Shocker, I know: "Females were 'dramatically under-represented' in the United States’ top 100 grossing films last year, accounting for 33% of all characters at a time when they made up nearly 51% of the U.S. population, according to a study being released Tuesday. [...] The report mirrored a study of women's behind-the-scenes participation that the center released in January, which found that women made up 18% of all directors, producers, writers, cinematographers and editors working on the 250 highest-grossing movies last year. That was only one percentage point higher than when the center began studying employment figures in 1998." [LAT]
You knew The Hunger Games would open big, but this big? Meet your new bona fide box office powerhouse franchise: Taking in $19.75 million at midnight showings around the country, Lionsgate's PG-13 action-romance earned the #1 all-time non-sequel midnight debut, outperforming even The Dark Knight's 2008 $18 million midnight. We've got another true blue four-quadrant blockbuster on our hands, people! If you're sitting bleary-eyed at your desk right now with a happy smile on your face from last night's late night debut, share your reactions after the jump.
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"We don’t call ours stars 'Fatty' anymore, and studios don’t (officially) ban stars from Hollywood. But we do let stars take on our personal anxieties, and shun them when they fail to embody them in ways that please us. We blind ourselves to corporate machinations that allow individuals to take the fall, and we make it easy to associate outsized bodies with the grotesque. Libel laws are more stringent these days, and stars are, in general, more circumspect. But I’m still terrified by what humans are eager to believe of one another, especially when class, gender, and body size intersect." [The Hairpin]
"My early experiences as an agent honed the 'me against the world' edge that was always nascent within me, and it served me well: I grew to see everyone, other than my clients, as enemies... When you sign a client, it is almost gladiatorial in that you’re taking away the livelihood of your competitor: It is very visceral and gratifying in a primordial way, not unlike biting into the flesh of an animal you’ve hunted." [NY Magazine]
Hollywood has a long history of sending white dudes to Japan to A) fall in love with a local hottie and B) somehow save Japan itself, and that irksome trend shows no sign of ending, to my dismay. The latest Caucasian hero set to do so is LOST’s Matthew Fox, who’s signed on to play real-life figure General Bonner Fellers in Peter Webber’s Emperor, a “nail-biting political thriller” about post-World War II diplomacy…and Fellers’ love affair with a Japanese woman. Sigh. Of course.
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Good news and bad news, Oz fans. The good: This December, Profiles in History will be selling a pair of ruby slippers worn by Judy Garland in The Wizard of Oz as part of their "Icons of Hollywood" auction. This particular pair boasts leather soles that were painted red for the film and an inside lining that reads "#7 Judy Garland." Additionally, the pair being sold is the actual set of shoes shown at the end of the film when Dorothy clicks her heels. The not so good news, for those on a budget: Dorothy's ruby slippers are estimated to sell for between $2 million and $3 million. Good luck, bidders! [EW]
Today in potentially ill-timed legislative news: England's Tier 1 visa law -- which allows for "exceptional talent" to fast-track their way through the country's stringent immigration procedures en route to earning British citizenship -- goes into effect. More details on the celeb-baiting measure after the jump.
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According to reports, a riot broke out late Wednesday night outside the film premiere of rave documentary The Electric Daisy Carnival Experience when too many eager rave fans gathered for an impromptu block party promoted via Twitter. In other news, eager rave fans still exist! En masse! More details about the event after the jump.
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It's a project that almost sounds too glamorously epic to actually happen: A film telling the larger-than-life love story of famous Hollywood lovers Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, helmed by none other than Martin Scorsese. But as Deadline reports, the pieces are falling into place for Scorsese to direct the tale, based on Sam Kashner and Nancy Schoenberger's authorized biography Furious Love, which begs the question: what's Angelina Jolie up to after she shoots that Cleopatra flick?
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