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      Why These Oscars Mean So Much to Brazil

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      The best picture and best actress nominations for “I’m Still Here” have inspired national pride in a country whose culture has long been overlooked.The streets of Rio de Janeiro have been littered with Fernanda Torres imitators.They drink beer, clutch plastic Oscars and deliver the impromptu acceptance speeches that they hope their idol, the Brazilian actress Fernanda Torres, will give on Sunday night at the Academy Awards.“It’s the peak of fame in Brazil: to become a costume of Carnival,” Ms. Torres said at a film festival in California this month, referring to her many impersonators during pre-Carnival celebrations over the past several weeks.Ms. Torres was already widely famous in Brazil, but now she has become the nation’s star of the moment for achieving something that has long eluded most of her peers and predecessors here: international recognition.Since winning a Golden Globe for best actress last month, she has been on an international Oscars campaign for “I’m Still Here,” the Brazilian film about a mother of five navigating the disappearance of her husband during Brazil’s military dictatorship.Ms. Torres is nominated for best actress while the film is up for best international feature and — in the first such nomination for a Brazilian movie — best picture.Breno Consentino, 21, dresses up as “Fernanda’s Oscar” during a street party in Rio de Janeiro. The year’s hottest Carnival costume in Brazil is Fernanda Torres, who is nominated for an Oscar for best actress.Maria Magdalena Arrellaga for The New York TimesWe are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Oscar Nominees Makeup Got Real in 2025: “The Substance,” “Wicked” and More

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      This year’s Oscar nominees for makeup and hairstyling, for movies such as “The Substance,” “Wicked” and “A Different Man,” showcased prosthetics and special effects.Actors may deliver impassioned speeches about achieving their “childhood dreams,” but we don’t often hear about how those sculpting wounds with clay and bubbling skin with latex are fulfilling their lifelong fantasies.“Teenager treats” is how Pierre Olivier Persin, the special effects designer nominated for an Oscar for makeup and hairstyling for “The Substance,” described his work on the film, which involved two full-body prosthetics and countless other pieces and puppets. Mike Marino, the makeup designer for Sebastian Stan in “A Different Man,” nominated in the same category, described his childhood bedroom as a sort of cabinet of curiosities, filled with “jars of experiments and screaming Siamese twins.”It’s a particularly exciting year for makeup and hairstyling nominees: buckets of blood and pus-filled injections in “The Substance”; face tumors sloughing off like jelly in “A Different Man”; green witches and blue horses in “Wicked”; a vampire shriveling away in “Nosferatu”; and a menacing drug lord created with facial prosthetics in “Emilia Pérez.”“She wanted to see her hands. She wanted to get that reaction” from the other cast members, said Frances Hannon, the hair and makeup designer for “Wicked” about Cynthia Erivo, who played the green-skinned witch Elphaba in the film and has been vocal about her preference to be physically painted rather than having the hue added in postproduction.Universal Pictures, via Associated PressWhile in years past the category has sometimes leaned toward honoring the subtle transformations of delicately coifed period hairstyles, these nominees reflect a year that relied heavily on the use of makeup to create practical special effects.Once upon a time, most special effects were achieved with makeup. Think “An American Werewolf in London” (1981), “The Fly” (1986), “Beetlejuice” (1988): All the various monsters, mutations and marvels in these films were largely created with latex, foam and human hands. Then, in the early 2000s, studios became more reliant on computers to digitally generate these effects.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      In Zoe Saldaña, a Choreographer Finds His Dream Dancer

