The Best of Binky's Johnny Weir Blog: Tara Modlin

Showing posts with label Tara Modlin. Show all posts

Friday, August 19, 2011

Happy (Almost) Birthday to Tara!

This Sunday is the birthday of dear (by which I mean kind, long-suffering, patient, thoughtful, fiery, generous, quick-thinking, never afraid to laugh at herself, provider of the best picspam EVER, and endlessly snufflable) Super Managtress Tara Modlin!

So in her honor, today we present a Top Ten Tribute to the Indomitable Tara, including some of her own favorite moments from this blog...

(10) Lake Placid. The Myth. The Legend. The Mini-Golf.
Please click photos for a larger view so you can read the fascinating but not really dapper dialogue, the accuracy of which may be just a tiny bit open to interpretation.

Left to right: Tara, Johnny,
and Tara's friends Carin and Shannon.
Yes, Tara's speech above, and Johnny's first two sentences,
are quotes from BGJW episode 104.
Everybody else has all the dialogue memorized too,
right, guys? Guys?

Carin and Tara, who would never conspire

against Johnny in any way. Of course not.

And yes, this is the famous golf course

from episode 104!

Left to right: David Barba and James Pellerito,

the godfathers of BGJW; Tara's good friend Kari

from Lake Placid; Tara; and Patti Weir FTW.

(9) Johnny Does Tara's Hair Part 1.
This twitpic from Eric Alt serves as a testament to the sheer audacious fearlessness of one Tara Modlin:

Eric's caption: "The newest Beauty cub @JohnnyGWeir

doing @tmodlin at Eric Alt Salons.

Call today for your appt--ask for Dorine."

(8) Quite Possibly the Most Lovely Photo of Tara I've Ever Seen Which Finally (Almost) Does Her Justice. By Novembergirl Fotographie and featured in this wonderful NJ.com article by Adam Robb, October 2010.

Tara and Beauty Bear / MAC artist
Joey Camasta.

(7) A Typical Day At The Office. If You're Tara.

(6) Because They Always Have a Good Time Together...

I love this picture. Love it.
Photo © David Ingogly.

(5) ...No Matter How Tired They Are.

Johnny and Tara pause for a moment
between NYFW events to watch
Lady Gaga make her entrance at the Grammys.
Very special thanks
to Managtress Extraordinaire Tara
for the photo!

(4) Johnny Does Tara's Hair Part 2. Did I Mention She's Fearless?

Actually, Tara tweeted that he did a great job.

She also called him a "nice young lad."

(Breaking: New Concerns Over the Effects of Highlight Chemicals

on Perception and Brain Function Are Raised

After New Jersey Incident.)

(3) She Allowed This Clip To Not Only Be Filmed But Posted Where People Could, You Know, See It. And Laugh Themselves Silly At Her Predicament.

Tags: Gay Video & Lesbian Movies, Logo: Fierce TV

(2) She's Always A Princess.

"Pursued by the Federation's sinister agents,

Princess Tara races home aboard her new pink Riedells,

custodian of the stolen plans that can further enhance

her really gorgeous hair while restoring elegance

and scorching, gender-bending sexuality

to the galaxy's ice rinks..."

(1) This.

A blessed thing it is for any man or woman to have a friend,

one human soul whom we can trust utterly,

who knows the best and worst of us,

and who loves us in spite of all our faults.

-- Charles Kingsley

Johnny and Tara,

New Year's Eve 2010, Moscow, Russia.

Photo courtesy of Tara Modlin.

Wishing a very happy birthday

and much, much love
to extraordinary Super Managtress Tara!!

Thank you for everything!! ♥

New on Johnny's website!

How I would love to go to this...

More new stuff on Johnny's website!

He'll be attending Macy's Glamorama Los Angeles

on Friday, Sept. 23, and also performing in

"Fashion on Ice" on Saturday, Sept. 24, in Chicagoland!

Info here!

Yes! Johnny's dresses are now available
for purchase only on eDressMe.com!

At last: Pop Star On Ice is now available on DVD!

