‘La La Land’ Sweeps Oscar Nominations
With 14 nominations, it’s tied for most-nominated film in history.
A ‘Sh*t Ton’ Of Celebs Just Got Together To Film This VERY Anti-Trump Video
And it’s kinda genius.
Liking Problematic Things Is Fine – Just Don’t BE Problematic
And yes, there IS a difference.
Dear Marvel, Where Are All The Actors Of Color?
Why is Marvel casting white actors to play Asian characters?
6 Movies That Ruined Any Chance Of Me Having A Healthy Relationship
Love lessons from mermaids, hookers and Gérard Depardieu.
It’s Time To Stop Attacking Caitlyn Jenner
One person can never represent an entire group, and we shouldn’t expect them to.
If You Haven’t Seen ‘Sad Affleck’ Yet, You Need To. Immediately.
Just don’t feel sorry for him while you’re watching it.
Olivia Wilde Slams Hollywood For Calling Her ‘Old’
The actor has revealed she was told she was “too old” for The Wolf Of Wall Street.
Leo’s PA Just Revealed He’s The World’s Greatest Boss
Just when you thought your love for him couldn’t get any stronger…
JLaw And Patricia Arquette Protest At Oscars Pre-Party
“I don’t believe this is fair for anybody. I want to live in the America I believe in.”
Sexism In Hollywood’s So Bad, The Government’s Stepping In
“I’m so tired of hearing, ‘There aren’t qualified women’ in Hollywood.”
Frock Vs Film: Does Image Trump Acting?
There are many issues associated with Hollywood’s attitude to women and image. The amount of nudity written into female roles, lack of variety in female protagonists and the glaringly obvious absence of female characters 40 plus are at the forefront. However, one aspect also called into question is an off-screen thing, but no less relevant.
RELATED: Hollywood Heroine: What Women Want To See On Screen
During interviews/press conferences/red carpet appearances, there is a stark contrast in the questions put to actresses and those asked of men. As Emma Stone pointed out; men get asked the “good” questions. How they created the character, what they think about the script and poignant inquiries about research they did when preparing for the role. Women are asked about dieting, how they felt about the costumes and what it was like to play Zac Efron’s love interest.
This discrepancy is also evident on the red carpet. Whether at the Oscars, Emmys, or Golden Globes, the first thing women are asked is: “Who are you wearing?” Men are asked: “Who are you inspired by?” Cate Blanchett drove in the dagger when she questioned a cameraman: “Would you do that to a man?” as he tilted the lens up and down, taking in her outfit. Regardless of the progress actresses are making, their appearance is still the firm and first focus. This raises some questions; should their image have such a huge impact? Should what they’re wearing even be on the list of interviewer inquiries? Should the voyeurism be encouraged?
Abso-bloomin’-lutely.
HEAR ME OUT! Film is a visual art form. Because movies attempt to reflect a version of reality, actresses are cast predominantly on how they look. As such, it is EXTREMELY IMPORTANT to be constantly conscious of image, on or off screen. I have no problem with women being asked about their physicality. I mean, I’m dying to know where I can get (a cheap, almost exact copy of) Nicole Kidman’s 2015 Oscars dress.
HOWEVER…
The significance of physical appearance, along with the often compulsory weight loss/gain required to ‘look the part’, is most certainly not restricted to women. Yes, Anne Hathaway was told to drop 10kg from her already petite frame to play Fantine in Les Miserables. But remember; Matthew McConaughey lost 17kg to play AIDS patient Ron Woodroof in The Dallas Buyers Club, Bradley Cooper gained 18kg of solid muscle for American Sniper (no easy feat), Neil Patrick Harris lost 10kg for the title role in Hedwig and the Angry Inch on Broadway, and the list goes on.
This requires months of strict dieting, personal training and cold hard discipline. However, this effort isn’t mentioned nearly as often as it is with women. To ignore a very large chunk of crucial work an actor does absolutely stinks. It’s as bad as neglecting to ask actresses questions about performance.
The same applies on the red carpet. Take Brangelina. Here’s Angelina getting gushed over by the press about her dress, hair, makeup, etc, into which has gone a colossal amount of time, effort, and money. However, there’s Brad standing beside her, looking cut and glossy with an immaculate hairdo, $10,000 suit, real patent leather shoes and everything else that has gone into painstakingly creating his image.
