Kate Elizabeth Winslet (born 5 October 1975) is an English actress and occasional singer. She is noted for having played diverse characters over her career, but probably best-known for her critically acclaimed performances as Marianne Dashwood in Sense and Sensibility, Rose DeWitt Bukater in Titanic, Clementine Kruczynski in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Sarah Pierce in Little Children, April Wheeler in Revolutionary Road, and Hanna Schmitz in The Reader.
Michael Corbett Shannon (born August 7, 1974) is an Academy Award-nominated American stage and film actor.
Shannon was born in Lexington, Kentucky, a grandson of entomologist Raymond Corbett Shannon. His mother, Geraldine Hine, is a lawyer, and his father, Donald S. Shannon, was an accounting professor at DePaul University. He was raised by his divorced parents in both Kentucky and Chicago, Illinois. Shannon began his career as a stage actor in Chicago, where he helped found A Red Orchid Theatre. He has since worked with Steppenwolf Theatre Company, Northlight Theatre, and other groups. Shannon originated the role of Peter Evans in Bug in 2004 and also starred in the 2007 film Adaptation with Ashley Judd and Harry Connick, Jr, directed by William Friedkin. His roles in Bug, Killer Joe, and Man From Nebraska were written by Steppenwolf ensemble member Tracy Letts.
The Reader is a 2008 British drama film based on the 1995 German novel of the same name by Bernhard Schlink. The film adaptation was written by David Hare and directed by Stephen Daldry. Ralph Fiennes and Kate Winslet star along with the young actor David Kross. It was the last film for producers Anthony Minghella and Sydney Pollack, both of whom died before it was released. Production began in Germany in September 2007, and the film opened in limited release on 10 December 2008.
Revolutionary Road is a 2008 British-American drama film directed by Sam Mendes and starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet. The screenplay by Justin Haythe is based on the 1961 novel of the same name by Richard Yates. The film opened in limited release on December 26, 2008 and expanded wide on January 23, 2009. Read more
British actress Kate Winslet won her first Oscar on Sunday for her portrayal of a German woman with a secret Nazi past in the romantic drama “The Reader.”
“Titanic” star Winslet, 33, was Oscar-nominated five times in the past 13 years years but had always returned home empty-handed.
Her best actress Oscar joins two Golden Globes, a Screen Actors Guild award, a British BAFTA and a handful of U.S. critics awards that Winslet has won this season.
As prestige pics and statuettes hogged the weekend limelight, Tyler Perry’s urban comedy “Madea Goes to Jail” dominated the domestic boxoffice with an estimated $41.1 million opening that represented Lionsgate’s biggest ever.
A “Friday the 13th” remake — which Warner Bros. bowed so well a week earlier — absorbed an enormous 81% drop from its first Friday-Sunday grosses to register $7.8 million in sixth place over the latest session. Paramount is handling international distribution on the New Line-produced horror pic, which has rung up $55 million over its first 10 days.
Sony Screen Gems’ youth comedy “Fired Up” fetched just $6 million in ninth place in the session’s only other wide opening. Yet aside from such occasional misfires with individual releases, it seems the industry boxoffice can do no wrong right now.
The 81st Academy Awards ceremony was held by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to honor its selection of the best films of 2008 on Sunday, February 22, 2009, at the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles, California. The ceremony was televised in the United States on ABC and on Sky Movies in High definition in the United Kingdom. Australian performer Hugh Jackman hosted the ceremony for the first time. Academy Award-nominated producer Laurence Mark produced with Academy Award-winning writer/director Bill Condon as executive producer.
