Earlier this week, Adam Dell the father of 'Top Chef' host Padma Lakshmi filed a suit for the full custody of their child 11-month-old daughter Krishna. And it seems Dell decided to get nasty by claiming that Lakshmi told him she had hoped he has nothing to do with the pregnancy.
According to the Daily Mail, in a 16-page suit filed in court Dell is claiming that when he and Lakshmi were dating in 2009, she was also dating 70-year-old IMG boss Ted Forstmann.
Lakshmi is currently in a relationship with Forstmann.
Dell is claiming that Lakshmi had hoped Forstmann was the father to Krishna and not Dell. He said Lakshmi refused to put his name on the birth certificate, "to minimize, if not eliminate [Dell's] role in Krishna's life and to install Forstmann as Krishna's father."
Dell also mentions that Lakshmi launched a cruel attack on him during a phone call in September 2009, calling him an 'unambitious' man with an 'uninteresting' career and 'unmemorable' friends.
The suit also claims that, "Forstmann declared that Lakshmi, Krishna and he are a "family" and they wished (Dell) would f*****g disappear."
However, Lakshmi's lawyer, Jay Silverstein, called Dell's suit "inaccurate and misleading" and is quoted saying, "We were in the process of negotiating permanent visitation rights when Dell terminated negotiations and this suit was filed. He remains more interested in garnering media attention than focusing on the welfare of his daughter."
Silverstein added that Lakshmi was looking forward to correcting the record in the courts and not in the press.
He said "'She (Lakshmi) is saddened and gravely disappointed that Mr. Dell has chosen a very public means of filing his petition with the court rather than doing so in a confidential or sealed manner which is customary in cases involving a very young child."
Showing posts with label Gets. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Gets. Show all posts
Friday, January 28, 2011
Chris Medina Gets Love From The Script, Band Behind 'Breakeven'
EXCLUSIVE: 'American Idol' viewers are still wiping away tears after watching Chris Medina audition in honor of his brain-damaged fiancee this week, and The Script, the Irish trio responsible for the heart-wrenching ballad he sang, tells PopEater they're "moved" by his performance of 'Breakeven' and are pulling for him to win.
"We write our music from a pure and honest place and to see Chris singing 'Breakeven' moved us all," singer Danny O'Donoghue tells us. "The world would be a better place if more people were more like him. Too often we place our admiration on people who don't deserve it but in this case we have a rare individual, a selfless individual who truly puts others ahead of himself."
Medina's fiancee, Juliana Ramos, suffered a traumatic brain injury in a car accident just two months before their wedding. In his touching story, Medina said he believed Juliana would have wanted him to audition and make it through to Hollywood. He wowed the judges and brought viewers to tears with his story of devotion to her.
The Script's guitarist Mark Sheehan is similarly impressed, both with Medina's performance of 'Breakeven,' and also his character.
"The biggest pay off for us with our music is when it finds real people like Chris Medina for him to sing it like it was his own song about something so personal," he said. "That to me is why we make music. His story touched us so much we can only hope that we will all stand by our loved ones like him. That takes a real man. He's already a winner to us."
O'Donoghue adds that he's pulling for Medina to go all the way on 'Idol.'
"It was an honor to hear words we wrote in our darkest day sung so beautifully by this extraordinary man and I hope he makes it all the way to the final, and moves the world on his way there."
An estimated 25.2 million people watched Medina's impressive run-through of 'Breakeven' on Wednesday's show.
The video package that 'Idol' prepared for him was filled with the type of poignant, emotionally taxing imagery that viewers have come to expect. But when Medina had finished singing, the judges asked to meet Juliana, and when she was wheeled in, viewers got the full scope of her injuries. Seated in a wheelchair rocking back and forth, her face was partially paralyzed.
After guarded greetings from Jennifer Lopez and Randy Jackson, Steven Tyler bent down, embraced her as a father would to a young child and told her that Medina couldn't have done it without her.
"I just heard your fiance sing, and he's so good. You know, because he sings to you all the time. I could tell," he said, then whispered, "That's why he sings so good, because he sings to you."
"We write our music from a pure and honest place and to see Chris singing 'Breakeven' moved us all," singer Danny O'Donoghue tells us. "The world would be a better place if more people were more like him. Too often we place our admiration on people who don't deserve it but in this case we have a rare individual, a selfless individual who truly puts others ahead of himself."
Medina's fiancee, Juliana Ramos, suffered a traumatic brain injury in a car accident just two months before their wedding. In his touching story, Medina said he believed Juliana would have wanted him to audition and make it through to Hollywood. He wowed the judges and brought viewers to tears with his story of devotion to her.
The Script's guitarist Mark Sheehan is similarly impressed, both with Medina's performance of 'Breakeven,' and also his character.
