It's hard to deny that Ms. Wilde, a reasonably intelligent actress, is aesthetically a stunner. Even so, she's never been regarded as an A-list movie star. Ergo, I'm not really sure that this sort of in-depth coverage of her feature directorial debut is entirely warranted. But do let us know if Scarlett Johansson or Charlize Theron ends up in this situation.
13
It is striking how many of these posts are envious or angry. We all have those emotions from time to time but normally it is better not to express them.
14
“I was so excited to explain to everyone what I thought a closed set should mean. There aren’t 100 people in the room. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve done a love scene where I’ve been like, ‘But surely that guy doesn’t need to be there?’”
The set crew gets a peep hole? What, are live nudies a perk for pervs on the job? Thank you, Ms. Wilde for developing an alternative to that degrading practice.
15
It is common for very beautiful women to not be taken seriously, as having an important perspective and having skills other than being beautiful; and here is a beautiful woman who is only in her 30s feeling validated for her talents rather than her looks, and here you all are giving her a hard time for it.
25
I enjoyed this article and I’ve liked Ms. Wilde ever since I saw her on a PBS program with Nicolas Kristof. She was one of a handful of celebrity women who traveled with Mr. Kristof to highlight the story of women struggling in developing countries. I am glad to see that Ms. Wilde has chosen to direct a film to continue to tell stories of women. She may have lived a privileged life, but she seems self aware and willing to put herself out, rather than stay comfortably in her privileged world. I wish her the best and hope she continues to use her unique position of opportunity to tell others stories and improve the way movies are made.
29
She's not that talented.
Nobody would say that Carey Mulligan or Saoirse Ronan are cover models, but they are terrific actresses. So, they get cast in great roles. I don't think Mulligan is pretty, but she's one of the best actresses working today. I like Zoe Kazan too.
2
The real issue for me is that she doesn't acknowledge her privilege. It's not her fault that she was born rich or attractive, but to not acknowledge her huge privilege is disingenuous. "I went to Andover."; "Am I too pretty?"; "I had the most stereotypical NY day ever on the phone with my realtor!" She's one of the most obnoxious tone-deaf actresses around and I probably only read the article to get to the snark.
16
@Amy Everyone feels angry and envious from time to time, but it is better to express those feelings in a modulated way.
15
Well, all comments aside, I sure hope she's a better director than actress. It's a shame the article didn't comment on her stellar performance in TV's The Black Donnellys.
1
There are millions of pretty girls with similar level of skills, in a million public schools and a million cheap suburbs. Only a few are well connected private school girls with well connected parents. I doubt any other factor got her this job, as well.
7
After reading a few of the nasty comments, I have to say that I enjoyed the article. It is well-written and gives insight into the director's character and motivation. I am not planning on seeing the movie because I am old and high school drama does not interest me. However Wilde is now on my radar. Let's see what she comes up with next.
24
She exploited her own looks. Her hypocrisy is amazing.
12
@Larry Bennett
Really Larry? And you have never exploited any of the gifts you have to try to obtain something that is important to you. Beauty is a gift. I appreciate her honesty. Also, look at the industry that she is in, she did not make the rules that "show business" has developed for those who want to enter into it and be successful - especially women. Yes it is changing but that is happening slowly for women.
13
What's really interesting here is how well some of these commenters know the private thoughts and events of Ms. Wilde's life ... you must be Really close buds ...
8
She talks about her looks and the advantage it gave her, but half way thru the article we see what the real advantage was-her high achieving and well connected socialite parents who were able to send her to elite Phillips Academy. Clearly it wasn't all about her looks. There are many attractive young girls but those without privilege don't get the opportunities Ms. Wilde got.
24
The problem for actresses is they do not made movies anymore like Katherine Hepburn or Audrey Hepburn made in their day. Meryl Street is one exception as she has developed roles somehow that are substantial and will be watched years form now.
Watch TCM essentials for awhile and you will see what I mean.
10
She still looks really good. If I was an employer I would probably hire her. Just sayin.
2
Fabulous, fabulous, fabulous!!!
Would love it if Ms Wilde could created a film based on the book "Educated."
7
Whatever she's done, "dumb" isn't a word I'd use to describe her. She was the best part of "Vinyl"-which was a good show but couldn't figure out what it wanted to do and got lost in the muck. She was great in "Better Living Through Chemistry" an offbeat film with Sam Rockwell. She's good in everything even if the role doesn't allow the character to be fully formed.
11
Saying Wilde's good looks gave her the opportunity to act and direct is like saying Bill Gates' success as a technologist gave him the opportunity to be a philanthropist.
11
Lots of salty comments here. I think it's nice that she's showing her non-look-based talents, and this is sweet article in the Movies section of the NYTimes. That's all.
30
She should have gone into radio.
5
Exploitation is forcing small children to work in rug factories against their will. Appearing in motion pictures in revealing costumes for vast sums of money is not exploitation. It is employment. She could of decided to stay in school and get a real job.
Ms. Wilde is utilizing her looks to exploit male lust.
I graduated from film school, have worked on dozens of small projects, have won art council grants, and have never been invited to a party where I could bump into Steven Spielberg. The drawback to being male and having no looks to exploit.
30
Absolutely. The world ain’t fair. But there are also plenty of attractive socialites who have zero career too. Use what you got to do the best you can, right? It looks like she’s doing that, and getting results so good on her... I hope she’s happy, too.
20
I like Olivia Wilde's acting, from what I remember of it (get her mixed up with Keira Knightley) and Booksmart looks like a great movie. But to the author of this piece: it sounds like she is an extremely privileged person and in the current age we're all supposed to be acknowledging our privilege, or the "intersectional" aspects. Your piece performs an impressive feat of contortion to frame Ms Wilde as complaining about her privilege. At least when it comes to choosing actors for her own film she walks the talk.
16
I've always appreciated Olivia Wilde, and her performance in "Drinking Buddies" was superb. I wish her the very best in her endeavors.
12
Apparently a lot of commenters were forced to read this article against their wills -- and then forced to comment on it to boot.
