LilSugar

Baby Mama Interview: Sigourney Weaver

LilSugar — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 07:00:13 PDT

Working girl Sigourney Weaver plays Chaffee Bicknell, the head of the surrogacy firm in Baby Mama.

Though Weaver only shares a few scenes with the film’s stars, her presence is felt throughout the film.

To read more about her role and how her experience as an older mom influenced the movie,

read more. Weaver plays a smart, motivated woman who has the enviable ability, unlike her clients, to easily get pregnant. The actress entered motherhood at the age of 40. While “older moms” are common these days, they were not the norm 18 years ago. Weaver said:

I remember when I was carrying my daughter they referred to me as an elderly prima pare, or something like that, and the word elderly stuck out. And I felt, you know, phew, I had her just in time before I turned into a pumpkin or something. And I actually think the film will help surrogate motherhood get a different exposure. I really do believe what my character says that there is no wrong way to have a family as long as the welfare of the child and the health of everybody is kept in mind.

She also discussed why all women will relate to this movie:

One of the things I admire about the movie is that there are things included in it that are true and really humiliating for women. Like the doctor who says your uterus is upside down or it is shaped like a shoe or your eggs have crossed eyes or whatever awful things they say to you. You are by yourself and you go, ‘Well this isn’t really funny and this is heartbreaking.’ So they really brought in this whole experience and gave us a great chance to laugh about it. I think it really is a great gift to audiences because so many people have been through this.

Weaver also provided insight on the ways parenthood has changed from generation to generation and how satisfying it is to be a working woman:

I think that parenthood in the last 25 years has changed . . . I think in the old days women stayed home and children were left to their own devices to grow up. There wasn’t this intense focus on the child and the development of the child and doing the homework. My parents never really did homework with me, my G-d! So I just think that our focus on children includes my generation as a parent. I guess the big challenge for a mother is that if you are a working woman there are these separations that you have to deal with. Once a child gets older they are much harder on the mother than they are on the child. But I think that the good thing is that the child grows up knowing that work is something that’s desirable, fun, exciting, stimulating, not just something you have to do. So I think it was interesting to try to go back and forth. I definitely think that motherhood was the most satisfying job that I had. My daughter’s going off to college so I don’t know what I’ll do with myself it will be so quiet and neat at home!

Baby Mama Interview: Michael McCullers

LilSugar — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 08:00:23 PDT

What's a man know about being a baby mama?

A lot if you're Michael McCullers, the father of three who wrote and directed the must see movie that hits theaters Friday.

Having previously written Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me and Austin Powers in Goldmember, McCullers met with Tina Fey and Amy Poehler who he worked with at Saturday Night Live to brainstorm ideas for a film they could work on together. When Fey mentioned that she would like to make a modern day version of the Diane Keaton film Baby Boom, the group developed the idea of a surrogate pregnancy and the story was hatched.

To see how a man was able to delve into the minds of expectant mothers,

read more. Since he had two children at home and another on the way, McCullers had plenty of crazy pregnancy stories to write into the script. His initial drafts of the film were fine-tuned by Fey and Poehler to ensure that their characters accurately reflected the personalities of an expectant yuppie mom and her less classy surrogate. Knowing that people would question the idea of a man writing about pregnancy and babymaking, McCullers addressed the question directly:

Am I the best person to write and direct that idea, being a guy? Although I am not a baby-crazed woman, I do live with a baby-crazed woman, which helped. My wife is one of these women who knew early on that she wanted kids. At that point we already had two kids and during the course of the movie we were actually trying to have a third and ended up having a baby while the movie was shooting. So I did have a pregnant wife at home [and] it helped me relate, though I didn’t see her very much. I’m in my 30s and I’ve started to know a lot of women who are dealing with infertility. All of the sudden infertility and who can have a baby and who can’t has become a big issue with a lot of people in my life. And although there is a lot of anger and emotion that comes with that, there is, at least with the people I know, a lot of humor and funny stuff that goes with it.

Given the sometimes derogatory definition of the term “baby mama,” McCullers also discussed his decision to use the term for the movie’s title:

I saw that phrase migrating into the greater popular culture. People Magazine and Page Six and everyone sort of uses the term baby mama now. Its almost [gone] from unwed mother of your child to just the mother of a child. You know, they’ll say Tom Cruise’s baby mama or whatever, in US Weekly and it seems to be entering into pop culture. And I liked the way it sounded and looked.

Source

Baby Mama Interview: Tina Fey and Amy Poehler

LilSugar — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 09:00:35 PDT

Baby Mama takes a comedic approach to fertility.

