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| Disney's 'Frozen' wins animated feature Oscar Sunday, Mar 02, 2014 07:39 PM PST  The blockbuster movie "Frozen," a Walt Disney Animation Studios musical fairy tale about the bond between two royal sisters in an icy Scandinavian kingdom, won the Academy Award on Sunday for best animated feature film. The win is the first in the category for Walt Disney Animation Studios, the animation house founded by the man who pioneered the genre. The animated feature category was created in 2002 and has been dominated by Disney-owned Pixar, which has won it seven times but was shut out of the nominations this year for the second time in three years. "Frozen" cemented a resurgence for Disney Animation Studios, becoming a global phenomenon with over $1 billion in movie theater ticket sales, according to Rentrak. Full Story | Top |
| Lupita Nyong'o wins supporting actress Oscar for '12 Years a Slave' Sunday, Mar 02, 2014 07:29 PM PST  Lupita Nyong'o won the Oscar for best supporting actress on Sunday for her role as the hardworking slave Patsey in drama "12 Years a Slave," capping a breakout awards season for the Yale-trained Kenyan actress. Nyong'o, 31, won the Oscar in her first feature film role, earning a thunderous standing ovation from the Hollywood audience. She beat fellow frontrunner Jennifer Lawrence's portrayal of a loopy housewife in caper "American Hustle" in one of the most closely-watched Academy Award races this year. "Yes!" the actress exclaimed when accepting the award after hugging her brother, "12 Years a Slave" director Steve McQueen and other actors in the film. Full Story | Top |
| Pale metallics, bold jewel tones dominate Oscars red carpet Sunday, Mar 02, 2014 07:28 PM PST  By Piya Sinha-Roy LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Shimmering metallics, bold jewel tones and newcomer Lupita Nyong'o led the style at this year's Oscars red carpet, as actresses shunned runway trends to showcase colors and silhouettes inspired by Hollywood's golden age. All eyes were on the year's best-dressed starlet on the red carpet - best supporting actress Oscar winner Nyong'o. The "12 Years a Slave" star from Kenya wore a custom halter-neck pastel blue Prada gown which she helped to design, saying it was inspired by champagne bubbles and a color that reminded her of Nairobi. ... Full Story | Top |
| Italy's 'The Great Beauty' wins best foreign language Oscar Sunday, Mar 02, 2014 07:07 PM PST  Visually stunning Italian drama "The Great Beauty" won the Oscar for best foreign language film on Sunday, capping its successful awards season run in the United States and Europe. Director Paolo Sorrentino's film about an aging writer's reflections on life and his search for meaning among Rome's idle rich also won top foreign film honors at the Golden Globes and Britain's BAFTAs. It was the first Oscar for Sorrentino and the 11th win for an Italian film since foreign language film became a competitive category in 1956, the most of any country. In his acceptance speech, Naples-born Sorrentino gave a nod to Italian director Federico Fellini, former Argentine soccer player Diego Maradona - who once played for Naples soccer club - his wife and the central focus of his film, Rome. Full Story | Top |
| Ellen DeGeneres brings deadpan affability back to Oscars Sunday, Mar 02, 2014 07:02 PM PST  By Steve Gorman LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Comedian and talk show star Ellen DeGeneres returned as Oscar host on Sunday in an appearance many saw as calculated to project a lighter, more affable tone for Hollywood's biggest night after the provocative performance of her immediate predecessor, Seth MacFarlane. While veering away from the ribald streak that marked MacFarlane's widely-panned stint as emcee last year, DeGeneres showed in her opening monologue she was not above poking fun at some of the film industry's biggest names. She zeroed in early in the show on supporting actress nominee, and last year's best actress winner, Jennifer Lawrence, who famously tripped on the stairs on her way to accepting last her Oscar in 2013. Turning to June Squibb, whom she noted was the oldest performer ever nominated for an acting Oscar at age 84, DeGeneres congratulated Squibb for her role in "Nebraska." She then raised her voice to address Squibb as if she were hard of hearing, adding, "I'm telling everyone that you were wonderful in 'Nebraska.'" She joked that long-haired actor Jared Leto, a candidate for best supporting actor for his role as a transgender woman in "Dallas Buyers Club," was "the prettiest" nominee of the evening. Full Story | Top |
