Power brows are V. IMPORTANT, you guys.
Frazer Harrison / Getty Images
Power brows are V. IMPORTANT, you guys.
Frazer Harrison / Getty Images
If you’ve paid attention to indie film over the past few years, there’s a good chance you’re familiar with Chris Messina’s work — but he wasn’t always one of Hollywood’s most sought-after actors. In his own words, Messina recounts a career trajectory full of challenges, from getting cut out of a Meryl Streep movie and nearly quitting the business to stumbling over Aaron Sorkin’s complex dialogue on The Newsroom.
Electric City
Chris Messina refuses to say he's the hardest working man in Hollywood.
And that's fair — there are countless actors out there struggling to be seen, putting in thankless hours in an effort to break through. Messina was once one of them. Now that he's found mainstream success, starring on The Mindy Project and premiering his directorial debut Alex of Venice at the Tribeca Film Festival, he is grateful for all his opportunities, as stressful as they sometimes are.
"There comes a time when you have to refill the well, so it'll be nice when things slow down a bit and I can take a breath," he admits. Sitting on the patio at Santa Monica's Palihouse, Messina looks almost peaceful, a stark contrast to the litany of obligations he's rattling off. "I finished last season of The Mindy Project, and then started prepping [Alex of Venice] at the end of that season. And then I went into a few Newsroom episodes, and then went off and shot the film, and then had two weeks off, and then went back to The Mindy Project, where I began editing the film. And then I did that throughout the entire season. The Mindy Project just ended and only last night did I finish working on the sound for the film."
While he's not one to complain, he'll at least concede that, for a time, he was working too hard.
"It was a bit stupid on my part to take on that much, and I think everything suffers when you do that much," Messina says. "I think your work suffers, your relationships suffer. Some of the decisions I was making were with only a couple hours of sleep, so I hope to direct another movie again, but I would never do that with anything else. I would like to clear the deck."
Beth Dubber
Alex of Venice — in which Messina also stars — is his film directorial debut. He was offered the project by producers Jamie Patricof and Lynette Howell, who previously collaborated on Blue Valentine and The Place Beyond the Pines, among others.
But it was Alex of Venice's screenplay that made Messina commit to directing.
"The script spoke to me," he says. "I recognized myself and my family and my friends and all the people I know and love in each and every one of these characters, so I wanted to give it a shot."
Messina had directed theatrical productions before, and he'd also coached friends he put on tape for films. But Alex of Venice was a unique challenge — while he was excited to take it on, he was plagued by the standard insecurities.
"When you're doing it, you're going, What the fuck am I doing? Am I screwing this up?" he says. "But the train has already taken off and you're committed and you've cast it, and you're a couple days into the film, and you're hoping that you don't mess it up because the script was so great."
Messina's career as a whole reflects an actor (now director) always looking for a way to push himself further, often at the expense of his sanity and sleep schedule. His rise from barely working actor to indie everyman speaks to his smart career choices — and yes, his occasional need to bite off more than he can chew.
"It is exhausting," Messina says. "And I have two children."
The tornado that ripped through Moore, Okla., last year killed 24 people and injured scores of others. A year later, the community is still picking up the pieces.
AP Photo/Charlie Riedel
AP Photo/Charlie Riedel
AP Photo/Charlie Riedel
AP Photo/Charlie Riedel
Through her work, Esther Honig hopes to discover if a global beauty standard actually exists.
Original, unaltered photograph of artist.
Esther Honig.
Moroccan interpretation of beauty.
Esther Honig, a freelance journalist based out of Kansas City, sent an unaltered photograph of herself to more than 40 Photoshop aficionados around the world. "Make me beautiful," she said, hoping to bring to light how standards of beauty differ across various cultures.
The project, titled Before & After, originally came to Honig while she was working as a social media manager for a small startup. Her boss introduced her to Fiverr, an international freelancing website where anyone can hire freelancers from around the globe to complete almost any task imaginable. While browsing the site, Honig realized the prevalence of those offering Photoshop skills. "It immediately occurred to me that in this pool of workers, each individual likely had an aesthetic preference particular to their own culture," Honig told BuzzFeed. Thus, the idea for Before & After was born.
Working with freelancers in over 25 countries, Honig expected that the images would differ from country to country, but was herself caught off guard by just how drastically some of the images were altered. "Seeing some jobs for the first time made me shriek... Other times images, like the one from Morocco, took my breath away because they were far more insightful than I could have expected," Honig said.
To be sure, the images Honig has collected so far are interesting as individual images, a unique portrait of the standards of beauty in each country. However, when taken in totality, the project becomes much more striking, an interesting launching point into a global conversation about unattainable beauty standards around the world. "What I've learned from the project is this: Photoshop [may] allow us to achieve our unobtainable standards of beauty, but when we compare those standards on a global scale, achieving the ideal remains all the more illusive."
