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  • Kristen Wiig and Others Talk Hollywood Gender Problem

    Kristen Wiig, Julie Delpy, Anjelica Huston, and many others will appear in The 4%: Film’s Gender Problem, which will debut on Epix next week.

    Announced in January, the original series of six documentaries will debut on March 8, which is International Women’s Day. It explores the issues around the gender gap in Hollywood and spotlights directors and creative personalities, who share first-person insights and anecdotes about the role of women in Hollywood.

    For Kristen Wiig, the subject is particularly timely as this week saw the debut of the trailer of the upcoming Ghostbusters movie, which stars Wiig along with Melissa McCarthy, Kate McKinnon, and Leslie Jones as the new generation of Ghostbusters.

    While many expressed glee with the trailer’s release and are excited about the film, there is a terrible number of people on social media expressing varying degrees of sexism, misogyny and contempt for the idea that the new Ghostbusters are women.

    It’s unclear if Internet vitriol and misogyny will be among the topics discussed in The 4%, but it will definitely cover the opportunities women are given behind the camera.

    “It shouldn’t be seen as such a crazy thing if a woman, you know, is nominated for an Academy Award for directing,” Wiig says in the below clip.

    The 4% is produced by Jigsaw Productions, which is known for titles like Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief, Steve Jobs: The Man in the Machine, Taxi To the Darkside, and Enron: Smartest Men In the Room.

    Participants in the series include: Kristen Wiig, Judd Apatow, Joe Arcidiacono, Lake Bell, Amy Berg, Patricia Clarkson, Toni Collette, Jonathan Dayton, Julie Delpy, Valerie Faris, Paul Feig, America Ferrera, James Franco, Donna Gigliotti, Geoffrey Gilmore, Debra Granik, Catherine Hardwicke, Mary Harron, Amy Heckerling, Dawn Hudson, Anjelica Huston, Vicky Jenson, Sam Taylor-Johnson, Rebecca Keegan, Jon Kilik, Ellen Kuras, Mimi Leder, Franklin Leonard, Tina Mabry, Victoria Mahoney, Michael Mann, Lori McCreary, Mo’Nique, Michael Moore, Rachel Morrison, Mira Nair, Amanda Peet, Kimberly Peirce, Keri Putnam, Pamela Romanowsky, Cathy Schulman, A.O. Scott, Melissa Silverstein, Dr. Stacy L. Smith, Jill Soloway, Anne Sweeney, Amber Tamblyn, Anne Thompson, Rosemarie Troche, Christine Vachon, and Mandy Walker.

  • George Clooney Says Hollywood Has Failed, Oh, And Trump Is A “Xenophobic Fascist”

    George Clooney has had a lot to say as of late on the social hot-button issues of our time.

    One can always count on George Clooney to tell exactly what is on his mind and his latest comments are no exception.

    For instance, about diversity in Hollywood? Don’t get him started.

    George Clooney got a glimpse of 1950’s Hollywood while filming his latest movie, Hail, Caesar!.

    The film was based on a true Hollywood story and showed quite a glamorous side of Hollywood in its Golden Age. George Clooney thinks things have become harder for white males in Hollywood since then, but have become a little easier (but not easy enough) over the last few decades for minorities and women.

    But seriously… don’t miss #GeorgeClooney in the Coen brothers' epic new comedy, #HailCaesar. Tickets: link in bio.

    A video posted by Hail, Caesar! (@hailcaesarmovie) on

    George Clooney said, “Yes it was easier if you were white and male, but probably not easier if you were a woman or a minority or had polio so there are an awful lot of things that have got much better. It is something that ebbs and flows.”

    He continued, “We have periods of time in our history when we’re really good at it. The United States particularly has had great moments of civil rights movements and great moments in cinema as well.”

    He added, “And we’ve also had the last couple of years when we’ve really truly failed, not just about nominations but about who is making films and who we’re putting in front of the camera.”

    See the Coen brothers comedy critics are raving about. #HailCaesar is now playing in theaters. Tix: link in bio.

    A photo posted by Hail, Caesar! (@hailcaesarmovie) on

    George Clooney is not too pleased with the world of politics right now, either. As Donald Trump makes waves as the frontrunner on the Republican side, Clooney is not afraid to call him out.

    George Clooney said of Trump, “He’s just an opportunist. Now he’s a fascist; a xenophobic fascist. You can count on Americans to do the right thing after they’ve exhausted all the other possibilities.”

    Even Americans fail to do the right thing, George Clooney doesn’t think Trump will be able to execute all of his promises. He said, “The truth of the matter is, in election season, things go crazy, and the loudest voices are the furthest and most extreme.”

    He added, “So you hear a massively stupid idea, like we’re going to ban Muslims from the country. Now, we’re not ever going to do that. It says in the Statue of Liberty, bring us your huddled masses. It’s not what’s going to happen.”

    What do you think about George Clooney’s social stances?