36
@Frank
Nah, skimmed and skipped most of it, interesting though to read all the snark.
The trailer didn't inspire......what can I say? 35 and making teen movies, uh, maybe she's still got some years left to produce something better.
8
@Rob Did you say that of John Hughes-who was in his 30s making "teen films" when at the height of his teen movie making empire.
23
"Nah, skimmed and skipped most of it, interesting though to read all the snark. " Sure, whatever you say...
2
Without her looks, does she feel she’d have had a better chance and more opportunities to begin her entertainment career? And without the celebrity she says herself is a result of her looks, does she think she’d have landed the opportunity to direct a film? As far as I know, she didn’t work her way up through the theater world, where people more often get acting work because they have developed their craft rather than because of their looks.
31
What utter hypocrisy. She *chose* to have a career which involves nothing more than looking good on camera, and now whines about it after it has made her rich - or rather, richer, since she was born rich.
40
@HAL
Yes, she's lived a terribly, terribly hard life. As an ugly white male myself who was raised in intellectual poverty I know how much it can hurt.
9
“Have I ever felt exploited? ... I was going to be judged on my physical appearance.”
Why is that exploitation? Audiences like to look at beautiful people in the movies.
22
It’s true. We all judge, and are judged, in unfair ways. Women have long been judged too much based on their looks and men based on their status and income. We judge by race, gender or age. We judge by political views and by what part of the country your are from, or which country you are from. We judge by religion or lack there of. Etc, etc.
The more we categorize ourselves and others, the more reasons we have to separate ourselves and find things to dislike in one another.
6
@Franco51: No doubt we should all treat other people as ends in themselves, and with the respect and dignity they deserve, and no doubt people are often judged unfairly, but do you think that Olivia Wilde has been judged in unfair ways?
@Mark
I don’t know enough about her to know about how she’s been judged.
I think she might think about whether she’d have gotten the chance to direct without her celebrity, or gotten her celebrity without her looks. I wonder if she worked diligently up through the theater ranks to really learn her craft.
4
"‘It Grosses Me Out’ That This Is My First Job Not Based on Looks"
If I didn't know that this article along with that glamour shot was straight up serious, I'd think it was satire. Like something "The Onion" would put out.
58
She sure is pretty.
7
Oh, it's based on looks, alright.
11
Whew, so much carping and resentment here! Yes, Wilde is beautiful and privileged. Nowhere does she deny that, and how many successful actors aren’t? The point of the piece seems clear enough to me: If you’re a young, beautiful, intelligent, talented woman in Hollywood, beauty and a modicum of talent alone are going to keep you in the game. It’s the point of Swinton’s advice about aging out of the trap, advice offered to a young woman looking for a way to be more than eye candy. Give her some credit for caring early in her career, and for not settling.
Regarding the photos, nobody mentions the one at the picnic table. Why? It shows her working and it provides a contrast to the glamour shots. Too much glamour? Maybe so, but definitely too much outrage in the comments.
31
The Times does a disservice to Ms. Wilde's parents, Leslie and Andrew Cockburn, by calling them "socialites". The Cockburns are a distinguished British family of journalists and socialists. They have been champions of the poor and labor and foes of imperialism. Ms. Wilde's grandfather, Claude, was a pioneering left-wing journalist, who wrote a memoir with the amusing title, I Claude. Her uncle, Alexander, was probably the most outspoken and radical member of the family. Another uncle, Patrick, is one of the best reporters on the politics of the middle east.
Leslie Cockburn ran as a progressive Democrat in Virginia for a seat in the House of Representatives. She was called a "communist" by the Republican Party.
Olivia Wilde is a lucky young woman due to her looks and intelligence, but that is mostly the result of her genetic inheritance, not because her parents are "socialites."
26
@Diogenes socialists/communists who sent their child to the most elite private boarding school in the country?
26
@Rocketship Her parents are neither wealthy or socialites. They belong to an intellectual elite not a business or military elite. Since they live in a capitalist society, they make a decent living through journalism. They do live on inherited wealth.
7
@Diogenes Sorry.I meant to write "They do NOT live on inherited wealth."
7
This article grosses me out. Come on NY times and Ms. Wilde.
Famous, connected parents, private schools, looks, semi-famous partner, two kids, Brooklyn, and Christopher Hitchens reading her
bedtime stories to boot. This is a press release. Oh and of course drop in Ladybird just in case we don't get the connection.
Oh , the suffering.
50
So, looks counted for Wilde just so long as she was young enough to take advantage of them.
Then, when that didn't work anymore, the world is suddenly unjust for rewarding looks, rather than honest, hard working folks like...um...her again.
More self-serving, self-congratulating narcissism served up as social justice.
106
@Kyle, um, the whole point of "too old to play dumb" is just that: she's saying she's finally able to do what she wants (direct) now that she's too old to be cast just because of her looks. She's criticizing the system that let her succeed because she was pretty. She's aware that she's been around so long (to the point where now she can do what she really wants) because she's pretty. And she's also aware that those crummy exploitative roles were, in their own way, an education. I'm not sure what you're getting at here...
30
Does it matter what high school she went to and who her parents are? Do those things make her "smart"?
I think it's great that we have an article here about a female director. Let's talk about her filmmaking and her actual work instead of things that don't matter—like her looks and her lineage. This article is coming across rather patronizing and making her look like she is getting a pass because she's a pretty lady and hasn't done a film before then. That's really unfair to her and her art.
15
@ETC Her looks and her lineage are why she's famous.
I have nothing against Olivia Wilde, and I hope she succeeds as a director. Kudos to her for making what appears to be a well-received movie.
But this woman only has the chance to direct because she has been in the industry for fifteen years. And she's only been in the industry for fifteen years because she is a bombshell (the family lineage probably doesn't hurt either). She can't act worth a lick. Perhaps the reason she is always cast on looks rather than talent is because she has no talent for acting.
I won't guess at her skills as a director because I haven't seen anything she's done. If she succeeds there, it will be on her own merit and she should be proud. But her looks and lineage are fair game in a discussion of her career because they are the only reason she has a career in the first place.