And nobody says a thing.
I am entirely serious when I say this isn’t fair. Here is my solution to the gaping gender discrepancy. Ask women about their appearance, but ask men all the same questions about theirs. In turn, ask actresses about whatever unique method they used to craft a wonderfully complex performance. It’s only fair. In Hollywood, image is 90 per cent of the game, so don’t ignore anyone’s efforts – it’s more difficult and more important than you think.
Image via Theguardian.com
Hollywood’s Most Epic Wardrobe Malfunctions
We all have bad days, even Hollywood’s most elite – and yesterday was no exception with Lenny Kravitz making a dick out of himself during a performance in Stockholm.
Rocking out to a crowd of 17,000, the 51-year-old accidently exposed his manhood when his tight leather pants split after attempting to do a squat like move. His blinged up penis has since been doing the rounds on social media reminding us all that you can never predict if, or when, a gig is going to be a ‘flop’ (all puns intended).
RELATED: Celeb Couples Destined To Go The Distance But Didn’t
Fortunately for Kravitz, it happens to the best of us. So let’s take a look at 6 of the most epic celebrity wardrobe malfunctions from over the years.
Janet Jackson
Possibly one of the most famous wardrobe malfunctions, but certainly not the worst, Janet Jackson was left red faced during a performance at the 2004 Super Bowl when Justin Timberlake accidently pulled off a part of her costume, revealing her right breast. Rumour has it the incident was planned, however Jackson clearly wasn’t in on it after taking legal action.
Nicki Minaj
At last year’s VMAs performance with Ariana Grande and Jessie J, Nicki Minaj walked out on stage holding together her botched LBD. Blaming the malfunction on a quick costume change in the dark, the singer later confessed: “I didn’t have any underwear on — no underwear, no bra — ’cause I had just taken off the ’Anaconda’ outfit, so I was butt-ass naked.”
Tara Reid
Lenny might have made a ‘dick’ of himself, but Reid certainly made a ‘tit’ out of herself in 2004 when she didn’t realise that her dress strap had fallen down while posing for photographs at Diddy’s birthday bash. Possibly one of the most humiliating malfunctions, it was good while before the mishap was brought to the American Pie star’s attention.
Katherine Heigl
Unlike Tara, the Grey’s Anatomy star managed not to make a ‘boob’ out of herself when her dress broke during an acceptance speech for ‘Female Star Of The Year’ in Las Vegas. Luckily for Heigl, she caught the dodgy strap before it revealed her asset.
Jennifer Hawkins
Australia’s sweetheart and former Miss Universe, Jennifer Hawkins, got a bit too arsey in 2004 during a fashion parade in Sydney. While strutting her stuff down the runway, Hawkins’ skirt fell to the ground mid-walk to reveal a red g-string. Caught off the guard, the model was quick to run backstage but not before the media caught the whole ordeal on tape.
Rumer Willis
Ladies, if you’re going to wear a cut out dress that could potentially expose your pink bits, take a tip from Rumer Willis and don’t wear pink panties. Worst. Decision. Ever.
Images via Reuters, YouTube, news.iheart.com, suggest.com, thefrisky.com, ibtimes.com
Hollywood Heroine: What Women Want To See On Screen
There has been a lot of talk recently about the glaringly obvious differences between male and female protagonists in Hollywood films, made even more obvious by the distinct lack of female protagonists. All films nominated for Best Picture at this year’s Academy Awards had a male main character. Not just any character either; they were heavy, quirky, complex, unique, context laden roles ranging from the beautifully historical (Benedict Cumberbatch as Alan Turing in The Imitation Game) to the downright bizarre (Michael Keaton as Riggan Thompson in Birdman).
RELATED: Oscars After-Party: Is ‘Who Wore It Less’ Getting Old?
However, the fabulously talented women nominated for Best Actress had to be content with the serviceable but archetypical wife/mother/girlfriend/sexy murderess roles that seem to flood modern screenplay. In addition to this, the majority of supporting roles in all film and television are male, and are (again) many and varied in terms of age, shape and size, ethnicity, etc. Women are relegated to the ditzy college student, the ingénue, the pretty, late 20’s lawyer-type and the wise but cranky older lady. There is very little in between.
