If I had to guess which picture that comment refers to, I'd say this photo of the actress Sarah Paulson.
Scroll here to see more of the Vanity Fair Oscar party photos. It's not just that the lighting brings out the worst, it's that the worst is there to be brought out.
More pics and complaints at "A-listers left fuming and in tears over ‘unforgiving’ Vanity Fair Oscar Party lighting" (NY Post). Monitor your thoughts as you scroll. It might be a miraculous cure for envy. That picture of Heidi Klum has the aura of an ordinary woman in a bleak dressing room realizing this dress is doing her no favors.
Here's the Diane Arbus photo "Child with a toy hand grenade in Central Park, N.Y.C., 1962." I thought of it when I saw this photo from the VF party.
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82 comments:
Walks Red Carpet: Look at me! Look at me!
Sees photos: Don’t look at me! Don’t look at me!
"Gwyneth, stand still, we want to photograph you."
"No, no, this dress? I got to keep moving. These are moving pictures, baby."
She looks fine to me. That must be why I'm not a fashion photographer. She doesn't look young--is that the problem?
Those photographs are like what some people do at the prom. We did not do that at my prom. My prom was rocking!
Those photographs are so still they are like death photos. Like photographs from the 20th century and nobody is alive anymore. Like people have to stand perfectly still while it takes the camera a few minutes to suck in enough light. Instead of "cheese!" they yell "freeze!"
I think the problem is that the photographs are obviously staged and artificial.
Arbus is my favorite photographer. To get the shot of the kid with the hand grenade she kept pestering him to pose different ways until he finally had an angry meltdown and produced the winning photo that you see. I hung out with some actors and actresses in grad school - they were very fucked up people. My theory is that method acting fucks with them to the point that they forgot who they originally were.
"A Diane Arbus character"...I want to see the photographs that look like Weegee took them.
From the article, "Formerly welcomed B-listers like media reporters and TV stars were suddenly persona non grata." I am not really aware of the Hollywood pecking order, but I find it hard to believe any media reporter could qualify as a B-lister.
While, I have sympathy for some celebrities who get unflattering photos taken of them when they are just out and about living normal lives, I do not really in this instance. While I won't say going to a party like this is an act of aggression it is an act of competition. Celebrities go to parties like this to be seen, to be seen by the right people, and to be seen by the right people in the right light, no pun intended.
Are we sure they aren't Daguerreotypes?
old people..
i'd say something, but some old people here would yell at me
There needs to be something said about taste. These actors are people who are paid to read lines written by other people, and act as if they are that other person. I suspect many of them have not fully developed themselves, or certainly have not developed a sense of good taste. 'Outrageous' does not equate to good taste.
Affairs like this seem to be a playground for designers to shock the world with their experimenting. The designers don't worry about how they look. They are designers. They think differently. We expect they'll push the envelope. But their clients are parading around in costumes that are the most inner thoughts of those designers, and frankly...not one person on this planet would choose most of those pieces to wear around their city.
That said, there were some classy outfits in the collection. As for the photography- it was great. Lighting was exceptional. Caught them as they are.
Althouse said…
It's not just that the lighting brings out the worst, it's that the worst is there to be brought out.
“The fault, dear Brutus, is not in the lighting
But in our stars, that we are underlings”
Klum's picture makes her look twice her weight. I saw her being interviewed on the red carpet and she looks nothing like that. Almost like the pic was photoshopped or just crammed into the wrong size image box.
Sarah Paulson is 51. Her pic makes her look like a perfectly dignified 51yo woman. Her schtick isn't really glamour anyway - she mostly plays unbalanced villainesses on American Horror Story. And she's a lesbian, married to a gal 20 years older than her. Why does she care what she looks like?
I liked Amy Madigan's Oscars outfit. Without the weird makeup from her movie, she automatically looked 100% better. And then she just threw on a suit.
Anna Wintour herself had to award the prosthetics Oscar, without her trademark sunglasses (you'd think they'd come in extra handy on a brightly lit stage, but whatevs). She looked her age. What's the big deal? CC, JSM
My art teacher said the camera doesn't add 10-pounds, it shows people how they really are. In real life, people look better because our brains filters out the uglier and fatter features.
Klum's photo looks like an intentional fisheye/distortion effect was added. No one has that bad of taste, let alone a pro like her.
Many people get competitive and catty around models. They look hard and judge when seeing them in the flesh "She's not that beautiful without the makeup."
It could have been a fine photo shoot, and then the photographer or whoever got possession of the photos went wild when editing.
I thought the lighting was just fine. Who cares if one woman was upset. She’s no beauty to begin with.
…clearly actors are all so over with the body positivity thing. That was for other people anyways…the light is too bright and too cool. no backdrop either. Sarah Paulsen looks good I think. It’s showing too much of the decay what is usually covered up I guess…
Good for Heidi. A German hausfrau should have chest hair.
Looking at the photos, I will say that Timothée Chalamet has apparently entered Twink-Death.
