This year's holiday season is filled with love for Brooke Shields.
Everyone appreciates a good old-fashioned holiday rom-com, but Shields' latest movie offers a twist on the classic trope. Netflix's "A Castle for Christmas" (streaming Friday) follows a fictional bestselling American author, Sophie Brown (Shields), who travels to Scotland to escape cancel culture and her messy divorce. But when she tries to buy a castle for inspiration, the owner (Cary Elwes) is skeptical.
It's a heartwarming enemies-to-lovers story about self-discovery, starting over and finding love – but it's not about a woman needing to be saved by somebody.
Start the day smarter. Get all the news you need in your inbox each morning.
"I was just so attracted to how strong this woman was," says Shields, 56. "She's a great mom, has a full career and yet she's asking herself: 'What now?' 'What's going to happen next?' "
Shields took on the role for personal reasons. Like her character, she can identify with having had a long, successful career – thanks to early hits like 1978's "Pretty Baby" and 1981's "Endless Love" and later projects including TV's "Jane the Virgin" and "The Middle" – while craving fulfilling work at this stage in her life. That's why she was ready to tackle a modern rom-com.
"It's such a refreshing perspective, because it's real. I know so many women, even just over 40, who are either divorced or falling in love or deciding to get married for the first time," Shields says.
'I'm celebrating who I am now': Brooke Shields says she loves her curves, doesn't have 'any desire' to fit into old Calvin Klein jeans
'Tis the season: Made-for-TV holiday films are cheesy, and that's exactly why we love them
"There's this rich community of women in this age bracket, and you don't see us on television. And there's something so refreshing about these two people coming together, having lived full lives and finding themselves in this new phase."
Outside her work, Shields continues to push past the stigma around aging, calling the a social push for acceptance relatively new. Throughout her decades-long career in modeling and acting, beauty has typically been conflated with youth, which the "Blue Lagoon" star called disappointing.
"I handled it by getting frustrated and saying: 'OK. This is ridiculous.' I needed to amass this community and really say it's not about being ageless. There's vitality that comes with this demographic," says Shields, who created her wellness company, Beginning is Now, to empower women of all ages to live their fullest lives.
Essay: Being in quarantine might finally make me embrace my gray hair
In her own home, her 15-year-old daughter, Grier, is following in her modeling career footsteps. (Grier recently signed onto IMG Models).
"It's definitely a different environment, but I will keep a close eye on it, and I'm not going to let it get out of hand. I'm not going to let her go to Europe to be in the shows on her own."
She's also adamant that her daughter go to college. "If this becomes some kind of hobby after school and it doesn't interfere with volleyball and academics and it's fun, I'm not going to try to get in her way. But I don't think she has any idea of what it really is like to work as hard as you have to as a model."
Reflecting on her own career, Shields says she wants other women to feel empowered at every stage.
"I feel stronger now and more in my own skin and sexier that it took me years to earn," she says. "Now that I feel very much in this and am embodying this, I'm told, 'It's over.' I just won't accept that. We need to change the narrative."
Breaking the aging stigma for women: Katie Couric poses without makeup: How to feel beautiful and embrace aging
Her strength was made evident in February, when she broke her femur in a balance board accident. It was a physically grueling experience, for which she even refused to take prescription painkillers. But the road to recovery reassured her of her resilience.
"It was probably the most difficult thing physically I had to endure," Shields says. "Learning how to walk again and really having to start fresh and being in the hospital for a month by myself was definitely a test to my spirit."
And after months of physical therapy, Shields has a positive health update.
"I can work out again, which is great, and I'm sort of out of the physical therapy phase and in more of the strengthening phase. I even took a SoulCycle class this morning, which is amazing."
Brooke Shields leg injury: Actress explains her broken leg: Fall from balance board 'snapped my femur'
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Brooke Shields made 'A Castle for Christmas' to offer a 'refreshing' take on love
Microsoft may earn an Affiliate Commission if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.
HONG KONG (AP) — A renowned Chinese fashion photographer has apologized for her past work after online critics called it insulting to the Chinese people and fashion house Dior removed one of her photos from a show in Shanghai.
Chen Man acknowledged the criticism of her earlier work, including “Young Pioneers,” a series of images of a young model with backdrops of major landmarks such as China's massive Three Gorges Dam or with an image of the country's first lunar orbiter flying out from under her dress.
The criticism was reported by the state-owned Global Times newspaper, which said that comments on social media had called her work “implicit child pornography and insulting the young pioneers,” the name of a Communist Party-affiliated youth organization.
