Tag: Hollywood

Sandra Bullock put Hollywood career on pause for a year to be with ill partner Bryan Randall

Sandra Bullock put her Hollywood career on pause to care for her critically ill boyfriend Bryan Randall, who passed away over the weekend after a three-year battle with ALS, sources told Page Six.

When the actress stepped onto the red carpet alongside co-star Channing Tatum at the premiere of their movie “The Lost City” in March 2022 — without Randall by her side — few had a clue as to what was going on behind the scenes.

Tatum is believed to have been among a small group aware that Randall, a photographer, was suffering from the cruel degenerative disease, Page Six is told.

Since then, Bullock has been seen only a handful of times in public.

While promoting the comedy, Bullock — who called Randall, 57, “the love of my life” — revealed that she was going to take time off.

Sandra Bullock went into hiding, taking time off from Hollywood and tightening her social circle, as partner Bryan Randall’s ALS battle progressed. He passed away over the weekend.
Snorlax / MEGA
Sandra Bullock’s children, Louis and Laila, reportedly called her partner Bryan Randall “Dad.”
MEGA

“I want to be at home. I’m not doing anyone any favors who’s investing in a project if I’m saying, ‘I just want to be at home,’” she told CBS Sunday Morning. “‘Cause I was always running, I was always running to the next thing. I just want to be present and responsible for one thing.”

She confirmed to reporter Tracy Smith that “The Lost City” would be her last film for a while, adding, “And I don’t know what ‘a while’ is. I don’t know what that is.”

A top Hollywood producer told Page Six: “I don’t think people knew that Sandra actually took off to care for Bryan.”

Calling the star “beloved” in Hollywood, the producer said: “I’m gutted for her.”

The strain was etched on Bullock’s face when she was last seen in public in April, as she joined her longtime agent, Kevin Huvane of CAA, for dinner at Blue Ribbon in Soho.

Wearing no makeup, Bullock looked exhausted and close to tears as Huvane kept his arm around her.

“I know that her agents have been extremely protective of her,” a CAA-connected source told Page Six. “No one said a word.”

Bullock is said to have gone to great lengths to protect Randall’s privacy.
SplashNews.com
Bullock was last seen in public on her 59th birthday on July 26, leaving a friend’s house in LA clutching a bouquet of flowers.
LESE/stoianov / BACKGRID

Bullock first met Randall after hiring him to take photographs at a birthday party for her son Louis, now 13, in 2015. They went public as a couple in October of that year, at the premiere of her movie “Our Brand is Crisis.”

The actress had not been in a serious relationship since her bitter split from her cheating ex-husband, Jesse James, in 2010 — the same year she adopted Louis.

She later told People that although she first intended to raise him with James, she instead found herself filing for divorce.“

I will be adopting as a single parent,” Bullock said. “Anything else [as far as James’ involvement] will be day by day.”

Louis, as well as Bullock’s 11-year-old daughter Laila, who she adopted in 2015, are believed to have called Randall “Dad,” according to the Daily Mail. The publication also reported that the couple tied the knot in an unofficial ceremony in December 2017 at French financier Arpaud Busson’s Three Bees Villa on Harbor Island in the Bahamas.

Although Randall was believed to have spent time in Bullock’s Malibu home, he was mainly cared for at her Beverly Hills home, with a team of nurses in place.

Source: https://pagesix.com/2023/08/08/sandra-bullock-went-into-hiding-for-a-year-with-bryan-randall/

Priyanka Chopra Jonas Quit Bollywood Because ‘I Was Being Pushed Into a Corner’ and ‘I Had Beef With People’

Brian Feinzimer for Variety

Hollywood star Priyanka Chopra Jonas has revealed for the first time why she quit her native Bollywood industry in India and started fresh in the U.S.

Speaking on the “Armchair Expert With Dax Shepard” podcast, Chopra Jonas, who was a huge star in Bollywood before she moved to the U.S., said: “I was being pushed into a corner in the industry. I had people not casting me for reasons… I had beef with people. I was tired of the politics. I was just like, ‘I need a break.’”

The break came in the shape of a music career in the U.S. In 2011, Universal Music Group signed Chopra Jonas to a worldwide recording agreement with DesiHits, and part of the deal was that her first studio album would be released by Interscope Records in North America and by Island Records in the rest of the world.

“This music thing gave me an opportunity to go into another part of the world, not crave for the movies I wanted to get but I would require to schmooze certain clubs and cliques of people and it would require, like, groveling and I had worked for a long time by then that I didn’t feel like I wanted to do it,” Chopra Jonas said on the podcast. “So when this music thing came, I was like fuck it. I’m gonna go to America, and Interscope was amazing. They threw the building at me.”

