Watch Grace Jones’s Doc Trailer: “You Have to Be a High Flying B-tch”
Grace Jones, the paradigmatic singer, actress and model, let documentary director Sophie Fiennes follow her around with cameras over the course of an entire decade, and the resulting film, Grace Jones: Bloodlight and Bami, will be one of the most hotly anticipated celebrity documentaries of the year when it premieres at the Toronto International Film Festival next month.
Finally, the public gets our smallest peek about what that 10 years of footage holds with the first teaser trailer. It doesn’t give us much of an idea about what topics the film will cover, but it does give a sense of how intimate Fiennes (who is sister of the actors Ralph and Joseph) was able to get with her cameras. Set to the beat from Jones’s single “Pull Up to My Bumper,” we first get a glimpse of Jones putting on her own makeup in the back of what we can only assume is a long black limousine. It then shifts to a backstage vanity where we witness Jones sculpting out what are already some of the world’s most iconic cheekbones. Basically, it’s a minimalist makeup tutorial in the form of a trailer.
Though, a few choice quotes from Jones can be heard.
“You have to be a high flying b-tch, sometimes,” she says with laugh. “Sometimes you have to be a high flying b-tch.”
Ain’t it the truth.
Thought she never quite reached the chart success of all those who followed her, Jones basically laid the foundation on which all modern pop stars are built. The Jamaica native started out her career as a model, but by 1977 secured a record deal. Her incorporation of high fashion, avant garde stage costumes, frequent collaborations with visual artists, and ability to mold her image with the help of fashion photographers are all part of the pop star playbook today, and Jones certainly knows it.
“Trends come along and people say, ‘Follow that trend,'” she famously wrote in her 2015 memoir I’ll Never Write My Memoirs. “There’s a lot of that around at the moment: ‘Be like Sasha Fierce (Beyonce). Be like Miley Cyrus. Be like Rihanna. Be like Lady Gaga. Be like Rita Ora and Sia. Be like Madonna.’ I cannot be like them—except to the extent that they are already being like me.”
“I have been so copied by those people who have made fortunes that people assume I am that rich,” she continued. “But I did things for the excitement, the dare, the fact that it was new, not for the money, and too many times I was the first, not the beneficiary.”
The fact that to this day, the 69-year-old still does her own makeup before a gig only underlines her point.
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Grace Jones’s Most Iconic Looks Through the Years, From Studio 54 to Age 71
Naomi Campbell and Grace Jones celebrate Grace Jones’ 42nd birthday in 1990 at the Stringfellow’s Nightclub in New York City. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
The iconic publicity poster for a stop on Grace Jones’ ‘Nightclubbing’ record tour in France in 1981. She wears a wide-shoulder suit jacket. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
A young Grace Jones poses for a portrait in 1977 wearing a blonde wig, wire bracelets and dramatic cat eye makeup. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
Grace Jones wears a cutaway dress and black straw hat for a night out in New York City in 1989. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
Grace Jones dances at the disco club Studio 54 in New York City in 1978 wearing a shimmering blue top and cape. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
Grace Jones poses for a James Bond “A View To A Kill” promotional poster wearing a leather jacket and leggings in 1984. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
Grace Jones poses in a bright red hat, multi-colored bolero top, and gloves for a studio portrait session in 1981. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
Grace Jones performs live at The Carre Theatre in Amsterdam, Netherlands in 1981 wearing a bustier top meant to look like a woman’s chest. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
Grace Jones attends the James Bond “A View to Kill” screening party in 1985 wearing a leather jacket, head scarf, and David Bowie-esque sunglasses. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
Grace Jones performs live at The Carre Theatre in Amsterdam, Netherlands in 1981 wearing a full suit set and low heels. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
Grace Jones poses in knee-high red boots and a shimmering red top for a photo session in 1987 with Angelo Deligio. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
Grace Jones dances in a jumpsuit at the party for Madonna’s book “Sex” in 1992 at Industria Superstudio in New York City. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
Grace Jones performs on stage in a bustier, head piece, and billowing gown on stage in the summer of 1989. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
Grace Jones exits Le Vie en Rose Restaurant in New York City wearing a purple suit and matching fur coat and hat. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
Grace Jones, circa 1993. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
Grace Jones attends the ‘Studio54’ Premiere in December, 1998 in Germany. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
Grace Jones wearing an outfit designed by Issey Miyake with a corset top to a party in New York City. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
Grace Jones during Armani Exchange Nightclub in the Sky Party at Hudson Studios on October 25, 2003 in New York, NY. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
Grace Jones wears a full black Diesel outfit while sitting front row at New York Fashion Week Fall 2006 for a show at the Hammerstein Ballroom. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
Grace Jones poses for photographers as she watches Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France play against Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic in their semi-final singles match on day seven of the ATP World Tour Finals tennis tournament in London on November 26, 2011. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
Grace Jones performs on stage at the launch of the Vogue Pop Up Club as part of Westfield London’s 5th birthday celebrations at Westfield on October 30, 2013 in London, England. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
Grace Jones attends Isabella Blow: Fashion Galore! at Somerset House on November 19, 2013 in London, England. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
Grace Jones attends “Je n’ecrirai Jamais Mes Memoires” – Grace Jones Biography : Launch Party Hosted By Editions Seguier At Les Bains Paris on March 18, 2016 in Paris, France. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
Grace Jones attends the ‘Grace Jones: Bloodlight And Bami’ premiere during the 2017 Toronto International Film Festival at The Elgin on September 7, 2017 in Toronto, Canada. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
Grace Jones walks the runway during the Tommy Hilfiger TOMMYNOW Spring 2019 : TommyXZendaya Premieres at Theatre des Champs-Elysees on March 02, 2019 in Paris, France. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
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Photos: Jean-Paul Goude’s 40 Years of Controversy
“Blue Black in Black on Brown,” New York, 1981.
Photo by Jean-Paul Goude, courtesy of Tod’s.
“Carolina,” New York, 1976.
Photo by Jean-Paul Goude, courtesy of Tod’s.
“Cubist Grace,” New York, 1981.
Photo by Jean-Paul Goude, courtesy of Tod’s.
“Farida,” Paris, 1985.
Photo by Jean-Paul Goude, courtesy of Tod’s.
“Fashion and Sport Running,” 1996.
Photo by Jean-Paul Goude, courtesy of Tod’s.
“Naomi Campbell,” Knysna, 2009.
Photo by Jean-Paul Goude, courtesy of Tod’s.
“Jimi Hendrix,” Paris, 1968.
Photo by Jean-Paul Goude, courtesy of Tod’s.
“Slave to the Rhythm,” New York, 1986.
Photo by Jean-Paul Goude, courtesy of Tod’s.
“Toukie,” New York, 1974.
Photo by Jean-Paul Goude, courtesy of Tod’s.
“Jessica Chastain as Joan of Arc,” 2015.
Photo by Jean-Paul Goude, courtesy of Tod’s.
“Wamba,” Paris, 1947.
Image by Jean-Paul Goude, courtesy of Tod’s.
“Grace, Revised and Updated,” New York, 1978.
Photo by Jean-Paul Goude, courtesy of Tod’s.
“The Kodakette Family,” Rome, 1984.
Image by Jean-Paul Goude, courtesy of Tod’s.
