Disney Gets ‘Tangled’ Up in Girl Power
November, 24, 2010 10:45 pm | Comments On #animation, Disney, Movies, TangledDisney’s new animated movie “Tangled,” the updated version of the Brothers Grimm fairy tale “Rapunzel,” has hit theaters, and my 3-year-old daughter couldn’t be more excited.
After all, she’s having a hard time finding stories that feature girls as the main character – especially in old-school Disney classics that painted stark portraits of genteel maidens who were just waiting to be rescued by a handsome if vapid prince.
If I sound as if I’m ready to launch Ms. for Preschoolers – Forget Miss, mister. It’s Mz, now! – it’s because my astute and thoughtful child brought it to my attention one night before...
In Defense of Mommy Bloggers
March, 24, 2010 5:49 pm | Comments On #Laura Clark, mommy bloggers, new york timesThis past weekend, the New York Times published a snarky article about mommy bloggers headlined
“Honey, Don’t Bother Mommy. I’m Too Busy Building My Brand.”
The story, published in the Style section, ostensibly addresses a real issue: the perceived conflict between mommy blogging and commerce.
In doing so, however, the writer offers a snide and condescending tone, behind which lurks negative implications that mommy bloggers might be in it just for the freebies -- and, more dangerously, that they’re sidelining their children in the process.
As a mom blogger in Los Angeles, who wrote a story in January for L.A. Moms Blog with a curiously...
Read More'Sexiest Man Alive' Johnny Depp Scores Big With Unsexy Roles
March, 18, 2010 12:23 pm | Comments On #Johnny Depp, Laura Clark, Marion Cotillard, Public Enemies, Sexiest Man AliveIt was when I was watching a sex scene between Johnny Depp and Marion Cotillard in the film “Public Enemies” that it hit me: “Sexiest Man Alive” or not, this is just weird.
Johnny Depp? Looking more like himself than most roles he’s played in the last five years? Making out with someone on the big screen?
You’d think that a role putting People magazine’s male sex symbol of the year in an intimate situation would elicit a much different reaction than the awkward discomfort I felt at the time.
And it wasn’t because my husband was sitting right next to me.
Don’t get me wrong. I wholeheartedly believe Depp deserves the magazine’s annual honor. And I...
Read MoreRole Models? Depends on Where You Look!
May, 05, 2009 2:27 pm | Comments On #American Idol, simon cowellJust when you think it's safe to love a celebrity -- even a Disney one -- they go and break your heart with news they're headed to jail or rehab. It's no wonder parents in this town are a little nervous about naming a Tinseltown role model for their kids.
My top choice right now is Dora the Explorer. Sure she's animated, but she's also curious, bilingual -- and you won't find her at Promises or on TMZ anytime soon.
Talking to another Hollywood mom the other day, I asked if she had any hometown heroes for her tykes.
Silence.
Deadly. Silence.
After eventually throwing out the obligatory reference to the charity- and child-loving Brangelina, mom Yvonne Condes finally hit on something that struck a chord. Literally.
"This season we've been watching 'American Idol,'" she...
Biz Moms: Et Tu Hollywood?
April, 24, 2009 12:04 pm | Comments On #Layoffs have become the new Hollywood reality -- and a reality show, too, thanks to Fox -- and, yes, I was one of those casualties. Last week, I was let go at Variety amid a round of staff cuts, and not only is it a blow to the ego, as a mother it makes you reflect on what this means for your children.
Certainly, I'm not the only mom in this town, or parent for that matter, to have experienced the falling ax. Some of my former colleagues who were let go are parents themselves. And this week alone has seen the announcement of more layoffs at the Screen Actors Guild, Yahoo and the closure of Fox Atomic.
I'm sure there were moms at those organizations who now have to contemplate a different kind of extreme makeover.
But it's not just the now-unemployed moms. Still-employed parents are seeing the ground...
Read More
- Previous
- •
- •
- •
- •
- Next
Description
Laura Clark is the editor of L.A. Story, which chronicles her adventures in the city with toddler in tow. She's also a contributing writer at Los Angeles Moms Blog and has worked as an editor at Woman's Day, the New York Times Syndicate and Variety.
