Gilles Marini & Cheryl Burke - Season 8

[Blues Songstres]

I love this guy. (not the same way Bruno apparently does) I really want to see Gillles and Shawn in the finals.

You gave me a good chuckle there.

I agree completely. Shawn & Gilles are the two that really make me sit up and take notice. To be honest, I don't really dislike anybody - even Holly who I didn't think I would like.

Regarding all the talk of Gilles' nudity in SITC and Melissa potentially posing for Playboy - who cares? None of that has anything to do with DWTS.

[ironcat]

I think it's logical to assume that Gilles auditioned for and accepted the SATC role for a paycheck. He's an actor. Like many other actors out there, he's going to pursue roles that will get him jobs and allow him to collect a paycheck. To me, that's the big difference between Gilles and the role he did and Melissa and the possible Playboy spread. He is an actor and model who accepted an acting job. She was a professional cheerleader and sales rep and an aspiring teacher. Doing a spread in Playboy would not contribute to the career that she was pursuing prior to gaining fame from The Bachelor.



I third the sentiment of really like Gilles, and think he's a great example of a celebrity using DWTS for exactly what it can be. Prior to DWTS, he was a guy trying to make it who had one big break that got him a lot of attention and then left him forgotten. By doing this show, he's got a great opportunity to take that flash of fame and use it to introduce himself as a person to a broader audience. I hope that he's able to maintain that and leverage it into something bigger. He comes across as a great guy and I'd love to see him find more success because of this show.

I agree that getting paid was obviously an incentive for Gilles, as well as getting more exposure for his acting career. I personally will be very surprised if Melissa is even considering Playboy for exactly the reasons you stated; however, there are those who feel that her main motivation all along has been a career in show biz, and see the Playboy gig as a logical next step. I am not one of them.

I also hope that Gilles' appearance on DWTS opens up some doors for him and suspect it will, particularly if he continues to do well and builds up a bigger fan base. I have no idea if he has any real acting talent, but not everyone needs to be Robert DeNiro. I'm sure there is room for a hunky guy with a sexy French accent somewhere in Hollywood!

[Blues Songstres]

Melissa has said nothing about the rumored offer to pose for Playboy. If or until she does, it is still a rumor.

The idea of the "double standard" has nothing to do with Melissa's words at all and more to do with the way that some of the fans have reacted toward her posing in a binkini for the DCC calendar as compared to Gilles posing completely nude as nothing more than a sex object in a movie. Why when her private parts are at least covered is she demeaned and the implication made by some that she is morally lacking while at the same time a picture at Jokers' portrays stark exhibition of his private parts and yet he is lauded and praised as an incredibly hot actor? This is the double standard to which is referred.

To maneuver the idea of the double standard around from its original point of conversation to some other point baffles me as to it intent or purpose, and I don't understand why it is done.

As an actor, Gilles might be asked and/or expected to doff his duds for a role. It's been done many times. Melissa, if she expects to have a career as a teacher, might find it in her best interest to not pose in Playboy. Such a move could be damaging to her career.

Now I understand that Melissa has not said anything regarding doing a pictorial in Playboy, so the whole argument is really pointless. Personally, I don't care one way or another. I don't get Playboy - not even for the articles.

[Bloomers]

Only Melissa can substantiate that rumour?
If Hugh Hefner was to say, "I offered Melissa $X to pose in Playboy", surely that would make the rumour of an offer true without Melissa having to say a word.



If people think there are other double-standards at play then they're more than welcome to discuss them.

I think he's been fantastic so far.
He seems to be a real natural talent.
I hope Cheryl will continue to stretch him because he seems more than capable of performing at a high standard so far.

Very true....but doesn't negate the fact that I might not still understand it.

[BritLit]

I agree that getting paid was obviously an incentive for Gilles, as well as getting more exposure for his acting career.

Ahem. . .it would be rather impossible for him to get any more exposure than he had in SATC movie. His acting skills were rather impressive though; I don't think I've ever seen anyone portray the act of taking a shower more realistically. One only hopes he and Cheryl will be able to dance to "Singin' in the Rain" wearing clear plastic raincoats.

[beachgirl4]

Ahem. . .it would be rather impossible for him to get any more exposure than he had in SATC movie. His acting skills were rather impressive though; I don't think I've ever seen anyone portray the act of taking a shower more realistically. One only hopes he and Cheryl will be able to dance to "Singin' in the Rain" wearing clear plastic raincoats.

Quite a mental picture, but I think you speak for lots of women viewers!

[anders332]

I'm not maneuvering anything. I have no knowledge of the playboy thing, nor do I think it's relevant. I am simply reacting to the point that Melissa wants to be a teacher. She wears skimpy clothing for DCC and DWTS. She has to take that into account when she decides to work with children. Those kids will have seen her either on the Football field or on DWTS. She will need to know how to handle that, given the fact that she even has a hard time revealing herself to her family in a DCC uniform or a skimpy outfit for millions. A teacher has to be comfortable in their own skin in order to be respected.

Whereas Gilles is not in the business of working with Children...his work has been in HBO and mature rated themes. If his work as an actor takes him out of that genre then he will need to deal with the transition of hot guy to leading man in a g-rated movie in order to be respected.

She's just as covered in her DCC photos and dancing outfits as any other female who wears a bikini on a beach. IMO, nothing to explain.

If she ends up teaching first grade, I doubt there are many 6 yos who follow the DCC and DWTS.

[Rattus]

I am simply reacting to the point that Melissa wants to be a teacher.

To the best of my knowledge, she said she wanted to be a teacher when she was trying to snag a dull-witted insurance salesman with a kid. Is there any evidence that she actually intends to become a teacher? Personally, I couldn't care less who wishes to pose/act nude (full disclosure: there is a semi-nude acrylic of me hanging in a gallery somewhere), and I think any double standard has less to do with her and more to do with the representation by people who are not her of Melissa as "sweet and decent and wholesome".

ETA: I just wanted to iterate, I absolutely do not believe that "decent" and "nude" are mutually exclusive.

[Florimel]

Because I really like Gilles and Cheryl and because I did not know anything about him other than his appearance in the SITC movie and that he had no dance training whatever, I decided to do a little research. What I found out enhanced my good opinion.

He worked in his father's bakery in Grasse, France, from the time he was eight years old. After high school, he enlisted in the French army and served as a respected fireman in a very well-known bridgade stationed in Paris. While in Paris, he met a famous photographer who introduced him to modeling and after he finished his military work, he came to the U.S. to learn English and continue modeling.

He's done quite a bit of television work, including small appearances on Ugly Betty, Dirty Sexy Money, Criminal Minds, and a couple of soaps. He strirkes me as someone I would like to know.

[TonyDovolaniFan]

Thanks for sharing, Florimel. I never knew all that. He seems like a really nice person. I watch Ugly Betty, but I don't remember him. Does anyone know what character he played/what the episode was about?