Latest news with #disguise
CBS News
21-05-2025
- Entertainment
- CBS News
Former CIA chief of disguise says iconic mask technology used in "Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning" isn't just Hollywood fiction
Former CIA chief of disguise breaks down the reality behind "Mission: Impossible" Hollywood spy techniques aren't entirely fiction, according to former CIA chief of disguise Jonna Mendez. During an interview on "CBS Mornings" on Wednesday, Mendez said some of the high-tech espionage depicted in the Tom Cruise action series "Mission Impossible" using masks that allow characters to dramatically peel off realistic facial disguises has real-world parallels. "The idea of a mask that you could quickly put on, quickly take off was very real," she said. "We used it with some discretion, but we used it when we needed it and got great results." Mendez said that the CIA developed masks capable of changing an agent's apparent gender and ethnicity. She said she personally demonstrated this technology to President George H.W. Bush and other high-ranking officials, including Brent Scowcroft, Bob Gates, and John Sununu — none of whom recognized her until she removed the disguise. "No one had any idea until I took it off," Mendez said. She added that only Judge William H. Webster, then head of the CIA, knew about the demonstration in advance. The masks were remarkably realistic, according to Mendez. "You would not notice unless you told a really hysterical joke and the person couldn't laugh hysterically," she said, noting that the disguises had some limitations, but could manage a smile. The agents could even apply these masks without mirrors in as little as 10 seconds, even "in a parking garage without a mirror in the dark." When asked about the self-destructing messages depicted in the films, Mendez was more circumspect. "I don't know that we've tried that," she said. "There are many ways to convey a message. The exploding machine is only one, and I think we have not. Maybe we haven't mastered that yet." "Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning" is distributed by Paramount Pictures, which is a subsidiary of Paramount Global, CBS News' parent company. The film hits theaters on Friday, May 23.
Daily Mail
21-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Inside Princess Diana's secret night out with Freddie Mercury - from her 'male drag' disguise to visiting the most famous gay bar in London
Princess Diana was one of the most photographed women in the world. So it is no surprise that she went above and beyond to break free from the intrusive lens of the paparazzi. The late Princess of Wales once disguised herself as a 'rather eccentrically dressed male model' to sneak into one of London 's most famous gay bars, according to a new biography excerpted by People Magazine. In Dianaworld: An Obsession, which is to be released by Penguin on May 8, author Edward White describes the night Diana joined TV personality Cleo Rocos and Queen frontman Freddie Mercury at the apartment of radio DJ Kenny Everett to watch Golden Girls. But later in the evening, as Rocos confirms in her own memoir, Diana persuaded the group to take her to the Royal Vauxhall Tavern - a Grade II listed entertainment venue in London that still hosts weekly cabaret drag acts. Although Everett warned the royal that the club was 'not for you... full of hairy gay men', Diana was apparently insistent and promised she 'just wanted the thrill of going in, undetected, to order one drink, and would then leave right away'. In order to do so, the princess borrowed Everett's clothes to 'disguise herself in male drag'. 'A camouflage army jacket, hair tucked up into a leather cap and dark aviator sunglasses,' Rocos wrote in her 1988 autobiography The Power of Positive Drinking. 'Scrutinising her in the half-light we decided that the most famous icon of the modern world might just... JUST, pass for a rather eccentrically dressed gay male model.' The haphazard disguise seemed to work with Rocos describing the night out as 'fabulously outrageous' and 'bizarrely exciting'. 'No one, absolutely no one, recognised Diana,' she wrote. As promised, Diana only ordered one drink before leaving the venue, making sure to send Everett his clothes upon her return to Kensington Palace the following day. 'The story sounds far-fetched,' White admits in his new book. 'Like one of the many apocryphal yarns of royal transformation that litter folklore and fairytales. 'Equally, Diana at the gay bar could be said to have a Shakespearean quality, with a girl dressed as a boy slipping into an enchanted world. 