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      The Academy Award-nominated actress discovers her inner dancer in “Emilia Pérez” with the help of the choreographer Damien Jalet.Zoe Saldaña is an actress, but buried inside her is a highly trained dancer. This has always been obvious to me; the film “Emilia Pérez” has made it clear to the world. Finally, Saldaña — a devoted ballet student through her childhood and teenage years — can be recognized for the force that she is: an extraordinary mover.All actors use their bodies, but Saldaña has long been on another plane. She doesn’t just interpret characters, she moves through them with such salient physicality that her body often has as much to say as the dialogue she speaks. Even in the TV series “Lioness,” in which she plays a fierce Central Intelligence Agency officer, her body guides her like a coiled spring — a taut, muscular vessel of strength and sensitivity.In Jacques Audiard’s “Emilia Pérez,” with choreography by Damien Jalet, Saldaña’s dancing is front and center. And it is a meaningful part of why her portrayal of Rita, a Mexican lawyer helping a cartel boss with gender confirmation surgery, earned an Academy Award nomination.Jalet should have been nominated, too, but there are no Oscars for choreography. Yet his contribution is immeasurable. The story of “Emilia Pérez” is unorthodox enough; even more unconventional is the way it unfolds through music and dance. The songs’ merit is questionable; they employ, at times, employ the worst kind of Broadway-musical talk-singing. But Jalet’s choreography — sometimes invisibly, sometimes clearly — grounds the film.In “Emilia Pérez,” dance is the pathway for Saldaña’s character to become more outspoken, more comfortable in her body.Shanna Besson/PAGE 114 — WHY NOT PRODUCTIONS — PATHÉ FILMS — FRANCE 2 CINÉMA 2024.Jalet has a partner in Saldaña whose speed and exactness in gestural vocabulary electrify scenes without falling into the sketchy territory of mime. In a film about physical transformation, dance is the pathway for Saldaña’s character to become more outspoken, more comfortable in her skin. And dance has accomplished another transformation for Saldaña, the actress, by opening eyes to her range and radiance. Her precision is stunning.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Scattered Pills Found Near Body of Gene Hackman’s Wife as Inquiry Continues

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      The sheriff’s office in Santa Fe County, N.M., is investigating after the actor Gene Hackman, his wife and one of their dogs were found dead inside their home.The actor Gene Hackman was found dead in a mud room in his New Mexico home and his wife, Betsy Arakawa, was found dead on the floor of a bathroom on Wednesday, according to a search warrant affidavit. An open prescription bottle and scattered pills were discovered near her body on a counter in the bathroom.A dead German shepherd was found between 10 and 15 feet away from Ms. Arakawa in a closet of the bathroom, the affidavit said. There were no obvious signs of a gas leak in the home, it said, and the Fire Department did not find signs of a carbon monoxide leak. The maintenance workers who found them said they had not been in contact with the couple for two weeks.The Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement on Thursday afternoon that “there were no apparent signs of foul play.”Autopsies on Mr. Hackman and Ms. Arakawa were performed on Thursday, the sheriff’s office said. There was no initial sign of external trauma to either of them. Carbon monoxide tests and toxicology tests were requested for both of them, it said, but the results were still pending and the causes of their deaths had not been determined.“This remains an open investigation,” the sheriff’s office said.Detective Roy Arndt wrote in the search warrant affidavit that Ms. Arakawa was found lying on her side on the bathroom floor with a space heater near her head, the affidavit said. The deputy who found her said he suspected that the heater could have fallen with Ms. Arakawa, the filing said.Ms. Arakawa’s body showed signs of decomposition, the affidavit said, as well as “mummification in both hands and feet.” The dead dog was found near her in a closet, and two other dogs were found alive on the property. Mr. Hackman’s body was then found, and showed signs of death “similar and consistent” with his wife’s body.Read the Search Warrant Affidavit in the Gene Hackman Death InquiryAn affidavit from a Santa Fe County detective described how deputies found the bodies of Gene Hackman and his wife, Betsy Arakawa, on Wednesday.Read DocumentWe are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Gene Hackman, Hollywood’s Consummate Everyman, Dies at 95

