Jeremy Renner suffered '30 plus broken bones' in snow plow accident

LOS ANGELES — Actor Jeremy Renner — perhaps best known as Hawkeye in the Marvel Universe films — said Saturday he broke more than 30 bones when he was run over by his own snow plow at his Nevada home on New Year's Day.

The "Avengers" star spent more than two weeks in the hospital after the giant 14,000-lb (six-ton) vehicle rolled onto him as he was clearing a driveway.

"These 30 plus broken bones will mend, grow stronger, just like the love and bond with family and friends deepens," the 52-year-old two-time Oscar nominee wrote on Instagram, thanking fans for their messages of support.

He posted a photo of himself lying on a medical bed, hands clenched at the chest, while a man is holding up his leg, bent at the knee.

"Morning workouts, resolutions all changed this particular new years," Renner wrote. "Spawned from tragedy for my entire family, and quickly focused into uniting actionable love."

Renner sustained the injuries while attempting to climb into the snow plow to stop it. He was evacuated by helicopter and later posted a selfie from his hospital bed, showing heavy bruising on his face.

Officials said shortly after the accident there was no indication that alcohol or drugs were involved.

The PistenBully, or snowcat, operated by Renner is a large specialized snow plowing vehicle with giant, raised caterpillar tracks on each side of an enclosed cab.

Renner has been nominated for two Oscars for his roles in "The Hurt Locker" and "The Town." He also stars in the Paramount+ series "Mayor of Kingstown."

Agence France-Presse

High and low points of Johnny Depp vs Amber Heard trial

After weeks of explosive testimony, the jury is finally deliberating in the defamation case between actors Johnny Depp and his ex-wife Amber Heard.

Depp filed suit against Heard over an op-ed she wrote for The Washington Post in December 2018 in which she described herself as a "public figure representing domestic abuse."

Heard did not name Depp in the piece, but he sued her for implying he was a domestic abuser and is seeking $50 million in damages.

Heard countersued for $100 million, claiming she suffered "rampant physical violence and abuse."

Here are some of the high -- and low -- points of the blockbuster trial.

The severed fingertip 

Hours of testimony during the six-week trial were devoted to a grisly incident in March 2015 in Australia, where Depp was filming the fifth installment of "Pirates of the Caribbean."

The tip of Depp's right hand middle finger was severed during a heated argument with Heard at their rented home.

Depp said it occurred when Heard threw a vodka bottle at him.

Heard said she did not know how it happened but it may have been when he smashed a wall-mounted phone.

Both agreed though that Depp used his bloody digit to scrawl cryptic messages on walls, lampshades and mirrors in the home.

Poop on the bed 

Among many bizarre incidents cited during the trial was a story about feces deposited one day on Depp's side of the couple's bed.

Depp said he was shown a photograph of "human fecal matter" on the bed after he and Heard argued during her 30th birthday party.

Heard tried to blame it on their dogs, Depp said, but "they're teacup Yorkies, they weigh about four pounds each."

Heard said the dog had bowel problems after eating some of Depp's marijuana as a puppy.

As for the dogs, Heard accused Depp of once holding one of them out of the window of a moving car while "howling like an animal."

The dog was unhurt.

The witnesses 

Both sides presented multiple witnesses although rumored testimony by billionaire Elon Musk, Heard's ex-boyfriend, and her co-star James Franco ultimately did not materialize.

But there were celebrity appearances.

Kate Moss, Depp's former girlfriend, shot down a longstanding rumor he had once thrown the British model down a flight of stairs.

Moss said by videolink that it never happened.

Actress Ellen Barkin, another ex-girlfriend, testified Depp was jealous, controlling, and drunk "a lot of the time," and once threw a wine bottle in a hotel room.

Other witnesses included bodyguards, agents, business managers, psychiatrists, doctors, friends, relatives, even the former doorman of the luxury penthouse complex where the couple once lived in Los Angeles.

Doorman Alejandro Romero probably spoke for many involved in the case when he said: "I am so stressed out. I don't want to deal with this anymore."

The evidence 

Audio and video recordings of heated, profanity-laced arguments between Depp and Heard also were entered into evidence.

In one video recorded by Heard in their kitchen, Depp is seen shouting, smashing glass cabinets and pouring himself an enormous glass of red wine.

Both Depp and Heard submitted photos of injuries they claimed were inflicted by the other.

Heard's lawyers also presented photos purporting to show Depp passed out after drinking excessively or using drugs.

Text messages between Depp and various people were displayed in which he described in crude and violent language what he would like to see happen to Heard.

Depp's lawyers downplayed the texts, saying he just had a colorful way of writing, similar to that of his late friend, the journalist Hunter S. Thompson.

The Depp fans

Fans of Depp queued up for hours daily to secure coveted seats in the public gallery for the trial held in Fairfax, Virginia.

While the spectators mostly behaved themselves, Judge Penney Azcarate threatened to expel them at one point during Heard's testimony.

"If I hear one more sound, I will clear the gallery and we will continue this testimony without anybody in the courtroom," Azcarate warned. "Understood?"

Depp fans also waged a massive campaign on social media in support of the actor with the hashtag "#JusticeForJohnnyDepp."

Heard said she had received thousands of death threats. "People want to kill me and they tell me so every day," she said.

Damaged Hollywood careers

Both Depp, a three-time Oscar nominee, and Heard claimed their careers have been damaged.

Heard, who starred in "Aquaman," one of the top grossing films ever, said she had to fight to retain a role in "Aquaman 2" and Depp tried to get Warner Brothers to cut her from the sequel.

Heard's legal team presented an entertainment industry expert who estimated she has suffered $45-50 million in lost film and TV roles and endorsements.

An industry expert hired by Depp's side said he has lost millions because of the abuse accusations, including a $22.5 million payday for a sixth "Pirates" installment.

But Tracey Jacobs, Depp's former agent, said there never was a formal agreement for another "Pirates" film.

Jacobs also said the actor's star had begun to dim since 2010 because of "unprofessional behavior" which included drinking and drug use.

Agence France-Presse

South Koreans explode with joy over ‘Parasite’ Oscar wins

SEOUL, South Korea — South Koreans reacted with rare collective joy Monday after director Bong Joon Ho’s “Parasite” won the Oscar for best picture and three other awards, good news that came as their country struggles to guard against a new virus and counter North Korea’s nuclear threat.

The movie’s wins made history in both the Hollywood and South Korean film industries. The class satire is the first non-English-language film to win best picture in the 92-year history of the Academy Awards, and is the first South Korean movie to ever win an Oscar.


“Can you believe that ‘Parasite’ won the Academy best picture?” South Korea’s biggest newspaper, Chosun Ilbo, said in a headline. “It rewrote the Academy’s 92-year-old history.”

South Korean social media were overwhelmed with congratulatory messages. Bong, “Parasite” and other Oscar-related news also dominated search terms throughout Monday at major internet portal sites, which had been preoccupied with the outbreak of a virus in China that has killed more than 900 people and sickened tens of thousands of others, mainly in China.

