WE JUST HAD the local ACCTA Awards in Sydney but this week it was also time for the International ACCTA Awards. Here are a few snaps from the event in Los Angeles. The Big Talk of the evening was the film Lion starring Nicole Kidman and David Wenham and based on the real life tale & book A Long Way Home by Saroo Brierley with Larry Buttrose.
The film stars Dev Patel, Rooney Mara, David Wenham, Nicole Kidman, Abhishek Bharate, Divian Ladwa, Priyanka Bose, Deepti Naval, Tannishtha Chatterjee, Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Sunny Pawar.
In our top snap is pictured Nicole with Dev Patel and Sunny Pawar.
Below is a trailer for the film which is tipped at least for a Golden Globe and maybe an Oscar or two.
And any day now it will be time for G'Day Australia where all those slebs will turn up again for another star-studded bash in LA.
Top row : Sunny Pawar,Dev Patel & Nicole Kidman
Middle row: Zoe Ventiura, Mel Gibson, Kim Wilson and Isla Fisher
Bottom row : Emma Stone, Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban
It's a very Happy Birthday to former Prime Minister Bob Hawke (pictured here in our exclusive snap on Friday with Labor leader Bill Shorten) who turns 87 today (well yesterday actually). The former union leader won the 1983 general election in a landslide and at one stage was the most popular PM in Aussie history. He was eventually rolled by his (former) loyal deputy Paul Keating. Whispers often runs into the Silver Bodgie as he is affectionately know, at various social functions and we have featured him on these pages over the years. Always popular with the electorate and he always greets you with a cherry smile and more often than not, a risque joke. Below: Bob with John Singleton at the opening of Singleton's The Worker's Bar in Balmain (reputedly where the Labor Party was created in 1891) and with wife Blanche d'Alpuget at her book launch Hawke, The Prime Minister, the best selling Australian political biography of all time.
******************************************************************************* Photo roundup: Matty Bennett and partner Rupert Noffs are creating a foodie storm in New York with their successful restaurant TheLucky Bee as celebs pour through the doors- below with gorgeous Victoria's Secret model, Megan Williams
At the AACTA Awards on Wednesday night at Star City: Claudia Karvan * Mel Gibson * Ky Baldwin * George Miller * Paul Hogan * Cate Blanchett * Hugo Weaving
The new play Faith Healer by Brian Friel just opened at the Belvoir Street Theatre in Surry Hills. It's a series of four monologues with actor Colin Friels, Alison White and Pip Miller.
Keith Robinson & Hugo Weaving
On the opening night we not only had Friels at the after party but his wife Judy Davis who has picked up 2 BAFTA awards, 3 EMMYs and 8 ACCTA awards. Not only that she starred in the Academy Award winning film My Brilliant Career. That movie was produced by Australian producer Margaret Fink who Whispers took to the ritzy Sardi's Restaurant in New York after she had nabbed the Oscar at the awards in LA. As we swept into Sardi's waiters snapped to attention as the maître d led us to the very best table.
"Crikey, you must be really well known in this town" offered Margaret. Whispers didn't have the heart to tell her that when we telephoned to book a table we said we'd be bringing the winner of this year's Academy Award for Best Film.
Also at the Belvoir party- Hugo Weaving who is getting rave reviews for his part in Mel Gibson's Hacksaw Ridge which received a standing ovation from Hollywood's film community a few night ago when it premiered in Tinsel Town. Talk is Weaving is in hot running to pick an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor. pics by William Yang Faith Healer is on at the Belvoir until 27th November.
And still the media keep asking questions of Mel Gibson about his meltdown years ago when he was in the grip of the grape in LA. It's as though no hack or hackette has ever had a drink and said unwise things.
Mel is a nice guy and his relationship with the media has always been a good one despite their attempts to whip up controversy. Whispers first met Mel over dinner many moons ago in London at the Portobello Hotel in Notting Hill Gate. He was with a good friend, film producer Richard Brennan and the pair were promoting a film that had been a huge success in Europe but went largely unnoticed in the UK. It was called Mad Max.
As far as we can see, Mel hasn't changed over the years - well apart from becoming mega successful and growing an amazing beard-and is as pleasant as he was right back when he was an unknown Aussie actor.