The people Arbus photographed weren't "characters" on a TV show.
It's very hard for a young, beautiful woman to disguise the fact that she's a young beautiful woman. If a woman is not so young and not so beautiful., it takes a certain amount of artistry to project a flattering image......That's not a flattering picture of Heidi Klum, but she's still a knockout. That picture of Sarah Paulson might be a win for her. There's something haunting about it. She stands out and she has succeeded in attracting attention to herself........Movie stars and members of the royal family are not given leave to complain about any problems in life except cancer.
Paulson doesn't look bad in an older-looking-than-she-really-is sort of way, but she looks wildly and perennially unhappy and harsh. Plus, the lighting looks like a slightly brighter version of cubicle fluorescent, which makes everyone's skin tone look corpse-like. The latter of these is on Vanity Fair.
Hollywood needs to focus on making better movies. Terrible nominees this year. My “Frankenstein, Part II” would have won going away. Brilliance and genius can’t be denied.
That photo of Sarah Paulson is reminiscent of Klaus Nomi
https://youtu.be/nKYJ4ppgGKY?si=tCICJwJFUUgQdyxT
I stll remembef paulson when the reivers got her in serenity
And:
https://youtube.com/shorts/aX9tXj-FLVE?si=gu9Zx_8lqQmTRJw7
AI answers: "The light has gone out of our lives" is a famous phrase from a speech by Jawaharlal Nehru, India's first Prime Minister, on January 30, 1948, following the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi. It signified a profound loss for the nation“
Maybe the loss of the Reiners.
It allowed him to takeover and found a dynasty
This is why the Pentagon has banned press photographers -- because of their unflattering’ photos of Pete Hegseth.
Klum would look just fine if you only get that dress off her.
Judging by the NY Post pictures amy wintour can't complain about the lighting. But then sunglasses will do that.
Fran Dressler wouldn't look good no matter what the lighting. Oooff. She's a perfect example of a mediocre talent hoisted on the American public when you had a narrow range of choices.
Gwyneth Paltrow's dress was inspired by Sharon Stone in Basic Instinct.
Discuss.
If i was doing a remake of Basic Instinct, I would call it Basic Instinct 2: Side Boob.
Also, I got the shock of my life when I rewatched the clip.
Newman. You magnificent bastard.
Now I want to write a term paper about Jerry, Newman, and the Politics of Panties.
How much better would that scene be if it she was Elaine, and Jerry, George, Cosmo and Newman were the cops.
She's not dumb
She's just glum
Because
That's Amy Klum.
She looks a little desperate
Die on an airbus.
So have they identified the perp? This lighting guy may be the worst Hollywood hiring decision since the armorer for that Alec Baldwin movie where he wound up putting a hole in the director.
They should be more concerned about the photo showing how they trashed the Dolby Theater.
If I had to guess which picture that comment refers to, I'd say this photo of the actress Sarah Paulson.
In poor lighting, a member of The Academy has a name. Her name is Sarah Paulson.
Her name is Sarah Paulson.
Her name is Sarah Paulson.
Her name is Sarah Paulson.
Her name is Sarah Paulson.
If it's any consolation, the movies they were there to recognize sucked even worse.
That is not a toy hand grenade. It may be an inert hand grenade. It may be a model of a hand grenade. But it was not designed to be a toy with that metal spoon, spring, and pin, even in 1962.
Artificial Illumination (AI)
Affirmative Perspective (AP)
I don't like Ms. Klum's dress but she otherwise looks great.
Itsalll digital so they could have reviewed and done over
Not a toy grenade? An image fit for narrating a handmade tale. No Comment.
Ocean, must your antisemitism extend to critiquing Jewish women on their looks? Fran DRESCHER is a perfectly fine woman. Also was the president of SAG during their big labor fight. She is from the last generation of talent that went to camera with the body and face they had: comediennes, singers, etc. Even the sex symbols of that time had their original unimproved bodies. Nothing wrong with her at all. CC, JSM
Such problems! My heart aches for them...
Well, it wasn't a total disaster; at least Guiducci got in some canoodlin' with his boyfriend at the bar.
Yea she looks good, peak drescher was 1978 saturday night fever
Klum looks good
Hollywood stopped caring about beauty, or as W.C. Fields called it, "feminine pulchritude," a while ago, just watch movies from the '90s, when female beauty was part of the deal. Male beauty, on the other hand, is still a strong priority.
Reminds me of one of my favorite aphorisms: "Stupid people, playing stupid games, winning stupid prizes." Right up there with "not my monkey, not my circus." Both so often applicable.
This has to be the homeliest group of movie stars ever assembled.
I would not die on the Fran Drescher hill. That voice, oof.
But I would die on the Gal Gadot hill. Four babies! That is one hot mama. My favorite Israeli. If she ran for office, I would vote illegally for her. First, I'd sneak into Israel, which is not easy. And then I'd vote illegally for her. More than once.
Klum’s dress was a gesture of goodwill to Goodwill.
