Category: hollywood

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Hollywood Pedophiles

“You’re damaging an entire industry”

Corey Feldman is currently doing the rounds on talk shows, promoting his new book, Coreyography. I think it’s incredibly brave writing a book about the dark side of Hollywood. People may think I am nuts, but I do believe there’s a dark side of the industry, and that people probably do want Corey dead for telling tales out of school. I am nowhere near as famous as Corey, and I’ve certainly had my share of threats made after going public. I can only imagine the kind of threats he’s dealing with. Especially given the fact that so many of his peers have already met untimely ends. Think about all the kids in his former circle. River Phoenix and Corey Haim are two who are now gone too soon.

Now, I’m no fan of Barbara Walters. She has always come off as a hard, condescending bitch. Personally, I think she’s overrated. She really seems to have e thing for child stars too. She slandered Lindsay Lohan when LiLo decided not to do her show. She tried to keep it professional, but she was “disappointed” Lindsay decided not to do her show, and made a big deal about it to anyone who would listen. Look Babs, just cause you want to interview someone, doesn’t mean they’re obligated to it. If I was Lindsay, I certainly wouldn’t have done it. Barbara can be mean and brutal. Certainly not something someone needs fresh out of rehab.

But then I caught this snippet of Barbara’s interview with Corey.

While Corey is discussing how seedy the industry is, and how some of the most powerful people in it are pedophiles, and people need to be very careful letting their kids be a part of it, Barbara, who can been heard sighing and gasping throughout with disbelief, then lets out “You’re damaging an entire industry”

No Barbara, Corey isn’t damaging an entire industry. Pedophiles who rape young actors are damaging the industry. Corey isn’t to blame here. He’s trying to help people. He’s trying to bring awareness to a problem. I was told by countless keyboard warriors that I was irresponsible for going public. Before he was named, I was told I was affecting the reputations of everyone who ever worked on Hey Dad. I was callous and uncaring. I was destroying lives. I expected this from nameless idiots with access to a keyboard. I expect it from grown men who are standing up for their pedophile friends. I don’t expect it from someone like Barbara Walters. She’s been around long enough to know what goes on, and if she’s really that naive to think it’s not, then she’s a worthless journalist who has never really looked into a story.

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Anaconda

Anaconda, the play.

Sarah Doyle, a fellow Aussie expat here in the US, who also went to Meriden, is currently in Australia, presenting her award winning play, Anaconda.

The script is based on events that happened at a school in our circle, and its pretty powerful stuff.

It deals with abuse, and the aftermath of that abuse.

If you’re in Sydney, please go along and support Sarah. I so wish I was there to see the Aussie version.

Break a leg Sarah. I know it’s going to be awesome!

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What’s the difference between being artsy and trashy?

Apparently it depends on whether you’re a former child star or not.

I was never a huge Miley Cyrus fan back in the day. I was too old to get into her Hanna Montana thing, and I don’t have kids that would have exposed me to her either. I did notice her when she started her transition from Disney child star to grown up performer.

It’s never easy going through the transition from teenager to adult. It’s even harder trying to do this when you’re got the whole world watching you. How many people can honestly say they never fucked up during that transition? Or did things that they didn’t regret later? Everyone has an opinion on all the current celebrities going through their transitions. I’d like to see half of these people last a day being hounded by paparazzi, being constantly scrutinized by every keyboard warrior, and how many times someone could call them a talentless slut before they broke down, let alone trying to go through the entire transition. It’s kind of weird that in the midst of this “Bullying Awareness” campaign that the media is bestowing upon us, they’re the ones doing the most amount of bullying on people like Miley Cyrus, Britney Spears, Justin Beiber and other stars trying to make a living. Hypocrisy much?

So here’s a few things I’ve noticed over the last few months:

If you started your artistic career as as adult, it’s ok to get nekkid in a film clip, but if you were a child star, apparently it’s not….

There’s also the speculation on what you can wear  during a performance. Apparently people either have short memories, or you can do a nude outfit, as long as you use glitter to cover/accentuate your lady parts.