Chopra Jonas worked with Pitbull, Will.i.am, RedOne and many others. “I had dinner with Bruce Springsteen and his wife. I was living the dream,” Chopra Jonas said.

Her breakthrough acting role in the U.S. was ABC’s “Quantico.” “I read the pilots. I knew what the tone of the show was. And I worked with an acting coach. I did the diligence when I went in. And when I got the job, I realized that that’s all it takes. And that comes very naturally to me — prep. So with every job that I have gotten from smaller roles in features that I did, which I needed to build my English language filmography, I had a lot of people who knew me from my Indian film days, questioning why I went to Hollywood to do small parts and B-grade movies, is what they would say,” Chopra Jonas said.

Source: https://variety.com/2023/global/news/priyanka-chopra-jonas-quit-bollywood-1235566396/

Entertainment News Round-Up: Conman Sukesh Chandrashekhar Writes His ‘Baby’ Jacqueline Fernandez A Letter On His Birthday, Hailey Bieber Receives Death Threats Amid Her Ugly Spat With Selena Gomez, Mahira Khan Has ‘Mental Problems’ And ‘Flatters’ Indian Actors For ‘Money’; And More!

Here’s a quick round-up of what happened in the Hindi film and TV industry yesterday – March 25

Conman Sukesh Chandrashekhar Writes His ‘Baby’ Jacqueline Fernandez A Letter On His Birthday
Jailed conman Sukesh Chandrashekhar has been openly professing his love and support for actress Jacqueline Fernandez. While he is currently lodged in Delhi’s Tihar Jail in a Rs 200 crore extortion case, he has been consistently sending out letters addressed to the Bollywood actress. All his letters express how much he loves and adores her. On Saturday, on the occasion of his birthday, he wrote another letter for her.
Hailey Bieber Receives Death Threats Amid Her Ugly Spat With Selena Gomez
The Selena Gomez-Hailey Bieber spat just appears to be getting ugly and things have already gone out of hands as the latter has been receiving death threats from Selena’s fans. The Taki Taki singer defended Hailey Bieber on Friday urging fans to stop making judgements about the two and their alleged dispute.
Apart from disclosing that Hailey had called her, she also mentioned in her Instagram Story that Hailey has been receiving death threats. She appealed to her fans to stop being mean and harassing, stressing that this isn’t who she is.
Mahira Khan Has ‘Mental Problems’ And ‘Flatters’ Indian Actors For ‘Money’
Pakistani senator Dr Afnan Ullah Khan has taken a nasty dig at Mahira Khan as he alleged that the actress has a mental problem and that she flatters Indian actors for money. He also made a comment against Anwar Maqsood and said that he is drunk these days. In his insensitive comment, Khan even called Mahira and Anwar shameless and the tweet has gone viral.

Gwyneth Paltrow’s ski collision lawsuit testimony: Five notable moments

Gwyneth Paltrow leaves the court after testifying

Oscar-winning actress Gwyneth Paltrow is being sued by a retired optometrist who says she crashed into him on a ski slope, leaving him with a number of injuries.

Paltrow denies this – claiming that Terry Sanderson crashed into her – and on Friday she had her chance to share her side of the story with a court room in Park City, Utah.

Among the notable moments:

Terry Sanderson was making ‘strange noises that sounded male’

Paltrow said she had initially thought she was being sexually assaulted during the collision.

She said she knew a man had crashed into her because he was making “some strange noises that sounded male” and he was “large”.

She said she felt “a body pressing against me”, adding: “There was a strange grunting noise”.

Are you counter-suing for $1 because of a Taylor Swift case?

Paltrow was asked if she was counter-suing for $1 because US singer Taylor Swift brought a similar “symbolic” lawsuit in the past.
When asked if she knew about Swift’s case, Paltrow said: “I had not been familiar with it, but I now am.”

“It’s an actual dollar that I’m asking for – it’s symbolic because the damages would actually be more,” she added.

When asked if she and Swift are friends, she said: “I would not say we’re good friends – we are friendly, but we don’t talk very often.”

Source: https://news.sky.com/story/gwyneth-paltrows-ski-collision-lawsuit-testimony-five-notable-moments-12842012

Oscars Reject Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s Bid to Appear on Telecast

Courtesy of NBC

For the past year, Volodymyr Zelenskyy has been greeted with open arms by awards shows, film festivals and even the New York Stock Exchange. But when it comes to landing airtime on the most coveted telecast of all — the Oscars — the Ukrainian leader is being met with a cold shoulder.

