Why Mary Elizabeth Winstead is my Favorite Actress
Brian Kronner
Earlier this week, news broke that Mary Elizabeth Winstead would be reprising her role as Lucy McClane in the upcoming 5th installment of the Die Hard franchise. The movie is slated for release on Valentine’s Day 2013, so I guess I don’t have to make dinner reservations for that night. Her presence in the franchise is just one of the many reasons she is becoming my favorite actress. Her selection of scripts has me smitten and puts her in a spot where she could become a contender for the title of Geek Queen, a reign currently held by Natalie Portman.
Over the last two decades, Natalie Portman has put together résumé that has made her the undisputed Geek Queen. Starring in the 90s action masterpiece Léon: The Professional at the age of 13, she presented herself as a stellar performer, and her follow-up role in the equally brilliant Heat cemented her reputation as one of the best young actresses in film. While Léon and Heat weren’t movies you would classify as ”geek bait,” most geeks recognize and respect them for their brilliance. A year later, Tim Burton cast her in screen version of Mars Attacks!, which inserted her into an all-star cast; though the film wasn’t that well received, its problems had nothing to do with her.
It was in 1999 when things really took off for Portman when the then 18-year-old was cast by George Lucas to play Queen Padmé Amidala – future mother to Luke and Leia, wife to Darth Vader, and all-around badass senator. Being Luke Skywalker’s mom for three movies should be enough to establish geek cred, but Portman kept adding to her résumé. In 2005, she was the lead in the film adaptation of Alan Moore’s V for Vendetta, and she was later cast as Jane Foster in Marvel’s Thor franchise, playing love interest to the Thunder God, a role she will reprise in the upcoming sequel. These things, combined with guest spots on The Simpsons and SNL, and her Oscar win for best actress for 2010’s Black Swan, have made comic and film geeks alike accept her stardom to sit atop the pyramid of Pop Culture Geekiness. Oh, and it doesn’t hurt that she is beautiful.
So along comes Mary, whose largest chunk of early work falls in the horror genre. Beginning with Wolf Lake, a 2001 show that was about werewolves (before Twilight and MTV ruined them). CBS aired only the first five episodes before canceling the show because of low ratings, but reviews were mostly favorable, and the show was eventually aired on UPN. She followed that up with plenty more genre stuff, like Monster Island and The Ring Two, which weren’t great, though she was good. Right after this is when I really took notice of her in Final Destination 3 despite not previously being a big fan of the Final Destination franchise. Any guess as to which one of the five I own? Shortly after this, she appeared in a remake of the classic ’70s horror movie Black Christmas, which, at the age of 22, gave her five horror titles under her belt. Hell, Curtis only had four when she was 22.
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Watch an Exclusive Scene From the Controversial Movie Compliance
Knowing that the new film Compliance is based on a true story may just amplify the shock of its premise: A young fast-food employee was stripped, abused, and psychologically tortured by her manager simply because a man posing as a cop called the restaurant and ordered the manager to do what he said. How could anyone fall for a ruse that simple, you may wonder, and does it reveal something unsettling about people's willingness to follow orders? Maybe there's something to be gleaned in this exclusive clip, where manager Sandra (Ann Dowd) looks on as her employee Becky (Don't Trust the B's Dreama Walker) is accused of theft by the unseen mastermind giving out orders by phone. Becky's done nothing wrong, but even she starts to obey when the so-called cop starts asserting himself.
Compliance comes out August 17 in New York and August 24 in Los Angeles before its national roll-out.
Sometimes it is not what you say, but what you don't say.
We live in vulgar times, an age in which the explicit and graphic depiction of sex and gore is the norm. My problem with graphic depictions of sex and violence is not that they are too strong, at least not in the sense of achieving their intended effects (though they are often too strong in the way that the smell of a garbage heap is, i.e., extremely offensive to good taste). Rather, my problem with them is that they are too weak.
They are weak and ineffectual because they show too much. They represent an unrefined sensibility that works on the assumption that more is always better. Take it from me: sometimes more is less.
See, the problem is that explicit depictions of sex and violence work against the full power of eroticism and horror. Both of these qualities relate to some of the deepest and most powerful of all human feelings, those connected with sexual love and the continuation of life, in the case of eroticism, and in the case of horror, those connected with fear, particularly fear of death and the unknown.
H. P. Lovecraft, one of the greatest horror writers of all time, famously said that "the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown". Old horror movies were far less gory and violent than today's, but they tended to be more mysterious, atmospheric, and moody. Classic horror (as opposed to modern horror) aimed to suggest rather than to show, and this is precisely where its power resided. The more you leave to the imagination, the more room is given to genuine psychological horror--those creepy feelings that something dark and fearsome and possibly evil is lurking out there, or perhaps very close at hand. This type of horror--which I consider to be true horror--is more often than not caused by the presence of unknown and unknowable supernatural entities or forces, rather than by bland and banal human murderers. True horror suggests that there is more to reality than our modern scientistic worldview affords, and therein lies its truly subversive power: it challenges our very concept of reality, our philosophical assumptions, the very ground beneath our feet.
The depiction of sex works very much the same way. Pornography, whether written or visual, leaves little or nothing to the imagination. It is focused on the physical body to a degree that could be considered clinical and therefore the very opposite of sexy. Truly erotic art, however, like true horror, focuses more on the psychological aspects of the experience, and suggests more than it shows. Its power lies in allowing the reader to fill in his or her own blanks, just as classic horror does. As the Symbolists said, "To name is to destroy; to suggest is to create." The power of suggestion is very powerful indeed, and is a potent artistic weapon that is too often neglected in our age of vulgar--and totally unexciting--excess. Trying too hard often results in failure; my advice to writers and filmmakers is to kick it up a notch by taking it down a thousand.
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The 17th annual South Florida Tattoo Expo was held at the Marriott Hotel, Golf Club and Convention Center at Heron Bay in Coral Springs over the weekend. The event featured hot music, hot cars, burlesque shows and plenty of ink.
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Cash-strapped college girls offered 70 pounds an hour to be naked cleaners
Female students in Newcastle, who need extra cash to fund their studies, are being offered 70 pounds an hour for becoming naked cleaners and hotel room lap dancers.
‘Adults-only’ firm is using Twitter to reach such cash-strapped girls and is inviting them to provide ‘body-to-body massage’ in homes, offices or hotel rooms.
Amidst the unpleasant reaction from appalled students, manager Janey Davison claimed that the firm is ‘just offering over-18s an opportunity to make some money,’ the Daily Star reported.
"I'm high-end and the girls have to be experienced and confident," She said.
On the other hand, students said that they are horrified that companies are targeting cash-strapped girls.
"I understand why people would do it - it's because of the money," Laura Armstrong, who is doing her A-levels, said.
"Students will find it quite difficult, especially because of the top-up fees. But I don't think people should lower themselves.
Supporting the outcry, Newcastle Central MP Chi Onwurah also claimed that while the firm's offer "may be legal, but that doesn't make it moral."
"To target teenagers living away from home for the first time with the prospect of 27,000 pounds of debt fresh in their minds is what I would call exploitation," he said.
Malaysia students sell sex on Facebook
Over the last two decades, Natalie Portman has put together résumé that has made her the undisputed Geek Queen. Starring in the 90s action masterpiece Léon: The Professional at the age of 13, she presented herself as a stellar performer, and her follow-up role in the equally brilliant Heat cemented her reputation as one of the best young actresses in film. While Léon and Heat weren’t movies you would classify as ”geek bait,” most geeks recognize and respect them for their brilliance. A year later, Tim Burton cast her in screen version of Mars Attacks!, which inserted her into an all-star cast; though the film wasn’t that well received, its problems had nothing to do with her.
It was in 1999 when things really took off for Portman when the then 18-year-old was cast by George Lucas to play Queen Padmé Amidala – future mother to Luke and Leia, wife to Darth Vader, and all-around badass senator. Being Luke Skywalker’s mom for three movies should be enough to establish geek cred, but Portman kept adding to her résumé. In 2005, she was the lead in the film adaptation of Alan Moore’s V for Vendetta, and she was later cast as Jane Foster in Marvel’s Thor franchise, playing love interest to the Thunder God, a role she will reprise in the upcoming sequel. These things, combined with guest spots on The Simpsons and SNL, and her Oscar win for best actress for 2010’s Black Swan, have made comic and film geeks alike accept her stardom to sit atop the pyramid of Pop Culture Geekiness. Oh, and it doesn’t hurt that she is beautiful.
