Rose tells Wright that "Jodie Foster once said [...] that if you'd wanted to, you could've been the best actress of your generation, suggesting that you didn't want to." Wright says "I never thought I was good," but later Private Lives of Pippa Lee director Rebecca Miller suggests that Wright has had "maybe not the most pragmatic career." And elsewhere Wright has mentioned passing on roles to spend more time with her kids. A recent Redbook interview quotes her as saying, "I turned down so many films because I wanted to be a mom that…they stopped offering." But she also makes it clear that this was a choice, something she "wanted" more than being the best actress of her generation, whatever that means. When Redbook's Stacy Morrison tells her, "People might be tempted to say, 'You gave up your life so he could be Mr. Sean Penn,'" she responds, "He was already Mr. Sean Penn. " And she says,

I really wanted to be a mom. I didn't want my kids to be raised by a nanny, which would have been the case if I were working two movies in a year, you know? And I would have been hospitalized with fatigue. So that's where the no-brainer came in. I did what I wanted to do: I raised my kids.

The fact that Hollywood's version of greatness is incompatible with Wright's preferred family life may be more Hollywood's problem than hers. Underscoring this, Wright makes it clear that The Private Lives of Pippa Lee is the first movie she's truly proud of. It's that pride that appears to prompt Wright's tears, and she later says of working on the film, "Me personally, as an actress, I think I just went, 'get over being scared.'" This kind of confidence comes later in life for many people, not just actresses, and it's a shame that Hollywood is most interested in women when they've not yet developed the self-concept age can bring.

The obsession with youth may be one reason that, as NY Times film critic Manohla Dargis said yesterday, "women are starved for representation of themselves" onscreen. It's not just that older women want to see older women — it's also that women want to see female actors portraying the same variety of human experiences that male actors do, and in order to do that, they may need to mature a little bit. Much has been made of the male actor's ability to grow old and still get roles, but this isn't just about a few gray hairs and the ability to appear opposite younger starlets — it's also about the freedom to grow and change as an artist, something Hollywood doesn't allow very many women. The movie industry, like so many others, needs to make space for women to live their lives, which may include taking some time off to have kids, and definitely includes getting older and wiser.

Related: Robin Wright Penn: Life After Sean [Redbook]

Earlier: "Fuck Them": Times Critic On Hollywood, Women, & Why Romantic Comedies Suck

In her story, which just went online, longtime Times magazine entertainment reporter Lynn Hirschberg writes,

In the last month, Fox and her team - her agent, Chuck James, and her publicists, Leslie Sloane Zelnick and Dominique Appel - have grown increasingly nervous about her media image. The lack of success of ‘‘Jennifer's Body'' highlighted their concern: the outrageousness that made Fox an instant star was not attracting a paying audience, especially among females. They were hoping that hosting ‘‘S.N.L.'' and some recent appearances on talk shows on which she seemed demure might help to change the dialogue about Fox from the out-of-control sex bomb to the Fox they know, who is a homebody with a longtime boyfriend (the actor Brian Austin Green, who is 36) and a fondness for spending Saturday nights at Red Lobster, where she likes the cheese biscuits. That, they maintain, is the girl that girls should see. But Fox is less certain. ‘‘Women tear each other apart,'' she told me now. ‘‘Girls think I'm a slut, and I've been in the same relationship since I was 18. The problem is, if they think you're attractive, you're either stupid or a whore or a dumb whore. The instinct among girls is to attack the jugular.''

This isn't the first time Fox has (implicitly, at least) blamed jealousy for her apparent unpopularity among women. In June, she told Entertainment Weekly, "I come across as confident and [women] assume that means that I think I'm hot shit. And that makes them feel bad about themselves and so they hate me."

Hirschberg also has a theory: women, she says, are unmoved by Fox because they "tend to prefer movies that feature more approachable, less vixenish actresses, like Sandra Bullock or Jennifer Aniston."

I happen to think Hortense had a more nuanced analysis in her post about Fox last September:

"Women don't hate Megan Fox because she comes across as confident; they hate the Megan Fox Archetype, because, in a way, it validates all of the high school notions of what sexiness is: porn-star poses, slow motion boob shots, and references to lesbianism and bisexuality as kinks instead of sexual orientation… She is the personification of the Cosmo brand of sex, and that is why women find her so annoying."

Of course, if every woman was truly turned off by the "Cosmo brand of sex," that magazine wouldn't still be selling 1.6 million copies a month. And although Elle raised eyebrows when it put the men's magazine staple on its June 2009 cover, a look at the Audit Bureau of Circulations figures indicates that wasn't a bad bet after all — the issue sold just over 300,000 copies, a respectable number on par with the same issue the year before. (It's too early to know how Fox did when she was actually on the cover of Cosmo).

Whether or not Fox is actually alienating all women, she herself is chafing against this cartoonish image of her, even as she's participated in building it, one self-consciously raunchy men's magazine quote at a time. ‘I have to pull back a little bit now,'' she tells Hirschberg. ‘‘I do live in a glass box. And I am on display for men to pay to look at me. And that bothers me. I don't want to live that character.'' Ironically, it might take even more tugs at the marionette strings from her people, this time in a different direction, to come up with something different. That, or walking away entirely.

