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  • Charlize Theron Stuns in Striking Gown With Deep Plunging Neckline at Oscars

    Charlize Theron outdid herself on the Oscars red carpet Sunday, and that’s not an easy thing to do. Always gorgeous on any red carpet she walks, the Mad Max: Fury Road star stunned those who caught her entrance.

    Wearing a crimson Christian Dior gown, with a neckline that plunged to her navel, Charlize Theron rocked the style that ended with a mermaid bottom.

    Even though Charlize Theron wasn’t an Academy Award nominee, her recent film, Mad Max: Fury Road–for which the blonde beauty even shaved her head, received several Oscars.

    Throughout the exciting evening, Charlize Theron posed for pictures with several A-listers, including Lady Gaga, Emily Blunt, and Jennifer Lawrence.

    Did it surprise you to learn Charlize Theron wasn’t a nominee at Sunday’s Oscars?

    Did seeing her in that gorgeous Christian Dior gown make up for that in any way?

  • Jacob Tremblay Poised and Articulate on Oscars Red Carpet, Thrilled With Brie Larson Win

    Jacob Tremblay, the adorable nine-year-old actor who starred alongside Brie Larson in Room, was poised and confident on the Oscars red carpet on Sunday.

    During a red carpet interview with Entertainment Weekly, Jacob Tremblay assured viewers he firmly believed Brie Larson would win in the Best Actress category. The little boy is certainly far more articulate than most nine-year-olds.

    “I’ll stand up on the chair and I’ll cheer like ‘Yes!,’” he predicted.

    While Jacob Tremblay didn’t wind up standing on his chair, the look on his precious face was priceless when Brie Larson’s name was announced for the win. He hugged his on screen mom fiercely before she took the stage to accept her award.

    Decked out in an Armani Junior tuxedo, there wasn’t anyone in the room on Sunday who could compete with Jacob Tremblay’s dashing appearance.

  • Priyanka Chopra: “Quantico” Star to Present at Oscars

    Priyanka Chopra, best known for her role on the hit ABC show Quantico, is in L.A., where she traveled from her home in Montreal. She will serve as one of the many presenters at Sunday’s Oscars.

    She shared her travels with her social media followers.

    “Staring into the sun… LA bound… Long flight! Yes! #Oscars,” Priyanka Chopra captioned a selfie, as she stared out the window of the plane.

    Less than an hour ago, Priyanka Chopra shared her view from the stage at her rehearsal for Sunday’s event.

    View from the stage! Rehearsals !! #Oscars good luck @chrisrock tomorrow will be so fun! #goodluckChris

    A photo posted by Priyanka Chopra (@priyankachopra) on

    Even more recently, the Bollywood star said she was heading off from some pre-Oscars R & R.

    “I dream in gold… #Oscars rehearsals.. Now time for some much needed TLC! Spaaaaa,” Priyanka Chopra captioned this photo.

    Unless you’re attending tomorrow’s Academy Awards, you likely won’t see Priyanka Chopra again until she takes the stage to present someone with a very coveted award.

    Just in case you think you’ll miss her between now and then, the actress wanted to make sure her fans would be ok.

    Spa time but selfie first!! Just

    A photo posted by Priyanka Chopra (@priyankachopra) on

    Are you a Quantico fan? Will you check out Priyanka Chopra tomorrow night at the Oscars to see her present an award?

  • Daisy Ridley to Make Oscars Debut as Presenter on Sunday

    Daisy Ridley will make her Oscars debut on Sunday, when she serves as a presenter at the Academy Awards. The Star Wars: The Force Awakens star is experiencing some jitters, however, ahead of the big day. She says in an interview with E! News she plans to sandpaper the bottoms of her shoes before the event.

    “I don’t want to ice skate down the red carpet. Imagine how awful that would be?” Daisy Ridley explains. “I’m thinking about all the worst possibilities that could happen—like, I could trip or say something wrong or trip as I’m walking up to the stage. Hopefully, it will all be fine.”

    In preparation for the Oscars, Daisy Ridley did what all celebrities do–she chose her attire.

    “I looked at a few dresses, I picked my favorite and that’s the one I’m wearing,” she says. “It’s a gorgeous dress and gorgeous jewelry and I’ll have people making me up, making me look better.”

    There won’t be much of a break for Daisy Ridley, who arrived in the U.S. from the U.K. on Monday. She will head back to the U.K. the morning after the Oscars, where she will return to filming Star Wars: Episode VIII, reprising her role as Rey.

    “It’s a weird little break,” she says, “but it’s very exciting.”

