The Help is a 2011 drama film adaptation of Kathryn Stockett's novel of the same name, adapted for the screen and directed by Tate Taylor. The film is an ensemble piece about a young white woman, Eugenia "Skeeter" Phelan, and her relationship with two black maids during Civil Rights era America (the early 1960s). Skeeter is a journalist who decides to write a controversial book from the point of view of the maids (referred to as "the help"), exposing the racism they are faced with as they work for white families.

The film is set in Jackson, Mississippi, and stars Emma Stone, Viola Davis, Octavia Spencer, Bryce Dallas Howard, Jessica Chastain, Sissy Spacek, Mike Vogel, Mary Steenburgen, and Allison Janney. Produced by DreamWorks Pictures and distributed by Touchstone Pictures, The Help opened to positive reviews and became a massive box office success with a gross of $206.7 million^[2] against its budget of $25,000,000. In February 2012, the film received four Academy Awards nominations including Best Picture and acting nods for Davis, Chastain, and a win for Supporting Actress for Spencer.^[3] On January 29, 2012, The Help won the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture.

Plot[link]

Aibileen Clark (Viola Davis) is a middle-aged black maid who has spent her life raising white children and has recently lost her only son. Minny Jackson (Octavia Spencer) is another black maid whose outspokenness has gotten her fired a number of times; she has built up a reputation for being a difficult employee, but she makes up for this with her phenomenal cooking skills.

Eugenia "Skeeter" Phelan (Emma Stone) is a young white woman who has recently moved back home to her family's plantation after graduating from the University of Mississippi^[4] to find that her beloved childhood maid, Constantine (Cicely Tyson), has quit while she was away. Skeeter is skeptical, because she believes Constantine would not have left without writing to her.

Unlike her friends, who attended university to find husbands (and are now all married and having children), Skeeter is single, has a degree, and wants to begin a career as a writer. Her first job is as a "homemaker hints" columnist in the local paper. With Constantine gone, Skeeter asks Aibileen, the maid to her good friend Elizabeth, for her help in answering domestic questions. Skeeter becomes uncomfortable with the attitude her friends have towards their "help," especially Hilly Holbrook (Bryce Dallas Howard) and her "Home Help Sanitation Initiative," a proposed bill to provide for separate bathrooms for black help because (as she puts it) she believes that black people carry different diseases from white people. Amidst the era of discrimination based on color, Skeeter is one of the few who believe otherwise, and she decides to write a book, The Help, based on the lives of the maids who have spent their entire lives taking care of white children.

The maids are at first reluctant to talk to Skeeter, because they are afraid that they will lose their jobs or worse. Aibileen is the first to share her stories, after she overhears Hilly's initiative, and realizes that the children whom she has been raising are growing up to be just like their parents. Her friend Minny has just been fired as Hilly's maid as a punishment for Minny using the bathroom during a thunderstorm, instead of going to use the separate outdoor toilet. Hilly poisons all the other families against Minny, making it impossible for her to find other work, and her daughter is forced to drop out of school to find a job as a maid. Minny initially declines to participate in Skeeter's book research, but later agrees to share her stories. Aibileen helps her find work with Celia Foote (Jessica Chastain), who is married to a rich socialite (Mike Vogel), but is an outcast from the other society ladies, because she was born into a working class family and her husband is Hilly's ex-boyfriend. Also, unlike Hilly, Celia seems to treat Minny with respect.

Skeeter writes a draft of the book, with Minny and Aibileen's stories in it, and sends it to Miss Stein (Mary Steenburgen), an editor for Harper & Row in New York. Miss Stein thinks there may be some interest in it, but requires at least a dozen more maids' contributions before it can become a viable book. Believing that the book will only be publishable during the Civil Rights movement, which she believes is a passing fad, Stein advises Skeeter to finish the book soon. No one comes forward, until Medgar Evers is assassinated in Jackson, Mississippi, and Hilly's latest maid is brutally arrested (for attempting to pawn one of Hilly's rings, to pay for her twins' college tuition, after Hilly had refused to give her a loan). With racial tensions running high, the maids realize that Skeeter's book will give them an opportunity for their voices to be heard, and Skeeter suddenly has numerous stories to include. Minny shares one last story with Skeeter and Aibileen, which she calls the "Terrible Awful," to ensure that no one will reveal that the book was written about Jackson, Mississippi. As revenge for being fired and accused of stealing, Minny bakes a chocolate pie and delivers it to Hilly. After Hilly has finished two slices, Minny informs her that she has baked her own feces into the pie. Minny tells Aibileen and Skeeter that if they add that part into the book, Hilly will try to prevent anyone from figuring out that she made her eat human feces and will convince the town that the book is not about Jackson. The book is almost finished, except for Skeeter's own story of being brought up by Constantine. Skeeter manages to find out what had happened to Constantine, when her mother, Charlotte (Allison Janney), finally explains that she fired her in order to save face during a reception. Soon afterwards, feeling guilty about the incident, Charlotte had sent Skeeter's brother to bring Constantine home from Chicago, where she was living with her daughter Rachel, but he discovered that she had died, not long after leaving Jackson.