Stardom Becomes Her [NY Times Magazine]

Related: Megan Fox, Fallen Angel [EW]

Earlier: Oh My God, I Think Megan Fox Is Winning Me Over
Megan Fox's 50 Best — And Worst — Bon Mots

Now, listen. People have often jumped in whenever I post anything remotely Megan Fox related to write a comment like, "Oh, so everyone hates Megan Fox now?" or "Why does Jezebel hate Megan Fox so much?" I don't think that's really a fair assessment of my personal opinion of Fox—I don't hate her, as I don't even know her—but I do admittedly find myself annoyed at the role she plays; the sex kitten who drops little quotes about how she's so crazy and sexy and cool or whatever while SexyFacing all over the red carpet. But as far as Megan Fox, Person goes, lately I've found myself laughing with her rather than at her, much to the chagrin of some of my friends, who feel she should be banished to SexyFace Island forevermore.

So why DO people hate Megan Fox so much? I suppose most of it comes from her interviews, wherein she says basically whatever the hell she's thinking, which often leads to scandalous headlines soon after. In several of these interviews, she intimated that women hated her because she came across as confident, and women found that threatening. Many of us, myself included, read those statements as "Whateva, you're just jealous, stupid bitches!"

But in retrospect I think what Fox, who often admits to having fairly shitty self-esteem, was saying has a bit of truth to it. Women don't hate Megan Fox because she comes across as confident; they hate the Megan Fox Archetype, because, in a way, it validates all of the high school notions of what sexiness is: porn-star poses, slow motion boob shots, and references to lesbianism and bisexuality as kinks instead of sexual orientation. What Fox is marketed to represent is exactly what the "bad girls" who came before her were marketed to represent: a "naughty," slightly crazy (as of course, no "sane" woman would ever say such scandalous things) woman who uses her sexuality to get what she wants. And for many women, the idea that we need to put on our best SexyFace and be a "man-eater" to feel empowered or sexual is an irritating one. She is the personification of the Cosmo brand of sex, and that is why women find her so annoying.

However, I don't think Fox is that person, and she admits it; "I think I understand why actors go insane, because you're merchandised, you're a product that gets sold," she says, "So the media has to brand you, to label you something. The lines between reality and fantasy get blurred and you can lose yourself in that." When Tracie compiled a list of Fox's most insane statements earlier this summer, one could see a pattern emerging: she'd be quoted saying something that sounded a bit shocking or offensive, and then quoted soon after, clarifying her remarks or noting that what she said was taken out of context. It's almost as if she's trying to balance being Megan Fox: International Sex Symbol and Megan Fox: Human Being, and her quotes represent a weird mix of the two.

She's smart enough to know that this character she plays is a career goldmine—nobody is going to send Megan Fox Cate Blanchett's reject scripts, you know? But she's also, through her wacky interviews, attempting, in a way, to take down the very thing she represents from the inside, constantly using any platform given to her to remind us all that she's not exactly what the press makes her out to be; she farts, she stinks, she fucks up, and she worries about her career after her looks go away: "The reality is, if you're nothing but a pinup, at 33 you're reaching your expiration date. I have to develop skills, I have to get better, I have to be a good actress."

There are only two roads for sex symbols in America: they can transition in to serious actress mode a la Angelina Jolie, or they can spiral out of control, like Lindsay Lohan or Marilyn Monroe. Often enough we end up posting stories on how we shouldn't kick the fallen ones when they're down, but I've realized that perhaps we should also consider not kicking the Megan Foxes of the world on their way up—instead, we should root for them to subvert the roles they're positioned to fill, and to find a way to break out of the boxes that Hollywood always tends to place women in.

If Megan Fox wasn't in that role, someone else would be, and at least Fox is willing to say things that don't necessarily fit her persona. This is not to say that Fox doesn't often drop some truly heinous statements, and that she isn't riding this thing all the way to the bank, or that she's not a willing participant in the SexyFace games, but I'm pretty sure she's in on the joke, and maybe, just maybe, she'll be the one the make the rest of the world realize how stupid all of this really is. If nothing else, she'll certainly give us something to talk about for the next few years.

Megan Fox: Crazy Or Sly Like A Fox? [ABCNews]
Sly As A Fox, Despite Her Handlers [Globe And Mail]
Earlier; Megan Fox's 50 Best (& Worst) Bon Mots

Burson made the original comment — about casting Hung — in Alex Witchel's NY Times Magazine profile of Anne Heche. She told Silverstein in a phone interview,

In terms of the quote: it is such a shame that I was either too tired to express myself correctly on the issue or part of my quote was left out because it is something that I think about a lot and I actually consider myself a warrior on front lines of this issue. It's something I am actively involved in on a daily basis in a way that most people are not. Nevertheless I do think that the part that I would have added or the part I hope I did add was that it is difficult to find an actress over 35 or over 40 who is funny and talented and is still working and has not quit the business.

Emphasis is Silverstein's. Burson continued,

In my personal experience I know five actresses off the top of my head if not 10 who are around the age of 40 who no longer go on auditions anymore because they are too fucking bummed out by how few roles there are.

Fair enough. But did Burson have to open her clarification with this?

I do think it's always hard to find pretty and funny. It's a difficult combo and it's something that's talked about in Hollywood. Blonde and funny. And that is definitely true with Anne. She's very funny and real and she's blonde and she's pretty. And this role happens to be for a beauty queen who needed to have serious emotional acting chops and at the same time was funny.

Maybe it wouldn't be "hard to find pretty and funny" if actresses weren't pigeonholed as one or the other, or if we thought of humor as sexy in women the way we do in men. Of course, it's not Burson's fault that Hollywood deals in simplistic gender stereotypes. But as someone who says "I feel so passionately about the issue" of creating compelling female characters over 35, she could certainly challenge these stereotypes a bit more.