"The biggest pay off for us with our music is when it finds real people like Chris Medina for him to sing it like it was his own song about something so personal," he said. "That to me is why we make music. His story touched us so much we can only hope that we will all stand by our loved ones like him. That takes a real man. He's already a winner to us."
O'Donoghue adds that he's pulling for Medina to go all the way on 'Idol.'
"It was an honor to hear words we wrote in our darkest day sung so beautifully by this extraordinary man and I hope he makes it all the way to the final, and moves the world on his way there."
An estimated 25.2 million people watched Medina's impressive run-through of 'Breakeven' on Wednesday's show.
The video package that 'Idol' prepared for him was filled with the type of poignant, emotionally taxing imagery that viewers have come to expect. But when Medina had finished singing, the judges asked to meet Juliana, and when she was wheeled in, viewers got the full scope of her injuries. Seated in a wheelchair rocking back and forth, her face was partially paralyzed.
After guarded greetings from Jennifer Lopez and Randy Jackson, Steven Tyler bent down, embraced her as a father would to a young child and told her that Medina couldn't have done it without her.
"I just heard your fiance sing, and he's so good. You know, because he sings to you all the time. I could tell," he said, then whispered, "That's why he sings so good, because he sings to you."
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
James Franco Gets Trapped By Mini-Fridge on 'Daily Show'
James Franco barely survived a harrowing experience on 'The Daily Show.' After having to get into character for his film '127 Hours,' where his character's arm was trapped in a rock collapse, it must have been eerie to suffer a similar calamity.
As he explained it, "I was trying to get a Fun-Size Snickers bar out of the mini-fridge, and it came down on me and I can't get my arm out." Franco immediately began to panic, preparing to sever his arm with a spork.
Jon Stewart came to the rescue, with a suggestion of using his other arm to life the mini-fridge and free himself. All was well, until Franco saw that there were Snickers in there.
The bit was as much fun for its general silliness as it was for Stewart's incredibly terrible acting. Franco, on the other hand, was so committed to his disastrous situation, we were scared for him. And now we're craving Fun-Size Snickers bars.
As he explained it, "I was trying to get a Fun-Size Snickers bar out of the mini-fridge, and it came down on me and I can't get my arm out." Franco immediately began to panic, preparing to sever his arm with a spork.
Jon Stewart came to the rescue, with a suggestion of using his other arm to life the mini-fridge and free himself. All was well, until Franco saw that there were Snickers in there.
The bit was as much fun for its general silliness as it was for Stewart's incredibly terrible acting. Franco, on the other hand, was so committed to his disastrous situation, we were scared for him. And now we're craving Fun-Size Snickers bars.
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
'The King's Speech' Gets 12 Oscar Nominations
The British monarchy saga "The King's Speech" leads the Academy Awards with 12 nominations, including best picture and acting honors for Colin Firth, Helena Bonham Carter and Geoffrey Rush.
Also nominated for best picture Tuesday were the psychosexual thriller "Black Swan"; the boxing drama "The Fighter"; the sci-fi blockbuster "Inception"; the lesbian-family tale "The Kids Are All Right"; the survival story "127 Hours"; the Facebook chronicle "The Social Network"; the animated smash "Toy Story 3"; the Western "True Grit"; and the Ozarks crime thriller "Winter's Bone."
"True Grit" ran second with 10 nominations, including acting honors for Jeff Bridges and Hailee Steinfeld.
The Feb. 27 Oscars set up a best-picture showdown between two favorites, "The King's Speech" and "The Social Network." "The Social Network" won best drama at the Golden Globes and was picked as the year's best by key critics groups, while "The King's Speech" pulled an upset last weekend by winning the Producers Guild of America Awards top prize, whose recipient often goes to claim best picture at the Oscars.
"This story has struck such a rich resonant chord with audiences of all ages, which is very exciting — to have your work honored by your industry peers is even better," Rush said in a statement.
The favorites in the male-acting categories both were nominated, Globe winners Firth as best actor for "The King's Speech" and Christian Bale as supporting actor for "The Fighter."
The best-actress field shapes up as a two-woman race between Annette Bening for "The Kids Are All Right," who won the Globe for actress in a musical or comedy, and Natalie Portman for "Black Swan," who received the Globe for dramatic actress.
The supporting-actress Oscar could prove the most competitive among acting prizes. Melissa Leo won the Globe for "The Fighter," but she faces strong challenges from that film's co-star Amy Adams and 14-year-old newcomer Steinfeld, who missed out on a Globe nomination for "True Grit" but made the cut for supporting actress at the Oscars.
"The Social Network" casts Jesse Eisenberg as Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, who's depicted as an interpersonal lout in one-on-one relations but a genius for the masses, creating an online hangout where half a billion people now keep connected with friends.
