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I know all you Megan Fox fans will be excited to see her new movie in September called Jennifer's Body. After seeing the below clip it might crack 30 million at the box office. Seriously, this upcoming film I predict will do terrible.Guess the producers thought Megan could draw fans in like Jessica Alba does with her big movie hits. It's these roles that will forever put Alba and Fox as flavors of the month club actors. Their lucky they can fall back on their modeling careers. I don't think Meryl Streep as anything to worry about coming from these 2 eye candy actresses.

http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/1809969195/trailer

January and September are the worst times to release a movie, because people just don't seem to go to the movies as much in those months.

But I don't think $30 million is as terrible as you expect it to be. I can't imagine that movie having a budget beyond $30 million, so breaking even in September is a success, at least business wise.

I think you were off one letter on "hits."

.........Pudge, I take it you have no comment on Alba and Fox's acting abilties? Makes you wonder in a society where Paris Hilton can make a living being famous with little talent maybe Fox and alba can stay around long enough to one day make a remake of the movie 10,000,000 BC where Raquel Welch stared.Hmm to think about it I believe these 2 are the modern Raquel Welch's and she stayed around a long time. Loved that movie with Raquel playing a Kansas City bomber on roller skates.

I think I've said before that Alba can't act. She's been in over a dozen feature films, been on 2 TV shows, and basically has been in the biz for about 15 years, yet she's only a marginal actress. So she's pretty much a lost cause at this point as far as becoming a good actor.

As for Fox, she's only been in the biz a relative short while (7 or so years), and Jennifer's Body will be her 5th feature film. So her poor acting is somewhat understandable given her "inexperience."

Now I don't think Fox will become a good actress in the future. Some people just have it. Reese Witherspoon showed she had "it" in only her 3rd movie (A Far Off Place) when she was just a few years into the biz.

It's not all that different from sports, where you can tell early on most times if a player has the ability to be special down the road. Now some people happen to be late bloomers. Fox may be one of those people, but I doubt it.

But whatever, not everybody has to be Meryl Streep for me to like them. There really aren't that many really good roles for actresses in Hollywood. I'm pulling this number out of my ass, but I bet it's not that far off. But even for A-list actresses, I'd bet that up to 80% of their roles are playing the wife/girlfriend/lover of the leading man. Just two examples off the top of my head, in that both Jennifer Connelly and Reese Witherspoon won Oscars in that manner. There aren't many roles like Erin Brockovich, or the chick Charlize Theron played in Monster, where an actress is asked to carry a movie.

So the fact that some of these young starlets don't really get the chance to really flex their acting skills also contributes to why they may not "develop."

But if Meryl Streep is the Tom Brady of HOllywood actresses, it's not that bad if someone is just the Jason Campbell of Hollywood.

Wow, good stuff Pudge I couldn't have said it better myself. Now that I think aobut it I don't recall that many movies where the lead actress carries the movie. There are some actresses like Jennifer Lopez,Jody Foster, Charlize Theron,Reece Weatherspoon that can carry a film but those are few and far between. I don't think Hollywood as pursued that realm much. There are certain periods in film where all it takes is a break through film that will cause a ripple effect and more parts are written. Example Spiderman 1 was a blockbuster and even before I saw it I thought if this movie hits it big this could be a new genre for the industry producing many cartoon characters coming to life.

I wonder though most films have the man and woman in a marriage thus the man plays the dominate role. There are a few topics out there they women would be great playng lead roles but not enough perhaps to change hollywood writing parts for women being the lead role.

Whether it's because of Hollywood's own biases or simply a reflection of American tastes, the "system" really isn't kind to women.

I was a film major in college, and my hope is that one day I might be able to sell some scripts down the road. A few of my ideas and stories feature women as the main characters, and some feature non-ethnic leading characters, that if I could have the influence to cast, would try to cast non-whites in the role.

