What’s an awards show without a fashion rundown? Couldn’t live without that.
Actually, I could’ve included a few more splendidly dressed individuals. There were a number of close calls.
But this particular grouping genuinely seemed to represent glamour at its richest and most refined.
Here we go…
BETTY WHITE
JON HAMM & JENNIFER WESTFELDT
CHERYL HINES
NEIL PATRICK HARRIS & DAVID BURTKA
JANE LYNCH
ALAN CUMMING
CHRISTINA HENDRICKS
ANGELA KINSEY
CONNIE BRITTON
MAD MEN’S CHRISTINA HENDRICKS may have caused a flash bulb frenzy when she turned up on the red carpet at the EMMY AWARDS last night in her dusty lilac ZAC POSEN gown, but the stylish star claimed she doesn’t usually put too much thought into finding the perfect dress.
“I just go with my instinct,” she told PEOPLE at the Governor’s Ball on Sunday night, which she swung by before making an appearance at Entertainment Tonight‘s EMMY party.
“I don’t even really think about the dress I wear.”
But despite her laid back approach to public glamour, the actor and newly named face of LONDON FOG did admit that she was instantaneously enraptured when it came to her feathered frock.
“I saw it in his collection…and I was in love with it,” CHRISTINA (who was up for SUPPORTING ACTRESS in MAD MEN) revealed.
“I’ve been wanting to wear this dress – this colour – for a long time. It just reminded me of old Hollywood. All they had to do was tweak the shoulders a little bit to make sure they were the right length and it was a perfect fit!”
There’s a certain amount of stuff that gets published that’s ultimately filler or used to make up the daily quota. I always hope that it’s sufficiently entertaining and interesting to readers.
But it gets put up because something has to be.
However, every now and then an article is brought to my attention and I’m eminently jazzed to have it here at the site.
This is one of those times.
JIM’S work on THE BIG BANG THEORY is one of the finest comedic performances on television right now.
I am incredibly happy for him. Congratulations on your well deserved EMMY, JIM.
JIM PARSONS and ERIC STONESTREET – who took home the LEAD and SUPPORTING COMEDY ACTOR AWARDS at the EMMYS on Sunday – both love their mothers dearly. But only one of them will be handing over his EMMY for her to keep.
“He was so sweet,” JIM told PEOPLE after ERIC promised his mom she could take his trophy home. But JIM couldn’t quite muster the courage to follow that magnanimous gesture.
“My mother will not be getting this Emmy,” he said with a smile.
“She can visit it.”
ERIC, who based his MODERN FAMILY character Cameron partly on his mother JAMIE, was able to thank her in person. She was in the audience on Sunday.
JIM, who won for his work as Sheldon Cooper on THE BIG BANG THEORY, called his mom while on his way to the Governors Ball after the show – and found her very emotional.
“My mother sounded very good. But [she was] still crying which was really sweet. And it was over two hours since it had happened, so I hope she’s OK.”
JIM said the whole night was surreal, particularly the moment his name was called and he walked up to accept the award.
“I felt like: this could be a dream.”
He added that he doesn’t have a special place in mind for where to keep the trophy. But he has a few ideas.
“I have a bookcase. I also play the piano. I could put it on top of a piano.”
“Is that odd?”
FROM THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
I don’t watch a lot of television. It’s an impossibility now. There’s no time.
But I know what I like.
What can I say about the EMMY AWARDS telecast?
I actually watched the entire thing. Really and truly.
I was sprawled out on the floor in my best lingerie drinking ice cold Diet Dr. Pepper. My puppy was cuddled up beside me for the duration.
The BORN TO RUN opening with the GLEE kids was wild. The best thing about it was that it featured people that I didn’t expect to see, like BETTY WHITE and JON HAMM.
And my idol ANN MARGRET attended the ceremony, looking as gorgeous as ever.
As for the awards themselves…
Lovely tribute to the humanitarian of the evening GEORGE CLOONEY, who was as self deprecatingly humble and charming as always.
