Oppenheimer has continued its winning streak – picking up more top gongs at the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards ahead of next month’s Oscars.
Christopher Nolan’s biopic about the ‘father of the atomic bomb’ won best cast in a motion picture, while its star Cillian Murphy scooped the prize for best actor at the Hollywood ceremony.
Co-star Robert Downey Jrpicked up the award for best supporting actor.
The red carpet event followed the longest actors’ strike in history and is a key indicator for the Academy Awards, for which voting is currently taking place ahead of the 10 March ceremony.
Murphy, who has already enjoyed success at the BAFTAs and Golden Globes, said: “Twenty-eight years ago when I was trying to become an actor, I was a failed musician and I felt extremely like an interloper, but now looking out at you guys here today, I know I am part of something truly wonderful.”
Accepting his award, Downey Jr said: “Why me, why now, why do things seem to be going my way?”
Picking up the prize on behalf of the cast, Sir Kenneth Branagh, who plays physicist Niels Bohr in the film, described the award as a “full circle moment” following the actors’ strikes.
Paying tribute to the union, he said: “Thank you SAG-AFTRA, thank you for fighting for us.
“Thank you for every SAG-AFTRA member whose support and whose sacrifice allows us to be standing here, better than we were before.”
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He recalled the walkout of the Oppenheimer cast at last July’s London premiere as the strike began.
He said: “We went from the red carpet and we didn’t see the film that night. We happily went in the direction of solidarity with your good selves. So this is a full circle moment for us.”
Lily Gladstone was named best actress for her role as Mollie Burkhart in Martin Scorsese’s Killers Of The Flower Moon, while Da’Vine Joy Randolph picked up the prize for best supporting actress for her role as Mary Lamb in The Holdovers.
“I am beyond humbled and I am so incredibly grateful to be considered among you,” Randolph said of her fellow nominees Emily Blunt, Penelope Cruz, Jodie Foster and Danielle Brooks.
“How lucky are we that we get to do what we do… For every actor still waiting in the wings, it is not a question of if, but when. Keep going.”
It was a successful night for TV comedy-drama The Bear, the story of a star chef who returns to Chicago to run the family business after the death of his brother.
Stars Jeremy Allen White and Ayo Edebiri were presented with the awards for best actor and actress in a comedy series respectively, while the series won best ensemble in a comedy series.
Steven Yeun and Ali Wong won best actor and actress in a limited series for their roles in Beef, about a pair who start a life-changing feud after a road rage incident.
Actor Pedro Pascal appeared visibly shocked and emotional as he appeared on stage to collect the award for best male actor in a drama series for his role in The Last Of Us.
“This is wrong for a number of reasons, I’m a little drunk, I thought I could get drunk. I’m making a fool of myself, but thank you so much for this,” Pascal told the audience.
He later told British star Tan France he was going to celebrate the win by kissing Succession star Kieran Culkin as “revenge”, as the pair have made jokes at each other’s expense during their awards season speeches.
TV hit Succession, about warring siblings in a media dynasty, was named best ensemble for a drama series.
Star Alan Ruck said the cast had made “friends for life” and described it as “one last hurrah” following the end of the last series.
“Right now, you are looking at some of the luckiest people on the planet. And some of the most grateful,” he said.
“Because not only did we get to work on one of the best television shows maybe ever, we made friends for life.
“I think the magic of Succession was the writing was so fabulous it inspired all of us to bring our A game from the very beginning, we got off watching each other work, we caught lightning in a bottle. Lucky.”
Hollywood star and singer Barbra Streisand was honoured with the SAG Life Achievement Award.
Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway and Emily Blunt who starred in the 2006 hit film The Devil Wears Prada reunited on stage to present the award for best male actor in a comedy series.
British star Naomi Watts introduced the in memoriam segment of the show, which honoured actors including Harry Potter star Sir Michael Gambon and Friends actor Matthew Perry.
The ceremony was streamed on Netflix for the first time, and is one of the service’s most significant forays into live streaming so far – with a live tennis event to follow next month.
Kelly Rowland says she was treated differently to other women on the Cannes red carpet, and an apparent dispute with a female security guard came about after she “stood her ground”.
A viral video shows the former Destiny’s Child star entering into what looked like a heated debate with a member of security staff while walking up the stairs to the theatre at the premiere of the film Marcello Mio.
Rowland went on to speak about the incident at the amfAR gala in Cannes, which saw Hollywood A-listers Demi Moore and Cher among the stars supporting fundraising for AIDS research.