So, after all I’ve just written, how could I suggest that someone could dethrone her? I’m not, not exactly any way. I’m instead here to talk about how, despite her impressive résumé, Portman does have someone who’s legitimately vying for the title: Mary Elizabeth Winstead. And while Winstead is not yet a household name the way that Portman is, she is well on her way.
Of course, Winstead could probably compete for another Hollywood title as well: Scream Queen. To me, that title has always been held by Jamie Lee Curtis. Be it her iconic work in the Halloween franchise (where she was involved in five of the eight movies, (pre-Rob Zombie-reboot) or the plethora of other horror flicks she did in the early ’80s, including Prom Night, Terror Train and The Fog – Curtis always seemed to own the genre. In addition, she was immortalized in ‘the movie that saved the genre’, 1996′s Scream, when the movie’s resident film geek explained why she should hold the title. If that weren’t enough, she comes from genre royalty as the daughter of Janet Leigh, star of Alfred Hitchcock’s 1960 masterpiece Psycho.
Of course, Winstead could probably compete for another Hollywood title as well: Scream Queen. To me, that title has always been held by Jamie Lee Curtis. Be it her iconic work in the Halloween franchise (where she was involved in five of the eight movies, (pre-Rob Zombie-reboot) or the plethora of other horror flicks she did in the early ’80s, including Prom Night, Terror Train and The Fog – Curtis always seemed to own the genre. In addition, she was immortalized in ‘the movie that saved the genre’, 1996′s Scream, when the movie’s resident film geek explained why she should hold the title. If that weren’t enough, she comes from genre royalty as the daughter of Janet Leigh, star of Alfred Hitchcock’s 1960 masterpiece Psycho.
In 2007, not only did she add another horror movie to her credit with Quentin Tarantino’s Grindhouse chapter “Death Proof,” she also jumps genres into Live Free or Die Hard, the 4th installment of the franchise. This is where she starts to challenge Natalie Portman. Let’s face it, Die Hard is the single greatest action movie of all time, so major geek cred is earned when you get picked to play the hero’s daughter in the sequel and you actually hold your own opposite Bruce Willis and Timothy Olyphant.
From here, she made a move that won over comic and video game geeks alike: playing Ramona Flowers in Edgar Wright‘s Scott Pilgrim vs. the World. To have done a comic book movie that so perfectly captured the soul of the book as the object of our hero’s desire, I couldn’t be more impressed by the choices she was making.
And that includes the next one, too: 2011’s The Thing. The progression here went from “badass damsel in distress” in Die Hard to ”hero’s object of desire” in Scott Pilgrim to ”heroine” in The Thing. And I know several people who are less than thrilled that this prequel (it’s a prequel, not a remake) exists, but the 1982 John Carpenter classic is one of my favorite movies, and while the new movie really doesn’t compare, I can understand how someone would have jumped at the chance to be part of the franchise. And while she was no Kurt Russell (star of the ’82 movie and her co-star in Sky High), she did an admirable job in a film most people went into with a hostile opinion.
That brings us back to Portman, who in 2009 was set to star and produce a film adaptation of the “Pride and Prejudice and Zombies” by Seth Grahame-Smith, which we’ve not heard a whole lot about since. However, it was Winstead who starred in another Grahame-Smith adaptation earlier this year: Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, in which she played First Lady Lincoln and did a little ass-kicking at her husband’s side with an especially epic silver bullet to the forehead kill. And now, she’s Lucy McClane again.
So just to recap: Winstead has played John McClane’s daughter, only survivor of The Thing; Abe Lincoln’s wife; and she’s already worked with two of the coolest directors in the industry: Tarantino and Wright. Not too shabby for someone still in her 20s. So is it enough to dethrone Portman or Curtis? Probably not. Portman still has the cach of the Star Wars prequels (as flawed as that sounds) and her upcoming involvement in The Avengers universe. Plus, Léon and Heat are still better than anything Winstead has done (yet). And Curtis is too iconic to ever be dethroned. So where does that leave Ms. Winstead (besides in my heart)? It leaves her in a position to make herself an icon like Curtis, or to capture the imagination of geeks everywhere like Portman. In her next few movies, she’ll be working alongside big stars such as Bill Murray and Bruce Willis, and a plethora of comedic talent in A.C.O.D. and A Glimpse Inside the Mind of Charles Swan III.
From here, she made a move that won over comic and video game geeks alike: playing Ramona Flowers in Edgar Wright‘s Scott Pilgrim vs. the World. To have done a comic book movie that so perfectly captured the soul of the book as the object of our hero’s desire, I couldn’t be more impressed by the choices she was making.
And that includes the next one, too: 2011’s The Thing. The progression here went from “badass damsel in distress” in Die Hard to ”hero’s object of desire” in Scott Pilgrim to ”heroine” in The Thing. And I know several people who are less than thrilled that this prequel (it’s a prequel, not a remake) exists, but the 1982 John Carpenter classic is one of my favorite movies, and while the new movie really doesn’t compare, I can understand how someone would have jumped at the chance to be part of the franchise. And while she was no Kurt Russell (star of the ’82 movie and her co-star in Sky High), she did an admirable job in a film most people went into with a hostile opinion.
That brings us back to Portman, who in 2009 was set to star and produce a film adaptation of the “Pride and Prejudice and Zombies” by Seth Grahame-Smith, which we’ve not heard a whole lot about since. However, it was Winstead who starred in another Grahame-Smith adaptation earlier this year: Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, in which she played First Lady Lincoln and did a little ass-kicking at her husband’s side with an especially epic silver bullet to the forehead kill. And now, she’s Lucy McClane again.
So just to recap: Winstead has played John McClane’s daughter, only survivor of The Thing; Abe Lincoln’s wife; and she’s already worked with two of the coolest directors in the industry: Tarantino and Wright. Not too shabby for someone still in her 20s. So is it enough to dethrone Portman or Curtis? Probably not. Portman still has the cach of the Star Wars prequels (as flawed as that sounds) and her upcoming involvement in The Avengers universe. Plus, Léon and Heat are still better than anything Winstead has done (yet). And Curtis is too iconic to ever be dethroned. So where does that leave Ms. Winstead (besides in my heart)? It leaves her in a position to make herself an icon like Curtis, or to capture the imagination of geeks everywhere like Portman. In her next few movies, she’ll be working alongside big stars such as Bill Murray and Bruce Willis, and a plethora of comedic talent in A.C.O.D. and A Glimpse Inside the Mind of Charles Swan III.
So Winstead may not be the Scream Queen, or Geek Queen, but she’s certainly a threat to the throne. And right now, she’s definitely my It Girl.
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Watch an Exclusive Scene From the Controversial Movie Compliance
Knowing that the new film Compliance is based on a true story may just amplify the shock of its premise: A young fast-food employee was stripped, abused, and psychologically tortured by her manager simply because a man posing as a cop called the restaurant and ordered the manager to do what he said. How could anyone fall for a ruse that simple, you may wonder, and does it reveal something unsettling about people's willingness to follow orders? Maybe there's something to be gleaned in this exclusive clip, where manager Sandra (Ann Dowd) looks on as her employee Becky (Don't Trust the B's Dreama Walker) is accused of theft by the unseen mastermind giving out orders by phone. Becky's done nothing wrong, but even she starts to obey when the so-called cop starts asserting himself.
Compliance comes out August 17 in New York and August 24 in Los Angeles before its national roll-out.
Above all, Compliance is a sadistic exercise in deliberate, relentless unpleasantness, but to what purpose does writer-director Craig Zobel put the audience through their squirm-inducing paces? Presumably, the film, which details a prank phone call turned sexual assault at an Ohio fast-food restaurant, is meant to comment on the all-powerful nature of official authority (whether real or imagined) and to force the viewer to question his or her own potential response to the situation. But Zobel's unwillingness to push his inquiry beyond its most basic formulation, his compromising of the setup by playing his hand too early, and his misguided positioning of the viewer in relation to the material ensures that the only challenge the film provides is on the level of audience endurance.
