Brad Pitt on The Huffington Post

Kim Morgan: Fight Club Ten Years Later

2009-11-19T18:43:59Z

If any picture was the movie to usher in the new millennium, it was David Fincher's Fight Club. To me, it was the movie of the 1990s -- as prescient as Network was in the 1970s towards the future of "news," and as equally misunderstood. As Fight Club revealed and essentially, proselytized, we live in a world where we seek to express ourselves, either through conspicuous consumption, or following philosophies for supposed betterment, or to simply remember what it was like to actually feel like a man after the world has feminized us so (something as a woman I find frustrating and heartbreaking -- let men be men again).

But Fight Club isn't saying something as simple and inane as men are pussies. It's not a dumb jock statement of being a "man." Rather, it shows how through the alienation of social institutions, and the de-masculination of culture, the rugged individualist is rare. How to tap into being a man, fast? "Punch me as hard as you can."

Based on the diabolical novel by Portland's Chuck Palahniuk (skillfully adapted by Jim Uhls), Fight Clubis a multifaceted satire. It attacks not only the dehumanizing, corporate Starbucks/Ikea world we inhabit (and still inhabit -- even more), but also self-help philosophies, men's movements, commercials, TV and, interestingly, movies, but oh-so cleverly. The way cinema is blamed for contributing to real-life violence is not only woven into the picture, but it became a reality lobbed at the movie upon release. Like A Clockwork Orange, Fight Club was considered fascist by some critics, that it would encourage men to fight (not always a bad thing), and that it might actually create fight clubs (which it did -- not always a good thing).

A movie that ends on man and woman watching two high rise office towers tumbling down from the skyline before the World Trade Center's collapse is creepy, scary prophetic. As Tyler Durden proclaims: "Advertising has us chasing cars and clothes, working jobs we hate so we can buy shit we don't need. We're the middle children of history, man. No purpose or place. We have no Great War. No Great Depression. Our great war is a spiritual war. Our great depression is our lives. We've all been raised on television to believe that one day we'd all be millionaires, and movie gods, and rock stars, but we won't. We're slowly learning that fact. And we're very, very pissed off." And...then through the 2000s? A war. And an economic crisis.

Then, to a certain extent, Fight Club took on Generation X, but it also applied to the onset of the next generation. Challenging so many silly articles, books and movies that have attempted to label "Generation X" as listless, flannel-wearing, grunge-listening slackers, the film argued that it's not a lack of passion that kept those in their late twenties to early thirties befuddled, but a lack of personal power, a lack of freedom -- the impotence of not knowing your real soul.

Revealing the absurdity, hilarity and sadness of the type of man who, for example, would sit at home and listen to self-help Guru Anthony Robbins instructing him on how to "awaken the giant within," then go through the motions, and achieving nothing -- Fight Club asks: Do you want to awaken your giant? Do you really want to look inside yourself? What if your giant turns into a monster?

Fight Club begins with a character who is always awake (in fact, he can never sleep) but is certainly no giant --not yet, anyway. The film's insomniac narrator, "Jack" (Edward Norton), like so many of his generation, is full of cynicism but mild-mannered and desperately searching for something -- anything. When he becomes fed up with sleepwalking through his job at a major automobile manufacturer (where, he says, everything looks like "a copy of a copy of a copy"), Jack finally goes to a doctor and begs for sleeping pills. The doctor tells him to quit his whining -- if he really wants to see suffering, he should go to a support group for testicular-cancer survivors. Good idea? Not really for Jack. He soon becomes addicted to every support group he can locate. They become the outlet he's needed for his confounded emotions; he does receive the attention he craves, and he can finally sleep, but he's really just a support group tourist.

His warm fuzzy, self help universe spell is broken when another tourist enters. That's Marla (Helena Bonham Carter), a chain-smoking accidental-overdose-waiting-to-happen who attends meetings because (as she says) "it's cheaper than a movie, and the coffee is free." Jack sees himself reflected in her perverse presence; he hates her, which means he hates himself. They are both fakes.

And then the epiphany: During a plane trip, he meets eccentric soap maker Tyler Durden (Brad Pitt), he returns home to find his condo has blown up and, desperate, he rushes to, of course, Tyler. He lives in the "dilapidated house in a toxic-waste part of town" -- and never leaves.

In Tyler, he finally finds the "power animal" that his original cancer-support group instructed him to get in touch with. Tyler teaches him Nietzschean ideals of freedom and puts him in tune with his manly center -- his hunter. And even more importantly, Jack and Tyler fight: Their fights are sweaty, bloody, I want-to-throw-my-desk-at-my-boss releases of rage, submerged eroticism and enlightenment. And men are intrigued. Watching Tyler and Jack's parking-lot brawls creates a new form of therapy for men, and as we well remember, they organize their beat-downs into the movement and philosophy of "Fight Club." As members grow and chapters sprout up in different cities, the club morphs into something called "Project Mayhem" -- a terrorist revolution that encourages members to spread to the outside world -- vigilante/philosophical style with charismatic Tyler as leader of the revolution. In Tyler they trust. His leadership, their trust and their acts become morbidly funny, increasingly frightening and oddly inspiring.

Fincher's brilliant fusion of style and substance created an exciting, thought-provoking, bloody experience that was worshiped, studied and criticized for its controversial takes on moviemaking, manhood, violence and corporate culture. Again, like Stanley Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange, Fight Club articulates the darkness (and humor) of those who don't want to feel numb anymore while, simultaneously, commenting on the powers that made them numb in the first place. And like Kubrick's film, Fight Club was considered dangerous, a film that incites violence or promotes nihilism.

And this seemed to be exactly what Fincher wanted. The more fingers wagged at him, the more his point was proven: It's easier to pin society's ills on entertainment, then look out into the real world or (gasp) within oneself. (Even if our therapist continues to say: "you're doing great....you're doing great.") Fincher's other masterpiece, Zodiac, also touched on this -- defying what was expected of him, Fincher made a movie about obsession and didn't simply satiate our desire to watch yet another serial killer movie.

But, like all of Fincher's movies, the picture also works as supreme entertainment -- especially because master prankster Tyler is "form of"... Brad Pitt. Does the picture take Tyler's side? In many ways, yes. Though the movie pokes fun at the men who join Tyler, it understands their pain, and it understands that their pain has been sold out to self-help groups that do them no good. In the transformation from "Fight Club" to "Project Mayhem," the members merely shift their anger from each other to the outside world -- the soul-deadening culture that has merged New Age spirituality with consumerism, hiding dehumanization behind politically correct calm. As Tyler explains, "Self-improvement is masturbation...self-destruction might be the answer."