The book is accepted for publication and is a success, much to the delight of Skeeter and the maids. She shares her royalties with each of the maids who contributed, and is offered a job with a publishing company in New York. She tells her boyfriend about the job and the book. Revolted by her ideas of racial equality, he immediately breaks up with her. Later in the afternoon, Hilly hatches a plan to get rid of Aibileen as Elizabeth's help, by falsely accusing her of stealing silver. Aibileen denounces Hilly as a godless woman and tells her that she will never have peace if she continues her vindictive ways, leaving her in limbo. As Aibileen tries to convince Hilly and Elizabeth (Ahna O'Reilly) of her innocence, Elizabeth's daughter, Mae Mobley, arrives and pleads with her not to go. Elizabeth is forced to accept the firing of Aibileen, and Mae Mobley cries by the window, shouting for Aibileen as she leaves to start a new life.

Cast[link]

• Emma Stone as Eugenia "Skeeter" Phelan, a college graduate and aspiring writer.
• Viola Davis as Aibileen Clark, a black maid and Skeeter's good friend
• Bryce Dallas Howard as Hilly Holbrook, the town racist and snooty ringleader.
• Octavia Spencer as Minny Jackson, a maid with a smart mouth that has gotten her fired a lot of times; she is Aibileen's best friend.
• Jessica Chastain as Celia Foote, Minny's naive employer and Johnny's wife.
• Allison Janney as Charlotte Phelan, Skeeter's mother.
• Ahna O'Reilly as Elizabeth Leefolt, Aibileen's employer.
• Chris Lowell as Stuart Whitworth, Skeeter's boyfriend and a senator's son.
• Cicely Tyson as Constantine Bates, Skeeter's beloved childhood maid.
• Mike Vogel as Johnny Foote, Hilly's ex-boyfriend and Celia's husband.
• Sissy Spacek as Mrs. Walters, Hilly's mother.
• Anna Camp as Jolene French, a friend of Hilly and Elizabeth.
• Brian Kerwin as Robert Phelan, Skeeter's father
• Aunjanue Ellis as Yule May Davis, a maid fired by Hilly for pawning a ring she found in Holbrook house to pay for her children's education
• Emma and Eleanor Henry as Mae Mobley Leefolt, Elizabeth's baby.
• Ted Welch as William Holbrook, Hilly's husband.
• LaChanze as Rachel, daughter of Constantine.
• Mary Steenburgen as Elaine Stein, an editor for Harper & Row.
• Leslie Jordan as Mr. Blackly
• Nelsan Ellis as Henry, the waiter
• Wes Chatham as Carlton Phelan, Skeeter's brother.
• Tiffany Brouwer as Rebecca, Carlton's wife.
• Kelsey Scot as Sugar Jackson, Minny's daughter.
• David Oyelowo as Preacher Green
• Dana Ivey as Grace Higginbotham
• Ashley Johnson as Mary Beth Caldwell

Production[link]

In December 2009, Variety reported that Chris Columbus, Michael Barnathan, and Mark Radcliffe would produce a film adaptation of The Help, under their production company 1492 Productions. Brunson Green of Harbinger Productions also co-produced. The film was written and directed by Stockett's childhood friend, Tate Taylor, who optioned film rights to the book before its release.^[5]

The first casting news for the production came in March 2010, was reported that Emma Stone was attached to play the role of Skeeter Phelan.^[6] Other actors were since cast, including Viola Davis as Aibileen; Bryce Dallas Howard as Hilly Holbrook, Jackson's snooty town ringleader; Allison Janney as Charlotte Phelan, Skeeter's mother; and Chris Lowell as Stuart Whitworth, Skeeter's boyfriend and a senator's son.^[7][8][9] Leslie Jordan appears as the editor of the fictional local newspaper, The Jackson Journal.^[10] Mike Vogel plays the character Johnny Foote. Octavia Spencer portrays Minny. A longtime friend of Stockett and Taylor, Spencer inspired the character of Minny in Stockett's novel and voiced her in the audiobook version.^[11][12]

Filming of The Help began in July 2010 and extended through October. The town of Greenwood, Mississippi was chosen to portray 1960s-era Jackson, and producer Brunson Green said he had expected to shoot "95 percent" of the movie there. Parts of the film were also shot in the real-life Jackson, as well as in nearby Clarksdale and Greenville. One of the few locations that existed in 1963 Jackson, the book and the movie is Jackson landmark Brent's Drugs, which dates to 1946. Other locations that can still be found in Jackson include the New Capitol Building and the Mayflower Cafe downtown. Scenes set at the Jackson Journal office were shot in Clarksdale at the building which formerly housed the Clarksdale Press Register for 40 years until April 2010.^[13]

The Help was the most significant film production in Mississippi since 2000's O Brother, Where Art Thou?^[14][15][16] "Honestly, my heart would be broken if it were set anywhere but Mississippi", Stockett wrote in an e-mail to reporters. In order to convince producers to shoot in Greenwood, Tate Taylor and others had previously come to the town and scouted out locations; at his first meeting with DreamWorks executives, he presented them with a photo album of potential filming spots in the area. The state's tax incentive program for filmmakers was also a key enticement in the decision.^[14][15][16]

Music[link]

The original song is "The Living Proof" by Mary J. Blige.^[17] The soundtrack was released on July 26, 2011 through Geffen Records.^[18]

Track listing

Release[link]

On October 13, 2010, Touchstone Pictures and DreamWorks gave the film a release date of August 12, 2011. On June 30, 2011, the film's release date was rescheduled two days earlier to August 10, 2011.^[19]

Box office[link]

The Help grossed $169,705,587 in North America, and $37,029,260 in other territories, for a worldwide total of $206,734,847.^[2]

