Here are some photos from last night’s Cannes Film Festival premiere of Blood Ties, Guillaume Canet’s new English-only (?) film. The film stars Mila Kunis, Clive Owen, Marion Cotillard, Zoe Saldana and many more. Unfortunately, Mila Kunis did not come to Cannes, and I have NO idea why. I just saw some photos of Mila and Ashton in London, so it’s not like it would have been crazy travel time. Anyway, let’s start with Zoe Saldana in this Valentino gown. I feel like… this could have been more striking if only the designer had made some more interesting edits. I’m not flat-out opposed to the grey-blue fabric, I just think it would have looked prettier… maybe as a strapless ball gown? Those white straps make it seem like Zoe was wearing a shell underneath her gown.

Here’s Marion Cotillard in Dior. It’s just… ugh. Marion loves a mullet dress. She loves to wear ugly, unconventional pieces and style them in unusual ways. Is this the worst thing ever? No. It’s not. But it’s also disappointing because she’s so beautiful and I would love to see her dress impeccably. This dress looks sloppy (but the styling is fab).

Milla Jovovich (she’s not in the film) was there. She wore Chanel. Again, not the best but not the worst.

Aishwarya Rai in an intricate gown by Abu Jani and Sandeep Khosla. The beading and button-front feel very Indian to me, and it’s very beautiful. I would have styled it with her hair back, though. With the hair down, everything just seems so heavy.

Bonus Clive Owen! Mm.

Photos courtesy of WENN.

I was wondering if anyone besides Kristen Stewart would wear Stella McCartney, and here we go. I should have figured that Cameron Diaz would go with Stella – that whole group of girls (Camy, Goop, Kate Hudson) are all tight with Stella. So what did Stella make Cameron wear? A giant, figure-covering blue… thing. I don’t even want to call this a dress. It’s awful. Like the pope’s vestments with a built-in cape…? She looks like Monk Smurf. And that spiked belt? That’s Cameron’s version of a chastity belt. You can’t hug her. At all. I wonder if she poked anyone last night? I wonder if she drew blood?

Diane Kruger wore Chanel. Not punk. But not bad. I mean, she’s beautiful and she makes everything look good. She and Joshua seemed subdued on the carpet though, and there are hardly any photos of them.

Kate Bosworth in Balmain. This makes me sad. It’s like she didn’t even try. Again, this would have been cute at a movie premiere, but it’s not “big” enough for the Met Gala.

Marion Cotillard wore Dior (like Jennifer Lawrence). Marion looks really pissed off about it too. She should be – this dress is so boring and it’s just… blah. Nothing.

Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet and WENN.

Well, this is a surprise! I’m including two women that most critics and awards-watchers considered to be the biggest contenders for all of the Best Actress awards this year, and both of these women left the BAFTAs empty-handed last night. Marion Cotillard was up for Rust & Bone, and Jessica Chastain was up for Zero Dark Thirty, and both lost to French actress Emmanuelle Riva for Amour. Riva even upset fan-favorite Jennifer Lawrence! SHOCK!

Well, at least Jessica and Marion wore “interesting” gowns. I guess. I actually flat-out hate Jessica Chastain’s structured, asymmetrical Roland Mouret gown. It’s just so disappointing! This is her second awards season as a nominee (in a row!), and she just cannot get it right. It’s not that this Mouret gown is “terrible” or anything. It’s just the wrong shade of blue and it’s too tight on her, and her hair is wrong and her makeup is just kind of meh. Jessica could be making such a big impact on the red carpet, and she just… I don’t know. She gets bad advice, maybe? Or she has bad taste?

As for Marion, she wore Dior, obviously. It’s from the same collection as Jennifer Lawrence’s SAG gown two weekends ago. And it has the same weird feature – the dress “comes apart” and there’s sheer netting holding all of the pieces together so that if one part of the dress “rides up” you get a glimpse of legs and/or biscuit. It seems like a really weird design movement, right? As for this particular dress… eh. It’s okay. I don’t like it, but I hate lemon yellow or chrome yellow or whatever you want to call it. I guess the “muffin hip” design is supposed to be super-avant-garde and structural too, but blah. Whatever.

Photos courtesy of FameFlynet and Pacific Coast News.

