Austin Powers, Audrey Hepburn and Marilyn Monroe hit it in Singapore!

Three leading ladies of the silver screen - Marilyn Monroe, Elizabeth Taylor, and Brigitte Bardot (BB) will each have a star appearance on individually customised MINIs that will be seen hurtling around town with photographers in tow from the 13th to 30th of June in order to play out the festival's theme - Photography & Cinema.

The photographs, taken by the renowned Magnum photographers, Eve Arnold, Philippe Halsman and Dennis Stock are part of "The Magic of Cinema - A Magnum Photos Exhibition," on display at The Cathay Gallery, from the 13th of June to 20th July

Last weekend saw character appearances of Austin Powers, Audrey Hepburn and Marilyn Monroe taking popular areas in Singapore by storm. Places include the hip Ben and Jerry's joint located in the Dempsey hangout area, Holland Village, all the way through Orchard road and finally, Carl's Junior at East Coast Park.

The working crowd wasn't spared from the exposure to MOP either, with the glitzy three attacking the central business district, especially along the UOB plaza, Raffles Place and Tanjong Pagar stretch.

Two more MINIs will also feature French contemporary photographer and filmmaker, Alain Fleischer's "Raccords," a series of photos from films which he has directed, presented at the Singapore Art Museum as part of the exhibition, "Alain Fleischer: Time Exposures.," from 21st of June to 2nd August.

A little about the Mini

Designed by Sir Alec Issigonis for the British Motor Corporation (BMC), the Mini became a cultural icon in the 1960s. It popularized front-wheel driven, transverse engine layouts. Needless to say, the iconic design also became part of a social revolution, capturing the imagination of the public, designers, advertisers, celebrities and photographers over the years. It was voted "Car of the Century" by readers of Autocar UK in 1995 and "European Car of the Century" in Las Vegas in 1999.

The iconic car has also appeared in films and TV shows. In 1969, the Mini appeared prominently in "The Italian Job," a movie where the vehicle was as central to the plot as the human characters in the film. More recently, the new MINI was once again the main feature in the remake of The Italian Job as well as films such as The Bourne Identity, Austin Powers III and The Heartbreak Kid. MINI has also collaborated with fashion designers such as Donatella Versace and famous photographers such as Mario Testino.

This association with the arts continues today in Singapore with MINI's collaboration with the Month of Photography, Asia. The festival presents six exhibitions in total, each at various venues, held from the 13th of June to the 20th July 2008.