Tag: Oscar awards

  • FACT CHECK: Disney offers Johnny Depp a staggering PKR 6100 crore for ‘POTC’ sequel?

    FACT CHECK: Disney offers Johnny Depp a staggering PKR 6100 crore for ‘POTC’ sequel?

    Hollywood veteran Johnny Depp has received an apology letter from Disney, requesting him to return to the Pirates Of The Caribbean.

    Owing to the accusations made by actress Amber Heard, Johnny was ousted from Fantastic Beasts 3 and Pirates Of The Caribbean.

    As per an Australian pop culture site Poptopic.com, Disney has now finally apologized to Depp. They reportedly made a heartening gesture and even offered him a whopping $301 million to return as the iconic Jack Sparrow in the next installment of POTC.

    A source close to the publication revealed, “I know corporate sent him a gift basket with a very heartfelt letter, but I’m unsure how it was received. But what I can tell you is that the studio has already penned up a draft for a film about Jack Sparrow, so they are very hopeful that Johnny will forgive them and return as his iconic character.”

    However, there remains no confirmation of the same. In fact, the article has raised doubts as the amount offered by Disney seems to be really close to what Johnny mentioned in the defamation trial.

    If one recalls, Depp had said that he would not return to Pirates Of The Caribbean now even if he was paid a sum of something as huge as $301 million. Furthermore, producers have previously clarified that they have no plans to bring back the veteran actor so far. So this is nothing but just another rumour.

    Depp’s current net worth is over USD 150 million, as he has made some staggering real estate investments which include luxury islands, French villages, and English country homes among others.

    Johnny’s lifestyle is like his persona, larger than life and unbelievably exorbitant.

    Wild history of Johnny Depp's West Hollywood castle

    He has recently spent more than USD 75 million on real estate.

    Here are a few things that constitute Depp’s monthly bills, according to the lawsuit:

    • $30,000 on wine
    • $300,000 on staff, including 40 full-time employees
    • $150,000 on security for himself and his family
    • $200,000 for a private jet

    The Gilbert Grape actor loves to live like a true superstar.

    According to TMG, Depp spent more than $75 million to buy and furnish 14 residences, including an entire village in France. Depp is now trying to unload the town, which features a church, a restaurant and several houses, for $63 million.

    In a January 2017 filing, Depp mismanaged his finances, costing him millions. TMG counterclaimed that Depp dug himself into a financial hole.

  • Donald Trump bashes Oscars for being ‘boring and politically correct’

    Donald Trump bashes Oscars for being ‘boring and politically correct’

    Former president of the United States, Donald Trump has bashed the Oscars, calling the ceremony boring and offered advice on how to revive the plummeting ratings.

    In a statement emailed to reporters from his office, Trump said: “What used to be called The Academy Awards, and now is called the ‘Oscars’ —a far less important and elegant name—had the lowest Television Ratings in recorded history, even much lower than last year, which set another record low.”

    “If they keep with the current ridiculous formula, it will only get worse—if that’s possible,” added the former president.

    “Go back 15 years, look at the formula they then used, change the name back to THE ACADEMY AWARDS, don’t be so politically correct and boring, and do it right. ALSO, BRING BACK A GREAT HOST,” continued Trump.

    Remarking that the broadcast has become too political, Trump said: “These television people spend all their time thinking about how to promote the Democrat Party, which is destroying our country, and cancel Conservatives and Republicans. That formula certainly hasn’t worked very well for The Academy!”

    Last year, when Trump was still president, he had live-tweeted his criticism on the Oscars and bashed voters for giving the best picture to Parasite. At a rally, Trump while talking about the South Korean film had said: “What the hell was that all about? We’ve got enough problems with South Korea with trade. On top of that, they give them best movie of the year. Was it good? I don’t know.”

    Meanwhile, this year’s ceremony drew only 10.4 million viewers, a record low, according to final Nielsen numbers released on Tuesday — a staggering if widely expected drop for a ceremony that many viewers found short on humour and star power.

    With movie theaters shut for most of the year, many viewers had not seen or even heard of nominees such as Chloe Zhao’s Nomadland, which was the night’s big winner with three prizes but which has taken just over $2 million at the domestic box office.

    Several blockbuster films whose stars could have drawn interest at this year’s Oscars saw their release dates shunted to next year due to the pandemic, from Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story and the mega-budget sci-fi Dune to an array of popular superhero titles.

    This year’s unorthodox Oscars ceremony was moved from a Hollywood theater to a glammed-up Los Angeles train station to abide by strict Covid-19 protocols and reunited Hollywood filmmakers and actors en masse for the first time in more than a year.

    Reviews of the show were mixed, with several critics complaining about the show’s lack of humor and musical performances.

    While many Oscars begin with gag-heavy monologues, producers turned this year to Regina King, who was one of many stars who referred to racism and police violence — specifically last week’s conviction of Minneapolis cop Derek Chauvin for the murder of George Floyd. Other political statements made during the Oscars did not focus on Trump, but on topics like gun violence and policing.

    “I know that a lot of you people at home want to reach for your remote when you feel like Hollywood is preaching to you,” she predicted.

    Regina King

    Variety slammed the decision to go without a host for a third straight year, calling the ceremony “lost and guide-less.”

    But the decision to strip out musical performances and most clips of nominated movies — and allow winners to speak at length without being “played off” the stage by an orchestra — drew some praise.

    The Oscars drew more than 43 million viewers as recently as 2014, but audiences have become increasingly fragmented in the streaming era.

  • Mehwish, Adnan, Sanam congratulate Riz Ahmed on his Oscar nomination

    Riz Ahmed, who played the role of a drummer who begins to lose his hearing in Amazon Studio’s Sound of Metal charted history by becoming the first Muslim to be nominated in the leading actor category at the Academy Awards.

    Read more – Obamas to adapt Mohsin Hamid’s ‘Exit West’ for Netflix with Riz Ahmed in the lead

    The actor, while responding to the nomination said that he was “honoured to be nominated by my fellow actors alongside such inspiring performances”.

    “I am grateful to the Academy for their support and encouragement,” the actor added.

    Mehwish Hayat, Adnan Siddiqui and Sanam Saeed celebrated Riz’s big achievement and congratulated the actor on social media.

    “Congratulations Riz. You have created history with your nomination as the first Muslim for lead actor at the distinguished Academy Awards,” said Siddiqui. “Hard work and talent always get recognised.”

    “Pakistan is proud of you,” added the actor.

    Mehwish Hayat also expressed her delight over the nomination, saying: “In a world where we’re fighting for fairer representation in mainstream media, a Muslim nominated for Best Actor for the first time since 1929 is one hell of a big deal.”

    Sanam Saeed also congratulated her ‘dosst‘, saying: “Proud moment, you totally deserve it.”

    “Go on then keeping making waves and bringing about change,” she added.

    The 2021 Oscar nominations were announced from London by presenters Nick Jonas and Priyanka Chopra Jonas. The Academy Awards would typically have happened by now but this year will be telecast on April 25. The film academy said Monday that the show will be held at both its usual home, the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, and the city’s railway hub, Union Station.