No-one is recognised as knowing more about Hollywood and celebrities than David Hartnell MNZM. He’s not only spent a lifetime reporting on Hollywood’s trivia, gossip and scandals, but he counts many celebrities among his personal friends. Every Monday morning David will give you an exclusive weekly update on the gossip, scandals and trivia of Hollywood’s elite.
David is an award winning broadcaster and columnist he’s also the patron of The Variety Artists Club of New Zealand Inc. Her Majesty The Queen, awarded David the Insignia of a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit (formerly an MBE) in the Queen’s birthday Honours list 2011. In 2012 he was made an Ambassador St James Saviours, the trust formed to save the iconic Auckland theatre. In 2014 he was made an Ambassador to the Prostate Cancer Foundation of New Zealand.
Visit David’s Website
Known by some as the ‘Godfather of gossip’, David Hartnell MNZM has amassed a fabulous resource of detail about Hollywood and television movies and stars throughout his long career interviewing celebrities and reporting on trivia, gossip and scandals. His knowledge ranges easily from the 1950s to the present day.
Now David has written this quiz book as a celebration of the rich variety that the movies and television have brought us over many decades, and the personalities who’ve been working in both industries. Presented in an entertaining but informative fashion, the more than 1,700 questions and answers are arranged in rounds of three, with answers close by. There are also specialty feature quizzes with questions related to a single subject, such as Oscar-winning films, Lord of the Rings, Sequels and Remakes, even TV pets. Collected trivia about celebrities and stars also feature as interesting snippets through the book. People love to be an authority on celebrities – the celebrity pages are the most popular pages of any magazine.
Whether it is used for pub quiz nights, parties or even long car trips, David Hartnell’s Celebrity Quiz Book will highlight to a wide audience the important milestones in the development of this most popular of cultures, and test how well you really know the world of entertainment.
This book will appeal to everyone who watches television or film.This is his ninth book.
Available in all good books store’s and on line, published by New Holland $19.99.;
View David Hartnell
‘Written in the stars – David’s triple celebrations‘ in the NZ Woman’s Weekly. View the article here on David’s website.
Be in to win monthly DVDs
…simply answer a question correctly, from this week’s column and you will be entered into the draw.
Question: Name two celebrities from this week’s column. Answer by clicking here.
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Monday 18th January 2016
I’m not one to gossip but……………… Daniel Radcliffe has taken to his official Google page to mourn the death of his Harry Potter co-star Alan Rickman.
“Alan Rickman is undoubtedly one of the greatest actors I will ever work with. He is also, one of the loyalest and most supportive people I’ve ever met in the film industry. He was so encouraging of me both on set and in the years post-Potter. I’m pretty sure he came and saw everything I ever did on stage both in London and New York. He didn’t have to do that. I know other people who’ve been friends with him for much much longer than I have and they all say ‘if you call Alan, it doesn’t matter where in the world he is or how busy he is with what he’s doing, he’ll get back to you within a day,’” the 26-year-old actor wrote.
“People create perceptions of actors based on the parts they played so it might surprise some people to learn that contrary to some of the sterner (or downright scary) characters he played, Alan was extremely kind, generous, self-deprecating and funny. And certain things obviously became even funnier when delivered in his unmistakable double-bass,” Daniel continued.
“As an actor he was one of the first of the adults on Potter to treat me like a peer rather than a child. Working with him at such a formative age was incredibly important and I will carry the lessons he taught me for the rest of my life and career. Film sets and theatre stages are all far poorer for the loss of this great actor and man.”
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The cast of Will & Grace will be reunited 10 years after the end of the show.
Eric McCormack, Debra Messing, Sean Hayes and Megan Mullally are all confirmed to be returning for a new special celebrating director James Burrows.
The special for Burrows, who worked on every single one of the 188 episodes of the much-loved sitcom about a gay guy and his girl best friend, will also bring back casts from Friends, Cheers and Frasier.
Sean Hayes, who portrayed Jack on the show, called the special the ‘reunion of all reunions’. ‘We’ve confirmed all casts from all shows. On 24 January we tape, and it airs 21 February,’ Hayes said, speaking to a group of reporters at the Television Critics Association press tour. ‘It’s the reunion of all reunion shows. It’s going to be unlike anything everyone’s ever seen.
At the time of writing no date has been set for a New Zealand airing of the one off special.
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American singer Adam Lambert will be a part of the upcoming TV reboot of Rocky Horror Picture Show, which is scheduled to air in the fall on US TV.
The Grammy Award-nominated rocker had been considered for the role of Frank-N-Furter that eventually went to Laverne Cox.
Instead, Fox announced today that Lambert has been in the production in the role of a rock-n-roll loving, ex-delivery boy.
‘I grew up watching Rocky Horror, but could never imagine that I would be part of this new vision,’ Lambert said in a statement. ‘Rocky Horror always made me feel like it was okay to celebrate my weirdness. Hallelujah, bless my soul! I love that old time rock-n-roll!’
The remake of the 1975 cult classic film will not be live as NBC’s recent musical remakes have been.
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Here is a complete list for this year’s Academy Award nominations.
Chris Rock will be hosting the 88th annual Academy Awards, which will air live in the USA on Sunday (February 28).
