Stars reflect on awards season at last show before Oscars

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Stars reflect on awards season at last show before Oscars

2019-02-24 13:45 Last Updated At：13:50

Glenn Close says she's still a bit surprised the motion picture academy gave a nod to her performance in "The Wife." Actor Richard E. Grant says he's certain he's going to lose and will never get this close to Oscar again. And screenwriter Barry Jenkins just wants to savor making it to the end of the awards-circuit road and enjoy being in the presence of his peers.

"We've all reached the end," explained Jenkins on the arrivals line at the Film Independent Spirit Awards Saturday, where his film "If Beale Street Could Talk" was named best feature. Jenkins' adapted screenplay is up for an Oscar Sunday.

The beachside show is a laid back precursor to the Academy Awards, offering one last chance to reflect on the Hollywood lengthy awards season.

"You know, I think we all kind of know more or less what the results are going to be and so you really legitimately start to celebrate your peers," Jenkins said. "And I think you know you look across the room to see all these people — some of whom I've admired my entire filmmaking life — to be in the same auditorium with them, to walk the same red carpet with them, and also to hear from them, what they think of my work and to let them know what I think of theirs. To me, that's what this season ultimately ends up becoming about."

Close's Academy Award-nominated performance in "The Wife," which also took home the Spirit, isn't so-called "Oscar bait" — something tailor-made to take home statuettes. Close said she's still a bit surprised The Academy took notice.

"I mean, it's a very quiet performance," she noted. "It's a very internal performance. And the fact that something that's so internal had such resonance with people, I still can conjure up how I felt when we first showed it at Toronto and I was astounded by the power that this movie had with the audience. And I've never lost that feeling of astonishment."

For "Minding the Gap" director Bing Liu, whose film is nominated in the feature documentary category, the recognition has repeatedly shown him the power of film.

"A lot of people have reached out, a lot of kids who were like I am," Liu said, saying they've told him. "'I was in such a dark place and I watched your film, and it's given me a new hope that I can wake up and grab control of my life.' I mean it's a lot of messages like that, but they all sort of seem to be uplifting those kids that reminded me of myself when I was their age. You know, part of why I made this film is that I wanted to help the 14-year-old version of myself. And I think it's doing that, which is insane."

Veteran actor Richard E. Grant has been making movies for more than 30 years, but this year garnered his first Oscar nomination, for his performance in "Can You Ever Forgive Me?"

Grant said he plans on savoring every Oscar-day moment.

"Fox Searchlight sends a makeup and hair groomer to paint you up and fix your hair. Then you get in a car and you go and you know that's Mahershala Ali is going to win. So, it means that the other four nominees, we can enjoy it absolutely for the ride. And that's a gift in itself. So, I'm hugely looking forward: first time ever — and last time ever I'll be there."

For full coverage of the Oscars, visit: https://apnews.com/AcademyAwards

Venice launches experiment to charge day-trippers an access fee in bid to combat over-tourism

2024-04-25 12:09 Last Updated At：13:42

VENICE, Italy (AP) — Under the gaze of the world’s media, the fragile lagoon city of Venice launches a pilot program Thursday to charge day-trippers a 5-euro (around $5.35) entry fee that authorities hope will discourage visitors from arriving on peak days and make the city more livable for its dwindling residents.

Signs advising arriving visitors of the new requirement for a test phase of 29 days through July have been erected outside the main train station and other points of arrival.

Some 200 stewards have been trained to politely walk anyone unaware of the fee through the process of downloading a QR code. A kiosk has been set up for those not equipped with a smartphone. Once past designated entry ports, officials will carry out random checks for QR codes that show the day-tripper tax has been paid or that the bearer is exempt.

Transgressors face fines 50 euros to 300 euros. The requirement applies only for people arriving between 8:30 a.m. and 4 p.m. Outside of those hours, access is free.

“We need to find a new balance between the tourists and residents,’’ said the city’s top tourism official, Simone Venturini. “We need to safeguard the spaces of the residents, of course, and we need to discourage the arrival of day-trippers on some particular days.”

Venice has long suffered under the pressure of over-tourism, but officials say that pre-pandemic estimates ranging from 25 million to 30 million visitors a year — including day-trippers — are not reliable and that the pilot project also aims to come up with more exact figures to help better manage the phenomenon.

By contrast, registered visitors spending the night last year numbered 4.6 million, according to city figures, down 16% from pre-pandemic highs.

Venturini said the city is strained when the number of day-trippers reaches 30,000 to 40,000. Its narrow alleyways are clogged with people and water taxis packed, making it difficult for residents to go about their business.

Not all residents, however, are persuaded of the efficacy of the new system in dissuading mass tourism, and say more attention needs to be paid to boosting the resident population and services they need.

Venice last year passed a telling milestone when the number of tourist beds exceeded for the first time the number of official residents, which is now below 50,000 in the historic center with its picturesque canals.

“Putting a ticket to enter a city will not decrease not even by one single unit the number of visitors that are coming,’’ said Tommaso Cacciari, an activist who organized a protest Thursday against the measure.

“You pay a ticket to take the metro, to go to a museum, an amusement park; you don’t pay a ticket to enter a city. This is the last symbolic step of a project of an idea of this municipal administration to kick residents out of Venice,” he said.

Venturini said about 6,000 people had already paid to download the QR code, and officials expect paid day-tripper arrivals Thursday to reach some 10,000.

More than 70,000 others have downloaded a QR code denoting an exemption, including to work in Venice or as a resident of the Veneto region. People staying in hotels in Venice, including in mainland districts like Marghera or Mestre, should also get a QR code attesting to their stay, which includes a hotel tax.

The tourist official says interest in Venice's pilot program has been keen from other places suffering from mass tourism, including other Italian art cities and cities abroad such as Barcelona and Amsterdam.