  • Chris Rock Feels Pressure To Boycott Oscars, No People Of Color Nominated For Second Straight Year

    Chris Rock has been tapped to host the 88th Academy Awards on Feb. 28, although reports say that he is feeling some pressure about whether to proceed with his hosting duties or drop the gig.

    The pressure comes from his fellow actors and friends in Hollywood who have hinted that he should boycott the awards show for not letting actors of color be nominated.

    On Thursday, the Academy Awards released the list of nominees for the annual awards show. However, not a single person of color was included.

    As a result, several Hollywood celebrities have expressed their disappointment with the decision, and decided not to attend this year’s event.

    Jada Pinkett Smith, was among the first to announce that she and her husband, Will Smith, will not be going.

    In a video that Smith posted on Facebook, the 44-year-old actress hinted that if there’s one person of color that can truly convey express their disappointment, it’s Chris Rock.

    We must stand in our power. Posted by Jada Pinkett Smith on Monday, January 18, 2016
    “Chris, I will not be at the Academy Awards, and I won’t be watching, but I can’t think of a better man to do the job at hand this year than you, my friend. Good luck,” she said in the short clip. In an earlier post on Twitter, Jada Smith said that while people of color are often invited and welcomed to events to entertain, they are rarely recognized for their artistic performances. “Should people of color refrain from participating altogether?” she said. In addition, film director Spike Lee also said on Instagram on Monday that he and his wife, Tonya Lewis Lee, will not attend the awards night due to the same reasons. Lee, 58, said that every year, there has been a lack of black nominees at the Oscars. “For once (maybe), I would like the media to ask all the white nominees and studio heads how they feel about another all-white ballot,” said Lee, who in November received an honorary Oscar from the Academy. Will Smith, who starred in the film Concussion, was not included in the list of nominees, and neither were other veteran actors like Idris Elba, Benicio del Toro, Samuel L. Jackson, Abraham Attah, and Michael B. Jordan, who played Apollo Creed’s son in Creed. Meanwhile, Jordan’s co-star Sylvester Stallone, who played an older Rocky Balboa, was nominated for best supporting actor. After the list of nominees was released, the hashtag #OscarsStillSoWhite began trending on Twitter. It is the second straight year that no actor of color is nominated. Even Chris Rock tried to make a joke out of it in another tweet, labeling the Oscars this year as ‘The White BET Awards.” Unfortunately, his tweet brought some sour replies from other Twitter users, urging him to think what MLK (Martin Luther King) would do in the same situation. Another reply said the 50-year-old comedian should just give up his hosting duties instead of making jokes about it. However, a source close to Chris Rock told a report that the comedian believes that he will make a bigger impact if he does the show. “He thinks it is easier to make a difference from the inside. Chris has already started to write white people jokes for the show,” the source added. In addition, David Boone, who was the head writer for the Oscars in 2015, believes that Rock will not boycott the show because the stage gives him a great platform to share jokes that only he can make. Boone, who has written nine Oscar telecasts in the past, compared Chris Rock to Whoopi Goldberg when she hosted the awards.

  • “The Danish Girl”: Alicia Vikander Talks Sexism

    The Danish Girl has enjoyed critical and audience acclaim as one of the best films of the year.

    So far, The Danish Girl has even earned nominations from the Screen Actors Guild for this year’s SAG awards.

    The Danish Girl holds nominations in two major categories: Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor for Eddie Redmayne, and Outstanding Performance by a female actor for Alicia Vikander.

    Of course, The Danish Girl is only one of the films that have helped make a name for new Hollywood girl-of-the-moment Alicia Vikander.

    Besides The Danish Girl, Alicia Vikander has recently starred in The Man From U.N.C.L.E., Ex Machina and Testament of Youth, all of which are great films.

    Alicia Vikander recently sat down with The Huffington Post to talk about what it has been like for her to navigate the ins and outs of Hollywood life.

    She said, “I’ve had a very exciting year with so many new experiences, so many firsts. It’s been nerve racking. Just a whirlwind, that’s left me very thrilled.”

    Of course, along with being able to do amazing films like The Danish Girl, there sometimes comes a certain expectation of the women in showbusiness. Luckily for Vikander, that seems to be changing.

    She said of those expectations, “It’s hard. When I was a young teenager and bought magazines, I’d look at those photos and think that was the only reality. I’m still new to publicity, but I’m lucky because I am past 20 and have had a chance to mature.”

    She added, “When I step out on the carpet, it’s after three hours of somebody doing my make up and hair and even I can be surprised at how good and professional they are. I mean right now I am in my sneakers and my woolen knitted sweater and a pair of track pants and they never put that on the cover and I sometimes wish they would, but they never do.”

    Don’t we all wish they would?

    What do you think of The Danish Girl‘s Alicia Vikander and her comments on reality vs. Hollywood expectations?

  • Carrie Fisher Says She Had to Lose 35 Pounds for ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’

    In Hollywood, some things never change.

    And age doesn’t matter – the pressure to slim down for roles is ever-present.