Apparently a nude suit is appropriate for the Olympics, but not for the VMA’s

Apparently it’s also OK to pose half naked on album or magazine covers, as long as you’re not a former child star…

Hell, you can even dress in skimpy outfits and dance with weird animals….

Apparently this is OK..
but this is not.

Then there was Sinead O’Connor’s open letter to Miley. Look, maybe she was trying to be helpful, but when was the last time you took advice from someone who called you a prostitute? If I didn’t know you, and I wrote you an open letter calling you a misguided prostitute, who had no idea that you were being pimped out by your minders, do you think you’d say, Oh hey, Thanks Sarah. Or, would you say, Hey Sarah, go fuck yourself? – Be honest now. Maybe it wasn’t cool of Miley to insinuate that Sinead wasn’t totally together, but since Sinead is now up to her 5th open letter, she’s kind of proving her point.

Look, a lot of people don’t like Miley. They don’t like that fact that she’s growing up. They don’t like that she’s trying to find her own way. They didn’t like it when Britney grew up. They don’t like Beiber growing up. I don’t think anybody likes ANY child star that grows up in the spotlight. Nobody likes Lindsay either. I’m so grateful I left the industry and didn’t have to go through that transition in the spotlight.

But look, kids are like puppies. They don’t stay young and cute forever. They all grow up eventually. Just like a puppy who chews your shoes, and pees in the corner, teenagers are going to do the same thing, whether they’re in the spotlight or not. Some kids do it better than others, and some are just better at hiding it. It’s not fair to compare kid stars either. Just like regular kids, each has to find their own way, and you didn’t go through the same things other kids you went to school with. Famous kids are they same. They all have their own shit to deal with. Just because TMZ has told you where they are, doesn’t mean you know how they got there.

Oh, and for anyone who thinks Miley has no talent, watch this:

You’ll notice I left Lady Gaga out of the mix, because like Madonna, she’s made her whole career about shocking people with nudity. At this point, it’s neither shocking, nor new, but people seem to lap it up. Just Google Lady Gaga nude if you want to see how blase it’s become.

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Somebody supplied the pole

Paul Peterson from A Minor Consideration wrote this really good post about Miley back when she was in trouble the first, second time.

Somebody Supplied the Pole

Miley Cyrus, you might recall, had a run in with a stripper’s pole not too long ago on the Teen Choice Awards (Aug 13, 2009). A savvy psychologist then posed the quintessential question: “Who supplied the pole?”
Forget the family members who failed to put a halt to last Sunday’s ‘performance’ at the VMA’s. Miley’s ‘family’ put their child on the auction block years ago. “Vanity Fair” was just a portend of what we saw on Sunday. But what about the legions of so-called “adults” who through silence or support enabled the tawdry exhibition of juvenile lasciviousness witnessed by unsuspecting millions? The song-and-dance-routine (based on Brittany Spear’s comeback video) was a construct, choreographed and rehearsed for hours on end; costumed and lighted for maximum effect, by so-called “artists” who were expressing their right to offend…and deliberately developed to enhance Miley’s image as an artist who matters.
Bull****. The Producers signed off on this disgusting misuse of media access. The agents and managers gave no thought to the true consequences on the life of their meal-ticket. National advertisers bought into this travesty of adolescent infamy…and they were Adults all.
Don’t you see what they’re doing? Can their assault on childhood and adolescence be any clearer? Kids, you see, are just amoral Consumers. The emerging sexuality of adolescents has to be channeled into no-boundaries perversion and anything-goes public display! Adults with no skin in the Game (but for profit) are telling you that young people are prey.
Miley Cyrus is Twenty Years-Old. Do you think she understands the true consequences to her personal life inherent her latest showcase? How can she possibly understand the hidden agendas of the supervising adult sociopaths who surround talented youngsters in the entertainment industry? Blatant public sexuality disguised as entertainment is a disguise, a screening device for predatory adults who see children as toys, who carefully cultivate and groom developing children as a means to an end namely personal gratification and validation of undisclosed predilections; be they sexual, political or philosophical.
Is Miley culpable in all of this? Yes. That is HER in the video. If she cares about her long-suffering fans, if she cares about herself, it is time to bid adieu to the Business and get herself into a university outside the United States and spend the next four years finding out what SHE wants, what SHE cares about, and how useless a choreographed romp is to a meaningful personal relationship.
As for the Adults who have been complicit in this latest child star fiasco, they all should be brought up on charges. Personally, I’d like to see full background checks, vetted personality profiles, in-depth examinations of their philosophical, political and sexual preferences, and their financial compensation for their participation in the deconstruction of a child star.
Remember, somebody supplied the POLE!