And yet, the picture understands that the answer is too simple; it can only lead to further confusion. Because Fight Club is essentially a satire, it knows that though Tyler's eloquent assertions make sense, and are emboldening, they will become borderline fascistic and not entirely reliable. Still, I couldn't help feeling moved by its muscular assertions. When Tyler declares to a terrified fat cat, whose face has been duct-taped courtesy of Project Mayhem: "We are the people who take out your garbage...we watch over you while you sleep...DO NOT FUCK WITH US!" I'm all Kick-out the-Jams-motherfucker, Fight-the-power exhilarated.

What I admire about Fight Club, is that it never denies that violence can be glamorous. Fincher shows that a fight can be a vital part of life, that a violent act can be horrifying, but weirdly fun and sometimes necessary. It can be a soul-altering experience, it can liberate. But it can also, as the picture artfully complicates by not strictly advocating violence, destroy and entrap one with feelings of paranoia and pain.

Fincher reached new levels in filmmaking, not only by his wink-wink take on violence, but also his wink-wink take on exploiting his own arena of expression: cinema, or rather the corporate world of cinema. Like the pranksters he's chronicling, Fincher had bitten the hand that fed him. He knows the commercial Hollywood system. He knows how to take a successful franchise like Alien, or an ideal hunk like Pitt (something he also deconstructed in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button) and turn it into something subversive, because, as much(or more) than any traditional "indie" director would, he understands the system he mocks. When Tyler yells at his Project Mayhem recruits that they will never be movie stars, the scene works as both a hard truth and as a deconstruction of the movie ideal. Tyler/Pitt is the ideal movie star we all want to be, but should we listen to him?

Yes and no. The film is cynical enough to show that a New World Order like Tyler and Jack's can lose control of itself. Yet the movie doesn't deny that such a "second coming" is attractive and, in ways, beneficial. After all, what is more powerful: movie stars putting knuckles to skin, or fleshy nubs munching scones and itemizing reports? And watching Fight Club, ten years later, with all that we have available to us, it seems even more prescient. For better and often for worse, we've become even more disconnected from ourselves. And even more narcissistic. People text, they twitter, they communicate online instead of talk on the phone or in person. They create alternate identities and pretend to be tough in, of all places, chat rooms, and blogs. Can you imagine a flame war in a biker bar? It's no surprise Fincher's now making a movie about the social networking site Facebook. Tyler Durden would now be a viral creation.

Filled with so many potent comments on society that it demands more than one, two, three viewings, Fight Club is a challenging and powerful work of art that sticks in both the primal and the intellectual parts of one's brain and, for many of us, will never be dislodged -- not even by a sucker punch.

Read more Kim Morgan at her site, Sunset Gun.

Angelina Jolie & Brad Pitt Design Snake-Themed Jewelry

2009-11-16T07:44:04Z

The series started out as something for children -- 16-month-old Vivienne has already been photographed wearing bangles with the snake motifs-- but has developed into the limited edition "Protector Collection" of high end jewelry and other luxuries, which does still include children's items like a tooth box and silver egg cup.

Brad & Angelina Together At MOCA Gala (PHOTOS)

2009-11-15T21:25:21Z

They are on the cover of four tabloids this week (Us, Star, OK! and Life & Style) for supposed relationship turmoil, but Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie appeared very together Saturday night when they attended the Museum of Contemporary Art's 30th anniversary gala together, held at MOCA in Los Angeles. The pair got a private, early look at the exhibition while there, as seen below.

Various magazines have Jolie down under 100 lbs, fighting with Pitt incessantly, adopting a child without Pitt, and spreading rumors about Jennifer Aniston.

PHOTOS:

Get HuffPost Entertainment On Facebook and Twitter!

Quentin Tarantino Does Kung-Fu In Japanese Commercial (VIDEO)

2009-11-13T11:36:34Z

Quentin Tarantino will appear in an upcoming Softbank commercial, the company announced this week. The Japanese telecommunications giant, whose past spots have included quirky advertisements starring American actors Brad Pitt and Dante Carter, released a clip of Tarantino rehearsing for the spot.

Tarantino, wearing a Japanese kimono, was shown playing the character of "Uncle Tara-chan" in the company's "White family" serial. One of his costars in the commercial, Aya Ueto, a Japanese pop star and actor, said Tarantino "was very energetic and did a lot of adlibbing."

WATCH:

Get HuffPost Business On Facebook and Twitter!

Dr. Alex Benzer: 9 Reasons Why Dating Actors is a Bad Idea

2009-11-12T13:13:34Z

One of the most common romantic fantasies that men and women
in this country tend to have is to date an actor. The men all want an Angelina Jolie, and all
the women want a Brad Pitt.

And why not (besides the mildly inconvenient fact of those two being married to each other)? Actors are famous, influential, loved by all, make oodles of money and
look good on your arm. And your friends
will be mightily impressed. Right?

Now I’ve been living in Los Angeles for some years, and for better or
for worse have gone out with enough actresses to know what it’s really like. So if you're seeking a fulfilling relationship, here I present to you why dating an actor
is a Bad Idea. My experience is with the
females, but the generalizations below being of the vast variety, they apply regardless of gender:

1. Actors are financially unstable.

The number of actors who are making a decent living out
there is vanishingly small. There are a
few dozen household names; the rest are mostly struggling. They sling drinks and wait tables, waiting
for their big break.

One of my mentors put it bluntly: “If you’re hungry, you’ll
forget about love. And if you need to
pee, you’ll forget about the hunger, too.” Maslow’s hierarchy of needs says that base-level needs like
shelter, security, employment and resources supersede higher ones.

If scarcity prevents fulfillment of those basic needs, you
don’t get to rise to the higher ones involving love, esteem and
self-actualization. So someone who’s
struggling with making ends meet doesn’t just lack time for love but may not be
in a position to offer (or receive) love at all.

2. Actors are in a state of perpetual emergency.

Here comes the next audition! Next callback! And another!
Every call and meeting with producers and agents is an emergency. Even though there’s a less than 10% chance of
anything coming out of any given audition, she never knows which one’s going to
be the big one, so she has to show up every day.

If you’re dating her, you try to be supportive the first few
times. But after she cancels on you for an audition for a Charmin' ad again,
you start wondering whether being left high and dry is your idea of fun. Which contributes to the next problem…

3. Actors have funny schedules.

In addition to the sudden-death auditions and callbacks that
usually happen on weekends when you’re trying to get together, actors also have
paying gigs that happen at inconvenient times for workaday mortals.

If she’s in a theater production, she may not be available
on any weekend evening for months. Film
shoots happen at midnight; callbacks pop up out of nowhere. And if she lands a really big job that shoots
on location, she could be gone for 3 months.

