John Travolta & wife Kelly Preston: Governors Awards
John Travolta and wife Kelly Preston are seen arriving at the 2011 Governors Awards. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ ceremony was held in the Grand Ballroom at Hollywood & Highland in Hollywood, on Saturday, Nov. 12.
Veteran actor James Earl Jones (The Great White Hope) was a long-distance Honorary Oscar honoree, as he’s co-starring with Best Supporting Actress Oscar winner Vanessa Redgrave (Julia, 1977) in Driving Miss Daisy on the London stage. Veteran make-up artist Dick Smith (Amadeus, The Sentinel, Taxi Driver) was present to receive his Honorary Oscar.
Television celebrity Oprah Winfrey, a 1985 Best Supporting Actress nominee for the Steven Spielberg drama The Color Purple, was the recipient of this year’s Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award.
John Travolta movies
John Travolta has received two Best Actor Oscar nominations:
- John Badham’s Saturday Night Fever (1977), with Karen Lynn Gorney.
Winner: Richard Dreyfuss in Herbert Ross’ The Goodbye Girl. - Quentin Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction (1994), with Uma Thurman, Samuel L. Jackson, and Bruce Willis.
Winner: Tom Hanks in Robert Zemeckis’ Forrest Gump.
Other John Travolta movie credits include:
- Urban Cowboy (1980).
Director: James Bridges.
Cast: Debra Winger. - Blow Out (1981).
- Staying Alive (1983).
- Broken Arrow (1996).
- Mad City (1997).
- Face/Off (1997).
- Primary Colors (1998).
Director: Mike Nichols.
Cast: Emma Thompson. Kathy Bates. Larry Hagman. - The Punisher (2004).
- Hairspray (2007).
- From Paris with Love (2010).
Kelly Preston movies
Among Kelly Preston’s movie credits are Twins, Citizen Ruth, From Dusk Till Dawn, and Only You.
Also: The Experts, Addicted to Love, Eulogy, Sky High, and Old Dogs.
John Travolta and Kelly Preston photo: Matt Petit / © A.M.P.A.S.
The Artist director/screenwriter Michel Hazanavicius; his wife Bérénice Bejo; and Jean Dujardin attend the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ 2011 Governors Awards, which was held on Saturday, Nov. 12, in the Grand Ballroom at Hollywood & Highland in Los Angeles. Hazanavicius, Bejo, and Cannes Film Festival Best Actor winner Dujardin are all likely nominees for the 2012 Academy Awards.
This year’s Governors Awards honorees were actor James Earl Jones, whose credits range from The Great White Hope to the voice of Darth Vader in the Star Wars movies. Jones was a long-distance Honorary Oscar recipient, as he’s co-starring with Best Supporting Actress Oscar winner Vanessa Redgrave (Julia, 1977) in a London stage production of Driving Miss Daisy.
Make-up artist Dick Smith, whose movie credits include The Cardinal, House on Haunted Hill, and The World of Henry Orient, was present at the ceremony to receive his Honorary Oscar statuette. And so was television celebrity Oprah Winfrey, a Best Supporting Actress Academy Award nominee for Steven Spielberg’s The Color Purple (1985); Winfrey was this year’s Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award winner.
Jean Dujardin movies
In The Artist, Jean Dujardin plays a fast-fading silent film star along the lines of John Gilbert – but with the joie de vivre of Douglas Fairbanks. There are also shades of both Fredric March and James Mason in the 1937 and 1954 versions of A Star Is Born, with bits of Gene Kelly in Singin’ in the Rain thrown in.
A likely Best Actor Oscar contender, Dujardin has been featured in about two dozen films since 2001. Apart from The Artist, here’s a quartet of notable titles:
- The Brice Man / Brice de Nice (2005).
Director: James Huth.
Cast: Jean Dujardin. Clovis Cornillac. Élodie Bouchez. Bruno Salomone. Alexandra Lamy. - OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies / OSS 117: Le Caire, nid d’espions (2006).
Director: Michel Hazanavicius.
Cast: Jean Dujardin. Bérénice Bejo. François Damiens. Richard Sammel. Reem Kherici. Aure Atika. - OSS 117: Lost in Rio / OSS 117: Rio ne répond plus (2007).
