New Grit

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Yesterday we revealed some of People Magazine's "Sexiest Men Alive" for 2010, but they forgot one, Josh Brolin. Anyone who doesn't think Josh Brolin is not one of the hottest guys on the planet needs his/her head examined.
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Brolin's new movie, "True Grit", opens next month, and we're hoping it might bring Brolin his much deserved first Oscar. The movie itself, directed by The Coen Brothers, is so highly anticipated, that literally every film critic which normally predicts the outcome of the upcoming Oscars is putting their predictions on hold until they see "True Grit". If "True Grit" lives up to expectations, it could crush at the next Academy Awards.
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To read our ongoing posts about "True Grit" over the past year, go to the Labels List at the right of this page and click on "Movies - 'True Grit'".

Would It Kill You To Do a Couple of Sit-Ups?

Happy 41st Birthday to Gerard Butler. Butler is one of those rare Hollywood types who is running the risk of making us fall out of love with him as fast as we fell in love with him. The guy's been making movies since 1997, and we sort of remember him in "Dracula 2000" and "Reign of Fire", but for some reason, we didn't really notice him until he sang and charmed us as The Phantom in "The Phantom of the Opera" in 2004. But then, two years later came his career-making role in "300", and thanks to his massive pecs and ripped abs, he gave new meaning to the old gladiator movies of the 1950's and sparked a million new fantasies in the minds of young gay boys everywhere. For a very short time, Gerard Butler was sex personified; quite simply put, the guy was hot.

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From that point on, Butler was on a roll; he followed "300" with our truly favorite Gerard Butler movie, "RocknRolla". God, that was a great movie! But it was also during Butler's post-"300" career that the wheels almost completely came off. Despite being red hot after "300" and having his choice of probably any movie role he wanted, he made one disastrously bad romantic comedy after another: "The Ugly Truth", "P.S. I Love You" and worst of all, "The Bounty Hunter". Pee-Yew. Just thinking about those three movies makes us want to vomit. He famously lost his "300" body pretty quickly; he's appeared on beaches in the past couple of years looking like a fat, bloated baby whale, but did he lose his balls at the same time he lost his abs? Come on, Gerard, put down the tub of Ben and Jerry's, get into shape, and stop with the awful chick flicks. In the classic words of Sharron Angle, "Man up!"; make a movie that not only gets your career back on track but one that guys can watch without cringing.

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He might already be taking our advice. Next up for Butler is "Coriolanus", a military-themed movie with Ralph Fiennes. Look at the photo still from the upcoming movie, Butler looks like a man again! Maybe dating man-killer, (and career-killer), Jennifer Aniston didn't completely destroy his career after all; let's hope not.

R-E-S-P-E-C-T

We've had a long-standing love affair with Stephen Dorff for many years, and it looks like he might finally be about to receive the love and affection from Hollywood he's deserved for such a long time. Dorff's appearance in the current issue of VMan Magazine underscores his "comeback", which has been signalled by his critically acclaimed role in the current movie "Somewhere". There's even talk of an Oscar nomination.
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It must feel strange for the 37 year old actor who has toiled for so many years in t.v. and films, to suddenly reap mainstream acceptance, especially after staking out the persona of someone who would do anything for a role, sometimes even venturing into the territory of the bizarre. Dorff got his first role at the age of 12 in "The New Leave it To Beaver" t.v. series in 1985, and he first got our attention four years later when he played one of Becky's boyfriends on "Roseanne". Dorff was such a good-looking kid, and even then, you could tell that he had "something".
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(dorff in 2003's
"cold creek manor")
.Dorff started making movies in the early 90's, and in 1996, he shocked more than a few people by brazenly playing the famous Candy Darling in the independent film, "I Shot Andy Warhol". To play gay or a transvestite in the mid-1990's was still a risky thing to do for an up-and-coming actor, but it was almost Dorff's way of holding up his middle finger to established convention, and we loved him for it. In the same year, Dorff co-starred in "Blood and Wine" opposite major heavyweights Jack Nicholson, Michael Caine and Judy Davis, and he more than held his own with the others as a serious dramatic actor. From that point on, Dorff's career should have vaulted onto the "A-List", but for some reason, it just didn't happen. He did star in one big hit, "Blade", in 1998, but after that success, Dorff's movie choices got stranger and stranger, and sometimes even bizarre. He got some notice for "Cold Creek Manor" in 2003, but mostly because he was just so fucking sexy with his shirt off.
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And then, in 2005, Dorff really went for it, appearing frontally nude with a semi-erection in "Shadowboxer". That's the kind of career choice that rarely turns out well, and it seemed to cement the idea in the minds of many in Hollywood that Dorff was a lost cause. Fast forward through four more years of bad B-movies and unsuccessful t.v. series, and then, finally, in 2009, Dorff won a small role in the Johnny Depp vehicle, "Public Enemies". Dorff's participation in the film was minor, but he was good. And then came the role in Sofia Coppola's "Somewhere" which will, hopefully, put Dorff back in the good graces of Hollywood and keep him on our movie screens for a long time to come. The guy is just too good of an actor to waste any longer. Welcome back, Stephen Dorff!

