Congratulations to Christoph Waltz! He has just won his second Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his role as dentist/bounty hunter Dr. King Schultz in Django Unchained. This category was particularly hard to call this year since all of the nominees are previous Oscar winners. De Niro hasn’t won an Oscar since 1980 (Raging Bull) and hasn’t been nominated since 1992 (Cape Fear) until now (for Silver Linings Playbook), and some media outlets were really thinking that it would be De Niro’s year because he’s finally made something of a comeback to respectable movies.

But alas, that silver-tongued Austrian has thwarted the De Niro plan, and I couldn’t be more pleased for Waltz’s victory even though it’s unusual that the Academy would reward him so strongly again merely three years after his first Oscar for Inglourious Basterds. It’s nice to see that villains aren’t the only ones rewarded in this category because his Schultz character was such a good guy.

Once onstage, Christoph immediately gave “my respect” to all his fellow nominees (and his gesture was followed by much applause). He kept his speech short and sweet, but he made a point to say that “My unlimited gratitude goes to Dr. King Schultz … and, of course, his creator, Quentin Tarantino.” He and QT are quite a team, and hopefully, QT will win for Best Original Screenplay later tonight. Hurray for Christoph and Quentin!

Update: Quentin won too! He was so pleased and declared this year “the year of the writers.” Man, he’s going to get so baked tonight.

Photos courtesy of WENN

Kerry Washington hasn’t really been bringing her style game in this European tour for Django Unchained, right? The poor girl has worn a ruffled nightmare and then followed up with a cutesy/boob-cup combination that was like a triple gut punch to fashion lovers and even the most casual bystander. Although I thought the J. Mendel print dress she wore in Germany was slightly improved, most of you did not agree.

Now Kerry has travelled to the UK premiere and donned a milky white (and grey) Giles gown with Christian Louboutin shoes. As a red carpet dress, this is a little bit fussy but much preferable to the other outfits she’s been wearing to promote this movie. You can’t see the horse print very well in these photos, but it’s more visible in the runway version if you’re curious how it looks in better lighting. I really like the idea behind the fitted bodice atop a poufy skirt with this print — sort of like Kerry is riding in on a white horse, and it goes with the “rescue” theme of the movie quite well. Her makeup appears quite beautiful here, and the romantic, wavy hair really completes the look. This is the best she’s looked during this European tour.

Kerry also took some time to pose with Samuel L. Jackson and Jamie Foxx. I am certain that Sam has worn this entire outfit before on a red carpet, and he’s not even trying to look spiffy. As for Jamie, the purple suit isn’t awful (it’s at least interesting), but the sky blue shirt underneath makes me want to go colorblind.

Christoph Waltz was there, of course! His tie is wacky, but he’s so cute.

Finally, here is Quentin Tarantino himself. This movie will probably end up outgrossing all of his other cinematic efforts, and I really do think QT got robbed by not receiving a Best Director Oscar nomination, but he’ll be fine. This movie really speaks for itself. I’ve seen it twice, and I absolutely loved it.

Photos courtesy of WENN

These are some photos from ‘Django Unchained‘ premiere and photocall in Rome. The cast (minus Leonardo DiCaprio) all flew to Rome late last week to kick off the European promotion for their film, which is causing controversy wherever it goes. The UK premiere is scheduled for Thursday night, which is the same night as the Critics Choice Awards, where the film is nominated for Best Picture and Quentin Tarantino is nominated for Screenplay. I imagine that Django will lose every award it’s up for throughout the award season, just because… it’s QT. It’s violent, it’s profane, it’s obscene and it’s about some really dark, disturbing stuff (slavery). But that doesn’t mean QT and the cast can’t have some fun while they’re promoting it, right?

Which brings me to Kerry Washington. Many of you have always loved her, and yes, I think she’s incredibly talented, and she’s an interesting actress/fashion girl to watch. I’ve just never been one of her big fan-girls or anything, but I do like her. So what’s the groupthink on Kerry’s style? You can tell that she loves fashion and she loves to experiment, but I’m not sure she’s showing off the best pieces during this promotional tour. She wore this absolutely bizarre Peter Pilotto Spring 2013 dress to the photocall (the blue and white dress with the acid-green dust ruffle), and a white cutout dress for the premiere. The Pilotto dress is just… wrong. Like, I can’t even believe that anyone thought it was a good idea to MAKE that dress, and then Kerry’s stylist came in and was like, “YES, that is the dress.” The white dress is okay, though. I’m not a huge fan of cutouts, but it’s okay. As for her bangs… I actually don’t hate them. Hopefully they’re temporary.