This post was written by Paul Peterson from A Minor Consideration

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The Miley Backlash

It’s the end of the world! No wait, it’s just Miley Twerking

OMG, you’d think the world had just exploded into some kind of world war, or there was a massive plague. The social media world has gone into overdrive, because a former child star dared to do something raunchy at the VMA’s.
Nobody seems able to deal with the fact that the little Hannah Montana star is trying to shake off her Disney princess roots and show the world that she’s a grown up.
Most people go through a stage where they shake off their little girl image, and try to show that they’re an adult now. She’s 20. It’s not like she’s a 17 year old dancing on a pole. Oh wait, she was a 17 year old dancing on a pole….. Have we already forgotten that massive controversy?
Do people get that she wasn’t in a flesh colored bikini to be provocative just for the hell of it? Has anyone seen the Blurred Lines video? She was dressed like the girls in the video. Well, at least she was dressed more like the ones in the free to air version. I’m guessing a lot of people haven’t seen the OTHER version of his filmclip. Careful, it’s NOT safe for work. You’ll also see that’s this is where the foam finger comes from.
People are also forgetting that this is the VMA’s. It’s known for being outrageous and provocative. Every year, they get people who are supposed to be scandalous and create headlines, hoping that people will watch again next year. Everyone involved who is feigning shock is also full of shit. It’s not like they just went up there and Miley went rogue. Somebody choreographed this, somebody made outfits. They had rehearsals. Not just for themselves, but for all the dancers, for lighting, sound, directors, cameras. Everybody involved knew exactly what was going to happen on that stage. Even Robin Thicke, who may be butt hurt because Miley got all the attention and not him. He can’t claim he didn’t know what was going to happen. Maybe he wasn’t expecting the reaction it got, but he certainly can’t BS and say he didn’t know what the act was going to be.
Meanwhile, how come nobody is all bent out of shape that Lady Gaga was wearing LESS than Miley? She was wearing a thong, and she didn’t even get dressed again afterwards. She took her chair back in the audience, wearing a thong and a couple shells on her boobs…. But I guess people expect Gaga to be provocative, so somehow that’s OK….
People, it’s the VMA’s. It’s supposed to be scandalous. Just in case you’ve all got short term memory loss, here’s a couple of the past “OMG I can’t believe they did that’s….”
Way back in the beginning, Madonna shocked dressed like a Bride and sang Like a Virgin.
Diana Ross feeling up Lil Kim
Britney stripping down to a flesh coloured 2 piece
Britney the following year, trying to be like Salma Hayek
Remember 2003 when everyone flipped out about Madonna and Britney kissing?
Remember how outraged everyone was over "Fat Britney?"
I still haven't worked out what the meat suit was about...
This was NOT a reaction to Miley
Also hilarious was this image of Will Smith and his kids acting all stunned by Miley. Turns out, it’s them chewing gum during Lady Gaga’s performance. But it’s more fun to manipulate the truth right?
And one more for all the haters. For those of you who think Miley has no talent and can’t sing, you’ve never seen this:
Actually, this is the only thing that does make me sad. She actually is extremely talented and a great singer. It’s sad that as a society we expect girls to behave slutty, and show off all their goods, then slut shame them when they do. We chastise people like Christina Aguilera, also an amazing singer, for daring to get chubby, when it shouldn’t matter what she looks like. She’s a singer, not a Victoria’s Secret model. Britney showed up “Fat” at the 2007 awards. Fat my arse, she was skinner then than most real women are on a good day, me included. It shouldn’t matter what she looks like. It’s sad that people expect the girls to get their kit off, to be super fit and toned, and act sexy. We don’t expect guys to be anything but a great voice. We expect women to be able to sing, dance, turn us on, but not go too far. Actually, it’s kinda like the Blurred Lines song. We want a Good Girl, but one we know that secretly wants it…. That’s why everyone freaked out when Madonna kissed Britney, and no-one cared she also kissed Christina. Britney was supposed to still be a good girl, but Christina was Durty. No shock value there.
Video really did kill the radio star.
Honestly, I think Anderson Cooper summed it up best in his RidicuList.
But if you don’t want to be all shocked at how low the industry is, don’t watch stupid award shows. It’s ridiculous how many award ceremonies there are for entertainers. These people are already being congratulated constantly for acting or singing, and it seems like every month there’s some kind of televised Yay Me! thing going on. I don’t think acting or singing should be a competition, but the amount of trophies overpaid people can snag is just insane. I choose not to watch ANY of the awards ceremonies. Yes, all you actors and singers are just amazeballs, making millions of dollars, traveling the world, finding cures for cancers and helping to create world peace. Oh wait, there’s other people that do that, and we don’t see them patting each other on the back at televised events. Oh well, maybe next year.
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Lower the age of consent?

