Blake Lively has a decent new interview with the Los Angeles Times. Blake has been enjoying the past week of wall-to-wall press, probably because it’s her first film press tour since 2012. She’s been doing a major (and bizarre) fashion show in New York, but I kind of think the fashion show has just been to deflect from the fact that, oh right, Blake is kind of boring in interviews. She doesn’t have a lot to say in general. So why pick up on this LAT interview? Well, she actually had her baby with her in the interview – she was breastfeeding and she asked the LAT reporter not to describe it in the article (which the reporter does not). Blake also tells some lies about how she announced her pregnancy, because I guess she thinks we’re stupid. Some highlights:
Blake didn’t want to tell people she was pregnant? Lively hoped to conceal her pregnancy until she gave birth but shared the news at seven months because she found out that paparazzi had taken pictures of her (and her growing stomach) on vacation with Reynolds.
She didn’t think ‘Gossip Girl’ was about the quality of the content. “If it was about the content, they wouldn’t hand us our script pages minutes before shooting. You’re part of this machine — this pop culture phenomenon — but as an actor, the quality of your work is definitely compromised because of that. When I finished the last season, I didn’t feel good at it anymore. I didn’t feel stimulated. It had become muscle memory, but not good muscle memory — like bad-habit muscle memory.”
The bad reviews of her lifestyle site, Preserve: “You feel like you’re in high school and being bullied,” Lively says of the negative reviews. James, who was bouncing on her lap, gurgled. “Excuse me! She has a lot to say on the subject. She hates bullying.”
She’s sticking with Preserve: “I’m a lot better at this than I am at acting. I always feel like I’m faking it when I’m acting. I do the best I can do to tell the story in the best way, but I always feel really lucky when I get a job. I feel confident when I’m cooking or decorating. It’s something I control beginning, middle and end. That ownership feels good.”
She wants more kids: “It’s addictive…Having a baby is just living in the constant unexpected. You never know when you’re gonna get crapped on or when you’re gonna get a big smile or when that smile immediately turns into hysterics. It might be like living with a drug addict. But you have a baby and you think, ‘I can’t imagine ever not having a baby,’ because they grow up so quickly. I’d be an 80-year-old woman with a baby if I could.”
Oh, so much here to parse. First of all… while the paparazzi might have gotten photos of Blake’s pregnant belly, let’s be real, she used her pregnancy announcement to shill the launch of Preserve. She literally posted the first “bump photo” on Preserve as part of the launch of the site. And yes, she’s “better” at Preserve-ing than she is at acting, although that’s setting the bar pretty low. And no, what we said about Preserve wasn’t “bullying.” We were utterly justified in mocking the crappy functionality of the site AND the cheesy, offensive writing. Anyone remember her stupid “Allure of Antebellum” post? Because it was so quaint and lovely in the American South when black folks were slaves, right? SO ALLURING.
And why is Blake criticizing Gossip Girl so much these days? Chica, that’s the show that made you famous. Stop biting the hand that fed you and made you a household name.
Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet.
Honey… That’s not saying much.
As far as her trashing gossip girl, such a transparent and desperate attempt to elevate herself above the show that made her a star. Leighton Meester put her to shame in every scene they shared, and yet you don’t see her criticizing the show. Leighton deserves the career Blake somehow wormed her way into, IMO.
Leighton, Penn, Ed and all of them have big time criticised the show.
Check out past interviews
Leighton’s actually been in MORE movies than Blake and she has fashion contracts with Jimmy Choo and Biothem (for her lovely skin) why do people at like Blake stole something from her?
I’m one of the few here (along with Original Kitten) that like them both.
So its odd how people consistently play them against each other, primarily to trash Blake and adopt the line that she deprived Leighton.
Rachael and Misha from the OC Pt 2 I guess
I like them both too. And from all accounts, the two had a very respectful working relationship. I don’t get the need to trash one to build up the other.
Yep, I love Leighton but truthfully, I like all the actors from GG. That being said, we all know that show went on for at least 3 seasons too long. They all seemed bored as hell towards the end and even Leighton was mailing it in.
Blake’s just doing her thing, you know? She seems happy, not gonna hate on her for that.