    It will be very exciting to see Daisy Ridley presenting at the Academy Awards on Sunday, too. Will you be tuning in to see the Star Wars: The Force Awakens star?

  • Alicia Vikander Called ‘Force of Nature’ By ‘Danish Girl’ Co-Star Eddie Redmayne

    Alicia Vikander has probably been called many things, but it was her Danish Girl co-star Eddie Redmayne who may have captured her true nature.

    The Oscar-winning actor said in a behind-the-scenes clip for the film that he credits Vikander, 27, for taking his performance to the next level.

    “She’s a force of nature,” he said. “She’s just the most extraordinary talent. She has this deep, visceral relationship with her emotions. She challenged me to step up my game continuously.

    Both Vikander and Redmayne have received high accolades for their respective roles in the film about a transgender woman who undergoes a sex-reassignment surgery and both have received Oscar nods for their emotional performances.

    Based on a true story, The Danish Girl tells the story of Lili, an artist torn by the societal norms and restrictions of the early 20th century while trying to transition from male to female.”

    Vikander, who plays Lili’s wife Gerda, told People magazine that she was drawn to the courage exemplified by the characters.

    “I was always just touched by the very, extremely, complex, difficult journey that they go on,” she said. “To be able to work so closely with Eddie and Tom [Hopper] was quite extraordinary.”

    Vikander took home a Screen Actors Guild Award for her turn in Ex Machina and is considered a frontrunner to go home with an Oscar for The Danish Girl on Sunday night.

    The Danish Girl is available for digital download and arrives on Blu-ray/DVD March 1.

  • Sylvester Stallone Considered Boycotting Oscars, “Creed” Director Told Him to Go

    Sylvester Stallone Considered Boycotting Oscars, “Creed” Director Told Him to Go

    Sylvester Stallone grappled with boycotting the Oscars in light of the lack of diversity shown by Academy voters this year. After receiving his nomination for Best Supporting Actor for his role in Creed, he decided to ask his director his thoughts on the boycott.

    Director Ryan Coogler is African-American, but he didn’t want Sylvester Stallone to boycott the event.

    “I spoke with Ryan Coogler when this happened. I said, ‘Ryan how do you want to handle this? Because I really believe you are responsible for me being here,’” Stallone said. “I said, ‘If you don’t want me to go, I won’t.’ He said, ‘I want you to go.’ That’s the kind of guy he is. He wanted me to stand up for the film.”

    There are some who believe Ryan Coogler, as well as Creed and its leading actor, Michael B. Jordan, were snubbed.

    Sylvester Stallone holds out hope that the Oscars will become more diverse in the coming years.

    “It’s a matter of time. Eventually, all talent will rise to the top. It’s a matter of getting a new paradigm, a new way of thinking,” he said.

    Will you tune in to the Oscars on February 28? Do you expect Sylvester Stallone will win an Academy Award for his role in Creed?

  • Lupita Nyong’o Joins Call For Oscars Change

    Lupita Nyong’o has added her voice to a rising chorus of actors and actresses that are calling for more diversity when it comes to the Academy Awards.

    Joining those like Jada Pinkett Smith, who will be boycotting this year’s Oscars, Lupita Nyong’o posted a statement to Instagram.

    Part of Lupita Nyong’o’s statement read, “It has me thinking about unconscious prejudice and what merits prestige in our culture. The Awards should not dictate the terms of art in our modern society, but rather be a diverse reflection of the best of what our art has to offer today.”

    However, Lupita Nyong’o didn’t say whether or not she would be boycotting the Oscars this year.

    Jada Pinkett Smith posted a video to Facebook earlier this week in which she said, in part, “Maybe it’s time we pull back our resources and we put them back into our communities, and we make programs for ourselves that acknowledge us in ways that we see fit, that are just as good as the so-called mainstream.”

    We must stand in our power.

    Posted by Jada Pinkett Smith on Monday, January 18, 2016

    However, not all African-American actors are jumping on board. One who disagrees with the outrage, for example, is Janet Hubert. Hubert played Will Smith’s Aunt Vivian on Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.

    Be forewarned, there is some NSFW language:

    To the Smiths!

    Posted by Janet Hubert on Monday, January 18, 2016

    What do you think about the push back by actors like Lupita Nyong’o and Jada Pinkett Smith?

  • Academy Awards Diversity Tension Diffused By “Glory” Performance And Speeches On Social Issues?

    The Academy Awards, which aired Sunday night, were shroud in tension even before the stars began walking that red carpet.

    The lack of racial diversity that was glaringly apparent among this year’s nominees threatened to ruin the Academy Awards this year.

