Jodie Foster is Wrong. On the Mandatory Price of Fame.

Though I'm late to this discussion -- damn that day job! -- I'm curious how many of you read Jodie Foster's piece at The Daily Beast on the pressures of stardom and her feelings about the current Kristen Stewart media witch hunt? I am, by no stretch of anyone's definition, a fan of Kristen Stewart's but I agree that the treatment she's getting in the press is hideous. While it's not directly comparable the obvious sexism of the whole thing reminds me of the Janet Jackson / Justin Timberlake "wardrobe malfunction" fiasco. The woman is blamed and the man in the equation emerges unscathed -- in this case the Snow White and the Huntsman director keeping his sequel job while the actress loses hers. Men we are free to "tsk tsk" for a couple of seconds before they get back to work but Women? Women have to serve time as Human Dartboards of Shame before they are publicly allowed to yank the Scarlet "A" from their garments and go on living.

Deplorable really.

Foster has a right to defend her former co-star and I'm glad she did and with so much spirit, too. But does this mean we have to start reinterpreting Panic Room (2002) as a metaphor of the insatibale media mob vs the trapped movie star? Damnit, I hadn't thought of that...

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April Showers: "Home For the Holidays"

waterworks each weeknight at 11. This particular installment of April Showers was first published in 2009.

One of the greatest disconnects I've ever had between consensus response to a movie and my own reaction was in 1995 when Jodie Foster's second film Home for the Holiday debuted. It was mostly ignored by the public and the critics were out for blood. Maybe Jodie Foster had just been too successful and too lauded and it was time for the pendulum to swing back? Perhaps the undercurrent was along the lines of 'Does she have to be good at making movies in addition to acting in them?'

Even Robert Downey Jr playing Tommy got bad reviews for his performance as teh gay brother to Holly Hunter's Claudia. Though his performance is pretty out there with his needling rapid fire joking -- he's consistently pushing things too far -- it's also exactly in line with the movie's own sense of humor. And Bonus points: the sibling chemistry between Claudia and Tommy is pretty damn credible. If you're not familiar with the movie I urge you to rent it. You protest: But it's one of thousands of quirky dysfunctional family holiday comedies! I counter: it arrived before that ultra specific genre was wildly over saturated and it's actually very funny.

Holly's shower scene is fairly typical of the movies fast, funny and familial nature. Anne Bancroft, playing Adele the mother, is talking at Claudia but not really with her. Claudia is talking at Adele but not listening. They're on different pages and both of them never shut up. The older woman exits the scene leaving her daughter showering in an open bathroom...

Mom, close the door behind you okay?
No?
okay, no problem, I usually shower in public.
I have no pride.
I have no rights.
I'm only four years old.

I don't need to tell you that Holly Hunter is one of the funniest people in the movies and she was still in her incredible prime at the time (roughly 1987-1998). She makes every pause and emphasis count in a line reading. So many laughs to be had in four sentences. After Claudia is done complaining about the unplanned exhibitionism, she gets down to business. She's vigorously shampooing, suds flying, until she freezes in place with a gasp. Her mischievous brother is lumbering towards the shower curtain like some comic monster.

I swear to god, Tommy, I'm naked in here and I am too old...

*FLASH*

Holly's blind recoil from the polaroid flash is the split second punchline and Foster immediately cuts to the next scene, no time to waste... more rapid fire joking to follow.

Red Carpet Globes Pt 1: Lisbeth is Wednesday

Last week on Red Carpet Convos, Joanna and I were trying on gowns; I borrowed Penelope's (don't judge) and she wore Evan Rachel's.  This week Kurt and I gawk at the Golden Globes but alas, there's no word on which of these dresses Joanna would wear.

Nathaniel: Welcome back to Red Carpet Convos, Kurt. This was meant to be a three-way but Joanna had a fashion emergency off stage of some sort. She's here in spirit and promises to return!‬
Kurt:  A Wardrobe malfunction, naturally.‬ 
Nathaniel: ...which very few ladies were actually having on the Globes red carpet. Everyone (well almost everyone) was so put together. Let's start with Best Actresses of Yore.

