Hollywood’s leading ladies and up-and coming starlets descended upon Elle’s Women in Hollywood celebration to celebrate females in the industry. The event even brought out Robert Pattinson (who was there to support his Bel Ami costar Uma Thurman, but he didn’t walk the ‘white’ carpet since this event was all about the ladies.
Anna Kendrick
What she’s wearing: The Pitch Perfect star wore a black with golden embroidery Badgley Mischka Resort 2013 dress to Elle’s Women in Hollwood event.
Why we love it: For a black pencil cocktail dress this look has a lot going for it. The dress is working three trends: 1) geometric cut out bustier tops 2) brocade embroidery and 3) shear details (in this dress the sheer fabric is in the midriff which provides a cool belt effect). However the trends don’t overpower one another and work perfectly together because they are quite subtle.
Takeaway: Too many trends on one dress or outfit might seem like a good idea but you’ll regret it instantly in a couple of years because being too on-trend dates your photos really fast. So instead of potential embarrassing Facebook photos in a couple years time, try incorporating multiple trends in a single look by doing so in very small amounts.
Emma Stone
What she’s wearing: Stone chose a bubblegum pink Valentino Resort 2013 dress for the Elle’s Women in Hollywood event.
Why we love it: For a pretty modest number (I guess modest by today’s standards anyways) you can’t help but smile at this dress and take notice of Stone. The bright pink number takes this simple look and turns it into quite a head turner as it pops out on the white carpet. Also the sheer sleeves adds some much needed skin and makes the dress more youthful, while the white statement collar and cuffs adds some much needed contrast to the overwhelming pink. She also balances the pink out with a black clutch and a pop of print in those houndstooth pumps.
Takeaway: Bright and bold colours are a great way to put a spin on conservative and traditional clothing. If this look was in black or a more sombre colour, all the fun would be taken out of it and Stone might end up looking like Wednesday Addams. (Sidenote: I love Wednesday Addams, specifically Christina Ricci’s portrayal, but best save the Addams Family look for Halloween and off the red carpet.)
Cate Blanchett
What she’s wearing: The Australian actress stepped out in a studded print photo Proenza Schouler Spring/Summer 2013 dress at the Elle’s Women in Hollywood event.
Why we love it: If you haven’t discovered the amazing-ness of Cate Blanchett and her A+ red carpet track record, then I hope you do some research on some of the looks she wears since she is one of the gold standards for Hollywood high fashion. If you never considered fashion to be art before then hopefully this dress changes your mind since it actually has art printed on the dress. Photo prints on clothing is an upcoming trend and this dress takes it to the next level by abstracting the print with blue colour studs and grommet detailing (it’s a cool take on neo-impressionist art).
Takeaway: Photo printed clothing can be a fun way to personalize your wardrobe since it’s totally possible to create your own clothes with the number of custom silkscreen businesses online (and perhaps your hometown) that you can use. A cool way to get into photography and fashion design. The more abstract a photo the more fashionable it is since you’d probably want to stay away from producing anything like this (save that for Mother’s and Father’s Day).
The Jonas Brothers
If you, like me, indulge in marathon weekends of watching The Lord of the Rings trilogies roughly once a year, you’re probably incredibly excited for The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. Bilbo Baggins journeys to the Lonely Mountain on a hunt for stolen treasure with a bunch of Dwarves. Although the new trailer is only a little more than two-minutes in length, the Peter Jackson-directed movie looks like it will include all the stunning cinematography and realistic CGI effects we’re used to.
The film stars Elijah Wood, Martin Freeman, Evangeline Lilly, Cate Blanchett, Ian McKellen and Orlando Bloom and will be out on Dec. 14.
Watch it here:
Cate Blanchett is in final negotiations to play Maid Marian in Ridley Scott’s big-screen take on the Robin Hood legend.
The Oscar winner replaces Sienna Miller in the role after the latter exited the untitled project, which at one point was named “Nottingham,” late last year.
The title isn’t the only thing that’s changed about the movie since its inception two years ago. Russell Crowe, working once again with “Gladiator” director Scott, was originally attached to play the Sheriff of Nottingham as a good guy investigating a thief known as Robin Hood.
Now, he will now play Robin Hood himself in an epic adventure focusing on the origins of key characters, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
The movie, budgeted at $130 million, will begin shooting in April in the U.K.
Blanchett can currently be seen in “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.” She also lent her voice to the upcoming “Fantastic Mr. Fox,” a stop-motion animated film based on the children’s novel by Roald Dahl and directed by Wes Anderson.
Dashiell, Roman.. and Ignatius.
