LOS ANGELES: Christopher Nolan fulfilled his award show frontrunner status, winning his first Oscar on Sunday night for directing “Oppenheimer” and then another for best picture.
The 53-year-old British visionary has garnered critical acclaim throughout his career, but had never won at the Oscars until now. He was nominated for directing “Dunkirk” in 2017 and for original screenplay in 2010 for “Inception” and in 2001 for “Memento.”
“Winning this recognition from my peers is the icing on the cake,” he said backstage. “It’s very important to me. It’s a wonderful finish to what’s been an incredible year.”
Nolan quickly added a second statue when “Oppenheimer” closed the evening by winning best picture, one of seven Oscars it earned, including best actor for Cillian Murphy and supporting actor for Robert Downey Jr. The film earned a leading 13 nominations and has earned nearly $1 billion worldwide.
“It means I can do curls,” Nolan joked, with an Oscar in each hand. “They’re very heavy.”
Onstage, Nolan noted that movies are just a little over 100 years old and thanked the Academy for the honor. “We don’t know where this incredible journey is going from here,” he said. “But to know that you think I am a meaningful part of it means the world to me.”
Nolan beat out Jonathan Glazer of “The Zone of Interest,” Yorgos Lanthimos of “Poor Things,” Martin Scorsese of “Killers of the Flower Moon,” and Justine Triet of “Anatomy of a Fall.”At 81, Scorsese was the oldest directing nominee.
Nolan was cheered on by his wife, Emma Thomas, who twice shared best picture nominations with her husband for producing “Dunkirk” and “Inception.” The college sweethearts have been producing partners on all of his films since 1997.
The couple planned to celebrate with their children, starting at the Governors Ball, the Academy’s official post-show celebration.
Nolan had been the frontrunner throughout awards season, earning the top prize from the Directors Guild of America along with directing honors at the BAFTA Film Awards and Golden Globes.
Besides directing, Nolan earned nominations for adapted screenplay and best picture for “Oppenheimer,” the three-hour, ambitious, R-rated epic about the American physicist who developed the atomic bomb.
“Starting with the response of audiences around the world to ‘Oppenheimer,’ which far exceeded our expectations, there were so many things that came together for us on this film,” Nolan said.
The auteur filmmaker is known for a style that favors documentary-style lighting, hand-held cameras and on-location shooting rather than indoor studios. He has been regularly praised by many of his contemporaries, including Scorsese, who has hailed Nolan for creating “beautifully made films on a big scale.”
Among his other credits are “Tenet,” “Interstellar” and the Batman trilogy of “Batman Begins,” “The Dark Knight” and “The Dark Knight Rises.”
Christopher Nolan wins his first Oscar for directing ‘Oppenheimer’
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Christopher Nolan wins his first Oscar for directing ‘Oppenheimer’
Qatar exhibition explores relationship between AI and humanity
DOHA: The Media Majlis Museum at Northwestern University in Qatar launched “Ai or Nay? Artificial vs. Intelligent,” a thought-provoking exhibition exploring humanity’s evolving relationship with machine learning.
Running until May 15, the exhibition brings together over 20 works by international and regional artists.
Directed by Alfredo Cramerotti, the exhibition emphasizes interdisciplinary dialogue, he said. “For me, it’s important as a curator to combine arts with something else and have a foot in art and a foot in something like technology or media,” Cramerotti told Arab News.
“We’re embedded in an environment of communication, technology, and media and (in this exhibition) we bring in artistic elements… to tackle themes that are relevant for society now.”
On display are installations from international creatives such as Jan Zuiderveld (Netherlands), Patrick Tresset (France/Belgium), and Adnan Ayub Aga (UAE/Portugal), alongside interactive and visual works by Amr Alngmah (Yemen/Egypt), Farjana Salahuddin (Bangladesh), graphic designer Hind Al-Saad (Qatar), Hadeer Omar (Egypt) and Bilge Emir (Turkey/Germany).
“We thought, let’s bring in in different voices — from the region and internationally, from different sectors of society and cultures — to help us understand the different pinch points of AI to make the general public more aware of certain issues,” explained Cramerotti.
The exhibition also addresses the tension between digital and physical experiences, he added: “This hybridity is central to the show. It’s about being aware of how AI and information flows shape our identities and impact our lives.”