It’s tough in some categories where you have a number of personal favourites that you happen to be rooting for.
I was sad for STEVE CARELL, CHRISTINA HENDRICKS and ELISABETH MOSS. I can live with NEIL PATRICK HARRIS being overlooked this year because he just won an EMMY for his guest shot on GLEE.
On the other hand, I was thrilled beyond measure to see AL PACINO, DAVID STRATHAIRN, EDIE FALCO, KYRA SEDGWICK and RYAN MURPHY ascend to the podium.
I almost lost it completely when JIM PARSONS and JANE LYNCH were announced. Their victories made my night.
Though it did drag a bit during the last hour, it was a reasonably entertaining spectacle.
No major complaints from this golden haired Irish lass…
The darkly intimate 60s drama MAD MEN and the comedic romp MODERN FAMILY were the top honorees at Sunday’s EMMY AWARDS as American life past and present proved a winning formula.
The BEST COMEDY SERIES award was captured by the first year sitcom, which also won a SUPPORTING ACTOR award for ERIC STONESTREET and a BEST WRITING trophy.
MAD MEN earned its third consecutive EMMY for BEST DRAMA SERIES .
GLEE, the musical/comedy that started the night as the most nominated series, earned an acting trophy for JANE LYNCH and a directing award for creator RYAN MURPHY.
BRYAN CRANSTON’S portrayal of a meth dealer in BREAKING BAD and KYRA SEDGWICK’S performance as a brassy deputy police chief in THE CLOSER earned the pair top drama series acting awards.
BRYAN CRANSTON’S honour was his third trophy for playing a high school chemistry teacher gone wrong, while his costar AARON PAUL earned his first award as BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR for playing his partner in crime.
“During the time it took me to walk up here, I venture there were 200 text messages to the other nominees saying, ‘You were robbed.’ I cannot argue with that,” BRYAN CRANSTON said.
ARCHIE PANJABI of THE GOOD WIFE was honoured as BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS (DRAMA) for her part as a law firm’s in house private investigator, as EMMY voters spread the riches widely among veterans and fresh faces.
EDIE FALCO of NURSE JACKIE and JIM PARSONS of THE BIG BANG THEORY were honoured for their comedy series lead roles.
EDIE’S trophy for playing a tough but troubled nurse came after her hallmark turn as a mob boss’ wife in THE SOPRANOS, for which she won three BEST DRAMA ACTRESS EMMYS.
“Oh…this is the most ridiculous thing that has ever ever happened in the history of this lovely awards show. I’m not funny!” EDIE exclaimed.
JIM PARSONS won for his portrayal of the brilliant iconoclastic scientist Sheldon Cooper.
“Now I know how much I didn’t think this was going to happen. Some of you apparently voted for me. That was very sweet,” JIM told the theatre audience.
“All I wanted to be was a clown in the circus when I was a kid growing up,” stated ERIC STONESTREET, who plays a boisterous gay dad and partner. He thanked his parents for their support and promised to send his trophy home with them.
JANE LYNCH also thanked her folks along with her wife LARA EMBRY. The pair married in Massachusetts in May.
“This is outlandish…I want to thank my lord and creator Ryan Murphy for creating this role,” JANE commented, paying tribute to the GLEE executive producer.
JON STEWART’S THE DAILY SHOW won its eighth consecutive EMMY for BEST VARIETY/MUSIC SERIES.
GEORGE CLOONEY accepted the BOB HOPE HUMANITARIAN AWARD from his former ER costar JULIANNA MARGULIES, who lauded his fundraising efforts for victims of this year’s earthquake in Haiti, the 2004 tsunami in Indonesia and the September 11 terrorist attacks.
GEORGE, recalling evenings spent with Bob Hope and Dolores Hope at the home of his aunt, singer Rosemary Clooney, said he was inspired by the late comedian and his wife.
