Oscar nominations: all the fun facts

HOLLYWOOD, United States — Hollywood insiders and movie fans are eagerly waiting to hear the names of the Oscar winners on Sunday night.

But the statistical quirks that Tinseltown's biggest night of the year throws up can be as intriguing as tracking which movies get the most golden statuettes.

Here are some fun facts and figures about this year's list of nominees, and a bit of Oscars trivia:


Cuaron reigns supreme 

Alfonso Cuaron's "Roma," a black-and-white cinematic ode to his childhood in 1970s Mexico City -- and the mother and nanny who raised him -- earned a whopping 10 nominations to lead the contenders.

But the Mexican filmmaker himself scored an impressive feat -- four of those nominations are his personally: for best picture as a producer, best director, best original screenplay and best cinematography.

He joins illustrious company with his achievement: Warren Beatty did the same, scoring four nominations in four different categories -- twice -- for "Heaven Can Wait" and "Reds."

Joel and Ethan Coen did it for "No Country for Old Men."

Blockbusters galore 

For many moviegoers, the Oscars have become somewhat elitist, often rewarding art-house fare that not many have seen. But those fans cannot complain this year.

Marvel superhero blockbuster "Black Panther" -- the highest-grossing film of 2018 in North America at more than $700 million -- scored seven nominations including one for best picture, becoming the first movie based on a comic book to earn the honor.

Other mainstream box office hits nominated for best picture include musical romance drama "A Star Is Born" ($210 million in North America) and "Bohemian Rhapsody" ($213 million).

Heavy prize 

The Oscar statuette is solid bronze and plated in 24-karat gold. It stands 13.5 inches (34 centimeters) tall and weighs 8.5 pounds (3.8 kilograms).

It takes three months for Polich Tallix Fine Art Foundry in New York to manufacture a batch of 50 statuettes. More than 3,140 statuettes have been handed out since 1929.

The trophy represents a knight holding a crusader's sword standing on a reel of film with five spokes that refer to the five original branches of the Academy -- actors, directors, producers, technicians and writers.

Acting royalty

Meryl Streep holds the record for the most nominations in the acting categories, with 21. She and Jack Nicholson -- the most nominated male actor with 12 nominations -- each have two statuettes for lead acting and one for supporting roles.

The movie industry figure with the most Oscars is Walt Disney, who won 22, plus four honorary statuettes.

Katharine Hepburn won the most Oscars for a performer, with four. Daniel Day-Lewis is the only person to have three best actor Oscars.

Snubs and surprises 

Industry watchers were shocked that Bradley Cooper was snubbed in the best director category for "A Star Is Born" -- but earned three nominations for best actor, best adapted screenplay and best picture (as a producer).

They were thrilled to see Spike Lee earn his first directing nomination for "BlacKkKlansman" and first for best picture. The US filmmaker earned a lifetime achievement award at the 2016 Oscars.

But many expected "Won't You Be My Neighbor?" -- a critically acclaimed documentary about US children's show host Mister Rogers -- to make the cut. It did not.

A happy surprise was a best actress nomination for breakout "Roma" star Yalitza Aparicio in her debut performance.

source: philstar.com

Red carpet filled with color for Oscars ceremony after tumultuous Hollywood year

LOS ANGELES | Stars arrived on the Oscars red carpet on Sunday under sunny but breezy skies for an Academy Awards ceremony filled with suspense over which will win the best picture, and whether the Hollywood sexual misconduct scandal will steal the spotlight on the movie industry’s biggest night.

“Get Out” actress Allison Williams,“I, Tonya” supporting actress Allison Janney, supporting actor nominee Christopher Plummer and “Spider-Man” star Tom Holland were among the early arrivals. Women sported flowing blue, lavender and white gowns often embellished with sequins and crystals.

Sandra Bullock,“Hamilton” creator Lin-Manuel Miranda,“Black Panther” star Lupita Nyong’o, Jane Fonda and Nicole Kidman are among an eclectic lineup of presenters due to take the stage on Sunday.

Hollywood has many issues on its mind, foremost is the sexual misconduct scandal that has brought down dozens of once-powerful men, and lingering questions over racial and gender fairness in the movie business.

The Time’s Up campaign against sexual harassment in the workplace, spearheaded by celebrities including Reese Witherspoon and Ava DuVernay, will be recognized in some form in Sunday’s ceremony, organizers say.


History could be made on Sunday’s ceremony.

“Get Out” director and writer Jordan Peele is vying to become the first black man in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ 90-year history to win a directing Oscar.

