After a quiet time in Hollywood and elsewhere as celebrities and their families celebrated Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and even Festivus, the New Year has arrived with a bang, especially at the 34th Annual International Film Festival Awards Gala. from Palm Springs, which has traditionally been the first party stop of Oscar season (on March 12 of this year). Previously, the Rose Bowl Parade brought rising “Yellowstone” star and country singer Lainey Wilson on the award-winning float from Louisiana; and many beautiful people flocked to St. Barths for a Caribbean vacation and also to help a good cause, at the LuisaViaRoma Winter Gala for UNICEF.
Palm Springs International Film Festival Awards Gala
Palm Springs Convention Center, Palm Springs
Movie lovers headed to the California desert to help kick off the 2023 awards season at the 34th Annual Palm Springs International Film Festival Awards. There was a special energy at the Palm Springs Convention Center as it was the return of the popular annual event since the pandemic shut down the world.
Hosted by Entertainment Tonight correspondents Kevin Frasier and Nischelle Turner, the night was packed with star-studded appearances. The party featured a multitude of memorable moments, from Jamie Lee Curtis joking about Cate Blanchett’s driving to President’s Award winner Viola Davis giving a stunning speech. It was a night to remember, filled with memorable moments.
One such moment was delivered by Brendan Fraser, who received the Spotlight Award and delivered a moving speech about his career and had the audience roaring with laughter with a fun little fact: He showed up to his first meeting with a Hollywood agent who He celebrated his university. diploma. The star of “The Whale” received cheers as he finished his speech and vowed that “I will continue to carry my title for the rest of my career!”
Breakthrough Performance Award recipient Danielle Deadwyler spoke to TheWrap about her recent portrayal of Mamie Till in “Till” and what it meant to her to take on that role. “I took my time, I read it slowly and I understood its magnitude, I knew that this was the origin of the civil rights movement and I wanted to be responsible for taking on this story,” she said.
Other honorees included Austin Butler, Sarah Polley, Michelle Yeoh, Colin Farrell, Cate Blanchett, Bill Nighy and Steven Spielberg, who along with his producer Kristie Macosko Krieger and the entire cast of “The Fabelmans,” including Michelle Williams, Paul Dano, Seth Rogen, Gabriel LaBelle, Judd Hirsch, Julia Butters, Sam Rechner, and Keeley Karsten received the Vanguard Award. And the hosts were just as famous, as Sally Field, Sam Rockwell, Stephanie Hsu, Eric Idle, Brian Tyree Henry and other familiar faces came together to make the 34th Annual Palm Springs Film Festival celebration one for the books. post-COVID memories. – elias gil
Special Screening, Conversation and Party “Emancipation”
CAA Headquarters, Century City
A rainy day in Los Angeles didn’t stop people from braving SoCal’s version of winter and heading to CAA headquarters for a screening, talk and after party in an awards season push for the Apple TV+ movie “Emancipation”. Starring disgraced Academy Award winner Will Smith in the factually based story of Peter, whose 1863 photo known as “Whipping Peter” helped serve as a vision of slavery horror.
After the harrowing film was revealed, Smith, along with director Antoine Fuqua and co-star Charmaine Bingwa, took the stage to talk about their work. “It was the toughest role I’ve ever had to play,” an emotional Smith admitted, later describing how the crew put chains around his neck for one scene. Once Fuqua yelled “Cut”, the keys to unlock the chains were nowhere to be found, leaving Smith tied up for 15 minutes. The actor, who has been on an international mission to promote the film and rehabilitate his image after last year’s Academy Awards debacle, revealed that in that moment he felt a real glimpse of what Peter had been through, knowing that eventually their chains would come. off.
Antoine Fuqua addressed his hesitance to take on the project, admitting that he “knew how much this would cost me.” The director also revealed that there was a therapist on set, due to the emotional toll the project took on many members of the cast and crew. “The white cast on the set really went through a lot,” he noted. “They felt the importance of the story, but they hated the characters they were playing and felt very guilty.” – Elias Gil
LuisaViaRoma for the UNICEF Winter Gala
Emeraude, Saint Barthélemy
Famous faces descended on the tiny island of St. Barths and packed more than beachwear for the trip, as they combined a vacation on that beautiful Caribbean gem with a fundraising event that raised over $3 million for charity. .
The luxury e-commerce site known as LuisaViaRoma hosts two galas a year to raise funds for UNICEF, the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund that is dedicated to helping children in need around the world. It’s a great cause, and this winter issue brought the rich and famous from Hollywood and beyond. It didn’t hurt that Lenny Kravitz and Drake were the musical headliners at the gala, held in a huge tent on Emeraude Beach.
New Zealander Taika Waititi accompanied his new wife, British singer Rita Ora, to the festivities (she was wearing a revealing David Koma creation), where they greeted another power couple, Australian Naomi Watts (in Roberto Cavalli) and American Billy Crudup among the elegant international crowd. . Those two have been together since 2017, but there’s no sign of wedding bells in their future. And Luke Evans also brought his lead couple to the party, as he got cozy with Fran Tomas as the pair made their red carpet debut as 2022 entered the history books.
Also on the French-influenced scene were Leonardo DiCaprio (who avoided the cameras), his friend Tobey Maguire, supermodel Karolina Kurkova and many other jet-setters, bidding in both silent and live auction events. Kravitz started the dance and Drake closed the night with a long set that gave everyone a chance to sing Whitney Houston’s “I Will Always Love You” when the party finally ended after midnight.
Rose Parade 2023 Louisiana Tourism “Feed Your Soul” Welcome Reception
Hilton Hotel, Pasadena
It’s been a big year for country music singer-songwriter and now actress Lainey Wilson as her career has skyrocketed in 2022. She first took home top awards at the Country Music Awards, including New Artist of the Year and Female Vocalist of the Year. ; then she went on to make a splash on “Yellowstone” as (you guessed it) a country singer who gets involved with her own Dutton Ranch cowboy (Ian Bohen).
So when the Louisiana native got the call to join Louisiana Tourism in their “Feed Your Soul” Rose Parade float, she was ready and willing. We met her at the welcome reception at the Hilton Hotel Pasadena, which came complete with beads, gumbo, charred oysters, tiara-wearing beauty queens, and even an impromptu parade of second lines.
Known for her signature flared pants (and her 2022 hit album “Bell Bottom Country”), Wilson kept that style going at the party as she gushed about being a part of Rose Parade traditions. “Being here with all these people from Louisiana is a great way to represent us,” she said. “I’m proud, very proud of the people who made me and it’s important for me to remember where I came from.”
That’s a little town called Baskin, where she grew up, the daughter of a farmer and a schoolteacher; These days she lives in Nashville, but coming home has always meant a return to the heart of Louisiana. But this year was a little different for her as her career is on fire and she took up acting, following in the footsteps of two of her favorite role models: “I love women who aren’t afraid of anything, like Reba and Dolly. . When I think about them, that’s the kind of career I want to have, I want, I just want to be creative no matter what.”
And when he spent the holidays at home this year, Wilson knew he had finally made it, after 10 years of hard work in Nashville and beyond.
“Every year I would go home,” Wilson recalled with a laugh, “and one of my family members would ask me, ‘Lainey, when are you going to stop this and come home and be a kindergarten teacher?’ Well, she didn’t ask me that. this year!”
In keeping with how things have been going for Lainey Wilson, she even made it big in the Rose Parade, bringing her luck (and a rousing acting style) to her state’s riverboat-themed float, which was swept away. home the Showmanship Award for most outstanding exhibit. of spectacularity and entertainment.
Send event invites to Jenny Peters at jenny.peters@thewrap.com