So you can go out for dinner or to your friend’s birthday
party – just not with her. If
companionship is an essential part of your fulfillment in a relationship, then
you’re not going to be fulfilled.

4. They are constantly exposed to rejection, hurting their self-esteem.

I once accompanied a girlfriend to an audition for a
commercial, just to see how the other half lives. What I saw was quite enlightening: a roomful
of preposterously good-looking folks, all vying for 2 roles in an
advertisement. The chances of any one of
them landing the job was well under 5%.

So day in, day out, actors walk into
situations with a 95% chance of rejection – often for reasons they can’t
control, like height, complexion or butt size.

You can imagine that this could wreak silent havoc with the
self-esteem of anyone not made of stone.
The dating problem arises because psychologists have found a phenomenon
called the marriage shift: in a
long-term relationship, someone with low self-esteem will eventually come to
disbelieve her partner’s kindness (“Why would he want me? He must be lying or crazy”), think him a fraud
and walk out. That doesn't sound like a party to me.

5. They are in constant danger of being criticized publicly
and therefore feel insecure.

If you have a regular job, chances are that you receive your
periodic work review in private behind closed doors.

But there are a few jobs out there whose job reviews comes
out in public – in a newspaper article or worse, on a magazine cover. Tabloids go further and include the actor’s private life, too – it’s all fair game. So actors never know when they’re going to be
swiped at by some unaccountable miscreant who endangers their self-esteem and mood.

6. Their self-absorption leaves little room in their lives for others.

The work of a good actor involves total focus on the physical
self so it becomes an instrument of expression.
Because of this self-absorption and the aforementioned perpetual state
of emergency, she will call on you to be understanding and be patient.

However, she will not have the time and energy to be
understanding and patient in return.
It’s not her fault – the nature of the business simply precludes
it. In the meantime, there’s no one to
support you in your time of need.

7. They are incapable of sustained, deep happiness.

One of the characteristics of meaningful work is that it
gets rewarded. For the reward to register
in the human brain, it has to arrive immediately after the completion of a task
– within seconds to minutes.

For film and TV actors, the reward of their work – applause
or good reviews – comes weeks to months after the work is complete. So their neural reward circuit never really
gets lit up, and at a deep level, they never feel truly gratified, even when
they do their best work. So you’re stuck
with someone whose life work is incapable of making her truly happy, and
there’s not much you can do about that. If
you like her, that’s bound to affect you as well.

8. Their satisfaction is externally determined.

If you were to summarize all the thinking of the ages about
happiness and living the good life, it may come down to this: if you can
generate your own good feelings from within, you win. If you depend on the outside world to
generate good feelings for you, you lose.

Like all art, acting has no absolute value other than that
conferred upon it by public opinion. So the
actor’s happiness is perpetually determined from the outside: the opinions of
casting directors, producers, reviewers, and their audience. As Lao Tzu said in Chapter 9 of the Tao Te Ching, “Care about people's
approval, and you will be their prisoner.”
And a prisoner’s not all that fun to hang around.

Also, an actor’s whole way of existence is about expression
rather than introspection. As my friend
the author and producer
Adam Gilad pointed out, “The Oracle of Delphi’s gate inscription didn’t say
‘Express thyself’ – it said ‘Know thyself.’”
There’s a big difference between the two.

9. They inhabit a perceived state of permanent decline

I’ll never forget when my friend Anna told me on her 24^th
birthday without a hint of irony, “Omigod – I’m so old.” Forget that Anna is
accident-causingly beautiful. She already
sees herself as over the hill, knows she’s not getting any younger, and checks
for wrinkles and other supposed defects every day.

So you’re the one thinking she’s a piece of heavenly
perfection, but she’s convinced she’s turning into Quasimodo. Eventually, you’ll get tired of
your compliments going nowhere, she will think you a fraud (see #4) and things unravel
from there.

Of course, my dear reader, you will still be attracted to
actors in spite of all of this, and you may still date one of them someday. If so, perhaps by knowing what you’re getting
yourself into, you’ll be the one who bucks the trend. But just knowing it’s raining outside won’t keep
you from getting soaked, so proceed with caution still.

Further smart dating tips in the Tao of Dating book for women
and Tao of Dating book for men

Visit the blog: www.TaoOfDating.com

Join me on Facebook

Write to me: DrAlex(at)TaoOfDating.com

Jerry Zezima: The Mustache Movement

2009-11-10T11:35:38Z

I may not be British, even though my favorite breakfast cereal is Cheerios, but for the past three decades, I have kept a stiff upper lip. Now, after all these years of hair-raising adventure, I am celebrating the 30th anniversary of my mustache.

I had never thought to grow one because mustaches are not common in my family. Two of the only relatives who ever had them were my Uncle Bill, who sported a dapper mustache, and my grandmother, who wasn't dapper but had inner beauty and made a mean dish of spaghetti and meatballs.

Then, in 1979, I had surgery to correct a deviated septum, which in my case was like repairing the Lincoln Tunnel. For more than a week, I was wrapped in bandages and couldn't shave. When the bandages came off, I had a mustache.

My wife liked the new look (anything was better than the old one), so I kept it.

Ever since, I have been told I look like Groucho Marx, who is dead and can't sue me. In fact, I like to go out on Halloween dressed as Groucho so I can get candy and beer from startled neighbors. I also was once mistaken (by friends, co-workers and even my own mother) for the infamous Groucho Robber, who struck several banks in Stamford, Conn., until his photo, showing him in a Groucho disguise, appeared on the front page of the paper. He was subsequently caught and I, saying the secret word ("innocent"), was exonerated.

So you can imagine my surprise and delight when I recently found out about the American Mustache Institute, a St. Louis-based advocacy organization that, according to its Web site is dedicated to "protecting the rights of, and fighting discrimination against, mustached Americans by promoting the growth, care and culture of the mustache."

"We are the ACLU of downtrodden mustached people," Dr. Aaron Perlut, the group's chairman, told me over the phone, adding that AMI is "the only mustache think tank in the United States." Its slogan: "A mustache is a terrible thing to shave."

I quickly realized the immense value of the American Mustache Institute because, as I had long suspected, there is a lot of discrimination against mustached Americans. For example, the last U.S. president to wear a mustache was William Howard Taft, who left office in 1913. Perlut said that the last mustached major-party presidential candidate was Thomas E. Dewey, who did not, despite a famous newspaper headline, defeat Harry S. Truman in 1948.

