LZ Sunday Paper Newsletter: The "Blue Steel" Edition
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Readers,
Merry Christmas and a continued Happy Hanukkah! and don't forget, Kwanzaa begins on Friday!
Newsflash: I was the Executive Producer on a comedic world leader assassination movie!
No, not "The Interview."
Can you think of a different funny movie where a character, played by a big star, is told to assassinate a foreign head of state?
No, not "Team America," the 2004 raunchy, satirical comedy from SouthPark's Trey Parker and Matt Stone which featured a puppet version of Kim Jong-Il. (Paramount was possibly going to opportunistically put this 10-year old movie into select theaters on Christmas Day, but now it isn't going to do that.)
Here are a couple of more hints.
The assassination plot is revealed in minute one of the film, even before the opening credits roll
The assassination plot is revealed by Karl Lagerfeld (yes, really!), to a very famous American designer (well, a very famous fictional designer named Jacobim Mugatu)
Later in the film, the assassination is graphically depicted during a fantasy/brainwashing sequence that takes place in a Day Spa (if by "graphically" we mean a feather-stuffed fake Malaysian Prime Minister's head being ripped off a body and Will Ferrell licking an oversized Lollipop).
Did you guess?
Yes, it's ZOOLANDER! Here is Derek (Ben Stiller), who has been brainwashed by Mugatu (Will Ferrell), after he has gotten a massage by a very masculine female massage therapist (Andy Dick), under the influence of a very glamorous but tough Russian taskmistress (Milla Jovovich):
This really was a star-studded cast of world-famous actors and just-as-famous actual people from the world of fashion, music, and design.
In case you haven't seen the film in the 13 years since its release and actually believe it matters whether or not you know the plot points of a broad comedy, SPOILER ALERT:
Derek actually does not kill the Prime Minister of Malaysia. Because Hansel (Owen Wilson) battles the Evil DJ (Justin Theroux) while Derek finally manages to Turn Left on the Runway when he stops Mugatu's Ninja Star Belt Buckle with his never-before-seen model "look," Magnum.
Certainly "Zoolander" will go down in history as the greatest Male Super-Model Comedy of all time. However, I think that the 1983 Joan Collins vehicle/TV Movie "The Making Of a Male Model" is a close second. By the way, the long-rumored Zoolander sequel appears to be finally in the works! Fun-fact: it is being written by The Evil DJ himself. I have no doubt that Zoolander 2 will most definitely round out the Top 3 best Male Model movies of all time.
Should Ben Stiller and team happen to want to continue the Malaysian Prime Minister sub-plot in the sequel, they will not be able to reprise Woodrow W. Asai in the role, as he passed away four years after the film was made. Mr. Asai had a long, but relatively acting-free lifetime. While devoid of any actual speaking lines, the "Zoolander" role appears to have been the highlight, according to the IMDb.
When we made Zoolander I distinctly remember wondering aloud if it was a good idea to actually, even if fictionally and comedically, portray the assassination of the actual leader of an actual country, even if everything turned out okay in the end. I was booed down by the powers that be'ed, that much I can tell you.
Truth be told, in "Zoolander" the assassination plot was premised differently than "The Interview." The Prime Minister of Malaysia was depicted as a benevolent and beloved leader who was trying to raise the minimum wage in Malaysia (thus thwarting Mugatu's profit margin). So halting the assassination was actually an act of heroism.
Zoolander was conceived of and produced pre-9/11. But just. It was actually released Friday September 28, 2001, 2 1/2 weeks after 9/11, when the Modern Age Of Terrorism was ushered in.
There have been lots of other comedies where death is invoked or even shown. But "The Interview" is no "Weekend At Bernie's" (see also: National Lampoon's "Vacation," "Fargo," and "Don't Tell Mom The Babysitter's Dead).
I don't know if any of this has much to do with today's situation. But just to say that, having made "Zoolander" and lots of other movies and television shows, I can imagine film-makers and I can imagine the Studio folks and the kinds of discussions and decisions that seem impossible to understand from the outside. But, they become just day-in-day-out kind of almost-regular business decisions…if you're in a unique, very weird, creative, ego-, art-, and profit-driven business, that is.
Every week, the team here at The Sunday Paper is thankful that very few decisions of any kind need to be made. Should there be a graphically themed masthead? Maybe. Should I choose only 15-20 articles out of about 8000 that could work? Definitely. Should we plot to satirically and hilariously murder a world leader, even a despotic one? Not this week. Will Mailchimp unhilariously screw me and not deliver the Newsletter? Quite Possibly.
