Let's talk about Katherine Heigl. After all, everyone else is.

Unless you've been in seclusion, you're probably familiar with the Katherine Heigl brouhaha. (Isn't brouhaha a great word?) Heigl withdrew her name from Emmy consideration — even though we'll never know if she was in consideration in the first place — saying that she just didn't have any Emmy-worthy material on Grey’s Anatomy last season. Let me pause here to give you some wisdom that you can carry with you the rest of your life: never, ever piss off a writer. We've got words; we know how to use 'em.

The interwebs have been ablaze with talk that Grey’s showrunner/writer Shonda Rhimes has decided to kill off Heigl’s character, Izzie, as a result of Heigl’s comment. At TCA last week, Rhimes said that she was surprised at Heigl’s remarks, but not insulted, and that they have a great story planned for Izzie. (I just bet they do.) … continue reading

While most of our heads were turned toward Grey's Anatomy's lesbian Christmas Miracle, Katherine Heigl was conveniently, purposefully not submitting her name for Emmy consideration. After winning the Best Supporting Actress Emmy last year for her portrayal of Dr. Izzie Stevens on Grey's Anatomy, Heigl's name was conspicuously absent when the list of Emmy contenders was revealed yesterday. Many thought it was just an oversight (Tim Allen forgot to submit his name in the '90s) or an exercise in grace (Candice Bergen withdrew from the Emmys after repeated wins), but nope: yesterday, Heigl released the following statement:

"I did not feel that I was given the material this season to warrant an Emmy nomination and in an effort to maintain the integrity of the academy organization, I withdrew my name from contention. In addition, I did not want to potentially take away an opportunity from an actress who was given such materials."

I guess she didn't like saving the lives of wildlife instead of humans? Or, like the rest of America, she hated the George/Izzie storyline? Either way, Heigl's comments were an obvious swipe at the Grey's writing team. And they may have even been a swipe at me, personally, since during her victory speech last year I shouted at the television: "No! No! That is Sandra Oh's Emmy! Give that back, you thief! Give it back!" … continue reading

Lancôme, Chanel, Estée Lauder ... sacrebleu! With so many French words floating around the makeup counters these days, aren’t you glad that we have the familiar faces of celebrities to help sort them out? Thanks to them, I can easily distinguish Trésor de Lancôme from Chanel's Coco Mademoiselle by simply asking myself, “Do I want to smell like Kate Winslet or Keira Knightley today?” Everyday it’s a toss up.

Lately it has become more chic for celebrities to promote their own brand of stink, rather than promote a designer perfume (e.g., Celine Dion, J. Lo, Britney). But now some new pitch women have been added to high-end fragrances’ ad campaigns and thank goodness for that — it’s reassuring to know that our old favorite smells still have star power.

Recently, it was announced that Nicole Kidman, who was the face of Chanel No. 5, had been replaced by the adorable French actress Audrey Tautou, who will always be Amélie to me despite her other successful films (Dirty Pretty Things, Happenstance, The Da Vinci Code). Tautou will become the Chanel spokesmodel in early 2009, with a debut commercial helmed by her Amélie director, Jean-Pierre Jeunet. Déjà vu! Chanel's tribute to great directors and their actors began with Nicole Kidman working on her ad campaign with Moulin Rouge director Baz Luhrmann. … continue reading

I don't frequent Victoria's Secret stores. I don't watch those lame Victoria's Secret TV specials. I don't peruse the Victoria's Secret catalog and never have, not even when one of my college friends insisted it was the perfect study break.

So, fine; I didn't really expect to like the 2008 What Is Sexy? list, which was released by Victoria's Secret earlier today. But nor did I expect to be thoroughly confused by it. You've probably seen headlines about the most ridiculous one: Ryan Seacrest made the list for "sexiest smile." Ryan Seacrest? I think they must have accidentally copied and pasted from their What Is Icky? list.

But let's talk about the women on the list, starting with the one that really made me say "Whaaaaat?" in a Jill Bennett–esque way:

Sexiest Mom: Victoria Beckham

Uh. Did they mean Sexiest Person You Always Forget Is a Mom, Because, Really, Since When Can Mannequins Reproduce? I can think of many better candidates. Salma Hayek, for one.