Mustaches made a comeback in the 1970s, when, according to Perlut, "every man had three things: a mustache, a perm and a turtleneck." But lip hair suffered a big blow in 1981, when, said Perlut, two things happened: "Ronald Reagan became president and ushered in a clean-cut, corporate culture, leaving mustaches to the fields of nail technicianry, motorcycle repair and refuse disposal. And Walter Cronkite, who just died, God rest his soul, left the air. From that time on, it became unfashionable for TV newsmen to wear mustaches."

Now, however, mustaches are on the upswing. "When people like Brad Pitt and George Clooney grow them, it's good for the movement," said Perlut. "And the fact that Attorney General Eric Holder has a mustache is very important to our way of life."

To keep the momentum going, AMI hosts the Robert Goulet Memorial Mustached American of the Year Award. This year's contest had a field of 100, including 18 finalists, and drew almost 100,000 votes. The winner was Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Clay Zavada, who sports a handlebar mustache. He beat out the likes of hero pilot Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger. I voted for journalism's only representative, hirsute humorist Bill Geist, whose neatly trimmed mustache gets plenty of face time on "CBS News Sunday Morning."

Perlut, who has a doctorate in international studies and, he said, "nuclear mustacheology," congratulated me on the 30th anniversary of my mustache.

"Since you represent our way of life so well," he said, "you should nominate yourself for next year's Goulet Award. And if you win," Perlut added, presumably with a straight, mustached face, "it won't be lip service."

Stamford Advocate columnist Jerry Zezima can be reached at JerryZ111@optonline.net. His blog is www.jerryzezima.blogspot.com.

Copyright 2009 by Jerry Zezima

Brad Pitt's Many Hair Looks: Which Is YOUR Favorite? (PHOTOS, POLL)

2009-11-05T09:05:25Z

It's hard for Brad Pitt not to look gorgeous, but over the years some of his looks have suited him better than others. Never one to fall into a style rut, he's now beading his goatee. Which of his looks is your favorite?

PHOTOS:

Get HuffPost Entertainment On Facebook and Twitter!

Brad Pitt In Japan: I Need A New Motorcycle

2009-11-04T07:38:17Z

TOKYO — Brad Pitt says he is in the market for a new motorcycle.

The actor, in Tokyo to promote his latest movie, "Inglourious Basterds," said he trashed his favorite bike recently while trying to escape overzealous photographers.

One Year Later: Celebrities Who Have Visited The Obama White House (PHOTOS)

2009-11-04T07:30:44Z

The White House released its visitor log on Friday in an act of "transparency like you've never seen before." The list of 431 names only includes those visiting on official business, not personal guests of the first family. A statement also warns that some of the names are false positives (names that make you think of a well-known person but are actually someone else: Michael Jordan, William Ayers, Michael Moore, Jeremiah Wright, R. Kelly). So a few famous names are missing and some are misleading, but the Hollywood presence is still huge.

As part of HuffPost's One Year Later series, here are some of the celebrities who have visited the Obama White House. Join us on Twitter to add your thoughts on Obama's first year in office by using the hashtag #oneyearlater.

PHOTOS:

Get HuffPost Entertainment On Facebook and Twitter!

Brad Pitt Wears Beaded Goatee In Tokyo (PHOTOS)

2009-11-03T15:53:41Z

Brad Pitt arrived in Tokyo Tuesday morning wearing aviators, a knit hat and a gray beaded goatee. His facial hairdo was a leftover from Halloween, for which he dressed as DJ Lance Rock, host of Nick Jr.'s hit show 'Yo Gabba Gabba.' DJ Lance Rock does not have a beard.

Pitt is in Tokyo to attend the Japanese premiere of 'Inglourious Basterds.'

PHOTOS:

Get HuffPost Entertainment On Facebook and Twitter!

Brad Pitt In Motorcycle Accident

2009-10-24T23:13:08Z

TMZ has learned Brad Pitt was involved in a minor motorcycle accident moments ago in Los Angeles.

A witness at the scene tells us Pitt was trying to weave in between cars while at a red light -- but he lost control and fell off the bike.

Randy Shaw: Has Obama Hurt Michael Moore's New Film?

2009-10-13T08:18:56Z

After seeing the U.S. premiere, I wrote that Michael Moore's Capitalism, A Love Story, is a must-see movie and his most powerful and politically fulfilled work. Moore thought so as well, and engaged in a media blitz to encourage a massive turnout to the 962 theater opening on the October 3-4 weekend. Moore argued that a top-grossing film critiquing capitalism would send a powerful message to Wall Street that the public is fed up with its greed.

But this expected rush to theaters did not materialize. In fact, Moore's new film did less than half as well per theater than Sicko, his previous movie. Overall, Capitalism, A Love Story finished a disappointing sixth in its opening week, tied with Drew Barrymore's roller derby film Whip It. This past weekend, Moore's film fell to ninth. There are many possible reasons for this. Did Moore overestimate the popular base for a movie that fundamentally critiques a system that most Americans support? Or has the popular anger that fueled attendance at Moore's anti-Bush administration films diminished with President Obama's election, so that the public no longer sees attending a Moore film as politically and psychologically necessary?

Michael Moore's new film opened in nearly 1000 theaters, the largest coverage in his history and more than double the venues that showed Sicko. But opening weekend revenue for Capitalism, A Love Story only slightly exceeded that generated by Sicko in only 441 theaters. And the film fell to ninth in its second week. Why did this powerful film that generated largely positive reviews not do better?

The Nature of Moore's Audience

First, Moore's primary audience is not teenagers eager to see the new date film on its opening weekend. Nor is it the under 12 crowd who packed theaters to see Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs.

Moore's core crowd -- activists, progressives, union members -- are not the type of folks who feel compelled to see a movie the first weekend it opens. I spoke to several progressive activists last week, and none had yet seen the film though all intended to do so.

So Moore may have simply misread his audience's need to see his movie on opening weekend. He also overestimated his ability to get people to theaters by framing attendance as a political act.

Moore's Systemic, Rather than Targeted, Challenge

While Moore aptly describes his new film as the fruition of his prior works, there is a difference between a film attacking a nonsensical war (Fahrenheit 911) or the nation's health care system (Sicko) and one that directly attacks the capitalist system. Alex Vitale, a Brooklyn College sociologist, suggested to me that so many potential moviegoers are implicated in capitalism that they could feel less comfortable rushing out to see Moore's new film.

In contrast, few attendees of Moore's brilliant anti-Iraq war film felt they were part of the system that led to that nightmare, and in fact millions opposed the U.S. invasion from the start. Similarly, there is vast public anger at the nation's health care system, and people could rush out to see Sicko without feeling implicated by the outrages Moore depicts.

