Hollywood Week: Cannes Film Festival, Denzel Washington, Barry Diller, Billy Joel, George Wendt
- Details
- Category: Entertainment News
- Published on Saturday, 24 May 2025 11:34
- Written by Janet Walker
The 78th Cannes International Film Festival announced the winner of the Palme d'Or was awarded to Iranian dissident director Jafar Panahi's, "It Was Just an Accident," which was acquired by American distributor Neon, marking their second collaboration.
Denzel Washington Receives Honorary Palme d'Or
The actor Denzel Washington, 70, was surprised this week during his attendance at the Cannes film Festival premiere of the Spike Lee film, "Highest to Lowest," when the director presented him with an honorary Palme d'Or award, for his achievements in film and cinema.
Hollywood Week: Cannes Film Festival, DeNiro, Cruise, Menendez Brothers, Depardieu Guilty, Combs Trial
The honor was a complete surprise. The jury chooses to bestow one or two Palme d'Or honors annually, usually announced in advance. In 2022, Tom Cruise was surprised with an honorary Palme d'Or before the screening of Top Gun. Robert De Niro also received an honorary Palme d'Or this year.
Barry Diller's Memoir Drops
Entertainment mogul, Barry Diller's long awaited memoir, "Who Knew," debuted on book shelves everywhere on May 20, 2025, and within the 336 pages, published from Simon & Schuster, the industry insider presents his life, his way.
Diller, 83, begins his autobiography, not with a big flash of the dizzying heights of his success, but from his humble beginnings, a modern latchkey kid, shuffled between two warring parents, hundreds of miles apart, a tormenting older brother, and then a life in the poor parts of Beverly Hills, the other side of the tracks, or in this case, the other side of Santa Monica Boulevard.
To not know of Diller's Entertainment industry success, which spans more than fifty years, one would need to be removed from multiple industries including business, fashion, media, law, finance, or entertainment.
During the promotion of the biography, Diller explains his writing process a stream of consciousness writing or "vomiting it out," as he explains to The Hollywood Reporter, gave him permission to access long sealed mental databases, and just begin to write.
Diller continues, "I found I remembered far more than I expected to. Once I started writing, whole scenes and details just unspooled. I'm sure I didn't invent anything — I don't think I'm capable of that kind of fiction. But there's something strange about memory. Ask me what I remember, and I'd say, "Nothing." But start writing, and boom, it all comes flooding back, for better or for worse," reported The Hollywood Reporter.
Gary Cooper: Enduring Style Book Review – Mesmerizing Images, Unique Stories, A Must Have (Pictures)
Many reviews have zeroed in on the Diller's admission of bisexuality, while he explains he is "gay," he is also married to fashion designer Diane Von Furstenberg, for more than two decades. His sexuality seems to be a critical flash point, and in reality, has little interest to many others, who prefer the anecdotes on the industry, and the business maneuvering that has made his tell-all of interest.
Although, as the advertising industry will explain, sex does sell, and adding the fluidity of his entanglements, as he says, will be the hook for the memoir to cross demographics and influence sales.
"Who Knew," by Barry Diller, is available in bookstores, and online retailors everywhere. Pick it up.
Dolly Parton 100 Remarkable Moments Book Review – Entertaining, Informative, A Must Have
Billy Joel Diagnosed with Brain Injury
Singer, songwriter Billy Joel, 76, has been diagnosed with a rare brain injury and has immediately cancelled all upcoming shows.
"This condition has been exacerbated by recent concert performances, leading to problems with hearing, vision and balance," said a statement that was posted to the singer's social media accounts. "Under his doctor's instructions, Billy is undergoing specific physical therapy and has been advised to refrain from performing during this recovery period," reported The New York Times.
George Wendt Dies
George Wendt, who played the beer drinking regular guy, Norm Peterson, on the long running 1980s sitcom, "Cheers," died this week. He was 76.
Wendt, who performed in all 273 episodes of the 11 seasons, earned six Emmy nominations for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series for his work on the series. With a career spanning fifty years, and 174 individual credits, Wendt, a bearish man, was often cast in the critical supporting roles needed for every production. With "Cheers," he personified a typical patron, who found a home away from home, a family of misfits, someone everyone understood. The bar stool buddy role positioned the next phase of his career, and he secured supporting gigs and several longer shows.
Sydney Pollack: A Subliminal Existentialist Book Review – Enlightening, Entertaining, A Treat
"For 11 years, America waited for him to walk into a bar every Thursday night and say something funny. And they just knew he wouldn't disappoint," [Kelsey] Grammer continued. "He was extraordinary. He'd sort of just lope across that floor and sit down at that stool and order that beer and say something that set the world on fire. Over the last two days, tributes from other members of the Cheers cast have poured in. Ted Danson revealed he was "devastated" in a statement, while Rhea Pearlman called Wendt "the sweetest, kindest man I ever met," reported Rolling Stone.
As the viewing audience evolved, many sit-coms, a staple for Wendt, and performers like him, fell to the way side. However, Norm Peterson still resonated with audiences, and was reprised throughout the remainder of his career, from an episode on "St. Elsewhere," "The Tortellis," "The Simpsons," and "Family Guy," "Wings," and four separate Walt Disney Specials, and even to the rebirth of Fraiser in 2002. Norm Peterson, and his everyman relatability, will forever live in pop culture.
Wendt passed away in his sleep, in his Studio City home and is survived by his wife, of 47 years, Bernadette Birkett.
No further details are available.
Janet Walker is the publisher, founder, and sole owner of Haute-Lifestyle.com. A graduate of New York University, she has been covering international news through the Beltway Insider, a weekly review of the nation's top stories, for more than a decade. A general beat writer/reporter and entertainment/film critic, she is also an accomplished news/investigative news/crime reporter and submitted for Pulitzer Prize consideration "Cops Conspire to Deep Six Sex Assaults" in the Breaking News Category and was persuaded to withdraw the submission. Ms. Walker has completed five screenplays, "The Six Sides of Truth," "The Assassins of Fifth Avenue," "The Wednesday Killer," "The Manhattan Project," and the sci-fi thriller "Project 13: The Last Day." She is a member of the Los Angeles Press Club, the National Writers Union, and a former member of the International Federation of Journalists.