Female actresses tend to peak between ages 25 and 35 or in terms of their stardom and star power. And after that, many fade into oblivion. It's why there is so much pressure on them to augment their bodies in order to appear younger. Nicole Kidman is a perfect example, as she may be ODing on the botox. And only a handful of actresses have the "star power" to sustain their levels as A-list actresses into the 40s.

Most of the roles for actresses in the 35-45 range seem to be Lifetime movies where they play somebody's mom

And then at a certain point, you hit 45 or 50 and they start casting you as some 30-year old actor's mother. For example, Sally Field was only 46 when she started filming Forrest Gump, playing the mother of a then 36-year old Tom Hanks.

I guess someone figured out that maybe Rachel McAdams was a bit too young to be cast in Iron Man. But Gwyneth Paltrow is only 37 (6 years older than McAdams), but she already seems fairly old. I'm sure I'm not the only one that seemed to think they probably could have gotten someone much younger than Paltrow to be in that movie.

But for men, 37 is very young. Will Smith is 40, Tom Cruise over 45, Harrison Ford over 65. Ben Affleck, the Rock, Jason Statham, Chris Tucker, Josh Duhamel, and Jude Law, were all born in 1972, the same year as Paltrow, but nobody considers them old now. In contrast, Carmen Electra, Cameron Diaz, Gabrielle Union, Thandie Newton, Alyssa Milano, probably can't pull off the single, hot eye candy of movies any more. All are still very attractive, but they'll be stuck playing the hot mom instead. All 1972 births, by the way. I'm sure most of us could see a movie where the Rock, Statham, or Jude Law bag someone young and hot like Scarlett Johansson (24), Jessica Alba (28), or Beyonce (27).

But it's not just women that get screwed over by the "system", non-whites as well. Will Smith is the only black actor currently that has "crossed over" where he really has no race, so to speak. You look at his last few movies, and his "blackness" isn't broached in the films: Hancock, I am Legend, Pursuit of Happyness, Hitch, I, Robot. Very few black actors have ever achieved that in history. Denzel Washington, a few years back when Manchurian Candidate, Inside Man, etc. came out, but probably not so much anymore. Morgan Freeman, maybe. Sidney Poitier, maybe. Can't really think of any others.

While someone like Don Cheadle, Terrence Howard, Samuel L. Jackson, Forest Whitaker, etc. can get leading roles, but usually the character they are portraying is supposed to be black.

And it works even worse for black actresses. Halle Berry I guess you could say crossed over when she did Catwoman, but since that was such a terrible movie and Berry is only a so-so actress, her reign at the top was very short-lived. If there is any other "prospect" that may do so in the near future, I suspect it will be Kerry Washington. But the window is closing rapidly (she's already 32).

For a black actress, the best you can hope for is portraying Will Smith or Don Cheadle's wife in a movie. It's pretty crazy to think that Alien vs. Predator is a landmark film for black actresses (Sanaa Lathan is the "star").

And good luck trying to find any American-born Hispanic actors/actresses that have ascended up the list. Cameron Diaz is about it, and she's half third-generation Cuban. Joaquin Phoenix, is only Puerto Rican by birth, not ethnicity. Benicio del Toro, Antonio Banderas, Penelope Cruz, all imports. And Del Toro playing the Wolfman is really the only example of any of them "crossing over."

And it's even bleaker for Asian actors.

I'm not trying to portray Hollywood as overtly racist. It's really just a business decision. When 70% of your customers are white, then it's safe to assume 70% of your products will be marketed towards that demographic. And not to say the American public only wants to see movies about people of their own race. But I guess Hollywood presumes that people are little quicker and more easily identify with characters of their own race. That's not to say that a black person or white person can't enjoy a movie that has John Cho or Lucy Liu as its star. But Hollywood is a very conservative business, and they aren't willing to roll the dice, and it makes perfect sense.