73
@ETC, I don’t agree with you on the tenor of the piece. The way I read it, reporter Itzkoff went with a conversational direction — doubtless prompted by questions from the reporter — that Wilde grabbed onto and ran with. That’s how it goes in interviews. You throw out some questions and see what the makes the interviewee open up. It’s standard form to provide the background information, family and schooling. (By the way, I went to university with several Phillip’s Academy grads. They were a deeply clubby, privileged, entitled group. It does mean something that Wilde attended that school.)
As for concentrating on a woman’s directorial debut, and so on, I’m not sure this light film merits that much gravitas.
Having said that, it does bother me when any actress does the “Oh, my ears and whiskers” thing about casting directors and others in the biz being too concerned with performers’ looks. It’s the nature of the business! Your face is your fortune, and your brand. What is the first thing you do if you want to get into that line of work? Get some head shots done. Whether you are the ingenue or the sexy bombshell, the character actor of the mom type, your face (and body) is who you are in acting. Even if you are an amazing talent. Why even comment on it? It’s a given.
14
@Kevin She's actually a pretty good actor. She's not Meryl Streep, but you clearly haven't seen "Drinking Buddies" or any of the other movies she's been good in.
7
You know what's every bit as exhausting as growing up a child of privilege and becoming a 'performer' who is paid millions for looking good? Growing up in working class America, getting a lousy education, and working for a hair over minimum wage at the local fast food joint or Walmart by the time you're 18.
I truly have grown weary of hearing the children of 'socialites,' who are paid outrageous sums of money for playing dress up in front of a camera, whine about the slings and arrows of their outrageous fortune. Ms. Wilde doesn't know from beans about 'exploitation' and really ought to just shut up about it.
No one forced her to be an actress. If she wants to work on an assembly line for GM, or process mail at a US Postal Service sorting facility - no talking to coworkers when you're 'on the clock,' and don't forget to clock out and clock back in for your 30 minute lunch 'hour' -- she's free to do so. Perhaps that would not leave her feeling 'numb' at the end of a ten hour shift - but I somehow doubt it.
170
@chambolle Thank you!
9
@chambolle Everything you're saying may be true. But she's got to talk about her life to explain how she arrived at directing this movie and what it means to her. Ignoring her isn't exactly an option. This movie is about to be released in theaters nationwide.
8
Ah, the beautiful people who have doors opened for them based on their good looks now lamenting how hard that part of their career was. Please.
It’s show “business.” If you look like Liz Taylor, if you are so good looking the camera just lives your face, and no one put a gun to your head to force you to capitalize on your beauty you can’t belly ache now.
The world has always responded to beautiful people. You can’t have it both ways.
26
@LenSelf absorption while lamenting the way the world works is so egotistical. She has a private life, just live it.
4
Wow, there's a lot of snark in these comments.
Why has the idea of a woman trying to be perceived as more than just eye candy annoyed so many of you? She seems like a smart decent person who wants to make movies. What's wrong with that?
24
@MS
Right? I see a LOT of the comments are from men.
I'm really excited to see this movie, and thrilled to hear about women supporting other women in Hollywood. I loved the quote from Tilda Swinton (who is amazing as well). As I move past my usefulness as a breeder in this society I too am feeling the most astounding level of freedom to be my truest self.
In the immortal words of David Bowie “Aging is an extraordinary process whereby you become the person you always should have been.”
10
"this bitter state, this shrewdness ... thanks to that counterfeiting and self-deception of powerlessness, [has] dressed itself in the splendour of a self-denying, still, patient virtue, as if the weakness of the weak man himself—that means his essence, his actions, his entire single, inevitable, and irredeemable reality—is a voluntary achievement, something willed, chosen, an action, something of merit." -- Nietzsche
1
We’re all exploited for something we have, whether it’s looks, brains or brawn. We choose whether, and when, to be offended by it.
5
She has a rather spooky look about her. This article seems more like a press release than anything else.
I should say however that the only thing I saw her in was the House series and she was a competent actress in that.
2
@Areader of course its a press release...any piece on an actor or singer is simply to promote their latest project.
4
35 and beautiful. Boy, I wish I had Ms. Wilde’s problems.
12
Yeah, sorry, I dont have much sympathy here despite the unabashed attempt at making her some kind of victim. Its too convenient for her to "reflect" on how her looks played a part in her career at the age of 35 and after making millions off it.
Really, she just sounds immature, like shes just now figuring out that her looks play a part in her acting career? Give me a break.
32
Too bad she’s a boring actress.
15
One way not to be exploited at least as easily is to stop posing for photographs such as in these articles that are clearly designed to articulate your physical assets, complete with a come hither look, or at least one that promises the viewer unknown to you, some intimacy. If you tone it down, you can get people interested in your art (or not) in its own merits, and you won't have to make yourself numb (as you mention in the caption in one of the pics).
26
Her beauty is probably the only reason she was hired for her first acting role so maybe she should just consider herself lucky.
20
Am I the only one who noticed? When a woman in show business needs press her publicist plays the she's getting older and she's more than a pretty face angle. But when a male star needs to stir up interest his project he gets to rage about Climate Change an the state of the world.
You can always tell when Clooney and DiCaprio have a new movie out flying around in private jets preaching about the important stuff. I got to give DiCaprio credit his jet runs on used french fry oil but the two of them are getting old. Clooney has more wrinkles in his face than a 120 year old Bedouin goat herder and they don't force him to converse about his being past his expiration date. Why do women have to?
That said, Olivia Wilde has one of the most beautiful faces in "Hollywood History". That's the truth.
7
Today ,the beautiful face and features ,nice rack and rear may even be worth the price of admission,yet these attributes are merely superficial.Striking features that are interesting and full of expression are much more valuable in the portrayal in a film. I've seen numerous individuals ,every day people on the street who are strikingly attractive beyond any common film stars,although they probably lack the acting ability and creative drive to be successful in film.This article seems much to be about advertising a new film and a personal interview with the artist.
2
She's beautiful and brainy. She comes from a highly privileged family.
She's rich and seems in good health. She's been successful in her career, is married, and has kids. Her hood is good.
