Grey's Anatomy's Ellen Pompeo is joining forced with Huggies to make sure that moms who can't afford diapers for their babies can get them. It's a small way that she is giving back, but as any new mom knows- it's heartbreaking when you can't give your child the essentials that you know they need and deserve.
The next time you pick up some Huggies, look for specially marked boxes which will help Ellen and Huggies reach their goal of 22.5 million diapers for every child.
Anne Hathaway and Jake Gyllenhaal have been everywhere lately promoting their new movie, Love and Other Drugs. However, what is getting more buzz than the dramatic romance is the many scenes that this power couple shot in the buff. I dare you to try to find an interview where they don't ask about the sex scenes- and namely Anne's decision to go nude and what her boundaries were during filming.
In my soon-to-be released book, Bitch Please! How Nice Girls Can Succeed in a Bitch's World, I use Anne Hathaway as an example of how a nice girl can get ahead in Hollywood without having to resort to posing nude in Playboy or having a sex tape emerge from her past.
So in light of her new movie, Love and Other Drugs, the question begs to be asked. Can a nice girl do nudity tastefully? Or should her nice girl crown be revoked?
Well, first of all- Anne told NPR in a recent interview that all of the scenes were first screened by her and Jake before they made the big screen. According to their contract there were no nudity clauses just a disclaimer that gave them the power to edit and approve the way the scenes were shot and shown.
So we can assume that Anne cared about how she was portrayed in this film, and even said, ""I cut probably a total of about 5 seconds out of the nude scenes. Maybe it was just me being sensitive, but for whatever reason, I thought the camera lingered a little bit, and Ed had no problems just taking them out."
Sometimes when it comes to art, I think a nice girl has to take into consideration believability and comfortableness. It seems to me that Hathaway put thought and consideration into shooting these scenes.
Now, would I do it? No. But then again I don't think that I have the same stresses and opportunities as Anne Hathaway.
If Edward Zwick, Love and Other Drugs producer best known for Legends of the Fall called me up and asked if I wanted to shoot a big budget film with him about a woman who has early on-set Parkinson's disease opposite of Jake Gyllenhaal for half a million dollars- but the only hitch was I had to flash my breasts, I am not going to say I wouldn't entertain the idea. It is so easy to judge others, especially when they live a life so different from yours.
Also, let's keep in mind that Hathaway is acting. While it can be gray area, because those of us who don't act for a living don't understand how you can shoot a fake sex scene with someone and not be "cheating" or "easy", it really is a different world. Every "sex scene" is staged- with an entire cast and crew of folks- upwards of 50 people can be on a set at a time. Not too romantic.
However, nudity and sex acts in Playboy, Penthouse, Porno or online is not fake.
My feeling is this: doing nudity in a film as opposed to posing naked in a porn magazine are two different types of exposure in my book. One is gratuitous and the other can be warranted.
But don't take my word for it- go see the move and decide for yourself, however I firmly stand by my belief that Hathaway is and will continue to be a "nice girl" in real life.
Kat Von D appeared on New Day Northwest this morning promoting her new book, The Tattoo Chronicles. After confirming that "yes" she is dating Sandra Bullock's ex- Jesse James, she says that she is "always happy" when asked if the relationship was going well. Aside from her choice in men, she wasn't on the show to talk love, clearly, but instead to promote her book which is part tell-all, part art book.
But when asked by an audience member what is one message that she would like to convey as a "role model", her answer was, "I guess that I would like to convey, especially with girls, that you know, its just so important to love yourself. And that we are conditioned by this world to complete with each other and try to maintain this weird level of perfection. And to me, I think we are all perfect in our own way. And I don't know, I find beauty in everybody."
In my book, Bitch Please! How Nice Girls Can Succeed in a Bitch's World, I talk directly about this "conditioning" Kat Von D references. If you are a woman you have been exposed to unhealthy competitiveness, it is an unfortunate part of being a woman in this day and age.
I agree with Kat completely that we all try and maintain a level of perfection that doesn't exist. From glossy magazines to television shows, its hard for a modern day girl to avoid feeling ordinary. But, the refreshing twist here is that Kat Von D isn't a traditional beauty- in fact I think she is quite the opposite of what is usually portrayed in the media as beautiful. She says that she can find beauty in everyone, and that we are all perfect in our own way.
Can any of us claim to be perfect in our own way? And can this level of self-love ever backfire to the point of self-obsession or even be used as an excuse for bad behavior? I believe it can.
Can Kat Von D qualify as a nice girl?
Do her words match her actions?
How would we know? The hard part when looking to those in Hollywood to define integrity, is that we don't know their secret lives. We don't know what they are really like and can only develop opinions based upon the public persona we are shown.
From this interview, I have to say that Kat seems refreshingly awkward and honest. Watch it for yourself to formulate your own opinion.
"If it’s November, it must be time for the Seattle Goodwill Glitter Sale. This year, on Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 13 and 14, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., is the sale’s 27th annual event, where vintage and designer clothing and accessories are for sale for a song.
All items in the sale were donated to Goodwill throughout the previous year and all the proceeds from the sale benefit Seattle Goodwill’s free job training and education programs.
“Last year we sold $140,000 worth of merchandise,” says event organizer Tracy Schneider. “This year I’m seeing an astounding selection of shoes, from brand-new beaded Manolo Blahniks to vintage Roger Vivier,” Schneider continues, revealing that a pair of Beth Levine shoes is also for sale, for an astonishing $39. Levine, as you may recall from the retrospective at the Bellevue Arts Museum earlier this year, was a visionary female shoe designer from the 1940s to the 1990s. Her designs were sold at Nordstrom and she designed Nancy Sinatra’s famous white go-go boots."
This is a perfect time for Nice Girls in the Northwest to go shopping for a great cause! Be sure to check it out!
