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Entertainment on HuffingtonPost.com webmaster@huffingtonpost.com Copyright 2007, HuffingtonPost.com, Inc. Entertainment on HuffingtonPost.com Good old fashioned elbow grease. Matthew McConaughey On Camila Alves: 'I Found The Woman I Wanna Do It With' tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2011:/thenewswire//2.841882 2011-03-29T15:50:57Z 2011-03-29T14:28:05Z Movie critics are, by and large, saying Matthew McConaughey's career is back on track, but the leading man has them fooled: he's had life figured... Jordan Zakarin http://www.huffingtonpost.com/the-news/reporting/jordan-zakarin/
Movie critics are, by and large, saying Matthew McConaughey's career is back on track, but the leading man has them fooled: he's had life figured out for quite a while now.
The critically acclaimed star of "The Lincoln Lawyer" covers the new issue of Esquire Magazine and opens up about his famously relaxed home life, revealing a depth not often portrayed in films or interviews. Perhaps McConaughey is relaxed because he sees death as just a continuation of life. And because he's survived some extreme discomfort, even if it was self-inflicted.
"I went to Peru after 'A Time to Kill'. I had a lot to think about," McConaughey remembers. "Just grabbed a bag and left. And I went up and further in, until I was about as uncomfortable and unfamiliar with things as I could be. You know why I don't go to Europe for these trips? Because in Europe everything pretty much works, or it almost works. I mean, it's almost what I'm used to. But Peru, Mali, Morocco? Nothing works. Nothing. So you have to give up on what you know. At least I do. And for a while it's very uncomfortable. Extremely. I mean you're faking the language as best you can, nodding at things you probably shouldn't be, and you start to miss the things you know. And you need to eat."
Known the past decade more for his panned (though profitable) romantic comedies, McConaughey established himself as an actor with hits such as "Dazed and Confused," "A Time To Kill," and "Amistad." Those films, along with the court drama in "The Lincoln Lawyer," show off that serious side, but the public perception of him isn't all wrong.
On the topic of his partner, Camila Alves, McConaughey is quiet, saying it's no one's business why they've decided not to marry. But he makes it clear that he loves his Brazilian partner, the mother of his two children.
"I found the woman I wanna do it with, the woman I wanna make a family with, hopefully live our life out together," he says. "She needs to have 50 percent of that. I mean, it's a lot easier for me to be at 100 percent. I'd always been 100 percent. It's braver for me at 50 percent."
For much more from McConaughey, click over to Esquire. For a video featuring McConaughey's interview, scroll down and watch.
WATCH:
Rob Lowe is ready to tell -- and almost show -- all.
The longtime star covers the new issue of Vanity Fair, revealing an excerpt from his upcoming autobiography, "Stories I Only Tell My Friends." The passages, which he reads in a podcast on the magazine's website, focus on his teen idol era, and, more specifically, his time shooting the star-studded film adaptation of "The Outsiders," which would prove to be his breakout film.
Co-starring with young heartthrobs such as Charlie Sheen, Tom Cruise, Patrick Swayze and Matt Dillon, Lowe talks about his amazement at the strange world of Hollywood celebrity.
"The Outsiders" auditions was the first time Lowe got to know Cruise. "He's open, friendly, funny, and has an almost robotic, bloodless focus and an intensity that I've never encountered before," Lowe remembers. He describes a scene in which he's taken aback by the accommodations provided for them at a New York City hotel -- but because they had to share rooms, Cruise called his agent to make sure it was okay. "Zeroed in like a laser," is how Lowe describes him at the time.
Lowe calls Sheen a "one-of-a-kind... a Polo preppy clotheshorse in a world of O.P. shorts and surf T-shirts," and describes his unique personality as "a wonderful mix of nerd... and rebel." His home, thanks in part to the success of his legendary father Martin Sheen, boasted "never-ending Häagen-Dazs, brand-new BMWs, a lagoon pool with underwater tunnels, and a lit, professional-grade basketball half-court."
Sheen and Lowe were recently in the news together under more bizarre circumstances; after Sheen was fired from his starring role on "Two and a Half Men," rumors circulated that Lowe was a potential replacement. Though displeased with his firing, Sheen approved of that possibility, saying, "He's a buddy of mine, he's a beautiful man, a brilliant actor, and I hope he does it and kicks its ass because I still get [paid]."