I’m including some photos of the other Django people too – I haven’t been paying that much attention to what QT looks like recently, but he’s really gained a lot of weight, hasn’t he?

Photos courtesy of SHOTPRESS/WENN.com and WENN.

Oh, where to begin on this topic. Nothing I could ever say would be adequate or add in any meaningful way to the discussion of the mass shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School on Friday. I think most of us can willingly admit to shedding more than a few tears in regard to the 20 children and 6 adults who lost their lives at the hands of a sick gunman (whom I refuse to dignify by typing his name), and the tragedy has also stirred up a massive political debate in regards to the readily available access to firearms in this country as well as mental health issues. To state the obvious, there are no easy answers here as to why this happened, and I think the best thing to do is to continue to honor the victims instead of immediately falling into a left-right hate debate. That’s easier said than done, I know.

The day after the shootings, a press junket was held for Django Unchained, which is (of course) Quentin Tarantino’s revenge movie on the subject of black slavery in the United States. Naturally, the subject of the Sandy Hook massacre came up, and Quentin stated his opinion that violence in film has absolutely nothing to do with anything that happens in real life. Django himself, Jamie Foxx, respectfully disagrees with QT’s opinion. Here are the details:

Don’t blame Quentin Tarantino for Friday’s tragic Newtown, Conn., shooting.

The Django Unchained director is tired of having to defend his use of violence in film.

“I just think, you know, there’s violence in the world, tragedies happen, blame the playmakers,” he said Saturday at a press junket, per the BBC. “It’s a Western. Give me a break.”

Django Unchained star Jamie Foxx, however, disagrees with Tarantino. “We cannot turn our back and say that violence in films or anything that we do doesn’t have a sort of influence,” the actor said. “It does.”

Christoph Waltz, another actor in the flick, said that the “media’s responsibility is greater than the storyteller is because… Django is violent, but it’s not inspiring violence.”

Kerry Washington added, “I do think that it’s important when we have the opportunity to talk about violence and not just kind of have it as entertainment, but connect it to the wrongs, the injustices, the social ills.”

[From E! Online]

Okay, Tarantino sounds a little punchy here because he probably went into the junket wary of precisely this type of question. Yes, he was asked to defend his work in the context of last Friday’s tragedy, and it must have been a very uncomfortable situation for him to withstand such scrutiny. What QT says does make some sense even if he didn’t exactly phrase his answer in the most sensitive way. I mean, I grew up on violent films, and I remember the height of HBO when Commando, Terminator, and the Death Wish movies would essentially play on repeat during the entirety of summer vacation, and my parents let me freely watch this stuff. Lots of other people my age grew up the same way, and the vast majority of us are (mostly) well-adjusted adults now.

Certainly, the argument can be made that violence in movies (as well as music, video games, etc.) can influence unstable minds and provoke them to imitation. Right now, all thoughts should be with the victims of the shooting as well as their suffering families. Throughout the media and social media outlets, however, so many people are quick to point the blame at something, anything, that could possibly be held accountable for one sick man’s actions. Personally, I’d like to hold his mother responsible for at least providing the weapons used for mass slaughter, but that’s kind of a no-brainer at this point. Overall, it’s just a terribly sad situation with no easy solution for future preventative measures coming anytime soon.

Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet and WENN

Don’t yell at me for focusing on Uma Thurman and Quentin Tarantino! I didn’t know who to lead with from last night’s premiere/screening of Django Unchained. I was expecting to lead with Kerry Washington throughout the Django press tour, but Kerry wasn’t at the screening, which is sad because I miss her fashion. But to make up for Kerry’s absence, a lot of ladies came out to support QT, including one of Quentin’s great loves, Uma. Remember when Ethan Hawke thought that Quentin and Uma had an affair when they were making Kill Bill? Yeah. He really believed that. And I think Quentin definitely would have been up for it. Who know if it really went down though? Whatever happened, I believe Uma and Quentin are just great friends and collaborators, and they love/respect each other a great deal. I believe she only lets dudes like Arpad Busson put it in, you know? Incidentally, when Quentin was recently asked about a “Volume 3” of Kill Bill, he said it probably wasn’t going to happen after all.

Fine, I’ll say it – Christoph Waltz looks HOT with everything shaved. He was looking like a crazy wooly mammoth for a while, but this is a great look for him. Does anyone else think, “Huh, I bet Matt Damon looks like this in 15 years”?

