Will Smith resigns from Academy over Oscars slap

Will Smith has tendered his resignation from the body that awards the Oscars after his attack on Chris Rock during the weekend ceremony, a statement said Friday.

"I am resigning from membership in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and will accept any further consequences the Board deems appropriate," the actor wrote in a statement carried by multiple outlets.

"My actions at the 94th Academy Awards presentation were shocking, painful, and inexcusable. 

"The list of those I have hurt is long and includes Chris, his family, many of my dear friends and loved ones, all those in attendance, and global audiences at home."

Attendees at the Dolby Theatre watched open-mouthed as Smith mounted the stage and slapped Rock across the face after the comic made a joke about his wife's closely cropped head.

Jada Pinkett Smith has alopecia, a condition that causes hair to fall out.

"I betrayed the trust of the Academy. I deprived other nominees and winners of their opportunity to celebrate and be celebrated for their extraordinary work. I am heartbroken. 

"I want to put the focus back on those who deserve attention for their achievements and allow the Academy to get back to the incredible work it does to support creativity and artistry in film."

Agence France-Presse

Oscars organizer says it does not condone violence

The organizer of the Oscars ceremony on Sunday tweeted that it does not condone violence following an incident in which actor Will Smith slapped presenter Chris Rock in the face on stage during the live broadcast.

"The Academy does not condone violence of any form," the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences tweeted following the ceremony.

"Tonight we are delighted to celebrate our 94th Academy Awards winners, who deserve this moment of recognition from their peers and movie lovers around the world."

-reuters-

Chris Rock, Rosie Perez appear with New York Gov. Cuomo, urge mask wearing

(Reuters) - Comedian Chris Rock and actress Rosie Perez made a surprise appearance at New York Governor Andrew Cuomo’s daily news conference to underscore his message that the public should wear masks to help curb the coronavirus pandemic.

The celebrities, both of whom grew up in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, said they would take part in public service campaigns urging New Yorkers to take the pandemic seriously, wear masks and take other steps to prevent the spread of the sometimes fatal virus.

Rock said he was seeing about 40 percent of people in Brooklyn wearing masks.

“It’s the kids who really aren’t wearing a mask, and you know, it’s sad,” he said. “It’s sad that our health has become, you know, a sort of political issue ... It’s a status symbol, almost, to not wear a mask.”

Perez briefly spoke in Spanish.

“To mi gente, wear a mask, please,” she said. “The numbers in our communities are staggering. This is not a joke. This is not a hoax. This is real.”

Reporting by Lisa Richwine; Editing by David Gregorio

-reuters-

Oscars organizers invite new members in diversity push

Organizers of the Oscars, facing an outcry over the lack of diversity on its voting board for the film awards, said on Wednesday it has invited nearly 700 new members with a focus on female and minority talent.

Actors Idris Elba, America Ferrera, Oscar Isaac, John Boyega, Eva Mendes and this year's Best Actress Oscar winner Brie Larson were among the 683 potential new members, the academy said in a statement.

Forty-six percent of those invited are female and 41 percent are people of color, aged 24 to 91, said the organization, whose members also include directors, producers, cinematographers and composers.

"This class continues our long-term commitment to welcoming extraordinary talent reflective of those working in film today," Academy President Cheryl Boone Isaacs said in the statement.

"We encourage the larger creative community to open its doors wider, and create opportunities for anyone interested in working in this incredible and storied industry."

All 20 acting Oscar nominees this year were white for a second consecutive year, prompting criticism with the online hashtag #OscarsSoWhite. Oscars host Chris Rock provided biting commentary during the awards show, which was boycotted by director Spike Lee and actress Jada Pinkett Smith.

The largely white, male and older roster of film industry professionals who belong to the academy has long been cited as a barrier to racial and gender equality at the Oscars.

The organization responded by announcing a sweeping affirmative action program, pledging to double female and minority membership by 2020.

The potential new members would boost the academy's female roster to 27 percent from 25 percent last year, it said. People of color would make up 11 percent of the total voting body, up from 8 percent in 2015.

If all 683 invited professionals join, the academy would have 7,789 members, it added.

The academy has also introduced new membership rules to help diversify its makeup by stripping some older members of voting privileges.

Under the new rules, lifetime voting rights would be conferred only on academy members who remain active in the film industry over three 10-year terms, or have won or been nominated for an Oscar.

(Reporting by Piya Sinha-Roy; Editing by Richard Chang)

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Stars, presidents join Letterman for final act

NEW YORK -- Hollywood stars Steve Martin and Tina Fey, comedians Chris Rock and Jerry Seinfeld and a host of U.S. presidents joined the band Foo Fighters on Wednesday to bid farewell to David Letterman as the veteran "Late Show" host signed off for the last time.

