Latest news with #BenjaminLaw
Sydney Morning Herald
20 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Sydney Morning Herald
Gen X icon Ione Skye on why she's more Liz Taylor than Jennifer Aniston
This story is part of the June 28 edition of Good Weekend. See all 21 stories. Each week, Benjamin Law asks public figures to discuss the subjects we're told to keep private by getting them to roll a die. The numbers they land on are the topics they're given. This week he talks to Ione Skye. The British-born American actor, director, painter, writer and podcaster, 54, is a Gen X film icon best known for her role in Cameron Crowe's Say Anything. Her memoir is Say Everything. BODIES You started acting at a young age. How much of the attention on your looks was flattering and how much was annoying? I was very photogenic, which was helpful, but there was so much worry about weight. One time, I did a job in Rome and in Tunisia and was told, 'Lose 10 pounds in Italy.' Are you kidding me? But I did, then gained it back in two days. I didn't get to eat any amazing Italian food the whole time. None of this sounds healthy or joyous. I was never – for better or worse – strict enough. I did a movie with Jennifer Aniston before she did Friends. She'd eat a bagel and cut out the inside. That's someone who's very ordered. I'm more Elizabeth Taylor-messy, I think, which is kind of fun. Do you have tattoos? [ Counts ] I have one … two … how many tattoos? … Three? Technically, four. What are they and where are they? My first one was done by hand by the same guy who did my mum's tattoo: your classic moon and star that a young person gets. Then I did a swan on my hip with my ex-sister-in-law. This other tattoo is meant to say 'NOW' but it just looks like a blob. Then I had the name 'Adam' for my ex-husband [Adam Horovitz of the Beastie Boys], but I changed that to 'Madam'. MONEY Your father is the Scottish musician Donovan, your mother is model Enid Karl. As a result, you've been described as 'the OG nepo baby'. Is that fair? When I say I didn't get one cent from my parents, it's kind of true. I mean, my father paid child support, but my mum didn't make a lot of money. So it gave me a lot of confidence and pride when I started making my own. My father didn't really open any doors, but there were creative people around me, via my mother. So I saw examples of people in the industry, which was helpful. And having my father's name was intriguing to someone like [director] Cameron Crowe who was really into music; he cast me in Say Anything.
The Age
20 hours ago
- Entertainment
- The Age
Gen X icon Ione Skye on why she's more Liz Taylor than Jennifer Aniston
This story is part of the June 28 edition of Good Weekend. See all 21 stories. Each week, Benjamin Law asks public figures to discuss the subjects we're told to keep private by getting them to roll a die. The numbers they land on are the topics they're given. This week he talks to Ione Skye. The British-born American actor, director, painter, writer and podcaster, 54, is a Gen X film icon best known for her role in Cameron Crowe's Say Anything. Her memoir is Say Everything. BODIES You started acting at a young age. How much of the attention on your looks was flattering and how much was annoying? I was very photogenic, which was helpful, but there was so much worry about weight. One time, I did a job in Rome and in Tunisia and was told, 'Lose 10 pounds in Italy.' Are you kidding me? But I did, then gained it back in two days. I didn't get to eat any amazing Italian food the whole time. None of this sounds healthy or joyous. I was never – for better or worse – strict enough. I did a movie with Jennifer Aniston before she did Friends. She'd eat a bagel and cut out the inside. That's someone who's very ordered. I'm more Elizabeth Taylor-messy, I think, which is kind of fun. Do you have tattoos? [ Counts ] I have one … two … how many tattoos? … Three? Technically, four. What are they and where are they? My first one was done by hand by the same guy who did my mum's tattoo: your classic moon and star that a young person gets. Then I did a swan on my hip with my ex-sister-in-law. This other tattoo is meant to say 'NOW' but it just looks like a blob. Then I had the name 'Adam' for my ex-husband [Adam Horovitz of the Beastie Boys], but I changed that to 'Madam'. MONEY Your father is the Scottish musician Donovan, your mother is model Enid Karl. As a result, you've been described as 'the OG nepo baby'. Is that fair? When I say I didn't get one cent from my parents, it's kind of true. I mean, my father paid child support, but my mum didn't make a lot of money. So it gave me a lot of confidence and pride when I started making my own. My father didn't really open any doors, but there were creative people around me, via my mother. So I saw examples of people in the industry, which was helpful. And having my father's name was intriguing to someone like [director] Cameron Crowe who was really into music; he cast me in Say Anything.
