Current Issue October 2008
PARK AVENUE tells special stories every month – about people with unusual life stories and people who are not simply famous for being famous. And what’s so special about that? Our authors’ special relationship with the people they portray, that’s what.
In PARK AVENUE luxury reaches a target group that steers clear of mediocrity and seeks exclusivity. That loves to experiment and celebrates all manner of enjoyment. PARK AVENUE takes equal joy in experimenting with ways to present the objects of their desire: fashion trends, lifestyle and design – extravagance at a glance.
New every month. Winner of the LeadAward 2006 as Germany’s newcomer magazine of the year.
The Polaroid instant camera celebrates its farewell.
Famous artists dedicate a last picture to the Polaroid for PARK AVENUE
Production of the Polaroid instant camera was finally discontinued in March 2008. For six decades, the camera was a valued tool for artists of all disciplines and ideal for the spontaneous documentation of countless events. That is why PARK AVENUE asked famous friends of the Polaroid pic to come up with their own personal epitaph to “the Polaroid”. In the October issue of the personality magazine, out on 17 September, such celebrities as Jonathan Meese, Thomas D, Wolfgang Joop, Udo Lindenberg, Michael “Bully” Herbig, Xavier Naidoo and Diether Eikelphoth present their last homage to the instant snapshot.
“What I’ve learnt in film-making is that you sometimes have to go against the director to get good results. That is the hard part/the trick.“
Actor Martina Gedeck in an interview with PARK AVENUE
From 25 September, Martina Gedeck can be seen playing Ulrike Meinhof in Bernd Eichinger’s film adaptation of the Baader-Meinhof-Komplex. She spoke to PARK AVENUE editor Helge Hopp about the role, and told him about the emotional limits she came up against during the shoot (PARK AVENUE comes out on 17 September 2008). “It took me a long time to understand how to work such fanatism into my portrayal. Then suddenly it clicked and I wasn’t sure I’d be able to find my way back again.” Gedeck describes her confrontation with the personal of RAF protagonist Meinhof as “walking a fine line”. “Then I had a row with Eichinger, who ended up staring at me, baffled, yelling ‘Stop it, stop it! You’re in the role, I’m not discussing it with you! Not like this.’ That really was a bit weird.” Martina is not an easy person and does what seems best to her – where necessary even without stage direction. “Directors with a bit of sense trust me – and they often come round to my way of thinking when they see the result.” This “courage to go her own way” is something she learnt from her family and admits it has not always been an easy legacy. “As a child I often wished I could simply be like the others and be accepted in a group. But that didn’t happen and to this day I don’t know quite why.”
“There’s no such thing as me in connection with Strauß any more.” PARK AVENUE visits Franz Josef Strauß’ last great love, Renate Piller
She was Franz Josef Strauß’ last girlfriend – for 22 months, until he died of a heart attack on 3 October 1988. His “bonny lass” spoke to PARK AVENUE (out on 17 September) about her last great love, the anniversary of whose death comes round for the 20th time in 2008.
“His tremendous knowledge, his intelligence,” were what Renate Piller admired when she first met the Bavarian premier in 1986. She tells how bashfully he asked her, “Renate, will you be my girl?” The woman with whom he waltzed at the Vienna Opera Ball for all the world to see does not wish to be mentioned at all, however, when the 20th anniversary of his death is commemorated this year. She was deeply wounded all those years ago when his family refused to acknowledge her at the funeral, to which she had to be accompanied by film producer Luggi Waldleiter. “Mr Strauß to you,” were the words Franz Josef’s son Max had flung in her face while her father was still alive. Yet the family had always kept unpleasant truths from their father, preferring to tell a lie rather than spoil Franz Josef’s temper.
Renate Piller finds it ironic that since 1990 the anniversary of Franz Josef Strauß’ death has been superseded in the public perception by the Day of German Unity. She would have liked him to witness the end of socialism in Europe. “It would have been the crowning moment of his political life.”