Moore tries to avoid this problem by attacking Wall Street and the ruthless exploiters of capitalism, rather than small capitalist businesses or even the large but more socially conscious corporations that created good, middle-class auto industry jobs for Moore's father and those of his generation. But Moore's provocative use of the term "capitalism" in the film's title may have left many who would agree with its message feeling less compelled to rush out and see the film.

The Obama Factor

The nature of Moore's audience and the systemic challenge to capitalism aside, President Obama's election is likely the biggest factor in the less than hoped for opening attendance. Few Democrats or independents feel the sense of hopelessness and rage that compelled them to spend a couple of hours watching Michael Moore tear President George W. Bush apart.

Moore did not have to hit the airwaves or the blogosphere to convince people that seeing Fahrenheit 911 or Sicko was a political act -- folks were already desperate for ways to show opposition to the Bush administration. But Capitalism, a Love Story is targeted not at the current President but at the more amorphous "Wall Street," so the link between movie attendance and social change activism is less clear.

The fact is that public anger at Wall Street has been obvious for some time. People could understandably question why this point had to be reconfirmed by attending Moore's film on opening weekend.

Moore Acts, Hollywood Escapes

While Michael Moore's efforts to dramatically increase his Sicko audience through a film critical of capitalism may fall short, his ambitions stand in sharp contrast to that of Hollywood's many other "liberal" filmmakers and actors. While these folks regularly pat themselves on the backs for their donations to one cause or another, even the most progressive -- such as George Clooney, Matt Damon, or Brad Pitt, each of whom can make whatever film they want -- are fostering a culture where films are largely escapist fantasies that avoid truly telling it like it is.

Many Hollywood actors, producers and directors may define themselves as political progressives, but, unlike Michael Moore, they do not use their films to make a difference.

So get out and see Capitalism, A Love Story to send a message not just to Wall Street, but to the movie industry. Michael Moore should not be the only filmmaker with a progressive message that can open a movie in nearly 1000 theaters, but unless this film does well, he could be the last.

Randy Shaw is the author of Beyond the Fields: Cesar Chavez, the UFW and the Struggle for Justice in the 21st Century.

Chris Rock & Nia Long Talk Brad Pitt's Sex Life, Why Black Women Love JT (VIDEO)

2009-10-08T14:30:21Z

Matt Zaller, aka the weirdest interviewer in the world, recently sat down with Chris Rock and Nia Long who are on the publicity circuit promoting Rock's documentary "Good Hair." Long along with Ice-T, Kerry Washington, Paul Mooney, Raven Symone, Maya Angelou, and Al Sharpton all talked to rock about the topic of African-American hair and what women go through trying to get "good" hair.

Zaller brought a black baby doll to the interview to "see what, if any, stereotypes he could dispel." He began by asking Rock and Long if it made them uncomfortable to see a white man with a black girl. The pair responded with an unequivocal "no." Rock explained that Justin Timberlake changed the whole game, "There are a lot of black girls into Justin Timberlake." The pair spun off from there talking about Brad Pitt's sex life and mentioning that both he and his wife have slept with black women.

WATCH:

Get HuffPost Comedy On Facebook and Twitter!

Nelson Montana: Saving Face: Cosmetic Options for the Modern Man

2009-10-08T09:12:10Z

It's a young man's world. At least that's what the old adage claims. And although the saying has stood the test of time, our appearance has a tougher time of it. This is one area where the gender gap is closing quickly. The ravages of age are no longer the bane or sole concern of the middle-aged woman. Men are judged by their youth and vitality as well -- just in a different way.

Let's face it -- looks matter. It's natural to be attracted to beauty. Ladybugs and cockroaches are both insects but one is endearing and the other disgusting. Same with squirrels and rats. Both rodents. One lovable, the other despicable. Looks. That's what it comes down to. Nobody goes to a museum to see ugliness.

If you're single, it's understood how your appearance factors in with regard to attracting a partner, but beyond the dating scene there's the undeniable influence it can have on career. A great looking guy may not carry the sexual cache of the super-hot female stunner, but when it comes to getting that dream job, (or keeping it), making a powerful impression, exuding authority and demonstrating leadership, experience may still be paramount but it only goes so far. That 30-year-old in sales has quite a bit of experience as well. And he's hungry. He'll work harder and longer and look good doing it.

If you're reading this you've probably considered for a while now that even though you've stayed a step ahead of the game, you can no longer kid yourself that those wrinkles and slackened jawline connote wisdom and knowledge. You're looking tired. And that makes you feel tired -- which makes you more tired. Even if you stay fit, your face is starting to show its age. Can you be sure others aren't seeing those sags and droops and wondering if your best years are behind you? You put it in the back of your mind and think 'Maybe someday I'll get some work done, when it's time.' Well, guess what...it's time.

That's the reality I had to face. Not that I'm looking ancient. In fact, I think I look younger than my years. (Doesn't everybody?) Nevertheless, when I went from being addressed by 20-somethings as "Yo, my man" to "Excuse me sir," I realized I wasn't presenting quite the youthful exuberance I had thought. That picture by my headline is five years old - taken at age 50. That's pretty recent, right? Or is that an indication of aging as well? To a 25 year old, five years is a long time. (I guess it's time for a new pic).

This is why I began investigating some options to keep up with the young lions. I've always been a bit of a metrosexual as it is. I'll admit I use a cream at night. I work out 5 days a week. I pay attention to grooming. I've even tried some of those home electronic gizmos that claim to rejuvenate the skin. The result -- nothing. Creams can smooth out wrinkles but don't go deep enough to make a structural change. And those gadgets are superficial as well. They give a slight abrasive swelling, which in turn cause the skin to glow and smooths out lines temporarily. But an hour later, you're back to square one. You'd be better off saving your money and just scrubbing with a face cloth and hot water.

Surgery was considered but after some investigation I decided it wasn't the way to go. Face-lifts on men don't fare as well as with women. For one thing, pulling the face will also pull the beard, leaving you to have to shave behind your ears. Too tight skin also looks...well...feminine. It just doesn't sit right on a dude. A 40-year-old man shouldn't have porcelain smooth skin anyway. You need a little ruggedness. A man can wind up looking completely different after getting a lift. One look at the botched surgeries of some celebrities will attest to that fact. Once handsome Olympian athlete Bruce Jenner looks like a menopausal woman. Burt Reynolds looks Asian. Wayne Newton can pass for a guy in a Wayne Newton mask. And poor Kenny Rogers looks as if he's in a constant state of shock. No thanks. And besides, as unmanly as it may sound, cutting scares the hell out of me.