    Just ask Carrie Fisher, who says that she was forced to lose more than 35 pounds to reprise her role of Princess Leia in the new Star Wars film.

    Fisher revealed this in a new interview with Good Housekeeping UK.

    “They don’t want to hire all of me – only about three-quarters! Nothing changes, it’s an appearance-driven thing. I’m in a business where the only thing that matters is weight and appearance. That is so messed up. They might as well say get younger, because that’s how easy it is,” she told the publication.

    Fisher said that this is endemic of Hollywood culture.

    “We treat beauty like an accomplishment and that is insane. Everyone in LA says, ‘Oh you look good,’ and you listen for them to say you’ve lost weight. It’s never ‘How are you?’ or ‘You seem happy!'”

    But according to Fisher, she complied and cut weight. How’d she do it?

    “I did it the same way everybody has to – don’t eat and exercise more! There is no other way to do it,” she says.

    Star Wars: The Force Awakens hits theaters December 18th.

  • Sandra Bullock on Hollywood Sexism: “I’m Glad They Got Caught”

    There’s been a lot of talk recently about the gender pay gap, and though it’s an issue all over the country, its existence in Hollywood has come to the forefront – due to the high visibility of the women involved.

    For Sandra Bullock, sure, it’s about the money. But Hollywood sexism is much deeper than that.

    “It’s a bigger issue than money. I know we’re focused on the money part right now. That’s just a byproduct,” said Bullock in a recent Variety article.

    She goes on to describe blatant sexism she experienced while filming a movie about a decade ago (no specifics on which film), calling it the “worst experience [she’s] ever had.”

    My mother basically raised me as, “Women can do everything men can do. Don’t get married. Blaze your own trail.” And I didn’t think others thought any differently. I always thought we are all equal, and we are. I was actually doing a film about 10 years ago, and I found myself yelling and being angry. And I was like, “What is happening to me?” I was literally fearful. And I realized, it’s because I’m female. It dawned on me. At that day and age, at that point in my career, it was the worst experience I ever had.

    I was destroyed, because you can’t unsee something. Was I so naïve up to this point to actually think that I was on an equal level with everybody? It was the way I was being treated, because I was female, versus the way others were being treated. It took me a while. It took a year and a half, where I regrouped, and thought, “Okay, this is an isolated case.” I’ve had other subtle experiences, but nothing that blatant. It was a big eye opener, because it wasn’t just men on women. A lot if came from women as well. The blessing of that film was that it opened my eyes.

    Bullock is one of many Hollywood leading ladies to speak up on this as of late. Sienna Miller recently talked about being paid much less than her male co-star in q Broadway play, and Jennifer Lawrence recently made headlines with an essay on this problem. In a piece called Why Do I Make Less Than My Male Co-Stars, Lawrence said she was mad at herself when she realized she was being paid less than her male counterparts.

    Some stars aren’t as willing to discuss it, however.

  • Jennifer Lawrence On Hollywood Gender Pay Gap: Hunger Games’ Katniss Influenced Her

    Award-winning actress Jennifer Lawrence said in a press conference that Katniss Everdeen influenced her in taking a stand against the Hollywood pay gap between male and female actors.

    “I don’t see how I couldn’t be inspired by this character. I mean, I was so inspired by her when I read the books, it’s the reason I wanted to play her,” Lawrence said just before the world premiere of the The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2 in Germany.

    Earlier this summer, J-Law made headlines after she wrote a letter for Lena Dunham’s Lenny newsletter, where she criticized the pay gap that is prevalent between male and female actors.

    She wrote the letter after a Sony hack revealed that her American Hustle male co-stars Christian Bale, Bradley Cooper, and Jeremy Renner earned more than her and female co-star Amy Adams.

    Lawrence emphasized in her letter that women in every industry deserve equal pay, and that this policy should be adhered to fairly.

    Meanwhile, California already has the the California Equal Pay Act, which was signed in October. It prohibits women from being paid less than men for “substantially similar work.”

    “The inequalities that have plagued our state and have burdened women forever are slowly being resolved with this kind of bill,” said Gov. Jerry Brown about the equal pay law.

    Aside from Lawrence, other actresses who have expressed their desire for women to receive equal pay include Burnt actress Sienna Miller and Patricia Arquette, who won Best Supporting Actress at the Oscars in February.

    “To every woman who gave birth to every taxpayer and citizen of this nation, we have fought for everybody else’s equal rights,” she said in her acceptance speech.

    Recently, Sandra Bullock has also been in the news after landing the starring role for a new version of Ocean’s Eleven, where she will replace the lead role that was supposedly made for George Clooney.

  • Elizabeth Banks To Direct Third ‘Pitch Perfect’ Installment

    Good news Barden Bellas fans! The third installment of the Pitch Perfect series will hit the big screen in 2017 and Elizabeth Banks, who directed the sequel, signed on to direct the third installment of the musical-comedy movie.

    According to the Hollywood Reporter, Banks will work behind the scenes as director with Kay Cannon as scriptwriter.

