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Arianna Huffington: Huffington This Week: Stressless Summer

2013-05-23T00:29:30Z

In this week's special summer issue, we're putting the spotlight on all the season's diverse offerings, with an emphasis on ways to enjoy the summer with less stress.

To do that, we've brought together a range of voices and features reflecting on the spirit of summer, starting with comprehensive (and yes, opinionated) guides to the best of entertainment, culture and lifestyle, including a photo essay featuring the Met's much-discussed exhibit, "Punk: Chaos and Couture," an exclusive excerpt from Stephen King's forthcoming novel Joyland, young adult author Una LaMarche on life lessons learned at summer camp, and an interview with Frances Ha star Greta Gerwig.

Elsewhere in the issue, Christopher Rosen looks at this summer's movie offerings and finds that "old is new," going so far as to provide a breakdown of the last 15 years of Hollywood's predilection for sequels, prequels, remakes and adaptations. We also look at the top reasons summer vacations go wrong -- from bedbugs and breakups to pickpockets and hangovers. And Jason Linkins memorably describes summer, and particularly the "silly season" month of August, in Washington, D.C.: "Pretty soon, the relative humidity and wretched air quality index will combine to make the entire D.C.-Metro area a sweltering, inhospitable environment that feels like you are walking around inside the jockstrap of the world's first gorilla-triathlete."

Finally, we're sharing tips and new twists on how to make the most of beloved summer pastimes: a survey of the season's top fashion trends, a celebration of surf music, how to take the stress out of swimsuit shopping, a guide to grilling the perfect summer burger and the results of our taste test of summer beers. So kick back, relax, and let the summer begin...

This story appears in the special Summer Issue of our weekly iPad magazine, Huffington, in the iTunes App store, available Friday, May 24.

Cleveland Kidnapping Hero To Get Free Burgers For Life

2013-05-22T23:30:50Z

Local hero and burger enthusiast Charles Ramsey will never have to pay for a beef patty in Cleveland again, thanks to a special free burger card good at more than a dozen area restaurants, the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports.

Ramsey became a national sensation this month after giving a colorful account of the rescue efforts that helped free Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight earlier in May.

"I heard screaming," Ramsey told reporters after the rescue on May 6. "I'm eating my McDonald's, I come outside, I see this girl going nuts trying to get out of her house. So I go on the porch and she says, ‘Help me get out, I’ve been here a long time.'"

The Internet quickly latched onto Ramsey's McDonald's detail, and the fast food chain was soon swamped by people asking the company to honor the burger-loving neighbor.

While he has said he would give any reward money back to the victims, restaurants in and around Cleveland have signed on to provide Ramsey with burgers whenever he wishes, according to the Cleveland Plain Dealer.

The "Chuck Card," which is "good for life," was the brainchild of Scott Kuhn of the Driftwood Restaurant Group.

"We want to honor our local hero with local food," Kuhn told the news outlet. "He stopped his meal midway through to help those women. We're now making sure he has other opportunities to go out and fully enjoy his burger."

Hodge’s Cleveland, the restaurant where Ramsey works as a dishwasher, unveiled a new Charles Ramsey-inspired hamburger on May 13:

Tomorrow: We launch the #RamseyBurger! 8 oz. CAB burger with secret sauce and more for $12 (served with tots)!
— Hodge's Cleveland (@HodgesCleveland) May 12, 2013

Customers on Twitter have so far given the Ramsey Burger rave reviews.

Soon after Ramsey's now-famous interview, a Reddit post titled "Charles Ramsey deserves Free Big Macs for life. Who agrees?" received more than 19,000 upvotes, an indicator of its popularity. Taiwanese animation team NMA-TV even created a hamburger-hurling video game in Ramsey's honor.

Marcia Cross: Take Control by Taking Action

2013-05-22T22:51:58Z

Hearing that a loved one has cancer is one of the most heart wrenching things I've experienced. As the feelings of bewilderment and helplessness wash over, the reality and fear that comes with this unexpected news settles in -- could I lose this person I hold so dear? Like countless others, I've lived this story too many times. My best friend had breast cancer. Her husband had prostate cancer. And then cancer hit even closer to home. When my husband was diagnosed with throat cancer before the age of fifty, I knew I couldn't allow myself to think I might lose him. I wasn't about to let this terrible disease take another person I loved. So instead, I took control by taking action.

