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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News Network
June 27,2020

Patna, Jun 27: As Sushant Singh Rajput’s family tries to come to terms with his loss, they have decided to honour his legacy and celebrate his passion for cinema, science and sports.

In an emotional statement shared on Saturday, the Bollywood actor’s family remembered him as a “free-spirited” person who worked hard to turn his dreams into reality.

“He was free-spirited, talkative and incredibly bright. He was curious about just everything. He dreamed without restraints, and chased those dreams with the heart of a lion. He smiled generously. He was the pride and inspiration of the family,” the statement read.

Rajput, 34, known for films like Kai Po Che!, MS Dhoni: The Untold Story and Chhichhore, was found dead in his Bandra apartment on June 14, sending shockwaves in the film industry and elsewhere.

The family said that the actor’s untimely demise has created an irreparable void in their lives.

“We can’t bring ourselves to accept that we wouldn’t get to hear his easy laughs anymore. That we wouldn’t see his sparkling eyes again. That we wouldn’t hear his endless rants about science again. His loss has created a permanent, glaring void in the family that will never be filled.”

Thanking his admirers for being a constant support as they try and recover from the loss, the family added that Rajput, “truly loved and cherished every single one of his fans.”

The actor, who made the storybook transition from Patna boy to television and then the starry lights of the Hindi film industry, was the youngest of five siblings and is survived by his father and four sisters. His mother had passed away in 2002 when he was a young teen.

To honour his memory and legacy, the family has decided to set up Sushant Singh Rajput Foundation (SSRF) that will support young talents in cinema, science and sports.

His childhood home in Rajiv Nagar, Patna, will be turned into a memorial, where all his personal memorabilia and belongings, that include thousands of books, his Meade 14’’ LX-600 telescope, flight-simulator, will be on display for his fans and admirers.

The actor’s family, who used to fondly call him Gulshan, will also maintain his social media accounts as legacy accounts to keep his memories alive.

Rajput started his acting career with television after dropping out from Delhi Technological University in the early 2000s. He was one of the few talents to have made a successful transition to movies.

The actor made his Bollywood debut in 2013 with Kai Po Che!. In past seven years, he had featured in a number of hits including blockbusters Neeraj Pandey’s MS Dhoni: The Untold Story and Chhichhore by Nitesh Tiwari.

Tiwari’s 2019 hit was Rajput’s last theatrical release.

On Thursday, it was announced that Dil Bechara, which is the actor’s last movie he shot for, will premiere on Disney + Hotstar on July 24.

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News Network
March 19,2020

New Delhi, Mar 19: Days after being diagnosed with COVID-19, 'Oblivion' actor Olga Kurylenko said that she is better as her fever has now gone.

The 40-year-old actor took to Instagram to share the health update with a picture of herself wearing a face mask.

"Hello everyone! I'm feeling better today. My fever is gone! I hear people can't figure out where I currently am. I'm in London!," she wrote in the caption.

The 'Quantum of Solace' actor also shared details about coronavirus with her Instafam.

"How do I know it's coronavirus and not just a flu? I did a test for coronavirus which came back positive. What are the medicines that doctors prescribed as treatment? NONE!" she wrote.

"I was told to take paracetamol in case my fever was too high and if I was in too much pain. However, I do take vitamins and supplements. Please note that these vitamins do NOT cure coronavirus but only help the immune system be stronger in order to fight!" Kurylenko added.

She also shared a detailed list of medicines that she is taking to deal with the condition.

The 'Oblivion' actor joined the growing list of entertainment figures who have contracted the highly contagious virus on Monday.

Other Hollywood personalities who were earlier diagnosed with COVID-19 are superstar couple Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson. The celebrity couple has been discharged from the hospital and are under quarantine at their home.

Other celebrities that are currently battling with the coronavirus are music producer Andrew Watt, 'Game of Thrones' actor Kristofer Hivju, and actor Idris Elba.

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Agencies
February 25,2020

New Delhi, Feb 25: The Delhi High Court on Tuesday gave time to Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to seek instructions on travel ban imposed on comedian Kunal Kamra.

Kamra approached the court against IndiGo which suspended him from flying with the airlines for a period of six months. Other airlines had also followed the suit in pursuance to this.

Justice Naveen Chawla said that the regulatory body should not have certified actions of airlines other than IndiGo to ban Kamra without conducting inquiry. The matter will now be heard on February 27.

Last month, IndiGo had barred the stand-up comedian for six months from using its services for allegedly portraying "unacceptable behaviour" onboard its flight.

The airline claimed that Kamra, while travelling on a Mumbai-Lucknow IndiGo flight, provoked a TV news anchor by asking questions over his news presentation style.

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