    In fact, there were protests scheduled to take place before Selma director, Ava Duvernay, asked that they be called off.

    All 20 of the actor nominees were white.

    This spurred Academy Awards host, Neil Patrick Harris, to jokingly announce the nominees as Hollywood’s “best and whitest…sorry, brightest.”

    As far as the Oscars’ exclusive history, Darnell Hunt, a UCLA professor and director of the Ralph J. Bunche Center for African American Studies and co-author of a 2014 diversity report on the film and TV industries, says it’s nothing new.

    “I was surprised but then I wasn’t,” he said.

    He added, “What we saw in terms of the nominations this year was business as usual. What we got was more or less an accurate reflection of the way the industry is structured and the way the academy is populated.”

    However, despite all the pre-Academy Awards tension, it seems the joking of the host, the social quips from winners, and an incredibly stirring performance of the song “Glory” from Selma by John Legend and Common, eased the friction a little bit.

    Christopher Sharrett, a film professor at Seton Hall University, managed to put the situation in a nutshell, “The ceremony managed to genuflect toward social issues … when the bets were that it wouldn’t, given the under-recognition of Selma.”

    Especially effective was the performance of “Glory”.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U0FJy67C3pw

    Charles Bernstein, one of three music governors for the academy, said of the performance, “I really thought the standing ovation given to ‘Glory’ was the academy acknowledging that it was in error for not nominating [actor] David Oyelowo, or [director] Ava DuVernay for Selma.”

    But it meant so much more than that. The Academy Awards audience was treated to John Legend’s acceptance speech after the song won for best original song.

    In it he said, “Once a landmark of a divided nation, the spirit of this bridge is now for all people regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation or social status. This bridge was built on hope and welded with compassion.”

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8F3g6lkKleY

    He added, “We wrote this film for events that happened 50 years ago but we say that Selma is now. We live in the most incarcerated country in the world. There are more black men incarcerated today than were in slavery in 1850.”

    The attention given to social issues really seemed to make the Academy Awards meaningful when all thought that the night would be a contentious white-out.

    What did you think about the Academy Awards? Do you think the jokes, speeches, and “Glory” helped soothe tensions?

  • Lady Gaga Dominated Oscars Social Media Chatter

    The most talked-about moment of Sunday night’s Academy Awards wasn’t an actual award announcement – it was a musical performance.

    Lady Gaga’s unanimously-praised performance of a Sound of Music medley garnered the most social media chatter during the broadcast – both on Facebook and Twitter.

    According to Facebook, Lady Gaga’s The Sound of Music medley and Julie Andrews’ appearance onstage hit 214K People Per Minute (PPM) globally and 154K PPM in the US. It beat out other buzzed-about moments like The Imitation Game winning Best Adapted Screenplay, Eddie Redmayne winning Best Actor, and even Birdman‘s win for Best Picture.

    Post by Celebs on Facebook.

    And over on Twitter, Lady Gaga’s performance saw the biggest spike in Tweets per minute. @LadyGaga was also the most-mentioned celeb of the night.

    Check out her performance below. Was it your favorite part of last night’s Oscars?

  • Faith Hill and Tim McGraw Debut Matching Hairstyles Before McGraw Offers Moving Tribute to Glen Campbell

    Faith Hill and Tim McGraw attended the Oscars ceremony Sunday, looking gorgeous as ever sporting matching short, blond hair styles.

    The first couple of country stole the show on the Oscars red carpet with their non-stop adorable PDA and that new look.

    Faith Hill and Tim McGraw have been married for 18 years and the spark between them was still very much evident on the red carpet. Their sleek new short dos made them look very chic and classy.

    “She looks pretty hot, huh?” Tim McGraw asked ABC’s Lara Spencer after the reporter complimented Faith Hill’s hair on the red carpet. “I married up.”

    Once inside the Dolby Theatre, Tim McGraw offered a moving performance of veteran country singer Glen Campbell’s I’m Not Gonna Miss You on his behalf.

    The song, written by Glen Campbell and Julian Raymond, was nominated for best original song, from Campbell’s biographical film Glen Campbell: I’ll Be Me, which documents the legendary country singer’s battle with Alzheimer’s disease on his final tour.

    Glen Campbell was unable to attend the Oscars due to his health.


    Tim McGraw – I'm Not Gonna Miss You Performance… by uploader1473

  • Jennifer Hudson to Perform at the Oscars

    Jennifer Hudson to Perform at the Oscars

    Jennifer Hudson will perform at this year’s Oscars. The Academy announced that the Dreamgirls star will be singing for the big event.

