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hookers, victims & doormats
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Hookers, Victims & Doormats
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hookers, victims & doormats
hookers, victims & doormats
Hollywood's Women Problem Is A Case Of Arrested Development
There are few good parts for women in Hollywood right now. This is an incontrovertible fact. When you become a woman of a certain age, somewhere after 30 and before the hot flashes begin, there are no parts at all. Karen Allen, 56, who will be in the new Indiana Jones movie reprising her role as the plucky Marion Ravenwood, tells the L.A. Times, "I'm from a generation of fantastic actresses. It's a big pool of really wonderful actresses, and so many of them we never even get to see on the screen anymore." But why? Why is Julie Christie relegated to senility and Cameron Diaz stuck in the woman-girl cul-de-sac? More »
hookers, victims & doormats
"Woman-Girl Syndrome": Hollywood's Latest Malady
There are many actresses who have built careers on their innate adorableness — the L.A. Times mentions Cameron Diaz, Meg Ryan and Melanie Griffith, though Kate Hudson also comes to mind — and one Hollywood agent terms this studied cuteness the "woman-girl syndrome." You see, according to LAT writer Rachel Abramowitz, when these women find themselves in the throes of "cinematic middle age...their biceps are well-honed, but their options are limited." Apparently "cute" is not so cute with crows feet, according to the Hollywood establishment. Diaz, Abramowitz points out, "skyrocketed to fame essentially playing grown-up girls. But that's not a stereotype she can keep playing deep into her 30s." It doesn't help that romantic comedies don't even have female heroines anymore, as "the creative Politburos that run the studios have collectively decided that only men are entitled to their romantic fantasies, that love stories should preferably be told from the male perspective." More »
hookers, victims & doormats
Ellen Page To Star As One Of English Literature's Saddest Sacks
Another day, another round of casting announcements chock full of stereotypes. While older actresses like Susan Sarandon have their pick of saucy-yet-loving-powerful-woman roles, the younger actresses who have yet to convince everyone they're talented sometimes pick up a few victim roles along their march to Serious Actress territory. Maybe it's because they are still pretty "fresh faces", but these talented actresses still succumb to playing victimized lovers, even in supposedly intellectual and interesting films. In this edition of Hookers, Victims, and Doormats, Ellen Page pretends she is "plain" in Jane Eyre and Eva Mendes continues to mimic Angelina Jolie's action film career. All that and more after the jump! More »
hookers, victims & doormats
Tilda Swinton To Feel "Irreparable Consequences" In I Am Love
Sure, there might be an actor's strike on the horizon, but that isn't going to stop studios from casting actresses in stereotypical roles! Yup, it'ss time again for another round-up of the latest movie castings in Hollywood. Unfortunately, aside from Tilda Swinton, we don't have that many big-name actresses in this week's installment (unless you count Virginia Madsen as "big," which you don't) and we're not given that much information about their characters. So, we'll just make educated guesses, like we always do! After the jump, Tilda has an affair with a sexy Italian chef, Virgina Madsen competes with Hilary Swank for some screen time and Gere-time (spoiler: she loses), and Moon Bloodgood takes on the newest Terminator movie. All of it and more, after the jump. More »
hookers, victims & doormats
Halle Berry Will Suffer In Black And White In Frankie And Alice
Ever notice how many female characters are "suffering" in Hollywood films? "She was suffering through a break-up," "the character was suffering from an abusive past," "she will play a woman who is suffering through cancer," et cetera. It seems like whenever writers want to throw some "depth" into their scripts they will construct a "suffering" character (usually female) and is forced to learn a lesson the hard way and/or die. Sure, it can be done well (Sophie's Choice) but the suffering victim has become so overused that it is now just a cliche that talent agents foist on their starlet clients to move them into Serious Actress territory. In the latest casting announcements, we hear about more suffering women: Halle Berry plays a woman "suffering" from a personality disorder in a mix between Gothika and Queen; Rudy from The Cosby Show plays a hooker (!), and that girl who isn't Vanessa Hudgens stars in a (hopefully) campy re-make of Teen Witch. All that and more after the jump! More »
Hookers, Victims, & Doormats
Are actresses more likely to avoid stereotypes in comedies? We know that some actresses don't think so but two of the newest casting announcements for comedies show us the two possible ends of the spectrum. Drillbit Taylor's Leslie Mann is cast to play the wife of an imprisoned man (Jim Carrey) who falls in love with his cell mate in the black comedy I Love You Philip Morris. Verdict: probably a victim/doormat. Toni Collete will star as the close friend of Maya Rudolph and John Krasinski, who play a couple looking for the best place to raise their unborn child in an untitled film. Verdict: With Sam Mendes directing and two parts of the McSweeney's machine writing, Collette will probably make out okay. [THR. THR]
hookers, victims & doormats*
Starlet Rosamind Pike To Suffer As Vain Surrogate
*Inspired by Shirley MacLaine's assertion that the best parts for actresses fall into one of the above categories.
