We know too much about our celebrities nowadays. That’s obvious and this isn’t a new phenomenon. The affairs of celebrities have made headlines as long as people have walked the red carpet, but, in many ways, haven’t we continued to regress as a society in this respect? It seems we now know more than ever and we won’t stop until we get even more.
One of the most prolific targets in recent years has been Kristen Stewart ever since signing on to play Bella in the Twilight franchise, a decision I’m sure she would admit behind closed doors she wishes she never made. Yes, the money and fame have followed her since signing, but to go along with it has been the task of living up to playing the girl every Twihard fangirl wants to be as she not only got to play the girl that falls in love with the sparkling vampire Edward Cullen, but also carried on a clandestine relationship with the man that played him… Robert Pattinson.
Now, only months away from the release of the final film in the Twilight franchise, Stewart was caught cheating with her Snow White and the Huntsman director Rupert Sanders, a husband and father of two children. The hammer fell and even the admins at one of Stewart’s fansites abandoned their favorite star (a week later someone filled their shoes).
Everyone was discussing the scandal to the point even the Associated Press felt it was necessary to post an article headlined “Stewart’s affair unlikely to harm ‘Twilight’ take“. Yes young ones, rest easy, all is moving forward as planned.
Yet, it seems the Hollywood overlords may have lost their confidence in Stewart. After all, the only reaction is an over-reaction… right?
Word out of The Hollywood Reporter is that while plans remain for a sequel to Snow White and the Huntsman, it will center on Chris Hemsworth‘s Huntsman and “Kristen Stewart will not be invited to return if the follow-up goes forward.” Oh wow, has she become damaged goods? Let’s see…
Wait, wait… Hold up! Breaking news two hours later, the Los Angeles Times is contradicting THR‘s report, citing a Universal source saying “Stewart’s Snow White could still be a character in that film.” Ugh, you can almost see the strings. I just wonder, does the media go asking for this or does an “anonymous” source drop it on their desk because this is blatant bullshit.
By getting Kim Masters at The Hollywood Reporter to post that article and then by getting Amy Kaufman and Gina McIntyre at the Los Angeles Times to post there’s, Universal, Stewart’s agents or whomever is pulling the strings has managed to create the talking points and if you read closely, there aren’t any facts to be found.
The Hollywood Reporter quotes a Universal source saying, “The studio is currently exploring options to continue the franchise.” Wait, seriously? They’re considering it? Wow, we now know nothing. Masters adds, in her own words, “It is not clear why the decision to move forward without Stewart was made.” Thanks for that, you’ve now added even more nothing.
Over at the Times all they say is the project is moving forward with Hemsworth’s Huntsman as the lead character, which has always been the plan since before Snow White even hit theaters, and that Stewart “could” return with absolutely no attributable quote to be found. So what have we learned class? Nothing, but one thing is for certain, both the Hollywood Reporter and Times are getting much needed online traffic and Universal is getting free publicity as well as gauging the temperature of the audience as they are also making their plans on how to market the less-than-a-month-away DVD and Blu-ray release of Snow White and the Huntsman, a disc that was announced the same days as the Stewart and Sanders scandal blew up. Coincidence?
Luckily for those pulling the strings, the storm has risen, and it is already paying dividends…
It didn’t take long for the appropriate sexist angle to come up. Imagine if it were true that Stewart had been bounced from the project. Word is Sanders is still under consideration to direct. It seems unfathomable Universal would be so dumb as to pull such a sexist move. Would they really take a female-driven franchise, remove the female, center it on the male lead and keep the male half of the guilty party on to direct? It’s so ridiculous it’s a layup for Seth and Amy’s “Really?” segment on “Saturday Night Live.”
Oh, wait, could it just be more talking points? Could that be why neither the Reporter or Times say Sanders is a sure thing, but he’s yet to be ruled out? Is it at all possible they want you to scream “SEXIST!” only to then turn around and praise Universal when they replace Sanders (an unnecessary cog in the Snow White mechanism) with someone else? Hmmmmmmm…
We live in an era of instant fire and brimstone and Hollywood’s legions of publicity agents and marketers have found it to be the easiest time for public manipulation. Stories drummed up out of nowhere. Endless “shortlists” of names vying for a role in a movie. Names like Eastwood, Snipes and Ford thrown to the masses for a potential sequel before the most recent film has even hit theaters. You don’t think someone is gauging the meter to see how the public is responding?
Trafficking in this kind of content has become the way the Internet survives (and I freely admit I’m not innocent). It’s the reason blogs have upwards of 20 posts a day as they throw stories at the screen to see which one gets the most tweets, likes and plus ones. 24 hours later, rinse and repeat.
For example, remember when Lionsgate was supposedly The Hunger Games: Catching Fire? Yeah, how’d that work out? You got Francis Lawrence, but no matter, at least you were talking about it, just as we’re now talking about this.
By the way, that Snow White sequel, probably not getting made, but you have to sell those DVDs and Blu-rays for the first one don’tcha?
UPDATED: A Universal rep has told Jeff Wells of Hollywood Elsewhere, “[The Hollywood Reporter] story is not accurate. [The studio is] pursuing a Huntsman spinoff but exploring ALL options to continue the franchise.” The rep adds, “Nobody has ditched Kristen, no directors attached, no decisions made other than to look at a Huntsman sequel/spin-off.”
It’s in Universal’s best interest to quiet the masses as quickly as possible, but in this case I think what they’re saying is really all there is to this story, which is to say nothing has changed since it was first discussed long before Snow White and the Huntsman even hit theaters.
