Latest news with #Oscars
Time Out
2 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Time Out
Virtual Beauty
'Instagram face', CGI influencers and AI sex dolls are all going under the microscope in the new Somerset House exhibition, Virtual Beauty. Through more than 20 works, this pay-what-you-feel show explores the impact of digital technologies on how we define beauty today. The exhibition traces the origin of the digital selfie from the first flip phone with a front-facing camera, to today's minefield of deepfake pornography, augmented reality face filters and Instagram algorithms. It's primarily concerned with the 'Post-Internet' art movement, a 21st-century body of work and criticism that examines the influence of the internet on art and culture. In the first room, we encounter early artworks that comment on society's gruelling beauty standards, like ORLAN's disturbing 1993 performance that saw her going under the knife live on camera, and taking recommendations by audience members over the phone. Famous celeb selfies like Ellen DeGeneres' A-lister packed Oscars snap are shown on a grainy phone screen, then we're taken on a whistlestop tour of digital artworks, each one providing some sort of comment on beauty, society and the online world. There's a lot in Virtual Beauty that is pretty on the nose. We are shown a Black Mirror -style satirical advert for a pharmaceutical company called 'You', that offers people the chance to alter their appearance without plastic surgery – simply have a chip inserted into your brain, and the technology makes you appear different, essentially like an IRL TikTok filter. It's amusing to watch, but not particularly original. fans of Black Mirror will be entertained by this unsettling and sometimes beautiful exhibition In the same room is a 3D-printed handbag resembling a womb; a deep reddish-pink sack with snaking silver veins crawling across it. Accompanying the bag is a video of a faux fashion advert – a comment on how technology might one day allow prospective parents to make 'designer' babies, selecting their hair colour, eye colour and the like. Again, you'd think that an artwork about designer babies could have taken the word 'designer' a bit less literally. There is good stuff in here too, though. One of the best pieces is a work by 3D makeup artist Ines Alpha. We see a video of her face, she looks like a geisha from the future, pale-skinned with bright pink cheeks, eyelashes, eyebrows and a smattering of beauty spots. An alien-like mask begins to emerge, with pink and silver tentacles snaking around her eyes, forehead and cheeks. Next to the video is the 3D-printed real mask, and then there's an augmented reality (AR) video where I get to try this wacky-but-beautiful thing on virtually. That this is the only interactive element of the exhibit seems to be a missed trick – for a show entirely focussed on the digital age, I wish there had been more opportunities to get involved with the tech myself. Virtual Beauty also looks to the future with the beguiling 'Virtual Embalming', a 2018 video by Frederik Heyman that considers how people want to be remembered after their death. The piece imagines its subjects in a virtual shrine, surrounded by paraphernalia they want to sum up their life. It's haunting and beautiful – model and musician Kim Peers is suspended in bondage ropes over a bed in a decaying 'abandoned Asian hotel room', while fashion designer Michèle Lamy stands on a sandy plinth in the Gobi desert, lions at her feet. Many topics are touched on, but not fully delved into. At once, Virtual Beauty tells us that cosmetic surgery is bad, that we are slaves to the algorithm, everyone is just one AI-augmented selfie away from becoming a bodily dysmorphic wannabe cyborg. But it also suggests that technology can free us by allowing us to take control of our digital image. There are lots of complex ideas at play: verbose gallery text tells me that we are in a post-internet, post-facial and post-physical age. One artwork highlights how AI tools have a racial bias, another reclaims technology used in deepfake pornography to make a gender-defying portrait of a woman with a bodybuilder's physique in skimpy black lingerie. There's a lot going on, but I don't feel a strong point of view coming through.
