Topic: Hollywood movies

Gallery: 10 Hollywood Celebrities Who Gained Major Weight for a Movie Role

Gallery: 10 Hollywood Celebrities Who Gained Major Weight for a Movie Role

Last week we gave you 10 celebrities who lost serious weight for a movie role, which, by the way, is a practice we don’t condone. Today, we’re doing the opposite – showcasing ten Hollywood movie stars who’ve gained serious weight for a movie role (or, who are we kidding, in the hopes of nabbing an Oscar, which several of them did). Losing or gaining, we’re not into dramatic weight shifts simply for the sake of a paycheck and royalties, no matter how hefty. It’s simply not healthy, even under the care of a professional. (A few of these celebs actually have experienced lasting negative health effects from their rapid weight gain.) In the cases of most of the gents, you’ll hardly recognize them. But the funny thing is that a few of the women actually look more normal and real after having put some meat on their bones. (Obviously, they were way too skinny to begin with.) Check out our gallery of ten stars who aren’t afraid to transform themselves into slightly overweight people whom Hollywood would never cast in movies in the first place. (And see exactly how much they gained during their hardcore hunt for Oscar.) More »

Gallery: 10 Hollywood Celebrities Who Lost Serious Weight for a Movie Role

Gallery: 10 Hollywood Celebrities Who Lost Serious Weight for a Movie Role

We’re not big fans of crash-dieting, even if it is for your craft, and you’re under the strict supervision of a licensed doctor or nutritionist. (On the flip side, neither do we like it when TV and film characters eat everything in sight and never gain an ounce.) But these ten Hollywood celebrities clearly disagree, having shed serious pounds at one time or another for a movie role in order to cash a big paycheck – and possibly end up giving an acceptance speech at the Oscars. True, a few of them may have actually gotten healthier and fitter by losing the weight (Jennifer Hudson, Seth Rogen), but most of them look scarily skinny – and a couple appear downright emaciated. (Hear that, Christian Bale?) Great performances or not, we simply cannot support yo-yo dieting to the extreme, particularly for shock value and the sake of a make-believe character. No matter how many red carpets this dieting practice leads to, it’s just not healthy in the long run. Take a look at our gallery of the often disturbing weight transformations of these ten celebs, and find out just how many pounds they dropped to satisfy profiteering studio executives: More »

Rape Fantasies Are Normal

Rape Fantasies Are Normal

Many of you have been disturbed, intrigued, offended, annoyed, pissed off, defensive, and inspired to comment since we published these two posts a while back: When No Means Yes: Top 10 Rape Fantasy Scenes on Film and TV and the follow-up: You Asked For It: 10 More Cringe-Worthy Rape Fantasy Scenes on Film.

Rape is not controversial. It’s just wrong. But it’s clear from your dozens of comments that the concept of rape fantasies (obviously very different from rape) is extremely controversial – and even taboo. Now, when I say “rape fantasy,” I mean a safe scenario in the bedroom between or among consenting adults.

Personally, I don’t see anything wrong with rape fantasies.

Sorry! This poll is now closed.

More »

Gallery: How Hollywood Glorifies Exercise Injuries

Gallery: How Hollywood Glorifies Exercise Injuries

If you’ve ever twisted your ankle on the treadmill, you know that getting injured while you exercise isn’t cool. But that’s not what Hollywood stars and films would make us think: It seems there’s always someone getting injured on set or working out so hard they need crutches, somehow making them seem “tough” or signaling dedication to their roles. We hope there aren’t producers or PR people out there telling them to get out and break a leg for publicity’s sake, but regardless of where the pressure comes from to work so hard it hurts, we don’t think it’s a good trend. More »

Long solitary walks, turkey trot races, iPods, iPads, pretending to have swine flu, baking for hours, saying you have to go upstairs to do some “work,” generous amounts of alcohol, pretending to watch football, anti-anxiety meds: All are perfectly valid ways to get through Thanksgiving weekend when you have a house full of challenging relatives and guests who overstay their welcome. (Or perhaps you’re being held hostage at Aunt Polly’s house for the weekend.) Either way, you can combine one or two of these excuses (I highly recommend alcohol) with my gallery of ten classic movies I watch over Thanksgiving to escape all the family melodrama — albeit temporarily.

Long solitary walks, turkey trot races, iPods, iPads, pretending to have swine flu, baking for hours, saying you have to go upstairs to do some âwork,â generous amounts of alcohol, pretending to watch football, anti-anxiety meds: All are perfectly valid ways to get through Thanksgiving weekend when you have a house full of challenging relatives and guests who overstay their welcome. (Or perhaps youâre being held hostage at Aunt Pollyâs house for the weekend.) Either way, you can combine one or two of these excuses (I highly recommend alcohol) with my gallery of ten classic movies I watch over Thanksgiving to escape all the family melodrama â albeit temporarily.

Blisstree Editor-in-Chief Christine Egan on ten classic Hollywood flicks you really should check out this holiday weekend (even if you end up having to watch them with relatives), from her post: Gallery: 10 Classic Movies I Watch Over Thanksgiving to (Temporarily) Escape Family Melodrama

Gallery: 10 Classic Movies I Watch Over Thanksgiving to (Temporarily) Escape Family Melodrama

Gallery: 10 Classic Movies I Watch Over Thanksgiving to (Temporarily) Escape Family Melodrama

