Wednesday, December 19, 2007

Portfolio Project


Celebrity Fascination

Everyday thousands of people standing in line at the supermarket find themselves resisting the urge to pick up one of the countless gossip magazines at the checkout. The magazines provide insight and detail into the lives of the elite “celebrity” class. When people hear the word celebrity they automatically think of someone who is wealthy, beautiful, and better than everyone else. Why do people need to feel connected to them? Why do they care what they are doing on their days off? And why do they insist on trying to look like them? There must be a reason so many people care what is going on in the lives of these special people.

The main reason why people are fascinated with the personal lives of celebrities is they think that because they have enormous wealth that they are happy. The truth is that celebrities go through the exact same things that normal everyday people go through. They just have to deal with their problems with the whole world watching. The fact that they have so much money leads people to believe that their problems are somehow different than the average person. Even though they can buy whatever they want whenever they want they still have feelings, face challenges, and get sick, just like everyone else. Money can not buy health or happiness.

Along with having unlimited money, celebrities always look like they are ready to walk down the red carpet. This is something that most people are very envious of. What the average person does not contemplate is that celebrities have people who are at their beck and call to get them red carpet ready. From personal shoppers to hairstylists this seems like a dream come true, but the reality is that for many stars, the pressure to always look amazing can lead to health problems such as eating disorders. Sometimes even the stars want to relax and dress in normal, casual clothes without ending up on the weeks “worst dressed list”.

Average people are also attracted to celebrities because they assume that fame makes the celebrity better than everyone else. Becoming a famous professional actor, actress, singer, or dancer is almost impossible for most people, so average people think that celebrities have some sort of right to be treated better than them. The truth is that most celebrities just got lucky and were at the right place at the right time. This does not suggest that they are not talented, but there are also many other talented people who did not get that big break. This concept is difficult for lots of young people to understand so they assume that the celebrities are the best at what they do.

Though reading celebrity gossip magazines is entertaining and in some way connects people into the private lives of their favourtie stars, the stories are most certainly not always believable. Tabloids often make up stories to give people what they want – gossip. There is no one definite answer to why people love the stars they way they do but all the reasons above contribute to the public’s obsession with celebrities and their personal lives.

Sunday, December 16, 2007

Focus Assignment

When people hear the name “Jennifer Aniston” they automatically think of her as “Rachel Green” on the hit show Friends. Jennifer Aniston worked hard to get the role of “Rachel”, and continues to work hard. Though she is beautiful inside and out, there is more to her than most people think. There are things that are important to her that go beyond how the public portrays her. She hates when people relate her to a hairstyle or an item of clothing. Since she became a world wide name following the success of Friends in 1994, she has not forgotten where she came from and what she believes in. She hasn’t let the pressures of Hollywood take her down a path she didn’t want to go. I think that’s what makes her different from most people in the business today.

Jennifer was born in 1969. Soon after, her family moved from California to New York because her father was an aspiring actor. When Jennifer was still young, her parents divorced. Money was tight for Jennifer and her mother after her father left them. Those difficult years taught Jennifer to be grateful for everything she had. She really wanted to study acting so she applied and was accepted at The Fame School that concentrated on the study of acting. After she graduated, Jennifer tried to make it in New York as an actress, but soon found it was not easy. After many failed attempts she decided to move to Los Angeles.

Once in Los Angeles, Jennifer started auditioning for movies and pilots almost everyday until she got a part on a new sitcom called Muddling Through. While working on Muddling Through she continued to audition for other parts. She went on an audition for a pilot for a show that would later be called Friends. When Jennifer was offered the part on Friends she almost turned it down because she was working on the other show. Fortunately for her she decided to do both. Nobody, including Jennifer, knew that accepting the role of “Rachel Green” on Friends would change her life forever. Friends was a show about six, twenty-something, single people living in New York, dealing with all the aspects of life, love and careers. Right from the start, the show was a huge hit world wide. It got so popular throughout the course of its ten-season run that the cast couldn’t go outside without being mobbed by paparazzi and fans. Starting in 2001, the whole cast was paid $1,000,000 per episode. Even since the show ended in 2004, reruns are played multiple times each day. Despite having the option never to work again, Jennifer loved acting and wanted to continue to make movies for the world to see.