There will be no "Two and a Half Men" chapter in Lowe's book, however, as the rumors were quashed by the executive producer of "Parks and Recreation," the hit NBC comedy on which Lowe currently stars.
For more from Lowe, including memories of his other Brat Pack brothers, click over to Vanity Fair.
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I've read that two U.S. networks are launching TV shows based on entrepreneurs competing for money for their business ideas. "NBC's America's Next Great Restaurant features aspiring restaurateurs trying to impress a panel of judges to win financing for a new chain. And ABC has reintroduced Shark Tank, in which entrepreneurs try to get backing from a panel of venture capitalists who bet with their own money -- in exchange for a piece of the action," the New York Times reported March 27th.
America seems to really like reality shows. Such programs were popular before the financial meltdown; perhaps the networks are betting they'll win high ratings as the country emerges from the current recession.
But throughout the world, another "reality show" is playing out in actual communities on a huge scale, a truly authentic show whose message remains consistent, no matter the economic tides. This international show is even more exciting because there are so many more participants, and almost every participant can make some progress if they follow the rules.
It's the daily story of poor but industrious people, mostly women, who are bettering their lives and those of their families with the help of tiny, collateral-free loans. Rather than opening some great new restaurant, these small-scale entrepreneurs are funding self-employment and very small businesses. Though their enterprises are small, these industrious women are feeding and educating their families and gaining financial self-sufficiency. Microcredit loans are the foundation of these reality stories in America, in Bangladesh, and in more than 100 other countries around the globe.
According to the State of the Microcredit Summit Campaign Report, more than 128 million of the world's poorest families received a microloan in 2009 -- an all-time high.
In January 2008, during the largest financial crisis in history, Grameen America opened its doors in Queens, NY. The bank disbursed more than $350,000 in micro-loans to more than 165 borrowers in the first three months alone. Since then, it's opened branches in Nebraska and in two other New York boroughs, with additional branches under development in five other states. As of March, Grameen America had lent more than $15 million and had about 5,000 active borrowers.
You can see the compelling story of Grameen in the USA Thursday, March 31, when 227 theaters across the country for the first time will screen a new documentary on microcredit in America. To Catch a Dollar, by filmmaker Gayle Ferraro, follows two Queens bank members and shows how mircrocredit has improved their lives.
The premiere includes a taped panel discussion on economic issues, hosted by CNBC anchor Maria Bartiromo, financial powerhouse Suze Orman, and others, with an introduction by Robert De Niro. Find a theater where you can view the film and get more information on microcredit at www.tocatchadollar.com.
It is more than just a show. It real life on a large scale.
Professor Muhammad Yunus and the Grameen Bank that he founded shared the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize.
WATCH: Kirstie Alley Does The Quickstep, Makes Out With Maksim tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2011:/thenewswire//2.841879 2011-03-29T15:08:43Z 2011-03-29T14:24:42Z Kirstie Alley wowed the judges with her cha-cha on DWTS's season premiere last week, and Monday night she struggled a bit with the quickstep. "I... Katy Hall http://www.huffingtonpost.com/the-news/reporting/katy-hall/Kirstie Alley wowed the judges with her cha-cha on DWTS's season premiere last week, and Monday night she struggled a bit with the quickstep.
"I feel mediocre," Kirstie, 60, told E! News. "I'm telling you the truth. I know what steps I missed, I know what I screwed up on, so...that's all. I wasn't as tired [as I was last week], the stamina's gone up a bit, but this dance is hard! Who the hell walks around like this? Nobody walks like this!"
The actress and partner Maksim Chmerkovskiy received a respectable score of 20 for their routine, which ended with a dip and passionate make out.
Kirstie insisted to host Brooke Burke that the kiss was unplanned.
"It was spontaneous," she said. "I wasn't gonna do it!"
Get ready for another memorable performance next week.
"Next week Rumba... Better be hot or I'll stab myself in the vag," Kirstie tweeted late Monday night.
WATCH:
The "Mad Men" madness has reached a fevered pitch, and a terrible ending may be in the script.
The Emmy-winning show is the subject of a bloody battle between creator and executive producer Matthew Weiner and network honchos at AMC. The show has yet to be renewed for a fifth season, and the sides are far apart on a deal.