"The King's Speech" stars Firth as Queen Elizabeth II's father, the stammering George VI, who reluctantly came to the throne after his brother abdicated in 1936, a terrible time for a stuttering monarch as British subjects looked to their ruler for inspiration via radio as World War II approached.
The two films represent a showdown between classy, traditional Oscar bait and edgy, youthful, up-to-the-minute drama.
With its aristocrats, statesmen and perilous times, "The King's Speech" is a throwback to the majestic, eye-filling costume pageants that dominated film awards in Hollywood's earlier decades. Its nominations also include best director for Tom Hooper and supporting-acting slots for Bonham Carter as the king's devoted wife and Rush as his wily speech therapist.
"The Social Network" is an immediate story, set not in palaces but college dorm rooms, cluttered start-up space and anonymous legal offices where Zuckerberg battles former associates over the proceeds of his invention.
David Fincher is the best-directing favorite for "The Social Network" after winning that prize at the Globes.
"My recommendation to anybody who wants to get an Oscar nomination is, work with David Fincher. It was just a triumph of teamwork," Aaron Sorkin, nominated for best adapted screenplay for "The Social Network," said on ABC's "Good Morning America."
Along with Firth and Eisenberg, best-actor contenders are Javier Bardem as a dying father in the Spanish-language drama "Biutiful," which also is up for best foreign-language film; Bridges as boozy lawman Rooster Cogburn in "True Grit," a role that earned John Wayne an Oscar for the 1969 adaptation of the Western novel; and James Franco in the real-life tale of a climber trapped in a crevasse after a boulder crushes his arm in "127 Hours."
Bening was nominated for best actress as a lesbian mom whose family is thrown into turmoil after her teenage children seek out their sperm-donor father in "The Kids Are All Right." Portman was nominated as a ballerina losing her grip on reality in "Black Swan."
Other best-actress nominees are Nicole Kidman as a grieving mother in "Rabbit Hole"; Jennifer Lawrence as a teen trying to find her missing father amid the Ozark Mountains' criminal underbelly in "Winter's Bone"; and Michelle Williams as a wife in a failing marriage in "Blue Valentine."
Joining Fincher among best-director picks are Darren Aronofsky for "Black Swan"; Joel and Ethan Coen for "True Grit"; Tom Hooper for "The King's Speech"; and David O. Russell for "The Fighter."
One notable snub was the omission of director Christopher Nolan for "Inception," though he got a nod for original screenplay. Nolan also missed out on a directing Oscar nomination for "The Dark Knight," which was famously not nominated for best picture.
The directing category is back to an all-male lineup after Kathryn Bigelow became the first woman to win that prize last year for "The Hurt Locker," which also claimed best picture.
Bale, the star of Nolan's "Batman" franchise, is a strong favorite to win supporting actor as former boxer Dicky Eklund, who helps his half-brother to a title shot after his own career unraveled amid drugs and crime in "The Fighter." The film's star, Mark Wahlberg, missed out on a nomination as Eklund's half-brother, boxer Micky Ward.
Two years ago, Bale's "Batman" co-star, the late Heath Ledger, was on the same awards track as he won a posthumous Oscar for supporting actor for "The Dark Knight."
"The Fighter" offers two sterling supporting-actress performances from Leo as Ward and Eklund's doting but domineering mother and Adams as Ward's tough, defiant girlfriend. Steinfeld, who was just 13 when she shot her debut performance in "True Grit," also is a strong contender as a girl who hires lawman Cogburn to track down her father's killer.
"Toy Story 3," the top-grossing film released in 2010, also is nominated for animated feature and is expected to become the fourth-straight winner in that category from Disney's Pixar Animation, following "Up," "WALL-E" and "Ratatouille." Pixar has won five of the nine animation Oscars since the category was added.
The other animation nominees are "How to Train Your Dragon" and "The Illusionist."
While two of the three animated categories are huge commercial successes, the best-picture race is a mix of big commercial hits and smaller critical darlings, which is what academy organizers wanted when they expanded the competition to 10 films.
Like "Toy Story 3," "Inception" is a blockbuster, coming from director Nolan, whose "The Dark Knight" missed out on a best-picture nomination two years ago, contributing to the decision to double the number of contenders so that acclaimed popular movies would have a better chance.
"True Grit" is the first $100 million Western hit since the 1990s, "The Social Network" climbed to about $95 million in revenue, and "Black Swan" is closing on $100 million. At the other end are "Winter's Bone" with $6.3 million and "127 Hours" with $11 million, respectable returns for lower-budgeted independent films but small change next to big studio productions.
Besides Leo, Adams, Bonham Carter and Steinfeld, Jacki Weaver earned a supporting-actress nomination as a crime family matriarch in the Australian thriller "Animal Kingdom."