    “We’re creating several musical sequences for the Oscars and we couldn’t be happier that our friend, Jennifer Hudson, will be performing in one of them,” the show’s producers, Craig Zadan and Neil Meron, said.

    Hudson is excited about her upcoming performance, and shared that excitement with her fans via Twitter.

    Hudson was actually full of good news on Wednesday–some that even rivals being asked to perform at the Oscars, too.

    That’s not the only news Jennifer Hudson was excited about sharing either. She has a new album available on iTunes.

    Fans are no doubt thrilled to learn all this good news about and from Jennifer Hudson all in the same day. They can not only download her new album, but can look forward to seeing her perform live on TV at the Academy Awards later on this month. And if they don’t mind waiting until next fall, they can see her on Broadway in an Oprah Winfrey-back revival of The Color Purple, too.

    Neil Patrick Harris is hosting the Oscars this year. Last year’s host was Ellen DeGeneres. Which of the two do you think will make the better host?

    Are you a Jennifer Hudson fan? Will you be tuning in to the Oscars on February 22nd at 7:00 PM ET on ABC to see and hear her perform?

  • Julianne Moore: ‘Still Alice’ Star Walks Red Carpet With Family

    Julianne Moore, star of the newly released film Still Alice, walked the red carpet at an event in her honor at the Museum of the Moving Image, flanked by her husband and children. Moore plays a professor in the new film–one who is losing her memory to early Alzheimer’s. Julianne Moore lost nothing during this event, however, instead gaining the gratitude of those privileged to not only meet the actress, but her beautiful family, too.

    Moore was joined on the red carpet on New York City’s Upper East Side on Tuesday by her husband, director Bart Freundlich, as well as son Caleb, who is 17, and daughter Liv, who is 12.

    As anyone in attendance at the event could see, Caleb and Liv’s fair coloring and red tresses are hand-me-downs from Julianne Moore. Both children bear striking resemblances to their mother.

    In addition to posing for pictures on the carpet, Julianne Moore and her family also snuggled together inside—at both the dinner table and around the ballroom, too. One photographer even captured a sweet moment between Liv and her father, where she rested her head on his shoulder.

    Moore was lauded at the event by Ethan Hawke and Sarah Paulson.

    Of course Julianne Moore was asked about her Oscar nomination for Best Actress for Still Alice while at the event. That’s the number one topic on everyone’s mind when they hear her name, after all. Her comments on the topic were humble. Moore also received an Oscar nod for her role in Maps to the Stars.

    “You know what? I think you have to be grateful for everything that comes your way. It’s never a guarantee—you never even know if people are going to see your movie. So the fact that we’ve got this much attention, it’s really incredible,” she said.

    It seems like family life is front and center for Julianne Moore. Many actors claim they can have a career and a family life, too, but don’t always practice what they preach. It was plain to see from the love exuded on behalf of all of Julianne Moore’s family members that it’s the real deal with them.

  • Sienna Miller Humbled by ‘American Sniper’ Opportunity

    Sienna Miller was humbled by the opportunity she felt she received when awarded the role of Taya Kyle in the Oscar-nominated film American Sniper. She admits it’s hard to say no when Clint Eastwood asks you to play a role in a film he is directing.

    “I would have been happy to make the tea on Clint’s set much less be a part of the actual film,” Miller said during a recent interview with WGAL. “He’s phenomenal. As a young girl dreaming of being an actress, he’s one of the people I dreamed of working with. I still can’t believe this has all happened.”

    American Sniper opened in theaters nationwide this weekend. It is based on the best-selling novel of the same name by Chris Kyle (played in the film by Bradley Cooper), and tells the true story of the Navy SEAL who is credited with being the most prolific sniper in American military history. The film received six Oscar nods this past Thursday, including Best Picture, Best Actor for Bradley Cooper and Best Adapted Screenplay.

    Sienna Miller–in her role as Taya Kyle–plays a wife who stands by her husband’s side throughout four incredibly dangerous tours of duty, She found herself overwhelmingly challenged by the emotional and psychological effects the war had on him when he returned home to her and their two children.

    “Ultimately, the title is American Sniper, and it is a story about Chris Kyle, but I think his and Taya’s relationship is a huge part of the book and the film,” Sienna Miller said. “I do think by looking at the relationship, it grounds the war. It helps you find the human behind the Navy SEAL. It shows what the man faced while trying to raise a family and be a husband, but it also shows the immense sense of duty he felt to serve his country when he wasn’t in active service. He felt that there were people dying that probably wouldn’t be dying if he had been there. I think that dynamic is really interesting, because his relationship with his family was a huge part of his life and was well-represented in the film.”

