Working on a new screenplay...
JIM LEE + LOVE
To say that photographer and filmmaker Jim Lee has lived a full life would be an understatement. He shot seminal pop-rock bands like The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and The Who during the sixties. He created daring and often controversial campaigns for clients like Ossie Clark, Yves Saint Laurent and Gianni Versace — not to mention working with a young Anna Wintour, then an assistant at Harpers & Queen. Throughout it all, he lead the kind of insane, rock 'n' roll lifestyle one fantasizes a fashion and music photographer should have — whilst raising five kids. How did he do it?
“There’s always time for everything you want," Lee tells me over mint tea in his South Kensington home. We’re sitting in an eclectic study cluttered by books, images, and other mementoes he’s amassed over the years. For example: there’s a Polaroid of one of The Beatles mid-performance at The Round House Theatre in Sydney circa 1964 just lying on his desk. “If you want something enough, you do it," he concludes.
Jim Lee is a living, breathing testament to this idea. He’s spent the last hour regaling me with stories from his youth — hitchhiking through the outback with an Aboriginal truck driver at seventeen, discovering his parents were MI5, partying with foreign models, being locked in a caravan with The Rolling Stones - etcetera. So when he tells me that he’s named his retrospective monograph Arrested because “when you take a photo, you arrest a moment," I’m sure there’s more to the story.
“Plus I was actually arrested." Of course you were! “This was in Australia. I was off to see my girlfriend, who worked at a mental hospital, but on the way, this guy came around the corner in a big old American car with a sign in the window advertising it for sale. So I shouted at him, ‘I’ll give you a fiver for it!’ Obviously that wasn’t much, but he replied, ‘Give me a tenner!’"
Warning bells were ringing, right Jim? “No! I was too stupid. In the end I paid him seven pounds ten, and said, ‘Can you show me how to drive it?’ I didn’t know how to drive back then. I think I’d driven my mother’s car once, maybe. So obviously he’d nicked it, but I didn’t realize. I picked up my girlfriend and she had a big bag of pills — we’d pop ‘purple hearts’ back then — and an escaped loony called ‘Bob’."
At this point, neither of us can help laughing. In fact, the absurdity of Lee’s life is such that neither of us can keep a straight face throughout most of the interview.
He continues: “So none of us had any money, and on the way out we picked up a German hitchhiker, whose money we began to siphon for petrol so that we could go on. He was playing the accordion in the back seat beside Bob, while Paula and I sat in the front seat. We pulled up to the gas station, and it was so hot that we decided to borrow a hacksaw and turn the car into a convertible. We drove off with no roof, in 140 degrees in the desert — now suffering from sunstroke — and of course when we saw a river we decided to stop and bathe. So there we were: running around naked, high as kites, with this stolen car without its roof, and we were arrested. The police could see us from miles off! So they threw us in prison."
The resulting picture — a young Jim Lee stuffed into the back of a police car — is wallpapered on the inside cover of Arrested. Flicking through the copy that Lee presented me with, it’s clear that there’s simply not time to discuss everything that’s happened in his life. There’s just too much to cover. But Lee gives it his best shot.
One highlight is the aforementioned story of his trip across the Nullarbor at the age of seventeen. “I had to drive at night when he [the Aboriginal truck driver] was asleep. He said, ‘Boy, keep awake’, and gave me some pills to keep me up. There was a block of wood across the steering wheel so that it wouldn’t move, and he put a breezeblock on the pedal and told me to watch the compass. He told me: ‘As long as we’re going west, we’re ok.’ It was a twenty-mile wide road, you know. We were in the desert. I even ran a camel over once. I was so young he’d have to pick me up to put me in the cabin, and I was driving a road train!"
Lee survived those reckless adventures in the outback, only to be conscripted by the Australian Army during the Vietnam War. Luckily, his father — an MI5 operative rumoured to be the never-exposed fifth double agent working alongside Sir Roger Hollis during the Cold War — bailed him out on the grounds of National Security.
