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ILLUSTRATIONBY JOSHUAGORCHOV
H E A D L I N E
AMERICANWAY
MAY 15 2007
R
Y F O R C L O S E - U P
CameronDiazhas acne.
Iknow, having seenher faceup closeand
distractingly personal onmy 42-inch Sony
flat-screen television, in one million pixels
of high-definition splendor. This was star-
tling only because I’d just caught Diaz, 34,
in
The Holiday
, with an understandably
fawning, slobbering Jude Law. She was
flawless, unblemished, exquisite,
perfect
. In
high-def, she looked, well, normal. Some
might even say less so.
We shouldhave seen this coming.
Justase-mailwas lovelyuntil spamcame
along and cell phones were so convenient
until they linkedus to everyone everywhere
at every moment, the wonderful world of
high-def, which produces images that look
oh-so-crystal-clear, has created some un-
foreseen complications — not necessarily
for thoseofuswatching, but for thosebeing
watched.
Imagesare sodetailed that they reveal an
array of zits, blotches, andbaggy eyes here-
tofore unnoticed on the latest standard-
definition episodeof, say,
24.
In fact, there’s somethingof an ick factor
when bulges and wrinkles are larger than
lifeonagiant screen, andparticularlywhen
The sharpness of high-definition television is sheddingnew light on the
familiar images of some stars.We lookat thegood, thebad, and theugly
—and findout how they’re fightingback.
ByKenParishPerkins
Cuts likeaKnife
they belong to actors we once considered
attractively pristine. No wonder this mer-
cilessly unforgiving high-def eye is said to
be rattling on-air talent — from actors to
newscasters —who have, until now, man-
aged to hide facial and bodily flaws behind
makeup and a forgiving filtered lens. The
advent ofHD, slated to be the TVmedium
of choiceby2009,marks thebeginningof a
war out there,withone side fully loaded.
Top-of-the-line HD televisions display
more than two million pixels, nearly 10
times the resolution of an analog set. Now
couple that with screens the size of your
