Oprah Gives Push to Sundance Winner
Johnny Nunez/Getty Images; Nancy Kaszerman/ZUMAPress.com
Coming soon to Oprah Winfrey's couch: Mariah Carey.
The daytime queen hasn't exactly announced the booking, but it's only a matter of time now that she is teaming up with fellow media mogul Tyler Perry to hype Sundance darling Push: Based on the Novel by Sapphire.
"I've never seen anything like it," Winfrey said in a statement. "The moment I saw Push: Based on the Novel by Sapphire, I knew I wanted to do whatever I could to encourage other people to see this movie.
"The film is so raw and powerful—it split me open."
Is Sundance Now Passé for All the A-Listers?
Frazer Harrison/Getty Images
Were there any real celebs at this year's Sundance Film Festival? All I kept hearing about was Paris Hilton, Kevin Federline's first baby mama and the very low-class Linda and Nick Hogan. I mean, if I were a celebrity, I think I might skip it myself. It seems like it's lost its appeal to the big names. Am I wrong?
—Beth
I suppose my mentioning of a Deschanel and Michael Cera wasn't enough for you. Well, you may blame Barack Obama.
According to Eileen Colavita, whose Spin Shoppe PR company ran one of the swag suites at this year's Sundance, most people left the film fest after just a few days, so that they could head to D.C. and take part in the inaugural balls.
Now, let's dispense with more of your Burning Q's.
Push Takes Top Prizes at Sundance
Sundance
Mariah Carey can finally put Glitter behind her.
Push: Based on the Novel by Sapphire, starring Carey, Paula Patton (wife of R&B singer Robin Thicke), newcomer Gabourey Sidibe and Mo'Nique, took home the top prize for U.S. dramas at the annual Sundance Film Festival last night in Park City, Utah.
Set in 1980s Harlem and focused on the struggles of an abused teenaged girl, Push also received the audience award while Mo'nique was recoginized for her performance as the abusive mother.
In U.S. documentaries, We Live in Public about Internet pioneer Josh Harris won the grand jury prize. The audience award went to The Cove, an exposé on the controversial killing of dolphins in Japan.
A hybrid documentary-improv comedy featuring Juno's Michael Cera took home the Waldo Salt screenwriting award. Paper Heart, about a quest to understand love, was written by Nicholas Jasenovec and Charlyne Yi, best known for her small role as a pothead girlfriend in Knocked Up.
The full list of winners is posted on the Sundance Film Festival's website.
Sundance Notebook: Hanging With Zooey; Hayden's Pet Cause
Sundance
Joseph Gordon-Levitt had Zooey Deschanel for 500 Days of Summer. We were lucky enough to get her for five minutes.
But that was enough for E! News to get the inside scoop on her new film and a whole lot more at Sundance this week.
500 Days follows a lovestruck greeting-card copywriter named Tom (Levitt) who falls for new coworker Summer (Deschanel), and according to the actress, the romance was easy to pull off.
"I've known him for so long and feel really comfortable with him. We have a great rapport, and he is such a talented actor. I love him," the 29-year-old said at the premiere party last Sunday as she was accompanied by her real-life fiancé, Death Cab for Cutie rocker Ben Gibbard.
"I think both Tom and Summer are archetypes," the thesp said. "We've all been Tom and we've all been Summer."
The film is expected to arrive in July, but in the meantime Deschanel is looking forward to getting back to music with her band, She & Him, which is currently working on a follow-up to their 2008 debut, Volume One.
Meanwhile, on the documentary side, a film addressing Hayden Panettiere's pet cause, saving the dolphins, has been making waves this week at Sundance.
Kardashian Sis Reunites With Ex in Sundance
Frazer Harrison/Getty Images for Esquire
Are Kourtney Kardashian and Scott Disick giving it another try?
The former couple, who almost got hitched in Vegas on Keeping Up With the Kardashians, quietly called it quits late last year.
In fact, when Kourt and her sisters Kim and Khloé hosted a New Year's Eve bash at LAX with their boyfriends Reggie Bush and Rashad McCants, Scott was nowhere in sight.
So the exes had tongues wagging Saturday when they met up at 50 Cent and VitaminWater's dinner party at Sundance. "They were holding hands and hanging out," says an eyewitness.
Does this mean a reconciliation in the works?
Did Paris Really Snatch 30 Swag Bags at Sundance?
Frazer Harrison/Getty Images
Did Paris Hilton really take 30 bags of free stuff from a swag suite at Sundance? Does anyone say no at Sundance!?
—Ella, Germany
People do say no. In fact, during a recent sweep through the peppy-sounding Island Def Jam House of Hype, Zooey Deschanel refused all handouts. "She thinks it takes away from the festival," says Eileen Colavita, whose company, Spin Shoppe Canvas Media Group, organized the house.