“Lady Bird” director Greta Gerwig could be only the second female to take home that prize when the decision of the 8,000 academy members is announced.

“Every year, the discussion around the awards is less and less who will win, but how many women are nominated, or how many blacks and Asians lost,” said Tom O’Neil, founder of awards website GoldDerby.com.

Host Jimmy Kimmel has the task of navigating the wider political themes with the celebrations. He is also expected to turn into a running joke last year’s embarrassing best picture envelope mix-up that saw musical“La La Land” being declared winner instead of“Moonlight.”

No such suspense surrounds the main acting races, where Frances McDormand is heavily favored to win for her turn as an angry, grieving mother in“Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri,” and British actor Gary Oldman’s performance as wartime leader Winston Churchill in“Darkest Hour” is widely expected to bring his first Oscar.

In the supporting actor categories, odds are on Allison Janney for“I, Tonya,” and Sam Rockwell for“Three Billboards” after they swept previous awards.

source: interaksyon.com

‘Game of Thrones’ makes Emmys history

LOS ANGELES | Fantasy epic “Game of Thrones” made television history at the 68th Emmys on Sunday, becoming the most decorated fictional show since the awards began nearly seven decades ago.

The HBO series picked up 12 total Emmys this season — nine awards in technical categories and three top prizes at the glitzy ceremony in downtown Los Angeles — television’s equivalent of the Oscars.

The blood-spattered, sex-filled saga about noble families vying for control of the Iron Throne took home the most coveted prize of the night, the best drama Emmy — along with statuettes for writing and directing.

That gives it a total haul over the years of 38 — more than any other narrative series since the first Television Academy prize-giving in 1949, overtaking the haul of 37 won by long-running comedy “Frasier.”

“We love ‘Frasier’ and he had a long run and we’re sure someone will come along and take it from us. We just hope it doesn’t happen until we’re all dead,” showrunner David Benioff told reporters.

It went down to the wire in the end, as “Thrones” drew a blank in the acting categories, despite being a hot favorite and having multiple nominees, and only set the record with the last prize of the night.

Three of its stars — Lena Headey, Emilia Clarke and Maisie Williams — dominated the betting in the supporting actress category, but the statuette went to Maggie Smith of “Downton Abbey.”

Peter Dinklage missed out on a supporting actor trophy, as did co-star Kit Harington, the category’s favorite, with Ben Mendelsohn picking up the prize for Netflix family drama “Bloodline.”

“The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story” also glittered, picking up a total of nine awards this season, including the prize for best limited series.

“If your show doesn’t have a dragon or a white Bronco in it, go home right now,” host Jimmy Kimmel joked at the start of the three-hour broadcast, a reference to “Thrones” and the infamous car Simpson was in when he went on a wild ride through Los Angeles before his arrest.

The all-time Emmy list of winners — which includes nonfiction — is topped by NBC comedy sketch show “Saturday Night Live,” with 45 awards, one of them handed out Sunday to Kate McKinnon for best supporting actress.

MILESTONE FOR LOUIS-DREYFUS

It was a night of recognition for old hands in the comedy categories, while the drama awards went to relative newcomers.

In the best actress in a comedy category, Julia Louis-Dreyfus won a fifth consecutive Emmy for her role as the hapless acting president on HBO’s “Veep.”

“I would like to dedicate this to my father who passed away on Friday, and I’m so glad that he liked ‘Veep’ because his opinion was the one that really mattered,” she said in an emotional tribute, her voice breaking.

“Veep” later picked up the Emmy for outstanding comedy series.

The award for best actor in a comedy went for the second year in a row to Jeffrey Tambor for “Transparent,” who pleaded with producers and directors to give transgender talent a chance in television.

In the tightest race of the night, lead actress in a drama, Tatiana Maslany won for “Orphan Black,” pipping favorite Robin Wright (“House of Cards”) and last year’s victor Viola Davis (“How to Get Away with Murder”).

“House of Cards” star Kevin Spacey, who has never won an Emmy, missed out again for outstanding actor in a drama, which went to Rami Malek, the star of cyberspace security thriller “Mr. Robot.”

POLITICAL NIGHT

Ex-presidential hopeful Jeb Bush made a surprise appearance as a limo driver in a televised opening joke sequence, asking Kimmel what it’s like to be nominated.

Several stars took aim at divisive Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump, either in prepared jokes or in acceptance speeches.

“I want everyone to know that after careful consideration, I decided I’m going with Trump — which is why I’m saying we should get rid of all Hispanic and Muslim actors,” said award-winning comedian and writer Aziz Ansari.