Leighton wasn’t the one pushed as the ‘face of the show’ despite being its weakest actress though.
It always confounded me just how Blake’s PR managed to bamboozle the press into thinking she was ever going to be relevant in Hollywood when she couldn’t even bother to emote in scenes in the early seasons of Gossip Girl.
And Kitten, I very much doubt the ‘she’s just doing her thing’ part of things. Blake has always been into trying to construct an image.
I’ll never forget the NYMag interview during the first season of Gossip Girl where she told the reporter she only accepted her role on the show so she could attend part time classes at Columbia……and Josh Schwartz and Stephenie Meyer called bs on that claim in that very interview. She tried to make herself happen in Hollywood but didn’t have the chops for it, so I guess her “thing” is now trying to be younger Goop.
@Kitten. You’re here?!? Long time. *waves*
Agree with your points.
I think they are both happy with their lot, but some can’t stand that, and need to stir with agenda driven rumors and trashy asides as facts.
For someone whose so ‘bland’ ‘dull’ ‘ irrelevant’ Blake show stirs up intense emotions!
I never watched GG, except when there was nothing better on tv and I wanted some mind-numbing while eating my lunch. But, the fact is: until my friends googled her and showed who the hell Blake is, I didn’t even realise she was in it, she was that bad and bland. I knew who Leighton was after 15 minutes of the show.
I don’t think people are “playing them against each other”, they are just comparing their career trajectories, which is logical, because they “started”/gained fame as two main actresses in the same show; while comparing, it seems that Lively, with less talent and no charisma got stuffed down our throats during her Ben Affleck, Leo, Ryan R. days as the next big thing (which a big part of media still claims), while the other one is acting and promoting, but without such an agressive PR campaign.
We compare Damon’s and Affleck’s careers, what’s so wrong in copmparing these two?
I don’t like Lively because I hate people who cut corners and get praise on basis of something other than their professional abilities: I honestly think it’s one of the main problem of modern society. And I think few things illustrate this better than Lively.
“For someone whose so ‘bland’ ‘dull’ ‘ irrelevant’ Blake show stirs up intense emotions!”
This times a million.
I don’t understand people who are so overly invested in hating her. The bitterness is strange to me. She’s harmless and yeah, she’s doing her thing and enjoying it.
@oneshot-why so mad?
@Kitten – “I don’t understand people who are so overly invested in hating her. The bitterness is strange to me. She’s harmless and yeah, she’s doing her thing and enjoying it.”
Funny how people seem to forget this when the subject of the post is, say, Amal Clooney. Or Sophie whatsername spawning with the lizard dude.
and all I did was contest your claim that Flake is some happy-go-lucky girl just “doing her thing”, why are you so mad at me for bringing receipts that she’s just as fake if not more so, than any of the other women the CB commentariat dislikes so.
@Kitten – You’re top Kitten. I agree with you & personally actually find it hilarious. Though I mostly don’t give it 2 thoughts to comment on
Just imagining the spittle and the rage, calling Blake every name in the book, while simultaneously defining her a basic bi_ch, irrelevant, dull, a non-entity, is hilarity!
One shot, I think Blake was pushed as the face of the show because she is the main character. Her storyline with dan is the main storyline, even though I really LOVE leighton and Blair and chucks storyline too. Serena is in the first scene of the series and the last scene is also her moment. Also though I love Blair’s family, (Cyrus is so adorable) Serenas family is more the centre of the show. I disagree with all those who disliked the last 3 seasons. There were some dumb sub plots but over all the evolution of Blair and Serena and all they went though together, personally and romantically was worth 6 seasons. Anyways even if leighton is a more talented actress, and prettier, and her character is the most enjoyable (her with chuck dan or dorota is always hilarious) i thought BOTH were perfect for their roles and did a great job but it’s fair for Blake to be the face of the show just based on the overall content and storyline.
@Kitten: I have a theory. Blake is like the pampered youngest child that many of us lived with growing up, that got everything handed to them. The baby, for whom life is easy and wonderful and there’s no struggle. I think she just brings out that subconscious reaction. Because you guys are right – she’s harmless. How on earth can someone pretty bland provoke such strong feelings?