Order yours today from the Pop Star On Ice website!

Johnny tweeted recently:

"Buy my single,'Dirty Love' via iTunes.

Tell all your friends to as well. The more copies sold

takes me one step closer to making a video! №1!"

THE WORLD NEEDS THIS VIDEO
IN THE SAME WAY THAT IT NEEDS AIR.

You know what to do.

Please buy the song from Johnny's website,

or just click the "Buy" button on the player

at the top of the blog!

Hey, Welcome to My World also is available

as an eBook! More info on Johnny's website!

Monday, September 6, 2010

Let's Celebrate Labor Day With Johnny and Tara ...

...because there's nothing more inspiring than watching two people who work so hard together in such a wonderful collaborative effort, always in tune with one another, always striving to achieve their best and to bring out the best in one another ...

Here's a touching peek at their working partnership on the eve of Labor Day while they were enjoying dinner in Japan, and on the holiday itself during a photo shoot with a very special guest ... (click any photo for a larger view):

Very special thanks to

Agentress Extraordinaire Tara Modlin

for the pics and permission to use them!

Labor Day special:

Download uncapped versions of the photos

here, here, and here!
And follow @N_Mayumi, editor of Vogue Nippon,
for fabulous twitpics from the Vogue shoot!
Coming up: Actual news!
With words and stuff!

Twitter voting roundup!
(although I have to say that I'm not impressed
with the way Faxo is monitoring--or rather, not monitoring--
this voting stuff, so I'm kinda only half-heartedly following
these contests now but I still want my people to win ...)

Vote here for Johnny to win "Follow Me."

Current rank: #1

4 voting days remaining.

Vote here for Johnny to win "Mr. Twitter"!

He ended August's contest at #3,
and has been renominated for September!
Current rank: #6

25 voting days remaining.

Vote here for Gail Turley's blog
"WheresMyKoppy" to win "Best Blog"
Current rank: #5
11 voting days remaining.

Hey! Check out this clip of Johnny

from the Rachel Zoe Project!

The episode in which he appears

is TOMORROW, September 7, on Bravo!

Yes! Johnny Is skating in Yu-Na Kim's fabulous show,

All That Skate, in Los Angeles in October!
Everything you need to know about tickets
and special gatherings of The Cabal
is right here!

Weirlandians for Life organizer Gary Podschun
notes that we're a little more than one month away
from the Chicago AIDS Walk,
and WE STILL NEED AT LEAST TWO MORE PEOPLE
TO OFFICIALLY FORM A TEAM!
Please visit the group page here for more info.
We hope to see Johnny well-represented by his fans
at the walk on October 2!

Coming soon: More in the series
of translated interviews from the Mook Book
courtesy of the fabulous Akiko Nakata!

Friday, August 20, 2010

More from the Mook: Tara Tells All!

Johnny and his beloved Agentress Extraordinaire

Tara Modlin at EQCA, April 2010.

Special Friday fun! Today we present the second in a series of interviews translated from the incredibly fabulous Japanese Mook Book. In honor of Agentress Tara Modlin's birthday tomorrow, our selection comes from her interview conducted by Akiko Tamura in New York City in May 2010, and presented on pages 68-69 of the Mook.

As anyone who has seen even a single episode of BGJW knows, being Johnny's agent is best described as similar to herding cats. Only more challenging. And with snuffles. Watching them work, joke, argue, and roughhouse together, there's a sense that maybe each is the sibling the other never had: For Johnny, she's a loving but necessarily bossy (because he NEEDS that) big sister; for Tara, he's a pesky but adorable little brother. As you'll see below, Akiko Tamura makes a similar observation. :)

In the Mook, the interview is titled, "I Want Johnny to Continue Skating Forever and Ever."

Skaters’ agents rarely come onstage, but Tara Modlin, who was a competitive figure skater herself, doesn't hesitate to appear before the camera and offer her comments. Johnny seems to have a good relationship with the cheerful and sociable Tara. Seeing them together, they seem like brother and sister rather than business partners.

