Are you seated comfortably? Good. Sit back and relax as guest author Nicky Hand discusses 6 iconic and inspired pieces of movie seating.

During the 50s and 60s, furniture designers went through something of a renaissance and began to experiment with distinctive shapes, bold colours and new combinations of materials. Some of the results became international sensations and many of the designs remain popular to this day.

There's no denying that contemporary furniture is just plain cool, and this is a reputation that has only been heightened by Hollywood. Here's a list of iconic pieces that have found lasting fame and cult status after an appearance on screen.

Eames Chair – Frasier

Frasier Crane is well known for his high class taste and his refusal to settle for anything less than the absolute finest things in life. The inclusion of a designer Eames chair in his Seattle apartment is a testament to this, and it has led to appearances of this beautiful piece in the most exclusive of interior designs.

Lips Sofa – Austin Powers

Lips sofas first appeared when Salvador Dali created a portrait of Mae West out of an entire room. Since then, their appearance in the Austin Powers series has firmly associated them with the swinging sixties. Lips sofas are undoubtedly a signature piece that can create a wow factor in bedrooms or contemporary living rooms.

Ovalia Egg Chairs – Men in Black

These instantly recognisable swivel chairs are symbolic of futuristic simplicity, which made them the perfect choice for inclusion in the poster campaign of Men in Black 2. Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones holding enormous space guns will go a long way for increasing the popularity of most things, and egg chairs didn't need much help as it was. These chairs are another great choice for bedrooms and open plan living spaces.

Barcelona Chair – Casino Royale

The Barcelona chair achieves that tricky balance between retro chic and timeless elegance that fits in perfectly with the latest incarnation of Ian Fleming's classic character. Everything in Bond's universe is expected to deliver ultimate performance without compromising on ultra sleek style, and the Barcelona chair doesn't disappoint. Available in single chairs as well as longer sofas, Barcelona furniture lends glamour to a classic décor.

Djinn Chair – 2001: A Space Odyssey

Originally known as the 'low fireside chair' the Djinn is now more commonly referred to as the '2001 chair' after it appeared so prominently in Stanley Kubrick's vision of the future back in 1968. With bold colours and a relaxed slouching shape, Djinn chairs are a popular choice for stylish reception areas in creative companies.

Classical Leather Armchair – The Matrix

Utilised in the famous moment where Neo is given the choice between red or blue pills, these impressive pieces of furniture really do speak for themselves and have no problem holding their own and as the sole piece of set in a pivotal scene. A leather armchair lends itself easily to a traditional style of décor, but thanks to the cult following of Matrix fans you can also come across them incorporated into more contemporary looks too.

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Written by Nicky Hand. If you're looking for a range of iconic seating then you will find lips, eggs and many more at Hansboma.

Disclosure: This is a sponsored guest post that has been written especially for Addicted to Media.

The big news for fans of Richelle Mead’s Vampire Academy series is that we will finally see the first film 2014. Richelle Mead explains that they wanted each film to have a unique title to set it apart from the multitude of films and television series in the vampire genre and the title of the first film is Vampire Academy: Blood Sisters.

In Vampire Academy, Rose Hathaway is a dhampir, half-human and half-vampire, who is training to become a guardian at the elite St Vladimir's Academy. Once qualified, she will serve to protect one of the royal or noble Moroi, a race of living, benevolent vampires who rule their society. There is only one Moroi that Rose wants to protect though, and that is her best friend Princess Vasilisa Dragomir, whom she calls Lissa. There are no lengths that Rose won’t go to in order to protect Lissa, including running away from school with her, but Vampire Academy opens with the duo being unceremoniously dragged back to the academy by guardian Dimitri Belikov. Little does he know the danger to which he is exposing them in the form of Strigoi (evil, undead vampires) and others who will use Lissa’s powers for their own purposes.

There have been several key casting announcements in the past couple of weeks and filming will begin at the end of this month.

Zoey Deutch is Rose Hathaway

Zoey Deutch most recently appeared as Emily Asher in Beautiful Creatures and she starred alongside Sarah Michelle Gellar in Ringer too. She definitely looks the part of Rose Hathaway; Rose is half-Turkish and Zoey has a lovely olive skin. The only doubt I have is that Rose Hathaway is a warrior, she absolutely kicks ass, and Zoey looks like a princess. Perhaps she can learn some classic Buffy combat moves from Sarah Michelle Gellar?

