The Oscars

Were you, like everyone else who loves movies watching the Oscars last night? As expected, Slumdog Millionaire won eight Oscars, no surprise. Although the film was criticized in India, there is a change of heart there as this film placed so well at the Oscars, there is now celebration. Read about Oscar night from this article from the BBC news entertainment site. The night was sure to create some celebrity gossip such as who’s dating who, how Jennifer handled being face to face with Angelina, who’s wearing what, etc., etc.  And be sure to catch all of these excellent films mentioned here.

“Hit British film Slumdog Millionaire has won the top prize at the Academy Awards, winning eight Oscars including best director and best picture.

In a great night for Britain, Kate Winslet won the best actress Oscar for The Reader, finally clinching the award on her sixth nomination.

The big surprise of the night was Sean Penn, winning best actor for his role as gay rights activist Harvey Milk.

Heath Ledger won a posthumous Oscar for supporting actor for The Dark Knight.

The actor’s family received the award on behalf of Ledger, who died in January 2008.

“We have been truly overwhelmed by the honour and respect being bestowed upon him with this award,” his mother said. Ledger becomes only the second performer to win a posthumous Oscar, following Peter Finch’s win for Network in 1977.

But the night belonged to Slumdog Millionaire, the rags-to-riches tale that has enchanted audiences around the world. Director Danny Boyle, 52, bounced up and down in delight as he received his award, telling the audience: “I swore [to my children] if this miracle ever happened I would receive it in the spirit of Tigger.”

The film, set in the slums of Mumbai (Bombay), won eight awards in total, including gongs for best adapted screenplay, cinematography, sound mixing, film editing, best original score and best song.

“There are certain places in the universe you never imagine standing. For me, it’s the moon, the South Pole, the Miss World podium and here,” joked British screenwriter Simon Beaufoy, previously best known for writing The Full Monty.

Indian composer AR Rahman, who received two Oscars – for best song and best score – praised the city which inspired the book, and subsequently the film.

He hailed “all the people from Mumbai and the essence of the film, which is about optimism and the power of hope and our lives”.

“We had passion and we had belief and if you have those two things, truly, anything is possible,” said Christian Colson.

As anticipated – after years of waiting in the wings – Winslet, 33, won her Academy Award for playing a Nazi prison officer in The Reader.

“I’d be lying if I hadn’t made a version of this speech. I think I was probably eight years old and staring into the bathroom mirror,” she said.

“I feel very fortunate to have made it all the way from there to here.”

In a night of predictable outcomes, Sean Penn’s best actor triumph for his portrayal of gay rights activist Harvey Milk seemed to win the A-list audience’s approval.

AWARDS TALLY
Slumdog Millionaire
Slumdog Millionaire – 8
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button – 3
Milk – 2
The Dark Knight – 2

“You Commie, homo-loving, sons of a gun,” said Penn, addressing his fellow performers.

“I did not expect this, and I want to be very clear that I know how hard I make it to appreciate me,” said the 48-year-old, who often attracts criticism for his outspoken views.

In an impassioned plea – and to rapturous applause – Penn called on “equal rights for everyone”.

“I think it is a good time for those who voted for the ban against gay marriage to sit and reflect and anticipate their great shame,” he said. His thoughts were echoed by Milk screenwriter Dustin Lance Black, who won best original screenplay for Milk.

“I heard the story of Harvey Milk and it gave me hope … that one day I could live my life openly as who I am. And that maybe I could even fall in love and one day get married,” he said.

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie both went home empty-handed, while The Curious Case of Benjamin Button converted just three of its 13 nominations – all in the technical fields.

Sean Penn was named best actor for his role in Mystic River in 2004

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences were eager to breathe new life into this year’s ceremony, after a continued decline in TV viewing figures.

Australian actor Hugh Jackman hosted the show, and showed off his musical talents – opening with a medley of songs paying tribute to the best picture nominees.

He went on to join singer Beyonce in a tribute to Hollywood’s best-loved musicals.

Spanish actress Penelope Cruz became the first winner of the night, picking up the best supporting actress award.

The 34-year-old star won her first Oscar for her performance as a passionate artist in Woody Allen’s Vicky Cristina Barcelona.