Colette Burson Clarifies Remark From NY Times Magazine [Women & Hollywood]

Earlier: Anne Heche: A "Beautiful, Talented, Funny Woman Over 35"

(Sadie is yellow; I am pink.)








In closing: it seems that, repeatedly, there's always one female star — very often blonde — thrust into the spotlight, built up as the next big thing… and the only thing the public loves more than adoring her when she first explodes in popularity is tearing her down when they're bored with her.

Why Is Katherine Heigl So Annoying? [Newsweek]

If we consider what nearly ruined Mickey Rourke's career in the first place; the reputation for being difficult, the bad movie choices, the plastic surgery that rendered him practically unrecognizable, it's fairly amazing to consider that Mickey Rourke might just walk away an Oscar winner this evening. Yet in a way, it's not: Rourke has always had the talent, he just couldn't seem to keep his shit together long enough for anyone to give him another chance to prove it.
But would an actress who went through the same struggles as Rourke even ever get that chance?

Though The Wrestler may be Rourke's greatest performance, he's still being, well, Mickey Rourke all over the place, giving wackadoo speeches like the one he gave at last night's Independent Spirit Awards, wherein he demanded that Hollywood consider giving roles to his friend, Eric Roberts: "Eric Roberts is probably the best actor I ever worked with, and I don't know why in the last 15 years ain't nobody give him a chance to show his [stuff]…. Eric Roberts is the [expletive] man. Like I got, he deserves a second chance, and I wish there would be one [expletive] filmmaker in this room that would let him fly because he is something else."

And where, as former Jezebel editor Jessica Grose points out, this is what he had to say about co-star Marisa Tomei: "I wanna thank uh, who else? oh! Melissa? Marissa Tomei. Goddamn she had to do all this with a bare ass and she brought it. Is she here? Not many girls can climb the pole. You understand what I'm saying? She climbed the pole and she did it well, and it was a very courageous performance."

Regardless of Rourke's fairly gross speech, Hanna Rosin of XXFactor argues that The Wrestler has a decidedly feminist edge to it, in terms of how it portrays the struggles of both Rourke and Tomei:

"Usually when the exploitation of the male body is a theme, the context is noble sport, or test of manhood- boxers face off like warriors, quarterbacks take one for the team," Rosin writes, "But here the context is pure exploitation. What's happening to his body is the exact equivalent of what's happening to the character played by Marisa Tomei - an aging stripper who can't convince any of her clients to buy a lap dance. The wrestler often refers to himself as an "aging piece of meat" and he is always objectified by the camera - shot from behind, or from the chest down. He's not a victim in the straightforward sense - the wrestlers are all very polite and discuss their moves in advance. But he is in the second wave sense - trapped in a larger system which gives him no other choice."

But in the real world, an actor like Mickey Rourke can undergo extreme plastic surgery and dress like an insane scarecrow and wax poetic about his dogs and forget his co-stars names on stage and be forgiven, due to his talent and ability. Do actresses receive the same forgiveness? If Marissa Tomei, who is undergoing a comeback of her own, wasn't still quite lovely and couldn't "climb the pole," would she have been cast in her Oscar-nominated Wrestler role? If she was the one who was known for extreme plastic surgery and erratic behavior, would people even give her the time of day? It's a strange but sad question that is, perhaps, worth asking.

So what say you, commenters? Is it easier for men to make a comeback?

Marisa Tomei's Quiet Comeback [PBS]
A Very Courageous Pole Performance [XX Factor]
Is The Wrestler A Chick Flick? [XX Factor]
The Mickey Rourke Show Enlivens Spirit Awards [Chicago Tribune]

While you could chalk up the fury over Winslet's mawkish acceptance speeches to cultural prejudice, this latest wave of vitriol, epitomized by a typically restrained offering from the Daily Mail's Liz Jones, is somewhat more mysterious. Much of it seems to center on Winslet's body — or, more accurately, the fact that she still pretends to be normal when she obviously puts Hollywood-level effort into keeping svelte. "It is the duplicitousness that enrages me and most other women I have spoken to," says Liz Jones, claiming that Winlet's repeated disingenuous claims to comfort with her image grow wearisome. What's more, Jones implies, the actress is ungrateful, biting the normal hand that fed her:

But Kate? Surely she is more normal than most? Why would she give up that unique appeal, as vital to her success as Angelina Jolie's lips and hips are to hers, and give up that appeal so completely and utterly so that she has become, in my opinion, as drippy and as impossibly vain as the rest of them?

There are several odd things going on in this critique. Perhaps most strikingly, why can't we leave actresses alone? Kate Winslet has not broken up marriages, made (many) terrible films, or swanned around in pelts — so we can't even pretend a measure of moral outrage. Has she done anything but been around for a long time and, as a result, said a lot of different things and looked a lot of different ways? And even then, we're not talking claims of virginity for life or bizarre, Xtina-style makeovers. There's a petty bitchiness to the criticism that feeds into the worst woman-on-woman stereotyping. Might some of us feel a measure of disillusionment that a Hollywood movie star wasn't, in fact, exactly like us? Winslet after all belongs to the small society of Hollywood types who we tacitly believe, despite the trappings of success, secretly nudge-wink understand that the industry is stupid, that most of what they're dong is vapid and that they could give it up in a moment. And, sorry, it's not the case. Most of us feel stupid when we have one of these moments of disappointment over a public figure we've never met. Others, apparently, write self-righteous columns.