    Sienna Miller worked closely with Taya Kyle–Chris Kyle’s now-widow–during production of the film.

    “Taya is so unbelievably open, and so wanted this film to be a good representation of his and Chris’ relationship. She was just the easiest woman to talk to and so generous,” Miller said. “She kept all of their email correspondence while he was on his tours, and let Bradley and I have access to them. There were hundreds of really interesting emails, and she let us go through them so we could get a sense of what their relationship was like.”

    “Of course, there were questions you have to ask and you have to be really forensic in your examination of someone if you want to do them justice, but at the same time, she never made me feel uncomfortable at all,” Sienna Miller continued. “She said, ‘Just ask me anything. I want to help. I want you to get this right. Please don’t be shy or worry about me getting upset.’ She told me almost everything, and we became really close as a result of that. So, while by nature I feel uncomfortable to ask those sorts of questions, I felt I had to serve the film and serve the performance and do my work.”

    Chris Kyle, as most people now know, died in 2013–shot down at a gun range in Texas. At the time of his death, the former Seal was being sued by Jesse Ventura, the former Minnesota governor and ex-professional wrestler, over claims in the book that Kyle punched him in a 2006 bar fight over unpatriotic remarks. That suit was transferred to Taya Kyle after Chris died.

    “I have such a new-found respect not only for the men and women in the military and who are serving in combat, but the spouses left behind,” Sienna Miller said. “I think in a way they’re making as much of a sacrifice because it’s impossible to raise a family and not know every day whether your husband is going to live or die. It has to be an unbelievable situation to find yourself in. Of course, Taya Kyle understood who her husband was, but at the same time, it’s an enormous sacrifice on both sides. Before I started the film, I hadn’t given enough thought to that.”

    Sienna Miller’s commentary alone makes it abundantly clear that American Sniper is a must-see, and likely destined for Academy Award fame. Will you be checking out Bradley Cooper and Sienna Miller in this powerful film?

  • Bill Murray: Chasing Academy Awards ‘Like a Low-Grade Virus’

    Bill Murray is funnier than you. He’s cooler than you. And he has more friends than you. But you love him.

    Back before Bill Murray was working at Saturday Night Live, Chevy Chase would open the “Weekend Update” segment by declaring, “I’m Chevy Chase, and you’re not.” Chevy may have had the line, but Bill Murray has had the life.

    Bill Murray is like Elton John. Elton John has had number one hits in five different decades. Bill Murray has been the goof epitome of cool in five decades. Kind of like Red Skelton doing an impersonation of Steve McQueen.

    Bill Murray walks around in this world imposing himself on the lives of everyday people. He crashes engagement photo shoots. He shows up at birthday parties and bachelor parties. He joins total strangers for karaoke.

    Bill Murray “sightings” are a running gag on the Interwebs. He is his own street team, keeping his name and face in the public eye just by being himself.

    Murray’s most recent film, St. Vincent, is about a man who has suffered a stroke. Murray is playing the lead in this one, something he has not done in a long time.

    He recently said in an interview that having to play a recovering stroke victim, “Scared me.” He had to do slurred speech and other impairments.

    “I hate that not-having-your-faculties acting,” he said of the part. “That’s like acting school. I don’t want to go to acting school, ever. That was like doing ordinals or cleaning paint with a small razor blade. It’s the worst kind work. Deep cleaning.”

    But that’s about all the “complaining” you’ll get out of Murray. He catches the bright side quickly.

    “And, yet, I didn’t have a stroke,” he realizes. “Life could be worse. I’m not complaining. I could be the guy with the stroke.”

    Playing such a tough role without resorting to sentimentality was a must for Murray.

    “Sentimentality to me is a symbol that we’ve left the planet. OK, bye-bye. Let me know when you come back because you’re no longer here. You just left. It reminds of being at a funeral.”

    Nor is he interested in chasing an Academy Award nomination, although it is an almost-certainty to come up.

    “That running after prizes stuff, I was involved in that once before,” he says. “It’s like a low-grade virus. It’s an infection when you really campaign for it. But it’s fun to win the prize because you get the chance to get up on stage and be funny.”

    Here is the trailer for St. Vincent.

  • Maureen O’Hara, Harry Belafonte Receive Honorary Oscars in Front of Star-Studded Audience.

    Maureen O’Hara and Harry Belafonte were awarded honorary Academy Awards Saturday night in front of a star-studded audience at the Governor’s Awards Ceremony.

    Joining the legendary Irish actress and the social activist in receiving an honorary Academy Award were filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki and screenwriter Jean-Claude Carriere. The event was held at a private dinner ceremony at Hollywood & Highland’s Ray Dolby Ballroom.