When law people go crazy, or just get lazy.

A twitter friend today sent me an article from the paper, and as I read it, my jaw literally dropped, and I may have even let out an audible gasp. Go read the article, then come back here for my rant…

In the aftermath of the Jimmy Savile scandal, and with Operation Yewtree in full swing, Britain is finally standing up and going after a whole bunch of people who were previously untouchable. Which is awesome. Just because you’re famous doesn’t mean that you should be above the law.

However, one woman, British Barrister Barbara Hewson, thinks that it’s just a witch hunt, and the better thing to do would be to simply lower the age of consent to 13 and we should get rid of the anonymity for victims. There should also be a statute of limitations, and most of these pedobears should only be charged with a misdemeanor.

So I’m wondering if she is just lazy, or has no clue of the impact of sexual assault on it’s victims. I’m hoping she’s just lazy, and thinks that all these “old cases” are just taking up her valuable time, which she could be doing something more important to her.

A lot of people simply don’t understand the impact of sexual assault on victims. Some people are able to heal from the trauma. Others are just really good at hiding how hurt they are. Some people openly have problems, but most people don’t know why a person is that way.

Assault actually has physical changes on the brain. It can change the way people deal with life. It can affect all their future interactions with society.I wish more people would look into the physical and emotional effects of assault before they start spouting off bullshit like this barrister did.

Does she truly believe that serial offenders like Jimmy Savile should have been allowed to get away with it “because they’re old”? Just because someone has gotten away with a crime for 20 or 30 or even 50 years, doesn’t mean they should be pardoned. The victims have had to live with the effects of that abuse their whole life, while the pedo was out and about, enjoying life. I don’t care if a child rapist is 90 years old. If he committed a crime, he shouldn’t get to go to the grave a free man. He should face his crimes the same as if he’d been brought to prosecution a day after the event.

I’m also tired of people pardoning pedophiles simply because they’re in the entertainment industry. People like Roman Polanski are still happily working, and all these people keep jumping to his defense, because even though he drugged, raped and sodomized a 13 year old girl, he’s an artiste, so it’s ok. Even though he was charged, then fled the country to avoid jail time, and has managed to avoid extradition a number of times, people still want to work with him. I just don’t get it. You couldn’t get me in the same room as that man. I won’t watch any of his films. I certainly wouldn’t work with him. I remember an interview with Kate Winslet saying that when Roman Polaski asks you to be in his film, you don’t say no. I so wish I had been there so I could say, Why, because he wouldn’t listen if you said no anyway?

Old men of the entertainment industry, you have been put on notice. You are no longer safe. All of us are getting strong and taking back our souls. If you did bad things to kids, you’re probably going to get a knock on the door.

Right now, it’s Britain leading the way, and Australia is doing pretty damn good too. There’s a lot of former child stars, and current working ones in the US who are watching these cases very closely. It won’t be long before there’s a lot of arrests in Hollywood. Unfortunately, for the older people, there is a statute of limitations in the US. However, for the younger kids who are currently living it, they’ll know that the older actors and execs are no longer untouchable. They’ll find their voices, and they’ll start to speak out.