| Jared Leto wins supporting actor Oscar for 'Dallas Buyers Club' Sunday, Mar 02, 2014 06:43 PM PST  By Piya Sinha-Roy LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Jared Leto, the former teen heartthrob who left Hollywood to become a rock star, won the best supporting actor Oscar on Sunday in his return to movies as an HIV positive transgender woman in "Dallas Buyers Club." Leto, 42, won over both critics and audiences with his portrayal of Rayon in the 1980s era AIDS drama, and was seen as favorite for the supporting actor Oscar. He beat out Bradley Cooper, Barkhad Abdi, Jonah Hill and Michael Fassbender. But it was Leto's return to film in "Dallas Buyers Club" that piqued the interest of audiences, especially as the actor documented a weight loss of 30 to 40 lbs (13-18 kg) to transform himself into HIV-positive character Rayon. Full Story | Top |
| Oscars kick off with Leto win for 'Dallas Buyers Club' Sunday, Mar 02, 2014 06:10 PM PST By Mary Milliken LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The Academy Awards kicked off on Sunday by bestowing the best supporting actor Oscar on favorite Jared Leto for his role as a transgender woman in "Dallas Buyers Club," in a night that may yield few surprises apart from the tight best picture race. Dressed in a tuxedo, returning host Ellen DeGeneres opened the 86th annual Academy Awards taking friendly jabs at nominees, from Jennifer Lawrence for her tripping on the stage last year to Leto. Leto, who returned to acting after a six-year break with the portrayal of Rayon in the low-budget AIDS drama, thanked his mother and honored victims of AIDS. Full Story | Top |
| Factbox: Leading nominations for the Oscars Sunday, Mar 02, 2014 04:16 PM PST LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The 86th Academy Awards, or Oscars, take place in Hollywood on Sunday celebrating the best films, performances and achievements in movies of 2013. Following is a list of nominations in leading categories. ... Full Story | Top |
| Sun comes out as stars arrive on Oscars red carpet Sunday, Mar 02, 2014 03:37 PM PST  By Mary Milliken LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The world's top actors and actresses gathered for the Academy Awards on Sunday to honor a year of high-quality film and crown the best picture, a cliffhanger race led by "12 Years a Slave" and "Gravity." As if on cue, the sun came out after four days of heavy rain just before the first movie stars began arriving on the red carpet for Hollywood's biggest night. The 86th annual Academy Awards will be hosted by comedian and day-time talk show host Ellen DeGeneres, who producers are banking on to deliver an entertaining yet tasteful three-hour show after critics widely panned last year's ceremony and host Seth MacFarlane's provocative humor. As the crowds along Hollywood Boulevard cheered on arriving talent, nominees celebrated the end of the long awards season and the culmination of work on their films. "This has been such a long time coming," said director Chris Sanders of the nominated animated film "The Croods." "It's like Christmas is finally here and it comes and goes so quickly, you just try to remember as much as you can." Apart from the best picture race, it may be a night of predictable outcomes, from "Gravity" filmmaker Alfonso Cuaron's likely win of the best director statuette to the virtual shoo-in of "Frozen" for best animated film. Full Story | Top |
| Pharrell's 'Happy' hits one million sales to top UK chart for third time Sunday, Mar 02, 2014 11:05 AM PST  Pharrell Williams's "Happy" returned to the top of Britain's music charts for the third time on Sunday, becoming the first single in 57 years to do so, the Official Charts Company said. Only two other acts in history have secured the top spot on three separate occasions with the same song, the last being Guy Mitchell's "Singing the Blues" in 1957. "Happy" also passed the 1 million sales marker this week, making Pharrell only the second act after the Beatles to notch up three million-selling singles in the UK within the space of a year. In the album chart, British band Bastille retained the top spot with their record "Bad Blood", the Official Charts Company said, ahead of the Artic Monkeys second-placed "AM" and Ellie Goulding's "Halcyon" in third. Full Story | Top |