Sexiest Actress: Eva Mendes … continue reading

According to an L.A. Times article, Katherine Heigl, whose movie 27 Dresses is scheduled to open January 18, is lazy, she smokes, she might be a caffeine addict and she's outspoken — which rarely translates to a good thing for a woman in a man's world. So why, exactly, do we like her? Oh, right: because she sounds sort of normal.

Even while riding her rising-star status as the new romantic-comedy darling, she hasn't forgotten that she is actually a person first and a moneymaking commodity second. Imagine that. Of course, the entertainment industry has a way of requesting that its stars reverse the order of those priorities, but as of yet, Heigl seems to be in no hurry to change.

And why should she? The opening of 27 Dresses was actually pushed back one week by the studio in hopes of taking advantage of the Martin Luther King holiday weekend. That seems to indicate that the studio thinks it has a real moneymaker on its hands. … continue reading

As roc reminded us earlier this week, our favorite shows are running out of new episodes. That includes Grey's Anatomy, which is my personal choice for 2007's Best Comeback From a Lukewarm Season.

To make us feel better, ABC has released some midseason (which could be end-of-season) promotional stills of the cast. And not sharing the best ones with you would just be wrong. So here's a little eye candy for your weekend viewing pleasure.

… continue reading

Now that her Knocked Up paycheck has cleared, Katherine Heigl has a confession to make. She thinks the movie is “a little sexist.” Oh, really? A film where an underachieving, slovenly slacker hooks up with an overachieving, polished professional is “a little sexist”? A film where the men get almost all the laugh lines and the women get almost all the nag lines is “a little sexist”? Who’d a thunk it?

As Katherine told Vanity Fair for the January 2008 cover story:

“[The film is] a little sexist. It paints the women as shrews, as humorless and uptight, and it paints the men as lovable, goofy, fun-loving guys. It exaggerated the characters, and I had a hard time with it, on some days. I’m playing such a bitch; why is she being such a killjoy? Why is this how you’re portraying women? Ninety-eight percent of the time it was an amazing experience, but it was hard for me to love the movie.” … continue reading

The other day I was perusing new movie posters when I came across the first one-sheet for the upcoming Katherine Heigl film 27 Dresses. Writing in lieu of her body; that’s kind of clever. But then I thought, hey, haven’t I seen that somewhere else recently? And voila: the new poster for The Women.

Since everything old is new again, I thought I’d dig a little deeper. And voila, again. Take a look at the German poster for the 1955 Marilyn Monroe classic The Seven Year Itch. Gee, if I someone had only told me that words made such good clothing, I could have stopped going to the mall years ago.

Here's a look at some other poster-alikes by category. … continue reading

In the great tradition of Maude and CSI: Miami (hopefully not of Joey and Private Practice), Lori and I are doing a video blog spin-off of She Made Me Watch This called Who Thought That Was a Good Idea?

Why? I blame Michelle Rodriguez. And Fox. And the writers on Women's Murder Club and Degrassi.

And even Katherine Heigl, God love her.

They've finally pushed us over the edge and driven us to dedicate a whole vlog to the week's most ridiculous, unbelievable, annoying, or just plain stupid moves made by celebrities, TV writers, movie directors, studio execs, actors, and other entertainment folks. In our opinion, anyway.

In our first episode of the new vlog, we count down the week's 5 dumbest news items — next week it might be a few more, or a few less. Depends on how dumb the week is.

See if you can guess where Degrassi's latest episode fell on the list this week... … continue reading

If you’re ever at a Star Trek convention and things get a little boring, here are six words guaranteed to stir the pot. “Best Star Trek captain ever. Discuss.” Entire websites are devoted to the Kirk vs. Picard debate, and it’s not a subject that Trekkies take lightly. Here at AfterEllen.com, however, no discussion is necessary. The best Star Trek captain is obvious.

News of Star Trek XI, directed by J.J. Abrams, has fueled new debate, since the movie’s storyline is a prequel to the original series and requires casting younger versions of Kirk & crew. Our own globalgrrl had a Psychic Friends moment when she correctly put Zoë Saldana in the role of Uhura.

That got me thinking: If an AfterEllen.com woman can cast a part so perfectly, imagine the lineup if AfterEllen.com cast an entire Star Trek film. Especially if the film had an all-female cast. Now we’re talking. I can almost see the marquee. “AfterEllen.com presents: Star Trek L: Revenge of the Manatees.” … continue reading

Ellen wears a weird outfit! Katherine Heigl blames her mom! Tina Fey thanks the gays! Kyra Sedgwick, Glenn Close, and Mary Louise Parker form a gang and offer to jump in anyone who will create more good roles for women on TV! (Where do I sign up?!)