Perhaps the strangest part of the diatribe is that Jones never once comments on Winslet as an actress. And isn't it this, after all, which has kept Winslet in public esteem? We get angry with Jennifer Aniston because her persona, onscreen and off, is the same: Winslet is actually an actress. Even those of us who found Titanic tripe, consider this year's award-winning turns to be overwraught, and have no great love for Little Children, have at least one Winslet performance we love, and can acknowledge that she's a risk-taking talented actress of tremendous versatility. Maybe she's not our "best friend" anymore, but she doesn't need to be: she's a performer, and a good one. (For best friends, we have Kat Dennings, who's obviously totally normal and exactly like us...right?)

Should Kate Winslet win an Oscar for the world's most irritating actress? [Daily Mail]

Earlier: English Not Amused By Kate Winslet's Acceptance Speeches

Best Actress (Drama)

• Angelina Jolie, Changeling: First of all, any movie that includes a hysterical woman screaming "I want my son back!" as the emotional climax of the trailer is treading heavily on "victim" territory. And, what do you know, Jolie's character is the biggest, most stereotypical victim on the list of female nominees.
• Anne Hathaway, Rachel Getting Married: Our own Hortense thinks Hathaway's character is pretty victim-y, but we think she is mostly just a manipulative, angst-filled addict. What do you think?
• Meryl Streep, Doubt: Has this movie even come out yet? Streep's character doesn't seem like a victim at all from the trailers, most likely Streep plays a shrew in this film.
• Kristin Scott Thomas, I've Loved You So Long: What is this movie? Oh, it's French. Well, judging from the plot synopsis it doesn't look like Scott Thomas's character fits into any of our usual stereotypes. What do people who have seen the film think?
• Kate Winslet, Revolutionary Road: Again, has this movie come out yet? We're going to withhold judgment until we see it.

Best Actress (Comedy)

• Sally Hawkins, Happy-Go-Lucky: We are going to say there were none of the regular female stereotypes in this film. Hawkins's character was just too damn likable.
• Frances McDormand, Burn After Reading: Again, McDormand doesn't play any of our regular stereotypes in this funny film. We're liking how this list is shaping up!
• Meryl Streep, Mamma Mia!: We have only seen the musical (don't ask) and Streep's character definitely wasn't a hooker, victim or doormat on the stage, so we assume it is the same on film.
• Emma Thompson, Last Chance Harvey: This film hasn't come out yet — reserving judgment.
• Rebecca Hall, Vicky Cristina Barcelona: Hall's character wasn't any of our normal stereotypes. Hurray for women in comedies this year!

Supporting Actress
• Amy Adams, Doubt: In the film's trailer, Adams seems a little doormat-y to us.
• Penelope Cruz, Vicky Cristina Barcelona: Hm, Cruz's character was a little shrewish at times, but we can't pin a particular stereotype down on her.
• Viola Davis, Doubt: Okay, people, we get it: we all have to see Doubt!
• Marisa Tomei, The Wrestler: Oh look, another film that has not been released yet. Tomei plays a stripper, which, obviously, sounds sort of hooker-y.
• Kate Winslet, The Reader: As we saw yesterday, Winslet's character doesn't fit into one of the typical stereotypes.

Best Actress (TV Drama)
• Sally Field, Brothers & Sisters: Anyone who is a fan of the show: please weigh in.
• Mariska Hargitay, Law & Order: SVU: Hargitay's character usually deals with hookers and victims; she doesn't play them.
• January Jones, Mad Men: This one's a bit tough: Jones's character is a little bit of a doormat and victim, but she has been showing more depth and strength as the series progresses.
• Anna Paquin, True Blood: No strong stereotypes really stick out to us in this character.
• Kyra Sedgwick, The Closer: Is there a category for "badass"?

Best Actress (TV Musical or Comedy)
• Christina Applegate, Samantha Who?: Maybe a bit shrew-y in the beginning, but the whole point of the show is that she is trying to correct her previous bad behavior, right?
• America Ferrera, Ugly Betty: Not really a victim or a doormat, Ferrera's character holds her ground when up against her co-workers.
• Tina Fey, 30 Rock: Let's see, a woman with a great job, a good sense of humor who doesn't get hung up on guys? Fey's character is probably the best female character nominated!
• Debra Messing, The Starter Wife: Messing's character doesn't follow a particular stereotype. Other than, rich, self-obsessed, LA woman.
• Mary-Louise Parker, Weeds: A victim of the man, maybe!

Earlier: 2009 Golden Globes: Good Year For Jokes, Midnight Tokers

*Inspired by Shirley MacLaine's assertion that the best parts for actresses fall into one of the above categories.

Village Voice:

Resist if you dare, and for as long as you must, but even the hoariest haters eventually succumbed to the girly, cottony charms of 2005's Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, if in the privacy of their Netflix queues. I foresee a similar fate for its blandly engaging sequel: moms, daughters, and faux-ironic twentysomethings filling the theaters, the rest of us filling our jammies and DVD players in six months.

Fox News:

Stuff happens, feelings are hurt, boys dramatically enter and leave their lives and major problems wrap up a bit too neatly, especially at the picturesque ending. That "Traveling Pants 2" offers material that's tailored to an underserved audience _ girls and women who like films that allow them to think and feel _ is, of course, a solid start. You just wish it were a more comfortable fit.

The Hollywood Reporter:

Much has transpired in the lives of best friends forever Tibby, Carmen, Bridget and Lena and their shared globe-trotting jeans in the three years since the first "Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants."

