Day: November 16, 2018

When Marvin Levy says he never expected to get an Oscar, it’s not false modesty. It just wasn’t a possibility.

Levy is one of the most respected publicists in Hollywood, with more than a half century of experience at companies like MGM, Columbia Pictures, DreamWorks and Amblin. His four-decade partnership with Steven Spielberg is the stuff of legend, having worked on campaigns including “Close Encounters of the Third Kind,” “Back to the Future,” “Schindler’s List” and “Jurassic Park.”

He’s also been a member of the public relations branch of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for years and even served on its board of governors, which is why he knows for a fact that no publicist’s name has ever even been put forth for honorary Oscar consideration. Until this year.

He compared it to a sports agent winning an MVP award.

“It was way out of left field for me. I couldn’t have imagined it,” Levy said with a laugh. “It’s not like I could say ‘Gee, I’d love to get that one day.’ It was not on my to-do list.”

Levy will be accepting his golden statuette at the Governors Awards in Hollywood Sunday, along with actress Cicely Tyson and composer Lalo Schifrin. His longtime friends and colleagues Kathleen Kennedy and Frank Marshall will also be receiving the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award.

Born and raised on the east side of Manhattan, Levy never set out to be a publicist specifically, but he always liked writing and had a way with words. One of his first jobs was writing questions for a TV quiz show. He was fired when his “big ticket” question got answered too early in the season.

His first publicity job was at MGM in New York, where he was so far down on the ladder he never even got to travel to Los Angeles. And while he doesn’t remember the first film he worked on, he remembers one of the last, the one that made him think, “I’ve got to get out of here.” It was the 1962 remake of “Mutiny on the Bounty.”

“The lion wasn’t roaring too much at that point,” Levy said, and he found his way to legendary publicists Arthur Canton, Bill Blowitz and then Columbia Pictures which eventually took him to California. It was during that time that he first started working with Spielberg. He was told he was only to concentrate on “Close Encounters” and the hot young filmmaker who was fresh off of “Jaws.”

“That started it, and here we are 41 years later,” Levy said. “He’s been such a tremendous part of my life.”

The partnership was sealed after both he and “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial” were pushed aside at Columbia and he continued on with Spielberg and Kennedy.

Levy has stories for days about film sets he’s been on. There was “The Deep” where he invited journalists to observe filming in scuba suits underwater. And then there was Hurricane Iniki that bonded him for life with everyone on the set of “Jurassic Park.” (“I tell you if you ever get stranded or in an emergency, hope that you’re with a film crew because they have everything!”).

He’s had a few run ins with some “not very nice” actors who he’s had to tote around to media appearances, and remembers the ones who were always late. Ever the professional, he won’t dish on names, but he will say that some of his favorite people to work with have been Cyd Charisse and Shirley MacLaine.

And while many films that Levy has worked on have gone on to win Oscars for the filmmakers and actors, he still remembers the heartbreak when “Saving Private Ryan” lost the best picture trophy to “Shakespeare in Love” at the 71st Academy Awards.

“That was the toughest night of my life in terms of the business,” Levy said.

Immediately after the disappointment, he had to put on “as straight a face as I could” and host a table at the Governors Ball. But he takes pride in the fact that the film is still beloved and now considered a classic.

In fact, many of the films Levy has worked on are having second lives with anniversary releases, including “Schindler’s List,” which is coming to theaters starting Dec. 7 for its 25th anniversary. It’s made for some serious deja-vu for Levy who finds himself approving press releases, artwork and publicity for films he worked on decades ago.

“I live my life in rewind,” Levy laughed.

Not everything is in the rear-view mirror, though. Levy is looking forward to watching Spielberg tackle one of the few genres he hasn’t done — the musical, with “West Side Story.”

“How lucky can you be? I mean it,” he said. “We work for the best filmmaker around.”
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It’s official: 2018 is toxic.

Oxford Dictionaries has chosen “toxic” as its international word of the year.

Oxford University Press monitors changes in the English language and each year selects a word that catches the annual mood.

Oxford’s lexicographers said it’s “the sheer scope of its applications that has made it the standout choice.”

Traditionally defined as “poisonous,” Oxford said people are also using the word to describe relationships, workplaces, politics and habits.

“Toxic” beat out “gas-lighting,” defined as ”manipulating someone by psychological means into accepting a false depiction of reality or doubting their own sanity,” and “orbiting,” which means ”the action of abruptly withdrawing from direct communication with someone while still monitoring, and sometimes responding to, their activity on social media.”

Last year’s top choice was “youthquake,” recognizing the power of the millennial generation. In 2016, it was “post-truth,” defined as “relating to or denoting circumstances in which objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotional and personal belief.”
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J Balvin has everything to gain at this year’s Latin Grammy Awards.

The Colombian reggaeton star leads all nominees ahead of Thursday’s ceremony with eight nods, including two for record of the year, one for album of the year and another for his hit version of “Mi gente” with Willy William and featuring Beyonce.