Last night Gibson attended the world premiere at the State Theatre of his new film Hacksaw Ridge with partner Teresa Palmer who announced she is pregnant. And Mel's new flick has the Oscar crowd very excited.
Spotted in the audience (left), top legal eagle Chris Murphy with Mel's brother Chris Gibson on the right. Doesn't really look like Mel does he?
The Tropfest short film festival is back in a big way and superstars turned out to support the founder John Polson as our snaps show : Rebecca Gibney, Mel Gibson ( pictured below with John Polson) and Simon Baker. Winners of this year's prize were animators Spencer Susser and Daniel Cloud-Campos.
whose stop-frame animation with real clothing called Shipicked up the gong.
And well worth reading is Gary Maddox's article in the Sydney Morning Herald about some of the woes that bedeviled Tropfest.
Given the recent background of the festival, it's remarkable that John Polson has been able to resurrect the popular event so quickly.
Ricky Gervais on introducing Mel Gibson: “I’m in the awkward position of having to
introduce him again. Listen, I’m sure it’s embarrassing for both of us. I
blame NBC for this terrible situation. Mel blames…we know who Mel
blames. Listen, I still feel a bit bad for it. Mel’s forgotten all about
it apparently, that’s what drinking does. I want to say something nice
about Mel before he comes out. So: I’d rather have a drink with him in
his hotel room tonight than with Bill Cosby.” Then after Gibson came out
on stage, Gervais asked him, bleeped out for TV:
“What the f–k does ‘sugar t-ts’ even mean?’”
The sight of 5000 Santas should convince everyone that the Christmas season is here. This was the annual Variety Club's fun run from the MCA through Circular Quay and back again. Maybe even I could do that!. The event was to raise $250,000 to help children who are sick, disadvantaged or have special needs. And that's a good thing. Meanwhile across town in Kensington, Hollywood great Mel Gibson took time off from filming Hacksaw Ridge which is being shot in Sydneyto attend the launch of a new school at the National Institute for Dramatic Art (NIDA) where he studied acting. Mel was joined by his co-star Teresa Palmer who also studied at NIDA. A few years ago Mel stumped up over $3M for the new NIDA building which is now one of the leading film & acting schools in the world. Above left : the building Mel donated to NIDA
above : Geoffrey Rush Belvoir's original Artistic Director Neil Armfield and the current one Ralph Myers
He may be Hollywood Royalty these days but actor Georfrey Rush still finds time to assist local theatre and most especially at the Belvoir Street Theatre in Surry Hills where Rush got his start. Geoffrey was the MC for a special performance on Sunday for around a hundred Belvoir benefactors and original shareholders who clubbed together 30 years ago to get the theatre up and running. After a show that included a number of acts from early performers (one couldn't make it- superstar Mel Gibson) the crew walked down the road to the Belvoir's rehearsal space for a party.
actors at the Belvoir bash : Mike McLeish Julie McGregor and Simon Burke
Pioneering film producer Patrica Lovell has died at the age of 83.
Pat began a show business career on radio and as Miss Pat in the children's TV show Mr Squiggle . She was also part of the original beauties on the panel show Beauty and The Beast as well as acting in several of the Skippy The Bush Kangaroo episodes.
Lovell formed a film production company with fledgling actor Mel Gibson and produced some of Australia's most acclaimed films including Picnic At Hanging Rock and Gallipoli. She spoke warmly about working with Gibson in a 2004 documentary about the religious actor : Mel Gibson, God's Lethal Weapon.
Pat Lovell retired from the industry in 2003 when she was head of producing at the Australian Film, Television School. She died yesterday surrounded by family members.
Every time the Shuttle has encountered film director George Miller over the past few years he has been wearing his 'lucky shirt'- a black silk number with three embroidered red peppers. Sadly it looks like his luck is waning of late.
After the brilliant success of the Oscar winning Happy Feet, the charming cartoon film about penguins, it's successor Happy Feet 2 has opened in the USA with dismal takings of only $22M which doesn't bode well for it's future success.
Most reviewers are praising the 3D effects in the kid's movie but the bad box office takings are creating spin off damage. It's rumoured around 200 staff will be laid off at Miller's Sydney animation studios based in the magnificent art deco Metro Theatre in Kings Cross.
