Harlepolis said:

Okay did that.
I'mma leave Hattie out of the argument because those were very difficult times for blacks in general. there just wasn't a ton of work.

So let's continue.

Dorothy Dandridge started her career in 1935 and did 26 films before she was nominated and did 5 after.

Diana Ross got nominated for her debut performance (like Gabby) and only did 2 more films (Mahogany and The Wiz) but you could argue that she focused on her music career because she was quite prolific musically at the time.

Cicely Tyson mostly did TV work before her film career got going. She did 3 films before she got nominated and did 8 films after and a ton of tv work.

Diahann Carroll did 6 films before she got nominated and afterwards got her own tv series, did a ton of tv work (most notably Dynasty and the Colbys in the 80's) and did 2 films after.

Whoopi Goldberg started on cable tv doing standup, right? she did 1 film before she got nominated and has done 33 films since, and obviously is still working A LOT.

Angela Bassett started on tv and did 7 films before she got nominated and has done 19 films since and has done a ton of tv work.

Halle Berry started on tv and did 16 movies before she got nominated and has done 7 since and has 3 in pre-production at the moment. HOWEVER, she did Catwoman. Which certainly slowed her down a bit (because that movie was AWFUL).

so what was your point again?

Chris Rock Gets Handsy with Gabby Sidibe

Chris Rock incurred the wrath of Gabourey Sidibe’s father Thursday when he took liberties with the actress’ backside during the third annual Essence Black Women in Hollywood event.

The “Precious” star, who is nominated for a Best Actress Oscar at Sunday’s Academy Awards, got a shock when Rock gave her the two-handed booty grab as she made her way to the stage.


The actress laughed and brushed it off with a playful slap, but Gabby’s daddy wasn’t so forgiving.


that was at the NAACP Awards.... it was fun... she was really hamming it up when she won


She tells ET Online, “As I go up to get my award in a room where my dad is, because he’s one of my dates, Chris Rock grabbed my butt with both of his hands – and then I slapped him back. I didn’t think too much of it at all, but my dad was super p**sed.”


As for Rock copping a feel at her expense, Sidibe quips, “Some dudes gotta have it – it’s my own fault for being too damn fine.”

that was at the NAACP Awards.... it was fun... she was really hamming it up when she won

2elijah said:

Yeah, to me it's really more about her long-term health and longevity. That's a valid concern.

banks said:

Good to know she is getting work after her role in "Precious". She did say she wanted to do some comedy, and so glad to hear she is starting to lose weight.

deadmansbones said:

Absolutely. At some point she will have to lose weight because of all the the diseases that come as a result. How many of us out here are already struggling with heart disease, diabetes, and high blood pressure? Gabby is just too effervescent and incredible a person for me to even want to think that one day she might develop one of these complications, so for that reason I hope she will be able to drop to a healthy size that ensures she'll miss out on these maladies we know all to well in the black community.

Ottensen said:

May one day? Any day now would be more accurate. I can't imagine that she doesn't already have high blood pressure (body mass forces the heart to pump harder to move the blood further, hence the blood pressure also has to remain higher.)

Harlepolis said:

I cannot believe they are slamming her acting ability and saying that the only reason why she is getting roles is because of her weight and that she is a prop on film because of her size...and I cannot believe how much I would like to smack the shit out of Robin Quivers for chastizing the fact that she has the opportunity to work and grow with her craft... by saying Gabby is being rewarded for her obesity by being offered these jobs??? What kind tomfoolery is that??? If anything, it only shows that they are the only ones who can't see beyond Gabborey's obesity while the rest of us have moved on an recognize this young woman for the bright and engaging young actress that she is.


Where is that SCDLS quote again? Something to the effect of fuck Howard Stern and the Robin he rode in on Yeah, I think that'll work for me, indeed.

The more I read about this girl, the more I am liking her swagger - she is majorly confident and sassy as hell.

More power to her - I hope she goes on to do great things and proves the haters wrong, whether she chooses to lose some weight or not!!.

ButterscotchPimp said:

Gabby has 2 films in post production and she's one of the main principles in Showtimes new dark comedy called The Big C... she's getting work couple with the fact that she started losing weight..
[Edited 3/10/10 16:34pm]

Neophyte said:

She really is cool! Robin Quivers tried to detract from Gabby's personality by saying she plays the part of the "jolly fat person" when she is in fact, VERY witty and quite a firecracker:

Meanwhile, does anyone really take issue with actors who use drugs, starve themselves, get 20 plastic surgeries? These things are discussed for a while, but then quickly swept under the rug. If anything, those actors CONTINUE to work despite all of this (see Robert Downey Jr, Charlie Sheen, and Lindsay Lohan…see her IMDB page). They’re doing damage to their bodies as well yet I don’t see Stern or Robin taking issue with that. I’m tired of people trying to dictate others’ lives. Just because we pay to see their movies doesn’t mean we get a full pass into their life and the decisions that they make.

