Showing Your True Colours...

Hello Ravishing Readers!

I recently had a chance to sit down with the ever beautiful and charismatic Kyla Francis, Creative Director for True Colours Model and Talent Agency, one of our amazing ANTM Live exhibitors.  Kyla shared some reflections on the nature of the talent and modelling industry today and told us about her roots in the business and her vision for the future of her boutique agency.

Kyla Francis, Creative Director at True Colours Modelling and Talent and two of her models

How did you get started in the business?

I grew up in the industry, my sister is a fashion designer and my brother is a director, he directs videos, commercials and films.  I helped them on set, producing fashion shows and organizing talent. I never thought at the time I would be in this industry although I have a very strong media background.   I am a writer at heart and went to University for Literature and Creative Writing.  Ultimately I would have liked to be on beach writing a novel!   My journey took a turn when I had my daughter and of course, every mother thinks her child is the cutest, so I went to different agencies and found it was not only expensive to get involved but it was also difficult to get her representation because of her ethnicity - black - many agencies weren’t taking on that type of talent.  Bearing in mind this was ten years ago, the landscape of the talent and modelling industry was different.  It was then I decided I could do this myself and I started to gather all my friends’ children and began my business. 

You describe your agency as being ‘urban’ what does that mean?

For me, urban equates to diversity and we'd like to bring that diversity into the media - so it can be reflective of our society.  We live in this melting pot and it is important to try and bring different ethnicities to the forefront of the industry so we are seen and heard in the wide variety of roles.  I find that there are a certain amount of actors being reused over and over again for diverse roles, while there is a huge pool of talent not being brought into castings.  For example, you see typical nuclear families but there are so many different possibilities out there.  There are always typical roles that actors from diverse backgrounds are pigeon holed into - taxi drivers, thugs, waiters, bouncers...while there are shows like ‘Flashpoint’ and others that present more variety.  There is a need for more lead roles that are open to ethnic talent.

My goal for True Colours is to remain an outlet for actors and models of all varieties, ages and ethnicities to be cast in roles in film, television, theatre, runway and print. 

What is the first step to getting represented?

It is important to get professional pictures taken.  Your look book/headshot is what will get you into castings.  The pictures need to be high quality, but beware of places that take advantage and over charge you.  Making sure that you contact a reputable agency that will work with you is also important.  My best piece of advice to working in this industry is for talent to trust their Agent.  Agents are dedicated to getting you jobs so they can benefit as well, so if you have a good quality agent, you will never go wrong.  A great agent will always have your best interests at heart.

Thank you to the wonderful Kyla for taking the time to speak with ANTM Live. Make sure you come to the show and check out the ‘True You Casting and Style’ zone - An Insider's Access Destination.  For more information, please visit: http://truecolourstalent.com  

Until Next Time My Glamazons!

Cecilia J

Vital Steps in Costa Rica!

By Ashley Moniz

The Vital Steps Fit Trip to Costa Rica was a success!

We started our trip at the Villa Blanca Cloud Forest Hotel, one of the 5 certified leaf hotels in Costa Rica. It is surrounded by the most spectacular forest of Costa Rica and adorned with a friendly personality and a rich traditional village culture.

Villa Blanca includes 3000 acres of pasture with dairy cattle, nature reserves, and private vegetables gardens.   

The rest of our trip continued in the beautiful Tango Mar Beach Hotel and Golf Resort, which lies within an unspoiled section of the Nicoya Peninsula of Costa Rica. This is where we enjoyed beautiful gardens and phenomenal views of the Pacific Ocean.  Every day our clients enjoyed breakfast, lunch, and dinner prepared by the hotel’s gourmet chefs, as well as full days of physical activity.  

What can be better than running on the beach and doing a Boot Camp with an ocean view?

Ashley Moniz is a personal trainer with Vital Steps.

Hold on to the handle bars of fierceness and never let go...

The BIG Winner!!!

I can’t believe another thrilling cycle is over!!!  What a dramatic and exciting season full of cat fights, crazy challenges and gorgeous photos.  It is down to the creepy cool Allison, ghetto fabulous Angelea and wild and wonderful Lisa. 

Lisa reflects on her journey to the finale and she can’t believe how far she has come.  She talks about performing her whole life and coming from a traumatic background of physical, emotional and sexual abuse.  She also wants to help out a charity that supports kids who come from abusive homes.

Angelea talks about how she doesn’t have to be a product of her environment and even though she grew up in a rough neighbourhood, she knows she can fight hard and win.

Allison shares her story about the struggle she has had over the past year with her father passing away from cancer and is really trying to stay focused and positive.  She thinks winning would be great for her exposure level and thinks it would be awesome to be the All Star.

