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Crowdfunding to save 167-year-old church built by black Canadian settlers

Written By Unknown on Sabtu, 28 Februari 2015 | 22.19

About a two-hour drive north of Toronto, in the small township of Oro-Medonte, sits a little-known but significant part of Canadian history.

The Oro African Methodist Episcopal Church was built in the late 1840's by some of Canada's earliest black settlers.

"That church was the hub," said local historian Janie Cooper-Wilson.

'It is crucial this is preserved, as it has a tremendous impact on the collective history of Canada.'— Janie Cooper-Wilson, local historian

"It doesn't matter what black community you go to, a church is at the centre of those communities. That's all we had."

Cooper-Wilson's grandparents were married in the church. Her grandfather three generations back was a soldier in Captain Runchey's Company of Coloured Men — an all-black militia that fought in the War of 1812. Those soldiers were the first known blacks to settle in the Upper Canada area.

"Oro-Medonte was the first place in the British empire that people were given grants of land regardless of ethnic background," said Mayor Harry Hughes.

The church has largely been kept standing through funds from Simcoe County, special grants and local volunteers, allowing the town to open the building for tours and visitors.

But the building is in desperate need of repairs.

Oro African Methodist Church

This photo shows the church before the siding was stripped off in 2013. (Oro African Methodist Church/Facebook)

An assessment in 2013 projected $140,000 worth of repairs would be needed to save the building, and the addition of heavy snow piled on the roof means it's in danger of collapsing at any time.

So the township took matters into its own hands — literally — by knocking on doors and appealing for donations. More than $8,000 has been raised in the past six months, and on Thursday the township launched a crowd-funding campaign.

Hughes said watching the CBC mini-series The Book of Negroes inspired him and others to start thinking about how to save the church.

"The show made me realize there was a big interest in a history that spreads way beyond the boundaries of Canada," he said.

Cooper-Wilson, who has spent many years helping preserve the church, hopes the township will be able to raise enough money to keep this piece of history alive not just for the people of Oro-Medonte, but the rest of the country.

"It is crucial this is preserved, as it has a tremendous impact on the collective history of Canada."


22.19 | 0 komentar | Read More

'Live Long and Prosper, Mr. Spock!': Star Trek's Leonard Nimoy dies at 83

Leonard Nimoy, the actor, author and director best known for his portrayal of the ultra-logical character Spock in the TV series Star Trek, has died at the age of 83.

His wife, Susan Bay Nimoy, confirmed to the New York Times that her husband died Friday morning at their Los Angeles home of end-stage chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Nimoy said last year that he had been diagnosed with lung disease and was "doing OK."

Nimoy's poignant last tweet, sent on Feb. 22, reads, "A life is like a garden. Perfect moments can be had, but not preserved, except in memory."

Nimoy played Spock on the original Star Trek series from 1966 to 1969, and resurrected the iconic character in a host of subsequent movies, video games and cameo appearances spanning decades.

"I loved him like a brother," co-star William Shatner said Friday. "We will all miss his humour, his talent, and his capacity to love."

Co-star George Takei shared his condolences on Facebook Friday afternoon.

"Today, the world lost a great man, and I lost a great friend. We return you now to the stars, Leonard ... I shall miss you in so many, many ways," he wrote.

"Leonard Nimoy truly did live long and prosper. To celebrate his life and work, let us share in some of his best moments as the character we all took into our hearts, Mr. Spock."

"Live Long and Prosper, Mr. Spock!" tweeted Italian astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti, aboard the International Space Station.

The character's trademark ears, steeply arched eyebrows, well-known Vulcan proverb "Live long and prosper," as well as Nimoy's trademark Vulcan salute helped cement him as a pop culture icon.

It wasn't just the trademark ears or the steeply arched eyebrows — which rose higher when Spock was confronted with disconcerting emotion — or the impressive divided-finger salute or the "Live long and prosper" catchphrase.

It was how Nimoy staunchly turned what could have been a caricature into a dignified, inspiringly intellectual and even touching figure, a half-human, half-Vulcan who was a multicultural and multiethnic touchstone, well before it was hip.

His half-human, half-Vulcan character was the calm counterpoint to Shatner's often-emotional Captain Kirk on one of television and film's most revered cult series.

"He affected the lives of many," Adam Nimoy said. "He was also a great guy and my best friend."

Asked if his father chafed at his fans' close identification of him with his character, Adam Nimoy said, "Not in the least. He loved Spock."

However, Nimoy's ambivalence to the role was reflected in the titles of his two autobiographies, I Am Not Spock (1975) and I Am Spock (1995).

Identifying with Spock

After Star Trek ended, the actor immediately joined the hit adventure series Mission Impossible as Paris, the mission team's master of disguises. From 1976 to 1982 he hosted the syndicated TV series In Search of ...  which attempted to probe such mysteries as the legend of the Loch Ness Monster and the disappearance of aviator Amelia Earhart.

He played Israeli leader Golda Meir's husband opposite Ingrid Bergman in the TV drama A Woman Called Golda and Vincent van Gogh in Vincent, a one-man stage show on the life of the troubled painter. He continued to work well into his 70s, playing gazillionaire genius William Bell in the Fox series Fringe.

Spock

Actor Leonard Nimoy played the iconic character Spock from the Star Trek TV and film series, and was known for the trademark Vulcan proverb, 'Live long and prosper.' (Bertil Unger/Evening Standard/Getty Images)

He also directed several films, including the hit comedy Three Men and a Baby and appeared in such plays as A Streetcar Named Desire, Cat on a Hot Tim Roof, Fiddler on the Roof, The King and I, My Fair Lady and Equus. He also published books of poems, children's stories and his own photographs.

But he could never really escape the role that took him overnight from bit-part actor status to TV star, and in a 1995 interview he sought to analyze the popularity of Spock, the green-blooded space traveller who aspired to live a life based on pure logic.

People identified with Spock because they "recognize in themselves this wish that they could be logical and avoid the pain of anger and confrontation," Nimoy concluded.

"How many times have we come away from an argument wishing we had said and done something different?" he asked.

'The role changed my career'

In the years immediately after Star Trek left television, Nimoy tried to shun the role, but he eventually came to embrace it, lampooning himself on such TV shows as Futurama, Duckman and The Simpsons and in commercials.

'Of course the role changed my career— or rather, gave me one.'— Leonard Nimoy

He became Spock after Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry was impressed by his work in guest appearances on the TV shows The Lieutenant and Dr. Kildare.

The space adventure set in the 23rd century had an unimpressive debut on NBC on Sept. 8, 1966, and it struggled during its three seasons to find an audience other than teenage boys. It seemed headed for oblivion after it was cancelled in 1969, but its dedicated legion of fans, who called themselves Trekkies, kept its memory alive with conventions and fan clubs and constant demands that the cast be reassembled for a movie or another TV show.

Trekkies were particularly fond of Spock, often greeting one another with the Vulcan salute and the Vulcan motto, "Live Long and Prosper," both of which Nimoy was credited with bringing to the character. He pointed out, however, that the hand gesture was actually derived from one used by rabbis during Hebraic benedictions.

Leonard-NIMOY/

Nimoy's half-human, half-Vulcan character is known for his trademark Vulcan salute. (Todd Korol/Reuters)

When the cast finally was reassembled for Star Trek — The Motion Picture, in 1979, the film was a huge hit and five sequels followed. Nimoy appeared in all of them and directed two. He also guest starred as an older version of himself in some of the episodes of the show's spinoff TV series, Star Trek: The Next Generation.

"Of course the role changed my career— or rather, gave me one," he once said. "It made me wealthy by most standards and opened up vast opportunities. It also affected me personally, socially, psychologically, emotionally. ... What started out as a welcome job to a hungry actor has become a constant and ongoing influence in my thinking and lifestyle."

In 2009, he was back in a new big-screen version of Star Trek, this time playing an older Spock who meets his younger self, played by Zachary Quinto. Critic Roger Ebert called the older Spock "the most human character in the film."

Among those seeing the film was President Barack Obama, whose even manner was often likened to Spock's.

"Everybody was saying I was Spock, so I figured I should check it out," Obama said at the time.

Upon the movie's debut, Nimoy told The Associated Press that in his late 70s he was probably closer than ever to being as comfortable with himself as the logical Spock always appeared to be.

"I know where I'm going, and I know where I've been," he said. He reprised the role in the 2013 sequel Star Trek Into Darkness.

Making a career of acting

Born in Boston to Jewish immigrants from Russia, Nimoy was raised in an Italian section of the city where, although he counted many Italian-Americans as his friends, he said he also felt the sting of anti-Semitism growing up.

At age 17 he was cast in a local production of Clifford Odets' Awake and Sing as the son in a Jewish family.

'Everybody was saying I was Spock, so I figured I should check it out.'— Barack Obama on seeing the 2009 Star Trek movie

"This role, the young man surrounded by a hostile and repressive environment, so touched a responsive chord that I decided to make a career of acting," he said later.

He won a drama scholarship to Boston College but eventually dropped out, moved to California and took acting lessons at the Pasadena Playhouse.

Soon he had lost his "Boston dead-end" accent, hired an agent and began getting small roles in TV series and movies. He played a baseball player in Rhubarb and an Indian in Old Overland Trail.

After service in the Army, he returned to Hollywood, working as taxi driver, vacuum cleaner salesman, movie theatre usher and other jobs while looking for acting roles.

In 1954 he married Sandra Zober, a fellow student at the Pasadena Playhouse, and they had two children, Julie and Adam. The couple divorced, and in 1988 he married Susan Bay, a film production executive.

Besides his wife, son and daughter, Nimoy is survived by his stepson, Aaron Bay Schuck. Services will be private, Adam Nimoy said.


