Latest news with #IndieFocus
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Denzel Washington's Cannes surprises: honorary Palme d'Or plus one handsy shutterbug
Denzel Washington this week traded Broadway for the French Riviera to attend the 2025 Cannes Film Festival — where both a lifetime achievement award and an eager photographer awaited his attention. On Monday, the two-time Oscar winner — currently starring in "Othello" in New York — returned to the glitzy international film fest on the Croisette for the premiere of "Highest 2 Lowest," his latest project with longtime friend and "Malcolm X" collaborator Spike Lee. However, before Lee's take on Akira Kurosawa's 1963 crime thriller "High and Low" hit the big screen, some tension spilled over onto the red carpet. Washington, 70, confronted and scolded a red carpet photographer who tried to get the actor's attention by repeatedly nudging his forearm. In several videos documenting the spat, Washington turns away from his co-star A$AP Rocky and Lee to address a bespectacled photographer. The "Training Day" star can be seen pointing his finger at the photographer and appears to give him a stern warning. Even as Washington turns away to return to his "Highest 2 Lowest" team, the photographer grabs the star by his forearm again, prompting him to swat it away. "Stop it, stop it," Washington seems to say. While the confrontation went viral, it did not seem to dull Washington's Cannes return. Moments after the tense exchange, Washington joined an exclusive club: He became the 23rd recipient of an honorary Palme d'Or. Washington received the surprise honor, which celebrates his body of work, from Lee and festival chief Thierry Frémaux. Woody Allen, Jane Fonda, Agnès Varda, Forest Whitaker, Tom Cruise, Harrison Ford and Meryl Streep are also among the honorary Palme d'Or recipients. Robert De Niro received the honor last week. 'This is my brother, right here,' said Lee as he presented the prize to his friend. "I love him. I love him." Washington, earning a standing ovation, said the award was a "total surprise for me." The actor, who was last at Cannes in 1993 for 'Much Ado About Nothing," spoke about the privilege of creating movies, attending high-profile events and getting "paid for it, as well," according to video shared by the Hollywood Reporter. Read more: At this year's Cannes, bleak is the new black and miserable endings are très chic "We're just blessed beyond measure. I'm blessed beyond measure," he said. "From the bottom of my heart, I thank you all." In a statement to The Times on Tuesday, a representative for Washington said, "It was a great evening at the Cannes Film Festival even though he was only able to be there for a few hours in between performances of 'Othello' on Broadway." "Highest 2 Lowest" hits theaters Aug. 22 and features the Tony winner as a successful music mogul who faces a crisis of morality when he becomes the target of a life-or-death ransom plot. Jeffrey Wright and Ilfenesh Hadera also star. Sign up for Indie Focus, a weekly newsletter about movies and what's going on in the wild world of cinema. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Yahoo
12-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Simu Liu puts one of Shang-Chi's 10 rings on girlfriend Allison Hsu: They're engaged!
Actor Simu Liu and girlfriend Allison Hsu, who works for Interscope Records, announced their engagement on Sunday on social media. The couple posted from Paris, where the betrothal appears to have gone down. "From weekends in Paris, day trips to Palm Springs, long nights on set, afternoons vegging on the couch and everything in between, I choose you forever and always," the "Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings" actor wrote, captioning a picture of himself lifting Hsu for a kiss in front of a flowery background. Read more: Simu Liu clears the air about non-beef with Ryan Gosling, his 'Barbie' co-star and fellow 'Kenadian' "Us forever," Hsu, a digital marketing manager for Interscope Records, wrote on a separate set of engagement photos out of Paris. She added emojis of diamond rings and white hearts to her caption. Those flowers appear to have been decorations for a rooftop dinner celebrating the couple. In Hsu's Instagram story, more photos appeared showing the view from that rooftop as well as some friends who joined the couple for the party, plus a short video showing her and Liu kissing as the Eiffel Tower light show sparkles in the night sky behind them. Liu and Hsu began dating late in 2022, after the Marvel star ended a short-lived relationship with "Grown-ish" actor Jade Bender. (Also after he got caught checking out Eiza González at the 2021 Met Gala.) They quickly became an item on various red carpets and vacations, as laid out by Cosmopolitan over the weekend. The first year they were together, Liu wrote on Hsu's birthday on social media, 'she shows me that the people we love are always worth fighting for." Read more: Simu Liu asks fans to stop 'bullying' bubble tea brand amid 'cultural appropriation' stir Simu continued, 'I love you to pieces, babe. Whether we're on another crazy trip to god-knows-where for who-knows-what, or just binging our way through friends at home, there's simply nothing better than holding your hand. thanks for never giving up on me.' She returned the favor in 2024, posting multiple photos of them on adventures together and writing, "happy birthday my [love]. you are one of a kind. celebrating you forever and ever and ever." Sign up for Indie Focus, a weekly newsletter about movies and what's going on in the wild world of cinema. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Yahoo
20-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
'47 Ronin' director arrested on suspicion of bilking Netflix to the tune of $11 million
Carl Erik Rinsch, a director best known for helming the 2013 movie "47 Ronin," was arrested Tuesday in West Hollywood on suspicion of defrauding Netflix to the tune of $11 million. The money, which was supposed to go toward finishing a TV show in which $44 million had already been invested, instead went into Rinsch's personal accounts, his personal spending and his personal gains and losses, according to a federal court indictment filed earlier this month in the Southern District of New York. Read more: Review: '47 Ronin' doesn't quite cut it as a samurai fantasy Rinsch "quickly transferred" the $11 million from the Rinsch Co. account, where it had been deposited March 6, 2020, by Netflix, through a number of additional accounts until about $10.5 million wound up weeks later in a personal brokerage account, according to the indictment. The director proceeded to lose more than half of that money in less than two months via risky investments in the stock market, the indictment says. All the while, the indictment alleges, Rinsch was telling Netflix that the show "White Horse" was "awesome and moving forward really well." Over the next couple of years, the director allegedly moved the remaining money into cryptocurrency and ultimately profited from crypto speculation. He then blew around $10 million, the indictment says, on five Rolls-Royces, a Ferrari, watches, clothing, luxury bedding and linens, credit card bills and attorneys to sue Netflix for more money and to work on his divorce. About $3.8 million was spent on furniture and antiques, including two mattresses that cost $638,000 total, the document said. The half-dozen cars cost a little over $2.4 million. "White Horse" was supposed to be a sci-fi series about superintelligent clones who get banished to Brazil, where they develop their own advanced technology and come into conflict "with humans and each other," the indictment says. The show was never completed. Read more: L.A. Crip leader turned gang interventionist ran 'mafia-like' enterprise, feds allege Rinsch, 47, was arrested Tuesday in West Hollywood and appeared later in federal court wearing shackles and a turtleneck sweater over jeans. He was released later in the day after agreeing to post a $100,000 bond to guarantee his appearance in a New York federal court. He was not asked to enter a plea. He has been indicted on one count of wire fraud, two counts of money laundering and four counts of engaging in monetary transactions related to illegal activity. A court date had not yet been assigned. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Sign up for Indie Focus, a weekly newsletter about movies and what's going on in the wild world of cinema. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