There were so few pops of color at last night’s SAGs, so whenever I did see someone wearing a jewel tone, I immediately liked them more for bucking the black-and-white trend. That being said, just because you’re one of the few pops of color in a sea of black, that doesn’t mean you’ve chosen the right color or the right design.

Take Jessica Chastain in this Alexander McQueen. Does this even look like McQueen?! No, it does not. This looks like Escada or some knock-off prom dress in unfortunate tomato-colored satin. It’s not good. But! I will applaud Jessica for actually getting her dress fitted, because that is one of her most consistent style problems – remember the horrible fit on her Golden Globes gown? Or the parade of too-tight gowns last year? Her necklace is Harry Winston – there were a lot of big necklaces on the carpet last night, and I can’t say I’m the biggest fan of that look (the look = tight satin dress, big diamond necklace, Veronica Lake hair). I think it looks dated in a bad way. And Jessica’s hair looks WORLDS better, right?

Marion Cotillard in Christian Dior – I believe it was just Marion and Jennifer Lawrence in Dior last night? And I liked Jennifer’s more. I think Marion’s Dior could have been reworked into something amazing. Here’s what I would have done: used the teal silk for the entire dress and not bothered with the white boob bandage, then I would made it full-length all over so it would just be a full-on ball gown. If you want to wear a ball gown, just do it. Don’t half-ass it like this. Also: I’m not crazy about Marion’s hair.

And here’s Freida Pinto in Roland Mouret. This is one of those times where I think the dress was a lot prettier in motion – I really liked it when I was watching the red carpet show. But I don’t care for it in these photos. Hot pink can be read in wildly diverse ways, so maybe it’s just a problem with the photos? And she’s so pretty otherwise – beautiful face!

Photos courtesy of WENN, Fame/Flynet.

Sometimes I get tired of my own negativity. For real. Which is exactly why I’ve been putting off my coverage of these ladies: Kerry Washington, Sienna Miller, Marion Cotillard and Zooey Deschanel. Like, I like all of those women (I’m not crazy about Sienna, but I don’t have a hate-on for her), and I’m an especially big fan of Zooey these days. But all of these ladies got it SO, SO WRONG last night. For Kerry and Marion, it was a question of length, and both seemed to not understand that they could really go BIG for the Golden Globes. Kerry just wore a huge ball gown to the UK premiere of Django, and then she shows up at the Globes in a little slip of a cocktail dress? NO. And Marion should know better too.

But let’s start with Zooey Deschanel in Oscar de la Renta. Yes, it’s a ball gown. Yes, it’s a bad red – too light and too orange-y. Yes, she styled it with a ponytail and giant pearls. I just can’t, okay? The pearls were the worst part of a bad look. They turned this from “unfortunate hipster princess” to “So Zooey is Barbara Bush now?”

Marion Cotillard in Dior. NO. I might have accepted it if it was full-length, but the asymmetrical look is done poorly, the color is wrong, and in photographs, it looks like a stiff poly-blend.

Kerry Washington in Miu Miu. You know what? I would have loved this at a premiere for Django. But she wore the beautiful ball gown to the premiere and the little cocktail dress to the Globes, and it’s just wrong.

And finally, Sienna Miller in Erdem. She said she wanted to go for a hot British designer, and it’s true – Erdem is all over the place these days, mostly because of Duchess Kate. But we’ll never see Duchess Kate in this child-like playsuit-looking fugness. I’m sorry, y’all, but I loathe this. It’s dated and poorly executed and it doesn’t flatter her.

Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet and WENN.

There were about a dozen big events in LA last night, all of them pre-Globes industry parties for all of the nominees in town. If we’re judging people’s Oscar campaigns and how badly they want awards from the number of costume changes and events undertaken, I’d say that Nicole Kidman and Jennifer Lawrence are the frontrunners. Jennifer wore this black & sparkly Altuzarra dress to the BAFTA tea party yesterday… I like it. It’s okay. It’s better than some of the stuff she wears, but it does make her look pregnant. And then she wore the yellow Valentino to the LA Film Critics Awards. I’m not a huge fan of that one, and I think her hairstyle is tragic. By the way, these were her first public appearances since she sort-of announced her split from Nicholas Hoult. Bedhead thinks Harvey is going to try to make J-Law and Bradley Cooper stick, but I say no – he’s so weird about women, I can’t see him going for it.