Will you tell me about your first meeting with Johnny?
This is my favorite story of my whole life as an agent! In 2003, I was looking for a skater to participate in “The Charity Ice Show Dedicated to 9/11 Victims,” the second ice show I produced. At that time, Johnny was a young skater who had not yet won a senior title. An acquaintance recommended him to me, saying, “He will be a national champion someday.” So I asked him to join. After the show, all the skaters were relaxing in the VIP room. But Johnny was in a corner talking with my grandmother, a fashionable older lady. I wondered why a boy his age would be sitting with my grandmother! Coming closer, I found them enthusiastically chatting about fashion, make-up, the theatre, and costumes [laughing]. I was impressed that he was so kind as to sit and visit with an older lady. That inspired me to become friends with him, and with his mother, too.

When did you become his agent?
Before Nationals three years ago—probably around November.

You have several skaters as your clients. How different is Johnny from the others?
He’s totally different! [laughing] It was my honor to have Johnny, the three-time U.S. champion, as my client in this Olympic year. Every morning when I got up, I pinched my cheek to make sure it wasn’t a dream. I am closest to Johnny of all my clients, and one of the reasons is that we live near each other. A lot of events are held in NYC. When Johnny is invited to an event, I go with him, so we have a lot of opportunities to spend time together. I work hard for all my clients, but Johnny is my friend as well as my business partner.

I’m sure you know some aspects of Johnny that are unknown to his fans. Will you share some with us?
He’s a cleaning freak. To my eyes, my condo in NYC is usually clean enough, but he never finds it satisfactory. As soon as he comes over, he begins to look for Windex and a vacuum cleaner.

I do hope he will come to my house! [laughing]
Seriously, I think he would be the best roommate! Another story: He always has a bag with him, and he hates to throw things into it randomly. He has a rule that everything has to be put in separate small cases--a case for his wallet, a case for tissue, a case for pens--everything should be in a case, and all the cases should be put in the bag in proper order.

He really loves to keep everything orderly, doesn’t he?
Yes, he does. It’s the same when he packs. Like, say, his umbrella must be put in its proper place so he can find it at first glance.

Tara and Johnny
at the Pop Star on Ice
screening in NYC,
June 2009.

You seem to be not only his agent but also a good adviser for him.
I would say we are very good advisers for each other. He always gives me good advice on the outfit I should wear when I go out. Of course, sometimes I give him some advice. He has a lot of aspects to his personality, so I suggest to him which one he should focus on at any given time.

Johnny doesn’t seem like a person who obediently does what he is told.
You’re right. When someone tells him to do something, he does something else, usually the opposite of what he was told to do [laughing]. But it isn’t that he will never accept anyone’s opinion. Especially when he trusts someone, he listens carefully to what that person tells him.

He is known to always be sociable and outspoken. As his agent, have you ever been troubled by something he said?
Yes, I have. For example, a song-recording project has been going on. He couldn’t wait patiently until the proper time to announce it, and instead he began to tweet about it. I said, "Johnny, I’d like to market your song, but I can’t do it effectively if you scatter tidbits about it all around. Let’s control the information and release it all at the best time." Sometimes just little stuff like that happens.

Have you ever heard him sing?
Yes, I have. He’s awesome! The producer of his song [Lucian Piane, or RevoLucian] is also brilliant. The song is similar in style to Depeche Mode and Black Gold. What’s really good is that the producer understands that Johnny is a skater. The song is a good dance song, and Johnny plans to create an exhibition program to skate to it.

Do you think he will continue competing?
I have talked with him about this many times, but he doesn’t seem to want to decide now. Having lived the same life for so long—getting up every morning, practicing at the rink for two hours, having a break, practicing for another two hours—he says he can’t imagine leaving that lifestyle. On the other hand, he’s getting a lot of offers from a variety of fields—to write his autobiography, to record his song, to judge at the Miss USA pageant, etc. He once said that he had achieved his dream in figure skating to some degree, and it might be time to move on to another dream. It seems he’s not ready to decide just now.