Finally, I found what sounded like the perfect alternative. It's a non-surgical procedure called Thermage and it works by transmitting radio waves beneath the surface of the skin stimulating deep collagen formation. Simply put, the end result is a bonding of the dermis fibers, which in turn "lifts" the face back closer to its original appearance. I know. It sounds a little suspect. Too good to be true to be honest. But I decided to go ahead with it mainly for the fact that, at worst, I'll look exactly the same. There's no cutting, bruising or recuperation period. You can return to work the very next day.

Before going ahead, I remembered a saying my mother used to tell me: "When you buy cheap - you buy twice." So I didn't do any bargain shopping. I wanted this done right the first time so I went to one of the premier doctors in the field - Dr. Neil Sadick on Park Ave. He filled me in on the process and although it sounded logical and the before and after photos were impressive, in the end, there was only one way to find out how effective it would be. I made the appointment .

The entire procedure took about an hour and is what I'd refer to as "mildly uncomfortable." The nurse offered me some pain killers but I passed. The Thermage treatment feels like shots of deep heat. Most of the time it was fine, there were maybe two or three times where I let out a "yeouch", but overall, it wasn't bad at all. I understand there's a newer Thermage technology called the CPT System that is even less uncomfortable but again, you'd have to be a total wuss to think this hurts. I've had massages that hurt more.

Since Thermage works through collagen synthesis, it takes a while to show the effects. I wasn't about to talk myself into thinking I looked better though. I wanted to see some real results and kept my skepticism high. Was it worth it?

After just a couple of days I can honestly say there was a noticeable visible difference. My eyes looked less sunken - less "droopy." The creases in my cheeks were plumper. My chin seemed tighter as well. After a week, the improvement was even more pronounced. The process is expected to continue for several months, but as it stands, I'm very satisfied. I still look like myself, just more refreshed and, well, better! Call me vain, but I'm lovin' it.

To be completely objective, Thermage is not as dramatic as a face-lift. If you have jowls like Richard Nixon, don't expect to walk out with cheekbones like Brad Pitt. The results are subtle but substantial. The effects are permanent in that whatever it improves, resets the clock, so to speak, and you'll continue to age normally from that point on. Of course, you may want another treatment in a few years to "reboot" the results, which is what many top actors have begun opting for. Of course the big stars can afford it. For me, the one time will have to do. The cost runs between $2000 and $5000 -- about the price of surgery yet without the pain, risk or recovery time. It's simple and it works.

Thermage may be the only rational solution for the middle age man to look both "well worn" yet "well preserved." Results vary. Not everyone can expect the same effect. But I'm definitely glad I did it. I'd say it's knocked a good five years off of my face.

Maybe I don't have to change that byline headshot after all.

For more info go to: www.sadickdermatology.com

Mark Joseph: Dumb Things Celebrites Say: Ashton Kutcher

2009-10-06T15:03:59Z

Although it's not fair to only pick on Ashton Kutcher since hundreds of celebs have said the same thing, here goes: In a recent interview, the actor was asked if jealousy ever arose on either his or Demi Moore's part over love scenes they have starred in.

Kutcher's response?

It's interesting that people look at sex in that way. If I had a scene in a movie where I had to go shoot someone with a gun, Demi wouldn't think that I was a murderer. So if I have a scene in a movie where I'm having sex with somebody else, Demi doesn't think that I'm in another relationship. You go to work and you play make-believe, and you come home and you live real life. That's part of our jobs.

Sex with a beautiful co-star is like shooting a gun? Really?

Mayo Method isn't that stupid. She was happily (presumably) married to 45-year old Humphrey Bogart when her husband co-starred with 19-year old Lauren Bacall in To Have & Have Not, in 1944. The next year they weren't married anymore and Bogart wed Bacall.

More recently, Brad Pitt, married at the time to one of the world's most beautiful women, Jennifer Aniston, fell in love with his co-star Angelina Jolie after one of those cold, mechanical, love scenes that Kutcher likens to gunplay.

I could go on -- Hollywood history is replete with such examples, but Kutcher is ignorant of all of that and lives in a reality-free zone wherein human beings are unemotional creatures who can perform sex scenes without any emotional attachment.

Brad, Angelina And The Twins Get Ice Cream In Jordan

2009-10-03T23:34:05Z

After visiting Iraqi refugees in Syria to raise awareness of their plight, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie returned to Amman Jordan, where they were spotted at a local ice cream parlor, Licky Licious, with their 15-month old twins, Knox and Vivienne.

A fellow ice-cream goer saw the family, who posed for a photo, then tweeted it. Jolie got mango ice cream, Pitt got pecan and caramel.

The twins were first photographed in public at the Tokyo airport in January.

Read more: Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt, Vivienne Marcheline Jolie Pitt, Knox Leon Jolie Pitt, Celebrity Kids, Brad Angelina Twins, Brad and Angelina, Jolie Pitt Twins, Brad and Angelina Twins, Angelina and Brad in Jordan, Brad Pitt Twins, Brad Angelina, Entertainment News

Angelina And Brad In Syria To Shine Light On Iraqi Refugees

2009-10-02T15:56:50Z
DAMASCUS, Syria — Angelina Jolie met with Iraqi refugees in Syria on Friday and urged the world not to forget the plight of those among them who cannot return home because of the trauma they suffered and the country's instability.

Jolie visited Syria in her role as a goodwill ambassador for the United Nations' refugee agency, UNHCR, and was accompanied by her partner, Brad Pitt, the agency said.
Read more: Syria, Angelina Jolie, Unhcr, Brad Pitt, Refugees, Entertainment News

Brad Pitt And Maddox Leave New York

2009-09-26T21:05:48Z

Brad Pitt and his beard left New York last night with little Maddox in tow, after a fun time at Dave and Busters.

While Maddox looks as reliably adorable as ever, the jury is certainly still out on Brad's beige outfit.

Read more: Brad Pitt, Maddox Jolie-Pitt, Celebrity Kids, Maddox, Entertainment News

Brad Pitt Attends Clinton Global Initiative To Talk New Orleans (PHOTOS)

2009-09-24T22:19:18Z
(AP Text, Scroll for Photos)
NEW YORK - The average electric bill for one of the energy-efficient homes built in New Orleans by Brad Pitt's Make It Right foundation is $35 a month, the actor said Thursday during an update on the project at the Clinton Global Initiative.

The cost of building the homes also is dropping. And by the time all 150 promised homes are completed, the cost will be comparable to standard buildings, Pitt said.

"I don't know how we build any other way anywhere else," he said. "We can no longer tell ourselves that implementing this technology is too complex a problem because it's just been proven on this little spot on the map."

Pitt started the foundation in 2007. The program focuses home construction in a section of New Orleans heavily damaged when Hurricane Katrina struck in August 2005. The homes are being built with features including rooftop solar panels and energy-efficient appliances to help reduce electricity consumption.