If you do receive it, you will know more about smart women who do smart-- and sometimes not so smart-- things in business, digital, tech, media, music, tv, film, fashion, sports, and culture. You won't be able to see "The Interview" on Wednesday, but you can have a laugh, every week, here.
Email me at LZSundayPaper.com or tweet me at @LZSundayPaper tif you have a comment, see something interesting, or want to sign someone up.
Thank you, and see you next week, the last Sunday of 2014!
LZ
THE PIC(K) OF THE WEEK:
Why The Sony Hack Is A Feminist Issue via Gender Focus
"[Aaron Sorkin] writes in an email to columnist Maureen Dowd that 'year in and year out, the guy who wins the Oscar for Best Actor has a much higher bar to clear than the woman who wins Best Actress.' ”
The Sony Hack, Amy Pascal, and Gender and Power In Hollywood via Indiewire via Forbes
"This is not just a wage gap. This is a power gap."
NEWS & INSIGHTS:
That Time Obama Called On Only Women At A Press Conference via The Washington Post
"The fact is, there are many women from a variety of news organizations who day-in day-out who do the hard work of covering the President of the United States'"
Why Isn't Elizabeth Warren Running For President via The New Yorker
"With her name recognition and army of supporters nationwide, many of them young and tech-savvy, she could quickly raise money and put together an improvised campaign operation."
American Apparel Counting On New CEO Paula Schneider To Solve 'Woman Problem' via Forbes
“To them, [Charney's misogyny] is worse than buying from somewhere using sweatshop labor."
Rent The Runway Raises Another $60 Million To Open More Stores via Fashionista.com
"We'd guess it's fairly costly to be in a near-constant state of adding, cleaning and retiring inventory."
Why U.S. Women Are Leaving Jobs Behind via The New York Times
"Women are more likely to say that not working has improved their romantic relationships, while men are more likely to say those relationships have suffered."
Wall Street Mothers, Stay-Home Fathers via The New York Times
"The number of women in finance with stay-at-home spouses has climbed nearly tenfold since 1980."
Camille Cosby's Sad Request To The Press via The Washington Post
"…Cosby is looking for reassurance that she has not been deceived, that her husband was not one person with her and another one entirely when he was with other people."
Bill Cosby, The Mistress He Dumped, and The Awkward Dinner He Shared With Her and Her Furious Mother via The Daily Mail
"…you look at the amount of work that may have to go into it … for example, sex with a young beautiful woman who has plenty of energy."
Brandy Melville: Instagram's First Retail Success via Bloomberg Businessweek
" 'I like the look of the people that work there.' "
School's Discipline For Girls Differs By Race and Hue via The New York Times
"…black girls in public elementary and secondary schools nationwide were suspended at a rate of 12 percent, compared with a rate of just 2 percent for white girls."
Wild Is A Bad Movie and Reese Witherspoon Is Bad In It via The Gawker
"Cheryl gets through the trek with the help of many male strangers who provide her sustenance and advice and don't want to have sex with her…All in all, a very good feminist message."
Why 2014 Was Pop's 'End Of Men' Moment via Billboard
"Pop music came to a ringing conclusion this year: Girls rule and boys drool."
It's Now More Socially Acceptable For Men To Diet Than Women via New York Magazine
"Men who transform their bodies tend to be celebrated for their dedication to their craft, while women are criticized for glamorizing eating disorders."
12 Female Characters Who Keep Shaving Despite Constant Peril via Buzzfeed
"These brave female characters are survivors of catastrophe who inspire us all to keep shaving, even against the odds"
Video: Confronting Subway Manspreaders via The Gothamist
"Everyone we spoke with was very cordial, and no one used the term "ball sack," which was a welcome surprise."
AND WHAT'S NOT TO LOVE ABOUT:
Feminist 'All About That Bass' Parody 'Bitch In Business' Might Be Better Than The Original via Huffington Post
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The LZ Sunday Paper™ (soon to be registered trademarked and copyrighted) launched at the dawn of 2014. We expose and recirculate interesting content that is about, and frequently by, women in business, with a dose of ultra-relevant culture. We think that culture comes in size high, medium, and low. Our audience for this content is vast and not gender-driven. Every week we expect at least one good laugh. Send suggestions, clips, or names of people you think might enjoy this to LZSundayPaper@gmail.com.
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