Category: Lifestyle

For the first time in two years, the Academy Awards are rolling out the red carpet at Los Angeles’ Dolby Theatre for what the film academy hopes will be a back-to-normal Oscars. Except for all the stuff that’s changed.

The telecast for the 94th Academy Awards will begin, as usual, at 8 p.m. EDT on ABC. But little else about how this year’s Oscars will get underway is traditional. An hour before the broadcast begins, attendees will assemble in the Dolby for the presentation of eight awards and acceptance speeches that will be edited into a broadcast that producer Will Packer has promised will be a tight three hours.

It’s one of many shifts, both slight and tectonic, around this year’s ceremony. After two years of pandemic — and a socially distanced 2021 edition with record-low ratings — the Academy Awards will try to recapture their exalted place in pop culture with a revamped telecast that’s expected to see a streaming service win best picture for the first time.

It won’t be easy. The film industry recovered significantly from the pandemic in 2021, but despite one of the biggest hits in years in “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” the rebound has been fitful. The global movie industry sold about half the tickets last year as it did two years ago, $21.3 billion in 2021 compared to $42.3 billion in 2019, according to the Motion Picture Association. Hollywood pushed more of its top films directly into homes than ever before; half of this year’s 10 best-picture nominees were streamed at or very near release. Even the film academy shifted entirely to a streaming platform for voters, rather than DVD screeners.

Then there are the challenges of commanding worldwide attention for a night of Hollywood self-congratulation after two years of pandemic and while Russia’s war ravages Ukraine. Packer has said the war in Ukraine will be respectfully acknowledged during the broadcast.

Netflix’s “The Power of the Dog,” Jane Campion’s gothic western, comes in with a leading 12 nominations and a good chance of snagging the top award. But all the momentum is with Sian Heder’s deaf family drama “CODA,” which, despite boasting just three nods, is considered the favorite. A win would be a triumph for Apple TV+, which acquired the movie out of the Sundance Film Festival last year and has spent big promoting it to academy members.

But expect the most awards on the night to go to “Dune,” Denis Villeneuve’s sweeping science fiction epic. It’s the odds-on-favorite to clean up in the technical categories.

After several years sans-host, the Oscars will turn to the trio of Amy Schumer, Wanda Sykes and Regina Hall to emcee the broadcast, which is also streaming on platforms including Hulu Live TV, YouTubeTV and on ABC.com with provider authentication. Producers have also lined up a star-studded group of performers including Billie Eilish and Beyoncé to sing nominated songs, while the “Encanto” cast will perform Lin-Manuel Miranda’s breakout hit “We Don’t Talk About Bruno.”

It will be a staggered start, with stars making their way into the Dolby at different times. ABC’s red carpet preshow will run 6:30 to 8 p.m., with the first hour of awards happening inside the theater between 7-8 p.m. News of those winners will spread first on social media and later be woven into the telecast. To accommodate the shift, the red carpet will also open an hour earlier than usual, at 4 p.m. Eastern.

The rejiggered approach, which has been deeply unpopular with some academy members, should make for some complicated red-carpet logistics. The academy, wanted to give each winner an uncompromised moment, is urging attendees to be in their seats by 7 p.m. Some stars, like “The Eyes of Tammy Faye” nominee Jessica Chastain, have said they won’t do red carpet interviews if it means missing the presentation of awards like best hair and makeup, for which the artists of “Tammy Faye” are nominated.

That’s one of the eight pre-show categories to be handed out during what producers are calling the “golden hour.” The others are: film editing, sound, original score, production design, live-action short, animated short and documentary short.

Earlier this month, more than 70 Oscar winners, including James Cameron, Kathleen Kennedy and Guillermo del Toro, warned that the change would turn some nominees into “second-class citizens.”

Behind the change is alarm over the Oscars fast-falling ratings. While drops have been common to all major network award shows, last year’s show attracted only about 10 million viewers, less than half of the 23.6 million the year before. A decade ago, it was closer to 40 million.