2elijah said:

Sounds like a win-win situation to me. If she can work steadily in the craft she is building, stay true to that wonderful personality she has, and take preventative weight loss measures to guard her health then I say she is on the right track and is going to have a life that dreams are truly made of, whether she ever steps foot in another Academy event or not

I can't believe I missed this whole conversation. damn!
ok..who ever it is that keeps pointing out that howard is ugly...LOL! Nice try.
Howard is the FIRST person to say he is homely, and that is why he's been successful in RADIO..because you can't see him.

I love how lots of people have "heard" a ton in what he said and have attached their own feelings to it.

also..to those of you who keeps saying he should say it to her face...ha! He would! If she would agree to come in for an interview he absolutely would say it to her face. I believe he would be nicer and more respectful to her if she were there...but he would certainly ask her about her weight, her health and her future in hollywood.

Shorty said:

Yeah, I already said he's in radio--he started in radio,that is.

But the point is he "made it" in the entertainment business in spite of being unconventionally looking.

Look at Woody Allen. I wouldn't call that a guy a hunk. But he's made a niche for himself as a director and even playing romantic leads.

I'm just staying just because Gabby might not be considered beautiful according to Howard's standards doesn't really mean she's never gonna make it in the entertainment business whether that be in films, TV, stage, etc., or behind the scenes.

Now.. yeah.. her weight might be detrimental to health more than anything else. And as a result.. this could impact a lot of things.

But just to make a blanket statement about her isn't quite fair. But Howard doesn't care about being fair!

Ottensen said:

Co-sign.

I still think she got cheated out of a best actress Oscar. She did a way better job than Sandra Bullock did.

deadmansbones said:

he has remained in radio. yeah he was in a movie about himself but that's it.
I'd have to go back and listen to it again but I'm pretty sure he was being specific about what movie roles, I don't recall him saying she couldn't find work in hollywood at all...
ahh...Life ain't fair as I'm sure she is well aware of already.

Can talent outwiegh size in Hollywood?

(CNN) -- Not even a full week has passed since Gabourey Sidibe attended the 82nd Annual Academy Awards as a best actress nominee and we're already questioning whether her career is over.

Despite the accolades bestowed upon the actress in the past few months, it's unclear if the film industry can go against the norm and cast a young woman who is not only African-American, but also larger than the Hollywood standard in a non-niche role, as the romantic lead in a major film vehicle, for example.

During Howard Stern's Sirius satellite show on Monday morning, co-host Robin Quivers commented that Sidibe should have looked around at the Oscars and noticed that none of the other working actresses looked like her.

"What movie could she play in?" Stern questioned on his live broadcast. "You feel bad because everyone pretends that she's part of show business, and she's never going to be in another movie."

The comments made on Stern's show sparked a heated debate among moviegoers and industry observers, with some believing the shock-jock was simply saying what everyone else is thinking.

Jeffrey Wells, a columnist who's lent his candid perspective on the industry to a variety of outlets over the years and now blogs about it on HollywoodElsewhere.com, said in an e-mail, "Gabby is a lovely person and a fine actress, but the hard fact is that she's way, way too fat," adding that the actress will suffer from health problems as well as limited career opportunities if she doesn't lose weight.

"I don't want Gabby to not work, but the only roles she'll have a shot at playing will be down-market moms and hard-luck girls working at Wal-Mart," Wells continued. "No casting director would choose her to play anyone in the upscale executive world ... because no one in the executive world looks like her."

Robert Ulrich of Ulrich, Dawson and Kritzer casting, acknowledged that "every role will not be open to her," but thinks now more than ever, directors and producers are interested in seeing something different than what's written on the page.

"We hear over and over to think outside the box. I've been in the industry a long time, and it's never been as open to people being something different than now," Ulrich said. "I work on 'Glee,' and those actors never would have been cast on network television a few years ago. It's a show about diversity, and it's a hit."

The thing about Sidibe, casting directors said, is that aside from the irresistible charm, wit and confidence she exhibits in interviews, which certainly don't hurt her prospects, she's a remarkable talent. The 26-year-old, who was born in Brooklyn, New York, displayed an irrefutable amount of it in "Precious," and her performance becomes more mind-boggling when one learns that her resume previously contained just two small parts in college plays.

"That was an incredibly difficult role," said Rachel Tenner, a casting director for best picture nominee "A Serious Man."

"And from what I know of Sidibe, she's not from that world. This [character] wasn't something she knew, and she tapped into something pretty dark." Having already had critics rave about her dramatic ability will work in her favor, Tenner said. "I know for myself, good is good, great is great, and as a casting director, that's what I want."

Tenner is right that Sidibe is as far removed from the film's lead character as one can be, a fact that has been hammered home repeatedly since the movie opened to highlight Sidibe's acting ability.

