In the movie 500 Days of Summer, Joseph Gordon-Levitt (full disclosure: I’ve had a crush on this dude since Ten Things I Hate About You) believes he’s found his dream girl when Zooey Deschanel starts working as his boss’ assistant. There’s one hitch: Zooey’s character doesn’t believe true love is possible. The movie is surprisingly sweet, and it’s a great counterpart to that other movie Gordon-Levitt is in this summer (a little project called GI Joe). Check out the trailer:
Tag Archive for 'Fictional Assistants'
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I adore Mad Men – not just the show, but the style and the actors. (Who doesn’t wish they looked like Joan?) So I love the website Mad Men Yourself, where you can create a digital version of yourself who can interact with the Sterling Cooper world. Here’s my avatar as she presents a badass pitch in a client meeting and balances a cup of tea:
Last season, Ugly Betty ended with our longsuffering assistant heroine Betty Suarez being promoted to Features Editor at Mode magazine, thus qualifying her as a Former Assistant Done Good.
However, that left a spot open for a new assistant. Actress Jamie-Lynn Sigler, best known as Meadow from The Sopranos, will join the show next season as Daniel Meade’s new assistant. For now, the role is recurring, but there’s definitely room for growth. Let’s just hope Jamie-Lynn fares better on the show than Lindsay Lohan did (i.e. doesn’t get fired from the show before her storyline is over).
Labor Pains, the straight-to-TV movie that was once heralded as Lindsay Lohan’s big comeback, will be airing on ABC Family, the same network responsible for Secret Life of the American Teenager. I think they’re trying to give Lifetime a run for their “young pregnant chicks” entertainment stronghold.
In the movie, LiLo plays a beleaguered assistant whose boss (Chris Parnell) hates her and wants to fire her, when suddenly she comes up with the ‘brilliant’ idea to fake a pregnancy in order to keep her job. (Hmmm…who else gets knocked up to ensure job security?) The movie also features ex-assistant Cheryl Hines as a concerned coworker.
The new Lifetime show Drop Dead Diva, which stars actress Brooke Elliott as Jane, “a shallow model-in-training who dies in an accident only to find her soul resurfacing in the body of a brilliant, thoughtful and plus-size attorney,” premiered last night. Though I didn’t get to watch it yet, there’s one huge plus in the show’s column already: the hilarious and provocative Margaret Cho, who plays Jane’s assistant Teri. Here’s a clip of Margaret talking about her role and what she did to prepare for the part:
It’s really too bad that A-list stars have to go to Japan to make TV commercials. In an ad for Softbank, Brad Pitt himself plays the assistant to a sumo wrestler, even going so far as to carry his boss on his back. I’d be happy to show you the video, except that YouTube has totally been scrubbed clean of the advertisement. (If anyone can send me a working link, I’d love to embed the video here.)
That said… Brad, do you know what happens to sumo wrestlers’ assistants? You might want to be a little bit more careful next time.
Hey guys, Garrett here. So, I’ve shirked my guest post duties once this week — but, in my defense, I was/am/have been sick. I’m fairly certain it isn’t swine flu (mostly … okay maybe less sure). And yes, I’m still at work.
This friday, The N (for those who aren’t aware, home to the Canadian cult-hit Degrassi) premieres their new sitcom The Assistants. The show follows four assistants in Hollywood as they compete for their boss’ approval. If the above photo is any indication this will involve caring for a bonsai, which is no easy feat. Let me tell you.
The official website doesn’t shed too much light on the show, but it DOES include quizzes that tell you how competitive or manipulative you are. Because every good assistant knows, these are the keys to success. Without those traits, we’d probably just yell a lot and fall over. Here, take a look:
Finally, a show that seems to get what being an assistant in Hollywood is REALLY like. Right? … Right?
Bueller?
I recently saw 9 to 5 the Musical on Broadway. I saw it on a Thursday night after a particularly frustrating day at work and this was definitely the cure. Alison Janney, Megan Hilty and Stephanie J. Block were hilarious and had great chemistry together. I wished they worked in my office instead of the one other female who thinks she’s a princess and creates drama.
Dolly Parton, hero to STA, did an amazing job with the music and it took the story to another level entirely. The fantasy sequences were my favorite. Their takes on getting even with the boss were exhilarating. Kathy Fitzgerald stole the show as Roz singing in the bathroom in her musical number. I don’t know about you but I’ve had days when I wish I could escape to the ladies room and belt out a tune.
The musical also showed how far women have come in the workplace as well as how far we have to go. There are so many things in the show that they accomplished that are status quo these days. I think it is important to understand what the women before us overcame in the workplace so we can fully appreciate their progress. 9 to 5 is a fun way to do this.
Grab a couple of your assistant friends after work, go to TKTS and get discounted tickets for 9 to 5 the Musical. It’s more fun than happy hour. You can follow them on twitter @tdfnyc to see if they have tickets on sale that day. Tickets are subject to availability. You may leave the office defeated but you will leave the theater with a smile on your face.
- Heather
The first half of the trailer is pretty good, but then it just gets earnest. Let us know what you think.
On Friday night, a friend and I did our best to fuel the economy by going to see The Proposal, starring Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds.
As Lilit has mentioned before, Reynolds plays the assistant to Bullock’s tough as nails (and maybe a little emotionally damaged) publishing executive. When there’s a mix up involving her visa, she coerces him into marrying her in order to avoid being deported and (SPOILER ALERT) they ultimately fall in love. Like you didn’t see that one coming.
As any good tyrranical boss would, Bullock uses her best tools to get Reynolds to marry her: intimidation and abuse. Until, that is — and here’s where the ranks of assistants who went to see this movie undoubtably went “Hell yes!” — he realizes that the assistant/boss power dynamic has shifted in his favor. This, along with their amazing chemistry, provides fodder for some extremely gratifying interplay when they visit his family for the weekend.
Pete Chiarelli, the film’s screenwriter, worked as an assistant after grad school but didn’t have a terrible experience of his own to draw from:
The idea came from me working in Hollywood, but isn’t autobiographical. Although I did work as an assistant to a woman, she was a very cool boss. However, I did have a lot of friends who worked for horrible bosses, men and women who were completely self-centered and tyrannical. But what struck me is that it paid for these bosses to be this way, it paid off for them professionally. It made sense for them to be an asshole. So, what would happen if you took one of these bosses out of their environment and forced them to act like a real human being?
What if, indeed.
