My question appears around 6.38… and the answer goes on, and on!

The cherry on the top is that my question is already history! British paper, The Sun reveals her answer to my question: “Did your strong spiritual foundation help you to stay calm at the darkest hours?” The Queen of Pop held court during a post-screening news conference where she explained how she drew on her ‘strong spiritual foundation,’ to find time to work on the film project, including the writing the screenplay – a process that took three years. “Making films is really hard in the first place. You have to believe in your subject matter and be passionate about it because there will be challenges along the way. You have to be prepared like the captain of a ship, no matter what happens you have got to keep going. So your spiritual foundation has to be strong.”

After the incredible experience I had a few more days in the Italian city of love. Wondering around the old city I felt like I’m one of the weird characters from Woody Allen’s infamous neo-musical, Everyone Says I Love You, and enjoying the view from my fancy little hotel on the corner of a canal i kept pinching myself if this is only a dream. Well if it is, I still didn’t wake up yet. I’ll be grateful forever for my Kabbalah teachers for pushing me, and for making it sure that I’m always following my dreams. And – from a “material girl” point of view, I’ll always be grateful for this amazing website, where I found my “home in Venice”, this perfect little castello.

My article will premier in the December issue of the Hungarian Elle magazine.  More great hotel deals at www.szallodak.hu.

Because they worth it!

Staying Alive is an MTV international initiative to encourage HIV prevention, promote safer lifestyle choices and fight the stigma and discrimination which fuels the HIV epidemic. Staying Alive is now the world’s largest HIV mass media awareness and prevention campaign. It features the world’s biggest stars from Beyonce to Justin Timberlake, Mary J Blige, Diddy, Kanye West, Kelly Rowland, to Nelson Mandela and Bill Clinton. I was honoured and happy when the MTV Hungary asked me to be the ambassador of the campaign, and on the side of many other Hungarian artist, promote health and safe sex in the form of concerts, documentaries, public service announcements, TV film, film competitions and many others.

Staying Alive began in 1998 as a one off award winning documentary, of the same name, about six young people from around the world and how their lives were affected by HIV and AIDS and hosted by George Michael. Now, a bit more than decade later we’ve been hosting an amazing, all day event in the heart of Budapest, with free and anonimus HIV testing, exhibition, a press conference, and an all night long party with top bands and singers. Just one sentence from my speech in front of the crowd: let’s not call the people “sick”, or “ill”, who suffering from HIV. Let’s call them “healing people”.

There are so many people out there who are terrified of not being able to celebrate Christmas with us next year. You… we are capable of giving them a gift. The same way,as Dorothy needed all her friends to be able to get back to Kansas, the same way as Santa needs Christmas spirit to fly on his sleigh, they need us to believe. The cure is here with us! With the power of collective consciousness we are capable of changing our reality into a world where we all take care of each other. The Bible says, love your neighbour as you love yourself… well I say, sometimes it’s okay to love them even a bit more.

One Tree Hill – A new teen drama with  the same old story of a family, love, fashion and basketball, in it’s seventh successful season. My character is Mouth who’s dream is to become a real sports reporter. His love life is not too happy – he is kind of a loser – but he has a huge heart, and huge ears as well…

The Skins in a BAFTA-winning British television series. Its success is mainly due to the scandalous topics such as drug use or homosexuality. Maxxie is a gay guy whose dream is to become a professional dancer. One of my favorite scenes was when he announced in front of his class that he is a slut and he is very sorry about it…

One of my best jobs was the little Inu Yasha hero, Shippou, who is aKitsune-youkai, meaning a fox-spirit.  He was attacked by the evil lightning-brothers, who took a fragment of a small fox, and killed his father. Shippou was alone and wanted to revenge his father’s death. This is how he met the main characters, Inuyasha and Kagome, Sango and Miroku. It was absolutely impossible to use this tone of voice for 167 episodes… but I just loved it!

Travel with Benjamin…

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is curious indeed: the story starts in 1920’s after the World War as a little baby boy is born into the body of a nearly hundred year old Metushelah. His mother died while she was giving birth, and as his father, after seeing the baby with his all-wrinkled skin, decides to get rid of his own flesh and blood as soon as possible. After finding his new home with a family who knows exactly how is it to be different from all the others, we discover the secret: the strange little old boy is actually growing younger and younger as the years go by. The Forrest Gump-like storyline gives us the impression that we are all relatives, friends and mentors in this adventouros life. And although we feel we are a part of his path, we can never be as close to him as a little girl… woman… old lady, who has to go climb all the stairs of heavens and hell if she doesn’t want to give up on her loved one.

