I’ll admit it, I’m a closet superhero freak and it was all too apparent when I bought the early bird tickets to the latest Wolverine movie and stood in line for almost two hours to get the best seats. I’d like to say it’s because I grew up with four older brothers; they’re the reason I’m obsessed with the Spiderman’s and Batman’s of the world…but regardless, in line with all the other X-Men groupies, stood a 5’10, long blond haired, smiling tomboy eager to be let into the theater.

But, honestly, what is it that we love about superheroes anyway? When you think about Michelle Pfeiffer as Cat Woman, old-school Wonder Woman played by Lynda Carter, Halle Berry as Storm, Jennifer Gardner as Elektra, Jessica Alba dressed up as Sue Storm in Fantastic Four and, the ultimate, Angelina Jolie as Lara Croft, you can’t tell me you don’t think they’re rock stars. I’d give my left pinky to be any of them for a day, so what is it about them that makes them so incredible?

Honestly, I think we as humans know our limitations and love to fantasize about a world in which we can fly, read people’s minds, become invisible or beat up a guy who’s ten times our size in a perfectly choreographed fight scene. We want to be bad asses at heart, at least I do. For most people, our biggest fear is being ordinary, mediocre, or Simon Cowell’s biggest insult, “forgettable.”

However, my greatest epiphany recently was that we DO get to be superheroes and we DO get to have super powers, if we so choose. Now maybe they aren’t the cliché super human strength, the ability to move at the speed of light, or invisibility cloaks, but they are equally powerful. This lifetime is never about wishing for something you don’t have, but rather seeing what tools you can find to stick in your belt along the way.

For me, I realized that my life experiences have gifted me with incredible opportunities to pick up priceless tools: the work ethic I gained in grad school, the faith I gained when I lost a dear friend in car accident, the resilience I gained hiking Everest, the determination I gained on Survivor, the compassion I gained in working with underprivileged girls in Cambodia, and the appreciation I gained after witnessing poverty in Brazil. You see, in the real world, the intangibles we gain along our journey are where the real power hides.

I think with every experience we have, there is this opportunity to pick up another gift, another shade of color we can add to our pallet and another tool for our life’s tool belt. Regardless of the situation, whether happy or sad, terrifying of joyfully overflowing there is a kernel of truth that awaits you. In order to best navigate through the jungle of life, it’s in our best interest to gather as many things as possible to help  along the journey.

I may not be able to make things move with my mind, but I confidently know I have the work ethic to build a powerful company; I may never be able to fly, but I know I have the compassion to inspire a young girl to dream big; and Lord knows I’ll never read minds (though with the last guy I had a crush on it would have been uber helpful), but I know I have the resilience to pursue my passion in the face of adversity.

We all have the potential to be superheroes, to leave this world better than we found it, to fight for those who cannot fight for themselves and to be extraordinary, magnificent and truly unforgettable. Now, all we have to do is a get a costume, slap on a mask, and I have no doubt we’d give Cat Woman and the other hero babes a run for their money.

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I sat in a Executive Board meeting from 9am until almost one discussing you. Yes, those of you out in the cyber world reading my thoughts on this screen. Despite it being a gorgeous, perfect 80 degree, sunny California day, the board members and I patiently sat in an cold, austere room arguing over who YOU are and what you want from us. Now don’t get me wrong, the best part about loving what I do is that even the temptation of God’s gift to weather still isn’t enough enticement to prevent me from meticulously pounding out the details of this company and providing you with our very best as we seek to give ourselves a website makeover.

With all that said, we were working on creating a defined target market to draw a circle around our readers and hopefully, in about five adjectives, encapsulate the majority of you. It was only after our Saturday (yes we work on Saturday) that it occurred to me, that I myself am a walking contradiction. I don’t know about you but, depending on the weather, mood I’m in, who I just spoke to, where I’m at, what I’m wearing, I’ll give you a different adjective to describe myself every time.

For instance, last night I laid on my couch flipping back and forth between the adorablely sweet You’ve Got Mail, starring Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks, and the incredulously gory Sci-Fi Chronicles of Riddick, staring Vin Diesel. Are you kidding me? You couldn’t get more opposite and, yet, as I lounged in sweat pants and a grubby ol’ t-shirt, painting my nails pink, there was something about each movie that spoke to me.

Now if you know anything about me, you know it’s my dream to be a real life, Angelina Jolie Tomb Raider. And yet, the hopeless romantic, southern bell is patiently awaiting her prince charming. Sometimes I want to be prim and proper, feminine and flighty, and sometimes I want to be a hard-core, cut the B.S. businesswoman. Yet despite the blatant contrast, I am the same girl, struggling to find out who I am and what I really want. Aren’t we all?

