Maybe all the negative points we've brought up are true. But you know what? Things are impossible until they're possible. A creative person brings something new to the mix, and suddenly everyone is saying, (a) "Why didn't I think of that?" and (b) "Get me a couple who look like Meryl and Charlie!"
An example: This is the fiftieth anniversary of the publication of A Wrinkle in Time. It won the Newbery Medal, the highest honor that a book for young people can win. It's never been out of print. And yet it was unpublishable: a book full of quotations in foreign languages (Mrs. Who's sayings), a science fiction book with no rocket ships, a book that dealt with both physics and metaphysics, and adventure story with a girl protagonist....it was rejected by umpteen publishers. Some years later, its author, Madeleine L'Engle, was at a publishing function. An editor approached her to praise her book and said, "I wish you'd sent it to us!" L'Engle had the satisfaction of saying, "I did. And you rejected it."
Most of the points against Meryl and Charlie could be circumvented by clever market thinking, creative presentation, good context. Davis and White don't have to be controversial, trash-talking, scandalous, torridly in love. As for sounding wonderful in interviews, my goodness, Paris Hilton can hardly talk. And yes, Meryl is not conventionally pretty. She's something even better: she's compelling to look at. If a good photographer and stylist can't make this striking woman absolutely electric in a picture, then we might as well all start wearing paper bags over our heads.
I can't find the post where one of you clever souls suggested the Asian markets, but that's an inspired idea. I bet they could have success there. Japan especially is famous for loving blondes (and I'm sure redheads). But certainly there's scope in this country, too. After all, who'd have thought that ballroom dancing would be so huge, and that Downton Abbey would be a hit beyond the Masterpiece Theater crowd? Come to that, who would have thought that young men would be thought of as attractive with a completely shaved head? Yet celebrities from Michael Jordan to Joey Lawrence to Vin Diesel show up in the spotlight with no hair above their eyebrows. Gotta think outside the box, people.
An example: This is the fiftieth anniversary of the publication of A Wrinkle in Time. It won the Newbery Medal, the highest honor that a book for young people can win. It's never been out of print. And yet it was unpublishable: a book full of quotations in foreign languages (Mrs. Who's sayings), a science fiction book with no rocket ships, a book that dealt with both physics and metaphysics, and adventure story with a girl protagonist....it was rejected by umpteen publishers. Some years later, its author, Madeleine L'Engle, was at a publishing function. An editor approached her to praise her book and said, "I wish you'd sent it to us!" L'Engle had the satisfaction of saying, "I did. And you rejected it."
Most of the points against Meryl and Charlie could be circumvented by clever market thinking, creative presentation, good context. Davis and White don't have to be controversial, trash-talking, scandalous, torridly in love. As for sounding wonderful in interviews, my goodness, Paris Hilton can hardly talk. And yes, Meryl is not conventionally pretty. She's something even better: she's compelling to look at. If a good photographer and stylist can't make this striking woman absolutely electric in a picture, then we might as well all start wearing paper bags over our heads.
I can't find the post where one of you clever souls suggested the Asian markets, but that's an inspired idea. I bet they could have success there. Japan especially is famous for loving blondes (and I'm sure redheads). But certainly there's scope in this country, too. After all, who'd have thought that ballroom dancing would be so huge, and that Downton Abbey would be a hit beyond the Masterpiece Theater crowd? Come to that, who would have thought that young men would be thought of as attractive with a completely shaved head? Yet celebrities from Michael Jordan to Joey Lawrence to Vin Diesel show up in the spotlight with no hair above their eyebrows. Gotta think outside the box, people.
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