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Julie Andrews on the Importance of Princess Culture, Princess Kate, and Her Favorite Roles

Rebecca M Gruber — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 10:32:56 PDT

It's hard not to become giddy when talking about Julie Andrews. The legendary actress's career spans more than 50 years, with multiple generations of families still enjoying her library of work together - from Mary Poppins to The Princess Diaries. What many people don't know is that the 76-year-old Academy Award winner is also the coauthor - with her daughter Emma Walton Hamilton - of more than 20 children's books, including the just-released The Very Fairy Princess: Here Comes the Flower Girl!, part of the "Very Fairy Princess" series.

As far as meeting her in person - well as someone who can still recite virtually every line of The Sound of Music, it's a totally surreal experience. From the beautiful English accent that spoke to me from my favorite films to the fact that she still exudes the authoritativeness of the governesses she played, the experience was almost regal - which is why Andrews is perfectly cast as the spokeswoman for Disney and Target's first National Princess Week, which runs from April 22-28. I met up with the living legend, her daughter, and her granddaughter at a princess-themed tea - feather boas, scepters and all - to discuss the relevance of princesses today, working motherhood, and her favorite roles over the years.

On why playing princesses is really OK:
Julie Andrews: "My personal take on it is that they may be trying on for size what it feels like to be, say, a real lady. [It] perhaps, in some way, helps them find their own identity later in life. I do think fantasy and play of this kind - whatever it is, if you want to play at being a nurse, or if you want to play at being a florist - it's all important and should be allowed, because it would be an awfully sad place if we didn't try on those airs and have fun doing it."

On raising strong, independent, confident women in a culture saturated with princesses:
Emma Walton Hamilton: "Sometimes I think princesses are given an unfair rap. We compiled a list of over 70 contemporary princesses. In doing the research for that, I was reminded once again of the extraordinary work princesses do in the world. The charitable contributions, the causes they champion, the amount of good and service they contribute and provide. I think they're a wonderful example of being strong, feminine, and kind, and I don't think there's anything wrong with that."

On her favorite Disney princess:
Julie Andrews: "Mine has to be, because I've been involved with it, Cinderella. I played Cinderella when I was about 17 years old in England, and then when I came to America it was the first Rodgers and Hammerstein musical they wrote for me. So for me Cinderella has always resonated. And I love the rags to riches, kind of like my own story in a little way."

Keep reading for Andrews's thoughts on Princess Kate, the state of motherhood today, and her favorite role.

Sexy Kristen Stewart on Breaking Dawn Sex Scenes, Not Giving "Away Gems" About Dating Rob

Lauren Turner — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 14:00:00 PDT

Kristen Stewart strikes a seductive pose on the cover of Glamour UK's December issue, which is out Nov. 3. Kristen's currently filming Snow White and the Huntsman in England, but she switched gears to chat with the magazine about next month's big Breaking Dawn Part I release. The actress touched on the racy scenes in the film, and skated over questions about boyfriend Robert Pattinson. Here's more from Kristen in Glamour UK:

On filming sex scenes for Breaking Dawn: "There are two big sex scenes in the two [final] films, and we did them fairly early. It was so weird, it didn’t even feel like we were doing a scene within a Twilight film. I was like, ‘Bella! What are you doing? Wow! What is happening here?!” It was very surreal. It’s funny because in the book, you don’t see anything. It’s everyone’s imagination, so it’s entirely subjective. I hope it’s good!"
On her relationship with Rob: "It’s funny when this question comes up, because I sort of feel like, I don’t really care! People can say whatever they want. [The interest] is totally understandable, but when it’s personal to you, it’s like your life becomes a product, and I’m repelled by that. I don’t like to give away gems that people are gonna be like, Oh my God!’ So I’ll always just shrug it off – in fact, I always find it kind of funny, and not just with Rob."
On her image as awkward from 2007: "That’s a fair assessment. I don’t think there was much behind it other than I was young, not expecting it and trying way too hard to be 'not fake.'"

Emma Stone Looks Fine in Feathers and Talks Her Newfound Fame in Elle

Lindsay Miller — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 15:46:00 PDT

Emma Stone wore a bright and breezy feathered dress during her beachside cover shoot for July's Elle magazine - check out all the amazing pictures and full article on Elle.com. Emma is still rocking her blond hair in the spread, which she dyed for her role as Gwen Stacey in the upcoming The Amazing Spider-Man, but has gone back to red since the pictures were taken. It's not the only transformation that Emma, who picked up a best female performance popcorn statuette for her Easy A role at last weekend's MTV Movie Awards, has undergone this year. She opened up to the glossy about her seemingly overnight change from relative unknown to superstar and how she's handling the transition. Emma wasn't afraid to reflect on what she's learned about life during her whirlwind year, but her signature sense of humor was also on full display during the interview. Here are highlights:

