Blog by Sean Gehon, Tuesday, April 24, 2007
There comes a time in every rising star’s life where they arrive on the brink of super stardom. For many young celebrities this can result in a variety of outcomes ranging from a stint in rehab, a debut album, or perhaps a few awards to place on your mantle. Many would-be actors battle tooth and nail on a daily basis to simply land the audition of a life time, let alone actually get the part. Fame can do funny things to a person’s self image. Stars like Lindsay Lohan and Paris Hilton refuse to play second fiddle to anyone, and it appears that Ugly Betty, America Ferrera may be joining the club.
Before hitting it big as the star of ABC’s hit Ugly Betty America Ferrera starred in a movie called The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. After the movie failed to become a huge box office hit, America went on to find success as Betty Suarez on Ugly Betty. With the success of the show America has gone on to win a SAG award and a Golden Globe for her portrayal of Betty, everyone’s favourite fashion victim. America Ferrera’s portrayal of the optimistic Latina has earned her fans around the world, and a following that supports Betty’s motto, being your self isn’t really that hard.
With the success of Ugly Betty America Ferrera has become one of today’s fastest rising young stars. At the age of twenty three, America is just beginning a career that I would like to hope will last her for years to come. Recently reports surfaced that the producers of The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants approached Ferrera regarding a sequel to the movie. Apparently Miss Ferrera is contractually obligated to appear in any sequels for the movie. With the producers pushing for a sequel, it appears that America doesn’t want any part in the project.
Personally, I don’t understand where America is coming from. The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants was a great movie in my opinion. Sure, the movie wasn’t commercially successful, but it was quite well down. I can’t help but wonder what America’s reasons for not appearing in the sequel are. With her recent success you’d think she’d be more than happy to give movies another try. Are her former costars not nice? Is America getting a little to big for Betty’s britches? Perhaps America doesn’t want her name attached to a project that ‘failed’ in the eyes of movie moguls. Whatever America’s reasons, I think as an actor you should work for the joy of acting and not the pay cheque.
America Ferrera is one of my favourite young actresses. On screen America portrays herself as a happy, sweet, caring, and beautiful young woman. There’s just something about her spirit and presence that intrigue and captivate me when I watch her. If America is starting to get a little bit of a diva attitude, it really would disappoint me. So many celebrities seem to get caught up in the lime light that they lose sight of what really drives them to do what they do. Being famous isn’t the be all and end all of existence. We may see it as the American dream or the light at the end of the tunnel, but in reality… it doesn’t change anything about you.
I really hope that America decides to film the sequel to the movie. Maybe it’s selfish of me to want a sequel to a movie that I enjoyed, but I don’t see how this could possibly hurt her career. With one of ABC’s highest rated shows under her belt, reviving a movie franchise wouldn’t be such a bad idea. Hopefully America will do what’s right for her… I hope even more that she won’t turn into the next Lindsay Lohan: Demanding, unprofessional, and head straight for rehab.
Sean (does anyone know where I can get some traveling pants?)
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