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Hysteria Director Tanya Wexler Talks Vibrators, Faking It, and Duck Sex

Tara Block — Fri, 25 May 2012 04:00:15 PDT

Don't be shy . . . It's time to talk sex toys! And Hysteria director Tanya Wexler is writing us a prescription for pleasure. Tanya's film - what she calls "the vibrator movie you can bring your mom to" - is in limited release and stars Hugh Dancy, Maggie Gyllenhaal, and Rupert Everett. When working on a romantic comedy that centers around the invention of the vibrator, you end up with some entertaining and embarrassing situations along the way, and lucky for us, Tanya spilled all the hilariously dirty details. From teaming up with the film's partner Jimmyjane for a drive-by vibrator drop-off to a certain female Oscar-winner to trying unsuccessfully to get ducks to shag on command, Tanya was bursting with great stories from working on this very unconventional film. And while Tanya isn't ashamed to discuss the sexy subject matter of her latest film with us, the mother of four and her partner of 21 years did have a tricky challenge telling her preteen kids what her movie was about. (She eventually gave them the script and let them figure it out themselves!) Check out our interview with the fun-loving director now, and we dare you not to have a girl crush on her by the end!

TrèsSugar: What were some of the challenges to getting a movie made about vibrators?
Tanya Wexler: Getting the script right was tricky because if you just make a movie about the invention of the vibrator, it's actually a really short movie: you go "bzz" and it's done. And we had a kind of light romantic comedy. I say I made the vibrator movie you can bring your mom to. But some people wanted it to be raunchy or some people wanted it to be more serious and about feminism. People project a lot onto this movie of what they want, because there isn't a lot out there about vibrators and women's pleasure, and we still don't really deal with that topic very well, or we're overly antsy around it. And as a result, people have a lot of ideas of what the movie could and should be, and you can't please everyone. [laughs]

TS: Ha, good one.
TW: It's nonstop!

TS: Do you find sex toys inherently funny or something to be seriously celebrated?
TW: Yes!

TS: Both?
TW: Yes! Yes. I think they make me laugh, and I think that the inner kind of Beavis and Butt-head in all of us goes "[laugh]." You know, that inner 13-year-old, like, "Hahaha vibrator . . . " and yet they're awesome and fun.

TS: What shocked you the most when researching the movie?
TW: That ducks are the rapists of the bird world, and you'll see when you see the movie, because there's a little bit of questionable duck behavior - or awesome duck behavior - in the movie. It's totally a sidebar, but you cannot make ducks shag on command. I'm just saying.

TS: What about the whole history of hysteria being a medical condition?
TW: When I first heard the idea, I was like, "What do you mean it was invented in Victorian times?" I knew about hysteria, but the idea that the treatment was manual [British accent] massage deparaxism - which is what they called it - and, of course, the denial. The most shocking thing is the denial, that they didn't think it was sexual.

TS: Do you think they were really in denial?
TW: No, I don't think that some people were. My college roommate was with her high school boyfriend for two years and she had never had an orgasm. I think there's all kinds of denial, especially with women's sexuality. So the fact that there are young women today who haven't had an orgasm, whether self-induced - which is insane - or with a partner, then why wouldn't we think back then that women wouldn't know what orgasms were?

They would get a massage, and the doctor's saying, "Without a penis, this isn't sex, because sex is about procreation," so what is this? The best physical therapy you've ever had. So once you don't think of it as something other than what the doctor's supposed to do to cure your uncontrollable crying or uncontrollable laughter or whatever, then it's just an awesome muscle spasm. If you don't think women have their own inherent sexuality, then you're not thinking about it like that.

Keep reading for Tanya's thoughts on Fifty Shades and more!

3 Concerns About the New Carrie Remake

Shannon Vestal — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 14:46:12 PDT

A remake of the 1970s horror film Carrie is coming, with Chloe Moretz in the titular role of the tortured high schooler turned telekinetic teen. Even though I'm not a huge horror fan, I still consider Carrie to be a classic - and a movie that doesn't need any updating. Still, the reboot is on its way, and while I'm curious to see how it will translate 36 years later, I have some concerns - check them out below.