Life is such a crazy journey; it’s fascinating and terrifying, it’s hopeful and heartbreaking, it’s a roller coaster of highs and lows and, yet, maybe that’s the point.  We are a jumbled mess of juxtaposition on an adventure where we get to transform and grow and, somewhere along the way, all we want is a place where we can come and feel that we’re not alone. I want that for us, very much me included.

I know I write these obscure blogs and I sometimes sit and wonder who is out there actually reading them. I wonder where you are and what you look like. I ponder over what you do for a living and what in the universe drove you to this blog of all the millions in the world. I know I don’t know each of you personally, that I may not know what specifically is going on in your life, but I get it. I really, really do. Because I’m just as confused and lost, hopeful and optimistic, eager and scared. Despite knowing better, I struggle to have the perfect body, still need mega advice on my finances, and am searching for a “great guy,” who is nowhere to be found. There are times when I could take on the entire world and times when I’m terrified and crumble under the weight of a future of ambiguity and no guarantees.

All I’m saying is rather than treat you and i am that girl as a “business” and take traditional steps to “Identifying and capitalizing on our target demographic,” I’m going to treat you like a friend – one I may never even get the chance to meet face to face. I believe we need this place, a place for US to go… whoever we are. But I want us to be able to talk and share and use each other’s dim lanterns to shower more light on this treacherous life path.

So, I’m working on defying business standards and trusting that “If you build it, they will come.” We need you, we need all of you, because the most beautiful thing about life is that we have the option to share it with those around us.

Spread the world, because we’re on the brink of building us the most bad ass chick site to date.

photo by corrado alisonno

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Think of Regina George as head Plastic in Mean Girls, Blair and Serena as frenemies on Gossip Girl, and Angelina versus Jen in the gossip rags. Girl-on-girl hatred has become a fixture in entertainment, and the more gorgeous the women are, the dirtier the fighting gets. While I don’t condone the media’s depiction of women as petty and spiteful creatures, I’ll admit that I’ve found my share of amusement in these scripted cat fights. But does art imitate life? Do we really live in a Mean Girls world where women prey on each other?

One school of thought believes that women are hateful and vindictive when they perceive another female to be more beautiful and successful. This competitive nature harkens back to evolutionary time, when survival depended on limited resources needed for our genes to thrive in the next generation. Those resources used to be food, shelter, and mates; these days they have translated into money, popularity, and oh wait, mates again. It’s every woman for herself, and to be one-upped by another is to be left out in the cold.

Another school of thought accredits our competitiveness to our environment, particularly the media. Our culture is inundated with tabloids that encourage us to focus on celebrities’ bodies, stumbles, and foibles. (Flaunting misbehavior and flaws is more profitable than extolling talent and generosity.) This skewed view makes us scrutinize ourselves and those around us, placing us mere mortals in front of the firing squad as well.

While the reason for our cattiness is probably a combination of biology and society, we are not merely products of our genes and culture. Women can be needlessly nasty when threatened by another woman’s beauty and intelligence. But shouldn’t beauty and intelligence be a source of celebration instead of condemnation? What’s the reason for denying someone her victory simply because ours is still a work in progress?

While blaming others for our ineptness is a lot easier than confronting our problems head-on, we can’t continue to stand in the way of our success by focusing on someone else’s life. Self-improvement is the only factor that we can control, and the first step is admitting responsibility. So let’s take the time to assess (not dwell on) our weaknesses, and figure out what we can do to transform them into strengths. And while we’re at it, let’s commemorate the strengths we do have and applaud (not sneer at) the qualities that we admire in others. Then we can live in a Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants world, and kiss Regina George goodbye.

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The nominations for the 81st Annual Academy Awards were announced this morning and the Hollywood is abuzz with talk of the surprises and the snubs.  So who made the list and who didn’t?  Well it’s a good thing that I Am That Girl’s MovieQT is here to spell it out for you.  And the contenders are…

Best Actor: Noms went to the usual suspects, with the exception of a surprise nomination for Richard Jenkins for The Visitor.  Jenkins undoubtedly delivered a great performance, but his nom meant a snub for another stellar performance, Leonardo DiCaprio in Revolutionary Road.  But alas ladies, our hearts must go on….