Money is the issue, Deadline and The Daily report, but it has nothing to do with Weiner's contract; the two sides were close to agreeing on a two year, $30 million deal for the mind behind the acclaimed period drama. Instead, the struggle involves budgeting in other areas, namely advertising and even actors.
The two publications have sources indicating that AMC wants to cut two minutes from each episode, in favor of more commercials, as well as integrate product placement into the show. Given that it's set in the 60's, the kinds of brands that they could include -- or at least their labeling -- would prove interesting. No consumer electronics, for sure.
Additionally, the network wants to make a major change in the show's DNA, by cutting two actors to cut costs. Neither of the actors has been revealed.
Predictably, Weiner has balked, and thus, no deal for season five has been made. The show's actors have been busy doing other projects; star John Hamm appeared in the film "Sucker Punch," released this weekend, while Christina Hendricks is filming a movie with Sarah Jessica Parker and January Jones will star in this summer's "X-Men: First Class."
They may have to find more acting jobs; The Daily says that the network could actually cancel the show. "Weiner is being completely screwed by AMC," a source told the iPad-only paper. "No one would have heard of AMC if not for Matt Weiner and 'Mad Men.' But they will not renew the show unless he accedes to all their demands."
That's a change from January, when AMC announced that the show would be back despite the lack of contract. Speaking to Entertainment Weekly at the time, Weiner said, "It would be heartbreaking for me if they don't work it out, horrifying really. It would be a shame for fans to never get to see what great stuff we have planned for Don and company."
Weiner produces the show with Lionsgate Television.
For more on the battle, click over to Deadline and The Daily.
Foxy Brown's fingernails have once again landed the singer in hot water -- this time, she was booted off a Royal Caribbean cruise because she flipped out after missing her at-sea manicure appointment ... TMZ has learned.
Marshall Fine: HuffPost Review: Wrecked tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2011:/theblog//3.841832 2011-03-29T13:06:06Z 2011-03-29T13:06:06Z You've got to hand it to Adrien Brody, perhaps the gamest actor working in films today. An Oscar-winner, he's willing to go wherever he thinks... Marshall Fine http://www.huffingtonpost.com/marshall-fine/You've got to hand it to Adrien Brody, perhaps the gamest actor working in films today.
An Oscar-winner, he's willing to go wherever he thinks the interesting work is, whether it's a popcorn movie like Predator or the string of low-budget indy films he's made in the past few years, including his latest: Wrecked.
Like last year's Buried, Wrecked (directed by first-timer Michael Greenspan) is about a guy who comes to and finds himself trapped. Now what?
In this case, the man (Brody, playing a character who is never named) wakes up in a smashed-up car at the bottom of a gorge. The car - which also contains a dead man - apparently has flown off a mountain road and come to rest in its current spot. Battered, bloody and confused, Brody can't remember how he wound up there. He also finds that he's trapped, his leg pinned under a stoved-in dashboard and the car door next to him too crushed to open.
Using whatever is at hand - in this case, the gear shift arm (and, eventually, a revolver he finds under the seat) - he tries to pry himself loose. When it rains, he uses the ashtray to catch water to drink. But he's hungry, with no food in sight. He's got to get free or starve to death (or fall victim to the puma he sees roaming the hillside).
The problem laid out by writer Christopher Dodd for Greenspan and Brody eventually changes, when Brody finally does free himself from the car. But he's got a compound fracture of one leg, which he lashes to a make-shift splint, using his own belt and the car's seatbelt (despite having no knife or other blade with which to slice it loose). When he pries open the car's trunk, he discovers a big bag of cash, which triggers vague memories: Was he, in fact, part of a bank robbery?
Still, his big concern is getting himself rescued. But he can't seem to find a tree branch big enough to use as a crutch, so he's forced to crawl - or, more accurately, pull himself along with his arms - to try to reach the top of the embankment. When that proves fruitless, he goes the other way, downhill to a river.
But Wrecked eventually crumbles under its own weight when Greenspan toys with our notions of reality. Gradually, it becomes evident that at least some of what we're seeing is happening in Brody's imagination. Such as the hunter who comes looking for the money and takes a potshot at Brody - or the German shepherd who appears and acts as a companion as Brody tries to find his way to civilization.