The Clinton Global Initiative, an annual event started by former President Bill Clinton, brings together the public and private sector to discuss solutions to problems in four areas -- climate change, poverty, global health and education.

PHOTOS:

Get HuffPost Entertainment On Facebook and Twitter!

Read more: Bill Clinton, Clinton Global Initiative, Brad Pitt, Make It Right, Slideshow, Entertainment News

Jennifer Aniston Cries Over Brad-Like Scene

2009-09-24T10:00:41Z
Jennifer Aniston burst into tears in her trailer while filming in New York -- telling an assistant that a scene "reminded her of Brad Pitt," a source said.

The unlucky-in-love actress was late coming out of her trailer while filming "The Bounty" with Gerard Butler a few weeks ago. The source tells Page Six that when an assistant went to fetch Aniston, she was in tears, and said, "I need a moment. This scene reminds me of Brad and me."
Read more: Brad Pitt, Film, Jennifer Aniston, Entertainment News

Mark Pasetsky: Aniston Pregnant, Pitt Moving Out, Jessica Simpson Upset: Celeb Weekly Covers

2009-09-23T08:49:40Z
Jennifer Aniston's glowing, Brad Pitt's frowning, Jessica Simpson misses Daisy, Katherine Heigl's baby, the Travolta's continue to grieve, and a Kardashian Wedding: It's the new celebrity weekly covers!

Vote for your favorite and least favorite at CoverAwards.com.

Let's take a closer look.

OK! Magazine's cover is Jennifer Aniston pregnant at 40 and shows the actress with a noticeable bump. Her baby dream is finally coming true!

Meanwhile, Jen's ex-Brad Pitt is moving out on Angelina Jolie, reports InTouch. He's even hired a real estate expert to find his own place -- and it appears the couple has grown apart.

Us Weekly covers Jessica Simpson looking quite despondent over the loss of her dog Daisy. Making matters worse? She can't stop eating, she's feeling alone and wants Tony back.

Vote for your favorite and least favorite at CoverAwards.com.

In baby news, Katherine Heigl's new adopted girl covers People Magazine. Inside, you'll find out about "her emotional decision to adopt Naleigh, a special needs baby, from Korea."

Star Magazine covers the Travoltas and the "trial in Jett's death" and how this is bringing them closer together.

Finally, Khloe Kardashian is getting married this weekend and Life & Style serves up an interview and details on Lamar's proposal.

Mark Pasetsky is the editorial director of CoverAwards.com, an editorial consultant to OK! Magazine, the editorial director of Taraci.com, and the former editor in chief of Life & Style.

Read more: Jennifer Aniston, OK Magazine, Star Magazine, People Magazine, Chloe Kardashian, Life & Style Magazine, Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt, US Magazine, Kim Kardashian, Intouch, John Travolta, Media News

Celebrity Yearbook Photos: Whose Is Most Embarrassing? (PHOTOS, POLL)

2009-09-22T14:11:07Z
Before they were famous, some of these celebrities were impossibly poised and well-groomed for high school. Some of them were as awkward as your average teenager. Click through the photos and vote on whose yearbook pics are the most embarrassing.

Do you still have your old yearbooks? Are you brave enough to let everyone see your high school pictures? We're making a slide show of readers' yearbook pictures and would love to include you.

Here's how it works: hit the participate button, enter your name as the title, leave a brief description, find the location of your high school on the map, upload your photo and hit submit. Thank you!

PHOTOS:

Get HuffPost Entertainment On Facebook and Twitter!

Read more: Slidepoll, Eminem, Brad Pitt, Celeb Yearbook Photos, Paula Abdul, Halle Berry, Mariah Carey, Snoop Dogg, Celeb Yearbook Pics, Tara Reid, Lady GaGa, Gwyneth Paltrow, Celebrity Yearbook Photos, Yearbook, Yearbook Pictures, Celebrity High School Photos, Entertainment News

'Sherlock Holmes' Sequel - With Brad Pitt- Already In Works

2009-09-21T23:07:03Z
Three months ahead of the release of its Robert Downey Jr. action pic, Warners is developing a new installment.

The studio is poised to bring on Kieran and Michele Mulroney, the scribes who are penning its "Justice League: Mortal" tentpole, to pen a draft of the new tale. Brad Pitt has had discussions with producers to star as Holmes' nemesis Moriarty in the new pic, say people familiar with the project, though there is no deal in place for him to take the part.
Read more: Jude Law, Brad Pitt, Film, Sherlock Holmes Sequel, Robert Downey Jr, Sherlock Holmes, Entertainment News

Brad Pitt Grows Gray Bushy Goatee, Wears Monograms In Spain (PHOTOS)

2009-09-18T17:08:04Z
Brad Pitt is at the San Sebastian Film Festival to promote "Inglourious Basterds" along with director Quentin Tarantino. Pitt showed up to the festival incognito on Friday with a hat, sunglasses, and bushy, gray-tinged goatee.

But a short time later he was cleaned up in a suit and pair of monogrammed shoes for the press conference.

PHOTOS:

Get HuffPost Entertainment On Facebook and Twitter!

Read more: Film, Brad Pitt, San Sebastian International Film Festival, Brad Pitt Beard, Inglourious Basterds, Brad Pitt San Sebastian, Brad Pitt Goatee, Brad Pitt Monogrammed Shoes, Slideshow, Entertainment News

Scott Mendelson: The Surprising and Unfair Cinematic Demise of Orlando Bloom

2009-09-17T19:37:16Z
The man has a record six movies that have grossed $300 million+ in the US, plus another two $100 million+ earners. His popularity was actually a factor in the success of several of those pictures. He has worked with such directors as Ridley Scott (twice), Cameron Crowe, Peter Jackson (thrice), Wolfgang Petersen, and Gore Verbinski (thrice). Counting all of his pictures, his eleven films have grossed an average of $207 million (he's averaged $253 million if you only count the mainstream studio pictures). His average opening weekend for said wide releases is $61 million. From 2002 until 2007, he was a big-league heartthrob whose poster adorned the walls of many a teenage girl. He was one of People's 'Sexiest Men Alive' in 2006. Yet Orlando Bloom is nowhere to be seen in today's filmmaking landscape.

