Eliza Dushku...

[fajrdrako]

With Dollhouse still on my mind, I read this article about Eliza Dushku.

Could she be any more of a sterotypical Hollywood airhead? She's starring in a thought-provoking (one hopes) new show, and the only recent accomplishment she wants to talk about is that she stopped drinking? She loves her grandparents so much she got a tattoo in their honour? She admires Joss's feminism? She likes to travel? I bet she likes world peace and cute puppies, too.

Am I being bitchy here? I didn't expect her to be an intellectual heavyweight, and the fault may lie in the article rather than the girl, but... Sheesh. I am even less impressed with her than I was before.

Comments

[jackarono.livejournal.com]

Well, you know, reporters are known to select parts of an interview to present the subject in whatever light they want. I've done interviews where every smart thing I said is ignored, and every dumb thing is misquoted and made even dumber. I remember one interview where the reporter (of course-- I'm not sure "originality" is prized in journalism) asked how I got started in writing, and I discussed, you know, writing all my life, the early successes, the crashing failures, the influential novels, and in passing mentioned that my first published book was written while I worked in an office full of men-- I had the lady's room to myself, so I'd run off there and scrawl a few lines in a paragraph whenever I could get a break. I said, "They probably thought I had a kidney infection!"

Well, of course, when the article was published, there was nothing about the influence of CS Lewis on my prose, the literature studies, the successes and failures... but paragraphs about that lady's room, with one little change: "They probably thought I had diarrhea." A couple days later, I had lunch with a friend, and she presented me with a bottle of Kaopectate.

Since then, I have never believed write-ups of interviews. Reporters are going to put their own spin on things, and sometimes "pretty actress" will get spun as "airhead" even if she's an Einstein. She might even BE an airhead, I don't know (young women that age seem to come across that way, but they do grow up), but I bet she's thinking that if she were writing up the interview, she'd have selected different things. :)

And I did used to be a reporter (on a very small-newspaper scale), and I don't have any real animus against the profession. (Newspaper editors, now THEM I have animus for. :)

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

Everything you say is true. As I was reading I was thinking, "She can't possibly be this dim... It must be Luaine Lee's doing." And I hope that's the case. For one thing, it makes Dushku sound about 14 years old, and the woman is 28 - old enough to sound like a grown-up.

A couple days later, I had lunch with a friend, and she presented me with a bottle of Kaopectate.

LOL. Yes, journalists twist things, because the personal/irrelevant detail is often more humanistic than the lofty facts. One hopes to find a balance (with the truth still attached) but it's probably overly idealistic of me to think so ... Sigh.

sometimes "pretty actress" will get spun as "airhead" even if she's an Einstein.

Sadly, yes. And it's true of male actors too, though in somewhat different ways.

I bet she's thinking that if she were writing up the interview, she'd have selected different things. :)

I hope so!

I went to journalism school and did some journalism at one time. My experience in the field makes me all the more resentful of the distorted facts, sensationalism, innuendo and superficiality we see in magazines and on television now... And doesn't that make me sound like a narrow-minded old grouch? I like gossip as much as anyone and more than some. But I like to think it can be done in style, and without sacrificing truth.

Of course, no interview is better than the interviewer, and no article is smarter than its writer.

[jackarono.livejournal.com]

Do you remember the "revelation" about Hedy Lamarr-- that she was a mathematician/scientist in WWII as well as a movie star? That her invention was actually used to create wi-fi?

It seems to be true (the invention is co-patented in her real name), but how wild! I mean, this goes beyond being, you know, Meryl Streep thoughtful-actress, but genius. I wonder if anyone in Hollywood knew, or if she was thought of as really bright at the time.

[dewline.livejournal.com]

Lamarr was probably the closest thing to Buckaroo Banzai her era had.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

She probably had to keep it secret. Everyone knew you couldn't be both a sex symbol and intelligent at the same time.

Of course, everyone was wrong - ! And humanity needs the full spectrum.

[jwaneeta.livejournal.com]

According to Hedy herself, she didn't bother trying to communicate her intellect to anyone in Hollywood because people simply wouldn't believe that a beautiful woman could be smart.

(I did the illustration for a biography for kids called Hedy Lamarr and the Secret Communication System. Fascinating. I learn a lot by doing stuff for children. :)

http://www.amazon.com/Lamarr-Secret-Communication-Graphic-Library/dp/0736864792

Grrr, I am a typo monster tonight.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

she didn't bother trying to communicate her intellect to anyone in Hollywood because people simply wouldn't believe that a beautiful woman could be smart.

I've heard the same of Marilyn Monroe. Interesting, the difference between talent, intelligence, and beauty, and the popular perception of all those traits.

It must be a nice problem to have, though. I wish I had some more hidden talents!

Your book looks fantastic. Now I want it.

I am a typo monster tonight.

Story of my life. I like to think I am expressive and articulate, but typos haunt me. Instant humility.

[monsieureden.livejournal.com]

I wrote a few articles for a newspaper and didn't recognize it after they edited it. So I totally believe this.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

That's another whole level of unreality - even if the journalist gets the story right, the editor messes with it.