But it's nothing compared to castmate America Ferrera's career in the interim, as the Emmy-winning breakout star of ABC's "Ugly Betty."

She remains very much the team player in "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2," a shapely sequel that retains much of the sparkle and warmth that made the original such a pleasant surprise.

USA Today:

With the quartet of girls now in their first year of college, The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 (* * 1/2 out of four) is more of a coming-of-age story than its 2005 predecessor, tackling more mature subjects. However, for all its moments of believable dialogue and persuasive emotional truths, it also has some fairy-tale scenarios. But that's almost a textbook definition of a chick flick, so it doesn't interfere much with the film's appeal. And the performances of the four young women, particularly plucky America Ferrera and sardonic Amber Tamblyn, are likable and often charming.

Entertainment Weekly via CNN:

But three years ago, in "Sisterhood 1," half the cast were way more famous than the other. Back then, TV stars Alexis Bledel ("Gilmore Girls") and Amber Tamblyn ("Joan of Arcadia") were the well-known pair of actresses, although you'd never know it from the movie, which smoothly offered all four performers equal time to be cute, freak out about something, and literally wear the pants.

Perhaps it's no shocker, given the way Hollywood likes to turn 'em over, but now it's the other two members of the sisterhood — Blake Lively of "Gossip Girl" and America Ferrera of "Ugly Betty" — who are a lot bigger deals outside the multiplex.

Once again, much to the sequel's credit, the story doesn't seem to care. The movie keeps moving quickly (but not sloppily) among the heroines, so that if you're overloaded, say, on one sister's sugary plotline, it only comes around every fourth scene or so, and never sticks around too long. Even at 111 minutes, "Pants" mostly sprints.

Variety:

With very little sex and very little city, "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2" still seems a good bet to grab a sizable chunk of the underserved chick-flick demographic, boosted by its young stars' blossoming profiles (particularly "Gossip Girl's" Blake Lively) and a blithely shallow approach to story. A likable quartet of players, a surfeit of male bimbos and an appetite for quick-cooked emotion should make the Aug. 6 Warner Bros. release a bigger hit than its 2005 predecessor, which grossed $39 million domestically.

Chicago Sun-Times:

The movie intercuts quickly but not confusingly from one story to another, is dripping with seductive locations, is not shy about romantic cliches and has a lot of heart. The women are all sincere, intelligent, vulnerable, sweet, warm. That’s in contrast to “SATC,” with its narcissistic and shallow heroines. The “SATC” ladies should fill their flasks with cosmopolitans, go to see “The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2” and cry their hearts out with futile regret for their misspent lives.

The Los Angeles Times:

In the current popular culture, female friendships — at any age — are generally considered secondary to life's "important" relationships, the romantic bonds between men and women.

Nowhere is this depressing trend more evident than in Hollywood, where story lines putatively about women's friendships tend toward the saccharine ("Mona Lisa Smile"), the malicious ("Mean Girls") or the boy-crazy (take your pick).

Which is why it's such a pleasure (and a relief) to encounter movies such as " The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2." Like the first "Pants" movie, it presents its heroines' relationships as complicated, challenging and particularly rewarding, and not simply as a vehicle for finding the perfect boyfriend.

Premiere:

It's easy to dismiss The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 as just another typical teen film with jocky dudes and back-stabbing girls that tend to flood the teen market. There was the toothless film adaptation of The Baby-Sitters Club in 1995, starring Rachael Leigh Cook, who later graduated to become the ugly-duckling social outcast rescued by Freddie Prinze Jr. in She's All That in 1995. Similarly, we saw Clueless, starring Alicia Silverstone as the designer-clothes crazed Cher in 1995 and the Lindsay Lohan vehicle Mean Girls in 2004. While those films were either underestimating their audience or merely featuring makeovers and female rivalry, The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 bridges the gap between them. The idealism of the books about childhood friendship smoothly tackles the mature relationship topics that are common in these other comedies with none of the angst or crassness. The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2, directed by Sarah Lawrence grad Sanaa Hamri, depicts refreshingly positive female friendship based in reality without cynicism.

Wednesday Is The New Friday In Movie Releases [LA Times]

Earlier: 'Sisterhood Of The Traveling Pants 2' Isn't Amazing, But You Should See It Anyway

'Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2' opens today, nationwide.

I hated that character from the second she flounced on the screen. I remember distinctly Portman telling Zach Braff's character that she was "weird" and then doing a silly little dance to illustrate her "weirdness." Honestly? Anyone who telegraphs their so-called weirdness so outlandishly is not actually weird, they're merely quirky enough to be vaguely interesting without having their own thing going on. They're completely mainstream but have one really big tattoo, or occasionally sing really loud in the shower! "Oh, Natalie," the A.V. Club writes, "your unconventional ways are so inspiring, and your beauty is surprisingly non-threatening!"

As the A.V. Club deftly notes, "Like the Magical Negro, the Manic Pixie Dream Girl archetype is largely defined by secondary status and lack of an inner life. She's on hand to lift a gloomy male protagonist out of the doldrums, not to pursue her own happiness." Since they've defined it so succinctly, I've realized that many recent films employ the MPDG stock character — Forgetting Sarah Marshall, for instance, where Mila Kunis's character is a free spirited nymph deposited on the shores of Hawaii in order to encourage Jason Segel to write the vampire rock puppet musical he's been fantasizing about for years. But what of the dude? You know, the brooding artsy loser in need of a MPDG to revive his creative and sexual juices? The ones who use MPDG's to stroke their fragile egos and project their muse-fantasies on? What should we call him? I think he deserves a name because these movies, and the notion of the MPDG, are really about him: his needs, his desires, his artistic endeavors.