Along with playing the ubiquitous hooker, victim or doormat character, actresses are often pegged playing "the wife of," or "the mistress of," or even "the best friend of", especially in films that aren't specifically directed at women. Unless they are starring in a rom-com or a movie that is somehow centered around shoe-shopping, actresses in mainstream films are most often seen in some sort of role that supports the main actor. The newest casting announcements out of Hollywood prove that: most were almost entirely supporting roles, and there were even some hookers and doormats in there to keep things spicy! After the jump, Rosamund Pike fears aging and sticks with the surrogate-obsessed pack in a sci-fi thriller, and Camilla Belle fools around with a dreamy (but much older) Vincent Cassel in a new Brazilian coming-of-age film. More »
Guess who got another job! Everyone's fave child star turned cautionary tale, Lindsay Lohan, has inked a movie deal. What is BAngieB's pretty pretty girl going to be doing? Why, playing a loyal follower of Charles Manson in a flick called Manson Girls. Sweet! [E!]
Hookers, Victims & Doormats
Breaking! Some dude over at the Huffington Post figured out that being a female in Hollywood sucks! You're either Natalie Portman and Scarlett Johansson basically sucking face in The Other Boleyn Girl or you're a creaky old crone like Jessica Lange, Kathy Bates and Joan Allen in Bonneville, saying things like "Oh, doesn't that just take you back?" The writer in question, Metro film critic Daniel Holloway wonders why "women who look like Scarlett Johansson are handed roles that require them to do little more than look like Scarlett Johansson, while any woman over 45 is left in such a pickle that she jumps at any part with more than 15 lines." Man, we've been asking that question for months now! And anyway, Goldie Hawn said it best in the First Wives Club: "There are 3 roles for women in Hollywood: Babe, District Attorney, and 'Driving Miss Daisy.'" [Huffington Post]
Breaking! Some dude over at the Huffington Post figured out that being a female in Hollywood sucks! You're either Natalie Portman and Scarlett Johansson basically sucking face in The Other Boleyn Girl or you're a creaky old crone like Jessica Lange, Kathy Bates and Joan Allen in Bonneville, saying things like "Oh, doesn't that just take you back?" The writer in question, Metro film critic Daniel Holloway wonders why "women who look like Scarlett Johansson are handed roles that require them to do little more than look like Scarlett Johansson, while any woman over 45 is left in such a pickle that she jumps at any part with more than 15 lines." Man, we've been asking that question for months now! And anyway, Goldie Hawn said it best in the First Wives Club: "There are 3 roles for women in Hollywood: Babe, District Attorney, and 'Driving Miss Daisy.'" [Huffington Post]
Hookers, Victims & Doormats
Natalie Portman is sick of being offered the same degrading roles over and over again. "It's the virgin-whore thing in evidence to the greatest extent. That's really been bothering." In non-hooker casting news, Bollywood star Mallika Sherawat is playing a female yogi in The Aquarian Gospel , a film based on the myth that Jesus visited India. Also, Mad Men's January Jones has been cast in The Boat That Rocked alongside Kenneth Branagh and Rhys Ifans. The Boat is about pirate DJs (seriously). January plays an American woman who visits the DJs on the boat and falls in love with Ifans. They had us at "pirate DJs." [Mirror, Reuters, Variety]
Natalie Portman is sick of being offered the same degrading roles over and over again. "It's the virgin-whore thing in evidence to the greatest extent. That's really been bothering." In non-hooker casting news, Bollywood star Mallika Sherawat is playing a female yogi in The Aquarian Gospel , a film based on the myth that Jesus visited India. Also, Mad Men's January Jones has been cast in The Boat That Rocked alongside Kenneth Branagh and Rhys Ifans. The Boat is about pirate DJs (seriously). January plays an American woman who visits the DJs on the boat and falls in love with Ifans. They had us at "pirate DJs." [Mirror, Reuters, Variety]
Hookers, Victims & Doormats
The Devil Wears Prada's Emily Blunt may need to start practicing her Texas twang: The British actress is in talks to appear in drama The Girl, playing a young Texas woman who comes across the abandoned daughter of an illegal Mexican immigrant and reluctantly heads to Mexico in search of the girl's mother. Two females, road trip, Texas...will this be like Thelma & Louise but with a less suicidal ending? [Reuters]
The Devil Wears Prada's Emily Blunt may need to start practicing her Texas twang: The British actress is in talks to appear in drama The Girl, playing a young Texas woman who comes across the abandoned daughter of an illegal Mexican immigrant and reluctantly heads to Mexico in search of the girl's mother. Two females, road trip, Texas...will this be like Thelma & Louise but with a less suicidal ending? [Reuters]
Hookers, Victims & Doormats