“If you look at everything they accomplished in their lives, they’re the best version of the term celebrity.”
TEMPLE GRANDIN, based on the life of the gifted autistic animal sciences expert, was honoured as BEST TV MOVIE and earned EMMYS for its star CLAIRE DANES and supporting acting trophies for DAVID STRATHAIRN and JULIA ORMOND.
AL PACINO was honoured as BEST ACTOR (MINISERIES/MOVIE) for YOU DON’T KNOW JACK, about euthanasia advocate Dr. Jack Kevorkian, who was in the audience and stood smiling at AL’S request.
THE PACIFIC, the World War II drama produced by TOM HANKS and STEVEN SPIELBERG, received the BEST MINISERIES award in a category it shared with one other nominee RETURN TO CRANFORD.
THE PACIFIC was the top nominee with 24 bids and captured a leading seven creative arts awards, which recognize technical and other achievements.
Ratings for the awards have increased importance.
The TV academy’s contract is up for renewal with the four major networks that had been airing the show in rotation for eight years and the academy hopes last year’s 8 per cent audience increase is a trend after an all time low in 2008.
The show’s live nationwide broadcast and scheduling could be factors. THE EMMYS typically have aired immediately before TV’s mid September kickoff, but NBC pushed up the awards telecast to avoid a conflict with its Sunday night NFL games that begin on September 12.
But fewer people tend to watch summertime TV and the 5 p.m. PDT pre primetime slot for THE EMMYS on the West Coast also tends to draw a smaller audience.
Here is a selected list of winners…
COMEDY SERIES: MODERN FAMILY
DRAMA SERIES: MAD MEN
VARIETY/MUSIC SERIES: THE DAILY SHOW WITH JON STEWART
MINISERIES: THE PACIFIC
TV MOVIE: TEMPLE GRANDIN
ACTRESS (COMEDY): EDIE FALCO – NURSE JACKIE
ACTOR (COMEDY): JIM PARSONS – THE BIG BANG THEORY
SUPPORTING ACTRESS (COMEDY): JANE LYNCH – GLEE
SUPPORTING ACTOR (COMEDY): ERIC STONESTREET – MODERN FAMILY
ACTRESS (DRAMA): KYRA SEDGWICK – THE CLOSER
ACTOR (DRAMA): BRYAN CRANSTON – BREAKING BAD
SUPPORTING ACTRESS (DRAMA): ARCHIE PANJABI – THE GOOD WIFE
SUPPORTING ACTOR (DRAMA): AARON PAUL – BREAKING BAD
ACTRESS (MINISERIES/MOVIE): CLAIRE DANES – TEMPLE GRANDIN
ACTOR (MINISERIES/MOVIE): AL PACINO – YOU DON’T KNOW JACK
SUPPORTING ACTRESS (MINISERIES/MOVIE): JULIA ORMOND – TEMPLE GRANDIN
SUPPORTING ACTOR (MINISERIES/MOVIE): DAVID STRATHAIRN – TEMPLE GRANDIN
DIRECTING (COMEDY SERIES): RYAN MURPHY – GLEE
ON LINE:
FROM THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Of all the old acquaintances coming to movie screens for the holidays — Rooster Cogburn, Gulliver, the Focker family, the Narnia crew — one kid with glasses stands above them all.
HARRY POTTER & THE DEATHLY HALLOWS: PART 1 is the beginning of the end for one of Hollywood’s most remarkable undertakings, a decade long dash to adapt J.K. ROWLING’S seven novels about the young wizard before DANIEL RADCLIFFE and his costars outgrow their roles.
Told in two parts, with November’s first installment followed by next July’s finale, the adaptation of Ms. Rowling’s final book sends DANIEL RADCLIFFE’S HARRY and pals HERMIONE (EMMA WATSON) and RON (RUPERT GRINT) outside the safety of Hogwarts wizardry school on a quest to bring down their nemesis, evil VOLDEMORT (RALPH FIENNES) – once and for all.