“Has anybody ever fainted here. I might be the first one,” said Cruz, who was previously nominated in 2007.

Cruz, who becomes the first Spanish actress to win an acting Oscar, dedicated her award “to all the actors from my country”.

Penelope Cruz
Cruz faced some stiff competition from Marisa Tomei in The Wrestler

“Thank you Woody for trusting me with this beautiful character,” she said.

Comedian Jerry Lewis received the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award, which recognises humanitarian efforts.

“This award touches my heart and the very depth of my soul because of who the award is from, and those it will benefit,” said 82-year-old star.

The Nutty Professor star has raised over $2 billion (£1.3bn) for the Muscular Dystrophy Association through his annual Labor Day telethon.”

Source: BBC News

HRT cancer connection ‘confirmed’

An article from the BBC news site, Health section has reported that there is a connection between HRT and breast cancer. However, this article is referring to synthetic hormones and does not discuss a connection between bioidentical hormones and breast cancer.

The article from the BBC News site follows:

“New evidence of a link between hormone replacement therapy and a raised risk of breast cancer has been put forward by US researchers.

The New England Journal of Medicine research found breast cancer risk fell sharply when women stopped taking HRT. A UK expert said a 50% drop in HRT use in recent years had probably stopped up to 1,000 breast cancer cases a year.

But another group of experts said the fall in breast cancer rates may be due to other factors. The interpretation of the original 2002 “Women’s Health Initiative” study, linking combined oestrogen and progestin HRT with breast cancer, has been hotly debated. This combined version remains the most commonly-prescribed HRT in the UK.

The Californian researchers said that their new findings would end debate over the link. After the move away from combination HRT in the US after 2002, the number of breast cancer cases fell, a sign to many that the connection between HRT and breast cancer was genuine.

Others argued, however, that a reduction in the frequency of mammograms among women who ditched their HRT might have contributed to the apparent drop. The latest research not only kept monitoring 15,000 women from the original study, who had all been urged to stop taking HRT in 2002, but looked at data for women not originally involved, who had been given no specific advice on giving up.

In the first group, the incidence of breast cancer was much higher in the hormone group in the five years leading up to 2002, then dropped very rapidly, with the number of diagnoses falling 28% in 12 months. The women had roughly the same number of mammograms before and after 2002.

Many women in the second group also chose to stop taking the tablets, and this 50% decline in hormone use coincided with a 43% fall in breast cancer rates between 2002 and 2003.
Women in the second group who carried on taking HRT were at higher risk of cancer – with a woman who continued for five years doubling her breast cancer risk every year, the researchers said.
‘Convincing data’ Dr Marcia Stefanik, from Stanford University, said: “This is very strong evidence that oestrogen plus progestin causes breast cancer.

“You start women on hormones and within five years their risk of breast cancer is clearly elevated. You stop the hormones and within one year their risk is essentially back to normal.
“It’s reasonably convincing cause-and-effect data.”
Professor Valerie Beral, director of the Cancer Research UK Epidemiology Unit at Oxford University said that many studies since 2002 had agreed with the initial finding.

She stressed the “good news” – that breast cancer risk caused by HRT fell soon after women stopped it, rather than persisted for many years. She said: “In the UK, where there has been a 50% fall in the number of women taking HRT, this means 1,000 fewer women with breast cancer every year.” Cancer Research UK advises that HRT can be taken by women with severe menopausal symptoms for short periods

However, not everyone is persuaded by the latest research findings, with some specialists insisting that HRT remains an important treatment for women whose lives are badly affected by menopausal symptoms.

Dr David Sturdee, president of the International Menopause Society, which represents HRT specialists, said that women should speak to their doctors to see if HRT would be appropriate.
He said: “There’s no doubt there has been a drop in breast cancer rates, which is very good news, but this started before the reduction in HRT use.

“Breast cancer takes years to develop, so if this drop was due to stopping HRT, we wouldn’t be seeing it just yet. “There’s something happening, which is worth investigating, but it’s unlikely to be HRT.”

A spokesman for Breakthrough Breast Cancer said previous research had suggested that the extra risk of breast cancer linked to HRT disappeared after five years.

He said the suggestion of a swift return to normality in the research needed to be reproduced in other studies. “

Source: BBC News