Interview: The Real Saroo and Sue Brierley on Their Favorite Moments in 'Lion'

By Jose Solís.

David Wenham with the real Saroo and Sue Brierley whose story is told in "Lion"

If I didn’t already know Nicole Kidman is a genius, I would’ve been convinced after meeting Sue Brierley, the real life woman who inspired the character she plays in Lion. As I sat down to speak with Mrs. Brierley and her son Saroo (played by Dev Patel in the film), I was first struck by how Nicole perfectly captured her cadence, her soft voice and her piercing look, but then I was completely disarmed by her warmth. Watching her sit next to her son, and look at him with tenderness - she caressed his back, held his hand, and smiled constantly - perfectly encapsulates why the film is so successful. Their story simply needed to be told.

JOSE: Was it surreal to see your story on the big screen?

SAROO BRIERLEY: Yeah definitely, from writing a book, to seeing it turned into a movie, you want to be cautious when it’s a personal story. We’re humbled and touched by the reaction so far.

Read the rest of the interview after the jump...

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Yes No Maybe So: "The Beguiled"

#vengefulbitches forever

The teaser for Sofia Coppola's remake of The Beguiled (2017) is upon us and it is glorious if surprisingly faithful. In fact, if you watched the original 1971 movie with us during the last season of Hit Me With Your Best Shot you'll be hard pressed to spot many immediate differences beyond of course the new cast. Nicole Kidman takes the Geraldine Page role (we worship Kidman but good luck topping one of Page's juiciest star turns), Colin Farrell gets the Clint Eastwood wounded womanizing soldier part, Kiki steps in for Elizabeth Hartman, and Oona Laurence (who was so good opposite Gyllenhaal in Southpaw) plays the Pamela Ferdin role. 

If you haven't yet seen the trailer or would like to watch it again (I'm on round 5) it's after the jump along with a short "Yes No Maybe So"...

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Nicole Kidman for Aquaman?

The Aussie goddess, most recently spotted defying fashion rules with parrots at the SAG Awards, maybe should have worn seahorses instead? She's in talks to play Atlanna in Aquaman (due October 2018). For those of you who don't know -- I wasn't a DC kid growing up so I also didn't know this -- Atlanna is the mother of Aquaman. Never mind that Nicole Kidman is only 12 years older than Jason Momoa, you know how Hollywood do. (If you've been following along, previously she was supposed to be Wonder Woman's mother but that didn't work out.)

Comic books are always rewriting their own histories so who knows if this is considered true anymore or was true for any longer than five minutes but from my understanding Aquaman is only half human, from the father's side, while she's more of an underwater goddess sea-dweller and Queen the way Triton was King in The Little Mermaid. If Kidman is going to be stuck playing supporting moms from now on, we hope she collects a big paycheck and they go really crazy with her underwater couture. 

Red Carpet: Best Looks at the SAG Awards

Jose here. In terms of fashion the SAG awards tend to be the least exciting awards show this side of the plain dull Critics’ Choice Awards. More often than not the stars are exhausted from the myriad luncheons, panels and critics’ awards they’ve attended (some are also still hungover from the Golden Globes), and they know they still have to save their best look for Oscar (is that why TV stars usually outshine movie stars at the SAGs?) This year, however, seemed to be the exception as many stars showed up in stunning designs. Coming up with *just* 10 was quite the task. Apologies to Emma Stone, Octavia Spencer, Janelle Monae, Kirsten Dunst, Sarah Paulson, and Michelle Williams (although I’m still torn about her recent love of chokers) who almost made the list, but there was just way too much to love this year.

The ten best looks after the jump... 

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10 Takeaways from the SAG Awards

Two handfuls of moments from last night's SAG Awards have stuck with me. How about you?

All Politics Are Personal
Julia Louis-Dreyfus early win and a speech that got political, her father being an immigrant, set the tone and politics never went away. It was there in every speech, sometimes awkwardly, sometimes poignantly. People who scream "no more politics" are always forgetting that all politics are personal. The laws that are made, the character of the country we live in, the rights we enjoy or can't, the laws that goven our workplaces, the type of healthcare we get, the size of the paycheck. All of these things affect every single person personally whether they see that it connects to D.C. or not. If there was any doubt that Mahershala Ali was going to win the Oscar next month for his terrific work in Moonlight (and also, yes, as a symbolic win for the film itself which often happens in the supporting categories) it surely vanished last night. Ali was deeply touched at the prize, humble, but also upset given T***'s unconstitutional Muslim ban. He brought up his own conversion to Islam and the initial conflict it raised with his mother. Touchingly he revealed that they're both long since over the conflict since. A bonus of Ali winning is we got to see shots of the Moonlight table and they unfortunately didn't get another chance to shine. 

Lily Tomlin, Denzel Washington, Winona Ryder and more after the jump...

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