BEST PICTURE
The Big Short
Bridge Of Spies
Brooklyn
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Martian
The Revenant
Room
Spotlight
BEST ACTOR
Bryan Cranston, Trumbo
Matt Damon, The Martian
Leonardo DiCaprio, The Revenant
Micheal Fassbender, Jobs
Eddie Redmayne, The Danish Girl
BEST ACTRESS
Cate Blanchett, Carol
Brie Larson, Room
Jennifer Lawrence, Joy
Charlotte Rampling, 45 Years
Saoirse Ronan, Brooklyn
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Christian Bale, The Big Short
Tom Hardy, The Revenant
Mark Ruffalo, Spotlight
Mark Rylance, Bridge of Spies
Sylvester Stallone, Creed
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Jennifer Jason Leigh, The Hateful Eight
Rooney Mara, Carol
Rachel McAdams, Spotlight
Alicia Vikander, The Danish Girl
Kate Winslet, Jobs
BEST DIRECTOR
The Big Short, Adam McKay
Mad Max: Fury Road, George Miller
The Revenant, Alejandro González Iñárritu
Room, Lenny Abrahamson
Spotlight, Tom McCarthy
FILM EDITING
The Big Short, Hank Corwin
Mad Max: Fury Road, Margaret Sixel
The Revenant, Stephen Mirrione
Spotlight, Tom McArdle
Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Maryann Brandon and Mary Jo Markey
FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
Embrace of the Serpent Colombia
Mustang France
Son of Saul Hungary
Theeb Jordan
A War Denmark
ORIGINAL SCORE
Bridge of Spies Thomas Newman
Carol Carter Burwell
The Hateful Eight Ennio Morricone
Sicario Jóhann Jóhannsson
Star Wars: The Force Awakens John Williams
PRODUCTION DESIGN
Bridge of Spies Production Design: Adam Stockhausen; Set Decoration: Rena DeAngelo and Bernhard Henrich
The Danish Girl Production Design: Eve Stewart; Set Decoration: Michael Standish
Mad Max: Fury Road Production Design: Colin Gibson; Set Decoration: Lisa Thompson
The Martian Production Design: Arthur Max; Set Decoration: Celia Bobak
The Revenant Production Design: Jack Fisk; Set Decoration: Hamish Purdy
VISUAL EFFECTS
Ex Machina Andrew Whitehurst, Paul Norris, Mark Ardington and Sara Bennett
Mad Max: Fury Road Andrew Jackson, Tom Wood, Dan Oliver and Andy Williams
The Martian Richard Stammers, Anders Langlands, Chris Lawrence and Steven Warner
The Revenant Rich McBride, Matthew Shumway, Jason Smith and Cameron Waldbauer
Star Wars: The Force Awakens Roger Guyett, Patrick Tubach, Neal Scanlan and Chris Corbould
ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
The Big Short Screenplay by Charles Randolph and Adam McKay
Brooklyn Screenplay by Nick Hornby
Carol Screenplay by Phyllis Nagy
The Martian Screenplay by Drew Goddard
Room Screenplay by Emma Donoghue
ORIGINAL SCRENPLAY
Bridge of Spies Written by Matt Charman and Ethan Coen & Joel Coen
Ex Machina Written by Alex Garland
Inside Out Screenplay by Pete Docter, Meg LeFauve, Josh Cooley; Original story by Pete Docter, Ronnie del Carmen
Spotlight Written by Josh Singer & Tom McCarthy
Straight Outta Compton Screenplay by Jonathan Herman and Andrea Berloff; Story by S. Leigh Savidge & Alan Wenkus and Andrea Berloff
ANIMATED FEATURE FILM
Anomalisa, Charlie Kaufman, Duke Johnson and Rosa Tran
Boy and the World, Alê Abreu
Inside Out, Pete Docter and Jonas Rivera
Shaun the Sheep Movie, Mark Burton and Richard Starzak
When Marnie Was There, Hiromasa Yonebayashi and Yoshiaki Nishimura
CINEMATOGRAPHY
Carol, Ed Lachman
The Hateful Eight, Robert Richardson
Mad Max: Fury Road, John Seale
The Revenant, Emmanuel Lubezki
Sicario, Roger Deakins
COSTUME DESIGN
Carol, Sandy Powell
Cinderella, Sandy Powell
The Danish Girl, Paco Delgado
Mad Max: Fury Road, Jenny Beavan
The Revenant, Jacqueline West
DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
Amy, Asif Kapadia and James Gay-Rees
Cartel Land, Matthew Heineman and Tom Yellin
The Look of Silence, Joshua Oppenheimer and Signe Byrge Sørensen
What Happened, Miss Simone?, Liz Garbus, Amy Hobby and Justin Wilkes
Winter on Fire: Ukraine’s Fight for Freedom, Evgeny Afineevsky and Den Tolmor
DOCUMENTARY SHORT SUBJECT
Body Team 12, David Darg and Bryn Mooser
Chau, beyond the Lines, Courtney Marsh and Jerry Franck
Claude Lanzmann: Spectres of the Shoah, Adam Benzine
A Girl in the River: The Price of Forgiveness, Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy
Last Day of Freedom, Dee Hibbert-Jones and Nomi Talisman
MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING
Mad Max: Fury Road Lesley Vanderwalt, Elka Wardega and Damian Martin
The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed out the Window and Disappeared Love Larson and Eva von Bahr
The Revenant Siân Grigg, Duncan Jarman and Robert Pandini
ORIGINAL SONG
“Earned It” from Fifty Shades of Grey Music and Lyric by Abel Tesfaye, Ahmad Balshe, Jason Daheala Quenneville and Stephan Moccio
“Manta Ray” from Racing Extinction Music by J. Ralph and Lyric by Antony Hegarty
“Simple Song #3” from Youth Music and Lyric by David Lang
