Drew Barrymore is trying to make Justin Long a movie star

Drew Barrymore filming Going The Distance in NYC

Who hears the name “Justin Long” and thinks to themselves “Movie Star!”? Nobody? Wrong! Drew Barrymore thinks her on-again boyfriend Justin Long is going to be, like, a Will Smith-level superstar. This is according to the National Enquirer, but they have some semblance of proof. Drew keeps hiring Justin for roles in films she’s producing and starring in. The first was He’s Just Not That Into You, and they’re currently working on Going the Distance, a rom-com about a long-distance relationship.

I think a case could be made that the Drew-Justin relationship is like a gender-reversal casting couch situation. Justin puts out, and Drew makes her lover a big star. If that was Justin’s motivation for dating Drew, I would think it was gross. But it seems that Justin is totally weirded out that Drew is trying to make him “The Next Brad Pitt” or whatever. It’s causing friction between the two of them:

Drew Barrymore got into a huge public fight with boyfriend Justin Long – and the explosion could be the final blow to their romance.

Justin is fed up with the high-powered A-lister’s efforts to turn him into a big star, and it finally boiled over on the set of their new movie, say sources.

“Drew’s been pushing Justin way too hard,” an insider told The ENQUIRER.

“She’s determined to transform him into a leading man. But Justin is resisting. And they’re now beginning to clash in a way that is undoing their love.”

Eyewitnesses on the Manhattan set of Going the Distance were shocked by the pair’s recent confrontation.

“They were filming a scene when Drew stopped everything and decided to give Justin some acting suggestions,” confided the insider. “He was not receptive. The discussion escalated – and soon it was getting louder and louder.”

Finally, Justin “huffed off to his trailer” with Drew trailing behind, said the insider.

“Once inside, they began yelling at each other!”

[From the National Enquirer]

For various reasons, I totally believe this. I know Drew (or, I know the type). She gets blinded by love. She’s in love with love. When she’s in love, she doesn’t see anything but her lover. And we all have to play along with her “celebrating” her newest soulmate. I find it perfectly possible that Drew, blinded by her love, thinks that she can make Justin a leading man. But the rest of us don’t have to play along. That boy has the face of a character actor – and there’s no shame in that. It sounds like Justin knows his own limitations too.

Drew Barrymore chats to on/off boyfriend Justin Long on the set of Going the Distance in New York

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12 Responses to “Drew Barrymore is trying to make Justin Long a movie star”

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  1. Firestarter says:

    So what if she wants to try to turn him into a movie star? Good for her. I mean what is wrong with that? He may not be the best actor out there,but neither are the people who are making the big money in the big films and getting all the press. More power to her if that is what she wants to do.

  2. Zoe (The Other One) says:

    Yeah firestarter. I love Drew and I like that Justin boy – its good to see a powerful woman in Hollywood doing her thing.

  3. hatsumomo says:

    Poor guy, that’s a lot of pressure to put on someone, ‘Go out and be a great actor’. Geez.

  4. buckley says:

    Totally agree. More power to her.
    It’s her production company.
    why not help him become the best actor he can be?

  5. papier says:

    if he doesn’t want it it he doesn’t want it. dumb to try to force that on somebody.

  6. iris says:

    oh! she believes in miracles!

  7. Hieronymus Grex says:

    Shia Lebeouf’s hydrocephalic clone.

  8. lucy says:

    I love Drew, but I don’t see this guy as a huge star.
    Either way, if he doesn’t want it, can’t he say NO?

  9. Trillion says:

    I find him charming. I’ve seen him in a couple of movies and he did a very good job in both. He’s pretty great in the Mac vs PC adverts also. Much better than some of the other actors foisted upon us by their S.O’s or families, that’s for sure.

  10. I Choose Me says:

    I love Justin. I first saw him in Jeepers Creepers and while that movie was shit, his acting was not. There was a scene where he was supposed to be terrified/horrified by what he had just witnessed and he totally sold it. Most actors in horror movies just look like they’re constipated. He’s been good in everything else I’ve seen him as well.
    That said, nope, don’t see him as leading man material.

  11. kimberly says:

    he’s okay.
    he’s pretty much a charactor actor. kinda scrawny, but wait until he gets his man body, or hits puberty.

  12. Jo 'Mama' Besser says:

    Hmm, fraught.

    But it seems like there are two stories here: Long’s acting and Long’s status.

    Her turn in GREY GARDENS notwithstanding, I think the general consensus is that she’s no great shakes as an actress. If you are inclined to see her films, it’s not because you enjoy the way she disappears into a role, or elicits a wide range of emotions from the viewer–or this one, at least. It’s like renewing your fan club membership.

    I don’t know what she would have been coaching him about, but I guess it’s not impossible that she could him instruct him into a better scene performance.

    But, she has business savvy and longevity. That might be undercut for some by the fact that she’s a lady, still very young, and has a native ebullience that reminds me an eleven-year-old tweaking on Pixie Stix. Come to think of it, she’s really the human embodiment of Pixie Stix.

    Physical appearance notwithstanding, you would think she knows better than most humans that you can’t force a person into certain behaviours. What’s so wrong with not wanting to be a huge star (if this is actually the case)? I mean, when you see the way that so many celebrities conduct themselves with no anchor but their cocaine, don’t you think–if even for just a nanosecond–‘Just go to work, go home and then SHUT UP’? I do.

    Chickadee was married to Jamie Walters. JAMIE WALTERS