Anyone who saw the fantastic movie, “Babel” knows exactly how the chemistry works between Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett. Not just because she is pretty, tall and has an appearance of a queen, and he is charming and handsome as he has ever been, but also because both of them are shining with the glow of the classic Hollywood stars, and never seem superficial for a single second. Through three and a half-hour long movie, the actors and the creators are spoiling us with so many colors that the film never seems boring or heavy. Of course it helps a lot, that the movie is flawless also from a virtual point of view. The excellent work of the visual artists, designers and the entire crew is deserving every single technical Oscar which the film was nominated for. It also worth every minute what the make-up artists spent with applying the mask on Pitt, for turning him into Benjamin Button… it took five whole hours every single day.

The screenwriter Eric Roth based his story on a novel by Scott Fitzgerald, and even if the title is the same, the dramaturgy is as different as it can be. In the original story a sage was born old, with knowledge and wisdom, and later on he dies having forgotten everything, without even understanding how does it happen – he is just getting lost in the dark. Roth decided to introduce his own Benjamin as old man only in appearance, but with the mind of a newborn baby. This small twist entirely changes the character of the hero: it seems like Benjamin has nothing to loose and he is becoming younger, more handsome, and also wiser. But towards the end of the story, Roth decides to change his tune again, and now the little hero is suddenly loosing everything: his wisdom, his intelligence and most importantly his capability for being in love.

The plot ends in our days, as the Katrina hurricane destroys New-Orleans. The dramatic ending is not only spectacular but it works as an amazing metaphor: we usually deal with the acceptance of death in our own silent and personal way, trying to think about it as a natural part of life. But to loose our loved ones while we are still alive, can cause a real storm inside. A storm which in the end can be more devestating than the death itself…

Perfection with a twist…

“Life is a work of art you gotta paint it colorful,
Can make it anything u want don’t have to stick to any rules
You don’t need a high IQ to succeed in what you do,
You just gotta have no doubt just believe in yourself.

Doubters, non-believers.. once were dreamers.
One of these days you’ll open up your eyes… and you’ll realize:

That girl was a one time teenage drama queen
A hot, tough everyday wannabe…
but she’ll have changed her destiny.. now she’s a somebody.
That girl was a wild child dreamer but she found herself.
Cuz she believes in nothin else and you’ll look back and you wont believe that girl was me.”

I might be in an all-girlie-pinky mood, but this is ssso kabbalistic for me! It’s all about certainty. Whatever you guys might say, LiLo rocks!

The time is now!

Dear Kristóf,

My prayers are with the people of Haiti. I can’t imagine the terrible pain and suffering they are experiencing. Sadly, the depths of the tragedy are just becoming known and the need for our support grows more urgent with every passing moment. I have given a donation of $250,000 to assist Haiti’s earthquake victims through Partners in Health, one of Haiti’s leading health care providers. I urge all of my friends and fans around the world to join me collectively to match my contribution or give in any way you can.

Many of you will remember Dr. Paul Farmer, a founding director of Partners in Health, from my film, “I Am Because We Are.” Paul is a medical anthropologist and a physician who has dedicated his life to treating some of the world’s poorest populations. Paul has been working alongside Haitians for decades, empowering them to improve their own communities. His dedication to Haiti and his transformative work there has inspired my own work in Malawi.

I realize I’ve asked for your help before. But when the suffering of tens of thousands of people comes into our homes and touches us the way the situation in Haiti has, I believe we are called to act. Right now, Partners in Health is rushing to provide medical supplies and additional staff to the 120 doctors and hundred of nurses they already have on the ground in Haiti. Supplies are quickly running out. I’m inspired by Partners in Health, and I whole-heartedly support their work. Please join me in supporting their relief efforts, which are needed more now than ever before. Please donate to Partners in Health now: http://www.raisingmalawi.org/partnersinhealth

We cannot sit idly by and watch the suffering of so many. We must act now.

Thank you for your support,

Madonna

Jealous, Paris darling?