Hollywood has always been a bit of a boy’s club (hence the lack of female directors/producers), but the absence of the truly female story indicates that this is becoming more, not less, prevalent. The lives and thoughts of women are constantly revealed through a male lens. Whether the world of Hollywood realises it or not, the female experience is secondary to the tales of men. This is a terrible shame, because aside from the obvious gender (and therefore employment) inequality, women are really, REALLY interesting. Why wouldn’t viewers want to see a story filled with wonderful women? We’ve got our own way of thinking and our own unique yarns to spin.
This week, I had a long think about the issue and decided to ask a few of my female friends and colleagues what they specifically would like to see in a Hollywood heroine. What character traits would appeal to them and what do they relate to? Here, in a nutshell, is what women want to see on the big screen.
Katherine
Heroine’s age: I guess anywhere between 20-35, mostly I think I like to watch characters around my own age so I can relate to them better.
Sexuality: Straight
Special skills/superpowers if any: Well I would love for my perfect heroine to be able to defend herself – so have a good knowledge of self-defence skills – maybe some cool Game of Thrones style fighting skills.
Ethnicity: Purely because I want to relate myself to this heroine; Caucasian.
Five words to describe her personality: Kind, loyal, quick-witted, generally intelligent (interested in the world around her), confident.
Financial status: Middle class – working towards making some of her own money – paying for things herself not having her rich kinky boyfriend called Christian Grey do everything for her.
Traditional name or original name (e.g. Elizabeth vs Meadow): Always for the original name. I like names that are different to everyone else.
Country of origin: I honestly don’t have much of a preference. It doesn’t bother me.
Bookish and reclusive or outdoorsy and outgoing: I think watching a character who is more bookish and reclusive learn to be more outdoorsy and outgoing would be great, possibly seeing someone who is quite shy coming into themselves and finding a healthy balance between the two.
General Thoughts: I think my perfect Hollywood heroine would have flaws. I don’t want to see someone absolutely perfect on screen and start to compare the inadequacies to myself, especially as I am a real life person; not a perfect, well rounded fictional character.
In terms of qualities in a perfect heroine though, I think I would like to see someone who is generally kind [and] always means well. Maturity that suits the age of the character (I hate nothing more than when the main character – who is an adult – starts to behave like a young teenager over something like a boy).
A lot of Hollywood is about romantic love/relationships. One of my favourite TV shows is Friends, because of the strong bond between those characters that really forms their own little family. I think the perfect heroine in Hollywood would have at least one good friend who she has a strong bond with and won’t discard once something/someone better comes along.
She should be witty; able to hold her own in a conversation, a bit like an Elizabeth Bennett against Mr Darcy!
Annie
Heroine’s age: 37
Sexuality: Maybe a lesbian, but it shouldn’t be the main thing. Like, she should just happen to go home and have dinner with her wife. Or husband. Gay or straight; it shouldn’t be what the movie is about.
Special skills/superpowers (if any): Sailing…and amazing chin-ups. Basically Sarah Connor.
Ethnicity: A real mix. A bit of everything, but not blonde with blue eyes. I had this teacher at school who taught me Latin and she was so beautiful. She had some Egyptian in her I think?
Five words to describe her personality: Capable, gritty, confident (like, Rebel Wilson confident), varied, adventurous.
Financial status: Has some money, but works hard for it (as in, if she’s super rich she should be a top investment banker; no mysterious money please).
Traditional name or original name: I’m a sucker for old names. Elizabeth, Jane, Mary, Kitty, Lydia…
Country of origin: Oooh… Australia! No, maybe Iran?
Bookish and reclusive or outdoorsy and outgoing: Outdoorsy. I’m so sick of the classic Hollywood girl who sits around designing or reading or writing or some other non-intrusive occupation all day and then a MAN has to come and bring her out into the world. Blah blah.
General thoughts: You didn’t ask about physical shape and size! I’d love someone who’s just normal looking, like a strong body that is beautiful but in a Sarah Connor/Jennifer Ehle from Pride and Prejudice/Emma Thompson. Like, not super sexualised. I miss the days when a woman like Julie Andrews was considered a star. I never saw a hint of boob or even a knee. Not that you SHOULDN’T show your boobs or legs or any of it, but it shouldn’t be why she’s cast.