Lucy Fry is Lissa Dragomir

Lucy Fry definitely looks the part of Lissa Dragomir, the Moroi princess and last of the Dragomir family. Lissa might appear breezy from the outside but she possesses an inner strength and poise that make her a natural and powerful leader. The Australian actress is relatively unknown but she aced the audition and convinced the casting crew that she is indeed a Moroi princess.

Danila Kozlovsky is Dimitri Belikov

I can’t begin to express how thrilled I am that they have chosen a Russian actor to play Dimitri instead of making us sit through six films worth of a terrible Russian accent. Born Danila Valerevich Kozlovskiy, Danila has several films and TV shows under his belt and won a Golden Eagle (Russian Academy Award) for Best Actor this year for his appearance as Maks in Dukhless.

If Rose Hathaway is a warrior, then Dimitri is a god of warriors and he is virtually unbeatable in the books. Kozlovsky attended the Military Academy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Russia and always said he didn’t believe his time there was wasted. Well, perhaps he will do his own stunts and fight scenes? We can only hope.

Olga Kurylenko is Headmistress Kirova

This casting choice really pleases me as I enjoyed Olga Kurylenko's performance as Julia in Oblivion. Olga plays Headmistress Kirova and we tend to see quite a lot of her because Rose tends to get in trouble a lot.

Cameron Monaghan is Mason Ashford

Cameron Monaghan is another good casting choice in terms of his appearance but, again, I have to wonder about his physique. Mason is a dhampir and is meant to be stocky and powerful whereas the Shameless actor is quite tall and slim. I guess the actor will be spending a lot of time in the gym in the weeks to come!

Sami Gayle is Mia Rinaldi

Best known as Nicky Reagan-Boyle on the hit TV series Blue Bloods, Sami Gayle is a talented young actress but she looks nothing like Mia Rinaldi. Mia is described as having soft, blonde hair that curls around her face, making her look not unlike a china doll. Her soft looks belie her nasty nature and the grudge she holds against Lissa for breaking her brother Andre’s heart. Nevertheless, Sami definitely has a doll-like quality but I believe the strength of her casting will be in her performance. Mia undergoes quite a transformation in the books and I do think Sami will be able to handle that.

Well, I’m really looking forward to the film and I can’t wait until they start releasing stills and promo shots. I’m also really looking forward to seeing who they cast as Adrian Ivashkov but I might have to wait for that one as Richelle Mead only introduced him in the second book Frostbite.  Just to be clear though, I am absolutely 100% Team Belikov.

Vampire Academy: Blood Sisters will be released on Valentine’s Day next year – 14 February 2014.

What do you think of the casting so far? Who do you love and who makes you the most worried?

Think of birds in film and what comes to mind? Do you think of Hitchcock’s menacing villains or the heroism of Fawkes? In this tribute to Alfred Hitchcock on the 50th anniversary of The Birds, guest author Nicky Hand discusses the top 10 movie birds of all time.

Alfred Hitchcock's iconic horror movie The Birds celebrated its 50^th anniversary recently, and it seems that he sparked something of a trend for big screen appearances of our feathered friends. In honour of this momentous occasion in cinema history, here’s a list of some of the greatest birds ever to grace the silver screen.

Kevin – Up

This chocolate loving take on the South American Monal Pheasant is depicted as a taller, more colourful version of the dodo. What Kevin lacks between the ears is made up for in bucketfuls of endearing charm and it's easy to see why boy scout Russell is so immediately drawn in.

The Crow

The classic association between crows and dark magic is never stronger than in Tim Burton's gothic tale of a murdered guitarist who is brought back to life to take his revenge for himself and his fiancée. The bird who leads him to his destiny is made suitably creepy by the dark twinkle of intelligence that glitters in his eye throughout. That kind of acting just can't be taught.

Scuttle – The Little Mermaid

Scuttle is the closest thing that Ariel has to an authority on human society, and his botched attempts to invent uses for the objects that she rescues from shipwrecks leaves Ariel in some pretty embarrassing situations later in the film. But there's no doubt that Scuttle's heart is in the right place and he shows his mettle when he sticks by her side through thick and thin.

