LOS ANGELES, California (AP) -- A spokesman for Kelsey Grammer says the "Frasier" star is recovering in a Hawaii hospital after a mild heart attack this weekend.
Stan Rosenfield says Grammer is "resting comfortably" in an undisclosed hospital after being stricken Saturday. Rosenfield says the 53-year-old actor will be released early this week.
Rosenfield says Grammer -- the star of "Cheers," "Frasier" and the recently canceled Fox sitcom "Back to You" -- was paddle-boarding with his wife, Camille, when he experienced symptoms.
The couple lives in Kona, on Hawaii's big island.
Rosenfield says Grammer was immediately taken to an area hospital where it was determined that he had suffered a "mild heart attack." The spokesman says he is unaware of any history of heart trouble for Grammer.
วันจันทร์ที่ 2 มิถุนายน พ.ศ. 2551
Guitarist Bo Diddley dead at 79
Bo Diddley, the musical pioneer whose songs, such as "Who Do You Love?" and "Bo Diddley," melded rhythm and blues and rock 'n' roll through a distinctive thumping beat, has died. He was 79.
Rock 'n' roll pioneer Bo Diddley influenced generations of guitarists.
more photos »
Diddley died Monday, surrounded by family and loved ones at his home in Archer, Florida, a family spokeswoman said.
The cause was heart failure, his family said.
Diddley is survived by his brother, the Rev. Kenneth Haynes of Biloxi, Mississippi, his children, Evelyn Kelly, Ellas A. McDaniel, Tammi D. McDaniel and Terri Lynn Foster, as well as 15 grandchildren, 15 great-grandchildren and three great-great-grandchildren.
The world-renowned guitarist's signature beat -- usually played on an equally distinctive rectangular-bodied guitar -- laid the foundation for rock 'n' roll, and became so identified with him that it became known as the "Bo Diddley" beat. It was unlike anything else heard in pop music. iReport.com: Share your memories of the legend
"This distinctive, African-based ... rhythm pattern (which goes bomp-bomp-bomp bomp-bomp) was picked up by other artists and has been a distinctive and recurring element in rock 'n' roll through the decades," according to the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame. Watch Bo Diddley in action »
Guitarist George Thorogood, a Diddley disciple, put it more bluntly.
"[Chuck Berry's] 'Maybellene' is a country song sped up," Thorogood told Rolling Stone in 2005. " 'Johnny B. Goode' is blues sped up. But you listen to 'Bo Diddley,' and you say, 'What in the Jesus is that?' "
Among the artists who made use of the Bo Diddley beat were Buddy Holly ("Not Fade Away," later covered by the Rolling Stones), Johnny Otis ("Willie and the Hand Jive"), the Yardbirds (covering Diddley's "I'm a Man" and adding their own guitar stylings to the closing bars, which were later incorporated into the Count Five's "Psychotic Reaction"), the Strangeloves ("I Want Candy"), Bruce Springsteen ("She's the One"), U2 ("Desire") and George Michael ("Faith"). Hundreds of artists have covered Diddley songs. Blog: The genius of Bo Diddley
"Bo Diddley was one of rock 'n' roll's true pioneers," said Neil Portnow, president and CEO of The Recording Academy, the music industry organization best known for presenting the Grammy Awards. "He inspired legions of musicians with his trademark rhythm and signature custom-built guitar, and his song 'Bo Diddley' earned a rightful place in the Grammy Hall Of Fame. He leaves an indelible mark on American music and culture, and our deepest sympathies go out to his family, friends and fans. The 'Bo Diddley beat' surely will continue on."
Diddley's debut single was his self-titled 1955 classic, with "I'm a Man" as its B-side. The songs were released on Chicago's Chess-Checker Records label, also the home of Chuck Berry and Willie Dixon. See photos from Bo Diddley's career »
"It was the first in a string of groundbreaking sides that walked the fine line between rhythm & blues and rock 'n' roll," his Hall of Fame biography says.
Diddley was also an innovator in using the electric guitar, tweaking his instruments and adding a variety of effects to his recordings.
A contemporary of Berry, Fats Domino and Elvis Presley, Diddley cut a stylish figure on the rock 'n' roll landscape. With his guitar, dark glasses and black hat, he looked vaguely menacing; his music was much earthier and bluesier than that of his rock 'n' roll contemporaries.