GLORY FOR ‘O.J. SIMPSON’

The win for FX’s “The People v. O.J. Simpson” for best limited series was the most widely predicted victory of the night, and the show — a scripted drama recounting the American football star’s shocking fall from grace — swept up acting prizes.

Sarah Paulson and Courtney B. Vance were rewarded in the lead acting categories for their acclaimed portrayals of sparring attorneys Marcia Clark and Johnnie Cochran.

Sterling K. Brown took home a statuette for his supporting actor role, while D.V. DeVincentis was recognized for the show’s writing.

In the battle of the networks, perennial leader HBO finished top with 22 Emmys — six on Sunday to add to its 16 from the Creative Arts Emmys ceremony last weekend.

FX, which scored the most nominations in history for a basic cable network, ended the night on 18 in total — twice as many as third-placed Netflix.

source: interaksyon.com

Jaimie Alexander steals everybody’s thunder at ‘Thor’ premiere with sheer dress

Jaimie Alexander may not be a household name yet even in Hollywood, but that ought to change overnight, thanks to the utterly revealing black dress she wore sans underwear to the red carpet premiere of “Thor: The Dark World” in Los Angeles on Monday.

The 29-year-old actress, who plays the Norse goddess Sif in the Marvel film, easily upstaged the other cast members led by Chris Hemsworth, with her Azzarro gown with mesh panels that flashed plenty of bare flesh from her chest down to her toes.

Alexander, best known for starring in the TV series “Kyle XY”, was last seen in the film “The Last Stand” opposite Arnold Schwarzenegger.

She has been reported to be in talks with Warner Bros. for a possible role as DC Comics heroine Wonder Woman in the upcoming “Man of Steel” sequel.

source: interaksyon.com

Chef Wolfgang Puck: 19 years of feeding Oscars' hungry

HOLLYWOOD - Hollywood's biggest stars, after weeks of dieting for the Red Carpet, finally get to pick up their cocktail forks again at the glittering banquet the follows Sunday's Academy Awards ceremony.

Celebrity chef Wolfgang Puck has the daunting task of preparing a post-Oscars spread worthy of the wait.

Puck will feed the 1,500 hungry guests attending the glitzy Academy Awards, one of the most glamourous on the US social calendar -- a gathering of Hollywood's most powerful and best known stars, directors, producers, and movie studio heads.

Puck, who has catered the event for nearly 19 years, says he aims to create a culinary experience as unforgettable as the Oscars ceremony itself.

"This year we're going to have a party," he told AFP.

"These people are so hungry by the time they come out of the theater that everybody looks for food," the Austrian native said.

Puck, responsible for catering a reception held inside the Dolby Theatre just before the Oscars begins, has the even bigger job of providing the meals at the Governors' Ball after the ceremony is over.

The 63-year chef says he's undaunted by the challenge. He has spent weeks of testing and perfecting the nearly four dozen dishes that he will serve.

"When you come out, you are going to have this great sushi bar, you're going to have a big shellfish station," Puck said.

One indispensible element of the soiree is an array of finger foods.

"We are passing around different appetizers, like our mini burgers, our smoked salmon Oscars, little empanadas, little spring rolls," he said.

A kitchen staff of 350 has been enlisted to ensure that thousands of appetizers, small dinner plates and desserts are flawlessly plated on Hollywood's most glamorous night, and the carefully handcrafted dishes and drinks will be served up by an army of 600 waiters and bartenders.

"When people sit down, we offer them little salads... and then warm dishes, like 12 different main courses -- from baked potatoes and caviar to tortellini with truffles and lamb and lobster," Puck said. "You name it, we have it."

Puck moved to the United States at the age of 24, opening such legendary eateries over the years as Ma Maison and Spago on Sunset Boulevard, before that upscale resaturant moved to Beverly Hills.

The master chef now reigns over a culinary empire including upscale restaurants in Detroit, Las Vegas and Los Angeles and elsewhere in the United States, as well as numerous establishments in other countries.

Puck also provides sustenance for millions more via a thriving cottage industry of cookbooks, catering enterprises and ready-to-eat meals sold in US supermarkets.

Nowhere is the art of feeding masses of people well, quite the challenge that it is at the Oscars. But after a score years of catering one of the world's swankest after parties, Puck says he doesn't allow himself to get unnerved by the task. "I don't get nervous at all," he said.

"The only time I get nervous is half an hour before, because I don't want to start too early and hopefully that everything works fine."

