Scene @ Prahran Hotel Relaunch * Gala Night Educating Rita * Ngv Guggenheim Opening Night
The Sunday Age
Sunday July 1, 2007
THERE'S a temptation to dismiss Jemma Gawned as simply another Big Brother evictee. She's blonde, beautiful and (thanks to strategic editing) was portrayed back in 2001 as little more than a lip-gloss addict who favoured off-the-shoulder outfits. Such an image could not be further from the truth. As the business-savvy entrepreneur mingled with the likes of Roger Grinstead, Paris Kyne and Gwendolynne Burkin at the relaunch party for the stunning Prahran Hotel on Tuesday evening, it was obvious she's achieved success through determination, self-funding and hard work.
"They edited (Big Brother) so much . . . I never put that much lip balm on!" laughed Gawned, admitting she entered the contest because "it was something no one knew about back then". Given the controversies surrounding the current series, would she be tempted to do it again? "Not on your life!" On the cusp of launching an online store and pursuing an acting career, Gawned glowed with contentment - something new love Ljubo Milicevic, now of Melbourne Victory, may partly be responsible for. Given that his soccer career had him living abroad for much of the past six years, had he laid eyes on her previously? "I had a knee injury in 2001 and I used to watch (Big Brother) with Mum." You first view her with a knee injury and now, years later, you may be getting down on that same knee? "I like your way of thinking . . . yes there could be something there," laughed Milicevic. "Don't print that! The boys will give me so much s***!"Across the river and far away from the rural outback, actor Lisa Chappell was celebrating Tuesday's gala performance of Educating Rita at Society on Bourke Street with the likes of John Wood, Julie Quartermaine, Brodie Harper, Richard Nylon and Pete Lazer. The brilliantly performed two-hander seemed a far cry from McLeod's Daughters, the TV series that made Chappell a household name in Australia. Was there a fear of losing any of her fans by returning to the stage? "I don't think people even think like that, do they?" Chappell asked, puzzled. "Theatre is my first home and I was doing this long before McLeod's Daughters." OK. Given Chappell's parallel singing career (her album When Then is Now was released earlier this year), any chance we'll be seeing her in a musical soon? "Did you not just watch the show tonight? Were you there? I'm obviously a big actress so they would be perfect for me." On the subject of music, any worry about how your album will be viewed? "No. My album is so not pop . . . It's such a piece of heartfelt individuality so I'm incredibly proud." Two nights later, crowds comparable to those witnessed at a release of a new Harry Potter novel lined up for the NGV Guggenheim opening night. Dressed in a uniform of black, the art world's elite - including Lisa Dennison (director of Guggenheim, New York), Peter Batchelor, Lynne Kosky and Wolfgang Schrempp (president and CEO Daimler-Chrysler, Australia Pacific) - shuffled into the launch of the most anticipated post-war collection ever to grace the NGV, to be greeted with cocktails, champagne and designer party pies. Canadian artist Sarah Anne Johnson, who had flown in the day before, delighted in her work's inclusion in the exhibition: "It's amazing. It's probably the biggest high point I'll ever have as an artist!" Dressed in a frock that wouldn't look out of place on an Alice McCall runway, Johnson injected a colourful presence into the crowd of old money socialites, publicists, gallery owners and modern artists.sundayage.scene@gmail.com
© 2007 The Sunday Age