Sandra Bullock shared the painful results of Googling herself, and Meryl Streep shadowboxed on stage Saturday night at the year’s first glitzy Hollywood gala. Matthew Mc-Conaughey, Julia Roberts, Amy Adams and Bradley Cooper were among the stars who attended the opening of the Palm Springs International Film Festival, a warm-up of sorts before bigger industry events in coming months. Honors were announced in advance and the ceremony wasn’t televised, lessening pressure on winners and allowing for self-effacing, sometimes lengthy acceptance speeches. The festival is in its 25th year but has only recently become a star-studded stop on the awards circuit. Bullock, who has been nominated for Screen Actors Guild and Golden Globe awards for her performance as an astronaut in Gravity, delighted the crowd of more than 2,000 by reading online comments about herself. “Julia [Roberts], apparently you and I are in a dispute over George Clooney. We talked about this. It’s shared custody, and we both are fine with it,” she joked. Streep, who stars alongside Roberts in August: Osage County and is also up for Screen Actors Guild and Golden Globe honors, was given the festival’s icon award. “I don’t feel like an icon. Most of the days I feel like ‘I can’t,’” she said. But, she allowed, jabbing her fists toward the crowd, “I feel like I’m an example now in my dotage of the fact that you just can’t put those old gals out to pasture. We’ve got a lot of stuff still to say.”
Action-movie star Steven Seagal said he is considering a run for Arizona governor. The Marked for Death actor made the comments while talking to KNXV-TVin Phoenix about his reality series Steven Seagal - Lawman: Maricopa County. Seagal teamed up with Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio for the show, which was shot in Arizona and airs on cable TV’s Reelz Channel. The 61-year old martial-arts expert is a member of Arpaio’s posse, made up of 3,000 unpaid civilians. He also has been deputized with sheriff’s offices in New Mexico, Texas and Louisiana and says he wants to increase border security.
Front Section, Pages 2 on 01/06/2014