    Barden Bellas Anna Kendrick, Rebel Wilson and Brittany Snow will also return to the film. Cineplex and fans of the musical comedy series tweeted their excitement over the news.

    Banks expressed how she feels about being a female director, sexism in Hollywood, and why she wants to be able to direct films in an interview with Katie Couric on Yahoo!, saying “I wanted to use more of myself and my abilities and have more control over the stories I was telling.”

    When asked why there are so few women directing, she said: “Parity in Hollywood is going to require that those in power share a little bit of that power. And that requires a partnership with the men in our industry.”

    When asked about the most badass thing she has ever done she said “Directing a movie as a woman is pretty badass,” encouraging women to direct films as there is currently a small number of female directors in Hollywood.

    Banks debuted as a director for Pitch Perfect 2 which earned $69 million in its first weekend in May. As such, it made the movie the highest grossing debut for a first-time director. It went on to earn $285 million worldwide, while the 2012 Pitch Perfect movie, which was based from Mickey Rapkin’s book Pitch Perfect: The Quest for Collegiate A Cappella Glory, grossed $113 million worldwide.

    Banks will produce the third movie alongside Paul Brooks of Gold Circle Entertainment and Max Handelman of Brownstone Productions.

  • Sandra Bullock Has Already Warned Her 5-Year-Old Son About Racism

    Sandra Bullock is not the first white person to adopt a black baby, not by a long shot. But her public discussion of a difficulty she has with her son says a lot about how far we have to go in this country to be rid of the scourge of racism.

    Sandra Bullock is famous, wealthy, and can pretty much do anything she wants. But she still has to have a conversation with her son about the racism he will inevitably face as he grows up.

    “It’s an open conversation we have. He fully understands what that means,” Bullock says. “He doesn’t understand why people judge each other based on color of the skin, but he knows they do.”

    Of course, racism isn’t the only fact of life that Bullock talks to her son about.

    “He also knows that there’s sexism, he knows that there’s homophobia – he knows a lot for a 5¾-year-old, but I think if you don’t start the conversation very early on, you’re doing them a disservice,” Bullock says. “I want him to know the truth, but I also want him to know the good in the world as well, but those are hard conversations to have.”

    Sandra Bullock sees it as her responsibility to let her son know what he might face as he grows up.

    “It’s not a conversation any parent wants to have with their child, that you’ll be judged by the color of your skin rather than the content of your character, but it exists and I want him to be safe and I want him to be aware,” she says. “I want to know that I did the best I could as his mom to educate him on the ugliness in the world and also the beauty.”

  • Ashley Judd: Studio Exec Sexually Harassed Me

    Ashley Judd has been outspoken on social media about violence, harassment, and many other women’s issues. Now she’s speaking out again, this time talking about the sexual harassment she suffered at the hands of a studio exec.

    Judd had never revealed her story until now, and she recently spoke to Variety about the harassment that occurred at a formative time in her career.

    Judd says it happened during her time on Kiss the Girls. The studio exec lured her to his room, under the guise of discussing movie roles, and at one point tried to force her to watch him shower.

    “I did not recognize at the time what was happening to me. It took years before I could evaluate that incident and realize that there was something incredibly wrong and illegal about it,” she says.

    “He was very stealth and expert about it. He groomed me, which is a technical term – Oh, come meet at the hotel for something to eat. Fine, I show up. Oh, he’s actually in his room. I’m like, Are you kidding me? I just worked all night. I’m just going to order cereal. It went on in these stages. It was so disgusting. He physically lured me by saying, “Oh, help me pick out what I’m going to wear.” There was a lot that happened between the point of entry and the bargaining. There was this whole process of bargaining—“Come do this, come do this, come do this.” And I would say, “No, no, no.” I have a feeling if this is online and people have the opportunity to post comments, a lot of the people will say, “Why didn’t you leave the room?”, which is victim-blaming. When I kept saying no to everything, there was a huge asymmetry of power and control in that room.”

    Judd says this “mogul” did this to other women.

    “This happened to be a man who did this to a woman. But this system is one that all of us participate. I feel like I could have easily had a breakthrough conversation about what happened with men as I could with those women. We’re all part of the problem, but we’re all part of the solution. This is one of those incidents where any work I needed to do on it was completed when I confronted him. Healing comes in a lot of different ways. Some things require intensive, contained work. Some things could be resolved with a good run or punching bag or an interaction with the perpetrator, in which one is able to take one’s power back,” says Judd.

    Judd has used social media to express her power. Earlier this year, she called out trolls who called her names on Twitter and penned a brave essay about her own experiences with rape and incest.

  • Salma Hayek Says Hollywood Doesn’t Want Her Anymore And She’s Okay With That

    Salma Hayek certainly hasn’t been as much of a red carpet fixture as she was a decade ago.

    Times have changed and bigger, younger movie stars have moved in to take Salma Hayek’s place as one of Hollywood’s “it” girls.