We're starting to sense a pattern in the career of Katherine Heigl! Following up her roles in romantic comedies playing an accidentally-impregnated TV producer and an unlucky-in-love personal assistant, Hollywood's "hottest blonde" is set to star as an unlucky-in-love TV producer in the romantic comedy The Ugly Truth. According to Variety, Heigl will play a morning show exec who finds herself "reluctantly embroiled... in a series of outrageous tests to prove [a sexist TV correspondent's] theories on relationships". The not so ugly truth? This time around, Heigl's male costar is named Gerard Butler. [Variety]
We're starting to sense a pattern in the career of Katherine Heigl! Following up her roles in romantic comedies playing an accidentally-impregnated TV producer and an unlucky-in-love personal assistant, Hollywood's "hottest blonde" is set to star as an unlucky-in-love TV producer in the romantic comedy The Ugly Truth. According to Variety, Heigl will play a morning show exec who finds herself "reluctantly embroiled... in a series of outrageous tests to prove [a sexist TV correspondent's] theories on relationships". The not so ugly truth? This time around, Heigl's male costar is named Gerard Butler. [Variety]
Hookers, Victims & Doormats
Julia Roberts, who first made her name playing, well, a hooker, continues to use her box office mojo to secure more assertive parts: The actress/mother will be both starring in and producing the film adaptation of the upcoming novel Hothouse Flowers, playing "a divorced woman who chucks her career at a New York advertising agency and sets out on a new adventure," according to the Hollywood Reporter. (Hopefully, that "new adventure" also involves a guy 2/3 her age.) Another red-headed "Julie" in the Tinseltown trades today? Julianne Moore, who will head up the supernatural horror film Shelter, reports Variety. Although the plot of the film has yet to be released by producers, it it's safe to say Ms. Moore will have to spend at least a few hours in the voiceover studio perfecting her scream. [UPI, Variety]
Julia Roberts, who first made her name playing, well, a hooker, continues to use her box office mojo to secure more assertive parts: The actress/mother will be both starring in and producing the film adaptation of the upcoming novel Hothouse Flowers, playing "a divorced woman who chucks her career at a New York advertising agency and sets out on a new adventure," according to the Hollywood Reporter. (Hopefully, that "new adventure" also involves a guy 2/3 her age.) Another red-headed "Julie" in the Tinseltown trades today? Julianne Moore, who will head up the supernatural horror film Shelter, reports Variety. Although the plot of the film has yet to be released by producers, it it's safe to say Ms. Moore will have to spend at least a few hours in the voiceover studio perfecting her scream. [UPI, Variety]
Hookers, Victims & Doormats
Marion Cotillard went home without a statuette at the SAG Awards, but the Gallic La Vie en Rose gamine may win a lesser prize: working opposite Johnny Depp. The French actress, 32, is in talks to join Depp and Christian Bale in the Depression-era drama Public Enemies, portraying Billie, the chanteuse and (probably long-suffering) gangster moll to Depp's criminal character, says the Hollywood Reporter. Dear Marion: Welcome to American moviemaking; just don't let them make you take your top off! [Hollywood Reporter]
Marion Cotillard went home without a statuette at the SAG Awards, but the Gallic La Vie en Rose gamine may win a lesser prize: working opposite Johnny Depp. The French actress, 32, is in talks to join Depp and Christian Bale in the Depression-era drama Public Enemies, portraying Billie, the chanteuse and (probably long-suffering) gangster moll to Depp's criminal character, says the Hollywood Reporter. Dear Marion: Welcome to American moviemaking; just don't let them make you take your top off! [Hollywood Reporter]
hookers, victims & doormats
Best Actress Oscar Nominees Aren't All Victims
This year's female acting Oscar nominees are a strange bunch of characters — and no, we don't mean the narcissistic actresses themselves. While the Supporting Actress field is rife with Hollywood's version of the female victim, the Best Actress category has some complicated characters that have too damn much going on emotionally for us to be able to tell decide if they were victims (or hookers, or doormats) or not! After all, tragedy doesn't equate victimhood and playing tough doesn't necessarily make one a hero. After the jump, we break down the characters — and ask you to tell us who's a victim, who's a hooker, who's a doormat, and who's on the fence. (Hint: We consult our Magic 8-Ball.) More »
hookers, victims & doormats
Ellen Page Can't Wait To "Kick Ass On Wheels"
Pretty awesome news: Juno star Ellen Page will star in Drew Barrymore's directing debut, Whip It!, playing an "alterna-teen" and reluctant beauty-pageant contestant named Bliss who joins a female roller-derby team. (Says Page: "I can't wait to kick ass on wheels!"). In other Tinseltown deals, former porn star Traci Lords has signed up to appear in Kevin Smith's Zack & Miri Make A Porno. No details on what her role will entail, but it's not a stretch to say that it will probably involve... porn.
Ellen Page To 'Whip It!' For Barrymore [Variety]
More Sign On To 'Make A Porno' [Hollywood Reporter]
hookers, victims & doormats