Miss 2005, Ms 2008, Dame 2006, Double Dipper 1988 & 1991, and Mrs 2002

poll by twiigs.com

‬

Kurt:  ‪Reese gets my Lazy Trophy of the evening. ‬Between the dress and that wind-blown hair, she looks like she's shooting Bridesmaids 2...in Chicago.
Nathaniel:  ‪Lazy is an odd adjective for Reese since her signature roles are so go-getter ambitious but career-wise and fashion wise. Okay, maybe.‬ 
Kurt:  ‪Yes on go-getter, but doesn't this outfit feel grab-and-go?‬
Nathaniel:  ‪I feel the same way about Kate Winslet since she's been doing only black and white for, what, four years now? Her walk-in s like hitting the "desaturate" button on Photoshop. But she looks sensational anyway.‬
Kurt: I'm with you. It's "matronly" as all the fashion cops have no doubt screeched, but she just looks so beautiful. I even like the clutch, i mean "trophy placeholder"
 

Nathanile: Hee. Hey, trophies are the best red carpet accessories. Did you hear Helen Mirren doing the voice of Becky on last night's Glee?‬ 
Kurt:  ‪ha! no! the boyfriend and i missed Glee. we watched Stage Beauty, with Claire and Billy Crudup.
Nathaniel:  ‪My deepest apologies. You're still functional this morning?‬ 
Kurt:  ‪hahaha...aw. yes, it's a mess. but in terms of sexuality, i had fun.‬ 
Nathaniel:  ‪That sentence out of context! Watch...

in terms of sexuality, i had fun.‬ 
-Kurt 

Kurt:  ‪omg indeed‬. whoops. But back to this damn dame. Regal as always. Definitely red carpet MVP year in year out‬

Yes, she did!Nathaniel:  I think Jodie wore this color for her first Oscar win? Anyway, it's my favorite color on her. 
Kurt:  ‪I do like Jodie's outfit; however i keep getting, A Fish Called Jodie‬ 
Nathaniel:  ‪A Fish Called Jodie. Now I am imagining Jodie seducing Jamie Lee Curtis ...in French.
Kurt: It could happen.  I know everyone loves nicoles dress, but, bless her, she's such a perennial offender for me. and this number looks like her kids glued macaroni all over it
Nathaniel: Wrong. Jodie and Nicki Kidman Nicki Kidman both look like the movie stars they are. Or were...? The weirdest thing about winning an Oscar is sometimes how much it's like a cliff face rather than a peak.‬ Not for these two in particular. I'm just thinking aloud. Sorry, let's call it the ‬‪Susan Sarandon effect when Oscar is like The End. Mabe I'm only thinking of her because she used to favor the peekaboo cleavage that Kate is blessing us with.‬ It's for ladies that are proud of their racks.‬ 
Kurt:  ‪yes. more on Madonna later‬ 
Nathaniel: HA! So when I was assembling that "previous winners" lineup i kept wanting to including Laura Linney, Glenn Close and Julianne Moore but then had to remember. Statue Repellent!‬ 
 

Kurt:  ‪Poor Julianne...

Psychotic Agent, Silent Actress, Perpetual Loser, Perfection, YELLOWWWWWWWW

MORE AFTER THE JUMP

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Blue Moments With Jodie & Fassy

Was it just me or was last night's Golden Globe ceremony less gold than blue? (It was even unfortunately brown what with all the references to Bridesmaids poop jokes). "Blush" was both a red carpet trend and something that stars were having to do.

The evening literally began with a beaver joke and ended with a dick gag. Both Jodie Foster and Michael Fassbender were good sports about the below-the-belt ribbing but what the hell did they spike the drinks with last night?

Jodie's Beaver
Ricky Gervais set the bawdy tone kicking off with a joke that seemed to be about Mel Gibson (he wasn't allowed to talk about him) but morphed into a much better one about Jodie Foster. He can't mention Mel Gibson...