So what happened? Did he simply grow tired of fame and/or major scale Hollywood films? The back-to-back schedule of the last two Pirates of the Caribbean films allegedly took quite a toll, as I'd imagine did the back-to-back-to-back shooting schedule of the Lords of the Rings trilogy. Did he grow tired of the critical scorn and retreat to smaller projects that wouldn't be as much under a microscope? What is unusual about the rise and (relative) fall of Orlando Bloom is that his critical downfall was almost entirely due to two things: A) taking major roles in films that looked great on paper but ultimately floundered through no fault of his and B) becoming victim to critics' inexplicable expectations and/or inability to understand what a 'straight man' does in a big-budget adventure film. In essence, he was constantly attacked purely for doing his job, for being an actor first and a movie star second.

Quite a few stars have been burned in the past for signing up for disappointing films that looked like winners on paper. Alicia Silverstone may have been adrift as Batgirl in Joel Schumacher's Batman & Robin, but would any teenage girl in her right mind have the foresight to turn down such a seemingly golden opportunity? And what of all those knuckleheads who honestly blamed Jake Lloyd for the flaws found in Star Wars: Episode One: The Phantom Menace? Did critics and geeks honestly expect young Lloyd to say "Well, as wonderful as the opportunity to play Anakin Skywalker seems on the surface, the script has pacing and exposition issues and I know Mr. Lucas is not the best director of actors, so I cannot trust him to properly direct me in a way that makes up for my inherent inexperience as an performer."? By the same token, no young male actor would consider for one second turning down the lead role in a coming-of-age story written and directed by Cameron Crowe. Yes, the film ended up being Elizabethtown, but is that really Bloom's fault? No actor could have survived a film that was filled with trite voice over and contained a first half which required the lead to talk to himself in monologue for nearly an hour.

Nor is it Orlando Bloom's fault that nearly every critic went into Kingdom of Heaven expecting a sequel to Gladiator. Countless reviews complained that Balin de Ibelin, the thoughtful, war-wary blacksmith, was not the brooding, muscle-bound, vengeful Maximus Decimus Meridius and that Orlando Bloom was not Russell Crowe. Whether or not Kingdom of Heaven is a better movie than Gladiator (I think it so, no matter which cut you're watching) is irrelevant. What was troubling was how few critics (and audience members, few that there were) could comprehend that it was a different movie from Gladiator. If Ridley Scott wanted a Russell Crowe-type character in Kingdom of Heaven, don't you think he would have gone ahead and just cast Russell Crowe again? They've worked together on four occasions (Gladiator, A Good Year, American Gangster, and Body Of Lies), it's obvious that they get along.

This also ties into the other problem that Bloom has faced... being critically torn apart not because of his acting, but because of the content of the character he was playing. In summer 2004, Orlando Bloom took the supporting role of Paris in Wolfgang Petersen's Troy. Once again, would you turn down a major role in a big-budget sword-and-sandals epic that allowed you to cross swords with Brad Pitt, have sex with Diane Kruger, and share scenes with onscreen father Peter O'Toole? Yet, whatever issues the film does have, I cannot count the number of reviews that criticized Bloom not specifically for his acting, but for his portrayal of Paris as a spineless, selfish, cowardly idiot, a boy who started an epic war because he couldn't keep his pecker in his pants. But guess what people? THAT's the character of Paris. Rather than try to make Paris into a more heroic and sympathetic character, Bloom played him as exactly the sniveling loser that he was.

Bloom's tragic need to actually do his job haunted him even in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise. What so many critics and audience members failed to understand is that it was Orlando Bloom's straight-man performance that allowed Johnny Depp's Captain Jack Sparrow to exist in the narrative in the first place. Yes, compared with Johnny Depp's Captain Jack Sparrow, Orlando Bloom looked pretty dull. But that is the burden of the straight man. A lesser actor would have demanded that he be allowed to be larger-than-life and crowd-pleasingly comedic as well, but Bloom knew that it was his job to counter-balance the off-the-wall antics of Johnny Depp. Because Bloom's Will Turner fulfilled the genre requirement of having a straight-arrow heroic figure, and his relationship with somewhat more-complicated Elizabeth Swann (Keira Knightley) fulfilled the demand for sea-faring romance, Johnny Depp was free to run wild and do whatever he damn-well felt like. If Rob Marshall and the makers of the upcoming Pirates of the Caribbean: At Stranger Tides think they can craft a story completely around Jack Sparrow, they are in for a rude awakening. A Pirates of the Caribbean sequel utterly and completely dominated by Jack Sparrow would be no less grating than a Shrek sequel starring only Donkey.

Even his star-making performance as Legolas Greenleaf in the Lord of the Rings trilogy speaks to his apparent onscreen generosity. After his screen-time-heavy and crowd-pleasing turn in The Two Towers, one might have thought that Legolas would have received more screen-time in Return of the King. Yet save for a single added action beat involve a single elephant, Legolas is barely featured in the third film. I certainly cannot say whether or not Bloom even tried to get more of his footage added to the final cut. But considering his track record, it is likely that Bloom knew that the third film was in no way about the Elfin warrior and thus added screen-time to appease the fan-girls would come only at the cost of the Frodo/Sam and Aragorn-centric narrative.

Yet at the end of 2009, Orlando Bloom sits with not a single major film on the horizon. For playing the straight man in a blockbuster trilogy, he was rewarded not with thanks but with Razzie nominations. For daring to star in a Ridley Scott period-action film and not attempting to retread the more crowd-pleasing predecessor, he and Scott were besot by critical scorn and audience indifference. For having the gall to play a sniveling, sympathetic and unheroic schmuck as sniveling, unsympathetic and unheroic, he was criticized as if that was the fault of his performance rather than the original character. And finally for having the terrible luck to star in Cameron Crowe's worst written and directed movie, he was tainted as the cause of said failure. Orlando Bloom may not be the world's greatest actor, but he has suffered the fate even worse than that of many like him (Keanu Reeves, Kevin Costner, Harrison Ford) who dare to put the movie first and stardom second. By refusing to be larger than the character and larger than the narrative, he was tagged as a wooden performer and banished from Hollywood. For the sake of all who feel that serving the story should come before serving their own career, I hope to see Mr. Bloom back on the silver screen sometime soon. He may not have deserved Oscars, but he deserved more than just our scorn.

For more essays of this nature, including defenses of Nicole Kidman and Nicolas Cage, as well as much-needed praise for Michael Wincott and Donnie Wahlberg, go to Mendelson's Memos..

Read more: Black Hawk Down, Harrison Ford, Keanu Reeves, Movnnyies, Wolfgang Petersen, Return of the King, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, Keira Knightley, Scott Mendelson, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, Russell Crowe, Lord of the Rings, The Two Towers, Orlando Bloom, Gladiator, Brad Pitt, Ridley Scott, Kevin Costner, Kingdom of Heaven, Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl, Fellowship of the Ring, Cameron Crowe, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, Johnny Depp, News, Elizabethtown, Troy, Entertainment News