As an example, Cramerotti highlighted the work of Al-Saad and Omar, which features screen walls offering a glimpse into how AI works in our everyday lives.
“The idea of how computers see us is actually quite central, but it’s completely invisible — like facial recognition,” he said. “It is integrated in your life flow. You don’t notice it. But there is an incredible amount of ‘bio-politics’ behind it.”
Tiffany Trump stuns in Zuhair Murad gown during inauguration week
- Tiffany is married to Lebanon-born Michael Boulos
- Married in 2022, they are expecting their first child
DUBAI: Tiffany Trump, the daughter of US President Donald Trump, turned heads this week in a dress by Lebanese designer Zuhair Murad at the Inaugural Candlelight Dinner, hosted at the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C.
Traditionally held on the eve of a US presidential inauguration, the black-tie event honors the incoming administration with an evening of celebration and speeches.
For the occasion, Tiffany, who is expecting her first child with husband Michael Boulos, chose a custom, chocolate-brown chiffon gown with an asymmetric one-shoulder neckline, and a cape-like sleeve that flowed dramatically.
The dress was cinched at the waist and highlighted by intricate draped detailing on the bodice.
On Monday morning, Tiffany and Boulos attended services at St. John’s Church in Washington, D.C., a longstanding tradition for incoming presidents and family members.
Later in the day, she joined her family at the swearing-in ceremony, which was held indoors at the Capitol Rotunda due to extreme cold weather.
She also attended the inaugural parade at the Capital One Arena and the inaugural balls that evening.
For the day’s events, she wore a velvet navy-blue coat cinched at the waist, accessorized with minimal jewelry and leather point-toed stiletto boots.
Tiffany and Boulos tied the knot in 2022. For her special day, the bride wore a custom-made Grecian-style gown by Lebanese designer-to-the-stars Elie Saab.
Tiffany chose her wedding dress as a nod to Boulos’ heritage. “It’s a Lebanese-American wedding, so we were so happy to have Elie Saab create the magic,” said mother of the bride Marla Maples at the time, according to People magazine.
Boulos is of Lebanese and French descent and grew up in Lagos where his father, Massad, runs Boulos Enterprises and is the CEO of SCOA Nigeria.
The family is also linked to the world of Hollywood through Michael’s brother Fares, who is an actor and appeared in a 2017 episode of “The Crown.”
Boulos and Tiffany were engaged in January 2021, the day before Trump left office following defeat in the 2020 election.
Camila Alves McConaughey shines in Elie Saab at Riyadh event
DUBAI: Lebanese couturier to the stars Elie Saab took to Instagram to give a shoutout to model Camila Alves McConaughey, who wore the label to the recent concert “Life is a Dream,” led by Hollywood giant Anthony Hopkins in Riyadh.
“@camilamcconaughey attended the ‘Life Is A Dream’ concert composed by Sir Anthony Hopkins with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra alongside her husband Matthew in an ELIE SAAB Spring Summer 2025 look,” the label captioned the Instagram post.
Alves McConaughey, who attended the event with her actor husband Matthew McConaughey, wore a striking yellow gown to the event, with flowing caped sleeves and a plunging neckline.
Meanwhile, US pop sensation Christina Aguilera, who performed at the Joy Awards ceremony over the weekend in Riyadh, also opted for an Elie Saab creation for the first part of her performance.
Aguilera took to the stage in a dramatic burgundy gown from Elie Saab’s Haute Couture Autumn Winter 2024 collection. The glittering gown saw Aguilera channeling old-school 1920s Hollywood glamour. The dress flowed into a feathered train, and she completed the look with a chiffon scarf, draped over her head and shoulders.
The same event saw Alves McConaughey opt for another yellow gown, this time from Oscar de la Renta.
As for the symphony concert, in a captivating blend of art and humanity, Hollywood icon Hopkins graced the Bakr Al-Shaddi Theater in Boulevard City, Riyadh, with a performance titled “Life is a Dream” as part of the Riyadh Season festivities.
Introduced by fellow actor Morgan Freeman, Hopkins opened his speech with the Arabic greeting, “As Salaam o Alaikum,” setting a tone of cultural respect and unity.
Hopkins shared his reflections on life and art, drawing from the words of Edgar Allan Poe: “I have always believed that all we see or seem is but a dream within a dream.”