'Irrespective of its veracity, the story of Diana in drag at the Royal Vauxhall Tavern has been taken up as an illustration of her connection with the gay community and a metaphor for her own search for a family in which she felt truly accepted.' In 2017, cabaret performer Desmond O'Connor wrote a musical called Royal Vauxhall based on the infamous tale of Diana's night out. The Royal Vauxhall Tavern in London still hosts cabaret nights Its performance coincided with the 20th anniversary of Diana's death and came at a time when a string of famous London gay venues were going out of business - including the Royal Vauxhall Tavern. White writes: 'It struck O'Connor as a powerful theme that united Diana's life with the experiences of London's gay community: both needed places to go where they could be themselves. 'Diana may have had the luxurious residences of Kensington Palace, Highgrove, and Althorp at her disposal but, Royal Vauxhall contends, each of them was a gilded cage where only her material needs could be fully met. 'It was in the guise of a different person that, for at least one night, she could discover herself.' There is a long list of tales about Diana disguising herself to go unnoticed by the paparazzi. Indeed, the late Princess of Wales allegedly accompanied Hasnat Khan, the British Pakistani surgeon she dated between 1995 and 1997, to Ronnie Scott's jazz bar in Soho while wearing a wig and glasses. 'She'd wear a wig as a disguise and in the gloomy atmosphere of the club no one noticed her', said Simon Cooke, the managing director of the club. In her book Diana: Her Last Love, author Kate Snell said that the princess would often dress in disguise to avoid public recognition while dating the doctor. Snell tells of the time her close friend and psychic healer Simone Simons was too stunned to speak when Diana appeared in the drawing room of Kensington Palace wearing a 'long dark brown wig recently acquired on her behalf by her butler Paul Burrell from the Oxford Street department store, Selfridges.' 'It was one of several wigs Diana had adapted for herself, and such disguises became key to going out with Khan, safe from detection by public and paparazzi,' wrote Snell. In the 2017 documentary Diana: The Woman Inside, Simmons would also go on to reveal that the princess would wear disguises in order go shopping without attracting attention. 'In spite of the media putting her in the spotlight, she put on her wig, wore what she wanted, came for walks on Hampstead Heath, went to the charity shop with me in Camden High Street,' Simmons told the documentary crew. 'One time she was experimenting and this person answered the door to me, walked me up the stairs into the small lounge and William and Harry were there, and she said "the princess will see you now," and the boys just could not stop she said "I fooled you!"'
The Sun
15-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Sun
Eurovision legends look unrecognisable as they go backstage at contest – can you tell who they are?
EUROVISION fans will be left doing a double take when they find out who these legends are. The pop duo have been captured on camera heading backstage at this year's event and they are barely recognisable. 5 5 The lads in question are Irish twins Jedward, who found fame on The X Factor in 2009. John and Edward Grimes went on to represent Ireland twice at Eurovision, making history. Jedward have now been pictured in disguise while backstage at this year's Eurovision, which is being held in Basel, Switzerland. The brothers donned wigs, prosthetic noses and fake beards, and dressed in grungy clothes - which is world's away from their usual pop star threads. One even added a fake lip ring and their iconic blonde quiffs were nowhere to be seen. Sharing a snap on Jedward's Instagram account, they said: "Can't believe we got to be in disguise at Eurovision. "New hair, noses, hairy beards and lip piercing. No one had a clue it was us. Felt normal for once. It was a crazy experience." The lads also shared a video of themselves as they got into their disguises. Jedward's stunt was all part of a ploy to surprise two Jedward superfans, who had won a trip to the Eurovision set in Basel. They were surprised by John and Edward while being given a tour. Rylan makes VERY awkward gaffe during first live Eurovision semi-final Jedward remarked on Instagram: "The most iconic transformation ever." John and Edward were dubbed Louis Walsh 's 'joke' act when he put them through on The X Factor 16 years ago. But he had the last laugh. Jedward went on to make history when they represented Ireland at the Eurovision Song Contest in both 2011 and 2012. In 2011, they finished in eighth place with their song Lipstick. It earned them 119 points. The following year they didn't fare so well, finishing in 19th place with 46 points for Waterline. The Eurovision Song Contest Grand Final 2025 will air on BBC One on Saturday night. Representing the UK this year is Remember Monday. The trio is made up of best friends Charlotte, Holly and Lauren and they will be performing their song What The Hell Just Happened?. Eurovision Song Contest Grand Final 2025, 8pm, BBC One, Saturday May 17 5 5 5