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Douglas Coupland: 'I'm actually starting to forget my pre-internet brain'

Not happy that Birdman took home Oscar's top prize? 

Canadian artist and author Douglas Coupland thinks he knows why a movie about an aging actor was named best picture at Sunday's 2015 Academy Awards. In a nutshell: blame our hyper-connected world.

"There is a real nostalgia for continuity … or biological time," he said, pointing out that Boyhood, this year's other main Oscar contender, was also about the passage of time.

Coupland, who himself is now 53, has made a career of tapping into the current trends and moods underlying our culture. The Order of Canada recipient first shot to fame by popularizing the term Generation X 24 years ago. 

Today, Coupland is still mining the zeitgeist. He has a brand new book, The Age of Earthquakes, which he describes as a "guidebook for the modern condition." He is even planning a collaboration with technology behemoth Google, although he's keeping those details under wraps.

"We can't announce it until April," he said.

'We're actually in not a bad place ... You look back after 10, 15, 20 years and you know what, [you realize] this is actually pretty good.'— Douglas Coupland

Walking through his current exhibit Everywhere is Anywhere is Anything is Everything at Toronto's Royal Ontario Museum, Coupland is clearly focused on a topic that seems more prevalent than ever: how people function in an increasingly hyper-connected, caffeinated world where there's little time to adapt to change. 

"I'm actually starting to forget my pre-internet brain," Coupland said. "It's not like I'm super productive, but I've missed those quiet spots and I think a lot of people maybe do."

"It's not like technology's going to take a holiday for a year or two and we can all just have a break," Coupland said. "We're just sort of locked into this roller coaster ride now."

Talking to Coupland is a bit of a roller coaster too. In a wide-ranging interview, he touches on privacy, the environment, Facebook, China, Marshall McLuhan, the human brain, 9-11 and dead bees. 

Douglas Coupland "Everywhere is Anywhere is Anything is Everything"

The exhibit, at Toronto's Royal Ontario Museum, highlights ambivalent feelings about technology. (CBC)

Yes, dead bees.

"Oh they're sprinkled here and there," Coupland said, pointing to one of his art installations, a dense cityscape littered with environmental woes. "There's a little pile of them there, being lifted in by a crane."

At first blush, Coupland's work might sound pretty glum. But the quirky, colourful exhibits hint at an underlying optimism.

"Oh… we're actually in not a bad place," Coupland said. "You look back after 10, 15, 20 years and you know what, [you realize] this is actually pretty good."

You can watch Wendy Mesley's full interview with Douglas Coupland on The National on Friday night at 9 p.m. (9:30 NT).


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Lupita Nyong'o's $150,000 Oscar dress returned by thief

Lupita Nyong'o

Actress Lupita Nyong'o wore the Calvin Klein gown as she arrived at the 87th Academy Awards in Hollywood on Sunday. The ivory dress featured 6,000 hand-sewn pearls of various sizes. The thief claims the pearls on the dress are not real. (Jason Merritt/Getty Images)

The $150,000 Oscar gown worn by actress Lupita Nyong'o that was stolen two days ago was returned on Friday by the thief, who tipped off celebrity news site TMZ.com after finding out that the pearls on the dress were fake.

TMZ said the thief took the Calvin Klein dress from Nyong'o's hotel room on Wednesday after finding the door ajar. The Kenyan actress had worn the dress adorned with 6,000 pearls to Sunday's Academy Awards in one of the most commented looks of the night.

The thief and others removed two pearls from the dress and took them to the Garment District in downtown Los Angeles where they were told they were not real, according to TMZ.

The thief then took the dress back to the London West Hollywood hotel and told TMZ it was in a garment bag inside a trash bag in a bathroom.

TMZ then tipped off the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department in West Hollywood, which was investigating the theft. The website shows grainy footage of an unidentified person opening the bag and finding a white dress.

Sheriff's Department spokeswoman Guillermina Saldana said they were "in the process of confirming" the story.


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Stolen Picasso painting was smuggled into U.S., authorities say

Written By Unknown on Jumat, 27 Februari 2015 | 22.19

1911 cubist painting was stolen in Paris in 2001

The Associated Press Posted: Feb 26, 2015 11:16 PM ET Last Updated: Feb 26, 2015 11:16 PM ET

Authorities say a Pablo Picasso painting worth millions of dollars was stolen in France and smuggled into the U.S. by someone who falsely labeled it as an "art craft" worth about $37 when it was shipped.

U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York Loretta Lynch filed a civil forfeiture complaint Thursday over the 1911 cubist painting, called "The Hairdresser."

Authorities say the 1911 painting disappeared from a storeroom at the Pompidou Centre in Paris. It was reported stolen in November 2001.

The painting's location remained unknown until it arrived in the United States in December 2014. Lynch says the shipping label described the contents as an "art craft/toy."

There's no information on whether anyone has been arrested in connection to the shipment.

Comments on this story are moderated according to our Submission Guidelines. Comments are welcome while open. We reserve the right to close comments at any time.

Submission Policy

Note: The CBC does not necessarily endorse any of the views posted. By submitting your comments, you acknowledge that CBC has the right to reproduce, broadcast and publicize those comments or any part thereof in any manner whatsoever. Please note that comments are moderated and published according to our submission guidelines.


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Focus has 'the Will Smith we've been missing,' says CBC film critic

Will Smith plays Nicky, a serial fraudster who falls for his beautiful protégé in the new con-artist romance Focus.

The Wolf of Wall Street's Margot Robbie plays Jess, the gorgeous grifter who skips town after things with Nicky get too hot and heavy when he teaches her the tricks of the trade.

But the story—​written and directed by Crazy, Stupid, Love duo Glenn Ficarra and John Requa—really gets interesting when Jess resurfaces three years later as an accomplished femme fatale mixing up Nicky's latest scheme in Buenos Aires.

The movie is Smith's first venture onto the big screen since 2013's science fiction fantasy flop After Earth, and CBC's film critic says fans of the former Fresh Prince will be pleased by his turn as the cocksure, playful trickster.

He "puts the confident in con man," says Glasner, "it's the Will Smith we've been missing." 

Will Smith and Margot Robbie

Will Smith plays a veteran con artist, showing a novice (played by Wolf of Wall Street star Margot Robbie) the ropes in Warner Bros. new crime caper Focus. (Warner Bros.)

As for the rest of the film, "Focus is a little slick for it's own good," warns Glasner, "but Will Smith and Margo Robbie make it worth watching." 

Focus hits Canadian theatres this weekend.

Watch Eli's full review in the video above.


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Molly Parker flying high with role on House of Cards, new play

Few actors could hold their own opposite Kevin Spacey's formidable Francis Underwood on the hit Netflix series House of Cards, but Canadian actress Molly Parker knew she had what it takes to play Underwood's chosen protege Jacqueline Sharp. 

Season three is expected to hit Netflix servers at 3:01 a.m. ET Friday and it's Parker's second season playing Congresswoman Jackie Sharp.

'I don't care about the characters I play being likable, I really don't'- Molly Parker on playing Congresswoman Jackie Sharp

"I get to play this really tough, smart, powerful, sexual woman and I love her, she's great," said Parker in an interview with CBC News.  "I mean, all the characters on House of Cards are. It's a show about power, it's a show about the seeking of power, and every character on that show seeks it in different ways."

Parker's character, an Iraq war vet with a checkered past, is as much a hero as an antihero, and playing such characters has been a bit of Parker's specialty.

Molly Parker and Kevin Spacey on House of Cards

Kevin Spacey as Francis Underwood and Molly Parker as Jacqueline Sharpe in a scene from season two of Netflix's House of Cards (AP Photo/Netflix/Nathaniel E. Bell)

The breakout role for Maple Ridge, B.C.-born Parker was in the 1996 Canadian indie film Kissed, in which she played a necrophiliac. It set the tone for a career filled with playing oddballs and renegades.

And Jacqueline Sharp is not the only complex woman Parker is playing right now. "Look, I don't care about the characters I play being likable, I really don't," Parker told CBC. "What I do care about is that they are complex, and as close to complex human beings as I can make them to be."

With the filming of season three of House of Cards wrapped, Parker is back to the city where her career started, Toronto, to star in the titular role of Canadian Stage's Harper Regan

The play, written by award-winning British playwright Simon Stephens, is directed by Matthew Jocelyn, and tells the story of a woman who, upon finding out about her father's illness, leaves her husband and children behind and goes on a journey of self-discovery.

Parker says she was drawn to the "Greek tragedy" she saw in the story.

"This woman sort of goes on this mini Odyssean journey and she doesn't even really quite know what to do or what she needs," said Parker to CBC News.  "But something needs to shift in her in order to go on and in the seeking of that something, she meets just these bizarre and remarkable characters who all affect her in some way."

The role is Parker's professional theatre debutsomething she says she's been longing to do since she first set foot on stage in a small Vancouver theatre 18 years ago.

It also means she now has something new in common with House of Cards co-star and accomplished stage actor Kevin Spacey.

When asked if she will now trade stage tips with Spacey, Parker quips: "I don't think he needs advice, he's doing alright!" 

And so is she.

Harper Regan runs at Toronto's Bluma Appel Theatre between March 1 and 22nd.

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Harrison Ford signs for Blade Runner sequel; Quebec's Villeneuve in talks to direct

Harrison Ford is set to reprise his role as Rick Deckard in a sequel to the dystopian, neo-noir Blade Runner, more than 31 years after the film first premiered.

Ridley Scott directed the 1982 movie, which was adapted from the Philip K. Dick novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep.

Alcon Entertainment announced Ford's role Thursday and said Scott will serve as an executive producer on the sequel.

Production on the film will begin in the summer of 2016.