Here’s Leo DiCaprio, looking kind of gnomish. What’s up with him? When is he going to get a new Victoria’s Secret girlfriend? Is he waiting for Miranda Kerr to leave Orly?

Olivia Wilde in an ALC jumpsuit. Blah.

Django himself, Jamie Foxx. I like his suit-sweater combo. He looks good! You want to hear something freaky? Jamie Foxx is 44 years old!! Vampire.

Zoe Kravitz, still rocking the short hair. Out of all of the girls who chopped off their hair over the past few years, I think Zoe works it the best. I’m not crazy about the dress, but it could be worse, so… it’s okay.

And here’s Liv Tyler in what looks like D&G, with some extremely bad shoes. I know CB loves her and everything, but I think we need to acknowledge that Liv has a really bad Shoe Problem.

Photos courtesy of WENN, Fame/Flynet.

Confession time, y’all: Quentin Tarantino is my favorite director in the entire universe, and I was very ashamed for doubting his judgment after the commercial failure of Grindhouse when he really pulled off Inglourious Basterds on a (near) masterful level. For quite awhile, I was really nervous about how Basterds would turn out, but once I saw that movie’s teaser trailer, all fears were immediately dispelled. So I was pretty pumped for the eventual arrival of a trailer for Django Unchained, but now I find myself somewhat deflated.

The new teaser trailer for Django Unchained debuted last night even though the movie doesn’t come out until Christmas Day. First off, it seems way too early for a teaser trailer because — just last month — QT was still attempting to resolve some casting issues left by the void of Sacha Baron Cohen. Granted, Cohen was slated for a role that’s something of a cameo in the vein of Mike Myers’ part in Inglourious Basterds, but it still seems like a big rush to the trailer altar to get something (anything?) ready to play in front of the big summer movies. Promotion is everything these days where movies are concerned, but I just don’t know here. Indeed, this trailer seems like a rushed product, which would make sense because, according to Paste Magazine, this trailer is essentially “an edited version of the ten minutes of footage Tarantino premiered at Cannes” just a couple of weeks ago. Dare I say that the tragic loss of QT’s long-time editor, the amazing Sally Menke, has already had a signficant effect on QT’s output? Check out the trailer, and we’ll discuss below:

For those unfamiliar with the plot of Django Unchained, Jamie Foxx plays the titular Django, who is a freed slave that discovers his wife (Kerry Washington) has been captured by slave owner Calvin Candie (Leonardo DiCaprio). Django is aided by Dr. King Schultz (Christoph Waltz, actually playing a sort-of-good guy for once), a German bounty hounter. The trailer’s declaration of “Life, liberty, and the pursuit of vengeance” certainly will satisfy many fans of QT’s style while allowing him to also make a mark upon the Western genre with a Southern twist. Honestly, I’m not sure whether I like this trailer or not, but I’m hoping that Tarantino will prove me wrong again. Part of the problem is that I’m not much of a DiCaprio fan and have always found his acting to be overrated. Here he’s mugging it up so much for the camera that it’s hard to take the entire trailer seriously, and I think QT has been a bit too obvious with his choice of music as well. Hopefully, the film’s further promotion will be more promising than this mess. Don’t break my heart, QT!

Oh and … Christoph drinking a very important beverage at a very important table during an obviously important scene in the movie? Oh Tarantino, you so crazy.

Photos courtesy of AllMoviePhoto

The Enquirer loves to make Leonardo DiCaprio sound like a mega-bitch. I have no idea if Leo really is this bitchy, but I tend to think that if he was, we would have heard about it by someone other than The Enquirer, you know? In the past, the Enquirer has claimed that Leo did not get along with Clint Eastwood whatsoever, and now they’re claiming that Leo has had words with his latest director, Quentin Tarantino. Oooh, girls.

When LEONARDO DICAPRIO accidentally got clocked in the kisser by co-star JAMIE FOXX and suffered a bloody lip during a fight scene for new flick “Django Unchained,” he cursed angrily, but NOT at Jamie – whirling instead on director QUENTIN TARANTINO, bellowing, “You #&*%$#@*!!”

Reports My On-Set Spy: “Going into the scene, Leo was already feeling testy because he was wearing heavy-duty, vintage handcuffs that were chafing his wrists.

“When cameras rolled, Jamie – playing a bounty hunter – swung his hands up violently, hitting Leo’s wrists and slamming the cuffs into his mouth.

