Jezebel: ruby dee

Celebs Fight The Power At Do the Right Thing Anniversary Party

Sadie — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 10:30:00 EDT

"It's the hottest day of the summer. You can do nothing, you can do something, or you can..." Do the Right Thing, Spike Lee's classic joint (Bed-Stuy represent!) celebrated its 20th anniversary last night in New York.

In a prior life, I dealt with Rosie Perez in various aspects of the service industry. She is very nice and lives in Brooklyn and, as you see, likes jersey that she can throw on. DtRT was her first film.

Two things: Joie Lee looks amazing and, wasn't she hot? It was like 80 degrees in NYC yesterday.

Did you know that paisley is in fact Scottish in origin? I was kinda old before I knew that. Also, what "there but for the grace of God go I" meant, even though it's pretty literal. Gloria Reuben is kinda rocking a cruise-wear vibe, which is, obviously, her prerogative.

I normally hate both the term "ageless" and patchwork jackets, but am willing to make exceptions to both rules in the case of Ruby Dee.

Yeohlee Teng kind of looks like a central-casting "designer" here - which, in fact, is what she is!

There they are! It looks like they've got the whole neighborhood - save, of course, Ossie Davis, RIP.

Images via Getty

"Fishy" Is Fabulous: Oscar Fashion 2008

Jennifer — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 10:30:00 EST

Thank God for Oscar fashion because the awards themselves dragged... on... forever. And on last night's red carpet? Lots of, well, red. Heidi Klum, Miley Cyrus, Katherine Heigl, Anne Hathaway, Ruby Dee, and Helen Mirren were just some of the women who matched their gowns to the carpet they were posing on. But the absolute best looks were seen on the women who opted for something a little less traditional: Like Marion Cotillard's fish-scale mermaid gown by Jean-Paul Gaultier. Cotillard looked radiant, palpitating with natural beauty and joie de vivre. Also gorgeous? Cate Blanchett, pregnant in purple Dries Van Noten, and Amy Adams, sultry in deep green Proenza Schouler. Those who swung and missed? Diablo Cody, Cameron Diaz and Renee Zellweger. And Lord have mercy on Sarah "I'm Dating George Clooney" Lawson: Her ugly-ass table-cloth dress was the worst of the worst in my book. You can take the girl out of Fear Factor, but you can't take the Fear Factor out of the girl. Photo galleries of the Good, Bad, and Ugly of Oscar style, after the jump.

The Good:

The Bad:

The Ugly:

Black models aren't the only creatives of...

Jessica — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 17:40:00 EST

Black models aren't the only creatives of color getting the shaft: according to a U.S.C. Study quoted in the New York Times, females and non-whites are grossly underrepresented in films nominated for the Best Picture Oscar. "The data show there are almost three speaking males for every one female and more than four white speaking characters for every one non-white character," says U.S.C.'s Stacy Smith, a professor of communication and the principle researcher in the study. The Times Oscar blog, the Carpetbagger, points out that of 20 people nominated for acting awards this year, only Ruby Dee is black. [New York Times]

Best Actress Oscar Nominees Aren't All Victims

Jennifer — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 16:30:00 EST

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.)

Best Supporting Actress:
Cate Blanchett, I'm Not There: Come on, she plays that genius music man Bob Dylan! Who was most definitely not a victim. Or a hooker. Or even a woman. Verdict: OK!

Tilda Swinton, Michael Clayton: As Hillary Clinton taught us, even if other people try to hate on you, once a ball-busting lawyer, always a ball-busting lawyer. Which means that Swinton's character gets a Verdict: OK!

Ruby Dee, American Gangster: Yeah, it's sort of an iron-clad rule. Playing the guilt-ridden mother of a heroin dealer leaves no other option than Verdict: Victim!

Amy Ryan, Gone Baby Gone: She's an alcoholic. And her kid goes missing. Most definitely Verdict: Victim!

Saorise Ronan, Atonement: Once she reaches young adulthood, her character attempts to correct an error in judgment she had as a child by (spoiler alert!) concocting and selling a fictitious version of events. Which makes her either a crazy or a sociopath. No matter how you look at it, dying alone with regret makes you a guaranteed Verdict: Victim! (Even if you're the one making others into victims. Life is complicated like that, natch.)