Worries about the virus have been growing in South Korea, where 27 cases have been reported, though no deaths have occurred. Sales at tour agencies, restaurants, movie theaters and department stores have sharply declined, raising worries about the impact on South Korea’s already-lagging economy. Opposition parties are accusing the government of ineffectiveness in coping with the outbreak.

But the concerns about the virus and political warfare eased Monday to celebrate Bong’s wins.

“It’s happy news, like welcome rain, to the Republic of Korea, which is depressed, stagnant and thrown into despair due to Wuhan pneumonia,” the main opposition Liberty Korea Party said in a statement. Wuhan is the Chinese city at the center of the outbreak.

President Moon Jae-in and his advisers began a regularly scheduled meeting by clapping their hands to celebrate Bong’s wins. Moon later tweeted that he is proud of Bong and his staff and “particularly grateful to them for giving courage and pride to our people who are overcoming difficulties.”

“I think this was a great opportunity to let the world know the true value of Korean movies,” said office worker Cho Sung-ho, 54. “I think it is very meaningful that the Academy Award this time has acknowledged the superior quality of Korean films.”

U.S. Ambassador Harry Harris, who said watched the Academy Awards ceremony with embassy staff, tweeted, “Wow! Congrats Director Bong, Team #Parasite & ROK cinema!”
At Bong’s alma mater, Seoul’s Yonsei University, students belonging to a school movie club watched the Academy Award ceremony together.

“It’s deeply meaningful for Korean movies and this will open the path for further development. It’s such a great honor. I’m speechless,” said Kim Nam-hoon, 21.


Jeong Ho-cheol, a 26-year-old student, praised Bong for pleasing both movie critics and crowds. “His way of dealing with the underside of Korean society and problems such as rich-poor gaps and the way he expresses those issues are very expressive,” he said.

Park Chan-wook, a prominent South Korean movie director who is regarded as Bong’s main rival at home, joined the congratulations.

It is a “huge blessing to work in the same industry as a person as talented as Bong and being able to call him a friend,” said Park, who won the Grand Prix at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival for “Oldboy,” in an interview with the Munhwa Ilbo newspaper.

/atm

source: entertainment.inquirer.net

Shawn Mendes, Camila Cabello spur dating rumors after steamy music video

Camila Cabello and Shawn Mendes were spotted spending time together on the 4th of July holiday, sparking more rumors of their relationship status.

Fans could not help but notice the chemistry between the two singers in their steamy music video for “Señorita,” which dropped on June 20. The “Havana” singer and her boyfriend of more than a year Matthew Hussey broke up a week later, Us Weekly reported on June 26.

Cabello and Mendes were seen holding hands as they walked to Mendes’ residence in West Hollywood on Wednesday night, July 3, ET Canada reported on Friday, July 5.

The following day, Instagram Stories of the two at a pool party circulated online. They were both in all-white outfits and were seen away from the crowd, close to each other as they chatted at the edge of a pool.

The pop singers’ friendship dates back to 2014, when they were supporting acts for Austin Mahone. They first collaborated in 2015 for “I Know What You Did Last Summer.”  Niña V. Guno /ra


source: entertainment.inquirer.net

Donald Trump aggressively asked out Salma Hayek on a date—while she had a boyfriend

Hollywood actress Salma Hayek once caught the eye of United States President Donald Trump, and it wasn’t quite romantic.

On “The Daily Show” with Trevor Noah, she recounted how she was at an event with her then-boyfriend, when suddenly Trump put his jacket on her after noticing she was shivering. She described him as “super nice” when he introduced himself to the couple.

“Then he kept talking to my boyfriend. Then he befriended my boyfriend and invited him to dinner afterwards.”

Trump extended an invitation to Atlantic City and to stay at his hotel, and then took both their numbers. “He never talked to my boyfriend again,” said the Mexican beauty.

He then called her up to go on a date. Confused, she asked, “Am I crazy? Are you asking me out? You know I have a boyfriend.”

Trump said, “He’s not good enough for you, not important. He’s not big enough for you. You have to go out with me.”

While Hayek revealed a few more new details on Trump’s advances, this was not the first time that Hayek has shared about it. Last year, prior to Trump’s election as president, Hayek has spoken about it, too. Hayek has been a vocal critic of Trump, in light of the President’s campaign statements about Mexico being an exporter of rapists and criminal elements into the U.S.

The feisty 50-year-old ended up with neither Trump nor that boyfriend—she has been married to French billionaire and fashion mogul François-Henri Pinault since 2009. Niña V. Guno/JB

source: entertainment.inquirer.net

Johnny Depp sues ex-managers alleging millions in losses

LOS ANGELES — Johnny Depp sued his former business managers on Friday alleging they mismanaged his earnings throughout a lucrative period of his career, although the company says the actor’s spending is to blame.

Depp’s lawsuit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court against The Management Group seeks more than $25 million, alleging its owners failed to properly pay his taxes, made unauthorized loans and overpaid for security and other services.

Michael J. Kump, an attorney for The Management Group, calls Depp’s lawsuit a “fabrication” and wrote in a statement that Depp never alleged any wrongdoing. The company “did everything possible to protect Depp from his irresponsible and profligate spending,” Kump wrote.


Depp’s lawsuit accuses the company and its owners, attorneys Joel and Robert Mandel, of receiving $28 million in payments for their services over the roughly 16 years they managed his finances. The company “actively concealed the true state of Mr. Depp’s finances while driving him deeper and deeper into financial distress,” the lawsuit states.

Depp hired the Mandels in 1999 and their compensation was not subject to a written contract, his lawsuit states. It states they received 5 percent of his income on hit films such as the “Pirates of the Caribbean” franchise and other major releases, including “Alice in Wonderland” and the 2005 film “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.”

It alleges the company failed to file Depp’s tax returns on time, costing him nearly $5.7 million in penalties. The lawsuit also alleges the company overpaid for several services, including forgetting to terminate the lease on a home where Depp’s mother lived temporarily, and spending $8 million on security between 2012 and 2015 alone.

Depp’s learned of the problems after hiring a new management company in March 2016, the complaint states.

Kump wrote that Depp owes The Management Group $4.2 million from a $5 million loan they provided the actor. “His tactics and lawsuit will fail, and he will be forced to pay back the loan as promised,” Kump wrote.

The lawsuit came on the same day Depp finalized his divorce from actress Amber Heard. Their divorce judgment calls for the actor to pay his ex-wife $7 million in installments – which she has earmarked for two charities – while allowing him to keep numerous properties and vehicles.

Depp isn’t the only blockbuster star to take his former managers to court alleging mismanagement. Nicolas Cage sued his former business manager seeking $20 million for alleged mismanagement in 2009 and the manager in a countersuit cited the actor’s spending for his financial troubles. The case was resolved before trial. –Anthony McCartney

source: entertainment.inquirer.net

Trump denounces Streep as ‘overrated Clinton flunky’

NEW YORK, United States — Donald Trump took on one of the Hollywood greats Monday, accusing Meryl Streep of being an overrated actress and a Hillary Clinton “flunky” after the multiple Oscar winner tore into him at an awards ceremony.

