The American Film Institute says it is postponing its 48th annual AFI Life Achievement Award Gala Tribute honoring Julie Andrews in an apparent response to the new coronavirus outbreak.
The organization originally planned to give Andrews its Life Achievement Award on April 25 in Los Angeles. It will be rescheduled for early summer.
"AFI's decision to postpone the event is simply in response to the rapidly evolving nature of current events and our promise to ensure the well-being of the artists and audience that gather each year to celebrate America's art form," AFI CEO and President Bob Gazzale said in a statement Saturday. "This move will allow our full attention to focus on the many gifts that Julie Andrews has given the world."
AFI did not directly cite the virus outbreak that officials in numerous countries, including the United States, are trying to contain. The postponement is one of several changes that have been made in recent days to entertainment industry events, including Friday's decision to cancel the South by Southwest festival in Austin, Texas, and a move earlier this week to delay the release of the new James Bond Film "No Time to Die" to later this year.
Andrews' acting career has spanned several decades, winning an Academy Award in 1965 for her starring role in "Mary Poppins." She also starred in "The Sound of Music" and "The Princess Diaries."
The 84-year-old won two Grammy Awards and received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2011.
Andrews will be the 48th recipient of the prestigious honor from the AFI, joining Mel Brooks, Robert De Niro, Meryl Streep, George Clooney and Denzel Washington.
Rom-Com Mainstay Hugh Grant Shifts To The Dark Side and He’s Never Been Happier
After some difficulties connecting to a Zoom, Hugh Grant eventually opts to just phone instead.
"Sorry about that," he apologizes. "Tech hell." Grant is no lover of technology. Smart phones, for example, he calls the "devil's tinderbox."
"I think they're killing us. I hate them," he says. "I go on long holidays from them, three or four days at at time. Marvelous."
Hell, and our proximity to it, is a not unrelated topic to Grant's new film, "Heretic." In it, two young Mormon missionaries (Chloe East, Sophie Thatcher) come knocking on a door they'll soon regret visiting. They're welcomed in by Mr. Reed (Grant), an initially charming man who tests their faith in theological debate, and then, in much worse things.
After decades in romantic comedies, Grant has spent the last few years playing narcissists, weirdos and murders, often to the greatest acclaim of his career. But in "Heretic," a horror thriller from A24, Grant's turn to the dark side reaches a new extreme. The actor who once charmingly stammered in "Four Weddings and a Funeral" and who danced to the Pointer Sisters in "Love Actually" is now doing heinous things to young people in a basement.
"It was a challenge," Grant says. "I think human beings need challenges. It makes your beer taste better in the evening if you've climbed a mountain. He was just so wonderfully (expletive)-up."
"Heretic," which opens in theaters Friday, is directed by Scott Beck and Bryan Woods, co-writers of "A Quiet Place." In Grant's hands, Mr. Reed is a divinely good baddie — a scholarly creep whose wry monologues pull from a wide range of references, including, fittingly, Radiohead's "Creep."
In an interview, Grant spoke about these and other facets of his character, his journey... Read More