You can pay Lucy Liu $5 million to be the star of a movie, and if the movie makes a profit you can pocket a few more million $$$ as a studio head. But you aren't entirely sure the movie will make that money, because you're not sure if you can really market Lucy Liu all that well. Or you can pay Nicole Kidman $15 million, and be much more confident that the movie will make money. That $10 million extra you're spending basically becomes insurance for making sure you don't produce a flop.

Long story short, thescout, Hollywood is all screwed up. So don't get too down on people like Megan Fox if they don't make it. It isn't really designed for women like her to make it. Hot women in movies are like the equivalent of RBs, a very short shelf life. They are basically a dime a dozen. How many HOF RBs are currently in the league? LT. Dunn, Fred Taylor, Jamal Lewis are probably not going to get in. Clinton Portis, Edgerrin James, Westbrook, are pretty border line. Maybe Adrian Peterson, but nobody else really stands out. For the most part, most of the starting RBs in the league right now that are hot names like Chris Johnson, Matt Forte, Frank Gore, DeAngelo Williams, 3-5 years from now many of them will be no more highly thought of than guys like LaMont Jordan, Julius Jones, or Rudi Johnson are now.

Great analysis Pudge on Hollywood's choosing of actresses. I am being sarcastic when I talk about Megan Fox and Alba which on a message board it's sometimes difficult to tell. I don't expect either to have a long shelve life making films in their 50's. I think to many actors and actresses if they can get a taste of the life and get paid handsomely most are satisfied.Although the odds of succeeding are very small like any entertainer I am sure there are many that love their craft and would do it for free just to have an audience. Sometimes though I get the impression these eye candy actresses could take it or leave it they really want the fame and money which we know when you have either or both you can write your ticket in many other avenues in life.

Your right women are not treated well by filmmakers. Many want the stereotypical bombshell or eye candy and when their popularity fades and or looks they go down in the food chain to replaced by the next bombshell. I would guess that the top people at the movie companies probably are white and their business sense tells them if you have 70% moviegoers being white then that is who needs to be cast in movies. Sometimes an independent film company can produce a good movie thus breaking new ground in the industry like the Director Rodriguez(sorry can't think of his first name) did with Jennifer Lopez and was breaking ground for more latino movies. I think the movie Selena also helped alot it was time when latin music was starting to take off and the film helped all people realize that latinos do have their own msuic (Tejano music) that was new to many music lovers. I can't say were seeing many more latino movies today but they latinos are on the map more than previously before the Selena movie.

Maybe the answer is more nowhite rich people need to create movie companies and make their own? Tyler Perry,Oprah Winfrey to name a few b ut many more are needed. It's hard to play in the entertainment field when the ball is owned by a certain group. Money talks in business and it will take some risks to hopefully open the field up for not only minority groups but older women in Hollywood.

Good analogy and write up, Pudge. Who would be the Jenna jameson of nfl rbs?

And by that I assume you mean which RB gets screwed over the most...none other than Mr. Norwood of course.

Gee, I thought he meant gets the most action and that would be Michael Turner.

Yeah, but he doesn't suck.

what about Michelle Monaghan? Her older brother married my sister...I've met her more then a number of times. . She was at my wedding in 98, and she wasn't even the hottest thing there! She's super sweet. Never had a professional acting class: just local stuff back in Iowa when she was little. My bro in law doesn't really talk much about her, but my sister is always going off telling me about the wierd people she meets and goes. Val Kilmer: a true freak. She said he whipped it out once in her trailer, just to see her reaction.

My other brother in law teaches film editing @ USC, too. Actually, I think it's editing for local news programs, so I dont know if that qualifies as 'film'. ..Strange little world.

Didn't Val Kilmer play John Holmes in a movie? Maybe he took his role a little to seriously with method acting.

the funny thing is she said Robert Downy Jr was a true gentleman, and she said she thought Kilmer was whacked out on something all the time during the shoot. I think I'm gonna see her sometime eraly next year when we go to the west coast!

