It’s really worth it to go back and re-read some of the excerpts from Rooney Mara’s February 2013 Vogue cover story. Rooney was promoting Side Effects, and this was before she was named the “face” of Calvin Klein’s new fragrance. Rooney was typical Rooney – pretentious, hyper-self-aware and full of herself, especially in regards to how “over” she was with this whole “fashion” thing. Rooney told the magazine that having to participate in the fashion industry (for premieres and awards shows) is “kind of an annoying part of the job—because I’m not a model, and I don’t want to be. I didn’t try to be a style icon. I’m just not that interested in that world.” She also complained about fake-smiling for the cameras, because she wants everyone to know she’s so terribly aloof – she said: “Why should I ‘fake smile’? It feels disingenuous to me. I want to smile when something happy happens, so if I do smile, you know it’s real.”
And now take all of that and introduce it to a fat paycheck for a modeling gig! Here’s the new one-sheet ad for Downtown by Calvin Klein, with Rooney Mara as the celebrity face of the fragrance. And David Fincher (Rooney’s Prof. Higgins-like “Maker”) directed a commercial for the fragrance too. Guess what? SHE FAKE-SMILES.
The song is “Runaway” by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, in case you care. As for the smiling… well, I kind of understand why she doesn’t fake-smile. She’s got no “smize”. Her fake-smile looks uncomfortable and awkward, like David Fincher is screaming “SMILE! SMILE!!” at her behind the camera.
Anyway, the commercial is not all that interesting otherwise. I don’t think much of Rooney as a model, and while I understand why Calvin Klein hired her (she’s really thin, pale and she has that androgynous look popular in Calvin Klein advertising), I think they could have done much, much better. She’s just not compelling, even with Fincher pulling the strings.
Photos courtesy of Calvin Klein and WENN.
The first time she smiles in the ad looks so awkward that I swear they CGI’d it. Boring actress/model and boring ad. The song is okay.
…but goodness she looks good on film!
Sigh. If only she and Kristen could realize how friggin’ lucky they are, having the opportunity of doing what they do.
She never said she hated acting, just that her first jobs weren´t pleasant which is unprofessional, but understandable considering that L&O SVU episode was indeed kind of stupid and the other one was a horror movie produced by Michael Bay, ugh and that she wasn´t comfortable doing all the stuff that comes with it.
JLaw said practically the same thing, but she gets praised for it because she is trying really hard to be relateable, and then is the spokesperson for Dior.
I never heard Rooney making any homo- transphobic remarks though.
@stellalovejoydiver – I agree, I don’t understand all the love jennifer gets either.
@RocketMerry – She really does look good on camera… There’s a hard to describe ‘aspect’ to her face in motion that I think she loses in still photographs. She just looked so much ‘prettier’ in film.
(That said, her ‘smiles’ were terrible & so obviously fake that they should’ve just left it alone) But the very last one (close-mouthed) at the microphone was the ‘closest’ to pulling it off, though still didn’t meet her eyes at all.
Like the song. Rooney’s smile reminds me of Wednesday Addams’ creepy smile. The whole concept is so wannabe artsy, makes you wanna puke.
Meh, I don’t hate it. I know I’m in the minority but I don’t hate her either. I think she’s pretty in a non cookie cutter type way and has a unique style that I like.
Also, she’s not exactly fake smiling in the TV spot, she’s acting. There’s a difference between scripted smiling and forcing yourself to smile on the red carpet, I think. Although maybe she should consider her appearances on red carpets as acting gigs and then maybe she wouldn’t be so conflicted. 🙂
That’s what I always think. If they can’t seem to pull off something, Why not make the commercial/photoshoot into a ‘character’ to play? I mean, they’re actors.
I believe most actors are *always* playing a role in every aspect of their careers, almost *never* showing their true selves to the world. It’s part of why they create ‘stage’ names.
I don’t hate it as well. In fact, I rather like her and I like most of her red carpet looks – it’s really refreshing to see a young actress who isn’t a sweet cutie with fake lips, fake hair and fake boobs.
