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PopSugarUK's March Must Haves

PopSugarUK — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 23:00:00 -0800

This month I've got my eye on several new DVD releases, as well as a couple of cracking CDs from female singers. There are also two big cinema releases I'd recommend, plus a couple of intriguing books. To find out what I'm excited for in March, view my slideshow, and check out Fab UK's and Bella UK's most wanted too!

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All The Winners From The 2009 Oscars!

PopSugarUK — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 21:36:36 -0800

The 2009 Oscars took place in LA last night with our fellow Brits taking home a huge number of awards! Slumdog Millionaire was the big winner with eight gold statues including Best Picture and Best Director for Danny Boyle, while Kate Winslet won Best Actress for her role in The Reader - here's what she had to say in the press room following her win! Sean Penn won Best Actor for his role in Milk, beating out Mickey Rourke to the gong, while Penelope Cruz and Heath Ledger won the Best Supporting trophies, with Heath's award being picked up by his family. Pop, Buzz and Molly attended the ceremony, so don't forget to check out all the gossip from them, and stay tuned to PopSugar UK for more news!

Wall-E, Man On Wire, The Duchess and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button all won statues at the ceremony last night, so for a full list of winners, and photos from the press room of the presenters and winners, just read more.

Best picture: Slumdog Millionaire

Best director: Danny Boyle Slumdog Millionaire

Best actress: Kate Winslet The Reader

Best actor: Sean Penn Milk

Best supporting actress: Penelope Cruz Vicky Cristina Barcelona

Best supporting actor: Heath Ledger The Dark Knight

Best original screenplay: Milk

Best adapted screenplay: Slumdog Millionaire

Best animated feature film: Wall-E

Best animated short film: La Maison en Petits Cubes

Art direction: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Costume design: The Duchess

Make-up: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Cinematography: Slumdog Millionaire

Best live action short film: Spielzeugland (Toyland)

Best documentary feature: Man on Wire

Best documentary short subject: Smile Pinki

Visual effects: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Sound editing: The Dark Knight

Sound mixing: Slumdog Millionaire

Film editing: Slumdog Millionaire

Best original score: Slumdog Millionaire

Best original song: "Jai Ho" - Slumdog Millionaire

Best foreign language film: Departures (Japan)

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Images include: Sarah Jessica Parker, Penelope Cruz, Jennifer Aniston, Jack Black, the Ledger family, Christopher Walken, Cuba Gooding Jr, Alan Arkin, Kevin Kline, Joel Grey, Seth Rogen, Anjelica Huston, Tilda Swinton, Goldie Hawn, Eva Marie Saint, Whoopi Goldberg, Kate Winslet, Sean Penn, Marion Cotillard, Sir Ben Kingsley, Robert De Niro, Michael Douglas, Adrien Brody, Anthony Hopkins, Daniel Craig, Danny Boyle, Tina Fey, Daniel Craig, A.R. Rahman, Dustin Lance Black.

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Oscar Nominee: The Duchess For Best Costume Design

BuzzSugar — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 15:30:26 -0800

As we gear up for the Oscars, I'll be featuring the nominees for Best Costume Design. It's a big year for this category as the films nominated represent vastly different historical periods. Be it 18th-century England or San Francisco in the '70s, these films include some gorgeous threads. Today's featured movie is The Duchess.

Oh lucky, lucky Keira Knightley! She plays Georgiana Cavendish, the Duchess of Devonshire, and while the dramatic life of this charismatic woman was probably what drew her to the role, I'm sure the movie's lavish period costumes were a nice little bonus. Who wouldn't want to adorn herself in such gorgeousness? There's 18th-century costumes and then there's this movie: The wigs, the jewelry, the dapper menswear, the exquisite detail . . . The Duchess is a frenzy of beautiful period costuming - and I can't get enough of it.

To see a gallery of the costumes, just read more.

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Photos courtesy of Paramount Vantage

What to Netflix: Weekend Edition!

BuzzSugar — Sat, 27 Dec 2008 13:30:58 -0800

Usually the new DVD releases hit stores (and Netflix) on Tuesdays, but there are a handful of big releases out today so I thought I'd alert you. Today, just like I do each week in What to Netflix: New DVD Tuesday, I'm sorting through the best of the batch to suggest some additions for your queue.

The Duchess
I'm glad this sumptuous movie is out on DVD because it's so beautiful to look at. The costumes in this period drama starring Keira Knightley and Ralph Fiennes are gorgeous and the rest of the movie is pretty good too.

