I will admit to leaving a panicked voicemail for my sister when the green rubber bracelet I'd been given at the Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince midnight release party finally snapped — because now what was I going to do for jewelry? I needed an accessory that stood for something, like a time when the greatest wizard of our age, Albus Dumbledore, was still alive. For two years my physical equilibrium has been off because I can't find anything to balance out the plastic watch on my left wrist. But it seems as if Reese Witherspoon may have at last solved my problem. This week she flew to Tokyo to bring a message of women's empowerment, and to promote Avon's aptly named Women's Empowerment Bracelet.

Witherspoon, who is a goodwill ambassador to the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), donned a kimono and participated in a traditional Japanese tea ceremony, where she was the guest of honor. At the ceremony, she met with breast cancer survivors and spoke for a few moments, saying that the women there were an inspiration to her, but that she was saddened by the fact that only 12% of women are able receive breast cancer screenings due to lack of equipment in Japan. In an effort to increase that statistic, Avon will soon begin marketing their Women's Empowerment Bracelet in Asia, promising all proceeds ($2.25 out of every $3.00 bracelet sold) to UNIFEM, with a matching contribution for the first $500,000 raised. That may seem like a drop in the bucket for a company that reported sales of $9.9 billion in 2007, but Avon has raised over $525 million for breast cancer research, more money any other corporation in the world.

Witherspoon also said that UNIFEM would continue to fight to make strides against impoverishment and and abuse for women worldwide. … continue reading

That's the headline over at Eonline.com, anyway. We all know that Reese Witherspoon doesn't hesitate to speak up about women's issues from a feminist perspective, and this time she's addressing women's roles in Hollywood. She's been promoting her upcoming quirky little film called Penelope.

If you missed the 9 out of 10 movies that manage to pigeonhole talented actresses into tiny, underutilized roles or stereotypes, here's her take. Witherspoon wants a shot. At playing a badass with a gun, that is. And she's annoyed with shoot-'em-ups that feature some dude gunning down the baddies and saving the day. Or the woman, or the world, or any combination thereof. (I think I've seen the trailer for that movie under three different titles this week.) Her words:

"Why does the guy get to shoot him? I want the girl to shoot him! I love watching Angelina Jolie kick ass in Mr. & Mrs. Smith, and I can't wait to see her in Wanted. I would love to shoot someone. In the kneecap or something, just to stop them!"

Well. Hardly the words of a steel-nerved gunslinger. It's true she's no Angelina Jolie, but maybe I can see it. But even after gunning somebody down, you know Reese would end up looking more innocent and wholesome than before she drew the gun. Even leather chaps and a motorcycle helmet make her look petite. The stills from Penelope just make me want to pat her on the head. … continue reading

I'm once again brain-dead on a Monday, so I thought I'd post some pretty posters.

Get Smart (Anne Hathaway) — She gets smarter in every version of the poster.

The Forbidden Kingdom — A Jackie Chan movie, but I'll be focused on these two.

Jolene — No, it's not based on the Dolly Parton song, sadly. No matter how much the poster may seem to suggest that. … continue reading

The results are in. Thanks to E-Poll Market Research, we now know which celebrities the American public finds the most “appealing, confident, glamorous, interesting and over-exposed, among other qualities.” (This was voted on by approximately 1,100 people ages 13 and up, so rest assured it's based on a completely accurate demographical slice of the American pie.)

Here's who topped the list of Most Popular Celebrities:

I have to admit, I was a little surprised by this. I know Reese Witherspoon won an Oscar for Walk the Line and all, but she knocked out a couple of tabloid heavyweights at numbers two and three:

I guess Witherspoon has been giving Jennifer Aniston and Angelina Jolie a run in the competition for Most Likely to Show Up on a Tabloid Cover, what with the divorce from Ryan Phillippe and the reported fling with Jake Gyllenhaal. Looking at who rounds out the top of the list, I suspect tabloid presence was the primary qualification. … continue reading

Think you're underpaid? Think the guy three cubicles down from you is overpaid? Well, take heart. Your pay scale cannot be as wonky and egregious as that of the Hollywood elite. Forbes magazine did some complex calculations based on some superstars' last three films (don't ask me to explain the equation; I'm a writer and therefore allergic to math). They found that some were paid appropriately based on their rate of return, and others were vastly overpaid. Now, I may not be good at math, but duh.