In Sydney, Lee began shooting the cavalcade of incredible musical acts that now fill his CV: The Rolling Stones, The Who, The Kinks, The Beatles, and more. (Years later, those images would be lost forever when the basement he used for storage flooded). Having stocked his portfolio with stars, Lee transitioned seamlessly into fashion photography. “I began working with the Fashion Editor at Harper’s, Jennifer Hocking," he tells me. “She was amazing. Her assistant was Anna Wintour, who was about 21 at the time. She kept saying, ‘Can we do a shoot together one day Jim?’ She already had a really good eye. I loved her style. About seventeen of the images we created feature in Arrested."
Lee’s photographs often elicited controversy (they commented on such topics as interracial romance and the Vietnam War), while the shoots themselves were inherently dangerous for all involved. One shot, titled Jump (1970) and now featured in the Victoria and Albert museum in London, saw his wife at the time, the model Sally Hill-Brooks, literally leap from a moving train over a midget. Another, Plane Crash (1969), involved an exploding airplane — the man working the detonator blew himself up.
“All of these stories from my life are the reason I wanted to make such exciting work when I was young," Lee recalls. “When life is that exciting, you don’t want to create things that don’t live up to reality."
With such a cinematic vision, it’s not surprising that Lee decided to move into directing. I wonder though, why the iconoclastic young photographer wound up making television commercials — he’s made more than 400 to date for companies like Elizabeth Arden, Levi’s, Esso and British Airways.
“If I’d been more selfish and not so committed to my children — providing them with an education and all that — I could have gone further and gotten more into my film work," he explains. “But it’s useless to regret. It’s more fun to accept what you’ve got and see what you’ve done. I’ve had three careers: photography, television commercials, and film. Now I’m exhibiting and selling my art, and I’m working on a film inspired by my early life. What more does one want?"
FOXY BOXERS + BUTT MAGAZINE
When 40-year-old Günther Spiegel is not working as art director at Vogue, he’s probably training. Mostly, he’s swimming laps at the London Fields Lido every weekday from 8 to 9 AM, except Thursday which is his running day. Or he’s kickboxing, or sparring at the London Gay Boxing Club. Typical Taurean, Günther is generally quite easy-going until you throw him in the ring and the welterweight unleashes his inner bull. I caught up with Günther, fresh off his first boxing tournament, and discovered how to use my gluteus maximus to throw a punch and how putting my face in a guy’s armpit might just save my life.
Zac: Are you still feeling pumped-up from your fight last Saturday?Günther: It’s like being on drugs. You can’t stop talking! All the adrenaline’s rushing through your body. You can’t sleep, even though you’re totally exhausted physically. It takes a couple of days to go down, and then when it goes down, you’re really down. Your body needs to recover.
What do you do to get into the zone before a fight?I train a lot. Doing the combinations, talking to myself. Even sometimes on the dance floor. It sounds silly, but boxing is a little bit like dancing. I also like to imagine the fight… Going up the stairs, going into the ring, and thinking, ‘That’s my space’.
Did you win on Saturday night?There was no official winner, since it was, for both of us, our first fight. But…
I get you…Actually, for the last round I was told to take it down a notch. I like gentleman boxing. There’s no need for anyone to get their face smashed in.
So that was your first boxing tournament?Yes, but I also do kickboxing.
Gay kickboxing?No, that group’s straight. In the kickboxing club, everyone is very friendly and very open-minded, but I was the only openly-gay male there. I wondered if I was the only one in London. So I went on the internet and found this gay boxing club in London, and went along just to see what it was like. Right after I watched the first tournament, I went to the trainer and said I wanted to be involved.
What does training involve?We spend a lot of time sparring. You spar with people in different weight classes, so you can end up sparring with people that are much bigger than you, and taller too. Like, if I was to fight someone like you —
— You would win.But you would have the advantage because you’re taller and have much longer arms. So I would try to get behind your punch and get as close as possible. I would literally get my head under your arm pit and give you loads of body shots and upper cuts, because you can’t hit me back by punching downwards.
But I could knee you.That’s not allowed. That’s Thai boxing.
How long have you been training?I did two or three years back in Germany, then after a two-year break, I started two-and-half years ago here in London.