We cannot let ourselves be paralyzed by fear. We all have to take action in the fight against cancer. Of the many types of cancer, prostate cancer is the second-leading cause of cancer death among men in the United States. With one in six men diagnosed with prostate cancer in their lifetime, the disease currently affects more than two million men in this country.

What's even more heartbreaking than these statistics is that most men don't understand the risks surrounding prostate cancer, and they aren't taking the steps to educate themselves. Why is that? We all know a lot of men refuse to see a doctor about anything short of an emergency. But beyond that 'tough guy stereotype,' when it comes to many different types of cancer -- from colon to breast -- people can be incredibly sensitive due to anxiety, stigma or sheer embarrassment. In turn, this can make people, men in particular, reluctant to call on friends and family for support or seek help from a medical professional. We have to change that! (Early detection can dramatically increase your odds of beating prostate cancer.)

Men and their loved ones must take stronger actions to educate themselves about this disease. It's critical to have an open discussion with your doctor regarding any symptoms or signs, and when appropriate, screenings. Nearly 240,000 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer this year alone -- that averages around one new case every two minutes. We all have two minutes to spare. Let's use this time wisely and encourage the men in our lives to proactively talk to their doctors about prostate cancer.

When cancer becomes personal, our priorities change, our perspective shifts and the world around us comes into focus. Things that once seemed important in life suddenly feel trivial and fade away -- we find a greater purpose in what matters the most. I became an advocate in the fight against cancer because I understand and relate to the devastation and sense of loss that comes with the disease. I feel for others who wake up to a new day with a challenge that wasn't there the night before and the emotional and physical pain they must learn to navigate. So, I joined the movement to end cancer once and for all.

Stand Up To Cancer has teamed up with The Safeway Foundation to increase awareness and funds for the fight against prostate cancer by designing a reusable shopping bag, embossed with the words, "It starts with a wish; it can end with a cure." This bag is available for purchase at all Safeway banner stores and online at http://www.safewayfoundation.org/. Proceeds will support accelerated prostate cancer research.

When I think about how lucky I am that my husband survived, it only reinforces my dedication to taking action against this disease. My wish for every man faced with a cancer diagnosis is to have the same success story.

Charlotte Robinson: Somer Bingham Talks LGBT Issues and Life After The Real L Word (AUDIO)

2013-05-22T22:51:21Z

This week I talked with Somer Bingham, the punk-edged musician whom we got to know last season on Showtime's hit reality TV series The Real L Word. Somer's gutsy performance style and authenticity led to her being cast on the show, where the lesbian community got to know her as relatable and uncompromising. Showtime then chose Somer to create a weekly video blog to accompany the series, calling it Somer Fridays. After 2 million views, its success has exceeded all expectations. Now she's started a new music project, Clinical Trials, inspired by the energy of Nirvana and Patti Smith. She lives in Brooklyn, N.Y., with her wife, Donna, and their two mini-wolves.

I talked with Somer about life after The Real L Word and her spin on LGBT issues. When asked about her personal commitment to LGBT equality, Bingham stated:

I think just by being out, that's the first step that anyone can take. I happened to be on the show, which was an exposure, and saying I'm a proud, out lesbian. But I actually put on a couple of shows that were just for youth who were questioning, or who were struggling or might have been bullied. There's an organization in Long Island, called Pride for Youth, that I went to one of their charity events, and I'm going back to just hang out with the girls. I want to be exposed, and I want to be out in that way that makes other people feel less lonely.

LISTEN:

Somer and Clinical Trials will be appearing as part of the "Female-Fronted Music Takeover" night at TT the Bear's Place in Cambridge, Mass., on May 30. Nothing quite compares to a night of incredible bands led by women of rock, and for music fans who also love supporting LGBTQ artists, each band happens to include queer and lesbian-identifying members. The other bands are Sugar Bomb!, a Boston-based alternative/pop-rock band spawned from the brain of frontwoman Kat Hamilton; the blues-influenced grunge band Slothrust; and Licious, largely inspired by Fiona Apple, Regina Spektor and Portishead.

For more information on Clinical Trials, visit clinicaltrialsmusic.com.