She has high status. She is respected and admired by her peers and by her legions of fans.
Yes, indeed, in 2019 it's hard to be a well-heeled, winsome, white woman in the USA.
33
While the marketplace prizes female beauty - as it has for thousands of years - all things change, and we get to watch that in the careers of the best actors and actresses.
I've never seen Ms. Wilde mess up, but that might just be born of repeating scenes. But many of us could just sit and watch her read the phone book.
The rowdy-to-noxious political involvement of so many in Hollywood makes others yearn for the days when we only knew these professionals from their paid work.
As one person told a losing presidential candidate once, ''Give us time to miss you.''
3
There is no doubt that female beauty is valued too highly in our patriarchal society. The reason why beauty is valued so highly in women is that women have always been defined by what they can offer men: sex and fertility, rather than be valued for themselves and other attributes like intelligence, creativity, innovation, leadership, strength etc. It is hardly surprising that those values play out in Hollywood and the kind of roles that are available to women and how they are cast. The emphasis on beauty makes it difficult for women to achieve - the beautiful woman is seen only as that regardless of her other abilities, the ugly woman is often not seen at all regardless of her other abilities. I once worked on a case involving a female engineer who looked like a movie star - in the 48 hours of the recorded telephone conversations I had to listen to you can guess what her male co-workers had to say about her! As for me, I have won prizes for my academic research, yet when I have delivered my prize-winning papers have found myself judged on my looks. Whatever the value of what I said, I knew that my audience found my appearance disappointing. Are men’s looks important too? Yes, especially in some professions like acting, but I think it would be fair to say, far, far less so than for women. Also, female beauty standards are considerably more narrow.
27
@Kay
How many ugly men do you see with beautiful women? I walked out of two interviews given to me by beautiful women. I was not acceptable to them and they let me know it.
The church I grew up in forces, imagined that forces, husband's to stay with their wives even when those wives are long past their expiration date. Why should men of substance and standing be stuck with an old lady? It's the patriarchy that keeps us from reaching our true happiness. Thank god for modern divorce laws.
@Kay
You are right about how women are judged and valued. Men are similarly judged and valued according to their money, power and influence, all of which women use to decide which men they’ll associate themselves with.
You’re right in what you say, and there is also a flip side to it for men.
4
I've had a problem similar to Ms. Wilde's. All my life I've been a fit, highly-trained athlete, but all anyone ever looked at was my intelligence: Ivy-league colleges and medical schools admitted me based solely on my brains; a prestigious university invited me to train as and become a professor of neurosurgery. Not once did anyone ask–or even comment on–my extremely high level of fitness.
Only now that I'm old (much older than the ancient 35-year-old Ms. Wilde) have people started to comment on how fit and fast I am. Like Ms. Wilde, I feel like I'm too old to play smart anymore.
It grosses me out to acknowledge it, but I've never held a job that wasn't entirely dependent on my gorgeous IQ. I was definitely exploited for my brains and education.
I hope that the others out there who have been similarly used will find some relief in knowing that they are not alone. Life is tough all over.
Dr. Oscar Wilde (no relation)
98
@Neurosurgeon Thanks for the laugh! Truly though, I think people should take advantage of whatever gifts they are given. For some women and men, that will be looks. A few years ago, I started to realize that intelligence is also a privilege although not as visible as looks. Intelligence is inherited like looks so even though hard work can improve one's baseline some of us are lucky to start out at a more advanced level than others. This realization made me more humble.
3
I took the interview and the experiences shared as human experiences.
I guess for many they are seen as “first world” ones, but that doesn’t make them illegitimate.
Opportunities came her way, but she had to make the most of them and learn from them and persevere through the ups and downs we all face as we develop our careers.
She, like any “might have been” of “could have”, could have quit, but she didn’t. So now she’s doing it.
So I say, you go girl. Develop your voice, master your craft, and with luck and fortitude we hear more from you in the days ahead.
Good luck to you.
13
She's talented, and yes, from a woman's perspective, enviably beautiful. Looking forward to seeing Booksmart.
Yes, in America the dice are loaded on behalf those who possess money, parental connections and looks. But a lot of readers seem to be projecting some kind of attitude that I don't pick up.
I don't hear her whining about her chances; she seems smart, sane and optimistic and very much motivated to find her own voice directing.
26
@cheryl "Yes, in America the dice are loaded on behalf those who possess money, parental connections and looks."
I'm quite curious -- do you know of some place where they are not? So why single out our country?
14
Inequality, social mobility, and corruption are worse in America than they are in many other developed nations. Also it's perfectly appropriate to speak from one's own experience and not generalize. The world is not a monolith.
So yes. Good reasons to single out America.
10
@Enemy of Crime Take a look at the people who appear on television and in movies in Europe (Great Britain), Australia, New Zealand, many countries in the world; compare that with the narrow range you see in the U.S. It hasn't always been so different here--look back at American TV from the 70's and 80's--but in 2019 we really limit what's acceptable in front of the camera.
6
Love Olivia Wilde and can’t wait to see her movie. Just wondering, was the decision to feature Vogue-style photos of her in the article the NYT’s, or was it a joint decision with Olivia and/or her publicist? Two of the three images featured in the online story go against everything Wilde says in the article (that she’s so glad to finally have done a job (directing) that wasn’t based on her looks). I don’t need a picture of Olivia looking gorgeous to make me read this story. In fact, they run counter to the theme of this piece. Next time, feel free to feature something more like the Bradley Cooper-as-first-time-director shots. So some more serious images. Thanks!
71
Came here to say the exact same thing you said it better, though!
9
@Sarah: On the contrary, I think it makes the piece more interesting, because it encourages critical thinking about about "the theme of this piece."
1
@Sarah I was wondering the same thing. I hope the Times responds. Wilde has shared a number of pics of herself directing her film via social media, it would have been nice to have something similar featured here. As a woman reader, I appreciate the content of this profile but the photos make it seem like Wilde isn't actually onboard with her own message.
6
I will forever remember her as "Thirteen" in House. She was terrific in that series! She definitely has talent. Very best of luck to her.