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      Gene Hackman, who never fit the mold of a Hollywood movie star but became one all the same, playing seemingly ordinary characters with deceptive subtlety, intensity and often charm in some of the most noted films of the 1970s and ’80s, has died, the authorities in New Mexico said on Thursday. He was 95.Mr. Hackman and his wife were found dead on Wednesday afternoon at the home in Santa Fe., N.M., where they had been living, according to a statement from the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Department. The cause of death was unclear and under investigation. Sheriff’s deputies found the bodies of Mr. Hackman; his wife, Betsy Arakawa; and a dog, according to the statement, which said that foul play was not suspected.Mr. Hackman was nominated for five Academy Awards and won two during a 40-year career in which he appeared in films seen and remembered by millions, among them “Bonnie and Clyde,” “The French Connection,” “The Poseidon Adventure,” “Mississippi Burning,” “Unforgiven,” “Superman,” “Hoosiers” and “The Royal Tenenbaums.”The familiar characterization of Mr. Hackman was that he was Hollywood’s perfect Everyman. But perhaps that was too easy. His characters — convict, sheriff, Klansman, steelworker, spy, minister, war hero, grieving widower, submarine commander, basketball coach, president — defied pigeonholing, as did his shaded portrayals of them.Still, he did not deny that he had a regular-Joe image, nor did he mind it. He once joked that he looked like “your everyday mine worker.” And he did seem to have been born middle-aged: slightly balding, with strong but unremarkable features neither plain nor handsome, a tall man (6-foot-2) more likely to melt into a crowd than stand out in one.It was Mr. Hackman’s gift to be able to peel back the layers from characters who carried the weight of middle age.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Gene Hackman, a Life in Pictures

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      Gene Hackman, a celebrated actor whose death at 95 was announced on Thursday, stood out in Hollywood for his ability not to stand out.Not until he was 42 did he make his star turn, winning the Oscar for best actor for playing a gruff narcotics detective in “The French Connection.” But at that point he already had more than 30 television and film credits and a reputation for charming intensity that would stay with him throughout his career.A tall man with thinning hair and a deep voice that was befitting a former Marine, he is easily remembered for distinctive mustaches and tweed jackets. Yet he was equally convincing in roles as a paranoid communications expert, an archnemesis of a superhero, a big-hearted basketball coach, a sinister sheriff and an eccentric patriarch of a family of troubled geniuses.And if he seemed to some to have appeared out of nowhere in the 1970s as a fully formed star, he disappeared just as abruptly, doing one final film in 2004 and then walking away without any formal declaration that he had retired. He spent his remaining years in Santa Fe, N.M., painting and sculpting and staying out of the spotlight.He was Hollywood’s Everyman, but had a career — and a life — that few could even attempt to recreate.Everett CollectionMr. Hackman made an impression on Warren Beatty in 1964 despite a small part in the film “Lilith.” Mr. Beatty subsequently brought Mr. Hackman along for “Bonnie and Clyde” (1967), in which he managed to thrive in a cast that included, from left, Estelle Parsons, Mr. Beatty, Faye Dunaway and Michael J. Pollard. The performance earned Mr. Hackman an Oscar nomination for best supporting actor.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      in Television

      ‘Gossip Girl’ and ‘Buffy’ Actors Mourn Michelle Trachtenberg

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      Blake Lively, Sarah Michelle Gellar and other stars remembered Trachtenberg’s work ethic and friendship in social media posts.News of Michelle Trachtenberg’s death at 39 on Wednesday sent shock waves through Hollywood, especially among actors who worked with her on movies like “Harriet the Spy” and the beloved TV shows “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” and “Gossip Girl.”Blake LivelyLively, who played Serena van der Woodsen on “Gossip Girl,” called Trachtenberg “electricity” and shared a photo on Instagram of the first day they met. She also praised the work ethic of Trachtenberg, who played Georgina Sparks in 27 episodes of the show.“Everything she did, she did 200%,” Lively wrote in an Instagram story. “She laughed the fullest at someone’s joke, she faced authority head on when she felt something was wrong, she cared deeply about her work, she was proud to be a part of this community and industry as painful as it could be sometimes.”Sarah Michelle GellarGellar, the star of “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” shared a stack of eight photos with Trachtenberg, who played Dawn Summers in more than 60 episodes of the show. One photo showed Buffy embracing Dawn in an episode titled “Forever.”“Michelle, listen to me,” Gellar captioned the photos, referring to a famous “Buffy” quote. “Listen. I love you. I will always love you. The hardest thing in this world, is to live in it. I will be brave. I will live… for you.”Chace CrawfordCrawford praised Trachtenberg as one of a kind and recalled her strong presence on the set of “Gossip Girl,” where he played Nate Archibald. “I remember her coming on set for the first time and just absolutely owning it,” he wrote on Instagram. “She was a force of nature and just so, so unapologetically funny and magnetic.”Alyson HanniganHannigan, who played Willow Rosenberg on “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” said on Instagram that Trachtenberg “brought a loving energy to the set.”J. Smith-CameronSmith-Cameron, who also starred in the 1996 movie “Harriet the Spy,” told People that the young actress was excited to lead her first film at the age of 11. “Her natural ebullient nature was ratcheted up into giddiness as she tried to learn how to handle all that came with that,” she said.Additional TributesTributes also poured in from Melissa Joan Hart, Chris Colfer and Kenan Thompson. Rosie O’Donnell, who worked with Trachtenberg on “Harriet the Spy,” told People that the younger actor had “struggled the last few years” without providing specifics. More