In what has become an early morning custom for the notoriously thin-skinned Republican president-elect, Trump took to Twitter to settle scores with the three-time Oscar winner just hours after her public broadside.

“Meryl Streep, one of the most overrated actresses in Hollywood, doesn’t know me but attacked last night at the Golden Globes,” Trump wrote. “She is a Hillary flunky who lost big.”

Streep berated Trump for his divisive rhetoric as she received a lifetime achievement award at the Golden Globes on Sunday in Los Angeles.

The 67-year-old fought to control her emotions as she received a standing ovation during her acceptance speech for the Cecil B DeMille Award, handed out by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association.

“You and all of us in this room, really, belong to the most vilified segments in American society right now. Think about it. Hollywood, foreigners and the press,” she said to her peers with a laugh, referencing Trump’s campaign that frequently disparaged immigrants and what he called biased media.

The US entertainment industry broadly supported Trump’s Democratic opponent Clinton, with many stars publicly endorsing her White House run and pumping millions of dollars into her campaign war chest.

Streep trashed the incoming president and singled out an infamous campaign speech during which he did a decidedly unflattering impression of disabled New York Times reporter Serge Kovaleski.

“The person asking to sit in the most respected seat in our country imitated a disabled reporter — someone he outranked in privilege, power and the capacity to fight back. It kind of broke my heart,” she said.

‘Disrespect, violence’

“This instinct to humiliate, when it’s modeled by someone in the public platform, by someone powerful, it filters down into everybody’s life, because it kind of gives permission for other people to do the same thing.”

“Disrespect invites disrespect. Violence incites violence,” she said.

“When the powerful use their position to bully others, we all lose.”

Trump has denied mocking Kovaleski and again defended himself on Monday against Streep’s accusation.

“For the 100th time, I never ‘mocked’ a disabled reporter (would never do that) but simply showed him ‘groveling’ when he totally changed a 16-year-old story that he had written in order to make me look bad,” Trump said in a series of tweets.

“Just more very dishonest media!” he added.

Trump told The New York Times in a brief telephone interview that he was “not surprised” to be criticized by “liberal movie people.”

His senior aide, Kellyanne Conway, dismissed Streep’s remarks as sour grapes, accused the actress of “inciting people’s worst instincts” and backed her boss as “absolutely right.”

“The election is over. She lost,” Conway told Fox News.

‘Self-pity’

“Everybody in that audience with very few exceptions was of a single myopic mind about how they wanted the election to go,” she said, criticizing what she called the “self-pity” of multi-billion-dollar industry Hollywood.

“Talking about how vilified poor Hollywood is, in their gazillion dollar gowns? Can I borrow a couple of those for the inaugural please?” she said.

“Somebody with a platform like Meryl Streep is also I think inciting people’s worst instincts, when she won’t get up there and say, ‘I didn’t like it, but let’s try to support him and see where we can find some common ground’.”

Streep spoke with less than two weeks to go until Trump’s inauguration.

“Hollywood is crawling with outsiders and foreigners. If you kick ’em all out, you’ll have nothing to watch but football and mixed martial arts, which are not the arts,” she said, holding back tears.

She urged the “principled press to hold power to account, to call them on the carpet for every outrage,” to cheers from the floor.

Streep, considered one of the greatest actresses of her generation, was presented with the DeMille award to mark a career which has seen her win eight Golden Globes and collect 29 nominations.

Star Trek actor George Takei was among those who leapt to her defense.

“A better president would take criticism without name calling,” he wrote in a flurry of his own tweets. “Just admit you’re a bully — and a liar,” he later added, along with: “What a small, small man. SAD!” CBB

source: entertainment.inquirer.net

Will Hollywood be in the mood to party at Golden Globes?

Is Hollywood in the mood to party?

On Sunday, the movie industry will gather for the Golden Globes, which are regularly one of the most freewheeling and frothiest award shows of the year. Champagne will flow. Punchlines will fly.

But the tone of this year’s ceremony may be different, and not just because it will be the first time in nearly a decade that someone other than Ricky Gervais or the Tina Fey-Amy Poehler duo is hosting.

Jimmy Fallon will emcee this year’s show, to be broadcast live from Beverly Hills, Calif., by NBC at 8 p.m. EST Sunday. But the transition on the minds of Hollywood is the one taking place in Washington on January 20. The election of Donald Trump has loomed over this year’s awards season, where the movie industry’s usual self-congratulatory toasting has been mixed with a foreboding sense of dread.

“We are living in very troubled times,” Kenneth Lonergan, writer and director of one of the season’s favorites, “Manchester by the Sea,” said Wednesday at the National Board of Review Awards. “How troubled, we don’t know yet. It’s going to be a lot of trouble, or it might be bad trouble like we’ve never seen.”

Such speeches have been commonplace throughout the litany of awards that lead up, ultimately, to the Feb. 26 Academy Awards.

At Tuesday’s New York Film Critics Circle Awards, “Daily Show” host Trevor Noah compared the lauded “O.J.: Made in America” to the election: “another bad decision based on fame and race.” At the Gotham Film Independent Film Awards in November, Damian Lewis archly intoned, “The film that receives the most votes … is the winner. It’s a brilliant idea,” referring to Trump’s loss of the popular vote.

Barry Jenkins, the writer-director of the tender coming-of-age tale “Moonlight,” said at the National Board of Review Awards: “As we make America great again, let’s remember some inconsiderable things in our legacy, because there was a time when someone like me was just not considered.”

Fallon, who was criticized for what was considered a soft-ball interview of Trump on the “Tonight Show” during the campaign, isn’t likely to set a very political tone for the evening. But speaking to The Hollywood Reporter , Fallon promised Trump jokes at what he called “the first and maybe the last party that we’ll have in 2017.”

The late-night host will also be trying to turn ratings back in a positive direction. Last year’s ceremony, hosted by Gervais, drew 18.5 million viewers, down about 4 percent from the year before. Among the presenters on tap for the show, put on by the Hollywood Foreign Press, are Leonardo DiCaprio, Emma Stone, Ben and Casey Affleck, Viola Davis, Amy Schumer, Sting and Matt Damon.

Award show TV audiences have generally been slumping, but the Golden Globes have certain advantages. Aside from their generally boisterous vibe, the Globes are distinct in honoring both film and television. Its TV awards have long been second to the movie honors, which have more significance coming shortly before Oscar nominations. But the TV awards are increasingly on equal footing at the ceremony.

This year’s categories are full of recent shows that weren’t eligible for September’s Emmy Awards, including “The Night Of,” ”Westworld,” ”Atlanta,” ”This Is Us” and “Insecure.”

On the film side, Damien Chazelle’s Los Angeles musical “La La Land” leads all nominees with seven nods, including best picture, comedy or musical. Its primary Oscar competition, “Moonlight” and “Manchester by the Sea,” will be separated by the Globes’ split between drama and comedy.