However, Diddley wasn't above climbing on bandwagons in search of wider popularity; his early 1960s albums included such titles as "Bo Diddley Is a Gunslinger," "Bo Diddley's a Twister," "Bo Diddley's Beach Party" and "Surfin' with Bo Diddley."
Eventually, Diddley returned to his roots and became a rock 'n' roll elder statesman. He was featured in the Thorogood video "Bad to the Bone," playing pool with Thorogood, and showed up during the Nike "Bo Knows" campaign starring Bo Jackson.
At the conclusion of a Nike commercial that showed Jackson excelling at a variety of sports, the athlete picked up a guitar and produced a squall of noise. Cut to Diddley, listening to the attempt: "Bo, you don't know Diddley," he said.
"I never could figure out what it had to do with shoes, but it worked," Diddley told The Associated Press. "I got into a lot of new front rooms on the tube."
Diddley was born Ellas Otha Bates in McComb, Mississippi, on December 30, 1928. He later took the name McDaniel after being adopted by his mother's cousin. Diddley's family moved to Chicago when he was 7, according to his Hall of Fame biography.
He played violin as a child, but said he was inspired to pick up the guitar after hearing John Lee Hooker's 1949 rhythm and blues hit, "Boogie Chillen."
He told many stories of how he got the name "Bo Diddley." In a 1999 interview, he said it came from his childhood friends, according to AP. Other tales included a one-string instrument from traditional blues called a diddley bow, the AP notes.
Either way, it became his own -- as did his music.
"I don't like to copy anybody. Everybody tries to do what I do, update it," he told the AP. "I don't have any idols I copied after."
"They copied everything I did, upgraded it, messed it up. It seems to me that nobody can come up with their own thing, they have to put a little bit of Bo Diddley there," he said.
He continued to tour well into 2007, but suffered a stroke last May and a heart attack in August.
He was inducted into the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame in January 1987.
[Blocked Ads]
[Blocked Ads]
Though he was upset that he never received the financial rewards he expected -- "I am owed," he told the AP, adding "a dude with a pencil is worse than a cat with a machine gun" -- he reflected modestly on the rock 'n' roll revolution he helped start.
"Well, it's no different from anything else, I guess. I started sumthin'. I just happened to be the first one," he told the British magazine Uncut in 2005. "But I never thought it would turn into what it did. Somebody had to be first, and it happened to be me."
Rock 'n' roll pioneer Bo Diddley influenced generations of guitarists.
more photos »
Diddley died Monday, surrounded by family and loved ones at his home in Archer, Florida, a family spokeswoman said.
The cause was heart failure, his family said.
Diddley is survived by his brother, the Rev. Kenneth Haynes of Biloxi, Mississippi, his children, Evelyn Kelly, Ellas A. McDaniel, Tammi D. McDaniel and Terri Lynn Foster, as well as 15 grandchildren, 15 great-grandchildren and three great-great-grandchildren.
The world-renowned guitarist's signature beat -- usually played on an equally distinctive rectangular-bodied guitar -- laid the foundation for rock 'n' roll, and became so identified with him that it became known as the "Bo Diddley" beat. It was unlike anything else heard in pop music. iReport.com: Share your memories of the legend
"This distinctive, African-based ... rhythm pattern (which goes bomp-bomp-bomp bomp-bomp) was picked up by other artists and has been a distinctive and recurring element in rock 'n' roll through the decades," according to the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame. Watch Bo Diddley in action »
Guitarist George Thorogood, a Diddley disciple, put it more bluntly.