DANIEL RADCLIFFE campaigned from the start to break the story into two movies. Unlike the earlier books, which had secondary plot lines that could be omitted, DEATHLY HALLOWS had few details to drop.
“It’s just the three of them on the road and that’s what you’re focusing on. That’s where everything happens. So there’s very little you can actually cut without changing the story,” DANIEL commented.
“There was no way you could do justice to the book and really capture the story in one film unless you made that film six hours.”
“And while I know there are some fans that would be quite happy to have a six hour Harry Potter film, we do want to make films not just for the huge fans of the books, but also for the other people, regular cinemagoers, who perhaps haven’t read them.”
“So it was essential to make it palatable for everyone, while also remaining true to the book – and to do that, you have to make it into two films.”
Here’s a look at highlights among other films debuting for the holidays this November and December.
FAMILY STUFF
THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: THE VOYAGE OF THE DAWN TREADER resumes C.S. LEWIS’ fantasy adventure, with the Pevensie youths reteaming with King Caspian on a perilous sea journey.
FUNNY STUFF
Father in law ROBERT DE NIRO and son in law BEN STILLER are at odds again in LITTLE FOCKERS, the third chapter in the MEET THE PARENTS franchise, with fresh mayhem erupting at a family gathering.
Also on the comedy front…
DIANE KEATON, HARRISON FORD and RACHEL McADAMS star in MORNING GLORY, about bickering hosts of a morning TV news show.
ROMANTIC STUFF
JOHNNY DEPP and ANGELINA JOLIE star in THE TOURIST, a romantic thriller about a heartbroken man swept up in intrigue in Italy after a mystery woman thrusts her way into his life.
BLUE VALENTINE casts RYAN GOSLING and MICHELLE WILLIAMS in a drama that cuts back and forth between two people’s hopeful beginnings and the agonizing disintegration of their marriage.
SERIOUS STUFF
HELEN MIRREN does Shakespearean sorcery and hard boiled espionage with a pair of December releases.
JULIE TAYMOR’S gender bending THE TEMPEST casts Ms. Mirren in a traditionally male role as a woman who conjures a storm to shipwreck enemies on her island home, where she aims to settle old scores.
THE DEBT, from SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE director JOHN MADDEN, features HELEN and AVATAR headliner SAM WORTHINGTON in a thriller about Mossad agents chasing a Nazi butcher.
Among other holiday dramas…
COLIN FIRTH plays Britain’s monarch George VI, father of the current queen, as a therapist (GEOFFREY RUSH) tries to help him overcome a speech impediment in THE KING’S SPEECH.
NATALIE PORTMAN’S a ballet dancer whose dark side emerges as she competes with a rival in BLACK SWAN.
CHRISTIAN BALE and MARK WAHLBERG are sibling boxers who team for triumph in the ring in THE FIGHTER.
SOFIA COPPOLA (LOST IN TRANSLATION) directs SOMEWHERE, the story of a party boy actor (STEPHEN DORFF) reassessing his life during a visit from his daughter (ELLE FANNING).
NAOMI WATTS and SEAN PENN star in FAIR GAME, a drama about CIA operative VALERIE PLAME, whose cover was blown by a Bush administration leak.
To prepare, NAOMI went to spy boot camp, where she was handcuffed, hooded, confined in a box, struck with canes and put through other ordeals to familiarize herself with Ms. Plame’s world.
“The first day, I said, ‘Ow,’ when somebody kicked me on the shins, and the trainer said — he always would sound so fierce and angry, like these beady eyes and tight lips — great trainer, ‘Don’t be making any complaints unless you want to go to hospital. And we can go to hospital, but I don’t want to humiliate you,‘” NAOMI remarked.
“So it was like, ‘Oh my God. I better really toughen up here.‘”
MUSICAL STUFF
The animated musical TANGLED features MANDY MOORE providing the voice of long haired Rapunzel, the fairy tale princess trapped in a tower.
