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Danielle Adams

Emma Stone shines at award show

Actress demonstrates her irresistible charm

Emma Stone did not win any awards last night, but that didn’t stop her from stealing the show.

On the red carpet, Emma Stone dazzled in an eye-catching floor length gown with a high-neck bow, a trend on the designer runways right now. When asked about her dress, she replied, “Well it’s by Giambattista Valli, it’s fuchsia, and it’s got a bow!” Stone wore her hair in a simple side-swept plaited twist that complimented her winged eyeliner and rosy lips perfectly.

While many skits at the award show fell flat, Ben Stiller and the overly enthusiastic Emma Stone got lots of laughs while presenting for Best Visual Effects. “This is my first time presenting,” said Stone, to which Stiller wearily responded “Yeah, I know.”

As Stiller tried to read the list of nominees, Stone interrupted saying, “Wait, wait, let’s stop rushing. We should have some banter. Where you act cocky and I shut you down and you say I look pretty and I say ‘no chance funny boy’!”

Stiller continued to try and read the nominations, explaining to the actress: “You don’t want to be the presenter who tries too hard.”

“What do you mean, like a guy who would dress in full Avatar makeup or something? I’m surprised you’re not in a Planet of the Apes outfit,” Stone retorted.

When asked about the popularity of “The Help,” Stone responded, “I think it’s probably something that everyone can relate to… It’s really about friendship, and about being the underdog, and bonding with people in the face of adversity. And I think everybody can kind of relate to that.”

Stone did not receive a nomination for her work in the movie, but actress Viola Davis was nominated for Actress in a Leading Role for her portrayal of Abileen Clark, and Octavia Spencer won the award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in “The Help.”

Octavia Spencer gives tearful speech at Oscars

Actress takes home Best Supporting Actress trophy

Octavia Spencer was ecstatic to win the award for Best Supporting actress on Sunday.

Favored to win the Oscar, Octavia Spencer had already won several awards including a Golden Globe, a Screen Actors Guild Award and the NAACP Image Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role as the quick-tongued Minny in “The Help.”

Spencer gave a tearful and endearing acceptance speech, fumbling over her words and expressing gratitude to her family, her colleagues from “The Help” and her native “state of Alabama.” She also thanked Steven Spielberg for “changing [her] life.” Spielberg’s DreamWorks is the studio behind “The Help.”

“I think he and I are gonna get married!,” she exclaimed about her statue at the Governor’s Ball after the award show. Octavia Spencer explained to “Access Hollywood’s” Shaun Robinson just how honored she is to now have “Oscar winner” come before her name. “I have to live up to it,” she said with a smile, “I have to live up to it.”

Octavia Spencer told the press backstage, “Tonight I am going to find my castmates, and I’m actually going to have a quarter of a glass of champagne and hang out. I think we all start projects within the next couple of days, but I’m just gonna live in this moment because lord knows it’s never gonna happen again,” as reported by buzzsugar.com

When asked what she was feeling at the moment she won Octavia Spencer replied, “Really and truly I was just trying not to fall down. This is one of those evenings in my life that I’ll never forget. I hope it’s the hallmark for more aspiring actresses of color, and by color, I don’t just mean African American. I hope that in some way I can be some sort of beacon of hope. Especially because I am not the typical Hollywood beauty.”

The actress won for her portrayal of Minny Jackson, a maid in the movie, which depicted Southern life as the 1960s civil rights movement unfolded. The film is based on Kathryn Stockett’s best-selling novel “The Help.”

39-year-old Octavia Spencer is just the sixth black actresses to have won the award in the Oscars’ 84-year history. In the supporting actress category, Hattie McDaniel won for “Gone with the Wind,” Whoopi Goldberg for “Ghost,” Jennifer Hudson for “Dreamgirls,” and Mo’Nique for “Precious,” while Halle Berry won best actress for “Monster’s Ball.”

Sacha Baron Cohen dumps "ashes" on Ryan Seacrest

Seacrest unfortunate butt of a publicity stunt on the red carpet

Sacha Baron Cohen and Ryan Seacrest caused a scene an hour before the Academy Awards even started.

Despite warnings from Oscar organizers that they’d boot him from the show if he pulled a stunt, Sacha Baron Cohen arrived on the red carpet dressed in an over-the-top white military uniform, sunglasses and a thick beard to promote his upcoming film “The Dictator.” He was flanked by two female guards and carried an urn carrying the ashes of his late “dear friend and doubles tennis partner,” Kim Jong-Il, former North Korean ruler. Cohen wore John Galliano and K-mart.

