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

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.

Hungary welcomes Netanyahu and announces it's quitting top war crimes court

2025-04-03 19:06 Last Updated At：19:11

BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrived in Hungary's capital early Thursday to red carpet treatment despite a warrant for his arrest issued by the world's top war crimes court.

Hungary's government, led by its populist prime minister and Netanyahu ally, Viktor Orbán, used the occasion of the Israeli leader's visit to announce it will begin the procedure of withdrawing from the international tribunal that issued the warrant, the International Criminal Court.

Just as Netanyahu met with Orbán for a welcome with full military honors in Budapest's Castle District, Orbán's chief of staff, Gergely Gulyás, wrote in a brief statement that “the government will initiate the withdrawal procedure on Thursday, in accordance with the constitutional and international legal framework.”

At the welcoming ceremony kicking off Netanyahu's visit, only his second foreign trip since the ICC issued the warrant against him in November, he stood alongside Orbán as a military band played and an elaborate processions of soldiers on horseback and carrying swords and bayoneted rifles marched by.

The two leaders were set to hold talks later on Thursday, and Netanyahu was also to meet Hungarian President Tamás Sulyok in the Presidential Palace.

The Israeli leader will spend several days in Hungary before departing on Sunday.

The ICC, based in The Hague, Netherlands, said when issuing its warrant there was reason to believe Netanyahu and former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant used “starvation as a method of warfare” by restricting humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip, and intentionally targeted civilians in Israel’s campaign against Hamas — charges that Israeli officials deny.

After the ICC issued the warrant in November, Orbán accused the world's only permanent global tribunal for war crimes and genocide of “interfering in an ongoing conflict for political purposes,” saying the move undermined international law and escalated tensions.

His invitation to Netanyahu was in open defiance of the court's ruling. Hungary joined the court in 2001 during Orbán's first term as prime minister.

Currently, all countries in the 27-member European Union including Hungary are signatories, and all members are required to detain suspects facing a warrant if they set foot on their soil. But the court relies on member countries to enforce that.

Reacting to Hungary's decision to leave the court, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar thanked Orbán for the move, writing on X: “I commend Hungary’s important decision to withdraw from the ICC.”

“The so-called ‘International Criminal Court’ lost its moral authority after trampling the fundamental principles of international law in its zest for harming Israel’s right to self-defense,” Saar wrote. “Thank you Hungary for your clear and strong moral stance alongside Israel and the principles of justice and sovereignty!”

Netanyahu in February met U.S. President Donald Trump in Washington, where Trump suggested that displaced Palestinians in Gaza be permanently resettled outside the war-torn territory and proposed the U.S. take “ownership” in redeveloping the area into “the Riviera of the Middle East.”

Neither the United States or Israel are signatories to the ICC. Trump in February issued sanctions against the court for its investigations into Israel's conduct of the war in Gaza which has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians, many of them children.

The ICC has criticized Hungary’s decision to defy its warrant for Netanyahu. The court’s spokesperson, Fadi El Abdallah, earlier said it’s not for parties to the ICC “to unilaterally determine the soundness of the Court’s legal decisions.” On Thursday, he said the court “recalls that Hungary remains under a duty to cooperate with the ICC.”