Tina Fey plays a successful businesswoman yearning to have a child. After learning she has a million in one chance of getting pregnant, she finds a surrogacy center and begins the process of finding a baby mama, played by Amy Poehler.

When asked about the research they conducted into birthing centers and natural birth methods, the actresses discussed the experts they had on set:

Tina Fey: We had some experts on set who were wonderful, like very earthy women who came up to me and were like (in a breathy voice), "Are you thinking about having another child now?" and I was like "No," and she was like "You should consider a water birth" and I’m like, "Didn’t you hear the part where I said no!"
Amy Poehler: The same woman was telling pregnant people in like their 9th month . . .
TF: Because a lot of the other women in the class were very, very pregnant . . .
AP: And she was explaining nice ways to make love and the women were like, "Uh, no."
TF: But by the end of it, I did want to have a water birth.
AP: You don't need to have a baby to have a water birth.

To read the rest of the interview,

read more. They were also asked about the stress that new parents face today and the differences that go into raising a city child:

TF: My daughter starts preschool next year so I just went through the process of taking her to her preschool interviews and you are just hoping "Please don’t poop yourself during that time." AP: Did she wear a little power suit? TF: Yeah, she had a little power suit! AP: And did she have a teeny tiny brief case? TF: She had little teeny tiny resumes. AP: Made of candy! TF: Yeah, she ate it. That you don’t find in the suburbs. AP: Yeah I like that moment [in the film] where they say Wingspan and Banjo do you want to play with Groovy and Cheyenne?

Given Fey’s decision to give her daughter a traditional name Alice, we asked the women about Hollywood’s penchant for giving their children odd names:

TF: I like interesting names. My daughter’s middle name is sort of unusual, but they are all family names. I think that when you have a kid you have to try to think that when this child is an adult, how is this name going to suit the person. I like the name Apple. AP: I’m just gonna name my kids numbers. New Dude, Little Dude, and eight George Foremans.

With Knocked Up and Juno having already covered pregnancy over the past year, the women were also asked why Hollywood is giving pregnancy so much attention:

TF: I think it is a universal experience and there may be a generation of comedy writers that are hitting that age where they all have kids and the guys would have written their dating fantasy comedies 15 years ago. People write what they know and it might be a generational thing. AP: I think that Juno is very different from Knocked Up and our film is very different from that too. They’re all kind of different. Although they all tend to deal with a similar topic that’s really where it ends. But I think that our film is in the same way as Knocked Up it's just kind of straight up . . . with jokes.

Source

Miranda, Adriana, and Alessandra Give Us the Backstage Victoria's Secret Scoop!

Allie Merriam — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 17:31:56 PST

The action began backstage at the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show in NYC today! Hairstylist Orlando Pita and lead makeup artist Lauren Cosenza were in charge of transforming the models into Angels, and girls like Miranda Kerr, Alessandra Ambrosio, and Adriana Lima squeezed in interviews between primping sessions. Kanye West, who's performing during tonight's show, popped between the beauty stations to say hello to some of the ladies. He was introduced to Miranda Kerr, then gave rumored lady friend Chanel Iman a big hug. The press was running all over to talk to the models, but when Kanye arrived, things really hit the fan!

Miranda Kerr spoke with us about her husband Orlando Bloom, who's attending the show this evening, and what their family will do over the holidays. Adriana Lima shared a sweet anecdote about her daughter Valentina having a playdate with Alessandra Ambrosio's little one Anja, who apparently has some angel wings of her own already.

Alessandra on her daughter Anja's exposure to the show: "She came to the rehearsal - she's not allowed to come to the show yet! She was on the runway with me. She was just playing model, she was being an Angel . . . She didn't see the costumes, she only saw the wings. She saw the wings, and she was like, 'Mama! I have all these wings too at home! I have a butterfly, I have angel wings!' She has tons of wings, she was comparing our angel wings with hers."
Miranda on the trick to wearing Angel wings: "The wings are good! They're very heavy. You just do the best you can with the wings. Part of me is a little bit nervous because I don't want to be bopping down the catwalk. The aim is to glide down the catwalk. But when you have wings on you kind of bob a little bit."
Adriana on her daughter Valentina's playdate with Alessandra's daughter: "My baby, Valentina, actually I brought her yesterday for rehearsal. She did see my shoes, she fell in love with the wings. She walked on the runway. It was so cute. She had such a fun day yesterday. Alessandra's baby was here too, Anja, they were having a little playdate!"
Miranda on her and Orlando's holiday plans: "I think we'll probably be in Australia, so that will be nice. Because Orlando's filming The Hobbit down there."