As his agent, do you wish that he would continue competing?
Johnny has many faithful fans. They’ll want to read his book, to watch TV shows that he's in, to listen to him sing. Still, I’m sure what they really want is to see him skate. So I hope he will continue skating, as either an amateur or a professional.

Johnny shows his fans a lot of consideration, doesn’t he?
Yes, he does. He may look like a showy celebrity-type person, but actually his attitudes are so different. At receptions, as his agent, I have to say to him, “Greeting the fans is limited to 15 minutes,” or “Autographing is limited to 20 people,” but I know Johnny won’t leave until all his fans in the hallway have received an autograph. He is very considerate. When we are in the elevator together, he always holds the door for me and lets me walk out first, and when we get into a car, he always opens the door for me. He is a true gentleman.

Where did he learn such manners?
From his mother, Patti. I think she influenced him 100% in that regard. I sometimes hear people say, “Johnny is always doing such crazy things. What on earth does his mother think about her son?” Patti taught him to be himself, to be proud of himself, and to be polite to others.

Johnny’s father is a very private man. What is he like?
He is big and sweet, like a big teddy bear. His name is also John, so everybody calls him “Big John.” Johnny’s brother is Brian, but they call him “Boz.” When Boz was little, Big John took care of him. Big John can’t sit on a plane for long flights because of his chronic back pain. He and Johnny don’t seem a lot alike, but I know they share a deep father-son bond.

Johnny and Tara in Lake Placid, July 2010.

Photo taken by Leah Adams after Tara made Johnny

take a break from autographing for about two minutes

so he could order something for dinner

(at 10:30 p.m.!).

Twitter voting roundup!
Thank you again for voting for the blog!

Vote here for Johnny to win "Follow Me."

Current rank: #1

21 voting days remaining.

Vote here for Johnny to win "Sexiest Twitter"!

Current rank: #3

(gaaaah! @JoeFlanigan--seriously?--is still #2)
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Vote here for Johnny to win "Mr. Twitter"!

Current rank: #3

but we're closing in on Michael Jackson... (?)
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Vote here for Johnny to win "Best of Twitter"!

Current rank: #5

(YES! He's holding steady ahead of Sarah Palin
and catching up to President Obama!)
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Vote here for Johnny to win "Actor of the Month"!

Current rank: #29

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Vote here for Vanya and BonBon

to win "Best Pets" (awwwww....).

Current rank: #9

11 voting days remaining.

Hey! Johnny will be choosing the winner
of a virtual styling session with him
and a $500 shopping spree

from BlueFly.com TODAY!

Stay tuned! More info here!

Coming soon: More in the series
of translated interviews from the Mook Book
courtesy of the fabulous Akiko Nakata!

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Exclusive! Interview With the Agentress: All About Lake Placid!

Agentress Extraordinaire Tara Modlin

takes good care of Johnny,

even when that means getting on a plane

in Salt Lake City at the crack of o'dark thirty ...

In the midst of doing absolutely everything there is to do while checking her list of additional stuff to do and keeping tabs on the list of stuff to do later in between checking her e-mail for stuff that needs to be done right now because somewhere in the world, the future is yesterday, Agentress Extraordinaire Tara Modlin was kind enough to take time out (and how she managed that I have no idea, although I think it has something to do with an amazing ability to bend the time-space continuum while managing briskly on the last good sleep she had which I believe was sometime in 2005) to answer our five most pressing questions about Lake Placid: The myth. The legend. The mini-golf.

While Tara is a native Long Islander (you may have heard Johnny ~~make terrible fun of her for that~~ kindly mention that fact on BGJW), she moved to Lake Placid when she was in ninth grade to train as a competitive skater with a world-famous Russian coach. Her mother moved to Lake Placid with her, while her father remained on Long Island and drove six hours one way every weekend to be with his wife and daughter ("Yes, I have the best parents in the world!" Tara says). Tara's brother, Troy--six years her senior and the "epitome of an older brother," she says--visited often to encourage his sister to "wipe out," by which of course he meant, "Good luck!" (Obviously this was excellent preparation for dealing with a certain impossibly charming and sometimes simply impossible male skater who would enter her life some years later ...)

