Slavery drama '12 Years A Slave,' Gravity' top winners at 86th Oscars

March 3, 2014
Los Angeles, Mar 3: Steve McQueen's slavery drama "12 Years A Slave" that unflinchingly portrays America's dark past was crowned the best picture while Alfonso Cuaron's 3D space thriller walked away with the maximum seven trophies at the 86th Academy awards here today.

While 3D film "Gravity" walked away with most of the golden statuettes out of its 10 nominations thanks to its technical brilliance, the Academy's over six thousand voters bestowed the top award on "12 Years A Slave" out of the nine best picture nominees.

Best actor and actress Oscars went to Matthew McConaughey and Cate Blanchett for their roles "Dallas Buyers Club" and "Blue Jasmine" respectively.

The acclaimed film, based on the memoirs of Solomon Northup, a freeman forced into slavery, touches upon a topic that has been missing in Hollywood cinema for a long time.

Lupita Nyong'o and John Ridley brought the other two trophies for "12 Years A Slave" in the best supporting actress and best adapted screenplay categories.

In her emotionally-charged speech, Lupita thanked McQueen for his honest portrayal of a dark issue, saying: "It does not escape me for one moment that so much joy in my life is thanks to so much pain in someone else's. I want to salute the spirit of Patsey, for her guidance and for Solomon... Thank you for telling her story and your own."

Both producer-director McQueen and co-producer Brad Pitt also paid tribute to the heroic story of Northup.

McQueen dedicated the honor to those who suffered slavery and "the 21 million who still endure slavery today."

"Everyone deserves not just to survive, but to live. This is the most important legacy of Solomon Northup," McQueen said as he accepted the Oscar from Will Smith.

"It has been an absolute privilege to work on Solomon Northup's story," Pitt added.

Cuaron's film had a clean sweep in technical categories by winning film editing, sound editing, sound mixing, visual effects, cinematography and original score besides winning the best director award for the Mexican helmer. He also shared the editing award with Mark Sanger.

Cuaron thanked his leading lady Sandra Bullock after winning best director trophy.

"Sandy, you are 'Gravity'. You are the soul, heart of the film, the most amazing collaborator and one of the best people I've ever met. George Clooney, for your absolute trust."

oscarBlanchett, who won best actress for playing a broke but snobbish heroine in Woody Allen's "Blue Jasmine', Allen, whose is once again facing sexual abuse allegations from his adopted daughter.

Blanchett, who received a standing ovation, joked, "Sit down. You're too old to be standing."

"I'm here excepting an award in an extraordinary screenplay by Woody Allen. Thank you so much, Woody, for casting me. I truly appreciate it," Blanchett said while also mentioning fellow nominees.

True-story of AIDS activist Ron Woodroof brought actor Matthew McConaughey his career's first Oscar in the best actor category.

McConaughey, who lost around 20 kgs of weight to pull the character off, said he needs three things everyday.

"Something to look up to, something to look forward and something to chase."

Jared Leto won the best supporting actor Oscar for his fearless portrayal of a transgender woman suffering from AIDS in "Dallas Buyers Club." The actor-musician mentioned the people in Ukraine and anti-government protesters in Venezuela.

"To all the dreamers out there... in places like Ukraine and Venezuela, I want to say, we are here. And as you struggle to make your dreams happen, to live the impossible, we're thinking of you tonight," Leto said.

"Dallas Buyers Club" also won the make-up and hairstyling award.

Crime drama "American Hustle" was the biggest loser at the Academy as it went empty handed despite its 10 nominations so did Martin Scorsese's "The Wolf of Wall Street" which failed to garner any award despite the buzz surrounding Leonardo DiCaprio's performance.

The 86th Academy awards were held at the Dolby Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center.

Produced by Craig Zadan and Neil Meron, the award ceremony was hosted by Ellen DeGeneres.

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March 28,2020

Chennai, Mar 28: Chennai City Corporation personnel stuck a home quarantine sticker at the office of actor-politician Kamal Haasan's Makkal Needhi Maiam office on Saturday, leading to speculation that the matinee star was quarantined for the coronavirus.

While there was speculation if Kamal Haasan was quarantined, the Greater Chennai Corporation said their staffers pasted the sticker on the premises because actress Gautami Tadimalli "returned from Dubai recently and her passport has this address (Eldams Road in upscale Alwarpet)."

