Some news on ALLYSON HANIGAN, everyone's favorite witch in training, Willow, in "Buffy: The Vampire Slayer" and costar of this summer's "American Pie".  She has once again used her hiatus from the show to change her hair.  I last reported on Allyson about this time last year when she cut her mid-back length red hair to shoulder-length.  Now, it appears that she had gone just slightly shorter to the top of her shoulders and gone to a shag with long bangs.  After watching the season finale of "Buffy", I thought the cut was essentially the same as before (with possibly a few more layers), so there was no real change there.  But, after seeing her at the premiere of "American Pie" and having faithful reader Carrie M. give me her impressions of seeing her on "Late Night with Conan O'Brien", I realized that a change did actually take place.

FLEA'S CALL:   The new cut is very fetching on Alyson, but that's not the most interesting thing about it.  What's more intriguing is that as Alyson adopts shorter and more sophisticated styles, she looks closer and closer to her actual age of 25.  Interesting, since she portrays a high school senior (now college freshman) on "Buffy" and characters in that same age range in movies.  I guess as long as she goes with the no-makeup look, she'll still appear quite young, while now having the ability to also appear older for film roles.

However, as Carrie M. pointed out, her hair color also continues to inexplicably become a brighter and brighter red.  I guess the upside there is that she doesn't have to wear a reflective vest when jogging at night. 

I was all set to include a Snippet on CHARLIZE THERON because I couldn't find pictures.  The bit o' news was that she had gone red for her role in the in-production Ben Affleck flick, "Reindeer Games".  I also planned to report that it looked...well, not good.  Fortunately, I managed to find pictures of the...uh...let's call it a hairstyle to make things simple.  Sure, I'll grant that lack of style is probably due to what her character is supposed to look like in the movie, but that doesn't change the fact that Charlize is NOT a redhead (you can see what I mean below and decide if I'm right or really right). 

Anyway, thanks to the fine folks at Fashion Dish (and helpful reader Spike) I found a couple of even newer pictures. Apparently, filming of "Reindeer Games" must be over because Charlize is now sporting a black bob with micro bangs, as you can see in the next set of pictures below.  Is it a wig?  I don't think so, because first, super short bangs never quite look right with a wig, and second, what would be the point?

 

The Red	The Black

FLEA'S CALL:  Let's go over the checklist, shall we? 

- COLOR: No more red - GREAT, Brunette - GOOD (earth-shaking news there, eh?), though she makes a stunning blonde (as you can see from the picture to the right of her pixie in this summer's "The Astronaut's Wife") 

- CUT: FAIR to GOOD.  The microbangs looked great with her pixie, but not so hot with the bob.  I mean, I know women who achieved the same bang result from a horrendous self-cut and refused to be seen in public with it.  She should have stuck with the no-bangs look.  The bob itself is fine, but I also like to see Charlize's hair a bit fuller, taking advantage of her natural wave. 

JOELY FISHER, best known for her role as Paige on "Ellen", has lopped off her long red curls.  As you can see from the "after" picture, taken on July 18th at the premiere of her new movie, "Inspector Gadget" in which she plays Brenda, she has gone MUCH shorter.   This a very recent event, however, as you can see in the first picture, taken during an "Entertainment Tonight" interview  on July 12th, in which her hair is still below her shoulders (and I can confirm it was long at least until the 14th from other sources).  Also, in the interview, they even discuss her hairstyle, with Joely cheerfully describing it as "deliciously askew".  Seriously.  Anyway, the motivation for the bob is because she is imminently taking over the lead in "Caberet" from Teri Hatcher and the character has short hair. 
 

Before	After

FLEA'S CALL:  If I didn't know the reason she parted with her curls, I would have thought the stylist may have gotten a bit scissor happy.  Sure, Joely's hair started full, curly and about mid-back when she first joined the cast of "Ellen" and then progressively got shorter.  It never got above shoulder-length, however, which now appears to have been a good choice.  Oddly, Joely's face shape is such that this bob hair should work on her, but for some reason it doesn't look quite right.  IMHO, she should start growing it back out as soon as her show commitment is over.  By the way, look for pictures of the actual haircut in an upcoming issue of InStyle, which was there taking photos of the event (Thanks to Fashion Dish for the confirmation of the cut and the tip on InStyle).

On a very odd side note, did you know Joely is actually a natural blonde?  Yup, the producers of "Ellen" had her dye it red to eliminate possible confusion with Ellen DeGeneres.  I'm sure you can see how that could have been a problem, right?  Yeah, me neither. 

MELANIE CHISHOLM, better known as Mel C or Sporty Spice, has continued her recent hair evolution from her previous long straight style.  A month or so ago, she decided to go lighter and just a bit shorter, bringing the length up to the top of her shoulders in a slightly layered style and lightening the color to a honey brown with blonde streaks around her face.  Well, apparently, the color did some damage and instead of attempting to repair it, Melanie went the failsafe route of chopping it all off.  Thus, for the wedding of fellow Spice Girl, Melanie Brown, aka Scary, Mel C sported the funky, spiked red/blonde 'do shown below (as alert reader ssjockey first discovered).
 

Way Before	Just Before

After

FLEA'S CALL:  I don't know about you, but if I hadn't been told who the "after" picture was of, I wouldn't have known.  That's not a bad thing, just a comment on what a radical difference it makes in her appearance.  In fact, I think the new cut is pretty cute, though she appears to have gone through the old files of the ex-Ginger Spice for coloring tips.  I did like her previous longer style with  the lighter color better, though.  I thought it was much more complimentary and a softer look; not as harsh the dark color and cut.  I must say, however, that of the three, the short 'do is definitely the most...well....sporty.  Sorry about that, it was just too easy.

BAI LING has shaved her head (well, she actually did it about 4 months ago, but I just found out about it).  I can hear you now, "Wow, that stunning news!  I can't believe she would have done that!  Especially, since...uh...since...wait.  Who the hell is Bai Ling?"  Well, if you happened to catch the Richard Gere flick, "Red Corner", she was his lawyer.  Also, if you see Will Smith's new movie "Wild Wild West", she is one of Dr. Arliss Loveless' evil henchwomen (the Asian one, oddly enough).  Bai has since sheared off her below waist-length hair for a part in the new Jodie Foster movie "Anna" (as in Anna from the "The King and I"), as you can see below.  For more detail on the circumstances surrounding Bai's going bald, check out the Scoop section.
 

Before	After

FLEA'S CALL:  Do I really need to make one here?  You can see from the "before" pictures what an enormous shame this truly was.  As I've said before, looking back at the examples of Sigourney Weaver in "Aliens 3", Robin Tunney in "Empire Records", and Demi Moore in "GI Jane", has this ever been a positive career move for an actress?  I will give her credit though, she out did Demi by a  foot or so in sacrificed locks for movie.  I believe she may be challenged by Joan Chen for the outright title, though, since Joan lost close the same amount for "Temptation of a Monk" a few years back.  Anyway, she needs to start taking those hair growth vitamins yesterday. 

Allyson Hannican pictures courtesy Fashion Dish,, "Entertainment Tonight" / Netscape, and Entertainment Asylum,  Charlize Theron pictures courtesy "Entertainment Tonight" / Netscape (redhead) and Fashion Dish (brunette),Joely Fisher pictures courtesy TVGuide Online ("Inspector Gadget" premiere) and "Entertainment Tonight" / Netscape (interview), Bai Ling pictures courtesy TVGuide Online