Fiona
Heroine’s age: 25
Sexuality: Straight
Special skills/superpowers: Super strength. Mind reading.
Ethnicity: Hmm. Any really! There’s an appeal to all.
Five words to describe her personality: Strong, funny, empathetic, determined, just.
Financial status: Middle class.
Traditional name or original name: Original name.
Country of origin: Again, there’s an appeal to any!
Bookish and reclusive or outdoorsy and outgoing: Book smart but fit. Perhaps was neither of these things and worked hard at both.
General thoughts: I just find an appeal to someone incredibly average doing extraordinary things and a woman being powerful without the end goal being a man.
Eloise
Heroine’s age: 20
Sexuality: Straight
Ethnicity: Caucasian
Five words to describe her personality: Feminine, witty, clever, dreamer, romantic.
Financial status: Lower-middle class.
Traditional name or original name: Traditional name.
Country of origin: America
Bookish and reclusive or outdoorsy and outgoing: Outdoorsy
General thoughts: Confident but not 100 per cent sure of herself. She’d be in fine form but with curves!
Emma
Heroine’s age: Not too young. I think you want a woman who you can tell has experiences under her belt and is confident enough in herself to look the world in the face.
Sexuality: I don’t think in any way this should be a focus of a film and as such I don’t have a real preference for sexual orientation. However, I have often found that some of the women most accessible while still being confident and strong don’t necessarily place a label on their sexuality but are open to just accepting their love for whoever they find themselves in love with at the time (regardless of their partner’s biological sex).
Special skills/superpowers: I love intelligent characters who you can tell are bountiful in wisdom and don’t flaunt this over others but are patient , kind and understanding while still being strong enough to stand up for their opinions, those they love and themselves. These may not seem like extraordinary traits but too often in films women must be either intelligent OR loving OR strong. When she is able to have several of these traits rolled into one, that is when she is given the depth and complexity that a main character should have, and in a way, I see this as a superpower in its own right. I also love a bit of kick ass skills, witty banter, sass etc and an athletic protagonist.
Ethnicity: I wouldn’t have any problem with a Caucasian protagonist, especially because they are most likely to be relatable to my own circumstances. However Latino, African, African American, British African, Spanish, Mediterranean, Egyptian, any ethnicity really would be really cool to see. To have a non-Caucasian woman in a leading role that women can be proud of would be awesome because it reaches out to everyone in a completely different way eg. Lupita Nyong’o or Zoe Saldana would both be incredible.
Five words to describe her personality: Quirky, witty, confident, loving, multifaceted.
Financial status: Doesn’t matter as long as they work hard for their money. A character who works hard for what they have is more accessible for audiences because we get to see a bit of our daily struggles in that character. And if they can be strong, in both the good and bad times, working towards a worthy goal then why not us too?
Traditional name or original name: I absolutely love traditional names and they would be my first choice for any character I write about, but I think the name has to match the character’s attributes (if they’re quirky or stern etc.) and ethnicity of the character. I feel that if a character of a particular ethnic background is the lead then why not give them a name (and indeed experience in the film) that reflects their unique cultural heritage.
Country of origin: No preference.
Bookish and reclusive or outdoorsy and outgoing: I love a character that is intelligent and has a deep respect for learning but why should this mean they can’t also have a love for the outdoors and a deep-seeded belief in themselves that makes them strong and outgoing?
General thoughts: A woman who doesn’t have to be a sex symbol in every seen, who doesn’t have to look like a model. To see a female protagonist’s beauty come from her strength, intelligence, moments of doubt, protectiveness, sense of self-worth is a far greater beauty than looks alone and speaks volumes to audiences. Come on, Hollywood; listen up!
Image via Izismile.com
8 Of Hollywood’s Most Underrated Eligible Bachelors
As we all know Hollywood’s most eligible long-term bachelor (aka George Clooney) has been off the market for quite a while now. So it’s high time we let Amal have him to herself while we focus on some of Hollywood’s other eligible bachelors. Let’s face it ladies, there’s nothing wrong with a little bit of eye candy – and it’s always nice to go and dream about something sweet at bedtime!
RELATED: The Ultimate Celebrity BFFs
Oscar Isaak
Born: January 5, 1980 (age 35) in Guatemala – American Actor.