Though Jennifer’s life seems like a dream come true, she has faced the same type of disappointment and pain that regular people do, only her problems are made public for the world to scrutinize. The most painful thing Jennifer ever went through was her very public divorce from actor Brad Pitt. Their marriage started off wonderful and content but it changed as soon as Brad started working on a movie called Mr. and Mrs. Smith with Angelina Jolie. Jennifer filed for divorce on March 25, 2005.

Though Jennifer’s life may seem perfect on the outside, there is a lot that the public doesn’t know. She is portrayed as a person who is mostly concerned with her appearance and material things. The opposite is true. The two things that matter most to Jennifer are her friends and family. She also gives back to the community by volunteering for countless charities. She has never forgotten her difficult early years. This is what has made her last in the high pressure and demanding business of acting. She will always be known as one of the greatest comedic actresses of her generation.

Tuesday, December 11, 2007

Pages 339-354

More information:
-part of her appeal is that we all feel like we know her
-she said she was not defined by her relationship with Brad
-one of the finest comdey actresses of her generation
-equally ranked up with Cameron Diaz

Pages 304-338

More information is:
-started to spend less and less time with Brad
-was on the road promoting Along Came Polly
-Brad grew closer to Angelina
-Jennifer became godmother to Courtney Cox's daughter Coco
-started to film Rumor Has It in 2004
-after lots of arguing her and Brad split up because he was getting very close with Angelina
-started dating Vince Vaughn
-he was very funny and thats what Jennifer liked about him
-Jennifer filed for divorce on March 25, 2005
-she would never cmpromise a relationship for her career
-see page 326 for list of a week in the life of Jen
-Angelina became pregnant with Brad's baby soon after the divorce
-appeared on Courtney's new show Dirt in which they shared a kiss

Pages 261-303

More information I have found out is:
-she suffered from post-nuptial depression
-didn't seem excited to be be Mrs. Pitt
-cut her hair short to do something drastic
-she hated her hair while it was short
-Brad is said to have loved married life
-she was nomminated for an Emmy
-was cast in The Good Girl which was a small movie
-costarred in Bruce Almighty with Jum Carrey
-the movie made $100 million at the box office
-Brad wanted a huge family back in 2001
-the 10th season of Friends finished filming January 2004
-Brad started to film Mr. and Mrs. Smith with Angelina Jolie

Pages 225-260

More information is:
-she was named woman of the year by GQ magazine in 2005
-she made $35 million in 2002
-Brad Pitt left a message on Jen's machine to help her pack for London
-when she got back they went on a date
-he was known for dating every actress he has ever worked with
-Tate Donovan was on Friends in the episode where he is Rachel's boyfriend
-there relationship was already over at that point
-everyone loved Brad
-he was very family oriented
-he didn't like that she didn't talk to her mother
-they got married in 2000
-her bridesmaids were Andrea and Kristin
-on their rings were engraved Jen 2000 and Brad 2000
-she regrets that her mother was not at her wedding

Pages 187-224

More information about Jennifer Aniston that I have learned is:
-she started dating actor Tate Donovan
-he was often called a "goofball"
-went to his family home in New Jersey to meet his parents
-she then returned the guesture by taking him to Greece to meet her family
-posed nude on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine
-fans couldnt understand why "Rachel Green" would do something like this
-Marlo Thomas played Jennifer's on screen mom on Friends
-contributed to Marlo's book
-in season 2 of Friends Ross and Rachel sleep together for the first time
-this was considered the highlight of the season when the real hightlight was when Phoebe sings her signature song "Smelly Cat"
-was going through a personal crisis with her mother, Nacny
-Nancy did not like Jennifer's friends and thought they were a bad influence
-Muddling Throught was cancelled a while back
-Picture Perfect got 2 stars according to Rolling Stone
-it was perceived as to TVish
-romantic comedies do much better on DVD then in theaters
-Tate and Jennifer broke up because he didn't want to be known as Mr. Aniston for the rest of his life and didn't seem to want children
-Jennifer despearatly wanted childern