Long solitary walks, turkey trot races, iPods, iPads, pretending to have swine flu, baking for hours, saying you have to go upstairs to do some “work,” generous amounts of alcohol, pretending to watch football, anti-anxiety meds: All are perfectly valid ways to get through Thanksgiving weekend when you have a house full of challenging relatives and guests who overstay their welcome. (Or perhaps you’re being held hostage at Aunt Polly’s house for the weekend.) Either way, you can combine one or two of these excuses (I highly recommend alcohol) with my gallery of ten classic movies I watch over Thanksgiving to escape all the family melodrama — albeit temporarily. But if you’re unluckly enough to have an annoying relative who plops down next to you on the couch to watch one of these films and constantly asks: “Who is that?”, “Wait…did he just kill someone?”, “I don’t get it…are they a couple?”, or “Is that Julie Andrews or Shirley Jones?”, I’m afraid you’re on your own. Which is why I highly recommend alcohol. (And headphones.) More »

Gallery: 10 Thanksgiving Movies That May Make You Appreciate Your Crazy Family

Gallery: 10 Thanksgiving Movies That May Make You Appreciate Your Crazy Family

The Thanksgiving holiday is a time for family, food — and fighting. Our dining room tables certainly have had their fair share of turkey day blowouts over the years. So what better way to make yourself feel all warm and cozy about your own eff-ed up family than by watching the hi-jinks of even screwier relatives on film? These ten Thanksgiving movies may just make you grateful for the crazy relatives you have. Let us know your favorite Thanksgiving flicks in the comments section, and then go call your mother. More »

Gallery: Our 6 Favorite Halloween Movies That Aren’t Terrifying (on Purpose)

Gallery: Our 6 Favorite Halloween Movies That Aren't Terrifying (on Purpose)

Watching horror movies around Halloween is like lighting fireworks around the Fourth of July — it’s just what you do. But we’re suffering from co-eds-get-slashed-fatigue, so we found six non-horror flicks that take place around Halloween. Like the classic E.T., these movies use Halloween as the backdrop for their narrative arc. You’ll still get into the Halloween spirit, but, as a bonus, you’ll be able to sleep without the lights on. Tell us your favorite non-scary Halloween films in the comments section. Oh, and boo (Radley). More »

5 Moments of Nostalgic Zen Courtesy of Halloween Horror Films From Childhood

5 Moments of Nostalgic Zen Courtesy of Halloween Horror Films From Childhood

We know you’ve been waiting for this all day — your five moments of nostalgic zen. This week, it’s a Halloween-themed zen-sesh. We’ve got the trailers of horror flicks that were released when we were kids. We may have been too young to watch them, but that didn’t stop us from sneaking into the theater and, consequently, sleeping with the lights on for a week. Okay, maybe these films aren’t particularly “zen,” but they do bring us back to our childhoods. Let us know the first horror film you saw in the comments section. Be sure to include how many nights you had to sleep in your parents’ bedroom after seeing it — you big baby. More »

Gallery: Our 8 Favorite 70s and 80s Films With a Fierce Fitness Focus

Gallery: Our 8 Favorite 70s and 80s Films With a Fierce Fitness Focus

Films about working out, films about working it. Hollywood has produced a lot of both, and particularly during the 70s and 80s. Because Tuesdays are when we like to focus on fitness around here, we found eight of our favorite movies that somehow tackle movement, exercise, working out, and sports stuff. We know there are plenty more where these came from, so we have a feeling we’ll be revisiting this topic next Tuesday. And do chime in with any of your favorite big-screen workout scenes that we missed in the comments section. Now werk it. More »

Romance Abroad: Hollywood’s Obsession With Love on Vacation

Romance Abroad: Hollywood's Obsession With Love on Vacation

We took off a little time this summer, but our vacays didn’t exactly resemble the exotic escapes of Hollywood films. For one thing, we never managed to get perfectly tousled beach hair. Nor were we swept off our feet by a dashing leading man we met while traveling solo. Allegedly romantic situations occur in almost every movie where a woman steps onto a plane — and somehow, that sex-charged interlude has the power to make or break her vacation. (Conversely, as an audience member on a plane, you could sit through a sad excuse for a film such as The Holiday, and almost have your own vacation ruined before it begins – or at least hurl into your barf bag.) But forget history, landscapes, and foreign cultures. If there’s no dude, even for a little while, Hollywood ain’t interested. Just check out our gallery of 11 escapist movies with so-called romantic twists. More »

Would You Have a One-Night Stand If It Could Re-Energize Your Committed Relationship?

Would You Have a One-Night Stand If It Could Re-Energize Your Committed Relationship?

So last night I saw a screening of The Freebie, a new indie film that opens today in select cities, is helmed by first-time director Katie Aselton, and stars Ms. Aselton and Dax Shepard (of NBC’s treacly series Parenthood) in the leading roles. Now, I’m always prepared to loathe dramatic movies that don’t rely on a real script, where the actors ad-lib the majority of their allegedly profound dialogue. (And if I never see another loaded dinner-party scene with 30-something characters laughing, interrupting each other, and hitting the audience over the head with the film’s subtext, it’ll be too soon.)

But I’m not a film reviewer, and this post isn’t a film review. (Besides, I actually liked the movie, despite my best efforts not to. It was well-acted, filmed, and edited.)

But one really can’t help but talk about The Freebie afterward, as my screenwriter friend and I did over drinks and dinner following the showing. The Freebie centers around Annie (Katie Aselton) and Darren (Dax Shepard), an almost sickeningly in-love committed married couple in their 30s living in Los Angeles, who love each other, like each other, get each other, confide in each other, communicate with each other, have fun together, eat ice cream from the same spoon, flirt with each other at the farmers’ market, and laugh all the time. It’s the perfect relationship, this. (Not to mention perfectly irritating.) Problem is, Annie and Darren are experiencing a bit of a dry spell in the bedroom, though neither one seems particularly upset about this phase – on the surface, anyway. Instead of having sex, they sweetly do crossword puzzles together in bed, and seem perfectly happy doing so. But instead of – oh, I don’t know – seeing a marriage counselor about their underlying sexual issues, they proceed to hatch what seems like a really, really bad plan. More »

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