It's a wonder we get any real news.

[catalenamara.livejournal.com]

>>>Well, you know, reporters are known to select parts of an interview to present the subject in whatever light they want. I've done interviews where every smart thing I said is ignored, and every dumb thing is misquoted and made even dumber.

Isn't that the truth! I'm on the concom of an "actor convention" and several years ago I was interviewed by a reporter from a reputable newspaper. We had what I thought was a really interesting, common-sense discussion, absolutely none of which made it into print. Instead, we were presented as brain-dead obsessives who, as the cliche goes, live in our mother's basements and wouldn't know a thing about real life if it bit us on the butt. I felt really shafted by the whole affair.

This isn't the only time this happened, but it was by far the worst.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

I've seen that happen here, too, when I was on the Maplecon con com. So annoying!

Quite possibly Dushku is feeling the same way.

I'm sure Brittney Spears and Angelina Jolie would have a thing or two to say.

[catalenamara.livejournal.com]

>>>I'm sure Brittney Spears and Angelina Jolie would have a thing or two to say.

I bet they would...

[angelfireeast.livejournal.com]

If you are being bitchy here then so am I.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

High-five, bitch-sister!

[rustydog.livejournal.com]

I blame the headline, first of all, for being misleading. They just *had* to get an alcoholism pun in there. ::eyeroll:: But yeah, my impression is that the interviewer didn't actually ask her much about the philosophical aspects of Dollhouse (or almost any aspects) or she just wasn't as interested in that as the parts of the interview that focused on Eliza's personal life. Not that I feel the need to defend Eliza, I really don't have any strong opinions of her. But I didn't get the impression it was necessarily her that made it a lightweight article.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

Seems the interviewer didn't want to talk about Dollhouse at all, which is a pity - I've heard plenty about what Joss thinks of the project (and of Dushku), I'd like to hear what she thinks of the project. Perhaps talking about it would give away too much of the plot? I'd at least like to hear her thoughts on a role that encompasses many roles, and examines different aspects of identity. Because identity is what any actor is playing with for a living.

[rustydog.livejournal.com]

I would like to have read those things, too.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

Hoping there will be further, better interviews to follow.

[atheneunknown.livejournal.com]

I agree with most of what you said. Two things though I'll debate.

One, is the alcoholism thing. If shes actually fighting the battle and being public about it, then I'm proud of her. Addictiion is hellish, and I think she's amazing for standing up and admitting to it.

Two, is the tattoo thing. I've often thought of getting a tattoo in honor of my grandfather, since he shaped me into who I am today. Its a form of self expression that I strongly agree with. And if its how she wants to honor them, then so be it, its really her choice.

And really, interviewers do a good job of makign people look dim. Geena Davis is a MENSA and I remember seeing an interview or two with her that made her look just short of twirling her hair and popping her bubblegum.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

If shes actually fighting the battle and being public about it, then I'm proud of her. Addictiion is hellish, and I think she's amazing for standing up and admitting to it.

I would probably feel that way too, but she didn't say she had an alcohol problem, just that she felt better not drinking. I'm not sure, if this is the case, why she felt it should be the first thing she mentions: it could be the choice of the journalist, or it could be that she had an alcohol problem and doesn't want to say so. I was left thinking it was the latter, in which case, it was unadmitted.

No problem with the tattoo specifically, or doing it for her grandparents; just that for this to be one of the few things mentioned about her seemed... sort of solopsistic.

But you're quite likely right, that the interviewer likley made her seem dumb when she isn't. I haven't read any other interviews or anything of interest about Eliza Dushku and I know enough not to believe everything I read.

[jackarono.livejournal.com]

Also, it probably is, for Gen-Y, pretty smart to-- if you're going to get a tattoo at all-- get it with your grandparents' names instead of some lover. After all, your grandparents will ALWAYS be your grandparents, and you'll probably always love them, and you sure can't say that about a boyfriend!

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

Especially in Hollywood.

(What, stereotyping, me?)

[ataniell93.livejournal.com]

Interviewers make everyone look dumb. At least she's not Dania Ramirez, who came on G4TV when Maya was on Heroes apparently drunk, to talk about how 'adult' her character arc was (read: she had sex with Mohinder). They sat her next to Masi Oka, who is brilliant, which only had the effect of making her look even dumber than she was, which...was interesting.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

I concede that it might be difficult to sound clever if you're sitting next to Masi Oka. But being drunk in the first place wouldn't help. Obviously it isn't all the interviewer's doing, not always. But it can be.

[janne-d.livejournal.com]

Try this one (http://www.sfx.co.uk/page/sfx?entry=eliza_dushku_interview) instead? Personally, I blame the slant of the article.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

There, she at least talks about the show. Her love of run-on sentences doesn't do much to make he sound bright - she sounds like a kind of Valley Girl with aspirations, but she does have a handle on the material and a decent vocabulary. Much better.

I wish she'd say more about Echo! But I'm just impatient to see where the storyline is going.