Rounding out the supporting-actor field with Bale and Rush are John Hawkes as a backwoods tough guy in "Winter's Bone"; Jeremy Renner as a holdup man in the bank-heist thriller "The Town"; Mark Ruffalo as a sperm-donor dad in "The Kids Are All Right."
The Oscar ceremony will be televised live on ABC from Hollywood's Kodak Theatre.
Also nominated for best picture Tuesday were the psychosexual thriller "Black Swan"; the boxing drama "The Fighter"; the sci-fi blockbuster "Inception"; the lesbian-family tale "The Kids Are All Right"; the survival story "127 Hours"; the Facebook chronicle "The Social Network"; the animated smash "Toy Story 3"; the Western "True Grit"; and the Ozarks crime thriller "Winter's Bone."
"True Grit" ran second with 10 nominations, including acting honors for Jeff Bridges and Hailee Steinfeld.
The Feb. 27 Oscars set up a best-picture showdown between two favorites, "The King's Speech" and "The Social Network." "The Social Network" won best drama at the Golden Globes and was picked as the year's best by key critics groups, while "The King's Speech" pulled an upset last weekend by winning the Producers Guild of America Awards top prize, whose recipient often goes to claim best picture at the Oscars.
"This story has struck such a rich resonant chord with audiences of all ages, which is very exciting — to have your work honored by your industry peers is even better," Rush said in a statement.
The favorites in the male-acting categories both were nominated, Globe winners Firth as best actor for "The King's Speech" and Christian Bale as supporting actor for "The Fighter."
The best-actress field shapes up as a two-woman race between Annette Bening for "The Kids Are All Right," who won the Globe for actress in a musical or comedy, and Natalie Portman for "Black Swan," who received the Globe for dramatic actress.
The supporting-actress Oscar could prove the most competitive among acting prizes. Melissa Leo won the Globe for "The Fighter," but she faces strong challenges from that film's co-star Amy Adams and 14-year-old newcomer Steinfeld, who missed out on a Globe nomination for "True Grit" but made the cut for supporting actress at the Oscars.
"The Social Network" casts Jesse Eisenberg as Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, who's depicted as an interpersonal lout in one-on-one relations but a genius for the masses, creating an online hangout where half a billion people now keep connected with friends.
"The King's Speech" stars Firth as Queen Elizabeth II's father, the stammering George VI, who reluctantly came to the throne after his brother abdicated in 1936, a terrible time for a stuttering monarch as British subjects looked to their ruler for inspiration via radio as World War II approached.
The two films represent a showdown between classy, traditional Oscar bait and edgy, youthful, up-to-the-minute drama.
With its aristocrats, statesmen and perilous times, "The King's Speech" is a throwback to the majestic, eye-filling costume pageants that dominated film awards in Hollywood's earlier decades. Its nominations also include best director for Tom Hooper and supporting-acting slots for Bonham Carter as the king's devoted wife and Rush as his wily speech therapist.
"The Social Network" is an immediate story, set not in palaces but college dorm rooms, cluttered start-up space and anonymous legal offices where Zuckerberg battles former associates over the proceeds of his invention.
David Fincher is the best-directing favorite for "The Social Network" after winning that prize at the Globes.
"My recommendation to anybody who wants to get an Oscar nomination is, work with David Fincher. It was just a triumph of teamwork," Aaron Sorkin, nominated for best adapted screenplay for "The Social Network," said on ABC's "Good Morning America."
Along with Firth and Eisenberg, best-actor contenders are Javier Bardem as a dying father in the Spanish-language drama "Biutiful," which also is up for best foreign-language film; Bridges as boozy lawman Rooster Cogburn in "True Grit," a role that earned John Wayne an Oscar for the 1969 adaptation of the Western novel; and James Franco in the real-life tale of a climber trapped in a crevasse after a boulder crushes his arm in "127 Hours."
Bening was nominated for best actress as a lesbian mom whose family is thrown into turmoil after her teenage children seek out their sperm-donor father in "The Kids Are All Right." Portman was nominated as a ballerina losing her grip on reality in "Black Swan."
Other best-actress nominees are Nicole Kidman as a grieving mother in "Rabbit Hole"; Jennifer Lawrence as a teen trying to find her missing father amid the Ozark Mountains' criminal underbelly in "Winter's Bone"; and Michelle Williams as a wife in a failing marriage in "Blue Valentine."
Joining Fincher among best-director picks are Darren Aronofsky for "Black Swan"; Joel and Ethan Coen for "True Grit"; Tom Hooper for "The King's Speech"; and David O. Russell for "The Fighter."
One notable snub was the omission of director Christopher Nolan for "Inception," though he got a nod for original screenplay. Nolan also missed out on a directing Oscar nomination for "The Dark Knight," which was famously not nominated for best picture.