| Liam Neeson thriller 'Non-Stop' lifts off to lead box office Sunday, Mar 02, 2014 10:54 AM PST  By Ronald Grover and Chris Michaud LOS ANGELES/NEW YORK (Reuters) - "Non-Stop", a thriller starring Liam Neeson as a U.S. air marshal trying to stop a string of murders on an international flight, collected $30 million in ticket sales to soar into the lead at the domestic box office. It swept the week's other new film, "Son of God", into second place with $26.5 million in sales during a strong box office weekend which coincided with Sunday's bestowing of its annual Oscars, Hollywood's biggest night. The voice of the 61-year-old Irish former amateur boxing champion is also featured in the animated "Lego Movie," which "stars" characters based on the colorful plastic toy blocks. "This was a great result for the weekend," said Nikki Rocco, president for domestic distribution at Universal Pictures, which released "Non-Stop". Full Story | Top |
| South Carolina reality TV series raises eyebrows in polite society Sunday, Mar 02, 2014 10:05 AM PST By Harriet McLeod CHARLESTON, South Carolina (Reuters) - Bravo TV's new reality show "Southern Charm," set in Charleston's historic downtown among the moss-draped oaks and mansions on the South Carolina coast, promises to reveal "the Neverland of the South, where men don't want to grow up." The show is raising eyebrows in the refined city ahead of its premier on Monday night. It features a cast of six wealthy, single, hard-partying local "aristocrats," including Thomas Ravenel, a polo-playing former South Carolina politician and state treasurer. A member of a prominent family that settled in the Lowcountry around Charleston in the late 1600s, Ravenel, 51, is the son of a former congressman and a self-made millionaire with a master's degree in business administration. Some established Charleston families aren't happy about the show or Ravenel's role in it, and are worried the series will embarrass the city. Full Story | Top |
| Alain Resnais, director of 'Hiroshima, Mon Amour', dies aged 91 Sunday, Mar 02, 2014 07:58 AM PST  The French film director Alain Resnais, known for classics such as "Hiroshima, Mon Amour", "Last Year at Marienbad" and the documentary "Night and Fog" about Nazi concentration camps, died on Sunday at the age of 91. Resnais, who was born in 1922 in northwestern France and started his career with mid-length films in the 1940s, rose to fame with "Night and Fog" and "Van Gogh", a short that won an Oscar in its category in 1950. In 1959, with author Marguerite Duras as scriptwriter, he directed "Hiroshima, Mon Amour", a feature about a love affair between a French woman and a Japanese architect that secured his reputation as a feature-film director. French President Francois Hollande joined a chorus of condolences for Resnais, described as a highly original and influential film-maker steeped in the pre-war cinema culture of the United States. Full Story | Top |
| 'After Earth,' 'Movie 43' sweep Razzies; Sandler left empty-handed Saturday, Mar 01, 2014 09:10 PM PST  By Piya Sinha-Roy LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Big budget sci-fi flop "After Earth" and ensemble comedy "Movie 43" led the Razzie Awards on Saturday while annual favorite Adam Sandler went home empty-handed at the ceremony that mauled Hollywood's worst films and performances of the year. "After Earth," starring Will Smith and his teenage son Jaden, picked up three gold spray-painted raspberry accolades: Jaden Smith for worst actor, Will Smith for worst supporting actor and worst screen combo for the father-son stars. The $130 million film, co-written by Will Smith and directed by M. Night Shyamalan, was a major flop for Sony Corp's Columbia Pictures last year, grossing just $60 million at the U.S. and Canadian box office. Full Story | Top |
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