Ivanka Trump Chooses Serena and Lily to Outfit Her Park Avenue Princess

Rebecca M Gruber — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 11:51:56 PDT

What do the rich and famous dress their babies in to come home from the hospital? Serena and Lily if we're talking about Ivanka Trump! The new mama and her husband, Jared Kushner, were seen bringing their daughter, Arabella Rose, home for the first time yesterday and the lil one was decked out in Serena and Lily's Take Me Home Gift Set ($68) - a baby gown, hat, and swaddling blanket that were included in our guide to coming home outfits. Ivanka's dad, Donald Trump, revealed his granddaughter's name during an interview with Fox and Friends a day after the tot's birth. Since then, Ivanka has tweeted, "Jared and I are having so much fun playing with our daughter! Arabella Rose is beyond adorable. She's truly a blessing."

Keep reading to see a few more photos of the new family's trip home.

Mariah Carey Shares a Peek of Her Twins' Nursery

Rebecca M Gruber — Tue, 19 Apr 2011 10:45:36 PDT

When Mariah Carey welcomes her twins this month, they'll be coming home to lavish nurseries in both Bel-Air and NYC. The songstress gave an exclusive interview and tour of the babies-to-be's rooms to Life & Style this week, revealing that the nurseries for her son and daughter match but aren't identical so they can "celebrate the twins as separate entities."

Forgoing a pink and blue color scheme, the classically decorated nursery is primarily outfitted in green, with pink accents (and butterflies, of course) scattered throughout. The highlight – a night-sky painted ceiling that the mama-to-be finds herself staring at as she awaits her babies' arrival, "To me, it symbolizes wanting my children to dream as big as possible and to let their imaginations be unbridled." Keep reading for a sneak peek at the nursery, and see more when the issue hits newsstands on Friday.

Source: Lisa Rose for Life & Style

Mary Pols on Her Accidentally on Purpose TV Show, Take 2!

LilSugar — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 06:00:36 PDT

A mom's life may play out like a sitcom, but no woman ever expects to actually watch hers on the small screen. This is exactly what happened to Mary Pols, author of Accidentally on Purpose the brilliant memoir of a 39 year old who had a one-night stand and ended up pregnant. I recently had a chance to chat with Mary about how her book became a CBS show starring Jenna Elfman. The second part of the season finale airs tonight. If you missed the first portion of the interview, check it out!

LilSugar: This one is for the wishful readers who rooted for the relationship, are you and Matt together now?
Mary Pols: We're not together. No traditional happy ending, just like the book. But being co-parents who are completely united in raising a child is a happier ending than a lot of people get, you know? I can live with that. Both of us could have had easier paths, but this little boy we share is just gloriously fun and sweet and charming and because of him, I wouldn't choose another life for anything. There isn't a day that goes by that I don't think, this is hard, and then, "I am so lucky." Which is really the sum of parenting, isn't it? If you feel blessed, it's all the same, whether you're married, single, straight, gay, adoptive, transgender but miraculously reproducing or what have you. Damn, this is hard. Damn, I'm lucky.

LilSugar: Dolan is now six, does he know his life story has gone to Hollywood? Or does he live like a normal kindergartner?
Mary Pols: Dolan knows I wrote a book about him but is blissfully ignorant of the whole Hollywood angle. Unless I was the inspiration for "Glee" or the "Berenstain Bears" I don't think he'd care much if he did know. Someday when he's older, I'll tell him. But for now we're just glad his rapidly advancing spelling skills don't yet extend to S-I-T-C-O-M.

LilSugar: Where will you watch the season finale?
Mary Pols: I'll probably have to watch the season finale on my laptop via CBS.com, late next Wednesday night, because I am so often at a movie screening on the nights when the show airs. But I saw a lot of it being taped, so I already know a few secrets. Like the baby's name, which is not Dolan but is a name I am very fond of and does appear in my book!

To see Mary's thoughts on motherhood,

read more. LilSugar: Fill in the blank. You know you’re a mother when ____? Mary Pols: You're grateful someone threw up on you because you are so much easier to clean than the rug, the couch, or the car seat. LilSugar: Fill in the blank. Why didn’t anybody tell me _____ about motherhood? Mary Pols: That it is primitive and basic and beautiful enough to survive and thrive outside societal norms. Well, to be truthful, plenty of people told me, from Anne Lamott via her great memoir Operating Instructions to the women in my book club. There are very few wisdoms that haven't already been told. I just wasn't ready to listen. LilSugar: What’s the best trick your mama (or parent) taught you? Mary Pols: To find the comedy hidden within every drama. LilSugar: Are you a helicopter mom or do you believe in free-range kids? Mary Pols: Free range and organic all the way. Except at dinner, when I must say "bottom IN your chair" at least 20 times. Photos copyright 2010 CBS Inc.