Word: villainizing
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...promoted the legend that descendants of Magdalene's child founded the Merovingian line of European royalty, a story revived by Richard Wagner in his opera Parsifal and again in connection with Diana, Princess of Wales, who reportedly had some Merovingian blood. (The Wachowski brothers, those cultural magpies, named a villain in The Matrix Reloaded Merovingian, filming him surrounded by Grail-like chalices. His wife in that film was played by Italian actress Monica Bellucci, who will also play Magdalene in Mel Gibson's upcoming Jesus film ... Sorry, this stuff is addictive.) The idea that Magdalene herself was the Holy Grail...
...Party hierarchy to the Politburo, where he was famous for spectacularly fulsome tributes to Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev. His career withered with the advent of Mikhail Gorbachev, but by 1993 he had maneuvered himself into the presidency of the newly independent Azerbaijan with a performance worthy of a Shakespearean villain. He first offered assistance to Abulfaz Elchibey, Azerbaijan's populist but inexperienced President. He then distanced himself as military and political opposition to Elchibey grew, and finally put himself forward as savior as the chaos worsened. "He was subtle, devious and cunning," recalls a retired Western ambassador who is close...
...away, the most addictive programming on C-SPAN was the FCC hearings. I watched Lewis Dickey, chair of Cumulus Entertainment—a villain in the classical mold, clear blue eyes and smug jaw—say that he did not force his local affiliates to ban the Dixie Chicks, that he called them and told them to do it, but it was something that they would have wanted to do anyway. I, of course, at 1:30 in a pitch black night, dressed in an oversized striped T-shirt and lounging on the couch drinking cranberry juice, heckle...
...Toymaker, the brainy bad guy bent on ruling the cyberworld. He holds conferences with three advisers--a steely general, a bald scientist and a blissed-out hippie--all played by the one actor. Sylvester Stallone is simply the guest villain of Robert Rodriguez's 3-D video game, but when the veteran star is onscreen, this Spy Kids plays like Sly Kids...
...instead of twisting an ankle, they kick butt. In X2, Kelly Hu gets to strut her (and her stuntwomen's) stuff. "When I battle Wolverine," she says, "I'm not just sitting on the sidelines looking good. I'm out there taking action." In T3, Kristanna Loken plays a villain robot who's more than Schwarzenegger's match. Her role is nearly speechless, but her glower is eloquent. Besides, notes Loken, 23, "I don't think many women can say they got to beat up Arnold." Michelle Rodriguez, who turns 25 on July 12, is a valued member...