On its opening day (Wednesday, August 10, 2011), The Help topped the box office with $5.54 million. It then added $4.33 million on Thursday, declining only 21%, for a two-day total to $9.87 million.^[20] On its first weekend, The Help grossed $26.0 million, coming in second place behind Rise of the Planet of the Apes.^[21] However, during its second weekend, The Help jumped to the number one spot at the box office, beating the previous weekend's number one film (Rise of the Planet of the Apes) as well as all four new nationwide releases (Spy Kids: All the Time in the World, Conan the Barbarian, Fright Night and One Day). All this thanks to a decline of only 23%, the smallest among films playing nationwide, to $20.0 million.^[22] The Help retained first place in its third weekend, again beating all three new nationwide releases (Colombiana, Don't Be Afraid of the Dark and Our Idiot Brother) dropping only 27% to $14.5 million.^[23] The film crossed the $100 million mark on its 21st day of release, becoming one of only two titles in August 2011 that achieved this.^[24] On its fourth weekend (Labor Day 3-day weekend), it became the only 2011 film, and the first film since Inception, to top the box-office charts for three consecutive weekends.^[25][26] Up just 0.4% to $14.6 million, it out-grossed all new nationwide releases (The Debt which also starred Jessica Chastain, Apollo 18 and Shark Night 3D).^[27] During the 4-day weekend, it was still in first place with a $19.9 million haul,^[28] which was the fourth largest gross for a Labor-day weekend.^[29] As of September 2011, it is the 7th highest-grossing Drama-Summer film (serious drama that debuted in the summer), according to Box Office Mojo.^[30] Notably, The Help topped the box office for 25 days in a row. This was the longest uninterrupted streak since The Sixth Sense (35 days), which was also a late summer release, in 1999.^[31]

To promote the movie, TakePart.com hosted a series of three writing contests.^[32] Rebecca Lubin, of Mill Valley, CA, who has been a nanny for nearly two decades won the recipe contest. Darcy Pattison’s “11 Ways to Ruin a Photograph” won "The Help" Children's Story Contest with her story about a tenacious young girl who refuses to take a good photograph while her father is away “soldiering.” After being chosen by guest judge and children’s book author Lou Berger, the story was professionally illustrated.^[33] The final contest was about "someone who inspired you." Genoveva Islas-Hooker charmed guest judge Doc Hendley (founder of Wine to Water) with her story, A Heroine Named Confidential. A case manager for patients with HIV, Islas-Hooker was consistently inspired by one special individual who never gave up the fight to live.

Reception[link]

The Help received positive reviews from critics. Review aggregators Rotten Tomatoes reported that 76% of 193 professional critics gave the film a positive review, with an average critical score of 7/10. The site's consensus stated, "Though arguably guilty of glossing over its racial themes, The Help rises on the strength of its cast—particularly Viola Davis, whose performance is powerful enough to carry the film on its own."^[34] Metacritic, a review aggregator which assigns a weighted average score out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, gives the film a score of 62 based on 41 reviews.^[35] CinemaScore polls reported that the average grade moviegoers gave the film was an A+ on an A+ to F scale.^[36]

Tom Long from The Detroit News remarked about the film: "Appealling, entertaining, touching and perhaps even a bit healing, The Help is an old-fashioned grand yarn of a film, the sort we rarely get these days."^[37] Connie Ogle of The Miami Herald gave the film three out of four stars and said it "will make you laugh, yes, but it can also break your heart. In the dog days of August moviegoing, that's a powerful recommendation."^[38]

More on the mixed side was Karina Longworth of the Village Voice: "We get a fairly typical Hollywood flattening of history, with powerful villains and disenfranchised heroes."^[39] Rick Gloen of The Globe and Mail, giving the film two out of four stars, said: "Typically, this sort of film is an earnest tear-jerker with moments of levity. Instead, what we have here is a raucous rib-tickler with occasional pauses for a little dramatic relief."^[40] Referring to the film as a "big, ole slab of honey-glazed hokum", the New York Times noted that "save for Ms. Davis’s, however, the performances are almost all overly broad, sometimes excruciatingly so, characterized by loud laughs, bugging eyes and pumping limbs."^[41]

Some of the negative reviews criticized the film for its inability to match the book's level of greatness. Chris Hewitt of the St. Paul Pioneer Press said about the film: "Some adaptations find a fresh, cinematic way to convey a book's spirit but The Help doesn't."^[42]

Many critics praised the performances of Viola Davis and Octavia Spencer. Wilson Morales of Blackfilm.com gave the movie 3 out of 4 stars and commented, "With powerful performances given by Viola Davis and scene stealer Octavia Spencer, the film is an emotionally, moving drama that remains highly entertaining." David Edelstein from New York magazine commented that, "The Help belongs to Viola Davis."

Ida E. Jones, the national director of the Association of Black Women Historians, released an open statement criticizing "The Help" in An Open Statement to the Fans of The Help. The letter stated that "[d]espite efforts to market the book and the film as a progressive story of triumph over racial injustice, The Help distorts, ignores, and trivializes the experiences of black domestic workers." The group of scholars accused both the book and the film of insensitive portrayals of African-American vernacular, a nearly uniform depiction of black men as cruel or absent, and a failure to acknowledge the sexual harassment that many black women endured in their white employers’ homes. Jones concluded by saying that "The Association of Black Women Historians finds it unacceptable for either this book or this film to strip black women’s lives of historical accuracy for the sake of entertainment."^[43]

Roxane Gay of literary web magazine The Rumpus articulated reasons the film might be offensive to African Americans, mentioning the film's use of racial Hollywood stereotypes like the Magical Negro and Gone With the Wind's Mammy.^[44]