I’m really sorry, but Marion Cotillard looks like she’s wearing 1970s wallpaper. She’s beautiful but she tries too hard to wear unusual things. The dress is Erdem – meaning that Duchess Kate would totally wear this.

Here’s Nicole Kidman at the G’Day event last night. I just CAN’T with this pink party dress by Elie Saab. It belongs on a girl for her Sweet Sixteen party. In 1956.

Speaking Sweet Sixteen parties, check out Sienna Miller’s BAFTA party dress by Valentino. She comes close to pulling it off, but it’s still too… saccharine.

Dev Patel & Freida Pinto are still together, and still very cute. Freida’s dress is Cue by Rohit Gandhi + Rahul Khanna.

Halle Berry at the BET Honors. Her gown is Monique Lhuillier Fall 2012. It looks like the Narciso Rodriguez designs that Michelle Obama was always wearing.

Helena Bonham Carter looked great at the LA Film Critics Awards!

Photos courtesy of WENN, Fame/Flynet.

Here are some of the “Best Actresses” from last night’s Critics’ Choice Awards, also known as the Broadcast Film Critics’ Association Awards. While Jennifer Lawrence seemed to sweep in category after category (Bedhead will cover her in a moment), there was some early movement in the Best Actress Oscar campaigns. While Jennifer Lawrence got Best Actress awards for “Comedic Actress” and “Action Actress,” many feel that the real contest is between Naomi Watts for The Impossible and Jessica Chastain for Zero Dark Thirty. Chastain won! And Naomi looked disappointed when they cut to her too. You can see the full list of winners here.

Jessica’s dress was Prada, and it was fussy, which I think we just have to acknowledge is Jessica’s default style, sadly. Her “date” was her grandmother, and she often looks like her grandmother is picking out her red carpet looks – and no disrespect to grandmothers, but NO. Sure, you could make the argument that Jessica doesn’t want to go too big too fast, and the Oscar campaign is a marathon of fashion (for the next seven weeks). But I still want her to go bolder and more interesting. The only interesting thing about this gown is the bejeweled detail at the back, but even that’s kind of meh. PS… I loathe her earring choice.

Marion Cotillard might have been licking her wounds after failing to get an Oscar nomination for Rust & Bone yesterday. Many thought she would definitely make the short list, but she didn’t. I feel kind of bad for her, but not enough to say that I like this fug Zuhair Murad dress. I’m sorry, but this whole look is a mess. And THAT HAIR! She didn’t cut it, it’s just pulled back in a swoopy, unfortunate little bun.

Naomi Watts wore this black Emilio Pucci, and the cut and style was definitely reminiscent of what Jennifer Lawrence wore at the same event, although I really like Naomi’s dress better. It’s simple, elegant, and it’s suits her so much more than what she wore at the People’s Choice Awards, that Alexander McQueen mess which looked like Marchesa. Like Chastain, I guess Naomi is saving her show-stopping fashion for the bigger shows, like the Globes. Here’s the thing: Naomi is pretty much in a fashion groove these days (if you ignore that McQueen) – she’s been looking amazing lately, hitting it out of the park time after time. So I have faith she’ll deliver throughout the award season. I do not have the same faith in Chastain.

Photos courtesy of WENN.

Here we have some photos from the Gotham Film Awards at Cipriani in NY last night, sponsored by the Independent Filmmaker Project, which The LA Times describes as “the largest organization of independent filmmakers in the U.S.” The LA Times also has a list of the winners if you’re interested.

Emily Blunt took home part of the Ensemble Award for Your Sister’s Sister, also starring Mark Duplass and Rosemarie DeWitt. (I haven’t seen it, but it came out this summer and you can get the DVD through Netflix. If it’s not on streaming I’m not likely to watch it.) As far as her fashion, she wore this bizarre, tight, paper white Calvin Klein cutout dress. I really dislike this dress and I especially dislike her silver Jimmy Choo sandal-like pumps. I guess there are worse cutout dresses, but overall this is very plain and underwhelming. Plus it’s squeezing her girls in tight. Can she even take a full breath? Her hair and makeup are really pretty, though. She’s had some Botox and it shows, but if she lays off it for a while it will settle.

