Sunday, May 9, 2010
Supplemental Post: Saturday Night Live - Mother's Day Edition
In a recent interview, Betty White stated that she had been asked to host SNL several times in the past and had always denied it. However, amid all the online demand from fans, her agent had jokingly told her that she had to do it or he couldn't represent her anymore.
It's fascinating how the public can have a significant direct impact on the portrayal and image of stars today. We have seen this online fan-based movements in the past: see Samuel L. Jackson's performance in "Snakes on a Plane." And now, with celebrities constantly sending daily messages about themselves or internet-fighting with each other on Twitter, fans have an even greater channel into the lives of celebrities and how they are portrayed. It will be extremely fascinating to see how the internet continues to influence and shape the concept of a star image.
Saturday, May 8, 2010
Supplemental Post 5: Iron-Man 2
Supplemental Post 4: Conan O'Brien
Friday, May 7, 2010
Super 8: Supplemental post 5
Steven Spielberg and JJ Abrams have joined together to create what was supposed to be a highly secretive new film Super 8. The film is not scheduled to release until summer 2011, and it was scarcely spoken about. Unfortunately, yesterday, an illegal recording of the trailer for the film was released online. The film looks action packed and the trailer leaves the audience wanting more, as any good trailer will do. But the question is, why the secrecy? The trailer will be airing soon enough, so what is the purpose of this tactic that PR executives were attempting to utilize. It seems to be a similar tactic to that which many stars use when they refuse to talk about their personal lives. What is it about the secretive that intrigues us so much? Will Smith’s recent film, Seven Pounds, utilized the same sort of marketing campaign where very little was known about the films content and story line. There is something about the unknown that draws us in; we have this itch to know all the details about basically everything, that won’t be scratched until the secrets are revealed. We clearly do it with movies, celebrities, and various other areas of life. Marketing agencies, PR firms, and publicists have all tapped into this need for knowledge we seem to have and have capitalized on their ability to utilize it in their favor; that is, until someone with a camera phone illegally pirates a trailer, in which case your entire marketing campaign is out the window. It looks like Spielberg an Abrams’ people are going to have to come up with something new to get audiences to the theaters next summer.
Reality TV turns to Movie? Supplemental Post 4
Sex and the City 2: Supplemental Post 3
Thursday, May 6, 2010
And The Winner Is…Sandra Bullock For Best Kept Secret in the New Baby Category
The adoption of babies by celebrities is not a new phenomenon for Hollywood. In recent years many celebrities have chosen to adopt babies from foreign countries. There is usually a media frenzy associated with every phase of the process. Angelina Jolie made news when she adopted her son, Maddox, in 2002 from an orphanage in Cambodia. Later Jolie and Brad Pitt would adopt another two children, Zahara from Addis Abada and Pax from Vietnam. In total they have six children. Each time the press jockeyed for the publishing rights to the baby photos. Jolie and Pitt played the media for all that the pictures were worth and wound up donating the money from their sales to charity. Other celebrities such as Madonna also went abroad to expand her family. Madonna went to Malawi to fund six orphanages and one of her own. While there, she met and later adopted a boy, David, and most recently a girl. The most current adoption is that of a baby boy, Louis Bardo, by actress Sandra Bullock. Bullock’s son had been with her three months before the news was released and the story was plastered on the front of People Magazine. Maybe Bullock was able to keep her secret better than other stars because the media was capitalizing on her recent separation from husband and television personality Jesse James.
The public has mixed reviews on adoptions by celebrities. Critics accuse Jolie, Pitt, Madonna, and Bullock of using their celebrity status to shorten the amount of time required to adopt. Others feel these are publicity stunts to bolster music and movie sales. But maybe the public could shift their focus. Just for a moment the public could turn a blind eye toward any ulterior motive and focus on this thought: maybe children adopted by a celebrity are just lucky. They are getting a loving family anxious to have their child leave behind a desperate life and join in on their joy.