In this very special Emmy's edition of She Made Me Watch This! Lori and I give our take on the night's fashion winners and losers, best acceptance speech, and worst musical number; ask what Joely Fisher and Brad Garrett were thinking with that tasteless banter; and throw in a bonus rant about Fox censoring Sally Field. All this and more below! … continue reading

Since 2005, we've watched Katherine Heigl succeed and fall apart in equal measure as Dr. Isobel "Izzie" Stevens on Grey's Anatomy. Before that, she ran around New Mexico in Roswell from 1999–2002. We've also seen her on the big screen this summer, in the comedy hit Knocked Up. We'll see her again this winter in the romantic comedy 27 Dresses. Now, our dear Izzie is adding another notch to her belt: film producer.

Actually, she's held an executive producer credit before, in 2005's Side Effects. She also starred in that one, which is the plan again. The difference this time is that she and her manager mother, Nancy Heigl, have actually set up shop as a production company. All parties involved are mum on the plot details, but they are saying it will be an action comedy vehicle written for Heigl.

When I think action comedy, I think about films like Lethal Weapon, Romancing the Stone, Mr. & Mrs. Smith and Ocean's Eleven, Twelve and Thirteen. And according to Wikipedia, I'm pretty close. It defines an action comedy as a "mixture of action and comedy usually based on mismatched partners (the standard "buddy film" formula) or unlikely setting. The action comedy subgenre was revitalized with the popularity of the Lethal Weapon series of movies in the 1980s and 1990s. Bad Boys and Rush Hour serve as other examples." Translation: boys and their toys and things that go bang, with some jokes thrown in for good measure. Obviously, the girls do get to play on occasion — think Rosie O'Donnell in Another Stakeout — but we're usually the sidekick or the romantic plot device. Rarely do we manage to hold our own, much less kick a little tail. Angelina Jolie is the exception rather than the rule.

The question then becomes, "What will Ms. Heigl produce?" Izzie as an action star makes me all tingly inside. With the plot being kept all hush-hush, I think it is only fair that we offer a few choice suggestions. I'll show you mine if you show me yours. … continue reading

Quick, guess which of these news items is real?

A. The Monopoly board game is being made into a movie, with Scarlett Johansson and Kirsten Dunst being considered for lead roles.
B. Katherine Heigl is launching her own line of hospital scrubs.
C. Dane Cook and Jessica Alba think they’re the John and Yoko of this generation.
D. None of the above
E. All of the above (A-C)

What sounds promising? Clearly it can’t be A, because who wants to watch a movie about a game where your brother cheats and the banker can’t add and eventually everyone gets bored and gives up? And there is no way it could be B; scrubs are so unflattering. Plus, don‘t get me started on C — that’s just flat out wrong. So, it has to be D, right? D?

Would that I were that creative. Sadly, the answer is E: They’re all true news items. Let’s pick apart the insanity together, shall we? … continue reading

With all the praise being heaped all over Knocked Up, I thought I’d take a gander at the unexpected insemination comedy to see what all the guffawing was about. I had enjoyed director Judd Apatow’s first film, the sweetly silly The 40-Year-Old Virgin, and was therefore curious to see whether the reigning king of dork cool (a title he wrested from Napoleon Dynamite’s Jared Hess) could avoid the dreaded sophomore slump.

All in all, I would have to give Apatow a "mission accomplished" thumbs up (but not in that premature-landing-on-an-aircraft-carrier’s-flight-deck kind of way). The first 15–20 minutes were perhaps the most continuous giggling I’ve done at a movie since, well, let’s just say a long time. The balance of genuine to goofy to gross was spot on. Those E! scenes alone made me "tighten" my stomach muscles with merry convulsions.

Of course, having said that, I also left the theater just a tad bemused. While the film was an entirely pleasant and intermittently hilarious way to spend two hours and change, I’m not sure I related to all the rapturous reviews. For whatever reason, I just wasn’t connecting to its supposedly pitch-perfect look at the different ways men and women view love, relationships and commitment. Which got me thinking: Maybe it’s a straight thing. … continue reading