In contrast we have a radiant Amy Adams, whose dress I love but whose styling leaves something to be desired. Her eye makeup is way too heavy, including her blush. (Or it could be the lighting.) Still, it’s Amy so I can’t find too much fault with her look. I do love her Giorgio Armani black gown with that glorious structural detail at the bodice. This is how you do matching shoes without it looking like overkill. What a knockout she is.

Here’s Marion Cotillard, who was honored with a career achievement award at the ceremony. She’s in a navy blue v-neck Christian Dior gown with a full skirt. The jacket collar falls flat for me, and overall this dress just looks very conservative. Still, she’s Marion, she’s not trying to show skin or be flashy.

Look at how lovely she is. Dior probably has some of the most talented makeup artists in the world.

Here’s Matt Damon, who was also honored with a career achievement. His wife Luciana’s dotted 50s dress is both sexy and demure and I love her hair. If she has extensions, and I’m betting she does, they’re very well done. One complaint: I don’t love her contrasting shoes,

Matt looks good bald, doesn’t he?

Matt’s other BFF, John Krasinski, was also there last night. The anti-fracking film they wrote together, Promised Land, is out in the US in wide release on January 4th, but it’s out in limited release on December 28th. Just in time for this year’s awards.

Look at this face for a moment and see if you can guess who this is…. Are you ready? It’s Jared Leto! Yes he looks like a corpse, but he’s starring in that movie filming now with Matthew McConaughey, The Dallas Buyers Club, and he’s also playing an AIDS victim and transvestite. (Hence the eyebrows. Fill them with some powder when you’re off set, Jared!) So this extreme weight loss is for a role. Jared sure knows how to yo-yo and he’s been on both extremes now.

Photo credit: FameFlynet and WENN.com

Marion Cotillard is promoting her much-hyped film Rust and Bone. I think the movie sounds kind of bizarre and sad, but it’s getting good reviews and people say Marion will get another Oscar nomination for it, so what do I know? To promote the film, Marion covers the new issue of W Magazine, and good God is this a weird photo shoot. The thing about Marion is that I feel like most people don’t have strong feelings about her either way. Yes, a lot of you like her, but I often wonder if there’s anyone who thinks “Marion is MY girl, my #1.” Nor is there anyone who is like “I hate her and everything she represents.” Because… she’s not controversial. Most of the time, she comes across like a ditzy hippie in interviews (no disrespect to ditzy hippies), and physically she’s beautiful. So… why this strong “look” for a photo shoot? Why a dominatrix/Nutcracker theme? Why make her waist look like that? Are they just trying to make it controversial and weird? Eh. Anyway, you can read the whole W Mag piece here, and here are some highlights (incidentally, this is one of the best Marion interviews I’ve ever read):

Marion on not winning Best Actress at Cannes this year: “I think I may have been on too many magazine covers. In France, they like the underdog. In America, they appreciate success.”

But she’s still so French: “It is much easier for me to understand something vast and complex than something light and uncomplicated. Perhaps that makes me very French.” She laughed. “Tragedy is almost always interesting to me.”

Getting respect in France and America: “I had costarred in three commercial hits in France,” Cotillard told me in 2007. “To have your place in French cinema, you have to prove that you are a serious actress in a noncommercial film. When Tim Burton picked me, French critics were impressed. In France, they see Tim Burton as a kind of film doctor, and the movie was not successful—so voilà!”

What were her first film-going experiences? “Fantasia. The dancing hippopotamus made an impression on me. And, of course, E.T. I went totally mad in the theater. I was almost pulling my hair out when they took E.T. away. That’s a deep memory of anger, despair, and pain. They had to get me out of the theater. I was screaming.”

Dreaming in French and English: “I recently spent six months filming in New York, and all my thoughts were in English. I played a Polish woman, and I would have loved to dream in Polish. Mostly, I am confused—some people talk to me in French, and I answer in English. And some people talk to me in English, and I answer in French. I think I’m too tired to dream in any language.”

