Hollywood publicists don't have it easy these days. Once upon a time, all you had to do to secure column inches of empty flattery for a client was to stage a fauxmance (usually with Jennifer Aniston, as Popeater.com observes ) or strategically leak a sex tape or saucy snap (a technique employed by everyone from Marilyn Monroe to Blake Lively, according to Hollywoodscoop.com
No longer. In this digital age, audiences have the attention-span of a TOWIE girl and celebrities regularly castrate their publicists by rejecting the "official statement" in favour of a crazed outburst on Twitter (witness Kanye West comparing himself to Hitler
Thanks to Twitter, and Hitler, there is now such a thing as bad publicity. And so the job of the publicist becomes a delicate balancing act, where they heroically endeavour to keep their charges in the public eye, whilst simultaneously proving how "normal" and non-crazy they really are. (Truly, the best compliment you can pay a celebrity is to call them 'normal'. A quality which we normal folk don't seem that grateful for, strangely enough.)
And so a canny soul concocted the Celebrity Playdate. Because there's publicity, and there's Marks & Spencers publicity. Playdate publicity is Grade-A stuff. Just check out the Daily Mail's
If we were cynical sorts, it would occur to us that this prime slice of publicity pie might have been cooked up in celebration of Brad Pitt's
But we aren't like that.
James McEvoy as Elton John?
Now here's a conundrum. Could you ever fancy Elton John? No? Really? Not even if we made him look like James McEvoy? Because this is how Hollywood is next planning on mucking with our heads, say Screenrant.com
And the award for most consistently entertaining red carpet fashion goes to....
the British Soap Awards!
When it comes to red carpet garb, the Oscars are a snorefest, unless you're a crazed fan of mushroom-coloured chiffon, that is. By contrast, the British Soap Awards are gloriously tasteless. Take a peek