    Liam Neeson and Clint Eastwood introduced the 94-year-old O’Hara and concurred that both once had a crush on the beautiful actress. Described by Neeson as “one of the true legends of cinema” and “one of the most adventurous women who ever lived,” he said she was a pioneer in the industry for women by doing her own stunt work, notably in several John Wayne films.

    Arriving on stage in a wheelchair, O’Hara thanked filmmakers Charles Laughton and John Ford, and her late friend and co-star Wayne.

    “What’s this?!” said O’Hara when the award was handed to her. “I only hope it’s silver or gold and not like a spoon out of the kitchen.”

    Belafonte, 87, was introduced by Chris Rock and Susan Sarandon and accepted the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award for his social activism.

    “I’m not here to honor you,” Rock said. “I’m here to thank you.”

    Sarandon called the actor and singer “a real-life, flesh and blood hero.”

    Belafonte accepted his award with his typical grace and eloquence.

    “To be rewarded by my peers for my work for human rights, civil rights and for peace… It powerfully mutes the enemy’s thunder,” he said.

    Belafonte said he shared the award with friend and colleague Sidney Poitier.

    “He redirected the ship of racial hatred in American culture,” Belafonte said, mentioning the actor’s long list of films, including 12 Years a Slave, noting the influential power of the film.

    “Maybe, just maybe, it could be civilization’s game-changer,” he said.

    Other attendees of the ceremony included Reese Witherspoon, Jennifer Aniston, Steve Carell, Kevin Costner, Mark Wahlberg, Ed Norton, Benedict Cumberbatch, Eddie Redmayne, Ron Howard and Hilary Swank.

    The Governors Awards was established by The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in 2009. Highlights from the ceremony will be featured in the 2015 Oscar telecast in February.

  • Maureen O’Hara Cries at the Thought of the Honorary Oscar She’s Receiving

    Maureen O’Hara, 94, will receive her first Oscar Saturday as one of this year’s recipients of honorary Academy Awards.

    She’ll accept her Oscar at the film academy’s Governors Awards ceremony Saturday night. Other honorees include Hayao Miyazaki, Jean-Claude Carriere and Harry Belafonte.

    The legendary redhead said she cried when she first heard the news, and can’t seem to stop.

    “It’s just absolutely wonderful,” she said. “I keep thinking, ‘Oh, this is a league of baloney. They’re not telling me the truth.’”

    The legendary beauty has made more than 60 films since her big-screen debut in 1938, including John Ford’s 1941 best picture winner, How Green Was My Valley. She starred in several John Wayne films, including Rio Grande, The Wings of Eagles, and a self-proclaimed favorite, The Quiet Man. She’s also known for her roles in the original Miracle on 34th Street and Sentimental Journey.

    “Making movies is a wonderful experience,” she said. “It’s wonderful the stories that you fall in love with and you make and they wind up being very successful, and it breaks your heart almost. I don’t mean with sadness. It breaks your heart with joy.”

    O’Hara admitted that she did do it for the money.

    “As kids — and anybody who says they don’t love this, they’re fibbers — we loved making the money,” she said.

    The Irish actress is preparing for the big night, wondering how and who to thank when she receives her Oscar.

    “It’s hard to know how you’re going to say thank you to all the people you should say thank you to,” she said, “so it’s going to be very difficult.”

    She said she already has a place picked out in her home for her well-deserved trophy — on the mantel of her fireplace “high enough so one of the kids can’t knock it down!”

    Highlights from Saturday’s dinner ceremony will be included in the 2015 Academy Awards telecast in February.

  • Neil Patrick Harris Stoked to Host the 2015 Oscars

    Neil Patrick Harris is still buzzing about being asked to host the Oscars in 2015. The multi-talented star has hosted the Emmys four times and the Tonys twice. He is fresh off a Tony win himself for his role in Hedwig and the Angry Inch on Broadway.

    “It is truly an honor and a thrill to be asked to host this year’s Academy Awards. I grew up watching the Oscars and was always in such awe of some of the greats who hosted the show,” said Harris, in a statement. “To be asked to follow in the footsteps ofJohnny Carson, Billy Crystal, Ellen DeGeneres, and everyone else who had the great fortune of hosting is a bucket list dream come true.”

    The Oscar producers are just as thrilled as Harris is. They also issued a statement.

    “We are thrilled to have Neil host the Oscars. We have known him his entire adult life, and we have watched him explode as a great performer in feature films, television and stage. To work with him on the Oscars is the perfect storm, all of his resources and talent coming together on a global stage.”