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Lindsay on Letterman

Lindsay Lohan on Letterman

So in case you misses it, Lindsay came back from Brazil, and went on to The Late Show with David Letterman.

I love Letterman. Have done since I was a small kid and we watched him thanks to the big dishes at the studio that picked up all the foreign channels. Well, actually, back then I used to think he was kind of mean to his guests. But Julie McGregor loved him, so we would always have him on in the green room. Then I went to Honduras, and it was like comfort food when I was there. I was older and started to get his humour. I think he also mellowed a bit. I couldn’t believe when Steve Vizard ripped off his show, right down to the pencil throws and arm twist drumroll. Then nine bought Letterman and he finally came to Australian TV.

A few years ago I was in New York for a work conference, and I actually got to go see Letterman live. It was awesome. Dave and I share a birthday, and I had always dreamed of being on Letterman one day. Preferably with Drew Barrymore there also. 😉 Maybe one day I’ll have a reason to go on there, but just getting to be in the audience was pretty cool. When we were there, Vince Vaughn was on talking about Couples Retreat.

One of my other favourite people is Lindsay Lohan. I know she’s troubled, and people like to pick on her. But I think she’s incredible pretty, and a very talented actress. I still have hope that she can turn her life around and be a working actress, without a bunch of drama. I really hope that rehab works out for her. She desperately needs to just go somewhere that she can just work on her issues and not be interrupted by paparazzi and E! news all the time. It’s tough to grow up in the industry. People make fun and say she gets it easy. I’d like to see how well most people cope with just one day of being followed and targeted and having everything they do scrutinized and displayed for literally the whole world to see.

Everyone has crazy years. It’s hard to go from kid to adult and not fuck up. Everyone gets into trouble. We all do stupid things. But not everyone ends up on the news everytime they do something other people don’t approve of.

But watching this interview on Letterman, I think Lindsay is going to be just fine. She comes across as very humble. She makes fun of herself. She talks about how she respects Charlie Sheen because he’s nice to the crew. (There’s a lot of actors that are dicks to crew or lesser actors)

I truly hope that Lindsay takes this opportunity to take time for herself, and works on her demons. I hope that all the media also gives her the opportunity to take a time out and leaves her alone to fix herself. It’s important that she is given space and time. The constant hounding by people just hoping to catch her fuck up is only going to make it worse.

I’ll be sending happy thoughts to Lindsay while she’s in rehab. I hope wherever she is going has an awesome staff like they do at Heal For Life. That place was amazing, and they can do in one week what it takes some places months to do. I wish I could send her there.

When Lindsay gets out, I hope people give her a break. I hope she continues working. I hope she finds peace.

And Dave, I’d still love to be on your show one day!

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Rewarding bad behaviour

Teaching the wrong life lessons

This is going to sound like a stab at Lindsay, and it’s not meant to be, because I really still hope the girl can turn her life around. However, I just don’t see how that’s going to happen when people keep rewarding her for bad behaviour.

Fresh off her court appearance, and being sentenced to 90 days of “locked-in” rehab, there’s news she’s flying out to Brazil to earn 6 figures for a few appearances. There’s also speculation she’s going to Australia for a similar sum of cash. Now – power to the girl that she can still make money, and hopefully she’s actually using some of it to pay her bills. We keep hearing there’s a lot of them.

However, at the same time, I think we’re just teaching Lindsay that the more she fucks up, the more money she can make. They’re keeping her in the headlines, and keeping her front page news. She’s never going to start looking after herself if she can still make money, jail time and all.

It’s not just Lindsay either. The US has a bad habit of rewarding bad behaviour. Look at Paris Hilton or Kim Kardashian. Both made sex tapes and were rewarded with reality shows. People on shows like Celebrity Apprentice know that bad behaviour equals better ratings. There’s shows like Celebrity Rehab and The Surreal Life for stars that have gone bad.

Even worse though, is that if a celebrity tries to do good, they’re banished. Corey Feldman tried to speak out about the abuse he and Haim suffered, and he was immediately tossed into the oblivion bin. Turn to God and you’re put in the crazy basket. Decide to actually stop drinking, and you’re declared boring and you’ll die a slow “whatever happened to that person” death….

