Jezebel: Hollywood

Human Growth Hormone Is Hollywood's New Botox for Dudes

Anna North — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 14:55:00 EST

When we talk about Hollywood's unrealistic beauty standards, we're usually talking about women. And with good reason — it's actresses who get relegated to mom roles at 35. But guys in Hollywood have standards to live up to also — and apparently they're using human growth hormone to do so. More »

Vanity Fair's Hollywood Issue Pushes Actresses Of Color Aside (Again!)

Dodai Stewart — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 11:20:00 EST

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The 2012 Hollywood Issue cover of Vanity Fair — shot by Mario Testino — features 11 "starlets" shot in satin and feathers for a "'20s and '30s boudoir feel." The ladies on the power panel — the left third, aka the actual newsstand cover — are Rooney Mara, Mia Wasikowska, Jennifer Lawrence and Jessica Chastain. Pariah's Adepero Oduye and Mission Impossible's Paula Patton are the only two ladies of color, and they are not on the power panel, but on the right two-thirds of the cover, which is folded up and tucked away when on newsstands. More »

The Curious Case of the Severed Head Hidden Under the Hollywood Sign

Cassie Murdoch — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 21:05:00 EST

Something very strange and very creepy is afoot Los Angeles. Yesterday afternoon two women and their nine dogs were hiking beneath the iconic Hollywood sign that overlooks the city when they made a gruesome discovery: the severed head of a man in a plastic bag. Karen Rayner, a spokesperson for the LAPD, described the way the disturbing find came about: More »

Rape on Christmas Might Have Hurt Dragon Tattoo Numbers, but Sequels Are Coming Anyway

Dodai Stewart — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 11:40:00 EST

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Despite the fact that the book was a global bestseller, and the US version of the film generated tons of buzz, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo has not been a blockbuster at the box office. It opened behind Mission Impossible: Ghost Booty Call ($29 M) and Sherlock 2 ($20 M), making only $12 million opening weekend. $12 million might sound like a lot of money, but GWTDT had a budget of $90 million. $12 million is what you call a disappointment. Digital rodent vehicle Chipwrecked earned the same amount that same weekend and made almost double — $23 million — its opening weekend. More »

George Clooney Is Fairly Pissed That Hollywood Hates Women

Dodai Stewart — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 15:50:00 EST

Quoth he: More »

Your 2012 Golden Globe Nominees

Jessica Coen — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 09:50:00 EST

If you so much as turn on the television or stick your head outside these days, you'd be forgiven for thinking that the holidays are the most wonderful time of the year. But they are not. In fact, awards season is the most wonderful time of the year, at least for us pop-culture obsessives — we get to spend the next two months watching movies, arguing about movies, looking at red carpets, analyzing awards nominees, pontificating about The State of the Industry, and writing out countless nominee lists, like the one below, which contains the (bajillion) major nominees for the 2012 Golden Globes. While the Oscars are traditionally considered the most important of all the major awards ceremonies and shows, the Globes are pretty much the least important — the Hollywood Foreign Press? Pshh — second only to the People's Choice Awards. However, they are by far and away the most entertaining for us to watch: pretty much every celebrity from television and film will be packed into a single auditorium, wearing fancy clothes and drinking, on camera, for at least two hours. For those of us at home in our comfy pants, that's entertainment. More »

Not All The Stars In Hollywood Can Keep New Year's Eve From Being Loathsome

Dodai Stewart — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 14:15:00 EST

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Honestly, Love, Actually was not a bad movie. Unfortunately, its success taught Hollywood a terrible lesson: Cram a crapload of stars into one flick, and the masses will pay to see it. Off course, by "masses," we mean women, because we're the ones these projects are aggressively marketed towards. After He's Just Not That Into You made $94 million by being tied to a holiday (Valentine's Day) in 2009, New Line Cinema — a division of Warner Brothers — decided to try and repeat the formula by creating a project called Valentine's Day. Stars signed on and then a plot was dreamed up, and when that "worked" — as in, people went to go see it — they decided to try again, this time with New Year's Eve. The problem, of course, is that these Love, Actually copycat movies — casting stunts pegged to holidays — are not good. They do not come from a writer aching to tell a well-crafted tale. They don't even come from a director longing to shoot something beautiful and meaningful. Instead of coming to the screen to tell a memorable story, they exist solely to extract money from your wallet. And today, New Year's Eve hits theaters, aiming to do just that. But be warned: Film critics (who are, after all, movie enthusiasts) feel that this thing is a steaming pile of shit. More »