Lisa says that Angelea is her toughest competition, but she doesn’t know if she can make it because she feels she is still too emotionally weak to survive in the industry.  Allison talks about how she definitely feels threatened by Lisa because she has amazing talent and takes stunning pictures. 

The girls arrive the next day to a restaurant called the Blue Door and meet Paige Cali, the communications director from Cover Girl, who explains that they will be promoting Cover Girl Intense Shadow Blast – a shadow that gives big, bold and beautiful colour that lasts.  Nikos Papodopoulos is back to shoot the girls again.  Mr. Jay talks about how the ad they shoot will become a national campaign for the winner. The girls are given scripts to memorize as much as possible for the commercial shoot.  Lisa is up first.  Angelea talks about Lisa being really talented with great skills.  Paige likes Lisa's personality and thinks she takes beautiful photos.  Her first commercial does not go as well as well as she would like.  She has to go through several takes before she nails it. 

Lisa

Allison is next and she looks beautiful.  Paige loves her and her expressions.  Allison is concerned about her sensitivity to the sun again, but she tries hard to work through it.  Mr. Jay says it is very difficult because she cannot open her eyes again.  She starts to doubt if she can do it at all.  She ends up keeping her eyes closed for the shot and finally gets it.  She says it is really important for her to try and be enthusiastic because she thinks she is ‘louder’ in her head than she actually is on the outside. 

Angelea is up next and her shoot goes well.  She looks gorgeous and confident.  Angelea’s commercial fun and punchy, but she has ‘too much’ personality in the first take.  The rest of the takes go smoothly and it will be a really tough choice for the judges as all the girls make it work in the end.

Angelea

The next day the girls arrive at the beach for their Vogue Italia photo shoot and meet Valentina Serra from Vogue Italia and photographer Dusan Reljin.  They will be shooting the cover and fashion spread for Beauty In Vogue.  Allison gets her eyesbrows bleached and it really changes her look.  She does well and looks so captivating.  Lisa also does really well.  She talks about how only her feet are big enough to fit into the shoes of the all star winner.  Angelea arrives on set very determined and does everything she can to come out on top.

Allison

For the final runway challenge Mr. Jay greets the girls and explains that they will be lowered down into a pool of water, fly in the air over the runway, then hear the song they wrote and strut on the runway.  Shannon, Dominique and Laura come back to walk in the runway show with the finalists.  The girls finally able to see the dresses that Michael Cinco designed for them and they are all really stunning and gorgeous.  Each dress fits each girl’s personality. 

Laura is rooting for Allison.  Shannon is behind Lisa and Dominique says it is anyone’s game.  Miss Jay arrives in a fantastical Roman soldier get-up and no one can rock crazy like he can!  Angelea starts crying because she is scared of the water and can’t swim.  Lisa gets her claws out and says she really can’t understand how Angelea can be crying already before the show starts. 

Tyra opens the runway show and we see that even Mr. Jay is decked out in a gorgeous toga and blinged out.  The girls have to start off by swimming, emerge from the water and turn into a goddess while being flown over the runway and then do their runway walk. 

Lisa starts and has a bit of a hard time and ends up at the side of the pool by the wall.  She walks up out of the water, a curtain gets raised around her, then she runs out the back of the curtain and Laura takes her place as the ‘goddess’ and gets hoisted over top of the runway.  Lisa then goes through a quick change and runs back to get harnassed and fly over the runway and then does her runway walk to her song.  She is fantastic! 

Lisa

Allison is up next and does a phenomenal job.  She is concerned about the intense wind and does her best to impress the judges.  She is a little unsteady on her feet during her runway walk. 

Allison

Angelea is nervous about swimming but she ends up making it work and does well.  Angelea comes back and tries to fly over the runway and works the runway as much as possible during her song. 

Angelea

The girls complete the show and all did an unbelievable job.  They all want to win more than anything and feel that they have given everything they had to the competition.  Angelea starts not feeling very well after the show.  She is having a hard time and Lisa thinks that Angelea is not at ease and her heart is not settled even though the final challenge is over.

After the runway show, the producers receive information from Angelea that disqualifies her from the competition.  We don’t know what happened and are never told, but all the judges agree that they wish Angelea the best.  It is hard to believe Angelea is not eligible to be in the final three, I really thought she had a good chance of winning and it is sad to know that we will never be sure whether she could have had a chance to be the All Star.



Final Elimination

Lisa and Allison arrive to elimination and the panel does a comparison between the two girls for each challenge.

