‘King’s Speech’ gets Oscar coronation
The King’s Speech, the period drama about King George VI of Britain, won four awards at the 83rd Academy Awards ceremony Feb. 27. The event took place at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, Calif.
Among its honors were Best Picture, Best Director (Tom Hooper, who won over The Social Network’s David Fincher), Original Screenplay and Best Actor for Colin Firth, who won this year after coming up short last year for playing a gay professor in A Single Man. Other winners included Best Supporting Actress Melissa Leo (who dropped an f-bomb during her acceptance speech) and Best Supporting Actor Christian Bale; they both won for their roles in The Fighter.
For an event that is keenly watched by the LGBT community, there weren’t that many explicitly gay moments. There were several nominees who were LGBT or involved in gay-related projects, however. One winner was Best Actress Natalie Portman, who had a lesbian love scene in the ballet movie Black Swan. In winning, she edged Annette Bening, who portrayed one-half of a lesbian couple (with Julianne Moore) in The Kids Are All Right. Also, Lora Hirschberg, a part of Inception’s sound-mixing team, kissed her partner after being announced as an Oscar winner.
Gay faves James Franco (nominated for best actor for 127 Hours) and Anne Hathaway (The Devil Wears Prada) co-hosted the event in what was widely viewed as an attempt to make the Oscars more appealing to a younger demographic. However, their performances have been widely panned, although Hathaway received some raves.
Chicago designer gets own win at Oscars
Chicago-based designer Borris J. Powell won gold in the Oscars Designer Dress Challenge competition with his Black Swan-inspired black satin dress, according to ChicagoPride.
Powell was one of nine up-and-coming designers participating in the competition. His gown was worn by one of the Oscar-toting models during the Academy Awards ceremony Feb. 27.
The designer said his entry, which is a asymmetrical satin dress decorated with 25 hand-stitched feather pinwheels, was inspired by the Oscar-nominated film Black Swan.
Powell will hold his fall 2011 fashion show, “C me N Dior,” Friday, March 11, at the Sheraton Chicago, 301 E. North Water, at 7:30 p.m. He will feature the dress there. Visit www.BorrisPowell.com.