The Black Swan

Technically, the black swan is nothing more than the projection of a tortured ballet dancer as she suffers a mental breakdown in pursuit of a dark new role. Even so, this bird offers a stunning display that is both fascinating and difficult to watch. Well worthy of an honorary place in the top 10.

Kes

Growing up the wilds of Bradford, Billy Casper is unhappy at home, unhappy at school, and pretty unhappy at the prospect of taking up the coal mining career that everybody expects of him. The only thing that Billy has to look forward to is spending time with Kes, his loyal kestrel and only friend.

Fawkes – Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

There's no denying that Albus Dumbledore has exotic taste in pets, and birds don't come much cooler than the legendary phoenix. Fawkes may be a beauty, but he is also a useful bird to have around when you need to escape in a flaming hurry (get it?).

The Giant Eagles – Lord of the Rings / The Hobbit

Always there when you need them most, Gwaihir and his enormous brethren are the unsung heroes of Middle Earth. The eagles know a thing or two about cinematic timing and usually leave it until the tension has built up to a fever pitch before swooping into to save the day.

Paulie

A Blue-crowned Conure makes the ideal pet for a young girl, especially when he has enough of a grasp of English to allow him to give her elocution lessons. When Paulie is thrown out by the domineering father figure he doesn't let it get him down and quickly embarks on a string of adventures with a colourful cast of new friends.

Pirate Cotton's Parrot – Pirates of the Caribbean

Ever since cotton's tongue was cut out, his trusty parrot has taken the reins in the speech department. If a talking parrot isn't enough to impress you then surely the fact that this one can telepathically read the thoughts of its master should do the trick?

Ladyhawke

Isabeau is a young woman who falls in love with the captain of the guard, but when the pair are placed under a curse she turns into a hawk during the day and sees her lover transformed into a wolf every night. While the men set about hatching a plan to kill the evil Bishop and break the curse, Isabeau spends her time alternating between the beautiful Michelle Pfeiffer, and the equally beautiful lady hawk.

 

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Written by Nicky Hand on behalf of Gecko Home Cinemas, who can help movie lovers to create their very own home cinema and discover an experience that is truly unlike any other.

Disclosure: This is a sponsored guest post that has been written especially for Addicted to Media.

The problem with developing a liking for obscure European rock bands is that it's not always easy to catch them in concert in London. That's not to say Kaizers Orchestra is obscure, far from it, but Londoners just don't know their music and that's precisely why they are less likely to tour here.

Add to that the fact that Kaizers Orchestra are currently on the closing leg of their final tour ever and you can understand why I feel very lucky indeed to have caught the six lads from Norway in concert at London's Koko on 25 April 2013.

And what did I think of their first and last ever concert in London?

It was bloody brilliant.

I had pretty high expectations for the concert as I'd heard really good things about Kaizers Orchestra’s concerts. Indeed, as the crowd gathered before the show, this is what I heard from all the very excited people around me, many of whom were Norwegian and had flown in from Norway especially for the concert. This was confirmed when Janove asked who spoke Norwegian in the crowd and the entire audience erupted, contrasted with the three lonely voices who answered to speaking English.

My expectations were certainly high but it turns out they were nowhere near high enough.  This was a perfect set played by best friends and master performers to a crowd of adoring fans.

Lead vocalist Janove Ottesen has an incredible presence on stage and yes, he is every bit as gorgeous in the flesh as he looks in promo photos. Helge Risa is marvellously cooked, tucked away in his corner like a lunatic scientist. I was almost ecstatic when he straddled himself between the organ and piano and played them both at the same time.

Highlights

The band were on stage for two full hours with the barest of breaks before they took their encore. The concert was brilliant from start to finish and it is hard to narrow down the highlights but I will certainly try.

I didn't really appreciate the oil barrels in Kaizers Orchestra songs until I saw it in action. Somehow, these lads take banging oil barrels and wheel rims to a whole new, harmonious and oh-so-sexy level. Freaking awesome.

Geir Zehl hitting the oil barrel in "Ompa til du dør" is one of my standout moments together with him playing guitar on top of it.

And I know, singers are shameless flirts and they compliment it to every crowd but I loved it when Janove called us “Kaizers Fans” and exclaimed that someone should take a photo of the entire crowd with their hands in the air. Fans can definitely make a concert and these fans certainly did.