Yes, there was plenty of swag to be had, including a whole bunch of Nivea products, real live adoptable pets via Best Friends, and tasty treats courtesy of the Philadelphia film community. Christie Brinkley, for one, came through and took a lot of stuff. But not so Michael Cera, Colavita tells me. "He really came through to say hi to his friends. He played the Wii a little bit and took nothing."
Lastly: About Paris...
Sundance: Kristen Stewart Talks Twilight Sequel
Been talking to everyone up here in Park City, Utah, at the Sundance Film Fest. Kristen Stewart was thrilled to chat about something other than Twilight, so we talked the fest's buzz flick Adventureland—and then got into the vampire sequel.
And Nick Cannon opened up about his Sundance film The Killing Room—and what it's like being married to Mariah. Hit the clips to get the full story.
Sundance: Kim K. Settling Beef With Antifur Folks?
Gustavo Caballero/Getty Images
Kim Kardashian may be close to giving up fur.
The E! reality star tells me that she began thinking about losing her animal pelt wardrobe last month when PETA released an "I'd Rather Go Naked Than Wear Fur" ad featuring her sister Khloé in the nude.
"It's baby steps for me," Kim told me at 50 Cent's party at the Vitaminwater House, where she arrived in a fur-trimmed coat and enjoyed braised beef short ribs from the One Group. "I haven't bought anything new since Khloé did the ad."
Even Kim's boyfriend, football star Reggie Bush, gives her a hard time about fur. The two were at Sundance last year when they drove past an animal rights protest in front of a fur store. "I was wearing a fur vest, and he was like, 'This is humiliating. I can't go out with you,'" Kim remembered. "And then we were driving past the protest and he was rolling down the window and screaming, 'She's in here. She's in here.'"
Other celebrity Sundancing highlights include:
Paris Hilton Moves Onto MySpace Man at Sundance
MySpace Celebrity
Paris Hilton found a new man to keep her warm while at Sundance: MySpace founder Chris DeWolfe.
The two were spotted getting cozy at Tao Lounge at the Sundance Lift, where they were dancing and making out.
"They've known each other a long time," says a source close to both of them. "It was a Sundance fling, but they both live in L.A., so you never know."
The 43-year-old MySpace CEO has been married before but is currently single, while most of the free world knows that Paris split from Benji Madden in November of last year.
Chris wasn't the only person P got friendly with at Sundance—she also put aside her feud with frenemy Kim Kardashian when they both happened to hit the same party.
Sundance Notebook: Ben Affleck Turns Reporter
Ben Affleck doesn't think of himself as a journalist. But he's good at playing one.
Before jetting off to Washington, D.C., for the inauguration, the Oscar winner turned up at the Sundance Film Festival Saturday to talk about the premiere of Reporter, the in-competition feature-length documentary he produced.
A compelling examination of the state of American journalism today, the film chronicles New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof's journey to the Democratic Republic of Congo to investigate the country's ongoing civil strife.
Affleck says he hopes his doc can shed light on a humanitarian crisis that rivals Darfur and Rwanda in scope, but so far has received little attention.
He also wants to show that while celebrities have their pet causes, it's still the grand tradition of journalists to tell the stories that spark movements of social change.
Sundancing in the Shadows
George Pimentel/Getty Images
Poor, poor Sundance! Sundry inaugural blowouts (like yesterday's We Are One shindig) threaten to overshadow the annual party at the indie film apex in Park City, Utah. Thankfully, modern day jet travel allows our stars to be everywhere they want to be (and everywhere we want to see 'em!) Case in point: Our Stars@Sundance Gallery.
Sundance Notebook: Swag, Swag and More Swag
Economic downturn? Apparently the Sundance marketeers didn't get the memo.
Rivaling moviegoing as the festival's biggest raison d'etre, the swag rush is in full swing at Park City, with dozens of companies staking out a spot on Main Street to lavish freebies on the VIPs, with celebs scoring everything from flipcams, Rock Bands and KangaROOS to spa treatments, skin-care samples and even teeth-whitening products.
Among the stars we spotted raiding the goodies over the weekend: Dominic Monaghan, Eliza Dushku, Jamie Kennedy and Mo'Nique.
E! News was there to capture some of the frenzy at the Rock Band Lounge, where funnyman Tom Arnold sweated over a virtual drum kit.
We also ran into a real musician, Jane's Addiction frontman Perry Farrell, who opened up about the reunion of that band's original lineup, including for the first time in 18 years founding bass player, Eric Avery. Farrell says the seminal alt-rock act will release a box set in April and then hit the road.
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