12 metrolife Thursday, January 14, 2010 D About Town The hoTTesT TickeTs in Town We have two pairs of tickets to see 6th VERONICA DUNNE INTERNATIONAL SINGING COMPETITION FINALS Jan 26 at the National Concert Hall, 8pm For a chance to win, e-mail your answer to the question below to life@metroireland.ie by noon today with Hot Tickets in the subject line. With your answer include your name and a number where you can be contacted between 1pm and 3pm. Strictly one entry per person; entrants must be age 18+. Q. Dieter Kaegi is the artist director of which company? A Opera Theatre Company B Opera Ireland The winners of yesterdays tickets to see Man In The Mirror are: Lourda Meade & Andre Nangle As You Are/Faun Dance double bill from Coiscim: Muirne Bloomers As You Are involves six individuals searching for identity, while David Bolgers Faun is based on Vaslav Nijinskys ahead-of-its-time 1912 ballet LAprs Midi DUn Faune Tonight until Jan 23, Project Arts Centre, 39 Essex Street East D2, 8pm, 14 to 20. Tel: (01) 881 9613/4. www.coisceim.com The Eskies The Dublin whippersnappers headline an evening of indie- inspired rock la their signature tune Original As Sin, alongside The Thousandaires, The Trouble Is..., and The Autobahn Tonight, Whelans, 25 Wexford Street D2, 8pm, 5. Tel: (01) 478 0766. www.myspace.com/theeskies If your feelings towards talent competitions register at the snobby end of the spectrum, then what do you make of this search for an international opera star, eh? A triennial contest launched in 1992 long before The X Factor was even a twinkle in Simon Cowells eye by Irish soprano veteran Veronica Dunne (pictured), this large-lunged sing-off has nothing on prancing pop idols. This years panel includes Opera Irelands artistic director Dieter Kaegi, Glyndenbournes Steven Naylor and baritone Sergei Leiferkus, all of whom will be judging 68 competitors from 21 nations, each keen to scoop the 10,000 star prize Jan 21 to 26, National Concert Hall, Earlsfort Terrace D2, various times & prices. Tel: (01) 417 0000. www.nch.ie The Great Redundant A group show by recent local art graduates including Peter Cabocky, Vanessa Donosa Lopez, Nuala Clarke and Nicolas Feldmeyer with an emphasis on the preliminary drawings that often precede a finished art work Until Jan 23, Sebastian Guinness Gallery, 18 Eustace Street, Temple Bar D2, Tue to Fri 10am to 6pm, Sat & Sun noon to 6pm, free. Tel: (01) 679 2014. www.sebastianguinnessgallery.com Book Now 6th Veronica Dunne International Singing Competition metro lifeStaying In & Going Out The Big Interview Anna Kendrick Leaving her Twilight I dont think of him that way, hes old! Is that how Kendrick herself views her 48-year-old co-star? Honestly, George seems like a teenager sometimes, she laughs. Hes obviously so mature, incredibly intelligent and well-spoken but he was always goofing off on set, playing with Nerf balls and stuff. I felt I was more like his mom. Swaddled in a black duffle coat that endearingly swamps her delicate Paule Ka dress (they pay someone to make me look like a lady. I usually look like some homeless teenager), Kendrick appears so very young and tiny I feel like Im seeing her through the wrong end of a telescope. Yet she still possesses an air of remarkable maturity. Hers, you sense, is a career that will develop long beyond those of her fellow Twilighteers. T his is a little embarrassing to admit, she grins, but when I was about six I really loved Bette Midler. Its an unusual, if canny, role model for a starlet whose non-Barbie doll looks and smart- cookie brain have already led to her being typecast as the clever girl. Worse things have happened, the West Hollywooder admits. Its funny, though, because the biggest, most visible thing Ive done is Twilight and in that Im the dumbest girl in the world. Next up shes playing Michael Ceras sister in Scott Pilgrim Vs The World, directed by Edgar Wright (Shaun Of The Dead). I love British stuff, she enthuses. Im just getting into Alan Partridge and I watched The Office so much I found myself picking up mannerisms from David Brent which They pay someone to make me look like a lady. I usually look like some homeless teenager eorge Clooney and Robert Pattinson: the hottest male stars of their generations. Anna Kendrick: the gal who has shared a screen with both yet snogged neither. My opening question: any regrets? If I had to snog them Im sure it would be fine, the Twilight actress giggles, theyre both professionals. But there is something a little creepy about everybody going mad about how hot they are because I started thinking of them as relatives. Its like the entire world talking about how hot your cousin is. Pah. So how about a choice bit of Robert Pattinson gossip, then? Kendrick rolls her eyes in a way that says: Dream on! You start to wonder how many times you can say: Hes a great guy and have it reprinted as: ANNA KENDRICK TALKS R-PATZ!, she says. Its like, oh my God, Twilight fans, this is so not breaking news. All I said was that hes great. Ive said it a million times before. She may be only 24 but Kendrick is already an old pro. At the age of 12 she was the second youngest Tony Award nominee ever (I used to get embarrassed about admitting I was a child actor because it conjures up a kind of creepy, Children Of The Corn image) and boasts an inbuilt poise beyond her years. That poise is used to ideal effect in Oscar-tipped release Up In The Air (out on Friday). Indeed, director Jason Reitman (Juno) wrote the part of Natalie, a self-assured 23-year-old yuppie hired to teach George Clooneys old dog new tricks, specifically for her, receiving a Golden Globe-nominated performance in return. Its amazing, declares Kendrick. I mean, what other movies have 23-year- old girls in them where they dont have to be sexy or romantic? Not many. One penalty is the lack of snogs with Mr Clooney, though but as Natalie hilariously puts it in Up In The Air: G The actress tells Larushka Ivan-Zadeh about her new role as a yuppie opposite George Clooney and why the Twilight adulation baffles her ON MY iPOD DJ Phil Udells six-track mix Diplomats Son by Vampire Weekend This is taken from the new album Contra, which we reviewed on the first show. Its the sound of a band pressing on, and who are unafraid to take risks. Rat Race by The Specials Somehow theyve become my five-year-old sons favourite band and this is his favourite song. I saw them twice last year and their Olympia show was simply incredible. Ill Be Your Shelter by The Housemartins This band is too often overlooked in my opinion, London 0 Hull 4 is a classic debut album. Its gospel music for the Thatcher generation. Going Up The Country by Kitty, Daisy & Lewis Imelda May take note, this is how to really do rockabilly in the 21st century. Keepsake by Ham Sandwich Irelands most underrated band. Singer Niamh Farrell is a guest on tonights show. By The Time I Get To Arizona by Public Enemy In their day, the greatest hip-hop band in the world. In these days of 50 Cent and the rest we need them now more than ever. Phil Udell presents State Of Play on Phantom 105.2FM, tonight, 7pm. index.html2.html3.html4.html5.html6.html7.html8.html9.html10.html11.html12.html13.html14.html15.html16.html17.html18.html19.html20.html21.html22.html23.html