Sad Times

Despite the perfect set and the awesome performance, I do have to make one tiny complaint. Despite playing both songs in other sets during this tour, the band played neither of my favourite tracks “Diamant Til Kull” and “170”. I was pretty sad about that but watching and singing along to “Bak et Halleluja” live more than made up for it. 

Best concert ever.

Kaizers Orchestra Setlist: Koko, London, 25 April 2013

Aldri vodka, Violeta
Siste dans
Tusen dråper regn
Din kjole lukter bensin, mor
En for orgelet, en for meg
Ompa til du dør
Bøn Fra HelveteDet polaroide liv
Sigøynerblod
Forloveren
Støv og sand
KGB
I ett med verden
Kontroll på kontinentet
Philemon Arthur & the Dung
Svarte katter & flosshatter
Hjerteknuser
Maestro

Encore
Begravelsespolka
Bak et Halleluja
Die Polizei

It has been a really long time since I've loved a protagonist in a book. There are books that I've loved, certainly, but whatever I loved about them had more to do with the stories themselves or the other characters in the book.

All of this occurred to me today when I finished Kevin Hearne's Hounded and loved it. Most importantly, I loved the lead character Atticus O'Sullivan. And that wasn't only down to his Irish accent and dashing Celtic good looks.

Hounded is the first book in the Iron Druid Chronicles and Atticus is the Iron Druid in question. The only living Druid remaining on earth, Atticus is over 2,000 years old and hiding out in Arizona, far away from the watchful eyes of the gods and demons that would hunt him down. He would especially like to avoid running into Aenghus Óg, the Celtic god of love who holds a remarkable amount of hatred and vengeance in his heart for one so seemingly loved up.

When Aenghus Óg tracks him down, Atticus expects him to unleash the powers of hell in his quest for vengeance but he is not about to go down without one hell of a fight. With his faithful Irish wolfhound Oberon at his side (not to mention assorted vampires, werewolves and witches wo may or may not want to kill him), Atticus is about to teach Aenghus a very valuable lesson in picking a fight with a two-thousand-year-old Druid.

In many ways, Hounded reminded me of Richelle Mead's Succubus series and Jim Butcher's The Dresden Files, without the gratuitous sex scenes or overly smug protagonist. Of course, I didn’t mind either when I read those series but Atticus O’Sullivan is just so damn likeable. Hounded is fun and irreverent and the writing is extremely witty.  You get the idea that the author doesn’t take himself all that seriously and then he blows you away with ridiculously long and archaic words or his impressive knowledge of every pantheon under the sun.

Needless to say, I couldn’t put Hounded down and if you must know, I’ve torn through most of the sequel Hexed in the time it’s taken me to draft this review. An easy 5 out of 5 stars and Kevin Hearne is very possibly my New Favourite Author.

Summer is almost here which means only one thing in the United Kingdom: it’s festival season again! Come rain or shine, festival-goers across the UK flock to day festivals or weekenders every summer to catch the best line ups you can possibly imagine. Of course, this is the British summer we’re talking of, so it is more often rain than shine and there is an entire market for festival Wellies and trendy Macs.

These days I far prefer day festivals to the weekenders. I reckon I paid my dues at Glastonbury and Reading with overflowing Portaloos and cold showers. Day festivals are perfect – you get to saunter down at around lunch time, spend the day in the sun watching a fantastic line up and still make it home on the last train.

This year there is a new event on the London festival horizon to rival Hard Rock Calling and Wireless.  Orange Nation, the UK’s biggest gay clubbing promotions company, are launching the As One in the Park festival which they promise to be the biggest gay gathering of the summer. As One in the Park will take place in Victoria Park, Hackney on Bank Holiday Sunday, May 26 from noon to 10pm.

Rita Ora has been announced as the main stage headliner along with Katy B, Conor Maynard and Union J. There will also be an appearance by special guest star Holly Johnson, former lead singer of one of my favourite bands of all time, Frankie Goes to Hollywood.

Of course, I tend to spend a lot of my time at festivals exploring away from the main stage and As One in the Park promises an impressive additional five stages and four indoor arenas on the day. I think that the area to be will be the Best of British Arena featuring DJ sets from Roger Sanchez and Boy George.

Tickets are really reasonable in London terms and start at £40 for general admission and £75 for VIP.