Popcrunch has created a list of famous people who have gone on the record about suffering with depression. The list included more than 100 people from all walks of life: politics, Hollywood, sports, journalism, anthropology, etc. For our purposes here, I’m interested in the women on the list.

Now, some of these women were pretty obvious candidates — I think we all had a hunch Sylvia Plath wasn’t happy every day — but others caught me by surprise and, again, illustrated what we all sort of know: that depression hits anyone, regardless of status, success, talent, smarts, looks, fame, love or lack thereof. Getting depressed is starting to feel like a given in the world today. I mean, times are bad: We’ve been at war for several years. Gas costs too much. It’s hectic out there. We’d be mad not to get sad.

The key, obviously, is dealing with our depression healthily. Talking to friends works for some of us, or sometimes journaling or jogging. Some of us need counseling at times, and despite what Tom Cruise says, medication can help sometimes, too.

It’s important to know that were not alone, and that some of our heroes have been depressed. Several of the people who are responsible for our favorite books, songs, and films, even. (Hey, isn’t it ironic that some of the people we turn to when we’re depressed get down, too?) Here are a few wonderful everyday women who get the blues:

—Politicians, their spouses, and sex scandal partners (regardless of party affiliations): Tipper Gore, Barbara Bush, Betty Ford, Monica Lewinsky, Marilyn Monroe

—Royalty who may or may not have despised each other: Princess Di, Queen Elizabeth II

—Athletes who grunt while playing and/or had a trend-setting hairdo in the 1970s: Monica Seles, Dorothy Hamill

—Women who sing about sad stuff: Shirley Manson of Garbage, Amy Lee of Evanescence, Sinead O’ Connor

—Women who sing about happy stuff: Sheryl Crow, Melanie C

—Women who sing about hot stuff: Donna Summer

—Women who sing about the importance of holding on: Carnie Wilson … continue reading

Helena Bonham Carter is an unquestionably talented actress. No one has mastered the Victorian/Gothic/romantic/possibly-deranged vibe better than her. But there are still some movies I could never, ever imagine her in. And near the top of that list has to be any of the Terminator films. Does this woman look like a robot to you?

News came earlier this week that Helena is in talks to appear in the fourth installment of the machines vs. humans apocalyptic action series, Terminator Salvation. The restarted franchise will star Christian Bale (yes, Batman) as a grown-up John Connor as he leads the human rebellion against the cyborgs post nuclear holocaust. The Hollywood Reporter says Helena's role would be “small but pivotal” while the Los Angeles Times reports that she could be the “lead villain.” Bryce Dallas Howard will play John's wife, Kate. The project is beings directed by McG, the same one-named-wonder behind the Charlie's Angels films and many a music video. I expect many things to go boom.

Now, we all know Helena can play bad. Her extraordinarily twisted Death Eater Bellatrix Lestrange first surfaced in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix and will appear again to scare the bejesus out of small children and unsuspecting wizards in subsequent films. … continue reading

It's no secret around here that recycled ideas are often, well, garbage. Many of us suffered through Bionic Woman (which even Katee Sackhoff couldn't rescue), I'd guess that very few of us bothered to suffer through Catherine Zeta-Jones in the unnecessary No Reservations, and scribegrrrl and Malinda have already expressed apprehension about plans for a new Barbarella. So Moviefone's recent "25 Worst Movie Remakes of All Time" is a little bit like shooting (already dead) fish in a barrel — fun, perhaps, but also depressing, kind of like 101 Dalmatians, which made No. 11 on the list.

Fun due to the presence of Glenn Close, with some of the best movie hair around; depressing due to the presence of Glenn Close, who may be the perfect Cruella but who really can do oh-so-much-better. Give me boiled bunnies over yappy puppies any day, Glenn. Better yet, give me power suits and power trips of the non-puppy sort.

Sadly, there are numerous great actors stuck on Moviefone's list. Checking in at No. 20 is The Planet of the Apes, with a furred Helena Bonham Carter missing the quirky target and hitting the just-plain-wrong bull's eye. … continue reading

The promotion machine for Sweeney Todd: the Demon Barber of Fleet Street is in high gear as the movie's December 21 release approaches and, I must say, Helena Bonham Carter is a smashing Mrs. Lovett.

Her childhood friends are not surprised, according to Bonham Carter's interview in the December issue of Marie Claire. "One of my friends said, 'Of course you'll get the part. We called you Mrs. Lovett when you were 13 — you walked around with her horned hairdo for a year.'" Of course she did. … continue reading

Well, I didn't, but that comment just makes me love Helena Bonham Carter even more. I blogged in August about why — despite nagging twinges of "can this really work?" — she is the reason I'm excited for a musical releasing on December 21 that really is a (rather violent) gift for the holidays: Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. That's right, instead of visions of sugar plums dancing, we'll have straight razors and special pies in which the special ingredient isn't love. (This may be more appropriate to the extended family dynamics around the holidays, anyway, if you know what I mean.)

The trailer hit the web yesterday, and I was on it right away. But before I start in (and yes, there will be starting in), take a look for yourself. … continue reading

A couple of stills from Tim Burton's update of Stephen Sondheim's Sweeney Todd set to be released in January 2008, have been making the internet rounds.  Theoretically I'm ambivalent about the project — it's in keeping with a current trend of remaking classics I'm generally skeptical about.  But never mind.  Some women I'd go see in an animated musical about a maggot-infested corpse rising from the grave in a quest to become a bride (er, hang on), and one of them is Helena Bonham Carter.  Here's a still from Sweeney Todd:

Yep, that's Johnny Depp with the straight razor. And I already love the Burtonesque feel to the set.  If you're not familiar with this project, Burton, Depp, and Carter have reunited to remake the tale of madness, murder, and suspiciously delicious meat pies. Carter will be adding yet another demented female role to her resume as Mrs. Lovett, the woman whose meat pies become the toast (pastry?) of London with the addition of a very special secret ingredient.  You know, the one that made the BBQ so fine in Fried Green Tomatoes.

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But my admiration for Carter goes far beyond her penchant for quirky roles in some of my most beloved movies.