Knightley plays Georgiana, wife of William Cavendish (Fiennes), the Duke of Devonshire. While their relationship grows bitter in private, Georgiana starts to become quite popular in public and immerses herself in the world of politics and high society. As her husband puts other women between them, Georgiana finds herself falling in love with a young politician, Charles Grey (Dominic Cooper). However, the threat of scandal proves too great for the Duke and Duchess, and a relationship with Charles is forbidden.

Special features include a featurette titled, "Georgiana in Her Own Words," the making of the movie, and a costume diary.

Two more up next so read more.

Ghost Town
Aw, Ricky Gervais. This comedy wasn't the smash hit that someone of his talent deserves but it's an easygoing and sometimes bittersweet comedy all the same.

Gervais plays dentist Bertram Pincus, an ornery, solitary man who comes out of a medical procedure to discover that he died briefly during it. His momentary death gives him the ability to see people who have died but who are still hanging out on Earth because they have unfinished business. One such restless soul is Frank (Greg Kinnear) who needs Bertram to prevent Frank's widow, Gwen (Tea Leoni), from remarrying. This is a good pick for something to watch with the family if you're still hanging around with them til the New Year.

Special features include commentary from Gervais and the making of the movie.

Eagle Eye
This is one of the most intense-looking DVD covers I've seen in awhile. In fact it's kind of stressing me out, which is about the right vibe for this movie. I actually thought this movie was rather thrilling, even if the actual stuff going on in the plot is a wee bit preposterous.

Shia LaBeouf plays Jerry Shaw, a slacker with low ambitions and little money. The sudden death of his estranged twin brother Ethan sets off a series of baffling occurrences for Jerry, starting with a strange woman contacting him on the phone just as he's being set up to look like a terrorist. Oh, this is only the beginning, though! Michelle Monaghan is also in this movie and she and LaBeouf make a surprisingly adorable onscreen pair.

Special features include a gag reel and a photo gallery.

Box Office: It's a Chihuahua World and We're Just Living in It

BuzzSugar — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 08:30:48 -0700

If the photo below were a Caption It contest based on this weekend's box office results, my entry would go something like: "Well Leo, there's no easy way to say this so I'm just going to come out with it. We got beat by the little talking dogs. Beat bad."

That's right, Disney's Beverly Hills Chihuahua was No. 1 for the second weekend in a row followed by the horror flick Quarantine. Ridley Scott's Body of Lies, which came in third, was expected to do much better "based on its star power alone" but the combination of mediocre reviews and the fact that audiences continue to eschew Iraq War-related movies probably worked against a successful opening weekend. Eagle Eye and Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist rounded out the top five respectively.

The new sports film The Express came in at No. 6 followed by Nights in Rodanthe, Appaloosa, The Duchess, and City of Ember at No. 10.

Photos courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures

The Duchess: Oh, the (Beautifully Costumed) Drama!

BuzzSugar — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 06:30:41 -0700

Of course The Duchess is dramatic. Georgiana Cavendish, the Duchess of Devonshire, led a dramatic life and she herself was a dramatic - and smart, and charismatic - woman. I really liked this movie, but I might have liked it more if it were a slightly broader examination of the Duchess. I don't mean that they should have included more years in her life (I think that would have been a mistake) but the vast majority of the film is about her romantic and reproductive woes. She was a daring, intelligent, and remarkably influential woman during a time when women were expected to be anything but those things. While I liked this sweeping period drama, I might have enjoyed less soap opera and a tad more substance.

The costumes, however, cannot be disputed, for they are devastatingly gorgeous. I would watch this movie over and over with the sound off just to feast my eyes on the clothes. Dressed to perfection in every scene, Keira Knightley plays Georgiana, who marries William Cavendish, the Duke of Devonshire when she is just a teenager. The marriage is soon strained as it appears that Georgiana will only bear daughters. While the relationship grows bitter in private, Georgiana starts to become quite popular in public and immerses herself in the world of politics and high society. She's a natural charmer and trend-setter, though her husband puts more and more distance between them, choosing other women over his wife. Before long, Georgiana finds herself falling in love with a young politician, Charles Grey (Dominic Cooper), but the threat of scandal proves too great for the Duke and Duchess and a relationship with Charles is forbidden. There's much more to the story, but I won't spoil things for you. I can still share some thoughts, though, so read more.