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Will Smith Reportedly Offloading Properties For Cash To 'Keep Up With The Enormous Bills'
Will Smith's finances are allegedly not on an A-list scale at the moment. The A-list actor and his wife, , have reportedly been going through the motions regarding their treasury, which has been underperforming for some time now. Will Smith's career and earnings have seemingly taken a slight downturn since the contentious episode between him and Chris Rock on the Oscars stage in March 2022, which resulted in a 10-year ban from the award ceremony. Will Smith And Wife's Living Condition Reportedly Contributing To Their Woes The actor's multi-million-dollar net worth is being threatened by enormous bills reportedly stemming from managing his sprawling properties. To blow some of the steam off, the star reportedly sold a five-bedroom Maryland mansion for $795,000 and has listed a Woodland Hills Home earlier in the year for $2 million. An insider has predicted that the actor and his wife cannot hold out for much longer in the face of their increasingly difficult situation, which is becoming increasingly challenging to maintain on a daily basis. Another side to the story is the current living situation between Will and Jada, where they reside separately in different homes, and the actor still sorts bills for both properties. According to RadarOnline, the couple is reportedly not on the same page about continuing as a union, and a split is imminent than ever. The Oscar Winner's Three-Year-Old Controversy Still Blowing Hot On His Checks The source added that since the actor slapped his colleague on the face for making a joke about his wife's hair, his earnings have taken a turn. Will's latest film, "Bad Boys: Ride or Die," reportedly grossed over $404 million worldwide last year, but sources claimed it did not make a significant impact. A source added that the actor's income is doing little to sustain the life he and Jada are used to. At the 2022 Oscars, host and comedian Chris Rock, who steered the ship for the night, publicly referenced a "G.I. Jane" joke about Jada's shaved head, utterly oblivious to the fact that she battled alopecia. According to the Cleveland Clinic, alopecia is an autoimmune disease that affects the body's hair follicles, resulting in patchy hair loss. The disease commonly affects the scalp, although patchy hair loss can occur anywhere on the body. Will's outburst at Chris in the middle of his gig landed him on the blacklist of the award show with a 10-year ban. Inside Will's Unimpressive Comeback To Music His acting career is not the only thing plummeting around him; his latest attempt at getting the crowd dancing again was met with very low patronage and enthusiasm from the public. It marked his return to the recording booth after two decades since the release of "Lost and Found." Perhaps driven by nostalgia, the rapper released a "Based On A True Story" album in 2025. The Blast noted that the musical project managed to sell under 300 copies in the United Kingdom and did not crack the Billboard 200 in the United States. As reported by The Blast, the singer addressed the 2022 Oscars incident on some tracks in the project, but they had little to no impact on boosting the album's numbers. Will's album featured musical collaborations with his son, Jaden Smith, rapper Big Sean, and Teyana Taylor. Despite these iconic additions, the album only recorded 36 digital downloads. The 'Emancipation' Star Reflected On A Major Parenting Fail On the home front, Jada and Will have created a beautiful legacy through their kids, who have also become a force in the entertainment industry. However, raising them was a different business for the actor and actress, and if given the chance to do it again, Will would tweak one or two ingredients in the parenting mix. The Blast reported that Will confessed that they encouraged Jayden and Willow Smith as young adults and teenagers to prioritize radical honesty; a decision that backfired severely. According to him in an interview, radical honesty meant that his kids would do whatever they wanted and open up to him, expecting appreciation for their honesty, no matter how outrageous their actions were. "It's awful, don't try it. You want your kids to lie, definitely, you don't want to know some of the stuff your kids are thinking of doing," the star noted. Will revealed that it was one of the terrible mistakes he and the "Girls Trip" actress made, and he would always advise parents not to take that disastrous route. Who Is On Will Smith's Hollywood MVP Actors List? Except in very sensitive situations which may demand physical contact, Will has zero problems giving others their flowers, alongside himself. While appearing on a stream, he provided the names of colleagues he would place on the list of the greatest actors of all time. While he initially tried to be modest by excluding his name on the list, even though he absolutely sees himself up there with the greats, he did it anyway, noting: "So three of them, and I'm not really saying this to be arrogant, I do think I'm like one of the most prolific actors of our time." Will identified Marlon Brando, Denzel Washington, Daniel Day-Lewis, and himself as the best brains and talents of the movie industry. Is there an incoming turnaround for Will Smith's allegedly poor-performing bank account? Solve the daily Crossword
Vogue Singapore
5 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Vogue Singapore
Zoe Saldaña is now, officially, a Cartier ambassador
It's the ambassadorship that you might've seen coming months ago. The French jeweller Cartier has just welcomed Academy Award-winning actress and producer Zoe Saldaña, officially, into its orbit as an ambassador of the maison. 'I am honoured,' says Saldaña in a press release, 'to become an ambassador for Cartier, following many years of warm collaboration.' This year alone, Cartier selected the actress to front the global debuts of new high jewellery designs on the red carpets of events like the Academy Awards and the Golden Globes. At the Oscars, she wore the Panthères Versatiles, a transformable piece with a 10.10-carat Zambian emerald that was one of the highlights of Cartier's Nature Sauvage high jewellery collection. And at the Golden Globes, Saldaña wore the Melis, a radiant suite of yellow diamond high jewellery. On both occasions, the Parisian jewellery maison's creations accompanied Saldaña's triumphs: her first Oscar and Golden Globes wins. After a season of career-high wins in 2025 at the Oscars and Golden Globes decked in Cartier jewels, it will come as little surprise that Zoe Saldaña is now an ambassador for the maison. Here, she's wearing a La Panthère jewellery watch, and a new double-head Panthère bracelet. Agnes Lloyd-Platt, courtesy of Cartier Saldaña has, in the past, also worn one of Cartier's most audacious and unconventional designs. For the 2023 Vanity Fair Oscars after-party, she collaborated with Cartier on an outfit-slash-jewel that was a highlight of the glitzy night: a bespoke chainmail cape crafted from 67,000 hand-assembled yellow gold links, with faceted onyx pendant drops, gold zips, and 150 diamonds set into the design. 'I have long been an admirer of the maison's boundary-breaking savoir-faire that creates incredible pieces of wearable art, and I look forward to continuing this special relationship,' shares Saldaña of her experiences with Cartier. Award season and its standout jewels may be over for now, but Zoe Saldaña has a slate of projects lined up and in the works that mean we will surely be seeing her decked out in Cartier jewels again soon enough. Her starring role in James Cameron's Avatar film series will include three more films, the latest of which is Avatar: Fire & Ash that's slated for a December release this year. Here's one star whose future red carpet looks we will be anticipating.