Page Six Guy

Today we're having a rare repeat appearance of one of our Page Six Guys. We love Conrad, a New York-based model; he's got a body that would have Michelangelo's David scurrying to the gym for a quick disco pump, but there's something really intriguing and unique about that face and those eyes. Wow. To see our previous photos of Conrad click here.

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If you'd like to nominate someone to be a Page Six Guy, let us know.

The Real Zelig

Today is probably turning out to be a happy 42nd birthday for one of our favorite actors, Sam Rockwell; he's generating Oscar buzz for his role in the new movie "Conviction".
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It's about time this guy had a movie which really put him on the map. To say that he's had a quirky acting career is a major understatement... maybe because, well, let's face it, Sam Rockwell is quirky. You never know what bizarre character he's going to play next; when he has a new movie, you just have to hold your breath and hold on. He's played a crazed killer, a sex-addicted con man who makes money by letting people rescue him from choking and an astronaut who encounters himself while on the moon. Rockwell has been in some major hit movies, i.e. "The Green Mile", "Frost/Nixon", and his acting skills are solid, so many would wonder why the guy doesn't play more mainstream roles and finally achieve the mainstream star status that seems easily within his reach. But we think that what makes the guy so interesting, (and interesting to top directors), is that he goes out of his way to stay in the shadows of stardom, and is willing to play the most bizarre of characters. But Hollywood has a funny way of taking over some actors' lives, and sometimes stardom comes, whether an actor wants it or not. And we're guessing that bigger stardom is about to be foisted on Sam Rockwell, whether he likes it or not. His last movie, "Moon", won him a slew of acting award nominations, and his newest movie, "Conviction", in which he co-stars with Hilary Swank and Minnie Driver, might just bring him his first Oscar nomination. But whatever happens, we hope that Rockwell will continue to seek out the stranger roles, whatever you think of him, you have to admit, he's incredibly interesting, he always keeps you guessing, and he's just the type of actor that's needed to keep Hollywood from boring itself, and us, to death.
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Our favorite Sam Rockwell movie was 2002's
"Confessions of a Dangerous Mind" in which he played Chuck Barris, the game show producer and self-confessed CIA spy. Rockwell was at the peak of his powers in that role; he could be completely normal one minute, and then the next minute have you wondering whether or not he'd completely flipped his noggin. He really should have gotten an Oscar nod for that role, but it's okay, we're predicting that his fireplace mantle won't be devoid of a naked golden man much longer.

Why Does This Never Happen When We're Stuck in Traffic?

When Sam Rockwell was younger, he flirted for awhile with playing roles which allowed him to show off his physical gifts. In 1997's "Lawn Dogs", he had a beautifully toned body, and in the clip below, you can see that he wasn't afraid to show it off. Thank goodness.