Best Actress: Both Merly Streep for Doubt and Angelina Jolie for Changeling were expected, as was Anne Hathaway who was phenomenal as a recovering drug addict in Rachel Getting Married.  We all knew Kate Winslet would get a nom, but it’s a surprise that she didn’t end up with two, considering she won the Golden Globe in both the leading and the supporting categories just a few weeks ago.   Interestingly enough, Kate was nominated for her performance in The Reader over Revolutionary Road, so looks like Kate, Leo, and the film in general were not well received by the Academy.  So who’s the fifth nominee?  That would be Melissa Leo who received critical acclaim for her performance in Frozen River, a film that won the Grand Jury prize at Sundance last year.  Considering this film was in very limited release, Leo was certainly not a front runner in the Oscar race, but you never know with the Academy…

Supporting roles: Since Winslet didn’t score a nom for Supporting Actress, this one seems to be up for grabs.   I was pleased to see Taraji P. Henson nab a nod as I would argue that she delivered a stand out performance in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and apparently the Academy agrees.  As for supporting actor, Heath Ledger’s shocking portrayal of the Joker has been the favorite in film circles across the board.  In fact, it will hands down earn him one of only two Oscars ever awarded posthumously.  I was also extremely happy to see Michael Shannon take home a nomination for his crazy yet comedic portrayal of the neighbor in Revolutionary Road.  And finally, two words: Tropic Thunder… I mean we all love Robert Downey Jr. , but really, what was the Academy thinking?

And last but not least, Best Picture: All 5 nominated films made my Top 8 for 2008 and 3 of them were in my Top 5, so clearly I don’t have too much to unhappy about.  That said, I can’t help but express my huge disappointment that The Reader beat out The Dark Knight in this category.  I thought for sure that this would be the year that the blockbuster took back the Awards, but it was a dark day for The Dark Knight. Beyond these complaints, I am very pleased that Milk was given the acknowledgment that it rightfully deserves.  It was previously ignored in this category at the Globes, but as perhaps the most socially relevant film of the year, it absolutely belongs among the nominees.  And, of course, I couldn’t be more thrilled about my favorite film of the year nabbing yet another Best Picture nom. Slumdog Millionaire recently won at the Globes and I’m pretty certain it’s headed for Oscar glory as well.

Well that’s a wrap. Check back for MovieQT’s Oscar Predictions and let us know who you think will win!  Don’t forget to tune in for Hollywood’s biggest night when the Academy Awards air live from the Kodak Theater on Sunday, February 22 at 5pm PT/ 8pm ET on ABC.

Click here to check out the complete list of nominees.

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After a platform release in LA and NY, Changeling opens in theaters nationwide this weekend.  Based on a true story that rocked California’s legal system in 1928, acclaimed director Clint Eastwood and screenwriter, J. Michael Straczynski, cast a modern light on this shocking tale.

The film stars Angelina Jolie as Christine Collins, a single working-class mother who after being called in to work unexpectedly on a Saturday, returns home to find her nine-year-old son missing.  After months of investigation, the LAPD reunite Collins with a boy they believe to be her vanished son, Walter.  In a swirl of photographers, police and reporters, Collins realizes that the child is not hers, but is convinced to take the boy home anyway.  She pushes the police to keep looking for her son, but they call her delusional and commit her to an insane asylum.  It is only with the help of a supportive radio activist named Reverend Briegleb (John Malkovich) that Collins is able to continue her fight against the system and her search for her son.

While not one of Eastwood’s best films, this is certainly a story worth telling for a modern audience.  This film successfully transports you back to Prohibition-era Los Angeles. The real-life series of events, the corruption of law enforcement and the treatment of a mother who was simply trying to find her son are staggering, but necessarily compelling.  While neither the script nor Eastwood’s direction are likely to be award contenders, Jolie’s impressive portrayal of a woman attempting to challenge the system will certainly earn her a nomination or two.  Jason Butler Harner, who plays the suspicious Gordon Northcott, also delivers a captivating performance as do some of the children in the cast.  Most importantly, there is a powerful message at the story’s core about the importance of a woman standing up not only for herself, but also for truth and justice.

That Girl says: Like It!  Changeling carries weight simply because it is based on a true story, but while the truth is tragic, the film crawls at a somewhat dull pace and lacks the powerful punch that one would have expected from Eastwood.  Craftsmanship aside, strong performances from Jolie and even some others will carry it to the Oscars, but what I found most valuable about this film is its message.  At its heart, Changeling is a story of woman who spoke out in her search for truth and refused to let society silence her.

Release Date:  October 31st, 2008 (Wide Release)
Running Time:  141 minutes
Rated:  R
Company:  Universal Pictures
Cast:  Angelina Jolie – Christine Collins
John Malkovich – Rev. Gustav Briegleb
Jeffrey Donovan – Capt. J.J. Jones
Colm Feore – Chief James E. Davis
Jason Butler Harner – Gordon Northcott
Amy Ryan – Carol Dexter
Michael Kelly – Detective Lester Ybarra
Director:  Clint Eastwood
Official Site: www.changelingmovie.net

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