For the second year in a row, the Academy has snubbed Zelenskyy, who was hoping to follow up his Berlin Film Festival (remote) appearance last month with a virtual spot on Sunday’s Oscar telecast on ABC. Sources say WME power agent Mike Simpson made a plea to the Academy to include the comedic actor-turned-politician but was shut down. The Academy declined comment.

Zelenskyy’s overtures to the Oscars comes as polls show Americans’ support for providing assistance to Ukraine has weakened.

Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Zelenskyy has popped up via satellite at both the Cannes and Venice film festivals as well as the Grammy Awards and virtually rang the Opening Bell of the New York Stock Exchange in September. At the Golden Globes in January, Sean Penn introduced Zelenskyy, who reiterated his message of the past 12-plus months that that Ukraine will win the war against Russia and applauded “the free people of the free world — those who united around the support of the free Ukrainian people.”

Simpson became involved because he represents Aaron Kaufman, who co-directed with Penn the Zelenskyy documentary “Superpower,” which debuted at the Berlin Film Festival in February. During various press events for the film, Penn called for the U.S. government to step up its military support for Ukraine including “the delivery and supply of long-range precision missiles.” In December, Zelenskyy visited the U.S. to meet with President Biden and urge Congress to send more military aid to Ukraine.

But not everyone is onboard with giving Zelenskyy more airtime. Last year, Oscars producer Will Packer nixed a Zelenskyy appearance. Sources say Packer expressed concerns that Hollywood was only showering Ukraine with attention because those affected by the conflict are white. By contrast, Hollywood has ignored wars around the globe that impact people of color, he argued. Packer did not respond to a request for comment. It is unclear what the rationale is for this year’s Oscars rejection, however, the Academy traditionally prefers to focus on the contributions of the filmmaking community and steer clear of anything political.

Chinese video sites remove Keanu Reeves’ films


Chinese streaming platforms have pulled down the films and video content starring Hollywood actor Keanu Reeves.
At least 19 films starring Reeves were removed from the Chinese Video platform, Tencent, according to Los Angeles Times.
Among the 19 deleted films, “The Matrix” trilogy, “Speed,” “Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure,” and romances including “Something’s Gotta Give” and “The Lake House” were also there.
Earlier, in January, Chinese social media users criticized Matrix actor and called for the boycott of his work in China after the reports broke out that the actor would participate in a benefit concert on March 3 for Tibet House, a New York-based nonprofit affiliated with the exiled spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama.The film company, Warner Bros’ representative and Reeves declined to comment, according to Los Angeles Times
Meanwhile, China on the pretext of internal and external security threats is upgrading its military infrastructure along the western frontier in Tibet and Xinjiang.

Source: https://www.aninews.in/news/world/asia/chinese-video-sites-remove-keanu-reeves-films20220327230746/#.YkES0MqdtUw.whatsapp

North Korea goes Hollywood with dramatic missile launch footage

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un (C) walks near what state media said was a new inter-continental ballistic missile STR KCNA VIA KNS/AFP

Seoul (AFP) – Leather jacket, sunglasses and a gigantic missile: North Korean state media announced the launch of Pyongyang’s largest-ever intercontinental ballistic missile with an attempt at old school Hollywood flair on Friday.

Leader Kim Jong Un walks towards the camera, flanked by generals, as they prepare to fire the giant Hwasong-17 missile — Pyongyang’s first ICBM test since 2017.

Over suspenseful music, the camera cuts between two generals and Kim checking their watches, before, in slow motion, Kim whips off his sunglasses and gives a nod, prompting soldiers to move the enormous missile into position.

The footage — swiftly remixed into parodies on social media — also focuses on the missile itself. A dramatic countdown scene leading up to the launch shows soldiers shouting “fire!” as the button for the test is finally pressed.

Cheong Seong-chang of the Center for North Korea Studies at the Sejong Institute, said the style of the video shows Pyongyang’s increasing confidence in its military capabilities.

“They have gained confidence in their military power to the point where they feel comfortable making it into a movie and enjoying it,” he told AFP.

Source: https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20220325-north-korea-goes-hollywood-with-dramatic-missile-launch-footage?ref=wa

Are the Oscars Over?

Illustrated by Justin Metz instagram.com/just.metz
Have you heard about Aperture 2025?

It may sound like a Roland Emmerich sci-fi movie, but it’s actually more frightening. And much more controversial. It’s the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’s latest initiative to make Hollywood more equitable and diverse—more woke—by changing the rules by which films are eligible for Best Picture nominations. Here’s how it works: Starting in 2024, producers will be required to submit a summation of the race, gender, sexual orientation, and disability status of members of their movie’s cast and crew. If a particular movie does not have enough people of color or disabled people or gays or lesbians working on the set—and what is “enough” will be determined by a knotty tangle of byzantine formularies—then that movie will no longer be eligible for an Oscar.

