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Being an actress can be a real pain in the ass. By definition, the gig is simple. You pretend your someone else; you perform. In reality, however, there's a whole added can of worms -- especially when Hollywood is involved. There's this ridiculous and particular mold an actress has to fit into, and pitfalls she must deal with -- especially in terms of superstardom.

There is literally no way to completely avoid the possible pitfalls of celebrity -- especially if you choose to be involved with any film project. We live in a world where potential blockbusters can tank and the $11k, uber-small Paranormal Activity can become a phenomenon. There's always a chance -- the possibility of being thrust into the ever-scrutinizing public eye, finding any semblance of privacy fly out the window as the paparazzi camp out at your front door and fandom rains down.

Welcome to the Dollhouse.

Perception is everything, and I don't mean to get all metaphysical on you, but sometimes it's how the world sees us that can define who we are -- but what if the world thinks you're a psycho? In an interview with American Psycho director Mary Harron, she was reminiscing about the black comedy, and as it turns out, her star Christian Bale based his vision of the murdering yuppie on -- wait for it -- Tom Cruise. According to Harron, she and Bale had been collaborating on the character when "...he [Bale] called me and he had been watching Tom Cruise on David Letterman, and he just had this very intense friendliness with nothing behind the eyes, and he was really taken with this energy."

Actors take inspiration from all kinds of places, but you can't help but wonder if Bale saw something that we would all be made painfully aware of: the 'crazy' side of Cruise. And it was that same energy that worked so well in P.T. Anderson's Magnolia when Cruise played motivational speaker Frank T.J. Mackey. But for me, what made this story truly funny, is that who could have predicted that soon enough Bale would be dealing with his own troubled image in Hollywood as a rage-aholic and something of a bully? On the upside, though, maybe Bale's on-set rant will one day inspire another young actor (ahh, the circle of life).

These guys aren't the only ones to battle troubled reputations (whether or not they're deserved), and after the jump: a few more stars who have run their reputations into the ditch...

You've got to admire both the acting chops and sass of Samantha Morton. The two-time Oscar nominee has wowed audiences with films like Sweet and Lowdon and In America, and she's also notorious for speaking her mind, rather than passively navigating through her work as a demure, lip-biting actress. True to form, she spoke her mind during an interview with Chrissy Iley for The Guardian. When the interview starts with a drama club story about a young Morton taking improv too far -- "He whispered, 'The other girl's stolen your hamster.' So I beat the crap out of this girl and they didn't ask me back." -- you know this isn't your everyday actor.

The interview covers a lot of ground -- her personal life and pregnancy, her background and noted roles, current work like Charlie Kaufman's Synecdoche, New York, and a funny story about asking Tom Cruise for a hand during Minority Report. Morton also gives her two cents about celebrity actresses hunting for Oscar roles: "Movie star actors have their people look at Oscar-worthy films for them. They are looking for that nomination, which is more likely to come in a lower-budget film. The directors of those films might have been in touch with people like myself, or maybe Kate Winslet, Rachel Weisz, or Maggie Gyllenhaal, before they've got a producer. You meet the director a few times, develop a rapport... and before you know it they have Nicole Kidman doing your film because they've said to the director, 'You can have $50m if you have her.'"

Considering that, I can't help but wonder what some other films would be like if celebrity actresses never took them. What if Nicole Kidman wasn't around for Moulin Rouge! or The Hours? What if Renee Zellweger didn't have time for Bridget Jones or Chicago? Take any of the big, award-winning movies -- would they be as good with someone else? And, if you could cast someone a little off the A-list, who would it be?

