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With a name based on a Mystery Science Theater 3000 riff, EPP was originally going to mostly house B-movie reviews. Now though, it has become a repository for whatever burrs get under my pop culture saddle on any given day. Seriously, I must be insane; who else voluntarily reads a book on the history of jeans...and enjoys it?
Showing posts with label Performers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Performers. Show all posts

Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Self-Indulgence: Why I'm a Fan of Frances Ruffelle

It's fashionable at times to dislike certain people.  Be they entertainers, politicians, athletes, people from your home town...it seems like there are certain folks that others pick on when they want to trash someone.

9 times out of 10, the someone being picked on is someone that I like or adore.  Even if I don't know them personally...well, everyone has their favorite celebrities, right?

Friday, June 3, 2011

They Had Stars Then: Jean Harlow

(Note: This is the first in a new series comparing stars and celebs of yesteryear with the folks who end up famous today.)

Many celebrities today are famous simply for being grossly rich, or for allowing every single second of their "real" life be filmed for television.  Those who are famous for appearing in film or television shows seemto suffer less from talent than from excessive attractiveness (yes, there is a limit), scandals, or an arrest record.  They Had Stars Then is intended to take you back to the days when celebrities were famous for doing something that was worth something and stars at least attempted to display some iota of talent or ability.

Saturday, September 11, 2010

New Zealand Week: Day 7: Star Profiles: Danielle Cormack

Danielle Cormack
Danielle Cormack got her start in theater in her native New Zealand and first came to real prominence as a teenager with a role in the soap opera Gloss.  She's compiled quite the list of credits since then, with her abundant talents for both comedy and drama making her a natural choice for a rich variety of roles in television, film, and theater.

New Zealand Week: Day 7: Star Profiles: Karl Urban

Karl Urban
Karl Urban is one of New Zealand's stars who has managed to start getting some real footing in the entertainment industry outside of his homeland as well.  Though he is primarily a star of action-type films where Americans are concerned, a review of his career shows an actor also adept at comedic roles, and at deep drama.

Friday, September 10, 2010

New Zealand Week: Day 6: Star Profiles: Rena Owen

Rena Owen
As one of New Zealand's top female stars, Rena Owen has taken on many roles through the years.  From her beginnings in theater to breakthrough roles in film and television, she has shown herself to be among the top acting talents around.  She's also overcome personal problems and addiction, never letting life beat her down.

Thursday, September 9, 2010

New Zealand Week: Day 5: Star Profiles: Temuera Morrison

Temuera Morrison
Temuera Morrison is one of New Zealand's biggest stars, known at home and abroad as an amazing actor capable of handling everything from comedy to intense drama to action with ease.  In a career that has thus far spanned over 20 years, he has proven himself a powerful performer who can enfuse almost any role with true feeling and heart.

Sunday, September 5, 2010

New Zealand Week: Day 1: Star Profiles: Lucy Lawless

Lucy Lawless
I've already kicked off New Zealand Week over on my horror blog, and now we're gonna start things off here with a profile of a star who'll be recognizable to a lot of people outside of  New Zealand. (I'm easing you into things, see?  Aren't I nice blogger?  Say it.  Say that Lela's a nice blogger!  Very good.  Here.  Have an apple.)

Just a note for my U.S. readers (pretty sure that's all three of you), I'll be using international dating conventions in these profiles; for example, rather than writing, say, January 1, 1954, it would be 1 January, 1954.

Lucy Lawless is best known for her roles as Xena on the series Xena: Warrior Princess and D'anna Biers on the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica.  She's also had roles on everything from The X-Files to Veronica Mars and made a small cameos in the first Sam Raimi directed Spider-Man film and Boogeyman.  To the average person (read: not an obsessed fan), it might seem that Lucy's fame just happened overnight.  But it's not as if Lucy just appeared one day, rising from the dust of Aotearoa and taking a small part on Hercules: The Legendary Journeys and then bursting into stardom.  No, she's a bit more complicated than that.

Thursday, September 2, 2010

Everyone is Gay?: The Strange Obsession with Keeping Stars in the Closet...or Not

I've gone through life with so many people telling me that anything but heterosexuality is a bad thing.

Yet in This Modern Age, bi and homosexuality are slowly becoming accepted, at least in some quarters.  Some say this is a bad thing (I'm looking at you, Westboro Baptist Church) and that allowing people to practice non-heterosexuality will be the death of this country.  Being homosexual myself (though not homosocial, should any guys wanna, ya know, hang out and shoot the shit), I don't want to believe that.  There are plenty of other problems with this country that will probably inevitably lead to its downfall.  Teh ghey is the least of our worries.

What bothers me about the whole thing is that, even with different forms of human sexuality finally becoming so accepted in the Western World, celebrities, be they actors, musicians, or what have you, have such a hard time coming out of the closet.  Of course, they couldn't come out of the closet years ago when being gay was something that most of the general public feared and hated.  But now, they still seem to think it will ruin their careers.  Who knows; it might.  After all, there's been controversy lately over whether an out gay actor can believably portray a straight romantic lead.  That hinges not only on the performer's ability, but on the ability and willingness of the public to look beyond the reality of the person's private life and to immerse themselves in the story being played out on the stage or screen.

I read Blind Gossip on occasion, and it seems that 3/4 of the items are concerned with this actor or that actress or some musician being in the closet but being dangerously close to being outed, or being told by their "people" to get further in.

Frankly, who cares?

It's time for the public to admit that, just as sexuality typically has no bearing on the ability of a person to perform most regular, every day jobs, it has no bearing on entertainment either.

It's time for Hollywood and the entertainment industry in general, from the producers and publicists to the stars themselves, to get their heads out of their asses and understand that, if a performer is good at what they do, if they have fans who love their work, then coming out as gay is no longer going to be a complete end to their career.

Or maybe I'm insane.
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