The directing category is back to an all-male lineup after Kathryn Bigelow became the first woman to win that prize last year for "The Hurt Locker," which also claimed best picture.
Bale, the star of Nolan's "Batman" franchise, is a strong favorite to win supporting actor as former boxer Dicky Eklund, who helps his half-brother to a title shot after his own career unraveled amid drugs and crime in "The Fighter." The film's star, Mark Wahlberg, missed out on a nomination as Eklund's half-brother, boxer Micky Ward.
Two years ago, Bale's "Batman" co-star, the late Heath Ledger, was on the same awards track as he won a posthumous Oscar for supporting actor for "The Dark Knight."
"The Fighter" offers two sterling supporting-actress performances from Leo as Ward and Eklund's doting but domineering mother and Adams as Ward's tough, defiant girlfriend. Steinfeld, who was just 13 when she shot her debut performance in "True Grit," also is a strong contender as a girl who hires lawman Cogburn to track down her father's killer.
"Toy Story 3," the top-grossing film released in 2010, also is nominated for animated feature and is expected to become the fourth-straight winner in that category from Disney's Pixar Animation, following "Up," "WALL-E" and "Ratatouille." Pixar has won five of the nine animation Oscars since the category was added.
The other animation nominees are "How to Train Your Dragon" and "The Illusionist."
While two of the three animated categories are huge commercial successes, the best-picture race is a mix of big commercial hits and smaller critical darlings, which is what academy organizers wanted when they expanded the competition to 10 films.
Like "Toy Story 3," "Inception" is a blockbuster, coming from director Nolan, whose "The Dark Knight" missed out on a best-picture nomination two years ago, contributing to the decision to double the number of contenders so that acclaimed popular movies would have a better chance.
"True Grit" is the first $100 million Western hit since the 1990s, "The Social Network" climbed to about $95 million in revenue, and "Black Swan" is closing on $100 million. At the other end are "Winter's Bone" with $6.3 million and "127 Hours" with $11 million, respectable returns for lower-budgeted independent films but small change next to big studio productions.
Besides Leo, Adams, Bonham Carter and Steinfeld, Jacki Weaver earned a supporting-actress nomination as a crime family matriarch in the Australian thriller "Animal Kingdom."
Rounding out the supporting-actor field with Bale and Rush are John Hawkes as a backwoods tough guy in "Winter's Bone"; Jeremy Renner as a holdup man in the bank-heist thriller "The Town"; Mark Ruffalo as a sperm-donor dad in "The Kids Are All Right."
The Oscar ceremony will be televised live on ABC from Hollywood's Kodak Theatre.
Saturday, January 22, 2011
‘Big Brother 9’ Champ Gets Four Years In Drug Case
The winner of the CBS reality show “Big Brother 9” appealed to a judge for leniency Friday, saying he wanted “a chance to get out and find out who I really am,” before he was sentenced to four years in federal prison on drug trafficking and tax charges.
U.S. District Court Judge William Young handed down the sentence while Adam Jasinski, 32, of Delray Beach, Fla., listened and nodded while his parents quietly sobbed. Jasinski was arrested for attempting to sell 2,000 oxycodone pills in October 2009 to a witness cooperating with the government in North Reading, Mass.
“You were drug trafficking, and you were drug trafficking until they caught you,” said Young. “You got to a position where you thought that the rules didn’t apply to you.”
The sentence came after Jasinski asked Young for a lighter sentence or time served. Jasinski pleaded guilty in October to possession with attempt to distribute oxycodone and failure to file a tax return for 2008, the year he won the $500,000 “Big Brother” prize.
“I’m sick. I won $500,000 and I blew it all,” said an emotional Jasinski, who also has admitted to being treated for bipolar disorder and drug addiction. “I apologize. I’m a mess…Give me a chance to get out and find out who I really am.”
Jasinski’s lawyer, Valerie Carter, sought for a sentence of around 10 months, or time served.
Young told Jasinski he had shown progress in seeking treatment for his drug addiction and his mental illness. Young said that’s why he opted not to adopt Assistant U.S. Attorney Linda Ricci’s recommendation for a 4 1/5 year prison sentence.
But Young said it was the second time Jasinski was convicted on drug charges. He was sentenced to five years’ probation after his previous conviction in New York.
Jasinski had faced a maximum 14 years on the drug charge and one year on the tax charge.
After Jasinski won “Big Brother 9” in April 2008, Ricci said Jasinski failed to file an income tax return and failed to pay taxes owed on the prize money. The series features contestants who live under constant surveillance and vote once a week to evict each other.
U.S. District Court Judge William Young handed down the sentence while Adam Jasinski, 32, of Delray Beach, Fla., listened and nodded while his parents quietly sobbed. Jasinski was arrested for attempting to sell 2,000 oxycodone pills in October 2009 to a witness cooperating with the government in North Reading, Mass.
