Sex, Drugs and Hollywood
Tabloids and gossip have been around for as long as humans have been on this earth. I love magazines. I especially love my weekly dose of People magazine, for its mix of celebrity gossip and everyday life. Lately though, even "classier" magazines like People, that aren't tabloids, are giving into the idle gossip and the worship of unworthy celebrities.
I love film. I love genuinely talented actors. I like actors who put effort into raising money for causes close to their hearts. Why aren't there more stories on them? Unfortunately, more than ever, everyone seems to be fixated on socialites, reality "stars" and untalented "actors" more than anything else. I mean, I'm as guilty as the next person for enjoying gossip every now and then, but I'd much prefer gossip on people who deserve the attention.
I don't understand how Paris Hilton has fans. What are you a fan of? Her wealth? The fact that she talks down to people she thinks are below her? Her direct to video movies? Her sex tape? Just the mere thought that she was paid over a million dollars to do a television interview after her release from her joke-of-a-jail sentence makes me ill. Hell, I'll go to jail for a few days for a million dollars. Why do we care what she has to say? She's not a role model, she's not an Oscar nominee or a Goodwill Embassador, however, people tuned in to hear what she had to say. I'm proud of the fact that I haven't even read any excerpts of what she said about her jail time. I'm just waiting for her fifteen minutes of fame to be over.
Lindsey Lohan is another example of the pathetic tabloid fodder that has been going around. Granted, she has horrifically awful parents who never kept her in line, but I still will never understand why people care so much about her. I think I've only seen her in one film (The Parent Trap, when I was a kid) but from the sounds of it she's a mediocre actress and wannabe mediocre singer who is famous for being drunk and drugged up. She barely has a career to speak of seeing as none of her latest films have been doing anything at the box office. It just frustrates me that so much paper is wasted on her trashy ways.
Drugs and alcohol will always exist in Hollywood. There will always be emotionally unstable celebrities. I try not to pass judgment. Who knows? Maybe if I were famous I'd give in to pressure and get into drugs. I can't imagine the overwhelming pressure of paparazzi and public opinion weighing on your shoulders every day. But, some people do it without ever landing in the headlines, so it's possible.
You know what I long for? The days when actors who were involved in drugs and alcohol were at least genuinely talented people who you hoped would get their lives back on track, like Johnny Depp, Robert Downey Jr. or even Drew Barrymore. I mean, if drug scandals are always going to be in the media, it might as well be about people who bring something to the art of cinema, no? River Phoenix was a tragic loss, when he died of an overdose in 1993. But I don't think I've ever heard a bad word said about him regarding his death. He was a young man lost in Hollywood who tried to get better but relapsed. He was a great actor who is remembered for his performances and untimely demise. Nowadays, should a similar incident occur I think malicious gossip would override any work the person had done up until that point. It seems that the celebrities have gotten wilder, as it's more flaunted in the news than it used to be. Either that, or the media has just become more vicious of tearing people apart. Or is it a combination of both? You decide.
I worry about the young girls out there who idolize people like Paris Hilton or Lindsey Lohan. I don't even know what to make of the headlines sometimes. It just seems so stupid and petty to even care. When I was saying that neither should be in the news because neither was talented, I didn't mean that it means their lives are expendable. It's just frustrating to constantly be force-fed "breaking news" on stuff such as Britney Spears' divorce proceedings, while there is war outside our window. Even when I'm in the mood for celebrity news, I'd much rather hear about the many things the talented Edward Norton has to say about his idol, Marlon Brando. Or Brad Pitt's fundraising and home-building for Hurricane Katrina victims. I love interviews with older celebrities like Paul Newman, who knew so many now-deceased talents from the 1940's and 1950's.
ANYTHING but wild, untalented brats trying to avoid jail time. Hollywood used to be much classier.
I love film. I love genuinely talented actors. I like actors who put effort into raising money for causes close to their hearts. Why aren't there more stories on them? Unfortunately, more than ever, everyone seems to be fixated on socialites, reality "stars" and untalented "actors" more than anything else. I mean, I'm as guilty as the next person for enjoying gossip every now and then, but I'd much prefer gossip on people who deserve the attention.
I don't understand how Paris Hilton has fans. What are you a fan of? Her wealth? The fact that she talks down to people she thinks are below her? Her direct to video movies? Her sex tape? Just the mere thought that she was paid over a million dollars to do a television interview after her release from her joke-of-a-jail sentence makes me ill. Hell, I'll go to jail for a few days for a million dollars. Why do we care what she has to say? She's not a role model, she's not an Oscar nominee or a Goodwill Embassador, however, people tuned in to hear what she had to say. I'm proud of the fact that I haven't even read any excerpts of what she said about her jail time. I'm just waiting for her fifteen minutes of fame to be over.
Lindsey Lohan is another example of the pathetic tabloid fodder that has been going around. Granted, she has horrifically awful parents who never kept her in line, but I still will never understand why people care so much about her. I think I've only seen her in one film (The Parent Trap, when I was a kid) but from the sounds of it she's a mediocre actress and wannabe mediocre singer who is famous for being drunk and drugged up. She barely has a career to speak of seeing as none of her latest films have been doing anything at the box office. It just frustrates me that so much paper is wasted on her trashy ways.
Drugs and alcohol will always exist in Hollywood. There will always be emotionally unstable celebrities. I try not to pass judgment. Who knows? Maybe if I were famous I'd give in to pressure and get into drugs. I can't imagine the overwhelming pressure of paparazzi and public opinion weighing on your shoulders every day. But, some people do it without ever landing in the headlines, so it's possible.
You know what I long for? The days when actors who were involved in drugs and alcohol were at least genuinely talented people who you hoped would get their lives back on track, like Johnny Depp, Robert Downey Jr. or even Drew Barrymore. I mean, if drug scandals are always going to be in the media, it might as well be about people who bring something to the art of cinema, no? River Phoenix was a tragic loss, when he died of an overdose in 1993. But I don't think I've ever heard a bad word said about him regarding his death. He was a young man lost in Hollywood who tried to get better but relapsed. He was a great actor who is remembered for his performances and untimely demise. Nowadays, should a similar incident occur I think malicious gossip would override any work the person had done up until that point. It seems that the celebrities have gotten wilder, as it's more flaunted in the news than it used to be. Either that, or the media has just become more vicious of tearing people apart. Or is it a combination of both? You decide.
I worry about the young girls out there who idolize people like Paris Hilton or Lindsey Lohan. I don't even know what to make of the headlines sometimes. It just seems so stupid and petty to even care. When I was saying that neither should be in the news because neither was talented, I didn't mean that it means their lives are expendable. It's just frustrating to constantly be force-fed "breaking news" on stuff such as Britney Spears' divorce proceedings, while there is war outside our window. Even when I'm in the mood for celebrity news, I'd much rather hear about the many things the talented Edward Norton has to say about his idol, Marlon Brando. Or Brad Pitt's fundraising and home-building for Hurricane Katrina victims. I love interviews with older celebrities like Paul Newman, who knew so many now-deceased talents from the 1940's and 1950's.
ANYTHING but wild, untalented brats trying to avoid jail time. Hollywood used to be much classier.