Couple honored for services to film
The Oscar-winning director of “Oppenheimer,” Christopher Nolan, and his wife and producer, Emma Thomas, will receive a knighthood and damehood for their services to film, according to a statement Thursday from the U.K. government.
Their recognition comes after their biopic about J. Robert Oppenheimer, the “father of the atomic bomb,” swept the awards season, notably at the Academy Awards earlier this month, where the movie won seven Oscars, including best film and best director.
News of their honors was a bit of a surprise, because they are usually handed out twice in the year, once to mark the new year and then on the birthday of King Charles III, who confers the honors. They are sometimes awarded after special achievements, often related to sports and the arts.
The honors are formally awarded at a ceremony at Buckingham Palace, often by the U.K. monarch in person. However, the king is not undertaking any royal duties as he undergoes treatment for cancer.
Born in London to a British father and American mother, Nolan met Thomas while attending University College London. The couple, both 53, have four children and run production company Syncopy, which has been behind many of their films.
Thompson addresses ‘Quiet on Set’: Before his “Saturday Night Live” days, Kenan Thompson delivered laughs on Nickelodeon shows “All That” and “Kenan & Kel” in the 1990s. That’s why he said he finds the bombshell “Quiet on Set” documentary and its fallout “definitely tough to watch.”
“I have fond memories of that place, and I have fond memories of my co-stars,” he said, before reflecting on the former child stars who alleged abuse in the documentary. “To hear that they’ve gone through terrible things like that is really tough.”
Thompson broke his silence on the allegations against Nickelodeon and TV producer Dan Schneider in an interview with Tamron Hall that aired Wednesday. The comedian told Hall the allegations detailed happened after his tenure. He did not comment on “things that I never witnessed.”
“Quiet on Set” seeks to shed light on allegations of sexual abuse and discrimination that loomed over Schneider’s Nickelodeon reign.
Nelson taking picnic to Willie Nelson’s Philly area: Fourth of July Picnic is two-stepping out of Texas to the Philadelphia area.
The country luminary’s mega-concert, hosted in his native Texas for most of its 50-year-history, will be held for the first time in the Northeast this July, with a bill that includes Bob Dylan and the duo of Robert Plant and Alison Krauss at Freedom Mortgage Pavilion in Camden, New Jersey.
The open-air amphitheater is just across the Delaware River from Philadelphia. The lineup also includes Mavis Staples, Maren Morris and Celisse.
March 30 birthdays: Actor John Astin is 94. Actor Warren Beatty is 87. Musician Eric Clapton is 79. Actor Paul Reiser is 68. Rapper MC Hammer is 62. Singer Tracy Chapman is 60. TV host Piers Morgan is 59. Singer Celine Dion is 56. Actor Mark Consuelos is 53. Singer Norah Jones is 45. Singer Thomas Rhett is 34. Rapper NF is 33.