The movie begins, after a few this-is-Middle-America establishing shots, with Chick-Wich manager Sandra (Ann Dowd) arriving at her fast-food establishment for the evening shift, only to be upbraided by a supplier for her improper handling of a recent incident in which an employee left open a refrigerator door and spoiled $15,000 worth of food. Her authority thus challenged, she enters the restaurant to prepare for a busy Friday night, but no sooner has she started work than the phone rings and a man claiming to be a police officer informs her that one of her employees, a pretty teenager named Becky (Dreama Walker), has been caught stealing from a customer and that he, the cop, has the whole thing on surveillance tape. He instructs Sandra to take Becky to the back of the store and search her; Sandra, already cowed by an authority figure earlier in the evening and, perhaps wanting to assert her own managerial clout, reluctantly agrees.
Over the course of the film's running time, the caller's demands escalate and, perhaps given the glib certainty with which he speaks (coupled with some few background details he drops about the people involved), or perhaps simply because of his presumed official status, Sandra performs every task he asks, often involving other employees—and even her boyfriend—in the demands of the voice on the other end of the receiver. By Compliance's conclusion, Becky has been stripped naked, humiliated, and sexually violated, and we're made to writhe through every sickening minute of it.
It seems as if Zobel wants to implicate the audience in these proceedings, but he doesn't have a very clear idea how to go about it. Yes, we're forced to watch in impotent horror at what goes on while Walker bares her breasts and humiliates herself for no great purpose, but we're also placed in a superior position to the characters, one in which it's easy to condemn their blind obedience to the caller on the phone. The characters are all presented as essentially decent people, but, despite a few scenes of casual banter at the film's beginning, there's no attempt to get us to identify with these people. So when we watch the scene unfold, rather than saying, "If I were in Sandra's position, I might have done the same," we're more likely to conclude, "These people are idiots, how can they not see through this prank caller?"—an attitude that only intensifies through Zobel's misguided decision to reveal to the audience early on that the caller isn't an actual cop (thus further distancing us from the characters' viewpoint) and the increasingly ludicrous nature of the caller's sick requests.
Which brings us to Zobel's trump card, the fact that, as an opening title informs us, the film is "inspired by true events"—and calls on a corresponding handheld faux-doc aesthetic. So no matter how implausibly the drama unfolds (and for all its relentlessness, its dramatic enacting is never very believably presented), the film can hide behind the fact that not only did this actually happen, but, as a closing title informs us, it occurred over 70 times at various locations throughout the United States. All of which is presumably meant to validate Zobel's bad-faith manipulations, ignoring the fact that whenever you present material in a non-documentary format, it becomes fiction and whether or not it really "happened" is irrelevant. All that matters is how it unfolds on screen and what purpose it serves.
In the case of Compliance, it serves very little, even as Zobel makes a few feeble efforts to complicate the material. His weakest attempt to add depth to the story is to offer up the simplistic irony of the caller being a good family man with a young daughter. Of slightly more interest are the varying degrees of culpability of the several characters who interact with Becky in the Chick-Wich backroom, from Sandra, who in the film's conclusion denies all responsibility for what happened, to Becky's young co-worker, Kevin (Philip Ettinger), who refuses to perform the sexual violations demanded by the caller, but who also does nothing to stop the situation.
Everyone's responsible in the end, including, presumably, the viewer (and maybe even Becky, who's initially presented as something of a slut, chatting with co-workers about juggling boyfriends and sexting). But if Zobel thinks he's implicated or challenged his audience simply by making us watch unpleasant acts that, given the fact that we can't actually enter the screen and stop what's going on, we're powerless to do anything about, than he's as clueless as his characters who quiver at the slightest hint of official influence. No one need tremble at Zobel's own directorial authority though. He's shown throughout Compliance that, in a movie full of misrepresentations, that conceit is the biggest sham of all.
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STRIKE BACK Season Two '1 Week' Countdown TV Spot
The movie begins, after a few this-is-Middle-America establishing shots, with Chick-Wich manager Sandra (Ann Dowd) arriving at her fast-food establishment for the evening shift, only to be upbraided by a supplier for her improper handling of a recent incident in which an employee left open a refrigerator door and spoiled $15,000 worth of food. Her authority thus challenged, she enters the restaurant to prepare for a busy Friday night, but no sooner has she started work than the phone rings and a man claiming to be a police officer informs her that one of her employees, a pretty teenager named Becky (Dreama Walker), has been caught stealing from a customer and that he, the cop, has the whole thing on surveillance tape. He instructs Sandra to take Becky to the back of the store and search her; Sandra, already cowed by an authority figure earlier in the evening and, perhaps wanting to assert her own managerial clout, reluctantly agrees.
Over the course of the film's running time, the caller's demands escalate and, perhaps given the glib certainty with which he speaks (coupled with some few background details he drops about the people involved), or perhaps simply because of his presumed official status, Sandra performs every task he asks, often involving other employees—and even her boyfriend—in the demands of the voice on the other end of the receiver. By Compliance's conclusion, Becky has been stripped naked, humiliated, and sexually violated, and we're made to writhe through every sickening minute of it.
It seems as if Zobel wants to implicate the audience in these proceedings, but he doesn't have a very clear idea how to go about it. Yes, we're forced to watch in impotent horror at what goes on while Walker bares her breasts and humiliates herself for no great purpose, but we're also placed in a superior position to the characters, one in which it's easy to condemn their blind obedience to the caller on the phone. The characters are all presented as essentially decent people, but, despite a few scenes of casual banter at the film's beginning, there's no attempt to get us to identify with these people. So when we watch the scene unfold, rather than saying, "If I were in Sandra's position, I might have done the same," we're more likely to conclude, "These people are idiots, how can they not see through this prank caller?"—an attitude that only intensifies through Zobel's misguided decision to reveal to the audience early on that the caller isn't an actual cop (thus further distancing us from the characters' viewpoint) and the increasingly ludicrous nature of the caller's sick requests.
Which brings us to Zobel's trump card, the fact that, as an opening title informs us, the film is "inspired by true events"—and calls on a corresponding handheld faux-doc aesthetic. So no matter how implausibly the drama unfolds (and for all its relentlessness, its dramatic enacting is never very believably presented), the film can hide behind the fact that not only did this actually happen, but, as a closing title informs us, it occurred over 70 times at various locations throughout the United States. All of which is presumably meant to validate Zobel's bad-faith manipulations, ignoring the fact that whenever you present material in a non-documentary format, it becomes fiction and whether or not it really "happened" is irrelevant. All that matters is how it unfolds on screen and what purpose it serves.
In the case of Compliance, it serves very little, even as Zobel makes a few feeble efforts to complicate the material. His weakest attempt to add depth to the story is to offer up the simplistic irony of the caller being a good family man with a young daughter. Of slightly more interest are the varying degrees of culpability of the several characters who interact with Becky in the Chick-Wich backroom, from Sandra, who in the film's conclusion denies all responsibility for what happened, to Becky's young co-worker, Kevin (Philip Ettinger), who refuses to perform the sexual violations demanded by the caller, but who also does nothing to stop the situation.
Everyone's responsible in the end, including, presumably, the viewer (and maybe even Becky, who's initially presented as something of a slut, chatting with co-workers about juggling boyfriends and sexting). But if Zobel thinks he's implicated or challenged his audience simply by making us watch unpleasant acts that, given the fact that we can't actually enter the screen and stop what's going on, we're powerless to do anything about, than he's as clueless as his characters who quiver at the slightest hint of official influence. No one need tremble at Zobel's own directorial authority though. He's shown throughout Compliance that, in a movie full of misrepresentations, that conceit is the biggest sham of all.
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STRIKE BACK Season Two '1 Week' Countdown TV Spot
Strike Back is a Cinemax scripted thriller series which takes story lines directly from today's headlines. Viewers join two members of Section 20, a top-secret intelligence agency, as they take on exciting and mysterious cases around the globe. Season 2 of Strike Back premieres Friday, August 17th, only on Cinemax.