Franco Does It Again

James Franco is, by far, one of our favorite people here at East Village Afternoon. He's a gifted actor, incredibly charming and is not afraid to speak out for gay rights, including gay marriage. Well, our boy has done it again, and we love it. He's the coverboy, er, girl, for Candy Magazine, the world's first magazine "completely dedicated to celebrating transvestism, transexuality, cross dressing and androgyny, in all its manifestations." Franco was shot by the infamous and outrageous Terry Richardson.

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Good for you, James! And can't you just imagine all the cold sweats that are breaking out in the homes of confirmed heteros like Ryan Seacrest and Tom Cruise at the thought that being open about one's sexuality might become the norm in Hollywood?

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Unfortunately for us, Franco is not gay. We know this because he's stated the fact in several interviews, and unlike others in his industry, we believe him at his word. When you're as open as Franco about your life, there's not much reason to hide something like that. But it's okay, every community needs best friends, and we couldn't ask for a more likable hag than Franco. Just don't tell Kathy Griffin that we're cheating on her, okay?

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(to read our other posts about Franco, click on "Actors - James Franco" in the Labels list)

Guys We Love

A big Saturday morning shout-out to Utah native, Eric Turner, one of our favorite guys. Eric is a fitness model and club promoter, and he runs the site, www.hotbodsquad.com, where you can find some of the best fitness and training advice on the web. And although Eric sports one of the best bodies in the country, no doubt, we are most charmed by his fun, energetic personality and a dazzling smile that must be the envy of every dentistry ad in the country.

 

Guys We Love

Here at East Village Afternoon, in our exploration of everything pop culture, we come across dozens of great looking guys everyday, but few with the talent, charm and smarts of Reeves Watson. Watson is an Atlanta-based model and singer who's great to look at, no doubt, but we really enjoy his devastatingly funny and insightful one line quotes on Facebook on everything from politics to pop princesses. With Reeves, you might come for the abs, but you stay for the whole package. We love this guy! Check out more of Reeves at www.ReevesWatson.com and www.Facebook.com/ReevesWatson.

Guys We Love

In the current issue of GQ Magazine, after we finished ogling Oguchi Onyewu, (see post below), on the very next pages were a fashion editorial featuring a model at whom we kept staring and thinking, "Where have we seen this guy before?" And then we realized the model is Mark Salling, the actor who plays "Puck" on the mega-popular Fox t.v. show, "Glee". We were wondering when someone would notice that this guy is really good looking.
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Mark doesn't get a lot of lines on "Glee", but the ones he gets are killer. In one episode, when asked what Madonna represented to them, the club members wrote, "singer", "inspiration", "legend", etc., while Puck wrote "MILF Hall of Fame". In last week's episode, each club member was asked to write down his/her life goal. Some wrote "singer", "teacher", "help solve global warming", and Puck wrote "threesome". So funny. We love this guy.

Guys We Love

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Diego of Wilhelmina Models
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Guys We Love

Happy 32nd Birthday to one of the sexiest men in Hollywood, James Franco. Franco is an immensely talented and charismatic actor, but have you noticed how he rarely plays the lead in his films? He's almost always relegated to supporting roles and character parts. What's up with that? This guy has leading man stuff written all over him. Come on, Hollywood, we want to see this boy get the girl... or the boy.
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James was recently outspoken about his support for gay marriage, another reason why we absolutely love this man.
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(Click on "Actors-James Franco" in the Labels list to read the post.)
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James was fantastic in "Milk" with Sean Penn, and he can currently be seen in Tina Fey and Steve Carell's movie, "Date Night". Upcoming projects include "Howl" in which he plays the infamous Alan Ginsberg, and a small role, (again!) in Julia Robert's next big one, "Eat Pray Love".
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Recently another actor, Ryan Phillipe, announced that he was confused by life, that he thought he'd understand more about life than what he does at his current age. This coupled with the slew of other young Hollywood types who don't seem to know what to do with their lives other than screw them up made us wonder recently, and made us want to ask them all a question, "Have you ever tried reading a book?" James Franco is obviously not heading down the same path as he just been accepted into Yale University's Ph.D. program in English. A dummy this boy is not.
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Smart and sexy. Wow. Is there anything more attractive than that? Take notes, Ryan Phillippe.