or that Billy Crystal and Bette Midler are coming here to shoot Us and Them? Also, Cameron Diaz, Chris Rock and JLo have been here shooting What To Expect When You're Expecting.
I convinced my CA2GA girlfriends, Brenda and Anne, and my new screenwriter friend, MH Witten, to join me for the day and this gorgeous building below was our first view of the festival site. There is such history in Georgia we love driving anywhere.
When we arrived in the room where we would be speaking, initially I was worried my friends would comprise the entire audience, but pretty soon people started trickling in and we ended up with a good-sized crowd.
Here's the pictures and bios of our moderator and my fellow panelists in order of our appearance:
Moderator: Tracie Kriete, MSM:Tracie is the Director of Marketing for North Avenue Post. She has worked in the digital landscape since 1997. Her expertise lies in social media, search, SEM/SEO, video, display, sales strategy/execution, o ine marketing, and graphic design to name a few. Currently she is on the Speaker Series Committee for GPP, MembershipCommittee for AIMA, Membership Committee for DMA, Founder/President of WIIM, and freelances online reputation management for a variety of clients.
L.C. Crowley: L.C. Crowley is a writer, producer and director with a diverse background in music videos, television and lm. In 2006 he produced and directed the feature-length documentary Birds of Eden, which explores therole played by African-American spiritual music in the tiny Alabama hamlet of Gee's Bend. He has also directed commercials for a wide range of brands including Coca-Cola, Toyota, AT&T, and General Electric.
Crowley now is based out of School of Humans, the bi-coastal entertainment label he founded in 2009. There, Crowley has executive-produced, written and directed myriad projects including Funny By Nature, featuring Sarah Silverman, Janeane Garafalo, and Judah Friedlander in conjunction with General Electric. And Stu You Should Know, a multiplatform series for Discovery Networks starring hit-podcasters Josh and Chuck. Crowley has also directed several music videos, recently helming the critically-acclaimed "Close To You" for popular indie-rock artist Ben Sollee.
David Warren: David is an Atlanta based producer and location scout. He is a Texas lm school grad who did time in LA with Spelling and Hallmark. In the "ATL" he made his bones producing for Cartoon Network. Some highlights were the Adult Swim Launch Campaign, The Star Wars: Clone Wars Launch Campaign, and the doing time in a haunted prison with the Scooby Doo Villains. Currently, he is juggling commercials, features, and television series and developing three original reality series.
Joy Kennelly Joy A. Kennelly is an Award-Winning Social Media Strategist, Producer, Personal Publicist and Founder of The Joy Writer. Using her expertise in social media on such platforms as Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, Hootsuite, etc., she has successfully integrated and incorporated over one hundred additional regional online social networking sites into publicity for numerous clients in entertainment, travel, technology, and fashion, as well as, in promoting and supporting numerous political candidates and social causes.
Joy began her publicity career at Sony Pictures Imageworks (SPI) marketing the visual effects team of THE GHOST AND THE DARKNESS starring Michael Douglas and Val Kilmer. At SPI, she founded, produced and began serving as the Executive Director of the Short Pictures International Film Festival (SPIFF) for four years.
SPIFF began as an internal screening event for SPI employees and quickly grew into an internationally acclaimed film festival. MTV, HBO, and William Morris agents scouted the films she personally helped select and screen. Many films which premiered at SPIFF went on to appear at other prestigious film festivals around the world, including Cannes Film Festival. She also produced an online film festival called ME Fest for Penton Media which drew 100,000 hits in less than three weeks in 1999.
Joy has presented classes and produced seminars on social media at The Musicians Institute, American Cinematheque, and at conferences throughout the US. She currently resides in Atlanta, GA.
(Since this is my blog I allowed for a little longer bio because some might not know my film background and I am qualified to discuss producing, especially from a publicity standpoint. The others credits stand alone. I think these guys on my panel are about to become huge if you must know...)
What I enjoyed about our panel discussion is we all came at this topic from different perspectives (branded entertainment, TV producing, film) and together we were able to provide a wide spectrum of information many appreciated hearing.