Balvin has two nominations for record of the year, for “Mi Gente” with William and “X” with Nicky Jam, and an album of the year nod for “Vibras,” a production he decided to do entirely in Spanish after having previously worked with American stars including Cardi B and Liam Payne. His nomination with Beyonce is for best urban fusion/performance. He will also compete for best urban music album for “Vibras.”

Spanish sensation Rosalia follows with five nominations. Her flamenco and trap hit “Malamente” is up for record and song of the year, as well as best urban fusion/performance, best alternative song and best short form music video.

Both will be among the many performers of the night, which also include Marc Anthony, Bad Bunny, Jorge Drexler, Karol G, Mon Laferte, Natalia Lafourcade, Will Smith, Anitta, Nicky Jam, Steve Aoki and Mexican rock band Mana, honored Wednesday as the Latin Recording Academy’s Person of the Year.

For album of the year, Balvin will compete with an eclectic group of established and rising artists that includes Pablo Alboran (”Prometo”), Chico Buarque (”Caravanas”), Jorge Drexler (”Salvavidas de hielo”), El David Aguilar (”Siguiente”), Kany Garcia (”Soy yo”), Natalia Lafourcade (”Musas, un homenaje al folclore latinoamericano en nanos de Los Macorinos, Vol. 2”), Luis Miguel (”¡Mexico por siempre!”), Monsieur Perine (”Encanto tropical”) and Rozalen (”Cuando el rio suena…”).

“It’s so flattering, and it’s so surprising,” Drexler told The Associated Press on Wednesday. “It’s a very experimental record. All the percussions of the record were made using only one instrument — the guitar — and we focused in extracting all the different kinds of sounds from one instrument only… It was a hard task and I was surprised that it had such a warm welcoming by the academy.”

Those with four nominations include singer-songwriters Kany Garcia and Natalia Lafourcade, while Pablo Alboran and Nicky Jam, among others, got three each.

Ten newcomers are competing for the coveted Latin Grammy for best new artist. They are Angela Aguilar, Anaadi, El David Aguilar, Alex Ferreira, Karol G, Los Petitfellas, Nana Mendoza, Christian Nodal, Claudia Prieto and Benjamin Walker.

The 19th Latin Grammys will be aired live starting at 8 p.m. EST on Univision from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
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Women have to be “visible and loud” in their fight for equality to build on the gains of the #MeToo movement, activists said as they push for legal reform, an end to violence and equal pay.

From India’s female vigilantes who beat men accused of rape, to demonstrators in Argentina demanding safe abortions, women have been speaking out on local issues that matter to them, said Inna Shevchenko, famous for her topless feminist protests.

“The only way to change the situation is to be visible and loud,” said Shevchenko, who was granted asylum in France after receiving threats in 2012 for hacking down a cross in protest against the prosecution of Russian punk band, Pussy Riot.

“All these voices and campaigns have brought us to #MeToo. It is a key movement in the history of feminist movements and it will keep spreading,” she told Reuters on the sidelines of the annual Trust Conference in London.

The #MeToo movement that began in the United States a year ago, in response to accusations of sexual assault and harassment in the entertainment industry, has emboldened women to speak out, from Britain and France to India and Iran.

Tens of thousands of women have taken to social media to recount their experiences of being verbally abused, groped, molested and raped by bosses, teachers and family.

While women have been protesting over physical and sexual abuse for years, society has become more willing to listen since the emergence of #MeToo, campaigners say.

“You had to hear a Hollywood star speaking about an issue to pay attention to an issue that affects lives of so many women,” said Shevchenko, a Ukrainian who leads Femen, a Paris-based group of feminists.

Members of Femen, which started in Ukraine in 2008, have protested bare-breasted and painted with slogans in front of U.S. President Donald Trump and Pope Francis, and at comedian Bill Cosby’s sexual assault trial.

The next frontier, activists said, is legal reform.

‘Accessible, affordable and efficient’

#MeToo led to the Times Up movement in the United States, which has raised $30 million in a defense fund to enable victims of sexual harassment to go to court, said Carol Robles-Roman, head of the ERA Coalition and the Fund for Women’s Equality.

“What’s next after #MeToo in the United States is constitutional equality,” said Robles-Roman, a lawyer campaigning for the U.S. Constitution to be amended to expressly prohibit discrimination on the basis of sex.

“You can raise money to hire all the lawyers you want, but all it means is that the line to the courthouse is going to be that much longer with aggrieved women.”

Anjuli Pandit, who said she was harassed by her company’s chief executive in India but could not afford to take him to court, also called for legal reform.

“It needs to be accessible, affordable and efficient for a woman to access the law,” she told the annual Trust Conference in London.

“Because it’s difficult to use formal systems, and because its culturally taboo, many women in India don’t get up and tell their story,” she said.

‘Speak up’

In India, a law which allows someone who is accused of a crime to file a criminal defamation case against the victim for speaking out is used to intimidate women, she said.

Natalie Ponce De Leon, who underwent multiple corrective surgeries after a stalker hurled acid at her in 2014, also called for women to tell their stories to bring about change.

“Girls need to speak up. I understand that they feel scared but if they continue to be silent, then the violence will continue,” said Ponce, who has become a leading voice seeking stricter punishment for acid crimes in Colombia.
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