Home media[link]

The film was released on Blu-ray Disc, DVD, and Digital Download on December 6, 2011. The release was produced in three different physical packages: a 3-disc combo pack (Blu-ray, DVD, and Digital Copy); a 2-disc combo pack (Blu-ray and DVD); and a 1-disc DVD. The film was also released as a Digital Download option in both standard and high definition. The DVD version includes two deleted scenes and "The Living Proof" music video by Mary J. Blige. The Digital Download version includes the same features as the DVD version, plus one additional deleted scene. Both the 2-disc and 3-disc combo packs include the same features as the DVD version, as well as "The Making of 'The Help:' From Friendship To Film," "In Their Own Words: A Tribute To The Maids Of Mississippi," and three deleted scenes with introductions by Director Tate Taylor.^[45][46][47]

Awards and nominations[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

	African American portal
	Film portal
	Comedy portal

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: The Help (film)

• The Help at the Internet Movie Database
• The Help at AllRovi
• The Help at Box Office Mojo
• The Help at Rotten Tomatoes
• civilrightstravel, The Help's filming locations and associated civil rights history award

Emma Stone
Emma Stone in March 2012.
Born	Emily Jean Stone (1988-11-06) November 6, 1988 (age 23) Scottsdale, Arizona, U.S.
Other names	Riley Stone
Occupation	Actress
Years active	2004–present

Emily Jean "Emma" Stone (born November 6, 1988) is an American actress.

Stone was a cast member of the TV series Drive, and made her feature film debut in the comedy Superbad (2007). She appeared in The House Bunny (2008) and Ghosts of Girlfriends Past (2009). She then starred in the horror-comedy Zombieland and the indie comedy Paper Man in 2009. In 2010, Stone voiced the character Mazie in Marmaduke, and starred in the high school comedy Easy A, which earned her a nomination for a Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy. In 2011, she starred in the films Crazy, Stupid, Love. and The Help, both of which were well received by critics and commercial successes. Stone will play Gwen Stacy in the Amazing Spider-Man film, a reboot of the Spider-Man film franchise.

Early life[link]

Stone was born in Scottsdale, Arizona, the daughter of Krista (née Yeager), a homemaker, and Jeff Stone, a contractor.^[1] She has a brother, who is two years her junior.^[2] Stone's paternal grandfather was of Swedish descent, and his family's surname was anglicized to "Stone" when immigrating to the U.S. through Ellis Island; some of her ancestors also lived in Pennsylvania Dutch Country.^[3]

While growing up, she was a member of the Valley Youth Theatre, a regional theater in Phoenix, Arizona, where she appeared in her first stage production, The Wind in the Willows, at the age of 11.^[4] Stone attended Sequoya Elementary School and then Cocopah Middle School for sixth grade. She was home schooled for two years, at which time she appeared in 16 productions at Valley Youth Theatre, including: A Winnie-the-Pooh Christmas Tail, The Princess and the Pea, Cinderella, The Wiz, Titanic, Honk!, The Little Mermaid, Schoolhouse Rock Live!, Alice in Wonderland, and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat,^[4][5] and performed with the theater's improv comedy troupe.^[6]

Stone attended Xavier College Preparatory,^[4] an all-girl Catholic high school, as a freshman for one semester. She gave a PowerPoint presentation to her parents, set to the Madonna song "Hollywood", to convince them to let her move to California for an acting career.^[7] She dropped out of high school, and in January 2004, moved with her mother to a Los Angeles apartment, at the age of 15.^[8] She was then home schooled, so that she could audition during the day.^[9]

Career[link]

2004–2011[link]

Stone at the Zombieland world premiere, 2009

Stone launched a career in television after winning the role of Laurie Partridge on In Search of the New Partridge Family (2004), a VH1 talent competition reality show.^[10] The resulting show, The New Partridge Family (2005), only produced a pilot episode. Stone next had appearances in the television series Medium, Malcolm in the Middle and Lucky Louie. In 2007, she had a regular role on the Fox drama Drive, playing Violet Trimble, until the series was cancelled. She also auditioned for Heroes, and overheard in the casting room "On a scale of 1 to 10, you are an 11" — the casting directors were referring to Hayden Panettiere, who was cast as Claire Bennet instead. Stone called this experience "rock bottom."^[11]

Stone made her feature film debut in the 2007 teen comedy Superbad, playing Jules, the love interest of lead character Seth (Jonah Hill). In 2008, she appeared in the comedy The Rocker, with Rainn Wilson. Stone played Amelia, the bass guitarist in a band featuring singer Teddy Geiger. Stone learned to play bass for the role. Also that year, Stone appeared in The House Bunny, starring Anna Faris, alongside Katharine McPhee, Kat Dennings, Rumer Willis, and Colin Hanks.^[12] Stone played the president of a sorority and sang on a single from the film, "I Know What Boys Like," a cover version of the 1982 song by The Waitresses.^[13]

In 2009, Stone appeared in Ghosts of Girlfriends Past, a romantic comedy directed by Mark Waters, the director of Mean Girls, starring Matthew McConaughey and Jennifer Garner.^[14] Stone played "The Ghost of Girlfriends Past," a takeoff of the Ghost of Christmas Past from Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol. She starred in the horror/comedy Zombieland, along with Woody Harrelson and Jesse Eisenberg. The project began shooting in Atlanta in February 2009.^[15] Stone played Wichita, a survivor/con artist from Wichita, Kansas, traveling across the U.S. with her younger sister Little Rock (Abigail Breslin).^[16] Stone also starred in Paper Man in 2009, alongside Jeff Daniels, Ryan Reynolds and Lisa Kudrow, directed by Kieran and Michele Mulroney.^[17] She played Abby, a babysitter that Daniels' character hires after moving to Long Island.^[18] Stone began filming the independent comedy on November 11, 2008, in Montauk, New York, using well-known local locations.^[19]