Why did you wait until now for your first proper fight?The kickboxing group doesn’t have tournaments. It’s called ‘white collar boxing’, for people who don’t box professionally. Also, I wasn’t brave enough for a long time.
What were you afraid of?It does hurt, you know. It can hurt quite a bit. Even if you’ve become someone’s punching bag — you have to be prepared to go all the way in a tournament.
Have you had any bad injuries?Yeah, my nose isn’t straight anymore. You get black eyes — we call them blaues auge in German. I used to be a gymnast when I was a teenager, and I think I had the same amount of injuries from gymnastics as I’ve had from boxing. You know, you fall.
Is it anything like getting into a fight spontaneously with someone on the street?No! I’ve never had a street fight.
You’ve never been punched in a bar?No.
Do you think boxing would be as fun if it wasn’t so scary?It’s part of the excitement. Fighting is actually a very natural thing, people just do it in different ways. In business and some office situations, people fight really hard. But for me, boxing is a bit like playing and dancing. It’s not all about hurting people. It’s hard to describe how it feels in the moment.
Like trying to explain how skydiving feels?Yeah, something like that. It’s weird. You almost feel like you’re fighting for your life. You can feel the animal inside of you, and all these animal instincts spill out.
What kind of animal are you?I’m a bit foxy. My trainer says that there are three kinds of boxers… There’s The King, who stands in the middle and dominates. There’s The Clown, who does funny things and irritates people —
— What’s The Clown like?They do funny moves, unexpected things, like a joyful boxer. And then there’s The Fox, who’ll take two punches or three, and it looks like he’s losing, but actually he’s taken them deliberately, waiting for you to make a mistake.
How long does each round last?We go three rounds, for two minutes each. It’s very quick, but those two minutes can feel incredibly long. Imagine a big dog chasing you through London Fields for two minutes.
What’s the secret to a good punch?You need to get your body weight behind each punch. You have to use your legs — this [pats his butt] is your biggest muscle.
So your butt is your secret weapon!It is the biggest muscle in your body.
Do you get sore?By the end of training, I need to use two hands to get my coat off the hook, because I can’t lift my hands higher than my chest. The hardest thing is taking off your shirt afterwards.
Have you ever hooked up with another boxer?No.
It’s not a turn-on for you?No. I guess people must assume that we meet, we fight, then afterwards it’s a big orgy. We go for a pint afterwards and chat about boxing. It’s quite boring unless you’re really into boxing.
Does it ever get awkward in the locker room?I’ve been doing sport all my life, and quite often I’ve been faced with showering or getting dressed with a group of very good looking athletic men, but it all feels neutral.
Do you think your boxing talents could come in handy if, god forbid, you were ever a target for gay bashers?I’ve thought about this often… I’m actually quite a scared person, generally. If there was trouble, I was always far away. I wanted to do something that was the opposite of what I’d normally do. I do believe that boxers, gay or straight, try to prove themselves. That’s the basis of sport.
What are you trying to prove?I want people to know that gay men can box. I remember once, when I left the ring, some random straight bloke came up to me, shook my hand and said, ‘Well done gay man’. I took that as a compliment.
OLIVIA NEWTON -JOHN + CANDY #4
An excerpt:
ZB: My favourite of your movies is Xanadu! Is there any ‘Kira’ in you?
ONJ: Um… Well, the positive-thinking part. I think that part of her is in me. She’s a dreamer and a romantic, and she’s had her heart broken a few times, which is me. So, yeah — there’s lots of Kira in me.
ZB: What was Michael Beck like to make out with?
ONJ: [She laughs] I don’t remember making out with him! Did I make out with him?
ZB: I’m sure you did!
ONJ: But it was kind of more dancing symbolically. I don’t think we ever really kissed, did we? I don’t remember that… Do we?!
ZB: Yes!
ONJ: Where?!
ZB: I think it’s just a quick kiss. There’s no like, hot-and-heavy make-out scene, you know?
ONJ: Oh, no! I really don’t remember. Isn’t that terrible? He was a very lovely man, and very, very sweet, but I don’t remember making out with him. I think it was more inferred. It was like we danced together and got close to kissing, but never did. I think? Anyway, he was a lovely guy.