Hampton Francher, who co-wrote the original, and Michael Green have written a script based on an idea from Francher and Scott.

The story will take place several decades after the events at the conclusion of the 1982 film.

According to Hollywood trade Variety, Quebec's Denis Villeneuve is in negotiations to direct the sequel.

Villeneuve, 47, has won accolades for his work on Enemy, Prisoners and Polytechnique. He has another film out later this year, Sicario, which stars Emily Blunt, Josh Brolin and Benecio Del Toro,


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Madonna 'fine' after Brit Awards stage fall in London

Written By Unknown on Kamis, 26 Februari 2015 | 22.19

Madonna is brushing herself off after taking a hard tumble at Wednesday's Brit Awards in London.

The Material Girl was closing the show with her new single Living For Love at the O2 Arena when a backup dancer yanked her cape, pulling her backward down a flight of stairs. 

Can't see the vine? Click here.

After an awkward landing, the veteran performer got back up and kept singing the song with the strangely fitting lyrics: "Took me to heaven and let me fall down / Now that it's over, I'm gonna carry on."

The 56-year-old pop legend took to social media after the show to put the blame on her poorly tied Armani cape.

"My beautiful cape was tied too tight," Madonna wrote on Instagram with a picture of the offending accessory. "But nothing can stop me and love really lifted me up! Thanks for your good wishes! I'm fine!" 

The fall drew an instant, and mostly sympathetic, reaction from ceremony attendees and television viewers.

"I feel for her," singer Ashley Roberts told ITV news. "She's a pro, though, and she kept going."

Kanye West gives raw performance

Kanye West and Taylor Swift also performed at the Brit Awards, the U.K. equivalent of the Grammys.

MUSIC-BRIT awards Kanye West FEb 25 2015

Kanye West's expletive-laced performance had to be muted for Wednesday's live TV broadcast of the Brit Awards. (Toby Melville/Reuters)

Elsewhere, there were few surprises at the awards, which recognize international stars along with homegrown British talent.

Tousle-haired singer Ed Sheeran won for best British male solo artist and British album of the year, for X. Soulful crooner Sam Smith won for British breakthrough act and global success.

"Since I was a little kid, I dreamed of people all over the world singing my songs," Smith said. "This shows I'm stepping in the right direction."

The 22-year-old Smith won four Grammys earlier this month, including record of the year for Stay With Me.

Smith was sultry and Sheeran was sensible, but West provided a dose of raw energy. He performed his raw, grime-influenced new song All Day. The lyrics, peppered with expletives and the N-word, were muted for the show's live TV broadcast.

Britain Brit Awards 2015 Show Sam Smith Feb 25

Multiple-Grammy winner Sam Smith took trophies for British breakthrough act and global success at the Brit Awards at the 02 Arena in London on Wednesday. (Joel Ryan/Invision/Associated Press)

West has said his new clothing line was influenced by the 2011 London riots, and the performance also had an urban-unrest feel, involving dozens of dancers and a giant flamethrower.

It has been a big year for British music, with Smith storming the Grammys and artists like Sheeran, baby-faced singer-songwriter George Ezra and the still-ubiquitous One Direction making waves.

The Brits were once renowned for chaos, enlivened by incidents including a 1992 stunt in which British band the KLF left a dead sheep at the after-show dinner. But the ceremony has been transformed in recent years into a slick talent showcase.

West aside, the tone of the evening was accomplished but not edgy, opening with a sleekly saucy performance of Blank Space by a black-clad Swift.

Swift and Pharrell awarded

Swift was named best international female artist, while Happy hit-maker Pharrell Williams was named best international male act, and Foo Fighters won for international group. Mark Ronson's Uptown Funk took the prize for best British single.

Taylor Swift 538952269BD00007_BRIT_Award Feb 25 2015

Taylor Swift managed to stay upright while performing, unlike Madonna, who took a tumble. Swift was also named best international female artist of the year. (Gareth Cattermole/Getty)

A dash of rock `n' roll was added by grungy duo Royal Blood, awarded the best British group trophy by Led Zeppelin's Jimmy Page — once a symbol of rock rebellion, now a distinguished elder statesman.

Royal Blood singer Mike Kerr said the award was a surprise to the band, and possibly to the audience, "as you may not even know who we are."

The prize for best British female artist went to retro-loving singer Paloma Faith, who dedicated her award to "all the underdogs and all the grafters" who struggle to succeed.

Clutching a curvy white Brits statuette designed by artist Tracey Emin, Faith recalled how in her early days she had been arrested for putting up posters for her gigs. Now, she said, "my pictures are all over Greenwich Tube station legally, and that's an amazing feeling."

Winners in most categories are decided by a ballot of music-industry members, with some chosen by public vote, including a best British video award selected by online ballot during the ceremony. It was won by One Direction — just like last year.


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CBC picks up 10 more trophies at Wednesday’s Canadian Screen Awards

CBC's Murdoch Mysteries and Rick Mercer Report have added to the public broadcaster's trophy haul at the Canadian Screen Awards  handed out Wednesday night in Toronto.

Rick Mercer Report picked up 3 Canadian Screen Awards including best variety or sketch comedy program, and best variety or sketch comedy performance for host Rick Mercer.

The weekly half-hour news satire that mixes news parody and editorials showcasing Mercer's razor-sharp wit is currently in its 12th season. Catch new episodes Tuesdays at 8 p.m. on CBC-TV.   

Rick Mercer Report

Canada's pre-eminent political satirist, Rick Mercer, is back for a 12th season with his weekly dose of ranting, funny takes on the week's top stories, and lively cross-country adventures. (CBC)

CBC's hugely popular historical whodunit, Murdoch Mysteries, garnered two wins at Wednesday's gala, including best achievement in make-up for episode Friday the 13th, 1901 by artist Deb Drennan, and best costume design for the episode Murdoch in Ragtime  by designer Alexander Reda.

CBC also earned recognition for its children's programming with the new series The Adventures of Napkin Man picking up the prize for best preschool program or series, and best preschool or children's show host for Montreal actor Yannick Bisson for the episode "Just Me in a Tree."

Charlottetown-born actor Jonathan Torrens nabbed the Canadian screen award for best performance by an actor in a supporting or guest role for his turn as the officious Vice Principal Robert Cheely on the CBC sitcom Mr. D.

Wednesday's accolades follow the awarding of eight trophies to CBC news, documentaries and sports programs at the opening night of the Canadian Screen Awards on Tuesday.

The week-long celebration, honouring the best in Canadian film, television and digital media, culminates next Sunday with a two-hour gala celebrating the best in Canadian films and scripted TV shows.  

The star-studded broadcast, hosted by comedian Andrea Martin, will air live on CBC-TV starting at  8 p.m.

CBC wins at the Canadian Screen Awards

Best Achievement in Make-Up: Murdoch Mysteries – Friday the 13th, 1901
Deb Drennan

Best Costume Design: Murdoch Mysteries – Murdoch in Ragtime
Alexander Reda

The Adventures of Napkin Man

Every episode of CBC's children's program The Adventures of Napkin Man begins in a real life preschool classroom where Mr. Anthony (played by Yannick Bisson), a fun-loving and compassionate teacher, helps a student who is having a problem. (CBC)

Best Direction in a Dramatic Program or or Mini-Series: The Best Laid Plans
Peter Moss

Best Host in a Pre-School, Children's or Youth Program or Series: The Adventures of Napkin Man – Just Me in a Tree
Yannick Bisson

Best Original Music Score for a Program: Still Life: A Three Pines Mystery
Robert Carli

Best performance by an Actor in a Featured Supporting Role or Guest Role in a Comedic Series: Mr.D – Donor Dinner
Jonathan Torrens

Best Performance in a Variety or Sketch Comedy Program or Series: Rick Mercer Report: Episode 16
Rick Mercer

Best Pre-School Program or Series: The Adventures of Napkin Man
Suzie Gallo, Ira Levy, Brenda Nietupski, Josh Selig, Sharon Summerling, Tone Thyne, Stephanie VanBruggen, Peter Williamson

Best Variety or Sketch Comedy Program or Series: Rick Mercer Report
Gerald Lunz, Rick Mercer, Tom Stanley

Best Writing in a Variety or Sketch Comedy Program or Series: Rick Mercer Report
Rick Currie, Greg Eckler, Chris Finn, Rick Mercer, Tim Steeves, George Westerholm

CBC's Canadian Screen Awards awarded earlier

Best Local Newscast: CBC News: Toronto  
Dwight Drummond, Dayna Gourley, Alan Habbick, Anne-Marie Mediwake, Alexandra Sienkiewicz

Best News Special: CBC News: Moncton Shooting - The Capture of Justin Bourque
The National, CBC News Network, CBC New Brunswick
Derek Desouza, Mark Harrison, Darrow MacIntyre, Mark Ross, Kate Scroggins

Best News or Information Series: CBC News: the fifth estate  
Julian Sher, Jim Williamson

Best News or Information Program: CBC News: the fifth estate - Made in Bangladesh  
Tarannum Kamlani, Mark Kelley, Lysanne Louter, Aileen McBride

Best Direction in a Documentary or Factual Series: Wild Canada- The Eternal Frontier
Jeff Turner

Best Science or Nature Documentary Program or Series: The Nature of Things - Invasion of the Brain Snatchers  
Sue Dando, Mike Downie, FM Morrison, David Wells

Best Live Sports Event: Olympics - Gold Medal Hockey Game - Women
Chris Irwin, Brian Spear

Best Sports Play-by-Play Announcer: Jim Hughson​
2014 Sochi Winter Olympic Games


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Jimmy Savile, late BBC TV host, abused 60 victims at hospital, new report says

Warnings about Jimmy Savile, the late BBC TV presenter revealed two years ago to have been one of Britain's most prolific sex offenders, who preyed on victims at hospitals where he volunteered, were ignored, official reports said on Thursday.

