Oscars 2016: What Leonardo DiCaprio Said After Winning Best Actor

February 29, 2016

Washington, Feb 29: The phrase "never won an Oscar" can no longer apply to Leonardo DiCaprio. The actor, who was famously snubbed by the Academy five times, was awarded best actor for his performance in The Revenant.

DiCaprioDiCaprio was heavily favored to win, with many a fan and critic declaring he "deserves" it now more than ever. One created the website HasLeoWonAnOscar.com, which was promptly updated with a "Yes :)."

DiCaprio been waiting since 1994, when he received his first nomination, for his role in What's Eating Gilbert Grape. Then came The Aviator, Blood Diamond and The Wolf of Wall Street (as both an actor and producer): all losses.

Skeptics say he's never been good enough to win - it only seems he's been treated unfairly because he is so universally beloved and swoon-worthy.

Oscars take: The Revenant is an overrated mess, and Leonardo DiCaprio's performance wasn't all that special.

But DiCaprio seemed to know tonight was his night, and after thanking the people who made The Revenant and his career possible, he used his platform to spread a message he's been advocating for a long time:

"Climate change is real," he told the audience. "It is happening right now."

He implored viewers to band together and "stop procrastinating. . .For our children and for those people out there whose voices have been drowned out by the politics of greed."

DiCaprio saw climate change firsthand while filming The Revenant. As he mentioned when accepting his Oscar, the crew had to go to the "tip of Argentina" to find snow.

"We shot at high altitudes in Calgary, and weather conditions were unprecedented. The locals had told us they'd never had weather extremes like that since they've lived there," he said at the SAG Awards earlier this year, according to the New York Daily News. "And you realize that 2015 was the hottest year in recorded history, December was the hottest, you know, December in recorded history."

Last month, DiCaprio met with Pope Francis to discuss climate change. His foundation reportedly wrote a check to the Pope for charities "close to his heart." He's been writing quite a few checks lately, after pledging to donate $15 million to 30 organizations focused on global conservation projects. (No word on whether he bought Girl Scout cookies from Chris Rock's daughter during the show.)

"Let us not take this planet for granted," he said as he concluded his speech. "I do not take tonight for granted."

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News Network
February 12,2020

London, Feb 12: Oscar-winning British director Steve McQueen is returning to his art roots with a series of short films at London's Tate Modern art gallery, offering a sensory exploration of black identity.

McQueen, who became the first black director to win the best picture Academy Award in 2014 for "12 Years a Slave", is now based between London and Amsterdam and is focused on championing diversity in the film industry.

Visitors to his new exhibition will be greeted by "Static", a film of New York's Statue of Liberty, scrutinising the iconic symbol from every possible angle at very close range against a deafening backdrop of the helicopter from where the footage was filmed.

"What interests Steve is our view of the world, how humans are trying to represent Liberty," said Fiontan Moran, assistant curator of the exhibition.

"7th Nov, 2001" features a still shot of a body while McQueen's cousin Marcus tells of how he accidentally killed his brother, a particularly traumatic experience for the artist.

"Western Deep" is another visceral work, giving a sense through sights and sounds in an interactive installation of the experiences of miners in South Africa, following them to the bottom of the mine.

"Ashes", meanwhile, is a tribute to a young fisherman from Grenada, the island where McQueen's family originated.

The images of beauty and sweetness filmed from his boat are tragically reversed on the other side of the projection screen, which shows a grave commissioned by McQueen for the eponymous young fisherman, who was killed by drug traffickers.

African-American singer, actor and civil rights activist Paul Robeson (1898-1976) is honoured in "End Credits".

The film shows censored FBI documents detailing the agency's surveillance of Robeson, read by a voice-over artist, for five hours.

"He is... testing the limits of how people can be documented in an era of mass surveillance," said Moran.

In a similarly militant vein, the exhibition features the sculpture "Weight", which was first shown in the prison cell where the writer and playwright Oscar Wilde was imprisoned.

It depicts a golden mosquito net draped over a metal prison bed frame, addressing the theme of confinement and the power of the imagination to break free.

The show runs alongside an exhibition of McQueen's giant portraits of London school classes, many of which appeared on the streets of London last year.

"I remember my first school trip to Tate when I was an impressionable eight-year-old, which was really the moment I gained an understanding that anything is possible," said McQueen, adding it was "where in some ways my journey as an artist first began".

He recently told the Financial Times newspaper the difference between his art films and his feature films was that the former were poetry, the latter like a novel.

"Poetry is condensed, precise, fragmented," he said. "The novel is the yarn".

The exhibition opens on February 13 and runs until May 11.

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Agencies
February 29,2020

Ernakulam, Feb 29: A court here on Friday issued a bailable arrest warrant against Malayalam actor Kunchacko Boban for failing to appear before it for witness examination in an assault case filed by an actress.

Ernakulam Additional Sessions Judge Honey M Varghese issued the arrest warrant.

As per the court's direction, Boban can take bail from police station and appear before court on March 4.

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Agencies
March 7,2020

Mumbai, Mar 7: A 'farm-to-fork' themed restaurant 'He-Man' situated on National Highway in Haryana's Karnal -- franchised by veteran Bollywood actor Dharmendra -- has been sealed for building law violations, officials said on Saturday.

The Karnal Municipal Corporation sealed the franchise outlet on Friday for not furnishing the change of land use (CLU) certificate and illegal constructions, an official said.

The restaurant is located on National Highway 44 on the outskirts of Karnal, some 150 km from here.

The franchise was given to Delhi-based businessman Pramod Kumar.

"After the success of my restaurant Garam Dharam Dhaba, I am now announcing a farm-to- fork themed restaurant 'He-Man'," Dharmendra had announced on Instagram after its launch on Valentine's Day.

Karnal Deputy Commissioner Nishant Yadav said the action was initiated as the restaurant owner did not respond to MC notice on the issue.

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