By Lindsey Bahr, AP Film Writer
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has decided to postpone the Governors Awards, which bestow honorary Oscars, due to concerns over the omicron variant.
New plans will come at a later date, an academy spokesperson said Wednesday. The untelevised but always star-studded event was set to be held Jan. 15 in Los Angeles.
"Given the uncertainties around the variants, and the impact this could have on our community, we feel this is the best and safest decision for our honorees and guests," the statement said.
Elaine May, Samuel L. Jackson and Liv Ullmann were announced earlier this year as the event's honorees. Danny Glover was also selected as the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award recipient. The evening event is often packed with A-listers and Oscar hopefuls.
The academy canceled last year's Governors Awards because of the pandemic and presented two humanitarian awards during the Oscar broadcast.
The Governors Awards isn't the only high-profile Hollywood event to change plans in recent days. The Palm Springs International Film Festival also decided to cancel its starry awards gala, which was supposed to take place on Jan. 6 and included honorees like Kristen Stewart, Lady Gaga, Nicole Kidman and Penélope Cruz.
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