The acting in the original will be hard to top. After impressing in films like Kick-Ass, we know that 15-year-old Moretz is certainly talented, but she's filling the shoes of Sissy Spacek, who was nominated for an Oscar for her role as Carrie. It takes a certain quality to take on a character like this, who's shy and withdrawn, and then suddenly psychotic. Can Moretz live up to Spacek's legacy?
It might be silly now. Carrie is terrifying, but there are parts that now feel extremely campy. Carrie's classmates throw tampons at her, Carrie's mom calls her breasts "dirty pillows," and the possessed look on Carrie's face when she's at the prom all make up scenes that are unforgettable, but they're straight up goofy now. An update will need some serious revamping for those elements to not be laughable.
It's already been revisited, and it wasn't good. There was a sequel of sorts in 1999, Carrie 2: The Rage, with new characters set in modern day, but it was a cheap knockoff of the original that just borrowed the concept of the gifted teenager. As far as the new remake goes, director Kimberly Peirce has a solid credit behind her (Boys Don't Cry), but it'll be hard to measure up to legendary director Brian De Palma, who's also responsible for iconic films like Scarface.

Slaw and Order: How to Use Up a Jar of Kimchi

Sara Yoo — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 06:31:50 PDT

So you took the plunge and bought a jar of kimchi. It has paired nicely as a side dish beside rice and delicious Korean barbecue, but now that the honeymoon period is over, you're looking for what's next. While the pungent fermented cabbage will last several weeks tightly sealed in the fridge, it will eventually expire, and boy, you don't want to be around when it does! If you're in a pickle about how to use up your jar, we have many ideas, so just read on for this kimchi cornucopia!

Josh Hutcherson Tells Us His Favorite Hunger Games Scene and Catches Up With Costars at His Cover Party

Lindsay Miller — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 10:55:59 PST

Josh Hutcherson was joined by several of his costars from The Hunger Games last night at a dinner to toast his new Nylon Guys cover in LA. We caught up with Josh inside the soiree to talk about being a part of one of this year's most hotly anticipated movie events and why he felt an immediate connection to his character, Peeta Mellark. He also shared a little about his favorite scene in the close-to-finished cut of the film he recently watched, and told us about the moment on set that brought Jennifer Lawrence to tears. Here are some highlights:

PopSugar: Have you guys gotten to see the final cut of The Hunger Games?
Josh: Not final cut, but a very close to final cut, yeah.
PS: What was the coolest moment or scene for you [to watch]?
Josh: For me, honestly, my favorite scene is when it's, like, the day before the games and Katniss and Peeta have that conversation. And that, for me, I thought was a really cool spot in the relationship because you kind of see the tenderness between them a little bit. So that meant a lot to me.
PS: I started reading the book and I actually pictured you as Gale before I knew who was playing who. I'm curious, did you read for any other part?
Josh: Really? I mean, for me I had an immediate connection with Peeta. I felt like I was Peeta in so many ways, it kind of blew my mind a little bit. To the point when I actually walked into the room to audition, and [author] Suzanne Collins and [director] Gary Ross were there, I said to them - I've never said this before in any audition and I'll never say it again because it sounds disgusting - but I am so much like Peeta! Reading it, I was almost like, 'How did Suzanne Collins write a movie about my [kind of] person?' It kind of blew my mind.

For more from our chat with Josh and a look inside last night's party, just read more

How to Avoid New Mom Comparisons

BabyCenter — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 17:00:57 PST

The comparison game is one new moms know well. Even when we try to avoid the "does your baby do this yet?" questions, it's pretty impossible not to notice when, say, a friend's 5-week-old is smiling and yours isn't. As mom Heather Cianciolo says, "Doesn't every mother compare her kids?"

Blame it on our survival instincts, says Kathy Seal, coauthor of Pressured Parents, Stressed-out Kids: Dealing With Competition While Raising a Successful Child.

"We're hardwired to push our kids to compete. After all, our ancestors' children had to be strong enough to get that last piece of meat or outrun that dangerous animal," Seal says. "It's also natural to want our kids to acquire skills, so we compare for reassurance."

Normal as it is, comparing can be a recipe for stress. It can also prevent us from fully appreciating what our kids are accomplishing. Here are some common comparison traps - and how to sidestep them.

Related: Developmental Milestones

Milestone & Developmental Comparisons
Babies vary widely when it comes to hitting milestones like sitting up, crawling, and walking, which makes this comparison trap a particularly easy one to fall into.

"I remember sitting in music class, watching a 10-month-old demonstrate physical milestones that my 19-month-old was just getting around to. It was hard," says Cianciolo.

As moms, we're encouraged to watch for any development problems or delays and to get help right away with anything we notice. So it's no wonder we're constantly wondering what's normal and what's not.

Sidestep the trap: Research shows that as long as your child is reaching milestones within the normal range, how quickly he reaches them has no bearing on his later skills.

So if your 18-month-old says only one or two words compared to your same-age nephew's dozen, it doesn't mean your child won't eventually gab your ears off.

