tilda swinton

First ‘Burn After Reading’ Reviews Suggest It’s Either Brilliant Or Crap

7:50AM Seth | With the exciting news that Brad Pitt has won his second best actor chalice today at the Venice Film Festival—for what the judging committee deemed his “indomitable spirit both on and off the screen, his effortless embodiment of the American masculine ideal, and the way sucking up to him will facilitate future access to his impossibly fertile and glamorous life partner, Angelina Jolie”—we thought it time to finally time to take a look at the movie which ushered him to victory. We speak, of course, of the Coen brothers’ Burn After Reading, which had its world premiere tonight at the festival. If Pitt, as Javier Bardem did before him, could win top accolades with a hairstyle this ridiculous looking, then this truly must have been another masterwork from the sibling geniuses. Let’s see what the critics are saying. (And yes, spoilers ensue.) More »

Brad Pitt Hoping To Ride His Own Silly, Coens-Movie Hairdo To Oscar Gold

8:15AM Seth | Clearly committed to the same, ridiculous hairstyling tactics that helped to win Javier Bardem an Academy Award for No Country For Old Men, the Coen brothers put the supporting pretty-boy superstar of their next effort, the Venice Film Fest-opening Burn After Reading, in a License to Drive-era Haimdo. The wardrobe choice is guaranteed to lend even further realism to Brad Pitt’s already brilliantly realised performance as a dimwitted gym employee. After the jump, via firstshowing.net, are your first looks at Pitt’s Burn co-stars, George Clooney, Tilda Swinton, and John Malkovich, plus a plot synopsis for the spoiler-resilient: More »

Another Weird Jackson

11:58AM Seth | Much like her brother Michael, we have a hard time really buying the whole girlish falsetto of Janet Jackson’s voice. It’s as if she’s just waiting for a commercial break to unleash that Howard Stern-esque basso profundo of hers. [Ellen] Ellen Page pulls out of Sam Raimi’s Drag Me to Hell, reportedly because “she didn’t like the latest draft of the script.” Which strikes us as just the sort of excuse someone who’d bring their lesbian power publicist as their date to the Oscars would give, doesn’t it? [bloody-disgusting.com] We must hand it to that Tilda Swinton: She’s a pistol. She’s already converted her Oscar into a hash pipe. So handy! [Popbytes] Now you’re all Archuleta, Archuleta, Archuleta, as if Sanjaya never even existed. Well what if we sweetened the Malakar by offering you a shot of the Ponyhawked One…shirtless? We thought so. Enjoy. [rickey.org] Next time you have company over, serve them a nice glass of wine in a bacon cup! They can even eat it once they’re done drinking. [Not Martha via WOW] More »

Tilda Swinton Brings Her “Intriguing” Love Life To The Oscar Press Room

9:40AM Clem Bastow | We told you not long ago about the British press’ fascination with Tilda Swinton’s love life; well, now that she’s an Academy Award Winner™, Swinton’s private life can more or less be considered public – as she found when the Oscars press room took it upon itself to ask her how things were going with her older partner, Joe Byrne, and younger lover, Sandro Kopp. Naturally, she took it in her stride. Swinton, 47, appeared taken aback when one reporter asked her about what the media had called her “unconventional” love life. She responded that she was raising her children with Byrne while living with Kopp, her “sweetheart” of three years. “I think it’s extraordinary that we’re all really close friends,” she said. The actress chose to bring Kopp to the awards ceremony. And presumably Joe was at home cheering her on with the twins. Honestly, we know she pretty much comprehensively eschews ‘celebrity’ and everything, but we LOVE Tilda. She and her band of merry men are totally our new favourite “celebrity” relationship envy objects. More »

Your 2008 Oscars in 120 Seconds

11:34AM Mark Graham | All told, we here at Defamer devoted five hours and forty-six minutes to watching and chronicling the 2008 Academy Awards last night. And wouldn’t you know it, during that stretch, there were only a handful of moments that we’ll remember next week, let alone next year. To that end, we gave Intrepid Defamer Videographer™ Molly McAleer the unenviable assignment of paring last night’s overblown monstrosity down to only its most essential elements. So wave buh bye to no-name costume designers and bid a not-so-fond farewell to Jon Stewart’s blandly serviceable monologue, for this two-minute bestlight reel is chock full of moments like Gary Busey neck-raping Jennifer Garner, Joey Fatone drinking Lisa Rinna’s milkshake and Tilda Swinton giving George Clooney’s rubber nipples the business (among other gems). Enjoy! WATCH VIDEO More »

