Beasts of the Southern Wild

Quvenzhane Wallis at Critics' Choice Awards 2013
women

Little Lady of the Hour: 8 Things to Know About Quvenzhané Wallis

At tonight's Oscars, all eyes are on 9-year-old Quvenzhané Wallis, and not just because she's the youngest actress to be nominated for an Academy Award.
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At tonight's Oscars, all eyes are on 9-year-old Quvenzhané Wallis, and not just because she's the youngest actress to be nominated for an Academy Award. The star of Beasts of the Southern Wild is spunky, adorable, and fashionable to boot. Aside from her great interviews, she especially won us over at the Critics' Choice Awards, when the pint-size actress busted out her iPhone during her acceptance speech. Pronounced "Qaa-van-ja-nay," Quvenzhané is this award season's tiniest breakout star with a big punch, so find out eight things about her now!

  1. Quvenzhané was only 5 when she got the part in Beasts of the Southern Wild. She had to lie about her age to be eligible!
  2. She couldn't even read when she auditioned.
  3. She almost slept through her Oscar nomination being announced. She said, "I almost missed it. I was sleeping."
  4. She chose the actor who plays her dad in the film, Dwight Henry, based on the fact that he brought her sweets.
  5. When she won her Critics' Choice Award, she pulled out her cell phone to read her acceptance speech. She said, "Thanks to Mr. Benh Zeitlin and the Court 13 family for thinking I could make a good Hushpuppy." She thanked God before adding, "Last to my family, friends, and fans. Good night."
  6. She calls the Oscar the "golden man."
  7. She loves her puppy purses and is wearing one at tonight's Oscars. She told Ellen DeGeneres, "That's my signature."
  8. She'll play the lead role in a new Annie movie, which is set to come out Winter 2014 and is being coproduced by Will Smith, Jada Pinkett Smith, and Jay-Z.
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Quvenzhane Wallis Interview at Oscars Luncheon
Movies

Quvenzhané Wallis Says She's "Happy and Excited" About Her Nomination at Oscars Luncheon

Beasts of the Southern Wild's Quvenzhané Wallis isn't just one of this year's most distinctive Oscar nominees because she's the youngest actress to be nominated for best actress.
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Beasts of the Southern Wild's Quvenzhané Wallis isn't just one of this year's most distinctive Oscar nominees because she's the youngest actress to be nominated for best actress. She also has what's probably the most difficult name to pronounce. When the 9-year-old came to the Oscars Luncheon today, she was asked to address her name, and she helpfully instructed the room on how to pronounce it ("Qua-ven-jan-ay"), along with how she feels about the honor.

On what her friends call her for short: "Quee-O."

On being aware that she's making history as the youngest best actress Oscar nominee: "Yes. I'm happy and excited, but like, it's something you never think will happen at your age."

On bringing her iPhone to take pictures with the star-studded room of nominees: "My mom has it."

Beasts of the Southern Wild Writer Lucy Alibar Interview
Celebrity Interviews

Beasts of the Southern Wild Oscar Nominee Lucy Alibar on the Real-Life Story Behind Her Surprise Hit

One of the first things you might notice when meeting Beasts of the Southern Wild writer Lucy Alibar are her arms.
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One of the first things you might notice when meeting Beasts of the Southern Wild writer Lucy Alibar are her arms. They're visibly strong, sculpted to a sinewy, solid perfection by the yoga she practices so frequently. Much like her Beasts main character, Hushpuppy, the petite screenwriter — and her biceps — proves that forces to be reckoned with often come in small packages. Lucy's imaginative coming-of-age story has become one of the year's most beloved little movies that could. It's already racked up no less than six dozen awards and nominations, including four Oscar nods this morning. The film's young star, Quvenzhané Wallis, made history today by being the youngest best actress Oscar nominee ever. (Now 9 years old, she was just 5 when she auditioned for the role.) The movie is also up for best picture, best director, and best adapted screenplay.

Based on Lucy's play Juicy and Delicious, Beasts was her attempt to detangle her own complicated relationship with her father in the midst of his serious illness. The writing of it would transform Lucy's life in more ways than one. She was living in NYC in 2009, too broke to even afford cell phone service, when she found out that the Sundance Institute's Screenwriting Lab had decided to put Beasts — which she cowrote with childhood friend Benh Zeitlin, who would go on to direct the film — into development. Earlier this week, as we sat in her publicity firm's offices in LA's gleaming Pacific Design Center, Lucy reminisced about what she would have been doing on this same date, three years ago. "Let's see. It's almost Christmas . . . selling t-shirts for Silence of the Lambs, the musical."

Odd jobs aside, Lucy seems to have never considered trading in her dream of a life committed to writing. "Oh, no. It's always been such a pleasurable thing for me to do. That would be like giving up sleeping or something like that. Or giving up yoga."

For our Q&A with Lucy, just read more.

The Dark Knight Rises DVD Release Date
What to Rent

What to Rent: New DVDs This Week

Hope Springs, Butter, and V/H/S are also available on DVD this week.
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Hope Springs, Butter, and V/H/S are also available on DVD this week.

The Dark Knight Rises

Director Christopher Nolan brings his Batman trilogy to a stunning conclusion with The Dark Knight Rises. Christian Bale reprises his role as the masked vigilante who must break out of reclusion to again fight for the safety of Gotham. This time he's battling against Bane (Tom Hardy), a madman who has motivated a whole army to fight against the city's upper class. The film earned accolades not only for its A-list cast (Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Marion Cotillard, and Anne Hathaway all join), but also for its tight storytelling and jaw-dropping visuals. The DVD contains a featurette called "The Journey of Bruce Wayne."

87%


The Odd Life of Timothy Green

Jennifer Garner and Joel Edgerton star as a couple unable to conceive, who magically find the son they've always wanted has appeared to have literally grown in their backyard. Though they're initially confused, they embrace Timothy, who is ambitious, talented, and contains all the qualities they could have hoped for. The story is cute but its also unavoidably schmaltzy and is likely to trigger tears form viewers both old and young. The DVD includes a music video from Glen Hansard and deleted scenes.

39%


Get one more new release after the jump.