Especially not Jodie Foster's Beaver. I haven't seen it myself. 

I've spoken to a lot of guys here. They haven't seen it either.  

...But that doesn't mean it's not any good!

One of the talking dumbheads at E! after party actually thought that was a joke about Jodie still being hot after birthing two children. Oh no, honey, no. That's not what the joke was about. 

Elton John did not think this joke was funny in a subsequent cutaway -- though he knew what the joke was about -- but he had a permascowl on his face throughout the evening, only smiling when Morgan Freeman interrupted his own speech to say "Hi Elton"

Fassbender's Frontal
When Clooney won Best Actor, He gave a beautiful shout out to his friend and former co-star Brad Pitt before going straight for the Fassbender dick jokes, even pantomiming a golf swing without a golf club.

Also you get to meet a lot of other wonderful young actors.  I met -- I'd like to thank Michael Fassbender for taking on the frontal nudity responsibility that I had.

Really Michael?  Honestly, can you play golf with your hands behind your back?

Go for it man, do it. 

George, George, George... 

Surely that was as good as a $100 million blockbuster for upping Michael Fassbender's Q Quotient round the world. 

Box Office: Ethan, Sherlock and Alvin Return

The newish Sherlock Holmes franchise was down from its first go around and the news was even worse for The Chipmunks in their third attack on the box office. Those high pitched rodents were off 50% so maybe we can safely bury this franchise?

I could have put a picture of Alvin and the Chipmunks here. Thank me!

The big story was crowded houses in limited release for the return of Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) in Mission: Impossible 4. (The four is silent or pronounced "Gost Pro•toh•call".) I'm eager to see it myself, not because of that prologue to The Dark Knight Rises that's attached in some theaters but because... director BRAD BIRD! He hasn't let us down yet: Family Dog, The Incredibles, Iron Giant, Ratatouille! So curious to see how he handles flesh and blood actors instead of drawings and pixels.

Box Office Top Ten
01 SHERLOCK HOLMES A GAME OF SHADOWS new $40 
02 ALVIN AND THE CHIPMUNKS: CHIPWRECKED new $23.5 
03 MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE - GHOST PROTOCOL  $13 
04 NEW YEAR'S EVE new $7.4 (cum. $24.8)
05 THE SITTER new $4.4 (cum. $17.7)
06 THE TWILIGHT SAGA: BREAKING DAWN PART 1 $4.3 (cum $266.4)
07 YOUNG ADULT $3.6 (cum $4)
08 HUGO $3.6 (cum $39)
09 ARTHUR CHRISTMAS $3.6 (cum. $38.5)
10 THE MUPPETS $3.4 (cum $70.9)

Other Talking Points
Precursor Nominations Mean Nothing to Ticket Sales: The Descendants [Michael's review] didn't really get a boost from its week of precursor glories, off 23% from last week, but then neither did any of the other films. It's all white noise to general audiences... until Oscar nominations, one supposes. Meanwhile one wonders if the Weinstein Co is being too cautious. The Artist [Nathaniel's review] was off only 2% but they only added one screen. My Week With Marilyn [Nathaniel's review] is also losing heat without expansions. It's taking forever and what gives with that. Marilyn is a brand. 

Jodie in Hiding:  Carnage is the second Jodie Foster picture in a row to open in a tiny number of locations following The Beaver. While I realize she isn't the draw she once was, it seems like she'd still be enough of a draw in wide release to at least make some money on a wider opening, even if people don't end up liking the movie, instead of the torturous inching along which prevents revenue.

Indie Success: Shame crossed the $1 million mark with 30 screens added and Margin Call crossed the $5 million mark (on a $3.5 million budget) as it continues to lose theaters. Is Margin Call a sign that Zachary Quinto is going to be a real behind-the-scenes force? He really seems to be taking to the producer's role with several projects lined up. 

What did you see this weekend? Was it worth your time?