The high and low ends of the scale belonged to male stars. Matt Damon had the best pay-to-profit ratio; for every $1 he earned, his films grossed $29. The worst? Russell Crowe — for each $1 he made, his films made $5. Talk about your fuzzy math. Of course, I'm most interested to see how the female A-listers fared. … continue reading

Christina Ricci has done several odd little movies. It has made me wonder if her time as Wednesday Addams perhaps twisted her psyche. Or maybe it was her early exposure to Cher and Winona Ryder in Mermaids that gave her a warped view of the world.

It's not that I'm complaining. I happen to like the sometimes peculiar movie choices that accompany her apparently warped world view. I love that she's all over the map in what she does, from Monster to Speed Racer and The Opposite of Sex to Sleepy Hollow. She's the actress least likely to get sucked into a romantic comedy rut. Of course, that's not to say she can't do romantic comedy. In fact, she has. But, Christina Ricci being Christina Ricci, her romantic comedy choice isn't exactly what you would call typical.

Since 2006, a movie called Penelope has been making the festival rounds with little fanfare. The lack of attention is surprising, considering the cast includes not only Ricci, but also Catherine O'Hara, James McAvoy and Reese Witherspoon. … continue reading

The folks at Entertainment Weekly like their lists. And their latest list is a big one; so big that it warrants the cover of the print version. Declaring that “It's not about power anymore,” EW has presented us with “The 50 Smartest People in Hollywood.” And guess what? Men are a lot smarter than women. Or, at least, there are a lot more smart men than women in Hollywood. Now, I'm not confident that I counted correctly because, you know, math is hard, but here are the numbers: There's exactly one woman (10 percent) in the top 10, two (8 percent) in the top 25 and 13 (26 percent) in the entire 50.

Meryl Streep, at No. 6, is the smartest woman in Hollywood — because she's managed to have a vibrant career after age 50.

The other 12 women are: 15. Amy Pascal, 26. Stacey Snider, 30. Jodie Foster, 31. Kathleen Kennedy, 32. Thelma Schoonmaker, 33. Angelina Jolie, 38. Diablo Cody, 39. Mary Zophres, 43. Beth Swofford, 45. Cate Blanchett, 47. Amy Powell and 49. Sarah Polley. (You can find the full list with explanations beginning here.) … continue reading

Remember when MTV played music? When there were videos all day, not just at 6 a.m.? Well, some of you may be too young to remember that, but trust me, there was a time. For a few hours tomorrow afternoon, it will be almost like the old days .. that is, if you view a full-length Broadway musical as sort of a long music video. That's right, at 1 p.m. (ET) on Saturday, MTV will air the Broadway show Legally Blonde in its entirety.

I know that I'm a little reticent to mention it, but I like musical theater. So I'm quite pleased that MTV is airing a current Broadway show that I would not pay to see. (Free musical theater is the best.) Despite my skepticism about Legally Blonde, it's still a guilty pleasure kind of show that I kind of want to see. (It fits with my occasional desire to surreptitiously read Cosmo when I travel.) And this will not be just any airing of Legally Blonde: there will also be a “pink carpet extravaganza” and a behind-the-scenes look at the show. Apparently, the tween audience is an important part of the MTV demographic, because this show is aimed right at them.

Check out the trailer for a glimpse of what you'll see. … continue reading

After sitting — and rolling my eyes — through the interminable mawkishness of Evening, I was prepared to ask a difficult question: Is Meryl Streep getting somewhat indiscriminate with her role choices?

Based on the two trailers I just watched, however, I don't think she's in any danger of that. In the next few months, Streep will grace the big screen again in two films that are decidedly less mushy than Evening. You might even call them inflammatory, or at least thought-provoking.

In Lions for Lambs, Streep plays a journalist in an ideological battle with Tom Cruise's hawkish senator. Meanwhile, director Robert Redford mentors two promising, patriotic students and takes "ruggedly handsome" to new heights (or is that lows?).

Never mind all that. What really matters is that Streep wears glasses, possibly the entire time. And that's just swoon-worthy. Here's the trailer: … continue reading

Both Reese Witherspoon and Zooey Deschanel have been tapped to star in some new high-profile flicks.

Oscar winner Witherspoon (looking seriously scrawny in the recent pic below) will star in the remake of the 1939 Claudette Colbert comedy Midnight. The IMDB summary describes the plot for the original thusly: "An American gold-digger finds herself penniless in Paris. But when impersonating a baroness, she finds several ways to make money. If only she can avoid stepping into the same trap she always does--falling in love with a poor man."

I know, I know. Try to contain yourselves! Just what we've all been demanding, another movie about a woman trying to marry well. What will they think of next?

The remake will be written by Michael Arndt (another Oscar winner, for penning Little Miss Sunshine). … continue reading