GWYNETH PALTROW and TIM McGRAW star in COUNTRY STRONG, the story of a fallen country star hoping to revive her career on a tour with a rising songwriter (GARRETT HEDLUND).
ACTION STUFF
DENZEL WASHINGTON and director TONY SCOTT’S latest collaboration is UNSTOPPABLE. DENZEL’S a railroad engineer who teams with a conductor (STAR TREK star CHRIS PINE) to put the brakes on a runaway train carrying deadly toxins.
Also in the action lineup…
RUSSELL CROWE stars in THE NEXT THREE DAYS as a man plotting a prison break after his wife (ELIZABETH BANKS) is jailed for murder.
JEFF BRIDGES resurrects two Hollywood heroes with TRON: LEGACY, a follow up to his 1982 sci fi adventure TRON and JOEL and ETHAN COEN’S TRUE GRIT, a remake of the JOHN WAYNE western.
TRON: LEGACY casts JEFF’S video game genius back into a dazzling cyber realm, where his son (GARRETT HEDLUND) follows to find his missing father.
In TRUE GRIT, which costars MATT DAMON, JEFF plays Rooster Cogburn, a boozy, take no prisoners law enforcer hired by a girl to track down her father’s murderer.
The two films, which open barely a week apart in December, sent JEFF back and forth between a visual effects extravaganza and 19th century sets.
“It was really crazy. The big swing was, after True Grit, we shot some work on Tron: Legacy and it was maybe a one day difference. Just right to it,” commented JEFF, who had the same makeup artist on both shoots.
“One minute, he was putting all this dust on me, combing my beard…and the next he’s putting dots on my face to do some special effects.”
It’s been an exceptionally glorious summer.
I will miss the beautiful weather and the scorching heat. But, regardless of dates, all of that shimmering golden warmth may continue on for quite some time.
Our Friday musical highlight is ICE CREAM MAN by VAN HALEN.
A penny for my thoughts? Not a chance in hell. You couldn’t get a sweetly soft incendiary articulation out of me if you paid me millions.
That’s just the way it has to be.
Have fun, kids. But be careful. Don’t let things get out of hand.
It’s time for me to exit. Stage left….
FROM THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Here are highlights of the fall film slate. Dates are subject to change and some films will play in limited release.
SEPTEMBER
THE AMERICAN: GEORGE CLOONEY plays an assassin who finds romance and tranquility in the Italian countryside as he prepares for one last assignment.
BURIED: An American driver (RYAN REYNOLDS) in Iraq wakes up buried in a coffin with only a dying cellphone and a lighter.
JACK GOES BOATING: PHILIP SEYMOUR HOFFMAN directs and stars as an awkward limo driver who finds the prospect of romance with another shy soul (AMY RYAN).
LEE DANIELS PRESENTS: PRINCE OF BROADWAY: PRECIOUS director LEE DANIELS is a producer on this tale of a street hustler suddenly faced with fatherhood.
LIKE DANDELION DUST: MIRA SORVINO stars in a drama of a custody dispute between the biological parents of a 4 year old boy and the people that adopted him.
LOVELY, STILL: A lonely old man (MARTIN LANDAU) gets a fresh taste of romance with a mystery woman (ELLEN BURSTYN).
MACHETE: A Mexican ex police officer (Danny Trejo) seeks vengeance against the organization that betrayed him. With ROBERT DE NIRO and JESSICA ALBA.
THE TOWN: BEN AFFLECK directs and stars as a bank robber who falls for a woman (REBECCA HALL) his gang took hostage on their last job.
WALL STREET: MONEY NEVER SLEEPS: MICHAEL DOUGLAS and OLIVER STONE resurrect financial shark Gordon Gekko amid the 2008 meltdown. With SHIA LaBEOUF.
YOU AGAIN: A woman and her mother (KRISTEN BELL and JAMIE LEE CURTIS) face their old high school rivals at a family wedding. With SIGOURNEY WEAVER.
