Normally, we don't run stories about the personal lives and religious beliefs of celebrities. The exception to the rule is when they have some kind of impact (positive or negative) on a film or a career. So when Paul Haggis gives the finger to the Church of Scientology, we have to run it. As Haggis himself admits, "I am fully aware that some of my friends may choose to no longer associate with me, or in some cases work with me."
According to Village Voice, Haggis has been a member of the Church of Scientology for 35 years. But he found himself questioning its practices and beliefs, particularly after its San Diego branch openly sponsored California's anti-gay Proposition 8. Haggis asked Scientology's spokesman, Tommy Davis, to denounce the branch. Davis skirted the issue, and Haggis went on the offensive with a confrontational letter that has made its way online on Mark Rathburn's anti-Scientology blog. "The church's refusal to denounce the actions of these bigots, hypocrites and homophobes is cowardly. I can think of no other word. Silence is consent, Tommy. I refuse to consent."
The church's bigotry encouraged Haggis to do a little digging, and he found an online interview with Davis, who claimed that the Church doesn't force its members to cease contact with anyone who forsakes the religion, or openly criticizes it. "I was shocked. We all know this policy exists. I didn't have to search for verification - I didn't have to look any further than my own home." Haggis' wife was ordered to "disconnect" from her parents because they resigned from the church.
Continued below the jump...
The biggest enemy of the Footlooseremake isn't a music-hating preacher, but its own Creative Differences. After it finally recovered from the loss of Zac Efron by recruiting Chace Crawford and Julianne Hough, Variety reports that Footloose has now lost its captain. Director Kenny Oretega has left the project due to "differences over tone and budget."
Reportedly, Ortega's vision included elaborate dance sequences and a budget of $30 million or more. But Paramount's Adam Goodwin had something different in mind. He saw Footloose with a little less dancing, a little less music, and a lot more edge. He was also hoping the budget would come in around $25 million. Who is right? I don't know. If you want something closer to the original, I'd say Goodwin is spot on. Kevin Bacon did his lithe dance moves in barns and car washes. It was on the cheap. It was also pretty edgy (relatively speaking) in its handling of teenage sexuality. Is any remake going to feature its heroine yelling "I'm not even a virgin!" in the middle of a church? Nah. They'll just dress her sexy.
Paramount is now on the hunt for a new director in order to kick off its Sunday shoes and begin filming by 2010. I was going to say "Maybe this'll be the end of this silly remake" but there's no way that'll happen. Instead, I vote that this Footloose be made with two simultaneous storylines. As they tell the story of the repressive Midwest, we'll also learn about the behind the scenes drama that mirrors the onstage action. Will Ortega's lush vision of music and dance win out? Or will the repressive Goodman crush his freedom of expression? It would be like The French Lieutenant's Woman for high schoolers.
Are you finding it increasingly harder to take the changing physicality of Hollywood actors?
Things change; they grow old, they morph, and sometimes even evolve. It's a fact of life, and usually a good fact of life. But lately, I find myself constantly having to try and ignore certain physical aspects to enjoy a trailer, an image, a film. Rather than absorbing the project, the mood, the plot, I'm trying to blur my eyes so Mr. or Ms. So-and-So doesn't look quite so silly.
On the one hand, of course, it's the plastic surgery. Practically everyone in Tinseltown does something. There's no way everyone has smooth foreheads and bright skin. But when the random nose job or improvement turns into new cheeks, chin, or balloonish lips until the original person is nowhere to be seen, it becomes too much. If this was happening to actors known for morphing into characters, whose performance shines much brighter than their own image or personality, fine. But when the stars whose name and faces are their fame, you can't ignore it. I simply cannot see Mickey Rourke without thinking back to The Pope of Greenwich Village, spot Meg Ryan without trying to recognize the girl from Innerspace, Melanie Griffith, Sylvester Stallone, Nicole Kidman... Can they really think that's better than a few wrinkles and some sagging skin?
Perception is everything, and I don't mean to get all metaphysical on you, but sometimes it's how the world sees us that can define who we are -- but what if the world thinks you're a psycho? In an interview with American Psycho director Mary Harron, she was reminiscing about the black comedy, and as it turns out, her star Christian Bale based his vision of the murdering yuppie on -- wait for it -- Tom Cruise. According to Harron, she and Bale had been collaborating on the character when "...he [Bale] called me and he had been watching Tom Cruise on David Letterman, and he just had this very intense friendliness with nothing behind the eyes, and he was really taken with this energy."
Actors take inspiration from all kinds of places, but you can't help but wonder if Bale saw something that we would all be made painfully aware of: the 'crazy' side of Cruise. And it was that same energy that worked so well in P.T. Anderson's Magnolia when Cruise played motivational speaker Frank T.J. Mackey. But for me, what made this story truly funny, is that who could have predicted that soon enough Bale would be dealing with his own troubled image in Hollywood as a rage-aholic and something of a bully? On the upside, though, maybe Bale's on-set rant will one day inspire another young actor (ahh, the circle of life).
These guys aren't the only ones to battle troubled reputations (whether or not they're deserved), and after the jump: a few more stars who have run their reputations into the ditch...
As you may have seen, Nicole Kidman is the focus of some ridiculous headlines today, with everyone from the AP to The Hollywood Reporter and E! blaring that Kidman "conceded" to Washington that Hollywood contributes to violence against women. It's the kind of headline I hate: Attention grabbing, anti-entertainment, and completely misleading.