After a while, the drama drains from the film, though Brody never flags in his energetic attempt to make us feel the pain and frustration his character is going through. Whether he's trying to climb a hill or being swept away in river rapids, Brody is fully committed to the ordeal this character is undergoing.
Wrecked ultimately crashes from lack of story. Brody's tenacity in his Sisyphus-like mission isn't enough to save it.
Click here: Find more reviews, interviews and commentary on my website.
Marshall Fine: HuffPost Review: Super tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2011:/theblog//3.841826 2011-03-29T12:51:44Z 2011-03-29T12:51:44Z If the description of Super sounds a lot like last year's Kick-Ass, well, it's essentially the same movie, with a slightly different sensibility. Kick-Ass, based... Marshall Fine http://www.huffingtonpost.com/marshall-fine/If the description of Super sounds a lot like last year's Kick-Ass, well, it's essentially the same movie, with a slightly different sensibility.
Kick-Ass, based on a comic-book series, was about a teen who decided that he was going to be a super-hero, made himself a costume and quickly discovered that the bad guys punch hard and use real bullets.
Super, written and directed by James Gunn, is about a loser of a fry cook named Frank (Rainn Wilson), who decides that he has to fight crime. So he makes himself a costume and goes out to fight crime - and quickly discovers that the bad guys punch hard and use real bullets.
But where Kick-Ass had a fantasy-laced comic-book vibe (one in which a little girl could whip grown men with a little martial-arts know-how and the city was ruled by a crime lord with an army of henchmen), "Super" is alternately gritty and operatic, a movie in which the stoic, stiff-backed Frank is given to fits of tears and operates out of anger and revenge - and the crime lord is a lowly strip-club owner who commands a couple of goons.
It's meant to be funny in a pathetic way, though Gunn's comic writing lacks, well, wit. His idea of a joke is to have a street-dealer knock Frank into a garbage pile - and have Frank rise with a dirty diaper taped to his rear end, flapping in the breeze as Frank retreats.
Frank is the archetypal little guy, who is driven to this point of madness by his wife's desertion. Sarah (Liv Tyler) is obviously way out of his league; she's also a recovering alcoholic who gets involved with drugs and bad company, in the form of Jock (Kevin Bacon, the best thing about this movie). When Frank pushes Jock too far, Jock has his thugs give Frank a beatdown. And from that humiliation, the Crimson Bolt is born.
It takes a while for Frank to find his crime-fighting groove. First, he can't seem to find any crime, hiding behind dumpsters in an alley waiting for lawlessness to break out. Finally, he researches drug-dealing arrests in the newspaper and goes to the notorious Euclid Street - but after wrestling the drug dealer to the ground, Frank discovers that, in fact, criminals tend to fight back. "No fair," Frank cries as the bad guy grabs Frank's mask, twisting it so Frank is blinded.
So Frank researches heroes without powers who use weapons and, after some consideration, decides on a large wrench as his blunt object of choice. Which is fine - until someone pulls a gun on him.
Meanwhile, Frank has drawn the attention of a comic-store clerk named Libby (Ellen Page), who figures out that he's the Crimson Bolt and wants in on the action. She fashions herself as his sidekick, Boltie. But she's a bit too hyper, crowing triumphantly after taking down a guy who keyed her friend's car ("I'm pretty sure he did it," she says after nearly killing the guy).
There's more, of course, with Frank eventually coming after Jock and his thugs. But by then, Super has gone both too far and not far enough. Even if you buy into its premise, you lose patience with its flabby pacing - and its eventual violent overkill.
Gunn's point is that violence is ghastly and nothing to play around with - on both sides of the law. But it's all so ham-handed that you've stopped caring by the time something really bad happens to Frank.
Wilson is one of the great deadpan comics acting today, with his permanent scowl and pug-like face. Page is his opposite: open, fresh-faced, excitable. They should make a funny team. They don't.
Super is an interesting attempt but only that. It's meant to alternately shock you and provoke laughs. At best, however, you nod and think, "OK, I get it." And that's not good enough.
Click here: Find more reviews, interviews and commentary on my website.
There's no reason to go on at much length about Rubber, a new film by Quentin Dupieux.
This is the kind of oddball entry that's popular at film festivals. It probably shouldn't have been more than a short but somehow was expanded into a feature. It's an exercise in meta- and all the other pseudo-intellectual, self-referential terms that critics toss around when a movie isn't actually about anything.