YOU WILL MEET A TALL DARK STRANGER: WOODY ALLEN’S latest stars NAOMI WATTS, ANTHONY HOPKINS, ANTONIO BANDERAS and JOSH BROLIN in a tale of messy relationships.
OCTOBER
THE COMPANY MEN: A sales executive (BEN AFFLECK) copes with hard times after his company downsizes. With TOMMY LEE JONES, KEVIN COSTNER.
CONVICTION: HILARY SWANK stars as a woman on an 18 year crusade to clear her brother (SAM ROCKWELL) on a murder conviction.
HEREAFTER: MATT DAMON stars in CLINT EASTWOOD’S drama about an American, Frenchwoman and London boy whose lives cross after they’re touched by death.
LET ME IN: A troubled boy (Kodi Smit McPhee) finds friendship with a young vampire (CHLOE MORETZ) in an adaptation of the best seller LET THE RIGHT ONE IN.
LIFE AS WE KNOW IT: A quarrelsome pair (KATHERINE HEIGL and JOSH DUHAMEL) must set aside their differences to care for their orphaned goddaughter.
NOWHERE BOY: Young JOHN LENNON (AARON JOHNSON) suffers through mother issues in the formative years of THE BEATLES. With KRISTIN SCOTT THOMAS.
RED: Former agents (BRUCE WILLIS, MORGAN FREEMAN, HELEN MIRREN and JOHN MALKOVICH) are caught in a deadly pursuit as they seek to uncover a CIA conspiracy.
SECRETARIAT: DIANE LANE stars as the woman who pushed the legendary horse to a Triple Crown victory in 1973. With JOHN MALKOVICH.
THE SOCIAL NETWORK: Director DAVID FINCHER chronicles the drama behind the founding of Facebook. With Jesse Eisenberg and Justin Timberlake.
STONE: A prison inmate (EDWARD NORTON) uses his wife (MILLA JOVOVICH) to manipulate a parole officer (ROBERT DE NIRO).
TAMARA DREWE: STEPHEN FREARS directs a British pastoral romp about a writer (Gemma Arterton) whose homecoming sends her village into an uproar.
WILD TARGET: An assassin (BILL NIGHY) picks up an apprentice (RUPERT GRINT) and falls for an intended victim (EMILY BLUNT) in this British crime comedy.
NOVEMBER
BURLESQUE: A restaurant server (Christina Aguilera) aspires to take the stage at the flashy lounge where she works. With CHER, STANLEY TUCCI, KRISTEN BELL, JULIANNE HOUGH.
FAIR GAME: NAOMI WATTS and SEAN PENN star in a drama about CIA operative VALERIE PLAME, whose cover was blown by a Bush administration leak.
HARRY POTTER & THE DEATHLY HALLOWS: PART 1: The teen wizard (Daniel Radcliffe) hits the highway en route for his final showdown with the evil Voldemort.
THE KING’S SPEECH: Queen Elizabeth II’s dad, King George VI (COLIN FIRTH), works with a therapist (GEOFFREY RUSH) to overcome a speech impediment.
LOVE & OTHER DRUGS: A slick Viagra salesperson (JAKE GYLLENHAAL) falls for a free spirited woman (ANNE HATHAWAY).
MADE IN DAGENHAM: Women at a British Ford plant fight for the same pay as male coworkers in the 1960s. With SALLY HAWKINS, BOB HOSKINS.
MORNING GLORY: A tough newsperson (HARRISON FORD) and an ex beauty queen (DIANE KEATON) clash after a TV producer (RACHEL McADAMS) pairs them as morning news hosts.
THE NEXT THREE DAYS: A man (RUSSELL CROWE) plots to break his wife (ELIZABETH BANKS) out of prison after she’s convicted in a murder she claims she didn’t commit.