The Age
20-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Age
‘Lean into the unknown': A mentalist on how he ‘reads' minds
This story is part of the June 21 edition of Good Weekend. See all 15 stories. Each week, Benjamin Law asks public figures to discuss the subjects we're told to keep private by getting them to roll a die. The numbers they land on are the topics they're given. This week he talks to Scott Silven. The Scottish mentalist, illusionist and performer, 36, studied hypnosis in Milan, Italy, as a teenager before going on to sell out three world tours. His latest show is called The Lost Things. RELIGION You grew up in the windswept lowlands of Scotland. Was there religion – and church? Well, when you hear 'the windswept lowlands of Scotland', you know it's going to be the fire-and-brimstone type of religion! In those small communities, the church is a big part of life. I remember being dragged to church every Sunday and having strong faith as a kid. Later, when I leaned into the skills that I use today – hypnosis and manipulation – I realised there were parallels between what I was hearing the preacher say and the things I would end up doing in my shows. Oh, what were those parallels? [Preachers] use stories and evocative language to make you think of certain things, so you feel that you're having a genuine emotional response. Weirdly, I began studying [those techniques] to try to bolster my faith. But in researching them, I sort of talked myself out of it. By the time I was 13 years old, I was an atheist. Sometimes, people wrongly assume atheists mustn't believe in anything … You're right to bring this up because I now believe that there's no such thing as 'atheism'. There's no way to prove that God doesn't exist: the best you can be is agnostic. That's sort of my mantra for my life: not to discredit other beliefs, or something that you don't understand or think to be true. Explore it a bit. Lean into the unknown. BODIES When we see your illusions, it looks like mind-reading. What are you actually tapping into? Part of it is building rapport, cognitive behavioural processing, and tapping into those parts of our minds that we don't realise are there. My job is to crack those open. None of the techniques that I'm using is secret or hidden in some vintage tome somewhere. They're a variety of psychological and hypnotic techniques, and some traditional magic techniques, too. Do you have any gnarly scars? I've got a scar on my left knee, which most people also have, actually. This is one of the things that 'psychics' use: most of us have a scar on our knee or elbow. When do you feel most comfortable in your own skin? When I'm on stage and connecting with an audience in a really deep way. I'm also big on yoga and I try to do it morning and evening.
Sydney Morning Herald
20-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Sydney Morning Herald
‘Lean into the unknown': A mentalist on how he ‘reads' minds
This story is part of the June 21 edition of Good Weekend. See all 15 stories. Each week, Benjamin Law asks public figures to discuss the subjects we're told to keep private by getting them to roll a die. The numbers they land on are the topics they're given. This week he talks to Scott Silven. The Scottish mentalist, illusionist and performer, 36, studied hypnosis in Milan, Italy, as a teenager before going on to sell out three world tours. His latest show is called The Lost Things. RELIGION You grew up in the windswept lowlands of Scotland. Was there religion – and church? Well, when you hear 'the windswept lowlands of Scotland', you know it's going to be the fire-and-brimstone type of religion! In those small communities, the church is a big part of life. I remember being dragged to church every Sunday and having strong faith as a kid. Later, when I leaned into the skills that I use today – hypnosis and manipulation – I realised there were parallels between what I was hearing the preacher say and the things I would end up doing in my shows. Oh, what were those parallels? [Preachers] use stories and evocative language to make you think of certain things, so you feel that you're having a genuine emotional response. Weirdly, I began studying [those techniques] to try to bolster my faith. But in researching them, I sort of talked myself out of it. By the time I was 13 years old, I was an atheist. Sometimes, people wrongly assume atheists mustn't believe in anything … You're right to bring this up because I now believe that there's no such thing as 'atheism'. There's no way to prove that God doesn't exist: the best you can be is agnostic. That's sort of my mantra for my life: not to discredit other beliefs, or something that you don't understand or think to be true. Explore it a bit. Lean into the unknown. BODIES When we see your illusions, it looks like mind-reading. What are you actually tapping into? Part of it is building rapport, cognitive behavioural processing, and tapping into those parts of our minds that we don't realise are there. My job is to crack those open. None of the techniques that I'm using is secret or hidden in some vintage tome somewhere. They're a variety of psychological and hypnotic techniques, and some traditional magic techniques, too. Do you have any gnarly scars? I've got a scar on my left knee, which most people also have, actually. This is one of the things that 'psychics' use: most of us have a scar on our knee or elbow. When do you feel most comfortable in your own skin? When I'm on stage and connecting with an audience in a really deep way. I'm also big on yoga and I try to do it morning and evening.
The Age
13-06-2025
- Sport
- The Age
Jana Pittman: ‘I pay more for childcare than I get paid as a doctor'
This story is part of the June 14 edition of Good Weekend. See all 14 stories. Each week, Benjamin Law asks public figures to discuss the subjects we're told to keep private by getting them to roll a die. The numbers they land on are the topics they're given. This week he talks to Jana Pittman. The two-time world champion, 42, was the first woman to represent Australia in Summer and Winter Olympics (track and bobsleigh). She's a registrar in obstetrics and gynaecology and mother of six. Her memoir is Enough. DEATH You qualified for four Summer Olympic Games – Sydney, Athens, Beijing and London – three of which coincided with injuries. Did having to close a door to your Olympic dream feel like a death? Absolutely. For three Olympics in a row, I was odds-on favourite to win [the 400-metre hurdles]. Ideally, I would've been a double – if not triple – Olympic medallist now. It hurt after Athens [2004], but I was like, 'I'm young, it'll be fine.' After Beijing [2008], I was like, 'Shit, two in a row! How unlucky is that?' When it happened again in London [2012], I was like, 'You've got to be kidding me!' That was when my running career ended. It felt like a whole part of my identity was dying. But last year, I had the biggest wake-up call of my life and it was a real death. Gee, what happened? I'm an obstetrician now and a little baby died on my watch. I tried desperately hard to save the life of this little one. Unfortunately, no matter what I did, it didn't happen; babies sometimes don't survive. That made me sit down and realise that all the things that I'd thought were big deals up until then were trivial in comparison. I started feeling guilty about how much time I'd devoted to sport. But later, I also thought, 'No, Jana: at the time, that's all you knew.' Until you experience something profound, those little things mean a lot.
