The Ugly Truth production

[Texas gramma]

OK, This is just MY opinion and you guys are probably gonna throw rotten fruit at me for saying this, but I think the guy responsible for lighting The Ugly Truth should be verbally drawn and quartered! In many, many scenes, the lighting director managed to throw a golden hewed or yellow light on the entire set. This was very flattering for the golden Ms. Heigl, but for Gerry's darker complexion, those scenes made him look washed out and did very little to highlight HIS darker coloring, especially his eyes. I can understand this for the balloon scene with the setting sun, but just watch a lot of the interior scenes, especially the dance and bedroom scene. Everything is yellow! I used to live in Sacramento and the only time everything looked yellow to me was when someone was trying to keep mosquitoes away from a cookout! This is the only film of Gerry's where the lighting favored one actor over another, and it makes me mad! Gerry deserves better than that!

There, I said it. Give me a minute to put on a raincoat and start pitching that fruit!

Suzie

[terezoulini]

OK, This is just MY opinion and you guys are probably gonna throw rotten fruit at me for saying this, but I think the guy responsible for lighting The Ugly Truth should be verbally drawn and quartered! In many, many scenes, the lighting director managed to throw a golden hewed or yellow light on the entire set. This was very flattering for the golden Ms. Heigl, but for Gerry's darker complexion, those scenes made him look washed out and did very little to highlight HIS darker coloring, especially his eyes. I can understand this for the balloon scene with the setting sun, but just watch a lot of the interior scenes, especially the dance and bedroom scene. Everything is yellow! I used to live in Sacramento and the only time everything looked yellow to me was when someone was trying to keep mosquitoes away from a cookout! This is the only film of Gerry's where the lighting favored one actor over another, and it makes me mad! Gerry deserves better than that!

There, I said it. Give me a minute to put on a raincoat and start pitching that fruit!

Suzie

You know, you may have a point there. I don't have the DVD yet, but I did watch the film many times at the cinema and always thought that Gerry's eyes had a weird colour in the balloon scene, they looked rather hazel instead of the green blue that they normally are. I noticed the same things in the alternate endings that were posted recently. Itdidn't occur to me why but your reason makes sense. Well, Ms Heigl was the producer and I suppose one has to make the best for the leading lady anyway. Our Gerry will look gorgeous under any colouring! :-)

Theresa

Edited November 15, 2009 by terezoulini

[Texas gramma]

Oh, I agree Gerry looked gorgeous, but he should have looked better!

Suzie

[terezoulini]

Oh, I agree Gerry looked gorgeous, but he should have looked better!

Suzie

I got this feeling everytime I went to any of the three latest films with people who didn't know him or only knew himefrom 300 and the Phantom. We have seen all his work and the interviews too so we have a different view. Unfortunately the general public hasn't seen this lately, at a time when he is getting the most attention. I buterised a number of ladies during the summer and it all happened because of the interviews I showed them with a little help from TUT. We still need a new film that will show Gerry the way we know him and I don't think the Bounty will be the one. I hope I am proven wrong.

Theresa

[phoenixgirl]

Suzi, nothing thrown here. Everyone is entitled to their opinion. I agree that the lighting was much better for Katherine; however, I do think Gerry looked gorgeous and I would attribute some of what you're feeling to Gerry's being so sick.

To be honest, I actually thought there were wonderful close ups of Gerry, and he looked fantastic. It must be difficult to light people who have such different complexions, hair color, etc.

I guess I'll have to watch it again and see if I can see what concerns you.

[terezoulini]

... I would attribute some of what you're feeling to Gerry's being so sick.

I keep reading references to Gerry being sick at the time but since I wasn't around I don't know much. Can someone kindly enlighten newer members. The only thing I have noticed is that altough Gerry's body was slim at TUT, his cheeks were a bit "fuller" than usual, maybe because of medication and water retention?

Theresa

[Rendita]

I won't throw tomatoes, but I don't agree, either. In fact, I would say some of the best close-ups I've ever seen of Gerry were in TUT. His eyes looked beautiful. In fact a friend of mine turned to me during the baseball scene and commented on it.