The present residence of the actress was not known immediately.

The sticker read, "We are in home quarantine to safeguard ourselves and Chennai from the coronavirus." It was removed soon, an official said, declining to elaborate.

Kamal Haasan clarified in a statement that he was not quarantined.

"Based on the notice stuck outside my house, news has been spread saying that I have been quarantined. But most of you already know that I have not been living there for the past few years and the Makkal Needhi Maiam party office has been functioning from there," he said.

Further, the actor said, the news that he has been quarantined "is not true."

As a precautionary measure, he has been maintaining social distancing, he said.

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July 21,2020

Mumbai, Jul 21: Police have recorded statements ofthree psychiatrists and a psychotherapist as part of their probe into the death of Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput last month, a senior official said on Monday.

Their "statements were recorded over the last three- four days" by the Bandra police who are probing the case, said Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone IX) Abhishek Trimukhe.

The late actor was consulting these mental health professionals and hence their statements were recorded as part of the ongoing probe, police said.

Rajput was undergoing treatment for depression since November 2019, they said.

Rajput, 34, was found hanging in his suburban Bandra apartment on June 14 in what the police claimed was a case of suicide. In the initial investigation, the Mumbai police had found that the actor was under medication for depression.

So far, the police have recorded statements of over 36 people, including director Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Bollywood casting director Mukesh Chhabra, actress Sanjana Sanghi and Rajput's friend Sandip Singh, among others.

Rajput's friend, actor Rhea Chakraborty, has also given her statement to the police.

Filmmaker Aditya Chopra recorded his statement in connection with the case at the Versova Police Station on Saturday.

Rajput starred in films such as 'Shuddh Desi Romance', 'Raabta', 'Kedarnath' and 'Sonchiriya'. But his most prominent role came as cricketer Mahendra Singh Dhoni in the biopic, 'MS Dhoni: The Untold Story'.

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July 1,2020

Los Angeles, Jul 1: Actor Priyanka Chopra Jonas has struck a two-year television deal with Amazon. The 37-year-old actor shared the news about her "multimillion-dollar" first look deal with the streamer in a post on Instagram.

"So honoured and excited to finally share this news with you. Looking ahead, we already have so much on our slate! Big thank you to @jsalke and her team at Amazon for being such great partners, and for sharing in the belief that talent and good content knows no boundaries," Priyanka wrote.

The actor, who launched her own production banner Purple Pebble Pictures in 2015, said she aims to create "great content" featuring "creative talent" from all over the world.

"This has always been the DNA of my production house Purple Pebble Pictures, and is the foundation of this exciting new endeavour with Amazon. ⁣⁣

"And as a storyteller, my quest is to constantly push myself to explore new ideas that not only entertain but most importantly, open minds and perspectives," Priyanka said.

She thanked her fans for being a "big part of my journey so far".

"And for those who are just getting to know me, or maybe only recognise me as Alex Parrish from 'Quantico', I'm excited for you to get to know me better," Priyanka concluded.

Priyanka, who started her Hollywood career with ABC series Quantico, has featured in films such as Baywatch and Isn't It Romantic.

Amazon Studios head Jennifer Salke told Variety that she bonded with the actor over their "shared passion for diverse global storytelling".

"Priyanka is drawn to exciting original content and characters that can resonate globally. She’s a powerhouse producer, and we are thrilled to collaborate with her for years to come," she added.

Prior to her deal with Amazon, the actor lined up two projects with the streamer. She will star opposite Game of Thrones actor Richard Madden in upcoming thriller series Citadel, to be produced by Anthony and Joe Russo.

The actor will also feature in Sangeet, an unscripted series co-produced with her husband, Nick Jonas.

Priyanka's another project with Amazon is a film about Ma Anand Sheela, the assistant to guru Bhagwan Rajneesh (also known as Osho). The actor will be producing the movie which is based on Netflix docu-series Wild Wild Country.

Besides her association with Amazon, the actor will next star in two Netflix projects -- superhero movie We Can Be Heroes and The White Tiger,  opposite Rajkummar Rao.

She is currently shooting for Keanu Reeves-starrer The Matrix 4, which recently resumed filming after production was halted by the pandemic.

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