Wimpster, while appropriate, lacks the specificity of MPDG and also is so four years ago. Maybe the new bromantics, because that term emphasizes their dudeliness but also their childish notions of romantic attachment? In any event, these self-absorbed whiners are to be avoided in real life, though, like (adorable!) Jason Segal in FSM, new bromantics can be charming in film.

Wild Things: 16 Films Featuring Manic Pixie Dream Girls [AV Club]
Soapbox [The Petite Sophisticate]
Meet The Wimpster [The Black Table]

Outstanding Lead Actress In A Comedy Series
• Actress: Tina Fey; Show: 30 Rock; Role: Head writer/producer of a late night comedy show.
• Actress: Christina Applegate; Show: Samantha Who?; Role: VP of a real estate company who suffers from amnesia
• Actress: Julia Louis-Dreyfus; Show: The New Adventures Of Old Christine; Role: Owner of female gym and single mother
• Actress: America Ferrera; Show: Ugly Betty; Role: Fashion-challenged assistant to an editor at a fashion magazine
• Actress: Mary-Louise Parker; Show: Weeds; Role: Single suburban mother who sells pot to make ends meet

Outstanding Lead Actress In A Drama Series
• Actress: Sally Field; Show: Brothers & Sisters; Role: Matriarch of troubled family
• Actress: Glenn Close; Show: Damages; Role: Successful but ruthless lawyer
• Actress: Mariska Hargitay; Show: Law & Order: SVU; Role: Police detective with a heart of gold and a difficult past
• Actress: Holly Hunter; Show: Saving Grace; Role: Slutty, hard-drinking detective whom an angel has told is going to Hell
• Actress: Kyra Sedgwick; Show: The Closer; Role: Smart but off-putting deputy chief for the LAPD

Outstanding Lead Actress In A Miniseries Or Movie
• Actress: Phylicia Rashad; Show: A Raisin In The Sun; Role: Widowed matriarch of a struggling Chicago family that dreams of buying a home
• Actress: Catherine Keener; Show: An American Crime; Role: Crazy divorcee who facilitates torture of a teenage girl
• Actress: Susan Sarandon; Show: Bernard And Doris; Role: Millionaire who leaves fortune to gay butler/best friend
• Actress: Dame Judi Dench; Show: Cranford; Role: Unmarried woman who places propriety at the utmost importance
• Actress: Laura Linney; Show: John Adams; Role: John Adams' intelligent, headstrong wife, Abigail Adams

Outstanding Supporting Actress In A Comedy Series
• Actress: Kristen Chenoweth; Show: Pushing Daisies; Role: Restaurant waitress and admirer of main male character (and boss), Ned
• Actress: Jean Smart; Show: Samantha Who?; Role: Estranged mother with a "bad" side
• Actress: Amy Poehler; Show: Saturday Night Live; Role: various
• Actress: Holland Taylor; Show: Two And A Half Men; Role: Mother known for her promiscuity and shabby treatment of others
• Actress: Vanessa Williams; Show: Ugly Betty; Role: Diva editor-and-chief of fashion magazine

Outstanding Supporting Actress In A Drama Series
• Actress: Candice Bergen; Show: Boston Legal; Role: Smart, sexy, dignified and successful lawyer
• Actress: Rachel Griffiths; Show: Brothers & Sisters; Role: Head of a successful family business who has trouble balancing work with her personal life as a mother and wife
• Actress: Chandra Wilson; Show: Grey's Anatomy; Role: Blunt and tough chief resident surgeon
• Actress: Sandra Oh; Show: Grey's Anatomy; Role: Driven but emotionally-challenged doctor/surgeon
• Actress: Dianne Wiest; Show: In Treatment; Role: Psychiatrist, mentor

Outstanding Supporting Actress In A Miniseries Or A Movie
• Actress: Audra McDonald; Show: A Raisin In The Sun; Role: Obedient, overworked daughter-in-law to Lena Younger
• Actress: Eileen Atkins; Show: Cranford; Role: Older sister to Dench's character, also a spinster
• Actress: Ashley Jensen; Show: Extras: The Extra Special Series Finale; Role: Well-meaning but socially inept and boy-crazy single Londoner, actress
• Actress: Alfre Woodward; Show: Pictures Of Hollis Woods; Role: Social worker who tries to find a home for a troubled teen
• Actress: Laura Dern; Show: Recount; Role: Bush administration lackey Katherine Harris

Helen Mirren: Television Is Better Than Film [Telegraph]
60th Primetime Emmy Awards Nominations [Emmys.tv]

Related: Emmy Nomination Hell: 10 Plots And Subplots To Watch After Today's Big Announcements [Defamer]

The 60th Primetime Emmys air September 21st on ABC.

• Sarah Jessica Parker, The Ivy Chronicles: Parker is in talks with Warner Bros. to star in the film version of the eponymous novel by Karen Quinn. The film centers around a woman living in New York (we know) who gets divorced and loses her cushy job and is forced to move downtown and pull her kids out of private school (the horror!). Ivy then starts a business to help upper-middle-class women get their children into posh kindergartens. What a saint. Verdict: You would think SJP would like to branch out of these class-concious, NY-single-rich-white-woman roles but apparently she has no desire to stop spreading crap to women across the world. All that aside, this sounds like a victim role.