Like many chefs, Puck enjoys innovating in the kitchen, some members of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences, who come to the Oscars ceremony regularly, actually want the same dishes year after year, prepared by Puck's exacting hand.

"We have to make our chicken pot and the Oscar salmons and the golden chocolate Oscar -- that's a tradition," he said.

And once the glitterati are fed and the meal is over, Puck said, "the whole world is going to be happy."

source: interaksyon.com

Hollywood steps out for pre-Oscars Golden Globe Awards

LOS ANGELES – Hollywood hits the red carpet Sunday for the Golden Globes, Tinseltown’s biggest pre-Oscars awards show, with Steven Spielberg, Ben Affleck and Quentin Tarantino among those eyeing major prizes.

Days after topping nominations for the Academy Awards, Spielberg’s political drama “Lincoln” is the frontrunner for Globes glory, with seven nods, ahead of Affleck’s Iran drama “Argo” and Tarantino’s “Django Unchained,” both with five nominations.

US TV comedy favorites Tina Fey and Amy Poehler will co-host the Globes, after three years of edgy British comic Ricky Gervais taking barbed near-the-knuckle shots at the assembled A-listers.

“It’s our job to keep things moving and also try to get the movie stars more liquored-up so that hopefully someone’s boob will fall out of a dress,” quipped “30 Rock” star Fey, famous for impersonating former US vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin.

The awards are voted on by the less than 100-member Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA), seen as more celebrity-driven than the esteemed Academy of Motion and Picture Arts and Sciences, whose Oscars show is next month.

On Thursday, the Academy unveiled its nominations, chosen by some 6,000 industry members, shortlisting most of the same films which are up for Globes at the Beverly Hilton hotel Sunday night.

Other drama films tipped include Tom Hooper’s musical adaptation “Les Miserables,” dark rom-com “Silver Linings Playbook” and Osama bin Laden hunt movie “Zero Dark Thirty,” which tied for third place with four Globes nods.

Reflecting the perhaps less high-brow taste of the HFPA, Taiwanese-American director Ang Lee’s visually stunning 3D adventure “Life of Pi,” which picked up 11 Oscar nominations, is running in only three Globes categories.

Favorite for best actor is “Lincoln” star Daniel Day-Lewis, against Denzel Washington for piloting “Flight” while drunk, Richard Gere for “Arbitrage,” John Hawkes for “The Sessions” and Joaquin Phoenix for “The Master.”

Best actress is slightly more open: Jessica Chastain is widely tipped for her role as a CIA agent relentlessly tracking bin Laden in “Zero Dark Thirty,” while France’s Marion Cotillard has drawn praise for for “Rust and Bone.”

But Britain’s Helen Mirren is also a strong contender for her role as a cinema legend’s wife in “Hitchcock.” Also in the running are Naomi Watts for Indian Ocean tsunami drama “The Impossible” and Rachel Weisz for “The Deep Blue Sea.”

On the comedy and musical front, best film nominees are Indian-themed “The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel,” “Silver Linings Playbook,” “Les Miserables,” “Moonrise Kingdom,” and “Salmon Fishing in the Yemen,” starring Ewan McGregor.

Best comedy/music actor nods went to Jack Black for “Bernie,” “Hangover” star Bradley Cooper for “Silver Linings,” Australian Hugh Jackman for “Les Mis,” McGregor for “Salmon Fishing” and Bill Murray for “Hyde Park on Hudson.”

Three British actresses are shortlisted for best comedy or musical turns: Emily Blunt for “Salmon Fishing,” Judi Dench for “The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, and fellow veteran Maggie Smith for “Quartet.”

On the small screen, multiple award-winning British period drama “Downton Abbey” was nominated for best drama, against “Breaking Bad,” “Boardwalk Empire,” spy thriller series “Homeland” and “The Newsroom.”

Fey signaled that she and co-host Poehler will perhaps be less aggressive than Gervais.

“Our job is to keep the evening going and make it fun. Not necessarily to break comedic ground or take people down a peg,” she said.

The three-hour Globes telecast, beamed live around the world, starts at 5:00 pm Sunday (0100 GMT Monday), preceded by a couple of hours of Hollywood’s finest strutting their stuff on the first big red carpet of the season.

source: interaksyon.com

How to shine like J. Lo on the red carpet

Nothing makes you feel quite like royalty than trying on a piece of jewelry that was actually worn by Hollywood royalty — in my case, Gwyneth Paltrow, who christened her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame while wearing a different kind of star: H.Stern’s Highlight Stars ring. (Not to belabor the point, but “stern” is also German for “star,” so the house symbol is, of course, a stylized, bejeweled depiction of that celestial body.)