"[Chuck Berry's] 'Maybellene' is a country song sped up," Thorogood told Rolling Stone in 2005. " 'Johnny B. Goode' is blues sped up. But you listen to 'Bo Diddley,' and you say, 'What in the Jesus is that?' "
Among the artists who made use of the Bo Diddley beat were Buddy Holly ("Not Fade Away," later covered by the Rolling Stones), Johnny Otis ("Willie and the Hand Jive"), the Yardbirds (covering Diddley's "I'm a Man" and adding their own guitar stylings to the closing bars, which were later incorporated into the Count Five's "Psychotic Reaction"), the Strangeloves ("I Want Candy"), Bruce Springsteen ("She's the One"), U2 ("Desire") and George Michael ("Faith"). Hundreds of artists have covered Diddley songs. Blog: The genius of Bo Diddley
"Bo Diddley was one of rock 'n' roll's true pioneers," said Neil Portnow, president and CEO of The Recording Academy, the music industry organization best known for presenting the Grammy Awards. "He inspired legions of musicians with his trademark rhythm and signature custom-built guitar, and his song 'Bo Diddley' earned a rightful place in the Grammy Hall Of Fame. He leaves an indelible mark on American music and culture, and our deepest sympathies go out to his family, friends and fans. The 'Bo Diddley beat' surely will continue on."
Diddley's debut single was his self-titled 1955 classic, with "I'm a Man" as its B-side. The songs were released on Chicago's Chess-Checker Records label, also the home of Chuck Berry and Willie Dixon. See photos from Bo Diddley's career »
"It was the first in a string of groundbreaking sides that walked the fine line between rhythm & blues and rock 'n' roll," his Hall of Fame biography says.
Diddley was also an innovator in using the electric guitar, tweaking his instruments and adding a variety of effects to his recordings.
A contemporary of Berry, Fats Domino and Elvis Presley, Diddley cut a stylish figure on the rock 'n' roll landscape. With his guitar, dark glasses and black hat, he looked vaguely menacing; his music was much earthier and bluesier than that of his rock 'n' roll contemporaries.
However, Diddley wasn't above climbing on bandwagons in search of wider popularity; his early 1960s albums included such titles as "Bo Diddley Is a Gunslinger," "Bo Diddley's a Twister," "Bo Diddley's Beach Party" and "Surfin' with Bo Diddley."
Eventually, Diddley returned to his roots and became a rock 'n' roll elder statesman. He was featured in the Thorogood video "Bad to the Bone," playing pool with Thorogood, and showed up during the Nike "Bo Knows" campaign starring Bo Jackson.
At the conclusion of a Nike commercial that showed Jackson excelling at a variety of sports, the athlete picked up a guitar and produced a squall of noise. Cut to Diddley, listening to the attempt: "Bo, you don't know Diddley," he said.
"I never could figure out what it had to do with shoes, but it worked," Diddley told The Associated Press. "I got into a lot of new front rooms on the tube."
Diddley was born Ellas Otha Bates in McComb, Mississippi, on December 30, 1928. He later took the name McDaniel after being adopted by his mother's cousin. Diddley's family moved to Chicago when he was 7, according to his Hall of Fame biography.
He played violin as a child, but said he was inspired to pick up the guitar after hearing John Lee Hooker's 1949 rhythm and blues hit, "Boogie Chillen."
He told many stories of how he got the name "Bo Diddley." In a 1999 interview, he said it came from his childhood friends, according to AP. Other tales included a one-string instrument from traditional blues called a diddley bow, the AP notes.
Either way, it became his own -- as did his music.
"I don't like to copy anybody. Everybody tries to do what I do, update it," he told the AP. "I don't have any idols I copied after."
"They copied everything I did, upgraded it, messed it up. It seems to me that nobody can come up with their own thing, they have to put a little bit of Bo Diddley there," he said.
He continued to tour well into 2007, but suffered a stroke last May and a heart attack in August.
He was inducted into the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame in January 1987.
[Blocked Ads]
[Blocked Ads]
Though he was upset that he never received the financial rewards he expected -- "I am owed," he told the AP, adding "a dude with a pencil is worse than a cat with a machine gun" -- he reflected modestly on the rock 'n' roll revolution he helped start.
"Well, it's no different from anything else, I guess. I started sumthin'. I just happened to be the first one," he told the British magazine Uncut in 2005. "But I never thought it would turn into what it did. Somebody had to be first, and it happened to be me."
TUCSON, Arizona
NASA's new robot on Mars has reached out and touched the soil for the first time, leaving behind a striking footprint-like impression.Exhaust from the lander's descent engine revealed the patch beneath the Mars dirt.
var CNN_ArticleChanger = new CNN_imageChanger('cnnImgChngr','/2008/TECH/space/06/01/phoenix.mars.ap/imgChng/p1-0.init.exclude.html',2,1);
//CNN.imageChanger.load('cnnImgChngr','imgChng/p1-0.exclude.html');
The Phoenix Mars Lander's robotic arm was making a test run, just one week after the craft's landing. The spacecraft, which is also its own laboratory, will soon start scooping up soil and ice and running tests on them.
