Video can be found here as well:
http://youtu.be/IpbDHxCV29A
http://www.vanityfair.it/news/societ%C3%A0/14/03/12/first-kiss-video-youtube-italian-actress
First Kiss
Mar 12, 2014
[NEWS / SOCIETĄ]First Kiss? There's also a bit of Italy in it. Made in
Verona-Eritrea:
<<I went from serving cocktails to DiCaprio to 23 million viewers>> You have
already seen it (if not, watch it now: yes, it was a commercial). It is the
video that has already been seen by at least 23 million people worldwide.
And we discovered that there was even a little bit of Italian great beauty
in it. Elisabetta Tedla told us how it all happened, from the embarrassment
of <<good first take>> to who made another date after having kissed
First Kiss, the video by Tatia Pileva where 20 people who don't know each
other share a first kiss was watched online, in 48 hours, by over 23
million people. Much more than many films that come out in theaters can
count.
If you aren't living on Mars, then it is most likely you have already seen
it. And if you don't have a heart of stone, then you were also touched by
it. But then you found out the video was produced by a clothing company
(Wren), the participants are actors and professional models, and the poetry
was gone. A little bit like with the <<selfie>> by Ellen DeGeneres at the
Oscars, a spontaneous act <<piloted>> by a sponsor.
Melissa Coker, the founder of Wren, produced it, just as she has made short
films with other directors in the past, like with Gia Coppola, for example.
First Kiss is an unprecedented success: we are all convinced of this.
Everyone, that is, except for Nighisti Tedla, an Eritrean woman living in
Verona, Italy. Nighisti is the mother of one of the actresses, Elisabetta
Tedla, who, in a phone conversation form Los Angeles, told me: "Mom expects
to see me at the movies, on TV, or in newspapers, but until yesterday she
didn't even know what YouTube was".
Elisabetta, born in Verona (Italian father), arrived in the United States
eight years ago. For six of those years she's been living in Los Angeles
where she has studied acting with Ivana Chubbuck, a legendary acting coach
from Hollywood. She has found work in numerous advertisements as well as
some independent films.
How did you get involved in First Kiss?
<<I met Tatia and her husband, who is the director of photography for the
video, through mutual friends. She was looking for people for this project
and I said yes>>.
At the end of your kiss you say: <<That was a good one!>>. Were there any
sentimental consequences with Justin, your partner on the set?
<<Between me and him no. But I know that other couples went to lunch
together or had a drink together. Who knows, maybe for someone there were
romantic developments!>>.
Tell the truth: is this an advertisement or not?
<<I often work for advertisements and this, definitely, is not one. Tatia
did what she wanted, there was no script from the client to be followed.
Wren is the producer who, of course, profits from the visibility but
advertisements are something else>>.
You are a professional actress so it must not have been difficult to fake
the embarrassment of a first kiss...
<<But I really had never seen Justin before!" If it had been a film or even
a real advertisement, we would have had occasions to meet before, talk,
try, film it again. Instead, the kisses that you see are all 'good first
take', under the gaze of five cameras. Tatia just worked on the different
angles but the moment that was captured is a single one>>.
Like almost all actors who are not yet famous, you worked as a bartender.
<<Yes, I was able to quit just recently. For the past three years I was a
'mixologist', as they say here, at the Soho House, a private club
frequented by many stars. I prepared many cocktails and often requested for
my Old Fashion and Eastern Standard>>.
Did you serve any famous clients?
<<A lot, from Leonardo DiCaprio to Colin Farrell. Standing behind that bar
was like a Master's degree in surviving Hollywood. One evening Wally
Pfister, director of photography for Inception, someone who had won an
Oscar, offered me a true life lesson!>>.
What will you do after First Kiss?
<<Since yesterday the phone has not stopped ringing, I can't believe it's
true. And, maybe, sooner or later, I will be able to realize a project I
really care about>>.
Which?
<<I would like to become the first Italian to conduct a television show here
in America>>.
- CLICK on the photo above to watch the video and find Elisabetta among the
kisses
Received on Sat Mar 22 2014 - 18:21:16 EDT