Three years ago, police said Savile, one of the Britain's best-known celebrities in the 1970s and 1980s, had abused hundreds of victims, mainly youngsters, at hospitals and at BBC premises over six decades until his death aged 84 in 2011.

New reports into his activities on Thursday revealed he had abused 60 people at Stoke Mandeville hospital, the birthplace of the Paralympic games, between 1969 and 1992, and despite it being an "open secret" that he was a "lecher," nothing was done.

There were 10 complaints made about his behaviour, although only one was official. The informal complaints were neither taken seriously nor escalated, said Androulla Johnstone, lead investigator for one of the reports, while the formal one was dropped by the complainant's father due to her serious ill health.

"The individuals to whom these incidents were reported failed in their duty to protect," Johnstone told reporters.

"Consequently, no intelligence about Savile's behaviour was gathered over the years and no action was taken."

The reports said Savile had used his fame and charitable work to get unsupervised access to patients, raping and sexually abusing boys, girls, men and women aged between five and 75 in wards, corridors and offices.


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Eddie Redmayne lends voice to new Thomas the Tank Engine film

The No. 1 blue engine is getting a new friend in Eddie Redmayne.

Fresh off an Oscar win for his portrayal of Stephen Hawking in The Theory of Everything, the British actor will be heard in the next instalment in the Thomas & Friends series, Sodor's Legend of the Lost Treasure. The 60-minute CGI feature will be released on DVD by HIT Entertainment in the fall of 2015.

Redmayne voices the role of Ryan, a new engine on the Island of Sodor whom Thomas meets on a quest.

John Hurt

Actor John Hurt, who portrayed Mr Ollivander in the Harry Potter franchise, will play Sailor John in Sodor's Legend of the Lost Treasure. (Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images)

"I grew up loving to watch Thomas and his pals getting caught up in unexpected and mischievous adventures. I jumped at the opportunity to get involved and what fun it was! I have never voiced an animated character before, and I had a complete blast," said Redmayne in a statement.

Also joining in on the adventure are Harry Potter alums John Hurt, as Sailor John, and Jamie Campbell Bower as Skiff.

"It is a great show to be involved in and incredibly fun to record. I've thoroughly enjoyed my first animation and I look forward to everyone seeing the end result," said Bower.

"Sailor John was something of a departure from what I usually do and a lot of fun to play," added Hurt. "I remember watching Thomas the Tank Engine with my children when they were young and I'm delighted that it continues to appeal to each successive generation."

This year marks the 70th anniversary of the Thomas the Tank Engine brand.


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Roman Polanski appears for extradition hearing in Polish court

Written By Unknown on Rabu, 25 Februari 2015 | 22.19

Filmmaker Roman Polanski testified at a hearing in Poland on Wednesday regarding a U.S. request for his extradition over a 1977 child sex crime conviction, though the court said it needed more time to make a decision.

Dariusz Mazur, the judge presiding over the case in the southern Polish city of Krakow, said the court could not make a ruling on Wednesday since it still had to consider additional documents submitted by Polanski's lawyers.

"The proceeding will not be finished today," Mazur said.

Mazur said the filmmaker's lawyers had handed in preliminary documents in English and in German from his unsuccessful extradiction proceedings in Switzerland in 2010.

Polanski's hearing was closed to the media.

Under Polish law, if the court rules in favour of the extradition request, it will then be passed on to the justice minister who will make the final decision on whether to hand over Polanski to the U.S. authorities.

The Oscar-winning filmmaker pleaded guilty in 1977 to having unlawful sex with a 13-year-old girl during a photo shoot in Los Angeles fuelled by champagne and drugs.

Polanski served 42 days in jail as part of a 90-day plea bargain. He fled the United States the following year, believing the judge hearing his case could overrule the deal and put him in jail for years.

In 2009, Polanski was arrested in Zurich on a U.S. warrant and placed under house arrest. He was freed in 2010 after Swiss authorities decided not to extradite him.


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Ex-Marine convicted in 'American Sniper' double murder trial

A former Marine was convicted Tuesday in the deaths of the American Sniper author and another man at a Texas shooting range two years ago, as jurors rejected defence arguments that he was insane and suffered from psychosis.

The trial of Eddie Ray Routh has drawn intense interest, in part because of the blockbuster film based on former Navy SEAL Kyle's memoir about his four tours in Iraq.

Since prosecutors didn't seek the death penalty in the capital murder case, the 27-year-old Routh receives an automatic life sentence without parole in the deaths of Kyle and Kyle's friend, Chad Littlefield.

Routh showed no reaction in court, even when family members of Littlefield addressed him. His defence team said they would appeal the conviction.

Routh "took the lives of two heroes, men who tried to be a friend to you, and you became an American disgrace," Jerry Richardson, Littlefield's half-brother, told Routh in court.

Taya Kyle

Taya Kyle, wife of Chris Kyle, is pictured Tuesday during the capital murder trial of former Marine Cpl. Eddie Ray Routh in Stephenville, Texas. (Michael Ainsworth/Pool/Reuters)

"We're so thrilled that we have the verdict that we have tonight," Littlefield's mother, Judy Littlefield, said at a news conference outside the courthouse.

Kyle's widow, Taya Kyle, had left the courtroom earlier in the day and had not returned when the verdict was read. Chris Kyle's brother and parents were among a group hugging and crying inside the courtroom after the verdict was read. They did not issue a statement.

The prosecution painted Routh as a troubled drug user who knew right from wrong, despite any mental illnesses. While trial testimony and evidence often included Routh making odd statements and referring to insanity, he also confessed several times, apologized for the crimes and tried to evade police.

Jurors had 3 options

Criminal law experts said the verdict hinged on whether the defence could prove Routh was insane and did not know the killings were wrong at the time they were committed. Jurors had three options: find Routh guilty of capital murder, find him not guilty, or find him not guilty by reason of insanity. If found not guilty by reason of insanity, the court could have initiated proceedings to have him committed to a state mental hospital.

Kyle and Littlefield had taken Routh to the shooting range at Rough Creek Lodge and Resort on Feb. 2, 2013, after Routh's mother asked Kyle to help her troubled son. Family members say Routh suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder from serving in Iraq and in Haiti after the devastating 2010 earthquake.

However, Richardson told Routh that Routh's PTSD claims "have been an insult to every veteran who served with honour."

Eddie Ray Routh

This combination of photos from the Routh family and the Erath County Sheriff'sOffice shows Eddie Ray Routh when he was in the Marines and when he was booked for the Feb. 2, 2013 murder. (Routh Family/Erath County Sheriff's Office/AP)

Don Littlefield, Chad Littlefield's father, told Routh that even though his son never served in the military, he was honoured to help those who did serve. "He was trying to help you," he told Routh.

A forensic psychologist testified for prosecutors that Routh was not legally insane and suggested he may have gotten some of his ideas from television. Dr. Randall Price said Routh had a paranoid disorder made worse by his use of alcohol and marijuana, calling his condition "cannabis-induced psychosis."

Defence attorneys noted that Kyle had described Routh as "straight-up nuts" in a text message to Littlefield as they drove to the luxury resort.

Among evidence entered by prosecutors was a recorded phone call between Routh and a reporter from The New Yorker magazine in which Routh said he was annoyed Littlefield wasn't shooting, but instead seemed to be watching him.

"Are you gonna shoot? Are you gonna shoot? It's a shooting sport. You shoot," Routh said in the phone call. "That's what got me all riled up."

Routh led police on a chase

Defence attorneys said Routh, who had been prescribed anti-psychotic medication often used for schizophrenia, believed the men planned to kill him.

"I had to take care of business. I took care of business, and then I got in the truck and left," Routh said in the phone call.

Chris Kyle

In this April 6, 2012 file photo, Chris Kyle, a former Navy SEAL and author of the book American Sniper, poses in Midlothian, Texas. Kyle and his friend Chad Littlefield were fatally shot at a shooting range southwest of Fort Worth on Feb. 2, 2013. (Paul Moseley/Fort Worth Star-Telegram/The Associated Press)

Asked by the magazine reporter if he thought about the day he shot the men, Routh replied, "It tore my [expletive] heart out when I did it," later adding, "I guess you live and you learn, you know."

A resort employee discovered the bodies of Kyle and Littlefield about 5 p.m.; each had been shot several times. About 45 minutes later, authorities say Routh pulled up to his sister's home in Kyle's truck and told her he had killed two people.

She called police, who later located Routh sitting in front of his home in the truck. A police video shown by prosecutors showed officers trying to coax him from the truck while he makes comments including: "I don't know if I'm going insane" and "Is this about hell walking on earth right now?"

"He told us he'd taken a couple of souls and he had more souls to take," Lancaster police Lt. Michael Smith testified.

Routh later took off and led authorities on a chase before the truck became disabled and he was arrested.


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CBC takes home 8 trophies at Canadian Screen Awards

CBC news, documentaries and sports programs received eight awards during the first night of the Canadian Screen Awards.

CBC's the fifth estate won a trophy for best news or information series. 

An episode of the fifth estate, Made in Bangladesh, won best news or information program. The documentary, hosted by Mark Kelley, focused on Canadian retailers whose garments were manufactured in Rana Plaza in Bangladesh, which collapsed in April 2013, killing more than 1100 people.

Canadian Screen Awards

CBC took home eight awards during the first night of the Canadian Screen Awards on Tuesday. (Chris Young/Canadian Press)

Coverage of a Canadian tragedy earned CBC News a CSA for best news special.

