RTC Director

Actor Philip Seymour Hoffman dies

Oscar-winning American actor Philip Seymour Hoffman has been found dead in New York, police say.

 

The 46-year-old was found in his Manhattan apartment after a friend called the emergency services.

 

The police said the cause of death was an apparent drug overdose.

 

Hoffmann made his name in the 1990s in films including Boogie Nights and the Big Lebowski, before winning the best actor Oscar for his 2005 portrayal of writer Truman Capote.

 

Throughout his career he featured in independent films as well as Hollywood blockbusters such as Mission Impossible III.

 

His latest role was in the Hunger Games series of films.

 

 

As well as films, he also starred in Broadway plays and was nominated for two Tony Awards.

 

British actor John Hurt, who starred alongside Hoffman in the 2003 drama Owning Mahowny, said the news had hit him "very hard".

"He was a great actor, a great member of the film and theatre community. An extraordinary talent, directorially as well as an actor. He'll be greatly missed," he told the BBC.

 

Hollywood stars have also paid tribute.

 

"Dear Philip, a beautiful beautiful soul," tweeted actor Jim Carrey.

 

"For the most sensitive among us the noise can be too much. Bless your heart."

 

Last year Hoffman told celebrity news website TMZ that he had sought treatment for drug abuse.

 

He told the website he had used prescription drugs, and briefly heroin, before seeking help.

 

Hoffman has over 60 film credits to his name, including Magnolia and The Master with director Paul Thomas Anderson, for which he was nominated for a best supporting actor Oscar.

 

He made his debut as a film director in 2010 with the New York-set Jack Goes Boating, in which he also starred.

 

British film critic Jason Solomons said he "lit up the screen".

 

"He'd take the weirdest parts and give them a human element. He was a fantastic director as well and showed a real touch with actors," he said.

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by RTC Director

Jamaica Jazz and Blues big acts deliver

At the end of his performance on night 3 Saturday it was a standing ovation for the artiste who delivered all his expected favourites and more.

‘Everyone Plays the Fool’, ‘Don't Know Much’ and ‘Don't Go’ were among the top tracks dropped on loyal fans, some responding with wild screams.

Aaron Neville hooked the audience immediately after he was introduced onstage, with a medley including the Drifters’ Stand by Me, and Sam Cooke’s ‘Cupid’ and ‘Chain Gang’.

But Neville did not stick to one genre of music and evoked frantic screams as he ventured into reggae music with renditions of Bob Marley's ‘Three little Birds’ and ‘Stir it Up’.

He was equally impressive delivering gospel selections including, ‘Study War No More’, ‘Lay down my Burden’, ‘When the Saint s Go Marching’, and ‘Amazing Grace’.

Veteran country and western crooner Crystal Gayle took Jazz & Blues patrons down memory lane on night 3 of the music festival Saturday at the Trelawny Multi-purpose stadium.

During her lively performance, the seasoned artiste, who disclosed that this is her first trip to Jamaica, had her local fans singing word-for-word to all time favourites such as ‘Talking In Your Sleep’, ‘Long and lasting Love’,‘Those were the Days’ and ‘Don't It Make My Brown Eyes Blue’.

The country/pop star sporting her trade-mark nearly floor-length hair, interacted freely with her appreciative audience throughout her entertaining set.

Chaka Khan rocked the Trelawny Multi-Purpose Stadium with a lively set filled with mega-hits from her 40-year career.

Taking to the stage at 11:10 pm, the svelte artiste delivered all the songs which have made her famous and earned obvious appreciation, participation and applause from what was the largest audience of the three-night festival.

‘I Feel for You’ opened her set and ‘I'm Every Woman’ was the closing note. In between Chaka Khan kept the tempo with ‘What You Gonna Do for Me’, ‘Sweet Thing’, ‘My Funny Valentine’ and ‘Through the Fire’.

In the end the legendary American singer/songwriter left the Jazz and Blues stage with the audience begging for more.

A light drizzle close to the end of the set did not dampen the mood at the Trelawny Multi-purpose stadium in Jamaica Sunday morning as the O'Jays rained down hits from the 1960s and 70s in the penultimate act of the Jazz and Blues Festival 2014.

Dressed in full white, the trio rocked the stage and had their audience singing and dancing to the group's impressive catalogue that goes back some 40 years.

With their slick choreography they delivered R&B staples ‘Back Stabbers’, ‘I love Music’, ‘Love Train’, ‘Used to Be My Girl’, ‘Stairway to Heaven’ and more for the large audience inside the venue.

In the end the persistent squalls sent patrons scampering for shelter with local act Beres Hammond left to close night 3 and the festival.

 

Source-Jamaica Observer

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by RTC Director

Woody Allen accused of sex abuse by adopted daughter

The adopted daughter of Woody Allen has renewed claims the filmmaker "sexually abused" her as a child in 1992.