Kidman is a Goodwill Ambassador for UNIFEM, and was testifying before a House Foreign Affairs committee. Her goal was funding and resources, and to discuss violence against women overseas. The committee is currently debating whether to pass legislation for humanitarian relief. In true government fashion Rep. Dana Rohrabacher ( R-Calif) decided having A Real Hollywood Star was a chance to shift the discussion into shallow ground, and ask Kidman whether or not the movie industry had played "a bad role." Kidman, who probably came prepared to actually discuss humanitarian efforts, gave a fairly bland answer: "Probably." She hastily added that she didn't feel her own roles had, that she was through with roles that portrayed women as weak or as sex objects. "I can't be responsible for all of Hollywood but I can certainly be responsible for my own career," she added, and argued that Hollywood had also "contributed to solutions."
Undoubtedly, many will blame Kidman for making a shallow statement, and poke fun at her poorer script choices, but surely the blame falls on Rep. Rohrabacher for such an inane question. While Hollywood's portrayal and treatment of women is hardly stellar (if you read Cinematical regularly, you know we complain about it on an obsessive basis), and is certainly harmful socially and culturally, I would hardly blame it for violence. That's just the usual government claptrap that loves blaming the big, bad movie industry for glorifying sex and violence, and would now attempt to dodge humanitarian obligations by blaming Moulin Rouge.
Unless you've mercifully been living under a rock, you know the story of Balloon Boy. The world was captivated (and hey, most of us were working while this unfolded, so why not watch a UFO float lazily across the Colorado* sky?) by the idea of a terrified six year old caught in a deadly version of Pixar's UP. But in the end, little Falcon Heene was hiding in a box with some sandwiches, every bit a victim of his family's overwhelming greed for fame and fortune as his homebound audience was.
Analysts and watchdogs are blaming that audience as much as they're blaming the news outlets and the Heenes. While I think it's important to keep the story in the public eye precisely to damn the reality show mindset, I think it's also neccessary to mock the story whenever possible. If there's one way to discourage other famewhores, it's reminding them that the public eye is a fickle and nasty mistress. Since Richard Heene obviously intended this stunt to mirror a movie, we thought we'd honor him by listing five of the dumbest families found on the big screen. If there's one thing that's more embarrassing than being outed and charged with a media hoax, it's realizing John Hughes did it before you. And better.
Go below the jump for the list ...
* Oh and Colorado? As one of your native daughters, I beg you to make the news for something that isn't tragic or embarrassing.
The Jonas Brothers performed live last night at Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest 2009 in Times Square.
The boys sure have a lot of screaming, young fans.
It's infectious!
Thankfully, there was plenty of security on hand to prevent anything crazy from happening.
So for those of you that were out at the clubs last night, like us, or at home with your family and missed the performance, click here to check it out.
We predict only bigger and better things for the Jonai this year!
We all know Kirsten Dunst dresses and looks like [fill in the adjective]/
It's no surprise.
But, in a new interview with UK's OK magazine, Kiki goes out of her way to defend the fact that she apparently doesn't care how she dresses.
The 26 year-old says, "I don't have the energy to care if people criticise the way I look. I'm over getting dressed up, although it's fun sometimes - like when my younger brother Christian and I got ready together to go to the Oscars. But other than that, though, I couldn't care less."
Seriously, no one else could care either.
But Kiki continues, "Being fun is way better than being beautiful. I would rather entertain people."
The only way we can imagine Drunkst entertaining us is by looking hideous!
What a happy holiday for some Atlanta-area students!
The Ron Clark Academy in Atlanta got the attention of the nation when the video above of its students performing an election rap they wrote appeared on YouTube.
Teachers at the school are known to use rapping, dancing and drumming to help students learn.
Headmaster Clark, who taught in one of New York City's toughest schools and wrote the best-selling teaching book The Essential 55, opened the ATL school last year with proceeds from his book and private donations.
Nearly all of its 80 students are from middle- and low-income households.
Parents pay a small part of the tuition and the rest is paid by donors. It costs approximately $14,000 to educate each student.
Well, the generous Oprah Winfrey can be listed as one of the school's benefactors.
On Wednesday, Clark revealed to his students that Super O gifted the school $365,000!!
"We teach school all day and fundraise at night," said Clark. "To have an unsolicited gift come like that is incredible."
When Clark shared the news with the school community, the children, parents and teachers reportedly erupted in deafening cheers!
The donation will likely go to scholarships for students.
It's enough to pay for roughly 26 children to attend the school for one year!
In a letter that accompanied the check, Winfrey calls Clark a role model and applauds the "profound difference you're making with your passion for teaching."
The check was issued by the Oprah Winfrey Foundation, which gave $4 million to educational programs in 2008.
Normally, we don't run stories about the personal lives and religious beliefs of celebrities. The exception to the rule is when they have some kind of impact (positive or negative) on a film or a career. So when Paul Haggis gives the finger to the Church of Scientology, we have to run it. As Haggis himself admits, "I am fully aware that some of my friends may choose to no longer associate with me, or in some cases work with me." 
The biggest enemy of the 
Are you finding it increasingly harder to take the changing physicality of Hollywood actors?
As you may have seen, 
