Jezebel
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Posts Tagged “
Tina Fey
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Women Scorned
Things Are Looking Up For The Women In Hollywood
Ever since Sex and the City turned out to be a money making juggernaut, Warner Brothers has decided to aggressively market The Women. "This is an about-face from the studio's earlier decision to leave plans intact for about-to-shutter Picturehouse to debut the chick flick in limited release and with a small P&A," says Nikki Finke, who has been following the fate of the Meg Ryan-helmed film for some time now (also starring: Annette Bening, Bette Midler, Jada Pinkett Smith). If you'll recall, last year Warner Brothers' Jeff Robinov famously declared, "We are no longer doing movies with women in the lead." Well apparently he's doing at least one movie with a woman in the lead, and while that's heartening, movies still have a long way to go. Looking at the just-released shortlist for Emmy nominations, however, shows that there are myriad plum roles for leading ladies on the small screen. Which leads me to wonder: why is there such an enormous disconnect between females on TV and the ones on the silver screen? More »
crappy hour
Is Fox News Looking For Drama With Obama's "Baby Mama"?
Oh, this will warm your heart: Fox News has dubbed Michelle Obama Barack's "Baby Mama." See, because "baby mama" is a term originating in the African American community used to delineate a status of romantic partner, somewhere between common-law spouse and "boo," that one attains by fathering or giving birth to a child. Over the years, as the term — which rhymes not only with "Obama" but more common terms like "drama" and "Cappadonna" — grew more common, it was embraced and co-opted by the Caucasian community to the point that it un-controversially became the name of a Tina Fey movie with two white leads and even, I believe, once used by my father as a term of endearment for my mother, who incidentally, popped out her firstborn (me) three years after exchanging vows with him. All of which is to say: isn't this great? It still isn't fully acceptable for even the most "down" white dudes to refer to their black friends as "My N—--" — and, let's be honest, "my nizzle" sounds really stupid — but thanks to Fox News it's now okay for white folks to refer to such a fearsomely accomplished, disciplined black woman as Michelle Obama as Barack's "baby mama." Doesn't she seem more approachable already? Anyway, that and China finally says something to Darfur about their genocide problem, another "consummate Washington insider" finds himself on the outs, Nigerian pirates and why I called Geraldine Ferraro "sweetie" with Megan after the jump. More »
Loose Lips
Jake Gyllenhaal and Tina Fey were voted the top gay and lesbian celebrity icons by the sibling websites AfterElton.com and AfterEllen.com. We're not the only ones with girl crushes on Tina!! • A Paris court slapped screen siren Brigitte Bardot with a $23,325 fine for "provoking discrimination and racial hatred" when she wrote that Muslims are destroying France, reports the IHT. Back in 2006, Bardot wrote a letter to current President Sarkozy wherein she said France is "tired of being led by the nose by this population that is destroying us, destroying our country by imposing its acts." • Pete Doherty shelled out £5,000 for a portrait of ex-girlfriend Kate Moss. In fact, Pete commissioned the portrait while he was still dating Kate, but neglected to pick it up for about a year. The artist, Sam Shaker, charged him 15 times the originally agreed upon price of £300 as a penalty. Ouch! [The Sun, IHT, The Sun]
signature psychoses
30 Rock's Tina Fey Is An Intuitive, Acquisitive, Self-Deceiver
Even though there was a Feyvelanche of Tina interviews when Baby Mama came out last month, did we really learn anything about her? Sure, her face was on the cover of Marie Claire, but the interview inside was a farce (example, "Amy Poehler: Is your name Karen Felcher? Tina Fey: Um, no, although I can see why you're confused, because that is my porn name."). We decided to sic graphologist Sheila Kurtz on Tina's handwritten American Express ad to analyze her penmanship and tell us about the real woman underneath all that sharply-perfected snark. Apparently, our Tina is sensitive to criticism, intuitive, analytical, practical, not impulsive and just a leeetle self-deceiving. A full analysis of Tina's psyche is after the jump. More »
the good, the bad & the ugly
Women Rule At The Time 100 Party
Last night in New York, Time magazine hosted a reception honoring its self-selected 100 Most Influential people of the year and, I have to say, the women in attendance were a cool bunch: Arianna Huffington, Martha Stewart, Angelica Huston, Wendy Kopp, Tina Fey, Madeeha Hasan Odhaib, Elizabeth Gilbert, and others. And since today's my last day as a full-time Jezebel, I've decided to focus less on the clothes and more on what they've accomplished. On the whole, these are women sans stylists: They're all Good in my book! (Though Wendi Deng's dress is a little unforgivable.) More »
objectify this
Ms. Writer: Avoiding (Fashion) Magazines Is Good For Female Mental Health
The new issue of Ms. hits stands today and inside is a story about self-objectification, or "viewing one's body as a sex object to be consumed by the male gaze." More and more women are viewing themselves as sex objects, says Caroline Heldman, Ph.D., an assistant professor of politics at Occidental College, and it's due in large part to the veritable onslaught of advertising images that we're subjected to. The average American, according to Heldman, views "3,000-5,000 ads per day, up from 500-2,000 in the 70s," and a good chunk of those ads show naked and/or fetishized women. It's possible that none of this is news to you, but the far-reaching effects of self-objectifying might surprise you. More »
screen sirens
Whatever Happened To The "Comedy Of Equals"?