And surely many attendees will be thinking of those absent. After a year full of notable deaths, the back-to-back passing over the holidays of Debbie Reynolds and her daughter Carrie Fisher, was felt particularly in a Hollywood that revered them both. Reynolds and Fisher were to be laid to rest Friday in Los Angeles.

Sunday night’s biggest question may between whether to let loose or sober up. TVJ

source: entertainment.inquirer.net

2016: The year love died in Hollywood

LOS ANGELES, United States — The imminent divorce of “Brangelina” is the latest in a series of celebrity splits giving the impression that the average Hollywood marriage has about as much chance of success as a non-white actor at the Oscars.

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie-Pitt have both been through divorces before, he with “Friends” star Jennifer Aniston and she with actors Jonny Lee Miller and Billy Bob Thornton.

This year has also seen Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin finalize their famous “conscious uncoupling” around the same time that Johnny Depp and Amber Heard were squabbling over the terms of their split.

Drew Barrymore, Lisa Marie Presley, Dennis Quaid and James McAvoy have announced divorces from their respective partners too, sparking some gossip websites to refer to 2016 as the year of the Hollywood divorce.

In 2012 statistics website PolitiFact estimated that the lifelong probability of an American marriage ending in divorce was 40–50 percent, citing academics and the National Survey of Family Growth.

Kelly Frawley, a partner at New York law firm Kasowitz, Benson, Torres and Friedman, believes that while there is no reason to think the rich and famous split more often than the rest of us, the pressures which put strain on relationships are amplified in the rarified air of Tinseltown.

“There are standard things that cause marriages to disintegrate — concerns about money, fights about how to raise the children, issues of fidelity,” she told AFP.

“Those are much bigger scale when you are dealing with a celebrity couple because there’s so much accessibility to all the things that make it easy to step out of a marriage.

“You can spend money with ease, you can leave with ease, you can have affairs with ease.”

‘Unique microscope’

It’s not all doom and gloom. Denzel and Pauletta Washington have been going strong since 1983 while Billy Crystal, Christopher Walken and their respective sweethearts expect to celebrate golden wedding anniversaries before the end of the decade.

But unlike skin peels, kale and the 5:2 diet, divorce is one celebrity fad that has endured through the ages and the Hollywood hills are littered with the carcasses of euthanized showbiz marriages.

Among the high profile casualties are Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner, who announced on June 30 2015, one day after their ten-year anniversary, that they were calling it a day.

Tom Cruise was on his third marriage by the time he and Katie Holmes split in 2012 and there were divorces in 2010 for Ryan Reynolds and Scarlett Johansson, and Elizabeth Hurley and Arun Nayar.

“Celebrities are under a unique microscope, where every nuance is dissected over and over again the slightest misunderstanding is reported like you’re splitting up right away,” said Judi Bloom, a licensed marriage and family therapist based in Southern California.

“That can really wear down a couple in the end.”

One big problem for Hollywood couples, she told AFP, is that they spend so much time apart on their separate projects, which can “pull at the fabric of a relationship.”

Some avoid growing apart by continuing to work together after getting hitched.

Warren Beatty and Annette Bening began dating during the filming of “Bugsy” in 1991, married a year later and filmed “Love Affair” together in 1994.

Breathing space

Will Smith and Jada Pinkett are still together a quarter century after meeting on the set of his sitcom “The Fresh Prince of Bel Air” when she auditioned to play his girlfriend.

She didn’t get the part but she got Smith — marrying the actor in 1997 and appearing alongside him in 2001 biopic “Ali.”

It doesn’t always work, of course.

Helena Bonham Carter and Tim Burton have joined forces for no fewer than seven films but called it a day after 13 years, an unlucky number which was also the length of the marriage of Woody Allen and Mia Farrow, and the number of his films in which she appeared.

Rob Shuter, a former Hollywood publicist for Jennifer Lopez, Jessica Simpson and others who now runs NaughtyGossip.com, told AFP celebrities and their representatives plan divorce announcements down to the most minute detail.

“The announcement about Brad and Angie came out one day after the weekly magazines went to print, which means that they get a week of breathing space,” he said.

Shuter says that while print is less important in the digital age than it used to be, the timing was still “a disaster” for People, which has the largest audience of any American magazine, and its rival Us Weekly.

He believes Pitt would have been the more passive partner in planning their divorce announcement because of Jolie-Pitt’s track record with carefully stage-managing the news cycle.

“When she was pregnant with Shiloh she didn’t make the announcement with an official statement, she walked around the corner and let her bump show for ‘People’ magazine,” he said.

source: entertainment.inquirer.net

Oscars get 34.3 million viewers, lowest rating since 2008

NEW YORK— Academy Awards viewership dipped to its lowest level since 2008 in a year where the movie industry’s ability to reflect the nation’s diversity was a central issue.

The Nielsen company said Monday preliminary estimates showed 34.3 million people watched Sunday night’s telecast, where “Spotlight” won best picture. Last year’s show was seen by 37.3 million people.

Since 1990, only two Academy Awards telecasts had fewer viewers: in 2008, when “No Country For Old Men” won best picture, and in 2004, when “Chicago” was honored. The peak came when “Titanic” won a boatload of awards in 1998 and 55 million people tuned in.

The paucity of minority nominees this year led to calls for a boycott among some black stars, including Jada Pinkett Smith and Spike Lee. But Nielsen did not immediately have any ethnic breakdown of Oscar viewership. Generally, the popularity of movies being honored tends to be the biggest factor in whether the audience for the live telecast is up or down.

Rock, in his second time hosting, hardly stayed away from the diversity issue. He peppered the audience with his first three jokes on the topic within 25 seconds.

The most recent awards shows, the Golden Globes and Grammys, also saw ratings declines. The Globes, which honor film and television, were seen by 18.5 million people, down from 19.3 million in 2015. The Grammy telecast hit a seven-year low in viewership.

Many years, the Oscars are television’s biggest event after the Super Bowl.

The final half hour of ABC’s pre-show telecast was watched by 22.2 million people, down from 23.8 million last year, Nielsen said.

Twitter marked a milestone, however: Leonardo DiCaprio’s best actor award generated 440,000 tweets in a minute, the fastest ever counted at the Academy Awards. The previous Twitter highlight came two years ago when Ellen DeGeneres made her star-studded selfie.

source: entertainment.inquirer.net

Dakota Johnson, curious and looking for love in ‘How To Be Single’

She has become one of Hollywood’s fastest-rising stars after landing the coveted role of Anastasia Steele in the box office record-smashing “Fifty Shades of Grey” for which she received a BAFTA Rising Star Award nomination.

Now, Dakota Johnson headlines New Line Cinema’s romantic comedy “How to Be Single,” based on the book by Liz Tucillo (TV’s “Sex & the City”). Also starring Rebel Wilson and Leslie Mann, the film follows a host of singles at various stages of—and with varying opinions on—the single state.

Returning to her comedy roots, Johnson deftly handles her character, Alice’s fumbling attempts to meet men upon finding herself newly single, especially when paired with Rebel Wilson’s extreme party girl, Robin, the perfect tour guide through the world of free drinks, hook-ups and text message protocol.

