There’s a half-funny, half-embarrassing story concerning me and women on the cover of magazines. It involves the year 1998, a newsagent, Denise Richards, a copy of FHM, and my firm insistence — to a male friend of mine who happened across me browsing — that I didn’t realize FHM was a men’s magazine. I think he believed me ... just about.

Nevertheless, for most of my teen years I didn’t dare to cast more than a furtive eye in the direction of the men’s magazine section. Fortunately, they’re not the only magazines to feature lots of glamorous women. In fact, one of my favorite magazine covers was from around the same period as the FHM fiasco, in 1997:

Now, I couldn’t care less about Cameron Diaz, but Kate Winslet and Claire Danes in the same frame? Be still, my beating teenage Titanic- and My So-Called Life–loving heart!

What I didn’t realize at the time was that this cover was part of what has become an annual series for Vanity Fair’s Hollywood Issue, by a rather well-known photographer named Annie Leibovitz. VanityFair.com is currently running a retrospective of these foldout covers (which typically entice you in with three beautiful women on the front, and then open out to reveal about seven more). That means you can time-travel all the way back to the first one in 1995:

Um. Yes. Normally I think that the expression “legs for days” is an exaggeration, but in the case of Uma Thurman (pictured second from left), it might actually be true. And I’m not even going to get started on that picture of Nicole Kidman.

Also online is the latest cover, for 2008: … continue reading

If you're a friend of Jen, you should be looking forward to the next gift-giving occasion.

According to TMZ, Aniston spent over a thousand dollars on three Kaloo stuffed toys to welcome Sheryl Crow's adopted son, Wyatt.

I'm not sure how she managed to drop $1K on toys that max out at around $150 each, but I guess sales tax can be a bitch.

Compared to what Victoria Beckham spent for her kids' Christmas gift, though, a thousand bucks is small change. The Beckham bunch got a 9-foot Treetent, one of Neiman Marcus' fantasy gifts for 2007. The tree house, which hangs from a limb, features a hardwood floor, a round mattress that can sleep two adults or four kids, and adjustable "planetary landing steps." Catalog price? A cool $50,000. … continue reading

It’s true — women do direct films. “But,” you’re thinking to yourself, “Exactly where are these films? Certainly not at my multiplex.” Unfortunately, that may be true as well; after all, roughly a mere 5 percent of Hollywood features are directed by women. It’s important, then, to show support whenever we can in the hopes that someday there will be true equality behind the camera. Visiting Movies by Women to learn more and, of course, getting your butt to the theater to see these movies are two good ways to help.

My butt (and the rest of me as well, actually) will be at the Egyptian Theatre in Los Angeles tonight for the 3rd Annual Focus on Female Directors, an entire evening’s worth of short films directed by women. American Cinematheque promises "the work of industry heavyweights, cinema pioneers, actresses-turned-directors, festival darlings, and the brightest stars emerging from film school.”

Tonight’s roster includes In the Spotlight, directed by Hilary Goldberg (Render: Spanning Time With Ani DiFranco) and Room 10, the reportedly very strong directorial debut of Jennifer Aniston.

Room 10

Co-directed by screenwriter Andrea Buchanan, Room 10 was originally part of Glamour Magazine’s Reel Moments short film series. Say, wouldn’t it be something if Aniston got attention for her work rather than her relationships? I know, I know ... it seems unlikely. But then, I’ve always been one to hitch my wagon to a star!

The longest film of the evening clocks in at 18 minutes, so even the most ... er, attentionally-challenged among us can stay planted for the duration. There’ll be a Macy Gray video, a film starring Robin Wright Penn, a film starring Guinevere Turner, a discussion with filmmakers Goldberg, Michelle Hung (Chinese Dumplings) and Mariam Jobrani (The Fighting Cholitas) ... and it’s all in support of a worthy cause. Maybe someday soon female directors won’t need a single, special evening — nor will they need to be labeled “female directors”. They’ll just, you know, exist.

Visit American Cinematheque’s website for more info. … 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

Boo! Did I scare you? No, well, fine. But I do know a scary secret. Lean close, I'll tell you. Closer. A bit closer. Boo! OK, come on, that time I had to scare you, just a little. Actually, this news is probably only truly terrifying to the actresses whose dirty little secrets I’m about to spill. You see, before they were screen queens, these ladies were all scream queens. Sure, they’re all big Oscar winners, A-listers and TV stars now. But at the start of their careers, they were just glorified bait. Here's a look at 10 actresses' horrific early careers.

Jamie Lee Curtis (Halloween, 1978): Like mother, like daughter. Jamie Lee followed in her mom Janet Leigh’s bloody footprints by squaring off with a Psycho killer. But at least Jamie got to live to fight another day, albeit two decades later in Halloween H20. … continue reading

In this week's countdown of dumb, annoying, and downright exasperating celebrity and entertainment news, Lori and I take on Iggygate, the escalation of the Jennifer vs. Angelina war, and the debut of the new CBS show Viva Laughlin, which may well be the worst show in the history of television. Seriously.

Also, why Kate Walsh's good news makes us sad, and what Rose McGowan and Helen Mirren have in common.

Find out now! … continue reading

It's Friday, and the lists keep coming. As Dorothy Snarker wrote yesterday, "You know you can't resist them and, clearly, neither can I. So let's put on our yelling caps and take a look at this puppy." Today we have the annual Forbes Celebrity 100, a list of "the world's most powerful--and best-paid--celebrities." Who's No. 1? Oprah Winfrey.

Worth an estimated $1.5 billion, last year Oprah earned approximately $260 million. She has two reality shows in ABC's fall lineup in addition to her many other media ventures, and you may remember that this past year she opened the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls in South Africa.

Oprah has often been a friend to the gays, too. Long dogged by rumors that she is a lesbian, she has never flinched from openly addressing the subject. And her talk show has covered lesbian and gay stories over the years, including "When I Knew I Was Gay" in November 2005 and "Wives Who Confess They Are Gay" in October 2006. … continue reading