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the help

When the 2011 film The Help opened in cinemas, it divided critics. The book of the same name was a bestseller, and its movie adaptation achieved similar success at the box office (it grossed over $200 million), but as many pointed out, it was a film far from perfect. This is largely due to its depiction of the women of colour in the movie and racism in America as a whole. 

The film recounts the story of a young white woman and aspiring journalist Eugenia ‘Skeeter’ Phelan, played by Emma Stone and her relationship with two black maids, Aibileen Clark, played by Viola Davis, and Minny Jackson, played by Octavia Spencer, during the Civil Rights Movement in 1963 Jackson, Mississippi.

And despite the fact that Spencer won Best Supporting Actress at the 84th Academy Awards for her role with Davis receiving a nomination, she has told the New York Times that her role in the film is actually one she regrets playing now.

“Have I ever done roles that I’ve regretted?” Davis mused.

“I have – and The Help is on that list.”

She was quick to point out that while the movie had many positives – including the friendship and bonds she formed with its cast and collaborators – she felt that it wasn't truly the maid's voices who were heard in the end.

"[The experience] and the people involved were all great. The friendships that I formed are ones that I’m going to have for the rest of my life. I had a great experience with these other actresses, who are extraordinary human beings. And I could not ask for a better collaborator than Tate Taylor (the director).”

"I just felt that at the end of the day that it wasn’t the voices of the maids that were heard,” she explained.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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“I know Aibileen. I know Minny. They’re my grandma. They’re my mom. And I know that if you do a movie where the whole premise is, I want to know what it feels like to work for white people and to bring up children in 1963, I want to hear how you really feel about it. I never heard that in the course of the movie.”

This isn't the first time Davis has shared her concerns with the film. Speaking around the time of the film's release, she said much of the same in an interview,  “I love the fact that [Emma Stone’s character] Eugenia said ‘I am going to write a story from the maids’ perspective of what it feels like to work with these white women’. Operative term being THE MAID’S PERSPECTIVE. I don’t feel like it was from our perspective, that’s the problem I had with it. And I had it from the very beginning.”

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It's been seven years since one of our favourite movies was released in cinemas – The Help.

Set in America's deep south at the height of civil rights in 1962, the movie explores the role that the black maids had in bringing up white children and one woman, Skeeter (Emma Stone) who writes a book exposing the injustices in her Mississippi hometown. 

It seems like it was a movie that stayed with a lot of it's stars as many of them took to social media to celebrate the anniversary of the fantastic flick. 

Octavia Spencer, who nabbed an Oscar for her portrayal of hilarious maid Minny Jackson, wrote a lengthy post on instagram, thanking the movie for changing her life.

“What I personally learned from the entire process in preparation for this role was: it doesn't matter if the glass is half empty or half full. What matters is if you own the glass,'' she wrote.

She continued, ''Minny, Aibileen, and all the other maids didn't own the glass. They didn't have the luxury of deciding to be positive (half full) or negative (half empty) as society decided for them. #agencyisTheKey #TheHelp.”

Based on the bestselling novel (if you haven't read it yet, definitely do) by Kathryn Stockett, the movie grossed $216.6 million at the box office and went on to become the first film in almost a decade to top box-office charts for three consecutive weekends and later for 25 days in a row, which was last seen in 1999. 

Pretty impressive, right?

Also dedicating a post to the movie was Viola Davis, who played Minny’s fellow maid Aibileen Clark and was also nominated for the best actress Oscar for her role.

She wrote, “it changed our lives. What an experience. My takeaway? It was the deepest, most intimate, joyful time I spent in the company of women. We are powerful together. The audience received the overflow of the love that we had for each other.”

The fans were out in force, showing their support and commenting, 'easily one of the best films I've ever seen. Full of emotion and a true mirror of society.''

Another said, ''this awesome movie that also changed my life. I don't know how many times I've watched it. I love Minny and Aibileen, they inspired me to be better everyday.''

We know what we're watching tonight with a glass of vino – happy anniversary, The Help!

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That’s right folks, there are TWO beautiful redheaded actresses dominating the box office these days – despite some serious confusion.  

Aside from their glorious hair colour, Bryce Dallas Howard and Jessica Chastain really do look remarkably alike.

So much so that there is now Jessica Chastain: The Musical (Bryce Dallas Howard), a hilarious short YouTube video created by Legolambs.

Pretending to be sung from Bryce’s POV, the song begs for people to be able to differentiate between the two actresses.

It opens, “everything was going so well, this just isn’t fair. I was here first.”

The star of the forthcoming Jurassic World movie hilariously got in on the joke after a friend sent her the video which she then passed on to Ms Chastain.

The 34-year-old daughter of Ron Howard did a Dubsmash with the song and sent it to Jessica who posted it from her own Instagram.

 

Everyone get it yet? : ) performance by #BryceDallasHoward not #JessicaChastain

A video posted by Jessica Chastain (@chastainiac) on

“Jessica was like, ‘OK, this is totally a thing. We need to use this power for good, and do a movie together playing sisters,’” Ms Howard told reporters at the Los Angeles premiere of Jurassic World.

As if the pair starring alongside each other in The Help didn’t confuse us enough, playing sisters will seriously get everyone’s heads spinning

 

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Reports are speculating that Jessica Chastain is set to play the iconic film star, Marilyn Monroe.

Jessica is believed to have landed the lead role in director Andrew Dominik’s new Marilyn Monroe drama, Blonde.

Blonde plans to go into a more in depth look of Marylin’s life and will be told from the perspective of Marilyn’s real persona, Norma Jeane Baker.

The film will also feature all of Marilyn’s famous suitors but they will all go under vague descriptions, such as the playwright (Arthur Miller), the president (John F. Kennedy) and The Ex-Athlete (Joe DiMaggio).

We think Jessica is a perfect cast choice for the role, as Jessica even looked and acted like the iconic star in the hit film, The Help.

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