During an interview with Ryan Seacrest on E!, Sacha Baron Cohen stated it was Kim’s dream to attend the Oscars and “to be sprinkled over the red carpet and Halle Berry’s chest.” Moments later, he dumped the “ashes” all over Seacrest. Seacrest later said it was pancake mix.

Seacrest’s co-host Guiliana Ranic teased him, “Do you know how lucky you are? You are the chosen one on the red carpet.”

Cohen was escorted off the red carpet by security guards. Rumors were floating around last weekI that  Cohen was banned from walking the red carpet dressed as Admiral General Aladeen. The Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences denied that such ban was made.

Many stars went along with the joke. Tina Fey crossed herself over the spilled ashes as she made her way inside. Steve Martin said, “I love Sacha Baron Cohen,” and joked that the red carpet shouldn’t be sacred ground — “It should be 12percent respect, 23percent levity and 13 percent joy,” reported the BBC. Actor Jonah Hill said of the stunt, “I guess the Oscars isn’t the best place to sell your movie. I think he’s a funny guy, though.”

Cohen stayed in character after leaving the red carpet, posting to General Aladeen’s Twitter account, “VICTORY IS OURS! Today the Mighty Nation of Wadiya triumphed over the Zionist snakes of Hollywood.

“Evil and all those who made Satan their protector were vanquished and driven into the Pacific Sea. What I am trying to say here is that the Academy have surrendered and sent over two tickets and a parking pass! TODAY OSCAR, TOMORROW OBAMA!”

This is not the first time Cohen has used industry events to promote his movies. Six years ago, the actor arrived at the Toronto International Film Festival dressed as Borat. In 2009, he went to the MTV Video Music Awards as flamboyant fashion critic Bruno.

Oscar winners 2012 a predictable affair

Silent film wins Best Picture

The Oscar winners 2012 were not surprising to most. Billy Crystal returned for his ninth year hosting the awards.

Most notable of the Oscar winners 2012 was “The Artist,” a black and white silent film celebrating Hollywood history, that took home five awards last night, tying with “Hugo,” a 3-D family film about an orphan directed by Martin Scorsese. “The Artist,” however, won the coveted Best Picture award. It’s the first silent film to win the Best Picture Oscar since the first Oscars in 1929. It is also the first black-and-white film to win since “Schindler’s List” in 1993.

Michel Hazanavicius won Best Director for “The Artist.” “The Artist’s” French star, Jean Dujardin, won the Best Actor award for his mostly silent role portraying a fictional silent film star whose career is ruined by the advent of talkies. “The Artist also won Best Original Score and Best Costume Design.

After a record setting 17 nominations, Meryl Streep took home her third Oscar, for her portrayal of Margaret Thatcher in “The Iron Lady.” When they called my name, I had a feeling I could hear all of america going ‘Oh no, come on, her?’ but whatever,” said an overjoyed Streep.

Best Supporting Actress went to Octavia Spencer for “The Help.” Christopher Plummer won his first Academy Award last night for Best Supporting Actor. At 82, Plummer is the oldest Oscar winner ever.

Woody Allen was predictably not present to accept his award for Best Original Screenplay for “Midnight In Paris.” In a category of only two nominations, “Man or Muppet” won the award for Best Original Song.

Other winners included:

Best Cinematography: “Hugo”
Best Visual Effects: “Hugo”
Best Sound Editing: “Hugo”
Best Sound Mixing: “Hugo”
Best Art Direction: “Hugo”
Best Foreign Language Film: “A Separation” (Iran)
Best Adapted Screenplay: “The Descendants”
Best Animated Feature Film: “Rango”
Best Documentary Feature: “Undefeated”
Best Film Editing: “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo”
Best Makeup: “The Iron Lady”
Best Live-Action Short Film: “The Shore”
Best Documentary Short Film: “Saving Face”
Best Animated Short Film: “The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore”

Honda recall alert

Rear doors may be defective, posing risk to passengers

A Honda recall is in effect, resulting from reports of struts failing and tailgates closing unexpectedly and falling on people. This has happened on at least two occasions. This problem affects Odyssey minivans from the 2008 and 2009 model years that have power lift gates.

Honda said it will recall nearly 46,000 2008 and 2009 Odyssey minivans to fix the problem.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration website said that Honda is recalling 45,747 certain model year 2008-2009 Odyssey minivans due to “a manufacturing flaw” in the power liftgate system.

The company is recalling 51,633 of the vehicles worldwide, said a Honda spokesperson. The recall outside the US affects 5,586 vehicles mainly in Canada and Mexico, as well as in the Middle East and Germany, he said.