To help restore the Oscars’ position, some argued in the lead-up to this year’s awards that a blockbuster like “Spider-Man: No Way Home” should have been nominated for best picture. It’s up for just visual effects.

Instead, a wide gamut of films are in the hunt, ranging from the much-watched Netflix apocalyptic comedy “Don’t Look Up” and the roundly acclaimed three-hour Japanese drama “Drive My Car.”

One thing producers have promised: the night’s final award will be best picture. Last year’s show concluded awkwardly with the unexpected presentation of best actor to a not-present Anthony Hopkins.

Source: Voice of America

American actor William Hurt, known for much-loved films such as “The Big Chill” and “A History of Violence,” has died at age 71, US media reported Sunday.

Multiple outlets cited Hurt’s son, Will, who said in a statement: “It is with great sadness that the Hurt family mourns the passing of William Hurt, beloved father and Oscar winning actor, on March 13, 2022, one week before his 72nd birthday. He died peacefully, among family, of natural causes.”

The actor had been diagnosed with terminal prostate cancer in May 2018, but his son’s statement did not specify whether the disease contributed to Hurt’s passing.

Hurt built his reputation on his willingness to play quirky and unusual characters such as a Russian police officer in “Gorky Park” (1983), a wealthy and aloof husband in Woody Allen’s “Alice” (1990) and a man seeking to build a machine that would benefit blind people in “Until the End of the World” (1991).

His first film role was as an obsessed scientist in Ken Russell’s 1980 film “Altered States.” Appearing opposite Kathleen Turner in “Body Heat” in 1981 turned him into a sex symbol, and he won the best actor Oscar in 1985 for playing a gay prisoner in “Kiss of the Spider Woman.”

Hurt was also nominated for Oscars as a teacher of deaf students in “Children of a Lesser God” (1986) and as a slow-witted television anchorman in “Broadcast News” (1987).

For his second Academy Award, Hurt played a Philadelphia mobster in David Cronenberg’s “A History of Violence.” He appears in the film for only about 10 minutes, but he made a huge impact with critics, who praised his “creepy” and “funny” character.

In recent years, Hurt made himself known to younger moviegoers through his turn in the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Thaddeus Ross, a blustering general who was present on the day Bruce Banner became the Hulk.

In addition to “The Incredible Hulk,” Hurt’s character appeared in four Marvel films including “Captain America: Civil War,” “Avengers: Infinity War,” “Avengers: Endgame” and “Black Widow.”

Hurt was born March 20, 1950 in Washington, DC, but as his father was a U.S. diplomat, he traveled widely as a child.

After his parents divorced, his mother married Henry Luce III, the heir to the Time-Life empire, and moved to New York.

Hurt stayed close by, studying theology at Tufts University before enrolling at the renowned Juilliard School of performing arts in New York.

Despite his spreading fame, Hurt did not settle in Hollywood but set up his home in Oregon. In interviews, he had shown he was uneasy with stardom.

“I’m not comfortable with all this. I’m not comfortable with walking the red carpet in a tuxedo and seeing all the women with their boobs pushed up and all the men dressed as penguins,” he told one interviewer.

His private life, however, read like something straight out of Hollywood.

Hurt married aspiring actress Mary Beth Supinger after finishing his studies at Tufts and followed her to London to study drama. They divorced on their return to New York.

In the late 1980s, he was sued by a former live-in love, ballet dancer Sandra Jennings, who is the mother of one of his sons.

He had two other sons from another marriage and a daughter, Jeanne, from a relationship with French actress Sandrine Bonnaire.

Hurt spoke fluent French and was also an avid private pilot.

Source: Voice of America

Luanda – Several coffee brands produced in Angola are participating since last Thursday, until the 22nd of this month, in the Expo2020Dubai exhibition, with a programme dubbed “Cafés de Angola”, that is Angolan Coffees.

The Angolan cofee brands in the international exhibition are Café Ginga, Café Bela Negra, Café Calulo, Café Gabela, Novagrolíder, Cáfrica e Tumbwaza.

Accortding to a communiqué that has reached ANGOP, the event happens in the ambit of the economic diplomacy programme.