Speaking of Robert Downey Jr I noticed on one of the tidbits at the movies it said he never took an acting class. Pretty amazing given he is one of the better actors in Hollywood.

I wouldn't go that far, IMHO. And I thought his role in TT was just incredible. If you ever get the dvd, check out the 'commentary' with him Black and Stiller.

Plenty more talented guys all over Hollywood~ he has the 'comics' curse: be funny, young go on SNL, get pidgeonholed.

BTW, my older sister lives for all this crap and reality tv and all the other nonsense. I think this chick just gets some bartender in wherever she is shooting to sign little autographed 'souveniers' from guys like Downey, etc instead of asking the real guys and gives it to her at holidays. My older bro and I just howl. She's like 'oooooohhhh!LOOK! Tom Cruise signed this toothbrush to me!'

Sounds like she is star struck to get autographs. Hey Gus you should ask her to get Octomom's,Hedi Fleiss, Danny Bondaduce and Aaron Carter's,now those are big stars. I always tohught Downey was a good to great actor but I guess whatever floats your boat.

I onced worked at a Holiday Inn a long time ago right out of high school and this guy I worked with drove a Mercedes Benz ,fairly new and obviously from well to do parents. Anyway he knew Rob Lowe when both lived in Illinois.I think he lived down the street from Lowe and he said Lowe was obnoxious back then and spolied getting whatever he wanted.I think this was when Lowe was first starting out.Here's another story John Cusack the actor him and his friends went to a clothing store and walked out without paying for the clothes they tried to steal. Cusack told the manager don't you know who I am.Apparently some stars get treated with kit gloves and are allowed to do things normal people can't get away with.Of course I think Cusack's manager paid for the goods but some stars feel entitled to things is what I am saying. Dionne Warwick I heard is very spoiled and or demanding when she is booked to sing at places.

I wish more celebs were like Greg Maddux who seems to say aw shucks I'm just a guy trying to make a living no different than a janitor, teacher or bus driver and doesn't seem to feel he is special. I bet it isn't that common the sense of entitlement if your a big shot no matter if your an actor or CEO of a company.Entertainers have to be careful if their career fades and they haven't prepared financially they can go bankrupt since it is hard to break big spending habits. I am talking generalities of course not all entertainers spend tons of money and not all athletes do the same.

Here's my Rob Lowe story. In 1988 I was working for a caterer @ the new Jimmah Carter library when they hosted the DNC...As I was passing round food, I came across Justine Bateman and Rob Lowe. I think at the time Bateman was just21, so they asked me where a local bar was that would be 'cool' about letting her freinds in. I told him 'try the White Dot' on Ponce for live music and if you want to get laid go to Club Rio downtown. Well, they did go to the White Dot but the Indigo Girls were playing so Justine left. Then Rob Lowe went to Rio, and met up with an underage girl and decided to try out his new videocamera, and we all know the rest of the story.

they were making fun of me and I was too dumb and young to know it at the time. One of the chefs told me they were poking fun at me, and I was too ignorant to know! I always laugh a little now when I think of those 2 clowns

Interesting story Fun Gus thanks for sharing it. I guess some people look down on others if they become successful celebs or for that matter born into rich families. I think most people want to be treated like they treat others no matter how successful they are. The media can fill a person's head that they are bigger than they think thus you get the sense of entitlement some people think they deserve. Personally, I can't stand people who think they are better than you either because of their beauty or money. If the shoe were on the other foot I would never treat others making them feel like a lower class. You can't take it with you when you die but some people never will learn.

Maybe it's because I'm from the east or that I don't have a particularly high opinion of the human race, but I think a lot of people, probably half, would be jerks if they had the money and power to get away with it.

