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Bravo's resident Southern belles hit the west coast for some fun in San Francisco on last night's episode of The Real Housewives of Atlanta, but the s--t quickly hit the fan when NeNe Leakes and Porsha Williams nearly came to blows during their first meal at their swank hotel. The pair lost it on one another as they revived their fight over the barbs each had been trading about the other in the press, with NeNe commenting on Watch What Happens Live about Porsha's involvement in former Housewife Phaedra Parks' massive lie about Kandi Burruss last season and Porsha retaliating during her day gig on Dish Nation. As Porsha sees it, NeNe could've gotten her fired, while NeNe—who was once one of...

Praise be because the bloop is back! The Real Housewives of Atlanta finally returned for its milestone tenth season tonight, and along for the ride was the one and only Ms. Linnethia Leakes (NeNe, if you're nasty), back to snatch back the crown for herself as the true queen of these Southern belles after sitting out two seasons as a full-time cast memeber. And can we just say her presence in the season premiere only reinforced just how much we'd missed her. After all, there is no one better to react to Kenya Moore's, shall we say, unorthodox nuptials than NeNe. After Cynthia Bailey, Kenya's Bff, told NeNe that she only learned of her pal's quickie marriage through the internet, our girl wasn't...

Bloop! NeNe Leakes is back on the Real Housewives of Atlanta scene, and she's not wasting any time on the drama front. Did you expect anything less? In this sneak peek of the season 10 (!!) premiere, exclusive to E! News, the former queen of these Southern belles is clearly back to reclaim her throne and she's not going to let anyone stand in her way. Especially former friend Porsha Williams. "What is your problem?" she demands Porsha tell her in the middle of a party after she clearly catches wind that she's being talked about. Porsha laughs at NeNe's request. "NeNe, three weeks ago...," is all she can get out before NeNe cuts her off.   "No, no, if...

Thomas Rhett and his wife Lauren had a busy day in the Big Apple on Monday.

The spouses walked the streets of New York City with their daughters — newborn Ada James, 4 weeks, and Willa Gray, 22 months — before stopping to visit with members of the Fdny on the 16-year anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.

The 27-year-old country star shared the sweet stop-by on his Instagram story, with Willa trying on her own plastic firefighter hat and sitting with mom Lauren in the front seat of a firetruck.

Video also showed Willa watching a fireman slide down a pole, taking in the...

Up until a few years ago, Sofia Coppola swore she would never do a remake. Then her production designer, Anne Ross, brought Don Siegel's 1971 pulp classic The Beguiled to her attention – and the director saw a film ripe for retelling. A group of Southern belles are holed up at an all-girls school during the Civil War; suddenly, the young women and their headmistress have their isolated existence disrupted by a wounded Union soldier. Nearly half a century ago, Clint Eastwood's Corporal John McBurney behaved as if he had arrived at a brothel,...

In Thomas P. Cullinan’s book, and in its two subsequent film adaptations, The Beguiled are the students and faculty of an all-girls boarding school in 19th-century Mississippi. They’re all startled, then spellbound by a handsome, injured Yankee soldier they take in, totally upending the school’s fragile dynamic. But in addition to sugar and spice, these Southern belles are made of bone saws, anatomy books, and spiked apple pies. In the 2017 adaptation, Nicole Kidman, Kirsten Dunst, and Elle Fanning star as these repressed, wan beauties who become much more menacing, thanks to Sofia Coppola’s award-winning direction.

The A.V. Club’s here to help you find out if that Yankee is done for. All you have to do to score a pair of free passes to an advance screening of the film, scheduled for June 27 at 7:00 p.m. at the Landmark Century Centre ...

Colin Farrell is returning to TV with a starring role in Amazon’s new limited series about the Iran-Contra affair, TheWrap has learned. Farrell will play former U.S. marine Oliver North, who was integral in the 1980s scandal involving sales of U.S. weapons to Iran through back channels and profits being distributed to Contras in Nicaragua. “The Lobster” director Yorgos Lanthimos is reteaming with Farrell on the project. Enzo Mileti and Scott Wilson are writing the script. Also Read: Colin Farrell Held Hostage by Southern Belles in Sofia Coppola's 'Beguiled' Remake (Video) “Great projects can stand out for the filmmaker,...