Listen to more interviews with LGBTQ leaders, allies, and celebrities at OUTTAKE VOICES™.

Download interviews on iTunes.

PHOTOS: Has Ellen Had Enough Of LA?

2013-05-22T22:44:38Z

Rhetorically speaking, how many mansions does one celebrity couple actually need? Add this Santa Barbara stunner to the real estate portfolio of Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi. Public records don't yet say what they paid for it, but it had been listed at $26.5 million.

The 13-acre estate, which some media outlets put in Montecito although public records have it in Santa Barbara, is a restored Tuscany villa with mature gardens that include olive and eucalyptus trees.

Think large scale here. The two-story, 10,500-square-foot home was built in the late 1920s using locally quarried stones and sits on 9.8 acres of land. The living room is 800 square feet; there are nine fireplaces and a Roman column that dates from 200 B.C. stands in the gardens.

Lookie-loos needn't bother making the trip because the house, gated of course, has a quarter-mile driveway and you can see nothing -- nothing -- from the road. Property records also show that the couple purchased a 3.8-acre plot right next door, although we can't imagine they have plans to expand the villa. The extra land is more likely another attempt to ensure their privacy.

The popular talk show host and her actress wife also own homes in Beverly Hills and a ranch in Hidden Valley that was affected by the recent Camarillo Springs wildfire. And this isn't the first time they've owned in the Montecito area either. In 2006, they bought a 1926 estate for $15.75 million that they sold in 2008 for about $20 million to multi-billionaire Eric Schmidt, the executive chairman of Google. Let's see how fast DeGeneres flips this new one.

Photos courtesy of Realtor.com

Karin Badt: Cannes 2013: Claire Denis' "Bastards" Perplexes Audience

2013-05-22T22:22:16Z

"Boy that was so good!" said a fellow journalist coming out of the premiere of Claire Denis' Bastards in the Grand Lumiere theater.

"The film?" I said.

"No, the people in the audience! Imagine: Catherine Deneuve, Costa-Gavras, Amat Escalante...."

In fact, people who were not stars were the minority in the theater.

Claire Denis, Julie Bataille, Chiara Mastroianni

As for the film itself, the story of....the story of...

It confused audience members. There is a ship captain (Vincent Lindon) who comes back to Paris to help his niece (Lola Creton), who is lying in the hospital after having been violently abused with a corn cob in sexual games that she seems to have willingly participated in. Then we have the girl's weeping mother (Julie Bataille), who is in angst most of the time, both because of the daughter's perversity and her husband's recent suicide.

A parallel story also exists: the ship captain is having a sensuous affair with a married woman (Chiara Mastroianni) married to a repulsive older rich man, who may be behind the niece's trauma.

That's it. Still a brooding mystery exists in this somber film where no one smiles (except in one exceptional moment where Chiara grins at her little boy). We are supposed to wonder about this perverse sex gang.

Most of the time, I was wondering who "Jacques" was. At one point, a character mentions a man named "Jacques", clearly an important man in this saga.

"Who's Jacques?" I whispered to the man next to me, part of the crew of another film in competition.

He shrugged.

I asked ten more people after the screening: "Who is Jacques????"

Nobody knew. A few were more lost than I as they assumed the movie was in flashback, when actually it was, for the most part, in chronological time.

It turns out Jacques is the father, and the whole story pivots around knowing that.

Tant pis.

While the murky beginning, lack of character development and confusion made the film frankly boring--a general consensus here at Cannes-- the last twenty minutes of the film are stunning: full of action and psychological intensity, including one of the best car and sexual tension scenes in the history of film. Perhaps the film is saying something about the human propensity towards perversity, the sordid story underneath family relations?

In fact, this ending made me almost wish to see the film again to understand it---except it was easier to just ask Claire Denis herself.

"Perversity? What perversity? This story is tragic not perverse," Claire Denis said charmingly, dressed all in black, at the poolside of the Park Suites Hotel in Cannes. "Perversity does not have a big presence in my life."

"You must admit your film is rather dark," I said.

"Almost as dark as that," Claire smiled and pointed at the blackening clouds overhead.

"No, darker," I said.

A fellow journalist interjected that he found the film very alluring, like her other films, in the use of the body. (A lead, I thought, a way to understand this film!) It is true, the camera has lingering shots of Chiara Mastroianni's lovely curves, as well as--even better--Vincent Landon's masculine chest.