Sullivan Stapleton (“Animal Kingdom,” the upcoming “Gangster Squad”) and Philip Winchester (“Crusoe,” “Camelot”) will return for season two of CINEMAX’s hit action series STRIKE BACK, which shoot ten new episodes on location in South Africa. Rhashan Stone (“Episodes”) and Michelle Lukes (“Alexander”) will also return for the new season.
http://www.facebook.com/strikebackmax
Strike Back is a Cinemax Presentation in association with British Sky Broadcasting Limited; a Left Bank Pictures Production. Season 2 premieres Friday, August 17th, only on Cinemax.
* new female cast-members includes :
STRIKE BACK tells the suspenseful story of a charismatic former U.S. Special Forces operative who joins with a stealth British military unit when a resourceful international terrorist group plots a major attack. Researched by the creators of the series and aided by consultants, the action-packed drama is rooted in the field of counter-terrorism and set against the backdrop of timely global issues.
Sullivan Stapleton (“Animal Kingdom,” the upcoming “Gangster Squad”) and Philip Winchester (“Crusoe,” “Camelot”) will return for season two of CINEMAX’s hit action series STRIKE BACK, which shoot ten new episodes on location in South Africa. Rhashan Stone (“Episodes”) and Michelle Lukes (“Alexander”) will also return for the new season.
http://www.facebook.com/strikebackmax
Strike Back is a Cinemax Presentation in association with British Sky Broadcasting Limited; a Left Bank Pictures Production. Season 2 premieres Friday, August 17th, only on Cinemax.
* new female cast-members includes :
[1] 36-years old Rhona Mitra is playing Rachel Dalton.
[2] 29-years old British actress Olivia Grant who like another Olivia (Munn) promised her grandmother there will be no nudity in her film career. Hmmmm........
[3] 37-years old Nebraskan Stephanie Vogt have avoided nudity so far.
[4] French newcomer Laëtitia Eïdo is most likely to show her hooters and Gallic bush.
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Chris Vance Is The New Jason Statham In Trailer For 'The Transporter' TV Series
"The Transporter" films were never the most highly accomplished of cinematic endeavors, but they cruised along on the charm of Jason Statham and a basic respect for cutting decent action sequences. However, as the movie now makes the transition to television, even those two factors -- a compelling lead and engaging action -- seem to be missing in what looks like a pretty amateur hour show judging by the first trailer.
Even as limited as his range is, Statham does at least deliver a screen presence that is uniquely his, so pity Chris Vance ("All Saints") who is stepping in as his replacement, carrying little of his predecessor's charisma. But it probably doesn't help that he's given some truly awful dialogue in a show that seems full of it, a situation not helped by a battery of actors who can't seem deliver line readings. But this is a Cinemax production after all, and if anything, the promise of sexy ladies and boobs is teased throughout, so perhaps ratings will arrive from flesh alone.
But at least for the sake of continuity, French actor François Berléand is reprising his role as Inspector Tarconi from the movies.
Talking of which, Andrea Osvart has been cast as the sometime CIA agent who will be Martin’s number one love interest on the show.
[2] 29-years old British actress Olivia Grant who like another Olivia (Munn) promised her grandmother there will be no nudity in her film career. Hmmmm........
[3] 37-years old Nebraskan Stephanie Vogt have avoided nudity so far.
[4] French newcomer Laëtitia Eïdo is most likely to show her hooters and Gallic bush.
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Katrina Bowden : L’Oreal Sublime Sun Collection (bikini shoot in New York) [August 2012]
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Chris Vance Is The New Jason Statham In Trailer For 'The Transporter' TV Series
"The Transporter" films were never the most highly accomplished of cinematic endeavors, but they cruised along on the charm of Jason Statham and a basic respect for cutting decent action sequences. However, as the movie now makes the transition to television, even those two factors -- a compelling lead and engaging action -- seem to be missing in what looks like a pretty amateur hour show judging by the first trailer.But at least for the sake of continuity, French actor François Berléand is reprising his role as Inspector Tarconi from the movies.
Talking of which, Andrea Osvart has been cast as the sometime CIA agent who will be Martin’s number one love interest on the show.
The show, to air in the US in late 2012, has suffered a troubled production. Original executive producers Joseph Mallozzi and Paul Mullie quit the project last August, with replacement showrunner Steve Shill also departing the series in January this year.
Filming was also postponed in October 2011 when star Vance injuring himself shooting an action sequence.
Twelve episodes of Transporter: The Series have been ordered, with a budget of $43 million (£27.4 million).
While at the Showtime portion of the TCA Press Tour, Collider (along with one other outlet) was given the opportunity to participate in an interview with the ultra-charming Aussie about her transition from the more light-hearted Chuck to the darker and sexier material on Dexter, the nerve-wracking experience of being a guest on someone else’s show, watching all six seasons in three weeks prior to her starting work, and how badly she wants to get to say the F-word on camera. She also talked about her work in the upcoming features Guilt Trip (with Seth Rogen and Barbra Streisand) and I, Frankenstein (with Aaron Eckhart and Bill Nighy), her favorite memory of her time on Chuck, and what she learned from the five years she spent in her first lead role on an American TV show. Check out what she had to say after the jump.
Question: What can you say about your character, this coming season?
YVONNE STRAHOVSKI: Well, I play Hannah McKay, who comes into the story in Episode 3. It’s safe to say that she has a dark past that is slowly revealed, as the episodes go on, and she holds some secrets. She meets Dexter because she’s helping the Miami Police Department on a case that’s been around for awhile.
Are you at the point where you can reveal more than just the fact that your character has got a mysterious past?
STRAHOVSKI: No. All I can say is that she has a checkered past with a past boyfriend. And all of these dark secrets come to light, in the episodes.
Is she working with Dexter because she has to, or because something draws her to the case?
STRAHOVSKI: That’s a good question. It is in her best interest to work with him. I’m really proud of that answer.
How dark do you get to go with this role, compared to what you’ve done before?
STRAHOVSKI: Pretty dark, actually. After watching all six seasons, and all the episodes, what will happen with my character in this show is something that has never happened before, in a Dexter episode.
What was your experience coming into this ensemble, with this already established group of actors?
STRAHOVSKI: Everyone was very welcoming. I feel like I’ve known them all for a little while now, even though I’ve only been there for a little bit. But, personally, it was a little nerve-wracking. I’ve not had that experience, where I’ve been a guest on someone else’s show before. This is a first time experience for me, to walk into such a close-knit family, on such an established show that’s critically acclaimed. You have to take a deep breath and dive on in. But, Michael [C. Hall] sets the tone for the work on set, and everyone is very generous. They’re very giving and respectful, so it’s just been a really great environment to be working in.
When you got the phone call to be a part of this show, how did you feel and did you worry about what they saw in you for this?
STRAHOVSKI: I hadn’t actually thought about that, but now I will! I’m honored and flattered to have been asked to have been a part of it. This show is really amazing, and they’ve had really great guest stars in the past, too. It’s fantastic! I don’t know what they saw in me. (Executive producer) Scott Buck said, I think at Comic-Con, that he thought I was mysterious, even though I seem likeable, and that I might not be so likeable. I’m not going to take that personally. I think it works for the show.
STRAHOVSKI: She’s a sexy lady. I would say that she’s probably one of the more physically free characters that I’ve played. For five years, I played someone who was part of a law enforcement agency. Sarah was a CIA agent who was a little bit more rigid than Hannah McKay will be.
How easy or hard has it been to delve into material as dark as Dexter?
STRAHOVSKI: I think every role that you come across is something that you have to wrap your head around. The world that they’ve set up in Dexter is so far-fetched, and they’ve done an amazing job of having the audience root for this guy, who’s a serial killer that you wouldn’t ordinarily root for. So, just those circumstances, in itself, take some time to wrap your heard around. Because I’m the guest on the show, and I haven’t been there for six years with the others, establishing my role, I’m in fast-forward, trying to figure out who Hannah McKay is, very quickly. And the storyline moves very quickly, as well. We’re going to see a lot of things come to light, pretty soon.