    Harris is keenly aware that he will be watched closely to see if he brings anything fresh to his Oscars gig. He says he wants to make sure it’s not “derivative of other shows that I’ve done,” and adds, “It’ll be interesting to figure out how to make it movie-centric.”

    Harris said he wants to make sure his humor as a host is not mean-spirited or difficult for those celebrities in attendance. He praised what Seth Meyers did with his own Emmys hosting chance in that regard.

    “It wasn’t mean,” he said of Meyers’ style. “It wasn’t jokes about people who were sitting there hoping they’d win, and are nervous about what they’d say.

    “I also want to make sure it’s just a classy event. I really love what Billy Crystal brought to that table. I really loved his skill set … He was able to be so respectful and classy and sharp and yet still funny.”

    For the 2014 Oscars, Harris praised Ellen Degeneres’ hosting performance.

    “I thought Ellen was great. I was watching the show, anticipating some big opening number, and then she just walked out and told some jokes, and brought everyone down in a casual way. It was lovely.”

  • Jennifer Aniston Is Generating Oscar Buzz

    Jennifer Aniston Is Generating Oscar Buzz

    The Academy loves to award Oscars to actors and actresses who physically transform. Think Tom Hanks in Philadelphia, Charlize Theron in Monster, and Matthew McConaughey in Dallas Buyers Club. Perhaps we can add Jennifer Aniston’s name to that esteemed list in 2015?

    The former Friend is drawing rave reviews for her performance in the film Cake. In the drama, Aniston plays a pill-popping druggie with a chronic pain problem. Her face in the movie is stripped down, makeup free, and covered in white scars. Considering that she is one of the most beautiful, photogenic actresses in the world, the juxtaposition is difficult to imagine.

    Aniston’s character, Claire Simmons, is an addict who is in constant pain after injuries sustained in an automobile accident. Claire is depressed, angry, and bitter. She is also so tweaked on pain medication that she suffers from hallucinations of a support group member named Nina (Anna Kendrick) who committed suicide.

    Cake had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on Monday. When the screen faded to black and the credits rolled, Aniston received a standing ovation for her performance.

    In order to get ready for the dramatic turn, Aniston looked to two friends who knew what it was like to live with chronic pain. She also wore a brace that kept her body stiff. “For me, it was really important to stay true to what the medicine I was taking physically would be doing to my body and at what point,” Aniston said. “It turns out if you walk like that for five weeks, you do actually become in pain.”

    After the screening, Aniston discussed what drew her to the part in a Q&A segment, “It was a no-brainer. Just reading Patrick’s script I actually saw myself doing it. I just felt like it was already happening and it was pretty easy to say ‘yes.’ It was such a beautiful, complex, layered, tortured character. I just tapped into something I was meant to do.”

  • Clint Eastwood Already Generating Oscar Buzz

    We’re still in the heart of summer blockbuster season, however, Clint Eastwood’s latest directorial effort American Sniper is already receiving Oscar buzz.

    The war drama is about Chris Kyle, a former Navy Seal who served in four combat tours in Operation Iraqi Freedom. He was considered the best sniper in American history. The film is an adaptation of Kyle’s bestselling book American Sniper: The Autobiography of the Most Lethal Sniper in U.S. Military History . Kyle wrote the book before being killed by a fellow veteran on a shooting range.

    Warner Bros. announced that the film will be in limited release on Christmas 2014 and will continue to roll out nationwide on January 16, 2015.

    Of course, the timing of the Christmas release is significant because it ensures that the film will make the cut for the 2015 award season. Eastwood will most likely be in consideration for Best Director at next year’s Oscars ceremony. The 84-year-old won Best Director Academy Awards for the western Unforgiven (1992) and the weepie boxing drama Million Dollar Baby (2004).

    Also sure to benefit from the Christmas release is Bradley Cooper who plays Kyle in the film. If Cooper is nominated for an acting Oscar again this year, it would make it his third year in a row. He was previously nominated for his roles in Silver Linings Playbook (2012) and American Hustle (2013).

    Of course, despite Eastwood’s impressive resume as a director, he is probably still mostly known for his iconic acting roles. Who could forget his turn as troubled cop Harry Callahan in the five Dirty Harry films? Or how about the Man with No Name in Sergio Leone’s spaghetti western trilogy Dollars?

    Eastwood has not appeared in front of the camera since Trouble with the Curve (2012) starring Justin Timberlake. However, it’s not that Eastwood has given up acting all together, especially if the right role came along, “Gran Torino, that was a successful film, and it also had a nice little message,” Eastwood said. “I liked that it dealt with prejudice, [and] that it was about never being too old to learn.” He added, “If I see another, that’s great, but I don’t have the urge, or let’s say, the need to always be in front of the camera.”

