Sean Baker accepts the best original screenplay award for “Anora” — Kevin Winter/Getty Images
Anora, a film about a sex worker’s marriage to the son of a Russian oligarch, picked up the Oscar for best original screenplay for screenwriter Sean Baker Sunday night, marking his first-ever Oscar win.
“I want to thank the sex worker community. They have shared their stories. They have shared their life experiences with me over the years,” he said in accepting the award. “My deepest respect. I share this with you.”
Meanwhile, Conclave screenwriter Peter Straughan nabbed the Oscar for best adapted screenplay, marking his first Oscar win from two nominations. He was previously nominated for Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy in 2011.
The U.S. Postal Service will honor the legendary Betty White with a new stamp commemorating the late actress and comedian’s “warmth, wit and charisma,” according to a Thursday press release.
The new stamp features White in a purple polka-dotted blouse against a violet-colored background. Her name is printed in white text underneath her portrait, and “FOREVER USA” is printed below her name in violet text.
The stamp will be a Forever stamp and sold in panes of 20. Forever stamps never expire and are equal in value to the price of 1-ounce First-Class Mail, which is currently valued at $0.73.
White, nicknamed the “First Lady of Television” and most known as one of the stars of the series The Golden Girls, appeared in dozens of radio programs, movies and TV shows throughout her life.
During her long career, which spanned 75 years, White was honored with eight Emmys, three SAG Awards, one Grammy and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Aside from her Hollywood career, White was also a staunch animal welfare advocate and published a book in 2011, Betty &Friends: My Life at the Zoo, showcasing her lifelong love of animals. After her death in 2021, fans and animal rescue organizations came together to create the Betty White Challenge, which raised money for animal rescues and shelters.
White died of natural causes at the age of 99 on Dec. 31, 2021, just 17 days shy of her 100th birthday.
The Postal Service will host a special event on March 27 to unveil the new stamp at the Los Angeles Zoo and Botanical Gardens, where White was a trustee, benefactor and volunteer.
Emilia Pérez director Jacques Audiard is speaking out on Karla Sofía Gascón‘s offensive posts amid the backlash that his lead actress has recently received.
In an interview with Deadline published Wednesday, Audiard condemned Gascón’s tweets, which contained Islamophobic, racist and other offensive remarks on a wide range of topics.
“It’s very hard for me to think back to the work I did with Karla Sofía,” Audiard began. “The trust we shared, the exceptional atmosphere that we had on the set that was indeed based on trust.”
He continued, “And when you have that kind of relationship and suddenly you read something that that person has said, things that are absolutely hateful and worthy of being hated, of course that relationship is affected. It’s as if you fall into a hole. Because what Karla Sofía said is inexcusable.”
Audiard said he hasn’t spoken to Gascón since her comments resurfaced.
“I don’t want to,” he said. “She is in a self-destructive approach that I can’t interfere in, and I really don’t understand why she’s continuing. Why is she harming herself? Why? I don’t understand it, and what I don’t understand about this too is why she’s harming people who were very close to her.”
“I’m thinking in this thing of how hurting others, of how she’s hurting the crew and all these people who worked so incredibly hard on this film,” he added. “I’m thinking of myself, I’m thinking of Zoe [Saldaña] and Selena [Gomez]. I just don’t understand why she’s continuing to harm us.”
Audiard continued, “I’m not getting in touch with her because right now she needs space to reflect and take accountability for her actions.”
Emilia Pérez earned 13 Oscar nominations, including best picture. Audiard is nominated for best director for the film, as well as best adapted screenplay. Gascón is nominated for best actress. She is also the first openly trans actor to earn an Oscar nomination.
Good Morning America has reached out to a representative for Gascón, Audiard and Netflix.
The revolution rages on in the new trailer for Andor season 2.
Disney+ released the first trailer and poster for the Star Wars prequel on Monday. The second and final season of the Emmy-nominated show premieres on April 22.
Diego Luna stars as Cassian Andor, a rebel who first appeared in the 2016 film Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. This prequel series shows how he was radicalized into fighting for the Rebel Alliance and eventually stole the plans to the Death Star, which set the stage for the events of the original film, Star Wars: A New Hope.
“We’re in a war,” Cassian says at the beginning of the trailer. “You wanna fight, or you wanna win?”
According to a press release, season 2 will find the characters and their relationships “intensify as the horizon of war draws near and Cassian becomes a key player in the Rebel Alliance. Everyone will be tested and, as the stakes rise, the betrayals, sacrifices and conflicting agendas will become profound.”
Created and executive produced by Tony Gilroy, season 2 will consist of 12 episodes that will be broken up into four chapters consisting of three episodes each. Chapter 1 will debut on April 22, with new chapters releasing in the following weeks.
“One of the great thrills of making Andor is the scale of the story and the number of characters we’re able to meet — ordinary people, Imperial overlords, passionate revolutionaries,” Gilroy said. “They are real people making epic decisions, all of them staring down questions with terrifying consequences. Cassian’s journey is the soul and spine of our story, but it’s the choir that makes the show. I’m so excited for audiences to see where we go in season 2.”
Along with Luna, season 2 stars Stellan Skarsgård, Genevieve O’Reilly, Denise Gough, Kyle Soller, Adria Arjona, Faye Marsay, Varada Sethu, Elizabeth Dulau, Alan Tudyk, Ben Mendelsohn and Forest Whitaker.