Good news for lady-helmed comedies! Baby Mama raked in over $18 million this weekend, according to Box Office Mojo, beating out Harold and Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay by about $4 million. I asked a friend who works in the film industry, and he says that while $18 mil is a definite hit, it remains to be seen whether Baby Mama's success will lead the way for more female-centric comedic films. "Sisters are doing it for themselves but its no Superbad," in terms of box office brawn, my film-y friend tells me. He also tells me that the highest grossing romantic comedy is Wedding Crashers, which earned $209 million. "How much better could Wedding Crashers have been had they given Rachel McAdams something to do besides stand still and look pretty?" wonders Molly Lambert at culture blog This Recording. More »
the week that was
This Week We Learned About Hookers, Muumuus And Moms.
- If this whole Jezebel thing doesn't work out, we now know how to become an internet "escort."
- Lilly Ledbetter is a stand-up lady. Maybe someday women will get equal pay for equal work, but not today.
- But look! Babies and puppies!
- We became certified Tina Feynatics.
- We talked about moms! You can't live with them, can't shed their DNA.
critical mass
Baby Mama Is Fertile Ground For Mixed Feelings From Reviewers
Did you guys know Baby Mama comes out today? I don't know how you could know, since we've only been yammering about it for the past four months. Anyway, the reviews are in, and they are a mixed bag. For those late to the party, Baby Mama tells the story of Kate (Tina Fey), a woman in her late 30s who is desperate for a child. When she finds out that she can't have one, she hires trashy Angie (Amy Poehler) to be her surrogate, and Angie ends up moving in with Kate. Then Odd-Couple style wackiness ensues. Whether or not reviewers liked the movie, L.A. Times film critic Carina Chocano makes an excellent point about Fey: "Fey has spent several years proving that she's very good at what she does, and she may spend the next few years having to prove that she deserves any success that comes her way. But hey, this is America — where the fact that a woman is running for president is still talked about with a kind of gee-whiz-look-how-far-we've-come disingenuousness, despite the many countries that have already seen one or more women presidents. If a Fey backlash happens, I hope Hillary buys her a drink." A reviewer round-up of Baby Mama after the jump. More »
cover lies
Marie Claire Tina Fey Cover, Or Marie Claire Tina Fey Cadaver?
Oh, Tina Fey, what have you done to yourself? I've seen you on 30 Rock, I know you have all your teeth and a scar on your cheek. I know you don't look cross-eyed into the camera with the expression of one of those infants you know is not going to grow up to be very bright. I know you'd never wear that flasher trench coat or that weird spiky cuff and I know your cheekbones look like real cheekbones and not contours painted on by PhotoShop to hide your abusive use of Botox. Why is this photo so ugly, Tina Fey? Oh sure, I know you don't care, you're a confident woman and all that, but do you know how hard it is to write a proper Cover Lie to illustrate a picture like this? When all you can think is "DO. NOT. WANT", but "Do Not Want" was yesterday's meme? Because really, we never wanted to see a picture of you and have the thought, "More like Tina FUG!" We never wanted to rack our brain for a Cover Lie that sounded like an underminey thing straight out of Mean Girls. But we did, and that and more of our revised Cover Lies appear as usual, after the jump. More »
clips
Tina Fey Keeps Perspective By Cleaning Up Baby Poop
Tina Fey's love for talking about poop is almost as great as our love for talking about Tina Fey talking about poop. On this morning's Today show, Fey entertained Meredith Vieira with stories about her daughter, Alice, along with tales from the Baby Mama set. "When you are chasing someone around with a pull up trying to stop them from pooping on the floor, It gives you perspective," Fey said. Fey and BM costar Amy Poehler were also on the View today, telling Whoopi, Joy et. al about why they prefer New York to L.A. (answer: in L.A. you gotta work out so much!). Have Tina Feytigue yet? Nah, we're Feynatics. Anyway, Today show clip above.