• Hilary Duff, Stay Cool: Hilary Duff still acts? Duff will play a supporting role in this upcoming Polish brothers comedy, described as a "knowing-your-age comedy." A successful author (Mark Polish) will deliver a high school commencement speech and be seduced by a sexy high school senior (Duff) who invites him to her prom. Wow! A young gal flirting with a successful older writer - sounds realistic! (At least in the minds of the male thirtysomethings who constantly write about it.) Verdict: Duff's role is minor and certainly the "babe" one of the film, so she could be any version of various cliches depending on how she plays it.

• Tilda Swinton, The Ghost: Swinton will star alongside Nicolas Cage and Pierce Brosnan in this new film by Roman Polanksi. The film centers around Cage, who plays the ghostwriter for a former prime minister in England who is writing his memoirs, but all of his ghostwriters seem to end up dead. Swinton will play the PM's wife who falls for Cage's character as her marriage crumbles. Verdict: We really love Swinton but this role could border on a hooker-victim role. But, again, it depends on how she plays it.

• Christina Ricci, The Hero Of Color City: Ricci is the first cast member to be announced for this new animated CG feature. She will play the role of a "timid crayon" called (and we can only assume, is) Yellow. The plot of the film revolves around a group of crayons whose "colorful world is threatened by an evil tyrant." Verdict: We know that stereotypes can be found in kid's films as well, but she is playing a crayon. Probably no real stereotype to speak of.

• Lily Rabe, All Good Things: Rabe joins the cast of this upcoming thriller that includes Kirsten Dunst and Ryan Gosling. The film centers on a NY real estate scion (Gosling) who gets involved with a girl from the wrong side of town (Dunst) before she disappears. Secrets are revealed, and Rabe will play one of Gosling's character's friends who knows some of those secrets. Verdict: Honestly, her role sound so part of the exposition of the story that we doubt she will be even given a stereotype to play. Rabe is probably safe with this one.

"Movie And TV Studios Brace For An Actor's Strike" [NYT]
"Sarah jessica Parker Lines Up 'Ivy'" [THR]
"Hilary Duff Joins 'Cool' School" [THR]
"Cage, Brosnan See Polanski's 'Ghost'" [Variety]
"Christina Ricci Joins 'Her' Voice Cast" [THR]
"Lily Rabe" [Variety]

In an interview with Premiere magazine, Mena says of the decision to have cornrows: "It was in conjunction with [director] Stuart. I think we just wanted to kind of establish Brandi as a particular kind of girl from a particular place. I think that we felt that it would be, like, Providence, Rhode Island, with a mix of cultures. That's kind of what we were going for."

Stuart Gordon, whose films include Re-Animator, Castle Freak and Space Truckers, has the right to take creative license and make what ever kind of film he likes. But why didn't he use a black actress? Why was it okay to just put blonde, ethnically Estonian Suvari in cornrows? Why have Angelina Jolie play Marianne Pearl? There are so few black actresses in great, meaty roles (Jennifer Hudson in SATC does not count) and most of the big releases have male stars. There's a lack of parts for women in Hollywood altogether — do actresses of color have a chance if white women can just put on some corn rows (or a curly wig) and play "a particular kind of girl from a particular place" ?

Mena Suvari: 'I Never Had My Jaw Hit The Floor So Many Times' [LA Times]
Mena Suvari Gets 'Stuck' [Premiere]

Earlier: Coming Soon: 2008, The Summer Of The Dick Flick

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• Ellen Page,Jane Eyre: Page is set to play Jane Eyre in a new adaptation of the classic novel by Charlotte Bronte. Jane Eyre is a bildungsroman about an orphaned girl who works as a governess for a handsome married man with an insane wife he keeps locked away. Verdict: Just because a film is based on a classic piece of literature doesn't mean that it won't be chock full of female stereotypes (in fact, literature is usually chock full of those!) and Jane Eyre is just about the biggest lovable female victim in English literature.

• Eva Mendes, Queen of the South: Mendes will star as a Mexican woman who escapes to Europe after her boyfriend is murdered and then becomes the reigning drug-smuggler in Spain. She does this all while being hellbent on avenging her murdered boyfriend. Verdict: While the avenging-murdered-lover thing sounds kind of victimy, the drug-smuggling thing sounds kind of awesome. Of course, a woman can't rise to the top unless she has some secret traumatic past haunting her waking and sleeping moments!

• Kirstie Alley, Nailed: Alley will play a veterinarian who cannot remove a nail from her niece's head after an accident. Her niece, played by Jessica Biel, then travels to Washington D.C. to fight for better healthcare and falls in love with a congressman. So quirky! Verdict: Alley's role seems a bit too small to get enough attention to swing it towards any stereotypes.

• Susan Sarandon, Peacock: Peacock is a psychological thriller about a town in the aftermath of a train crash. Sarandon will play the mayor's wife who also runs a woman's shelter. Ellen Page and Cillian Murphy are also set to star. Verdict: There are little details about Sarandon's character, but we imagine it would be pretty difficult to portray a woman who runs a woman's shelter negatively.

"Ellen Page Takes On Jane Eyre" [Variety]
"Queen Appoints Hartnett, Kingsley" [Variety]
"James Brolin Gets Nailed" [THR]
"Susan Sarandon, Josh Lucas Join Peacock" [THR]

*Inspired by Shirley MacLaine's assertion that the best parts for actresses fall into one of the above categories.