"Milestone development has very little to do with a child's future potential, so I encourage parents not to worry if their children are late bloomers or seem to be at the outer limits of normal," says Darshak Sanghavi, a pediatrician who's also an assistant professor at the University of Massachusetts Medical School and author of A Map of the Child: A Pediatrician's Tour of the Body. "It's tempting to think that what a child does when he's young is going to control his destiny, but everyday experiences don't bear this out. We can't determine a child's destiny based on what month they started walking," Sanghavi says. Enjoying your child's current skills and tricks can help ground you in the present and prevent you from fretting about the future.

"It's hard to hear my 15-month-old niece saying more than my 2-year-old daughter. But it helps to focus on the special things my daughter does - like when we get ready to read, she gets the blanket and pillow and sets it all up, which really makes my heart melt," says Kim Lybrand.

Finally, remind yourself that while we can certainly help our children learn new things, we can't force them to reach milestones before they're ready. When we attribute our kids' development to our superior parenting skills, it can come back to bite us.

"When others noticed how well my son got around, I felt like we must have done something great to facilitate his excellent gross motor skills," remembers Jennifer Parker. "But then I'd hear other children speak so clearly, while my son wasn't yet talking at all, and I'd feel like such a bad mom."

More on no-competition motherhood after the break.

When Do You Turn Off the Baby Monitor For Good?

BabyCenter — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 08:32:46 PST

We're excited to share this post from our partners at BabyCenter! Every week, we will be bringing you the best parenting and lifestyle stories from the experts at BabyCenter, including this post from Kristina Sauerwein about outgrowing the baby monitor.

My friend posed this question on Facebook: “At what age did you detach yourself from the monitor with your child?” She was wondering if she should get rid of the baby monitor for her 4-year-old son who “sleeps with his door open…(and has been) talking/yelling in his sleep soooo much lately, (she) was up almost hourly to check on him.”

I left a comment telling her to retire the baby monitor. Honestly, I never really used our baby monitor much. My husband and I slept upstairs on the same floor as our kids, and I am the type of sleeper who would wake up if one of my baby’s coughed loudly. A monitor by my bedside would have revved my mind and kept me awake. Every little stir would have me evaluating my baby’s well-being and I would spiraled into an motherhood-OCD-worrywart hell.

Besides, as one mom said in my friend’s Facebook comments, if a baby’s stirs or cries are important enough, you’ll know.

That said, we did place a baby monitor in our basement since our baby slept two floors up. But even then, I could hear important cries sans monitor.

As for a video monitor, that would’ve wired me to no end so I never bothered. My friend said she used to watch it so obsessively, her dreams would be about her baby on the video monitor. Another friend said she watched the video monitor until she noticed her toddler boy could only get to sleep if he played with his private part and she just didn’t want to know that.

I will say there are two things I liked about the auditory baby monitor:

Once my husband and I heard another couple in our so-called perfect town fighting about stupid things such as his overgrown nose hairs and her annoying food-chomping habits. We had no idea who these people were so it was rather amusing and we took it as free entertainment. I know, it was immature and bad of us but it was a train-wreck-we-had-to-watch moment.
I never did this but I always wanted to turn the baby monitor on when my husband and his friends played cards, drank beer and watched back-to-back football games. After all the guys left, I’d ask my husband what they all talked about and he’d say “nothing.” Nothing? For six hours? I don’t buy it and so I always threatened to eavesdrop via baby monitor. My husband said all I’d hear is a lot of gas passing.

So tell me: Did you use a baby monitor? What kind? When did you ditch it? Did you ever eavesdrop on anyone or have any funny baby-monitor mishaps?

More great stories from BabyCenter.com:
3 simple holiday cookies to make with your kids
Do you force your baby to nap?
Does working make you a better mom?
9 Hanukkah crafts for kids
Kids birthday parties at home: Yay or Nay?

Source: Flickr User kona99

Buzz Blabber: The Snow White and the Huntsman Trailer Is the Fiercest of Them All

BuzzSugar — Sun, 13 Nov 2011 03:05:20 PST

This week brought the arrival of a few exciting trailers, but nothing was more well received than the debut of Snow White and the Huntsman, featuring Kristen Stewart as a fairy-tale character in peril. You guys had a lot to say about that, and you sounded off on TV as well, like the most recent episode of Glee and why you're watching the new series New Girl. Check out the comments of the week!