“Instantly, Leo started cursing out Quentin. He was furious because they’d had a fight earlier about how the fight scene should be filmed – but Leo lost, so they did it the director’s way.”

As blood dripped from Leo’s lip and crew members rushed in with wet cloths and ice, the star snarled at Tarantino: “I’ve done four MARTIN SCORSESE films without a scratch – and then I work with YOU!”

The scene was shot hours later, after ice packs and makeup artists made Leo screen-ready.

[From The Enquirer]

Now, I can see a dude (any dude) being angry because he got injured, especially if the damage was foreseeable. I also wonder if Quentin’s directing style mixes well with Leo’s acting style, and whether or not there’s tension simply because this is the first time they’re working together. But, at the end of the day, everyone always says that Leo is a total pro, and that Quentin is a friendly, fun-loving genius. If Leo made a crack about Martin Scorsese, it was probably said jokingly? I don’t know. Maybe Leo is a bitch.

On the flip side, I had forgotten how many casting changes were made with this film. I seem to remember Brad Pitt, Michael Fassbender, and Chiwetel Ejiofor all being considered for various parts. Now it stars Leo, Jamie Foxx, Sacha Baron Cohen, Christoph Waltz and Kurt Russell. Weird.

Photos courtesy of WENN.

We all considered covering this story yesterday, but skipped it. Apologies to Kaiser and Bedhead for snagging this one after we kind of agreed to ignore it. I’ve been thinking about it and it bothers me so I wanted to comment. You’ve surely seen the ridiculous braggy e-mail from a girl who sort-of had a one night stand with Quentin Tarantino. Somehow she landed the Oscar winning director despite possessing the maturity of a grade schooler. After a night at his place she sent a email to fifteen of her closest friends detailing the encounter down to the last detail, criticizing Tarantino’s manhood and making fun of his kinks. I’m not going to excerpt the whole email or identify the barely out-of-college girl with the ironic name who sent it, plenty of other outlets have done that. To me the takeaway is that she is immature, self-centered and cruel to send a mass email mocking Tarantino for this when he came across as somewhat considerate, given the situation. Here’s a sanitized version of events, and you can read the whole e-mail here.

Oscar-winning film maker Quentin Tarantino has a fetish in the bedroom for sucking on women’s toes while pleasuring himself, according to a young woman who hooked-up with him.

In an email obtained by RadarOnline.com from Beejoli Shah, the 23-year-old details her bizarre encounter with Tarantino, 48, after meeting him at a party in the Hollywood Hills and later going home with him, where she states: “Quentin Tarantino asks, ‘Can I suck on your toes while I [perform sexually explicit act]?’”

Shah accompanies the email with pictures she took with Tarantino in a photo booth at his home the night of June 1, 2011, as proof of her wild night with him.

After striking up a conversation with Tarantino about his films, Shah said he became touchy feely and the two began to makeout until actor Jamie Foxx approached them and asked Tarantino if he was ready to leave.

“Quentin looks at me and says, ‘Want to come to my house?’… We get in an SUV and off we go,” Shah wrote.

“After a lengthy film discussion, Quentin suggests we head to bed, which is the point where I really start panicking.”

Shah goes on to give an unflattering description of his manhood and just as she was trying to figure a way out of the situation, Tarantino voiced an unusual request.

“Quentin Tarantino asks, ‘Can I suck on your toes while I [get off]?” she claims he asked her.

“And thus began the weirdest ten minutes of my life – having my feet made out with by an Oscar winning filmmaker while he [gets off].”

But Shah tried to clear the air, claiming she’s not one of those girls chasing Hollywood hunks in hopes of sleeping with them.

“Just as I hoped, we went to bed right after,” Shah wrote.

“I’ve attached our photo booth photos for those of you who think I still just have a vivid imagination…and yes, he does look like Frankenstein.”

[From Radar Online]

As far as kinks go that’s practically quaint. He asked her permission and he didn’t even stick her hand on his dick or touch her boobs while he got off. This was after she went home with him, had made out with him for a while, and was in his bed after he asked her if it was ok. It seems like he gave her the chance to say no multiple times, it doesn’t sound like he forced or pressured her, and I got the impression that she could easily have declined or slept in another room.

I’ve been with some duds in my day, and I told my best friend about it. I didn’t tell my entire circle of friends when a guy didn’t meet my expectations because that’s totally classless. All this girl wanted to do was let everyone know that Tarantino found her interesting enough to take her home. It’s too bad she lacks the common sense to 1. be discreet about who she told and 2. not put it in writing. She’s about to face some serious repercussions with her career though, given what I’ve read about her. Do you think she’s going to hire Gloria Allred and hold a press conference next? (I got that idea from a commenter on DListed, and it seems like a natural next step for her.)