I will say there were a # of very different types of lighting because you did have outdoor, nightclub, bar & studio (Ferguson) lighting etc. They are very different in reality. I have to say that the lighting during Ferguson seemed very much like it was in actual fact, when I attended.

Anyway, that's my opinion.

[phoenixgirl]

... I would attribute some of what you're feeling to Gerry's being so sick.

I keep reading references to Gerry being sick at the time but since I wasn't around I don't know much. Can someone kindly enlighten newer members. The only thing I have noticed is that altough Gerry's body was slim at TUT, his cheeks were a bit "fuller" than usual, maybe because of medication and water retention?

Theresa

Gerry had just quit smoking, and he had a really bad sinus infection during the filming of TUT. Also, it was fire season in Los Angeles (they filmed in Pasadena). So the "fullness" that you see is Gerry's sinuses messing with that beautiful face. His body was still getting rid of the crap from smoking for so many years. I'm sure part of what was going on was whatever medication he was taking (many times predisone or anti-biotics can make a body swell), but I think most of the puffiness we see and the stuffiness we hear in his voice (much like we did in RNR) is attributed to that sinus infection.

You have to give props to Gerry for not making them shut down production, though. He truly knows the meaning of "the show must go on". I'm glad he wasn't sick during the fliming of The Bounty. I think his body is now as healthy as it has been in years, and hopefully we won't see him filming while sick anymore.

Lisa

[Rendita]

Theresa, Gerry had a very bad sinus infection, which Robert Luketic mentions during the TUT commentary. He had a hard time kicking it. In fact, I think he may have had steroid injections at one point. You can really hear it in his voice right before & during the car scene on the way to the restaurant. He sounds very congested.

ETA: Sorry, Lisa already explained.

Edited November 15, 2009 by Rendita

[terezoulini]

... I would attribute some of what you're feeling to Gerry's being so sick.

I keep reading references to Gerry being sick at the time but since I wasn't around I don't know much. Can someone kindly enlighten newer members. The only thing I have noticed is that altough Gerry's body was slim at TUT, his cheeks were a bit "fuller" than usual, maybe because of medication and water retention?

Theresa

Gerry had just quit smoking, and he had a really bad sinus infection during the filming of TUT. Also, it was fire season in Los Angeles (they filmed in Pasadena). So the "fullness" that you see is Gerry's sinuses messing with that beautiful face. His body was still getting rid of the crap from smoking for so many years. I'm sure part of what was going on was whatever medication he was taking (many times predisone or anti-biotics can make a body swell), but I think most of the puffiness we see and the stuffiness we hear in his voice (much like we did in RNR) is attributed to that sinus infection.

You have to give props to Gerry for not making them shut down production, though. He truly knows the meaning of "the show must go on". I'm glad he wasn't sick during the fliming of The Bounty. I think his body is now as healthy as it has been in years, and hopefully we won't see him filming while sick anymore.

Lisa

Poor thing. :-( I have to look up "sinus" but it sounds bad. Well, he's a trooper!

Thanks for the info.

Theresa

[GBPhanatic]

I had heard that Gerry was suffering from a sinus infection at the time of filming and that could affect the coloring in his face and his eyes will reflect off of whatever he's wearing too because mine do the same thing. I could tell he was a bit under the weather because his voice was a bit "nasaly" sounding too, which could have been the "American" accent thing.

I never thought of Gerry's complexion as being dark. He seems to have a lot of that redheaded Irish blood in him! I've never even seen him get much of a tan, so to speak of, even living in California some of the time. It seems he pretty much stays out of the sun except for short periods of time and then he's clothed pretty much. Darker skinned people tend to tolerate sunlight better and tan very easily whereas lighter complexion either burn or tan and fade quickly. My Dad had so much Indian in him, he looked tan in the winter and if he worked outside, he was very dark! I've never seen Gerry with much of a tan even when he came back from India and was outdoors a lot. JMHO.