 

In an open letter, Dylan Farrow accuses Allen of molesting her in a "dim, closet-like attic" at the age of seven.

 

Ms Farrow, now 28, also criticises Hollywood's continued celebration of "a predator [who] brought chaos into our home".

 

Allen was investigated over the abuse allegations at the time of the incident, but was not charged.

 

A panel of psychologists, appointed by US prosecutors and the police, concluded that Dylan had not been molested.

 

The case caused controversy when a prosecutor later said there had been "probably cause" to charge Allen, but he had chosen not to, in order to protect the child.

 

The movie director has always maintained his innocence. He has previously accused Dylan's mother, Mia Farrow, of fabricating the claims after their highly publicised break-up in 1992.

 

Dylan Farrow opens her letter, published on the New York Times website, by asking: "What's your favourite Woody Allen movie? Before you answer, you should know: when I was seven years old, Woody Allen took me by the hand and led me into a dim, closet-like attic on the second floor of our house.

 

"He told me to lay on my stomach and play with my brother's electric train set. Then he sexually abused me".

 

Ms Farrow, who now lives in Florida under a different name, said she developed an eating disorder and was self-harming following the incident.

 

"That he got away with what he did to me haunted me as I grew up," she writes.

 

Of the panel who dismissed her claims back in 1992, Ms Farrow says: "Sexual abuse claims against the powerful stall more easily. There were experts willing to attack my credibility."

 

She said she decided to break her silence after two decades, when Woody Allen's latest film, Blue Jasmine, was nominated for an Oscar last week.

 

Source-BBC

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by RTC Director

Oscars: Best song disqualification explained

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has detailed the reasons why a contender for this year's best original song Oscar had its nomination revoked.

 

Bruce Broughton, it said, "undermine[d] the integrity of the voting process" by telling "at least 70" fellow Academy members he had composed the song.

 

"The nominating process for original song is intended to be anonymous," the Academy's statement continued.

 

Broughton, it said, "should have been more cautious" as an "Academy insider".

 

The title song to Christianity-themed film Alone Not Yet Alone had its nomination rescinded on Wednesday after it was decided Broughton's actions "were inconsistent with the Academy's promotional regulations".

 

Broughton, a former Academy Governor, said he was "devastated" by the decision, telling the Christian Post newspaper his character had been "besmirched and sullied".

 

The Academy's latest statement follows robust criticism of its actions from an Oscar-winning producer, who suggested the move had been motivated by "faith-based bigotry".

 

In a letter seen by the Hollywood Reporter, Schindler's List producer Gerald Molen said rescinding a nomination from a film with a Christian message would see the Academy accused of "needlessly offending middle America".

 

The Academy, however, insisted Broughton "took advantage of information that few other potential nominees are privy to" by telling members of its music branch that he composed Alone Not Yet Alone.

 

The composer, it continued, had acted "in a way that made it appear as if he were taking advantage of his position to exert undue influence", calling into question whether the voting process was "fair and equitable".

 

In his email, Broughton wrote to a number of music branch members to "boldly" direct their attention to "entry 57" on the DVD compilation they had been sent by the Academy.

 

The Academy said his actions contravened "a long-standing policy and practice... to prevent favouritism and promote unbiased voting".

 

The ousted track has not been replaced by another contender, leaving four compositions to compete for this year's best song award.

 

One of them, Let It Go, features in hit Disney animation Frozen, which boosted its Oscar chances on Saturday by winning top prize at this year's Annie Awards.

 

The film, an adaptation of Hans Christian Andersen's The Snow Queen, was named best animated feature on Saturday, one of five prizes it took home from the Los Angeles event marking the year's best achievements in animation.

 

More prizes were handed out on Saturday by the Writers Guild of America, which gave its main awards to futuristic romance Her and maritime drama Captain Phillips.

 

Spike Jonze's script for Her was named best original screenplay, with the best adapted screenplay accolade going to Billy Ray's script for Paul Greengrass's fact-based thriller.

 

TV shows Veep, Breaking Bad and House of Cards were also recognised by the guild at ceremonies held simultaneously in Los Angeles and New York.

 

Source-BBC

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by RTC Director

Jamaican Deejay John Wayne is dead

Jamaican deejay John Wayne, who rose to prominence during the 1980s with the hit song Call the Police, died yesterday at the Kingston Public Hospital.

His brother, deejay Patrick 'Penny Irie' Cephas, told Splash the cause of death was renal failure.

John Wayne, whose real name was Norval Headley, was 51 years old.

His career started with sound systems such as Black Scorpio, Studio Mix and Kilamanjaro.

He broke through in 1985 with Call the Police, done on the sensational Sleng Teng beat produced by Lloyd 'King Jammys' James.

He had another hit in the 1980s with Mi Nuh Response.

Norval 'John Wayne' Headley is survived by seven children and eight grandchildren.

 

Source-Splash

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by RTC Director