Upcoming Movies: Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens, X-Men: Apocalypse.
Interesting Fact: During his school years Oscar liked to be the class clown; so much so that at one point a teacher had to screen off his off his desk with cardboard from the rest of the class. Yep – you guessed it… He was later expelled!
Steven R. McQueen
Born: July 13, 1988 (age 26), Los Angeles, California, United States – American Actor and Model.
Interesting Fact: Steven has dated Hollywood beauties Chelsea Kane, Candice Accola and Hillary Harley, plus models Dylan Penn and Olivia Pickren. Poor bugger!
Jack O Connell
Born: August 1, 1990 (age 24), Alvaston, United Kingdom – British Actor and Model.
Interesting Fact: Jack was hand picked by Angelina Jolie to star in her film Unbroken.
Miles Teller
Born: February 20, 1987 (age 28), Downingtown, Pennsylvania, United States.
Upcoming Movies: Fantastic Four, Arms and the Dudes.
Interesting Fact: Before he hit the big time he was a waiter, painter and fixed up houses.
Richard Madden
Born: June 18, 1986 (age 29), Elderslie, United Kingdom – British Actor.
Interesting Fact: Richard was quite a shy boy and at age eleven he started acting to overcome it.
Cary Fukunaga
Born: July 10, 1977 (age 37), Oakland, California, United States – American film director, writer and cinematographer.
Interesting Fact: Cary originally wanted to be a pro snowboarder until his mid twenties when he found his calling.
James Franco
Born: April 19, 1978 (age 37), Palo Alto, California, United States.
Upcoming Movies: Sausage Party, The Long Home.
Interesting Fact: He worked at McDonald’s in his youth and has been quoted saying: “McDonald’s was there for me when no one else was.” Goes to show that you never know who you might be served by at Maccas by – they just might become the next big star!
Michael B. Jordan
Born: February 9, 1987 (age 28), Santa Ana, California, United States.
Upcoming Movies: Fantastic Four, Creed.
Interesting Fact: This handsome man even knows how to tap dance because his mother made him take classes. Ca-ute!
Images via Shutterstock, Fanpop, Ohnotheydidnt.livejournal.com
2015 Oscars Trend: Porcelain Skin
As Hollywood’s elite took to the red carpet for the 2015 Oscar Awards today, we noticed there was something missing: fake tan! This year the A-list went ‘au naturel’ and ditched their bronzers in favour of polished porcelain skin.
RELATED: Throwback Thursday: The Return Of The Midriff
Celebrity make-up artist Lee Pycroft recently told the Daily Mail: “Alabaster skin is a chic, classy, beautiful look that’s been gunning for a renaissance. It’s been cherished by the fashion world for several years – think of all those Prada campaigns with Karen Elson – and now it’s taking centre stage.”
Whether sporting a red, grey or even black dress, ivory skin was certainly the most prominent trend at this years award ceremony, with stars including Margot Robbie, Scarlett Johansson, Sienna Miller and Anna Kendrick embracing their paler side.
Images via The Guardian
Oscars Red Carpet Predictions: What They Might Wear
The Academy Awards, mostly known as “Oscars”, is the most watched award show on the planet getting an unbelievable amount of 43 million viewers last year. So it’s no surprise that the who-is-who of Hollywood are putting in a lot of effort to look fabulous on the Oscar’s red carpet. Not only will the celebs be watched on TVs worldwide, but their photos will be in thousands of newspapers, magazines, and shamelessly scrutinising blogs the next day.
RELATED: Oscar’s Worst Red Carpet Dresses
The biggest pressure to look perfect is without a doubt felt by the contenders for ‘best actress in a leading role’, so we can only imagine that this year’s nominees Reese Witherspoon, Julianne Moore, Marion Cotillard, Felicity Jones, and Rosamund Pike are having a hard time deciding on a dress for the 22nd of February, the day of the event.
With Haute Couture Fashion Week having just finished and designers most definitely begging the actresses to wear their creations, the options are endless, so we put ourselves in the (expensive) shoes of Reese, Julianne, Marion, Felicity, and Rosamund and made the following predictions for their Oscar outfits:
Reese loves to channel old Hollywood glamour while showing a bit of skin, so this sparkly Zuhair Murad creation might be her choice for the big night.
