That other Oscar's party

While most of Hollywood were celebrating The Slap at the Vanity Fair after party along with an actor who assaulted a comedian in front of a few million TV viewers, Elton John and hubby David Furnish co-hosted their annual AIDs Foundation benefit with the always classy Lady Ga Ga as our exclusive pic shows..Furnish, GaGa and Elton and David's two sons.

When Aussie Stars Arrive

Have you ever been to Cannes. Whispers has several times. During Summer the lovely town is the ideal French resort. Meanwhile the Cannes Film Festival is an experience everyone should have at least once. The whole town is in a party mood and every day is an adventure.

The Cannes Festival may not have invented publicity stunts but producers and publicists sure refined the art at this movie festival where just about anything no matter how outrageous will garner precious column inches throughout the world and in the hundreds of European glossy gossip mags. Here are a selection of two Aussie stars Miranda Kerr and Naomi Watts snapped at several events and this is just the beginning!. On the right is former Oz soapie star Simon Baker arriving at Cannes Airport.
(pics :AgenceFrancaisTele)

A couple of very nice snaps of Academy Award winners Julianne Moore and Eddie Redmayne on winning #Oscars for #bestactress and #bestactor. From New York's Patrick McMullan.
Photos by David Crotty for Patrick McMullan (c) www.patrickmcmullan.com

An Evening with Cate Blanchett

Cate Blanchett’s triumphs are extraordinary: two Academy Awards, three Golden Globes, three BAFTAs, three SAG Awards and four AFI Awards for her film work, and many other honours for her stage work. She was awarded the Centenary Medal for Service to Australian Society through Acting, named one of Time Magazine’s Most Influential People in 2007, and in 2012 was awarded the Chevalier de l’Ordre des arts et des lettres by the French Minister for Culture. Cate and Anne Summers will talk candidly about her life, her acting accomplishments and her views on everything from raising sons as a feminist in today’s world, to her fears about climate change, to why it is that women are still not treated equally.

Book now for what will be a unique and engaging evening with renowned actor Cate Blanchett.

Final Last Word on the Oscars

How could we not mention our favourite media mogul Rupert Murdoch who tweeted just yesterday his distress that New Yorkers had the temerity to elect a Democrat mayor and that the city was now being run by "leftie incompetents" !.
Fortunately Rupert still made it to the Oscars with a new flame on his arm- Juliet de Baubigny who was named by Vanity Fair as 2013's as 'Silicon Valley's Most Stylish Person'!. One Big Question : Murdoch's News Ltd newspapers ripped into Cate Blanchett when she made some global warming comments last year. Will they still interview her now she has picked up the movie world's top gong ?

Last Word on The Oscars

And the Academy Award for the Biggest Faux Pas of the evening goes to Rupert Murdoch's beloved The Australian newspaper for the following :

PURCHASE TICKETS HERE

Our Jackie Does it Again !

She's one of our favourite actors and a friendly sight around Sydney. No airs or graces, down to earth and always happy for a chat :
 Jackie Weaver has done it again and been nominated for an Academy Award for her 'performance by an actress in a supporting role' in Silver Linings Playbook.
Jackie appears opposite heartthrob Bradley Cooper and the legendary Robert Di Niro. 

Hugh Jackman has been nominated for best actor in  "Les Misérables" and Naomi Watts as best actress in "The Impossible".

Aussie Picks Up Oscar

Sydney born film editor Kirk Baxter has picked up his second Academy Award along with partner Alan Wall for their work on The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo.

It's the second Oscar for the pair who won in 2010 for The Social Network.



left : Alan Wall & Kirk Baxter

Dark Side of The Beauty Business

Grant Dwyer with Jennifer Hawkins (centre)

GRANT DWYER is well spoken young entrepreneur who often does business the old gentlemanly way-on a handshake.

Running a medium sized model and promotional agency from chic premises in Double Bay, he has had countless successes. Dwyer has a unique eye for spotting talent amongst the dozens of young aspiring models who walk through his door.

Jamie Foxx

In just the past few years, many of the careers launched by Dwyer have become household  names.

Model Ashlea Talbot,  teenage water skiing champion Lauryn Eagle, Celebrity Apprentice winner Jesinta Campbell, TV presenter Rachael Finch and the most successful Miss Universe ever Jennifer Hawkins.