Stone at the 2010 Toronto International Film Festival

In 2010, Stone had a voice role in Marmaduke, a film adaptation of the long-running comic strip about a Great Dane.^[20] She voiced Marmaduke's friend, Mazie, a tomboyish Australian Shepherd.^[21] Stone landed her first leading role that year, starring with Amanda Bynes as a high school student in Easy A, a comedy directed by Will Gluck.^[22] Her character scandalizes her teachers and more conservative religious classmates after a false rumor circulates that she is sexually promiscuous.^[23] The script contrasts the novel The Scarlet Letter and its heroine, Hester Prynne, to the life of the protagonist in the film. Stone read the script before the project was optioned for production, and kept an eye on it along with her manager until preparations were made.^[24] She was attracted to the script because it was "funny and sweet" and her character was "fantastic from the first read" who was "fleshed [..] out so much in the script".^[24] When she found out that the film had gone into production, she met with Gluck to express her enthusiasm about the project.^[24] A few months later, the audition process started and Stone met again with Gluck to be one of the first actresses to audition.^[24] Stone was nominated for the 2011 Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy for her role.^[25]

Stone appeared at the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards on September 12, 2010, and introduced Linkin Park. She stated in 2008 that she would eventually like to venture into film production, producing her own films, and that her dream was to appear on Saturday Night Live.^[12] Stone hosted the late-night sketch comedy show on October 23, 2010, and again on November 12, 2011.^[26][27]

Stone appeared in Friends With Benefits, starring Justin Timberlake and Mila Kunis, and directed by Will Gluck. The sex comedy began filming in July 2010, in New York, and was released in July 2011.^[28] She also starred in Crazy, Stupid, Love. that year, alongside Steve Carell, Julianne Moore, Ryan Gosling and Marisa Tomei. The Warner Bros. film, about a husband (Carell) with marital problems and difficulties with his children, began shooting on April 16, 2010, in Los Angeles and was released on July 29, 2011.^[29] Stone starred in The Help, an adaptation of Kathryn Stockett's best-selling novel of the same name, a period piece set in Jackson, Mississippi, in the 1960s, which was released in August 2011. She plays Eugenia "Skeeter" Phelan, an aspiring writer, and employed a Southern dialect for the role.^[18]

2012–present[link]

Stone at the 69th Golden Globe Awards in 2012

Stone joined the voice cast of The Croods, a 3D computer animated caveman comedy by DreamWorks Animation. She will voice the role of Eep, the oldest daughter of Grug (Nicolas Cage) and Ugga (Catherine Keener). Ryan Reynolds voices Gy, the love interest to Stone's character.^[30] The film is scheduled for release on March 22, 2013.

She stars in the comedic short film, "Veronica," alongside Kieran Culkin, directed by Griffin Dunne.^[31] The short is a comedy segment that is part of the anthology film, Movie 43, featuring Kate Winslet, Gerard Butler, Hugh Jackman, Uma Thurman, Halle Berry, and others.^[32] The feature-film was produced by the Farrelly brothers^[1] and directed by Elizabeth Banks, Steven Brill and Steve Carr.^[32]

Stone will star as the female lead in The Amazing Spider-Man, a reboot by Columbia Pictures and Marvel Entertainment of the Spider-Man film series.^[33] She plays Gwen Stacy, the 17-year-old love interest of Peter Parker.^[34] Marc Webb is directing the film, which has a release date of July 3, 2012.^[33] The film went into production in December 2010, and was scheduled to last through April 2011.^[35] Stone was considered for the lead in a reboot of 21 Jump Street, alongside Superbad co-star Jonah Hill.^[36] She did not take the role however, after signing on to Spider-Man.^[37]

Stone joined the cast of The Gangster Squad, a film by Zombieland director Ruben Fleischer. She will again play opposite Ryan Gosling in the ensemble crime drama, which also stars Sean Penn, Josh Brolin, Anthony Mackie, Giovanni Ribisi and Michael Peña. Stone plays Jean, a femme fatale caught in a love triangle with Gosling and Penn's character, mobster Mickey Cohen.^[38]

Stone will again work with writer/director Will Gluck, starring in and executive producing an untitled comedy for Screen Gems.^[39] The film studio has given Gluck and Stone full discretion in developing a new project, after the success of Easy A.^[40] She will also star in Little White Corvette, a comedy about a pair of would-be drug dealing siblings, written by Michael Diliberti.^[41] Stone will film the project in Miami in mid 2012.^[42]

Personal life[link]

Although known as a redhead, Stone is naturally a blonde. She landed her first role as a teenager after dyeing her hair dark brown.^[1] Film producer Judd Apatow had her change from a brunette to a redhead for her role in Superbad.^[6] She returned to blonde for her role in The Amazing Spider-Man.^[40]

She began dating actor Andrew Garfield after meeting him on the set of The Amazing Spider-Man.^[43][44]

Stone's low-pitched husky voice is a result of having baby colic, a condition of constant screaming as an infant, resulting in the development of nodules. She has calluses on her vocal cords as an adult.^[45]