“Til It Happens To You” from The Hunting Ground Music and Lyric by Diane Warren and Lady Gaga
“Writing’s On The Wall” from Spectre Music and Lyric by Jimmy Napes and Sam Smith
ANIMATED SHORT FILM
Bear Story Gabriel Osorio and Pato Escala
Prologue Richard Williams and Imogen Sutton
Sanjay’s Super Team Sanjay Patel and Nicole Grindle
We Can’t Live without Cosmos Konstantin Bronzit
World of Tomorrow Don Hertzfeldt
LIVE ACTION SHORT FILML
Ave Maria Basil Khalil and Eric Dupont
Day One Henry Hughes
Everything Will Be Okay (Alles Wird Gut) Patrick Vollrath
Shok Jamie Donoughue
Stutterer Benjamin Cleary and Serena Armitage
SOUND EDITING
Mad Max: Fury Road Mark Mangini and David White
The Martian Oliver Tarney
The Revenant Martin Hernandez and Lon Bender
Sicario Alan Robert Murray
Star Wars: The Force Awakens Matthew Wood and David Acord
SOUND MIXING
Bridge of Spies, Andy Nelson, Gary Rydstrom and Drew Kunin
Mad Max: Fury Road, Chris Jenkins, Gregg Rudloff and Ben Osmo
The Martian, Paul Massey, Mark Taylor and Mac Ruth
The Revenant, Jon Taylor, Frank A. Montaño, Randy Thom and Chris Duesterdiek
Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Andy Nelson, Christopher Scarabosio and Stuart Wilson
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Can you believe it even the actors in Game of Thrones try and avoid spoilers?
Charles Dance, who played villain Tywin Lannister on the smash hit HBO show until last year, has revealed that he was clueless about his character’s shocking – but clearly deserved – death… until a fan broke the bad news to him.
Ruthless Tywin met a seriously gruesome end during season four of the show when he was murdered by his son, Tyrion, while sat on the toilet.
“I knew his demise was coming but I didn’t know how,” the star told the UK Radio Times. “I didn’t read the books. They are far too thick. They frighten me – books that thick.”
Charles had no idea Tywin was going to die in such an iconic way. Charles claims that without the fan, he’d never have known how his character met his demise: “There was a guy in the street who came up to me and said ‘Game of Thrones, brilliant, you’ve got a great death scene’.
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It’s so hard to swallow the fact that David Bowie is really gone. He’s been a fashion and music inspiration for decades. Everyone seemed to love his courageous choices and dissatisfaction with the mundane. And that HAIR! We discovered this photo of David in his first band, The Kon-rads, in 1963 – looks almost a Teddy Boy. He was certainly already a Rebel.
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David Beckham looks dapper in his tuxedo while attending the 2016 UNICEF Ball at the Regent Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills, California.
The 40-year-old was honoured at the event with the Danny Kaye Humanitarian Leadership Award for his work as a goodwill ambassador for the organisation.
Sir Elton John presented his award. David opened up about his kids at the event and what the rules will be for dating.
“Obviously Brooklyn is definitely at that age. You know, he’s 16, he’s definitely at that age,” told the TV show Entertainment Tonight. “We’re strong parents, and strict parents, but we’re like most parents. We love our kids and we want the best for them, so we’ll see.”
When asked if the rules will be different for daughter Harper, he said with a laugh, “Oh yeah, that’ll definitely be different.”
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Jamie Foxx, 48, seems like an involved and proud dad to his stunning daughter Corinne who happened to be Miss Golden Globe at the award show this year. Corinne is 21 and smart – she’s a senior at USC. She’s already signed and working with LA Models and she’s an aspiring actress. After her flawless Globes appearance, her dad took her to the Weinstein Golden Globes after-party; Jamie really doesn’t look old enough to have a 21 year old daughter.
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Justin Theroux’s wife Jennifer Aniston opened up about her and her hubby in the kitchen!
“[We] both love to tinker in the kitchen,” Jennifer told Yahoo Food. She said their favorite dish to prepare is pasta carbonara! “We have eggs from our chickens, and then we make it ‘skinny style’ where we use turkey bacon instead of real bacon, eggs, and parmesan. No oil, butter or creams. And we use pasta water to make it juicier.”
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BBCTV is bringing golden-oldie flick The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel to life for a new documentary series – and some of the names involved may surprise you.
Miriam Margolyes, dancer Wayne Sleep, Doctor Who star Sylvester McCoy and ex-Catchphrase host Roy Walker will travel to India together in The Real Marigold Hotel – a factual series inspired by the 2012 movie.