Knightley strongly carries the film with her focused, honest portrayal of the brightly alluring yet unfortunate Duchess of Devonshire, and if she veers into melodrama it’s because the material clearly calls for it. She’s still a relatively young actress, which I think people sometimes forget, and while she still appears young onscreen (with that permanently youthful bounce in her step, a fresh energy to even her most morose scenes), there is so much potential there for her to mature into a truly phenomenal performer. She acts with her entire body, conveying emotion in the tiniest details: her whole frame rigid with rage, a coquettish tip of her head and a sidelong glance, the utterly distraught balling up of one fist . . . these things inform our understanding of Georgiana's emotional landscape.

Most of the time I cringed and tsk-tsked at the wretchedness of this poor young woman’s life, as the story is basically a long string of relationship issues and anxiety over pregnancies. There are countless historical movies that, if they center on a woman at all, focus on the pressure to conceive a male heir, the havoc this wreaks on a marriage, and the power plays that arise between the women who can conceive and those who cannot. This is understandable, given the nature of society back then, and yet here’s a story with some built-in political drama as well, with a fearless, deeply inspiring female protagonist. I would have appreciated more of that story. That said, I was riveted to this movie, intoxicated by the costumes and just as smitten with the Duchess as the rest of England seems to be. It’s a beautiful and sad film that is well worth seeing.

Photos courtesy of Paramount Vantage

Vogue Viewing of The Duchess

PopSugarUK — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 03:13:02 -0700

The Duchess had a special screening in New York last night, in association with The Cinema Society and - how fitting for Fashion Week - Vogue magazine. As I've described, the costumes in the movie are amazing, but last night both Keira Knightley and model Coco Rocha were working pretty gothic looks on the red carpet. Keira's famous pout was out in full swing as she posed with editor Anna Wintour, until friendly face Dominic Cooper arrived and made her giggle - BellaUK has all the goss on how to get her smoky eyes! Other famous guests included Susan Sarandon and her daughter Eva Amurri, Valentino and David Schwimmer.

For more photos of Keira, Dominic and guests at the event, just read more

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Sugar Bits - Estelle Nominated For Five MOBO Awards

PopSugarUK — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 01:24:15 -0700

Estelle has been nominated for five MOBO Awards including those for Best UK Female, Song and Video. The ceremony will take place in October and will be hosted by Mel B. - ITN
Russell Brand has said he's been asked to host the MTV Video Music Awards 2009, following his headline-making hosting duties on Sunday. - The Sun
RocknRolla has debuted at number one in the UK box office, Mamma Mia is number two and new entry The Duchess is in third. - BBC
Kylie Minogue is apparently in line to received £2million for a 60 minute set at a resort opening in Dubai. - Daily Mail
It's been revealed Cheryl Cole has links with a contestant she voted through to boot camp on The X Factor. Bosses at the programme were aware they knew each other, but it wasn't mentioned on Saturday night's show. - Mirror

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Pop Preview: The Duchess

PopSugarUK — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 04:00:00 -0700

Keira Knightley's latest period offering, The Duchess, is finally released at cinemas across the UK today. We've seen the stars at the world premiere and attending radio interviews, and now it's time to see if the film lives up to all the hype. Although the poster carries the famous Diana quote - "there were three people in her marriage" - the film has nothing to do with her (as the cast and director told me when I met them recently) so that aspect of the trailer is for marketing and doesn't reflect the content of the film. As Keira said, the Duchess is a fascinating character in her own right.

Keira plays the part of Georgiana Spencer, who becomes Duchess of Devonshire when she marries the much older Duke (Ralph Fiennes). The Duchess was famous at the end of the eighteenth century for her beauty, fashion sense and appetite for gambling. She became a shrewd political operator and a doting mother, but it is her search for love that forms the heart of this story. The complexities of her relationship with her best friend and husband's mistress, Bess Foster (Hayley Atwell), and her affair with Prime Minister in training Earl Grey (Dominic Cooper), drive the plot as Georgiana faces heartbreaking decisions imposed on her by her powerful husband.

To find out why I gave The Duchess four stars, and to read the cast and director's thoughts on the film, just read more

The acting is first-class, and Ralph Fiennes' performance is particularly strong. The Duke is an unsympathetic character on paper but the director, Saul Dibb, said it was very important to Ralph that the Duke was a rounded character. Although it is a dark story, there are a lot of darkly funny moments, and these are courtesy of the Duke. Saul told me his thoughts on Ralph and these lighter moments:

"He just gave us a brilliant performance. I think they are blackly comic, a lot of these moments, often because he absolutely said with conviction things that belonged to the time, values that belonged to the time. For modern audience it’s just so extraordinary to hear those things said so bluntly. He’s also got amazing comic timing".