Stone chose the name "Emma" when she registered for the Screen Actors Guild as the name "Emily Stone" was already taken. Her family and friends call her Emily.^[40]

Stone moved from Los Angeles to Greenwich Village, New York City in 2009.^[7]

Filmography[link]

Awards[link]

Rankings[link]

Discography[link]

• Katharine McPhee – "I Know What Boys Like" (2008), RCA – iTunes Store single with Emma Stone and Rumer Willis from The House Bunny, a cover version of the 1982 single by The Waitresses

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Emma Stone

• Emma Stone at the Internet Movie Database
• Emma Stone on Twitter

Octavia Spencer
Octavia Spencer, May 2005
Born	Octavia Lenora Spencer May 25, 1970 (age 42) Montgomery, Alabama, U.S.
Alma mater	Auburn University
Occupation	Actress

Octavia Lenora Spencer^[1] (born May 25, 1970)^[2][3][4] is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Minny, the outspoken maid in the 2011 film, The Help, for which she won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, among other accolades including the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress, BAFTA for Best Supporting Actress, and Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role.

Early life and education[link]

Born in Montgomery, Alabama, she is the sixth of seven children. Her mother worked as a maid.^[5] Spencer graduated from Jefferson Davis High School in 1988,^[6][7] spent two years at Auburn Montgomery^[8] studying drama (1988–89), and received a bachelor's degree in Liberal Arts from Auburn University.^[9]

Career[link]

At 16, she worked as an intern on the set of The Long Walk Home, a film starring Whoopi Goldberg.^[10]

Spencer made her film debut as a nurse in Joel Schumacher's A Time to Kill based on the book by John Grisham. She was originally hired to work on casting, but asked Schumacher if she could audition for a small part.^[11] Other film credits include: Never Been Kissed, Big Momma's House, Bad Santa, Spider-Man, Coach Carter, Win a Date with Tad Hamilton! and Pretty Ugly People. She has made a number of guest appearances on a myriad of hit series including: Raising the Bar, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, The Big Bang Theory, Wizards of Waverly Place, NYPD Blue, Grounded for Life, ER, Titus, Becker and Dharma & Greg. However, she is best known for her starring roles as Serenity Johnson on Comedy Central's Halfway Home, and Constance Grady, the amorous INS caseworker on Ugly Betty.

In 2003, she made her stage debut in Los Angeles, in Del Shores' award-winning play, The Trials and Tribulations of a Trailer Trash Housewife, starring opposite veteran actress Beth Grant. It was her first and only play, as she told Back Stage Magazine that she suffers from "stage fright."^[12] Later that year, she starred opposite Emmy Award-winner Allison Janney in Tate Taylor's critically lauded and award-winning short feature, Chicken Party.

In 2008, Spencer's brief appearance in Seven Pounds as Kate, Rosario Dawson's home care nurse, garnered her high praise and media attention.^[13]

In April 2009, Entertainment Weekly listed Spencer in its list of 25 Funniest Actresses in Hollywood.^[14]

In August 2009, Spencer appeared in Rob Zombie's Halloween II. She also had a role in the American remake of the Danish classic Love at First Hiccup opposite Scout Taylor-Compton. Spencer starred in the hit web series-turned feature film Herpes Boy alongside Beth Grant, Ahna O'Reilly, and Byron Lane; and, can be heard as the voice of "Minny" on the audio version of The Help, the award-winning "New York Times Best Seller" by Kathryn Stockett. Later that year, Spencer's short film The Captain was honored by the CICFF as a finalist for the coveted REEL Poetry Award.

In August 2010, Spencer joined Viola Davis, Emma Stone and Bryce Dallas Howard in DreamWorks' production of The Help. She played the feisty and unflappable domestic, "Minny Jackson." The film was directed by Tate Taylor, and produced by Brunson Green, Chris Columbus, Michael Barnathan, and Mark Radcliffe. Her role garnered her critical acclaim, and started buzz for various awards nominations. She won the 2012 Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture for her work in The Help.^[15]

On February 12, 2012 she won a BAFTA for Best Supporting Actress for her Performance in The Help, and on February 26 she won the Academy Award/Best Supporting Actress for the same performance; making it her first Oscar nomination and first win.

Filmography[link]

Films & Televison

References[link]

External links[link]

• Octavia Spencer at the Internet Movie Database
• Octavia Spencer biography – Comedy Central
• "Perfect Casting", BlogStage, Back Stage magazine, May 2010
• Riley, Jenelle, "Octavia Spencer: The quip queen", AllBusiness.com

Bryce Dallas Howard
Howard at the 2008 Toronto International Film Festival
Born	Bryce Dallas Howard (1981-03-02) March 2, 1981 (age 31) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Occupation	Actress, writer, director
Years active	1989–present
Spouse	Seth Gabel (m. 2006–present; 2 children)

Bryce Dallas Howard (born March 2, 1981) is an American film actress, writer, director, and daughter of director Ron Howard. She made her acting debut in her father's 1989 film Parenthood and went on to have small roles in films and make stage appearances for the next several years. During this time she also attended New York University's (NYU) Tisch School of the Arts, later getting a BFA, and went to drama schools. After gaining the attention of M. Night Shyamalan, he cast her in what would be her breakout film, The Village (2004), and 2006's Lady in the Water, which was a commercial and critical failure. Her performance in As You Like It (2006) earned her a Golden Globe Award nomination in 2008.

