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Kidman gives tearful dedication to late mother as film stars gather for heartfelt Palm Springs gala

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Kidman gives tearful dedication to late mother as film stars gather for heartfelt Palm Springs gala
ENT

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Kidman gives tearful dedication to late mother as film stars gather for heartfelt Palm Springs gala

2025-01-04 20:02 Last Updated At:20:10

PALM SPRINGS, Calif. (AP) — Nicole Kidman gave a long-awaited dedication to her late mother Friday night at the Palm Springs Film Festival.

“I feel my momma right now. This is for you, momma,” Kidman said onstage in tears. The Australian actor and producer’s mother died last year shortly after Kidman arrived at the Venice Film Festival to promote “Babygirl."

“I didn’t get to do it at the Venice Film Festival," the actor said. "Thank you for giving me the chance to say this is for my mom. My whole career has been for my mom and dad.”

Kidman's “Scarpetta” co-star and friend Jamie Lee Curtis presented her with the International Star Award during the 36th annual International Film Awards at the festival in Palm Springs, California.

The intimate gala kicked off Hollywood’s whirlwind award season, honoring some of the film industry’s most anticipated award contenders.

Kidman was among notable A-listers including Adrien Brody, Zoe Saldaña, Isabella Rossellini and Angelina Jolie, who was presented with the Desert Palm Achievement Award-Actress by her godmother, acclaimed actor Jacqueline Bisset.

Jolie, who portrays opera singer Maria Callas in the Netflix biopic “Maria,” is nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Performance by a Female Actor in a Motion Picture.

“I’m all right today because when I walk off of this stage, I am more myself because of you, Zahara, and your brothers and sisters,” the Academy Award-winning actor said to her daughter while reflecting on Callas’ difficult life. Jolie's speech came days after finalizing a divorce settlement with Brad Pitt that reached over eight years.

The night was full of onstage reflection as recipients and presenters gave long, heartfelt speeches at the non-televised event.

Colman Domingo, who was presented with the Spotlight Award by good friend Demi Moore, reflected on art’s impact on him as a child and its power to transform lives. The speech was a nod to his recent film, “Sing Sing,” which tells the story of incarcerated men who find purpose while acting in a theater group.

“I found art when I really needed it to be a parachute to save my life,” Domingo said. “Art saves lives. It saved mine. It will save yours.”

While receiving the Chairman Award, Timothée Chalamet said he feels “clear-sighted” about his career and credits music icon Bob Dylan for indirectly providing him with the perspective he has to work as an actor out of love for the art form.

Chalamet stars as Dylan in “A Complete Unknown” and spent more than five years preparing for his transformation into the folk musician.

“A wise man once said, ‘They can hurt your feelings if they boo you, they can also kill you with kindness.’ I took my anxiety about tonight as a good sign that I’m actually focused on what really matters. The work and the opportunity to do the work again," Chalamet said.

Intermixed with the sentiment, stars also took the time to poke fun at themselves and their peers.

Jennifer Coolidge presented Ariana Grande with the Rising Star award, noting the “Wicked” actor and pop star was already a household name.

“Hasn’t Ariana already risen?” Coolidge said.

Grande, who endearingly almost dropped the heavy award onstage, said she expected to receive “the withering star” award at age 31 and playfully gave thanks to her “good friends Botox and Juvederm.”

Chalamet, who presented director Denis Villeneuve with the Visionary award alongside Amy Adams, reminded the director that he had worked more production days with the director than actor Jake Gyllenhaal.

“Perhaps if I could paint a throughline for Denis' movies is that they just keep getting bigger and better. Apologies to Jake Gyllenhaal once more, who was in the earlier, smaller movies,” Chalamet said.

Kieran Culkin cheekily pointed out he was receiving a Breakthrough Award-Actor for his work in Jesse Eisenberg’s “A Real Pain” after working in the industry for over 30 years.

“It’s weird to be here, to have been doing this for over 36 years. Perfect time to get my breakthrough award,” Culkin said.

Mikey Madison received the Breakthrough Award-Actress for her work in Sean Baker’s “Anora,” while Adrien Brody received the Desert Palm Achievement Award-Actor.

The ensemble cast from “Conclave” took home the Ensemble Performance Award, with director Edward Berger praising unique performances by each of his actors in the religious drama.

“Emilia Pérez” earned the event's Vanguard Award. Actor Alan Cumming lauded the film and said his immediate reaction was, “What the actual (expletive) is going on here?’ I stayed utterly mesmerized until the credits.”

The stars won’t spend too much time in the California desert before traveling two hours west to Los Angeles in time for the 82nd Golden Globe Awards on Sunday.