Hollywood Manager Confirms Your Worst Fears About Child Actors And Pedophilia

Margaret Hartmann — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 10:30:00 EST

You've probably heard more than you can handle about child molestation in the past few months — too bad, there's still more. In a case that proves the effects of the Sandusky scandal go far beyond the world of sports or even education, a Hollywood manager who specialized in child actors has been charged with sexually assaulting one of his young clients. However, he says he's nothing like all the other pedophiles we've been hearing about recently. You see, his victim was into it. More »

Clark Gable & Loretta Young's Secret Daughter Dies At 76

Margaret Hartmann — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 09:30:00 EST

Today's stars constantly praise "Old Hollywood" glamour, but they conveniently forget about the nasty side that involved concealing your scandalous pregnancy and, in order to keep up appearances, pretending your "love child" was adopted. Judy Lewis was an actress in the '60s and '70s and later became a clinical psychologist, but she's best known as the daughter of Clark Gable and Loretta Young — though she didn't learn who her parents were until she was 31. This week she died of lymphoma at age 76. More »

Hollywood Walk Of Fame Sadly Lacking In Minorities

Dodai Stewart — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 19:45:00 EST

Today, Shakira becomes the first Colombian to get her name on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Sure, the whole thing is kind of a racket — when the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce "honors" you with a star, it also requires you to cough up a $30,000 "sponsorship fee" — but considering that The Walk Of Fame is one of the most well-known American landmarks, it's embarrassing how few black, Asian and latino entertainers are represented. More »

Drew Barrymore & Eddie Murphy Are Hollywood's Most Overpaid Stars

Margaret Hartmann — Sun, 06 Nov 2011 21:34:00 EST

Each year Forbes compiles a list of which actors are paid way more than they deserve (and amazingly, the answer is never "all of them"). This year Drew Barrymore tops the list, as her recent films Everybody's Fine and Lucky You didn't even bring in enough to finance one Kardashian wedding. Yet, that's a bit unfair to Drew. He's Just Not That Into You, which she produced and appeared in, made $180 million, but it wasn't counted because ostensibly people didn't go to the movie to see Drew. We prefer to think people only saw that film as part of a dare, so if Drew can't count it, no one should. More »

Actress Sues After Pesky IMDb Reveals Her Real Age

Doug Barry — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 12:40:00 EDT

An unnamed actress claims that the infamous movie trivia cheaters' site IMDb misused her legal birth date after she signed up for the IMDbPro service in 2008. She says that by revealing her true age, the Internet Movie Database has cost her innumerable acting opportunities and is suing the Amazon.com subsidiary for more than $1 million. More »

A Ride On The TMZ Hollywood Bus Tour

Margaret Hartmann — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 12:25:00 EDT

In a strange collision of high-brow and low-brow, a NPR reporter recently took a ride on the TMZ Tour Of Hollywood bus. His finding: TMZ is kind of sleazy! More »

Why So Few Women Are Writing For Television

Irin Carmon — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 17:00:00 EDT

There was a dramatic drop in the number of female writers in the last television season, and AOLtv's Maureen Ryan asked a few people high in the ranks — men too — why that happened. The answers will depress you! More »

Sexist Hollywood Movie Clichés Look Much Prettier In Well-Designed Chart Form

Whitney Jefferson — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 13:20:00 EDT

To promote the New York International Latino Film Festival, ad agency Wing New York came up with a slew of stereotypes in major motion pictures and designed the crap out of them. I guess the point of the ad campaign is to say that this film festival is above all of the following clichés? All I know is that I will cringe the next time I see a movie starring a down-on-her-luck maid, a girl trapped inside of her own car in a horror flick, or anytime a person utters the words "We've got company." More »

Ladies So Hot On TV This Fall, For Real

Irin Carmon — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 16:35:00 EDT

Girls who like girls on TV, rejoice: "There's a major uptick this fall in sitcoms about young single women, and, even better, several of these shows were created by female writers," writes New York's Emily Nussbaum. But will it reverse the depressing drop of women onscreen and behind the scenes seen in the last television season? More »

Have Films Like The Help Given Rise To A New Type Of Chick Flick?