Tara's teen years in Lake Placid are among her happiest, and thus the annual skating show there is one of her favorite events of the year. All the more reason to join her and what's-his-name--you know, that guy who's always torturing her by snuffling her and snarking about her pedicure and generally making her life a hilarious living hell, much to his own great amusement--this weekend to enjoy the show and get a glimpse of some of what makes Lake Placid very dear to Tara's heart.

Q. What are some of your favorite memories of your years in Lake Placid?

A. It's hard to pick a favorite! I would have to say my favorites include skating with world champions Maya Usova and Alexander Zhulin; going to school with future Olympians at the National Sports Academy; my grandmas staying with me over the summers in a beautiful condo behind the mountain; and the school trying to make me do dish duty because I was late to class (for the tenth time that week, I’m sure), and I couldn’t figure out why people were washing pots and pans by hand. First of all, I don’t know what a pot or a pan is for, and secondly, I would never think to not just throw one--whatever it is--into a dishwasher. [Note to Tara: I so totally get you, BB.] Anyway, this turned out to be a dangerous experience, as it involved a water fight with the cutest boy in school during which I hit my head on the sink and had to get stiches next to my eye. Oh, and another memory is being forced to run laps around the 1980 Olympic arena, and up and down the steps endlessly, to train--wait, that's not a favorite memory! That was torture! (I guess I loved torture even then ... ?)

Q. You. Johnny. Mini-golf. Discuss.

A. I have no idea!!! [We understand. There's really no explaining Johnny, is there?] When we were there last summer, we had some free time on Saturday, and so we all went mini-golfing. Maybe the fact that they encourage you to dress like pirates attracted us. Clearly the things that happen on a whim often turn out to be the best experiences!

Q. What’s the best place to eat in Lake Placid and why?
A. Oh, there's so much to choose from! Milano North's chocolate martinis are a must-try! Also Chair 6 breakfast/brunch (but be prepared for a wait ...). Jimmy’s 21 on Main Street is romantically fabulous--must eat at a table by the window. And Lisa G's is perfect for every Saturday night after an ice show! Oh, and don't forget T. Hoffman Auto Shop--OK, OK, you can't eat there, but it's Taylor Hoffman's shop, who is married to my wonderful friend Kari, and I love Kari and Taylor! And if anyone needs help with their car while they're in town, that's the place to go. The Hoffmans are amazing!

Q. What programs will Johnny be skating in Lake Placid? And does he need any help getting in and out of his costumes? We have 2,500 people eager to volunteer …
A. He'll definitely be performing Heartbroken. He's still deciding between Poker Face and Bad Romance ... Yes, he needs help, and right now, I’m it! So please, call the box office today at 518-523-3330! They put tickets on sale early just for Johnny!

[Cue sudden stampede to every available telephone. Chaos ensues as fans turn to wrestling one another for cell phones. Anything to just, you know, help Tara out with Johnny's costume changes. Really, she does so much already--let's give her a break, shall we? Because we are all really selfless and caring like that ... ]

Q. What’s the one thing fans should be sure to do while they’re in Lake Placid (other than squee over Johnny, you, and Patti, of course)?
A. Water ski on the lake, if they have time! Check out Captain Marney’s boat rentals! Also, please enjoy a stroll up and down Main Street--there's so much fun stuff there. And check out the ski jumps at the Olympic Jumping Center! Stand on the fake podium at the ski jumps and pretend that you're at the Olympics--it's an amazing feeling! (For more info, please check out the calendar of activities available this weekend at the Olympic Center.)

Thank you, Tara, for your kindness and patience with this interview and a thousand other questions; for taking such good care of Johnny; and for all the unsung things you do that no one ever knows about, but that I'm sure Johnny does not ever take for granted ...

See you all in Lake Placid!

Yes, you CAN pre-order tickets for Lake Placid!
Call the box office at 518-523-3330!
More info here!

