Oppenheimer sweeps awards as Cillian Murphy wins best actor

ENTERTAINMENT

Cillian Murphy has become the first Irish-born winner of the best actor award, as Oppenheimer swept the Oscars.
The film dominated proceedings, winning best picture, best director for Christopher Nolan, and best supporting actor for Robert Downey Jr.
Murphy was named best leading actor for his acclaimed portrayal of theoretical physicist J Robert Oppenheimer.
The actor said he was “overwhelmed” to have won, adding: “I’m a very proud Irishman standing here tonight.”
He thanked Nolan and producer Emma Thomas for “the wildest, most exhilarating, most creatively satisfying journey you’ve taken me on”.
Murphy also paid tribute to “every single crew and cast member, you carried me through”.
He concluded: “We made a film about the man who created the atomic bomb, and for better or for worse, we are all living in Oppenheimer’s world, so I’d like to dedicate this to the peacemakers everywhere.”
The ceremony saw Oppenheimer win seven prizes overall, while Poor Things took four – including best actress for Emma Stone – and The Zone of Interest scored two.
Downey Jr won best supporting actor for his portrayal of US government official Lewis Strauss in Oppenheimer.
Accepting the award, the actor joked: “I’d like to thank my terrible childhood, and the Academy, in that order.
“I needed this job more than it needed me,” he continued. “I stand here before you a better man because of it.”
The star also paid tribute to his wife Susan Downey, who he said had found him as a “a snarling rescue pet”, adding that she “loved me back to life, that’s why I’m here”.
Downey Jr, best known for his run as Marvel’s Iron Man, has enjoyed a hugely successful Hollywood comeback after serious drug addiction issues more than two decades ago, which saw him serve a prison sentence after missing court-ordered drug tests.
He concluded his speech by telling the audience: “What we do is meaningful and what we decide to make is important.”
Host Jimmy Kimmel joked the cast and crew were “getting Oppen-hammered at the bar”, such was the film’s success.
As he accepted his first ever best director Oscar, Nolan said: “Thank you to those who have been there for me, believed in me for my whole career.”
Addressing the Academy, he said: “Movies are just a little bit over 100 years old, we don’t know where this incredible journey is going from here, but to know that you think I’m a meaningful part of it means the world to me.”
A somewhat disorientated-looking Al Pacino appeared to forget to introduce the 10 nominees for best picture, before going straight to announcing Oppenheimer as the winner of the night’s top prize.
Accepting the prize, producer Emma Thomas said: “I think any of us who make movies dream of this moment. But it seemed so unlikely that it would ever actually happen.”
Oppenheimer also won best editing, original score and cinematography. However, it lost several other technical categories, denying it a record-breaking number of wins.
– BBC

Katie Price to appear in court on driving offences

Katie Price, pictured. is due to appear in court accused of driving without insurance and without a licence.
The former glamour model, who rose to fame on ITV reality show I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here!, is expected to appear at Northampton Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday afternoon.
The 45-year-old reality star is accused of driving a Range Rover on August 2 last year on the A14 bypass in Kettering, Northamptonshire, without insurance and without a valid driver’s licence after she was disqualified from driving in December 2021.
Price was banned from driving for two years after she crashed her BMW on the B2135 near Partridge Green on September 28 2021, and was also handed a 16-week suspended jail sentence for drink-driving while disqualified and without insurance. During that court appearance, the prosecutor said Price had five previous driving bans. – PA Media

Gal Gadot welcomes fourth baby

Gal Gadot’s family has grown by one more. The Wonder Woman star, 38, has welcomed her fourth baby with husband Jaron Varsano, sharing the news on her Instagram. Gadot posted a photo holding the newborn in the hospital and took a minute to reflect on welcoming her fourth baby girl in her caption.
“My sweet girl, welcome. The pregnancy was not easy and we made it through,” Gadot wrote in her caption. “You have brought so much light into our lives, living up to your name, Ori, which means ‘my light’ in Hebrew. Our hearts are full of gratitude.”
In January 2022, Godat spoke to InStyle for their February Badass Women cover story, sharing her love for giving birth and telling Editor-in-Chief Laura Brown that she would “do it once a week if I could.”
“I love giving birth. I would do it once a week if I could. It’s so magical,” she said. “And I always take epidurals, to be fair, so it’s not so painful. Just the moment you feel like you’re creating life, it’s incredible.”
Despite her love for childbirth, Gadot said “pregnancies are hard for me.”
“I feel sick and have migraines. I’m not in my element,” she shared.
Gadot is also mom to her three daughters — Alma, 12, Maya, 6, and Daniella, 2. – People