I have some harsh words for young Hollywood starlet Anne Hathaway. She recently gave an interview to Marie Claire magazine, and they asked her about doing nudity for movie roles — as she's gotten naked in both Brokeback Mountain and Havoc. Hathaway said about her nudity policy that she doesn't actively search for roles with nudity but neither does she avoid them. She added, "It is what it is. Some people choose not to do it on moral grounds; I think that’s a shoddy argument. I turned down another movie because it was going to show a vagina – not mine, but somebody else’s. And I didn’t believe that it was actually necessary to the story."
I’ve liked Anne Hathaway since The Princess Diaries and fell in love with her after I saw Brokeback Mountain. To me, she’s this generation’s Julia Roberts. But I just lost some respect for her with that comment.
First of all, she contradicted herself. She said she would never NOT do a movie because of the nudity, then she goes onto explain a situation in which she in fact did. The movie she’s referring to is Knocked Up, which I just saw recently and it was very good. I remember hearing a while back that Anne dropped out of the film and was replaced with Katherine Heigl, but there was never a reason stated as to why, though some speculated it may have been because of the frontal nudity.
I chose not to believe that rumor because it seemed so stupid to me that such a smart and talented actress would turn down a great role just because of some nudity – mostly because, as Anne herself said, the vagina was not hers. I actually think it was a prosthetic because in the film the vagina is shown as the baby is poking its head out.
Then Anne says she didn’t feel like it was necessary to the story, which is a really dumb thing to say. It’s a comedy. One of the friends thinks there’s something wrong because he hears Katherine Heigl’s character screaming, so he runs into the room even though everyone tells him not to, and when he does, he sees the baby’s head poking out of her vagina. It’s an absolutely hilarious scene, and it wasn’t gratuitous as all.
I’m sorry Anne, as much as I love you and your work, you just went down a notch on my respect meter for turning down a great role because of five seconds of someone else’s nudity.
Article comments
1 - Ty
"I remember hearing a while back that Anne dropped out of the film and was replaced with Katherine Heigl, but there was never a reason stated as to why, though some speculated it may have been because of the frontal nudity."
Katherine Heigl doesn't take her top off in Knocked Up, so how does it have to do with frontal nudity?
I think the movie has some frontal nudity, but not from the main actress (in this case, Heigl).
I don't get it.
2 - Chris Evans
Ty, the frontal nudity I'm referring to is the vagina they show at the end of the movie when Katherine's character is in labor.
3 - Ty
So Hathaway was offended by the gross out scene showing the vagina and the head popping out?
Come on now. That wasn't even a sexual shot, it was a "Gross out humor" shot since movies/TV that show pregnancy joke about how it looks down there, but never show it.
I can't believe Hathaway turned down this role because of that. She must be really air-headed. Sad because I liked her a lot in the past.
4 - ANDY
Perhaps that's the problem,it wasn't her getting naked. Allthough she professes she dosn't activly go after that type of roll,but she has for a very long time been obsessed with nudity, particulary her own. In nearly every interview she gives she refers to her roll in B.M,surprising as she did not appear for 45 minutes and was on screen only for approx 15 minutes in a film over 3 hours long. For all the hype and awards the film attracted the only recognition she got was for her topless scene. She never now talks about TDWP even though it did better at the box office than B.M. When TDWP was first shown at the festival, in a review published it stated "that the shocker came when Anne revealed her breats" but this scene was deleated before release and surprisingly did far better than expected even with Anne's more visule assets, this rather contradicts her statement that she will only bare all if it is neccessary to the story. Funny thing is that when she is able to keep her clothes on, these films seem to do very well. Its allmost as if she were being advised that talking about nudity and saying the she can't Act was good publicity, surely she is not niave.
5 - IgnatiusReilly
"she contradicted herself."
No she didn't. Did you not read the part after "and" where she siad she didn't think it was part of the story? One joke does not a story make.
"you just went down a notch on my respect meter"
Oooo, I am sure she'll be suicidal after hearing that. Lucky for you, no one respects bloggers, so you don't have to worry about people thinking less of you.
btw, Knocked Up was all right, but certainly NOT very good.
6 - Chris Evans
"No she didn't. Did you not read the part after "and" where she siad she didn't think it was part of the story? One joke does not a story make."
She did. It's a movie about a woman who's pregnant. In the scene, she's going into labor. How is the baby's head coming out of her vagina not part of the story?
It's no less part of the story than her tits all over the screen when she's having sex with Jake Gyllenhaal in Brokeback Mountain.
"Oooo, I am sure she'll be suicidal after hearing that. Lucky for you, no one respects bloggers, so you don't have to worry about people thinking less of you."
I never claimed my opinion would make anyone feel anything. I simply stated what it was. And?
"btw, Knocked Up was all right, but certainly NOT very good."
The reviews and the box office numbers seem to disagree.
7 - Kimberly
Anne, in my opinion, did not contradict herself. She probably felt that the vagina part, even though it wasn't her's, was unnecessary, and didn't want anything to do with a film that uses crude humor in that way. I'm not a prude but even I thought, WTF, when I saw that scene. I didn't find it funny and I thought they could of filmed that part without showing the whole vajayjay. Also, in reference to your reply to someone who wrote that Knocked Up wasn't that great, who gives a rats ass about reviews and box office numbers. I've seen movies that made great figures but I didn't enjoy it one bit. I've also seen movies that have had great reviews and it was the most boring film I have ever seen. Just like your article, it was her opinion, and not everyone is going to agree with you or critics out there. I love Anne and until she does something that lowers her integrity in my eyes, then I'm gonna keep watching her movies.