On why her fame feels surreal: “It’s so funny how different life could have been. I went to so many auditions. I remember my audition for Heroes. I went in right after Hayden Panettiere. Now here we are in this rented house. It feels like it just happened.”
On how she's enjoying her success: “These past two years, I’ve stopped having to remind myself to be present, which has been the greatest gift. Because I know it’s so fleeting. I’ll kick my ass later on if I don’t enjoy it right now. But it does make you realize that so much of the joy of it is the journey. The struggle is such a lovely part of it.”
On feeling comfortable in her own skin: “I like to look like a person. It drives me crazy when you see women in movies playing teachers, and they have biceps. It totally takes me out of the movie. I start thinking, 'Wow, that actress playing this part really looks great!'”
On why she won't talk about her former boyfriend, Kieran Culkin: “You have to keep some things sacred."

Photos courtesy Elle

Ryan Scott on Top Chef All-Stars Episode 13

Guest Writer — Thu, 10 Mar 2011 11:00:43 PST

Our favorite food truck chef is back! Owner of 3-Sum Eats and past Top Chef competitor Ryan Scott is here to share his thoughts on last night's Bahamas episode of Top Chef All-Stars. Take it away Chef Scott!Hey guys, you know, I must say, it does feel somewhat surreal watching friends of yours on a show that you were once on. That surreal feeling deepens especially considering these are close friends - people I have cooked with and have nothing but the utmost respect for. For instance, last weekend I was out in Charleston, SC, doing a cooking competition with Carla Hall and then three days later she's on the TV staring back at me as I kick back on the couch with my girlfriend. These are some of my favorite people in the world here, and some serious chefs too.

It can get straight up emotional to watch. There's a whole lot more than just a cooking competition on the line right now - there's integrity, reputation, jobs, families, mortgages. Not to get all sappy on you here folks, but a lot can be won or lost on this show. I don't know y'all (just picked up the y'all in South Carolina, thinkin' about bring it back to the Bay Area) sorry that I'm not as funny right now as I have been in the past, but this stuff is real.

To see more of Scott's thoughtful recap, keep reading.

Taylor Lautner Tells Us He Cried While Watching Breaking Dawn!

Lindsay Miller — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 12:08:54 PDT

We caught up with Taylor Lautner this weekend at the LA press day for his upcoming movie Abduction. Taylor talked with us about his new action role and, of course, Breaking Dawn. At Abduction's red-carpet premiere last Thursday night, Taylor promised that the second-to-last installment in the Twilight saga would bring fans to tears. The actor, who has seen several cuts of the film already, admitted that he wasn't immune to the emotion. In fact, he told us he "definitely" teared up while watching the movie! Stay tuned later this week to check out our full interview with Taylor, where we talk about his costar and rumored real-life girlfriend Lily Collins as well as his impressive stunt work, and watch him in our latest edition of I'm a Huge Fan when it debuts this Wednesday!

PopSugar: I know you said you had the chance to see Breaking Dawn a couple of times and you promised that it's going to make fans cry. Does that mean you teared up a little bit?

Taylor Lautner: Oh yes! Yeah, of course. It's an emotional one. You see the same characters we've grown to know and love in a completely different light than you've seen them before. I mean, it's still part of the same franchise, but I mean it's a completely different movie - and I think that’s going to be exciting for fans to see.

PS: Was there a moment during shooting, or on set, where the finality of everything hit you?

TL: Yeah, definitely. The big moment for me was the second-to-last day of filming, because that was my final scene with Kristen and Rob. It was an emotional scene we were filming, so that really didn't help, but it was tough and it's a very weird feeling to be done filming.

PS: Now, as I'm sure you know by now, Brad Pitt recently said that Sharkboy and Lavagirl is on high rotation in his house. How surreal is that?

TL: It is! I'm trying to picture Brad Pitt in front of his couch watching Sharkboy and Lavagirl right now. It's kind of a funny visual. I'm sure it's because of his kids.

Would You Be Happier If You Never Had to Take Out the Garbage?

Elka Karl — Thu, 10 Mar 2011 12:15:32 PST

Sunset recently profiled a family in Mill Valley, CA, who chose to downsize to a smaller home as well as live a zero-waste lifestyle. You should definitely read the article on Sunset. Take a look at this video as well to get a snapshot of the family's practices, and a pretty surreal image of how much garbage they produce in four months.

Would you be happier if you had this little clutter and garbage in your life? Do you think you could make the switch?