The NHTSA said the problem was in the pressurized gas-filled struts that help to raise and support the liftgate on vehicles equipped with a power liftgate system.
The flaw can result in a gas leak that could lead to an unexpected closure of the liftgate, “increasing the risk of personal injury,” said the NHTSA.

Honda will contact the US owners of the vehicles concerned, with the recall expected to begin on or about March 13. The company will replace both power liftgate struts for free

Disney pepper spray incident

Disorderly man taken down at the happiest place on earth

The Disney pepper spray incident has gone viral, with over a million views on YouTube. The fight between a seemingly intoxicated man and  park employee was caught on a cell-phone camera and posted to the internet on Monday.

In the video, Glenn Horlacher, who appears to be drunk, is seen taking a swing at a Disney security guard in a straw hat. He then falls down and is pushed by a Disney employee dressed as a Tower of Terror bellhop. The security guard then blasts him with pepper spray.

Ignoring the guard’s instructions to stay on the ground, Horlacher manages to get up and uses the ride’s gate to hold himself upright while he screams obscenities at the Disney guard before attempting to punch him again. The momentum of this swing was apparently enough to know him down again, when he is swarmed by park guests and is hit with another blast of pepper spray. The park guests gladly sit on Horlacher until police arrive on the scene.

It is unclear how the brawl started.

A woman can be heard in the background, of the video screaming, “There are kids here. Does this guy not get that? You’re in Disneyland!” Another guest laughs, “I think this guy’s been drinking vodka!”

Sgt. Bob Dunn said that police were called to the “Tower of Terror” ride at Disney’s California Adventure at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday. Horlacher was arrested on battery and assault charges, booked at the Anaheim jail and released later that evening, said Dunn.

Marie Colvin killed in Homs

War in Syria continues claiming lives

Marie Colvin, an American reporter working for London’s “Sunday Times” was killed yesterday, along with French photojournalist Remi Ochlik. They were the victims of a shell attack by the Syrian Army. At least two other journalists, and possibly more, were injured.

Syrian security forces shelled the central city of Homs on Wednesday, Feb. 19, a  day of a bombardment that activists say has claimed the lives of hundreds, including Marie Colvin.

Fellow journalists, human rights activists and international statesmen accused the regime of Bashar al-Assad of knowing that the targeted building was being used by foreign media. Colvin had accused the regime of murder and described the events happening as “absolutely sickening.”

French-reporter Jean-Pierre Perrin, who had been in Homs with Colvin last week, claimed they had been told that the Syrian army was “deliberately” going to shell their center. There were also reports, unconfirmed, that communication between Syrian Army officers intercepted by Lebanese intelligence staff has revealed that direct orders were issued to target the makeshift press center that Colvin had been broadcasting from. The government in Damascus said that it was unaware of any foreign journalists working in the country; a ludicrous claim.

In an email to “The Sunday Times,” Rupert Murdoch, head of News Corporation, wrote, “Marie had fearlessly covered wars across the Middle East and south Asia for 25 years for “The Sunday Times.” She put her life in danger on many occasions because she was driven by a determination that the misdeeds of tyrants and the suffering of the victims did not go unreported. This was at great personal cost, including the loss of the sight in one eye while covering the civil war in Sri Lanka. This injury did not stop her from returning to even more dangerous assignments.”

Marie Colvin was a renowned war correspondent, having spent over a quarter of a century covering these terrible stories. She suffered a wound from shrapnel in 2001, resulting in the loss of her left eye, while covering the fighting in Sri Lanka. Afterward, she proudly donned a black eye patch.

Colvin had always put finding and reporting the truth above everything else, never backing down, even after her injury. In a memorial to fallen colleagues in the U.K. in 2010, she proclaimed, “My answer then, and now, was that it is worth it.” Marie Colvin died doing what she believed in.

Danica Patrick gears up for race

Third woman to start Daytona 500

Danica Patrick is making a name for herself as a female race car driver – a rarity in the racing world. The driver is preparing for her first NASCAR Sprint Cup race next weekend in the Daytona 500.

In 2005, Danica Patrick began attracting attention when she was named Rookie of the Year for both the Indianapolis 500 and the IndyCar Series. Patrick raced in the Indy Racing League for seven years, while also competing in ARCA and NASCAR’s Nationwide Series in 2010 and 2011 in preparation for this year’s transition to Sprint Cup.

On Sunday, Danica Patrick will become the third woman to start the Daytona 500, following Janet Guthrie (1977, 1980) and Shawna Robinson (2002). “If everything goes right, the stars are aligned, I do my homework and get a comfortable car, and get comfortable with the other drivers on the track, and start earning their respect, and having great racing out there, there’s really an opportunity,” Patrick told Reuters on Tuesday.