The trailer for Snow White and the Huntsman impresses

"This looks so good. I knew Charlize would make a chilling evil queen and Kristen is just so gorgeous." - popculture whore
"The trailer looks amazing. Kristen looks beautiful and Charlize is fantastic. Chris is so handsome. Can't wait." - yellowColor
"I'm really excited about this movie now! The trailer looks great and I think that it's going to be the best one of all the Snow White movies." - ilanac13

Read the the other comments on hot topics after the jump.

Gerard Butler Says Shooting Machine Gun Preacher Made Him Feel Like He Had Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

Shannon Vestal — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 12:13:32 PDT

Gerard Butler stars in this week's new release Machine Gun Preacher as Sam Childers, a man who left a life of crime and drug addiction to devote himself to his children who'd been affected by the violent attacks of the Lord's Resistance Army in the Sudan. Butler, who also serves as executive producer, and his costar Michelle Monaghan, who plays Sam's wife Lynn, chatted with us during a recent press day in San Francisco. They talked about what it was like portraying real people, how Butler prepared for the role, and the difficulties he endured while filming some of the more disturbing scenes in Africa.

Did you know about Sam's story, and what did you think of the title when you heard it?
Gerard Butler: It was my agent who'd heard about it for a long time, and he loved it, was very passionate about it for a long time. He pitched the story to me, so I immediately connected Machine Gun Preacher with a guy who fought for children in the Sudan. I like the [title] Machine Gun Preacher, I think it's very catchy, but I think that it allows the movie to reveal the far deeper, interesting, more complex story. And yet to let people know that it's a crazy ass movie at the same time. He's a crazy ass guy, a hell of a powerful adventurer as well. I didn't know about it before, and [then] I wanted everyone to know about it.

Michelle Monaghan: I mean obviously, I got the script and saw Machine Gun Preacher, and I was intrigued - come on! I was completely inspired when I'd read it. This is definitely a project I wanted to be a part of, and certainly knowing that Gerry was on board to tell his story, as was Marc Forster, only cemented the idea of being a part of it even more.

To find out what else Butler and Monaghan had to say, like how hard it was shooting the violent scenes, just keep reading.

Brad Pitt Watches as Angelina Jolie Accepts Honors at the Sarajevo Film Festival

Allie Merriam — Sun, 31 Jul 2011 11:03:45 PDT

Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt were together in Bosnia yesterday to attend the Sarajevo Film Festival. It was there that Angelina, in Elie Saab, was awarded with the Honorary Heart of Sarajevo distinction during the closing ceremonies. The country is close to her heart, as it was the setting for her upcoming directorial debut The Land of Blood and Honey. While accepting the honor before a clapping crowd, Angelina said, "I will start crying if you don't stop - I told Brad in the car I was afraid I was going to cry. . . I am so honoured to be here at this festival. There is no greater example of the strengths of the artists and the festival that began during the war and grew stronger every year." She also spoke about more personal matters in a recent interview with the Financial Times. Angelina said of her and Brad's six kids, "They are all learning about each other's cultures as well as being proud of their own. So it's not like just the boys get to do the Asian thing. They all have their flags over their beds and their individual pride. . . We owe Vietnam a visit, because Pax is due. Z wants to get back to Africa, and Shiloh too. So everyone takes their turns in their country."

Group Therapy: Are My Fiancé and His Sister Too Close?

Tres Community — Thu, 28 Apr 2011 03:05:00 PDT

This question is from a Group Therapy post in our TrèsSugar Community. Add your advice in the comments!

I feel like I'm overreacting, but I have a very creepy vibe about my fiancé and his sister. He is 26. She is 25. They know very personal stuff about each other - have conversations about people they have slept with . . . They text each other often and always say "I love you." On the phone, they are super cheesy. They will say to each other seriously, "I love you, brother" (my sister and I will say "I love you, sister!" jokingly). I realized early in our relationship that he pretty much kisses his sister's ass. Everything revolves around her. And he said, "When we were little, I was teasing her, and our dad punched me."

Once I brought it up to him that his sister talks to him like he's her boyfriend, he said, "Yeah she probably has a crush on me." Dead serious. Not grossed out or anything. Shortly after we started dating, he was on the phone with her, and she was CRYING, "Why is everything about HER?!" like literally crying because her brother had a girlfriend. He said, "Because I love her and am trying to build a future with her." I was embarrassed for his sister. It was not like some 10-year-old crying because she misses her older brother. His parents and sister still live where he grew up, but my fiancé moved about 10 hours away from them three years ago. I posted pictures on Facebook of a trip we took, and his sister commented on one of them, "You're wearing the hat I got you. Good boy."

He and I got matching tattoos of our lucky number a few months ago. He literally snuck off and texted his sister, "I got a tattoo!" Really?

For the rest of this girl's dilemma, keep reading!