As Sapphire, the author of the novel "Push" that "Precious" is based on, put it during an interview with CBS News' Katie Couric last fall, it's not like they used a girl who has a story similar to the lead character, where they could simply put her on camera and tell her to think about her mother and cry.

"This girl is a real actress," Sapphire said. Typically, she added, "when we do have an actress that looks like her, she's the comic character or the old woman or something, [but] we have a heavy, dark-skinned black woman as the star of the show."

Tenner insisted that the star power Sidibe showed in "Precious" will be enough to help her push past the presumptions about what type of role she can and cannot play.

"Obviously, there aren't a million parts made for her," Tenner said. "Do I read 50 movies a year that are for her physicality? No. But, there are a lot of directors who appreciate the work that she did, and that may help her get considered for roles that are not written for her."

Thus far Sidibe's skill has snagged her a role in a Sundance Lab film, "Yelling to the Sky," where she portrays a popular high school bully.

"I'm excited that anyone could take a look at ['Precious'] and think I could play Miss Popularity," Sidibe told film critic Roger Ebert in November, adding that she understands full well the box Hollywood would like to put her in.

"I kind of was Miss Popularity back in junior high," she told Ebert, "except Hollywood would never peg me as Miss Popularity, so I guess I'm playing against type."

On Tuesday, Showtime confirmed that Sidibe has a recurring role in a half-hour dark comedy called "The Big C," starring Laura Linney, where Sidibe will yet again tap into her inner teenager to portray a troubled student.

"The Big C's" executive producer, Vivian Cannon, said Sidibe was asked to come in after word began to spread of her "Precious" performance at the Sundance Film Festival.

When Sidibe read for the role, "she blew everyone away," Cannon said. "She had great comedic timing. Gabby can play whatever she wants to play -- she's that good. I'm hard-pressed to see anyone else like her."

"Crash" and "Iron Man" casting director Randi Hiller agreed that Sidibe's reputation as a talent to be reckoned with, complete with best actress nomination, will help open doors that would normally be closed to her because of the way she looks.

"Getting cast is never easy. You can ask any actor, they lose jobs every single day that have nothing to do with talent," Hiller said. "Sidibe will have those same problems, but it may not be as hard for her because she already has an Oscar nomination."

Nikki Blonsky, the plus-size actress who generated plenty of buzz when she starred in 2007's "Hairspray," has been painted as the poster-child for the reality of the industry; an example of what happens to talented actresses who aren't the physical ideal.

But Hiller believes it could be different for Sidibe because of the way she's made a name for herself as a dramatic actress. "With 'Hairspray,' it didn't have as much of an arc as 'Precious,' " Hiller said. "Blonsky was great in it, but it didn't require the level of acting that Gabby had to reach."

To Hiller, the problem isn't that there aren't any roles suited for Sidibe in particular, but the lack of parts for any kind of woman. "There will be 135 roles for men and then six for women. There are so few roles for women in general, regardless of race or size," she said.

In the end, Hiller said she believes Sidibe's career will be dictated most not by the number on the scale but the number of people buying tickets to see her films.

"The trend, quite honestly, is driven by the box office," Hiller said. "It depends on whether or not people turn out to see those movies."

deadmansbones said:

he has remained in radio. yeah he was in a movie about himself but that's it.
I'd have to go back and listen to it again but I'm pretty sure he was being specific about what movie roles, I don't recall him saying she couldn't find work in hollywood at all...
ahh...Life ain't fair as I'm sure she is well aware of already.

Shorty said:

That's pretty much what he said and he was assanine and crass about it. The second go around he back peddled and said she only got the roles she did because of her weight and she#s only a morbidly obese prop, and that her role in precious didn't require acting. Have a second listen..

HOWARD

GETS

PAID

TO

BE

AN

ASSHOLE.

I still don't get why this is news. When have people tuned in to hear this man be a "nice guy".??

johnart said:

I disagree. I would say that Howard gets paid to attract listeners, which he does by speaking his mind and being funny.


The irony is that Howard is a very nice guy; he just hates disingenuousness and feels it's ultimately more damaging than the harsh truth. That said, you do not wanna fuck with him. Put him down or try and screw him over and he'll let you have it with both barrels).

It's news for the same reason the show is so popular (along with it being frickin' hilarious): it says what a lot of people think but are afraid to say.

johnart said:

I disagree. I would say that Howard gets paid to attract listeners, which he does by speaking his mind and being funny.


The irony is that Howard is a very nice guy; he just hates disingenuousness and feels it's ultimately more damaging than the harsh truth. That said, you do not wanna fuck with him. Put him down or try and screw him over and he'll let you have it with both barrels).

It's news for the same reason the show is so popular (along with it being frickin' hilarious): it says what a lot of people think but are afraid to say.