A Prawn Goes to Hollywood

Sharlto Copley is one of my favourite actors - not only because he made me both laugh and cry as Wikus van der Merwe in District 9 but because he's such an entertaining, genuine kind-of guy. He just flew into LA today and I caught up with him at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel, where he told me he's here to "cheer on his team". The film is up for Best Picture against the two front-runners, The Hurt Locker and Avatar. Sharlto says it's like rooting for Bafana Bafana even though the chances of them making it to the final are slim: "you still want to support your team!"
 

Lunching in Beverly Hills

I had lunch with Eddie Murphy and Nicole Kidman today. Okay, so I was sitting at a different table but we were all at the same restaurant so surely that counts?

Yeah, right!

But that's how it seems to be when one is dining at the Beverly Hills hotel, dahling. Stars walk in and out and it makes you do a second take. This is one of those Hollywood landmarks, having opened in 1912. It's lunch guests have included the likes of Spencer Tracey and Katharine Hepburn to Frank Sinatra, to Steven Tyler, and Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher.

And now me! I was having lunch there with the lovely folk from Grey Goose Vodka - who are throwing an official Pre-Oscar bash tonight at Soho House on Sunset (why is it that "Soho House" is such a lovely name for a hot spot no matter which country one is in?) Global Brand Ambassador, Dimi Lezinska was telling me about how he created the Inglourious Basterds cocktail but I kept getting distracted by Murphy, who I am convinced was looking straight at me ;)

Love the idea of the Sunset Goose - a cocktail Dimi describes to be perfect for a Cosmo crazy girl like myself: "When you're sipping it, standing on the top of Soho House on the Sunset Strip, it's a perfect moment, when you think, 'I have arrived'."

More details after I have arrived at the party!

Inside Wolfgang's Kitchen

Austrian chef Wolfgang Puck has become synonymous with the food created for the Academy Awards dinner at the Governor's Ball. His signature? Little 24-carat Gold covered chocolate Oscar statues. I visited Wolfgang in his kitchen today, and he gave me one of these little babies (and very kindly, a few extra to take home to my colleagues who asked me to bring back for them!) He makes 3000 of these choccies. I hope mine make it through the journey back home!

Wolfgang is such a fantastic spirit - so energetic and animated in his descriptions of food. He says he likes to stick to the classics and put a twist on them. For example, chicken pot pie (I know, I also wondered about this as a choice for the Governor's Ball menu). But it's not just any chicken pot pie - it's made with black truffles. When I told him I was from South Africa, he said Charlize Theron is one of his favourite actresses, and that soccer is one of his favourite sports. We may just see him in the country for the World Cup, that's if he can fit it in between the opening of a new restaurant in Singapore and a dinner in Vienna.

For those foodies who are interested, here is the full menu:

Tray Passed Hors d’Oeuvres
Tempura Shrimp and Lobster
Mini Kobe Burgers with Aged Cheddar and Remoulade
Wasabi Pea Crusted Crab Cake with Mango and Thai Basil
Smoked Salmon Pizza with Caviar and Dill Creme
Black Truffle & Ricotta Cheese Pizza
Vegetable Spring Rolls with Sweet & Spicy Dipping Sauce
Chicken Pot Stickers with Ginger Black Vinegar Dipping Sauce
 
Dinner 
House Smoked Salmon, Potato Galette, Creme Fraiche and Baby Greens
with Butler-passed Warm Brioche
Chicken Pot Pie with Yukon Gold Potatoes, Baby Heirloom Vegetables and Homemade Pastry
Crust
 
Dessert
“L’Etoile de Oscar”
Baked Alaska with Espresso Glace, Guittard L’Etoile du Nord Chocolate Sorbet and Toasted
Meringue

Yum!