UK chef Rosemary Shrager, English darts champion Bobby George, singer Patti Boulaye and retired news reader UK Jan Leeming will also take the trip of a lifetime.
This rag-tag band of OAPs will experience life in Jaipur, Northern India, as they set up home in a private mansion.
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Talking with kids about modern issues like gender and sexuality is less tricky than you’d think: But, sometimes, children can surprise you.
Take, for example, actress Minnie Driver’s recent tweet about something her seven year old son Henry said.
She’d explained to him the mum of his friend had transitioned into a man. ‘You can really do that,’ ‘Yes’, she replied. ‘Then I wanna be a dragon.’
The things kids say, huh?
So, the question remaining is: What hormones would you have to take for that?
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I have a great admiration for magicians, as a teen I joined the Auckland Magic Society and was a member for many years. So when I spotted the book Behind the Illusion, by magician Darcy Oake, I could resist. Let explosive new talent Darcy Oake be your guide through the world of illusion, as he reveals how magicians use your mind to make you see the impossible.
Darcy, a thrilling Canadian illusionist, won the coveted People’s Choice Award in Seattle and performed at the Magic Castle in Hollywood before he was legally of age. Aged 26, he dazzled the nation as a finalist on ITV’s Britain’s Got Talent and on ITV special Edge of Reality.
In Behind the Illusion, magician Darcy Oake takes you through the nine traditionally accepted forms of magic. He reveals the origins and science behind various illusions, and explains why there is a difference between what the eye sees and what is actually happening on stage; as well as giving famous examples from history, and his own personal twists on them. The book is $40 and worth every page turn if you’re interested in magic.
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Helen Hunt hits the surf with a smile while on holiday in Maui, Hawaii.
The 52-year-old actress and director is no stranger to surfing after appearing in 2011′s Soul Surfer about a shark attack survivor and 2014′s Ride about a mom whose son drops out of school to become a surfer.
Helen told The Surf Channel in May that surfing was more than just a sport to her.
“I think it’s just put me right in the arms of mother nature more than anything,” Helen said. “It’s a way to get very, very close to something that’s much, much bigger than you and that’s the best thing about it.”
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Actress Jennifer Lawrence took the cover of Glamour magazine’s for next month’s issue, where she made a stand for Planned Parenthood.
“Planned Parenthood is so much more [than abortion]… I wouldn’t have been able to get birth control if it weren’t for Planned P. I wouldn’t have been able to get condoms and birth control and all these things I needed as a normal teenager who was growing up in a Jesus house,” the 25-year-old Oscar winner told the mag. “And now [gestures widely] I am a successful woman who has not had a pregnancy… But seriously. What harm comes from supplying people with birth control, condoms, Pap smears, and cancer screenings?”
Read more quotes from Jennifer’s issue below!
On being famous: “I think that we should be allowed time off [from being famous]… Three months. ‘Oh, it’s my three months off. You can’t photograph me.’ I would love to be able to control being photographed. Then I wouldn’t have a new headline out today that I wore the same jeans three days in a row. [Laughs.]”
On Chris Pratt being described as the male version of her: “Chris Pratt is always in a good mood. We laugh all day…. He’s like a chocolate Santa. He’s just like if a dog came to life and was like, ‘I’m a great actor with a perfect face.’”
For more from Jennifer, visit Glamour.com.
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Miranda Kerr shows off her pretty striped dress on the new cover of Net-a-Porter‘s The Edit.
Here’s what the 32-year-old Australian supermodel had to share with the mag:
On divorcing Orlando Bloom: “[Their son] Flynn was two, so it was really hard to make the decision, but our son is our priority so you have to come from love. You have to be kind.”
On her relationship with Evan Spiegel: “He’s 25, but he acts like he’s 50. He’s not out partying. He goes to work in Venice [Beach], he comes home. We don’t go out. We’d rather be at home and have dinner, go to bed early. [But] in some ways he does [feel like a younger man]. I’m telling you, I’ve got the best of both worlds…”
On finally introducing Evan to her son, Flynn, and Orlando: “[Orlando and I decided] that we had to know the person for six months and feel good about them [before introducing them to Flynn]. Evan met Flynn, so yeah, things are going well. Orlando thinks he’s great. We’re just a modern family now!”
For more on Miranda, visit Net-a-Porter.com.
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Leonardo DiCaprio looks handsome on the cover of Parade magazine’s latest issue, on newsstands January 10.
Here is what the 41-year-old The Revenant actor had to share with the mag:
On whether, at 41 and single, he believes in marriage: “That time will come when that time comes. The truth is, you can’t predict marriage. You can’t plan it. It’s just going to happen when it happens.”
On why women play such a small role in the movie, and the men are so gruesome and dominating: “This represents the savagery of a lawless culture. Women have been the most persecuted people throughout all of recorded history, more than any race or religion.”
On whether fame is worth the price, and if he’s ever thought of quitting acting: “Fame for fame’s sake? No. But if I wanted to quit acting, I could have done it a long time ago. I love making movies. I feel lucky and fortunate to do it, and it is absolutely worth sacrificing a lot of my private life. I don’t think anyone [famous] ever really gets used to it. It’s always surreal. At the end of the day, there are people with much harder jobs who sacrifice a lot more of their own lives to do them, people in the armed forces. I don’t want to hear myself complain about the hardships of being famous—because I do have the freedom to stop, if I wanted to.”