12
I think I have seen roughly nothing she has been in. My only exposure to her has been in late night talk show interviews where I gained a very favorable impression of her — Clever, humorous, well-informed. I am curious to see how this works out for her.
5
As an actress, Ms Wilde can create the ideal environment for her actors to soar. So its really good news if she gets to direct.
The film is all that matters.
She won't be in the film, so her looks don't seem relevant. Except the picture of her in this article is a stunner.
Good thing male directors aren't judged on their looks.
6
I don't really understand the snarky comments about her being a child of "celebrities" Andrew and Leslie Cockburn are both serious journalists who have produced compelling work involving on the ground reporting in areas of high combat. Their books were required reading when I was in college.
It makes sense to me that their daughter would strive to be more than a pretty face. There is something very satisfying about seeing someone find their true calling, and that is the sense I get from reading this piece.
50
@Jennifer S. Its because she started with a leg up that others don't get....people get sick of nepotism. I have nothing against her but get tired of reading about these overprivileged people who started with connections and advantages that most do not have who we would never hear from if that weren't the case....
11
@Sharon Then why did she take a stage name if she was going to coast on her parents' coat tails?
2
I suggest we just go back to radio. Then we don't have to look at anything. We'll all have to use our - gasp! - imaginations.
See how that sells.
15
Wow. A lot of judgement in these comments, envy, jealousy, derision and more.
I don't know a lot about Miss Wilde's background and her family, but I did read one of the books her mother has written, "Looking for Trouble: One Woman, Six Wars and a Revolution"...
As the title implies, it's an account of Ms. Cockburn's travels around the world reporting on wars and coups and murders and destruction. I seriously doubt she was able to do that by lounging about and eating bon bons.
Perhaps, just perhaps, Miss Wilde is like her mother, smart, hard-working, motivated and willing to make sacrifices.
50
Hardly jealousy. Just a reality check. Hard to empathize with children of privilege who are also beautiful lamenting about how hard they had to struggle. Please.
6
It is good to read this piece about a very talented, and somewhat underrated actress. I suppose it is her unique, mysterious eyes that lead her into very specific kind of characters - as compared to the dreamy, girl-next-door eyes of a Meg Ryan or Sandra Bullock or other mega-stars.
Her comments about her looks and the opportunities they bring are not some lament or anything, they are just the honest admission of someone in her situation. No need to get jealous and start attacking her. She is not saying she wishes she was ugly or dowdy or homely, she is saying she knows only this experience and she has kept it in perspective and learned as she goes along. That quote from Spielberg is priceless, by the way.
41
That Olivia Wilde used to be cast based on her looks is frustrating for many reasons. I was watching House when she joined the show. They set it up as a "Survivor" - style elimination contest, in which House narrowed down a pool of potential assistants week by week, which meant that viewers effectively got to watch the casting decisions play out in real time. Wilde wasn't all that strong an actor at that point, and the character she was given didn't help; her only characteristic was that she was "mysterious." And yet, week after week, a better-acted and more interesting character was let go and Wilde stayed. It was interesting, in a way, because you rarely hear about the actors who didn't get a particular job because it went to someone more beautiful. Here you actually got to see them audition, do a great job, and get rejected. I have nothing against Wilde; this movie of hers sounds good, and from what I've seen of her career, she's worked a lot on her acting and started choosing parts that suit her better. But if House had been cast on talent rather than looks, we might now be reading about the amazing directing career of Anne Dudek.
34
She made it over thousands of more talented actresses because of her looks. That's the business.
42
Name ten if those “thousands if more talented actors”.
Wilde and her world view - really, Brooklyn represents wide open spaces? - sounded like false pretension. It seemed to me that her perspective sounded very much like what Dorothy Parker wrote about Katherine Hepburn's acting in an early play: "it ran the gamut from A to B."
How horrible that a beautiful child of privilege has had to struggle with a near-constant demand to exploit her beauty on screens big and small.
She felt so confident in her ability to overcome the shortcoming of everyone's interest in her appearance that her photos for this story look like Glamour Shots. Or is that the way she rolls out of bed each day?
I hope her directing is solid - lord knows that more smart women and their films and TV programs are desperately needed.
But spare me the complaints from lofty places about how difficult and challenging it has been to get the industry to take you seriously, aside from your looks.
You're a director now. Try showing us how you would do things differently.
26
Considering I have been passed over on jobs based upon my looks, I think you have the better deal.
38
Nothing like gaining experience by doing things, and becoming a more mature human being, cognizant of her/his shortcomings and the humility to share them, knowing that, compared to the wide open sea of knowledge out there, ours is but a thin script. But a 'fresh air' script at that. And that is what Olivia represents.
4
Acting can be out of narcissism and self-expression or empathy and curiosity.
For Olivia, it's always been empathy. Her intelligence, emotional and otherwise, comes through even in her supposedly sexist roles.
Her empathy is not passive: it starts from an emotional position and asks, "Where to from here?" -- and her answer is always upbeat and real.
Her empathy is inspiring because it expresses someone-somewhere fully, yet somehow finds a degree of freedom and races through that tiny hole to realize something better.
As lucky and well-endowed as she is, she understands the universality of feeling limited, and has every right to speak from challenge, and to imagine new worlds.
Growing up in the '60's, Speilberg like others of his day took on the whole of being human without thinking whether he had the skills or the right to do so. I hope Olivia does not limit herself to safe feminist topics in safe feminist productions. We humans are making a complete mess of ourselves and destroying the world along the way. Only imagination can show us a different way, and everyone should tell the Olivia's of the world: Take the leap of leaps, and we will follow!
5
Thank you. Ms. Wilde for speaking the truth. I am part of the fourth generation in my family to make a living in the arts and entertainment industry, and I am a literary agent with 25 years of experience. Everything Ms. Wilde wrote was true. I see it all the time and yes, it happened to me too. I am not hard to look at and I've been told I should act. It did not seem like praise but I never fooled myself. My looks opened doors but it was my fierce determination that kept me moving forward. It was the joy I feel for what I do that has sustained me. I get to help make other people's dreams come true and I get paid for it! I get to see my client's families grow and prosper and I love every minute of it. I work in the entertainment industry. I do not work in showbusiness. I hope readers know what I mean . . .