"Yes," Claire conceded. "The film started for me with an idea I had after watching some Kurosawa films of the 1950s and 60s, in which the lead character is Toshiro Mifune. I always thought Vincent Lindon had a sexy body, a body you can trust, a solid body you can lean on. In Kurosawa's films, the tragedy is that this strong man was crushed by corruption or mistrust at the end. My film started with that body."

She mused on her own relation to the body: "When making a film, if I feel nothing in my body, I can't work. I have to touch. I have to feel. I never stop touching."

This male protective body, symbolized by Vincent Lindon's own, is bound to fail, she noted. In fact this uncle (plot spoiler) does not go very far in saving his errant family. "He has been away," Claire explained. "So he does not know how this predatory world can destroy him. The predatory is something that upsets me often. It is a fear for me. Predation, intrusion..."

"Why?" I asked. "Why are you so afraid? It's not so often that we are confronted with predators."

She raised an eyebrow. "Not so often?" she laughed. "What country are you from? It happens all the time! People are always preying on us."

"True," I admitted.

As for the fact that the characters are elliptical and don't say very much, Claire Denis responded firmly:

"I think they speak enough. They speak enough for me to understand them. What more can they say?"

Jennifer Aniston On 'Friends' Reunion: 'We All Miss Working Together'

2013-05-22T22:19:18Z

Before Jennifer Aniston co-hosted the "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" on Wednesday, the "Friends" alumna stopped by Matthew Perry's place for some advice and found out he was sleeping with Courteney Cox as well as the talk show host and her wife Portia de Rossi.

It might not have been the "Friends" reunion fans hoped for in April, when rumors of a Thanksgiving 2014 gathering had fans of the NBC sitcom in a frenzy, but the sketch featuring the actors best known as Rachel Green, Chandler Bing and Monica Gellar made waves on the Internet.

During Aniston's time on "Ellen," she interviewed De Rossi about her return to "Arrested Development." "I just think that must be like a dream come true to have one of the most beloved shows be taken away way before its time and then have it come back and have everybody be there," Aniston said to De Rossi (a.k.a. Lindsay Bluth) of the late Fox show's new season on Netflix. "It seems so seamless. Your fans must be so excited."

When De Rossi and DeGeneres pressed Aniston on her feelings about a true "Friends" reunion, she said, "What do you mean? I sort of just did one, no?" The audience laughed, but then, Aniston took the possibility a more seriously. "Doing that little bit with Matty and Court, we all were very nostalgic and miss working together and love each other," Aniston told DeGeneres, De Rossi and a very enthusiastic studio audience. "It's a great thing to get to go back to your family like that and also know that people will love it and enjoy it."

What'd you think of Jennifer Aniston on "Ellen"? Do you think a real "Friends" reunion could happen? Sound off in the comments!

WATCH: Man With Disability Fulfills Spider-Man Dream

2013-05-22T21:32:18Z

A man who describes himself as Spider-Man's "number one biggest fan" was given the treat of a lifetime earlier this month when he clinched a bit part in the upcoming film "The Amazing Spider-Man 2" and got a chance to meet his hero.

Justin Presciutti is no regular Spider-Man super fan. To the 21-year-old -- who is developmentally delayed and suffers from daily seizures, according to the Democrat and Chronicle -- the Marvel Comics superhero is an inspiring idol, whose incredible antics allow him to vicariously experience life beyond a wheelchair.

“I think Justin lives through Spider-Man in some sense,” Ralph Presciutti, Justin's dad, told WHAM last month. “In being free and being able to do the things that [Spider-Man] does. Justin understands his limitations and his disability and he'll verbalize his disappointment in not being able to walk so the next best thing is to be able to swing building to building.”

So when the Presciutti family, who live in Greece, N.Y., heard the filming of "The Amazing Spider-Man 2" was coming to their area, they leaped at the chance to connect Justin with his hero.

First setting up a Facebook page to campaign for support, the Presciuttis and their friends began making calls to the casting agency in charge of hiring extras for the film.

It took weeks of effort but finally, just days before filming was about to start, Justin got a call, according to reports. He and his parents were invited to be extras in the film.