At 5′ 2″ and 105 pounds, Patrick has a lot of guts to get out on the track, but she admitted to having fears just like everyone else. “I’m not scared of going 200 miles an hour, but I’m scared of heights,” she said. “I’m scared of water where I can’t see the bottom. I’m scared of bugs. I’m scared of the dark. I’m scared of ghosts. I’m scared of simple stuff. Oddly enough when I drive over a bridge, it’s a little bit scary … You’d think I’d be relaxed as a racecar driver doing that.”

Despite having posed for GoDaddy, “FHM” and “Sports Illustrated” swimsuit edition, Danica Patrick feels uncomfortable being described as a sex symbol. The driver feels that she should be able to maintain a balance between her job and her femininity. “When I go to the race track I’m all business – I don’t have much make up on, I comb my hair, and what you see is what you get,” she told FOX News. “With commercials I’m able to tap into my more feminine side and get my make up done – which I love to do. I love being girly, and having both sides keeps me balanced as a person, and keeps me fun.”

Regardless of how the driver sees herself, she is undoubtedly sexy in public opinion. Patrick has been named in several “sexiest” lists, including one compiled by Victoria’s Secret.

Chris Brown and Rihanna reunited on the musical front

Unexpected collaboration causes criticism

 

Chris Brown and Rihanna posted cryptic tweets last week alluding to a duet, before releasing “Turn Up the Music” and “Birthday Cake” on Monday. These collaborations were quite a surprise to fans, considering that Brown is currently serving 5 years probation after brutally assaulting here on the eve of the Grammys three years ago.

On the singles, which have yet to be officially released by either artist’s label, Chris Brown sings and raps on the remix of Rihanna’s sexually charged song “Birthday Cake,” and she appears on a remixed version of his tune “Turn up the Music.”

Hip-hop blogger Karen Civil said that fans shouldn’t be surprised by the collaboration, given Rihanna’s reputation for being provocative. “I think that it can only help them both at this time,” Civil said on her self-titled blog last week, “We can’t go back and change what’s already been done, or recorded and released in this case. Will it hurt Rihanna’s career? Perhaps, in the aspect of standing up against domestic violence. However a listener or fan cannot dictate someone’s life, and she is entitled to her own decisions.”

Chris Brown was thrust back into the controversial spotlight recently when he was invited to perform twice at the Grammys and received the award for best R&B album for “F.A.M.E.” Recording Academy President Neil Portnow defended the decision of booking Brown, commenting that evaluating artists on their personal lives is a “slippery slope that we wouldn’t want to get into.” “What he did was a personal thing — it had nothing to do with his career,” he said.

It did affect his Brown’s career though, as his popularity plummeted three years ago after he pleaded guilty to a felony charge. He lost endorsements and his third album, “Graffiti,” released not long after the attack, was a commercial disappointment. More recently, however, the singer has made his way back onto the charts, and after his appearance on the Grammy Awards, it seems he might be forgiven, not forgotten.

Will this move hurt Rihanna’s career? Only time will tell.

"Wanderlust" features plenty of nudity

Moviegoers can expect lots of laughs

“Wanderlust” promises nothing less than full-frontal nudity from both sexes . The R-rated comedy guarantees to please Judd Apatow fans.

Directed by David Wain, “Wanderlust” stars Paul Rudd and Jennifer Aniston, along with Ken Marino, Joe Lo Truglio and Kerri Kenney-Silver, Alan Alda, Justin Theroux, Malin Akerman and Kathryn Hahn. The film was co-written by Marino and Wain, who also worked together to write Role Models.

Rudd and Aniston play a married Manahattan couple who discover Elysium, a hippie commune while searching for alternative life styles after unexpected unemployment. Life in the free love commune gets the couple wondering if they’ve been chasing the wrong dream.

The film is reported to contain plenty of nudity. Aniston has her fair share of nude scenes in the film, although she reportedly asked producers to alter her topless scene. During her appearance on “Chelsea Lately” last night the actress assured Handler that the men had to disrobe as well, “There is your fair share of ‘breasticles’… but penises are promised.”

Gayle King also commented on the male nudity on “CBS This Morning,” saying that there were “a lot of swinging penises all around the movie.” Joe Lo Truglio is even reported to sport prosthetic penis in “the film.

Male nudity shouldn’t come as a shock to audiences, as the movie was produced by Judd Apatow. “America fears the penis, and that’s something I’m going to help them get over,” Apatow said in an “LA Times” article in 2008. “I’m gonna get a penis in every movie I do from now on. It really makes me laugh in this day and age, with how psychotic our world is, that anyone is troubled by seeing any part of the human body.”

“Wanderlust” opens Feb. 24.