Journalist, Author & Syndicated Columnist
We live in a time when the media tell us who we are. What “Lost” has done is tell the world what Asians aren’t. We aren’t all martial arts experts. We aren’t all college educated and over-employed. We’re not always the model minority. We don’t all own dry-cleaning businesses. And just as importantly, we’re not all nice.
Singletons, take note. “Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason” is just a couple days from opening, and that’s reason enough for many of you to celebrate. While all the “smug marrieds” are at home arguing about whose turn it is to pay the bills (or bathe the children), you can kick back with your bitchin’ friends, enjoy a cocktail and revel in all things Bridget.
At face value, there is no reason why women would choose Hugh Grant’s character over Colin Firth’s in “Bridget Jones’s Diary.” Both are good looking, have great jobs and cute English accents. But throw in the fact that Mark Darcy (played by Firth) is a soft-spoken gentleman while Grant’s Daniel Cleaver is a womanizing cad and Grant is the bad boy winner. Never mind that whatever woman he’s dating is destined to be the loser. The fact is, just as high school girls love the pot-smoking, long-haired dropout, women love bad boys, too.
If you were sitting at a symposium and a well-spoken expert in a suit talked about the benefits of enslaving the poorest sectors of society, would you challenge the speaker’s theories, walk out enraged or clap politely?
Jet Li. Jackie Chan. Donnie Yen. Quick. Which one of these action film stars grew up in the United States? Or, more appropriately, which one of these stars had to leave the United States before he could make a name for himself in Hollywood? That would be Yen. Sure, while he’s not as famous in the United States as either Li or Chan, he has a loyal following worldwide and an impressive resume of films — the best of which were made in Hong Kong.
This summer has been ruled by the house of Usher. With his hits “Burn” and “Confessions Part II,” the sultry R&B singer with the rock-hard abs turned his breakup with TLC’s Chili into chart-topping success.
That song, that summer. Flash back to any summer of your life and there’s always one tune that defines these months. With a few weeks left, USHER seems to have a lock on 2004.
How much attitude do Liz Phair, Nina Persson, Charlotte Martin and Katy Rose have? So much that they don’t mind being called chicks.
Let’s hear it for the girls. After decades of taking secondary roles in films aimed at teenage boys, a new generation of actresses has slowly descended upon Hollywood. And guess what? Their movies are doing well at the box office.
Growing up in north suburban Libertyville, Marlon Brando was well-liked by the neighborhood children. A polite teen with a kind heart, he was hardly the misunderstood rebel that he would later portray in “The Wild One” (1953). But he didn’t mind causing a bit of havoc during his years at Libertyville High School, which he attended as a freshman and sophomore, before his parents shipped him off to a Minnesota military academy.
With the amount of time they spend together, you wouldn’t think the characters on “Friends” would have a spare moment to even think about hooking up with anyone else. While they couldn’t compete with, say, Samantha Jones, when it comes to the sheer number of romantic conquests, these six friendly New Yorkers have had their share of relationships.
Just as “I know you are, but what am I?” became equated with Pee-wee Herman, and “Yeah, that’s the ticket,” is instantly associated with Jon Lovitz’s “Liar” character on “Saturday Night Live,” “How you doin?” has become the cheesy pickup line everyone can laugh at, thanks to a clueless but lovable Joey Tribbiani.
Even if you don’t know much about “Friends,” chances are you remember “The Rachel.” Jennifer Aniston’s hair took on a life of its own a few episodes into the show’s debut season, when her character showed up with a striking new hairstyle: Gone were her long, semicurly locks. In their place was a fluffy, layered ‘do — a modified shag.
For a show that’s not really about fashion, “Friends” has had its share of, um, eye-catching looks. From Chandler’s hair (yes, Chandler’s — not Rachel’s) to Joey’s eyebrows to Ross’s armadillo suit, the $1 million-an-episode stars have been willing to appear in getups that are unconventional, unflattering and sometimes just plain goofy
By Jae-Ha Kim Chicago Sun-Times April 26, 2004 It’s a cold, cruel world out there when you’re not getting paid $1 million per episode anymore. As our favorite “Friends” prepare for their final episode this […]
Somehow, you don’t imagine rock guitar god Joe Perry tanning on a beach. But on this afternoon, that’s exactly what the Aerosmith guitarist is doing three hours before a Florida concert. Taking a breather from tanning, he phoned to let us know why Chicago stores love him, his mixed feelings about downloading music and why his kids made him change his bathing suit.
When Chicago businesswomen Sandi Hwang Adam and Noreen Abbasi decided to form Maven Cosmetics, they had a common goal–to create a makeup line that was user friendly for all women, not just white women.
The lawsuit between Viacom and director Spike Lee may be settled, but that doesn’t mean the filmmaker is happy. He told GLARE Tuesday, “I think that when people settle, no one’s happy because it’s a compromise. But we’ll all move on. I would like to state that I have no affiliation whatsoever with Spike TV–never did and never will.”
Is a breakup in the works for the Backstreet Boys? Sounds as though the group wants it that way. Us Weekly predicted a breakup more than a year ago and in the new issue–on stands today–the magazine reports the band members are readier than ever to say bye, bye, bye. (Er, sorry. Wrong boy band.) According to Us, eldest member Kevin Richardson, 31, said the Boys were “having meetings to discuss” calling it quits.
“No one can be told what the Matrix is. You have to see it for yourself,” Morpheus says in “The Matrix” (1999). Four years later, the world is ready to feast its collective eyes on “The Matrix Reloaded”–the first of two sequels that have already been filmed.