For more from Leo, visit Parade.com!
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Some great DVDs to watch out for!
IRIS
MADMAN
The late Albert Maysles’ documentary Iris, which is getting a local theatrical release after screening at Full Frame, captures the daily life of the eponymous Iris Apfel as she goes about her business as an international style icon. Apfel, an interior designer, founded the rare-textile company Old World Weavers before becoming a fashion darling in her 80s.
Iconic for her huge glasses, loud outfits and shock of lavender-tinted white hair, Apfel is a fascinating human, but Iris is a mixed bag.
At 90, Apfel is absolutely charming in her salty New York bluntness, as she dispenses wisdom left and right. Early on in the film, she remembers the founder of the department store Loehmann’s, where she worked as a young shop girl, telling her, “You’re not pretty and you’ll never be pretty. But it doesn’t matter cuz you’ve got something more important. You’ve got style.”
Maysles is excellent at documenting a certain kind of female eccentricity—one thinks of the loopy, compelling Little Edie of 1975’s direct cinema classic, Grey Gardens. But unlike much of his previous work, Iris is not a very meticulously crafted film. It often looks and feels like a reality TV show. Slightly higher production values would have done justice to what sets Apfel apart as a stylist: an incredible eye for colour and a baroque sense of design. We get some idea of her sensibility, but the whole film has the grayish cast of inexpensive video, which dulls the vibrancy of her baubles.
Some of the most winning footage is of Apfel going shopping, which, for her, constitutes a mad form of play. She haggles with the salespeople; she combines improbable items of clothing; she glows when she finds just the right pieces. She distinguishes herself from other collectors by finding no venue too low or weird. “Everything I have, I go out and find,” she says. This adventurousness is exactly what has made her a role model: for her, fashion is about a kind of creativity that offers the opportunity for self-creation beyond beauty (Apfel rails a lot against beauty). Any dedicated thrift shopper can identify with her lifelong treasure hunt.
For all of Apfel’s wit and verve, Iris does strike some ambivalent notes. The film makes clear that she is not just some gleeful eccentric. She is an international fashion brand. Maysles includes a lot of the corporate marketing side of Apfel’s career. We see her styling an army of mannequins, all of which will eventually bear her signature round, oversized frames.
For all of Apfel’s complaining about the lack of originality in contemporary fashion, one gets the sense that the lady doth protest too much. Especially when you see her hawking assembly-line reproductions of her trademark accessories on QVC. Still, Iris is a fun romp through the closet of a very cool and well-traveled person whose wit alone may be enough to justify the price of admission.
A documentary about fashion icon Iris Apfel from legendary documentary filmmaker Albert Maysles, click here to see the promo.
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Walt Disney His Life And Legacy
MADMAN
Uniquely adept at art as well as commerce, Walt Disney was a master filmmaker who harnessed the power of technology to tell stories of outsiders struggling for acceptance and belonging, while questioning the conventions of class and authority. As Disney rose to prominence and gained financial security, his work became increasingly celebratory of the American way of life that made his unlikely success possible.
A polarising figure—though true believers vastly outnumber his critics—Disney’s achievements are indisputable. In this four part series, we examine Disney’s complex life and continuing legacy, featuring rare archival footage from the Disney vaults, interviews with biographers and historians, as well as the animators and designers who helped turn his dreams into reality.
Walt Disney is both an inspiring story and a cautionary tale about the price of empire. This DVD is a must for anyone who likes Disney productions – and who doesn’t – HELLO! I have been a Walt Disney fan for all my life, but I really didn’t know half of what he went through in his life – he was an amazing man!
Until next week…………………. my lips are sealed!
Copyright David H. W. Hartnell MNZM 2015
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Monday 11th January 2016
I’m not one to gossip but……………… Sorry about the four letter words in this week’s column, but hey I have to report what’s going on as it is —- right?
Quentin Tarantino is known for peppering his movies with a whole lot of
very explicit, very gratuitous language. And in real life, he’s no different.
The film director was honoured with a hand and footprint ceremony at TCL
Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles, with the event attended by stars including
Christoph Waltz and Channing Tatum.
Quentin signed his name and the date into his rectangle of cement, and
pressed his hands and shoes into the wet concrete. So far, so fine!
But upon closer inspection, Tarantino’s footprints were actually rather 18+.
The treading on the soles of Quentin’s trainers read “F*** u”, so a mirror image of the expletive was immortalised on his Chinese Theatre plaque.
There is a reason to the star’s swear-fest, though. In the Kill Bill movies, The Bride, played by Uma Thurman, wears trainers with “F*** u” built into the treading so that her footprints leave the message to the world.
We’re not sure the family-friendly Chinese Theatre censors will be too happy though.
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Barry Humphries – the drag artist comedian who made his fortune performing as alter ego Dame Edna Everage – has claimed transgender women are not female but are in fact just ‘mutilated men’.
The Australian made the remark while showing support for fellow expat Germaine Greer, who was criticised last year when she said trans women were men ‘who believe that they are women and have themselves castrated’.