I was lucky enough to meet and work with Sherry Lansing. She was clear as a bell when it came to the subject Ms. Wilde has put before us today and I am grateful Ms. Lansing invested in me and for sharing her truth. Looks can open doors. She had the compassion to say it kindly and she never held herself above any of us. I want to hold her truths to be self-evident.
Thank you to everyone who has helped me along the way. Thank you readers if you read my comment.
12
@Samuel Janovici This comes off as a humble brag if I've ever read one.
12
I'm confused. Am I supposed to feel sorry for this woman because she happens to be beautiful? Somehow, my empathy-gene is struggling with this.
50
@Robert Wood beauty is a "commodity" no doubt, but in the entertainment industry it is a double-edged sword. Trying to be taken seriously, have opportunities to work in roles that are beyond type-cast is an ongoing challenge. Being beautiful guarantees nothing except other people will judge you (and be envious and jealous).
6
@Robert Wood
You are supposed to just be you and feel whatever it is "you" feel after reading this article and Olivia's thoughts it quotes. The same way she wants her roles and choices to reflect who she is and not what some writer or director or producer thinks she is "supposed to feel" about her own reaction to something.
Also it has nothing to do with your empathy(-gene) it is simply a narrative of one person's real-life experience. As in, she is pretty and that has greatly affected the opportunities she has gotten, it has been an intrinsic part of her identity as a mix of personal and social expectations. She has felt a little at odds with the experiences, but taken a constructive, this is an experiment and not a rigid thing and learned from it, and as she has gotten a few years in, had a few experiences, talked to various people, she has found herself more comfortable in the identity - enough of a mix of the personal and social expectations, mixed to her likes and tastes, rather than a default of an insecure ingenue.
So, in conclusion, it is about how she is beautiful and also smart.
7
@Robert Wood
??? Nowhere did I see her asking anyone to feel sorry for her because 'she happens to be beautiful.' She was simply describing (when prompted by the author of this article) the experience of a beautiful actress in Hollywood, which is pretty dang exploitive and dehumanizing, by all accounts.
16
Does Hollywood reflect society, or is it the other way around? Sometimes it's hard to tell. But the whole entertainment industry is less about talent, and built on looks and youth. It's pretty much been that way since the early silent era.
Women by far have it the worst in Hollywood, but if you looked at the highest paid male actors, probably not too many would look like Woody Allen.
Celebrities draw the largest following with a wide margin, of anyone else on social media. You don't see too many scientists, writers, and teachers, etc., with 5-10 million followers. What does that say about us? It's pretty sad.
24
@John
What it says is that the millions of intelligent people who respect scientists, writers, and teachers have better things to do than to waste their time on social media.
14
@John
Hollywood is high school with money. Period. Full stop.
2
Entertainment is a brutal, soul-testing biz, so kudos to her parents for keeping her head straight before she launched a thousand takes. Acting can be a lot of fun and is a tempting way to use one's gifts all the while absorbing (hopefully) that which makes it all tick. She progressed in that and directing to the point where she could engage some smart women to engage her. Thanks to all! Of course that path's not there for everyone, but all hail to those intrepid enough to reflect and re-jig. Go, Olivia!
4
Yet you lead this story (of a woman we are not supposed to see as just beautiful any more) with a beautiful studio picture of her. Tricky situation indeed.
104
Olivia Wilde has always been a scene stealer. She's extremely talented and it makes sense that her film as Director is called Booksmart.
She's also a very intelligent and quite beautiful woman.
Look forward to the film.
8
"‘It Grosses Me Out’ That This Is My First Job Not Based on Looks"
well, I don't get what I want based on my looks either- the more attractive, tall, slinky blonde does. Goes both ways but Olivia Wilde still has the advantages.
45
@JA Yeah, that passage gave me a bit of trouble, too. I know where she's coming from, yet certainly the early days of getting noticed as an actor often come down to a beauty contest - males and females alike. While she recognizes her good looks as helping pave her path to success, it seems somewhat disingenuous to look back and malign an advantage that many other aspirants would have given so much for.
13
Many, many actors are typecast into certain roles because of how they look. Entire racial minorities of actors are destined to be limited in their roles, and only until recently that would be a supporting role or the "asian friend" kind of thing. The "Nerds", anyone wearing glasses just about, are expected to play a very specific character, which rarely is a love story, unless it is an underdog tale. The traditionally attractive types, Brad Pitts and Angelina Jolies get the best lead action roles for sure, sure to attract an audience. I like to think of Steve Buscemi too, who's awkward charm lands him interesting roles, but its also a very specific type of weasel he tends to play. Then you have the fact that the bottom 50% of the population on an attractiveness scale is likely not even represented in film-- unless it is something that pokes fun at them.
And here you have an actor, who frets being cast for beauty, certainly not the bottom of the hierarchy of typecasting. Any even the article's top portion is plastered with a headshot that emphasizes beauty, and little more. Not an acting role, a shot in the field, or anything displaying skill or experience.
I think to step in a different type of role you need to cast yourself as such, portray it and earn it. Not lament over your beauty and oh yeah, wish you had other roles.
18
@MH
Her beauty, in Hollywood, means she will routinely be subject to demands she remove her clothing ('it's integral to the scene!'), be leered at, be touched inappropriately, be sneered at and disrespected, be belittled and endangered (look up that Uma Thurman car wreck footage during the making of Kill Bill), etc. etc.
She's got a legitimate complaint.
No small thing.
2
True to form. An actress who capitalized on her remarkable beauty in her prime years has an epiphany about the meaninglessness of it all now that she is 35 and “past it” by Hollywood standards (the industry has a far cruder term for this stage of an actress’s career). It’s not new. I’m sort of tired of hearing it, from so many women. We all make choices, and Wilde chose to market her looks. There’s no sin in that decision, but you need to own it.