It’s OK to donate money to charity, or do a couple of events, as long as it’s all red carpet glamour. But if you actually decide to get serious and devote a good chunk of your life to a cause, prepare yourself to be thrown out of the working circle. There’s no faster kiss of death than being considered an activist.

I wish we would reward people for thinking about something other than themselves. Those who donate time and money, or who put their personal reputations on the line for a cause shouldn’t become Persona Non Grata. Instead, those who continually flout laws, hurt others, or who act as if no matter what they do, they’ll still have money to pay their bills, (but don’t) should stop being rewarded.

I’m worried about what we’re teaching the next generation.

Make yourself famous at any cost. Stay famous, no matter what it takes. Don’t worry about breaking laws – you’ll never actually do time, and you’ll still be raking in the big bucks.

Take a personal stand, try to do right by some other people, and be told you’ll never work in the industry again….

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Can bad celebs be good again?

Can Lindsay ever be A list again?

Remember when Lindsay Lohan was the IT girl? Everyone thought she was the next big thing? She would have a long career, win awards and just have an all around awesome life?

Then, like most former child stars, she had a meltdown, and everyone turned on her. It’s not just Lindsay. Britney Spears, Corey Feldman, Corey Haim, Christina Aguilera, Drew Barrymore, Danny Bonaduce, Brad Renfro, Macauley Culkin, anyone from Diff’rent Strokes…. They all got built up, and then went through what all teenagers go through. They get rebellious. They experiment. They break the rules. But unlike normal teenagers, they’ve got a pack of paparazzi following them, documenting all of it. Which really, would only serve to make them even crazier.

Some of the lucky ones, like Drew Barrymore, made it out the other side. But that was before social media. People like Britney had her meltdown shown in real time, all over the world. No matter where someone goes now, there’s someone who can upload whatever they’re doing instantly, it can go viral within 24 hours, and even people in deepest darkest Africa can know what celeb just hit up a Starbucks on Hollywood Blvd.

With social media, blogging, FB, Twitter, the world has also gotten a lot more viscous. People are downright mean. A lot of people also seem like they’re hoping to see the stars fall.  Everybody fucks up. If someone was following you around constantly, documenting everything you said or did, we’d see that even you fuck up occasionally. I’m not perfect. I’ve said stupid things. I’ve done dumb things. I’ve said mean things about other people. But, I’m trying really hard to be a better person and be more empathetic. I’m trying to put myself in another persons shoes before I judge them.

I can’t imagine being Lindsay. Or any Hollywood celebrity these days. How does one try to fix it when they’ve got a bunch of people just waiting for them to fall again? How do you seek help, when you’ve got a problem, but you don’t want it splashed everywhere? How do you improve yourself, without looking like a tool? If someone enters rehab to take some me time, get it together, they’re blasted by the media as having a problem. How do you go to a retreat, heal yourself, without worrying that someone else there isn’t going to blab to TMZ about what you were doing there.

Right now, Lindsay is in so much debt, she’s got so many legal problems, it’s hard for her to work. But she HAS to work to pay off that debt. So her idiot parents make money off her any way they can, even if it means making her look bad. She doesn’t want to do reality TV, because she wants to be a respected actress. Nobody respects her as an actress anymore, because she is so stressed out that when she does work, she’s not great.

How can she take time off and heal herself, without people forgetting about her altogether. Hollywood is a fickle place. Disappear for too long, and people forget about you. People want to hire those that are in the media. If being followed by the paparazzi keeps you in the media, then some celebs are willing to make sure they’re getting their pic taken. It’s such a double edged sword.