Had you seen much of Dexter, before getting the role?
STRAHOVSKI: I’d seen bits and pieces, but I’d never watched it consecutively, episode after episode. That’s why I sat down and watched all six seasons, in three weeks.
Being familiar with the show now, are there characters that you’d love to have some interaction with, at some point?
STRAHOVSKI: I would love to interact with all of them. That would be great. I’m pretty sure that there will be some interaction with Deb (Jennifer Carpenter). They’re all fantastic! Masuka (C.S. Lee) would be fun.
Every guest star so far on the show has had a finite experience. Even if you go the whole season, there’s not a lot of the show left. What are you hoping that this sets you up for, career wise?
STRAHOVSKI: I guess it’s just more of a showcase of something that I haven’t done, and being able to play in that world of darkness. You get to pretend to be another human being, in one lifetime. That’s the beauty of it. Hopefully, as an actor, you can change it up when you get new characters. One time, it might be in the comedy genre, and then another time it might be dramatic. Through all these different characters, you have these different lives and different aspects of yourself that you put into it, and different aspects that you have to find from elsewhere to put into it. Hopefully, something comes out of it that’s both entertaining and intriguing, at the same time.
In real life, what scares you or gets under your skin?
STRAHOVSKI: I don’t like waves at the beach. Does that count? I get scared of the big waves. I’ve been dumped a couple of times, in a wave. You don’t know what mother nature is going to throw at you, with a wave.
Are you getting to enjoy the freedom of being on a cable show, and perhaps getting to curse?
STRAHOVSKI: I so badly want to curse! I don’t think that I’ve ever said the F-word on camera, ever, unless it’s me messing up a line, and then that’s the first word coming out of my mouth on the blooper reel. But, no, I’ve never officially gotten to say the F-word. It would be great, but I don’t think that I will get to.
Do you find that everything is just wide open on cable?
STRAHOVSKI: It is, and it’s a different beast. I’m definitely enjoying the freedom with that. On this show, there’s a lot of trust placed in the actor, for what you bring to it. They really flesh out what you’re bringing to the table, and we’re working with a great director now, who’s very detailed oriented. There’s a level of attention to detail that’s amazing, and I’m really loving that.
Is there a genre that you haven’t done, that you crave doing?
STRAHOVSKI: It’s all over the spectrum, for me. I don’t want to be the funny girl or the serious girl. I would hope to touch on all different genres and all different types of characters, which I think I’ve been lucky enough to do, so far. Chuck was a comedy show, but within that show, we got to do a lot of comedy and drama and action and romance. And now, Dexter is so different with a much darker tone. It’s more realistic. He’s a serial killer, and the show is about a serial killer, but it’s realistic, in the sense of how you’re acting. It’s not as stylistic a show as Chuck, which was like a comic book. This is more about real people. And then, I’ve got a couple of movies coming out, at the end of the year. I did Guilt Trip, with Barbra Streisand and Seth Rogen, which is very much a comedy, and it was great to be a part of a straight-up comedy movie. And I have I, Frankenstein coming out in February, and that’s more of a thriller where I play a scientist. I feel pretty lucky to have done that.
What was it like to work with Barbra Streisand?
STRAHOVSKI: She’s great! She’s very friendly, very sweet and very funny. Her and Seth had a great rapport on set. So many people came out of the woodwork, when they found out that I was doing that. They were very excited.
How was it to shoot I, Frankenstein in Australia?
STRAHOVSKI: It’s always great to be back in Australia. That’s the fourth movie now that I’ve gotten to go back to Australia for. It was great! I had a really nice time. Stuart Beattie, who wrote and directed it, is fantastic. He’s such a great guy and so deserving of this opportunity. This is his second feature film now. I had a really great time, particularly with Bill Nighy, who’s just such a character. I have nothing but amazing things to say about Bill Nighy. He’s so much fun!
You have a huge fan base from Chuck that will follow you, with whatever you do. What do you think they’ll think of your role on Dexter?
STRAHOVSKI: I think that they’ll hopefully be surprised and supportive. They’re so supportive and have been with us, from day one. I think that I can speak for all of the Chuck actors when I say that, whatever we now do in our careers, they will always be behind us to back us up and follow us on to the next thing that we do.
What is your favorite memory from your time on Chuck?
STRAHOVSKI: Probably the entire last month of shooting. I think that was the most fun. We all relaxed a little bit, as people in each other’s lives, especially the actors. For me, I feel like I bonded a lot more with everybody in the fifth season, and spring boarded off of that into what is now post Chuck. We choose to hangout with each other because we love each other and we don’t have to see each other on a daily basis.
Did you pick up a skill, from playing that character,
that you’ll always be able to use?
STRAHOVSKI: Oh, yeah, I can do guns, and lots of martial arts and punching. Hopefully, I could defend myself.
Do you think you could defend yourself in a real fight?
STRAHOVSKI: I don’t know. I don’t want to know because I don’t want to ever be faced with that, but I’d like to think that I could throw a punch.
Did being a part of Chuck change you, as an actor, and inform what you’re doing now?
STRAHOVSKI: Oh, yeah! Five years on a show, and that was my first lead role on a television show in the States, I learned so much. I learned from the people that I worked with. Everyone had something new that I could observe and absorb. Hopefully, you do that on every job. Even just being on Dexter now, and watching Michael and the other actors that I’ve gotten to work with so far, everyone has something different to bring. It’s incredible to watch and learn from that, and also the directors and the writers, as well. It’s an ever-evolving process for me, until the day that I die. Hopefully, I’m still in this industry when I’m 85, and playing someone’s great grandmother.
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Lindsay Lohan reportedly banked $2 million US this past year.
If there is anything that we've learned from Lindsay Lohan, it's that a few stints in jail won't hurt your bank account.
According to TMZ Lohan's financial woes are a thing of the past because the actress is reportedly set to bank more than $2 million US by the end of the year.
Lohan's bank account is swelling and it's all thanks to a few highly publicized events. Earlier this year, Lohan received a reported $1 million for her December Playboy shoot. Since then the actress has reportedly earned $300,000 US for her portrayal of Elizabeth Taylor in Lifetime movie Liz and Dick and $6,480 (scale) for her upcoming flick The Canyons. Lohan is also rumoured to be signing onto the latest Scary Movie sequel, where she'll potentially earn $200,000.
But wait, that's not all! Lohan was also awarded some moolah for her recent appearance on Glee and then there are her endorsement gigs to consider. She's the spokesmodel for designer Philipp Plein and denim brand jag jeans, and according to TMZ, the actress makes $2,000-$10,000 per tweet, when endorsing a variety of other companies.
So how is Lohan celebrating her new-found fortune? Well, instead of partying it away with a butt-load of booger sugar, the actress was photographed on the beach yesterday, chilling with friends. Lohan showed off her curves in a retro two-piece bikini on the shores of Malibu.
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Tania Raymonde Tik Tok
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sweet buttlicious Casey was also at her sexy best in stage adaptation of Dirty Dancing in Toronto (2008).
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Filming was also postponed in October 2011 when star Vance injuring himself shooting an action sequence.
Twelve episodes of Transporter: The Series have been ordered, with a budget of $43 million (£27.4 million).
* Miscast in case of Chris Vane but at the end of the day it really doesn't matter as long as there are galore of boobies on show especially from Ms.Rachel Skarsten.
____________________________________________________Katy Perry : at the water park in San Dimas [August 2012]
*Wardrobe Malfunction*
____________________________________________________ Yvonne Strahovski Talks Joining DEXTER Season 7, CHUCK, I FRANKENSTEIN, Working with Barbra Streisand in GUILT TRIP, More
Actress Yvonne Strahovski joins Season 7 of the Showtime drama series Dexter, premiering on September 30th, playing the mysterious Hannah McKay. A woman with a dark part and secrets of her own, she meets Dexter (Michael C. Hall) because she’s helping the Miami Police Department on an old case.