Party Roundup: It Was No ‘VF’ Extravaganza, But Elton John Knows How To Throw A Party

4:36AM Molly Friedman | Even though Hollywood’s A-List was deprived of a chance to eat and drink on Vanity Fair’s dime last night, two fiestas proved that celebrities will not let a little thing like tradition get in the way of a night of free booze and swag. Elton John’s Annual AIDS Foundation Oscar Party usually has a strong turnout of power players, but the star wattage at the 16th incarnation of the bash last night was a few standard deviations past the norm, thanks mainly to the absence of Graydon Carter’s soiree. Highlights included Tilda Swinton kissing her Oscar in some sort of Buddhist mating ritual, as well as the public debut of Hollywood’s newest power couple, Sean Penn and Petra Nemcova. We’ve got pictures after the jump. More »

Oscars 2008: Top Seven Most Cringeworthy Ensembles

3:00AM Molly Friedman | Sad news for any schadenfreude addicts out there, but there was nary a swan head nor a peek of butt floss out to be seen on the carpet last night. Instead, we saw 80s-esque gold glitter fiascos (Faye Dunaway), billowy black muumuus (Ellen Page) and particularly poor choices in fabric, especially for a former stripper (Diablo!). While there aren’t any oh-no-she-didn’t moments, we were disappointed in several of the carpet walkers this evening: More »

Inside The “Intriguing” World Of Tilda Swinton’s Love Life

4:58PM Clem Bastow | Here at Defamer Australia, we know that you – our lovely readers – are a discerning bunch, but that you also sometimes just want to hear about celebrity relationship gossip. Well, we are pleased to be able to bring you both with this tale of proper actress Tilda Swinton (you may remember her as Orlando, or perhaps as the Angel Gabriel in Constantine, memorably telling Keanu Reeves “You’re f–ked”) and her wild and wacky love life! In “Celebs! They’re not much like us at all, really” news, the UK press are fascinated by the cult actress’ decision to have both a long-term partner (who is the father of her children) and a lover, and the fact that all three are apparently perfectly happy with this set-up. Read on! This week, a handsome German-born artist named Sandro Kopp – 29 to her 47 – was playing the role of consort. … But the question of who is playing a supporting role to Ms Swinton is not exactly clear cut. For at home – a spectacular pile on the banks of the Moray Firth – is Swinton’s long-term love John Byrne. And yesterday he revealed that he is very much a part of Swinton’s life still. Indeed, he made it clear that he and Swinton still love each other, and that they continue to raise their ten-year-old twins Xavier and Honor together at their whitewashed home, which is in a secluded spot at the end of a tree-lined road. This is extraordinary enough. But there’s more. Is there, The Daily Mail? And is this “more” also “extraordinary”? You mean some people have unconventional love lives and are, gasp, actually happy? We don’t believe it – we simply don’t believe it! Pray tell, what of the rest of the family? The twins, it emerges, were with Swinton and her lover at the Bafta’s ceremony, and returned to the family home as a group – including Kopp – on Tuesday afternoon. They were greeted at the door by Byrne, who helped them with their cases. The unconventional menage then retired inside. Kopp, it seems, is staying over in Scotland for a few days, with the full blessing of Byrne, an eccentrically bewhiskered figure who, aged 67, could almost be cast in the role of grandfather. … The locals are kept busy trying to work out what on earth is going on behind the closed doors of the Swinton-Byrne residence. The truth, according to associates of Swinton, is that she is very deeply in love – with both men. And far from being a passing phase she is said to hope that it continues indefinitely. “All I can tell you,” said a London associate of the actress, “is that Tilda is delightfully, extremely happy.” We bet she is! The article goes on to provide some lovely quotes from all involved, as well as Swinton’s mother and a few locals, who seem bemused if impressed by the extended clan’s modus operandi. We love it! Tilda Swinton is now officially Defamer Australia’s new Sting and Trudie “We Actually Quite Like Checking Out Sex Clubs And Sucking Each Other’s Toes” Styler, and we for one welcome our new polyamorous overlords! More »