Rubber is a one-joke movie: A rubber tire rises from the sand in the desert and starts rolling toward the nearest town. Along the way, it discovers it has the ability to concentrate its powers, focus on a subject and make it explode. So it blows up animals and people's heads, like David Cronenberg did in Scanners 30 years ago. Tee-freakin'-hee.
This movie blows its cleverness wad in the first five minutes. Then, like the tire itself, it keeps on going, an ode to self-involved silliness and audience (and critical) gullibility.
The film starts with an actor (Stephen Spinella) dressed in a sheriff's uniform, addressing the camera and referencing a variety of films whose central premise was arbitrary: "No reason at all," he says, by way of introducing a film whose sole reason for being is - well, no reason at all.
Why does the tire come to life and develop destructive powers? No reason at all. Why is there an audience of people watching the tire's antics in the desert from a distance with binoculars? No reason at all.
Why is there a live turkey - oh, please, there's no reason at all to go on. And there's certainly no reason at all to see this film.
Click here: Find more reviews, interviews and commentary on my website.
'DWTS' Host Promises Chris Brown Confrontation tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2011:/thenewswire//2.841825 2011-03-29T12:28:01Z 2011-03-29T12:51:11Z Chris Brown is set to perform on "Dancing With The Stars" on Tuesday night, but he may not get a very warm welcome. "DWTS" host... Jordan Zakarin http://www.huffingtonpost.com/the-news/reporting/jordan-zakarin/Chris Brown is set to perform on "Dancing With The Stars" on Tuesday night, but he may not get a very warm welcome.
"DWTS" host Tom Bergeron sat down for an interview with Ryan Seacrest on Monday and told his fellow reality talent competition host that there might be trouble if he gets an opportunity to interview Brown on the air.
“I did say to the producers that it might be to their advantage to not have me interview him, because my natural tendency would be to say something," Bergeron revealed (via Entertainment Weekly). "So don’t put me in a position where you’re asking me not to say something, because I won’t really do that."
The something he's referring to is actually two-fold, though connected: first, the controversy that Brown caused with his backstage freakout at "Good Morning America" last week; and second, the reason he freaked out: being asked questions by Robin Roberts about his bloody 2009 assault on then-girlfriend Rihanna.
Brown has since apologized for the backstage incident, and ABC has said that there is no bad blood.
Still, despite Bergeron's warning, "DWTS" did promote Brown's appearance on Monday night's show. Reality TV may just get very, very real.
Jennifer Garner Becoming An Old Spinster? tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2011:/thenewswire//2.841819 2011-03-29T12:05:41Z 2011-03-29T12:39:56Z This beloved classic is getting a facelift. Quite literally. Disney has closed a deal for a big screen reboot of Agatha Christie's "Miss Marple" mystery... Jordan Zakarin http://www.huffingtonpost.com/the-news/reporting/jordan-zakarin/This beloved classic is getting a facelift. Quite literally.
Disney has closed a deal for a big screen reboot of Agatha Christie's "Miss Marple" mystery novel series, and the House of Mouse is making substantial changes to the story. Deadline reports that, instead of the British grandma Jane Marple portrayed in the books and in previous big screen incarnations, the film series will instead feature a young, far more svelte amateur sleuth, to be played by Jennifer Garner.
Garner, of course, has plenty of screen experience when it comes to solving mysteries, starring in the longrunning TV spy show, "Alias." This will be a bit different; the novels, 12 in all, were written from the 1930-70's. Whether the films will stay in that considerable span of time, or be brought up to date has yet to be announced.
Marple has been played by a number of notable actors, both on TV and the big screen. The first films starred Margaret Rutherford, while Angela Landsbury took on the role in the star-studded "The Mirror Crack'd," which included Tony Curtis and Elizabeth Taylor.
For more on the new film, click over to Deadline.
Lea Michele Hit By A Car, Walks Away tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2011:/thenewswire//2.841833 2011-03-29T11:09:30Z 2011-03-29T13:11:02Z Lea Michele was singing the blues Friday morning. The Glee star was hit by a car early Friday -- but she walked away uninjured and... people.com http://www.huffingtonpost.com/the-news/reporting/katy-hall/Lea Michele was singing the blues Friday morning.