David Spencer, Phoenix's surface mission manager at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, said Sunday the first touch "allows us to utilize the robotic arm accurately."
NASA on Saturday showed sharp images of what appeared to be ice exposed under the lander. The mission's main goal is to test ice for evidence of organic compounds that are the chemical building blocks of life.
Team members said Friday that photos showing the ground beneath the lander suggested that the vehicle was resting on splotches of ice. Washington University scientist Ray Arvidson said the spacecraft's thrusters may have blown away dirt covering the ice when the robot landed one week ago.
On Saturday, scientists said that a more detailed image taken under the lander shows one of the craft's three legs sitting on coarse dirt and a large patch of what appears to be ice -- possibly 3 feet in diameter -- that apparently had been covered by a thin layer of dirt.
"We were worried that it may be 30, 40, 50 centimeters deep, which would be a lot of work. Now we are fairly certain that we can easily get down to the ice table," said Peter Smith, a University of Arizona scientist who is the chief project investigator.
Don't Miss
Freed from restraints, Mars lander prepares to flex arm
Radio problems delay lander's work on Mars
The spacecraft is equipped with a backhoe-like robotic arm that will dig into the ground and retrieve samples for testing in the lander's small laboratories. The lander was sent to a spot on Mars' northern regions in hopes of finding frozen water, but just how deep underground it would be found was unknown.
The robot arm is expected to begin its first digging operations after several more days of testing.
The final proof that the material is ice could take weeks, but close-up color images that were taken Saturday could improve the researchers' confidence level, said Horst Uwe Keller, the scientist in charge of the camera on the robotic arm. The initial image released Saturday was in black and white.
[Blocked Ads]
[Blocked Ads]
Once the arm starts digging, the dirt and ice it scoops up will be deposited in several small ovens to be heated. Measuring devices will test the resulting gases. Watch a report on the lander's mission »
The University of Arizona in Tucson is leading and NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory is managing the three-month scientific mission.
วันอาทิตย์ที่ 1 มิถุนายน พ.ศ. 2551
WASHINGTON
After a day of wrangling in front of a sometimes unruly crowd, the Democratic National Committee's rules and bylaws committee reinstated all of Florida and Michigan's delegates to its party convention, with each getting a half-vote to penalize the states for moving their primaries earlier than the party had approved.Members of the Democrats' rules committee discuss the delegate issue Saturday.
var CNN_ArticleChanger = new CNN_imageChanger('cnnImgChngr','/2008/POLITICS/05/31/dems.delegates/imgChng/p1-0.init.exclude.html',3,1);
//CNN.imageChanger.load('cnnImgChngr','imgChng/p1-0.exclude.html');
The move will leave front-runner Sen. Barack Obama's lead over rival Sen. Hillary Clinton intact.
"This results in Sen. Clinton obtaining a substantial number of additional pledged delegates, but I also understand that many members of the Florida and Michigan delegations feel satisfied that the decision was fair," Obama said after a campaign event in Aberdeen, South Dakota. "Our main goal is to get this resolved so we can immediately turn the focus of the entire party on winning Florida and Michigan and delivering on the needs of the people in Florida and Michigan -- states that are enormously important, states where a lot of people are struggling."
The Florida decision, which follows the pro-Clinton results of that state's primary, was greeted by virtually all sides as an acceptable compromise on a thorny issue. But Clinton backers vowed to fight the Michigan decision, which gave the New York senator a 10-delegate edge over Obama in a state where his name didn't appear on the primary ballot.
"Today's results are a victory for the people of Florida, who will have a voice in selecting our party's nominee and will see its delegates seated at our party's convention," said a joint-statement from Clinton advisers Harold Ickes and Tina Flournoy. "[But] we strongly object to the committee's decision to undercut its own rules in seating Michigan's delegates without reflecting the votes of the people of Michigan."
With no Michigan or Florida delegates included, Obama led Clinton by 202 delegates.
The committee's ruling gave Clinton 105 pledged delegates from Florida and 69 from Michigan, with a total of 87 votes.