Every movie Gerry is in isn't going to be under the most flattering lighting because I just don't think they do that for male actors as much as females unless the actor is trying to play younger than he is. It's not important that he look particularly attractive in a movie unless that's important to the theme of the story, I would suspect. Gerry was playing an MCP and along with eliminating the charming Scottish accent, making him look good would have been counter to the feeling the movie was trying to evoke. We needed to be a bit disgusted and put off by him but I did notice as we got to know him better along with Abby, he started to look better, perhaps lighting changes, like the dance and the elevator scenes. So the lighting might have been purposely done to elicit those feelings in the viewers as well.

I'll have to pay closer attention when I get the movie but it is very interesting concept how unflattering an actor can seem in a movie and then maybe in the same one, begin to look better with make up and lighting. I find it all so very fascinating myself.

When he was down in the lair in Phantom, and that was pretty dark, he looked pretty damn good and the dark hair made him look more fair complected and also when he walked through that Virgin store with the dark hair, he looked pretty damn hot! When he was outside in Nims, he looked a bit older than his age to me when he played the father role and when he was Alex Rover, he looked younger and more handsome and in the beginning of LAC, his character, Clyde reminded me of that same "father" character he was playing in Nims. I remember thinking he looked like Jack Russo when he was sitting there talking to his little daughter.

Gerry does character acting quite well. He morphs in to them better than most actors I've seen, make up, lighting or not.

Delene

Sorry if this post seems like I'm repeating what's been said. For some reason, when I responded, all these other posts weren't here until I hit the send.

Edited November 15, 2009 by GBPhanatic

[phoenixgirl]

It's funny how we can all look at the same thing/person and see something so differently. Rarely do I see Gerry having that ruddy Irish/Scottish skin tone (Moira doesn't have it either, by the way. She's pale complected, but has beautiful porcelain skin). To me, Gerry has a sort of lighter olive complexion, and he does seem to love being in the sun (he was shirtless on the beach in Israel; the clothes in Miami ... another conversation).

We could pick him apart ad nauseum. I think we can't look at pictures or a movie and talk about his complexion correctly. We see what the make-up artists, photographers, etc. want us to see.

Theresa, sinuses are inside your head behind your nose/nasal cavities.

[terezoulini]

Gerry does character acting quite well. He morphs in to them better than most actors I've seen, make up, lighting or not.

Delene

That's very very true and this is why until recently, a lot of people (I one of them) didn't put a specific face to GB the actor. I had seen a lot of films with him and liked them and liked "the actor" in them and I hadn't even realised it was the same person. You must realise that here in Europe we didn't have the benefit of all this press and inteviews that put a face next to a movie.

Theresa

[JustCallMeTracy]

I didn't notice it. I need glasses so I miss a lot of things.

Love,

Tracy

P.S. Whether I agree or disagree I respect everyone's right to their opinion.

[sav8821]

Did he quit smoking before filming RnR or around that time? I ask because he looks GREAT as One Two! Just saw it again last night on HBO and I think it's one of his sexiest roles eva and the natural accent doesn't hurt! He filmed RnR months before TUT so I don't get how quitting could have affected him during TUT, but do understand taking meds to battle a sinus infection. Never had one myself, but my fiance gets them all the time and not once has he been given any meds that would give him that puffy appearance. There are times in TUT where his eyes are almost slits because of the puffiness in his cheeks and undereyes. He looks so different!

As for TUT, I love love that movie, but I think he looks really puffy and in general not himself at all in that entire film. He was obviously dealing with something, maybe left over from Gamer in which most of that movie he seems fine, but you can in some sceens see the beginning of him getting that puffier look.

All I know is that in the past year he seems to be over whatever was ailing him as he looks to be in perfect form now. To me he's always perfect, but I hate that he was so ill at any point in his life. Gotta love how professional he is to carry on. Too many actors are so vain they would have insisted production wait till they looked 'well'.

Edited November 15, 2009 by sav8821

[ready2fly]

To me, Gerry has a sort of lighter olive complexion.

So I'm not crazy! I always thought his complexion was more of an olive than anything. I have just recently noticed too how much red he has in his hair. And watching the movie this week (several times and I'm not giving a number) I thought his cheeks looked like he'd been on a medrol dose pack. I had no idea he'd been that sick. I love reading everyone's point of view and how we can all see things differently but at the end of the day we all agree on one thing. That we love Gerry regardless of how he looks. It's his heart that gets us. I would still have GALS if all his hair and teeth fell out.