The Glee star was hit by a car early Friday -- but she walked away uninjured and is doing fine, her rep confirms to PEOPLE.
Logan Nakyanzi Pollard: SUCKER PUNCH: "Am I the Only One Who Liked This Film?" tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2011:/theblog//3.841791 2011-03-29T05:23:03Z 2011-03-29T15:04:38Z Sucker Punch takes a shot at our ideas about who we think we are. Director Zack Snyder makes you think it's about sex. But it's not, it's about integration: personal accountability, maturity and moving forward. Logan Nakyanzi Pollard http://www.huffingtonpost.com/logan-nakyanzi-pollard/"Am I the only one who liked this film?" a middle-aged woman's saying, talking to two other people. We've all just come out of SUCKER PUNCH, which just opened in theaters. When your number's in the 30's on Metacritic, I think it's pretty safe to say that she and I are among the few who liked this film. Now don't get me wrong, I'm not going to argue that it's not campy and over-stylized, nor get too much into how or why this is not a perfect film. What interests me is what Zack Snyder did right.
A sucker punch, as you may remember from the schoolyard is an unexpected blow. This film takes a shot at our ideas about who we think we are. Mr. Snyder makes you think it's a movie about sex. But it's not, it's about integration: personal accountability, maturity and moving forward.
Critics haven't liked the device of nesting "fantasies within fantasies," but this is exactly what many people do when they are under extreme stress: they disassociate. The entire film is about prodding the main character to take control and wake up from her delusions, even as they give her comfort. These are lofty themes, so what better way than to ground these ideas than in something humanity loves to think about - sex.
Zack Snyder knows what sexy is. If you don't believe me, watch 300 and or the WATCHMEN again, look at Gerard Butler or Malin Akerman, wait no, look at all the characters - they are all imbued with a kind of sexuality/energy/charisma. We all have it Mr. Snyder seems to want to be saying. He uses sexiness as a way of illuminating some essential truth about who we are: We're all sexy. We are all vital.
How does SUCKER PUNCH discuss this idea? By pitting extreme versions of all aspects of ourselves: the sexy parts, the dark parts, the gluttonous parts, the longing parts, the masculine, the feminine, the childlike, the maternal, the paternal.
In a sense, yes, it's like JACOB'S LADDER and other films, where so much action takes place in the character's head, as so noted in this review. Critics really haven't liked the device of nesting "fantasies within fantasies," but this is exactly what many traumatized people do. They often pop out of their reality and into another. As Brian Trappler, M.D writes for Psychology Today, "The most extreme immediate response to severe emotional trauma is called 'dissociation,' a condition in which a person's awareness and ability to engage psychologically in the present is temporarily lost."
So the main character, Baby Doll (Emily Browning), confronted with the high stress of incarceration in a loony bin - creates a fantasy that she's in a whorehouse with a bunch of nice ladies. But even that fantasy begins to make demands she can't bear -- having to perform, as all prostitutes have to -- so she nests another fantasy within that, that she's on a quest -- to be free. This quest to be free is the truth of the film, and it holds true through every level of her delusion.
To be free is a tall order, but a noble subject to put forth in art. In SUCKER PUNCH, Mr. Snyder starts his dialogue about all this with an archetypal conflict between innocent/naughty schoolgirl and psycho stepfather. The main character really is innocent/naughty, and having accidentally committed murder, she finds herself in an insane asylum, where she "meets" an assortment of girl runaways, Lolitas, Pussycat Dolls, and Britney Spears ("Baby One More Time") in varying disguises.
Typically when you see this type of stuff it's either the subject/object selling her wares as it were (i.e. watch almost any music video from the pop divas du jour). Or, more perversely, the person (the filmmaker/ director/ producer/ artist) who's showing us the subject/object then swiftly dispatches the subject/object and by so doing, makes her a victim: Just think of how many rapes, murders, and assaults on women you've seen in procedural dramas. My point is the pattern is either to watch someone "whoring themselves out" or to participate via entertainment in punishing her.
But Snyder doesn't do either, even as he uses the same visual cues. The entire direction of this film moves away from asking the audience to conspire in the destruction of the feminine. The narration says to Baby Doll instead,
"Defend yourself."
"Now, fight."