“You were drug trafficking, and you were drug trafficking until they caught you,” said Young. “You got to a position where you thought that the rules didn’t apply to you.”
The sentence came after Jasinski asked Young for a lighter sentence or time served. Jasinski pleaded guilty in October to possession with attempt to distribute oxycodone and failure to file a tax return for 2008, the year he won the $500,000 “Big Brother” prize.
“I’m sick. I won $500,000 and I blew it all,” said an emotional Jasinski, who also has admitted to being treated for bipolar disorder and drug addiction. “I apologize. I’m a mess…Give me a chance to get out and find out who I really am.”
Jasinski’s lawyer, Valerie Carter, sought for a sentence of around 10 months, or time served.
Young told Jasinski he had shown progress in seeking treatment for his drug addiction and his mental illness. Young said that’s why he opted not to adopt Assistant U.S. Attorney Linda Ricci’s recommendation for a 4 1/5 year prison sentence.
But Young said it was the second time Jasinski was convicted on drug charges. He was sentenced to five years’ probation after his previous conviction in New York.
Jasinski had faced a maximum 14 years on the drug charge and one year on the tax charge.
After Jasinski won “Big Brother 9” in April 2008, Ricci said Jasinski failed to file an income tax return and failed to pay taxes owed on the prize money. The series features contestants who live under constant surveillance and vote once a week to evict each other.
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Movies 'King's Speech' Gets 14 U.K. Academy Nominations
Made-in-England favorite "The King's Speech" leads the race for the British Academy Film Awards, Britain's equivalent of the Oscars, with 14 nominations announced Tuesday, including best picture.
Colin Firth is the best-actor front-runner for his performance as stuttering monarch King George VI, with Geoffrey Rush nominated for best supporting actor as the unconventional speech therapist who treated him. Helena Bonham Carter is up for best supporting actress for playing the king's wife, the Queen Mother Elizabeth.
The film faces strong competition from psychosexual ballet thriller "Black Swan," which has 12 nominations, and mind-bending saga "Inception," with nine. Endurance story "127 Hours" and Coen brothers Western "True Grit" have eight nominations each.
"The King's Speech," which shows the monarch struggling to find his voice as his nation faces its greatest test during World War II, has struck a popular chord with its humanizing depiction of the British royal family, drawing ovations from audiences at some screenings.
The modestly budgeted production, which has already earned more than $50 million at the box office in the U.S. and Britain, was partly funded by the U.K. Film Council, a government body that has been abolished by Prime Minister David Cameron's Conservative-led coalition.
Firth, 50, won a best-actor trophy at Sunday's Golden Globes in Los Angeles, and the latest nomination gives him extra momentum going into the Oscars. A win would be Firth's second BAFTA in a row -- he took the acting prize last year for "A Single Man."
"The Social Network," the story of the founding of Facebook, has six nominations including best picture; Aaron Sorkin's screenplay; and David Fincher's direction. Jesse Eisenberg received a best actor nomination for his turn as Facebook's college-student founder Mark Zuckerberg.
As well as "The King's Speech" and "The Social Network," the best-picture nominees are "Black Swan," "Inception" and "True Grit."
The separate category of best British film pits "The King's Speech" against "127 Hours," "Another Year," "Four Lions" and "Made in Dagenham."
The best-actor contenders are Firth, Eisenberg, James Franco for "127 Hours," Javier Bardem for "Biutiful" and Jeff Bridges for "True Grit."
Annette Bening and Julianne Moore are both best-actress nominees for "The Kids Are All Right," along with Natalie Portman for "Black Swan," Noomi Rapace for "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo" and Hailee Steinfeld for "True Grit."
Best-director nominees are Fincher for "The Social Network," Tom Hooper for "The King's Speech," Danny Boyle for "127 Hours," Darren Aronofsky for "Black Swan" and Christopher Nolan for "Inception."
Elusive graffiti artist Banksy is nominated for outstanding debut by a British writer, director or producer for directing the faux documentary "Exit Through The Gift Shop."
Pete Postlethwaite, who died earlier this month, is nominated posthumously in the best supporting actor category for his role as an Irish-American gangster in "The Town."
The British awards, known as BAFTAs, will be handed out at London's Royal Opera House on Feb. 13, two weeks before the Academy Awards in Hollywood, and are considered an important indicator of likely Oscar success.
Last year, Iraq war drama "The Hurt Locker" won six BAFTAs, including best picture -- then repeated the feat at the Oscars.
Colin Firth is the best-actor front-runner for his performance as stuttering monarch King George VI, with Geoffrey Rush nominated for best supporting actor as the unconventional speech therapist who treated him. Helena Bonham Carter is up for best supporting actress for playing the king's wife, the Queen Mother Elizabeth.