“I have reflected deeply and blamed myself for my naivety and ignorance at the time. I think that I must still formally apologize to everyone,” Chen wrote this week on her social media account.
“I’m a Chinese person, born and raised, I deeply love my motherland," she wrote. “And I know, deeply, that as an artist, I have a responsibility to the mission to record and spread the Chinese people’s culture.”
She joins numerous Chinese and foreign celebrities, brands and artists who have made public apologies following criticism of their work in state media. Some have been boycotted for refusing to apologize or if the apology is deemed insufficient.
Chen's apology came more than a week after Dior was attacked over the photo at its exhibition in Shanghai, which pictured a model of Asian descent with tan, freckled skin and darkened eyelids holding a Dior purse.
Critics deemed the photograph contrary to East Asian beauty standards of fair skin and said it perpetuated Western stereotypes of Asian faces, such as slanted eyes.
At least one photo editor has praised her work in the past for creating an aesthetic that was neither aping Western magazines or Japanese and South Korean ones. And in 2019, the Global Times described Chen as China's answer to U.S. photographer Annie Leibovitz, calling her a "shining star” with a unique perspective.
Dior removed the photograph, adding that it was part of an art project and not an advertisement. In a statement on its Chinese social media account, Dior said it “respects the feelings of Chinese people” and “strictly abides by Chinese laws and regulations.”
Other luxury brands have previously been embroiled in controversies in China. In 2018, a Dolce & Gabbana advertisement sparked public outrage after the Asian model in the ad was instructed to eat spaghetti, cannolis and pizza with a pair of chopsticks. The videos were later removed.
Chen's social media post said she accepted criticism of her work including that for a certain brand, but didn't specify Dior.
The photograph taken down from the Shanghai exhibit was shot in a similar style to a series of covers Chen did for British fashion magazine i-D that featured 12 young Chinese women from different ethnic minorities. Many of the women did not fit what has become a common definition of beauty in China — some had small eyes and others had freckles.
Ding Yining, a photo editor at Sixth Tone, praised Chen's work in a 2018 article for the state-backed English-language features website.
“From her works, it would seem that Chen prefers female models with narrow, single-lidded eyes and a sense of traditional East Asian elegance,” Ding wrote.
Chen told Sixth Tone that “as a professional visual artist, I believe that I should help more people recognize the face of modern Chinese beauty with greater confidence.”
___
Wu reported from Taipei, Taiwan.
Prince William and Duchess Kate have banned the BBC from airing the Christmas concert, hosted by the Duchess of Cambridge, amid documentary fallout.
- Kate Middleton is set to host a Christmas concert this year at the Westminster Abbey.
- The royal couple has banned the BBC from broadcasting this charity event after a recent fallout.
- In other royal news, see Princess Anne's hilarious biscuit faux pas with Ab Fab star.
Prince William and Duchess Kate have reportedly banned the BBC from broadcasting their charity fundraiser concert after a recent fallout over the BBC's two-part royal documentary.
The Duchess is set to host a Christmas carol concert at Westminster Abbey, and although the royals had a good relationship with the BBC who would often broadcast major events, reportedly the royals have opted for another provider. Instead, ITV will be showing the Duchess's concert.
A source told The Sun, “This is a real coup for ITV. It is a brand new format — the royals have never hosted a televised TV concert before. And to have the Duchess leading on it is a big deal."
“Naturally most royal programming goes automatically to the BBC as the national broadcaster. Now it looks like they will work more with ITV in the future.”
The source revealed that ITV was delighted to receive this new show in their lineup, but the change of channel will cause issues.
“ITV were very surprised but delighted to get the late call offering them this incredible exclusive. It will be a fantastic Christmas carol concert that will be TV gold for viewers at home," said the source.
“It was all arranged to be on BBC1 but it was switched in the last few days because of the terrible row over the documentary."
“And things are likely to get a lot worse between the Royal Family and the BBC before they get better as the second part of the documentary threatens to go further.”
The documentary series that has caused frayed relations, The Princes and the Press, began broadcasting on Monday night and has caused shock waves across the royal family.
Reportedly the Queen, Prince Charles, and Prince William are set to file a complaint over the documentary due to the claims made in the first episode about the relationship between Prince Harry and Prince William.
Similarly, there are reports that Meghan Markle has sent top-dog 'reputation lawyer' to address the bullying reports in BBC royal documentary, as she also joins ranks with the royal family against the BBC.
The second episode of The Princes and The Press will air at 9 pm on November 29 on BBC2.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.