Just out of college, Alice is worried she’s missing out—on what, she’s not quite sure, but taking a “break” from longtime boyfriend Josh in order to make sure he’s the one is the right thing to do…isn’t it?

“How to Be Single” takes us along with Alice as she ventures into a new job, a new city—New York—a newly unattached life, and all that goes along with it. Johnson says, “I loved how believable the story was—we’ve all been that person who is stumbling through, trying to figure things out.”

Screenwriter Dana Fox, who worked with Johnson previously, was happy to see the actress go back to a comedic role after several more dramatic parts. “Dakota is just naturally talented, especially when it comes to comedy, both physical and verbal,” she states. “As a writer, it’s such a pleasure for me to work with her again, because nothing comes out feeling ‘written.’”

When we first meet her character, Johnson observes, “She is sort of this doe-eyed, curious young woman starting college. She meets a boy right away and is quickly in a comfortable and nurturing relationship.”

Fast forward four years. “Like so many of us, Alice has always depended on someone, whether it’s her parents, her sister or her boyfriend. Suddenly, she has this profound moment of realization and forces herself into what she thinks is an awakening, but which is really just a break up,” the actress acknowledges. “But taking a break turns into a total explosion of life as she knows it, and now she has to figure out how to handle it.”

After persuading her very serious boyfriend she needs to experiment with being on her own, Alice heads to Manhattan to start a new job as a paralegal. “Right away, she falls into the hands of Robin, who’s kind of insane,” Johnson laughs. “Alice has been sheltered and established a lot of boundaries for herself; Robin has zero boundaries and doesn’t care what anyone else thinks of her, so long as she’s having fun.”

The role of Alice required a convincing amount of girl-next-door naiveté in order for moviegoers to slip into her shoes, or at least remember a time when they did. Director Christian Ditter found Johnson to be “absolutely gorgeous but at the same time completely relatable. She’s talented and gives a very authentic performance, which makes it easy for the audience to see themselves in her place. She grounds the story for all the other characters, who are much more outrageous.”

“How to Be Single” is opening across the Philippines on Thursday, Feb. 11.

source: entertainment.inquirer.net

‘Spotlight’ bags SAG top prize

LOS ANGELES—“Spotlight,” a drama about sexual abuse in the Catholic Church, landed the top prize on Saturday at the 22nd Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards that also saw black actors score major wins.

The SAG Awards, seen as a bellwether of the all-important Academy Awards, were being closely watched as they were taking place amid a controversy over the lack of diversity in this year’s list of Oscar nominees.

“Spotlight” took the prize for outstanding performance by a cast in a motion picture, the SAG equivalent of an Oscar.

It bested “Beasts of No Nation,” a drama about a child soldier; “The Big Short,” about the subprime mortgage crisis; “Straight Outta Compton,” a biopic about the NWA rap group; and “Trumbo,” about the life of acclaimed screenwriter Dalton Trumbo, who was the target of a witch-hunt during the McCarthy era.

In the acting honors, Leonardo DiCaprio won the best actor award for his portrayal of fur trapper Hugh Glass in the revenge thriller “The Revenant.”

DiCaprio, 41, an Oscar favorite for the gritty survival story, beat competition from Bryan Cranston (“Trumbo”), Johnny Depp (“Black Mass”), Michael Fassbender (“Steve Jobs”) and Eddie Redmayne (“The Danish Girl”).

In the best actress category, Brie Larson won for “Room,” in which she plays a kidnapped young woman living in captivity with her son.

But perhaps most notable at the star-studded ceremony were the number of black actors honored as Hollywood reels from a fierce backlash over the lack of diversity in the Oscar nominations.

Idris Elba scooped two awards, one for best supporting actor for Netflix’s “Beasts of No Nation,” and one for best actor in a TV series for his role as a detective in the British crime drama “Luther.”

‘Diverse TV’

“Welcome to diverse TV,” joked Elba, who was passed over for an Oscar nomination, as he presented an award during the ceremony at Los Angeles’ Shrine Auditorium.

Uzo Aduba took home the award for outstanding actress in a comedy series for her role as Suzanne “Crazy Eyes” Warren in Netflix’s prison comedy-drama “Orange is the New Black.” The TV series also won for the second consecutive year for best comedy ensemble.

“Look at this stage, this is what we talk about when we talk about diversity—different race, color, creed, sexual orientation,” actress Laura Prepon, who plays Alex Vause in the series, told the audience, referring to the #OscarsSoWhite controversy.

Viola Davis won best actress for legal drama series “How to Get Away With Murder,” while Queen Latifah won for outstanding actress in a television movie or miniseries for her role in HBO’s “Bessie,” a biopic of the blues singer Bessie Smith.



‘Society of trending topics’

“We’ve become a society of trending topics,” Davis told reporters backstage after her win, addressing the diversity controversy.

“Diversity is not a trending topic…. Regardless of what’s going on at the Academy (of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences), we will always find a way to be excellent,” she added.

A number of actors, including Will Smith and his wife Jada Pinkett Smith, have said they will not attend the Oscars ceremony on Feb. 28 over the diversity issue.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which picks the Oscar winners, has responded to the criticism by vowing to make major changes to promote diversity. AFP

source: entertainment.inquirer.net

Chris Pine rising star in Hollywood’s ‘The Finest Hours’

LOS ANGELES, United States—Pale blue eyes. Leading-man looks. Chris Pine is one of Hollywood’s rising stars and for good reason.

The “Star Trek” and “Horrible Bosses 2″ actor sat down with AFP ahead of the US release of his latest film, “The Finest Hours,” to talk about everything from his most recent role to being the son of Hollywood actors.

The movie, which hits theaters Friday, recounts the true story of a 1952 rescue mission to save a ship caught in a hellish storm off the coast of Massachusetts.

The 35-year-old Californian plays heroic Coast Guard captain Bernie Webber, who leads the rescue operation, and is cast alongside actor Casey Affleck in the film by Craig Gillespie.

So who was Bernie Webber?

“He’s an atypical hero,” Pine told AFP. The type you wouldn’t “expect to step up and do heroic things.”

“He was indeed a quiet man who spoke about the facts, God and his faith, which gave me an idea of who he was,” Pine said after listening to Webber’s interviews.

“He’s a complete ‘beta’—not ‘alpha male.’ That’s what attracted me to the character. I had a great empathy for Bernie and wanted him to succeed,” he said.

Who are your personal heroes?

“My parents certainly, but I think that in today’s age we need more people like Malala (Yousafzai, the Nobel Peace Prize winning Pakistani education campaigner). She’s a warrior,” Pine said.

“To be able to experience what she did and not meet it with anger… and use that and expand it in people’s lives to open new doors for women across the world, (and to be) that young and have that old of a soul, is just mind-blowing,” he said.

What about growing up Hollywood?

Pine, who is the child of actors Robert Pine and Gwynne Gilford, said “I never got any specific advice from my parents,” but added that he “always credits them for being supportive and having an open ear.”