On set, Justin got to rub shoulders with William Spencer, Andrew Garfield's stunt double, who was dressed in full costume and performed a number of fancy stunts for the starstruck young man. (For photos of Justin's film set debut, visit his Facebook page.)

"When he left I was speechless, I didn't know what to say," Justin told the Democrat and Chronicle of the memorable encounter.

AMC Boss Reveals Plans For 'The Walking Dead's' Future

2013-05-22T21:25:36Z

With "Breaking Bad" and "Mad Men" approaching the end of their runs, fans of "The Walking Dead" may be wondering about the future of AMC's other tentpole drama. Thankfully, AMC thinks the walkers have legs.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, AMC's CEO Josh Sapan revealed that there's no end in sight for the powerhouse zombie drama, which brought in 12.4 million viewers for its Season 3 finale.

Speaking at the Barclays Global Technology, Media and Telecommunications Conference on Wednesday, Sapan said, “We hope that zombies live forever and we’ve just begun to find out what the post-apocalyptic world is like, so that we’ll be sitting here at the Barclays conference in 2022 discussing the fact that 'Walking Dead' is not over.”

As for the pending finales for "Breaking Bad" and "Mad Men," Sapan said, “We’ll all suffer from some minor heartbreak when these shows come to a natural close ... Like some of the best shows in history, there will be a mantle that exists sort of virtually in people’s minds, and in the world maybe they’ll actually put a statue somewhere. We will bring them to a close with the people who created them at the right time.”

For more from Sapan, click over to The Hollywood Reporter.

Elizabeth Warren Coming To A Bookshelf Near You

2013-05-22T21:21:52Z

NEW YORK — U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, a favorite among liberals for her forceful advocacy for consumers and criticisms of the financial industry, has a book deal.

The Massachusetts Democrat has an agreement with Henry Holt and Company for a book, currently untitled, to be released in spring 2014, the publisher announced Wednesday.

Warren, a first-term senator elected last fall, will write about her childhood and early professional life, but the book will mostly be a "rousing call" for the middle class, according to Holt. She will describe her work on creating the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and her opposition to powerful interests in Washington and on Wall Street. She will also provide an insider's view of Congress.

"For decades, America's middle class has been chipped at, squeezed, and hammered," Warren, 63, said in a statement issued by Holt. "I am eager to tell the story about my experiences on the frontlines of policymaking and to talk about what has happened to working families in this country and how we work together to rebuild the middle class."

"Elizabeth Warren is a rare person in today's political world: a fiery advocate who believes that David can beat Goliath," said Holt's president and publisher, Stephen Rubin. "Her core belief in the power of everyday citizens, along with her front row seat in Washington and her invaluable experiences as a teacher, lawyer, senator, wife and mother, show a devotion and fearlessness that will come though on every page of an elegant and informative book."

Warren was well represented for her book. Negotiations were handled by Robert Barnett, the Washington attorney whose clients have ranged from President Barack Obama to former Treasury Secretaries Henry Paulson and Timothy Geithner.

Jennifer Aniston Strips In New Movie

2013-05-22T21:20:50Z

The first trailer for the upcoming comedy "We're The Millers" has arrived in all its R-rated glory. If you've ever wanted to hear Jennifer Aniston swear like a sailor and strip to Mickey Avalon's "Stroke Me," this is your moment.

Directed by Rawson Marshall Thurber ("Dodgeball"), "We're The Millers" focuses on a small-time drug dealer (Jason Sudeikis) who hires a stripper (Aniston) and a couple of youngsters (William Poulter and Emma Roberts) to help him get a shipment of his boss' marijuana over the border from Mexico. Spoiler: It's more than he excepted. Says Sudeikis to the drug dealer (played by Ed Helms): "This is not a smidge. You've got me moving enough weed to kill Willie Nelson."

Also starring Nick Offerman, Kathryn Hahn and Ken Marino, "We're the Millers" is out in theaters on Aug. 9. Check out the trailer above. Chasing waterfalls is optional.

Carole King's Major Honor

2013-05-22T21:14:36Z

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama, saluting Carole King's five decades as an award-winning singer-songwriter, said Wednesday that music often is a place where people seek comfort and inspiration during trying times.

Two days after much of Moore, Okla., was flattened by a powerful tornado that killed 24 people, Obama pledged anew that the nation will assist with the town's recovery and rebuilding for as long as it takes.