[phoenixgirl]

I guess I'm not 100% sure when he quit smoking (I know it was after PSILY but not sure how soon after), but I can tell you that when you smoke for years it take a long long time for that crap to come out of your system. Okay, so we can take that factor out of the equation if you want ... he was still sick from his sinus infection. And if he was still hacking crap up out of his lungs, that didn't help, including the fact that the air in Los Angeles was filled with smoke from the fires.

Gerry does character acting quite well. He morphs in to them better than most actors I've seen, make up, lighting or not.

True! This is why I would like to see him play another character role. He's just been a guy since 300, and I would really really like to see him disappear into another role.

I would still have GALS if all his hair and teeth fell out.

For sure!!!!

Edited November 15, 2009 by phoenixgirl

[MissAmanda]

I agree with all of you that Gerry looks greta no matter what! I did notice something was up with the lighting, buit I couldn't really put my finger on it until I read this thread (thanks!).

Poor Gerry, I didn't know he was working with a sinus infection while filming the movie. What a trouper! I don't know if it's just me, but even when he's playing American I can still hear little bits of Scots in his voice (maybe I'm just used to his Scots accent and am hyper-sensitive?). He does a great job though, certainly much better than I could ever do playing Scottish

[AbandonThought]

I have no idea when Gerry quit smoking (never read it anywhere, other than like Lisa said, sometime post-PSILY), but I would still bet money that it was shortly before filming TUT that he finally kicked the habit. My parents smoked for 40+ years and just quit successfully about 2 years ago. They both gained weight as a result. When I saw the movie I just accepted that that was the case, without even a thought.

All you guys are right about how Gerry has completely different looks for different roles, and not just his "character" roles. I think it even makes you blink to compare say, The Stranger, and Mike Chadway side by side. It's funny, whenever I picture Gerry in my head, my mind's eye always sees him as however I last saw him in movies or pictures. So, when I'm fantasizing about Gerry just after watching Lucy Sullivan, he becomes Gus! Even when I'm "trying" to give him a contemporary look! Oh well, the mind does what it does. Silly mind! But, the variety is just one of the many awesome things of being a Gerry fan.

Steph

[Rubee815]

My understanding is from what Gerry has said he finally quit late winter-early spring 2008, he mentioned staying at a retreat in Southern California (some organization affiliated with Deepak Chopra) and finally was able to kick the habit. From what I’ve observed in dealing with close friends and family that have quit, there is weight gain, water retention and as the toxins leave the body you become a sitting duck for various infections. Plus he has also referenced having some physical aliments left over from the intense demands from Gamer and 300. I’m guessing all of the above contributed to his issues during that shoot, depending on what medications he was on. I would guess as well he was not focusing on his diet in the aftermath of quitting the tobacco habit. It looks like he’s lost about 20 pounds since that spring. And I don’t think he was all that overweight then ether, but on film he would look heavier. This year he seems to be focusing on diet and is in great shape. In fact everyone who sees him in person comments on how thin he is. He’s doing much better then Russell Crow in that regard.

That being said Gerry got a lot of new fans from TUT, a lot women talking about how hot he is in that film. So if he looks a little bearish and rough, it’s attractive none the less, because he does need to look like the kinda of guy Abby would never go for.

I love the way Gerry looks now but I would not kick Mike Chadway to the curb if he came my way!

( I have sinus issues today and I am puffy around the eyes!)

[phoenixgirl]

Thank you, Rubee. I knew I wasn't crazy. They began filming TUT at the end of March 2008. I know my Gerry trivia.

I just watched it and I have to say, Gerry looks gorgeous. Lots of great close ups and nothing wrong with the lighting as far as I can see.

Edited November 16, 2009 by phoenixgirl

[mommaduck]

I have to agree with you, Lisa. I think he looked great. Yes, his face was more "full" and I have

to say I worried a lot about how he was going to look in this film. I have to admit I was a little

"shocked" at how he looked in NIM'S because it was very different from how I had seen him in

person after 300. I didn't think the lighting was unflattering to him, but I will look more closely

next time (the umpteenth time) I watch the movie. I will say lighting and camera angle can make

all the difference in the world when being photographed.

