Nikki Reed stuns in Pinoy designer's gown at Oscar's party

MANILA – A creation of Filipino fashion designer Francis Libiran has been spotted at the Elton John Oscar's party in Hollywood.

Libiran's fully-embroidered semi-serpentina gown was worn by Hollywood actress Nikki Reed.

Reed attended the Oscar's with husband Vampire Diaries star, Ian Somerhalder.

Reed played the role of vampire Rosalie Hale in the famous movie saga Twilight.

In an interview with Inquirer Preen, Libiran said the "milestone" is not only his to celebrate.

“[My] goal is to bring pride to the Philippines so all the appearances [of my designs] in Hollywood are all for the country,” Libiran was quoted as saying in the report.

The report explained that Libiran had a chance to dress up Hollywood celebrities with their Los Angeles showroom, where stylists pick gowns.

Libiran studied Architecture at the University of Santo Tomas and then pursued a course in Fashion Design at the Fashion Institute of the Philippines.

He has worked with Hollywood supermodel Tyra Banks in the longest-running reality television show "America's Next Top Model British Invasion."

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

LOOK: Plunging necklines on Oscar red carpet

LOS ANGELES -- The world's most-watched stretch of red carpet seized the spotlight in Hollywood on Sunday as stars in luxurious gowns, glittering sequins and daring necklines strutted and twirled on their way into the Academy Awards.

Although dresses in jewel tones and a profusion of skin were this year's signature trends, stars took red carpet risks, whether Charlize Theron in a vibrant red plunging Dior or Cate Blanchett in an explosion of flowers.

Nominated for best actress in "Carol," Blanchett drew both raves and raised eyebrows with a sea-foam Armani Prive gown adorned with a profusion of hand-sewn flowers and feathers.

"You have to love people who are taking risks," said Andrea Lavinthal, People magazine's style and beauty director. "Otherwise you'd see a lot more black dresses."

A pale yellow Louis Vuitton gown adorned with silver paillettes was one of the first looks to shimmer down the 500 foot-long stretch of carpet. It was worn by Alicia Vikander, nominated for best supporting actress in "The Danish Girl."

"Just being here feels so surreal," said the Swedish actress sporting a high ponytail. "I have butterflies in my tummy."

 

"Modern Family" star Sofia Vergara brought va-va-voom to the red carpet in a plunging Marchesa dress in midnight blue, while "Star Wars'" Daisy Ridley sparkled in silver sequins in a V-neck Chanel.

In a similarly skin-baring dress, best actress nominee for "Brooklyn" Saoirse Ronan channeled her inner mermaid with a sparkling emerald Calvin Klein dress with an open back and dramatic V-neck.

Why the green? "I'm very proud to be Irish," said the nominee, who also wore green when first nominated for an Oscar for "Atonement" in 2008.

Barely covered was Olivia Wilde - the bodice of her Valentino dress was little more than two narrow vertical panels - while the Givenchy gown of Rooney Mara, nominated for supporting actress in "Carol," was considered by fashion watchers as the most avant-garde of the night with its dramatic side split and cut-out diamond at the midriff.

 

Black was the never-fail color choice of presenter Julianne Moore, who wore a strappy black Chanel with a corset-like bodice and tulle underskirt, while Jennifer Garner chose Versace in a one-shoulder gown with an elegant panel of satin descending from the hip.

Blue was popular this year, including for nominee Sylvester Stallone's tuxedo.

 

 

A royal blue silk Gucci with cascading ruffles was the choice of Brie Larson, the heavy favorite to win in the best actress category for "Room," while Naomi Watts opted for iridescent blue sequins by Armani Prive.

"This has been my dream since I was seven years old," Larson enthused before making her way down the phalanx of photographers.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

DiCaprio, 'Spotlight' win top Oscar prizes

LOS ANGELES -- Catholic Church abuse movie "Spotlight" was named best picture, the top award at Sunday's Oscar ceremony, after an evening peppered with pointed punchlines from host Chris Rock about the #OscarsSoWhite controversy that has dominated the industry.

Mexico's Alejandro Inarritu nabbed the best directing Oscar for "The Revenant," taking home the trophy for the second straight year after winning in 2015 for "Birdman."

"The Revenant" had gone into Sunday's ceremony with a leading 12 nominations, and was among four movies believed to have the best chances for best picture after it won Golden Globe and BAFTA trophies.

"I (am) very lucky to be here tonight but unfortunately many others haven't had the same luck," Inarritu said, expressing the hope that, in the future, skin color would become as irrelevant as the length of one's hair.

Leonardo DiCaprio got a standing ovation after finally winning his first Oscar for his leading role as a fur trapper left for dead in "The Revenant" and spoke out on climate change in his acceptance speech.

Rising star Brie Larson, 26, took home the statuette for best actress for her role as an abducted young woman in indie movie "Room" to add to her armful of trophies from other award shows.

Racial themes and barbs about the selection of an all-white acting nominee line-up for a second year ran throughout the evening as black comedian Rock opened the show that he called "the white People's Choice awards."

Among the surprises, Britain's Mark Rylance beat presumed favorite and "Creed" actor Sylvester Stallone to win the Academy Award for best supporting actor for "Bridge of Spies."

Swedish actress Alicia Vikander won the supporting actress Oscar for transgender movie "The Danish Girl" while documentary "Amy," about the late and troubled British pop star Amy Winehouse was also a winner.

Open Road Films' "Spotlight", which traces the journalism probe of sex abuse in the Boston Catholic Church also won best original screenplay.

