Saturday, September 4, 2010

Kristen in league with elite actors

Yesterday on http://kstewaddiction.blogspot.com I discussed Kristen's movies that I have seen. I briefly touched on a comparison between Sean Penn and Kristen. I want to expand on that.

People complain about Kristen's media interviews. Sometimes she comes off as ackward. When a press member ask "the question" which they know not to ask, these press members define Kristen as downright hostile.

Kristen is a saint to the media when compared to a young Sean Penn. Sean wouldn't give interviews, period. He went on David Letterman once, refused to engage with Letterman's tactics, and chain smoked the whole time (this was well past the point when it was OK to smoke on a talkshow --- and Penn seemed to be daring Letterman to confront him). The whole interview Letterman was walking on egg shells, not wanting to ignite Penn's well documented temper. Penn had a bad boy reputation. However, I think it was just as much about Penn being uncomfortable with the media and his immature way of dealing with it was by being hostile. He would not attend award shows. On at least one occasion, Penn was nominated for an Oscar and didn't even show. About 10 years ago, he really chilled out. With encouragement from guys like George Clooney and Kevin Spacey, Sean showed up to the Oscar Awards and took home the best actor award. Penn is still somewhat media shy when it comes to discussing his career. However he has become a heroic philanthropist and goes on CNN regularly to talk about the suffering still happening in Haiti and post Katrina New Orleans. One of the few bright spots from Katrina was hearing about Penn rescuing people himself in the days after Katrina. He flew down right after the storm, obtained a boat, didn't announce himself to the media, and was spotted making many trips, by himself, to rescue stranded people. That's a true Good Samaritan. Plus he donated millions. His efforts in Haiti were very similar. He was the bad boy turned hero.

Kristen, though uncomfortable with the media, soldiers through those interviews yet she is criticized way more than Penn ever was --- and only because certain topics are off the table. David Letterman treated her like dirt this past spring. If I ever see Letterman in person, he is going to have to deal with me for the way he bullied Kristen in that interview. He is not scared of a 20 year old girl as she can't kick his ass like Penn could have. He treated her like she is Paris Hilton when she is the polar opposite of that talentless, egotistical attention whore. Of course this interview happens not long after several of Dave's young former interns came forward regarding sexual harassment while under his employ --- all while he is a married man. No one talks about Letterman's misdeeds anymore. Every mistake Kristen makes is amplified and takes much longer to be forgiven.

I actually started this blog wanting to compare the personalities and talents that I find similar between Penn AND Kristen, but I ended up going off on a tangent.

Penn is very private, abundantly talented, AND passionate about his work. These are Kristen traits as well. Also, perhaps partially due to Penn's influence, Kristen was very generous with Haiti relief. She wrote a big check herself, plus gave three rich women a chance to hang out with her at the Sundance Film Festival if they made a certain high level contribution to Haiti relief. Not too many young movie stars would do that. Men were not invited. She is not stupid. She wouldn't torture Robert by having rich old men buying an afternoon of her company.

When Penn cast Kristen for into the Wild he was quoted and I have not been able to find those quotes (this time) so I am going to paraphrase. He said he was hesitant at first to cast her because she is too beautiful and he was afraid that would affect the authenticity of the story. But upon further consideration, he was trying to show the loving side of Chris McCandless, and Kristen's inner beauty was as powerful as her outer beauty. The sweetness and inner beauty that emanates from Kristen was just what the film needed.

This inner beauty about Kristen has been under attack since she became uber famous. Its so unfortunate. For those of us that pay attention to Kristen, we know that sweetness, that truly caring nature of hers, is there. She wears her heart on her sleeve, but unfortunately she was forced to protect herself to prevent her kindness from being exploited. Those very early Twilight interviews show that personality. It's too bad she must protect that side of herself now.

OK. This entry wavered a bit from original plan but I'll post as is.




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Location:S Congress Ave,Austin,United States

11 comments:

  1. great post opy,

    i love kristen a lot cause i see whole of her not just physically but her soul too...so many starlet beauty in Hw, but imo they are just beauty...not attracted emotionaly to me..

    and in hw industry kristen esp woman not treat well like man, specially if woman vocalize...that's what concern me plus they are haters and rabid fans who want to suffer kristen every chance they got...what a sad situation...

    i like sean penn cause he is talented and genius in his departement, and i'm suprised he is samaritan all i heard when he is young in brat pack era he is brat boy,rebellious or anything and married madona so this is potrait he's in negative way...the idiom is right don't judge a book by the cover...

