By Adrienne Papp In a star-studded gala ceremony, the International Press Academy celebrated the distinguished accomplishments of artists in thirty-eight categories last Sunday night at the 18th Annual Satellite™ Awards held at the InterContinental Hotel in Century City.  "12 Years a Slave" received Motion Picture and Director honors, while "Dallas Buyers Club's" Matthew McConaughey, Cate Blanchett, and Jared Leto w...

By Adrienne Papp True to their tradition, the 71st Golden Globe Awards,broadcast on Sunday evening from the Beverly Hilton, offered plenty of Hollywood glamour, some humorous and offbeat moments, and also provided a bellwether as to what the odds-on favorites  the Academy Awards might be. The Golden Globe broadcast garnered the show’s highest ratings in 10 years, being seen by 20.9 million total viewers, up 6% from last year according to Nielsen. Co-hosti...

  by Quendrith Johnson, Los Angeles Correspondent   When Alfonso Cuarón directed and co-wrote the critically acclaimed Y Tu Mamá También in 2001, it was obvious the Mexican-born director had a few tricks up his sleeve. Last night he paid off those expectations with a huge victory in a tough field as Best Director at the DGA Awards. Cuarón was up against the heavies: Martin Scorsese (The Wolf of Wall Street), Steve McQueen (12 Years a Slave), David O. R...

  by Quendrith Johnson, Los Angeles Correspondent   Producer Megan Ellison turns 28 on Jan. 31. So far, her run has been exceptional in Hollywood. Before you begrudge her as second generation technology money since her father is Billionaire Oracle founder Larry Ellison, it is important to remember all the brash brass that has come to Hollywood before and made a mess.  The first of which is second generation moneyman Howard Hughes. His life is depicted for better or worse in...

by Quendrith Johnson, Los Angeles Correspondent For France, David O. Russell's Oscar-contender American Hustle is aptly retitled "American Bluff." And recently Russell told Le Monde by telephone interview, "Aujourd'hui, je suis fatigué, j'ai un rhume. Et je plane à 2000," on reaction to the 10 Nominations the film received from the Academy. Tired, with a cold, this is still The Year of David O. Russell as a unique American voice in filmmaking. Wi...

By Maria Esteves – January 16, 2014 The 86th Academy Awards (2014 Oscar) Nominations were announced by Academy President Cheryl Boone Isaacs and actor Chris Hemsworth, Thursday, January 16, 2014, 5:38 AM PT at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater, Beverly Hills, California. Ten Oscar nominations went to AMERICAN HUSTLE, directed by David O. Russell, and GRAVITY, directed by Alfonso Cuaron. 12 YEARS A SLAVE, directed by Steve McQueen received nine nominations including Best Director....

by Quendrith Johnson Since actor/producer Jamie Kennedy was in David O. Russell's Persian Gulf war movie "Three Kings," it seemed only fitting to catch up with him and get his reaction to Russell's recent Oscar success with "Silver Linings Playbook." "I'm not surprised," Kennedy said, "and I'm really excited for him. He's so hot right now." While you may know Jamie Kennedy from his comedy performances (as in: The Jamie Kennedy Exper...

 by Quendrith Johnson   Cinema history was made at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival last night, when none other than Kirk Douglas presented his namesake award for excellent to Robert De Niro. "They asked me who was going to present the award. And I said 'Are you calling me, are you calling me?'," the spry 96-year-old mimicked De Niro's signature "Taxi Driver" line. Hollywood's elder statesman managed to hold the podium during the ma...

  He may not walk away with the trophy for Best Director at this year's Oscar ceremonies, but David O. Russell's film THE FIGHTER will certainly go down for the count as one of the important cinema experiences of the year. A critical and box office success, THE FIGHTER has also revitalized the career of its iconooclastic director, who comes back after a seven year hiatus with a force that is sure to be felt for many moons to come. To celebrate this special moment and to explore his en...

  Wholphin: Issue 1 was my introduction to this innovative approach to film.  The Wholphin film series is touted as “a quarterly DVD magazine, published by McSweeney’s, lovingly encoded with unique and ponderable films designed to make you feel the way we felt when we learned that dolphins and whales sometimes, you know, do it.”  That last part is fodder for a film I’d need to see before I believe it.  But the sentiment evoked by viewing Wholphin might best be describe...