Further rumours are flying around that Miller's new Mad Max movie Fury Road could be in trouble. The flick is the fourth in the series and will star Tom Hardy and Charlize Theron. The first three shot Mel Gibson to international stardom . Fury Road has already had some major hick-ups with an 2003 starting date with the late Heath Ledger in the lead role being cancelled followed by shooting in Namibia being post-poned because of the Iraq invasion.
Now pre-filming which was to start in a few weeks outside Broken Hill where many scenes from the first 3 films were shot has been abandoned. Recent and unusually heavy rains have transformed the desert which doubled as a post nuclear war terrain into a green paradise !.
Location managers are desperately looking for a similar area in Australia. They could always try Maralinga in SA which is a real-life post-nuclear frontier. Seven giant nuclear bombs and hundreds of smaller ones were exploded there between 1955 and 1963 making it the most nuclear bombed country on the planet.
Theatre director Neil Armfield was able to call in some heavyweights to launch the new book about the Belvoir Street Theatre-Geoffrey Rush and David Wenham.
And Geoffrey is always happy to help the Belvoir-he's a member of the syndicate that owns the theatre that includes some pretty big names. Nicole Kidman, Mel Gibson, Sam Neill, Gillian Armstrong and Peter Carey are all part owners.
David Wenham & Bille Brown
Barry Humphries at Belvoir Street
25 Belvoir Street is a book of essays and historic snaps of the theatre. Contributors include Rhoda Roberts, Neil Armfield , Robert McFarlane and Ralph Myers and it's edited by Fairfax journalist David Marr.
It's on sale from tonight at the box office for $77 and there are a limited number signed by Rush and Armfield.
Below is part of Geoffrey Rush's speech which went on for nearly 20 minutes.
One great Belvoir Street supporter who decided not to attend knowing her presence would draw attention from the tome was Cate Blanchett.
On the weekend the News Ltd tabloids, the Daily Telegraph, Herald Sun and Rupert Murdoch's own baby The Australian tore into Cate because she is starring in a Climate Change series of adverts with actor Michael Caton.
News Ltd's campaign against Blanchett was a spectacular low point for a bunch of tabloids that regularly sup in the gutter. The main gripe seemed to be that the actress is apparently worth $53M according to BRW's 2011 Rich List and that she was 'out of touch' with 'ordinary' Australians.
Emily Barclay & Geoffrey
Since Prime Minister Julia Gillard announced that Labor would be introducing a carbon tax News Corp have been beside themselves with rage-none of which surfaced when 4 billionaires last year mounted a deceptive campaign against a new mining tax (that would have cleared Australia's debts in four years) on the billions those magnates reap from mineral deposits owned by the whole country.
News Ltd spouted the line of the mining magnates-that they would up stakes and go elsewhere, Which would be some feat with the wealth being actually in the ground here.
According to the tabloids Blanchett's appearance in the adverts had "sparked outrage in the community". And who was the 'community ?. The far right wing Australian Families Association (patron : Dame Elisabeth Murdoch) and nutbag politician Barnaby Joyce. Missing in most News Ltd reports on the great Climate Change debate is that the tax raised by Labor will be distributed to working families to cover increased costs.
** On Wednesday 8th June at the Belvoir the long awaited Benedict Andrews production of The Seagull opens. The Chekhov play stars Emily Barclay, Bille Brown, Judy Davis(Woody Allen reckons she's the greatest actress in the world) and David Wenham.
The season has already sold out but there is standing room available but get in quick:
Box office 612 9699 3444
News Ltd has scotched rumours that actor Mel Colm-Cille Gerard Gibson is upping stakes and moving back to Australia where he still owns a substantial farm in the NSW countryside. The story can be read here where the largest news outlet in the country (world?) says :
"REPORTS Mel Gibson would flee the
growing leaked tape-scandal in the US for his native Australia were
today dismissed by his rep.
British newspaper The Mail on Sunday reported that Gibson
had told friends that he will move back Down Under with his ex-wife
Robyn, who still supports him and publicly defended him as a husband and
father. But Gibson's rep Alan Nierob said the Oscar winner is
planning on staying put in the US. He told NBC: "There's no truth
to the Mail story."
It's hugely satisfying putting the competition in it's place.