ZB: Well that ruins my next question, which was going to be: who was a better kisser out of him and John Travolta?
ONJ: [She laughs] My husband won’t like this line of questioning! They were all wonderful kissers. How’s that?
GUBLER + ANOTHER
I interviewed the hilarious and handsome Matthew Gray Gubler for AnOtherMag.com. We talked about everything from naming stars to famous stars to Paul Hogan and Paul Newman. Click here to read the piece!
Here are some excerpts from the interview:
Zac: ...
Gubler: Where are you from originally?
Brisbane, Australia.
Oh, I have
some friends from Brisbane!
Really?
Yeah
— they call it ‘Brizvegas’.
Yeah, they do… Not because it’s nice.
Yeah. [He
laughs] Most of Australia seems really friendly. I want to go and meet
Crocodile Dundee.
Yeah, he’s still around.
Really?
I don’t think he gets much work these days, so
you see him hanging around ATMs, bumming ciggies off people…
[He laughs]
Is that Paul Hogan?
No, Paul Newman.
[He laughs]
I’m Matthew McConaughey.
I watched like ten minutes of a Matthew
McConaughey film recently and — wait, are you friends with him?
I’m sure he’s
nice. I actually really like actors who can’t help
being themselves no matter what film they’re in. Like, I loooove Jeff Goldblum,
because he’s always just being Jeff Goldblum, but who the fuck’s Jeff
Goldblum?! No one’s like Jeff Goldblum.
Wait — did you say Patrick Stewart before
Jeff Goldblum?
[We laugh]
No, but I wish I had!
Have you seen his cameo in-
Extras?
Yeah.
[Nodding]
It’s amaaazing!
“I’ve seen everything!”
That show
is wonderful. Everyone was great on that. Well, it’s gone now, right?
Yeah. Can Ricky Gervais get work anymore?
I don’t know. It’s so weird.
I don’t know. It’s so weird.
Hollywood!
I was
hoping the internet would take away from people getting offended so easily.
It’s like, “Grow up man! He’s a comedian!”
...
[We've been talking about The Life Aquatic]
...I’m still
amazed that I was in a Wes Anderson movie!
And you got to have a perm for the role, which
is pretty amazing.
Actually,
oddly enough I’d had a perm before! My sister, since she only had a brother,
wanted a doll that was human and spent her formative years making me into a
girl. You know, perming my hair in fifth grade.
I bet that made you really popular.
I got
relentlessly beat up, and that perm didn’t help much!
Oh my god — I didn’t get beat up, but I
was pretty fat and have naturally curly hair, which does not a popular kid
make.
I was the
same! The fat curly hair combo is not…
No… It’s not a winning combination. Except for
Zach Galifianakis.
He’s doing
it for all of us! We’re all fat and curly-haired at heart.
...
Did you have a birthday recently?
Yes! March 9th.
Yes! March 9th.
What did you get?
A very
unique gift. As you may know, my name is Matthew, and some people call me
‘Matt’, which bullies used to call me, so it kiiind of rubs me the wrong way.
The other thing is I really love my last name ‘Gubler’, and at every step of my
career someone’s told me I should change my name, but I love it! My worst
nightmare is someone mispronouncing my name. So, a dear friend of mine
— my girlfriend actually — bought me a star. You know how you can buy
someone a star in the solar system?
Yeah.
And she
named it ‘Matt Gabler’! It’s my worst nightmare! ‘Matt Gabler’ is now a permanently
reality in the annals of time. I’ve got to hand her credit on that one.
Last question: there’s this fan video on Youtube, and it’s all of your appearances
in The Life Aquatic with The Killer’s
‘Somebody Told Me’ playing. Did you make that?
No! [He laughs] No! There was this time when one of my best friends would send me a fan video from Youtube everyday. I don’t know… Someone great made that, but it wasn’t me.
No! [He laughs] No! There was this time when one of my best friends would send me a fan video from Youtube everyday. I don’t know… Someone great made that, but it wasn’t me.
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