"Eventually, life will go on and new memories will be made. New laughter will come. New songs will be sung," he said during a tribute concert for King in the East Room of the White House. "And that's often why we turn to music during trying times, for comfort and for inspiration, and sometimes just for a good diversion."

Calling her a "living legend," Obama presented King with this year's Gershwin Prize for Popular Song, an award given by the Library of Congress. She is the first woman so honored and joins a list of recipients that includes Paul McCartney, Stevie Wonder and Paul Simon.

"I'm honored to be recognized by the Library of Congress as the fifth recipient and first woman as has been stated," the 71-year-old King said. "I can't say it enough. I am so excited."

She accepted the honor on behalf of the co-writers who worked on some of her songs, a massive portfolio that includes such hits as "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman" and "You've Got a Friend."

Several friends from King's decades in the music business came to the White House to perform in her honor, including Gloria Estefan, Billy Joel, Jesse McCartney, Emeli Sande, James Taylor and Trisha Yearwood.

King opened the show on the piano before taking a front-row seat between Obama and Vice President Joe Biden.

Estefan, Yearwood and Sande followed with King's "Will You Love Me Tomorrow," one of her No. 1 hits. She and Taylor put their voices together on "You've Got a Friend" to close the concert.

King also sang "I Believe in Loving You," co-written with Hal David. She told The Associated Press in a recent interview that her plan is to release the song as a single to honor David, a Gershwin Prize recipient who died last year.

"I'm hoping that this will become a song that people will want to play at their weddings," she said. "It's so romantic. Hal is such a great writer, and his words live on forever."

In the interview, King said it was a tremendous honor to be recognized with a place in history she never would have expected, and to have it happen at a venue as historic as the White House.

"It is yet another of the many important messages to young women that women matter, women make a difference," King said. "That popular music is recognized by the Library of Congress as being worthy of a place in history is especially significant to me."

As her memoir, "A Natural Woman," began to sell last year, King hinted that she would like to retire. But she since has gone on tour in Australia and plans to sing at a benefit concert for Boston Marathon bombing victims.

She now says she's too busy to retire.

"I still feel that it would be lovely to retire, but that time is not yet here apparently," King said.

King got her start in music growing up in Brooklyn, N.Y., and wrote her first No. 1 hit at age 17_ "Will You Love Me Tomorrow" for the Shirelles – with then-husband Gerry Goffin.

Her breakout 1971 album "Tapestry" remains one of the best-selling records of all time. It is the first female solo album to reach Diamond status, surpassing 10 million copies sold. The album included No. 1s "It's Too Late" and "I Feel the Earth Move," as well as "You've Got a Friend" recorded by Taylor.

It was the first album by a female artist to win all the top Grammy awards – for record, song and album of the year, along with the Grammy for best pop vocal performance.

"And as one of the best-selling albums of all-time, it cemented Carole's status as one of the most influential singer-songwriters that America has ever seen," Obama said.

More than 1,000 artists have recorded hundreds of King's songs, including The Beatles, Mary J. Blige, Cher, Phil Collins, Aretha Franklin, Barbra Streisand and many others.

In 1990, she and ex-husband Goffin were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Wednesday's tribute is the latest in the "In Performance at the White House" series under Obama. It will televised nationally by PBS stations on May 28.

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Associated Press writer Brett Zongker contributed to this report.

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Online:

Gershwin Prize for Popular Song: http://www.loc.gov/about/awardshonors/gershwin/

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Follow Darlene Superville on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/dsupervilleap

PHOTOS: Irina Shayk Showed Off At Cannes

2013-05-22T21:13:58Z

Cannes is a legendary festival with plenty of highbrow movie premieres -- yet we're starting to feel as if we've seen more flesh in the past week than we have films.

Irina Shayk was the latest to join the sideboob brigade in a very open, very sheer, very dangerous dress. The actress slipped into a slinky black Roberto Cavalli number with belly cutouts, a plunging neckline and sheer fabric for Wednesday's "All Is Lost" premiere.

We'd typically fear a nerve-wracking wardrobe malfunction in such a provocative gown, but Irina appeared comfortable and radiant. (Hey, posing for Sports Illustrated probably gets a girl accustomed to baring midriff in front of flashbulbs.) We didn't just see the largest amount of skin on Irina on Wednesday... we also saw the largest smile.

