Zhao facing controversy at home
Chloe Zhao’s success — she’s the first Asian woman and the second woman ever to win a Golden Globe for best director for her film “Nomadland” — has not been met with universal applause in her country of birth.
The Beijing-born filmmaker, now a leading
Oscar contender, instead finds the news of her success overshadowed by a nationalist backlash regarding her citizenship and her identity. Censors have removed some social media posts about the film, which has raised questions about whether it will still be released in China.
Over the past week, Chinese web users questioned whether Zhao, who was educated in the U.K. and the U.S., was still a Chinese citizen and if she could be counted as Chinese given a critical comment she made about the country in 2013. Even as some celebrated her win, others dug up two interviews where Zhao said things that they considered an “insult to China.”
Publicity about the film has been removed from social media, and at least two hashtags related to it have been disabled.
The film was slated to be released April 23, according to Chinese media.
Wilson ‘grateful’ for health:
As the world marks one year of the COVID19 pandemic, Rita Wilson is celebrating that she’s still alive. The actor, who tested positive along with husband Tom Hanks, reflected on the past year Sunday, a day before the one-year anniversary of starting to feel symptoms in Australia.
“I want to take a moment to say how grateful we are for our health, how thankful we are for the medical care we got in Queensland, and that we
share in the sorrow of each person who lost a loved one to this virus,” Wilson, 64, wrote on Instagram.
Hanks and Wilson tested positive on March 11. The actors had been in Australia working.
HFPA plans reforms:
The Hollywood Foreign Press Association has announced that it is committing to “transformational change.”
In a statement issued on social media, the group that votes on the Golden Globes announced a number of reforms aimed at addressing criticisms that have long bedeviled the group but were given renewed focus as a result of a Los Angeles Times investigation. “We at the Hollywood Foreign Press Association are committed to transformational change,” the group said. “Effective immediately, the Board — in consultation with outside advisors
— will oversee reforms and be accountable for that change.
“Among other important tasks, this (diversity) expert will audit our bylaws and membership requirements to help us guard against any exclusionary practices and achieve a more diverse membership,” the statement said. The group also pledged to increase its support of internship, mentorship and scholarship programs for Black and other underrepresented students interested in international journalism.
March 9 birthdays:
Singer Lloyd Price is 88. Actor Trish Van Devere is 80. TV anchor Charles Gibson is 78. Singer Jeffrey Osborne is 73. Actor Tom Amandes is 62. Actor Juliette Binoche is 57. Actor Oscar Isaac is 42. Actor Brittany Snow is 35. Rapper Bow Wow is 34. Actor Cierra Ramirez is 26.