The 43-year-old singer said other women attended the event “who did not quite look like me and they didn’t get scolded or pushed off or told to get off”.
The apparent altercation happened while posing for pictures in a strapless red gown at the premiere on Tuesday evening.
The video shows the security guard holding up her arms to guide 43-year-old Rowland up the steps as she is waving and having her picture taken, at which point Rowland points her finger at the staff member and appears upset.
The dispute carries on up the stairs, with Rowland turning around to direct a comment to the guard before entering the building.
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It all took place in front of a crowd of fans who watched the incident unfold.
Speaking at the amfAR gala on Thursday, Rowland said: “The woman knows what happened. I know what happened. And, I have a boundary. And I stand by those boundaries and that is it.
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“There were other women who attended that carpet, who did not quite look like me, and they didn’t get scolded or pushed off or told to get off.
“I stood my ground. And she felt she had to stand hers, but I stood my ground and that was it.”
Sky News has approached Rowland and the Cannes Film Festival for comment.
Rowland hit the headlines earlier this year after she reportedly walked off the Today show in the US.
Speculation over her exit has never been confirmed.
A former fashion student has accused rapper P Diddy of sexually assaulting her more than 20 years ago when she was a fashion student in New York City.
April Lampros, who is now 51, filed a claim at the Supreme Court of New York County on Thursday, according to NBC, Sky News’s sister outlet in the United States.
She claims the musician – whose real name is Sean Combs – sexually assaulted her on four occasions between 1995 and the early 2000s, including once when she was forced to take ecstasy and have sex with Combs’ former girlfriend Kim Porter.
Porter died in 2018 of pneumonia.
Ms Lampros also claims that years after she severed ties with Combs, 54, she learned he was alleged to have recorded them having sex without her knowledge and showed the recording to others.
Combs cannot be prosecuted for his actions in the hotel video as they took place too long ago.
Ms Lampros – who is suing Combs over allegations of battery, sexual assault, infliction of emotional distress and gender-motivated violence – is the sixth woman to detail assault allegations against Combs in a lawsuit.
On Tuesday, a former model filed a federal lawsuit alleging that Combs drugged and sexually assaulted herat his New York City recording studio in 2003 after they met at a Men’s Fashion Week event.
Crystal McKinney, who was 22 at the time of the alleged attack, said she smoked marijuana with Combs, which she “later came to understand” was laced with a narcotic or intoxicating substance.
She said she was sexually assaulted by Combs in the bathroom, before losing consciousness and later waking up in a taxi and realised she had been sexually assaulted.
Ventura, who began dating Combs a few years after meeting him in 2005, and split with him in 2019, sued him in November, alleging she was trafficked, raped, plied with drugs and beaten by Combs over a 10-year period.
The lawsuit claimed he forced her to have sex with male sex workers while he filmed them. The case was settled the day after it was filed.
Combs – who has never been formally charged – denies all charges against him.
Documentary maker Morgan Spurlock, who famously ate only at McDonald’s for a month in Super Size Me, has died.
Spurlock died from complications of cancer at the age of 53 in New York, his family confirmed in a statement.
Craig Spurlock, the filmmaker’s brother, said: “Morgan gave so much through his art, ideas, and generosity.
“The world has lost a true creative genius and a special man. I am so proud to have worked together with him.”
Born on 7 November 1970, Spurlock started off his career as a playwright before creating I Bet You Will – an internet series where members of the public would take part in stunts for cash.
The 2002 webcasts, which saw some dared to eat a full jar of mayonnaise for $235 or take a shot of cod liver oil, were eventually bought by MTV.
Spurlock rose to fame with his 2004 documentary Super Size Me, where he exclusively ate at McDonald’s for 30 days to investigate the rise of obesity in the US.
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He ate an average of 5,000 calories a day, always took a “super-size” meal if offered and exercised less to match the average American’s physical activity at the time.
By the end of his experiment, he claimed he put on 25lbs (11.3kg) and started suffering from depression and liver dysfunction.
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Spurlock’s documentary grossed $22million in the global box office and was nominated for an Oscar.
It also prompted McDonald’s to stop offering its “super-size” option in 2004.
However the film’s findings were called into question as Spurlock refused to share his meal logs. He also later admitted to alcohol abuse in 2017, which other documentary makers said explained his liver issues and poor mental health.
In 2019, Spurlock released his second expose against the fast-food industry with Super Size Me 2: Holy Chicken!
The documentary sees him open his own restaurant and “become part of the problem” while tackling claims of healthy meals at big chain restaurants.
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