Warner Bros "Mad Max: Fury Road" started the night with 10 nominations and the action-adventure won a slew of Oscars, including for costume, make-up, editing, and production design.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Academy vows to double women, minority members by 2020

LOS ANGELES, United States - The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences on Friday promised sweeping reforms designed to help diversify its membership in the face of a major controversy over the second straight year of all-white Oscar acting nominations.

The Academy's board said it was taking "historic action" to double the number of women and minority members by 2020 and launch a global effort to "recruit qualified new members who represent greater diversity."

"These new measures regarding governance and voting will have an immediate impact and begin the process of significantly changing our membership composition," said Academy president Cheryl Boone Isaacs.

The changes were approved in a unanimous vote by the Academy's board of governors on Thursday, following days of criticism that for a second year in a row, all 20 actors nominated for Oscars were white.

Acclaimed director Spike Lee, who won an Oscar last year honoring his lifetime achievements, wrote an open letter to the Academy decrying the "lily white" nominations.

Mega-star Will Smith -- one of the black actors seen as having been passed over for a nomination this year -- and his wife Jada Pinkett Smith followed Lee in announcing that they too would stay away from the ceremony on February 28.

On Friday, British actress Charlotte Rampling -- nominated for best actress for "45 Years" -- waded into the row by saying Lee had been "racist to whites" in his criticism.

"You can never know for sure, but maybe black actors did not deserve to be in the final selection," Rampling told Europe 1 radio, speaking in French.

The Academy announced that beginning later this year -- not affecting votes for the 2016 Oscars -- each new member's voting status will last 10 years, and be renewed if they have been active in movies during that time.

Members will get lifetime voting rights after three 10-year terms, or if they win or are nominated for an Academy Award. The same standards will apply retroactively to current members.

Those who do not qualify for active status will not be able to vote.

To increase diversity on the board of governors immediately, the Academy said it would establish three new governor seats that will be nominated by the president for three-year terms and confirmed by the board.

It will also involve new members on decisions about membership and governance, giving them a chance to become more active in decision-making and to help spot and nurture future leaders.

- 'Good step' -

The announcement was quickly welcomed by Ava DuVernay, director of civil rights movie "Selma," which was nominated for best picture last year -- but not for best director or actor.

"One good step in a long, complicated journey for people of color + women artists," she wrote on Twitter.

Tom O'Neil, founder of awards prediction site goldderby.com, told AFP it was a "dramatic first step" but urged caution on the numbers.

The Academy currently has 6,261 voting members, all of whom work in the film industry.

According to a 2012 study by the Los Angeles Times, nearly 94 percent of the Academy voters are white and 77 percent male. Twenty-three percent are women.

"If the academy is going to double that number, that's a huge leap up," said O'Neil. The Times study found blacks make up two percent of the Academy and Latinos less than two percent.

But O'Neil added: "Is it enough (to double up?) -- these numbers are so small."

In his open letter on Monday, Lee suggested that studios adopt a system akin to that used by the National Football League, which requires that minorities be interviewed when coach or executive positions open up.

Hollywood A-lister George Clooney, himself an Oscar winner, has said the problem is the lack of options available to minorities in quality films.

Smith, whose role in NFL drama "Concussion" was overlooked this year, announced Thursday that he would follow his wife in not attending the ceremony.

"There is a position that we hold in this community, and if we're not part of the solution, we're part of the problem," he told ABC's "Good Morning America" show.

"It was her call to action, for herself, and for me and for our family to be a part of the solution," added the two-time Oscar nominee for his roles in "Ali" and "The Pursuit of Happyness."

"There is a regressive slide towards separatism, towards racial and religious disharmony and that's not the Hollywood that I want to leave behind," he said.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Will Smith shuns Oscars in diversity protest, Ruffalo to attend

Will Smith on Thursday joined director Spike Lee and his wife Jada Pinkett-Smith in not attending the 2016 Oscar ceremony in February in protest over the absence of nominated actors of color, while nominee Mark Ruffalo said he will attend the show after confusion over his stance.

Smith, star of football head trauma movie "Concussion," was the highest-profile black actor to be snubbed by Oscar voters when nominees were announced last week. No actors of color were nominated in any of the 20 acting categories for a second straight year.

"My wife's not going... We've discussed it. We're part of this community. But at this current time, we're uncomfortable to stand there and say this is OK," Smith told ABC television's "Good Morning America."

Ruffalo, who is white, is a best supporting actor nominee for playing an investigative journalist in Catholic Church abuse probe "Spotlight."

After some confusion over whether he would join the protest, the actor said on Twitter he will be at the Oscars "in support of the victims of clergy sexual abuse and good journalism," but that he did support those not attending in protest.

Lee, Smith, Pinkett-Smith and documentary director Michael Moore are the only major stars so far to announce they will not attend the Oscars.

Their protest has sparked a major debate over the lack of diversity both at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, whose majority white male members vote on the Oscars, and in Hollywood at large.

Smith said that both times he had previously been nominated for an Oscar, he had "never lost to a white person."

"When I see this list and series of nominations that come out — and everybody is fantastic and that's the complexity of this issue, everyone is beautiful and deserving and it's fantastic — but it feels like it's going the wrong direction," he said.

Lee on Wednesday said he had never used the word "boycott" to characterize his protest.

Oscars host Chris Rock has made no public statement on the issue, but has also come under pressure from rapper 50 Cent and "Fast & Furious" actor Tyrese Gibson to quit.

"There is no joke that he can crack. There is no way for him to seize the moment and come into this thing and say, 'I'm going to say this and say that I'm going to address the issue but then I'm still going to keep my gig as the host,' " Gibson told People magazine. "The statement that you make is that you step down."

(Additional reporting by Piya Sinha-Roy in Los Angeles; Editing by Bernadette Baum and Andrew Hay)

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com