Ben Stiller’s impersonation of Joaquin Phoenix at the Oscars was a last minute addition to the show – because the Tropic Thunder star refused to stick to official script.
Stiller appeared alongside Natalie Portman to introduce the nominees for the Best Cinematography award at Sunday’s (22Feb09) Academy Awards ceremony in Los Angeles.
And Stiller shocked the star-studded crowd by wearing a scruffy fake beard and wandering aimlessly around the stage, mocking Phoenix’ recent string of bizarre public appearances since the Gladiator star ‘quit acting’ to focus on his rap career.
But the gag only made the cut because Stiller had “a meltdown” at rehearsals on Saturday, “because he was unhappy with the script and decided he could do better,” according to New York Post gossip column PageSix.
A source tells the publication, “Ben refused to tell them what he planned until he arrived at the Kodak Theatre, and then he did that Joaquin Phoenix bit.”
Jenny Shimizu stormed onto the fashion scene in 1993, helping to define the grunge movement and cement her place among iconic supermodels like Kate Moss and Amber Valletta. Now, 16 years after first making a name for herself, she’s back in the spotlight as a judge on Make Me a Supermodel. Jenny opens up in an exclusive interview to Life & Style about her new Make Me a Supermodel gig — and what it was like to date Angelina Jolie!
ON WHY SHE’S RETURNING TO MODELING AFTER BEING A MECHANIC:
“Being a mechanic is really my passion, and I’ll always do that. But I actually love fashion and modeling too. I like the fact that I came from a different place: I’m Japanese, I’m small, I have tattoos, I’m a lesbian. Shows [Make Me A Supermodel] like this offer a huge amount of possibility and opportunity.”
ON HER RELATIONSHIP WITH ANGELINA JOLIE:
“It was like a college romance; it happened so long ago. When it was happening, it was wonderful — you’re meeting an incredible woman and you celebrate that. But then you see it on TV and it becomes almost ugly.”
ON IF SHE’S SURPRISED ABOUT ANGELINA JOLIE’S NEW LIFESTYLE:
“No. Gender never really plays an issue with someone like her who’s attractive to everybody. And Angelina was always going to adopt a lot of kids. She told me she was going to, and she’s a woman of her word.”
ON MODELING PERKS:
Hanging with celebs like Madonna was just one perk of being a top model in the ’90s. “You traveled to all different countries, and you had a lot of money,” she tells Life & Style. “It was wild.”
Now I can’t wait to see this movie! Cate makes any movie great!
Cate Blanchett is looking for a few good Merry Men.
Per Variety, the Oscar winner has signed on to play Maid Marian in the tentatively titled Nottingham, director Ridley Scott’s big-screen reimagining of the Robin Hood story opposite Russell Crowe.
Blanchett will replace Sienna Miller, who dropped out due to “creative differences.”
Crowe will play the lead, which, depending on how the script turns out, could either be Robin Hood or a reinvented Sheriff of Nottingham.