While at the Showtime portion of the TCA Press Tour, Collider (along with one other outlet) was given the opportunity to participate in an interview with the ultra-charming Aussie about her transition from the more light-hearted Chuck to the darker and sexier material on Dexter, the nerve-wracking experience of being a guest on someone else’s show, watching all six seasons in three weeks prior to her starting work, and how badly she wants to get to say the F-word on camera. She also talked about her work in the upcoming features Guilt Trip (with Seth Rogen and Barbra Streisand) and I, Frankenstein (with Aaron Eckhart and Bill Nighy), her favorite memory of her time on Chuck, and what she learned from the five years she spent in her first lead role on an American TV show. Check out what she had to say after the jump.
Question: What can you say about your character, this coming season?
YVONNE STRAHOVSKI: Well, I play Hannah McKay, who comes into the story in Episode 3. It’s safe to say that she has a dark past that is slowly revealed, as the episodes go on, and she holds some secrets. She meets Dexter because she’s helping the Miami Police Department on a case that’s been around for awhile.
Are you at the point where you can reveal more than just the fact that your character has got a mysterious past?
STRAHOVSKI: No. All I can say is that she has a checkered past with a past boyfriend. And all of these dark secrets come to light, in the episodes.
Is she working with Dexter because she has to, or because something draws her to the case?
STRAHOVSKI: That’s a good question. It is in her best interest to work with him. I’m really proud of that answer.
How dark do you get to go with this role, compared to what you’ve done before?
STRAHOVSKI: Pretty dark, actually. After watching all six seasons, and all the episodes, what will happen with my character in this show is something that has never happened before, in a Dexter episode.
What was your experience coming into this ensemble, with this already established group of actors?
STRAHOVSKI: Everyone was very welcoming. I feel like I’ve known them all for a little while now, even though I’ve only been there for a little bit. But, personally, it was a little nerve-wracking. I’ve not had that experience, where I’ve been a guest on someone else’s show before. This is a first time experience for me, to walk into such a close-knit family, on such an established show that’s critically acclaimed. You have to take a deep breath and dive on in. But, Michael [C. Hall] sets the tone for the work on set, and everyone is very generous. They’re very giving and respectful, so it’s just been a really great environment to be working in.When you got the phone call to be a part of this show, how did you feel and did you worry about what they saw in you for this?
STRAHOVSKI: I hadn’t actually thought about that, but now I will! I’m honored and flattered to have been asked to have been a part of it. This show is really amazing, and they’ve had really great guest stars in the past, too. It’s fantastic! I don’t know what they saw in me. (Executive producer) Scott Buck said, I think at Comic-Con, that he thought I was mysterious, even though I seem likeable, and that I might not be so likeable. I’m not going to take that personally. I think it works for the show.
Is this an especially sexy role for you?
STRAHOVSKI: She’s a sexy lady. I would say that she’s probably one of the more physically free characters that I’ve played. For five years, I played someone who was part of a law enforcement agency. Sarah was a CIA agent who was a little bit more rigid than Hannah McKay will be.How easy or hard has it been to delve into material as dark as Dexter?
STRAHOVSKI: I think every role that you come across is something that you have to wrap your head around. The world that they’ve set up in Dexter is so far-fetched, and they’ve done an amazing job of having the audience root for this guy, who’s a serial killer that you wouldn’t ordinarily root for. So, just those circumstances, in itself, take some time to wrap your heard around. Because I’m the guest on the show, and I haven’t been there for six years with the others, establishing my role, I’m in fast-forward, trying to figure out who Hannah McKay is, very quickly. And the storyline moves very quickly, as well. We’re going to see a lot of things come to light, pretty soon.
Had you seen much of Dexter, before getting the role?
Being familiar with the show now, are there characters that you’d love to have some interaction with, at some point?
STRAHOVSKI: I would love to interact with all of them. That would be great. I’m pretty sure that there will be some interaction with Deb (Jennifer Carpenter). They’re all fantastic! Masuka (C.S. Lee) would be fun.
Every guest star so far on the show has had a finite experience. Even if you go the whole season, there’s not a lot of the show left. What are you hoping that this sets you up for, career wise?
STRAHOVSKI: I guess it’s just more of a showcase of something that I haven’t done, and being able to play in that world of darkness. You get to pretend to be another human being, in one lifetime. That’s the beauty of it. Hopefully, as an actor, you can change it up when you get new characters. One time, it might be in the comedy genre, and then another time it might be dramatic. Through all these different characters, you have these different lives and different aspects of yourself that you put into it, and different aspects that you have to find from elsewhere to put into it. Hopefully, something comes out of it that’s both entertaining and intriguing, at the same time.
In real life, what scares you or gets under your skin?STRAHOVSKI: I don’t like waves at the beach. Does that count? I get scared of the big waves. I’ve been dumped a couple of times, in a wave. You don’t know what mother nature is going to throw at you, with a wave.
Are you getting to enjoy the freedom of being on a cable show, and perhaps getting to curse?
STRAHOVSKI: I so badly want to curse! I don’t think that I’ve ever said the F-word on camera, ever, unless it’s me messing up a line, and then that’s the first word coming out of my mouth on the blooper reel. But, no, I’ve never officially gotten to say the F-word. It would be great, but I don’t think that I will get to.
Do you find that everything is just wide open on cable?
STRAHOVSKI: It is, and it’s a different beast. I’m definitely enjoying the freedom with that. On this show, there’s a lot of trust placed in the actor, for what you bring to it. They really flesh out what you’re bringing to the table, and we’re working with a great director now, who’s very detailed oriented. There’s a level of attention to detail that’s amazing, and I’m really loving that.
Is there a genre that you haven’t done, that you crave doing?
STRAHOVSKI: It’s all over the spectrum, for me. I don’t want to be the funny girl or the serious girl. I would hope to touch on all different genres and all different types of characters, which I think I’ve been lucky enough to do, so far. Chuck was a comedy show, but within that show, we got to do a lot of comedy and drama and action and romance. And now, Dexter is so different with a much darker tone. It’s more realistic. He’s a serial killer, and the show is about a serial killer, but it’s realistic, in the sense of how you’re acting. It’s not as stylistic a show as Chuck, which was like a comic book. This is more about real people. And then, I’ve got a couple of movies coming out, at the end of the year. I did Guilt Trip, with Barbra Streisand and Seth Rogen, which is very much a comedy, and it was great to be a part of a straight-up comedy movie. And I have I, Frankenstein coming out in February, and that’s more of a thriller where I play a scientist. I feel pretty lucky to have done that.
What was it like to work with Barbra Streisand?STRAHOVSKI: She’s great! She’s very friendly, very sweet and very funny. Her and Seth had a great rapport on set. So many people came out of the woodwork, when they found out that I was doing that. They were very excited.
How was it to shoot I, Frankenstein in Australia?
STRAHOVSKI: It’s always great to be back in Australia. That’s the fourth movie now that I’ve gotten to go back to Australia for. It was great! I had a really nice time. Stuart Beattie, who wrote and directed it, is fantastic. He’s such a great guy and so deserving of this opportunity. This is his second feature film now. I had a really great time, particularly with Bill Nighy, who’s just such a character. I have nothing but amazing things to say about Bill Nighy. He’s so much fun!
You have a huge fan base from Chuck that will follow you, with whatever you do. What do you think they’ll think of your role on Dexter?
STRAHOVSKI: I think that they’ll hopefully be surprised and supportive. They’re so supportive and have been with us, from day one. I think that I can speak for all of the Chuck actors when I say that, whatever we now do in our careers, they will always be behind us to back us up and follow us on to the next thing that we do.
What is your favorite memory from your time on Chuck?STRAHOVSKI: Probably the entire last month of shooting. I think that was the most fun. We all relaxed a little bit, as people in each other’s lives, especially the actors. For me, I feel like I bonded a lot more with everybody in the fifth season, and spring boarded off of that into what is now post Chuck. We choose to hangout with each other because we love each other and we don’t have to see each other on a daily basis.
Did you pick up a skill, from playing that character,
that you’ll always be able to use?
STRAHOVSKI: Oh, yeah, I can do guns, and lots of martial arts and punching. Hopefully, I could defend myself.
Do you think you could defend yourself in a real fight?