Director: Michel Hazanavicius.
Cast: Jean Dujardin. Louise Monot. Rüdiger Vogler. Serge Hazanavicius. Laurent Capelluto. Ludovic Bource. Alvaro Correia. - Little White Lies / Les petits mouchoirs (2010).
Director: Guillaume Canet.
Cast: François Cluzet. Marion Cotillard. Benoît Magimel. Gilles Lellouche. Jean Dujardin. Laurent Lafitte. Valérie Bonneton. Pascale Arbillot. Anne Marivin. Louise Monot.
Based on Jean Bruce’s novel/character, the OSS 117 films are James Bond spoofs/classic movie homages starring Dujardin as the none-too-bright titular French spy.
OSS 117: Lost in Rio, for instance, pays homage to both Philippe de Broca’s That Man from Rio (1964) and Alfred Hitchcock’s North by Northwest (1959), with a climactic finale atop Rio de Janeiro’s Christ the Redeemer statue.
Jean Dujardin, Bérénice Bejo and husband Michel Hazanavicius photo: Matt Petit / © A.M.P.A.S.
Tilda Swinton: Red Carpet ‘We Need to Talk About Kevin’ reminder
Best Supporting Actress Academy Award-winning Actress Tilda Swinton, a potential Best Actress Oscar 2012 nominee for Lynne Ramsay’s psychological drama We Need to Talk About Kevin, makes her usual fashion statement while attending the 2011 Governors Awards in the Grand Ballroom at Hollywood & Highland.
Tilda Swinton won her Oscar for Tony Gilroy’s Michael Clayton, starring George Clooney and Tom Wilkinson. Her victory that year was somewhat of a surprise.
Tilda Swinton movies
Since her debut in Derek Jarman’s Caravaggio (1986), the London-born Tilda Swinton (Nov. 5, 1960) has been featured in nearly 50 films, ranging from the outrageously subversive to the unabashedly commercial. Here are a few titles released so far this century:
- The Deep End (2001).
Director: Scott McGehee. David Siegel.
Cast: Tilda Swinton. Goran Visnjic. Jonathan Tucker. Peter Donat. Josh Lucas. - Vanilla Sky (2001).
Director: Cameron Crowe.
Cast: Tom Cruise. Cameron Diaz. Penélope Cruz. Tilda Swinton. - Adaptation (2002).
Director: Spike Jonze.
Cast: Nicolas Cage. Meryl Streep. Chris Cooper. Tilda Swinton. - Broken Flowers (2005).
Director: Jim Jarmusch.
Cast: Bill Murray. Jessica Lange. Sharon Stone. Chloë Sevigny. Julie Delpy. Tilda Swinton. - The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005).
Director: Andrew Adamson.
Cast: William Moseley. Georgie Henley. Skandar Keynes. James McAvoy. Jim Broadbent. Tilda Swinton as the White Witch. - Stephanie Daley (2006).
Director: Hilary Brougher.
Cast: Amber Tamblyn. Melissa Leo. Vincent Piazza. Tilda Swinton. Timothy Hutton. Constance Wu. - Michael Clayton (2007).
Director: Tony Gilroy.
Cast: George Clooney. Tom Wilkinson. Tilda Swinton. Sydney Pollack. Michael O’Keefe. Denis O’Hare. Ken Howard. - Julia (2008).
Director: Erick Zonca.
Cast: Tilda Swinton. Saul Rubinek. Kate del Castillo. - Burn After Reading (2008).
Director: Joel and Ethan Coen.
Cast: George Clooney. Brad Pitt. Frances McDormand. Tilda Swinton. John Malkovich. Richard Jenkins. J.K. Simmons. - I Am Love / Io sono l’amore (2009).
Director: Luca Guadagnino.
Cast: Tilda Swinton. Flavio Parenti. Edoardo Gabbriellini. Alba Rohrwacher. Pippo Delbono. Waris Ahluwalia. Gabriele Ferzetti. Marisa Berenson.
Michael Clayton also earned Swinton a Best Supporting Actress BAFTA statuette and a SAG Award nomination. (The SAG Award winner that year was Ruby Dee for Ridley Scott’s American Gangster.)