You’ve got the problem with most kid actors that acting is all they know. They’ve lived a life of privilege. They go out and people know who they are. They’re used to having money. People say they should just disappear for a while. But where are they supposed to go? What are they supposed to do? They’ve got bills to pay like the rest of us. They can’t just sit at home and watch TV all day. They can’t just go get a job somewhere. Can you imagine if Lindsay decided to get a real job? What would she do? Party planner? Real Estate agent? Flipping burgers? So, she takes jobs where she can. Like Charlie is going to give her an episode on Anger Management. Of course, that episode will time nicely with Scary Movie 5. So it’s good for both of them. She can go on trips to Australia, and get paid to make appearances. – I wish I could get that gig! She gets offers to do shows like Dancing with the Stars, but turns it down. I really wish she would accept one of these offers. Sure, turn down reality stuff like Celebrity Rehab. However, DWTS could be good for someone like Lindsay. She’d get work. She could pay her bills. We’d get to see a different side of her. We’d get to see her doing something that doesn’t involve a court appearance. We’d get to know a little bit more of Lindsay each week. She’d get back into shape and could do more of her magazine shoots, paying more bills. Celebreality doesn’t always mean you’re washed up. Lots of people have used it to re-ignite a career after taking a break. Celebrities need sabbaticals too. At least singers can get a gig as a judge on one of the multitude of singing shows. They get paid huge amounts of money, it re-ignites their careers, helps sell albums, plus, we get to know them a little more. Britney stint as a judge helped her tremendously. Unfortunately, actors don’t get the same kind of opportunities to play judge, or even host.

I’ll be super interested to see how Lilo’s Aussie trip goes. I wish I was there so I could meet her. I’d take her to lunch, sit her down, and tell her that it’s all going to be OK. Even with all the shit going on, there is a light at the end of the tunnel. There is a way for her to come out of this on top.

There’s a lot of child stars who went off the rails for a while, and made it out. Not all of them are famous anymore. Just because they’re not acting anymore doesn’t mean they’re losers either. Many have chosen to live regular lives, and are much happier for it. Then there’s Drew Barrymore. She went through hell, and now she’s a successful actress, producer, has a cosmetics line and is happily married with a kid.

I just hope that the public, and Hollywood is willing to help Lindsay become the next Barrymore.

And Lindsay, if you ever do need a break for a week or two from the craziness, I’ve got a ranch in Texas with a bunch of POSTED signs on it. You’re welcome to come anytime.

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Method Actors

Try Acting, Dear Boy

Supposedly, during the filming of Marathon Man, Dustin Hoffman, who is a “Method Actor” stayed up all night so he could really look the part. Lawrence Olivier told him, “Try acting, dear boy, it’s much easier.”

I’ve never really understood Method acting. I mean, I get doing training for a part if you have to have particular skills, or it’s very physical. But I don’t get the whole spending months researching and following someone around so you can really get into someone’s head. Are you an actor, or an analyst? Yes, there’s times I’ve seen actors in military movies, and I wish someone had shown them how to salute properly, but I don’t get when an actor spends 6 weeks at basic so they can really get into the role.

What made me think about it was an article today about Ashton Kutcher getting hospitalized because he’s playing Steve Jobs in a movie, and he got sick after following his fruitarian diet. Really, a diet? I get if you have to lose weight to look the part, but following the same diet? I just don’t get it. How does eating the same food as the person you’re playing make you a better actor?

Melissa George went to spy school for her role on Hunted. Maybe that teaches you some sharper skills or something. I wish when actors are playing baristas that someone would teach them to foam milk. But that takes about 10 minutes. Maybe like Argo, method acting is a good way to get spies to infiltrate places and say they’re “doing research for a part.” It’s crazy the access people will give you if you’re famous or have a camera.

How far are people willing to go as method actors? Since those playing soldiers go to boot camp, and people will eat the same food as their real life person, if they’re playing a murderer, are they going to kill people so they can really feel what it’s like to take a life?

Maybe method actors get it. Maybe it does make them better actors. But just know, Brad Pitt, when you don’t shower for days so you can really be the part, nobody else appreciates it. The smell doesn’t come across on TV. It’s television, not smellavision.

I guess the problem is so many people once they become famous don’t have real life experiences anymore. They’re stuck in their little Hollywood bubble and can’t go experience real life without paparazzi ruining it. Maybe they forget how to just act like real people. Which is a shame. If you can’t just read the lines and know how a normal person would react, maybe it’s time to take a break.

I’m not an actor anymore. I’m lucky that while these people have to do research on how to sit in an office and chase bad guys, I get to do it for real…. I guess it’s the opposite of the “I’m not a doctor, but I play one on TV.”

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