Johnny Depp Talks Playing a Lizard, His Sex-Symbol Status, and Gets a Visit From Justin Bieber at the Rango Press Day

Lindsay Miller — Sun, 13 Feb 2011 08:25:50 PST

Johnny Depp got lots of laughs at the press conference for his new movie Rango in LA yesterday. The actor was joined by his costars, Abigail Breslin and Isla Fisher, as well as director Gore Verbinski at the Four Seasons in Beverly Hills. Johnny plays the movie's title character, a pet lizard who is forced to save the day after a lie gets him in over his head. Johnny admitted that his own kids aren't all that interested in his career, and are far more into Family Guy and Justin Bieber. It turned out that Justin happened to be in the hotel, heard that Johnny mentioned him, and dropped by to say what a huge fan he is in the middle of the press conference! Johnny joked, "What am I going to tell my daughter?" Johnny, who was as gracious and funny as you might expect, also talked about tackling the challenge of playing a reptile and the reason he enjoys making movies for children. He said:

On why he enjoys making kids' movies: "I think kids, in general, as an audience, are the way forward because they’re not sort of sullied by intellectual expectation or this or that. It’s a very pure sort of response to the work, and the great luck that I had, for example before Pirates [of the Caribbean], I had a daughter. And for about four years, all I watched was cartoons. Just cartoons. And I realized at that point the parameters were far away from what we do in sort of normal, everyday movies. You can get away with a lot more. They accept a lot more and they buy it, because they’re free. So for me that was everything in terms of coming up with what Captain Jack would be. I trust kids far more than I do adults. Kids give you their honest opinion. They tell the truth."
On how his own children felt about Rango: "They actually call me the Lizard King, my children, they do. I force them to address me like that. [laughs] It was an odd sort of thing. 'Where you going daddy?' I gotta go to work. 'Well, what are you doing?' Well, I’m playing a lizard. You drop your kids off at school and give them a kiss, and now I gotta go be a lizard. The things I’ve done that my kids are sort of privy to - Willy Wonka - it doesn’t register. They’re far more interested in Family Guy or Justin Bieber. [Someone calls out, 'Are you a Belieber?'] Belieber? I’ve actually never heard that one, and that is my favorite. And you know what? Yes, I am a Belieber. And I shall remain so. "
On how he feels about his sex-symbol status: "Attention is a strange sort of being anyway. If someone appreciates your work, it’s always nice if someone appreciates your work. I’ve never quite understood the other bits, where somehow you’ve been voted some thing for a magazine, and it’s a complete mystery to me. I wake up and I have to look at that head when I brush my teeth every morning and it’s weird, and it’s unpleasant at times, so I don’t know about the attention."

To read the rest of Johnny's interview, just

On what Jack Sparrow has in common with Rango: "I don’t know, I’ve always had an affinity for lizards. I’ve always felt close to them. Feeling somewhat reptilian myself at times. Oddly, I think, Gore might even disagree, but I feel like when we were doing Pirates 1,2,3, at times, when Jack Sparrow had to run, it was this very specific run I wanted. I’d seen this footage of a lizard running across the water and it was the strangest thing I’d ever seen. So whenever we were in that situation, [I'd] get in touch with the lizard. So I actually think that Rango was somehow planted in Gore's brain from that lizard run. When he actually called me and said, "I want you to play a lizard,' I said, 'God, I’m halfway there.'
On his own experience with lying: "I actually tell lies for a living. That’s what acting is, really! I felt, having kids, that I had horrific guilt for many years playing along with the Santa Clause thing, waiting for that moment to arrive. Because you’re never going to bring it up them. They’re going to go…'Hey, you’ve been telling me a lie for my entire life. What are you prepared to do about it?' So yeah, I had horrific guilt and we’re now just on the outskirts of that, so I feel okay. These are lies that society tells you you have to keep these lies going, these myths. So I felt guilty about it. I still do.
On whether he likes making animated films vs. live action: "We’re lazy-at least I am. I’d rather just sit in front of the microphone and do the thing. However, the process that Gore created, this sort of atmosphere that was really, truly ludicrous, just ridiculous. It was like regional theater at its worst. And somehow...[it's] emotion capture. Certain gestures, body language, movements, something you might have done with your eyes…these animators took it and put in there. It was very strange. For Harry Dean Stanton to walk up to me one afternoon…he walks up to me and says, 'This is a weird gig, man.' And I went, 'Yeah.' He had just started and I said, 'Just wait.'"
On how he developed Rango's voice: "Early on, some of the talks that Gore and I had about the character-talk about two grown men, middle-aged men, discussing the possibility of one of them being a lizard. So it starts off on a really surreal note anyway. Finding the voice or finding the character-we talked about when, people in life, they have a tendency to exaggerate or lie…you always notice their voice goes high…that’s kind of where it came from. You imagined the character to be just really like a nervous wreck."