• Angela Bassett, ER: Bassett will be playing a troubled doctor who comes back to Chicago after doing tsunami relief in Indonesia. Her arrival promises to "shake County General's ER to the core." Verdict: Well "troubled" usually translates to "victim," although a victim usually doesn't shake a television series to it's "core." She might be playing a shrew as well.

• Nicole Kidman, Dusty Springfield Biopic: Novelist Michael Cunningham (The Hours) has revealed that Kidman will star in the upcoming Dusty Springfield biopic he's writing. The film will explore Springfield's tortured, drugged, and depressed years, as well as her successes. Verdict: No one does victims quite like Cunningham, and Springfield's biography is not lacking in victimized and depressed elements.

• America Ferrera, An Invisible Sign of My Own: Ferrera will star in this coming-of-age film about a 20-year-old loner who turns to math for salvation when her father becomes ill. [Uh, isn't that a play called 'Proof'? -Ed.] When the character becomes an adult, she must teach math to students using her crisis as inspiration. BO-RING. Verdict: All of the victim keywords are here: "crisis" "salvation" and "ill father," but the character might overcome her own victimization in the end, so we will have to see how the movie plays out. The only thing that is unfortunate about this is the talented Ferrera starring in another snoozer.

• Shenae Grimes, Beverly Hills, 90210: Former Degrassi: The Next Generation star, Grimes, will play Annie in this 90210 remake on the CW Network. The Annie character will be based on the character played by Shannen Doherty in the original. Verdict: Although Doherty was a decent character on the show, off-set, she was generally too busy victimizing people to be a victim herself.

Angela Bassett Makes Rounds For Last ER Shift [Reuters]
Nicole Kidman Playing Dusty Springfield In Biopic, Says Michael Cunningham [NY Mag]
America Ferrera Joins Invisible [THR]
90210 Cast Continues To Grow [Variety]

• Tilda Swinton, I Am Love: In this Italian film, Swinton will play a foreign "society matron" in Milan who falls for a young (hot) chef. The director says that the film is about "the irreparable consequences brought about by love in a high-bourgeois family." Verdict: While we love Swinton, the words "irreparable consequences" can only mean some victim elements.

• Virginia Madsen, Amelia: Botox spokeswoman and occasional actress, Madsen will co-star in this Amelia Earhart biopic playing Dorothy Pinney, the first wife of Richard Gere's character, George Putnam. Dorothy's husband eventually leaves her for Earhart (Hilary Swank) and the film focuses on their "rocky" relationship. Verdict: Hm, first wife of the husband of the film's title character? It's likely she'll be painted as a victim, a doormat or maybe a little of both!

• Emmanuelle Vaugier, Dolan's Cadillac: French actress Vaugier will play the female lead in this adaptation of Stephen King's short story of the same name. Vaugier's character is killed by a mob boss (Christian Slater) and her death is avenged by her husband (Wes Bentley). Verdict: Uh, murdered woman? Victim, victim, victim.

• Rose McGowan, Barbarella: McGowan will star in this re-make of the campy 1968 original starring Jane Fonda. In the original, Barbarella goes on a sexual journey to fight an evil man called Durand-Durand. Verdict: In the original, Fonda's sexual exploits are more comic than erotic. McGowan might get off (tee hee) easy with this one in terms of stereotypes, but we just hope she doesn't ruin classic!

• Moon Bloodgood, Terminator Salvation: The Future Begins: Bloodgood, who starred in NBC's short-lived series Journeyman will play the female lead in this Terminator sequel, a "no-nonsense and battle-hardened" member of the resistance. Verdict: A no-nonsense character might seem okay (although it could be leaning into shrew territory) but a grade-A nobody playing an unnamed character as the "female lead" makes us think that the female characters found in this flick will probably be limited to 10 lines each.

SAG, Studios Feel The Pressure [Variety]
Tilda Swinton To Star In 'I Am Love' [Variety]
Virginia Madsen Added To 'Amelia' [Variety]
Christian Slater Drives 'Cadillac' [THR]
McGowan Dyes For 'Barbarella' Role [Variety]
'Terminator' Sequel Eyes Lead [THR]

•Natalie Portman, Wuthering Heights: Portman is slated to play Catherine Earnshaw, the female lead, in this new adaptation of Emily Bronte's novel. Catherine is in love with her adopted brother, Heathcliff, but marries a more suitable man and is then driven to madness over her decision. Verdict: Catherine is a variation of a hooker, marrying for stability and then being punished for it.

•Elsa Pataky, Giallo: Spanish actress Pataky (who is perhaps better known to American audiences as Adrien Brody's girlfriend) is set to play Celine, the kidnapped sister of an American flight attendant. Verdict: Beautiful kidnapped woman? Victim, duh.

•Marcia Gay Harden, The Tower: In this new CBS drama, Harden will star as a millionaire who buys a newspaper where the journalists not only break stories but also solve mysteries! Verdict: The plot might sound a bit boring, but Harden's character might come out OK, for the time being.

•Paz Vega, Triage: Vega, from Talk to Her and Spanglish, will play the girlfriend of a a colleague of Mark (Colin Farrel), a photojournalist, who investigates the mysterious disappearance of her boyfriend. Verdict: While the details are skimpy, the tragic girlfriend character just screams "Victim."

Two Female Leads [XKCD]
Portman Set For 'Wuthering Heights'[Variety]
Adrien Brody To Topline 'Giallo'[THR]
Harden, Logue Pick Pilot Projects[Variety]
Colin Farrell Makes Three For 'Triage' [THR]