“I wanted to play baseball growing up but was not good enough to do that,” Pine said.

Thoughts about social media
Social media “can be a wonderful way to disseminate information,” Pine told AFP, but he also called it “self-promoting.”

And he would rather have something of a barrier with the public than use it to connect with fans.

“I might be too sensitive of a creature,” he said.

“I don’t want to hear what people think of me, I don’t want to hear if they don’t like my hair cut, I just don’t want to hear it.”

On writing as therapy

The enthusiasm Pine lacks for social media he makes up for with his embrace of creative outlets.

“I love music and I love singing… and I love writing about a lot of things that are happening and popping,” Pine said.

“I’ve been trying to have writing be a part of my life,” he added, explaining that he doesn’t keep a journal but does jot down song lyrics, ideas and daily events. Plus he likes to draw.

“You break down some barriers of creativity when you access this part of you,” he said.

source: entertainment.inquirer.net

Matt Damon of ‘The Martian’ wins Globe for comedy actor

BEVERLY HILLS, California — Matt Damon made a winning return to the Golden Globe awards on Sunday night, accepting the trophy for best actor in a motion picture comedy or musical for “The Martian.”

It came 18 years after his first and only other Globe win for co-writing the screenplay of “Good Will Hunting” with friend Ben Affleck.

In “The Martian,” Damon played an astronaut accidently left behind on Mars by his crew.

“The 18-year gap was me working on my singing, which brought me here tonight,” Damon joked backstage in a nod to the odd pairing of the category.

In his acceptance speech, Damon noted that he’s made “a lot of movies that people just didn’t go see.”

“This is pretty rarefied air,” he said backstage. “I’m going to smell the roses.”

Damon is headed to Las Vegas on Monday to begin filming the latest installment of the Bourne saga. He said wife Lucy would take his statue home with her.

On camera, the 45-year-old actor thanked his wife and three daughters, telling them to get ready for bed.

Damon has been nominated five other times over the years but had not won until this year.

Looking back, he was asked backstage what advice he would have for his 20-year-old self.

“I was the most lucky for having great grown-ups in my life who were very wise, who encouraged me to focus on work and not superfluous stuff,” he said.

Damon beat out Christian Bale and Steve Carell of “The Big Short,” Al Pacino of “Danny Collins,” and Mark Ruffalo of “Infinitely Polar Bear.”

source: entertainment.inquirer.net

Hollywood star Chloë Grace Moretz pushes for reforms in Miss Universe

Hollywood actress Chloë Grace Moretz has called out the Miss Universe competition for supposedly “judging women walking around in bathing suits” and suggested how it could further celebrate the lives of women.

In a series of tweets, Moretz, who starred in “Kick Ass” and “If I Stay,” said that in this day and age, the 64-year-old pageant needs to do away with its swimsuit competition.

“Miss universe is still judging women walking around in bathing suits. If it’s based on confidence, why [are] we zooming in on their bodies?..”

“It’s a new time.. I think it’s time we cut the swimsuit section from miss Universe ..” she said.

For her, the pageant needs to shift its focus in vetting women based on how they speak before the public and on their “philanthropic tenacity.”

“Let’s do a miss universe based on interviews and public speaking and philanthropic tenacity,” the 18-year-old actress said.

Moretz, meanwhile, praised Miss Universe 2015 Pia Wurtzbach, saying that she deserved the crown.

“Miss Philippines deserves that she felt so genuine and real,” she said. AJH

source: lifestyle.inquirer.net

Channing Tatum, Sam Smith, other stars disclose their Christmas plans

(Conclusion)

LOS ANGELES—Stars, including Channing Tatum, Sam Smith and the new Spider-Man, Tom Holland, reveal their Christmas thoughts and plans.

Channing Tatum: We wear onesies every Christmas. My wife Jenna (Dewan) started it. My plan is to try to get my dad into a onesie, which hasn’t quite happened yet. He’s like, I’m not wearing a onesie. But this Christmas, we’ll see.

Sometimes we’ll be with Jenna’s family and sometimes we’ll be in our house. But since we’ve had Everly (his daughter with Jenna), everybody comes to our house now because we’re not flying with a 2-year-old. We tell our family, “I want you guys to get on the plane and get out here.”

Sam Smith: Anyone who is British takes Christmas insanely seriously (laughs). I bought a house recently—my first ever house. I bought it purely because it’s going to look great at Christmas (laughs)—it’s like a Beatrix Potter house.

But to me, love is everything. It’s the meaning of life to me. There was a moment early on when I was everywhere, traveling and getting so depressed. I don’t have a boyfriend and I need to have a boyfriend if I am going to write my second album.

I am just being stupid, and it’s right in front of me—who should be inspiring me and it’s my family. That was the relationship that I wasn’t concentrating on. So, when I had my vocal surgery, I just rectified my relationship with my brothers and sisters and now, we’re all good. So, it’s all good for Christmas!

Will Smith: My wife is very serious about Christmas. She plans Christmas for 10 months out (laughs). We give our kids a lot of freedom, but there are those 10 days around Christmas, where everybody does exactly what Mommy does.

So, we have wonderful traditions. There is a sleigh ride that she plans every year where we go out on Christmas eve.

Christian Bale: We celebrate two Christmases. We have Serbian (his wife Sibi is of Serbian heritage) Christmas [on Jan. 7] and I have Dec. 25. Anything we missed on Dec. 25 we have on Jan. 7.

I am working on a film right now that we will be finishing right before Christmas, so that will be a fantastic break, release and relief. I’ll be getting back to my family, then we will figure out what to do.

Sometimes, when you’re traveling a lot, you just really want to be at home and have friends around, so we will see. We are commitment-phobic, so we leave everything to the last second.

I always make my daughter’s great uncle run around in a Santa Claus outfit, but I’m worried he’s going to have a heart attack lately because she catches him (laughs). He has to run harder recently. But he looks better in the Santa outfit. She would rumble me if I was the one running around. She would know clearly it’s daddy.

I am not a panic shopper, but I love shopping at the last minute. In London, I would always be out on Christmas eve shopping around until the last minute, and that’s always fun to me. It’s not the same here (in LA), because it’s not cold. You are not running down Oxford Street with 20,000 people trying to do the same thing.

You see what you can get. You come back with astronaut costumes for your nieces and they’re like, “Why did you get me that?” Because it seemed like a good idea at the time.

What is the worst gift I have ever gotten? It’s not the worst gift that you have ever gotten—it’s the gift that you didn’t get. As a kid, I remember running downstairs, and I would always think I would get a BMX (bike) because I knew some other guys had gotten a BMX. I thought it’s going to be there, but it wasn’t there.

But now, thankfully, I have Serbian Christmas in January, so you can go, “I really wanted a BMX. Can that happen on Jan. 7?” So, it’s a great fallback. And the best gift—nowadays, it really is just being on holiday with the family.

That’s the best thing, when you can just turn off your phone and not look at the computer and, well, you can’t sleep in when you have little kids. But just forget about everything—and that is the best!