Canadians were glued to their screens for the manhunt and eventual capture of Justin Bourque, who opened fire on five RCMP officers in Moncton, N.B., last June, leaving three Mounties dead. The coverage was a collaboration between reporters and producers of CBC's The National, CBC News Network and CBC New Brunswick.

The CBC News Toronto team, including hosts Anne-Marie Mediwake and Dwight Drummond, walked away with the trophy for best local newscast.

CBC's nature documentaries, perennially popular with viewers, were also honoured at the CSAs.

The Nature of Things episode Invasion of the Brain Snatchers was deemed the best science or nature documentary program.

And Jeff Turner walked away with the award for best direction in a documentary or factual series for the Wild Canada episode The Eternal Frontier.

Canadian athletes were not the only ones who earned gold at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympic Games.

CBC Sports got a CSA for the coverage of the women's gold medal hockey game, and Jim Hughson was named best sports play-by-play announcer for the second year in a row.

The Canadian Screen Awards continue later this week, with the awards for drama, comedy, variety, children's and performing arts handed out Wednesday. On Sunday, the two-hour gala honouring the best in Canadian films and scripted TV shows will be broadcast live on CBC-TV.

Best Local Newscast: CBC News: Toronto  
Dwight Drummond, Dayna Gourley, Alan Habbick, Anne-Marie Mediwake, Alexandra Sienkiewicz

Best News Special: CBC News: Moncton Shooting - The Capture of Justin Bourque
The National, CBC News Network, CBC New Brunswick
Derek Desouza, Mark Harrison, Darrow MacIntyre, Mark Ross, Kate Scroggins

Best News or Information Series: CBC News: the fifth estate  
Julian Sher, Jim Williamson

Best News or Information Program: CBC News: the fifth estate - Made in Bangladesh  
Tarannum Kamlani, Mark Kelley, Lysanne Louter, Aileen McBride

Best Direction in a Documentary or Factual Series: Wild Canada- The Eternal Frontier
Jeff Turner

Best Science or Nature Documentary Program or Series: The Nature of Things - Invasion of the Brain Snatchers  
Sue Dando, Mike Downie, FM Morrison, David Wells

Best Live Sports Event: Olympics - Gold Medal Hockey Game - Women
Chris Irwin, Brian Spear

Best Sports Play-by-Play Announcer: Jim Hughson​
2014 Sochi Winter Olympic Games 


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Giuliana Rancic, Fashion Police host, apologizes for 'damaging' comments about Zendaya's dreadlocks

'I just want everybody to know that I didn't intend to hurt anybody,' said Rancic in E! News statemment Tues.

The Associated Press Posted: Feb 25, 2015 8:58 AM ET Last Updated: Feb 25, 2015 9:08 AM ET

Giuliana Rancic is apologizing to Zendaya and others offended by Rancic's Fashion Police jab at the actress-singer's Oscar-night dreadlocks.

On E! News Tuesday, Rancic said the reaction to her comments has increased her awareness of, in her words, "cliches and stereotypes."

They are damaging, she said, adding that she and others have the responsibility to avoid perpetuating them.

"I just want everybody to know that I didn't intent to hurt anybody. But I have learned it is not my intent that matters, it is the result."

During Monday's Fashion Police on the E! channel, Rancic said that Zendaya's hair suggested the smell of patchouli oil or marijuana.

Her E! News remarks went beyond an apology tweet in which Rancic said her references had nothing to do with race.

Click here if you can't see Rancic's tweet.

Zendaya's father is African American.

In a long Twitter post, the 18-year-old Zendaya called Rancic's Fashion Police comment about her dreadlocks "outrageously offensive."

Click here if you can't see Zendaya's tweet.

With files fom CBC News

Comments on this story are moderated according to our Submission Guidelines. Comments are welcome while open. We reserve the right to close comments at any time.

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Patton Oswalt plays Rob Ford-inspired character on TV show

Written By Unknown on Selasa, 24 Februari 2015 | 22.19

The ignoble exploits of a certain former Toronto mayor often seemed like a made-up Hollywood story.

Now they appear to have inspired an episode of the new CBS/Global series Battle Creek, which features a Rob Ford-like character whose penchant for parties and drugs gets him into a mess of trouble.

Josh Duhamel (TransformersLas Vegas) and Dean Winters (30 RockOz) star as two mismatched law enforcement officers who butt heads over just about everything.

Comedian Patton Oswalt makes a guest appearance in episode six as a drug-addled mayor with an overbearing brother who micromanages his career.

Duhamel traces the dig to series co-creator David Shore, who is Canadian.

"Well, he's from Toronto, I think that it was sort of an homage to Rob Ford," Duhamel said Monday during a stop in Toronto to promote the series with Winters.

"Which I thought was great and I thought Patton Oswalt was fantastic. It's one of my favourite guest stars that we had."

Shore was born in London, Ont., and began his TV writing career on Canadian shows including Traders and Due South before becoming a TV sensation with his medical smash House.

For Battle Creek, he teams up with Breaking Bad creator Vince Gilligan to come up with an off-kilter comic-crime series that Winters said reinvents the standard network cop formula.

Kal Penn (House24) plays a fellow cop while Janet McTeer (Damages, Albert Nobbs) appears as their boss.

Winters said he hopes Ford, now a Toronto city councillor, will take the tribute episode in stride.

"The guy looks like he's got a sense of humour about life, hopefully he'll have a sense of humour about this," said Winters, whose character is a ragged local cop who prefers "old-fashioned police work" to the modern-day technical gizmos introduced by his new partner, a buttoned-down FBI agent.

"If he was smart he'd come do a cameo.... On behalf of David Shore I'm inviting Rob Ford to come be on Battle Creek.'

"Oh that would be a fun eight days," Duhamel chuckled.

Battle Creek debuts Sunday.


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American Horror Story actor Ben Woolf dies after accident

Ben Woolf, an actor on the TV series American Horror Story, has died, according to his representative.

The actor died Monday afternoon at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, publicist Zack Teperman said. Woolf's family was at his side.

The four-foot-four-inch tall actor was hospitalized in critical condition after he was hit by the side mirror of a passing vehicle on a Los Angeles area street last Thursday night.

The motorist stopped at the scene and was not cited or arrested.

Woolf was a cast member on the FX show in its first season, in 2011, when he played a character called the Infantata. In the latest installment, American Horror Story: Freak Show, he appeared as Meep.

"He was a tremendous professional and an incredibly kind person, beloved by the American Horror Story family," FX and the show's producers said in a statement.

Members of Woolf's family said in a statement that they were overwhelmed by the love and support they've received for him.

Teperman, his publicist, called Woolf "one-of-a-kind," a caring and hard-working man.


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Patricia Arquette devotes Oscar acceptance speech to equality for women

Call for fairness came during an Oscars criticized for featuring slate of mostly white nominees

CBC News Posted: Feb 22, 2015 10:48 PM ET Last Updated: Feb 23, 2015 5:49 AM ET

Patricia Arquette took home the Academy Award for her performance in Boyhood Sunday night and devoted her acceptance speech to winning equality for women. 

"To every woman who gave birth to every taxpayer and citizen of this nation, we have fought for everybody else's equal rights," Arquette said. "It's our time to have wage equality once and for all, and equal rights for women in the United States of America."

The internet, predictably, went wild — particularly about the passionate reactions from Meryl Streep and Jennifer Lopez.

Arquette's call for fairness came during an Oscars that has been widely criticized for featuring a slate of acting nominees composed entirely of white people. 

Host Neil Patrick Harris devoted his first joke of the night to the issue: "Tonight we honour Hollywood's best and whitest, I mean brightest." 

Comments on this story are moderated according to our Submission Guidelines. Comments are welcome while open. We reserve the right to close comments at any time.

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Note: The CBC does not necessarily endorse any of the views posted. By submitting your comments, you acknowledge that CBC has the right to reproduce, broadcast and publicize those comments or any part thereof in any manner whatsoever. Please note that comments are moderated and published according to our submission guidelines.

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Fox powerhouse Bill O'Reilly scrutinized over past claims of war-zone reporting

CBS News on Monday released video from four stories it aired about the Falklands War in 1982, all part of a dispute involving Fox News Channel host Bill O'Reilly and his subsequent statements about covering the war.

None of the stories mention O'Reilly, then a young CBS reporter, or makes any specific reference to a CBS crew member being hurt.

The release was prompted by a Mother Jones magazine article last week calling into question O'Reilly's claims that he reported in a "war zone" or "combat zone" during the brief conflict between Britain and Argentina. Few reporters made it to the front of the war, some 1,600 kilometres from the Argentine capital of Buenos Aires.

O'Reilly, the popular conservative host, has said that he covered an anti-government demonstration in Buenos Aires that turned violent and that a photographer he was working with was knocked to the ground and was bleeding. Describing the events two years ago, O'Reilly said he "dragged off" the photographer from danger.

Former CBS News correspondent Eric Engberg, who was also covering the event, characterized O'Reilly's account as "dishonest" and "completely nutty" during a Huffington Post interview on Monday. Engberg said none of the camera operators working the night in question remember any of their colleagues being injured. The camera person who was said to be hurt has not spoken publicly about the matter.

During one of the CBS reports, then-anchor Dan Rather said that several television crew members were knocked to the ground and that North American television crews were "jostled."

An Engberg report, also released by CBS on Monday, said police fired guns with tear gas and plastic bullets. He said in the report it was not known how many people were hurt, but at least some were seriously injured.

An Associated Press account of the demonstration said that police officers charged a group of about 50 journalists, beating some and trampling others.

"Two news photographers were reported injured by rubber bullets fired by police," said the June 16, 1982, account by AP writer Douglas Grant Mine.

The release of the videos, while providing more details about the situation O'Reilly faced 33 years ago, did not resolve the issue of whether his retellings of the experience have been completely factual.