Hey! You can purchase a T-shirt to wear
in Sun Valley or Lake Placid

in honor of our Ride for Life project!

We exceeded our $7,500 donation goal,

so now we're aiming for $10,000!

We're less than $2,000 away,

and we have until July 31 to get there!

Shirts are $20 each including shipping,

and $10 of that goes directly toward AIDS/LifeCycle!

Everything you need to know about ordering is here!

Special thanks to Facebook fan Nicole Davis
for the three-photo series of Johnny and Tara!
Check out more of Nicole's own private Idaho
on YouTube, where she has posted additional
Sun Valley footage here and here!

Monday, July 26, 2010

Next Stop: Lake Placid!

Obligatory Sun Valley 2010

sleeveless-shirt-and-black-meggings photo #1 ...

... and #2. Sigh.

Wow. By all accounts, Sun Valley was a smashing success! The arena was sold out, rehearsal footage and pics were incredible, and both of Johnny's performances were huge crowd-pleasers (of course). And Johnny stayed afterward until every last fan received an autograph or photo or both, because he's just supremely gracious like that. Though not necessarily dapper.

Very special thanks go to Facebook fans Nicole Davis and Mackenzie Keller for posting way above and beyond the call of duty for all us wallflower fans who were stuck at home wistfully trolling Twitter and FB, sighing over the fact that Idaho might as well be in outer Mongolia, and then waiting for more pics and vids while idly making up mottos for outer Mongolia (motto: "A yak for everyone, and everyone on their yak!" Alternate motto #1: "Come yak it up with us!" Because outer Mongolia seems like a fun place. Alternate motto #2: "When the going gets tough, the tough get on their yaks!" Alternate motto #3: "Warning: Even if you're tough, riding a yak may make you, um, yak a little." Alternate motto #4: "Just the yaks, ma'am." Because I loved Jack Webb and I don't care if that makes me old. Hey, I was only nine when Dragnet went off the air. I still kinda am nine. Alternate motto #5: "Yakkity-yak, don't talk bak!" Yes, I'll be here all week! Try the veal!)

Actually, I might not be here all week. Because now that Sun Valley is over, you know what that means: Lake Placid is next! Agentress Tara's favorite event of the year! As seen in BGJW, episode 104! And I am seriously contemplating driving 17 hours across five states ~~because I'm not only drinking the Kool-Aid I'm mixing it and serving it to absolutely everyone I've ever met~~ just to take it all in: The beauty! The Olympic history! The skating! The mini-golf!

And that's just Johnny and Tara! I'm sure Lake Placid itself is interesting, too.

So to help whip us all into a frenzy of last-minute travel arrangements while we count down the seconds to Saturday and breathlessly await more dapper details on the FREE Lake Placid meet-n-greet announced last week, we present Lake Placid 2009: Timeless Memories of Tender Mini-Golf Moments and Other Random Dapper Events Captured Forever and Immortalized Here for Everybody and Their Dapper Yak. (All photos courtesy of Agentress Extraordinaire Tara Modlin, who does not own a yak--dapper or otherwise--as far as I know, but if she did, would, I'm sure, promptly train it to snuffle Johnny as big, big paybak.)

Please click photos for a larger view so you can read the fascinating but not really dapper dialogue, the accuracy of which may be just a tiny bit open to interpretation.

Left to right: Tara, Johnny,
and Tara's friends Carin and Shannon.
Yes, Tara's speech above, and Johnny's first two sentences,
are quotes from episode 104.
Everybody else has all the dialogue memorized too,
right, guys? Guys?

Carin and Tara, who would never conspire

against Johnny in any way. Of course not.

And yes, this is the famous golf course

from episode 104!

Tara, Johnny, and Carin.

(Note: I heard a rumor that Patti Weir

was the Ultimate Grand Supreme at mini-golf.

Once again, Patti FTW!)

Johnny with some of the young skaters

in the Lake Placid show last year.

Second from left is Jackie Mehner Smith,

Tara's best friend from high school!

Left to right: David Barba and James Pellerito,