A Tuxedo for Morgan Freeman

After making friends with the GPS and Los Angeles' highways, I found myself at the offices of Revelations Entertainment in Santa Monica. That's the production company Morgan Freeman owns together with Lori McCreary. It's quite an unassuming building - the office block shares its space with a yoga studio and there was a farmer's market taking place outside. Walking inside, I noticed it was pretty low-key too. There's a lounge set-up inside, with a giant TV, and it felt a little like I was on a set (yeah, acting alongside Mr Freeman!). Lori says they try out technology in here. There are pictures of both Morgan and Lori from years gone by on a mantle piece and a hard poster of The Shawshank Redemption. Other than that, you'd never have known Morgan Freeman "works" here.

His hand is still in a soft bandage-like hold from when he had the car accident in 2008. He told me he's still suffering from the nerve damage and may have to go for surgery. It was great to be able to have interviewed Freeman in South Africa, and then again here in LA ahead of the Oscars - a kind of nice circle. In fact, I told him I had also run after him at the airport when he was in South Africa for the Sithengi Film Festival. He said to me, that when these kinds of things happen, it means I am bound to run into him again soon - haha! He's always such a great interview, and I still am in awe of him every time I sit in front of him.

We spoke about his being nominated 3 times before and how the experience has changed, and the whole process "winds down" as the years go by. While Lori was telling me about her outfit for the Oscars, Morgan was nonchalant - uttering the phrase: "a tuxedo is a tuxedo is a tuxedo", to which Lori replied, "that's because you look good in any tuxedo!"

Freeman and Lori are planning on coming back to South Africa very soon - for the World Cup and another movie, so we haven't seen the last of this Oscar-winning star!

Lori, Morgan and I "on set"

Hello Hollywood!

I'd only been in Los Angeles for a few moments when already scandalous news started to surface. It involved a nasty email that one of the producers involved in an Oscar-nominated film - The Hurt Locker - was alleged to have written. Then it emerged that because of that, French producer Nicholas Chartier, was un-invited from the Oscars. Oh, how dreadful! Imagine all those weeks of work put into deciding what you're going to wear - okay, so maybe hours because he is a man, wait, make that minutes then! Still, to have your invite revoked can't be good. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences does not take kindly to any kind of interference in the judging process. Chartier apparently wrote the email and sent it to some people who happened to be Oscar voters. In it, he urges support for his movie in the Best Picture category over "the 500 million dollar film" - an obvious reference to Avatar.

So, once I'd hired the car and trusty GPS, I headed over to Hollywood and Highland where the Oscar headquarters are. Even though it was quite late in the day, I just wanted to get a quick glimpse into the mood there, from Tuesday afternoon. Amid the building and constructing were the usual tourists who visit the Kodak Theatre and its surrounds -Graumann's Chinese Theatre and the Hollywood and Highland shopping centre. Some were oblivious as to what was going on, while others were eagerly snapping pics of the gold statuette, waiting to be unveiled on the night.

More news to follow - I will be interviewing Best Actor nominee Morgan Freeman tomorrow. Stay tuned to www.ewn.co.za!

Best Picture Challenge

Every year around this time, I find myself frantically trying to see all the big contenders up for Best Picture at the Oscars. Sometimes the films are only due for release after the Awards season, so that all the hype afterward carries them into the local box office. How many of us are itching to see The Hurt Locker purely because of all the awards it has won and the critical acclaim it has already notched up? Press members do sometimes get to see the films before they release on the big screen but sometimes there just isn’t time to see them all before the Awards.

Well, this year the challenge is a little harder because there are now 10 films to watch, each with its own world to get caught up in. That’s five more than has traditionally been the case. I have seen seven of the films, and The Hurt Locker was one missing from that list. The press screening was scheduled for the Friday before the Oscar ceremony, which I was going to miss because I am on a flight to LA as I write.

So, imagine my delight when paging through the inflight-entertainment magazine, I see all the films I have yet to watch. The next ten hours from London to Los Angeles may see me getting in more film-watching than sleeping! But at least by the time I arrive, I will have seen all ten of the most acclaimed movies from the past year - or so say the folks that make up the Academy!

In Search of Oscar Glory

Not since Tsotsi won the Oscar for Best Foreign Language in 2006, or Charlize won the Best Actress for her role in Monster have we seen such an interest in South Africa at the Oscars.