Agreed!
@oneshot-why bring up Amal? I like Amal so I’m not sure how she’s relevant here. Anyway, you just seem unnecessarily angry about Blake and it struck me as very odd–almost like it’s personal for you. But then again, this is celeb gossip so I guess have at it.
*shrugs*
I wouldn’t worry about Leighton. Talent always has a way of rising to the top — she may not get starring roles right away, but she’ll get a great supporting performance down the line.
I wouldn’t mind if she put out an album. Girl can sing.
@Jegede, I guess I was subconsciously pitting them against each other. I didn’t intend to, but I can see where I did. It probably comes from the way their characters were often pitted against each other in the show. But I do stand behind the fact that it was painful to watch the two of them in scenes together, because it was obvious who could act and who couldn’t (JMO, I just don’t think Blake has the talent). You’re right that Leighton has had a steady stream of work since GG, I just meant that I think she deserves the level of recognition Blake gets. But maybe she doesn’t want that level of fame, which is totally fine. It’s just my personal opinion that Leighton deserves the more high-profile work, because she has the talent for it. My point was that I found it kind of ridiculous for Blake to act like the show was the reason her acting seemed so bad.
” But maybe she doesn’t want that level of fame, which is totally fine.”
That’s exactly my impression of Leighton @Shambles
Leighton also shot herself in the foot by pursuing music during her off time when Gossip Girl hit it big. Blake had excellent professional representation who really helped launch her career and capitalize on her GG fame, but it’s hard to guess what kind of opportunities Leighton could have gone for.
Leighton has done broadway, movies, and music. She will have the longer lasting and more varied career.
Probably, but FWIW, I don’t think Blake wants that kind of a career. She seems happy doing Preserve, baking, and being a mom.
Agreed. I actually think LM has a pretty great career already. She seems to get to do a lot of fun, cool stuff. And I’ve liked several of her lesser seen movies. I thought The Oranges was great and I enjoyed Life Partners as well. I think she has a ton to be proud of.
She’ll actually have a career in acting, not just professional pap-calling and trying to trade on her looks to shill products in pap photos.
Kitten, if you think Lively is happy just pursuing her web site…yeah, maybe after she realized that no amount of her sleazy connections will bring her the HW career she wanted. I think Perserve is damage-control, or reinventing after her first plan failed.
But that kind of ambition won’t be satisfied with a web-site and a semi-succesfull husband.
Nah, she seems perfectly content with her life choices, but stay mad y’all.
You’re 100% on point, @Kitten, when you say the show went on for way too long. So that’s probably why her acting seemed especially cruddy to me towards the end there. She does seem happy, and she’s definely entitled to that happiness. I guess I got a little too annoyed with her for criticizing the show. I’m my defense, I only recently finished it on Netflix, so I’m still a little too invested.
Now you need to watch the new 90210, for some seriously bad plots/acting.
@Geeky, thanks for that. I was going for more of a comparison of their careers, not trying to stir up any hate. But I can see how the wording in my original comment could come off as pitting them against each other.
@Kitten, now that finals are over I can let myself get sucked into a new show, so I might just take you up on that. I hope I didn’t come off as bitter or hateful in this discussion, just expressing my preference of LM as an actress as compared to BL.
I live with a little drug addict, too. Her description made me laugh despite my sleep deprivation so I can’t hate on her.
I’d rather listen to what the baby has to say. I bet what she was really saying with that gurgle was “bitch, please.”
LOL. Probably true.
I wasted money on that idiotic Adaline movie this weekend and wished I could have both my money and time back. She is a horrible actress.
Well. most film critics seem to disagree with you concerning her acting.
^ Age of Adaline is still ‘rotten’ on the Tomatometer though (53 percent), though.
Good thing I never said I was a film critic, just a person who saw a movie and regretted it based on her acting.
The film maybe, but not her acting, if you actually read the reviews, without stopping at the tomatometer. You will discover that her acting, as well as Harrison Ford’s, is for the most part praised. Acting is like everything else. You must learn and fine tune your trade. And, in my view, critique and criticism slightly different connotations.