RUNWAY:  The judges talk about Allison’s performance and say she looked amazing swimming, but had a terrible runway walk.  The judges compare Lisa’s swim and runway walk and say that her swim was a mess but her runway walk was incredible. 

COMMERCIAL: Allison’s commercial turns out beautifully.  The judges talk about the toughness of her eye issue again and that although it worked for this shoot that her eyes were closed, it may not work for future jobs.  Lisa’s commercial is really confident, fun and flirtatious.  The judges love it, but Mr. Jay says it could have been better.  Tyra didn’t think Lisa’s commercial was very good.  She says it was too safe.   

COVER GIRL SHOOT:  Allison’s Cover Girl picture is okay, but her expression is vacant and blank. 

Lisa’s Cover Girl ad is very captivating and alluring.  The judges love it. 

The judges deliberate and consider each girl’s entire body of work.  The panel loves Lisa and think she is fun, wild and terrific.  They also love Allison and reflect that she has a huge fan base and really draws attention with her captivating look.  They think that Lisa is the full package and has the personality and allure to really be successful in modelling.  The judges think people will really buy into her brand.  Tyra talks about how Lisa is a survivor and her story can send a positive message to girls.  The judges then talk about how unique Allison is and how much she is able to really do well but they question some of the difficulties she has had along the way.

The judges reach a decision and Tyra introduces the second part of the motion editorial which shows that LISA is the winner!!  What a well fought and well deserved win.  Lisa really is a true ALL STAR and will do really well.  CONGRATS to Lisa!!! She is beyond thrilled!  Allison is grateful for all the support she received and is happy for Allison.  Tyra tells Lisa she is an original and a star.  Lisa talks about the fact that her confidence actually comes from a very vulnerable place and she feels she has to constantly lift herself up as much as possible.  I think she will be fantastic and my only disappointment is we now have to wait till next year for another earth shattering cycle of Top Model!

Until Next Time My Glamazons!

Cecilia J

Down To Three....

Hello ANTM Fanatics!

I can’t believe this cycle is almost over!  We are down to the top four ladies and it is anyone’s game to win!  The final four are Laura, Allison, Angelea and Lisa.

Back in Crete, we see the girls celebrate Angelea’s narrow escape from elimination.  Angelea is thrilled to see Dominique gone and reflects on how she felt betrayed by the other girls.  Lisa talks about going the distance and out surviving Angelea. 

The girls enter into the condo to see Laura’s winning photo from last week.  She talks about how she is an ‘itty bitty farm girl’ and that things like this don’t happen to people from her town.  Laura feels like she will be able to win and is very grateful for the opportunity.  Lisa talks about how she thinks Laura is her biggest competition at this stage in the game.

The girls meet Nigel in a local store.  He talks about the girls doing an audition for Franca Sozzani, the editor-in- chief for Vogue Italia.  He reminds the girls that the winner of All Stars will have a blog on Vogue IT and he asks them all to write a blog talking about the fashion and atmosphere in Crete. The girls have to pick an outfit, take pictures and then write their blog.  Nigel says the winner will be given a trip for two back to Greece.

Angelea is planning on going to school for broadcast journalism and really wants to succeed in this challenge.  Laura talks about how she doesn’t like to write because of her dyslexia, but wants to play on her photography skills for this challenge.  Lisa talks about how she wants to show everyone the hottest spots in Crete including the best club, the best place to eat, etc.

Laura pulls up at her location and sees Allison there.  She tries to get different angles from Allison.  Angelea goes to the most urban place she can find.  She says she thinks people can relate to her because of the tough things she has been through.  Allison is the last person to get back to the house and as the girls are writing, Nigel comes in and takes the girls’ blogs away to be judged by Franca.  He says the winner will be announced the next day.

The girls greet Mr. Jay in a small town and are on the set of Greece’s most popular television series, The Island.  Mr. Jay then tells the models that Tyra will be directing them in a fashion film motion editorial based on her best-selling book, Modelland.  Tyra tells the girls that the book is about an exclusive modelling school that is perched on top of a mountain and its feature character is named ‘Tookie’ and is based on Tyra and her life experiences as a teenager.  She says it is her journey through friendship and bullies and embracing her own unique beauty.  She tells the girls each one will represent a different version of Tookie.  She tells the models that they will be filmed over two days and the results will be split over two weeks of judging.  The girls get styled and are filmed wearing dresses by Michael Cinco and are shot racing against each other, screaming and doing fashion interpretations from the book.  Lisa is given a scene where she has to represent Tookie’s mother, who is obsessed with a baby doll named Bellisima.  Tyra instructs her to look a little crazy and deranged.  Tyra says she is super strong and focused and has the right intensity.



