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    Almodóvar, Banderas triumph with “Pain and Glory” at Goyas

    By SHOOTUpdated:No Comments1397 Views
    Spanish film director Pedro Almodovar, center, and producers Agustin Almodovar and Esther Garcia, left, pose with their trophy after winning the best film award for "Pain and Glory" during the Goya Film Awards Ceremony in Malaga, southern Spain, early Sunday, Jan. 26, 2020. The annual Goya Awards are Spain's main national film awards. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
    MADRID (AP) --

    Pedro Almodóvar's "Pain and Glory" swept the top prizes at the Spanish Film Academy's Goya Awards, including best picture, best director and a best actor victory for Antonio Banderas. 

    "Pain and Glory" is nominated for an Academy Award in the best international film category. Almodóvar is hoping to claim his third Oscar in two weeks. 

    The film, which is considered the most personal for the 70-year-old Almodóvar, also won best original screenplay, best original music, best editing and a best supporting actress prize for Julieta Serrano.

    "I realized that I was writing about myself and the past (and) I wasn't sure if I should continue and open myself up to such a degree, but I did, and now I am very happy," Almodóvar said at the awards gala held in Málaga on Saturday. 

    Banderas had been nominated on five previous occasions for a Goya but had never won other than the honorary Goya for his career in 2015. 

    Two films about the 1936-39 Spanish Civil War were also recognized.

    Alejandro Amenábar's "While at War" won five awards, mostly in the technical categories, while the award for best actress went to Belén Cuesta for her role in "The Infinite Trench."

    Benedicta Sánchez won for best new actress at age 84 for her role in "Fire Will Come," a film by Oliver Laxe made without professional actors in Spain's remote northwest. 

    In her acceptance speech, Sánchez reminded her grandchildren "to not forget their grandma." 

    The annual Goya Awards are Spain's version of the Oscars, honoring excellence in filmmaking for full-length features, shorts, animated films and documentaries. Members of the Spanish Film Academy are eligible to vote. 

    Tags:Antonio BanderasGoya AwardsPain and GloryPedro Almodovar



    Ex-OpenAI engineer who raised legal concerns about the technology he helped build has died

    Saturday, December 21, 2024
    Suchir Balaji poses for a photo in Hawaii in 2018. Balaji was a former OpenAI engineer and whistleblower who died in November 2024. (Balaji Ramamurthy via AP)

    Suchir Balaji, a former OpenAI engineer and whistleblower who helped train the artificial intelligence systems behind ChatGPT and later said he believed those practices violated copyright law, has died, according to his parents and San Francisco officials. He was 26.

    Balaji worked at OpenAI for nearly four years before quitting in August. He was well-regarded by colleagues at the San Francisco company, where a co-founder this week called him one of OpenAI's strongest contributors who was essential to developing some of its products.

    "We are devastated to learn of this incredibly sad news and our hearts go out to Suchir's loved ones during this difficult time," said a statement from OpenAI.

    Balaji was found dead in his San Francisco apartment on Nov. 26 in what police said "appeared to be a suicide. No evidence of foul play was found during the initial investigation." The city's chief medical examiner's office confirmed the manner of death to be suicide.

    His parents Poornima Ramarao and Balaji Ramamurthy said they are still seeking answers, describing their son as a "happy, smart and brave young man" who loved to hike and recently returned from a trip with friends.

    Balaji grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area and first arrived at the fledgling AI research lab for a 2018 summer internship while studying computer science at the University of California, Berkeley. He returned a few years later to work at OpenAI, where one of his first projects, called WebGPT, helped pave the way for ChatGPT.

    "Suchir's contributions to this project were essential, and it wouldn't have succeeded without him," said OpenAI co-founder John Schulman in a social media post memorializing Balaji. Schulman, who recruited Balaji to his team, said what... Read More

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