Forbes has released their ”Entertainment All-Stars Special Issue” in which they named Vince Vaughn the number one actor for bringing in money at the box office. Of course, Julia Roberts was right up there — at number three, in fact — bringing in just $25,000 less than number two, Tobey Maguire. (If only she’d been in one more movie in the last year!)

I pretty much figured Roberts and Jennifer Aniston would be included, but was surprised to see Naomi Watts cracking the number five slot. According to Forbes magazine’s complicated algebraic formula they use to quantify this top ten list, Watts raked in more dough than George Clooney, Matt Damon and Ben Stiller. Go on, girl! … continue reading

Celebrities have power. (This should be no surprise to you.) They get ushered to the front of lines at clubs and in Disney World, they make more money filming one movie for a few months than I will ever see in my lifetime, and they have “people” — people that cook for them and clean for them and even drive them around. Sometimes, it’s shocking what money and a recognizable name gets these people.

But amidst all the glitz and glamour, there are the occasional celebrities out there who use their power and presence for good. While news of Oprah’s charity or Angelina Jolie’s support of cause X and Y on any given day is abundant, there is a rising trend of Tinsel Town’s finest testifying in hearings before Congress on behalf of their pet causes.

Sheryl Crow was the most recent to do so when, in late May, she spoke before the congressional subcommittee on health about the need to pass the Breast Cancer and Environmental Research Act. The act would provide $200 million towards researching the environmental factors contributing to breast cancer.

This wasn’t a new arena for Crow, though. Last year, she spoke at a press conference about the same bill that was highly attended by many members of congress (including Hillary Clinton). In her most recent trip to Washington, D.C., the breast cancer survivor had this to say: “I don't live in a political world, and while this might seem like a political discussion, until you are [one of] the one in seven women diagnosed with breast cancer, you will never know how not political this is.” You tell ‘em, sister! … continue reading

Depending on which media outlets you're reading, you're either convinced the writers' strike is over, or you're cautiously optimistic that it will be soon but you're not counting your chickens just yet. Seems one former Disney exec has proclaimed the strike to be at an end. Unfortunately, Michael Eisner may not know exactly what he's talking about. (Why does this come as no surprise to me?)

Eisner is quoted as saying, "I have some friends in certain places and I believe there was a handshake last Friday ... it's possible they (the writers) will turn it down but it would be insane if they turned it down." Call me a pessimist, but it sounds like posturing to me. His statements are being widely reported as confirmation that all is said and done, but that's not exactly the truth of the matter. In fact, the WGA released its own statement earlier in the week, warning its membership to be wary of reports that claim a settlement is "imminent." For me, this yes-it's-over-no-it-isn't dance is frustrating. The writers are meeting on Saturday to go over the ins and outs of the current proposal, which is a good sign. But a handshake is not a signature on the dotted line.

All this workplace strife has me thinking of movies I love in which workers fought against the powers that be for what was fair and right. More specifically, I'm remembering movies in which women bucked the system for the betterment of not just themselves, but every other woman in the system. In the spirit of solidarity, I thought I'd share those films with you.

Let's start with the classic Norma Rae, starring Sally Field.

Based on a true story of one woman's efforts to unionize the workers at the textile mill where she worked, this was Field's first Oscar-winning performance. (Her second speech was more memorable though.)

1983 brought us the brilliance of Meryl Streep and one of the best performances of Cher's career, all wrapped up in one depressing little package called Silkwood.

And did I mention it was penned by Alice Arlen and one Nora Ephron? All four women got Oscar nods for their work on the film. … continue reading

Sometime over the last decade or so, glasses became cool. And hot. And the world began to see what lesbians always have known: that women who wear glasses are both cool and hot. And downright sexy.

Personally, I'm glad views have changed. As a little tomboy, I resisted glasses as long as I could, to the point of memorizing the eye chart every year so I could pass the vision exam. When I finally was too blind to resist specs any longer, my family was about to move to Texas from Pittsburgh. One of my friends said, "Wow, glasses don't seem very Texan." At the time, I was devastated. Now I know better. Texans with glasses rock. … continue reading

In the new issue of Entertainment Weekly, Janeane Garofalo describes her worst audition ever. It seems she was up for a role in Mona Lisa Smile. Yes, that well-mannered 2003 movie starring Julia Roberts as a spirited art professor who liberates some 1950s Wellesley girls from their suffocating mores (sadly, not in the way you might hope). Let's just take a moment to appreciate the incongruity of the whole idea. Can you imagine tattooed Janeane strutting down those halls of decorum?

Julia and Julia can't imagine it either:

Actually, Roberts took the time to read with Garofalo at her audition and tried to encourage her, but her vote of confidence had the opposite effect for Janeane. … continue reading

The twisted minds over at SomethingAwful.com have come up with a brilliant idea: giving classic movie posters the Grindhouse treatment. This means that the posters for otherwise respectable mainstream and indie films have been transformed to look like the salacious posters used to advertise 70s exploitation films.

Below are some of the films they feature.

Erin Brockovich = Pretty Woman, Part Deux?

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