Julianne Moore often surprises on the red carpet, but always stays elegant. We would love to see her in this dark blue Armani Privée gown.
As the face of Dior, it is very likely Marion Cotillard will opt for a dress from Christian Dior’s latest collection and this pink frock would look amazing on her.
Felicity Jones has had a lot of fun experimenting with different styles on the red carpet this year, so we think she might opt for a showstopper, like this slightly sheer Elie Saab gown.
Lastly, we predict that Rosamund Pike will show of her stunning post-baby body in a sexy Versace dress.
images via dailymail.co.uk, yahoo.com, popsugar.com, sheknows.com, and style.com
Has Lara Bingle Gone Too Far?
There are lots of pretty girls in the world but Lara Bingle has certainly made a business out of it. Not just by modelling and red carpet appearances but also by a string of public ‘dramas’ and a steady flow of selfies – often topless. To silence critics who claim she’s another Paris Hilton or Kim Kardashian, Lara makes her money promoting clothing brands and attending events the rest of us would never be invited to. (Wait, isn’t that exactly what Paris and the Kardashian sisters do?)
Despite parting ways with another management team, don’t feel too sorry for Lara. She has a new beau, actor Sam Worthington, and they look head over heels in love. Why wouldn’t they be? Lara has a frankness about her that is refreshing. She tells the truth in interviews, even when her publicist is frantically gesturing for her to stop talking. And Sam is on track to become one of Hollywood’s most bankable stars. But is Lara a liability?
Recently, her impulsiveness becomes an issue when she became embroiled in a paparazzi beat-down, while the new couple strolled around New York. In February, Lara was followed for four hours by paparazzo, Li Sheng. Li followed her from store to store and called out her name relentlessly. One of the many reasons celebrities leave New York is that it is impossible to get away from photographers. Every time you turn a corner, there they are. In Los Angeles, celebs jump in a car and disappear into their compound where the paparazzi can’t snap them.
What is an everyday occurrence for all NYC-based A-listers took a nasty turn when, after pestering Lara constantly, she turns and storms towards the paparazzo and strikes Sheng and/or grabbing for his camera. What Lara did after she hit/pushed the photographer was call Sam and plead with him to come and help her. When Sam arrives, she can be heard telling him the photographer kicked her. Sam then hits the guy. He could have had a stern word with Sheng and slunk off but, when your girlfriend claims to have been attacked, the instinct is to start swinging and ask questions later.
It seems Lara accidentally forgot to mention she approached the photographer first and grabbed for his camera (where he can be heard yelping, as if getting attacked, on video footage.) After Sam allegedly strikes the photographer four times in the face, Lara keeps trying to wrestle the camera from Sheng. She doesn’t have anything to lose, her career is built on public spectacle. But, with an assault charge, Sam could lose his ability to work or possibly even enter the US again. He is one of Australia’s most talented actors and it would be a shame for him to lose those opportunities because no one can find an insurance company willing to insure him (a necessity for even low-budget films) with a felony conviction.
In Hollywood, anything goes if it’s not caught on camera. Video of these altercations is what the paparazzi make money on and Sheng hit the jackpot that day. He made cash both ways: selling the footage to news outlets and the inevitable settlement he will receive for his injuries. What is uncertain is whether the blissful union of Sam and Lara can withstand her public displays of affection/affliction…
Jewellery Trend: Hollywood Glamour Meets 1920s Jazz Age
Inspired by silver screen Hollywood glamour and the 1920s jazz age, Georgini’s ‘Eternal Glamour’ range uses Tanzanite in colours of deep blue and purple to channel the allure and elegance of the bygone era. The collection is the label’s first foray into Tanzanite-coloured stones. Stackable rings are key items in the collection, perfect for layering, while black ceramic options also feature for that dramatic effect.
Georgini sales manager Marissa Gouras said: “The ‘Eternal Glamour’ collection focuses on rich beauty and Art Deco designs, with deep colouring surrounded by clear stones and stainless steel for a strong yet old-school romantic feel.”
The ‘Eternal Glamour’ jewellery pieces by Georgini shine with The Lust List’s Sally Spratt’s illustrated feminine profiles as a backdrop. The Sydney illustrator created six one-off illustrations that showcase the jewellery brand’s AW14 capsule collection.