Harrison Ford was the only good thing about the movie, which was sheer drivel – IN MY OPINION. As for her, she was flat, her delivery was dry and for someone who was supposed to be soooo tormented, just boring. The scenes were set beautifully and the period wardrobe was wonderful. Her? Again, boring, flat, dry. My opinion. And I didn’t even read the tomatometer. We can agree to disagree.
Isn’t the entire point of acting “faking it”. Unless you think actors are actually shot during scenes or age rapidly, and whatnot.
And this is what annoys me about some people these days. Don’t dilute the definition of bullying. Criticism/critique is not the same as bullying.
And here’s a critique that is not bullying: I believe I might have seen that dress on a wall before, in a quilt shop in Burlington, Vermont.
Ha! Totally agree with everything you said Kiddo.
+1
Don’t bring Burlington into this–it’s one of my favorite places.
Vermont is such a magical land.
They had a shop that redefined quilts, outside of the country only genre, that I thought were incredibly cool and well crafted, kind of modern art.
That sounds very Burlington-y. Do you remember the name?
No, sorry Kitten, it was a while ago on a road-trip.
Yeah. She was a popular girl in hish school, a cheerleader or something like that. She doesn’t know what bullying is.
“James, who was bouncing on her lap, gurgled. “Excuse me! She has a lot to say on the subject. She hates bullying.””
LOL reminds me of the Louis CK bit that babies cry on airplanes because they’re upset gay people can marry.
How long does an LAT interview take? Why did she have to breastfeed and bounce her baby while doing the interview? So she could show off her glorious motherhood, which she invented? I just don’t like anything about this woman. She so contrived.
Agree with everything you said.
I can’t stand first time mothers who act like they invented motherhood, breastfeeding, pregnancy, childbirth; I say that as someone with two kids.
It takes about 5-10 minutes to feed your baby, and generally burping/bouncing immediately follows. Alluding that feeding her child is contrived is a bit of a stretch, easy as it is to hate on her.
@Ava7
Ditto! She keeps claiming how much she values her privacy and now her daughter’s one and she gives an interview while breastfeeding? Please…!
She keeps name dropping more famous people or her husband, even when not asked! For a person who claims to be extremely private, she sure talks about each her hubby and baby an awful lot.
@Hannah-
Well said. But surprised? Lol. You must be new.
Tiny babies need to eat all the time, especially if they’re breastfeeding. Typically 3 hours at most between feedings, sometimes as little as 1 hour.
Though I dont understand how anyone could ‘describe’ her breastfeeding.
“I always feel like I’m faking it when I’m acting.”
LOL Blake. That’s what acting is. Faking it. You’re pretending to be another hoooman.
Unless your Daniel Day Lewis. I think he actually has out of body experiences.
Just admit it Blake. You can’t even fake it.
And put the damn quilt back on gramma’s bed.
ETA Just saw Kiddo’s response above. Sorry I copied off your paper. *shoots spitwad at herself*
ETA 2.0 @ Kiddo – I’m never living down the Youtube thing am I ? LOL http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w74/shakylla/gggb299d.gif~original
That’s okay, I’m just one of your many links since you own them ALL.
PS
Love Daniel Day Lewis.
Funny enough it seems she is faking it more in interviews! lol!
At least she is aware she is not much of an actress!
She was actually very good in Age of Adaline. I enjoyed the movie as a whole; it was beautiful and all of the actors were well cast (in my opinion). I wasn’t keen on the narrator though. Did anyone else see it?
I saw a special preview here in London and enjoyed it a lot.
Blake did really well
Harrison Ford was so good in it, I hope he continues in subtle roles like these (along with his big ones like Star Wars of course!!)
I saw it and laughed out loud quite a few times at things that weren’t meant to get a laugh. I had a free ticket from a friend. It’s not a movie I would have paid to see. It was even worst then I thought it would be in some ways. Blake didn’t annoy me as much as I thought she would. Don’t get me wrong-she’s not great but I haven’t really seen her in much. I think it’s safe to say this role won’t lead to a surge in demand for Blake Lively in film.
