Award shows Archives

New York, March 28, 2009 – The New York version of the GLAAD Media Awards took place on Saturday evening, and everyone waited with baited breath to see if recently out and proud Clay Aiken would now be operating on “gay time” (i.e. arrive late), but it was Tyra Banks who fittingly kept everyone waiting like the supermodel that she is.  Clay hung around good naturedly to pose with Tyra on the red carpet.  Tyra and personal finance guru Suze Orman, who must be really, really busy these days, were the honorees at GLAAD’s 20th awards ceremony.  Aiken presented, as did Grey’s Anatomy star T.R. Knight.  Chris Noth, Cherry Jones, S. Epatha Merkerson, Christian Siriano, Stockard Channing and Ugly Betty’s Vanessa Williams, Michael Urie, Judith Light and Ana Ortiz were among the guests. 

Photos: Joy E. Scheller

Los Angeles, February 22, 2009 – When the poor children who appeared in the movie Slumdog Millionaire were flown to Hollywood for the Academy Awards, where did they get fancy clothes for the red carpet? Brooks Brothers! We received this press release from the clothier:

Brooks Brothers opened the doors of its Rodeo Drive store for the cast of Slumdog Millionaire for their red carpet finery at the 81st Annual Academy Awards. “Slumdog Millionaire,” nominated for 10 Academy Awards including Best Motion Picture, has taken the world by storm and Brooks Brothers is proud to provide the clothing the young cast members will be wearing on the red carpet including:

- Azharuddin Mohammed Ismail (youngest Salim): a Brooks Brothers boy’s tuxedo - notch lapel, 1 –button jacket with wing collar tuxedo shirt and black bowtie.

- Ayush Mahesh Khedekar (youngest Jamal): a Brooks Brothers boy’s tuxedo -notch lapel, 1 –button jacket with wing collar tuxedo shirt and black bowtie.

- Ashutosh Lobo Gajiwala (middle Salim): a Black Fleece by Brooks Brothers tuxedo - notch lapel, 1-button jacket, trouser with grosgrain stripe, pleated Oxford button down tuxedo shirt and black tie. Finishing the look is a pair of patent lace-up tuxedo shoes.

- Tanay Chheda (Middle Jamal): a Brooks Brothers boy’s tuxedo - notch lapel, 1-button tuxedo jacket with wing collar shirt, bow tie and black cordovan penny loafers.

- Madhur Mittal (adult Salim): a Black Fleece by Brooks Brothers 1-button notch lapel twill tuxedo with silk collar, herringbone cotton tuxedo shirt, black herringbone wool long tie and patent leather lace-up shoes.

And on another sartorial note, Best Actor nominee Mickey Rourke wore a photo of his beloved dog Loki, who passed away just days before the Oscars ceremony.

New York, January 14, 2009 – At the National Board of Review awards gala to accept the best supporting actress award for her pal, Penelope Cruz, who could not be there, Salma Hayek revealed a delicious tidbit about the gorgeous Vicky Cristina Barcelona star: “Woody Allen – when I found out that they were going to be working together, I knew that was a match made in heaven, because he is the only person that I know that is almost as hypochondriac as Penelope.”

The evening’s big champ was Slumdog Millionaire, with several awards including best picture.  The movie’s young star, Dev Patel, said that being at the Golden Globes among Hollywood royalty was overwhelming.  “These people that had been winning Oscars before I even contemplated acting or touched my first script, up onstage in front of them, accepting an award was just…it’s a blessing,” Patel said.  His big thrill Wednesday night at the NBR gala?  “I just met Anne Hathaway and she loved the film!” he gushed.

Best supporting actor Josh Brolin cracked a lot of jokes at the NBR dinner, but then had this to say about the expletive-laden speeches he’s been making on the awards circuit for his performance in Milk: “At these awards shows I try to come across as an irreverent guy who tries to mix things up and all that, but in all honesty, I’m so humbled, I’m so afraid to do this kind of stuff because I like to just be on the set, and I love to be in theater and work with incredible people.  And these incredible people now have given me these accolades, so I thank you very much.”

Clint Eastwood, Meryl Streep, Naomi Watts, Liev Schreiber, Amy Adams, Alec Baldwin, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Tim Robbins were among the high profile attendess at the NBR awards gala.

New York, January 14, 2009 - While accepting his Best Actor award for Gran Torino at the National Board of Review Awards gala on Wednesday, Clint Eastwood told the crowd how he got into the acting game:

“I’m embarrassed to say how I got into the acting business, but I, uh, was going to college about 56, 57 years ago, and I was on the GI Bill, and a friend of mine in my Psych class said, ‘Why don’t you come do an acting class with me?’ He said it’s great."

"I said, ‘Why would I want to do that?’  He said, ‘Well, we have a lot of good looking girls in the class.’  So I said, ‘Well, maybe I should come down and check it out’  And I did.  It was interesting.  I got there, and everybody was playing chickens and walking around the room and improvising a lot of things, but there were about thirty great looking girls and about five guys, and I said, ‘You know, this class needs me.’”

“You’ve got to be inspired by something,” Clint added with a shrug.

Los Angeles, January 11, 2009 – The Golden Globe Awards brought a big splash of Hollywood glamour to the gloomy, recession-plagued days of January. And with the huge number of really, really big stars in fancy clothes walking the red carpet at The Beverly Hilton, the two most notable trends were sunglasses on men, and blowsy hair on women. 

Sunglasses at evening events are something we’ve never understood to begin with, but we noticed so many men wearing shades while their female companions, standing right next to them, at the very same moment in time, had no trouble handling the glare of the flashbulbs bare-eyed.  Either men are more sensitive to light, or perhaps Robert Downey Jr., Ashton Kutcher, Brad Pitt, Marc Anthony and Tom Hanks had a late guys’ night out the night before and had to cover the dark circles under their eyes.

Drew Barrymore’s powder blue gown and 1960s hairstyle totally reminded us of Justin Bond’s drag character Kiki DuRane, of Kiki & Herb fame.  And then Renee Zellweger arrived, all teased out, and a trendlet was born.

A few weeks back, Evan Rachel Wood told us she dyed her hair red because she wanted a fresh start, and chose a happy medium between brunette and blonde.  She told us how explained to her hair stylist the color she had in mind: “I brought in pictures of Nicole Kidman, and was like, here,” Wood said.  “She’s beautiful, and she’s the only one in this world that’s as pale as me, so I thought it would match.”

Los Angeles, January 7-8, 2009 – Award overload!  Award overload!  Anyone else exhausted by hitting the People’s Choice Awards on Wednesday, and then the Critics Choice Awards on Thursday?  Can’t they pace these things a bit?

Anyway, rather than gawk at who wore the best and worst dresses, we chose our own favorite looks for both award shows. 

Robin Williams was the epitome of the distinguished gentleman in the knee-length purple Edwardian jacket over purple tight shiny pants he wore to the People’s Choice Awards. His two-tone purple shoes completed the snazzy look.  Also backstage at the People’s Choice, Jordin Sparks showed off her talent for crossing her eyes while sticking out her tongue at the same time.  No wonder people love her!

Highlights of the more highbrow Critics Choice Awards the following night included Sarah Silverman’s red high top sneakers worn with a ballgown, and Mickey Rourke with his hand in his pants while posing for photos.  Maybe that’s why he didn’t take the Best Actor award for which he was nominated?