Cate Blanchett didn’t stray from the unique baby name trend in Hollywood when she added a third son to her growing family.
The Oscar winner and her playwright husband Andrew Upton welcomed Ignatius Martin Upton, Sunday. The baby boy joins siblings Dashiell, 6, and Roman, 3.
“All are well and very happy,” said a rep for the Sydney Theatre Company, where Blanchett and Upton are coartistic directors, according to E! Online.
Blanchett, 38, had been showing off her growing baby-bump on red carpets all over the world during the recent awards show red carpet season.
The Australian actress will next star in the highly anticipated Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, in theaters May 22.
It’s official: Ellen Page and her pregnant alter-ego “Juno” are Oscar worthy.
The film received nods in several category where it will be the only comedy competing against some huge, heavy-hitter dramas. 20-year-old Page is up against the likes of Cate Blanchett (Elizabeth: The Golden Age), Julie Christie (Away From Her), Marion Cotillard (La Vie en Rose) and Laura Linney (The Savages) for Best Actress.
“Juno” is nominated for Best Picture against the critical favourites “Atonement,” “Michael Clayton,” “No Country for Old Men” and “There Will Be Blood.”
Screenwriter Diablo Cody and Canadian director Jason Reitman also scored a nomination for “Juno.”
Sarah Polley will also be representing Canada at the awards. She was nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay for her film, “Away From Her.”
With so many fantastic performances, it will be especially hard to guess the winners this year. The Best Actor category is an exciting list: George Clooney (Michael Clayton), Daniel Day-Lewis (There Will Be Blood), Johnny Depp (Sweeney Todd), Viggo Mortensen (Eastern Promises) and Tommy Lee Jones (In The Valley of Elah).
Other notable nominations are 13-year-old Saoirse Ronan (Atonement), Javier Bardem (No Country For Old Men) and Casey Affleck (The Assassination of Jesse James?).
James McAvoy and Keira Knightley were noticably snubbed for their lead performances in “Atonement.”
Here is a complete list of the nominations:
BEST PICTURE
“Atonement”
“Juno”
“Michael Clayton”
“No Country for Old Men”
“There Will Be Blood”
BEST ACTRESS
Cate Blanchett, “Elizabeth: The Golden Age”
Julie Christie, “Away From Her”
Marion Cotillard, “La Vie en Rose”
Laura Linney, “The Savages”
Ellen Page, “Juno”
BEST ACTOR
George Clooney, “Michael Clayton”
Daniel Day-Lewis, “There Will Be Blood”
Johnny Depp, “Sweeney Todd”
Viggo Mortensen, “Eastern Promises”
Tommy Lee Jones, “In the Valley of Elah”
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Cate Blanchett, “I’m Not There”
Ruby Dee, “American Gangster”
Saoirse Ronan, “Atonement”
Amy Ryan, “Gone Baby Gone”
Tilda Swinton, “Michael Clayton”
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Casey Affleck, “The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford”
Javier Bardem, “No Country for Old Men”
Hal Holbrook, “Into The Wild”
Tommy Lee Jones, “No Country For Old Men”
Philip Seymour Hoffman, “Charlie Wilson’s War”
Tom Wilkinson, “Michael Clayton”
BEST DIRECTOR
Paul Thomas Anderson, “There Will Be Blood”
Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, “No Country for Old Men”
Julian Schnabel, “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly”
Tony Gilroy, “Michael Clayton”
Jason Reitman, “Juno”
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Diablo Cody, “Juno”
Nancy Oliver, “Lars and the Real Girl”
Tony Gilroy, “Michael Clayton”
Brad Bird, Story by Jan Pinkava, Jim Capobianco, Brad Bird, “Ratatouille”
Tamara Jenkins, “The Savages”
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Paul Thomas Anderson, “There Will Be Blood”
Christopher Hampton, “Atonement”
Ronald Harwood, “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly”
Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, “No Country for Old Men”
Sarah Polley, “Away From Her”
BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
“Beaufort” (Israel)
“The Counterfeiters” (Austria)
“Katyn” (Poland)
“Mongol” (Kazakhstan)
“12″ (Russia)
BEST ANIMATED FILM
“Persepolis”
“Ratatouille”
“Surf’s Up”
BEST ART DIRECTION
“American Gangster”
“Atonement”
“The Golden Compass”
“Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street”
“There Will Be Blood”
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
“The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford” Roger Deakins
“Atonement,” Seamus Mcgarvey
“The Diving Bell and the Butterfly,” Janusz Kaminski
“No Country For Old Men,” Roger Deakins