In addition to his work at Fox, O'Reilly has become a force in the publishing industry with a series of books on the deaths of historical figures like Abraham Lincoln and Jesus Christ.

O'Reilly, on his program Monday night, showed portions of the CBS video and said it proved the event was no "walk in the park." He interviewed Don Browne, a former NBC News Miami bureau chief who supervised the network's Falklands coverage. Browne also described the situation. No mention was made in O'Reilly's report Monday about any CBS News personnel being hurt.

The Mother Jones piece was printed shortly after NBC News anchor Brian Williams was suspended for misrepresenting his experiences in the Iraq War. O'Reilly, long the most popular prime-time figure in cable TV news, has called the piece a political hit job.

"I want to stop this now," O'Reilly said. "I hope we can stop it, I really do."

Fox News CEO Roger Ailes has said he fully supports O'Reilly.


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Oscars 2015: Full list of winners

Written By Unknown on Senin, 23 Februari 2015 | 22.19

Here's a list of winners at Sunday's 87th annual Academy Awards presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Best picture: Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance).

Actor: Eddie Redmayne, The Theory of Everything.

Actress: Julianne Moore, Still Alice.

87th Academy Awards - Show

Julianne Moore accepts the award for best actress in a leading role for Still Alice at the Oscars on Sunday at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. (John Shearer/Invision/AP)

Supporting actor: J.K. Simmons, Whiplash.

Supporting actress: Patricia Arquette, Boyhood.

Directing: Alejandro G. Inarritu, Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance).

Foreign language film: Ida.

Adapted screenplay: Graham Moore, The Imitation Game.

Original screenplay: Alejandro G. Inarritu, Nicolas Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris Jr. and Armando Bo, Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance).

Animated feature film: Big Hero 6.

Production design: The Grand Budapest Hotel.

Cinematography: Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance).

Sound mixing: Whiplash.

Sound editing: American Sniper.

Original score: The Grand Budapest Hotel.

Original song: "Glory" from Selma.

Costume design: The Grand Budapest Hotel.

Documentary feature: CitizenFour.

Documentary (short subject): Crisis Hotline: Veterans Press 1.

Film editing: Whiplash.

Makeup and hairstyling: The Grand Budapest Hotel.

Animated short film: Feast.

Live action short film: The Phone Call.

Visual effects: Interstellar.


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Oscars 2015: Birdman wins best picture, Inarritu best director

Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) soared to the top of the pack Sunday night at the 87th Annual Academy Awards at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Calif. 

The bombastic comedy, which went into the broadcast with nine nominations, took home four awards including best picture and best director for Mexican filmmaker Alejandro G. Inarritu​. It also won accolades for cinematography and original screenplay. 

"Maybe next year the government will inflict immigration restrictions," said Innaritu, recalling last year's best director winner, Alfonso Cuaron. "Two Mexicans in a row. That's suspicious, I guess."

The satire stars Michael Keaton as a fading actor, whose shining days as a superhero are long past. The all-star cast also includes Zach Galifianakis, Edward Norton, Andrea Riseborough, Amy Ryan, Emma Stone and Naomi Watts.

Wes Anderson's comic confection The Grand Budapest Hotel, which tied with Birdman for nominations going into Sunday's gala, came out tied in the awards tally. The European caper — released back around last year's Academy Awards — also took home four Oscars including costume design, and makeup and styling and production design.​

A 'lucky, lucky man'

One of the night's most animated acceptance speeches came from Eddie Redmayne, who appeared genuinely flabbergasted by his win for best actor.

AWARDS-OSCARS/

Actor Eddie Redmayne reacts after winning the Oscar for best actor for his role in The Theory of Everything. (Mike Blake/Reuters)

The British actor took the honour for his touching and transformational performance of astrophysicist Stephen Hawking in the romantic biopic The Theory of Everything.

"I am fully aware that I am a lucky, lucky man," gushed the 33-year-old, clutching his Oscar.

"This belongs to all of the people around the world battling ALS and it belongs to one exceptional family," said Redmayne who dedicated the award to Stephen Hawking and his first wife Jane.

Julianne Moore also took top honours for her portrayal of a brilliant mind beset with a difficult medical diagnosis.

87th Academy Awards - Show

Julianne Moore accepts the award for best actress in a leading role for Still Alice. (John Shearer/Invision/AP)

The veteran Hollywood actress won best actress for her portrait of a successful Columbia University linguistics professor, mother and wife, who is diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer's disease.

"I'm so happy, I'm thrilled that we were able to shine a light on Alzheimer's disease," Moore said. "So many people who have this disease feel marginalized. People who have Alzheimer's disease deserve to be seen so we can find a cure."​

It was the 54-year-old's first Oscar in five acting nominations. She beat out Marion Cotillard, Felicity Jones, Rosamund Pike and Reese Witherspoon.

Tongue-in-cheek start

Oscar host Neil Patrick Harris kicked off the annual Tinseltown love-in with a tongue-in-cheek Broadway-style number that poked fun at the show's lack of diversity.

"Tonight we honour Hollywood's best and whitest, I mean brightest," quipped Harris, who then broke into a chipper tune with Into The Woods star Anna Kendrick.

But comedic actor and satirical singer Jack Black interrupted the song with a dark verse on Hollywood's ills.

"This industry's in flux, it's run by mucky mucks, pitching tents for tent poles and chasing Chinese bucks," sang Black, who also lamented the industry's addiction to sequels and superheroes.

'Call your mom'

534122237MW00027_87th_Annua

Actor J.K. Simmons urged the audience to call their parents, not text or email, while accepting his Oscar for best supporting actor for Whiplash. (Kevin Winter/Getty Images)

J.K. Simmons took the first Oscar of the evening, and of his career, for his portrayal of a sadistic music teacher in the drumming drama Whiplash.

"Wow, thank you to everyone," gushed the 60-year-old veteran character actor, who thanked his wife and "above average" children for their support, and had a piece of advice for the audience.

"If I may, call your mom," said Simmons. "Call your dad. And tell them how much you love them. Don't text or email. Call them."

Simmons, who accepted the award from Oscar-winning actress Lupita Nyong'o, prevailed over Robert Duvall, Ethan Hawke, Edward Norton and Mark Ruffalo in the category.

Patricia Arquette also picked up the first Academy Award of her lengthy career for supporting actress in Richard Linklater's experimental coming-of-age story Boyhood. Arquette, who plays the mother of Ellar Coltrane's Mason in the sweeping family drama, used her speech to to call for an end to the wage gap for women.

"To every woman who gave birth to every taxpayer and citizen in this nation: We have fought for everybody else's equal rights. It's our time to have wage equality in the U.S.," proclaimed the 46-year-old actress, eliciting a burst of rapturous applause from the crowd.

Arquette, who also won the Golden Globe in the same category, beat out Laura Dern, Keira Knightley, Emma Stone and Meryl Streep, who has been nominated for an Academy Award a record 19 times.

Other winners include:

  • Foreign language film: Ida.
  • Sound editing: American Sniper.
  • Documentary (short subject): Crisis Hotline: Veterans Press 1.
  • Live action short film: The Phone Call.
  • Visual effects: Interstellar.
  • Cinematography: Emmanuel Lubezki​ for Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance).
  • Film editing: Tom Cross​ for Whiplash.​
  • Documentary feature: CitizenFour.
  • Original song: Glory from Selma.
  • Original score: Alexandre Desplat for The Grand Budapest Hotel.
  • Original screenplay: Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) - Written by Alejandro G. InarrituNicolás Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris, Jr. & Armando Bo.
  • Adapted screenplay: Graham Moore for The Imitation Game.

Canadian contingent 

87th Academy Awards - Show

Roy Conli, from left, Don Hall, and Chris Williams accept the award for best animated feature film for Big Hero 6. (John Shearer/Invision/The Associated Press)

Canadian director Chris Williams won the Oscar for best animated feature for Big Hero 6.

The Kitchener, Ont.-bred animator collected the trophy along with co-director Don Hall and producer Roy Conli.

It was the second Oscar nomination for Williams, who also earned a nod for his directorial debut on the 2008 film Bolt.

Williams faced competition from two other Canucks: Dean DeBlois, the director of the boy-and-his-dragon sequel How to Train Your Dragon 2, and Graham Annable, co-director of the intricate stop motion film The Boxtrolls.

All three studied at Sheridan College in Oakville, Ont., but did not cross paths until later in their careers.

Williams says he met DeBlois roughly 20 years ago when both worked at Disney, and they became fast friends.

Canadian sound mixer Craig Mann won for his work on Whiplash. The 38-year-old claimed the sound mixing Academy Award along with co-nominees Ben Wilkins and Thomas Curley.  Mann was born in Oakville, Ont., and raised in the Toronto-area cities of Pickering and Burlington. 

Canadian hopes were dashed in the animated short film category, with Torill Kove's Me and My Moulton losing out to Feast by Americans Patrick Osborne and Kristina Reed.

'Awesome' performances

AWARDS-OSCARS/

Tegan and Sara perform The Lego Movie's theme Everything is Awesome surrounded by a sea of dancers. (Mike Blake/Reuters)

Calgary's Tegan and Sara added a delicious dose of pop music early in the show, performing their Oscar-nominated earworm Everything is Awesome from The Lego Movie accompanied by Andy Samberg's comedy-music group The Lonely Island.  

While the Academy overlooked the movie itself, the crowd seemed to enjoy the colourful and crazy set, which included an army of dancers handing out Lego Oscar statuettes to stars in their seats, including Oprah Winfrey, Channing Tatum and Steve Carell.

Bonus points went to Will Arnett who performed Batman's parts in the costume Val Kilmer wore in Batman Forever.