Obama received 67 pledged delegates from Florida and 59 from Michigan, casting a total of 63 votes.
That tally leaves Obama ahead by the equivalent of 174 delegates.
If each delegate had been granted a full vote, Clinton still would have trailed Obama. CNN's analysts weigh in on what the ruling means »
During the daylong committee meeting, supporters of Clinton, who came out ahead in both votes despite the fact the states had been penalized for moving their primaries earlier in the season, pushed the committee to give each delegate a full vote and to count the election results as they were registered.
Don't Miss
Democratic panel faces two big decisions
The 30 who ruled on Florida, Michigan delegates
iReport.com: What do you think the party should do?
"I feel like we should not penalize them for something they did not cause and couldn't prevent," said Alice Huffman, a California superdelegate for Clinton, noting that it was a Republican legislature that changed the date.
Huffman sponsored an unsuccessful motion that would have counted Florida's results and given delegates a full vote.
She later supported the compromise. While voicing her support, she was shouted down by the same crowed members who had cheered her effort moments earlier.
As the committee voted, people attending the open meeting applauded, cheered and booed as the vote came in.
Clinton supporters interrupted the proceedings, loudly chanting "Denver! Denver!" Denver is the site of the Democratic convention, where Clinton could appeal any decision made by the committee. Watch who will really decide the nomination »
"Mrs. Clinton has asked me to reserve her rights to take this to the credentials committee," Ickes said during a fiery speech after the vote.
Later, party leaders were celebrating the compromise as a way to reinstate delegates from two crucial swing states Democrats want to win in November.
The DNC had penalized both states for holding their primaries early by excluding them from representation when the party nominates a candidate at the August convention. Follow a timeline of the dispute »
No candidates campaigned in Florida ahead of its vote, and Clinton's was the only major candidate's name that appeared on Michigan's ballot.
She received 55 percent of the vote in that state, with 44 percent of voters voting "uncommitted."
As the committee's session began Saturday, DNC Chairman Howard Dean said that deciding how to handle Michigan and Florida will be a huge step in moving past the division of a sometimes-bitter primary campaign.
[Blocked Ads]
[Blocked Ads]
"On the blogosphere, and the airwaves, emotions have run high and heated discussions have led at times to blatantly racist comments and blatantly sexist comments, particularly by some members of the media," Dean said in prepared remarks. "We know that those comments have no place in our society and certainly no place in our party.
"It has got to stop. We have got to come together and unite our party. Every one of us has the responsibility to help ensure that our party is united
CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida
The space shuttle Discovery and its crew of seven launched into a sunny sky Saturday in the latest effort to bring supplies to the international space station.Commander Mark Kelly called Saturday's launch "the greatest show on Earth."
var CNN_ArticleChanger = new CNN_imageChanger('cnnImgChngr','/2008/TECH/space/05/31/shuttle.discovery/imgChng/p1-0.init.exclude.html',1,1);
//CNN.imageChanger.load('cnnImgChngr','imgChng/p1-0.exclude.html');
"Obviously, a huge day for the space station partnership ... for all the people who hope to see space station come to fruition," NASA Administrator Michael Griffin said after the launch.
The shuttle, which lifted off on time from Kennedy Space Center at 5:02 p.m., is transporting components for the Japanese Experiment Module, or Kibo science laboratory.
The billion-dollar Kibo, which means hope in Japanese, is Japan's first human space facility. Watch the shuttle soar into the sky »
More than 20 years in the making, the bus-sized, 32,000-pound module will be the largest lab at the space station.
"This is a big step for the Japanese community," mission specialist Akihito Hoshide told NASA-TV before the launch.
Discovery is also carrying the Japanese Remote Manipulator System, consisting of two robotic arms for operations outside the the lab. Each arm has six joints that mimic the movements of a human arm, according to NASA.
The crew, which includes five rookies, will install Kibo's large pressurized module, a giant sleeve that will help astronauts conduct gravity experiments and a robotic arm system. Watch the crew prepare for launch »
"There is going to be a lot of scientific discovery that comes out of this module," mission specialist Ron Garan told NASA-TV.
In March, the space shuttle Endeavour in March carried up the first part of the laboratory, which will serve as a storage area after being fully assembled. Kibo will be attached to its port side, according to NASA.