Sure, it’s fun to catch a glimpse into the reality (and the fictional) that makes the Oscars what they are, but it’s also exciting to see the impact South Africa can have, and is having on the world cinema circuit. The Oscars are the pinnacle of filmmaking talent – and while many may differ in their opinions of who the winner should be, there can be no doubt the impact it has on a filmmaker’s career.

And now, we have two films with strong South African ties:

District 9 was made by a Johannesburg-born director (Neill Blomkamp) and stars first-time actor Sharlto Copley who won our hearts as Wikus van der Merwe. The cast and crew is 90 percent South African, and yes, the funding came from New Zealand’s Peter Jackson, but the heart of this film is South African and that’s one of the main reasons why we support it so much.

Invictus was based on a screenplay written by a South African – Anthony Peckham. The main cast members, two-time-Oscar-winning Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon have been nominated for their roles of two South African icons. Nelson Mandela is the country’s most-loved former statesman and grandfather to the nation (indeed the world), and Francois Pienaar has commanded a respect that reaches far beyond the rugby field he reigned over. Damon did a great job in getting the South African accent and mannerisms down to a t, while Freeman as Madiba was a master stroke.

So I will be covering all the excitement and the hype in the run-up to the Oscars, and ask the question: just what are our chances of bagging a gold statue this year? Most importantly, win or not, I hope to convey the build-up and excitement to South African listeners - and contrary to popular belief, this is my first time covering this story from LA!

Here are the nominations in total:

Invictus

-         Best Actor: Morgan Freeman

-         Best Supporting Actor: Matt Damon

District 9

-         Best Film

-         Best Adapted Screenplay: Neill Blomkamp and Terri Tatchell

-         Best Editing

-         Best Visual Effects

The Answer?

Amid the hype and html hysteria surrounding Die Antwood, Ninja, Yolandi Visser and DJ Hi-Tek rode into town for a two-show performance at the Alexander Theatre in Braamfontein. I say "rode into" because that's exactly what they did - arriving and leaving the theatre in a white stretch limo. They may look like poor, common folk, but don't let that fool you.

Walking into the venue, I realised we were on the stage part of the theatre, which was closed off from the seating area for the show, making for quite a crowded venue, heaving with anticipation. The sophisticated set up and cameras also caught my eye. The crowd was quite mixed: butch looking Afrikaans-speaking guys guzzling beer, gay men in tight t-shirts and jeans, pretty, manicured psuedo-kugels in mini-skirts. There were two fights before the show even started. And one guy, it seemed, had made his own blood-splattered t-shirt for the occasion.

When the threesome hip-hopped onto stage, the crowd went crazy, especially this girl in front of me, who was jumping up and down, her pigtails hitting me in the eye. "Awww, she's so cute!", she exclaimed to the person next to her, as Yolandi spat out her swear-word chorus to Wat Kyk Jy? The crowd relished shouting back in reply too. Two trendy guys jumped up onto the giant stage door, hanging by one arm, and using the other one to cheer the group on: "Aaeeayeaaa, I am your butterfly, I need your protection, be my Samurai..." A friend leaned over to me, grinning from ear to ear: "I love it!" he said. "A St Johns boy doing the common thing, acting like he's down-and-out, it's just so cool." A photographer friend didn't share the sentiment: "It's just too aggressive for me, so negative."

I'm still trying to make up my mind as to what Die Antwoord means musically. Ignoring the porn on the screens above the stage during one song, I watched Ninja - aka Waddy Jones - do what he's always done best: drop a rhyme like the lyrical master he has been since his days with The Original Evergreen. Despite the fact that I still don't feel comfortable singing along to the words 'poes' and 'naai', I do know that the group is up to something cool, crazy and unique. At the centre of it all is someone whose creativity I do not doubt because it has been expressed in many ways before - children's books, stuffed animals, poetry, and the group Max Normal. But sometimes that creativity hasn't lasted (RIP Max Normal, The Constructus Corporation, and MaxNormal.tv) so I hope Die Antwoord sticks around long enough for me to figure out just how I feel about them.