tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2248771638146280147.post4158433933272430349..comments2023-04-11T05:25:34.235-07:00Comments on I AM OFFENDED BECAUSE...: This One Time I Decided To Blog About Going to See a MovieAllyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06728172539093346724noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2248771638146280147.post-66658350402111856422012-04-19T19:25:11.447-07:002012-04-19T19:25:11.447-07:00I miss this blog and your Salient articles!! You a...I miss this blog and your Salient articles!! You are amazing xxIzzy Lnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2248771638146280147.post-66888556085248006842011-05-10T05:49:39.855-07:002011-05-10T05:49:39.855-07:00An example of the movie fat stereotype I hate occu...An example of the movie fat stereotype I hate occurs in Grease. Putzie says to Jan "I knew there was more to you than just fat"... even though she is exactly the same size as all the other girls. WTF? So apparently in Hollywood, if somebody calls you fat, that makes you fat. Even as a pre-teen, this comment really creeped me out.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2248771638146280147.post-80991202698086170312011-04-12T16:26:01.398-07:002011-04-12T16:26:01.398-07:00I enjoyed reading this post (and I’m so glad you’r...I enjoyed reading this post (and I’m so glad you’re blogging again Ally!) but I can’t say that I whole-heartedly agree with you. Not about P.E., I’m totally with you on that one. I’m still somewhat traumatised by the mint green polo shirt I had to wear. But on the topic of casting, I’m going to play Devil’s Advocate a bit so bear with me….<br /><br />Now I must state upfront I haven’t seen Conviction and more importantly I love Sam Rockwell (and James Franco for that matter). Not because he’s ‘hot’ (though that’s subjective), but because he’s damn good at what he does. <br /><br />So why cast Sam Rockwell as Kenny Waters? Well, he’s a really good actor. I love that he makes interesting choices, he’s not afraid to play repulsive, foolish or vile characters, he’s not classically handsome in the Hollywood sense or tall or ‘built’, and he seems really humble to boot. I’ve always been a real sucker for actors like him (and Chris Cooper, John Malkovich and his ilk) because they appear to care more about the craft than themselves. They’re actors not movie stars. On the flipside of this, it would be naïve of me to think there wasn’t a marketing basis for the decision too. Sam Rockwell is not super-famous, but if you’re trying to get a serious drama-watching audience he’s a relatively well-known name with good credits, though hardly a ‘star’ that’s going to draw the multiplex crowds (a yawn-inducing theory that is responsible for Jennifer Aniston and Katherine Heigel constantly clogging our screens).<br /><br />Now I know you’re not disputing his talent, but rather saying that for accurate representation they ought to have cast a fat person. Now, as previously admitted I’m arguing a bit for the sake of it here, but it is plausible that they shopped around, that they saw screen tests from Kevin James and Abe Benrubi (who could easily pass for Kenny if you whacked a goatee on him), and decided that at the end of the day Sam was best for the part. I’ve always believed that producers of film, television and theatre when casting work that is ‘based’ on true stories should never choose an actor for their physical resemblance to an actual person over their authenticity. <br /><br />For example James Franco in Howl (Note: I’m quite stoked that I was able to work him in). Now James doesn’t bear much of a resemblance to Allen Ginsberg (though if you stick a pair of thick-framed glasses on him and dye his hair black and it’s not too bad) but he captured something of him that too me is far more important than a physical likeness. He never felt like ‘James Franco’ in that film. There was something about him that just felt ‘right’, that you could sense even when he wasn’t saying or doing anything as well as the way he moved and spoke (AG had a very distinctive way of reading his work and James had it nailed). Perhaps the same is true of Sam Rockwell and Kenny Waters? That there was something about him that was true to the core of him rather than what he looked like. All I’m saying is we don’t know why the decision was made, and perhaps it’s reductive to assume it’s because of his size. <br /><br />Of course, it must be said I’m an actor and as actors go I’m in the average-looking pack. I’m not trying to be self-deprecating merely stating a fact that there are far more conventionally beautiful ladies out there in my age range. And that’s ok; I’m not complaining. But that’s my agenda, actors being cast because they are good at what they do, not because they look a certain way. And while I empathise with your frustration regarding the lack of representation of fat people in the creative media, I think that if actors were cast for the opposite reason, because of how they look and not because of their skills or talent then that would also be a terrible shame; and seems to me to reinforce one of the things I hate about Hollywood in the first place, that what you look like is more important than anything else.<br /><br />So that’s my own biased two cents. As always, love your work. XUnknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13548697388355337177noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2248771638146280147.post-52821195439400202572011-04-03T19:24:27.037-07:002011-04-03T19:24:27.037-07:00Love that you're blogging again! Can't wai...Love that you're blogging again! Can't wait to see if you blog about the hooha over The Satorialist calling a blogger 'sturdy' etc. Love to know your thoughts about it!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2248771638146280147.post-89281697799138060802011-04-03T03:47:10.821-07:002011-04-03T03:47:10.821-07:00Hi, I really enjoy reading your blog, and especial...Hi, I really enjoy reading your blog, and especially this post. Mrs Kennedy is my aunt! Glad to see a shout-out to her on here :)Jessicahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15331617815115280224noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2248771638146280147.post-65940014141795947492011-04-03T01:52:45.439-07:002011-04-03T01:52:45.439-07:00Hello, this totally makes me more excited to meet ...Hello, this totally makes me more excited to meet you because this is an awesome post from an awesome lady. And also: "if you consider making jokes about 'pegging' to be helpful". I do, and they are, so there you go.<br /><br />Guess those in casting just lost all the number to fat actors. Oops! Lost my phone contacts and can only remember thin people! What a shock!<br />Personally I think they should have cast Big Show, but that might just be me. Or Kevin James.Octaviahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01808192965002429535noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2248771638146280147.post-13047394249383389542011-04-03T00:49:25.351-07:002011-04-03T00:49:25.351-07:00I love this post for so many reasons and oh my god...I love this post for so many reasons and oh my god if I saw my school's sports centre with a bulldozer inside it, for a few minutes, all would be right with the world because PE sucks.Alexhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10164643359523526613noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2248771638146280147.post-83752863948134866392011-04-03T00:13:04.316-07:002011-04-03T00:13:04.316-07:00The doesn't read like a post by a lackluster b...The doesn't read like a post by a lackluster blogger, this post is LUSTROUS and so are you and so is your hair.Scarhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16991936324236428844noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2248771638146280147.post-4574272260058293532011-04-02T23:13:55.374-07:002011-04-02T23:13:55.374-07:00Holly! Ha, if you go you should most definitely ta...Holly! Ha, if you go you should most definitely take a picture of where the gym used to be! And if Mrs. Kennedy is there (although I suppose she isn't really an Old Girl, or do teachers count?) you should give her a big hug from me!Allyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06728172539093346724noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2248771638146280147.post-7541720588496737122011-04-02T22:54:50.279-07:002011-04-02T22:54:50.279-07:00LOL at the gym being demolished. Really it's s...LOL at the gym being demolished. Really it's sort of kind of sad but I totally get why you were delighted by the sight of the bulldozer! :P Although apparently now the gym is also in a tent!? Great. <br /><br />If I end up going to this OGA thing on Tuesday afternoon I just may have to take my camera to take a photo of The Empty Space Where The Gym Used To Be. Then I will Tweet said photo at you for your entertainment. :PHollyhttp://adventuresofholly.comnoreply@blogger.com