The locations are breathtaking too, and testament to the decision to film practically every scene in real country houses and impressive buildings rather than studios.

Another strength of the film is the wardrobe. Designed by Michael O'Connor, the outfits that Georgiana and Bess wear are out of this world, or out of this contemporary world anyway.

We also get to see how their clothes are constructed in the undressing scenes, with layers upon layers of dresses, corsets and frames offering us a glimpse beyond the facade.

The wigs are incredible and used as plot devices, like when one catches fire and when the Duke and Earl take theirs off in moments of vulnerability.

My girl FabUK has got the lowdown on what Keira and Hayley said about their experience of wearing the costumes.

The relationship between G (as she is sometimes called in the film) and Bess was the most intriguing part of the film. As Hayley told me, it was a very complex relationship, and I would have liked to have seen more of an exploration into it, but after Bess betrays G's trust the film's focus turns elsewhere. If you want to see more of Hayley on the big screen, she'll be appearing in Brideshead Revisited next month (read the book with me ahead of the film's release!).

The love story between Georgiana and Earl Grey was wonderful, and was my favourite aspect of the film. Dominic gives a great performance, even though at times he comes across as too modern to completely fit in to the period. Ever since he told me all about the practicalities of filming sex scenes I haven't quite been able to look at him in the same light, but he is totally convincing as the man the Duchess truly loves.

Keira is in practically every scene and I was more impressed by her performance in this film than her previous period outings. She only overacts in a couple of scenes, and she made me care about the character. She told me "it was a wonderful challenge" to take on such a big role, but also "completely terrifying". Keira also has strong views on the ending. Without wanting to give too much away, it is seen by some as a happy one, but not by Keira. She told me:

"I think the whole journey for her is from idealism in to reality, in a strange kind of way, and I think she gets very much broken down in the end. The whole thing is like a card game and she plays her cards out and for me, no, she didn’t get a happy ending. She does survive, which is I suppose in itself a happy ending".

I'd love to hear your thoughts on the film, and whether or not you think it's a happy ending, so do let me know once you've seen it.

Photos courtesy of Pathe

Few Fab Words About Costume in The Duchess

FabSugarUK — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 02:00:54 -0700

Keira Knightley has been working her socks off over the past few weeks promoting her latest movie The Duchess. If you've missed the interviews over at Pop UK then make sure you jump over there to see what the cast had to say about sex in the movie, and the Princess Diana connection.

But what we're really interested in is the costume! We already provided you with a brief insight and a few sketches but here is what Keira Knightley and Hayley Atwell had to say on the amazing costumes designed by Michael O'Connor.

The film is out across the UK today so make sure you get out to see it.

Which of the styles is more you Keira: the football kits of Bend It Like Beckham or the period costumes of The Duchess?

KK: Well, I have no plans to go around London in eighteenth century costume! But equally not football shorts either. The costumes were completely fantastic and obviously she was a very famous fashion icon. The opportunity to work with Michael O’Connor, who is a tremendous talent, was amazing. They weren't particularly comfortable. It was very simply the fact that you need to wear a corset and can’t catch your breath, so any emotions are much more heightened. You can’t calm them down. So they were very helpful in the portrayal of character for me.

To find out about the problems moving around in costumes read more

How long did it take you to get in to the costumes?

HA: Was it two and a half hours?
KK: Yes, and we had to be sewn in to some of them, which they would have actually been, sewn in and cut out.
HA: Going to the toilet was quite difficult.
KK: Going to the toilet was very difficult. Actually I didn’t fit in to the toilet in the trailer [laughter] which is quite difficult in itself. Why do I want to share that publicly?
And what about getting in to cars?
KK: Yes, all the cars with the wigs. Actually we would walk into the car like that [sideways] it was quite difficult.
HA: They were very heavy, there were so many layers to them and so much detail. We were having to find different gestures and postures to sit in that we could sustain for long periods of time without hurting ourselves. They were absolutely extraordinary and you think; that was how they dressed every single day. At the end of the day, because the wigs themselves were so intricate and beautiful, you couldn’t rip them off as I often wanted to do [laughs]. You had to unstitch yourself, so it took almost as long to get out as to get in.

Photos courtesy of Pathe