Katherine Heigl says her writing staff sucks
by
Heigl won Best Supporting Actress
last year.It seems like whenever I go out on a limb and call someone out for really reprehensible behavior, I end up getting bit in the ass and end up having to make apologies, hold somebodies hand, tell them it's really ok and that the world really does love them. In the spirit of incurring the wrath of somebody who is actually famous, I'm going to go ahead and call Katherine Heigl an egotistical, insufferable, juvenile little bitch.
I'm sorry, but there it is.
It's one thing to bow out of an event because you don't think you deserve to be there because of what you did, but to say that you don't deserve to be there because your writing staff gave you shit material to work with, that's just beyond the pale.
I thought it was a joke at first, because it's pretty hard to believe that anyone would come out and say shit like this, and also because sites like this aren't exactly known for being solidly sourced or at all interested in reporting anything other than who has their breasts hanging out today.
Don't ask me how I know that.
It's not quite time for the Emmy Awards yet but the nominations game is in full gear and now is the time you'll see lots of people talking about who got the nod, who didn't and why they should have, who will win, what they'll wear, who they are screwing, what the person they are screwing is wearing but only when they aren't screwing.
Cue a story from Tom O'Neil in the LA Times noting how last years best supporting actress isn't even on the list this year -- Katherine Heigl. It took exactly one paragraph to get to the golden quote:
I did not feel that I was given the material this season to warrant an Emmy nomination and in an effort to maintain the integrity of the academy organization, I withdrew my name from contention..
I cut out the part where she says she'd rather not fill the field when there are more deserving actresses out there, for obvious reasons. She just said she pulled out not because her own acting wasn't worth a nod, much less an award, but because her highness was given shit scripts that she could do nothing with and basically doesn't want to be embarrassed by losing when it wasn't her fault to begin with.
Calling out random people you don't know -- like I do -- is one thing, and even calling out people you do know after you're done working with them is within reason so long as you're ready to deal with the consequences. But to say that your own crew who happen to be writing one of the top shows on television didn't do a good enough job for you this year that you're actually embarrassed by them, while you're still working with them, is literally and figuratively insane.
You've seen this happen before although certainly not this publicly, because what you've got is an actress who desperately wants out of television now that she's tasted the fruits of feature film delight, but doesn't have the maturity to just stick with it until her contract is up and then quit like an adult. A statement like this one means she's just begging to be fired so she can leave the TV landscape that made her a star behind forever.
The only problem is that the success ratio for jumpers is about as abysmal as the success ratio of feature films themselves. If you make ten, you'll get one that was profitable. If ten actors leave a show, one might make it. Don't believe it? Maybe I'm just ignorant, but who can you name that made the jump from TV star to film star -- and I'm not talking about TV star to film actor here, but star-to-star -- in the past 10+ years or so, other than George Clooney?
I think everyone from E.R. with the exception of Anthony Edwards who was already a star and made that show possible in the first place, jumped to the movies at some point. And many other actors from many other shows have tried and failed just as hard as all of those people did.
It's not automatic and like I said, stardom is not some merit badge that once you've earned it in one medium, it automatically applies everywhere else. Heigl may be at the top on TV -- last year -- and maybe she'll get there in films someday too, but she ain't there yet, and to throw your own people under the bus while you're still depending on them isn't just childish, it's career suicide.
Unless she does some major pleading and begging, Heigl's character on Grey's is going to be mopping floors and clearing up piss buckets for the rest of her contract, right where she belongs in real life.
June 12, 2008 9:04 AM | Reply
Her character was treated terribly by the writers this year. They almost completely ruined it. Her character was 'out of character' most of the season, and only at the end of the season got back on track.
June 12, 2008 9:09 AM | Reply
June 12, 2008 9:19 AM | Reply
The voting process is very political and as a big name in the TV industry and a previous winner she was almost guaranteed a nomination at the very least. It was a gracious gesture to step aside and allow other actresses a chance.
That said, the fact is some of the storylines she had to content with were ridiculous and she did an excellent job despite the material. Creator Shonda Rhimes has even accepted they lost their way a bit. What she has done is honourable and selfless - she would have very likely been shortlisted or even received a nomination but instead chose to step aside in favour of actresses who had more emmy worthy material to work with.
The press are being highly hypocritical. It is ok for them to criticise the storylines but not Heigl? Why is that wrong? She has done nothing wrong and I am fed up with her getting blasted for just being about the only honest and genuine person in Hollywood. She should be applauded for this not derided.
June 12, 2008 9:26 AM | Reply
June 12, 2008 8:41 PM | Reply
Like in any business, it's only an indicator of how badly somebody wants the services of someone else.
Now she may buck the trend, but that is going to necessitate breaking out of the romantic comedy genre with a film that costs a heck of a lot more than $20-30 million, with real money on the line. Something that she herself needs to open, as opposed to people coming to see the movie.
As for the consideration withdrawal, if she had been nominated, then that in fact would be a pretty good indication that her material was good enough for a possible back-to-back win. Had she not been nominated at all, which may be the case if what she believes is true, then this wasn't necessary in the first place which makes it a publicity stunt at the expense of her own crew.
Either way I think she ought to be ashamed.
June 12, 2008 10:14 PM | Reply
In my opinion she has a very healthy opinion of her acting ability...
Isn't this the actress whose mother is her agent?
Perhaps that's part of the problem.
In one fell swoon, not only did Ms. Heigl malign the writers on her series, but she also dissed the actress she would have been in competition with.
Nice job.
Morjana