Hollywood
Golden Globe attendees urged to donate clothes for Tsunami relief
MUMBAI: Hollywood stars are all set to do their bit in helping victims of the Tsunami natural disaster.
In exactly a week’s time the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) will organise the Golden Globe Awards. In conjunction with the prestigious event Unicef has announced the Clothes Off Our Back Golden Globe Auction.
Film, television stars and other celebrities will auction their clothes worn on the event’s Red Carpet. Proceeds raised from will benefit the Unicef Tsunami Relief Fund. Championing the initiative are two of American television’s leading lights: Jane Kaczmarek who stars in the sitcom Malcolm In The Middle and her
husband, Bradley Whitford who can be sen in The West Wing which airs in India on Zee English. In India the Golden Globe Awards will air live on Star World on 17 January at 6:30 am with a repeat at 8 pm.
Kaczmarek said, “With a disaster of this magnitude that has affected so many children everyone wants to help. The Hollywood community has a great opportunity with the upcoming Golden Globe. We are calling on all current and past Golden Globe nominees and winners to donate their clothing and accessories that from the red carpet to help raise money for Unicef to care for the children who have survived this disaster.”
Celebrities, designers and stylists are encouraged to donate gowns, tuxedos, shoes, watches, handbags, and sunglasses, anything that has been worn to a previous ceremony or will be worn to the upcoming Golden Globes.
For further information check the site www.clothesoffourback.org. Meanwhile the HFPA and In Style Magazine will treat this year’s Golden Globe presenters to an array of lavish items. Each presenter will get gifts worth a total of $38,000.
Selected items for the presenter boxes include a VIP travel package including luxury accommodations in Hunter Valley near Sydney. The package has been created by Rosemount Estates vineyard of Australia and has guided tours and tastings at their winery. Quantas Airlines will provide the air transportation for this package to Australia in their new international luxury class Skybed. Also another goodie for presenters is a bi-coastal six-month membership to Sports Club LA.
Hollywood
Did the ballet and opera controversy cost Timothée Chalamet his Oscar? Â
The actor’s ‘dying art forms’ comments may have danced away his Oscar chances.
LOS ANGELES: Last night, the 98th Academy Awards delivered a performance that wasn’t in the script, as Michael B. Jordan clinched the Best Actor statue, leaving Timothée Chalamet’s widely predicted win to pirouette away into the night. While Chalamet was long considered the frontrunner for his starring turn in Marty Supreme, many are whispering that a singular, ill-timed performance, not on screen but on the campaign trail, may have rewritten the finale.
For months, the narrative surrounding the race had a singular star, Chalamet, the critics’ darling and the bookies’ bet. However, the closing numbers saw a dramatic plot twist. Chalamet found himself upstaged not just by his fellow nominees but by the ghost of public opinion, following remarks he made during a Variety and CNN actor-on-actor conversation in February.
What started as a breezy discussion turned distinctly frosty when Chalamet, the conversation’s designated trendsetter, took aim at some classical institutions. “I don’t want to be working in ballet or opera, where no one is interested anymore,” he said, before branding them “dying art forms.”
The backlash was swift and, unfortunately for Chalamet’s campaign, star-studded. For the film industry, an establishment that often fancies itself as the glamorous custodian of the high arts, the actor’s comments didn’t just strike a bum note. They sounded like a discordant symphony. Academy heavyweights, including Jamie Lee Curtis, Whoopi Goldberg and Steven Spielberg, publicly voiced their disapproval. Spielberg himself countered that the “cinematic experience” and classical performance are bound by a similar dedication to audience engagement, effectively suggesting that Chalamet’s view was perhaps a bit too modern for its own good.
The conversation quickly became a media maelstrom. In a masterstroke of high-culture clapback, renowned ballerina Misty Copeland didn’t just issue a statement. The Academy even choreographed a surprise performance by her for the ceremony itself, a powerful, wordless rebuttal that many saw as a direct riposte to Chalamet’s dismissive claims. Even regional arts institutions joined the choreography. The Seattle Opera offered a cheeky “TIMOTHEE” discount, granting a 14 percent markdown to prove that people do, in fact, care.
Did this cultural counterpoint truly cost Chalamet his win? While some industry insiders argue that Michael B. Jordan’s complex dual performance in Sinners, a performance that also swept the SAG Awards, had simply built up too much momentum, the timing of Chalamet’s comments was undeniably poor. Coming as final Oscar voting began, they arguably soured his narrative and made a vote for him feel, to some, like a vote against artistic unity.
Even the ceremony itself wasn’t finished with the narrative. Host Conan O’Brien, whose sharp tongue is a celebrated feature of these galas, didn’t miss a beat. “Security is extremely tight tonight,” O’Brien jibed during his opening monologue, glancing toward the front row. “I’m told there are concerns about attacks from both the opera and ballet communities. They’re just mad you left out jazz!”
The laughter that followed was pointed, a final public curtain call for a controversy that Chalamet likely wished had closed weeks ago. Whether it was a case of genuine peer disapproval, a sudden surge in support for Jordan’s powerhouse performance, or simply a case of poor footwork on the campaign stage, the ballet and opera debacle has now cemented its place in Oscar history. Chalamet’s experience serves as a clear memo to future contenders. Even when you are the headline act, a solo performance can still fall flat if you forget to play to the entire house.