TANGLED: MANDY MOORE provides the voice of Rapunzel in an animated musical about the fairy tale teen with really long hair.
UNSTOPPABLE: Denzel Washington and Chris Pine try to hit the brakes on a runaway train loaded with deadly toxins. Tony Scott directs.
DECEMBER
ANOTHER YEAR: MIKE LEIGH directs an ensemble tale of friends and relations struggling for love and connections. With JIM BROADBENT.
BLACK SWAN: A ballet dancer (NATALIE PORTMAN) finds her dark side emerging in competition with a rival (MILA KUNIS) for the lead in SWAN LAKE.
BLUE VALENTINE: RYAN GOSLING and MICHELLE WILLIAMS star in a drama about the hopeful beginning and agonizing disintegration of a marriage.
THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: THE VOYAGE OF THE DAWN TREADER: C.S. LEWIS’ fantasy series continues aboard a magical sea voyage. With TILDA SWINTON.
COUNTRY STRONG: GWYNETH PALTROW plays a fallen country star aiming to revive her career on a tour with a rising songwriter (Garrett Hedlund). With TIM McGRAW.
THE DEBT: HELEN MIRREN and SAM WORTHINGTON star in a thriller about a Mossad agent taking care of unfinished business involving a Nazi butcher.
THE FIGHTER: MARK WAHLBERG and CHRISTIAN BALE star in a boxing drama about brothers going in opposite directions who rally to triumph in the ring.
GULLIVER’S TRAVELS: JACK BLACK is Jonathan Swift’s wandering hero in a modern take on Gulliver’s visit to the tiny people of Lilliput. With Emily Blunt.
HOW DO YOU KNOW: REESE WITHERSPOON, OWEN WILSON, PAUL RUDD and JACK NICHOLSON star in a comedy about a woman torn between her ballplayer boyfriend and a new man.
LITTLE FOCKERS: ROBERT DE NIRO and BEN STILLER resume their uneasy in law relationship in the latest in the MEET THE PARENTS franchise.
MIRAL: A Palestinian girl struggles through her youth in war torn East Jerusalem. With FREIDA PINTO, WILLEM DAFOE and VANESSA REDGRAVE.
NIGHT CATCHES US: A former Black Panther (ANTHONY MACKIE) has an uneasy homecoming to his old neighbourhood in 1976. With KERRY WASHINGTON.
SOMEWHERE: Director SOFIA COPPOLA spins the story of a party boy actor (STEPHEN DORFF) reassessing his life when his daughter (ELLE FANNING) comes to visit.
THE TEMPEST: In a gender switch, HELEN MIRREN stars as sorcerer Prospera in director JULIE TAYMOR’S take on SHAKESPEARE’S island fantasy.
THE TOURIST: JOHNNY DEPP and ANGELINA JOLIE star in a thriller about a brokenhearted man swept up in danger on a visit to Italy.
TRON: LEGACY: JEFF BRIDGES reprises his role from 1982′s TRON as a video game genius whose son (Garrett Hedlund) ventures into a cyber realm to find his dad.
TRUE GRIT: JEFF BRIDGES is boozy law enforcer Rooster Cogburn in JOEL and ETHAN COEN’S remake of the JOHN WAYNE western. With MATT DAMON.
YOGI BEAR: DAN AYKROYD and JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE provide the voices of Yogi and his pal Boo Boo in a big screen take on the cartoon bear.
CHRISTINA HENDRICKS’ MAD MEN character Joan Harris brings sass and seduction to the AMC hit show. Now the sultry redhead is lending her sex appeal to LONDON FOG.
CHRISTINA is starring in the label’s fall 2010 ad campaign.
“London Fog is a classic brand which I love. It also ties into Mad Men. We used London Fog in the show and this was a nice way to tie everything together,” the EMMY nominated actor said of the outerwear label.
“The trench is such an iconic shape for men and women. It worked in the 60s and it works now.”
And it was CHRISTINA’S own timeless glamour and sophistication that landed her the role, according to the label.