This is extraordinary. Think of the typical slasher movie. The feminine character is left to cower in her hiding place or at best, to get away, if she's lucky enough and hasn't been caught having sex. And in action movies, the strong female is often ultra-male -- variations on Sigourney Weaver in ALIEN or Linda Hamilton in THE TERMINATOR being the template. It's as if to say to us that in order to be a legitimate heroic figure, women have to not be sexy. She's gotta be a man. But Snyder's film says, be you. Be sexy. Be whole.
The only people who aren't sexy in SUCKER PUNCH are those who long to control that which they are afraid to inhabit in themselves. A male orderly, who runs the place, for example, has a tear in his eye watching Baby Doll dance. He's moved by her, wants to possess her. But that's because he is lacking this Baby Doll quality in himself. As evidenced by his treatment of the inmates at the hospital, he's lost his innocence, vitality, goodness, scruples etc.
The antagonists are the least appealing versions of the masculine Snyder could dream up: e.g. a fat, ruby-nosed dimwit cook, the team of sad sadistic male nurses, as if to say to its prisoners, Look at these losers; you can beat them. But it's not quite this simple. This film is really about how the predatory characters are part of a wider delusion. Well, perhaps delusion's not quite the right word, everyone there is part of a wider canvas. Baby Doll created them, having created her entire world, the ultra-good, the ultra-bad, the indifferent, the helpful. She created it all because she is the author of her own life. As if to underline this point, the film even suggests that Sweet Pea (Abbie Cornish) - the "strongest" of the girls according to Baby Doll -- is really the main character, and that the whole time, this entire story has been about her. The film seems to be working through the idea that it's every individual's responsibility to reign in all parts of self in order to be whole. This is a notion people can have trouble coming to terms with because we often want to put someone else in charge or say it's some systemic problem for this and that. Where are the lines? How does one break free?
Fight.
Now, if you want to take this literally that's OK, but I don't think that's the meaning. What Snyder means by fight is to have the self-esteem to know you are of value and that you (and by you I mean not only the characters in the film but also the audience viewing it) are in control of your life -- that everything in it you are the creator of. This is a very powerful message. The biggest and the least of us, we're all responsible for our lives.
Films are art and art is not perfect, but this was a helpful and healing message to attempt to communicate.
David Wild: "Jersey Clowns": An Apologetic Playlist to Italy for Jersey Shore tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2011:/theblog//3.841784 2011-03-29T05:00:52Z 2011-03-29T15:28:59Z Dear Italy -- As a proud American and a recovering son of the Garden State, I would like to hereby offer my formal public musical apology for Jersey Shore hitting your shores. David Wild http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-wild/Dear Italy,
As a proud American and a recovering son of the Garden State, I would like to hereby offer my formal public musical apology for Jersey Shore hitting your shores. We're hearing that you're not very impressed with our self-annoited guidos and guidettes now that their "reality" show is airing over there. As Roberto Del Bove, columnist for Rome's New Notzie newspaper, put it, Jersey Shore "embodies the worst stereotypes of Italians, multiplied by thousands and Americanized." Frankly, your rejection only makes us love you more, and we were already pretty darn impressed what with your pasta, your wine and that fine art stuff. We sure hope that you'll remember that we also gave you jazz & rock & roll, and overlook this rather unfortunate situation.
Scusa,
David
"Jersey Clowns" - Josh Rouse
"All Apologies" - Nirvana
"Jersey Bounce" - Benny Goodman
"Being From Jersey Means Never Having To Say You're Sorry" - Cobra Starship
"Stranger In A Strange Land" - Leon Russell
"I'm Sorry" - John Denver
"Can't Go Back To Jersey" - G. Love Featuring Special Sauce
"Take That Situation" - Nick Hayward
"Jersey Bull Blues" - Charlie Patton
"Grenade" - Bruno Mars
"Never Going Back To Jersey" - Less Than Jake
"Italian Girls" - Daryl Hall & John Oates
"Italian Summer" - Stevie Nicks
"Sorry" - Guns N' Roses
"Ugly American" - Poison Idea
"So Jersey" - The Bouncing Souls
"I'm From Jersey" - John Gorka
"New Jersey Girl" - Nerf Herder
"Same Old Situation (S.O.S.)" - Motley Crue
"Jersey Girl" - Tom Waits
"Jersey Shore Like Animal Planet" - Natasha Leggero
"Situation" - Jeff Beck Group
"Perfect Situation" - Weezer
"Typical Situation" - Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds
Please add your own songs for Italy and Jersey Shore here.