Running With a Pack in the Hood to Coast Relay

Susi May — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 11:18:56 PDT

When invited to run on a friend's team in the mother of all relays, you answer yes and start training immediately. This is how I joined the Van Tramps for the 30th running of the Hood to Coast Relay. I had seen the documentary (here's my review of Hood to Coast, the movie) and was honored to be in the 12-women team named partially after the Von Trapp family singers, immortalized climbing hills in The Sound of Music. But our team name is also a nod to the hours spent in a van, tramping around Oregon between Mt. Hood and the Oregon coast. Silly names and decorated vans are all part of the fun of this endurance relay.

The race starts five miles up the eponymous mountain, winds its way through the city of Portland, OR, before ending 200 miles later at the beachy town of Seaside. The 12-member team is divided equally into two vans. Each member runs three legs of the 36-leg race, with stage lengths ranging from just under four miles to just over eight. The race takes over 24 hours to complete, so all racers have the thrill of running in the dark wearing flashing lights (or vests) and headlamps. In fact, race officials won't let you check in at the starting line without first showing them your safety wear. Nothing like sharing a sweating reflective vest with your teammates. It's bonding!

Learn more race deets after the break.

Kelly Preston Discusses Healing and Baby Benjamin in Health Magazine

Rebecca M Gruber — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 05:31:05 PDT

It's been nine months since Kelly Preston and John Travolta welcomed lil baby Benjamin to their grieving family, and now the mama is speaking out. Appearing on the cover of the September 2011 issue of Health magazine, the actress and mom to Ella, 11, discusses how her religion helped her cope with the couple's son Jett's death two and a half years ago, the joy their new baby brings to their lives, and more. Kelly Preston told Health:

On how she got through the death of her son, Jett: "To be honest, [it was] the Scientology center. I don’t know if I would have made it through without it."

On yearning to be a mom: "I’ve always wanted to be a mother, ever since I was 11 . . . I was doing commercials for thousands of dollars, but I’d still babysit for $3 an hour just because I loved it."

On advice to her former self: "Don’t sweat the small things. Love your kids like it could be the last moment."

On the birth of her son, Benjamin: "We [had been trying] for quite a few years . . . When I found out I was pregnant, I was floored. I’d snuck out of bed and then came back and woke Johnny up in bed. We both started crying. It was wonderful."

On her surreal life with John Travolta: "I’ll be sitting there [in our Florida home] doing something really normal with the kids and then all of a sudden I hear, ‘Whoosh!’ and see the lights of the airplane, and he’s like, ‘Honey, I’m home!"

View 2 Photos ›

Ken Jeong Talks About Being Community's "Pathetic Outsider" and Making His Dreams Come True

Shannon Vestal — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 05:30:00 PDT

Community's Ken Jeong has had a heck of a Summer after starring in two of the highest-grossing movies of the season, The Hangover Part II and Transformers: Dark of the Moon. Now he's about to return to the small screen for a third season of Community as the polarizing Chang, and we had a chance to chat with him at the Summer TCA. He hinted about Chang's different direction and gushed over how much he loves doing the show, how grateful and happy he is, and how people like Todd Phillips and Bradley Cooper have touched his life.

BuzzSugar: You just had two hit movies this Summer - is Community enough for you now?
Ken Jeong: This is the happiest I've been in my career. We just started shooting last Monday, and it was just picking up from where we left off. We're so happy we're coming back for another year. We genuinely love each other. We genuinely love each other's company and I've missed working with the people every day. For me, it's an embarrassment of riches. For me, as a 42-year-old Asian doctor, this is the peak of my career. It won't get any better than this. This is everything I wanted to do and then some. I never ever imagined I would be working this much and being this known. It's because of the fans and because of the people I work with. I'm just so blessed in terms of industry and in terms of the fans.

Buzz: Last year you gave the most impassioned speech at the MTV Movie Awards about that being a high point in your career, especially in light of your wife beating cancer. Are you still feeling that way?
KJ: She's still a doctor, and I used to be a doctor, and all our close friends are doctors. We're like, is this really happening? You can't believe it. We personally live the same lives that we lived years ago when we were physicians. As I say it out loud, it's still surreal. I was happy being the doctor from Knocked Up, alright? That was like, amazing. If that were to be the last thing I'd do, it would be a life well spent in the arts. So to be Mr. Chow and [star in] two Hangovers, a third season of Community and to be in Transformers? Come on, it's ridiculous. It's an embarrassment of riches. And what I like about it is that I really love acting and I feel like I'm getting better at it. That's the important thing; I love what I'm doing, and I'm getting better at the craft. Like I'm improving and naturally pushing myself to do this in a great way. [This is] the best way to sum it up in the last two years: [director] Todd Phillips on Hangover, after I did a scene with Paul Giamatti, said, "I don't know what's happened the past couple years, but you're like a much better actor than you were the first movie." And he goes, "How is that?" I go, "It's because of two seasons of Community." It's just made me a better actor.

To find out what else the actor had to say about Chang and whether Jeong will be back for The Hangover 3, keep reading.