I kind of like it. I know Rooney sets some people off, but I don’t get the big deal over her taking a fragrance campaign. Emma Watson straight up criticized celebrities who design clothes, and then did some sort of vegan shoe collection. Sparkles Pattinson straight up called out male celebrities who do endorsements, and then turned around and endorsed Dior.
Rooney said that she isn’t always that interested in fashion and that it can be annoying, but didn’t call out actresses who do fragrance campaigns and didn’t say something like she downright hated fashion. She sticks her foot in her mouth, but I’m not really getting the high level of annoyance…maybe because she just isn’t as warm as Emma Watson? Interesting that David Fincher directed this commercial…even Vogue called out their weird relationship.
It’s annoying when people pigeon hold celebrities from growning and changing their minds. However, in this case I can’t get over pre TGWTDT Rooney and post TGWTDT Rooney. I get that the TGWTDT aesthetic is what made her a star but she refuses to leave it behind. It’s like she’s afraid to be anything other than Lisbeth Salander.
Also she likes fashion to more of a degree than she lets on. She was chair of the 2013 MET Ball. Why do that if you don’t enjoy fashion on some level? Plus her whole look is the romantic/pretty/fashion version of punk. There is no grit behind any of it. All her bravado falls flat because she’s hasn’t done anything truly dynamic.
I think her team is pushing for her new look, she didn´t really stand out with her old one, even though she was really pretty. Everyone in Hollywood has crafted a certain image around them, Rooney´s is the edgy one.
I disagree about her not being compelling. I thought she was off the wall mesmerizing and wonderful as Lisbeth in TGWTDT. She knocked me over. You couldn’t take your eyes off of her and she was so fragile yet tough. I was really and truly impressed.
This ad is weird. They should have made her smile genuinely just that one time at the end when the press conference started. That would have made it more interesting. Smile for your public, but no one else.
Her and Mia are the most talented out of the new crop of young actresses IMO.
Yeah, I think she was amazing as Lisbeth. She is a very talented actress.
I think the point of her awkward smile for the first time is on purpose. That she is just going through the motions; it is suppose to look fake.
Then you see her naturally happy with the kids, the rain and the puppy. I get the concept of going through the motions, then the real things in life get the real reactions. At least that is what I got out of it.
I’m not a fan of her. I just find her meh.
The thing is, her smile looks awkward and forced in every scene. Perhaps you’re right about the transition from forced to geniune happiness, but it’s not translating well into a commercial.
In the photos…is she using Le Tigre or Ferrari ?
I like the ad but…for the smile thing “isn’t she supposed to be an actress” ???
Isnt’ her job to be capable to smile in front of a camera and looking natural?
It’s not terrible, but yeah that first smile is very flat and fake. I think she’s uniquely pretty but that doesn’t always translate into being a good model.
I think she just likes to say things that she thinks makes her sound smart and above it all, but really she’s just like every other actress at her level out there.
She is SO boring. Makes me want to not even test this fragrance when I go to Macy’s.
I don’t mind her all that much. That said, I strongly preferred Noomi Rapace’s Lisbeth Salander to hers.
Exactly this. My only problems with the original Noomi versions….1) the editing/pacing wasn’t great, especially with the first. They left out big story lines. 2) the dude that played her brother….there’s no way, he couldn’t have looked less like her or the dad and he came off more comical than scary.
The perfume being called Downtown makes me giggle, very childish I know. That commercial is pretty bad,I have never seen her in anything (fan of original Dragon Tattoo films, will see the Fincher at some point). There’s just a lot going on, what are they selling? Movie stars can slum it on the subway and wear Downtown? Everything about the ad is about glamour and a world most people don’t inhabit, it doesn’t fit the name of the perfume at all to me. I used to be a downtown NY girl so it just seemed stupid to me, would have been nice if they just filmed her actually hanging out in NY, pretentious and fake maybe but a better representation of what they are selling. I don’t know. Her bangs hurt my head.
