Russian Playboy magazine begins a series of Ukrainian parties and model searches, beginning Nov. 12 at Opium Dance Club... M1 all-music channel launches a pre-fabricated star search... and anchors and celebrities of the 1+1 TV channel launch a book about the industry.
Hustler magazine is here, and we’ve got Russian and Polish versions of Playboy and a Ukrainian version of Penthouse – but no Playboy of our own. Local fans of the men’s mag, take heart. Playboy Russia is launching a seriesof Playboy parties at local clubs, and the first big one takes place on Nov. 12 at Opium Dance Club.
The day before the party, Russian Playboy editor-in-chief Maksim Maslakov and members of his editorial stuff will select a Playmate of the Month from Ukraine. She’ll get a contract to do a nude photo session in Playboy. Maslakov says that apart from finding a Playmate, they would like to select a number of girls and introduce them at the party before taking them to Moscow. But that’s not the best part, which is that participants will not be regular models, but any willing Ukrainian girls between 18 to 25 years old. Moscow Playmate of the Year for 2003 Zhanna Salimzyanova will also be a special guest at the party.
The party starts at 9 p.m., with lots of bunnies. Stoletov vodka will be served in the evening’s cocktail, the Pinky Rabbit – free for all guests upon arrival. Fill out the questionnaire at www.stoletov.com.ua and be entered to win a free invite to the party. More Playboy parties are planned for other Ukrainian cities, too – Odessa, Dnipropetrovsk, Kharkiv and Donetsk during the coming months.
Another ‘Star’
As if there weren’t enough promotion agencies churning out star after star, music channel M1 has launched yet another campaign to create a star out of thin air – the Miss Music contest. Instead of choosing potential superstars of tomorrow from random registrants, M1 made it easier for everyone by pre-selecting only models for the show. They apparently have the proper look already; the only thing left to be judged is their ability to sing. The second round of the competition took place last Friday at the new Arena Entertainment complex in Mandarin Plaza and was aimed at judging the girls’ ability to (we presume simultaneously) walk, smile and sing a song previously recorded and produced by M1. The jury included M1 chair Oleksandr Asalyuk, pop stars Alyona Vinnytskaya and Oleksandr Ponomaryov and others. The two winners from this round were Olena Lamakina and Maryna Tymofiyiva; viewers chose as their fave Lyzbet Kurbanmagomedova. M1 will promote the overall winner of the Miss Music contest, who will have a chance to become an “idol of millions,” as the show’s promoters suggest – or, more likely, be just another pretty Eastern European pop star.
1+1 Tells its Story
“You’re Not Alone: On the Recent History of Ukrainian Television.” That’s the title of a recently released book from the 1+1 TV channel. The inside cover suggests this is no staff memoir, but a look at how modern television in Ukraine works.
Naturally the book is about 1+1: its history, the present, blah blah blah. The 300-page volume, which was written by three 1+1 journalists and hosts – Yuriy Makarov, Olha Herasymyuk and Stanislav Chernylevsky – might prove interesting for really dedicated fans of the channel or journalism students, especially considering the modest number of books written about modern Ukrainian television so far (um, none). Is it a shameless attempt to increase their visibility? You bet. Read with caution.