Colin Farrell is under siege by a bunch of Southern belles in the first official teaser trailer for Sofia Coppola’s “The Beguiled,” a remake of the 1971 drama that starred Clint Eastwood. (Watch the new teaser above.) “The Beguiled” also stars Elle Fanning, Angourie Rice, Nicole Kidman, and Kirsten Dunst. Coppola’s 2017 version marks her third collaboration with star Kirsten Dunst. “The Beguiled” is set in a Confederate girls’ boarding school during the American Civil War, where things are turned upside down by the arrival of a wounded Union soldier, John McBurney (Colin Farrell, taking over for Eastwood). Nicole Kidman plays Martha Farnsworth,...

Bravo's resident Southern belles are finally back for season nine and one thing is abundantly clear: We're in for the continued clash of the egos over Moore Manor and Chateau Sheree. With Sheree Whitfield back full-time, tonight's premiere of The Real Housewives of Atlanta wasted no time making the Og's race against Kenya Moore to finally finish their long-gestating dream homes the focal point of the beginning of the season, at least. And while neither are done yet (and, to be fair, Sheree's been at this for much longer than Kenya), both women had no problem throwing shade the other's way. Especially when one chose to throw her housewarming party well before the work was finished. But before...

First it was Toddlers & Tiaras — now prepare for more tantrums and uber-cuteness in Little Miss Atlanta. TLC’s new show takes us to the front line of The Little Miss Black Us Pageant where moms and their daughters pull out all the stops to come out top. Tonight is the series premier with Little Miss Atlanta with the first episode, Southern Belles & Mama Drama, showing at 10/9c after the latest episode of Toddlers & Tiaras. The series takes place in the Atl with each episode in the series tracking three contestants and their moms as they get into the...read more...

If you thought that the bitter feud between Kathryn Dennis and Landon Clements had somehow calmed after boiling over at the Founder's Day Ball in the Southern Charm season three finale, you may want to think again. In this sneak peek at part one of the two-part reunion, exclusive to E! News, the two feisty Southern belles are still at each other's throats over—who else?—Thomas Ravenel. After having accusing her baby daddy of dating her nemesis in the finale, Kathryn reveals why she can't accept that the pair are simply platonic—and it's a bit of a doozy. Let's just say that we'd have some suspicions of our own if our ex took a frenemy on a Valentine's Day getaway...

If you haven’t seen The Hateful Eight yet, here’s my advice – stop reading. Stop right now. Quentin Tarantino’s eighth cinematic hootenanny needs to be digested organically, not spoiled by influencing statements. Pulpy surprises and a chaotic evolution demand reactionary enjoyment, as Tarantino meticulously fills this devastating powder-keg to the brim – primed for an explosive second act. Tension is meant to bubble naturally, foaming with Tarantino’s stir-crazy, who-killed-who madness. Read on at your own risk, partner.

Still here? Good. That means you’d like to discuss The Hateful Eight, and why wouldn’t you? This wild Western plays out like two wholly different films – one a Reservoir-Dogs-style character thriller, the other a gory Django Unchained shoot-em-up. An intermission divides the two segments, acting like a bi-polar switch between two opposite personalities. Patience is certainly required, but it’s also equally virtuous given how drastically things change. There I was,...

Read More: Toronto Review: 'The Keeping Room' is a Feminist Western With Bite "The Keeping Room" is a refreshing new take on both Western and horror films as demonstrated by this chilling new clip from Drafthouse Films. The movie has been praised as a feminist angle on two traditionally male dominated genres, featuring three young women squaring off against two drunken Yankee soldiers in a home defense scenario reminiscent of a 19th century "Panic Room." In the clip above, the film's three protagonists (played by Brit Marling, Hailee Steinfeld and newcomer Muna Otaru) prove they are more than just Southern belles as they prepare to protect themselves against the approaching threat, made spooky and monstrous by the slurring disembodied voices heard through the window. The official synopsis from Drafthouse Films reads: "In this radically reimagined American Western set towards the end of the Civil War, Southerner Augusta (Marling) encounters two.