Dame Edna and I exchanging our memoirs.
The feminist author then took aim at Caitlyn Jenner, the former Olympic athlete father of reality TV stars the Kardashians, who she insisted only wanted ‘to steal the limelight’ from the females in her famous family by becoming a woman.
That view is one also shared by Humphries, who told the Telegraph he believed Jenner to be ‘a publicity-seeking ratbag’ who herself had performed ‘self-mutilation’. The 81-year-old said: ‘I agree with Germaine. You’re a mutilated man, that’s all.
‘Self-mutilation, what’s all this carry on? Caitlyn Jenner – what a publicity-seeking ratbag.
‘It’s all given the stamp – not of respectability, but authenticity or something. If you criticise anything you’re racist or sexist or homophobic.’
Humphries comments follow similarly offensive remarks published yesterday in the Radio Times, in which he suggested Downton Abbey has only been successful in America ‘because there are no black people in it’.
Now the star of BBC’s first trans drama has said the creator of Dame Edna should apologise for comments he made about Caitlyn Jenner or be sacked. Rebecca Root, who stars in the BBC’s drama Boy Meets Girl, said the “retrograde” comments were “resonant of the bad old days”.
Root said: “If he retracts the statement I’d say he’s said sorry, and move on. But if he does a Germaine Greer, I’d say he’s gone too far and the BBC should reconsider its position on giving him a show.
“It’s rather disappointing for me as I’ve always liked Barry Humphries, and I’ve seen Dame Edna on stage. The fact is that this sense of humour resonates with the bad old days of Bernard Manning and Jim Davidson; dinosaurs from the 1970s. It’s very retrograde, and I hoped we’d moved on from it.”
The BBC has already said it would not sack the presenter. A spokesman said: “Barry Humphries is a freelance presenter for BBC Radio 2 and these are his personal views, which are not reflected in his radio programme.”
Greer has previously claimed that “lopping off your d**k and wearing a dress doesn’t make you a f***ing woman” and has accused Jenner of transitioning so she could steal attention from her Kardashian co-stars.
Now Dame Edna’s official social media channels posted a bizarre message attempting to ‘distance herself’ from her own alter ego. This is what she wrote on her official site.
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Did you know that Leonardo Di Caprio turned down some BIG movies – including Star Wars and Spiderman? The Star Wars prequel could have looked very different with Leonardo on board.
Following his breakout movie Titanic, Leo went on to snap up stellar roles in Catch Me If You Can, Shutter Island and The Aviator.
But the 41-year-old’s career could have gone very differently. The actor revealed he had a meeting with filmmaker and Star Wars creator, George Lucas, to play Anakin Skywalker.
But Leo admitted he “just didn’t feel ready to take that dive at that point.”
If you’re now imagining a hunky Leo as the future Darth Vader, then get ready to be doubly shocked.
The Inception actor also turned down the chance to put on his very own spandex superhero suit in 2002’s Spiderman movie, as well as Robin in 1995’s Batman Forever.
“As I recall, I took the meeting, but didn’t want to play the role [of Robin],” he told Shortlist. “Joel Schumacher is a very talented director but I don’t think I was ready for anything like that.” As for Spidey? “That was another one of those situations, similar to Robin, where I didn’t feel ready to put on that suit yet. They got in touch with me,” Leo said.
But, let’s not dwell on the past. The talented actor has forged a pretty impressive career and has even been nominated for an Oscar five times.
When asked if he would consider playing a superhero in the future, he teased: “You never know. You never know. They’re getting better and better as far as complex characters in these movies. I haven’t yet. But no, I don’t rule out anything.”
Leo’s latest project is The Revenant, in which he plays frontiersman Hugh Glass, who must go through extensive torture and grief to find his way back to his beloved family.
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Jennifer Lopez, 46, gave an interview to the American TV show The Today Show; she opened up about being an inspiration to women in their 40s.
“It’s important to me,” Jennifer began. “Being in this business since my early 20s, there was always a moment where they going to try and write you off. It’s like; don’t write us off at a certain point in our lives. We have so much to offer.”
“I feel like I knew nothing in my 20s, but I thought I knew everything, and in my 30s I kind of realised I knew nothing, and I feel like now I’m starting to accept myself for who I am,” Jennifer added.
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Kate Winslet is all smiles while speaking on a panel at the SAG-AFTRA Foundation conversations at the Egyptian Theatre in Los Angeles.
The 40-year-old Oscar-winning actress was joined by her Steve Jobs co-star Michael Fassender 38. During the panel, Kate shared an inspiring message for aspiring actors.
“Acting is the most incredible job in the world to do and don’t let anyone knock you,” Kate said. “Just keep going because it’s worth it, really worth it. I just do have to say that. I love it. I’ve been doing it since I was nine-years-old and it’s just fantastic. So you’ve chosen the right path for sure.”
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Jennifer Lawrence exposes her bra and underwear in this inside image from
her Glamour magazine February 2016 issue, on newsstands January 12.