    Some ageing Hollywood vixens might be upset by that, but Salma Hayek is fine. Don’t worry about her.

    The studios aren’t really calling anymore, but Salma Hayek is too busy to notice.

    Salma Hayek admitted, “I think they don’t want me but I don’t really care.”

    My make up artist @genevieveherr my hairstylist @jennifer_yepez and my baby. #nyc #TheProphetMovie #press

    A photo posted by Salma Hayek Pinault (@salmahayek) on

    Salma Hayek has a life full of purpose and productivity and one of the projects she has been working on, the animated film adaptation of Kahlil Gibran’s 1923 book of prose poetry, The Prophet, is especially dear to her.

    Salma Hayek produced the film and has a voice role in it. She said she was inspired, in part, by her seven-year-old daughter, Valentina.

    Salma Hayek gushed about the film, saying, “It’s meaningful. It’s hopeful. It’s uplifting. It’s respectful. It honors children.”

    She added, “Many people tell me, ‘But they are not going to like poetry.’ Children love poetry. That’s why we have the nursery rhymes and then we don’t give it to them anymore. It’s their first language. They think in metaphor.”

    The book is also special to Salma Hayek because of where she first discovered it.

    She said, “I saw the book on the table on the side of the bed of my grandfather, then recently rediscovered it and it was as if he was teaching me, even though he was gone, through the book.”

    Salma Hayek also helped produce the film Frida, in which she starred and earned critical acclaim.

    The story and animation for The Prophet look amazing.

    Will you be watching Salma Hayek’s special project?

  • Amanda Seyfried Furious Over Being Paid Pennies Compared To Male Costars

    Amanda Seyfried was furious when she found out how much she was getting short-changed.

    “A few years ago, on one of my big-budget films, I found I was being paid 10 percent of what my male costar was getting,” Seyfried told the Sunday Times. “And we were pretty even in status.”

    This is the kind of inequality that has sparked more discussions this year than ever before. Some of that was kicked off when emails from Sony were hacked and leaked online. Seyfried and others got to see what kinds of numbers were being tossed around in their industry.

    Before Seyfried got her bad news, Charlize Theron used the information learned from leaked Sony emails to get an equal asking price as her male co-star Chris Hemsworth for Snow White and the Huntsman.

    “I thought about the temperature out there – with finding out what Jennifer [Lawrence] and Amy [Adams] were being paid on a set with guy actors who are their counterparts … They’re just as good as any of the guys on there,” Theron said. “Yeah, that pissed me off.”

    Amanda Seyfried sees this kind of uneven work area as ridiculous.

    “I think people think that just because I’m easygoing and game to do things, I’ll just take as little as they offer,” Seyfried said. “It’s not about how much you get, it’s about how fair it is.”

    Seyfried’s friend and co-star Lizzy Caplan says that one would think there would not be that kind of inequality in a business like film nowadays, where female execs are on the rise.

    “I mean, (look at) wage inequality even in our business, which is supposed to be this progressive side of things,” Caplan said. “I mean, it’s insane and it really pisses me off. I could go on a really hardcore feminist rant right now, but I’m not going to do that.”

  • Amanda Seyfried Was Paid 10% Of Male Counterpart For Movie, Adds Voice To Hollywood Feminist Movement

    Amanda Seyfried has added her story to the instances of gender discrimination that seem to be piling up in Hollywood.

    For one movie, though she didn’t say which one, Amanda Seyfried was seriously shorted in pay compared to her male counterpart.

    Amanda Seyfried said, “A few years ago, on one of my big-budget films, I found I was being paid 10 percent of what my male co-star was getting, and we were pretty even in status.”

    She added, “I think people think because I’m easygoing and game to do things, I’ll just take as little as they offer. But it’s not about how much you get, it’s about how fair it is.”

    Of course Amanda Seyfried is only the latest to join a vast feminist and gender-equality movement going on in Hollywood right now, and there are plenty of stories to go around.

    Thanks @chefvikkik for being the Gollum to my Samantha #TED2

    A photo posted by Amanda Seyfried (@mingey) on

    For instance, in one of the most humiliating tales so far, Tracee Ellis Ross told of one particularly nasty audition.

    She said, “I tested once for a network show to play a lawyer. A Harvard-educated motherf—in’ lawyer, OK? I wore a skirt suit and heels. Seemed appropriate. Then there were many discussions about my hair. They’d printed up all these pictures of me from 15 f—in’ years ago and had me in and out of the bathroom trying on clothes.”

    She continued, “They finally pick a skirt — the shortest I brought. Then got a T-shirt from one of the people in the office. The woman says, ‘Hmmm, your boobs.’ I was like, ‘I didn’t bring a bra for this T-shirt.’ She screams down the hall, ‘Who wears a 34B?’ I put on someone else’s bra, a size too small, and somehow auditioned.”

    She added, “I remember wondering, ‘What did I just allow myself to do?’ The other actress [who auditioned] was dressed like she was going to a club and got the role. It was one of those moments where you’re so confused and humiliated. But that’s part of the biz.”

