Ah, breasts. Eva Mendes was happy to show you hers on behalf of Calvin Klein. Jennifer Beals and Sarah Jessica Parker will never show you theirs with the no-nudity clauses in their contracts. Somewhere, someone even thought breasts might make you buy French Fries.

The comments on Gina Vivenetto's recent Eva Mendes blog post range from, "Lighten up with the nudity laws, Americans!" to "Right on, FCC! People need to keep their clothes on!" Turns out not everyone agrees about when and where bared breasts are acceptable.

Pondering the nude folks that will be dancing in Central Park during tonight's revival of Hair, New York Magazine asked a few celebrities how they felt about getting naked.

Elle model and author of The Bikini Book Kelly Killoren Bensimon said: "Wooo! Nudity! Well, I've never been photographed nude before, ever. I'm like the only model that hasn't. So, I actually love being in my bikini, I'd love to be in my bikini more than anything else. But the one thing I don't like about summer is that people are literally taking off their clothes. And the thing about winter is that people really make an effort to be dressed. That's what I like." … continue reading

I'm often underwhelmed when I read that a movie will be made about a historical female figure. Period movies about strong women who challenge the male hierarchy only to be demonized by contemporaries and historians (and sometimes real demons) are a genre unto themselves: Insert tragic historical female, grant her enough authority to hang herself, end with creative torture by the powers that be. It's not that I mind tragedies, it's that I've seen that movie a hundred times, just with different dresses. (Unless it's Cate Blanchett in The Golden Age. But then, Elizabeth I would not be subjugated by any man.)

Just last year, we had Marie Antoinette. Kirsten Dunst's version of the teenage bride is the definition of used and abused.

The Messenger (1999) gave us Joan of Arc. A girl with holy visions and military skills? Burn her at the stake. Not even Milla Jovovich's armor could save her. … continue reading

On Sunday, The New York Times featured an article titled "Glorious Dissolution: Musicians on Film." It considers some forthcoming music biopics, whose subjects include Edith Piaf and Janis Joplin. The Piaf pic, La Vie en Rose (opening Friday in limited release) compares Piaf to her "spiritual double," Billie Holiday. I've never quite made that connection, but it's a fascinating one.

Director Olivier Dahan notes that Piaf and Holiday endured a fragility that was both boon and bane:

“I don’t believe that to be a great artist you have to be tormented,” Mr. Dahan said. But, he added, the very qualities that help musicians as artists may also render them vulnerable. “Maybe there is something about being fragile,” he said. “And to be fragile is to also be very receptive. You can’t be a great artist and not be fragile, so when you are fragile everything kind of hits you, the good and the bad for sure.”

That rings true, even if it does also make me frown. It's no fun when you know the person's going to self-destruct at the end. But thanks to some of the weird casting choices for upcoming biopics, the self-destruction is the least of my worries: … continue reading

Hipster director Robert Rodriguez (Grindhouse, Sin City) is reportedly in talks to direct the upcoming remake of the trippy Sid and Marty Krofft live action/stop motion animation kid's show, Land of the Lost.

For those of you too young (or with TV palates too sophisticated) to recall, the show ran from 1974-1977 and featured a family of three whose "routine expedition" went awry and landed them back in dinosaur time. Marshall, Will, and Holly, like most TV castaways, basically just tried to find ways to get back home while eluding the local dangers--in this case, dinosaurs and "Sleestak" (bipedal lizard-y looking things that moved pretty slowly and inexplicably hissed a lot).

Rodriguez's attachment to the film has not been finalized, but Will Ferrell (Blades of Glory, Talladega Nights) is reportedly set to play dad Rick Marshall. Rumored to be cast are Jack Black (Nacho Libre, School of Rock) as son Will and Kirsten Dunst (Spider Man, Marie Antoinette) as daughter Holly. With Ferrell and (possibly) Black aboard, the remake clearly won't be the moody dramafest that was the original show. Imagine Anchorman meets Jurassic Park.

Ok, I'm in.

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In an interview on SuperheroHype.com, Kirsten Dunst says Spider-Man 3 (opening May 4) represents the end of a trilogy. She doesn't close the door on the possibility of another Spidey movie (uh, I guess a new trilogy?) — but only if Tobey Maguire and Sam Raimi are still involved, which looks less and less likely.

Dunst is almost snooty in the interview, especially on the topic of Mary Jane's singing: … continue reading