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Does Uggie the Dog Ever Have to Work Again?
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Does Jim Carrey's Daughter Have an Edge on Idol?
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Could Brad Pitt Wear Jeans and a T-shirt to the Oscars?
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What's All This About a Kate Gosselin Cruise?
- And other great mysteries of Hollywood, beheaded for your pleasure in our weekly podcast!
Ask A Question
Why don't celebs blink at flashbulbs?
—CQ, Los Angeles
The B!tch Replies: Some Hollywood publicists would like you to believe this is a matter of superhuman ability combined with an almost godlike will—a force reserved only for the extremely beautiful or talented or famous or wealthy. They want you to associate flashbulb immunity with, say, the same kind of Lordy-given can-do spirit and plucky resilience that made Carrie Underwood such a darlin' at the CMAs.
In the same breath, these publicists will tell you it's just a skill that comes over time, like Christina Aguilera learning how to dress.
"Practice, practice, practice," veteran publicist Howard Bragman tells this B!tch. "It takes great will and fortitude to keep those eyes open."
Indeed, this B!tch has marveled in recent years at the staring abilities of many show-biz veterans who never, ever seem to blink on the carpet—Rachel Weisz, Courteney Cox, Lisa Rinna and Kate Bosworth come most immediately to mind. Same deal with La Jolie; she'll stare down your camera like an alley cat, man.
Bragman says when it comes to flashbulbs, "Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson are awesome."
However, I have learned there are two very real, very easy explanations for the quasi-paranormal phenomenon you describe. The first is a trick employed by stars, the second is a trick executed by the media or pushy publicists.
"Keep your eyes focused just below the flashbulb line," publicist Jennifer Gross says. "Before they go out on the carpet for the first time, celebrities often get a debrief, and that tip is often included. It's like. ‘Pull your skirt down, make sure your bra isn't showing, here's how not to blink and, no, there's nothing stuck in between your teeth, now go.' "
Instead of letting their lucrative eyeballs get sucked into the painful light of a flashbulb, stars often "focus on the black hole of the camera lens," says Gross, who has escorted or seen dozens of celebrities on the red carpet.
(Also, when in doubt, there's always what Bragman calls the "Jack" approach—"wearing your shades day or night.")
The second trick isn't really a trick so much as it is a cheat.
"Most photographers will not release photos if the eyes are shut," says Bragman, cofounder of the Hollywood power-PR firm Bragman Nyman Cafarelli, which represents Cameron Diaz and Kate Hudson. "We want glamour in our celebrities."
So, if a star does squint, that shot is likely to get buried.
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