Anyway, I was able to try on Gwyneth’s ring, which in reality is an absolutely breathtaking work of art. The rectangular amethyst is over 99 carats, almost two inches long, and of a pale lavender so clear it’s like crystal. Encased in the stone itself is a star that glitters with cognac diamonds, set in the 18-karat Noble Gold that is propietary to H.Stern.

This Highlight Stars ring is one of the baubles in H.Stern’s Red Carpet collection, which will be available for a limited time at Adora in Greenbelt 5. Consisting of jewels that celebrities have worn on the red carpet, not only can you view the pieces now but don’t be put off by the fact that they’re behind glass. Adora’s highly trained staff are more than willing to let customers try them on and I highly recommend it. Not only will you feel like a celebrity yourself but you just might find something that calls your name.

Like Sharon Stone did in Diane Von Furstenberg’s Sutras collection by H.Stern. The Basic Instinct diva found something to relate to in DVF’s Sutras bracelet, which seamlessly interlocks 18K gold links and bears the Tibetan knot of infinity, which symbolizes eternal love.

“DVF went to India to do her spiritual healing,” relates Erica Ilacad, Adora’s communications manager.

“The engraved words on the jewelry represent everything important to her, like love, knowledge, and truth,” adds H.Stern manager Meileen Torres.
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“That was not such a good time in career and personal life,” continues Erica. “Her business wasn’t doing so well, she was getting divorced — so she chose to go to India for renewal and discovery and this collection is based upon that time of her life.”

Cameron Diaz was also lured by another Diane Von Furstenberg by H.Stern range, the Rock Crystal collection. A symbol of purity believed to bring good luck, rock crystals of different shapes and facets adorned Diaz’s wrist at the premiere of her movie In Her Shoes.

Another standout piece is an 18K gold bracelet from the Zephyr collection, which Jennifer Lopez picked pieces from for a Vanity Fair Oscars party appearance. Inspired by the Greek god of the west wind, the cuff is handcrafted (as all H.Stern pieces are) in such a way that it conveys breeziness and movement — what you would normally think improbable in a material like precious metal.

H.Stern’s penchant for natural forms is also evident in the Hera collection, which Halle Berry wore to the 2009 Academy Awards. “All of the inspirations are nature-oriented, so the shapes are very organic,” Ilacad explains. “The designers aren’t even allowed to read fashion magazines because they don’t want them to be influenced by trends, so Roberto Stern, the creative director and CEO, will tell them to go see the Grupo Corpo dance troupe for their inspiration, or go out and get inspired by nature.”

Sex and the City actress Bridget Moynahan attended the 2012 Moves Power Women Awards gala sparkling in Stars earrings and deco ring, which showed H.Stern’s visual signature to full effect in champagne-colored 18K Noble Gold studded with 37 full-cut diamonds. “No matter how small the diamonds may appear, they’re all full-cut, with 57 or 58 facets,” Ilacad says.

Young Hollywood has also discovered H.Stern. At the “Schiaparelli and Prada: Impossible Conversations” Costume Institute Gala at New York City’s Metropolitan Museum, rising starlets Lily Collins, Nina Dobrev, Hailee Steinfeld and Malin Akerman walked the red carpet in H.Stern jewels, giving the Brazilian jewelry house fresh cachet.

Mirror Mirror star Lily Collins chose pieces from H.Stern’s Zephyr collection. The actress, who played Snow White, twinkled in Zephyr earrings and two H.Stern Zephyr rings, all in 18K Noble Gold with diamonds.

The Vampire Diaries’ Nina Dobrev craned some necks in H.Stern Stars stud earrings and ring, both in 18K noble gold with diamonds.

Up-and-comer Hailee Steinfeld showed true grit in an H.Stern citrine necklace in 18K yellow gold, and Rock of Ages’ Malin Akerman shone in a different kind of rock — a diamond Sutras bracelet by DVF for H.Stern in 18K white gold.

So what is it about this 67-year-old jewelry institution that appeals to these fresh faces?

Perhaps it’s H.Stern’s knack for reinventing itself, and its uncompromising emphasis on design, which makes their jewelry look different from everyone else’s: sleek, modern, and always youthful in spirit.

“At H.Stern the design really comes first,” Ilacad says. “Instead of getting a stone and designing around it, they sketch their design and creative concept first, and then they source the stones that would fit their designs.”

“Imagine having to look for diamonds in the shade that they need for a certain piece,” adds Torres. “That’s why it takes months, years, to find the perfect stone.”

article source: philstar.com