  • Jessica Chastain Replaced by Rooney Mara in ‘The Secret Scripture’

    Jessica Chastain has apparently dropped out of The Secret Scripture and will be replaced by Rooney Mara.

    Back in March The Irish Independent reported that Jeremy Irons (The Mission, Reversal of Fortune) and Jonathan Rhys Meyers (August Rush, Match Point, The Tudors) were in negotiations to join Chastain and Vanessa Redgrave (As You Like It, Atonement, Julia) in the adaptation of Sebastian Barry’s award-winning novel.

    The project has been in the works for over two years with Chastain signing on about a year ago. Filming was set to occur entirely in Ireland over the summer.

    But on Wednesday Cineuropa reported that Mara, not Chastain, is in contract negotiations to star alongside Irons and Redgrave.

    In other news, filming has been pushed back to autumn 2014 and Jack Reynor (Delivery Man, Glassland, Transformers: Age of Extinction) is also in negotiations to join the cast.

    Published in 2008, The Secret Scripture is the diary of a nearly-100-year-old woman’s extended stay at an Irish psychiatric hospital. The novel made the Man Booker Prize shortlist and won the prestigious Costa Award and James Tait Black Memorial Prize.

    Dublin native Jim Sheridan (Dreamhouse, In the Name of the Father, My Left Foot) is signed on to direct the project. The screenplay was written by the late Johnny Ferguson (Fallout, Gangster No. 1.)

    Chastain has been acting since 2004 but it wasn’t until she appeared in 2011’s The Help that she gained widespread recognition. That role earned her an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress.

    The following year Chastain’s star rose even higher when she landed the lead role in Zero Dark Thirty. She won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress and received an Academy Award nomination in the same category.

    She went on to star in the three-film drama series The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby as well as Mama and Salomé.

    It’s no wonder that Chastain didn’t have time for The Secret Scripture given her upcoming projects. The list includes Blonde, Crimson Peak (with Tom Hiddleston and Mia Wosikowska,) Interstellar (with Anne Hathaway and Matthew McConaughey,) Miss Julie (with Colin Farrell and Samantha Morton,) A Most Violent Year, and The Zookeeper’s Wife.

    Mara rose to fame in 2011’s The Social Network and followed that up with the starring role in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo opposite Daniel Craig. In 2013 she starred in Side Effects with Jude Law, Channing Tatum, and Catherine Zeta-Jones. Also that year she joined Amy Adams, Scarlett Johansson, Joaquin Phoenix, and Olivia Wilde in the star-studded cast of the critically acclaimed Her.

    Mara’s list of upcoming projects isn’t quite as long as Chastain’s: Carol (with Cate Blanchett,) Pan (with Hugh Jackman and Amanda Seyfried,) Trash (with Martin Sheen,) and an untitled Terrence Malick project with Christian Bale, Cate Blanchett, Michael Fassbender, Ryan Gosling, Val Kilmer and Natalie Portman.

    In late June it was announced that Mara would produce and may star in the film adaptation of Amanda Lindhout’s A House in the Sky, a memoir chronicling the author’s 15-month imprisonment in Somalia.

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Natalie Portman Debuts Chic Summer Hair Color

    Natalie Portman has got a new, fresh summer look going on.

    The Black Swan actress, who has been the face for Miss Dior Cherie fragrance since 2010, debuted lighter locks Thursday at the Miss Dior Exhibition Opening in Shanghai, China.

    Dressed in a super chic white silk dress, black pumps, a matching clutch, and white gold and diamond earrings, all designed by Dior, the 33 year-old Oscar winner traded in her dark brunette, shoulder-length hair for a lighter caramel color for the summer.

    This is Portman’s first appearance on the red carpet in several months. During the Thor tour last year, she spoke with US Weekly at the New York City premiere of the movie about experimenting with her hairstyle.

    “Well, I have shaven my head and had it grow back,” she recalled of her famous scene in 2006’s V for Vendetta. “I feel like that’s an experience — that’s a once in a lifetime experience, especially when you have curly hair!”

    Portman, who holds dual citizenship with both the United States and Israel, possesses beauty and brains with a degree in psychology from Harvard University.

    Portman, who turned 33 on June 9, began her career with the 1994 movie, The Professional, but her career really took off with her role in the Star Wars prequel movies, starting with Episode I in 1999.

    She won a Golden Globe and her first Academy Award for Best Actress with Black Swan.

    Image via YouTube