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      Morgan Freeman, Gwyneth Paltrow and Others Mourn Gene Hackman

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      A two-time Academy Award winner and a dogged Everyman in many of his roles, Hackman was remembered by collaborators and co-stars after his death.Tributes for the actor Gene Hackman, who was found dead on Wednesday at the age of 95 at his home in Santa Fe, N.M., with his wife and one of their dogs, streamed in from collaborators and co-stars as the news spread.Hackman, who played flawed Everymen, inflexible patriarchs and inspirational mentors, had decades of notable roles, prompting generations of mourners to remember their time working with the actor.Francis Ford CoppolaCoppola, who directed Hackman in the 1974 neo-noir “The Conversation,” in which the actor played a wiretapping expert enmeshed in paranoia, posted a photo of them on the set together.“The loss of a great artist, always cause for both mourning and celebration: Gene Hackman a great actor, inspiring and magnificent in his work and complexity,” Coppola wrote in the caption. “I mourn his loss, and celebrate his existence and contribution.”Morgan FreemanFreeman, who co-starred with Hackman in the 1992 neo-western “Unforgiven,” which won best picture and best supporting actor for Hackman at the Academy Awards, posted a picture of them from a later collaboration with Monica Bellucci. In the caption, he said working with Hackman on that movie, “Under Suspicion,” from 2000, was “one of the personal highlights of my career.”Gwyneth PaltrowPaltrow, who played the daughter to Hackman’s eccentric patriarch in Wes Anderson’s 2001 dramedy “The Royal Tenenbaums,” posted a cropped image of that movie’s cast that centered her, Luke Wilson and Hackman. She captioned it only with an emoji of a broken heart.Barry SonnenfeldSonnenfeld posted a still from “Get Shorty,” the 1995 gangster comedy he directed in which Hackman played a B-movie director with a large gambling debt who was chased down by a mobbed-up loan shark played by John Travolta.“He was brilliant, hilarious and always real,” Sonnenfeld wrote in the caption. “And always knew his lines. Couldn’t ask for more from an actor.”Nathan LaneLane, one of Hackman’s co-stars in the 1996 queer farce comedy “The Birdcage,” said in a statement that he thought he told Hackman he was his favorite actor every day during filming. He also praised Hackman’s range in both comedy and drama, saying it was a privilege to share the screen with him.“Getting to watch him up close, it was easy to see why he was one of our greatest,” Lane said in the statement, reported by Variety and People magazine. “You could never catch him acting. Simple and true, thoughtful and soulful, with just a hint of danger.”Hank AzariaAzaria, who played the Guatemalan housekeeper and aspiring drag queen Agador Spartacus in “The Birdcage,” posted stills from that movie with him and Hackman, who played an ultraconservative Republican senator meeting the gay parents of his future son-in-law.“It was an honor and an education working with Gene Hackman,” Azaria wrote. “Mike Nichols said of his genius character acting: ‘He always brought just enough of a different part of the real gene to each role he played.’” More