The show as expected featured no sit-down guest interviews, relying heavily on clips of Letterman shows going all the way back to his 1980s morning show on NBC, people who attended said.

It opened with old footage of former President Gerald Ford intoning, out of context: "Our long national nightmare is finally over," referring at the time to the Watergate scandal.

In succession, Presidents George H. and George W. Bush, Bill Clinton and finally Barack Obama all repeated Ford's pronouncement verbatim, in joking reference to Letterman's retirement.

A bevy of top names turned up for one of Letterman's signature bits, the nightly Top 10 list, which was entitled "top 10 things I've always wanted to say to Dave." Barbara Walters, Jim Carrey, Peyton Manning, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Alec Baldwin, Seinfeld, Chris Rock, Bill Murray, Fey and Martin took aim.

"I'm just glad your show has been given to another white guy," was Rock's contribution, making reference to Letterman's successor Stephen Colbert, who takes over in September.

Notably absent was longtime rival and former "Tonight Show" host Jay Leno, although Letterman quipped in his monologue "I'll be honest with you - it's beginning to look like I'm not going to get 'The Tonight Show.'"

More of his trademark self-deprecation followed when he observed that he had done more than 6,000 shows, then joked that noted physicist Stephen Hawking had calculated "It works out to about eight minutes of laughter."

The 68-year-old host, famed for his quick wit, sarcasm, offbeat humor, often snarky attitude and silly stunts, hosted top stars and presidents in his final weeks, much as he did during 33 years on late night television at NBC and CBS.

For his swansong, Letterman, who started in television as a weatherman in his native Indianapolis, dropped his edginess and instead thanked his staff, his audience and CBS executives, including president and CEO Les Moonves who was on hand.

Letterman even took a moment to introduce his wife Regina and son Harry as the lights briefly came up in the Ed Sullivan Theater in Manhattan's Times Square district.

The show, which ran long at more than one hour and 15 minutes, ended as Letterman told viewers "thank you and good night," turning the stage over to his favorite band Foo Fighters.

The group performed "Everlong," once said by Letterman to be his favorite, as a montage of clips from his shows played.

"It was a heart-warming and heartfelt goodbye," said Victor King of Los Angeles, who flew in to attend the historic show.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Pharrell, Minaj lead BET award winners

LOS ANGELES -- R&B star Pharrell, rapper Nicki Minaj and newcomer August Alsina led the winners at the Black Entertainment Television (BET) awards on Sunday, which also honored veteran soul singer Lionel Richie.

Pharrell kicked off the show with "Come Get It Bae" and won two awards, including best male R&B/pop artist. Beyonce was named best female R&B/pop singer, and closed the show with a sultry performance of "Partition" with husband Jay Z. The couple also won best collaboration for "Drunk In Love."

Richie, 65, received the lifetime achievement award for his prolific career as part of Motown group The Commodores and as a solo artist.

"Soul is a feeling, not a color. Talent is a God-given gift and not a category, and out of the box is the magical place where true talent goes to thrive and breathe," Richie said as he accepted the award.

John Legend, Ledisi and Yolanda performed Richie's classic love songs "Hello," "Still" and The Commodores' "Brick House" and "Jesus is Love." Richie sang "Easy" and "All Night Long."

The BET awards, held in Los Angeles, celebrates black musicians, actors and athletes. It is hosted by cable TV network Black Entertainment Television, part of Viacom Inc., and the show was preceded by violence at unofficial parties ahead of the show in which one person was killed.

New Orleans singer Alsina was named best new artist and Lil Wayne's rap collective Young Money scored best group.

Drake won best male hip hop artist, but was not available to collect his award. Minaj was named best female hip hop artist and threw a little dig at other rappers by saying: "When you hear Nicki Minaj spit, Nicki Minaj wrote it."

Comedian Chris Rock hosted the show, throwing jokes and jibes and handing out chicken and waffles to the audience. The almost four-hour ceremony toplined high-profile performances from some of the music world's biggest names.

Usher referenced his 20-year career with a medley of his hits, Minaj performed "Pills N' Potions" on a stage with giant psychedelic mushrooms and R&B star Chris Brown joined Lil Wayne to perform "Loyal."

Australian newcomer Iggy Azalea joined rapper T.I. to perform "No Mediocre" and her hit single "Fancy." The show also served up 1990s nostalgia with R&B groups Troop, Color Me Badd and Silk singing a medley of classic hits.

Oscar-winning historical drama "12 Years A Slave" swept the film categories with Oscar-winning newcomer Lupita Nyong'o named best actress and Chiwetel Ejiofor named best actor. Neither were on hand to accept their awards.

Civil rights activist Myrlie Evers-Williams accepted the humanitarian award commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act signed into law in 1964.

Sportswoman and sportsman of the year went to tennis star Serena Williams and basketball player Kevin Durant respectively.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com