Donald Trump's Miss Universe contest was languishing in the doldrums until Dwyer spotted the young Newcastle demonstration model Hawkins and persuaded her to enter the quest. A panel of judges that included fashion photographers, journalists and the Oscar winning actor Jamie Foxx all concurred with Dwyer's choice and sent Hawkins off to the 2004 quest in Ecuador.    

Lauryn Eagle

When Hawkins took the Miss Universe crown the contest became a major media event that astonished even the jaded Trump who couldn't believe his luck. Dwyer organised a home coming tour that would have been the envy of any chart topping pop group. Hundreds of fans rushed Hawkins. TV and newspaper cameras followed her every move over a two week tour of Australia culminating in the famous fashion slip in Sydney that catapulted Hawkins back onto front pages and TV screens around the world .

Rachael Finch

Now a legal stoush has broken out over one of Dwyer's top discoveries Rachael Finch

On Wednesday in the Downing Street Local Court Finch's current manager Deborah Miller was ordered to pay Dwyer $9406 after  Dwyer said he brokered a deal for Finch to appear as a celebrity ambassador for the McHappy Day fundraiser, which raises money for Ronald McDonald House Charities, after learning the beauty once worked for the fast food chain.

The rewards enjoyed by Dwyer's discoveries can be considerable. Even though Finch only came fourth in the 2009 Miss Universe contest in the Bahamas, Dwyer was already negotiating deals before she had returned to Sydney including a $45,000 make-up deal and a Disney promotion for $36,000.

As for Jennifer Hawkins, as the face of Myer department stores and with her own range of swimwear, Hawkins is estimated to earn up to $5M a year.

Just One Aussie In Chance for Oscar Win

We do so love to live vicariously on this island but who could not feel proud that Kirk Baxter, a film editor who studied in Sydney has been nominated for an Oscar at the 2012 Academy Awards.

Kirk and co-editor Angus Wall have been nominated for "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo".


The film stars Daniel Craig, Rooney Mara and Christopher Plummer (Plummer has been nominated for Best Supporting Actor in 'Beginners').

Baxter has two top films under his belt-The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and The Social Network and he previously was nominated for his editing of the film of the 2009 Academy Awards presentations.

Grin And Bear It!

Robert Redford at Sundance

A BIG THUMBS UP  for actor Nash Edgerton's short film Bear which premiers today at the prestigious Sundance Film Festival in Utah. The Sundance Festival was created in 1978 and the actor Robert Redford is chairman,.

Directed by Edgerton, Bear stars Nash with Teresa Palmer and Warwick Thornton. Below is a clip from the film which was produced by Lauren Edwards and John Polson of Tropfest fame.

Joel & Nash

 Nash Edgerton's credits are possibly longer than his brother and fellow actor Joel Edgerton who has now finished working on The Great Gatsby. Nash has worked as a stunt double in umpteen Aussie productions and on Gatsby, stands in for brother Joel.

### Michelle Williams, the mother Heath Ledger's baby daughter Matilda Rose has been nominated for an Oscar for her portrayal of Marilyn Monroe in the film My Week With Marilyn.

Demi Moore to front Melbourne court

Actress Demi Moore is due in Melbourne next week to appear in court over a legal action she is taking against the top selling magazine New Idea for breaching copyright of her photographs.

The magazine-known locally as No Idea, printed a series of black and white snaps taken at a private party Demi threw to celebrate the Oscars. The snaps show herself, her daughter Rumer Willis, Orlando Bloom, P Diddy, Cameron Diaz and Amanda De Cadenet hamming it up at the after Oscars party in 2008 given at Madonna's house.

Moore lodged a claim in 2008 stating the magazine breached her copyright when it published the pictures on the front cover and on two pages inside its March 8 edition without her permission.

She says she has suffered loss and damage as a result of the publication.

According to the statement of claim, Moore spoke to event organiser Jeffrey Best at the party and the pair agreed that by paying for the photographs Moore would be assigned the copyright.

The trial before Justice John Middleton is expected to run for four-days beginning on Monday.

Other witnesses will give videolink evidence from Los Angeles.