“There Will Be Blood,” Robert Elswit
BEST COSTUME DESIGN
“Across the Universe,” Albert Wolsky
“Atonement,” Jacqueline Durran
“Elizabeth: The Golden Age,” Alexandra Byrne
“La Vie En Rose,” Marit Allen
“Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street,” Colleen Atwood
BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
“No End in Sight”
“Operation Homecoming: Writing the Wartime Experience”
“Sicko”
“Taxi to the Dark Side”
“War/Dance”
BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT SUBJECT
“Freeheld”
“La Corona” (“The Crown”)
“Salim Baba”
“Sari’s Mother”
BEST FILM EDITING
“The Bourne Ultimatum,” Christopher Rouse
“The Diving Bell and the Butterfly,” Juliette Welfling
“Into the Wild,” Jay Cassidy
“No Country for Old Men,” Roderick Jaynes
“There Will Be Blood,” Dylan Tichenor
BEST MAKEUP
“La Vie en Rose”
“Norbit”
“Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End”
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
“Atonement”, Dario Marianelli
“The Kite Runner”, Alberto Iglesias
“Michael Clayton”, James Newton Howard
“Ratatouille”, Michael Giacchino
“3:10 to Yuma”, Marco Beltrami
BEST ORIGINAL SONG
“Falling Slowly” from “Once”
“Happy Working Song” from “Enchanted”
“Raise It Up” from “August Rush”
“So Close” from “Enchanted”
“That’s How You Know” from “Enchanted”
BEST ANIMATED SHORT FILM
“I Met the Walrus”
“Madame Tutli-Putli”
“Même Les Pigeons Vont au Paradis (Even Pigeons Go to Heaven)”
“My Love (Moya Lyubov)”
“Peter & the Wolf”
BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM
“At Night”
“Il Supplente (The Substitute)”
“Le Mozart des Pickpockets (The Mozart of Pickpockets)”
“Tanghi Argentini”
“The Tonto Woman”
BEST SOUND EDITING
“The Bourne Ultimatum”
“No Country For Old Men”
“Ratatouille”
“There Will Be Blood”
“Transformers”
BEST SOUND MIXING
“The Bourne Ultimatum”
“No Country For Old Men”
“Ratatouille”
“3:10 to Yuma”
“Transformers”
BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
“The Golden Compass”
“Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End”
“Transformers”
Lies, deceit, blackmail, and raunchy rendezvous mixed with a Nabokovian twist set the tone in Richard Eyre’s Notes on a Scandal, out in theatres on Christmas Day.
The movie, based on a novel by Zoe Heller, tells the story through the eyes of Barbara Covett (Judi Dench) a lonely, soon-to-be retiree who falls for new-teacher-on the block Sheba Hart (Cate Blanchett).
Their seemingly innocuous friendship appears to be a classic case of a veteran teacher taking a rookie instructor under her wing, showing her the ins and outs of a school plagued by under privileged students.
But things go terribly astray when Barbara discovers Sheba is having an affair with her 15-year-old art student (Andrew Simpson).
Barbara threatens to disclose her scandalous secret but changes her tune after Sheba delivers a candid confession.
Barbara convinces herself that Sheba will see her as a saving grace rather than an enemy and eventually the two will live happily ever after.
She records every moment in one of an interminable collection of notebooks stacked on her bookshelves.
I’m not sure what I found more disturbing about Richard Eyre’s picture – the salacious
acts between a teacher and her 15-year-old student or a delusional spinster who’s obsessed by her colleague-turned-confidante.
Dench delivers a convincingly superb performance as a regimented teacher who suffers from severe loneliness and borderline insanity.
Her astute portrayal as a lunatic doesn’t come as a surprise considering her (arguable) status as a living film legend.
If any actress can deliver a range of performances it’s Dench.
Take her roles as Queen Elizabeth (Shakespeare in Love), a reputable novelist (Iris) or M in the James Bond spy thrillers.
Cate Blanchett’s overall performance wasn’t as impressive simply because it wasn’t as believable.
Sheba’s married to Richard (Bill Nighy), a lecturer 20 years her senior. They have two children, Polly (Juno Temple) and Ben (Max Lewis), who has Down syndrome.
But she comes across as an older sister instead of a young mother.
The viewer can understand why Sheba snags the exciting prospect of copulating with a testosterone-filled teenager.
The vivacious carefree days of her youth have dissolved into a thankless routine that accompanies a tedious marriage.
However, Blanchett’s performance fails to transmit the sentient of boredom and loneliness that caused her character to walk off the straightened arrow.
The best way to describe this movie is Coronation St. meets Lolita and intersects with Misery.
3* out of 5*