The film faces strong competition from psychosexual ballet thriller "Black Swan," which has 12 nominations, and mind-bending saga "Inception," with nine. Endurance story "127 Hours" and Coen brothers Western "True Grit" have eight nominations each.
"The King's Speech," which shows the monarch struggling to find his voice as his nation faces its greatest test during World War II, has struck a popular chord with its humanizing depiction of the British royal family, drawing ovations from audiences at some screenings.
The modestly budgeted production, which has already earned more than $50 million at the box office in the U.S. and Britain, was partly funded by the U.K. Film Council, a government body that has been abolished by Prime Minister David Cameron's Conservative-led coalition.
Firth, 50, won a best-actor trophy at Sunday's Golden Globes in Los Angeles, and the latest nomination gives him extra momentum going into the Oscars. A win would be Firth's second BAFTA in a row -- he took the acting prize last year for "A Single Man."
"The Social Network," the story of the founding of Facebook, has six nominations including best picture; Aaron Sorkin's screenplay; and David Fincher's direction. Jesse Eisenberg received a best actor nomination for his turn as Facebook's college-student founder Mark Zuckerberg.
As well as "The King's Speech" and "The Social Network," the best-picture nominees are "Black Swan," "Inception" and "True Grit."
The separate category of best British film pits "The King's Speech" against "127 Hours," "Another Year," "Four Lions" and "Made in Dagenham."
The best-actor contenders are Firth, Eisenberg, James Franco for "127 Hours," Javier Bardem for "Biutiful" and Jeff Bridges for "True Grit."
Annette Bening and Julianne Moore are both best-actress nominees for "The Kids Are All Right," along with Natalie Portman for "Black Swan," Noomi Rapace for "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo" and Hailee Steinfeld for "True Grit."
Best-director nominees are Fincher for "The Social Network," Tom Hooper for "The King's Speech," Danny Boyle for "127 Hours," Darren Aronofsky for "Black Swan" and Christopher Nolan for "Inception."
Elusive graffiti artist Banksy is nominated for outstanding debut by a British writer, director or producer for directing the faux documentary "Exit Through The Gift Shop."
Pete Postlethwaite, who died earlier this month, is nominated posthumously in the best supporting actor category for his role as an Irish-American gangster in "The Town."
The British awards, known as BAFTAs, will be handed out at London's Royal Opera House on Feb. 13, two weeks before the Academy Awards in Hollywood, and are considered an important indicator of likely Oscar success.
Last year, Iraq war drama "The Hurt Locker" won six BAFTAs, including best picture -- then repeated the feat at the Oscars.
Monday, January 17, 2011
Phil Hellmuth Gets Poker Lesson at Caddy Shack
Professional poker star Phil Hellmuth is famous for his domination on the felt -- but when Phil kicked in for an impromptu game at a Chicago county club recently, he got OWNED by a caddy!
TMZ obtained footage of Phil playing a few hands at a regular cash game inside the caddy shack of the Medinah Country Club back on October.
The game was "7 Card Stud -- and Phil wanted to throw around some cards before he tee'd off for a round of golf. But after the video cuts off ... things really started to heat up.
Sources tell us Phil was holding his own until one of the caddies took him for a $350 pot by besting Hellmuth's ace high flush with a full house.
Gotta know when to fold 'em...
TMZ obtained footage of Phil playing a few hands at a regular cash game inside the caddy shack of the Medinah Country Club back on October.
The game was "7 Card Stud -- and Phil wanted to throw around some cards before he tee'd off for a round of golf. But after the video cuts off ... things really started to heat up.
Sources tell us Phil was holding his own until one of the caddies took him for a $350 pot by besting Hellmuth's ace high flush with a full house.
Gotta know when to fold 'em...
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Ricky Gervais Gets Animated – No Apologies Necessary
With the Golden Globes and the return of his cartoon show, we're in for a double dose of a comic with plenty of smarts and little fear.
Near the end of his latest hilarious HBO stand-up special, in which he irreverently deconstructed his childhood "Noah's Ark" storybook, Ricky Gervais turned almost serious and offered what we'll take as his philosophy of comedy.
"I think a comedian should take you to places you haven't been before, otherwise you could do it yourself," he said. "There's enough anodyne comedy out there... obvious stuff that doesn't make any difference at all."
Gervais also made clear that he has no patience for "this spate of comedians saying, 'sorry' when they go too far."
We'll keep his two-pronged approach – avoiding the obvious and saying what you think, damn the consequences – in mind this weekend as we prepare for a welcome double-dose of the Gervais wit, in a couple of very different forums.
