by Frankie Taggart Agence France-Presse LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) — Four-time Grammy winner Lionel Richie cemented his legacy in Hollywood Wednesday, plunging his feet and hands into a wet paving slab at the forecourt of the iconic TCL Chinese Theatre. The 68-year-old R&B singer, a former frontman for Motown legends The Commodores, has sold more than 100 million records over a career spanning six decades. “This is almost beyond the childhood dream,” Richie told […]
Tag: Hollywood
Oscar winners in main categories
HOLLYWOOD, United States (AFP) — Here are the winners in key categories for the 90th Academy Awards, which were handed out on Sunday in Hollywood. “The Shape of Water” was the big winner of the night with four statuettes, including best picture and best director. Best picture: “The Shape of Water” Best director: Guillermo del Toro, “The Shape of Water” Best actor: Gary Oldman, “Darkest Hour” Best actress: Frances McDormand, “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri” […]
NBA star Kobe Bryant wins Oscar for best animated short
HOLLYWOOD, United States (AFP) — Retired basketball superstar Kobe Bryant — once the toast of Los Angeles for the Lakers — is now a Hollywood A-lister with an Oscar. Yes, you read that correctly. Nearly two years after leaving the NBA, the 39-year-old Bryant won the Academy Award for best animated short on Sunday for “Dear Basketball,” a collaboration with artist Glen Keane and legendary composer John Williams. “Thank you, Academy, for this amazing honor. […]
Five things to watch on Oscars night
by Frankie Taggart Agence France-Presse HOLLYWOOD, United States (AFP) — All eyes will be on the battle for Oscars supremacy between “The Shape of Water” and “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri” on Sunday. But if there’s one thing previous ceremonies have demonstrated, it’s that it’s a good idea never to expect the expected on Hollywood’s biggest night. Here are five things to watch for: The specter of ‘Envelopegate’ It may have been the most embarrassing […]
Video: Statue of Harvey Weinstein put on display briefly on Hollywood Boulevard
https://youtu.be/CjlOe9iMy24 In the run-up to the 2018 Oscars, a British artist briefly puts on display a statue of Harvey Weinstein, in a bathrobe on a sofa, on Hollywood Boulevard. The artist wants to denounce the culture of silence that allowed the abuse to go on for so long. “This year we’ve got Harvey Weinstein clutching an Oscar in his hands, dressed in a bathrobe, which sadly so many people had to experience,” said the artist […]
Oscar favorite Del Toro to head Venice film festival jury
ROME, Italy (AFP) — Director Guillermo del Toro, whose latest film “The Shape of Water” is tipped to win big at the Oscars, will chair the Venice Film Festival jury, organisers announced Monday. “Venice is a window to world cinema and the opportunity to celebrate its power and cultural relevance,” the Mexican director said. “The Shape of Water,” a Cold War-set story of love between a mute cleaning woman and a mystery merman-like creature, has […]
Antonio Banderas bows to destiny to play Picasso
by Laurence Thomann Agence France-Presse BUDAPEST, Hungary (AFP) — It was written in the stars that one day, Spanish star Antonio Banderas, who used to walk to school every morning past Pablo Picasso’s childhood home, would have to play the great painter. For years Malaga’s second most famous son has been turning down offers to play its greatest, knowing that he “would be looked at with a magnifying glass.” But finally, Banderas has said yes […]
‘Jumanji’ claws its way back to top of North American box office
LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) — Sony’s “Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle” managed the rare feat this weekend of regaining the No. 1 spot in North American box offices in its seventh week out, according to industry estimates. Taking in $11 million for the three-day weekend — as competition with football’s Super Bowl depressed ticket sales — “Jumanji” became the first film since “Titanic,” in 1998, to win a February weekend after a nationwide release […]
Woody Allen: prolific film legend stained by scandal
by Jennie Matthew Agence France-Presse NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — Woody Allen, the director and four-time Oscar winner known for his comedies rife with neurotic characters, is in the crosshairs of America’s sexual harassment watershed over decades-old claims that he molested his daughter. The 82-year-old New Yorker — who averages a movie a year, clocking up more than 50 titles total — is considered a comic genius by fans and envied by fellow filmmakers […]
Still sexy but now fatherly, Justin Timberlake returns
by Rob Woollard with Shaun Tandon in New York Agence France-Presse MINNEAPOLIS, United States (AFP) — Once a teen idol, then a sensual R&B singer, Justin Timberlake is keeping his mojo even as he enters his next phase as a rootsy, mature father. The superstar singer and actor is roaring back to the forefront of pop culture this weekend with a one-two punch — on Friday, the release of his first album in five years, […]
Weinstein wife’s label Marchesa cancels NY runway show
NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — Marchesa, the fashion label co-owned by Harvey Weinstein’s estranged wife Georgina Chapman and famous for clothing Hollywood starlets, has canceled its runway show at New York Fashion Week, just months after his downfall for alleged rape and sexual assault. Marchesa has been a fixture of New York’s biannual fashion week since September 2006 and had been scheduled to show on February 14 — Valentine’s Day, rather awkwardly. It was […]
Fun-loving Bruno Mars divisive in his Grammy glory
by Shaun TANDON Agence France-Presse NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — After a tumultuous political year, the Grammys took a stand for the rights of women and immigrants — but the top awards went to a singer whose mind is on sex, booze and parties. The surprise sweep by Bruno Mars has renewed criticism in quarters that the music industry’s premier prizes are out of touch with the wider world, but for fans of the […]