I hope she successfully makes the transition to serious, mature roles, as so many “pretty women” don’t. She was never purely the ingenue type, though, so maybe that will benefit her. But to be honest, I’ve never seen a lot of depth in her acting.
64
@Passion for Peaches
Nice looks are merely the entry ticket for many women in the profession. It's difficult for anyone to completely figure this stuff out in their 20s.
But how nice that you had it all together so young, and can now scoff at others like Ms. Wilde, who at 35 is still quite young. I'm sure you must be the life of the party.
17
Congratulations Olivia. Everything I have heard about this film is that it is special. She got where she is because she is smart and works really hard. That is a lesson everyone needs to learn.
3
Try not being attractive and then see if you bemoan your successes due to your beauty.
56
I mean, she became an actress, not a librarian, of course looks play into it. This mostly seems like a thinly veiled attempt to drum up additional interest in booksmart.
78
I'm happy for her that she has the opportunity to spread her wings more. But to say that she is "grossed out" because of something that gave her advantage in her career is a bit silly to me, sorry. There is no doubt that appearance plays FAR too much a role in FAR too many hiring decisions, etc. But I'm sorry, let's not also pretend that appearance should not matter at all when we're talking about a profession where literally your job is nothing more than to be looked at & listened to by large number of people for hours at a time! Should radio announcers also be "grossed out" that their speaking voice helped get them their jobs?
27
Good for Olivia Wilde that she is moving beyond superficial roles and developing a deeper insight.
However....much of this piece consists of quotes about her looks, image, desire for fame, trajectory in film and TV.
So... what to make of this contradiction?
18
@Baba the lead was fine and then it just lost my interest
1
It's not just actors that deal with the whole "looks" thing! I remember starting out in my 20s at a consulting gig where the euphemism for a good-looking analyst was that he or she was "client ready."
For what it's worth, Olivia Wilde never struck me as dumb, no matter what role she played. I'm excited to see a hs comedy from girls' perspective. Makes me think back on that time in my own life and realize how underrepresented it is in film -- teen girls are too often the romantic interest/sex object that's just a plot device for a boy's story.
7
Daughter of journalists, the brilliant Christopher Hitchens as a family friend, good schools, blessed with unusually good looks and money.
Exploited because she chose the shallowest of careers?
I must be suffering from compassion fatigue because I can't seem to muster "appropriate" outrage.
Please, NY Times, give us a break.
176
@TM Born on third base and thinks she hit a home run? Exactly what is the chance this fine woman would ever have had the chance to direct a Hollywood feature film if she had been born plain or ugly? Not zero, but much less.
53
Every generation gets the "Superbad" that it deserves.
4
For years I've always enjoyed Olivia Wilde's roles because she never played the dumb blonde but was always played a person who was both smart, clever, and beautiful. I'm so happy she's able to use her smarts and talent to segue into directing and producing.
7
Saw the trailer to this prior to reading the interview, movie looks great. Wish her all the best -- its a journey I wish we could all better embrace.
4
If you're beauty is fading - as it does with all of us - hopefully you spent time developing your mind.
8
I had the opportunity to see an early screening of the movie, and it's clear that Wilde's dedication to the art will propel her to further directorial success.
I saw previews, and expected a fun and entertaining movie with a funny story. I didn't expect the level on nuance and detail paid to exactly how that story was told. While I'm no film critic, I've dabbled in studying the craft, and I was blown away by the techniques Wilde used. If I hadn't know she was directing beforehand, I would have assumed a veteran director was managing the camera throughout.
When the movie comes out for wide release, I plan on seeing it at least two more times because I'm sure there is more to digest that I couldn't the first time between fistfuls of popcorn and fits of laughter.
5
Gorgeous person grows up in well-connected family, attends elite prep school, achieves fame as a TV & film actress, gets looked at by people, defies odds and becomes film director.
106
@matt
And she really is gorgeous. And smart.
1
She is a good actor with a cute/beautiful face. I find it hard to believe that she would be hired based on her looks.
3
"House" was certainly not a melodrama. It was an intelligent, fascinating, ultimately heartbreaking series. Wilde was terrific in it - although her looks were very much part of her character.
11
@Brenda Stoddard, it was a formulaic doctor drama with a soupçon of mystery stirred in. And Wilde's role was all about her looks.
8
Thank goodness someone attractive and well-connected is finally finding some success!
253
Wasn't she an actress? I thought her looks were an important part of choosing an actor for a part. Don't really understand her complaint.
28
@Laceyl, she was COMMENTING, not COMPLAINING, on the fact that being beautiful was an important part of being chosen.
8
@Laer Carroll how exactly is saying your're "grossed out" *not* a complaint?
14
Good for Olivia Wilde! I hope BOOKSMART does well. It looks funny.
WAYNE'S WORLD was directed by Penelope Spheeris.
I hope BOOKSMART is a funny and commercial movie, like Wayne's world but smarter and featuring women.
Women drove box office success, despite opinions to the contrary.
Women have a very long tradition in comedy as successful writers and directors, going all the way back to Alice Guy and Mabel Normand and up through Penny Marshall, Martha Coolidge, Nora Ephron, Jamie Babbit, Pamela Adlon, Maya Rudolph, Wanda Sykes, Amy Schumer, Nicole Holofcener, Lisa Cholodenko, and so many other powerful, smart and funny women writer/directors.
I think Olivia Wilde is very wise to make opportunities for herself to use her brains and other many skills, and not rely on her looks.
Good for her. Good for entertainment. Good for equity. Good for the box office.
Hope many other women in Hollywood follow her example!
23
But how many people can't even get a job based on the way they look, regardless of gender?
22
@Eric Which makes me always wonder why men get about 75 percent of director jobs based on their gender, when there are so many talented and smart women out there, like Olivia Wilde.
4
For an article that is at least partly about getting beyond a woman's looks, the photo of Ms. Wilde that accompanies this article leaves me with a strong sense of cognitive dissonance. Liberal Hollywood is already in a double bind; feminist principles supposedly prevail, yet the pressure on a woman to look a certain way is enormous. This results in all sorts of psychological and even physical harm (obsessive dieting, diet pills, surgery and other invasive techniques) for both the actresses and the girls and women in the audience who unthinkingly swallow these standards.