Timothee Chalamet poses with the chairman's award for "A Complete Unknown" in the press room during the 36th annual Palm Springs International Film Festival Awards Gala on Friday, Jan. 3, 2025, in Palm Springs, Calif. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)

Timothee Chalamet poses with the chairman's award for "A Complete Unknown" in the press room during the 36th annual Palm Springs International Film Festival Awards Gala on Friday, Jan. 3, 2025, in Palm Springs, Calif. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)

Jacqueline Bisset, left, and Angelina Jolie, winner of the desert palm achievement award, actress for "Maria", pose in the press room during the 36th annual Palm Springs International Film Festival Awards Gala on Friday, Jan. 3, 2025, in Palm Springs, Calif. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)

Jacqueline Bisset, left, and Angelina Jolie, winner of the desert palm achievement award, actress for "Maria", pose in the press room during the 36th annual Palm Springs International Film Festival Awards Gala on Friday, Jan. 3, 2025, in Palm Springs, Calif. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)

Nicole Kidman accepts the international star award for "Babygirl" during the 36th annual Palm Springs International Film Festival Awards Gala on Friday, Jan. 3, 2025, in Palm Springs, Calif. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)

Nicole Kidman accepts the international star award for "Babygirl" during the 36th annual Palm Springs International Film Festival Awards Gala on Friday, Jan. 3, 2025, in Palm Springs, Calif. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)

Nicole Kidman accepts the international star award for "Babygirl" during the 36th annual Palm Springs International Film Festival Awards Gala on Friday, Jan. 3, 2025, in Palm Springs, Calif. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)

Nicole Kidman accepts the international star award for "Babygirl" during the 36th annual Palm Springs International Film Festival Awards Gala on Friday, Jan. 3, 2025, in Palm Springs, Calif. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Monday allowed the Trump administration to use an 18th century wartime law to deport Venezuelan migrants, but said they must get a court hearing before they are taken from the United States.

In a bitterly divided decision, the court said the administration must give Venezuelans who it claims are gang members “reasonable time” to go to court.

But the conservative majority said the legal challenges must take place in Texas, instead of a Washington courtroom.

The court’s action appears to bar the administration from immediately resuming the flights that last month carried hundreds of migrants to a notorious prison in El Salvador. The flights came soon after President Donald Trump invoked the Alien Enemies Act for the first time since World War II to justify the deportations under a presidential proclamation calling the Tren de Aragua gang an invading force.

The majority said nothing about those flights, which took off without providing the hearing the justices now say is necessary.

In dissent, the three liberal justices said the administration has sought to avoid judicial review in this case and the court “now rewards the government for its behavior.” Justice Amy Coney Barrett joined portions of the dissent.

Justice Sonia Sotomayor said it would be harder for people to challenge deportations individually, wherever they are being held, and noted that the administration has also said in another case before the court that it’s unable to return people who have been deported to the El Salvador prison by mistake.

“We, as a Nation and a court of law, should be better than this,” she wrote.

The justices acted on the administration’s emergency appeal after the federal appeals court in Washington left in place an order temporarily prohibiting deportations of the migrants accused of being gang members under the rarely used Alien Enemies Act.

“For all the rhetoric of the dissents,” the court wrote in an unsigned opinion, the high court order confirms “that the detainees subject to removal orders under the AEA are entitled to notice and an opportunity to challenge their removal."

The case has become a flashpoint amid escalating tension between the White House and the federal courts. It's the second time in less than a week that a majority of conservative justices has handed Trump at least a partial victory in an emergency appeal after lower courts had blocked parts of his agenda.

Several other cases are pending, including over Trump's plan to deny citizenship to U.S.-born children of parents who are in the country illegally.

Trump praised the court for its action Monday.

"The Supreme Court has upheld the Rule of Law in our Nation by allowing a President, whoever that may be, to be able to secure our Borders, and protect our families and our Country, itself. A GREAT DAY FOR JUSTICE IN AMERICA!” Trump wrote on his Truth Social site.

The original order blocking the deportations to El Salvador was issued by U.S. District Judge James E. Boasberg, the chief judge at the federal courthouse in Washington.

Attorneys from the American Civil Liberties Union filed the lawsuit on behalf of five Venezuelan noncitizens who were being held in Texas, hours after the proclamation was made public and as immigration authorities were shepherding hundreds of migrants to waiting airplanes.

ACLU attorney Lee Gelernt said the “critical point" of the high court’s ruling was that people must be allowed due process to challenge their removal. "That is an important victory,” he said.

Boasberg imposed a temporary halt on deportations and also ordered planeloads of Venezuelan immigrants to return to the U.S. That did not happen. The judge held a hearing last week over whether the government defied his order to turn the planes around. The administration has invoked a “ state secrets privilege ” and refused to give Boasberg any additional information about the deportations.

Trump and his allies have called for impeaching Boasberg. In a rare statement, Chief Justice John Roberts said “impeachment is not an appropriate response to disagreement concerning a judicial decision.”

Associated Press writer Lindsay Whitehurst contributed to this report.

Venezuelan migrants deported from the United States peer through windows of an Eastern Airlines plane upon arriving at Simon Bolivar International Airport in Maiquetia, Venezuela, Sunday, March 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Cristian Hernandez)

Venezuelan migrants deported from the United States peer through windows of an Eastern Airlines plane upon arriving at Simon Bolivar International Airport in Maiquetia, Venezuela, Sunday, March 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Cristian Hernandez)

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