Apollonia Appears as Surprise Guest at AMPAS’ “Purple Rain: Celebration”

Apollonia has come out of mouring…

The 57-year-old Mexican American actress, singer, former model and talent manager made her first public appearance since the passing of Prince on Monday night at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater.

Apollonia

The occasion? Purple Rain: Celebration, a panel discussion/screening presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences (AMPAS) in Beverly Hills, Calif.

The evening’s surprise guest was joined by fellow cast members Jerome Benton and Jill Jones as well as the film’s writer/director Albert Magnoli, producer Robert Cavallo and costume designer Marie France.

Clips from the 57th Academy Awards — when Prince won the Oscar for original song score for Purple Rain — opened the evening.

Then noting that “not just a memory was being celebrated but also a milestone,” AMPAS president Cheryl Boone Isaacs announced that the brand new 35mm optical stereo print being shown would be added to the Academy’s permanent collection. Also setting the tone: an array of brilliant portraits of Prince displayed in the outer lobby, taken over the years by his personal photographer Afshin Shahidi.

Writer/director Reginald Hudlin, who produced the 88th Academy Awards this year, and Grammy-winning composer/bass guitarist Marcus Miller, moderated the ensuing 90-minute conversation.

Swapping stories about everything from the film’s early beginnings to the 90 still unreleased songs out of the 100 Prince had for the soundtrack to the absurd suggestion that John Travolta portray Prince, the panelists drew plenty of ooh’s and raucous laughter:

“I was the last person they saw for the audition [to find the Vanity replacement]. [Actress] Nia Peeples had just walked out of the room. I walked in and they asked me to take my shoes off. I thought wow, they’re into feet. Later I learned they were flying me to Minneapolis to meet Prince, who takes me out for a ride in a purple limo. He was very reserved and shy. I’m like Chatty Cathy. The next day we do an audition at First Avenue. I wore black spandex and a metal mesh blouse. Later there’s a knock at my hotel door and it’s Chick [Charles ‘Big Chick’ Huntsberry] from his security team: “The kid likes you. Play it cool,” said Apollonia.

“Prince called me and sang several pieces of [‘When Doves Cry’] into my answering machine and said not to erase it. When he came to my apartment, he headed straight to my machine. I still have that tape,” she added.

Cuaron to Help Announce This Year’s Oscar Nominations Live

Alfonso Cuarón has a date with Oscar

The 53-year-old Mexican filmmaker, who picked up two Oscars for his acclaimed film Gravity last year, will preside over the live announcement of this week’s 87th Academy Award nominations on the morning of Thursday, January 15.

Alfonso Cuarón

Cuarón will be joined by JJ Abrams, Chris Pine and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences president Cheryl Boone Isaacs for the announcement.

For the first time nomimations in all 24 categories will be unveiled live as part of a format revamp: a two-part live news conference at the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills.

At 5:30 AM PT, Cuarón and Abrams will announce the nominees in the following categories: Animated Feature Film, Documentary Feature, Documentary Short Subject, Film Editing, Original Song, Production Design, Animated Short Film, Live Action Short Film, Sound Editing, Sound Mixing and Visual Effects.

At 5:38 AM PT, Pine and Boone Isaacs will take the stage to unveil the nominations for Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Cinematography, Costume Design, Directing, Foreign Language Film, Makeup and Hairstyling, Original Score, Adapted Screenplay, Original Screenplay and Best Picture.

“Each of the three years we’ve produced the show, we have attempted to refresh elements of the process and the telecast,” said Zadan and Meron in a release today. “This year, we’re honored to start a new tradition that celebrates the contributions of all the nominees by announcing all 24 categories. We’re thrilled that a distinguished actor and two world-class film directors are part of the initial launch.”

Cortina Named a Winner in the Student Academy Awards Competition.

He may only be a student filmmaker at the moment, but that hasn’t stopped Rafael Cortina from getting noticed by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

The young Latino filmmaker has been named one of the winners of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ Student Academy Awards competition.

Oscars

Cortina, a film student at Occidental College, was selected as one of the finalist’s in the Alternative category for his film Bottled Up.

He’s one of 13 students from nine U.S. colleges and universities, as well as three students from foreign universities, selected as winners.

Cortina and his fellow winners will be brought to Los Angeles for a week of industry activities that will culminate in the awards ceremony, hosted by 1978 Student Academy Award winner and comedian Bob Saget, on Saturday, June 8 at the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills.

The medal placements – gold, silver and bronze – in each of the award categories will be announced at the ceremony.

The winners are (listed alphabetically by film title):

Alternative

Bottled Up, Rafael Cortina, Occidental College
The Compositor, John Mattiuzzi, School of Visual Arts
Zug, Perry Janes, University of Michigan

Animation
Dia de los Muertos, Lindsey St. Pierre and Ashley Graham, Ringling College of Art and Design
Peck Pocketed, Kevin Herron, Ringling College of Art and Design
Will, Eusong Lee, California Institute of the Arts

Documentary
Every Tuesday: A Portrait of The New Yorker Cartoonists, Rachel Loube, School of Visual Arts
A Second Chance, David Aristizabal, University of Southern California
Win or Lose, Daniel Koehler, Elon University

Narrative
Josephine and the Roach, Jonathan Langager, University of Southern California
Ol’ Daddy, Brian Schwarz, University of Texas at Austin
Un Mundo para Raúl , Mauro Mueller, Columbia University

Foreign Film
Miss Todd, Kristina Yee, National Film and Television School, United Kingdom
Parvaneh, Talkhon Hamzavi, Zurich University of the Arts, Switzerland
Tweesprong, Wouter Bouvijn, RITS School of Arts, Erasmus College Brussels, Belgium

The Student Academy Awards were established in 1972 to support and encourage excellence in filmmaking at the collegiate level. Past Student Academy Award winners have gone on to receive 46 Oscar nominations and have won or shared eight awards. The roster includes such distinguished filmmakers as John Lasseter, Pete Docter, Robert Zemeckis, Trey Parker and Spike Lee.