Cate Blanchett: I am a panic Christmas shopper. But we are in the process of divesting ourselves. You can consume so much. And that is why Thanksgiving is such a fantastic holiday, which we used to celebrate, because my dad was American. It isn’t about the exchange of gifts; it’s actually about gathering.

We had an enormous family Christmas last year. It was a road trek through Europe with 17 of us. We’re having a very small, contained, almost invisible Christmas this time. But it will be very much led by the children.

I always say to the kids that you should give those presents that you don’t want to give away. Katharine Hepburn’s niece gave me a pair of Hepburn’s gloves, which was an extraordinary gift!

I remember my mother-in-law gave me her engagement ring. She gave it to me after I had been married for 15 years. I was like, she finally trusts me (laughs)!

I gave away a very special piece of jewelry to a friend of mine who was getting married, and I like that tradition. So, rather than going to a store and consuming and buying something else, it’s more about parting with something that you can’t part with.

And for the worst gift, for the first few years of my marriage, my husband gave me a vacuum cleaner (laughs). Then, he gave me a Mixmaster. Then, an iron (laughs). He also gave me a set of golf clubs. I was amazing at golf the first time I played, then I have been crap ever since! I did use the vacuum cleaner once or twice.




Mark Wahlberg: My wife always does all the Christmas shopping, but she always gets me something that I need. We’re going on vacation, so I’m hoping to get some nice swim trunks and stuff like that. Anything golf is always helpful—shoes, gloves, balls—things that I can always use more of.

A bad present is something that I already have or I don’t need, or something that’s just going to be wasted, especially if it’s expensive.

Mary J. Blige: Christmas is about family, great music and good food. And all the lights that you see—it’s a beautiful thing when you come down Fifth Avenue (in New York) and you see all those Christmas decorations. It just takes you up a notch. Then, once you hear the Christmas songs on the radio, you know it’s Christmas. And you see all the cartoons. I love cartoons, by the way, so I can’t wait for the cartoons!

Tom Holland: I actually asked for an electric razor. It’s that time now, and I am grown-up enough. Christmas is all about being with your family, really. We either go to a relative’s house or our relatives come to us. We always have a big dinner.

I work so much. I haven’t been home at all this year, so it’s quite important to make sure I have that family time, which is so important. They also bring me back down to earth, because when you are on the set, you are kind of like the man. When I come home, I am not the man at all (laughs). So it’s nice to have a mellow Christmas with the family.

Steve Carell: We have our traditions locked down at this point as a family. My wife and I are from Massachusetts, so we always go back there. We have a tree, and we all decorate it.

We have a little house back there that is sort of our vacation home, summer home and holiday home. And all members of our family live back there in Massachusetts.





We have Christmas eve at my sister-in-law’s house. On Christmas morning, I wake up and make cinnamon buns for everybody. At this point, the kids don’t believe in Santa. My daughter’s a teenager, so she knows, obviously. My son knows, but he’s still pretending that he doesn’t know, which is a really fun time.

Marion Cotillard: Since I now have a family, Christmas has been totally different—because when I was a kid, I didn’t like Christmas. I don’t know how to explain this, because it was a fight every Christmas. I didn’t want any presents. My mother couldn’t bear to have Christmas when all the kids would open their presents and I wouldn’t have one.

So, each year, it was like she was forcing me to get a present! Today, I am enjoying the magic of it all, totally different obviously, because when I ask my son if he wants a present, he says, “Yes!”

I had this discussion with my mother many years after and she was like, “Why didn’t you want any presents?” I was like, “I couldn’t explain why, but that’s the way it was.” I knew that it was painful for her, so everything came back to its place.

A good present for me to get? It won’t be necessarily something material. The best present I can have every day in my life is the people whom I’d love to be happy. When I buy presents, I am careful. I need to know where it comes from, that the people who made it were treated well, and had the money for the job they gave. So, something material that wouldn’t have this consciousness would be a not-so-good present.

source: entertainment.inquirer.net

Premiere of ‘The Force Awakens’ takes over Hollywood

LOS ANGELES — Stormtroopers marched down “The Force Awakens” red carpet Monday, heralding the return of “Star Wars” after a decade-long absence from the big screen.

A giant opaque tent shrouded the red carpet — lined with Stormtrooper mannequins and neon lights that resembled giant lightsabers — and workers put the finishing touches on the setup hours before the film’s first showings to a select group of Hollywood elite.

Before some of the film’s human stars arrived, the droid BB-8 rolled by the cameras. The soccerball-esque droid has been a popular fixture in trailers for the seventh “Star Wars” film.

Disney took over a half-mile section of Hollywood Boulevard for the premiere for “Star Wars: The Force Awakens,” complete with fan bleachers and spotlights everywhere. The film will screen at three theaters, allowing more than 5,000 invited guests the chance to see the characters Luke Skywalker, Leia Organa and Han Solo reunite for the first time on the big screen since 1983’s “Return of the Jedi.”

Security around the site was high, with metal detectors screening pedestrians and police dogs checking the area.

For those without tickets to the premiere, the most they could see was the outside of the tent.

“We’re really disappointed because we are big Star Wars fans, and we were hoping to at least see a little of the celebrities,” said Natalie Arnet, a tourist from Paris.

“I understand the need for security,” Arnet said. “We’ll happily go through the checkpoints to cross the street.”

But for a lifelong “Star Wars” fan, it was tough being that close to the premiere and not getting a better look. “I wanted to see the old cast members because I grew up with these films,” she said.

In bleachers set up on the boulevard, some fans dressed as X-Wing pilots while others held up helmets resembling those worn by bounty hunters in the film.

Access to journalists covering the premiere restricted until just before the event began. Once they were allowed in the giant, four-block tent, they were treated to displays of some of the film’s newest characters, including the evil Captain Phasma and BB-8 droid.

Many of Hollywod’s top stars will join hundreds of costumed fans at what could be the largest Hollywood premiere ever. One of the participating theaters — the iconic TCL Chinese — hosted the premiere of the original “Star Wars” in 1977.

Los Angeles Police say extra vehicle patrols and more officers on foot are being assigned to the area.

Monday’s premiere is the culmination of years of planning, filming and marketing “Star Wars” for a new generation.

Although “The Force Awakens” reunites the cast of the original trilogy for the first time since “Return of the Jedi,” the new film is expected to introduce a new crop of characters who can sustain the franchise for years to come.

“The Force Awakens” opens to the public Friday and some expect the film to break box office records, as it has already with presale tickets.

The last live-action “Star Wars” film was 2005’s “Revenge of the Sith,” which capped a prequel trilogy focusing on the story of how Skywalker’s father became villain Darth Vader.

source: entertainment.inquirer.net

Actress Anne Hathaway expecting first child—report

LOS ANGELES, United States—Oscar-winning Hollywood actress Anne Hathaway and her husband, producer Adam Shulman, are expecting their first child, according to the website of celebrity news outlet E!

“Anne is in her second trimester and feeling great!” a source close to the 33-year-old told E! News.