In the opening session, Angola’s chief representative at the event, Albina Assis Africano, highlighted the cultural and economic role of coffee in the producer countries, with the visitors praising the organisers for the initiative.

In the opening session, there were interventions from Ethiopia, São Tomé e Príncipe, Costa Rica, Mexico, Saudi Arabia and Egypt.

Source: Angola Press News Agency

Moçamedes – The Minister of Culture, Tourism and Environment, Filipe Zau, acknowledged Saturday the need to rehabilitate some touristic places in Bibala municipality, Namibe province.

Speaking to the press after visiting some tourist sites in the region, he said that the sector would work to attract funding in order to recover the Mutipa and Agro-Ecological tourist centres, in the Mukua-howahona area.

He said that they were reference points for the region and with structures capable of generating income for the country.

According to the minister, the revitalisation of the spaces is an urgent need, as the municipality will be able to attract more tourists and generate revenues, as well as guarantee more jobs for local youths.

Filipe Zau was impressed by the rarity of Mutipa thermal waters and assured that the sector will do everything, together with the Provincial Government, for the restoration of the space.

He informed that a tender process is underway for the privatisation of the centres considered as main tourist attractions of Bibala.

On the occasion, the Namibe provincial governor, Archer Mangueira, said that the minister’s visit allows a close contact with the places that represent the province’s poster.

Source: Angola Press News Agency

Lubango – The winner of the contest Variante 2021, in Huíla, Esmeralda Ntyamba, suggested Saturday artists to compose songs, whose composition contributes to the reduction of domestic violence.

The violence in the homes has its origin in the historical discrimination against women and in Angola the numbers are also worrying.

Speaking to ANGOP, about the recording of her first album of original songs, she said musicians as an important part in the formation of public opinion, should sing to awaken in people the need for dialogue.

The singer, who is also a primary school teacher, said artists occupy a vital position in positive communication through music, and can produce songs in several languages to promote peace at home.

The singer began her career in the dance group Afro Huila, as a dancer, in 2006 and in 2008 she embarked on a journey into the world of music, having participated in the contest of the provincial variant finishing 5th place. In 2010 she was 4th, in 2012 2nd and in 2019 she won the prize

Source: Angola Press News Agency

Luanda – The minister of Telecommunications, Information Technologies and Mass Media, Manuel Homem, said this Saturday that radio should serve as a means of spreading and preserving national culture and identity.

Speaking at the launch of Rádio Cultura de Angola, of the Rádio Nacional de Angola (RNA), Manuel Homem said that the role of the radio is comprehensive, as it is one of the means of communication that reaches the most distant areas from urban centers.

The station, which will operate on frequency 96.5, in Modelled Frequency (FM), will be national in scope and specialized in the promotion and dissemination of cultural, national and international content.

According to the minister, the launch of Rádio Cultura de Angola is a demonstration that the values of cultural identity will have their own channel to be discussed, analyzed and reported on permanently.

“We want the project to address, above all, the aspects of our culture that contribute to national unity, reconciliation and pacification of spirits, because as the greatest poet said, culture strengthens the nation”, he stressed.

In his turn, the RNA´s CEO, Pedro Cabral, underlined that with the launch of a specialty channel dedicated to culture in its most varied dimensions, Rádio Nacional de Angola shows that the ideas that guide the public service of station remain “very much alive”.

To him, Rádio Cultura de Angola will address the country’s cultural diversity, from uses, habits and customs, to different artistic manifestations, in its 24 hours of broadcasting.

“In the 24 hours of daily broadcast, cultural movements spread across Angola will be reflected. Artists, critics and all those who contribute to the enrichment of our cultural mosaic will find in this radio a support for the dissemination of their works and ideas”, he said.

Rádio Cultura de Angola, which broadcasts from this Saturday on the frequency 96.5 FM, which broadcast Radio FM, will have spaces for literature, dance, visual arts, cinema and audiovisual, humor, theater, fashion, folk music and gathering of peoples from Angola, in addition to international modern and classical music.