Don't Miss
Classy Japanese lab heading for space
Toilet trouble on international space station
Discovery crew to haul massive lab to space station
At least one part of Discovery's cargo is less glamorous. The shuttle is bringing over parts for a problematic toilet aboard the space station, including a gas-liquid separator, urine collector bags and filters.
The toilet in the Zvezda service module is only partly functioning. Russian ground specialists are assisting the crew in troubleshooting the problem, NASA said.
At least five pieces of foam insulation fell off the fuel tank during liftoff after a timeframe that would indicate concern, NASA space operations chief Bill Gerstenmaier said.
Chunks of foam routinely fall off fuel tanks, though anything after the first two minutes and 15 seconds after launch is considered relatively normal.
Discovery's fuel tank was the first to incorporate all the safety changes instituted after the 2003 Columbia disaster.
The shuttle disintegrated over Texas during re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere, after a large piece of insulation broke off its tank during launch and damaged the shuttle's thermal protection system.
[Blocked Ads]
At the space station, the Expedition 17 crew is busy with maintenance and preparations.
A new station crew member, Greg Chamitoff, will arrive at the orbiting complex with the Discovery crew. He will switch places with Expedition 17 Flight Engineer Garrett Reisman, who is returning home on Discovery after a three-month stay on the outpost.
วันจันทร์ที่ 26 พฤษภาคม พ.ศ. 2551
Christian music star's daughter killed by car
NASHVILLE, Tennessee (AP) -- The 5-year-old daughter of Grammy-winning Christian music star Steven Curtis Chapman was struck and killed Wednesday by a sport utility vehicle driven by her brother, authorities said.Steven Curtis Chapman's daughter was fatally struck by a sport utility vehicle driven by her brother Wednesday.
var CNN_ArticleChanger = new CNN_imageChanger('cnnImgChngr','/2008/US/05/22/chapman.daughter.ap/imgChng/p1-0.init.exclude.html',1,1);
//CNN.imageChanger.load('cnnImgChngr','imgChng/p1-0.exclude.html');
The girl, Maria Sue, was hit in the driveway of the family's home Wednesday afternoon by a Toyota Land Cruiser driven by her teenage brother, said Laura McPherson, a spokeswoman for the Tennessee Highway Patrol.
The brother, whose name and exact age weren't available, apparently did not see the girl, McPherson said. No charges are expected.
"It looks like a tragic accident," she said.
Several family members witnessed the accident, which happened in Williamson County just south of Nashville. The girl died later at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, hospital spokeswoman Laurie Holloway said.
In a statement, Velvet Kelm, a publicist for Chapman, said Maria was the Chapmans' youngest daughter.
Chapman, who is originally from Paducah, Ky., and his wife have promoted international adoption and have three daughters from China, including Maria. They also have three biological children.
The singer's Web site says the couple was persuaded by their oldest daughter to adopt a girl from China. The experience led the family to adopt two more children and create Shaohannah's Hope, a foundation and ministry to financially assist thousands of couples in adoption.
The Chapmans did missionary work at Chinese orphanages in 2006 and 2007, according to the Web site.
"After our first trip to China, my wife and I knew our lives were changing -- our eyes and hearts were opening to how big God really is, and we have wanted to experience more of that," Chapman says on the Web site.
"We've really wondered whether or not we should just go to China and stay there. But I don't think so. I believe God is saying, 'I want you to go, get your heart broken, your eyes opened, and then take this story back to the church in America and around the world."'
The 45-year-old singer also has released a book about being a father titled "Cinderella: The Love of Daddy and his Princess." He has won five Grammy awards and 54 Dove awards from the Gospel Music Association, according to Kelm.
French film wins Cannes' top prize
CANNES, France (AP) -- The French film "The Class," a frank tale about classroom life using real students and teachers at a junior high school, won top honors Sunday at the Cannes Film Festival.Benicio del Toro won the best actor award for his role in the film "Che" at the Cannes Film Festival.
Directed by Laurent Cantet, "The Class" ("Entre les Murs") was the first French film to win the main prize, the Palme d'Or, at Cannes since "Under Satan's Sun" in 1987. The docudrama was shot in a raw, improvisational style to chronicle the drama that unfolds over one school year.