In the late 1960's Princess Soraya of Iran, in Sydney for a visit asked the Gucci clothier Frank Marcovic "is there any such thing as society in Sydney ?." "Of course there is" replied Frank, reeling off a list of names like the Packers, Fairfaxs, Hordens, Graces, Lloyd-Jone sand so on . Most were media proprietors or department store heirs along with the occasional country property dynasty like the Macarthur Onslows.
"One went to parties where they were at and got into the social pages and that was it" says society maven Diana Fisher, once a BlueBell girl in Paris and married to Humphrey Fisher, the son of the then Archbishop of Canterbury.
It was all lost on Princess Soraya. They were all in trade after all. It went downhill from that point. Parties became and continue to be 'product launches' . Corporations expect lots of free press when they feed and water the media and the so called "A to D" list that seem to ensure a few inches in the social pages.
Budgets are smaller now but were huge in the mid 90's when PR queen Deeta Colvin ruled the roost with her legendary annual Cointreau Balls that lasted a decade.
To even have been to just one was considered a major coup and a step up the social ladder (tSS went to 6).
The Cointreau Balls were planned in great secrecy with guests never knowing where the event was to be held until they actually arrived at it.
Come the big night, the lucky few hundred clutching their invites in whatever costume had been decreed, would wait at their doorstep for a limousine to arrive-every limo in town was booked-to whisk them off to some mystery location, perhaps an abandoned warehouse decorated to fantasy level by party designer David Grant who still organises all major events for internationale Olympic Committee.
Once it was a circus tent in the wilds of the Cronulla sand hills-a road having been bulldozed for the queue of white limos depositing guests. Another was in an abandoned steel mill outside Newcastle. and yet another in the Naval Museum decorated as the Titanic. We all went down with the ship clutching our champers.
The final in the early 2000's was in a fabulous disused art deco cinema in the suburbs with a Hollywood theme (tSS went as a Betty Ford clinician).
It was all just one giant advert for the undrinkable Cointreau which received millions of dollars in free press and presumably cashed in on the sales that followed, done on a smaller budget than imagined says Colvin. And so successful and egalitarian.
One could find oneself seated next to Lord Portalington, Mel Gibson, Nicole Kidman, Kylie Minogue or Lady Sonia McMahon. Or once when tSS found ourselves deep in conversation with who we presumed was an eccentric artist named Charles Gosford who actually lived in the town of Gosford just outside Sydney.
We thought it highly amusing he should take the ordinary seaside town's name as a title until informed he was actually the Earl of Gosford from Scotland. These were world class parties-the moniker given to everything in a land uncertain of it's station on the planet, much like a new shipping terminal or the upgraded Pitt Street Mall.
A whole team of the brand's French executives would fly in by private jet for the night. Such a long way to travel but the writing was on the wall when the French champagne stopped for the last 2 parties along with the funding of the extravagant balls when they realised that no-one at the events actually drank Cointreau.
No-one was that mad to risk the worst ever hangover even though the limos stayed to deliver the very last guest home safely.
Now it's all about to return. Well partly.
Dita Von Teese , the femme fatale and queen of the fishnet and corset has been invited to fly to Australia in September in her capacity as global brand ambassador for Cointreau for a one-night-only performance of her burlesque show Be Contreauversial.
The show, created for Cointreau is an update of Von Teese's classic "Martini Go.lass" performance in which she discards her scanties and frolics in an over sized martini glass. All rather tame from days past but probably apt for these times.
## As for Frank Marcovic who hosted Princess Soraya all those years ago. He died of a heart attack in 2006 in his Palm Beach house following a lengthy and sweaty encounter with a rent boy who managed to unshackle himself from the bedpost to summons help, alas too late.
Business-like, he enquired of the investigating police officers as Frank's body was removed by the coroner :"will I still get paid ?"
*************************************
Twiggy Forrest
Friday : To the Ocean Room at the Overseas Terminal with a host of big names-Christine Anu, James Packer, Russell Crowe ,Cate Blanchett and PM Kevin Rudd for the launch of Generation One. the brainchild of Australia's richest man Andrew “Twiggy” Forrest.
Twiggy may be worth a cool $15 Billion but he remembers his roots. Forrest went to a mainly indigenous school and maintained life-long friendships with his Aboriginal schoolmates. Sadly the last one died last year aged only in his 50s.
Forrest is encouraging Big Business to hire more indigenous Australians and hopes to get a least 50,000 in employment within a year.