Source: Angola Press News Agency

Luanda – The minister of Culture, Tourism and Environment, Filipe Zau, highlighted, this Thursday, the poet Agostinho Neto’s achievements as a thinker in art and politics.

In declarations to the press, at the end of a visit to the Memorial António Agostinho Neto, in Luanda, in the opening of the allusive activities to the Day of the National Culture, Filipe Zau had referred that the founder of the nation must be seen as the guide who inspired the liberation struggle, so that the dreams of the Angolans were a reality.

According to the government minister, the national hero made so that the new and future generations may have reference to follow, in the independence consolidation, so that the progress path may be made in the most sustainable and consistent way.

Source: Angola Press News Agency

The Senate narrowly approved a resolution Wednesday to nullify the Biden administration’s requirement that businesses with 100 or more workers have their employees be vaccinated against the coronavirus or submit to weekly testing.

The vote was 52-48. The measure now goes to the Democratic-led House, which is unlikely to take up the measure, which means the mandate would stand, though courts have put it on hold for now. Still, the vote gave senators a chance to voice opposition to a policy that they say has sparked fears back home from businesses and from unvaccinated constituents who worry about losing their jobs should the rule go into effect.

“Every so often Washington, D.C., does something that lights up the phone lines. This is one of these moments,” said Sen. Steve Daines, a Montana Republican. At home, he said, “this issue is what I hear about. This issue is a top-of-mind issue.”

Lawmakers can invalidate certain federal agency regulations if a joint resolution is approved by both houses of Congress and signed by the president, or if Congress overrides a presidential veto. That’s unlikely to happen in this case.

Under the rule, private-sector companies with 100 or more workers must require their employees to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 or be tested for the virus weekly and wear masks on the job. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration said it would work with companies on compliance but would fine them up to more than $13,000 for each violation, though implementation and enforcement is suspended as the litigation unfolds.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said Americans who have refused to get vaccinated are the biggest impediment to ending the pandemic. He implied that some of the resistance to mandated vaccines is based on politics.

Schumer said social media has played a role in spreading falsehoods about the vaccine, and “so has the far right.” He urged senators to vote against the resolution, sponsored by Sen. Mike Braun, R-Ind.

Republicans said they are supportive of the vaccine, but that the mandate amounts to government overreach.

“His mandates are under fire in the courts. Main Street job creators are complaining against it, and tonight, the U.S. Senate must send a clear message: back off this bad idea,” Braun said.

In the end, two Democratic lawmakers voted with 50 Republicans to void the mandate, Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Jon Tester of Montana. Manchin had said in a tweet that he does not support any federal vaccine mandate for private businesses. Tester’s office said his opposition is based on conversations with Montana businesses who “expressed deep concerns about the negative effect on their bottom lines and our state’s economy during this fragile recovery period.”

Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., sided with the Biden administration, noting that the pandemic is still raging and that deaths are overwhelmingly among the unvaccinated.

“How on earth does it make sense right now to undercut one of the strongest tools that we have to get people vaccinated and stop this virus?” Murray said. “In what world is that a good idea?”

Source: Voice of America

Luanda – The Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Environment (MCTA) has scheduled, between the 15th and 19th of this month, a cycle of provincial forums on intellectual property protection of copyright and related rights.

The second cycle of dissemination of the effective operation of the national system of copyright and related rights will take place in the provinces of Cuanza Norte, Malanje, Uige, Zaire and Bengo.

According to a note of the National Service of Copyright and Related Rights (SENADIAC) to which ANGOP had access, the intention is to make known to the participants the means of protection of the copyright and the guarantees for the enjoyment of the respective economic rights, the main institutions involved and their roles, as well as the mechanisms of articulation and collect from the participants subsidies for the improvement of the effective operation of the SNDAC.

The institution also intends to awaken in entrepreneurs the business opportunities that this operation can provide.

SENADIAC expects to obtain contributions for the improvement of the functioning of the national system of copyright and related rights and to raise the levels of knowledge and awareness about the protection of copyright and related rights.

Source: Angola Press News Agency