Screen People | TV – A travel series serving food for thought in global hot spots

In less skilled hands, this might have been little more than a food fight.
The ambitious, borderline-explosive formula for “Breaking Borders” lands a journalist and a chef in a global hot spot, where they host dinner for guests locked in conflict — and hope newfound understanding is an item on the menu.
“Breaking Borders” is a travelogue, cooking show and dining-table summit all in one. And somehow it works, with each component of its cultural, culinary and political mission enhancing the others, at least to judge from the first of its 13 episodes, airing Sunday at 9 p.m. EDT.
On this premiere, Peabody-winning journalist Mariana van Zeller and acclaimed chef Michael Voltaggio travel to Jerusalem and the West Bank where van Zeller (who is also chief investigative correspondent for Fusion) gives viewers a personal look at a wondrous and troubled region, while Voltaggio (a “Top Chef” winner and owner of Los Angeles’ ink restaurant) prepares a mouthwatering feast tailored to local tastes (while he faces such challenges as never having cooked a kosher meal before).
Their guests (who ordinarily would never share a smile, much less a meal) include a Jewish winemaker who lives with his family in the West Bank, a Palestinian bookstore owner, and an Israeli activist who advocates separate states for Israel and Palestine.

Celebs – Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson hit Valentino for ‘Zoolander 2’

To deafening cheers and a stunned celebrity front row, Owen Wilson and Ben Stiller closed Valentino’s show earlier this week by storming the catwalk in a headline-grabbing stunt to announce “Zoolander 2.”
Meanwhile, Karl Lagerfeld spent the earth to recreate a giant fully-functioning French brasserie inside the Grand Palais — replete with silver platter waiter service — to showcase Chanel’s latest looks. To great bravado, the two Hollywood stars reprised their roles as male models Derek Zoolander and Hansel, immortalized in the hugely popular 2001 movie, on the catwalk for Valentino’s show.
It stunned celebrity guests that included Nicky Hilton and actress Kate Mara.
The sequel will hit U.S. movie theaters on Feb. 12, 2016, Paramount Pictures said in a statement. It said Stiller and Wilson will again star in the movie, which will be written by Justin Theroux and directed by Stiller.
Stiller appeared in a dark electric blue suit-and-tie ensemble with a navy trenchcoat. Wilson, sporting shaggy long blond locks, strutted in a shiny light blue pajama print outfit with blindingly white sneakers, topped off with an eggshell blue trench coat.

Fashion – ‘Homecoming’ for McQueen as London stages blockbuster show

“Savage Beauty,” the blockbuster Alexander McQueen exhibition first staged in New York, is coming home.
London’s Victoria and Albert Museum has unveiled its much-anticipated tribute to the late British fashion designer, who dazzled the industry with his creative talent before committing suicide in 2010.
The exhibition is an expanded version of the 2011 show at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, which drew hundreds of thousands visitors and became one of the most popular in the museum’s history.
The London exhibition, which opens tomorrow, features a new section focusing on McQueen’s early London collections. The show includes some 240 designs, and is billed as the largest number of pieces designed by McQueen ever seen together. The museum said yesterday it has already sold more than 70,000 tickets.

Royals – Kate sees life below the stairs on ‘Downton Abbey’ set

“Downton Abbey” has welcomed a royal visitor — and the TV show’s creator has told the Duchess of Cambridge she’s partly responsible for its global success.
Kate visited the set of the award-winning costume drama at London’s Ealing Studios yesterday, meeting cast members including Jim Carter, who plays butler Mr. Carson.
The duchess visited hair and makeup departments, toured scenery construction and watched a scene being filmed.
The show’s writer, Julian Fellowes, described how a 2011 visit to the U.S. by Kate and her husband, Prince William, came as producers tried to raise the profile of the show.
Fellowes said when the duchess mentioned she was a fan “this went into the media like an Exocet missile. And soon all of America and most of the world knew it.”

Jazz -Marsalis cancels Venezuela shows amid tensions

American jazz legend Wynton Marsalis has canceled concerts in Venezuela at a time of rising tensions between the two nations.
The New York-based trumpeter and composer was scheduled to perform his “Swing Symphony” today alongside the Simon Bolivar Orchestra conducted by Gustavo Dudamel, the first of three concerts planned in Caracas.
Marsalis and other musicians from the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra also were supposed to lead a series of workshops with Venezuela’s world-famous El Sistema network of youth ensembles. Both that organization and the orchestra are supported by Venezuela’s socialist government.
Greg Scholl, executive director of the Jazz at Lincoln Center, said he regretted the last-minute scratch of Caracas from the jazz orchestra’s 12-city South American tour. He said the visit would be rescheduled at a later date to avoid becoming a distraction amid the recent political turmoil. MDT/Agencies