Daily Mirror
6 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
Host of 'best show on YouTube' in talks for standalone series with streaming giant
The London-born comedian is reportedly in talks to star in a new Apple TV series Chicken Shop Date host Amelia Dimoldenberg is reportedly in talks to lead a standalone Apple TV series. The 31-year-old comedian shot to fame with her hit YouTube show 10 years ago, and has since interviewed A-listers including Idris Elba, Ben Stiller, Sabrina Carpenter and Andrew Garfield. Amelia has amassed 3.17 million subscribers on YouTube with the web series, which fans claim is "the best show on YouTube." It simply features stripped-back celebrity interviews conducted in Morley's chicken shops across London. And it appears Apple TV wants a slice of Amelia's viewership. A source revealed to The Sun's TV column: "Apple knows it will have a ready-made audience for her show, which is expected to drop on the streamer later this year or early 2026. "Amelia also has a long list of famous fans who've been clamouring to get interviewed by her. "It's not clear yet exactly what format any new Apple show would take, but it's guaranteed to continue in a similar vein to her previous work which sees her casually and naturally meeting with some of the world's most famous people." The insider added: "It was only a matter of time before one of the streamers came along and harnessed her huge social media influence." The YouTuber's Chicken Shop Date with Andrew Garfield generated significant social media buzz, earning a staggering 11 million views. Fans were struck by the pair's chemistry and flirtatious banter, leading to speculation that they were dating. However, Amelia later clarified they are just friends. The social media star's fame has far exceeded YouTube, as she is often seen interviewing movie stars on red carpets, including the Golden Globe Awards and the Oscars. Amelia has also appeared on Channel 4's Taskmaster's New Year's Treat, alongside Carol Vorderman, Greg James and Sir Mo Farah. She has also taken part in Celebrity Come Dine With Me and The Great Stand Up to Cancer Bake Off, where she put her baking skills to the test against presenter Sarah Beeny, actress Maxine Peake and that week's Star Baker, Roman Kemp. The London-born comic has also gone TikTok viral with an interview featuring Chelsea star Cole Palmer.
Perth Now
14 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Perth Now
'It was mind-blowing': Jamie Lee Curtis cherished getting to sit in the front row at the Oscars
Jamie Lee Curtis "never thought" that she would get to sit in the front row at the Oscars. The 66-year-old star took home the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in 2023 for her part in the movie Everything Everywhere All at Once and recalled how the most exciting part of the ceremony was when she and her co-stars found out they would be sitting in prime position for the show. Jamie told AARP The Magazine: "As soon as Ke (Huy Quan) and Steph Hsu and Michelle Yeoh came and sat in the same row, I literally walked up to each one of them and I went, 'Ke, where are we?' And he said, 'We're at the Oscars.' 'And where are you sitting?' And he said, 'In the front row.' "(They) never, ever, ever thought that they would be sitting in the front row at the Academy Awards as nominees. That moment for me was the whole thing. It was mind-blowing. And still is." Jamie is the daughter of actors Janet Leigh and Tony Curtis and felt that her Oscars triumph was even more special as she had first-hand experience of the negative side of the industry. The Halloween actress said: "I was raised in show business, a business that is ageist, misogynist and pigeonholing. "I've watched the sad reality when show business no longer wants you. I watched it with my parents, who went from the height of their intense fame to nobody wanting them anymore." Jamie's latest movie is the body-swap sequel Freakier Friday with Lindsay Lohan and she credits her "constant curiosity" for allowing her acting career to flourish in her 60s. She said: "I am more alive today than I was when I was 37 years old. Or 47. Or 57. Way more alive." Jamie revealed recently that she isn't particularly picky about her career choices as she simply adores working in the movie industry. The True Lies star said: "I pretty much do the work that comes to me … I love my life. "I just love the fact that I get to be me, that I get to do what I do, that I get to do art and be a part of the art form that I get to be part of - entertainment. I love the combo platter of show business. I'm a marketing guru. I love marketing. And I just love the process of living a creating life. So I got no complaints."