PHOTOS:

Hey, if you've got it, flaunt it:

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Penelope Andrew: Augustine vs. Charcot: Transference and Countertransference in the Struggle for a Voice and a Cure

2013-05-22T21:06:43Z

Augustine, an accomplished feature film debut by French director/screenwriter Alice Winocour, explores the disturbing treatment process and fraught relationship between neurologist Jean-Martin Charcot (Vincent Lindon), and a 19-year-old patient, Augustine (Soko), who is suffering from "hysteria," marked by violent seizures and partial paralysis. These and other corporal manifestations underscore the theory that the body is sometimes forced "to speak" when deeply unhappy, exploited, or traumatized patients cannot because the intensity of the affects associated with their abuse is too overwhelming. Charcot (1825-1893) practiced as though these states applied to women only, fueled by brain lesions and maladies of the uterus and ovaries.

Shortly after diagnosing Augustine with "ovarian hysteria," Charcot becomes Paris's best known and most fashionable neurologist, whose experiments in hypnosis are displayed for physicians during "grand rounds." The theatrical demonstrations, having drawn public attention through columns in the lay press written by the likes of Guy Maupassant, disintegrate into sexually exploitative side shows, which not only do not "cure," but further harm the all-female patient population of the Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital, whose histories are steeped in trauma. Despite being married to a beautiful, wealthy, clever wife, Constance (Chiara Mastroianni, skillfully playing against type), who is eager to boost his career, Charcot becomes infatuated with Augustine, an illiterate, former kitchen maid and confined in-patient, who has exceptional susceptibility for deep hypnosis and re-experiencing violent convulsions that titillate Charcot and his peers.

Constance senses Charcot's desire for the baby-faced, Augustine, early on. Close-ups of Mastroianni with her all-knowing gaze, substitute for the neurologist's entirely absent observing ego. She also has a part to play in an emerging Oedipal triangle. His wife is powerful, emanating from a higher social class with all its patrilineal implications -- better to be feared and avoided -- while the young, kitchen maid poses no competitive threat and can be desired and dominated, enabling Charcot to take full credit for his burgeoning reputation as Europe's most gifted neurologist.

Augustine is a fascinating, very disturbing look at the early underpinnings of psychoanalysis and the brutal history of the exploitation of psychiatric patients, especially poor, young women. Charcot's interventions with Augustine run the gamut -- from gentle, sensuous spoon-feedings to physical torture using a device of his own invention, known as the ovary compressor.

Jean-Martin Charcot (Vincent Lindon) visually scrutinizes his patient, Augustine (Soko), with a magnifying glass, but refuses to listen to her. Photo courtesy of Music Box Films.

Sigmund Freud (1856-1939), a protégé of Charcot, traveled to Paris in 1885 eager to master the techniques involved in hypnotism. But the "talking cure," would not come into being until 1886, during Freud's work with Anna O. (who coined the term). So, Augustine's accusations that Charcot never listens to her are nothing if not wildly prescient signs pointing all along to the cure that eluded him.

Winocour's nuanced, clever script resonates with contemporary relevance, illustrates a profound shift in the power dynamics between clinician and patient (bringing to life the ubiquitous yet often misunderstood concepts of transference and countertransference) and pays homage to the remarkable, unsung women of Belle Epoch Paris during some of its darkest hours.

Augustine (2012) opened in Los Angeles and in NYC at the Film Forum on May 17, 2013.

FX Is In For A Treat

2013-05-22T21:03:52Z

Billy Crystal could be heading to primetime on FX.

Crystal has landed the title role in FX's comedy pilot "The Comedians." On the potential series, Crystal will play a veteran comedian, who is paired with a "younger, edgier" comedian for a late-night show.

“It truly is an honor to be in business with Billy Crystal and Larry Charles, two of the all-time greats in comedy,” FX president John Landgraf, said in a statement. “We have also wanted for some time to be in business with Matt Nix, who has done such an amazing job creating and running 'Burn Notice.' They, along with Ben Wexler, are an unbeatable team and we’re incredibly excited about this project.”

If FX picked up "The Comedians," it will mark Crystal's first regular comedy gig since his mid-'80s "Saturday Night Live" stint.