Hathaway, who earned an Oscar in 2013 for her performance as Fantine in “Les Miserables,” married Shulman in 2012. He is a year older than her.

source: entertainment.inquirer.net

Hollywood ‘stands in solidarity’ with France, says Academy president

Hollywood stands in solidarity with France, the head of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences said Saturday at a star-studded gala honoring three top figures in the industry.

“All of us here stand in solidarity and support of France and the French people,” Academy president Cheryl Boone Isaacs said at the Governors Awards ceremony in Los Angeles.

“So as we gather here to celebrate our history and some of the people who have made it, we also mourn those who died.

“We send our deepest affection to our brothers and sisters in France.”

Filmmaker Spike Lee, who received an honorary Oscar at the gala for his contribution to film, said he was also moved by Friday’s terror attacks that left at least 129 dead — especially since his daughter is an exchange student in France and had just left the country on the day of the attacks.

“My heart goes out to all the people of Paris,” Lee told AFP. “I’ve always loved France.

“The French have always treated me very well and Vive la France.”

Also awarded an honorary Oscar at the event was actress Gena Rowlands, whose rich film career includes 10 movies she made with her husband John Cassavetes.

Film star Debbie Reynolds, who did not attend the ceremony because she was recovering from surgery, received the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award for her work in raising public awareness of mental health issues.

Oscar winning actress Cate Blanchett paid a glowing tribute to Rowlands, 85, saying she had had a profound influence on her acting career and that of many others.

“When I see the work of Gena Rowlands, the intense authenticity, and the immediacy of her acting, it seems to me to be the closest that anyone has ever come to capturing on film that special quality, that presence.”

“So Gena, for what you have given me, for what you have given all of us, and perhaps most importantly for what you have given the craft of acting, a very sincere and deep thank you,” Blanchett added.

Rowlands, who received best actress nominations for 1974’s “A Woman Under the Influence” and “Gloria” in 1980, both directed by her late husband, said she was honored to finally receive the golden statuette.

“You know what’s wonderful about being an actress is you don’t live one life, you live many lives and for that you have to thank the writers,” she said to a standing ovation.

Rowland’s son, Nick Cassavettes, who directed her in her last movie “The Notebook” in 2004, said: “First Oscar in the family. All I can say is it’s about damn time.”

Three-time Academy winner Meryl Streep paid tribute to Reynolds’ philanthropic contributions, notably through the Thalians, a charitable organization she founded to raise awareness and provide treatment to those suffering from mental illness.

Streep also spoke of the “astonishing” collection of Hollywood memorabilia the “Singin’ in the Rain” actress had amassed over the years.

“Debbie Reynolds’ preservation fight must be recognized and rewarded,” Streep said.

Receiving his award, Lee, America’s best-known black filmmaker, whose movies often focus on hot-button issues such as racial tensions, spoke of his struggle to make it in the film industry.

“Our parents told us from an early age that we had to be 10 times better than our white classmates,” said Lee, who earned Oscar nominations for “Do the Right Thing” (1989) and “4 Little Girls” (1997).

He added that while Hollywood was moving to integrate African-Americans, women and other minorities, it still had a long way to go.

“Everybody here probably voted for Obama,” he told the audience of actors, producers and other industry professionals.

“But when I go to offices (in Hollywood) I see no black people,” Lee said.

“It’s easier to be president of the United States than be a black studio head.”

source: entertainment.inquirer.net

Viola Davis makes Emmy history as first black best actress

Viola Davis made Emmy history on Sunday when she won the award for best actress in a drama series, becoming the first black woman to take the honor in the prestigious category.

Davis, who triumphed for her starring role as law school professor Annalise Keating in ABC’s “How to Get Away with Murder,” gave an emotional speech as she accepted the honor.

“The only thing that separates women of color from anyone else is opportunity,” she said.

“You cannot win an Emmy for roles that are simply not there.”

Two of the six nominees in the category were black: as well as Davis, there was Taraji P. Henson, who plays hip-hop matriarch Cookie Lyon on Fox’s music melodrama “Empire.”

But it was Davis, who was nominated for a Golden Globe for the role, who took the award at the 67th Emmys, television’s equivalent of the Oscars.

Accepting her prize at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles, the 50-year-old Davis evoked the spirit of African-American freedom fighter Harriet Tubman.

As a middle-aged African-American actress, Davis has spoken often of her frustration at casting directors who are unable to see past the color of her skin.

“In my mind, I see a line. And over that line, I see green fields and lovely flowers and beautiful, white women with their arms stretched out to me over that line, but I can’t seem to get there no how. I can’t seem to get over that line,” she said Sunday.

“That was Harriet Tubman in the 1800s.”

She thanked series creator Peter Nowalk, executive producer Shonda Rhimes and others, calling them “people who have redefined what it means to be beautiful, to be sexy, to be a leading woman, to be black.”

She also name-checked several of her black peers, including Henson, history-making Oscar winner Halle Berry and “Scandal” star Kerry Washington in her stirring speech.

Race has been a hot-button topic in Hollywood, particularly in the wake of the startling lack of non-white nominees at the Oscars earlier this year.

Emmys host Andy Samberg touched on the hugely sensitive topic at the start of the awards gala, saying to applause: “The big story this year, of course, is diversity. This is the most diverse group of nominees in Emmy history.”

He quipped, to laughter from the audience: “So congratulations, Hollywood, you did it. Yeah. Racism is over — don’t fact-check that.”

Another prominent African-American woman winner on the night was a tearful Uzo Aduba, who took the best supporting actress in a drama prize for her role in “Orange is The New Black.”

And veteran black actress Regina King won an Emmy for outstanding supporting actress in a limited series or movie for her role on ABC’s “American Crime.”

Wary of limelight

It has been a long road to awards glory for Davis, a two-time Oscar nominee who remains wary of life in the Hollywood limelight.

“I am not a glam woman — this definitely is a mask I put on for the public,” she once said.

“My biggest fear is that a paparazzi or someone… is going to come in my backyard and see me when I get in my pool. That would be very unfortunate.”

Davis, who was born in August 1965 on her grandmother’s farm in South Carolina, has described herself as “a young girl who grew up poor who dreamed the biggest dream and didn’t know if she was going to see it to fruition.”

Primarily known for her theater work until recently, Davis grew up in Central Falls, Rhode Island, where her father was a horse trainer and groomer.

Her acting talent earned her a scholarship to the state’s Young People’s School for the Performing Arts, and after majoring in theater at Rhode Island College, she studied at the prestigious Juilliard School in New York.

In 2009, she was nominated for the Oscar for best supporting actress for her role in “Doubt,” playing alongside Meryl Streep as the mother of a son who has an ambiguous relationship with the principal at his Catholic school.

Prior to that recognition, Davis won a Tony Award in 2001 for her performance in “King Hedley II,” where she played a woman in her mid-30s seeking an abortion.

Over the past decade, Davis has landed bit parts in a series of critically acclaimed films, most notably “Traffic,” “Out of Sight,” “Antwone Fisher,” “Syriana,” “World Trade Center” and “Disturbia.”

source: entertainment.inquirer.net