The ceremony announcing the winners of this year's Cesar Awards, France's equivalent of the Oscars, included a loud cry for culture in the age of the coronavirus, with one actor stripping naked onstage to make a statement about the continued closure of cinemas and theaters.
Corinne Masiero came onstage Friday night to present the best costume award wearing a donkey suit and tampons as earrings.
"Is that too trash?" Masiero asked the socially distanced audience before removing the donkey costume to reveal what looked like a blood-soaked dress and announcing "I have a last one."
Masiero, 57, the offbeat star of popular detective series "Capitaine Marleau," then took off the dress and exposed messages written on her body. The words on her front read, "No culture, no future." The message on her back was addressed to French Prime Minister Jean Castex: "Give us back art, Jean."
The audience applauded, but some commenters on social media denounced what they said was a descent into vulgarity at the 46th Cesar Awards.
The #MeToo movement roused last year's ceremony, where famed director Roman Polanski received best director award for "An Officer and a Spy" amid protests by women's groups and some boos and walkouts.
Polanski, who did not attend the event, is wanted in the United States decades after being charged with raping a 13-year-old girl in 1977. He pleaded guilty to unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor but fled the U.S. In 2019, a woman accused Polanski of raping her in 1975 in his Swiss chalet when she was 18. Polanski denied the allegations.
Most of the political views expressed this year were about reviving France's dormant cultural scene. Part-time actors are currently occupying several theaters around France, including Paris' famed Odeon Theater, to demand more government help.
Culture Minister Roselyne Bachelot was the subject of numerous jokes. The ceremony's the emcee, actor and comedian Marina Fois, noted the minister's planned book containing recipes, "little comforting things to get through this crisis."
"I'm losing confidence in you," Fois said, holding a plastic bag representing dog feces. The minister's entourage said the book, "La Vie en Rose," will not be coming out, according to French media reports.
As for the awards themselves, one film, "Adieu les Cons" ("Bye Bye Morons"), the madcap adventure of a dying hairdresser looking for the child she gave up at age15, scooped up seven awards, including best film and best director for Albert Dupontel. The best actor award went to Sami Bouajila for "Fils" ("Son") and Laure Calamy was chosen best actress for her performance in ""My Donkey, My Lover, and I."
Jean-Pascal Zadi, who was named most promising actor for his role in "Tout simplement noir" ("Simply Black"), promoted equality in his thank you speech. Fourteen-year-old Fathia Youssouff, chosen most promising actress for "Mignonnes" ("Cuties"), told aspiring youth to follow their dreams.
Nintendo reports lower profits as demand drops for its aging Switch console
Nintendo, the Japanese video game maker behind the Super Mario franchise, said Tuesday that its profit fell 60% in the first half of the fiscal year, as demand waned for its Switch console, now in its eighth year since going on sale.
Kyoto-based Nintendo Co. reported a 108.7 billion yen ($715 million) profit for the April-September period, as sales slipped 34% from the previous year to 523 billion yen ($3.4 billion).
More than 74% of its sales revenue came from overseas, according to Nintendo, which didn't break down quarterly numbers.
Global Switch sales during the period dropped to 4.7 million machines from 6.8 million units the previous year.
But Nintendo said in a statement that Switch sales were still growing and vowed to stick to its goal of selling a Switch console to each and every individual, not just one Switch per every household.
Nintendo stuck to its earlier projection for a 300 billion yen ($2 billion) profit for the full fiscal year through March 2025, down nearly 29% from the previous fiscal year.
Annual sales were forecast to drop 23% to1.28 trillion yen ($8.4 billion).
It also lowered its Switch sales projection for the fiscal year to 12.5 million units from an earlier forecast to sell 13.5 million.
Nintendo and other game and toy makers rake in their biggest profits during the Christmas shopping season, as well as New Year's, a holiday celebrated with fanfare in Japan, when children receive cash gifts from grandparents and other relatives.
Nintendo has not yet announced details on a successor to the Switch.
Among its million-seller game software titles for the fiscal half were "Paper Mario RPG," which sold 1.95 million units since going on sale in May, and "Luigi Mansion 2... Read More