Thandie Newton launches Virgin Media Shorts
Hollywood A-Lister Thandie Newton has dressed up as one of history’s most famous femme fatales for the 2010 Virgin Media Shorts competition.
The actress donned ancient Egyptian garb to dress up as the iconic seductress Cleopatra for the competition, which supports undiscovered film talent in the UK.
Newton’s new guise, labelled as a Her Walk Like An Egyptian-look, was based on the legendary screen goddess Theda Bara, the film siren of the early 20th Century who made the role of Cleopatra famous in 1917.
The 37-year-old Newton, who is a judge in the Virgin Media Shorts competition, was captured in all her glamour by celebrity cameraman Lorenzo Agius.
Commenting on the competition, Newton said that the short film genre was not one that was well recognised or well documented, and that the idea for the Cleopatra look was designed to bring back memories of the golden age of film, and to commemorate the likes of Theda Bara.
Newton paid tribute to the early screen legend Bara, saying that she was one of cinema’s first avant-garde film heroines. The passion and spirit that Bara brought to her performance was one that Newton claimed she would be looking for as a judge in this year’s competition.
Now in its third year, the Virgin Media Shorts provides filmmakers with the chance to have their material showcased to millions of Britons across the UK on TV, cinema screens, and mobile phones and also online. A prize of £30,000 in film funding, and industry opportunities, wait for the lucky winner.