Margaret Hartmann — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 09:50:00 EDT

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Even if you have mixed feelings about The Help, there's a good reason to applaud the film's success. Supposedly, it's confirmed the box office viability of a radical new genre: "Chick flicks" with a bit of substance. More »

The Terrifying Movie During Which Daniel Craig & Rachel Weisz Maybe Fell In Love

Dodai Stewart — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 09:55:00 EDT

Newlyweds Daniel Craig and Rachel Weisz "grew close" while filming Dream House in Canada last year. In the creepy thriller, Craig and Weisz play husband and wife, haunted by a, um, haunted house. When they were cast for the flick, Weisz was in a nine-year relationship with Black Swan director Darren Aronofsky; Craig had been engaged to longterm girlfriend Satsuki Mitchell for five years. Recently, on the Tonight show, Jay Leno congratulated Craig on his nuptials, and asked him when the ceremony had taken place. "Erm, two or three weeks ago," Craig responded. "I am supposed to remember aren't I?" More »

Dear Hollywood Writers: It’s Now Officially a Cliché to Send Your Characters to a Strip Club

Brent Hartinger — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 18:20:00 EDT

I've been previewing upcoming TV shows, and I've noticed one place where viewers will be spending plenty of time in the months ahead. More »

Marilyn Monroe's Subway Dress For Sale

Erin Gloria Ryan — Sun, 29 May 2011 13:12:58 EDT

Are you a confusingly wealthy pervert? A reclusive cinema obsessed heiress? A recurring feature on MTV Cribs? Do you have $2 million laying around? If so, you may be interested in purchasing Marilyn Monroe's iconic "subway dress," most famous for being blown up while being worn over a subway grate in The Seven Year Itch. Buy it, try it on yourself, and tell everyone what size Marilyn Monroe really was, as sizes were different in the 1950's. More »

A Paradigm Shifts For Women TV Writers

Irin Carmon — Mon, 09 May 2011 10:08:39 EDT

Last year, an analysis declared the worst year in a decade for women in pilot season, the crucial period when networks decide which writers' pilots to pick up. But are things looking up? More »

The Stakes Are High For The Funny Girl Movie

Irin Carmon — Tue, 26 Apr 2011 17:33:55 EDT

Recently, a friend confessed that she was terrified, after viewing the trailer, that Bridesmaids was going to be no good, and that said not-goodness would confirm existing prejudices against funny women. (I saw Bridesmaids. Lots of people at the screening, including dudes and including myself, laughed a lot, but who knows.) And now here's the trailer for Anna Faris's What's Your Number?, subject to some, if not all, of the same burdens of expectation. More »

"I Was Natalie Portman's Ass Double"

Sadie Stein — Mon, 18 Apr 2011 13:40:00 EDT

It turns out Black Swan isn't the only film where Natalie Portman used a body double. More »

We Need More Rich Ladies In Literature

Anna North — Thu, 07 Apr 2011 16:00:00 EDT

We know women are underrepresented among the country's richest people. But it turns out that fictional women are paupers compared to their male counterparts as well. How come make-believe ladies aren't raking in bank? More »

Live The TMZ Experience, If You Dare

Sadie Stein — Fri, 01 Apr 2011 20:00:00 EDT

TMZ is launching its own, scandal-filled tour of Hollywood. Are you ready? More »

A Vintage Profile Of Young Elizabeth Taylor, Circa 1949

Wed, 23 Mar 2011 14:00:00 EDT

In 1949, Elizabeth Taylor was a rising ingenue who made $1,000 a day. In her youth and talent Hollywood saw great potential, positioning her as the leading lady of a group of up-and-comers (including Montgomery Clift and Kirk Douglas) that studios hoped would fill the glamorous void left by its aging stars. What follows is an excerpt from the August 29, 1949 issue of Time Magazine; the piece discusses the challenges facing Hollywood and focuses on Taylor as somewhat of a savior for the industry. More »

Remembering Elizabeth Taylor's Outsized, Unapologetic Life

Irin Carmon — Wed, 23 Mar 2011 13:27:15 EDT

Elizabeth Taylor has died at age 79. Throughout her extraordinary life — from child stardom and being celebrated as the most beautiful woman in the world to collecting Oscars, enormous jewels, and seven husbands in eight marriages — she rarely apologized, and kept on surviving. More »