Movie tourism is nothing new; there have been tours of studios for years, and recently tours have sprung up in New Zealand for Lord of The Rings and Harrow, England for Harry Potter aficionados. The Folklore Society of Stode Sweden is on the hunt for an Ingrid Bergman look-alike to re-enact the actresses' first marriage to Petter Aron Lindstrom 70 years ago. The Society intends to officially marry a couple in name and deed, providing the dress and a reception for free to the lucky winner. In a somewhat humiliating side note, the event organizers aren't bothered about finding a look-alike for Lindstrom for the event. Bergman's most famous romance was with Italian Neo-realist director Roberto Rossellini, not Lindstrom -- who was from Stode and the inspiration for the event. Bergman's daughter, Pia Lindstrom, will be in attendance and guests will get to dine on the original wedding china at the reception. Stode's event sounds a little obscure even for a die-hard fan, and with Bergman's daughter in attendance, it all sounds just the slightest bit creepy.

Nostalgia is one thing, but this is taking it a little far don't you think? Although, if you happen to have a relative in Sweden that bears an uncanny resemblance to Ingrid Bergman with a mounting wedding bill, this might be her lucky day.

[via topix.net]

Most of the celebrity gossip news this week seems to be centered on Anna Nicole Smith. In fact, the quantity of news about her pushed the Cruise family right out of the spotlight for once. Her son's recent death was determined to have resulted from a toxic drug combination. Disputes have been occurring over the paternity of her new baby daughter. And on Thursday, she and her longtime lawyer, Howard K. Stern, held a commitment ceremony (not an official marriage, as was earlier speculated).

After the Smith drama, do we need any more gossip? Of course we do. Here are some of the celebrity highlights from the past week:

• Wedding bells: Rumors have been flying about actress Amanda Peet (pictured above) being pregnant. She not only confirmed the news of her pregnancy this week, but also announced that she and the baby's father, screenwriter David Benioff, are getting married this weekend.

It's always dangerous when more than one person from the same project gets nominated in the same category. Hell, I'm pretty sure Michelle Williams and Scarlett Johansson, both susceptible to the starlet vote, cancelled each other out on Supporting Actress – what do you think the effect of having four Housewives nominated in the same category had on Mary-Louise Parker's win? She was probably more surprised than she should have been, given all that, and she blurted out that she wanted "to make out with everybody" involved with her show, Weeds. We understand that it's been a long time since Fried Green Tomatoes, but ... She closed by thanking John Spencer, and we're going to assume she meant the recently deceased West Wing star, and NOT the ringleader of Blues Explosion.

Don't forget, kids, – because I'm absolutely insane, I'm forcing Martha and Erik to help me live blog the Golden Globes tonight. You can start your evening over at TV Squad where, starting at about 6pm, Bob Sassone will be blogging the red carpet arrivals. Then, swing back on over here for marathon coverage. And, of course, don't forget to snark to your hearts content in the comments.

Just yesterday, James and I were talking about how ... interesting it is that Wayne Wang can go from directing a lo-fi sexual psychodrama like The Center of the World, and straight into fluffy quasi-empowerment rom coms, like Last Holiday, and the "J. Lo plus Ralph Fiennes equals Sabrina on Zoloft" shrug that was Maid in Manhattan. Wang's career um, arc? can be rationalized, James said, as a clear effort to balance art and commerce. Okay, but then what can we say of his Manhattan star, Jennifer Lopez? J. Lo famously broke out as Selena in Selena, and then built a reputation on strong work in left-of-center projects such as U-Turn and Steven Soderbergh's flawless Out of Sight. Then came the pop stardom, and the husbands, and a series of worthless films that failed to appeal to either film snobs or consumers. When you're failing to make either art OR commerce, shouldn't some kind of career re-evaluation take place?

Maybe, but acording to Variety, it's not going to happen any time soon. Greg Berlanti, creator of Everwood and former executive producer of Dawson's Creek, will direct Mrs. Mark Anthony in Bridge and Tunnel. Yet another deception-fueled romantic comedy, this one figures Lopez as a stocktrader who gets all of her moves from a teenager day trading from his home in the 'burbs. Though Variety doesn't specify much about the plot, I think it's safe to say that through this kid, J to the Lo finds both love, and the courage and confidence to do her job by her lonesome. From kick-ass Federal Marshall to waiting-to-exhale corporate fraud in just nine years? C'mon, Jenny – just give Taylor Hackford a couple mil and make the Carmen movie. For you, and for us.