Everyone is so talented and humble here in GA I really enjoyed the entire experience. The gentleman speaking to us above is the Film Editor for Paste Magazine. That reminds me, I need to touch base with him!:)
(I will also have some exciting news to share very soon regarding one of the panelists too! Stay tuned.)
I also enjoyed the interaction that occurred with the audience during our talk. Even MH, my screenwriter friend, had a chance to contribute her insights on participating in a Burbank, CA screenwriting pitch fest. I was surprised to hear how many people who attended her event weren't even in the business, but wealthy people wanting to get involved in film.
Don't they know the risk?:) And where are they now?:)
Very interesting filmmakers in the audience too. One guy (whose email I have misplaced - please email me again if you're reading this!) began making films after his sister died two years ago. He just submitted his first documentary to Sundance. Good luck!
Another was a high school student who had won an award for his film and was heading off to college on a full scholarship. Many others were accomplished and had produced numerous films too.
Award-winning filmmaker, James Kicklighter, was in our audience too. Check out his credits on IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2155567/bio Impressive filmmakers coming out of Georgia, I'm telling you!
What I enjoyed about the Rome Int'l Film Festival was there also appeared to be many first time filmmakers whose films were accepted which we watched later on in the day. They may not have been tightly edited or the best produced, but the fact their voice was being seen and heard was cool.
There were also a few very well made films which we especially enjoyed. Click here to download the program for the entire roster. Many zombie films (which, us being girls, skipped.:) and more which looked entertaining if their trailers on the official site are any indication.
Grow! was all about sustainable farming and was very interesting. A wee bit long, but it was a topic I enjoyed learning about. Had no idea it even existed, but apparently it's huge and my new friend from the panel, David Warren of Maglev Media, actually is pitching a very cool reality show concept on it. Another documentary we enjoyed watching was Fanning the Fire. If you like bluegrass, then you will enjoy this one too! Very well-made. After exploring Rome's main street drag and enjoying dinner at one of their famous chicken wing places, we popped into the Zombie after-party for a few minutes before heading back home.
Now, if you're curious about what Rome, GA looks like, continue on because I'm going to post my pictorial essay from here on. Enjoy!
This is the three of us CA2GA girls in the lobby of the renovated theatre. It had a distinct smell of smoke due to there being a fire there a few years back apparently. Beautiful old-style theatre. One of the attendants, an older African-American woman, kept saying, You girls are Charlie's Angels. You're Charlie's Angels.:)
Here's MH enjoying the shops. Such quaint stores and restuarants! She and I met at my writing group and since she's pursuing screenwriting I invited her to join us knowing she'd appreciate the opportunity. She drove too which was an added bonus since she knew where to go!:)
All in all, it was a wonderful time with new and old friends speaking the language of storytelling.
I've been wanting to give you the greatest in-depth coverage of my experience speaking on a Producing panel at the Rome International Film Festival with my amazing co-panelists and also my experience attending the Drive Music Conference, and I shall.
Just haven't had time to give it the hours of time it takes to do it right. I will though. I promise. Been so busy and then had the weirdest arm injury over the weekend which hurt so bad it was all I could do to get out of bed.
It's much better now thanks to taking my MSM, Glucosamine supplements, epsom salts, deep heating ointment, and Advil. I think I re-injured an old injury somehow and it's just now where I can lift my arm above my head without crying out in pain.
SO! Sorry for the delay, but I had a good excuse.:) See ya again real soon.
Been busy the past few days. Enjoyed checking out Dragon Con (totally not my scene, but fun to observe nonetheless. Amazing costumes which I'll post another time.); Betsey Johnson's fashion show was young, flirty and fun, especially since I was sitting next to the fabulous Derek J, Owner of The J Spot Salon, and Real Housewives of Atlanta fame (I don't know what it is about celebrities. They find me, or I find them without either of us trying. Never fails.:)
I loved how the entire show of 20 plus models walking were African American except for one white model and the DJ was playing great 70's music like Barry White, Teddy Pendergrass and more great old school R & B. Visually stunning.