Here’s what the 25-year-old Joy actress had to share:
On if she feels misunderstood by the media: “I don’t feel like I’m misunderstood. I feel like I’m over-paid-attention-to. I’m not trying to be a GIF. I’m not trying to be a picked-up-on-Twitter quote. All I’m trying to do is act. And I have to promote these movies. And I am, at the end of the day, I guess, a f–king lunatic. So if you record what I’m saying, it’s gonna be goofy. [Laughs.] What do I do? What do I do? I’m just a girl, sitting in front of the world and asking them to forgive her for speaking.”
On her friendships with Emma Stone, Adele and Amy Schumer: “I love Emma. She cracks me up; she’s so ‘theatre.’ She’s so adorable. And Adele and I met, like, a year or so ago. Adele and I are a bit harsher; Emma’s never had a bad thought about anybody in her life. It’s so weird; I don’t like new people. But these two women—and Amy—they’re really lovely. And they’re so normal. I feel like I’m hanging out with my friends—my friends that don’t give a f–k about what I do.… Amy’s always wanted to live on Martha’s Vineyard, and we saw this house, and we’re like, ‘This is where we’re gonna Grey Gardens, and we’re gonna grow old and crazy together.’ That’s our life plan.”
On how she describes her style: “‘Slutty power lesbian.’ That is literally what I say to a stylist. [Laughs.] I don’t know if that’s offensive…. You don’t see me as a slutty power lesbian on the red carpet a lot, because I’m embodying the Dior woman, which is an honour.… But [also] I’ve got tits and an ass. And there are things that are made for skinny people—like a lot of embroidery, or it covers a lot—and those make me look fat. I have to show the lumps. If you have boobs, you have to show, like, ‘These are boobs. This isn’t cellulite.’ [Laughs.] Not that there’s anything wrong with that.”
On dating: “I don’t, like, date a lot. I don’t meet a lot of guys who I want to go on a date with. I’ll find a guy attractive maybe once a year. But I’m not a lonely person. Me not dating someone is not a lack of anything in any way. I feel completely fulfilled. Yes, when I spark with someone, it’s exciting, but I definitely don’t need that.…”
For more from Jennifer, visit Glamour.com.
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USW comic and TV host Steve Harvey finally broke his silence after his 2015
Miss Universe flub where he accidentally announced Miss Colombia Ariadna
Gutierrez as the winner instead of the real winner Miss Philippines Pia
Wurtzbach.
“Immediately after it happened, they asked the pageant people to come to the
press conference,” the 58-year-old TV host said on his morning show on Monday (January 4). “I wasn’t scheduled to be at a press conference, so I
went to the press conference and made all the apologies there…Here’s the
situation: Now, when the mistake was made, when I said the wrong woman’s
name, I can only give information I had. No one knows, and that information
is not in the teleprompter because you’ve got two women standing there. I
read what was on the teleprompter, then I read what was on the card.”
“Now, what happened, how it got like that, how it was done, how it was worked on, that’s neither here nor there. I said the name that was on the card. When I walked off, everything was cool…and then, after that, all hell broke loose,” Steve continued. “All I heard was people say, ‘That’s the wrong name,’” he recalled. “And all I hear is confusion backstage. Now I’m standing here in the wing, so what I did was, ‘I gotta go fix it.’ Now I got a guy in my ear going, ‘We gotta do something! We gotta do something!’”
“Did I make a mistake? Yes I did, wholeheartedly. And at this point in the game, I’m not in the finger-pointing business and rolling people under the bus. So, I did what I was trained to do by my father . . . You make a mistake and you own up to it. And I tried to fix it, I tried to fix it right there. When I did it, it was horrible for Miss Colombia. And she’s the only
one I haven’t had a chance to talk to,” the host revealed. “I’ve had a chance to talk to Miss Philippines. I’ve talked to all the pageant people. I’ve talked to people backstage. Even me and the director had a long talk. But I haven’t been able to reach out and talk to Miss Colombia. Now, have I tried? Yes. But haven’t gotten a response. How this must have made the woman from Colombia [feel]… I felt for her more than me. I could’ve just stayed back there and said, ‘Y’all fix it.’ I don’t feel sorry for me. I don’t feel sorry for the pageant; the pageant will now be bigger than it’s ever been.”
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Stephen Fry stepped down as the host of BBC2 comedy quiz show QI last year. But the multi-talented Stephen has already landed a new job – as a one-man welcome wagon for the whole of the UK!
The beloved comedian is adding a new string to his bow in Heathrow Airport’s new #UKGuide video, welcoming visitors with a quick introduction to British culture.
The three-minute clip, filmed inside a pub, was released yesterday on the airport’s free Wi-Fi page. It shows Fry explaining how to act like a quintessentially British person, from talking about the weather to the art of queuing.
‘I know we look like an easygoing bunch, but sometimes it feel alike we’ve got more rules of etiquette than a Japanese tea room,’ he jokes. ‘But you should be fine if you recall the one golden rule: make yourself at home.’
Could he be more adorable? Watch the video here.
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A family travelling from Dallas to London were upgraded to first class. The mum sat with her toddler on her lap and her seat-mate happened to be John Goodman! Five minutes before take-off the little boy started projectile vomiting in all directions! He got the mum, the seats, her luggage and everybody’s clothing! Can you believe that the American Airlines flight attendants backed off, and refused to deal with the situation while good natured John jumped up and ran back and forth from the bathroom with paper towels to wipe everybody off. John’s thoughtful wife Annabeth even kindly offered the mother clean clothing out of her own suitcase. The distraught mother apologised profusely. The plane stopped and the AA cleanup crew escorted the family off the plane. They all remember John Goodman as a hero in the crisis and the toddler even recognised his voice from Monsters Inc. I was not surprised when I saw this report on how good John was, I have met him a number of times and he’s a really nice down to earth human being.