The show took a sober tone when country superstar Tim McGraw paid tribute to ailing Oscar-nominee Glen Campbell, by performing his nominated song, I'm Not Gonna Miss You. Campbell, who is 78, was diagnosed with Alzheimer's in 2011. His family selected McGraw to fill in for him because he wasn't well enough to travel to the awards show. 

Pop-art princess, Lady Gaga, won heart-felt accolades from Julie Andrews after the Bad Romance singer paid tribute to the 50th anniversary of The Sound of Music with a medley of songs from the movie-musical.

A little Glory for Selma

Tears streamed down the face of actor David Oyelowo, who played the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. in Selma and was famously left out of the best actor nominees, during the rousing performance of the song Glory from the film.

Immediately afterward, Common and Legend accepted the best song Oscar with a speech that drew a standing ovation.

"We say that Selma is now because the struggle for justice is right now," said Legend. He noted that the Voting Rights Act, whose passage is chronicled in Selma, has been drastically scaled down in recent years.

Started with a squishy red carpet 

​Things got off to a soggy start Sunday afternoon with a sudden downpour sending teams of bucket and broomstick-carrying crew members rushing out to save the red carpet. A lingering drizzle continued to threaten the well-heeled crowds as the stars arrived for the throngs of international reporters.

"This is entirely my fault. … Sorry," Redmayne joked of bringing the rainy weather from his native England.

Clear plastic tents shielded fans and the carpet itself from alternating moments of stormy weather and bright sun.

Pink towels were handed out to wet arrivals.

A family affair

Hollywood veteran Melanie Griffith walked the red carpet with her daughter, Fifty Shades of Grey star Dokota Johnson.

534117945AB00165_87th_Annua

Melanie Griffith, left, served as a date for her daughter Dakota Johnson as they arrived at the 87th Annual Academy Awards. (Jason Merritt/Getty Images)

Griffith, who shot to fame in the 1980s with sexy roles in such films as Working Girl and Body Double, admitted she's not ready to see her 25-year-old daughter's racy new movie.

"She's such a good actress, I don't need to see it," Griffith said, as Johnson appeared annoyed with her mother's modesty.

As the curtain closed on the awards show for another year, so began another night-into-morning of celebrating for the big winners.

Recap the evening as it went down on our live blog, and don't forget to join CBC News when we unpack, rehash and review everything that happened at the 2015 Academy Awards during our morning-after live chat with Eli Glasner on Monday at noon ET.

On mobile? Follow the live blog here.


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LIVE VIDEO CHAT: The 2015 Academy Awards recap with Eli Glasner, Monday at 12 p.m. ET

Oscars morning-after Live Chat 2015

Share your thoughts on this year's best picture winner in our 2015 Oscars morning-after chat with CBC arts reporter Eli Glasner. (Matt Sayles/Invision/AP)

Are you the type of film lover who enjoys morning-after discussions about the Oscars as much as (or even more so than) watching the broadcast live?

We want to hear from you during our 2015 Academy Awards post-show LIVE VIDEO CHAT with CBC arts reporter and film critic Eli Glasner.

Weigh in with your thoughts on every shocker, snub and star-studded selfie in the chat window below, or join us via webcam when the chat is live at 12 p.m. ET on Monday, Feb. 23.

You can also share your opinions and questions for Eli using the hashtag #CBCOscars on Twitter.

RSVP for the live chat here to get an email reminder.


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Patricia Arquette devotes Oscar acceptance speech to equality for women

Patricia Arquette took home the Academy Award for her performance in Boyhood Sunday night and devoted her acceptance speech to winning equality for women. 

"To every woman who gave birth to every taxpayer and citizen of this nation, we have fought for everybody else's equal rights," Arquette said. "It's our time to have wage equality once and for all, and equal rights for women in the United States of America."

The internet, predictably, went wild — particularly about the passionate reactions from Meryl Streep and Jennifer Lopez.

Last year it was the selfie. This year, it's this RT @RosieGray: —> RT @SpencerAlthouse: Meryl Streep approves. https://t.co/hvBI8AWVDY

— @dailyexception

no, thank you Meryl Streep "@StevieNYC: Thank you, internet. pic.twitter.com/KEtOJIvGKN"

— @shep689

Also, Meryl Streep's fist pumping in reaction to Patricia Arquette's speech? #perfect #Oscars2015

— @ToulasTake

And so Meryl Streep sits and listens, probably unaware that she is now a permanent worldwide GIF.

— @TheoTypes

Jennifer Lopez and Meryl Streep whooping together in support of Patricia Arquette's feminist speech will play forever on a loop in my heart

— @melanielynskey

Arquette's call for fairness came during an Oscars that has been widely criticized for featuring a slate of acting nominees composed entirely of white people. 

Host Neil Patrick Harris devoted his first joke of the night to the issue: "Tonight we honour Hollywood's best and whitest, I mean brightest." 


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Hozier talks about fame and the politics behind hit single Take Me to Church

Written By Unknown on Minggu, 22 Februari 2015 | 22.19

You might not know how to pronounce his name, but chances are you've heard his hit song, Take Me to Church. 

Known simply as Hozier (pronounced HO-zee-er), Irish singer Andrew Hozier-Byrne is taking in all of his new-found success from his hit song.

"It wasn't an overnight hit, and I supposed that's why it's still hanging in there." 

His song Take Me to Church was nominated for song of the year at this year's Grammy Awards, losing to Sam Smith's Stay With Me. But it was his duet at the award show with legendary Eurythmics singer Annie Lennox that proved to be one of the best performances of the night.

The 24-year-old singer credits the internet and streaming services like Spotify for playing a major role in the global success of the song. 

"A lot of it has to do with the video being shared online, and I think the immediacy of the internet and how fast information can get around the world. We were finding early on people were listening to the music in different parts of the world much quicker than they would have."

Take Me to Church is not only catchy, but also tackles big issues like LGBT rights and homophobia.

"The song references the Catholic Church, but I suppose at the core it's an ideology that would undermine a very natural wonderful part of being a person. That's where the video and the song meet."

The video, shot entirely in black and white, shows a gay couple being persecuted by a gang. Hozier says the video's concept was particularly inspired by the struggle for LGBT rights in Russia and attacks by far-right and neo-Nazi groups.

"I am a politically motivated person, and that will come through in the music. I'm not sure if every song will be Take Me to Church, but I can only hope that people enjoy the body of work that I have ahead of me."

Tune into CBC's The National on Sunday night at 9 p.m. (9:30 NT) to see the full interview with Ian Hanomansing.


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Oscars 2015: #AskHerMore campaign may inspire a red carpet rebellion

The Academy Awards are as much about the parade of well-heeled Hollywood celebrities as they are about the movies they star in. But conditions are ripe for a red carpet rebellion at this Sunday's awards gala amid a growing backlash against some of the worst excesses of celebrity journalism.

Tired of being asked only, "Who are you wearing?" and fielding requests to stick their hand into so-called mani cams, an increasing number of A-list celebrities have been reacting to the superficiality of the awards season spectacle. 

Jennifer Lawrence

Actress Jennifer Lawrence arrives on the red carpet for the 2013 Oscars. All eyes will be on this Sunday's Academy Awards red carpet to see whether celebrity journalists participate in the #AskHerMore campaign. (Christopher Polk/Getty Images)

At this year's Screen Actors Guild Awards, Julianne Moore and Jennifer Aniston refused to let their fingers do the walking in the E! network's mani cam, a tiny box-like version of the red carpet complete with a camera, designed to focus on the fingernails and jewelry of the female stars.

Discomfort has been building for a while. Mad Men actress Elizabeth Moss gave the mani cam the finger, live on air, at the 2014 Golden Globes.

Last year, Cate Blanchett called a cameraman to task for panning the full length of her body, crouching down and staring into the lens as she demanded to know "Do you do that to the guys?"  

It is this perceived double standard that sparked the #AskHerMore social media campaign.

#AskHerMore campaign demands better interview questions

This Sunday, all eyes will be on the various Oscar red carpet pre-shows to see how things play out.

Started by the Representation Project, but taken up by Amy Poehler's Smart Girls, a female empowerment organization, #AskHerMore solicits questions via twitter that will take actresses as seriously as their male counterparts.

Alee-a Blanco

Alee-a Blanco, social media director for Amy Poehler's Smart Girls, hopes the #AskHerMore campaign will lead to more insightful questions posed to actresses on this year's pre-Oscars red carpet. (Kim Brunhuber/CBC News)

The campaign's social media director, Alee-a Blanco, acknowledges the public is still curious to know about the high powered designers behind celebrity fashion, but wants questions to probe a little deeper. 

"There's nothing wrong with asking 'Who are you wearing?'" she told CBC outside the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood where the Oscars will take place on Sunday. "But it becomes a problem when it's the only question they are being asked time and time again."

"We want to know about the ladies in the dress," Blanco added. "We want to know about their passions!"

Gaëlle Morel is the curator of a new photo exhibition at the Ryerson Image Centre called Burn with Desire: Photography and Glamour.

She says the representation of actresses on the red carpet hasn't altered much over the decades. 

"It's very difficult for a woman, probably, not to play that game," she told CBC. "But at the same time you're being objectified and you know it. And of course men and women are being treated differently."

While suggested questions pour in for the #AskHerMore campaign, change may not come so fast. Ratings for the various red carpet shows have increased for the past few years so we may not have seen the end of the mani cam quite yet.


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Oscars 2015: How to watch tonight's big show

The 2015 Oscars, the biggest, glitziest and most-coveted movie industry awards are being handed out tonight in Hollywood. Here's what you need to know to take in the star-packed show.

What: 

The 87th Annual Academy Awards. Our CBC arts team is on the ground in Hollywood and will be live blogging from the parties, the red carpets and behind the scenes at the yearly Tinsel Town love-in.