Best Actress:

[Note: All of these nominees are sorta hard to pin down, so dangerously close do they dance between the line of victim/not-victim. So instead, we simply consulted our Magic 8-Ball.]

Cate Blanchett, Elizabeth: The Golden Age: Plays the infamous Virgin Queen who was tricked into war with the Spaniards. Also, harbors crush on Clive Owen (as Sir Walter Raleigh), who falls for her #1 lady-in-waiting and also knocks her up and marries her. In the end, England wins the war, but Queen Lizzie loses the man and a well-trained bitch. Verdict: Ask Again Later.

Julie Christie, Away From Her: Gets Alzheimer's, has to go to a nursing home, but then finds love. Too bad she's married! The story is sad, but good for her for finding some happiness. Also, isn't it not politically correct to call a person with Alzheimer's a "victim"? Verdict: Signs point to "no".

Marion Cotillard, La Vie En Rose: Her mother was an alcoholic and she grows up to be one too, in addition to, you know, real-life French chanteuse Edith Piaf. Also, has string of bad relationships and loses her only child. But she's a star, people, a star! Does becoming one of the biggest talents of our time cancel out the tragedy? Verdict: Absolutely.

Laura Linney, The Savages: Has a bad temp job, wants to be a playwright, denied every grant she's ever applied for, involved with a married man, father is dying. But: she's the smart and sassy sister to Philip Seymour Hoffman's even more pathetic brother, which means we're willing to give her the big ol' Verdict: My Sources Say No

Ellen Page, Juno: Has unprotected sex, gets pregnant, decides to keep the baby and give it up for adoption. By movie's end, she's landed her dream man (her dorky best friend), learned that childbirth is painful, makes a woman who wants to be a mom happy, grows closer with her own parents, and even manages to slink back down to original svelte teen-aged self when it's all over. Here's a girl who gets pregnant and refuses to play the victim, which somehow heightens the unavoidable sadness and gravity of the situation. Verdict: Outlook Not So Good

Earlier: Oscar Noms 2008: Women Can Write, Not Direct

Oscar Noms 2008: Women Can Write, Not Direct

Jennifer — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 09:30:00 EST

The Oscar ceremony may not happen this year, but the nominations themselves, just announced, prove that women are making inroads as writers. In addition to actress noms for Cate Blanchett (for both I'm Not There and Elizabeth: The Golden Age) and Julie Christie, Marion Cotillard, Laura Linney, and Ellen Page, the Best Original Screenplay category was female-dominated, with 4 out of the 5 nominated films boasting women writers (an additional writing nod was given to Sarah Polley for Best Adapted Screenplay for I'm Not There). Interestingly (and not surprisingly), not a single Best Director nomination went to a woman; are women just not being given the opportunity to direct by the Hollywood establishment? Or are their efforts just not being recognized? Contemplate this while checking out the full list of nominees, after the jump.

Best Supporting Actress:
Cate Blanchett — I'm Not There
Tilda Swinton — Michael Clayton
Amy Ryan — Gone Baby Gone
Ruby Dee — American Gangster
Saorise Ronan — Atonement

Best Supporting Actor:
Casey Affleck — The Assassination of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford
Javier bardem — No Country For Old Men
Philip Seymour Hoffman — Charlie Wilson's War
Hal Holbrook — Into The Wild
Tom WIlkinson — Michael Clayton

Best Actress:
Cate Blanchett — Elizabeth: The Golden Age
Julie Christie — Away From Her
Marion Cotillard — La Vie En Rose
Laura Linney — The Savages
Ellen Page — Juno

Best Actor:
George Clooney — Michael Clayton
Daniel Day-Lewis — There Will Be Blood
Johnny Depp — Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street
Tommy Lee Jones — In The Valley Of Elah
Viggo Mortensen — Eastern Promises

Best Director:
Ethan and Joel Coen — No Country for Old Men
Paul Thomas Anderson — There Will Be Blood
Julian Schnabel — The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
Jason Reitman — Juno
Tony Gilroy — Michael Clayton