STRAHOVSKI: I don’t know. I don’t want to know because I don’t want to ever be faced with that, but I’d like to think that I could throw a punch.
Did being a part of Chuck change you, as an actor, and inform what you’re doing now?
STRAHOVSKI: Oh, yeah! Five years on a show, and that was my first lead role on a television show in the States, I learned so much. I learned from the people that I worked with. Everyone had something new that I could observe and absorb. Hopefully, you do that on every job. Even just being on Dexter now, and watching Michael and the other actors that I’ve gotten to work with so far, everyone has something different to bring. It’s incredible to watch and learn from that, and also the directors and the writers, as well. It’s an ever-evolving process for me, until the day that I die. Hopefully, I’m still in this industry when I’m 85, and playing someone’s great grandmother.
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Jennifer Lawrence : "Vogue" [2012]September
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Lindsay Lohan Still Raking in the Dough
By Miranda Furtado
If there is anything that we've learned from Lindsay Lohan, it's that a few stints in jail won't hurt your bank account.
According to TMZ Lohan's financial woes are a thing of the past because the actress is reportedly set to bank more than $2 million US by the end of the year.
Lohan's bank account is swelling and it's all thanks to a few highly publicized events. Earlier this year, Lohan received a reported $1 million for her December Playboy shoot. Since then the actress has reportedly earned $300,000 US for her portrayal of Elizabeth Taylor in Lifetime movie Liz and Dick and $6,480 (scale) for her upcoming flick The Canyons. Lohan is also rumoured to be signing onto the latest Scary Movie sequel, where she'll potentially earn $200,000.
But wait, that's not all! Lohan was also awarded some moolah for her recent appearance on Glee and then there are her endorsement gigs to consider. She's the spokesmodel for designer Philipp Plein and denim brand jag jeans, and according to TMZ, the actress makes $2,000-$10,000 per tweet, when endorsing a variety of other companies.
So how is Lohan celebrating her new-found fortune? Well, instead of partying it away with a butt-load of booger sugar, the actress was photographed on the beach yesterday, chilling with friends. Lohan showed off her curves in a retro two-piece bikini on the shores of Malibu.
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Tania Raymonde Tik Tok
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remember Ashley Leggat @ Casey MacDonald from Disney's Life With Derek..............?
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On the Eerie Similarities Between Sex Scenes and Horror Stories
Sometimes it is not what you say, but what you don't say.
We live in vulgar times, an age in which the explicit and graphic depiction of sex and gore is the norm. My problem with graphic depictions of sex and violence is not that they are too strong, at least not in the sense of achieving their intended effects (though they are often too strong in the way that the smell of a garbage heap is, i.e., extremely offensive to good taste). Rather, my problem with them is that they are too weak.
They are weak and ineffectual because they show too much. They represent an unrefined sensibility that works on the assumption that more is always better. Take it from me: sometimes more is less.
See, the problem is that explicit depictions of sex and violence work against the full power of eroticism and horror. Both of these qualities relate to some of the deepest and most powerful of all human feelings, those connected with sexual love and the continuation of life, in the case of eroticism, and in the case of horror, those connected with fear, particularly fear of death and the unknown.
H. P. Lovecraft, one of the greatest horror writers of all time, famously said that "the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown". Old horror movies were far less gory and violent than today's, but they tended to be more mysterious, atmospheric, and moody. Classic horror (as opposed to modern horror) aimed to suggest rather than to show, and this is precisely where its power resided. The more you leave to the imagination, the more room is given to genuine psychological horror--those creepy feelings that something dark and fearsome and possibly evil is lurking out there, or perhaps very close at hand. This type of horror--which I consider to be true horror--is more often than not caused by the presence of unknown and unknowable supernatural entities or forces, rather than by bland and banal human murderers. True horror suggests that there is more to reality than our modern scientistic worldview affords, and therein lies its truly subversive power: it challenges our very concept of reality, our philosophical assumptions, the very ground beneath our feet.
The depiction of sex works very much the same way. Pornography, whether written or visual, leaves little or nothing to the imagination. It is focused on the physical body to a degree that could be considered clinical and therefore the very opposite of sexy. Truly erotic art, however, like true horror, focuses more on the psychological aspects of the experience, and suggests more than it shows. Its power lies in allowing the reader to fill in his or her own blanks, just as classic horror does. As the Symbolists said, "To name is to destroy; to suggest is to create." The power of suggestion is very powerful indeed, and is a potent artistic weapon that is too often neglected in our age of vulgar--and totally unexciting--excess. Trying too hard often results in failure; my advice to writers and filmmakers is to kick it up a notch by taking it down a thousand.
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Jill Dahne, Love Psychic, Predicts New Anus Tattoo Trend
By Chris Joseph
The 17th annual South Florida Tattoo Expo was held at the Marriott Hotel, Golf Club and Convention Center at Heron Bay in Coral Springs over the weekend. The event featured hot music, hot cars, burlesque shows and plenty of ink.Our video staff (led by our Country Grind music blog editor, Liz Tracy) hit the expo and discovered the latest tattoo trend that is about to take the nation by storm: Getting your asshole tatted up. (NSFW vid after the jump):
The expo is one of two major events the group holds annually with proceeds going to the Joe DiMaggio Children's Hospital (the group has raised enough cash over the years, there's a wing in their name in the hospital).As you can see in the video, expo celebrity psychic Jill Dahne claims through her sooth-saying powers that the asshole tat is going to be the next big thing.
So you may want to get a jump on it and get on this trend before all your friends do. So you can be all, "I got an asshole tattoo before it was cool, bro."
And, according to the girl getting her own tattoo in the video, having a needle jabbing your rectum over and over again feels REALLY, REALLY GOOD!
Of course, as it is with every trend, this thing will likely die down in a few years when soccer mom's start getting little Jimmy's name inked on their own assholes. But that's just the way things roll in America. A hot trend gets ruined by over-saturation.
There are always some assholes who have to ruin it for the rest of us.
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* college girls are easy target but where there is demand there will be ample supply....
Cash-strapped college girls offered 70 pounds an hour to be naked cleaners
Female students in Newcastle, who need extra cash to fund their studies, are being offered 70 pounds an hour for becoming naked cleaners and hotel room lap dancers.
‘Adults-only’ firm is using Twitter to reach such cash-strapped girls and is inviting them to provide ‘body-to-body massage’ in homes, offices or hotel rooms.
Amidst the unpleasant reaction from appalled students, manager Janey Davison claimed that the firm is ‘just offering over-18s an opportunity to make some money,’ the Daily Star reported.
"I'm high-end and the girls have to be experienced and confident," She said.
On the other hand, students said that they are horrified that companies are targeting cash-strapped girls.
"I understand why people would do it - it's because of the money," Laura Armstrong, who is doing her A-levels, said.
"Students will find it quite difficult, especially because of the top-up fees. But I don't think people should lower themselves.
Supporting the outcry, Newcastle Central MP Chi Onwurah also claimed that while the firm's offer "may be legal, but that doesn't make it moral."
"To target teenagers living away from home for the first time with the prospect of 27,000 pounds of debt fresh in their minds is what I would call exploitation," he said.
Malaysia students sell sex on Facebook
Alisha Hassan | 13 August 2012
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s university students, faced with growing debts, are going online to sell themselves for sex to clients.
The move has sparked worries that the sex trade in the Southeast Asian country has moved into new media as a way for sex-seekers to find a suitable girl.
According to local reports, girls are charging clients between RM250 and RM800 per session.
Using nearly nude images of themselves, they post profiles on major social networking sites such as Facebook in the hopes of landing a client.
In June, Bikyamasr.com spoke to one girl who had used Facebook as her medium for sex work, landing a number of clients within a matter of days.
She had met the man, in his early 30s, on Facebook after she had sent him photographs of herself and conditions for her services.
They had sex three times during the evening and Susanne (name has been changed) pocketed over $500, excluding hotel fees.
“Since then, I have a solid base of customers who pay for me to go out with them,” she told Bikyamasr.com. “Most of the time, the men are just looking for some kissing and a companion, but there are a few who want sex. It pays well.”