I saw it and thought it was terrible. Like Chris, I laughed out loud a lot. What was up with her accent? And the narrator was confusing. Then there’s this big deal about how she supposedly changed her appearance every decade to blend in but it’s 2014 and she’s still dressing like it’s 1950, using suitcases and vintage items from 1940’s – there was nothing updated about her except when she pulled out an iPhone 6 (prompting one of my loudest chuckles). Harrison Ford was great, though. His party speech was worth the price of admission (discount adult matinee, though – not regular).
I didn’t like the narrator/science guy parts at all. Blake looks good on screen, her costuming and hair were great. And where did they find the actor to play the younger version of Harrison Ford’s character? My jaw dropped- he was a clone of Han Solo in the first Star Wars. The movie made me want to (1)own a King Charles Cavalier Spaniel, and (2) live in San Francisco in an amazing apartment- girl can dream😃
I heard that they found the kid on youtube. He does Harrison Ford impressions and they hired him from that.
I liked the movie, never saw BL in anything, thought she did a good job portraying someone of another era. I had heard Katherine Heigl was being considered-she would have been awful
It’s a shame she’s not as interesting as she thinks she is. I don’t see her charm and not a fan of her acting. She’s beautiful and I’m sure Ryan has to tell her daily! Lol!
I actually liked Age of Adaline.
Gossip Girl is so much fun, and the writing ain’t bad for a teen drama. And ugh at acting like a lifestyle blog is a thing. We all have our own fashion/food tips but you have to be famous for anyone to care.
What the heezy is she wearing???? I can’t. I just can’t.
it looks like she took her grandma’s bedspread added some lace doilies smh
“I always feel like I’m faking it when I’m acting.”
Isn’t that the point?
I get the feeling someone once said she reminded them of SJP and she just went with it.
These are very bad pictures of her, not flattering at all. And I’m not even talking about that hideous craft project outfit.
I adore her but the makeup is not flattering. She looks better more natural with less eyeliner.
“she was breastfeeding and she asked the LAT reporter not to describe it in the article (which the reporter does not).”
Seriously? What does this even mean? I’m thinking back to the days when I breastfed my daughter…what’s to describe? I must be missing something.
My first thought when I saw her outfit was that perhaps she is starring on Broadway in a revival of “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.”
She didn’t want the reporter to describe it because her daughter was laughing out loud at all of her answers.
Do we really need a “description” of breastfeeding? Don’t we all know what it is? Has Blake invented a special kind of breastfeeding that we don’t know about? Her and Ryan are completely boring. And neither can act.
I think she might have meant she asked for it not to be mentioned. I have never read a reporter’s writing that included a description of breast-feeding, unless it was a health/medical instructional piece, for those having difficultly.
I suggest you watch The Voices, one of his latest films. Reynolds’ acting was defined as immensely likable, terrific, sublime, great. etc. Also check Buried, Adventureland, The Nines, Chaos Theory and several others. Sometimes I wonder if people really understand who is a good actor and who isn’t and if they consider at all if the role being played is a difficult or an easy one. The Voices was definitely a most difficult role (Reynolds plays five roles, actually).
I’m better at my lifestyle blog than Blake is at acting
Martha Stewart is better at acting than Blake is at her life style blog.
Hehehehe
+ 1
+1 for this deadly accuracy
Her site isn’t very good, or at least it doesn’t appeal to me and doesn’t work well on my iPad. The dress she is wearing in the first picture is typical of the clothes on the site. Or, excuse me, “treasures.” *cough*
I think it is a Valentino.
Oh, I’m totally wrong then. The stuff on her website is not expensive or designer. I think it’s Peruvian. But the look is similar.
Gossip Girl was a teen drama. So why was she expecting Oscar like writing? I enjoyed Gossip Girl and can she was the weakest link on the show.
+ 1000. “Weakest link” is the perfect way to describe her GG performance. By the last season her character was such a mess that I legitimately tuned out whenever she was onscreen. At that point I was only watching for Chuck and Blair.
Chuck and Blair
I hate the way she poses. It looks dumb.
Yikes. That is a dress all right.