Tilda Swinton photo: Matt Petit / © A.M.P.A.S.
Star Wars Stormtroopers.
‘Star Wars’ Stormtroopers
Stars Wars Stormtroopers were present on the 2011 Governors Awards’ Red Carpet on Nov. 12. Whether they were actually guests at the ceremony itself is another matter.
But why would the Stormtroopers be seen anywhere near this year’s Governors Awards? To protect John Travolta from those pesky paparazzi?
Hardly. They showed up because honoree James Earl Jones – ironically, not in attendance (see above) – provided the voice of Darth Vader in the Star Wars movies.
Stormtroopers movies
The Stormtroopers make life difficult for the Star Wars saga heroes in the original Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back, The Return of the Jedi, etc. George Lucas directed the first Star Wars, one of the biggest blockbusters in history.
Star Wars Stormtroopers photo: Matt Petit / © A.M.P.A.S.
Kim Wayans at Governors Awards.
Kim Wayans at Academy’s Governors Awards
Pictured above is actress Kim Wayans arriving at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ 2011 Governors Awards, held in the Grand Ballroom at Hollywood & Highland in Los Angeles, on Saturday, Nov. 12.
Two black performers were honored this year.
James Earl Jones (The Great White Hope, the voice of Darth Vader in the Star Wars movies) was a long-distance Honorary Oscar recipient, as he’s co-starring opposite Vanessa Redgrave in Driving Miss Daisy on the London stage.
TV celebrity Oprah Winfrey, a 1985 Best Supporting Actress nominee for Steven Spielberg’s The Color Purple and a sometime film producer (Beloved, Precious), was given the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award.
Additionally, veteran make-up artist Dick Smith (Starman, Altered States, The Exorcist) was in attendance to receive his Honorary Oscar. The Exorcist star Linda Blair introduced Smith’s segment.
Kim Wayans movies
Mostly a television performer, Kim Wayans has been featured in a mere ten films in the last quarter of a century. Titles include:
- I’m Gonna Git You Sucka (1988).
Director: Keenen Ivory Wayans (Kim’s brother).
Cast: Keenen Ivory Wayans. Bernie Casey. Antonio Fargas. Steve James. Isaac Hayes. Jim Brown. John Vernon. Ja’net DuBois. Clu Gulager. Damon Wayans (another brother). Robert Colbert. Kim Wayans (minor role). - Talking About Sex (1994).
Director: Aaron Speiser.
Cast: Kim Wayans. Daniel Beer. Randy Powell. - A Low Down Dirty Shame (1994).
Director: Keenen Ivory Wayans.
Cast: Keenen Ivory Wayans. Charles S. Dutton. Jada Pinkett Smith. Kim Wayans (minor role). - Critics and Other Freaks (1997).
Director: Ernie Mirich.
Cast: Kim Wayans. David Gianopoulos. Zelda Rubinstein. William Sanderson.
On TV, Wayans is best known for the series In the House and In Living Color.
Kim Wayans photo: Matt Petit / © A.M.P.A.S.
Dustin Lance Black
Oscar-winning Screenwriter Dustin Lance Black, who collaborated with Clint Eastwood on J. Edgar, attends the 2011 Governors Awards in the Grand Ballroom at Hollywood & Highland in Hollywood, on Saturday, November 12. [Photo: Matt Petit / © A.M.P.A.S.] James Earl Jones (The Lion King, Star Wars) was a long-distance Honorary Oscar honoree, but make-up artist Dick Smith (Little Big Man, House of Dark Shadows) was present at the ceremony to receive his Honorary Oscar. Daytime television superstar Oprah Winfrey was the recipient of the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award.
Dustin Lance Black won an Oscar for his Milk screenplay. Directed by Gus Van Sant, the biopic about gay San Francisco politician Harvey Milk earned Sean Penn a Best Actor Oscar. Reviews for J. Edgar, which Black wrote, have been mostly unenthusiastic. But an Academy Award nomination remains a possibility. Leonardo DiCaprio stars as FBI strongman J. Edgar Hoover; Armie Hammer plays his associated/lover, and Naomi Watts is Hoover’s secretary.