Reflecting on his life, he described the path from “the son of a simple baker” in South Wales to a world-renowned composer and actor.
“My life, to me, is a profound mystery,” he said. “It’s impossible to understand or take credit for the blessings I’ve been given. That’s why I believe life is a dream, and this piece, ‘Life is a Dream,’ was inspired by my dreamy childhood in South Wales, my wonderfully supportive mother and my father, who was larger than life and worked tirelessly throughout his life.”
Italian sculptress Ariana Palmieri contemplates world’s cyclicity at Tuwaiq Sculpture
RIYADH: With the theme “Then and Now: Joy in the Struggle of Making,” the sixth edition of the Tuwaiq Sculpture symposium has brought together 30 sculpture artists from around the world.
Among them is Italian artist Ariana Palmieri, whose piece “Motion of Revolution” was inspired by the movement of the solar system around the sun. Depicting the inevitable cycles of birth and death, the work contemplates the notion that birth is conditioned by assured fatality.
“It’s all about the circularity of life — you are born, you are a child, then you are an adolescent, then you grow older, and then you die. But your life will continue after this, and we give life to other things. So it’s more about how everything is connected and a circularity of life; as humans move within the planets, the planets are moving around the sun,” Palmieri told Arab News.
Originally from Milan, Palmieri moved to Carrara, a town known worldwide for its white marble, to study sculpting. She graduated in 2023 and the 26-year-old is one of the youngest artists amongst the group at the symposium.
She says it is an opportunity to learn and grow as an artist.
“It’s like a dream. I didn't think they would choose me because I am so young,” she said. “The last edition was more about people that had experience. This edition, they tried to concentrate more (on) the artwork and the background of the artist,” she said.
The finished works will be exhibited from Feb. 12-24 and moved to various locations across the city as part of Riyadh Art’s initiative to beautify the capital.
“Public art is the main thing that our sculptures can achieve because you can do big stuff and they will be like a journal in some way. I’m really, really happy that I can do something so big that will stay there so much longer than me,” she said.
Palmieri’s work is not merely a reflection of planetary movement but contemplates the existence of the human race and its role within a larger picture. Her work itself is a representation of this thought: As every human diminishes, remnants of them and their work on earth will be set in stone — waiting to be discovered by another.
“I thought about nature a lot, and all of humanity. I hope at least that my art can get through this idea, to connect all the people,” she said.
Review: ‘A Man on the Inside’ – comedy series on Netflix
- Dressed in impeccably pressed suits and armed with plenty of trivia about architecture, he saunters in, shyly at first, then begins to find his footing
“A Man on the Inside” is an eight-episode comedy series that premiered on Netflix in 2024, blending humor, heartfelt storytelling and a touch of mystery.
After retired professor and widower Charles Nieuwendyk (Ted Danson of “The Good Place”) speaks to his concerned only daughter, Emily (Mary Elizabeth Ellis), he decides to make a change. A year after her mother’s death, Emily encourages her father to find a new purpose; to take a class or try a new hobby.
With a love of newspaper cutouts (he would often clip and mail interesting articles to Emily), Charles finds an intriguing yet vague job listing in the classified section.
He is soon recruited by Julie, a private investigator (Lilah Richcreek Estrada), who reluctantly enlists his help to uncover the whereabouts of a stolen necklace in a local San Francisco retirement community.
At its heart, the series explores the evolving father-daughter relationship between Charles and Emily, along with her husband and three teenage sons.
It also shows Charles making friends and trying out new things at an age and stage in his life when he thought life ended with his wife’s death.
Dressed in impeccably pressed suits and armed with plenty of trivia about architecture, he saunters in, shyly at first, then begins to find his footing.
“He’s like if a podcast wore a suit,” one staff member aptly describes him.
Then another valuable item is stolen from the community. Then another.
Stephanie Beatriz (“Brooklyn Nine-Nine”) co-stars as Didi, the sharp and determined managing director of the retirement community, bringing her trademark wit and charm to the role.
The whodunit-style show examines coping with grief, lost love, and the excitement of new beginnings from the perspective of seniors.
Whether you’re here for the mystery, the comedy, or its effortless charm, the series delivers a family-friendly binge-worthy viewing experience.