The Imminent Whitewashing Of The Hunger Games' Heroine

Sarah Seltzer — Mon, 14 Mar 2011 11:37:00 EDT

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Fans of The Hunger Games — the dark and addictive YA trilogy that is the hottest kid-lit read this side of Twilight — have been avidly following casting rumors for the forthcoming film adaptation. But while director Gary Ross initially told Entertainment Weekly that the actress playing resentful revolutionary heroine Katniss Everdeen needn't be a "star," now it's being reported that Oscar-nominated Winter's Bone breakout Jennifer Lawrence is close to snagging the coveted role. More »

Vanity Fair's Hollywood Issue Shoves People Of Color To The Side (As Usual)

Dodai Stewart — Tue, 01 Feb 2011 14:12:00 EST

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The cover of the 2011 Hollywood Issue of Vanity Fair was shot in Los Angeles and New York over the course of two days by photographer Norman Jean Roy. It features fifteen actors. One of whom is black. More »

Jack Nicholson Says He Has Lost Ability To Attract Women, Haz A Sad

Sadie Stein — Mon, 31 Jan 2011 18:47:00 EST

Jack is — regretfully — unwilling to be a dirty old man. More »

Should Women Even Care About the Best Director Oscar?

Lindsay Zoladz — Fri, 28 Jan 2011 13:45:00 EST

The 83rd Annual Oscar nominations were announced this week, and in spite of Kathryn Bigelow's momentous win last year, no women were recognized in the Best Director category. Should we be getting worked up over this? More »

Your 2011 Oscar Nominees

Jessica Coen — Tue, 25 Jan 2011 09:09:00 EST

Hollywood's finest has been dragged from their fluffy beds for the annual pre-dawn announcement; here we go! More »

Helena Bonham Carter Suggests Actresses Leave Their Faces Alone

Dodai Stewart — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 11:27:00 EST

Nicole Kidman recently admitted that she'd (shocker!) been using Botox. And she's not the only actress to tamper with her most important tool — her face. But Helena Bonham Carter refuses to jump on the immobility bandwagon. More »

The Only Two Golden Globes Speeches You Need To Hear

Jessica Coen — Sun, 16 Jan 2011 23:29:00 EST

Let's start with the simple—but powerful—speech from Chris Coolfer, who took home a best supporting actor award for his role on Glee and, in the process, made a lot of folks teary. More »

Golden Globes: The Complete Winners List

Jessica Coen — Sun, 16 Jan 2011 23:18:00 EST

It was a big night for The Social Network, though Ricky Gervais was arguably the real winner. Here's a rundown of the Chosen Ones, the lucky few who are toting trophies and facing pleasant salary bumps. More »

Eva Mendes Would Love To Be Your Bridesmaid

Erin Gloria Ryan — Sun, 16 Jan 2011 16:45:00 EST

LA, Jan. 15: Actress Eva Mendes and her questionable hair accessory attend the Art Of Elysium "Heaven" Gala 2011 at The California Science Center Exposition Park.

REMINDER: Golden Globes Red Carpet Liveblog Starts At 6:15

Erin Gloria Ryan — Sun, 16 Jan 2011 12:25:00 EST

Be there, or risk seriously disappointing Blair Underwood. More »

Vanity Fair Wants Its Women Cattier, Apparently

Irin Carmon — Fri, 14 Jan 2011 12:45:05 EST

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Vanity Fair has spiked a story about three women overseeing Hollywood coverage — Nikki Finke, Sharon Waxman, and Janice Min — "because it wasn't catty enough. They wanted a catfight story," according to The New York Post's anonymous insider. More »

Rupert Everett Lashes Out At Jennifer Aniston & "Tasteless Romcoms"

Dodai Stewart — Tue, 28 Dec 2010 13:14:00 EST

In an interview on BBC Radio 4's Today show, actor Rupert Everett lashed out at Hollywood, calling it a "heterosexual business" — and complained about stars like Jennifer Aniston. More »

The Helen Mirren Hypothesis

Emily Heist Moss — Sat, 25 Dec 2010 12:30:00 EST

In Helen Mirren's brilliant, moving, inspiring acceptance speech at a recent Women in Hollywood event, she delivered a forceful rebuke of Hollywood's obsession with "the 18 to 25-year-old male…and his penis (quite small, I always think)." More »