I didn’t like how she criticized gossip girl either.
oh please. She can’t act, I thought she’d be better at running a lifestyle blog because surely that’s what her wannabe Martha Stewart act was all about, but her site actually gives me secondhand embarrassment because the writing is so overwrought and awful. I can’t believe this cr*p got a Vogue profile to promote it.
Honey, when you start a business and it’s reviewed or critiqued, it’s not bullying. Are you kidding me using that term? It’s a business. If you can’t handle criticism of how your business is run or the flaws regarding it, then you shouldn’t be a business owner.
Exactly, Jayna!
I actually like Preserve then again I’m a sucker for most lifestyle blogs :hides in shame:
You should hide in shame. LOL J/K
It’s the way it’s set up. It’s not inviting at all and pretentious and too arty. Maybe it’s changed. I only went on the first month. I find GOOP’s more enjoyable and more inviting.
I would think admitting your acting is bad would not be a good thing if you were planning on future work? Just a thought.
She did not say her acting is bad. She actually said that she does not feel completely at ease in it. She wants to be in full control of what she is doing in every step of the way, and her site permits this. I don’t understand some of the criticisms here. I watched her interviews re Adaline and she is expressive and relaxed. Some of the so-called ‘very talented’ actresses are so bloody convoluted in their comments or thoughts that I am left wondering what the heck they mean. It is an orgy of ‘ahem, you know, I know, I don’t know’. I pity the studios who rely on them to sell the film.
She’s not any better at Preserve than she is at acting. But whatever makes the space between her ears happy.
@ Bette upthread – what a funny story re how they found “young” Harrison Ford! I wonder if there’s some pic of those two together- HF had to have the weirdest feeling- like give me back my young self!!
*Side eye*
Every time she speaks she reminds me of one of the girls I went to high school with. She was Ms. Chipper and Positive but whenever something didn’t work out for her she’s go on at length about all the factors that had contributed to it not being amazing.
There were no “I had an off day” comments, just soliloquoy’s about how unfair it was to be expected to write an essay with Prom so close.
Yeah yeah Blake. You complain about GG because towards the end you were relegated to hopping from lap to lap while they focused on every single other actor/actress. Since then it’s been struggle-city and you’re not even good at Mystical Moon Mommy ‘Curating’.
She seems real. I find her self deprecating and funny not to mention gorgeous.At least she not consciously, unconsciously doing anything.
THISSSSSS!!!!!!
I love Blake and have found some really cool lighting on Preserve. I enjoy looking through the cooking stuff as well…and not everything is super pricey. I wonder if yall ever get sick of criticizing celebs constantly.? This is her passion – let her be.
I don’t like that dark eyeshadow on her. She’s much prettier than that.
Adaline was pretty bad. Cardboard cut-out characters. I think the script had potential but Blake couldn’t give Adaline the depth and sense of old age she had – contrast with Brad Pitt in Ben Button – and it was just very soapy and kind of porn-ish, with Michael Husseman (sp?) and Blake being set up for porno-type lingering shots and pseudo-deep-connection scenes in historical dig sites and other romantic, “cultured” encounters. We get lots of shots of Blake and her amazing figure and legs. *spoiler* The emotional core the film was the reunion with Harrison Ford’s character but all we get from Blake was teena-depth type of responses and expressions and a gratuitous shot of her new bf’s chest after a shower. A very bland film but the concept was interesting. I came away feeling the central character was actually sexualised in an objectified way.
I think Blake has her heart in Preserve and I hate to say this but that site is just the worst of mass consumerism. You do not need that much stuff. The planet does not need you to need that much stuff. She’s a total shopaholic and she’s after every single consumerist “authentic” experience possible. I browsed it and was bored after a while. Some of the stuff wasn’t practical at all and the stories were very try-hard.
I stand in a minority here, but I think Blake did a good job in “The Age of Adaline”
The script was as vanilla as it usually is in romcoms like this, no need to compare it with “Benjamin Button”. And I think all the actors tried to squeeze the best out of their characters although they were written to be very one-dimensional (except for Adaline).
Blake was good, especially in the first part of the film. She was able to pull of the hidden pain, being reserved and sophisticated, yet isolated and afraid.
I never thought I would say that, but kudos to Blake for giving a descent performance.