The 19-year-old university student from Kuala Selangor in southern Malaysia, said that she turned to the online sex work when she couldn’t pay her debts and her family refused to assist her.
“It was really hard, but now I have a way to make money. In the past month, I have made almost $10,000. I charge more now, especially if I am spending the night with the client,” she argued.
Worrying women’s rights groups in the country is that the phenomenon appears to not be as isolated as previously thought. Girls as young as 16-years-old are posting photographs on their Facebook accounts as well as stipulations for their “services” and what is being dubbed “compensated dating” is gaining steam, a Sin Chew Daily report said.
The paper said there were numerous postings from such girls, who gave personal details, terms and conditions and the services provided, including sex.
Susanne doesn’t consider what she does sex work. “It is a way to make ends meet and date some people. Why not get paid to do it if we can?”
The “call girl” services are independent and appear to be individual girls offering their time for pay.
According to Susanne, there are forums online where girls who participate in the services get together and discuss their experiences.
“If a guy doesn’t treat us well, we list him and all the other girls know that he is not to be trusted,” she said. “We also talk about how to protect ourselves.”
That includes the girls’ choice of condoms, what hotels are best to choose in different cities and how to avoid being caught by police or being forced offline by Facebook authorities.
She said the key to the work is not posting any naked pictures on her account.
“We have learned that the men will contact us to ask questions and then we send photos to them to allow them to choose. Then it happens,” she said.
However, other young Malaysians are frustrated that the “compensated dating” has resulted in their accounts being messaged repeatedly by strange men asking for sex, their cost and other harassment.
“It is really sad that this is happening,” said Kuala Lumpur social worker and recent university graduate Anita Fooh, who told Bikyamasr.com that “sex work is sex work whether they like it or not, the problem is they feel as if they have no choice and are in such debt that it is debilitating them so they turn to a quick and easy way to make money.”
Fooh called on the government and social services providers to develop action-plans to assist young girls in debt so they don’t turn to sex to make money.
“It is extremely dangerous to see young women selling their bodies for money in today’s world and when the government promises to help people on their debts.”
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The move has sparked worries that the sex trade in the Southeast Asian country has moved into new media as a way for sex-seekers to find a suitable girl.
According to local reports, girls are charging clients between RM250 and RM800 per session.
Using nearly nude images of themselves, they post profiles on major social networking sites such as Facebook in the hopes of landing a client.
In June, Bikyamasr.com spoke to one girl who had used Facebook as her medium for sex work, landing a number of clients within a matter of days.
She had met the man, in his early 30s, on Facebook after she had sent him photographs of herself and conditions for her services.
They had sex three times during the evening and Susanne (name has been changed) pocketed over $500, excluding hotel fees.
“Since then, I have a solid base of customers who pay for me to go out with them,” she told Bikyamasr.com. “Most of the time, the men are just looking for some kissing and a companion, but there are a few who want sex. It pays well.”
The 19-year-old university student from Kuala Selangor in southern Malaysia, said that she turned to the online sex work when she couldn’t pay her debts and her family refused to assist her.
“It was really hard, but now I have a way to make money. In the past month, I have made almost $10,000. I charge more now, especially if I am spending the night with the client,” she argued.
Worrying women’s rights groups in the country is that the phenomenon appears to not be as isolated as previously thought. Girls as young as 16-years-old are posting photographs on their Facebook accounts as well as stipulations for their “services” and what is being dubbed “compensated dating” is gaining steam, a Sin Chew Daily report said.
The paper said there were numerous postings from such girls, who gave personal details, terms and conditions and the services provided, including sex.
Susanne doesn’t consider what she does sex work. “It is a way to make ends meet and date some people. Why not get paid to do it if we can?”
The “call girl” services are independent and appear to be individual girls offering their time for pay.
According to Susanne, there are forums online where girls who participate in the services get together and discuss their experiences.
“If a guy doesn’t treat us well, we list him and all the other girls know that he is not to be trusted,” she said. “We also talk about how to protect ourselves.”
That includes the girls’ choice of condoms, what hotels are best to choose in different cities and how to avoid being caught by police or being forced offline by Facebook authorities.
She said the key to the work is not posting any naked pictures on her account.
“We have learned that the men will contact us to ask questions and then we send photos to them to allow them to choose. Then it happens,” she said.
However, other young Malaysians are frustrated that the “compensated dating” has resulted in their accounts being messaged repeatedly by strange men asking for sex, their cost and other harassment.
“It is really sad that this is happening,” said Kuala Lumpur social worker and recent university graduate Anita Fooh, who told Bikyamasr.com that “sex work is sex work whether they like it or not, the problem is they feel as if they have no choice and are in such debt that it is debilitating them so they turn to a quick and easy way to make money.”
Fooh called on the government and social services providers to develop action-plans to assist young girls in debt so they don’t turn to sex to make money.
“It is extremely dangerous to see young women selling their bodies for money in today’s world and when the government promises to help people on their debts.”
____________________________________________________
'Fusking' Photobucket For Nude Photos Emerges As Latest Reminder Not To Post Naked Pics
Unless you're a porn star, or otherwise want everyone on the Internet to see you naked, it is always -- 100 percent of the time -- a bad idea to post nude photos of yourself anywhere on the Internet. What goes up must come down, and when risque pics go online, they will be found.
BuzzFeed has drawn attention to one such application of this maxim: An activity called "fusking," in which any snoop can easily trawl through your pictures on the image hosting site Photobucket, even if they are private or password protected, in search of your nude or otherwise compromising photos. Though fusking has been around in some form for over a decade and can be effective on several image hosting sites, this new BuzzFeed report seems likely to renew interest and cause a surge in fresh Photobucket fuskers.
In other words, if you have dirty pictures on Photobucket, it's time to go delete them right now.
The process by which one fusks is actually kind of ingenious, if you don't stop to think about the moral or ethical implications of the activity. On Photobucket, each picture you upload has an individual URL, which makes it convenient to message friends and family with a link to a specific photo. Photobucket is set up such that even if you designate an entire photo album as private or password-protected, you can still send out a link to an individual photo, and a friend will be able to view it (just not the rest of the album).
Here's where the fusking starts: Most digital cameras and smartphones save the pictures that you take with sequential names, i.e. IMG_001.jpg, IMG_002.jpg, IMG_003.jpg, etc. Unfortunately, that's exactly how a photo you upload to Photobucket is saved, too, in its URL: Something like http://photobucket.com/image/USERNAME/IMG_001.jpg. So, if you make available one photo from that private album, it would be exceptionally easy for anyone with access to that photo to scan through the rest, by simple guesswork.
And that's a problem. Entire communities have sprung up around the Internet devoted to sniffing out and sharing NSFW pictures found via Photobucket fusking: Gawker found a section on Reddit devoted to plundering Photobucket and posting nudes and lingerie shots they find. The sub-Reddit is a bit more moralistic than other forums -- submissions can not be from private albums, and no underage posts are allowed -- though not moralistic enough that they aren't snooping around a photo sharing site and posting pictures that were surely meant to be private. And, too, re: moralism, see rule 4 of the sub-Reddit:
4. Do not follow the usernames of the girls submitted to this subreddit. When you follow them it sends an e-mail to them notifying them they're being followed. This usually either makes them cancel their photobucket or make the album private which in turn makes it so we no longer get any pictures from them.
If that doesn't send you screaming to log in to your old Photobucket account to delete any bawdy pictures you may have uploaded, then I don't know what will.
Backing up your cherished photos online is somewhat of an imperative in this day and age of malicious hackers and crashing hard drives, and we still recommend safeguarding your photos in the cloud. But when it comes to posting or sharing photos of yourself or others that you wouldn't want strangers to see, our advice, in the wake of the fusking kerfuffle, remains the same: Don't.
UPDATE: A Photobucket spokesperson reached out ot HuffPost via email and pointed us to an instructions page for scrambling the names of the photos that you upload to the site so that they're less "fusk-able." (These instructions work for both new uploads and photos you've already uploaded.) You still shouldn't be uploading compromising photos of yourself to Photobucket -- and, what's more, you're violating Photobucket's Terms of Use when you do.
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