Lisa

Laura is depicted in a scene where she is looking for a button that the boy she is in love with wears and is shot going through garbage frantically searching for it.  Mr. Jay says that it didn’t really work for her and she ends up making it look comical.  Laura also shoots a scene where she represents Tookie’s love of whip cream and is wearing a flowing white dress while pumping whip cream into her mouth. 

Laura

Allison continues to have a hard time because of her difficulty opening her eyes in the sunlight.  Mr. Jay wonders if she can be effective with her eye issues.  Allison then gets to model with a cat in a scene where she depicts Catwalk Corrider, which is a place where all the bad models get turned into cats.  Allison is thrilled with this scene because she feels she can relate to all the bizarre and theme driven parts of the film.  Allison also gets to model in a red outfit holding a blood orange, which is what all of Modelland smells like and is also one of Tyra’s favourite scents.  Laura talks about how perfect these kinds of scenes are for Allison because she gets to model with blood and creepy things that parlay well with her persona. 

Allison

Angelea is given a scene where she has to really portray something very emotional relating to Tookie feeling unloved and unwanted and the pain associated with her father telling her that she is not good enough.  Tyra asks if Angelea can relate and she says not around issues with her dad but definitely in relation to everything else. She talks about how she feels Tyra gave her that scene for a reason and becomes very emotional and says if she wasn’t in this competition, she doesn’t know where she would be.  She says she is doubting herself because she has to fight harder than the other girls.  She does very well and brings all her emotion into it.  Lisa criticizes Angelea for being too weak.  Angelea talks about how she is not going to let anything get her down and will fight hard to win.

Nigel calls Franca Sozzani and asks her opinion about which girl she feels should win the blog writing challenge.  She loves Angelea’s blog and says that she likes the way she writes, but Nigel points out that Angelea is also very up and down and can be difficult.   Franca also likes Lisa’s comparison between Hollywood and Crete.  Nigel announces that Angelea is the winner of the challenge and she is thrilled.  The girls are stunned.

The girls arrive for day two of filming and Mr. Jay brings in the unbelievably handsome Tyson Beckford in to act with them and the girls are beyond happy to see him. Tyson is very friendly and easy going and talks with all of the girls. He notes that Allison is much more quiet then the rest of the contestants and finds it hard to get to know her.

Tyson Beckford

Tyra shoots a few scenes for the film and does a shot with Tyson where Tookie, who has never kissed a boy before ends up kissing his thumb!! 

The girls then shoot the beginning of the film where they are racing to get to Modelland.  The next shot is the reveal of America’s Next Top Model All Star and each of them are being shot as the potential winner since they don’t know who will come out on top. 

All the girls are nervous about panel.  The girls get mail saying that only three girls will go on to compete to become the ANTM All Star.  The judging panel includes Tyson Beckford.  Tyra reveals Part 1 of her fashion editorial film, it is very avant garde and in a music video style.  The girls all look beautiful and have done a good job.  The film is very impactful and cool.  Check it out!     http://watch.ctv.ca/americas-next-top-model/cycle-17/americas-next-top-model-ep-1712-tyson-beckford/#clip578265

The judges talk about the crying scene with Angelea and how amazing it was, but they also comment on the running scene as being hilarious because she runs very awkwardly.  When Laura faces the judges, they like the emotional scene she did.  Tyson says that she was too aware of the camera and Nigel says there were times that she stared directly to camera when she should not have.  Allison is up next and Tyra says that her eye problems are a major hurdle and she should get it looked at.  The judges love Lisa and think she did a great job all day and really committed.  Tyra advises her not to forget to model when she is acting.

The judges spend a long time deliberating and have a hard time deciding who to send home.  There are arguments and the producer steps in and demands that the judges make a decision.  Tyra tells the girls that the deliberation was not easy.  The winner of the challenge is announced as being Lisa and she is surprised and thrilled to be one of the final three.  The runner up is Angelea and she is relieved and happy.  Allison and Laura are announced as the bottom two.  Tyra says that Laura has the most bubbly and wonderful personality, but the judges are worried about if she can do high fashion and get past the ‘cuteness’.  Tyra says that Allison’s introverted and shy personality is a complete contrast.  She announces Allison as being safe and Laura is eliminated.  Tyra tells Allison that although she is safe,  she needs to push her personality.  Tyra gives Laura a hug and tells her that she is a good model and something just got a little but lost this time around.  Laura says she doesn’t have any regrets and feels she did really well throughout the competition.  She says now people know her name around the world. 

Can’t wait to see what happens tomorrow!

Until Next Time My Glamazons!

Cecilia J