Bingo… it was me. And trust me, these dolls are ready to take over the world! In the school where all the guys are cool and all the girls are hot, Regina Feld had it all: blond… sexy… and she was dating with the most popular guy from the basketball team. She thought she will be the queenbee forever… well, she was wrong! ’Cos a misterious stranger is about to turn her world upside down! Since every school has it’s own rules… especially the really posh ones, instead of a new mate she gets only new hate. If you wanna play the game, you got to know: if you play by the rule, you’re a damn fool. The question is: BFF stands for best friends forever… or brutal foes forever?  One thing is for sure: our cheerleader is not so cheerful now… and defenetley not a leader.

Starring the super sexy blonde ambition: Lilla Labanc…
Love… Fight… Jelousy… Passion…
Dream.net!

A foxy comedy what you just can’t miss!

Hungary’s jucy celebrity magazine, HOT! recently published a two page article on my Kabbalah studies. If you’re interested in the technology of soul what changed my way of thinking, talking and living, go for it! I do know secret now: the main importance is not in fame on wealth, but what I do with it.

That’s our secret… and yours as well…

The magazine says: Kristóf Steiner left a glamorous life in the spotlight, when he moved to Tel Aviv half a year ago with Matan, his loved one. Now he is sharing with the Hot! magazine readers what changed in his life. „My dad and mum were really spiritual people and they had kabbalah books back in the 80’s, when no one knew about this cosmic wisdom in Hungary. For me, since I was a kid, the main thing was getting famous, to be on tv, go to VIP parties and be in movies. After I got all these, I realized how empty is the channel between me and the people who are looking at me: I don’t give anything for the fame what I got.”

While Kristóf was dealing with being a celebrity – what he always wanted – he lost his own, real personality: he stopped taking care of people and causes what he did before and he developed a serious eating disorder.

„I realized that being famous is a responsibility. I have to do and say things what has meaning and can guide others. When I came to Israel, I already knew I am going to visit the Kabbalah Centre, since I already finished most books which has been published in Hungary, and I found it very helpful and inspirational. When I met my instructor, David Zakin, I knew this the right way to the light.”

Kristof says being spiritual and finding God in himself does not mean he won’t go out or party again: he loves to have fun, but as he says, our material interests are in a certain 1 percent of our true nature, all the rest, what brings us closer to be filled up with satisfaction is in the 99 percent.

„My teacher called me a few times while I was in Hungary for 2 weeks, and if I get destructed he is giving me advices what meditation should I do or which book should I read and I truly trust him.” Says Kristóf, and he thinks, no one should be sarcastic about people looking for spiritual paths. „I know some people will say I’m following a fashion line by Madonna or Demi Moore, but I know how serious I am about becoming a better person, who can share the light what he experiences. Reacting on the sarcasm is never a wise thing. It’s time for us to do actions, not re-actions.”

I’m happy and grateful for my new mission what I got from the Light: building and editing the kabbalah.com’s Hungarian website. If you thought that it’s all about a red bracelet and a bottle of water, visit us on the other side of the curtain. Join our Facebook group and if you are in Tel Aviv, here is a hint… there is a new English language class starting really soon. “I think you wanna come over…”

Here we (Ar)go!

Quest for the Golden Owl – Attila Árpa a former Hungarian reality-show producer wanted to make an action movie that his country’s never had before. Árpa admittedly borrowed certain patterns from the masters of the genre: Tarantino, Ritchie and Kusturica. However, his product turned out much better than it first sounded (the makers managed to attract a lot of attention to their work when it was in progress). Most of the elements has been seen before, but Hungarian environment and sarcasm add a fresh tune to this slowly decaying type of movie. The filmmakers didn’t waste much time with the story: it’s a great challenge with time and the opponents for the fabulous treasure, an ancient barbarian golden owl named Styx Aurum. The three completely different gangs are running amok countrywide and stop only when they reach the finish line. The film is pulsing until the last minute, so you don’t have time to get bored. The great performances of the Hungarian actors(none of them well known)must be mentioned: they make their characters really believable. The only problem will be about the translation of the diction, because the language is so inventively mean, that it can be hardly translated. Time will tell, but this doesn’t change the fact that it is a well-made and very dashing film.

By István Farkas and Richard Barna