I’ve always thought Fran Drescher was a piece of ass. But I’m just some dumb redneck who didn’t know the Jews controlled the world till I was 52. Well that’s what SOME people say. I’ve never figured out how that works.
Ya don’t gotta listen to her Saint Croix!
Perhaps on mute, the cone of silence
Are these the same celebs who were cackling and pointing at the extreme hi-def photographic hellscape that accompanied the Susie Wiles profile?
Sarah Paulson is/was Holland Taylor's girlfriend. She's growing into generic lesbian style. Don't blame the photographer.
ImTay, yes, body positivity plus the tendency to hire Brits (see eg Florence Pug, I mean Pugh) has made the pendulum swing back a bit. Hasn't stopped all the face work, though. CC, JSM
Maybe Sarah Paulson would have shown better judgment by avoiding wearing a dress by a French design house whose name translates as "fecal matter."
The Oscar fashions seemed a little toned down in general this year, but in keeping with recent tradition, good judgment was in short supply.
Hand grenade kid is war torn Europe , nothing left to lose, facing friendly troops telling him to put it down, everything will be ok.
Pretty sure souvenir grenades were not un-common. Kid prob took it from grandpa's desk.
Do photographers photograph characters, or subjects?
We wouldn't say that a portrait painter paints characters, would we?
Yep.I had occasion to remark a few days ago that most "Hollywood Beauty" is the result of good makeup and excellent lighting. I've done a few fashion shoots, and it takes a lot of experience to imagine how a particular face will look to the studio camera. One time the simple change of reversing a couple of reflector "umbrellas" made the critical difference.
@Leland and @FullMooon on hand grenades.
Real metal surplus grenades casing were routinely available -- as decorator items and as desk jokes ("Take One" written on the pin tag). As the chemical contents are the dangerous part, they were largely ignored. They are still available many places.
David Koresh, the guy who died by fire along with his followers during the Texas BATF raid, drew attention for buying grenade casings by the box. Hundreds of them. They were empty decorator items at the time of purchase, and apparently functional during the raid.
As a metal pipe and two caps from a hardware store serves about the same purpose...oh well...
"I had occasion to remark a few days ago that most "Hollywood Beauty" is the result of good makeup and excellent lighting."
Also a lot of self-discipline to stay slim and in shape (except for Klum).
If a kid brandished a hand grenade today, Child Protection Services would put him in foster care prior to the parents judicial .hearing.
"didn’t know the Jews controlled the world"
Your problem with understanding events is that you conflated "the Jews" with the cult that is currently in charge of Israel. Not the same thing, I know a lot of Jewish people, I attend a seder every year, sometimes two of them, but I don't know a single Jewish person in real life who supports Netanyahu, not one. So no, "the Jews" don't control the world.
The second problem with your analysis is when you conflate "the world" with "Donald Trump's White House" and AIPAC and the US Congress. You have Christian Zionists like Lindsay Graham and Huckabee who are also part of a cult.
Don't look into it, maintain your ignorance, and then you can present your puzzlement as proof of something.
Fran Dresher is a dish, BTW.
Hard pass Imtay. You need to look at your own damned self. That was a lot of gibberish sport.
" I know a lot of Jewish people, I attend a seder every year, sometimes two of them, but I don't know a single Jewish person in real life who supports Netanyahu, not one."
This gets the Pauline Kael award. You're where, in Vermont? Bernie Sanders, Ben & Jerry country? Maybe you should get out more. Bibi has lots of support among Jews other than JINOs, even in my neck of the woods on the upper west side of Manhattan.
Good gravy timmeh are you aspring for peak stupid
Fran Drescher after she eats wasabi
Now that is sexy!
(It literally never occurred to me that she was doing a Gilbert Gottfried thing)
Fran Drescher is a handsome and talented Jewess.
So Vogue lit the shoot as a reality....show and the celebrities are having trouble with IRL photos?
"It may be an inert hand grenade."
Yeah, I know those things were readily available surplus items you could buy anywhere you might buy army surplus items. That doesn't make them a toy. I understand you can make play with all sorts of things better known as "paper weights", but I wouldn't, as a kid, take such things to the park to play catch. It would be like taking a shot [put] to the park, throwing it around for fun, and calling it a "toy". I've seen people do exactly that, except they called it what it was, "a shot", like what was used for cannons.
The size of a live one
These people need to learn how to be awesome at everything they do, including self-awareness.
Heidi Klum's dresser doesn't like her.
Heidi Klum's dress doesn't like her.
Heidi Klum doesn't like herself.
High Def could be one reason why Hollywood is turning to AI for its "talent." When every wrinkle, mole and clogged pore shows up on screen -- and when you have to pay out the enormous salaries and put up with the temper tantrums -- Tilly Norwood looks better and better.
Nicole Kidman looks great, but I wonder if her face will look as rubbery as Jane Fonda's in another 20-30 years.
It's Fran Drescher's voice (and laugh) on her show that puts people off.
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