“Christina has a modern appeal but also harks back to a bygone era,” added the brand’s chief marketing officer Dari Marder.
Shot by Nino Muñoz, the elegant ads feature CHRISTINA posing provocatively in LONDON FOG coats and accessories and are set to debut in October fashion and lifestyle magazines as well as outdoors and on line.
FROM THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Directors FRANCIS FORD COPPOLA and JEAN LUC GODARD, actor ELI WALLACH and historian KEVIN BROWNLOW are this year’s recipients of the GOVERNOR’S AWARDS from THE ACADEMY OF MOTION PICTURE ARTS & SCIENCES.
Mr. Coppola will receive the IRVING G. THALBERG AWARD, with Monsieur Godard, Mr. Wallach and Mr. Brownlow receiving honorary OSCARS. The prizes will be given at a dinner on NOVEMBER 13.
Mr. Coppola, the director of THE GODFATHER TRILOGY, is all ready a five time OSCAR winner. Through his AMERICAN ZOETROPE studio, which he established in 1969, he has produced more than 30 films, including THE BLACK STALLION, AMERICAN GRAFFITI and LOST IN TRANSLATION, which earned his daughter SOFIA an ACADEMY AWARD nomination for BEST DIRECTOR.
Monsieur Godard is a key figure in the French New Wave who wrote about films before making shorts of his own. His 1960 feature debut, the crime drama BREATHLESS, is a hugely influential example of the movement. He also directed CONTEMPT with BRIGITTE BARDOT in 1963.
He’s credited with helping shape contemporary directors such as MARTIN SCORSESE, STEVEN SODERBERGH and QUENTIN TARANTINO.
Mr. Wallach is a longtime character actor who has appeared in THE MISFITS, HOW TO STEAL A MILLION, CINDERELLA LIBERTY, NUTS, THE GODFATHER PART III and THE GOOD, THE BAD & THE UGLY. He’s also in OLIVER STONE’S upcoming WALL STREET sequel, WALL STREET: MONEY NEVER SLEEPS.
Mr. Brownlow, an author and documentarian, is considered the preeminent historian of the silent film era and a preservationist.
The THALBERG AWARD, which is a bust of the film executive, goes to “a creative producer whose body of work reflects a consistently high quality of motion picture production.”
Honorary OSCARS are given for “extraordinary distinction in lifetime achievement, exceptional contributions to the state of motion picture arts and sciences or for outstanding service to the Academy.”
FROM THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
WOODY ALLEN said that he began shooting movies in European cities because he couldn’t afford to do it any more in New York.
However, the American film director told reporters today in the northern Spanish city of Oviedo that he finds Manhattan poses fewer limitations than European communities, where more tailoring of the story is required to fit the location.
WOODY was in Spain to attend the premiere of his latest film, the romantic comedy YOU WILL MEET A TALL DARK STRANGER in nearby Aviles.
The film was shot in London and stars NAOMI WATTS, ANTHONY HOPKINS and ANTONIO BANDERAS. At the news conference in Oviedo, WOODY was joined by Lucy Punch and Gemma Jones, who are also in the film.
WOODY has recently been in France shooting his next movie MIDNIGHT IN PARIS.
He hit out at American cinema saying the majority of films over the past decade had been made just for money and lacked creative spirit. In comparison, he said European films are much more artistic.
He also praised Spanish actors saying they were now among the most accomplished and versatile, singling out ANTONIO in this film as well as JAVIER BARDEM and PENELOPE CRUZ, with whom he worked in his 2008 movie VICKY CRISTINA BARCELONA.
“I’m lucky I got to work with the very best ones,” commented WOODY, who said he could not afford to pay actors much but that they appeared in his films because they liked to act.
On Monday WOODY – who is in Oviedo with his wife SOON YI PREVIN – took part in a promotional video for the Asturias region, known for its stunning mountains and coastal scenery.