Howard became more recognizable to audiences as Gwen Stacy in 2007's Spider-Man 3 and The Twilight Saga: Eclipse (2010), playing Victoria, a villainous vampire seeking revenge. Those two projects, as well as the 2009 Terminator Salvation release, are among her most financially successful movies, but all three garnered mixed reviews from the press. She also starred in The Help, alongside Emma Stone and Viola Davis. The film became a critical and box office success.

Early life[link]

Conceived in Dallas, Texas – the source of her middle name^[1] – Howard was born in Los Angeles, California, the daughter of writer Cheryl Alley and actor-director Ron Howard, on March 2, 1981.^[2] Her paternal grandparents are actors Rance Howard and the late Jean Speegle Howard; her uncle is actor Clint Howard;^[2] and her godfather is actor Henry Winkler,^[3] who co-starred on Happy Days with her father.^[1] Howard and her younger sisters, twins Jocelyn Carlyle Howard and Paige Carlyle Howard (born 1985), and their younger brother, Reed Cross Howard (born 1987), were named after the places they were conceived.^[2] All of the Howard children were raised away from the world of show business. Their parents did not allow them access to television^[1] and instead encouraged outdoor activities and hobbies. At the age of 7, however, she was allowed to be an extra in her father's movies.^[4] In an appearance on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Howard mentioned that she and her siblings were babysat by family friend Tom Cruise on several occasions.^[5] She was raised in Westchester, New York and on a farm in Greenwich, Connecticut.^[1][4][6]

Howard attended Stagedoor Manor, a performing arts camp in upstate New York, with actress Natalie Portman.^[2] After graduating from high school, she studied at New York University's (NYU) Tisch School of the Arts for three years, during which time she also attended the Stella Adler Conservatory, The Experimental Wing, and International Theatre Wing in Amsterdam.^[7] During her schooling, she took part in the concept recording of the Broadway-bound musical A Tale of Two Cities.^[8] She graduated with her BFA in Drama in 2003.^[2] Howard is also an alumna of the Steppenwolf Theatre Company's School at Steppenwolf in Chicago, and of The Actors Center in New York City.^[7] During her time in New York, Howard was also a member of downtown theater company Theater Mitu, in residence at New York Theatre Workshop, who are known for their exploration of theatrical forms.^[7][9] When she had applied to drama schools she dropped her last name to avoid special treatment because of her father. She later had second thoughts because her first and middle name combined made her sound like a porn star.^[2]

Career[link]

1989–2006[link]

Howard with Shyamalan in 2006

Howard made her acting debut as an uncredited extra in her father's 1989 comedy-drama feature Parenthood.^[4] She was also an extra in her father's critically lauded Apollo 13 (1995) and the 2000 holiday live action Universal Studios production How the Grinch Stole Christmas.^[10] While on her father's film sets, she would often socialize with the crew rather than the actors.^[1] For the next several years, Howard appeared in New York plays. Among these were House and Garden, a 2002 Alan Ayckbourn production held at the Manhattan Theatre Club, in which she portrayed a disdainful, flirtatious teen.^[10] While performing as Rosalind in the critically acclaimed 2003 William Shakespeare comedy production As You Like It, Howard caught the eye of director M. Night Shyamalan.^[10] Howard was not familiar with the play and was cast just one day before it started.^[11] She then starred in the Alan Brown-directed 2004 drama Book of Love, about a young woman having an affair with a lonely teenage boy, destroying her marriage. It was generally ignored by critics and movie goers alike.^[12]

Her breakthrough role came in Shyamalan's fantasy thriller The Village (2004).^[13] When Kirsten Dunst could not commit to the schedule,^[9] Howard was cast without having to audition two weeks after Shyamalan first saw her onstage.^[1] Its story is about a "turn-of-the-20th-century" village whose residents live in fear of the creatures inhabiting the woods beyond it. She plays the female lead, the chief's blind daughter and love interest to Joaquin Phoenix's part. Her performance was applauded by critics and Howard was nominated for several awards, mostly in the category of "Best Breakthrough Performance".^[6] The Village did well commercially, but had a mixed reception.^[14][15] Following that, Howard was cast by Lars Von Trier to replace Nicole Kidman as Grace Mulligan in Manderlay, the 2005 sequel to Dogville (2003). Set in a plantation, the director said that it is "quite clear" his movie can be seen as an allusion to President George W. Bush's efforts to impose democracy in Iraq.^[16] Manderlay was a box office bomb, making only $674,000 of its $14.2 million production budget.^[17]

Howard reunited with Shyamalan for Lady in the Water, in which she acts as Story, a type of water nymph called a narf. Howard wore minimal clothing for the part.^[13] The 2006 fantasy film release also stars Paul Giamatti as the co-lead. Shyamalan's project follows the story of Giamatti's character rescuing what he thinks is a young woman (Howard) from his pool. Once he discovers that she is actually a character from a bedtime story who is trying to get back home, he teams up with his tenants to protect her from creatures that try to keep her in their world. It underperformed at the box office, falling short of its $75 million budget, and got largely critical reviews.^[18][19] When asked about what message she hoped viewers would get from the film, Howard said "I would say it's very simple - it's that if you have faith, all that is meant to be will happen."^[13] Next, she once again played Rosalind in Kenneth Branagh's 2006 film version of Shakespeare's As You Like It. It played in theatres in Europe before going directly to cable in the United States, premiering on HBO.^[11] Howard was nominated for a Golden Globe Award at the 2008 ceremony.^[20] The project got soundly negative reviews from the British media,^[21] while American reviewers gave it more favorable notice.^[22] Writing in USA Today, Robert Bianco observed: "As Rosalind, the show's leading lady, Bryce Dallas Howard is a bit uncontrolled, particularly compared with such more precise co-stars as Alfred Molina, David Oyelowo and Brian Blessed. But she's incredibly appealing, and that in itself sells the love story."^[23] That year, she wrote and directed a short film, Orchids, as part of Glamour magazine's "Reel Moments" series funded by Cartier and FilmAid International.^[24]