    We're livin' on love. On Broadway! #LivingOnLoveOnBroadway featuring @mrjerryoc and #DouglasSills

    A photo posted by Amanda Seyfried (@mingey) on

    So crazy. Instances like this have provoked Amanda Seyfried and other stars to stand up and fight back.

    In an effort to push back, Charlize Theron recently re-negotiated her pay for The Huntsman when she realized she was being paid significantly less than her co-star, Chris Hemsworth.

    Amanda Seyfried said Theron’s actions, while brave, are risky.

    She said, “You have to decide if you’re willing to walk away from something, especially as a woman.”

    What do you think of Amanda Seyfried’s experience and the expanding feminist movement in Hollywood?

  • Jennifer Garner And Ben Affleck Trying To Save Their Troubled Marriage?

    Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck are just two weeks away from their 10th wedding anniversary but the couple is currently dealing with conflicts in their marriage.

    For the past few years, there have been frequent rumors of breakup but this time an insider verified to Us Weekly that their marriage is coming to an end. “Where there’s smoke, there’s fire. The marriage is in trouble,” the insider stated.

    Despite the turmoil in their relationship, the Hollywood couple is trying to salvage their relationship by taking couples therapy. Affleck and Garner are still holding in the interest of their children Violet, 9, Seraphina, 6, and Samuel, 3. One source close to the couple said, “They are trying to work it out for the kids’ sake, but things are not all peaches and cream with them.”

    The couple has been in therapy. “They each go separately, and they also go together. When things are rough, they go more often,” the same source added.

    When Garner and Affleck fight, the two go to separate places to loosen the tension. Affleck prefers the comfort of the Hotel Bel-Air during their bad times. “He stays there whenever he and Jen are having problems,” said an insider, who added that Ben will order cocktails at the bar. “There’s no need to sugarcoat it. Ben is drinking again.”

    Whenever they are together, the tension seems to be discernible. “They speak in short, direct sentences to each other. They can be passive-aggressive and dismissive,” a source close to Affleck said.

    Another source close to the couple revealed their major issues stating, “Among their biggest issues? Affleck’s workaholic nature and many vices.”

  • Maggie Gyllenhaal Discusses Hardships In Getting Movie Roles

    In a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Maggie Gyllenhaal talked about her rejections for casting roles in the past. Gyllenhaal shared all the negative criticisms casting agents had told her.

    During a roundtable, the 37-year-old actress was sarcastically asked if she ever considered quitting acting. The actress recalled that she received plenty of ‘NOs’ during casting calls. Gyllenhall admitted that even today, she still gets that answer despite her success in Hollywood.

    “When I was starting out, I used to hear ‘no’ a lot and still do,” said Gyllenhaal.

    The worst lines that Gyllenhaal has admitted to hearing were ‘you’re not sexy enough’ and ‘you’re not pretty enough’.

    “When I was really young, I auditioned for this really bad movie with vampires. I wore a dress to the audition that I thought was really hot. Then I was told I wasn’t hot enough,” added Gyllenhaal.

    One person on the roundtable panel, Empire’s Taraji P. Henson, seconded the actress’s statement saying that she too had been told the same things before.

    Gyllenhaal said she tried even harder to appear sexy at auditions after being told by her manager to “sex it up a little bit.” The actress then wore leather pants and a pink leopard top during another audition but she still failed to get the role.

    “After that, I was like, OK, f*ck this!,” she exasperated.

    Apart from being rejected due to her looks, Gyllenhaal has also been denied roles due to her age. She revealed that at age 37, she was rejected as being too old to play the love interest of a 55-year-old man.

    The actress justified that she never bought and will never buy into the plastic surgery tradition in Hollywood.

    “I wanted to show what a woman my age really looks like. I am much more turned on when I see people’s bodies that look like bodies I recognize,” said Gyllenhaal.

    Sadly, other actresses at the same roundtable, such as Jessica Lange and Ruth Wilson, related to Gyllenhaal’s experiences.

  • Chris Pratt Fought His Way To The Top, Which Is Tough When You’re Fat

    Chris Pratt fought for every inch of success he has. He wasn’t discovered in a coffee shop. He wasn’t spat out by some Orlando star-making machine. He decided young that he wanted to act, then he got to work.

    Pratt told Red Bulletin that he was moved to acting by watching his brother on stage, and by watching the reactions he got.

    “I always wanted to do it,” he says. “When I was in pre-school, I saw my brother, who is three years older than me, performing in a school play. My mother was moved to tears by his performance and I thought to myself, ‘I can do that too.’”

    Pratt headed to Hollywood. But he was not an immediate hit. There is a popular story that Chris Pratt auditioned for and did not get into the mega-hit Avatar. But Pratt laughs that off as just one in a long list.

    “That’s just one of the movies I auditioned for and didn’t get. I wasn’t getting any parts. None! I tried for almost every movie you didn’t see me in.”