I think I speak for a lot of women when I say that Tarantino can suck my toes anytime. I have prettier feet than Uma Thurman too. (Although that’s not saying much. Did you see those things in Kill Bill? Maybe he likes some gnarly toes.)

I have no idea what is happening in these photos. I mean, I know what’s physically happening: Quentin Tarantino is opening the car door for Paz de la Huerta‘s drunk ass, and then QT busts his drunk ass on the sidewalk. But what is the subtext? Is this a hookup situation? It looks like there are other people around – this was a post-Oscar party – but it also looks like Paz and QT are the only ones leaving in this car. I think Paz might have a boyfriend? But I also think she’s the kind of woman who “forgets” that she has a boyfriend when she’s drinking. As for QT… well, he’s 21 years older than her. He’s 47 years old. Paz is 26. Is that gross? Yeah. Hopefully, it’s just a “Hey, are you going to the next party? Can I get a lift?” situation. Although I doubt Paz can form those words. Paz probably slipped a boob out of her dress, rolled her tongue over her forearm and whispered to QT, “Next party?”

Yeah… I still don’t really know what’s happening here. I hope to God that QT has better taste than this.

Photos courtesy of Fame.

Here are some new photos of Lindsay Lohan in New York yesterday. Maybe she thinks she’ll have better luck in the New York clubs than she’s been having in LA? I don’t know. Has anyone else noticed that Lindsay’s outfits have been even more awful lately though? It’s like she’s been photographed in 80s-style stirrup pants for the past month. And the belly-baring shirts just look cheesy, like she cut up a cheap shirt and tried to make it look “sexy”. Anyway…

The Guardian is reporting the rumor that Quentin Tarantino wants to work with Lindsay. They call her a perfect candidate, considering her acting career is in the toilet and Tarantino specializes in actors who need a second chance.

If reports are to be believed, Lohan made such an impression on the set of Machete – the film based on the fake trailer from the start of Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez’s misstep Grindhouse – that Tarantino is currently cooking up a “shocking, hardcore” part for her in a forthcoming project that will instantly propel her back into the big league.

Because that’s something that Quentin Tarantino is quite good at. Everybody knows what Pulp Fiction did for John Travolta, dragging him away from Kirstie Alley and the talking babies, and making him a genuine box-office proposition again. Similarly, Jackie Brown brought Pam Grier back into the spotlight, and Kill Bill made David Carradine and, to a lesser extent, Uma Thurman register on the Hollywood radar. If there’s one thing that Quentin Tarantino can do better than anyone else, it’s resuscitate flatlining actors.

Obviously once they’ve been resuscitated, they’re on their own again, at which point their careers usually flounder. After receiving Tarantino’s helping hand, Pam Grier made The Adventures of Pluto Nash; Uma Thurman made the now infamous Motherhood; David Carradine played a horny old triad called Poon Dong in Crank 2, then died; and John Travolta voluntarily chose to star in (deep breath) Battlefield Earth, Ladder 49, Be Cool, Wild Hogs, Hairspray and Old Dogs all in the space of a single decade. And these actors are much more celebrated than Lindsay Lohan – so even if Tarantino does decide to give her a boost, she probably shouldn’t start clearing any Oscar spaces on her mantelpiece yet.

[From The Guardian]

It could be that Quentin was impressed with something regarding La Blohan, or that he thinks she would make a hilarious cameo appearance as “Crackhead #2″, but I doubt he’s writing a part especially for her or anything. A similar rumor was floating around about Quentin wanting to work with Britney Spears, and nothing ever came of that.

Speaking of Lindsay being rather trashy, the Jersey Shore kids were interviewed by Interview Magazine this month, and they have nothing but nice things to say about the Lohans, of course. Pauly D said, regarding his celebrity fans: “Lindsay Lohan, Ashton Kutcher. Diddy’s a fan. I heard Denzel Washington’s a fan. Lindsay’s cool. When we went to the club, she pulled me aside and said, ‘Pauly D! I love your show.’ We were hanging out with her mother [Dina Lohan].” Shocking! You mean the Lohans would totally relate to the Jersey Shore kids? Honestly, between those two groups, I kind of worry about the Jersey Shore kids, and how the Lohans could be a bad influence.

Lindsay Lohan in New York on April 12, 2010. Credit: INFphoto.com.