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  2. Hiya O/Dano...I'm awake at this hour for Goddess knows why, but I'm glad I caught your post. Nice words, as always, and excellent analogy of Kristen and Sean Penn. I also have questioned the double standard and particular intolerance and rigidity applied to Kristen versus anyone else in the industry, including the pioneers of acting, and ... males. The fact of the matter is, that Kristen, being a twenty year old woman, articulate, cerebral AND physically beautiful is simply information overload for most people today. Men like Letterman simply look like misogynistic assholes, and how wonderful is it that after that interview Kristen actually prevailed as the mature, cultured and articulate adults between the two of them? Unfortunately, Kristen's--and other actresses', but Kristen in particular--biggest detractors and harshest critics are fellow females. I've addressed this as well previously, and quoted a case study about women and bullying to support my theories. It is unfortunate and it is disheartening that this is true, because I am a woman who is a fierce supporter and advocate for awkwardness coexisting with intellect and beauty (the epitome of such a merge being Kristen Stewart), but there are so many other women who do not share my view. Thank you, for being an intelligent, observant MALE who questions these very confusing behavioral patterns of FEMALE bullying. Thanks again for sharing your thoughts. Keep posting. I posted my positive contribution for the week a few hours ago too. Let's keep talking it out, my friend. Take care and be well. Have a nice holiday weekend. xo, KJ

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  3. Good post,
    I agree with your every word.

    Jan

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  4. IMO David is a coward, he walked on egg shells while interviewing Penn and he acted like a dickhead/asshole with Kristen, it just show how an idiot and coward he is.
    Kristen was perfect, she handle that ridiculous interview with PERFECTION, bc this is what she is PERFECT!
    Kristen intrigues me bc we do have to pay attetion to her, and you can see how a wonderful young lady she is, and Rob knows it, that's why he is with her.
    I always read your posts, and i love you even more each day.If you need help to KICK DAVIDIOT ASS, please, call me! It'll be my pleasure to help you! ;)

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  5. Sean Penn is not shy.He's a violent person.He had hit many times Madonna and Robin Wright.He had cheated on her like a zillion times,he has attacked a paprazzi(i'm with him in this,good for him).Kristen is not like that!

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  6. Kristen is not violent, true. If Penn was, something about him has really changed over the past 10 years that has him focused on helping people in really desperate situations. That might have something to do with his past. The headline of this post doesn't fit, so I will probably change it or delete the post. I meant to draw certain parallels between the two and it didn't work as I originally planned.

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  7. I have to totally agree with you. Esp. the Letterman show. I thought he was totally obnoxious and thought at the time he would never have pulled the bull with a man. I hope she never ventures to that show again. In fact I hope the whole Twilight bunch ignores him completely during the junket for Breaking Dawn 1 & 2. Great blog by the way

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  8. Many people criticize Kristen for not being good at conducting inteviews. I, in contrast, enjoy her interviews very much. I've become her fan after watching a few of her early Twilight interviews. I haven't seen any other young actor in Kristen's generation gives deep and thoughtful answers in interviews like Kristen does. You can thoroughly sense her high intelligence and deep thinking from her answers to interviewers. People don't get that simply because they get used to some straightforward, simple and shllow Q&A that many Hollywood actors deliver.

    Kristen's inner beauty, which mainly originates from her self-assurance, kindness & sweetness towards others and passion for acting, does shine. This renders her way more attractive and interesting than a bunch of cookie cutter or sex bomb type of actresses out there.

    Basically for the media criticism Kristen has come across is slander or bullying. This make me love her and want to protect her more. Kristen is fully aware of her hate of course. Remember she clearly pointed out the double standard in Hollywood: a guy could be easier to express himself than a woman.

    Anyway, for those who make biased judgements on Kristen, I'm optimistic that she will prove them wrong one day by showing her intellect through her future projects.

    Monica from Asia

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  9. Hey Opy. OMG, Kj, my thoughts exactly; only you put it much more eloquently and brilliantly.

    Letterman is a mysogynistic asshole. He totally tried to bully Kristen but Kristen was having none of it. She held her own. Yeah, I'm in for kicking Letterman's ass all the way to Pluto.

    Personally, I would love to see Kristen on the Daily Show with Jon Stewart when she does another round of promos.

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  10. this is truly beautiful. I didnt know about Sean but it is an interesting comparisoon. and that Letterman interview was a pain to watch. he was a grade A asshole and she walked away with her head held high. she was the amture professional and he was just a jerk. but this interview also showed me that the way she acts hugely depends on who is doing the interviewing. I mean, just a few days later she was absolutly adorable on George Lopez. and Jimmy Fallon just loves her.

    her inner beauty is the reason why she never ever could look anything but breathtaking no matter what.

    thank you for this

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