    Chris Pratt says it took some real hanging on to get where he is now, and it took adjusting his aim.

    “It was belief in myself, a capacity for enthusiasm and the thought that others were wrong if they thought I wasn’t the right person for the part. I don’t necessarily have to be the male lead. Character parts are good too.”

    Nowadays, Chris Pratt seems to be the first name on anyone’s list for most things. He got the Jurassic World film. Stephen Spielberg wants him for a rumored Indiana Jones reboot.

    “Just the idea that I’m even on the list of people being considered for the role at all bowls me over,” Pratt says of the possibility.

    But he still stays grounded.

    “My heroes are people whose first impulse is to act selflessly and help others,” he says. “Russell Wilson, the Seattle Seahawks quarterback, is a hero as far as I’m concerned. And not just because he led his team to the Super Bowl two years running. He also gives a lot back to society, by visiting sick children in hospital, for example. I think that’s really cool. But most real heroes aren’t famous. It’s people who risk their asses to protect others even though they get no thanks for it.”

  • Amanda Bynes Seen In Public After Three Months, Looks Healthy

    At last! It was touch and go for a while but former child star Amanda Bynes finally seems to be on the right track.

    The 29-year-old thespian was seen grabbing a bite to eat at renowned LA restaurant Craig’s with a woman who was later revealed to be Byne’s life coach.

    Paparazzis were undoubtedly surprised by Byne’s appearance, especially since she appeared healthy and calm, so different from the last time she was out and about.

    The Hairspray actress was dressed very casually in leather trousers, a grey jumper and black heels. She was still sporting long, blonde locks and was rocking some cool designer nails.

    Aside from her very laid-back look, the actress also surprised people by ordering a simple dinner while foregoing the alcohol.

    The quiet, drama-free outing seemed to prove what a close family friend told People Magazine several months ago about the state of Byne’s mental and physical health.

    “Amanda is doing much better from where she was months ago,” the friend described the actress. “She has her own apartment and is much happier.”

    The insider also stated that the star and her parents’ relationship are also better and that “Amanda is clear-headed, more focused and has more independence.”

    That undoubtedly is good news to fans of the fashion designer who went through a very troubling phase where she acted out – shoplifting, getting into fights, changing her looks and posting vitriolic statements against other celebs on Twitter.

    It eventually landed the All That alum in a psychiatric facility to receive treatment for schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.

    And like another famous child star, Byne’s parents were awarded control over her finances and medical needs.

    At one point, the young star acknowledged her problems and released a statement admitting that she “trusted people who clearly were not my friends” and promised that she was “doing my best to get better.”

    It seems that Bynes is trying to keep that promise.

  • Jessica Alba Considering Leaving Acting

    Jessica Alba Considering Leaving Acting

    Jessica Alba recently spoke with Hello Fashion Monthly in the UK about how much she has changed since her early days in acting.

    Jessica Alba now has two daughters with her husband Cash Warren. One of the first things she tossed was the worry about getting back to fighting weight after her daughters were born.

    “I don’t care about that as much after having kids. I’m bigger than I was before and I’m totally fine with it,” she shared. “I embrace how I look in a different way.”

    That’s not to say that she is out of shape, just that she takes a more balanced approach to it.

    “I don’t feel any pressure to stay in shape for anyone else,” she explained. “When I was younger, I used to do the ‘body builder’ diet, which is awful. Everything is steamed and it’s just a handful of everything. I hated my life, it was so miserable! Having some sort of balance and moderation is key.”

    Her sense of fashion has also matured.

    “My idea of how I need to look has completely changed,” she said. “I used to listen to stylists and make-up artists and hairdressers that I didn’t know that well, and they would just doll me up how they wanted to and I would look crazy. Basically anything before I was 24, I looked crazy, just wrong. There are lots of photos of me out there looking like a hot mess!”

    But the biggest shocker is that Jessica Alba may be considering leaving the movie business. She co-owner in a business called The Honest Company, which helps to educate parents about protecting their children from harmful chemicals in products they buy.

    The company itself sells products like diapers and baby wash, and made $150 million last year. Word on the street is that the company may go public, selling on the New York Stock Exchange. If that is true, and the company is seen as profitable, Jessica Alba could be well set for life.

    “It’s tempting to leave acting completely
 and focus on my company,” Jessica Alba said. “It’s definitely more fulfilling. And when I put my time into it, I feel like I’m doing something that’s productive and there’s a real outcome.
 With entertainment, I feel like you’re just throwing stuff against the wall and you don’t know if anyone’s going to see it.”

  • Anna Kendrick Says Talented Women in Hollywood Outnumber Men

    Anna Kendrick is joining the chorus of female — and male — voices out there who say that the Hollywood movie machine is not giving women their due.

    “All the films nominated [for a Best Picture Oscar] this year had male leads. Like, every single one,” Anna Kendrick told Glamour Magazine. “So I’m glad that [equality’s] feeling like a bigger issue now.”

