George Clooney v. Gwyneth Paltrow v. Vanity Fair — OUCH

In an effort to annihilate her haters, Gwyneth Paltrow garnered some more. For months it’s been rumored that Vanity Fair will run a “take down” piece on Paltrow, which will focus on why the public likes to pounce on the star and why her likability leaves a little to be desired. While I find the interest entirely confusing (i.e. WHO CARES), Paltrow’s reaction is more notable, given that she emailed everyone in Hollywood to bully them into boycotting the magazine altogether. That list allegedly included George Clooney, who objected to be dragged into her mess. Watch Clooney poke fun at Paltrow during his Vanity Fair shoot, and watch Julia Roberts’ very hilarious reaction.

Vintage Celebrity Feud: Julia Roberts v. Steven Spielberg

Julia Roberts is one of those untouchable celebrities who manages to keep a pristine reputation despite a history of questionable behavior. But here at The Dishmaster, it’s always fun to remind my readers of celebrity feuds amongst Hollywood titans. One such feud happened in 1991 on the set of Steven Spielberg’s ‘Hook.’ Rumors circulated during filming that Roberts was extremely difficult to work with, and she soon developed the clever nickname “Tinkerhell”. When Spielberg was asked about the rumors during a ’60 Minutes’ interview, he slyly said, “It was an unfortunate time for us to work together.” The “difficult time” in question was Roberts’ decision to leave Kiefer Sutherland just three days before their wedding date, a choice that the press deemed to be related to some kind of a “nervous breakdown.” When Roberts got wind of Spielberg’s comment, she wasn’t pleased. She told Vanity Fair, “I saw that [interview] and my eyes popped out of my head. I couldn’t believe that this person that I knew and trusted was actually hesitating to come to my defense. It was the first time that I felt I had a turncoat in my midst.” But Spielberg didn’t back down. His representative issued a statement in response, saying, “It was just a tough time in her life. Fortunately, she went on to great success, and so did Steven.”

New Snow White Images Released — MAGICAL!

Because of my love for photography and movie magic, I’m posting images from the new ‘Snow White’ film, set for released March 16, 2012. It stars Julia Roberts as the Queen alongside Lily Collins, Armie Hammer, Nathan Lane, Mare Winningham, Sean Bean, and Michael Lerner. Enjoy!


Movie Review: Larry Crowne

Not even Julia Roberts and Tom Hanks can rescue a bad script.  I’m surprised their agents even signed off on this mess.  Actually, they didn’t sign off on it — Tom Hanks wrote and produced it, which explains how it hit the big screen.  Actors often become too big for their own good, and there’s no one willing to break unfortunate truths to them.  So here’s the truth — the movie is terrible. Tom Hanks plays Larry Crowne, a navy veteran who gets laid off from his retail job because of his lack of education. He decides to go back to school, where he takes a speech class with Mrs. Tainot, played by Julia Roberts.  It’s unclear what Larry Crowne hopes to learn from Mrs. Tainot, given that she’s an extremely unlikable professor who’s miserable with both her personal and professional life.  The problem with this film is that the characters have nothing to offer.  Crowne is misguided, and he seems to have no particular skill of note.  If he served in the Navy as a cook, then why isn’t he running a restaurant?  Furthermore, why would Tainot ever be interested in him or vice versa? She’s a terrible teacher with a crummy attitude, and he’s a bit of a loser.  In fact, I wasn’t even sure these two even liked one another until they started kissing, which was so confusing and random, I found myself rolling my eyes. I presume the original intention of the script was to have two lost souls fall in love and help one another move forward with their lives — but that’s not what came across. Instead, it was two lost souls that felt like making out once or twice.  OVERALL RATING: DISHASTER

Kiefer Sutherland Stars in Jason Patric’s Play — Forgives Him for Julia Roberts Affair?

For those that don’t follow tabloid history, I’ll give you a nutshell review of one of the greatest scandals of all time.  Once upon a time, Kiefer Sutherland was engaged to Julia Roberts.  She left him shortly before the wedding and ran off with his best friend.  So who’s the best friend in question?  It was Jason Patric.  Years later, Kiefer spoke kindly of Roberts in interviews, saying they were not ready to be married, and he’s thankful that she realized it.  When asked about Patric, Kiefer wasn’t as kind, saying, “I’m surprised that I never got a call from him saying I’ve fallen in love da-da-da. Instead, I found out from a stranger.”  Jason Patric later paid for the affair, saying,  “I knew (dating her) would be trouble.  But I think sometimes people walk into their own nightmare maybe not so consciously.  This was a person who very much put herself in the public eye, and the public life. I think everyone has a right to privacy, but once you use your personal life to advance your fame, you really don’t have the right to say no to (the press).”  Now that you know the history you can imagine my shock when I discovered that Kiefer Sutherland and Jason Patric are currently starring on Broadway together in That Championship Season.  The play was written by Pulitzer Prize winner Jason Miller, who also happens to be Jason Patric’s father.  I’d like to note that only men can move past bad blood.  If my best friend ran off with my fiance, I’d accept her invitation to star in a play only so that I could get close enough to choke her on stage.

Naturally Blond Actresses that Go Brown — Who Are They?

I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again — the prettiest brunette will always be prettier than the prettiest blond. Am I biased? — Sure, but I’m the Dishmaster, and I’ll be biased if I want. To prove my point, I’ve compiled a list of actresses that were born blond, but decided to die their hair brown instead. Why? — Because they look better, of course. Enjoy!

SOFIA VERGARA — People often ask me who my girl crushes are, and Sofia is at the top of my list. She’s beautiful with a twist of sass. She confessed that she had trouble getting roles when she moved to the United States from Columbia, and she blamed it on her blond hair.  Once she went brown, she began to book jobs, and the rest is history.

LEIGHTON MEESTER — Just to contradict myself, I’ll admit that Leighton Meester actually looks better as a blond. She died her hair for Gossip Girl, presumably because the producers already had the blond Blake Lively to play Serena, and they saw Leighton’s character as a brunette. She actually died her hair before the audition. I’m posting two pictures of her below, so that you can see the difference and judge for yourself.

JULIA ROBERTS — For much of Julia Roberts’ career I’ve wondered if she was a natural red-head or brunette. It turns out she’s neither. Her natural hair color is actually dirty blond, but she prefers to keep it brown. Personally, I’d like her to keep her red Pretty Woman hair forever, but I don’t suppose she wants to be play the same part for the rest of her life.

AUDRINA PATRIDGE — When I watched Audrina on The Hills, I noticed something strange about her appearance. She didn’t quite look right, and when my friend told me she’s a natural blond, it clicked. Like Leighton, she looks better as a blond. It’s a shame too, because I so badly wanted this post to be about how brunettes rule the world. But you can’t have everything, I guess. To see her with blond hair, click here.

ASHLEE SIMPSON — When Ashlee first broke into the business, she tried very hard to separate herself from Jessica Simpson. That included dying her hair brown, and dressing like a grunge rocker. It didn’t quite work, and she has since changed her image about 500 times. She recently went back to blond, so I’ve posted her with both hair colors. See what you think.

In closing, I’d like to confess that I took some liberties with the word “actress” in the title of this post.  Please forgive me.