Sharon Stone
Oscar-nominated Actress Sharon Stone arrives at the 2011 Governors Awards, which took place in the Grand Ballroom at Hollywood & Highland in Hollywood, on Saturday, November 12. [Photo: Matt Petit / © A.M.P.A.S.] James Earl Jones was a long-distance Honorary Oscar honoree, as he’s co-starring with Vanessa Redgrave in Driving Miss Daisy on the London stage; veteran make-up artist Dick Smith (Taxi Driver, Death Becomes Her), however, showed up to receive his Honorary Oscar. Oprah Winfrey, a 1985 Best Supporting Actress nominee for Steven Spielberg’s The Color Purple, was the recipient of the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award.
Sharon Stone was nominated for a Best Actress Oscar for Martin Scorsese’s Casino. Among Stone’s movie credits are Total Recall, Basic Instinct, Sliver, Last Action Hero, The Quick and the Dead, Diabolique, Catwoman, Broken Flowers, Basic Instinct 2, and When a Man Falls.
Shailene Woodley: Best Supporting Actress Oscar hopeful.Oscar hopeful Shailene Woodley at Governors Awards
Actress Shailene Woodley, one of George Clooney’s co-stars in Alexander Payne’s The Descendants, is seen at the 2011 Governors Awards’ Red Carpet outside the Grand Ballroom at Hollywood & Highland in Hollywood.
Shailene Woodley is a potential Best Supporting Actress Academy Award nominee for her performance in The Descendants. The film itself, George Clooney, and director/co-screenwriter Payne are almost sure to be shortlisted come Oscar time. Woodley’s chances are a bit more fuzzy, as competition can be fierce in that particular category.
Shailene Woodley movies
Shailene Woodley, who has just turned 21, has been in show business – mostly on television – since before the start of the 21st century. Besides The Descendants, she has only two other film credits:
- The short Our Deal (2011).
Director: Drew Barrymore.
Cast: Chloë Grace Moretz. Tyler Posey. Miranda Cosgrove. Shailene Woodley. Donald Glover. Alia Shawkat. Drew Barrymore. - The comedy-drama Moola (2007).
Director: Don Most.
Cast: William Mapother. Treat Williams. Charlotte Ross. Efren Ramirez. Curtis Armstrong. Daniel Baldwin. Doug Hutchison. Shailene Woodley.
Woodley’s TV credits include recurring roles in The O.C. and Crossing Jordan, in addition to the lead in the series The Secret Life of the American Teenager, in which she plays Amy Juergens opposite Ken Baumann and Daren Kagasoff.
Shailene Woodley photo: Matt Petit / © A.M.P.A.S.
Octavia Spencer: Oscar hopeful at Governors Awards.Octavia Spencer: Another Oscar hopeful at Governors Awards
The Help actress Octavia Spencer, a strong 2012 Best Supporting Actress Oscar contender, is seen above while on the Governors Awards’ Red Carpet outside the Grand Ballroom at Hollywood & Highland in Hollywood.
Like Evan Rachel Wood and Octavia Spencer, many of the attendees at this year’s Governors Awards were Oscar 2012 hopefuls. Among these were:
- The Artist actors Jean Dujardin and Bérénice Bejo, and director/screenwriter Michel Hazanavicius.
- Albert Nobbs actresses Glenn Close and Janet McTeer.
- Shame actor Michael Fassbender and director Steve McQueen.
- The Descendants actress Shailene Woodley.
- J. Edgar screenwriter Dustin Lance Black.
- The Help actress Viola Davis and director Tate Taylor.
‘The Help’ cast
Besides Octavia Spencer and Viola Davis, The Help cast includes:
Emma Stone. Bryce Dallas Howard. Jessica Chastain. Chris Lowell. Allison Janney. Ahna O’Reilly. Mike Vogel.
Best Actress Oscar nominee Cicely Tyson (Sounder, 1972). Best Actress Oscar winner Sissy Spacek (Coal Miner’s Daughter, 1980). Best Supporting Actress Oscar winner Mary Steenburgen (Melvin and Howard, 1980).
Octavia Spencer photo: Matt Petit / © A.M.P.A.S.
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (A.M.P.A.S.) website.