They say that it's easier to ask for forgiveness than permission. This truism might also include public celebrity tirades. Another name for these outbursts might be "publicity stunts designed to sell records." This is the case where a celeb goes bananas in public and does something that is both unthinkable and conversation-worthy, sure to grab headlines right before his/her album release. An example would be Kanye West running up on stage to steal a microphone from Taylor Swift, or Chris Brown punching out a window at Good Morning America.
The rest of the formula is simple: Make sure you look good when the press meets you outside to take your picture (as Brown "just happened" to take his shirt off right after the Good Morning America incident, even though it was 40-degrees outside). The next day, you sit back and wait for the media to ring your phone off the hook, begging for an interview. That's when you appear in public again, genuinely remorseful for your behavior and describing how your album expresses all of the pain which led to your cry for help. The world seems to love the conflicted and out-of-control musician, and managers know how to manipulate this sentiment perfectly.
The formula seems to have worked for Chris Brown, who is probably as remorseful as a fat puppy falling into a bucket of hamburger. I don't believe Brown's tirade was real and neither was his apology. I can also guarantee that he will almost certainly do it again in the future.
What's most interesting is that the celebrity flip outs don't just sell records, they can also significantly strengthen the brand of the artist who is trying to show the world that he "really doesn't give a *&^%." On Twitter, Brown went out of his way to say that he doesn't care what anyone thinks, except for his fans of course. You have to always stay loyal to the folks who are paying the bills. What's most interesting is that the "keeping it real" attitude that many celebrities profess to represent is about as artificial and contrived as a politician promising that he will be different from other politicians.
At the end of the day, these seemingly random events are carefully calculated business decisions. Chris Brown's advisors likely let him know exactly how much he could get away with without violating the terms of his probation. He also knew exactly who it was OK to anger and who he dare not cross. It's all about the Benjamins, and Chris is going to cash in from the publicity.
But Brown and West are, to some extent, trapped by their fame. By aligning themselves with the highly dysfunctional hip-hop music industry, both of these artists are constantly being judged by those who think that a black man "keeping it real" must be an inch away from a jail cell or spend his time living on the fringes of society. Had Brown tried to keep it real by going back to school, mentoring young boys or speaking out on important political issues, he might have been deemed too square to sell records to the American public.
Much of Brown's distorted perception of manhood is not of his own making. America has created a set of inner city circumstances where far too many black men spend their time dodging bullets, barely staying of jail, and not being properly educated. This marginalization (created by all of America, not just black men) has built a culture in which reckless behavior from black male artists becomes both rewarded and expected. Brown and others must be taught new ways to reflect manhood and realize that a black man's default role in society is not that of the social deviant.
As it stands, I don't expect Chris Brown or anyone on his team to internalize this message. But the message can be accepted by all of us, whether we are raising wannabe Chris Browns or seeking out models of manhood within black America. The message should also be accepted by those who work to sustain the society that builds social cages of black male trauma that serve to create the Chris Browns of the world in the first place. We all played a role in creating the problem, so we must all work together for solutions.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/29/technology/29facebook.html?_r=1&partner=rss&emc=rss
http://www.avalexenterprises.webs.com/
EerynL's blog http://pulse.yahoo.com/_N7ZIKHMEA7AHFKJ35DZZU5H3AQ/blog en-us Tue, 29 Mar 2011 10:03:00 -0400 daily 3 Google Eeryn Lubicich http://pulse.yahoo.com/_N7ZIKHMEA7AHFKJ35DZZU5H3AQ/blog/articles/345804 http://pulse.yahoo.com/_N7ZIKHMEA7AHFKJ35DZZU5H3AQ/blog/articles/345804 Tue, 29 Mar 2011 10:03:00 -0400 Google Eeryn Lubicich http://pulse.yahoo.com/_N7ZIKHMEA7AHFKJ35DZZU5H3AQ/blog/articles/345781 http://pulse.yahoo.com/_N7ZIKHMEA7AHFKJ35DZZU5H3AQ/blog/articles/345781 Mon, 28 Mar 2011 22:03:00 -0400