Best Original Screenplay:
Tamara Jenkins — The Savages
Diablo Cody — Juno
Nancy Oliver — Lars and the Real Girl
Tony Gilroy — Michael Clayton
Brad Bird, Jim Capobianco, Jan Pinkava — Ratatouille

Best Adapted Screenplay:
Atonement — Christopher Hampton
Away From Her — Sarah Polley
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly — Ronald Harwood
No Country For Old Men — Ethan and Joel Cohen
There Will Be Blood — Paul Thomas Anderson

Best Picture:
Atonement
Juno
Michael Clayton
No Country For Old Men
There Will Be Blood

No Country, Blood Lead Oscar Nominations [Reuters]

Female SAG Nominees: Douchebag Rock Geniuses, Dead Mothers & Former Crackheads

Jessica — Thu, 20 Dec 2007 12:30:00 EST

When the Golden Globe noms were announced last week, we broke down the female honorees along the old Shirley MacLaine adage about good parts for actresses falling into either hooker, victim or doormat categories. Today, the Screen Actors Guild announced the nominees for its awards and, although there's nary a hooker to be found, there are a couple of doormats and victims to fill the void! After the jump, we assess the candidates* (the ones who weren't also nominated for Golden Globes, that is).

Movies

Cate Blanchett, I'm Not There: Cate plays one of four Bob Dylans in this avant garde semi-biopic. She's mid-60s Bob — after he went electric but before he became born again. She is playing a dude, and a dude who wasn't always good to women (see Baez, Joan), but since there's no "douche/genius" category, we'll have to go with...Verdict: Ok!
Ruby Dee, American Gangster: Ruby plays gangster Frank Lucas's long suffering mother in this story of a black gangster who corners the Harlem heroin trade in the 70s. She lives off Frank's drug largess despite knowing his cash is ill-gotten. Despite one scene at the end where she slaps her son across the face...Verdict: Doormat
Catherine Keener, Into the Wild: Didn't see it but cribbed this from the NYT
review: "carefree and careworn" surrogate parental figure to wilderness wanderer hero, Chris. She sounds independent and kooky! Verdict: Ok!
Amy Ryan, Gone Baby Gone: Ryan plays an alcoholic mother whose child is kidnapped. Hm, going to have to go with...Verdict: Victim
Tilda Swinton, Michael Clayton: Emotionally distant powerhouse lawyer orders the death of the title character when she realizes that he might ruin her reputation. She's sort of a doormat when it comes to the whims of the evil corporation Swinton is working for, but I think she's essentially... Verdict: Ok!

Television

Ellen Burstyn, Mitch Albom's For One More Day: Dead mom/ghost helps her troubled son figure his life out. The wikipedia description says the Burstyn character saved the family with her love. Ew. Sounds like she was kind of...Verdict: Doormat
Debra Messing, The Starter Wife: Her Hollywood hotshot husband leaves her for a Britney (pre K-Fed) doppleganger. At first she falls apart, but then through the support of her friends she falls for a hot homeless dude. Since she only realizes that her life is vapid and overly botoxed when she's dumped, I say...Verdict: Victim
Anna Paquin, Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee: Paquin plays a 19th century schoolteacher who tries to improve life for Indians on a reservation. Sounds like a tough broad. Verdict: Ok!
Queen Latifah, Life Support: Queen plays a mother who overcomes a crack-addiction to become a positive role model and activist. Probably a little schlocky, but basically...Verdict: Ok!
Vanessa Redgrave, The Fever: Redgrave is a woman gets involved in politics with no previous contact with world events. Down with societal apathy! Verdict: Ok!
Gena Rowlands, What if God Were the Sun?: Quick-witted terminally ill patient helps change another woman's outlook on life. Terminally ill? Ugh. Verdict: Victim
Vanessa Williams, Ugly Betty: HBIC at fictional Mode Magazine, Vanessa plays a conniving and immaculately coiffed baddie. Even though she torments adorable Betty, she's pretty much...Verdict: Ok!
*Caveat: we haven't seen many of these movies/shows, so if our snap judgments are incorrect, holler and let us know!

Nominations Announced For The 14th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards [SAG Awards]
Earlier: The Golden Globe Nominees: No Hookers, But Lots Of Victims