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The nominations for the 2016 BAFTA Awards have officially been announced!
Carol and Bridge of Spies are leading the pack this year with nine nominations each while Alicia Vikander repeated her Golden Globes feat of two nominations, one for Best Actress in The Danish Girl and another for Best Supporting Actress in Ex Machina.
At last year’s awards, the four actors who won in the main categories at the
BAFTAs went on to win at the Oscars as well.
2016 BAFTA Nominations
BEST FILM
The Big Short
Bridge of Spies
The Revenant
Carol
Spotlight
BEST ACTRESS
Brie Larson – Room
Saoirse Ronan – Brooklyn
Cate Blanchett – Carol
Alicia Vikander – The Danish Girl
Maggie Smith – Lady in the Van
BEST ACTOR
Leonardo DiCaprio – The Revenant
Eddie Redmayne – The Danish Girl
Michael Fassbender – Steve Jobs
Matt Damon – The Martian
Bryan Cranston – Trumbo
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Kate Winslet – Steve Jobs
Alicia Vikander – Ex Machina
Rooney Mara – Carol
Jennifer Jason Leigh – The Hateful Eight
Julie Walters – Brooklyn
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Benicio Del Toro – Sicario
Christian Bale – The Big Short
Idris Elba – Beasts of No Nation
Mark Ruffalo – Spotlight
Mark Rylance – Bridge of Spies
OUTSTANDING BRITISH FILM
45 Years – Andrew Haigh, Tristan Goligher
Amy – Asif Kapadia, James Gay-Rees
Brooklyn – John Crowley, Finola Dwyer, Amanda Posey, Nick Hornby
The Danish Girl – Tom Hooper, Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Anne Harrison, Gail Mutrux, Lucinda Coxon
Ex Machina – Alex Garland, Andrew Macdonald, Allon Reich
The Lobster – Yorgos Lanthimos, Ceci Dempsey, Ed Guiney, Lee Magiday, Efthimis Filippou
FILM NOT IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE
The Assassin – Hou Hsiao-Hsien
Force Majeure – Ruben Ostlund
Theeb Naji – Abu Nowar, Rupert Lloyd
Timbuktu – Abderrahmane Sissako
Wild Tales – Damian Szifron
DOCUMENTARY
Amy – Asif Kapadia, James Gay-Rees
Cartel Land – Matthew Heineman, Tom Yellin
He Named Me Malala – Davis Guggenheim, Walter Parkes, Laurie MacDonald
Listen to Me Marlon – Stevan Riley, John Battsek, George Chignell, R.J. Cutler
Sherpa – Jennifer Peedom, Bridget Ikin, John Smithson
ANIMATED FILM
Inside Out – Pete Docter
Minions – Pierre Coffin, Kyle Balda
Shaun the Sheep Movie – Mark Burton, Richard Starzak
DIRECTOR
The Big Short – Adam McKay
Bridge of Spies – Steven Spielberg
Carol – Todd Haynes
The Martian – Ridley Scott
The Revenant – Alejandro G. Inarritu
CINEMATOGRAPHY
Bridge of Spies – Janusz Kaminski
Carol – Ed Lachman
Mad Max: Fury Road – John Seale
The Revenant – Emmanuel Lubezki
Sicario – Roger Deakins
OUTSTANDING DEBUT BY A BRITISH WRITER, DIRECTOR OR PRODUCER
Alex Garland (Director) – Ex Machina
Debbie Tucker Green (Writer/Director) – Second Coming
Naji Abu Nowar (Writer/Director) Rupert Lloyd (Producer) – Theeb
Sean McAllister (Director/Producer), Elhum Shakeifar (Producer) – A Syrian Love Story
Stephen Fingleton (Writer/Director) – The Survivalist
ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Bridge of Spies – Matthew Charman, Ethan Coen, Joel Coen
Ex Machina – Alex Garland
The Hateful Eight – Quentin Tarantino
Inside Out – Josh Cooley, Pete Docter, Meg LeFauve
Spotlight – Tom McCarthy, Josh Singer
ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
The Big Short – Adam McKay, Charles Randolph
Brooklyn – Nick Hornby
Carol – Phyllis Nagy
Room – Emma Donoghue
Steve Jobs – Aaron Sorkin
EDITING
The Big Short – Hank Corwin
Bridge of Spies – Michael Kahn
Mad Max: Fury Road – Margaret Sixel
The Martian – Pietro Scalia
The Revenant – Stephen Mirrione
PRODUCTION DESIGN
Bridge of Spies – Adam Stockhausen, Rena DeAngelo
Carol – Judy Becker, Heather Loeffler
Mad Max: Fury Road – Colin Gibson, Lisa Thompson
The Martian – Arthur Max, Celia Bobak
Star Wars: The Force Awakens – Rick Carter, Darren Gilford, Lee Sandales