You are right about when he quit smoking, and he said he had two chest infections, one while

filming RNR and another one in Jan '08 when he was filming GAMER--and I remember how

puffy his face looked at a couple of events during that time. By the premiere of NI, he looked

good again. I don't think he ever gained 20 lbs, but as his body changed from the very high

muscle mass/low fat for 300 that was when his cheeks began to look "chubby." And he seems

to put on every ounce of fat cells right in his face--and my heart goes out to him about that as

it has been indicated he is well aware of that fact.

Well, he has looked GREAT every since he returned from India the last time, and I hope he can

stay healthy and still enjoy life (the occasional food treat, etc.) Honestly, I think he looks 5-10

years younger right now that when he filmed TUT. BUt as you have said--we love him, no matter

what.

Gotta add how great he looked today in Glasgow. I'm counting on Moira for some great quality

photos when she unloads them here! Sounds like his birthday went just great--and aren't we all

thrilled for him!!

Judy

[ladyfran]

Well I agree with Suz....I think she was talking about the lighting as being very "sunny" and as far as my DVD or maybe my TV which is fairly new and High def I had a hard time with some scenes... Too bright and too much yellow cast as far as I'm concerned...and in the scenes that Suz mentioned...If you look at the stills and the scenes that were mentioned you can see that they are not very clear and sharp...like the dancing scene...I've tried and tried to get the still from that scene more focused but it's the coloring! I knew about Gerry being ill but I don't believe it was all through the movie...you can see and hear when he was at his sickest! As far as his face looking puffier ...I think since he has been bulking up and then stopping and then doing it again has something to do with it! His cheeks have been a wee fuller for quite some time now... I think more so in Nims Island. Not that it's a big deal cause he still Gorgeous and sexy to me...But when you look at his body and those arms and shoulders....D-D-D- ayum!! Also, I've seen a lot of movies that I hated the lighting...RNR for me in some parts ....the lighting was NOT GOOD! JMO galfriends! BTW I quit smoking about 27 years ago and after smoking for a number of years ....I never went through anything different ....ar least that I can remember!

Frannie

Edited November 16, 2009 by ladyfran

[AbandonThought]

Can you ever imagine anyone as drool-worthy as Gerry being self-conscious about his appearance? I think that says a lot about our society and the pressures that are put on us to conform to some unrealistic ideal.

I, along with nearly every human being with eyes, loved the hot bod in 300, but knowing what physical hell he went through (pre-, during, and post-filming) to achieve that, I have to say it makes it kind of bittersweet for me to see it now. He mentioned in several interviews post-300 that he doesn't have that body anymore and sounded kind of embarrassed about it. That body wasn't natural! Normal people can't look like that! Anyway, I much prefer the normal, healthy Gerry than the Gerry with the bulging muscles, because I'm sure that he's more able to enjoy himself.

Anyway, enough of my rant.

Steph

[Swansong]

Many people are under the impression that sinus infections are no big deal...just take antibiotics and they go away. I can tell you from my own experience, sinus infections can make you VERY sick. I had a sinus infection for 9 months a few years back. I must have taken 5 courses of antibiotics, but nothing worked. I have never been so miserable in my life. The infection weakened my immune system so badly, that I got every other cold and virus going around, and the lymph nodes in my neck got huge. I lost a ton of hair and the doc eventually sent me to an oncologist. It was a nightmare.

The only way I got over it was through researching alternative treatments, where I learned that rinsing the sinuses with saline might help. That is actually what cured the infection.

Anyone having sinus trouble....get yourself a Neti Pot

I felt so bad for Gerry the first time I saw TUT, because there are certain scenes where you can tell he was ill. Thank goodness he seems to be well over all that now, and looks AMAZING!

BTW, I think Gerry's complexion is quite freckled. You can really see his natural Celtic coloring on the road in Ireland scene in PSILY.

http://www.gbgalsgallery.com/v/roles/psily...img1_a.jpg.html

Swannie

Edited November 16, 2009 by Swansong