Cannes Diary 01: Jury Duty

by Elisa Giudici

Jury president Juliette Binoche. Photo © Elisa Giudici

A tense, and occasionally frosty, atmosphere marked the opening press conference of the 78th Cannes Film Festival. Jury members, especially President Juliette Binoche, faced numerous political questions, including sensitive topics like potential film tariffs, Donald Trump, and the ongoing events in Gaza.

In a departure from some past years, however, the jurors appeared more reserved and less willing to engage extensively on all topics. Below are the most relevant highlights from this initial conference, as well as some photos I shot, which provide an early look at the lauded artists preparing to watch all the films in competition and decide the Palme d'Or...

Click to read more ...

Dorothy Dandridge @ 100: "Carmen Jones"

Team Experience is revisiting a few Dorothy Dandridge movies for her centennial

by Baby Clyde

Groucho Marks famously described Grace Kelly’s Best Actress win at the 1954 Oscars as ‘The greatest robbery since Brinks’. I think we can all agree that a terrible crime was committed, but Judy Garland wasn’t the only victim on the night of March 30th, 1955. Dorothy Dandridge was a sensation in Carmen Jones becoming the first Black woman to receive a Best Actress nomination. In any other year, her loss would be seen as a huge scandal but because of Judy’s legendary star turn in A Star Is Born the fact that Ms Dandridge was also deserving has been almost entirely overshadowed...

Click to read more ...

Breaking: "Hot Ones" now a genuine stop during Oscar campaigns

by Nathaniel R

img via "Hot Ones" on YouTube

We're not the first to observe this but lately Oscar winners/hopefuls have been appearing on "Hot Ones". The popular YouTube show features celebrities testing their tolerance for increasingly molten hot sauce on chicken wings. They then try and promote their work while in visible pain. The show launched seven years ago and went viral in its second season with a Key & Peele episode. The early seasons were mostly musicians, comedians, and tv personalities but major actresses are appearing regularly now. Cate Blanchett's episode was released yesterday...

Click to read more ...

AFI World Premiere: Halle Berry's "Bruised"

by Eurocheese

Bruised gives us Halle Berry behind and in front of the camera, telling the story of a former MMA fighter who has been down on her luck for some time. When her life is complicated by the return of her son, she is forced to get her priorities in order and address the demons of her past. Berry spoke about revamping the script – originally written with a young white protagonist in mind – to reflect her own vision with the writer’s assistance, and it’s clear this was a passion project for her.

Does that passion translate to the screen? Yes, but this can be both a curse and a blessing...

Click to read more ...

Would you rather?

Because we like to share celebrity instagram photos we like there has to be a gimmick built around it. --  Impromptu reader polls. This cute image of Nicole Kidman announcing that filming has begun on Being the Ricardos is not included bin in the following poll ecause you can't "interact" with it in your imagine. But we wanted to gaze upon it anyway.

Would you rather...

• marry Emma Corrin?
• wear your own merchandise with Samuel L Jackson?
• groom with Kate Beckinsale?
• shower with Chris Lowell? 
• get a giant leg tattoo with Ricky Martin? 
• eat cake with Olivia Munn?
• try on outfits with Leslie Jordan?
• exchange naughty texts with Halle Berry?
• go parachuting with Clemens Schick?
• garden with Alan Cumming?
• do your own stunts with Sebastian Stan? 
• get wet outdoors with Matthias Schoenaerts?

Pictures are after the jump to help you decide!

Click to read more ...