Friday, December 7, 2007

Pages 159-186

After reading more I have learned:
-Jennifer and the cast of Friends wanted to be paid the same throughout the length of the show
-when Friends started Jennifer was getting paid around $25,000 an episode
-when Friends ended in 2004 the cast was getting $1,000,000 an episode
-The "Rachel" haircut was very popular in the 90's
-the haircut was done by accident
-Jennifer hated the famous haircut
-she wanted to be known for her acting and not for her hairstyle
-Jennifer continued to film Muddling Through while filming Friends
-she became very close with Courtney Cox and less close with her friends from The Hill
-the producers of Friends took the cast to Vegas right before the show started filming because he wanted them to bond

Wednesday, December 5, 2007

Pages 114-158

Here is what I have learned after reading the latest section of her biography.

-she was cast in the move Leprechuan
-the casting director said she would be cast if she died her hair blonde
-she ended up not having to die her hair to be in the movie
-she always denies being cast in the movie because she finds it embarassing
-the movie was uite a success
-she auditioned for a new sitcom called "Muddling Through"
-she was cast in the pilot of Muddling Through
-while shooting Muddling Through she continued to audition for other roles
-one audition was for a show which working titles were called "Friends... Like Us" or "Across The Hall"
-she was cast as Rachel Green on the pilot for the show with many names
-she was working on Friends while she was working on Muddling Through
-her castmates on Friends included Courtney Cox, David Schwimmer, Matthew Perry, Matt LeBlanc and Lisa Kudrow who were also struggling actors at the time
-had a very strong friendship with the whole cast right from the beginning

Monday, December 3, 2007

Pages 72-113


After reading these pages in the book I have learned:

- she lived with her father and step mother in California for a while
- was cast in numerous productions that were failures
- moved out to live in Laurel Canyon with one of her friends
- her and her friend though of Laurel Canyon as "The Hill"
- they thought it would make a good sitcom
- Jennifer thought of going to auditions all the time as a job
- was really good friends with Matthew Perry before Friends
- called him "Matty"
- was asked countless times if they were romanticly involved
- her father and step mother had a new born baby

Friday, November 30, 2007

Pages 36-71

As I continue reading the biography on Jennifer Aniston, I am learning more and more about her that I never knew. Here are some of the new things I have learned.

- she started rebelling to get attention from her father
- her parents were often called to the school's office to discuss her strange behaviour in class
- she was quite popular in school
- she went to the Steiner School in New York
- she auditioned to get accepted to the Fame School (also called PA - Performing Arts School)
- she got accepted into PA and studied acting for half of each day
- her father still tried to convince her not to turn to acting as a career choice
- money was tight for Jennifer and her mother once her father left
- once when Jennifer and her boyfriend were kissing their braces got intertwined so her mother had to take them to an emergency orthodontist to separate them
- became friends with Andrea Bendewald at PA
- realized her natural talent for comedic acting
- she graduated in the summer if 1987

Wednesday, November 28, 2007

Pages 1-35

When I started to read about Jennifer Aniston I thought I would pretty much know everything everything about her because I have been curious about her life for quite a while. Within the first 35 pages of the book I quickly realized that there is so much that I didn't know about her. Here are the things I found out:

- she has a half brother
- she calls her grandmother "yaya"
- her father had an affair with his co-star on "Love of Life"
- her parents got divorced when she was young
- she lived in the Upper West Side of Manhattan
- was not a shy child and was talented at charades
- she is part Greek
- her mother used to be an aspiring actress but stopped to raise a family
- her father didn't want her to become an actress
- the same thing that happened to her parents marriage eventually happened to her marriage to Brad Pitt
- when she was young she didn't understand how she could have a "half" brother