Where:

The Dolby Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center in Hollywood, Calif.  

When:

The red carpet pre-show starts at 7 p.m. ET with the awards ceremony beginning at 8:30 p.m. ET. The brodcast, which has run more than 4 hours long in years past, will be televised live on ABC and simulcast on CTV in Canada.

The host:

Neil Patrick Harris, star of the hit TV show How I Met Your Mother, is going for an awards-show trifecta, hosting the 2015 Oscars after four hosting stints at Broadway's Tony Awards and two at TV's Primetime Emmy Awards. 

Audience members can bet their coat check chits that they'll be in for some big Tony-style musical numbers and NPH's signature snappy sense of humour.

The big race:

Birdman vs. Boyhood

This composite shows Michael Keaton as washed up actor Riggan Thomson in Birdman and Ellar Coltrane as Mason Evans Jr. in Boyhood. (Fox Searchlight/IFC Films)

The biggest race of the evening, and possibly the hardest to predict, is in the best picture category. For months, critics and fans have agonized over the seemingly neck-and-neck race between Birdman and Boyhood.

The former is a bombastic satire about a washed up Hollywood actor by Mexican director Alejandro González Iñárritu. The later is an emotional and sentimental portrait of an American family as told by indie director Richard Linklater.

Critical acclaim and awards season success for both Birdman and Boyhood make the winner even harder to predict. Dare we mention the other deserving nominees also running in the best picture category.

  • Whiplash.
  • The Theory of Everything.
  • The Imitation Game.
  • American Sniper.
  • Selma.

Bookmakers and film critics will have up until the last minute to make up their minds. The Oscar for best picture are the very last golden statuettes to be handed out at the yearly gala. A full list of the nominees can be found here.

CBC's arts reporter and resident film critic, Eli Glasner, makes his predictions here.

The Canadian contenders

Dean DeBlois accepts Golden Globes Award

How to Train Your Dragon 2 producer Bonnie Arnold and director Dean DeBlois accepting the award for Best Animated Feature Film at the 72nd Annual Golden Globes Awards. (NBC)

Canadians are up for a number of golden statuettes, three in the animated film categories alone.

How To Train Your Dragon 2 director Dean DeBlois,who took a Golden Globe for best animated feature, is up for an Academy Award in the same category. He's from Aylmer, Que. Longtime Waterloo, Ont.-resident, Chris Williams, co-directed Big Hero 6, which also has a nod for best animated feature.

Graham Annable of Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., is also nominated for a best animated feature Oscar as a co-director for The Boxtrolls.

The Lego Movie

The Lego Movie's anthem Everything is Awesome was nominated for best original song. (Warner Bros./AP Photo)

And Norway-born, Montreal-raised Torill Kove is up for a prize in the best animated short film category for Me and My Moulton.

The Lego Movie's ubiquitous anthem Everything is Awesome, which was co-written by Canadian songwriter Joshua Bartholomew, is up for best original song.

Oakville, Ont.-born sound mixer Craig Mann is nominated, along with two colleagues, for his work in drumming movie Whiplash in the best sound mixing category.

Watch for full coverage, including photo galleries and all the winners, here on CBC.ca/arts.

CBC's film critic Eli Glasner will be live chatting with the CBC Community Team in the aftermath of the awards on Monday starting at 12 p.m. ET.


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Trumpet maestro Clark Terry dies at 94

Clark Terry, a Grammy award-winning trumpet player and composer who recorded with greats such as Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald and Quincy Jones, has died aged 94, his wife said on Sunday.

Terry, who had gone into hospice care after suffering from diabetes, "has joined the big band in heaven where he'll be singing and playing with the angels", Gwen Terry said on the musician's Facebook page.

"He left us peacefully, surrounded by his family, students and friends."

Born in St. Louis, Missouri, Terry won fame after serving several years in the navy, playing with Count Basie and Duke Ellington from the late 1940s through the 1950s, before joining The Tonight Show band, where he played under its famed bandleader Doc Severinsen.

According to his website, Terry is one of the most recorded musicians in the history of jazz, with more than 900 recordings with names such as Oscar Peterson, Dizzy Gillespie, Dinah Washington, Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles, Billy Strayhorn and Thelonious Monk.

Terry also headed up his own bands, including Clark Terry's Big Bad Band and Clark Terry's Young Titans of Jazz.

In 2010 Terry was presented a Lifetime Achievement Grammy award. He was also nominated for Grammys, the music industry's top honor, three times.

Among many other honors, the French and Austrian governments presented Terry their Arts and Letters Awards, and he was knighted in Germany.

In his later years, Terry directed his attention toward music education.

Terry published his autobiography, "Clark: The Autobiography of Clark Terry", in 2011.


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Oscars 2015: #AskHerMore campaign may inspire a red carpet rebellion

Written By Unknown on Sabtu, 21 Februari 2015 | 22.19

The Academy Awards are as much about the parade of well-heeled Hollywood celebrities as they are about the movies they star in. But conditions are ripe for a red carpet rebellion at this Sunday's awards gala amid a growing backlash against some of the worst excesses of celebrity journalism.

Tired of being asked only, "Who are you wearing?" and fielding requests to stick their hand into so-called mani cams, an increasing number of A-list celebrities have been reacting to the superficiality of the awards season spectacle. 

Jennifer Lawrence

Actress Jennifer Lawrence arrives on the red carpet for the 2013 Oscars. All eyes will be on this Sunday's Academy Awards red carpet to see whether celebrity journalists participate in the #AskHerMore campaign. (Christopher Polk/Getty Images)

At this year's Screen Actors Guild Awards, Julianne Moore and Jennifer Aniston refused to let their fingers do the walking in the E! network's mani cam, a tiny box-like version of the red carpet complete with a camera, designed to focus on the fingernails and jewelry of the female stars.

Discomfort has been building for a while. Mad Men actress Elizabeth Moss gave the mani cam the finger, live on air, at the 2014 Golden Globes.

Last year, Cate Blanchett called a cameraman to task for panning the full length of her body, crouching down and staring into the lens as she demanded to know "Do you do that to the guys?"  

It is this perceived double standard that sparked the #AskHerMore social media campaign.

#AskHerMore campaign demands better interview questions

This Sunday, all eyes will be on the various Oscar red carpet pre-shows to see how things play out.

Started by the Representation Project, but taken up by Amy Poehler's Smart Girls, a female empowerment organization, #AskHerMore solicits questions via twitter that will take actresses as seriously as their male counterparts.

Alee-a Blanco

Alee-a Blanco, social media director for Amy Poehler's Smart Girls, hopes the #AskHerMore campaign will lead to more insightful questions posed to actresses on this year's pre-Oscars red carpet. (Kim Brunhuber/CBC News)

The campaign's social media director, Alee-a Blanco, acknowledges the public is still curious to know about the high powered designers behind celebrity fashion, but wants questions to probe a little deeper. 

"There's nothing wrong with asking 'Who are you wearing?'" she told CBC outside the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood where the Oscars will take place on Sunday. "But it becomes a problem when it's the only question they are being asked time and time again."

"We want to know about the ladies in the dress," Blanco added. "We want to know about their passions!"

Gaëlle Morel is the curator of a new photo exhibition at the Ryerson Image Centre called Burn with Desire: Photography and Glamour.

She says the representation of actresses on the red carpet hasn't altered much over the decades. 

"It's very difficult for a woman, probably, not to play that game," she told CBC. "But at the same time you're being objectified and you know it. And of course men and women are being treated differently."

While suggested questions pour in for the #AskHerMore campaign, change may not come so fast. Ratings for the various red carpet shows have increased for the past few years so we may not have seen the end of the mani cam quite yet.


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Oscars 2015: Behind the scenes at Elton John's star-studded party

Oscar night is full of star-studded parties, but there's one that draws all the big names — and for a good cause. 

For the past 23 years, the Elton John AIDS foundation Oscar-viewing party has been a mainstay side event of the Academy Awards.

John, and his Canadian husband David Furnish, will play host to some of the world's biggest stars in music, art, film and fashion on Sunday night.

"It's a whole cross-section of everybody from Hollywood," Furnish told CBC's Kim Brunhuber at the Four Seasons Hotel Los Angeles in Beverly Hills.

David Furnish

David Furnish, the Canadian spouse of international singing sensation Elton John, poses for a portrait at the Four Seasons Hotel Los Angeles at Beverly Hills on Feb. 19, 2015. (Kim Brunhuber/CBC News)

This year's guest list, includes Mike Myers, Eric McCormack, Heidi Klum, Steven Tyler and Miley Cyrus, to name a few.

Furnish says even after so many years, he still gets a bit nervous in the days leading up to the big event. "It's always a bit nerve-racking ... but we always manage to get it ready."

This year, the venue is decked out in purple and white decor accented with mirrors. The unique look is inspired by the glamorous excess of the disco era. Nile Rodgers, from classic disco band CHIC (Le Freak, Dance, Dance, Dance) will keep things bumping on the dance floor.

British celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay designed the menu for the evening.

The high-profile event has raised more than $45 million dollars (US) for the AIDS foundation in the past two decades.

David Furnish gives Kim Brunhuber a walk-through of party preparations in the video above.

The 87th Academy Awards will be given out at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Calif. on Sunday, beginning at 8:30 p.m. ET with the red carpet starting at 7 p.m. ET on ABC and CTV in Canada.

CBC arts team is on the ground in Hollywood and will be live blogging from the parties, the red carpet and behind the scenes all weekend.

Watch for full coverage, including photo galleries and all the winners, here on CBCNews.ca/arts.

CBC's film critic Eli Glasner will be live chatting with the CBC Community Team in the aftermath of the awards Monday starting at 12 p.m. ET.


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