Thank you Ellen for honoring our military like you plan to do on September 13 and showcase U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Angie Johnson and Sidewinder. Here's the sneak peek as promised...
Spent the last few days prior to, and during the holiday, writing and re-writing my book proposal which is a very time-intensive endeavor; hence the delay. My apologies...
Some quick fashion highlights to notice as you review the pictures of attendees, Co-Chairs, and models. Be prepared for the following: capes were huge (literally and figuratively); thigh-high slits up the front of ball gowns were prevalent; satin, jersey, chiffon, brocade, leather and feathers were common; and lots of black and grey with pops of color like orange, blue, red, and emerald green with more muted tones like cream as well.
You will no doubt, see more trends as you peruse my pictorial essay courtesy Ben Rose Photography too. Jeffrey, the founder of this event, has phenomenal connections to some of the most amazing design houses by virtue of his relationship with Nordstrom and his own retail stores.
As a result, this fashion show was a visual feast of fashion! I love my Los Angeles designers, but it's been fun seeing designers I've normally only seen in magazines too!
So, now, without further ado, here's the rest of the pictures I've been promising you.... If you're in the know, you will recognize many of these faces too.
Publicist, Caren West; Stylist/Designer, Randolph Duke, Founder/Chair/Fashion Pioneer, Jeffrey Kalinsky; Co-Chair, Lila Herst; Guest Designer, Jason Wu; Co-Chair, Louise Sams; Co-Chair, Jeffrey McQuithy; Honorary Chair, Dennis Deans; Ne Ne of The Real Housewives of Atlanta, others anyone?
This past Monday I was invited to attend "THE" fashion event of the season, Jeffrey Fashion Cares, which, according to their research "appears financially, to be among the largest 3rd party events in all of Atlanta’s philanthropic endeavors."
And I was there darlings and I am going to share my experience with you now.:)
Jeffrey Fashion Cares is the brain child of Jeffrey Kalinsky, who along with his amazing Event Co-Chairs, Lila Hertz, Jeffrey McQuithy and Louise Sams (seen here below) and their amazing planning committee and host committee, created a wonderfully stylish, hip, fun and fabulous fashion fundraiser unlike any I've ever attended in Los Angeles.
But when you consider the fact how connected and accomplished all of the people involved are, it's no wonder! Google their names to see what I mean...
Our evening started off on the 32nd floor of the 12th & Midtown complex which set the stage for the sophisticated evening since the views from the floor to ceiling windows were stunning. Photo Credit: Stylist Robert Ballew
When we entered the room from the elevators guests were greeted by a steam curtain with various logos flashing across as we walked through it to the red carpet and on to the raw space. The fashion show area was hidden by white curtains surrounding the entire runway and seating leaving me very curious, but I was soon distracted by the wonderful people watching.
The Who's Who of Atlanta were there in force and since I'm so new to the city I have no idea who anyone was, but knew instantly this was a very high-end crowd by virtue of the gowns, jewels, shoes, and handbags. The guys looked great too.:)
Although I came alone, I never felt uncomfortable because everyone was gracious and having a wonderful time posing for pictures, admiring and bidding on the silent auction items while enjoying the delicious cocktails and appetizers presented by Honorary Chair, Dennis Dean, owner of Dennis Dean Catering, which "boasts a client list of Atlanta’s top corporate, retail, social and non-profit entities."
Since I last wrote, my blog was selected by Cision, a leading "international media database with more global contacts, more outlets, more detailed profiles than any other solution." Very honored to be included because this means I'll be able to share even more interesting things because now publicists pitch me rather than me having to chase everything down.
Don't hear this that often now do you? Love being part of positive charity endeavors that truly help.This is just one of the gorgeous gowns showcased. More designs to follow I promise. It always takes me awhile to get everything into one blog post so bear with me. My fashion review of the entire event is coming!
In the meantime enjoy this information courtesy of my new Cision recognition...
I like Hugh Jackman and love World Vision's efforts to help children in East Africa having lived in Kenya, Africa myself. Anything African holds a special place in my heart as a result.