Which is all to say, I'd love to see a photo of Ms. Wilde sans makeup and the seductive pose--say, in the middle of a production meeting instead of at the end of a long styling session.
243
@Roberta - come on, if a woman is beautiful, she shouldn't hide it: let's not make the mistake of considering beauty as a "sin" that should be hidden from view. Why should she appear "ugly" on purpose? She's smart, she's proving herself as a film director and I wish her great success in her career, but she shouldn't feel guilty about her beauty. What purpose would that achieve?
11
@Andy I feel the original comment answered your question already. How does a photo of her at work on a movie equate to appearing ugly on purpose?
The point is that this is an article about how unfair it is than women in Hollywood are forced to get by on their looks, and it features a glamour shot at the top of the page.
As the original commentor wrote - this leaves me with a strong sense of cognitive dissonance.
42
@C - Blame Ryan Pfluger, he took her picture. I take your point, though. Maybe Ryan could have taken a few snapshots of her on set working on her movie - it would have been fascinating and far more interesting.
15
Why can't they make some smart, witty comedies about adults, for crying out loud.
31
Regardless of Ms. Wilde’s background, it is true that beautiful women are mostly evaluated on their looks rather than on their talents. In a male-dominated world, this is true in business just like in Hollywood.
About 5 years ago, a stunningly beautiful woman of Eastern European descent started working with me, and I knew that every male in the company drooled over her for her killer looks. I made it a point to engage her professionally and to encourage her career growth based on her skills and talent. She now runs her own company and we have remained very close friends. There’s no point pretending that a beautiful woman is not attractive to us, but it is the duty of us men to look beyond the surface and to support the talents, brains and business skills that so many of these women possess.
94
@Andy
Absolutely.
We should also expect women to similarly refrain from judging and pursuing men based on the men’s status, influence and bank accounts.
2
Such generosity. How about supporting women whatever they look like?
3
Ms. Wilde is the child of rich celebrities, including a well-known TV producer. Without that acting career based on looks and other lucky accidents of birth, where would she be?
How many 35-year old women without any significant directing experience are offered big budget feature films, even forgetting that she didn't conceive of or write this one herself?
Is this really meritocracy at last?
205
@jrd, No, it's not meritocracy. But you imply that she should be penalized for her beauty and her celeb parents.
2
@jrd Olivia Wilde seems an interesting person who is truly interested in learning, and is curious about life. Her family includes several outstanding journalists, politicians,artists, writers, and various characters , all brilliant free-thinkers.
Many have been helped through challenging times by Ms Wilde's candid takes on pregnancy, childbirth, and early parenting. Check out the photo, I believe in Vogue, of her breastfeeding her firstborn. Elegant.
@Laer Carroll..I missed the "penalized" part.
5
If she is anything like her Mother, father, her uncles she will be an awesome filmmaker.
6
I absolutely agree with Ms. Wilde about the absurdity of having so much depend on appearances. I also agree that the burden falls disproportionately on women. That said, nothing was stopping her from choosing a career in, say, epidemiology rather than the film industry.
77
@Eric Miller, Assuming her beginnings were reported accurately, she was drawn to acting as a creative art. She should be looked down upon because she had an artist's drive?
6
Always good to see woman make progress in field dominated by men.
Ms. Wilde is an stunningly beautiful woman. As a woman who has lived a life with that gift, she has no real concept of living without it.
Her talent and drive no doubt resulting in her directing. But beauty always plays a part in all women's lives and careers.
112
@Heidi
I’d guess it’s more likely that her directing opportunity came because she’s a celebrity, and her celebrity came because she’s pretty. I doubt she worked her way up in the theater world , where people work because they honed their craft, and where most of the truly great acting talent has its roots.
2
Glad to hear that Wilde has moved beyond the pretty girl roles. I'm much more interested in her now. Swinton was right....
26
Imagine all the creative women who will never direct a movie because they never made the contacts Olivia did through her looks. Or the ones who stood up to people who tried to exploit them, and had to choose a new career.
216
@Mary k, Yes it's sad that beauty is still such a dominant force in women's lives. But Wilde should not be looked down upon because she used one of the few advantages looks give women.
10
@Mary k; or her connections that most other women don't have - her lineage, Phillips Academy, high-profile partner. It is difficult to take this article seriously.
15
We all know that a beautiful gift in a beautiful wrapping is much better than a beautiful gift in an ugly wrapping.
Had I had a choice the matter, I most certainly would have chosen the Beautiful wrapping.
I just think that if you were blessed with beauty like no other, then you should feel blessed. And, I would never judge you less for it.
Hugs.
21
@Truth Is True.
Yes. Good looks and talent gave her the opportunity to make this film. Nothing to run away from.
22
@Erik
Indeed. Her beauty is the type that launches ships. She was at one time an actual princess, having married a prince.
Beauty like hers should be celebrated. Clearly she is more than just her beauty, and that should be celebrated also. All the best to her in her future endeavors.
8
Excited to watch Booksmart. Looks great. A little worried that the NYT seems to cast every interview subject as an underdog overcoming the crushing tyranny of society.
111
@Murph People seem to believe that trauma necessarily improves a person, so they want to advertise as much as possible, while to be a sympathetic interviewer now means to help exaggerate the precious, precious trauma.
This is usually done by people who haven't been through a trauma beyond "being too pretty to be taken seriously in acting," a brand new issue which is without a doubt and by far the single worst problem facing humanity today.
People who have been through actual traumas, well, they either don't talk about it much (rightly and wrongly) or they refuse to self-aggrandize based on it, which is an utterly repulsive trivialization to the point of self-negation. Or, as life coach would put it, "a good career move."
Yeah, "how can I monetize my trauma" is not the first thing that hits the mind of a traumatized person. It is, however, the first thing that hits the mind of a PR professional hired to place their client's latest work in a prominent media outlet.
49
@Murph
This was my exact first reaction!
6
@Murph, they really do. It’s so true.
4