the good, the bad & the ugly
The Baby Mama Premiere Was Chock-Full Of Hot Mamas
It's safe to say that, by this point, everyone knows everything they need to know about Tina Fey and Amy Poehler's new movie, Baby Mama. But did you know that it opened last night at the Tribeca Film Festival? And that, in addition to Fey (left) and Poehler, SNL peeps Rachel Dratch, Molly Shannon and Lorne Michaels were also there? Don't care? How about these names: Faye Dunaway, Sigourney Weaver, Padma Lakshmi, Kristen Bell and Fred Durst? Yup, all those folks and more in the full Good, Bad and Ugly of the Baby Mama premiere, after the jump. More »
screen sirens
Does The Female "Buddy" Movie Exist?
A reader pointed us to a blog called xkcd, where the poster asks, "Quick, name a few recent popular movies where the two top-billed stars are female." Does your mind go blank? Hollywood loves a buddy movie, but when it comes to women, they're usually love interests, or looking for love interests. Especially recently. Of course, indie films and horror or sci-fi flicks often get away with having a woman as the lead (and not in love), but indie ≠ Hollywood. And directors get away with having a woman as the hero in a horror or sci-fi movie because it's not real. It's a fantasy when Milla Jovovich kicks zombie ass or Uma Thurman slashes ninjas with a samurai sword. In any case, the guy from xkcd tallied up the male/male pairings, the male/female pairings, the female/male parings and female/female pairings of a few years' worth of movies, using IMDB to pinpoint the 20 biggest titles of each year. Here's what he found: More »
our heroes
The Future Of Female Comedies May Sit Squarely On Tina Fey's Shoulders
Despite the "Tina Feytigue" experienced by some media mavens sick of the writer/actress/producer's PhotoShopped face coming at them from the cover of every magazine, I am still deeply psyched for Baby Mama, the Fey/Amy Poehler vehicle coming out on Friday. The Los Angeles Times points out that Universal, the studio that produced Forgetting Sarah Marshall as well as Baby Mama, was much more aggressive in marketing the former because it was a more typical romantic comedy. Lorne Michaels, SNL and BM producer, tells the paper, "Normally [comedies are] about a guy who gets dumped by a pretty girl and ends up with a prettier girl. This is not that." More »
clips
30 Rock's Jenna: "Love Is Going Downstairs To The Burger King To Poop"
On last night's 30 Rock Liz Lemon's smarmy ex-boyfriend, Dennis, comes back into the picture. Dennis, a beeper salesman/loser/pork-pie-hat-enthusiast, becomes a New York City hero and minor celebrity by saving a stranger from being run over by an oncoming subway car. In the clip above, Liz tries to explain to her coworker, Jenna, why she keeps getting back together with Dennis: because, although she works so hard at everything else in her life, being with Dennis is easy. Jenna responds that love isn't "easy", "It's hiding who you are at all times. It's wearing make up to bed and going downstairs to the Burger King to poop." Swoon!
news roundup
"Smack Dat" Will Never Sound The Same Again
- Hip-hop stars, like memoirists, are often accused of embellishing their criminal histories to seem "authentic," but the story of how Senegal-raised Akon manufactured an elaborate fake past replete with car chases, a high-end car theft ring, prison rivalries, and a fictional 75-year sentence that somehow got reduced to two fictional years all so you'd never forget the song "Smack Dat" is... amazing. [The Smoking Gun]
- Aliza Shvarts has been obsessed with her uterine lining ever since the Ming Dynasty. [Little Red Book]
- The Pope met with five or six of the 1,000 known victims of pedophile priests in the Boston Archdiocese. [AP]
- Sometimes Barack Obama gets crap for all his subtle, highfalutin references to controversial thinkers like Marx, but this time... from the bleachers they screamin.' [Attackerman]
photoshop of horrors