Below are the photographs that Honig has collected thus far. Note: Some countries have multiple images from different artists. Honig continues her project on her website.
A lot has changed within the past 10 years.
panoramio.com, Arielle Calderon/BuzzFeed
Werner Weiss/yesterland.com, Arielle Calderon/BuzzFeed
Five ordinary men are transformed into beautiful women through the power of makeup.
BuzzFeedYellow / Via youtube.com
BuzzFeedYellow / Via youtube.com
See how London used to be docks, factories and green fields rather than motorways, massive stadiums and endless flats. Slidey things!
Google Earth
Google Earth
#nofilter. Just really, really good makeup.
Makeup artist Melissa Murphy — who has worked with models, actors, actresses, adult film stars, and just about everyone else you can think of — shows just how powerful makeup can be with her before-and-after Instagram photos.
Melissa Murphy / Instagram: @xmelissamakeupx
Zedis lapedis! Use the Slidey Thing to feel old.
Disney
Getty / Robert Mora / Jason Merritt
They say just showing up is 80%. Actually, showing up is like, 5%. The other 95% is green screen and special effects.
Facebook: Moving.Picture.Company
Facebook: Moving.Picture.Company
*Untags every picture*
Lara Parker for BuzzFeed
Lara Parker for BuzzFeed
Even superhero celebs have to start somewhere.
BuzzFeedYellow / Via youtube.com
There’s a story behind every haircut. Seven clients with diverse hair issues receive a makeover of a lifetime from a celebrity stylist.
Each client had a unique follicular issue tied to an emotional life journey.
youtube.com / Via BuzzFeedYellow
Hair Concerns
• The first thing you think about hair: "Messy. It's a hot mess, and it's always been since high school. I feel like I've always been on a journey trying to find the right style that matches my personality."
• Feels her hair has always been "plain jane"
• Long, outgrown hair and dry ends
• Oily scalp from daily washing
• Wants bangs and an effortless, daring new style
Eugene Lee Yang / Via BuzzFeedYellow
Everyone deserves love and a second chance. All of the photos were provided by Trio Animal Foundation, an organization that helps fund the costly medical procedures of pets in shelters and rescues.
After being tied up and abandoned outside, Elsa was hospitalized and made a full recovery!
Jones had lost the ability to use his back legs and was brought to a kill shelter. After physical therapy, medication, and strict bed rest, Jones is able to walk again!
The power of the animal spirit is amazing. Warning: Devastating stories with uncommonly happy endings ahead.
Valentino is the sweetest little guy, but he wasn't always doing as well as he was when I saw him. The calf of a dairy cow, Valentino was sent to auction at only a day old. Usually these calves are sold for veal or raised for cheap beef, but since Valentino was so sick and badly abused, he was likely going to be left at the stockyard to die. Luckily, a horse rescuer saw him and took him to get care. After getting treatment at the Cornell University Hospital for Animals, Valentino is living his days with the older cows at the sanctuary.
Chelsea Marshall
Gabriel's mom, Marjorie, was one of a group of goats found on a rural property, extremely neglected: All were emaciated, coughing, and plagued by both internal and external parasites. On top of all that, their hooves were overgrown and rotten. Gabriel's mother gave birth shortly after her rescue and they're both living great lives with lots of behind-the-ear scratches (a goat favorite!).
Chelsea Marshall
Krstoff was among 24 baby turkeys left at the gate of the Watkins Glen Farm Sanctuary one morning. Their specific history is unknown, but it is clear from their shorn beaks and dire physical state that they came from a factory farm. Their shorn beaks are a product of suffering "de-beaking," a horrible procedure in which a human amputates the nerve-filled beak of the bird. Kristoff now gets to roam the farm with other turkeys, where his playful and curious demeanor is celebrated!
Chelsea Marshall
Awwwwww!
Courtesy of Jay Johnson / Via reddit.com
Courtesy of Jay Johnson / Via reddit.com
Courtesy of Jay Johnson / Via reddit.com
Courtesy of Jay Johnson / Via reddit.com
Don’t ruin a perfectly good sponge due to negligence. That’s just wasteful.
Overall this worked pretty well for us. This doesn't work miracles, so don't get your hopes up. But it's a great way to not slave away at the sink scrubbing while you're wasting all that water.
Give it a try. Let us know if it worked for you!
BuzzFeed Blue / Via youtu.be
They grow up so fast…
BuzzFeed Yellow / Via youtu.be
Alison Braun made the top three in 2008 and her weight loss journey has clearly continued.
Facebook / Channel 10
Channel 10