In her new film, Horrible Bosses, Jennifer Aniston’s character is one you haven’t seen her play before. She’s a dentist who sexually harasses her assistant, complete with lewd dialogue, revealing outfits and outlandish advances.
She’s the latest actress to take on a raunchy role usually reserved for men, following the recent trail of trash talk from Cameron Diaz in Bad Teacher and the cast of Bridesmaids.
Better known for playing sweeter characters in romantic comedies, Aniston acknowledges that her Bosses role is a “departure,” but she says she couldn’t resist sinking her “teeth into something this juicy.”
Photo: AFP
“The minute it showed up at my door and I read her first scene I was dying to do it,” the actress said in a recent interview to promote the film, which opens in Taiwan on Sept. 2.
Aniston also admits, however, that when it came time to do the character, she wondered what she had gotten herself into.
“The truth is when you get there you go, ‘Oh God, now I have to do this, like, in front of people,’” she said.
Aniston refers to one scene where she’s trying to blackmail her assistant (Charlie Day) into having an affair with her using photos she took of him while he was unconscious.
“It’s like, you think it’s so hysterical and great,” she explains, “but then comes the day when you actually have to straddle sweet Charlie Day with his pants down and it’s just that day, you’re like, ‘Oh God. I choose to do this, right? Yes.’”
The 42-year-old actress declined to comment on her reported relationship with Justin Theroux, her co-star in the upcoming film Wanderlust and someone she’s been seen with around New York City.
She does concede she’s spending more time in Manhattan these days, amid media reports she just purchased a West Village apartment. But while she loves being in New York, Aniston says she hasn’t abandoned her home base in Los Angeles.
Instead, she says she’ll “be bopping back and forth” for now.
As for reports that she “stole” Theroux from his girlfriend, Aniston says she just blocks out that sort of press as much as she can. “You turn it off. You can’t listen to it. It’s toxic. It’s noise. It’s soap opera stories. It’s headlines. It’s selling magazines,” she says.
Aniston says while such news coverage is “part of our culture, unfortunately,” she doesn’t understand it. “People don’t like good news. People want bad news sometimes.”
Planet Pop hates to disappoint, but here’s some good news: Britain’s Prince William and his new wife Kate charmed the deep-pocketed polo set on Saturday to raise funds for charity on their three-day visit to California.
The prince was to later play in the polo match to benefit his, Kate and brother Harry’s foundation. William warned the polo patrons he would be back to collect the silver cup.
“I am not a good loser,” the prince said at a pre-match reception at a century-old polo club in the wealthy coastal city of Santa Barbara.
On day two of their first US visit, the newly married Duke and Duchess of Cambridge easily slipped into the California lifestyle in a relaxed, glamorous and sporty manner. It is her first trip to the US.
The duchess, admired for her fashion even before marrying William in London, wore a silver and marble gray hand-painted chinoiserie silk dress by Jenny Packham, while the duke sported a blue blazer over a white shirt and trousers.
The tickets for the match cost between US$400 and US$4,000 and proceeds will go to the foundation’s causes — military veterans and their families and sustainable development.
William peppered his brief remarks with humor — the kind that appeals to an American crowd.
“The prospect of being able to let loose this afternoon is wonderful for me. That is what sport is all about, being it polo, football — sorry, I mean soccer — or whatever your preferred sport is,” he said with comic effect.
Mindful of the economic austerity back home, William and Kate are making their California visit more about business than pleasure, with most activities centered on charity and trade promotion.
On their arrival in Los Angeles on Friday from Canada, they went straight to a technology forum to encourage investment in a British tech hub. California Governor Jerry Brown gave the young royal couple an Apple iPad 2 loaded with California-themed songs and apps.
But celebrity was never far away in the entertainment capital of the world.
British soccer star David Beckham attended the reception in their honor on Friday.
Bret Michaels’ won’t be spending as much time in Los Angeles as he may have hoped. His lawsuit over an accident at the 2009 Tony Awards that the singer claims nearly killed him should be heard in New York where the accident happened, a federal judge in Los Angeles has ruled.
It makes more sense for the case — which stems from Michaels being hit in the head by a large set piece after performing at Radio City Music Hall — to be handled by a federal court in Manhattan, US District Judge Dolly Gee wrote in a ruling on Tuesday last week.
The Poison frontman sued CBS Broadcasting and Tony organizers in March in Los Angeles, claiming the accident contributed to a brain hemorrhage that nearly killed him. His attorneys argued the case should be heard on the West Coast since Michaels lives in Los Angeles and Arizona, as do some witnesses, including his manager and other workers.
Gee agreed with attorneys for Tony Awards Productions that much of the potential evidence and the vast majority of witnesses — including actors and production workers on the awards show — are in New York.
Michaels is seeking unspecified damages on claims that show organizers never explained that the set would be changing after the band performed Nothin’ But a Good Time during the 2009 Tony Awards. The accident broke his nose, and he contends it led to the hemorrhage that later left him hospitalized and forced him to cancel several concerts.
He also claims the show could have prevented the incident from airing, but chose not to. The clip of the accident became a viral hit on the Internet, with more than 27 million views on YouTube when the case was originally filed.
And last but not least, happy birthday to Lil’ Kim, who turns 37 today.
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