Priyanka Chopra becomes Academy member, praises diversity push

Agencies
July 5, 2017

Los Angeles, Jul 5: Priyanka Chopra is one of the newest members the Academy of Motion Picture of Arts & Sciences (AMPAS) and the actress has praised the ongoing push for racial and gender equality.Priyanka

Following two years of sharp criticism and back-to-back ceremonies with an all-white slate of acting nominees, AMPAS last week invited a record 774 new members from 57 countries around the world to join the organisation's ranks, reported Entertainment Weekly.

"While the numbers have their own story to tell, I think it's important to recognise that progress is being made. It's going to take some time to correct, but continuous efforts always help," Priyanka said.

The 34-year-old Indian actress, who made her foray into the West with TV series "Quantico", said the Academy should move beyond a single award for foreign language films and include them in other major categories

"It's interesting that though (past Indian) winners were Indian, it was for their work in international films — largely about India, but not made by India. For a global community like India to be represented on a larger scale, I think it will have to move beyond a single award for all foreign language films.

"It is very rare to see foreign language films represented in the other categories," she said.

Apart from Priyanka, other Indian stars who have been invited to join the Academy and vote in the Oscars include the likes of, megastar Amitabh Bachchan, Aamir Khan, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, filmmakers Goutam Ghose, Buddhadeb Dasgupta, Salman Khan, Irrfan Khan and Deepika Padukone.

Priyanka said the class of 2017 "does have a very diverse collection, including a few from my country, and one hopes that we all work together to push the larger picture. I'd like to see more opportunities for foreign films to be represented at the Oscars."

Actress Phylicia Rashad, Rinko Kikuchi, Aldis Hodge, Sanaa Lathan, Terry Crews, Colman Domingo, and Anna Deavere Smith, and Colombian filmmaker Patricia Cardoso have also accepted the AMPAS' invitation.

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Agencies
March 14,2020

Los Angeles, Mar 14: Hollywood superstar Tom Hanks and his wife Rita Wilson on Friday gave a health update from coronavirus quarantine, saying they are taking it "one day at a time".

The couple, who is in isolation at a hospital in the state of Queensland in Australia, said they are being well cared for.

"Hello folks. @ritawilson and I want to thank everyone here Down Under who are taking such good care of us. We have COVID-19 and are in isolation so we do not spread it to anyone else.

"There are those for whom it could lead to a very serious illness. We are taking it one-day-at-a-time.There are things we can all do to get through this by following the advice of experts and taking care of ourselves and each other, no?" Hanks posted on Instagram.

The post was accompanied by a photograph that showed the couple smiling.

Hanks announced on Thursday that he and his wife have been tested positive for the novel coronavirus.

The actor couple, who is currently in Australia to shoot for the pre-production of Baz Luhrmann's untitled Elvis Presley film, decided to get tested after they felt "a bit tired".

The deadly virus that first originated in the Chinese city of Wuhan in December last year has claimed over 4,200 lives and infected more than 117,330 people across 107 countries and territories, with the World Health Organisation on Wednesday describing the outbreak a pandemic.

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News Network
June 20,2020

Washington, Jun 20: American actor Angelina Jolie has now opened up about her 2016 divorce announcement with Brad Pitt, which shocked fans.

Fox News said the 45-year-old Jolie opened up about leaving the father of her six kids,18-year-old Maddox, 16-year-old Pax, 15-year-old Zahara, 12-year-old, Shiloh, and 11-year-old twins Knox and Vivienne.

"I separated for the well-being of my family. It was the right decision. I continue to focus on their healing," the Oscar-winning star told Vogue India magazine.

The 'Maleficent' star added, "Some have taken advantage of my silence, and the children see lies about themselves in the media, but I remind them that they know their own truth and their own minds. In fact, they are six very brave, very strong young people."

Since 2004, Pitt and Jolie were together but only married in August 2014 at their estate in France.

The 'Mr and Mrs Smith' star previously told Harper's Bazaar magazine how the last few years have been physically, emotionally and mentally turbulent for her.

"My body has been through a lot over the past decade, particularly the past four years, and I have both the visible and invisible scars to show for it," Jolie said.

"The invisible ones are harder to wrestle with. Life takes many turns. Sometimes you get hurt, you see those you love in pain, and you can't be as free and open as your spirit desires. It's not new or old, but I do feel the blood returning to my body," she added.

Besides her marriage ending on the public stage, Jolie underwent a preventative double mastectomy in 2013 followed by breast reconstruction after testing positive for the BRCA gene. In 2015, the actor 'Girl, Interrupted' star also had her ovaries and fallopian tubes removed.

She admitted it has taken a while for her to feel like her old self. She said, "The part of us that is free, wild, open, curious can get shut down by life. By pain or by harm."

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News Network
July 26,2020

Mumbai, Jul 26: Just days after actor Kangana Ranaut made some claims on Sushant Singh Rajput's suicide case and asked why the Mumbai police is not summoning some people of the Hindi film industry, Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh on Sunday said that film director Mahesh Bhatt and Karan Johar's manager will be called for the questioning.

"Tomorrow Mahesh Bhatt will be called for questioning and we will later call Karan Johar's manager too. If required Karan Johar can also be called for the questioning in Sushant Singh Rajput case," he said while speaking to news agency.

A day Rajput's suicide, Kangana had released a two-minute video speaking highly of the deceased actor and accusing certain sections of the film industry for not acknowledging the star's talent.

Kangana had also claimed that some of the last social media posts by the actor made it evident that he was struggling to survive in the industry.

According to the police, statements of 39 people, including film critic Rajeev Masand, director-producer Sanjay Leela Bhansali, and filmmaker Aditya Chopra have been recorded in the investigation so far.

Rajput was found dead in his Mumbai residence on June 14.

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