2007–present[link]

Howard at the WonderCon 2009

In 2007, Howard starred in her first blockbuster, Spider-Man 3, a superhero movie, starring opposite Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst.^[25] Adapted from the Marvel Comics and the last film Sam Raimi directed for the series, Howard played Peter Parker's classmate Gwen Stacy, a fan favorite.^[25] A challenge that came with playing Gwen was reminding fans of the good-intentioned character who was Peter's first love in the comics, yet came off as "the other woman" in the movie.^[25] Howard dyed her naturally red hair blonde for the role and performed many of her own stunts, unaware that she was several months pregnant.^[26] Grossing $890 million, it is her most profitable movie and the highest grossing in the trilogy.^[27][28] Terminator Salvation, a high-budgeted 2009 science fiction movie, was her next project.^[29] Cast in June 2008, she superseded Charlotte Gainsbourg as Kate Connor.^[30] Howard was already a fan of the series.^[31] Set in 2018, the film follows a group of survivors led by John Connor struggle to prevent the machines from destroying all humanity. It grossed a total of $370 million,^[29] but was not well received, with one critic calling it "a shambolic, deafening, intelligence-insulting mess, a crushing failure on almost all counts."^[32] Howard starred as the lead character in The Loss of a Teardrop Diamond (2009). Based on a 1957 screenplay by Tennessee Williams, it did not play at many theaters.^[33]

A big career point for Howard was playing the role of Victoria, a vampire seeking revenge, in the Twilight series' third installment The Twilight Saga: Eclipse.^[4] The film is a romantic vampire film from Summit Entertainment that is based on the book by Stephenie Meyer. She landed the part after Rachelle Lefevre was dropped due to a scheduling conflict in July 2009.^[34] Howard had already been a huge fan of the books and considered Victoria to be an "incredible character".^[33] Eclipse was directed by David Slade and filming started in August 2009.^[34] Released to theaters on June 30, it set a new record for the biggest midnight opening domestically in box office history, making around $30 million in over 4,000 theaters^[35] and topped the weekend box office with $64 million in ticket sales. In total, Eclipse made nearly $700 million.^[36] Reviews from the media were polarized,^[37] but critics did take a liking to Howard in her role.^[38][39]

In December 2009, Howard was cast in Clint Eastwood's Hereafter (2010),^[40] as a burgeoning love interest of Matt Damon's character.^[41] When Howard first read the script to Hereafter, she was hooked on it, having been attracted to its central character (Damon) – a reclusive man with the ability to speak to the deceased. "It's personal for me because a lot of my family members actually have that ability. It's kind of wild," Howard said.^[41] In early January 2011, Howard became the first celebrity ambassador for purse designer Kate Spade.^[42] Her first film of 2011 was The Help, a movie adaption of Kathryn Stockett's 2009 best-selling novel of the same name; it also starred Emma Stone, Viola Davis, Octavia Spencer, and Jessica Chastain.^[43] It focused on African-American servants and their wealthy white employers in Mississippi prior to the civil rights era.^[44] Howard has teamed up with her father to help produce Gus Van Sant's Restless, a dark coming of age movie about a teenage boy and girl who are engrossed with death.^[45] She had a supporting role opposite Seth Rogen in the cancer dramedy 50/50, which was based on a true story. "It’s viewing that experience through a very truthful lens of humour", she stated of 50/50's take on its heavy subject matter.^[46] Both films had September releases. In 2011, she announced that she would be directing a film called The Originals. She co-wrote the screenplay with her brother-in-law Dane Charbonneau and described it as "a Breakfast Club for my generation". This would mark her feature directorial debut.^[47]

Howard has recently finished directorial duties for the short film When You Find Me, a social film developed through a collaboration with Canon. The film was developed under the premise of gathering inspiration through images selected from a photography contest. Over 96 thousand entries were accepted, while only eight final images were selected to be utilized for the production of the film.

Personal life[link]

Howard at the Spider-Man 3 premiere

On June 17, 2006, Howard married fellow actor Seth Gabel,^[25] with whom she now lives in Hollywood, California.^[48] The two met at New York University^[11] and dated for five years.^[2][25] She had only one previous boyfriend and claims to have pursued Gabel vigorously after first meeting him.^[4][49][50] They had planned to start a family together in their 30s.^[4] However, seven days after their wedding, she learned that she was expecting their first child.^[51] Howard gave birth to their child, a son named Theodore Norman Howard-Gabel, nicknamed Theo, on February 16, 2007.^[2][52] Theo's godfather is actor Josh Gad.^[53] Howard later admitted to suffering from post-partum depression. Howard had difficulty breast-feeding, which she found to be more painful than experiencing natural child birth and would often cry in the shower.^[51] Rather than refer to her son by his name, she would call him "it". Feeling overwhelmed and unable to make decisions, Howard also felt not only disconnected from her husband and baby, but herself as well.^[4] With the combination of homeopathic treatments and sessions with a physician and a therapist, she overcame the depression,^[51] which lasted for about 18 months.^[4] Howard said of the depression in 2010,