What’s worse, a sex scene or a death scene? “Definitely a sex scene. I hate sex scenes. The body is so important in this movie, but I hate being naked onscreen. It’s very weird to imagine how a person would have sex. It cannot be your way. Otherwise, it would be super uncomfortable and overly intimate. Everyone has a way to have sex, so a character does too. I mean, kissing is very powerful. You feel something, you know? It’s really intense to kiss as another person.”

French people love Batman: “Oh, yeah, he’s very popular. Not all superheroes are, but Batman is. He is human, so you can relate to him. The French like that. I loved the TV series. I was totally crazy about Catwoman. She was so witty and fun.”

Her Oscar experience: “It was amazing. In France, we have a lot of actors, but you never get a chance to share your experiences. In America, you show the movie, and you talk about it with actors who know what it’s like to open your heart, soul, and mind to another person and let them in. I especially feel very close to other actresses.”

[From W Magazine]

W Magazine also tells the story of Marion learning English so she could promote La Vie En Rose in America, and how she picked it up very quickly by immersing herself into the language. I hadn’t heard that from her before, nor have I ever heard her talk so specifically about the differences between France and America as far what kinds of films are successful, etc. The Cannes quote is slightly out of context – Marion was set up with the premise that many, many people were surprised that she didn’t win Best Actress this year in Cannes, and her explanation was that she was simply too famous or “on too many magazine covers” to be considered a serious dramatic actress in France right now. That’s interesting, isn’t it?

Photos courtesy of W Magazine.

Marion Cotillard covers the December issue of Harper’s Bazaar UK. I know some of you find her boring, but I really do think this is probably one of the best, most striking pictorials I’ve seen of Marion and she even shows some personality during the interview. You know what this pictorial reminds me of? How most magazines style Cate Blanchett – with simplicity and elegance, like they want to make it all about her extraordinary face. Marion is definitely giving me some Blanchett-vibes. As for the interview… well, Marion can often come across as too spacey and flighty, like she permanently stoned. In this piece, she’s complimenting Britain on their music and culture. As it turns out, she’s a huge fan of Absolutely Fabulous. SWEETIE DARLING LET ME IN.

She smoulders while dressed in Dior and jewellery by Tiffany & Co. in the issue dedicated to the winner of Harper’s Bazaar Women of the Year Awards. The interview with the 37-year-old features images of her in luxurious gowns by Alexis Mabille, Marchesa and Armani Prive, while her her hair is worn sleeked back off her face.

Despite being from France, Marion reveals she is in love with British culture. She says: ‘I think of England as music with fashion. You mix rock ‘n’ roll with everything, from royalty to punk to the bourgeoisie. Music-wise, you’re the best. David Bowie, the Rolling Stones, Radiohead, the Beatles….’

It’s not just the music she loves though, she also admitted that her highlight of 2012 was the return of Absolutely Fabulous, saying: ‘I’m a huge fan.’

The Inception star who has found huge success with her career has also found happiness in her private life. She and her husband, French director, writer and actor Guillaume Canet became parents to a son, Marcel, 18-months-ago.

Speaking about becoming a mother, she said: ‘Since having Marcel, every day of my life has been alight with him.’

She continued: ‘One of the things I have learned recently is that I have the ability to be happy. I have found that in my family. And that is a new thing. And that hasn’t always been the case for me – so I know how lucky I am.’

Marion’s latest role is in Rust and Bone, in which she plays a whale trainer, Stéphanie, who loses her legs in an accident and must battle to embrace love, life and sex. Discussing her role in the film, which is directed by Oscar-nominated French Director, Jacques Audiard, she said: ‘Well, I mean, I love my job, but I’m not going to cut my legs off. Stéphanie loses her legs. It’s a shock. If she’d been without them for years, I would have worked differently. But I had to learn with her how it felt – that loss. How it changes her.’

With everything that’s going on in the actress’s life, she’s admitted she doesn’t know where it’s going from here: ‘I don’t know what’s next because I don’t want to know.’

[From The Mail]

British music is pretty awesome. But now that she’s talked about being an AbFab fan, I like her so much more! Now I’m picturing her sitting at home with her baby, laughing at Eddy and Patsy and how fabulous and horrible they are. “Lacroix!” “Fabulous!”

Photos courtesy of Harper’s Bazaar UK.