    Other notable celebs who are banging the same marching drum include Patricia Arquette, Amy Schumer, and Emma Watson. Many have particularly pointed out that there is a disparity in pay for women nationwide, not just in Hollywood.

    But Anna Kendrick sees this disparity rear its head in other ways in Hollywood.

    “There’s [a film I’m considering] now where I have to wait for all the male roles to be cast before I can even become a part of the conversation,” she said. “Part of me gets that. [But] part of me is like, ‘What the f–k? You have to cast for females based on who’s cast as males?'”

    This is not uncommon. Sometimes it is even the other way around. If a film is built from mostly female characters, those may need to be in place before the males in support roles can be nailed down. Any casting director is familiar with this. What if you were initially hoping for Matthew McConaughey in a role, and went ahead and offered his love interest part to Charlize Theron? Then McConaughey could not do the part and you cast Tom Cruise instead?

    Have you seen Charlize Theron standing next to Tom Cruise?

    But Anna Kendrick has another explanation.

    “To me, the only explanation is that there are so many f–king talented girls, and from a business standpoint it’s easier to find women to match the men. I totally stand by the belief that there are 10 unbelievably talented women for every role.”

    And she may be on to something. Any girl who has come up through a college acting program knows that the ladies outnumber the men by a ridiculous margin. Competition among women is fierce. But Anna Kendrick has a different perspective on that too.

    “If anything, it bonds you because we’re all dealing with the same problem.”

    Maybe Anna Kendrick sees the world from a different angle than most struggling actresses. Many of those say that they have to endure backstabbing and sabotage from these other actresses, not a bonding.

  • Emma Stone To Play Billie Jean King Against Steve Carell’s Bobby Riggs

    The legendary tennis match “Battle of the Sexes” was a big victory for female athletes. Now Fox Searchlight will be bringing that epic gender fight to the screen, with Emma Stone playing Billie Jean King and Steve Carell as Bobby Riggs.

    In a surprise announcement, Fox Searchlight has scheduled the movie to begin shooting this fall, with husband and wife team Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris set to direct. Simon Beaufoy of Slumdog Millionaire wrote the script and it will be produced by Danny Boyle and Christian Coulson.

    The film is expected to have a light, comedic touch reminiscent of Little Miss Sunshine but with gender and political themes that still rings through today, maybe even more so.

    The “Battle of the Sexes” was a big moment in both Billie Jean King’s career and the feminist movement. The tennis great and activist initially turned down Rigg’s invitation but changed her mind when the retired tennis player started looking down on female athletes.

    It was also one of the greatest tennis matches of all time, and garnered the highest TV ratings since Armstrong landed on the moon. The 29-year-old King’s victory over the much older Riggs was hailed by a New York Times editorial as doing “more for the cause of women than most feminists can achieve in a lifetime.”

    But this is not the only retelling of the match that’s in the pipeline, although it’s expected to be the first one to start production.

    A still untitled HBO project is also in the works. Elizabeth Banks will be portraying King to Paul Giamatti’s Riggs. Proof’s David Auburn will be writing the script and Tom Hanks and Gary Goetzman will be producing it.

    There’s also The Match Maker which stars Will Farrell as Bobby Riggs. Based on the ESPN article by Don Van Natta Jr., the film revolves around the premise that Riggs had to lose the match because of his gambling debts.

  • ‘Wonder Woman’ Will No Longer Have A Female Director, Is Hollywood Bias?

    A woman directing a movie about the most iconic female superhero of all time was like a dream come true for a lot of women.

    Alas, it appears the dream has ended as Michelle Maclaren has dropped out of directing Wonder Woman.

    In an unexpected move, Warner Bros. announced that “Given creative differences, Warner Bros. and Michelle MacLaren have decided not to move forward with plans to develop and direct Wonder Woman together.”

    Warner Bros. spent months searching for a female director to helm the project, which focused on one of the most famous female superheroes of all time.

    The announcement that Maclaren was chosen to direct Wonder Woman was received with a lot of fanfare, and almost the same amount of excitement as when Gal Gadot was tapped to play the beloved heroine.

    So it comes as no surprise that the news left a bitter aftertaste in some sectors who are left wondering if Hollywood has something against female directors.

    After all, Maclaren isn’t the first female director who left a film due to “creative differences.”

    Patty Jenkins was originally tasked to direct Thor 2, giving her the distinction of being the first woman to direct a Marvel superhero movie. But she too left for the same reasons.

    Wonder Woman was supposed to be Maclaren’s first full-length movie directorial debut. She has already garnered acclaim over her directorial skills in episodes of Breaking Bad, Game of Thrones, The Walking Dead and her most recent one, Better Call Saul.

    The news was disheartening to Lynda Carter as well.

    “I think it needs a woman,” the original Wonder Woman said in an interview. She further explained that the movie needs a female perspective, especially since women understand women.

    Despite losing their director, Warner Bros. hasn’t changed the movie’s release date. Wonder Woman is still slated to hit movie theaters in 2017.