"The Ricky Gervais Show" – an animated show in which he and writing partner Stephen Merchant banter with pal Karl Pilkington, a purveyor of bizarre theories – returns for a second season on HBO Friday.
Getting much more publicity, of course, is Gervais' latest – and, sadly, last – stint as host of the Golden Globes on NBC Sunday.
Finding laughs in less-than-obvious places worked for Gervais in his original, UK version of "The Office," the show that made him a major comedy force. Instead of writing the usual mindless guffaw-a-minute sitcom, Gervais and Merchant employed the humor of the uncomfortable to wrench uneasy laughs out of a too-close-to-home, soul-crushing workplace.
He and Merchant found a different kind of humor in an even more unlikely source in Pilkington, a radio producer who believes “The Flinstones” is rooted in historical fact and who has an odd fascination with monkeys. Gervais and Merchant pick apart Pilkington's detailed ramblings, laughing more at him than with him, though he’s seemingly confident enough in his strange beliefs not to care that he’s the joke.
The no-apologies Gervais was on display in "Extras," his and Merchants' brilliant attack on shallow celebrity culture and fame, bringing in stars like Daniel Radcliffe, Kate Winslet and Ian McKellen to play obnoxious versions of themselves. The series ended with Gervais’ sell-out actor character fleeing a Reality TV show for has-beens.
Gervais' smart and fearless humor made last year's Golden Globes the most entertaining awards show in recent memory, as he targeted Mel Gibson’s drinking (he went easy on him knowing what we know now) and even hurled a divorce joke at a seeming sacred (tofu) cow like Paul McCartney.
We're looking forward to more unabashed puncturing of pretensions Sunday night, whether the celebs are in on the joke or not.
In the meantime, as we await a weekend of laughs, courtesy of Gervais, here are some final serious words about the state of humor from his HBO special:
"There's also a witch-hunt at the moment with people saying, 'Oh, is there anything we shouldn't make a joke about?'
"No – there's nothing you shouldn't joke about. It depends what the joke is....
"Comedy comes from a good or a bad place. It's up to you to decide what that is."
Near the end of his latest hilarious HBO stand-up special, in which he irreverently deconstructed his childhood "Noah's Ark" storybook, Ricky Gervais turned almost serious and offered what we'll take as his philosophy of comedy.
"I think a comedian should take you to places you haven't been before, otherwise you could do it yourself," he said. "There's enough anodyne comedy out there... obvious stuff that doesn't make any difference at all."
Gervais also made clear that he has no patience for "this spate of comedians saying, 'sorry' when they go too far."
We'll keep his two-pronged approach – avoiding the obvious and saying what you think, damn the consequences – in mind this weekend as we prepare for a welcome double-dose of the Gervais wit, in a couple of very different forums.
"The Ricky Gervais Show" – an animated show in which he and writing partner Stephen Merchant banter with pal Karl Pilkington, a purveyor of bizarre theories – returns for a second season on HBO Friday.
Getting much more publicity, of course, is Gervais' latest – and, sadly, last – stint as host of the Golden Globes on NBC Sunday.
Finding laughs in less-than-obvious places worked for Gervais in his original, UK version of "The Office," the show that made him a major comedy force. Instead of writing the usual mindless guffaw-a-minute sitcom, Gervais and Merchant employed the humor of the uncomfortable to wrench uneasy laughs out of a too-close-to-home, soul-crushing workplace.
He and Merchant found a different kind of humor in an even more unlikely source in Pilkington, a radio producer who believes “The Flinstones” is rooted in historical fact and who has an odd fascination with monkeys. Gervais and Merchant pick apart Pilkington's detailed ramblings, laughing more at him than with him, though he’s seemingly confident enough in his strange beliefs not to care that he’s the joke.
The no-apologies Gervais was on display in "Extras," his and Merchants' brilliant attack on shallow celebrity culture and fame, bringing in stars like Daniel Radcliffe, Kate Winslet and Ian McKellen to play obnoxious versions of themselves. The series ended with Gervais’ sell-out actor character fleeing a Reality TV show for has-beens.
Gervais' smart and fearless humor made last year's Golden Globes the most entertaining awards show in recent memory, as he targeted Mel Gibson’s drinking (he went easy on him knowing what we know now) and even hurled a divorce joke at a seeming sacred (tofu) cow like Paul McCartney.
We're looking forward to more unabashed puncturing of pretensions Sunday night, whether the celebs are in on the joke or not.
In the meantime, as we await a weekend of laughs, courtesy of Gervais, here are some final serious words about the state of humor from his HBO special:
"There's also a witch-hunt at the moment with people saying, 'Oh, is there anything we shouldn't make a joke about?'
"No – there's nothing you shouldn't joke about. It depends what the joke is....
"Comedy comes from a good or a bad place. It's up to you to decide what that is."
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