Also, Rooney seems more like a Dior girl and JenLaw seems like a Calvin Klein girl imo.
+ 1
I’ve hated Calvin Klein since they did the heroin chic ad campaign. I’ve boycotted the company ever since. Those ads were disgusting and disturbing. These ads don’t bother me in the least. I don’t get all the hate for Rooney. She’s a decent actress and does a lot of charity work.
Horrible. The only thing they did right was use a song by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs.
See waaaaaay prettier women than her on the subway all the time.
Amen.
Poor little rich girl.
While I think she is highly overrated as an actress ( noomi rapace was better in that part, and she wasn’t that impressive in sideeffects). I still feel like she is the kstew with talent. Same attitude but Rooney has some talent to back up her edgy actress act. That said her sister Kate mara might be the real talent in the family, she is brilliant in house of cards.
I co-sign to all of this 1000%. She is K-Stew with some (SOME) talent. But I don’t think she has enough talent to overcome the constant scowling and perceived ingratitude.
I agree Kate is the much more talented Mara sister – I don’t know why she doesn’t get higher-profile roles.
She is a less ignorant goth version of JLaw.
Well the spot is not so bad. Anyway I hate how they style her hair.. ugh
Her smile is creepy…
In a way, she looks like the female version of Tom Hiddleston.
LOL. I always say that here and nobody ever agrees with it! She totally looks like Hiddleston.
To me she’s like Posh, frowning so much it looks weird when she smiles.
You’re right. But Posh has a better figure & never makes eye contact. Rooney has poor posture & bowed legs. Somehow, scowling while making eye contact, as Rooney does with a camera, comes off as rather hostile.
I think in the interview she meant that when she is on the red carpet, a smile would be fake if she’s not actually feeling happy. In this commercial, she’s acting, she’s a character other than herself, so it’s a completely different animal. She continues to not smile on the red carpet, so I don’t think she’s being hypocritical in that sense.
I think the entire commercial is a stab at the fake smile, so I think it’s actually a little clever.
Not a big fan of hers, but I think she looks really good here, not quite as bone thin as usual.
There is something about the 1st photo that does not really look like her. I think it’s the nose but maybe a bit of everything. In any case it makes her face nicer than it really is imo.
I have never been a fan of hers – I think she’s much overrated as an actress – but I don’t hate her either. But I’m not fond of her on a big screen and now I’m really worried as it was announced earlier this week David Fincher is likely to make a remake of a great British mini-series called “Utopia” – seriously, if you haven’t seen it, I strongly recommend you do, the best series of 2013. Anyway, the British version is absolutely amazing, and honestly, I don’t see why anyone would try to make a new version… the moment my sister (a huge fan of Utopia as well) heard the news, she said ominously: “Fincher is going to pick Rooney Mara as Jessica Hyde.” Which causes me to hate her now, Jessica was my fav character and Rooney with her snotty pout is going to kill it.
She is a very beautiful girl and looks good in front of the camera. Just deal with it!
She looks a bit like Tom Hiddleston.
She and Tom should play siblings, with Tilda Swinton as their mom.
bytch face loses its effect when it is the only expression you own
zzzzzzzzzzzzzz…I just fell asleep.
Rooney is a talented, very unique and beautiful young actress, and one of the most stylish at the moment. The camera loves her. That’s the truth people. Period!
God Tricia, just stop getting paid already. It’s not like you need any more money. Or did you tap out your trust fund?
I was very impressed with her (despite very low expectations) in Side Effects.
Styling and shooting her like an alien Sabrina (Audrey Hepburn) here is unattractive and makes for a muddled message.
She’s clearly a talented actress. But building a perfume campaign on her glum, surly personality and pointy head… odd.
I think the prettiest she ever looked was in youth in revolt and nightmare on elm street remake
Just hire Christy Turlington and be done with it.
She looks a lot like Lokis sister. Or Loki, for that matter.
oh my god, rooney, you are beautiful. please never force a smile, also please always wear leather moto jackets. damn girl.