The win was a unanimous decision among the nine-member Cannes jury, said Sean Penn, who headed the panel.
"The movie that we wanted to make had to resemble French society, had to be multifaceted, a bit teeming, complex, and had to sometimes portray frictions that the film didn't try to erase," Cantet said.
Italian films won the second-place grand prize and third-place jury prize. Matteo Garrone's "Gomorrah," a study of the criminal underworld in Naples, took the grand prize, while Paolo Sorrentino's "Il Divo," a lively portrait of former Premier Giulio Andreotti, won the jury award.
Benicio Del Toro won Cannes' best-actor prize for "Che," Steven Soderbergh's four-hour-plus epic about Latin American revolutionary Che Guevara. Presented as two films, "Che" follows Guevara and Fidel Castro's triumphant guerrilla campaign to overthrow Cuba's government in the late 1950s and Guevara's downfall and execution after trying to foment a similar rebellion in Bolivia in the 1960s.
Del Toro, who co-starred in Penn's "21 Grams," also won in a unanimous jury vote, Penn said.
Don't Miss
Behind the red carpet at Cannes
Jolie, Eastwood debut film at Cannes
Scenes from Cannes
Indy 'immune' from critics' voices
"I'd like to dedicate this to the man himself, Che Guevara," said Del Toro. He also thanked Soderbergh, "who got up every day, forced me to this. ... He was there pushing it, and he pushed all of us."
Soderbergh directed Del Toro to the supporting-actor Oscar for 2000's "Traffic."
Sandra Corveloni was chosen as best actress for "Linha de Passe," in which she plays the mother of four brothers struggling to make better lives for themselves in a Brazilian slum. It was her first role in a feature film.
Turkish filmmaker Nuri Bilge Ceylan was named best director for "Three Monkeys," which centers on a father who takes the rap for his employer's crime in exchange for financial support for his wife and son, only to have the scheme backfire amid bitter repercussions.
Belgian siblings Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne, two-time winners of the Palme d'Or, received the screenplay prize for "Lorna's Silence," about an immigrant woman who enters a sham marriage to gain Belgian citizenship.
The prize for a film by a first-time director went to British filmmaker Steve McQueen's "Hunger," set at a Northern Ireland prison where IRA volunteer Bobby Sands and other inmates seeking Irish independence staged a hunger strike in 1981.
The Cannes jury awarded special prizes to Clint Eastwood, who directed the competition film "Changeling," and Catherine Deneuve, who appeared in two films at Cannes this year.
Eastwood was shut out for key prizes with "Changeling," his warmly received missing-child drama starring Angelina Jolie.
Eastwood, who delivered two best-picture and director Academy Award recipients with "Unforgiven" and "Million Dollar Baby," has never won top honors at Cannes after five times in competition there since 1985.
Jury president Penn won the best-actor Oscar for Eastwood's "Mystic River," which was shut out for prizes at Cannes five years ago.
"There was a field of such powerful, emotional, moving movies, performances. There was so many times that we thought, it just can't get better," Penn said.
Critics judged the Cannes lineup more harshly, however. While Cannes presented few outright bombs this time, critics found the films a bit tepid.
Last year's competition included such films as Joel and Ethan Coen's "No Country for Old Men," which went on to win the best-picture Academy Award, and Marjane Satrapi and Vincent Paronnaud's animated coming-of-age tale "Persepolis," which was nominated for the animation Oscar.
A film from Kazakhstan, Sergey Dvortsevoy's "Tulpan," won a secondary competition called "Un Certain Regard." "Tulpan" is the story of an aspiring shepherd on the isolated Kazakh steppes who must wed before he can enter his chosen trade but is refused by the only prospective bride because she thinks his ears are too big.
Bosnian director Aida Begic's "Snow," a drama about villagers struggling with the decision to leave their war-ravaged town, won top honors in another Cannes competition overseen by critics.
After the awards ceremony, the festival closed with the premiere of Barry Levinson's "What Just Happened?", starring Robert De Niro, Bruce Willis and Penn in the tale of a fading Hollywood producer trying to rejuvenate his career amid personal and professional crises.
"What Just Happened?" came full circle: A year ago, Levinson and his collaborators were at Cannes filming scenes for the movie.
