Winston goes to war on mobiles
Oscar favourite Oldman blasts children hooked on phones not history
HE IS the overwhelming favourite to pick up the Best Actor Oscar tonight for his portrayal of Sir Winston Churchill in the Second World War drama Darkest Hour.
And now Gary Oldman has declared his own war – on mobile phones. The London-born star is frustrated that children turn to their devices for instant gratification, rather than learning about history.
‘We’re in an age where it’s the here and now and kids are consumed with their phones,’ he said. ‘They don’t teach history any more.’
He was speaking out in response to a recent survey which found that half of under-18s think Churchill was Prime Minister during the First World War – and one in ten
‘Be prepared for the most PC ceremony ever’
thought Margaret Thatcher led the nation from 1914 to 1918.
Doug Urbanski, who produced Darkest Hour, added: ‘Kids today have their heads down in their phones. They are not thinking about history. One thing that is great about this movie is the older generation have brought their children to see it. Then they go researching in books and become interested.’
Oldman said he was carrying a ‘lucky charm’ to tonight’s ceremony, a badge he picked up in a British antiques shop. ‘It’s a victory pin my wife found,’ he said at the Film Is Great party at the British Consulate in Los Angeles. ‘It just says “Churchill” and the V for victory. It’s certainly done the trick so far.’
The 59-year-old leads British hopes at a ceremony set to be dominated by the #MeToo movement against alleged sexual harassment from Hollywood players such as disgraced mogul Harvey Weinstein.
Oldman faced his own controversy when ex-wife Donya Fiorentino claimed he struck her with a telephone and put his hands round her neck during a drunken row. Oldman has vehemently denied the allegations and no charges were filed.
A source told The Mail on Sunday there will be no all-black dress code on tonight’s red carpet, as there was at the Golden Globes in support of #MeToo, but said the musthave accessory will be a political activist. ‘Normally people bring their spouses or their mums,’ the source said. ‘This year everyone wants to have an activist on their arm. Be prepared for the most politically correct Oscars ever.’
Survivors of the school shooting in Parkland, Florida, have been invited to lobby for gun control. A ‘poignant moment’ is planned during the performance of the Oscar-nominated song Stand Up For Something.
Tonight’s British charge also includes Oldman’s first wife Lesley Manville, 61, up for Best Supporting Actress for Phantom Thread. She joked: ‘I doubt there will be fisticuffs on the red carpet. They’re both pretty marvellous films in very different ways.’
A total of 30 Brits are nominated including Sally Hawkins for Best Actress in The Shape Of Water, tipped to win Best Picture, and director Christopher Nolan for Dunkirk.
Elsewhere, Christopher Plummer, the oldest ever nominee at 88, is up for Best Supporting Actor for All The Money In The World, in which he replaced Kevin Spacey, who was axed when he was accused of sexual assault. Meryl Streep has a record 21st nomination, for Best Supporting Actress in The Post.