Not surprisingly, the plan is not being universally applauded in Hollywood. Critics say it’s invasive, anticreative, opens the door to privacy issues, and is spectacularly unfair to actors and crew members, who may want to keep their sexual orientation or health profiles to themselves, not to mention to producers and directors who have enough to worry about while shooting a movie than to be saddled with the thankless task of tallying up the identity markers of their creative partners. 

“I mean, why aren’t animals in this?” sneers one industry insider. “What if the main character is a horse?”

Unfortunately, Aperture 2025 isn’t the only Academy initiative to recently raise eyebrows in Hollywood. In February, Oscar organizers triggered a civil war in Hollywood over a plan to pretape many of the below-the-line categories—film editing, makeup and hairstyling, original score, production design, the short-film selections—and roll edits of those awards into the live broadcast. Predictably, many Academy members (especially film editors, makeup and hairstylists, and production designers) balked at the change, but at least that one was designed to address an actual existential threat to the ceremony: that it’s become so long and boring that huge swaths of the audience have begun tuning out.

“The Academy was out of touch with the public when it was mostly white, and it remained so when it became somewhat less white.”

Last year, the Oscars drew an all-time low of 9.85 million viewers—less than what an episode of The Big Bang Theory used to get. Granted, the pandemic and the resulting dearth of theatrical releases contributed to the decline, but the truth is, Oscar ratings began plummeting long before COVID-19. At its height in the 1990s, the ceremony was pulling in as many as 55 million viewers in the United States. Even into the 2000s, it was drawing at least 40 million. But by the 2010s, the numbers started falling into the 30 millions and, by that decade’s end, had dropped further, into the 20 millions. The audience for the last pre-pandemic Oscars, in February 2020, was 23.6 million, less than half of its one-time peak.

There’s no shortage of theories to explain why viewers are turning off to the Oscars: The shrinking of movie actors as cultural icons (as TikTok and Instagram stars become the ascendant media gods); the reluctance of the Academy to update the ceremony, which has remained substantially unchanged since it was first broadcast in 1953; the growing chasm between the esoteric tastes of the Academy’s voting members (who this year nominated Drive My Car, a Japanese drama about a grieving theater director putting on a production of Uncle Vanya in Hiroshima) and the preferences of the wider theatergoing public (who likes Spider-Man). 

Whatever the reason, the conclusion is inescapable: The Oscars are tanking. And no matter how well-intentioned Aperture 2025 may be, the initiative isn’t going to fix that problem. On the contrary, at this rate, by 2025, filmmakers with even the most equitable and diverse sets may not give a damn whether their films are eligible for an Oscar or not because hardly anyone will be watching.

FRONT-ROW SEATS Meryl Streep and other luminaries at the 90th Academy Awards ceremony, where she was up for the 2018 Best Actress award for her portrayal of editor Katharine Graham in The Post. (TODD WAWRYCHUK/AMPAS VIA ZUMA WIRE/ZUMAPRESS.COM)

THE ACADEMY—and Hollywood—has faced existential crises before. Back in the 1950s, when the cathode-ray tube first crackled to life, the industry convinced itself that television would eventually murder the movies. The studios concocted all sorts of wacky gimmicks—CinemaScope and Cinerama, 3-D, even Smell-O-Vision—to keep audiences in theaters and stave off cinema’s seemingly inevitable extinction. 

Source : https://www.lamag.com/culturefiles/are-the-oscars-over-2/

 

Hollywood Newsmaker of the Week: Kanye West gets dropped by Grammy 2022, Britney disappears and more

Check out all that went down this week in Hollywood.

Hollywood was seemingly not on its right foot this past week with the inevitable happenings of Kanye West and his escalated drama online which subsequently led to his suspension from Instagram following his and Saturday Night Live star Pete Davidson’s text exchanges were leaked online. The whole farce finally reached its climax this week and as most hope its ending too. Besides a truckload of Kanye West headlines, we too had other happenings that shook Hollywood. Scroll down further to get a quick recap of all that went down in Hollywood in the last week.

Kanye West loses Grammy performance slot

Following his use of racial slurs directed at Trevor Noah after he released a segment concerning the problem of women’s safety through the Kanye West-Kim Kardashian online feud, the rapper was not only suspended from Instagram for 24-hours but also dropped from the list of performers on Grammy 2022 due to his “concerning online behaviour” despite being nominated for 5 categories this year.
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