The win was a unanimous decision among the nine-member Cannes jury, said Sean Penn, who headed the panel.
"The movie that we wanted to make had to resemble French society, had to be multifaceted, a bit teeming, complex, and had to sometimes portray frictions that the film didn't try to erase," Cantet said.
Italian films won the second-place grand prize and third-place jury prize. Matteo Garrone's "Gomorrah," a study of the criminal underworld in Naples, took the grand prize, while Paolo Sorrentino's "Il Divo," a lively portrait of former Premier Giulio Andreotti, won the jury award.
Benicio Del Toro won Cannes' best-actor prize for "Che," Steven Soderbergh's four-hour-plus epic about Latin American revolutionary Che Guevara. Presented as two films, "Che" follows Guevara and Fidel Castro's triumphant guerrilla campaign to overthrow Cuba's government in the late 1950s and Guevara's downfall and execution after trying to foment a similar rebellion in Bolivia in the 1960s.
Del Toro, who co-starred in Penn's "21 Grams," also won in a unanimous jury vote, Penn said.
Don't Miss
Behind the red carpet at Cannes
Jolie, Eastwood debut film at Cannes
Scenes from Cannes
Indy 'immune' from critics' voices
"I'd like to dedicate this to the man himself, Che Guevara," said Del Toro. He also thanked Soderbergh, "who got up every day, forced me to this. ... He was there pushing it, and he pushed all of us."
Soderbergh directed Del Toro to the supporting-actor Oscar for 2000's "Traffic."
Sandra Corveloni was chosen as best actress for "Linha de Passe," in which she plays the mother of four brothers struggling to make better lives for themselves in a Brazilian slum. It was her first role in a feature film.
Turkish filmmaker Nuri Bilge Ceylan was named best director for "Three Monkeys," which centers on a father who takes the rap for his employer's crime in exchange for financial support for his wife and son, only to have the scheme backfire amid bitter repercussions.
Belgian siblings Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne, two-time winners of the Palme d'Or, received the screenplay prize for "Lorna's Silence," about an immigrant woman who enters a sham marriage to gain Belgian citizenship.
The prize for a film by a first-time director went to British filmmaker Steve McQueen's "Hunger," set at a Northern Ireland prison where IRA volunteer Bobby Sands and other inmates seeking Irish independence staged a hunger strike in 1981.
The Cannes jury awarded special prizes to Clint Eastwood, who directed the competition film "Changeling," and Catherine Deneuve, who appeared in two films at Cannes this year.
Eastwood was shut out for key prizes with "Changeling," his warmly received missing-child drama starring Angelina Jolie.
Eastwood, who delivered two best-picture and director Academy Award recipients with "Unforgiven" and "Million Dollar Baby," has never won top honors at Cannes after five times in competition there since 1985.
Jury president Penn won the best-actor Oscar for Eastwood's "Mystic River," which was shut out for prizes at Cannes five years ago.
"There was a field of such powerful, emotional, moving movies, performances. There was so many times that we thought, it just can't get better," Penn said.
Critics judged the Cannes lineup more harshly, however. While Cannes presented few outright bombs this time, critics found the films a bit tepid.
Last year's competition included such films as Joel and Ethan Coen's "No Country for Old Men," which went on to win the best-picture Academy Award, and Marjane Satrapi and Vincent Paronnaud's animated coming-of-age tale "Persepolis," which was nominated for the animation Oscar.
A film from Kazakhstan, Sergey Dvortsevoy's "Tulpan," won a secondary competition called "Un Certain Regard." "Tulpan" is the story of an aspiring shepherd on the isolated Kazakh steppes who must wed before he can enter his chosen trade but is refused by the only prospective bride because she thinks his ears are too big.
Bosnian director Aida Begic's "Snow," a drama about villagers struggling with the decision to leave their war-ravaged town, won top honors in another Cannes competition overseen by critics.
After the awards ceremony, the festival closed with the premiere of Barry Levinson's "What Just Happened?", starring Robert De Niro, Bruce Willis and Penn in the tale of a fading Hollywood producer trying to rejuvenate his career amid personal and professional crises.
"What Just Happened?" came full circle: A year ago, Levinson and his collaborators were at Cannes filming scenes for the movie.
สมัครสมาชิก:
บทความ (Atom)