Once, when I was a lowly dishwasher @ Vickery's in Midtown ( before everyone spoke spanish in the kitchen ) you had to wait in a line to get to the one holer bathroom. I was elbow deep in ugly and was bustin a**, and the 'wonder kids older brother' was waiting in line....I dont know the guys name, the one that played the mean older brother of Fred Savage. He looked at me in my sorry state and sneered 'do you like your job'? I rebutted 'wanna switch'? and he kinda laughed. But I took it as demeaning. I've often wondered were the situations reverves, I dont think I would have said it, but who knows?

I think two things are attributed to people acting the way they do one is how are you raised by your mom and dad to treat others.Two, you might come from a poor background but get caught up in the hoopla of celeb being with other rich people and forget what is like on the other side thus you demean other people not realizing it. Those people who become powerful and rich but never lose their identity to the common man I respect alot more than the upty ups who treat lower class people like dirt. I think this happens alot to politicians who first start out wanting to help people then get caught up in the Washington shananigans and forget why their in office or just give up and give in to the notion that you can't fight lobbyist why not join them. Not all politiicans are like that but a majority probably are. I would seek great pleassure in telling lobbyists to get the hell out of the room if they wanted to sway my vote. You need to stand your ground firm and when they start waving the money at you turn the other cheek.

I hear what you're saying with the parenting. But I don't think there are that many good parents out there. There are I mean, but I think like in most areas of life, most people do/accomplish enough just to get by, moreso than excel.

While it disagrees with my core beliefs that people should be allowed to do what they want and screw up their lives anyway they see fit, I certainly get that dystopian/totalitarian view to restrict people's freedoms under the pretenses of making the world better. Just like I believe getting a driver's license in this country should be much more difficult than it is, often times, I think getting married and breeding should be a lot harder as well.

So while at this point in time, if I was given the ability to rule the world, I'd like to believe that it would be this world where everybody was free to do whatever they wanted, and people were happy. I could also envision some warped version of my rule becoming something out of 1984.

I'm one of those people that believes power corrupts people. Now I believe there certainly are genuinely good people out there that would not be corrupted. But I think that is a small minority of people. I think most people that if you give them power, eventually they will be corrupted. It may start small, but it can then start to snowball, where in a matter of months/years, you have a person that you believed was a genuinely nice person come a complete and utter jerk.

It's easy to judge when you've never been in such a situation. But you gotta realize that for someone like Will Smith, who makes $20 million a year and basically only works for 4 months out of the year, that leaves a lot of money and a lot of free time to spend it. You probably have someone that drives you somewhere, someone that is your bodyguard (and basically has the right to beat up anybody you tell him to), someone that cooks and cleans for you, someone that waits on your every beck and call, then would it really be a surprise if in all that free time where you have very little responsibility you do somethings that aren't exactly legal.

If he wants to, Will Smith can go to a party and do some coke, and probably not get caught. Will Smith can go spend a week in Bangkok and have sex with 11-year old boys and probably not get caught. He go spend a month in Sydney, Shanghai, Johannesburg, Rome, Athens, Rio, just to get away for a while.

Normal people don't have opportunities like that. So I'm not so quick to judge other people when they make the "wrong" choices given those opportunities. Because I think deep down, I know that if I was given some of those same opportunities that celebrities, athletes, politicians, CEOs are given, then I would make many of those same bad choices.

At the end of the day your responsible for your own actions is what it boils down to. Power corrupts most people but you alone can let all the variables( like people bowing down to your every need, having all ye s men in your entourage,living like a king) and that can lead to person not knowing their true self. How many people have we seen at the top only to fall all the way down the ladder and broke? They lose themselves in the process and don't know what their values are because of the corruption. Michael Jackson case in point only wanted yes men and I think ultimately paid the price with his life.

Since I'll never be in the situation where I am treated like a king it's hard to say what an individual might do if presented with such optiions. I think the best thing is to live in moderation ,always watch your back and you have a hand in everything (finances being the biggy). People change around you thinking your all great and can't do any wrong but you need to keep your guard up at all times. There are alot of swindlers out there that want you r time and money. It all still comes down to the choices you make and seeing the forrest from the trees.