Vivien Leigh ca. late 1940s. Vivien Leigh movies: now controversial 'Gone with the Wind,' little-seen '21 Days Together' on TCM Vivien Leigh is Turner Classic Movies' star today, Aug. 18, '15, as TCM's “Summer Under the Stars” series continues. Mostly a stage actress, Leigh was seen in only 19 films – in about 15 of which as a leading lady or star – in a movie career spanning three decades. Good for the relatively few who saw her on stage; bad for all those who have access to only a few performances of one of the most remarkable acting talents of the 20th century. This evening, TCM is showing three Vivien Leigh movies: Gone with the Wind (1939), 21 Days Together (1940), and A Streetcar Named Desire (1951). Leigh won Best Actress Academy Awards for the first and the third title. The little-remembered film in-between is a TCM premiere. 'Gone with the Wind' Seemingly all...

Why bother going out to the multiplex when the movies you want to see are on Netflix? Whether it's a classic weepie like "An Affair to Remember," an Audrey Hepburn movie, a Jane Austen favorite or "Clueless" (again), here are some of the best chick flicks streaming on Netflix right now. (Availability subject to change.)

1. "13 Going on 30" (2004)

Who doesn't love a good time-traveling romantic comedy, especially one with a big "Thriller" dance showstopper?

2. "An Affair to Remember" (1957)

The classic romantic weepie (as referenced in "Sleepless in Seattle"), starring Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr as lovers whom fate cruelly tears apart.

3. "Breakfast at Tiffany's" (1961)

Audrey Hepburn was never lovelier (or naughtier) than as Holly Golightly, a trendy New Yorker with a complicated love life and a cat called, well, Cat.

4. "Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason" (2004)

The sequel finds Bridget (Renee Zellweger) in Thailand, where she's tempted to stray with ex...

When Jon Stewart walked out Monday night to introduce the gala screening of his directorial debut Rosewater at the Toronto International Film Festival, the rapturous applause seemed to energize the Daily Show host; he practically skipped over to the microphone to say a few words. Two hours later, when he returned to the Princess of Wales Theater's stage to a long standing ovation, the 51-year-old comedian seemed to be walking on air. His adaptation of Maziar Bahari's 2011 memoir, in which the Canadian-Iranian journalist recounts being imprisoned in Tehran for...

Meshach Taylor, best known for his role as the assistant in Designing Women, has died. He was 67. The Mannequin actor, who was in hospice care, was surrounded by his wife, children and mother, when he died at his Altadena, California, home at 10:47 p.m. on Saturday, his son, Tariq Taylor, told the Los Angeles Times. His agent, Dede Binder, says Taylor died of cancer, according to the Associated Press. On Friday, the family posted on the Emmy-nominated actor's Facebook page that his health had started to decline. "It is with love and gratitude that we sorrowfully announce that our darling,...

Meshach Taylor, best known for his role as the assistant in Designing Women, has died. He was 67.

The Mannequin actor, who was in hospice care, was surrounded by his wife, children and mother, when he died at his Altadena, California, home at 10:47 p.m. on Saturday, his son, Tariq Taylor, told the Los Angeles Times.

His agent, Dede Binder, says Taylor died of cancer, according to the Associated Press.

On Friday, the family posted on the Emmy-nominated actor's Facebook page that his health had started to decline.

"It is with love and gratitude that we sorrowfully announce that our darling,...

Meshach Taylor, who played a lovable ex-convict surrounded by boisterous Southern belles on the sitcom "Designing Women" and appeared in numerous other TV and film roles, died of cancer at age 67, his agent said Sunday.

Taylor died Saturday at his home near Los Angeles, according to agent Dede Binder.

Taylor got an Emmy nod for his portrayal of Anthony Bouvier on "Designing Women" from 1986 to 1993. Then he costarred for four seasons on another successful comedy, "Dave's World," as the best friend of a newspaper humor columnist played by the series' star, Harry Anderson.

Other series included the cult favorite "Buffalo Bill" and the popular Nickelodeon comedy "Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide."

Taylor's movie roles included a flamboyant window dresser in the 1987 comedy-romance "Mannequin" as well as "Damien: Omen II."

He guested on many series including "Hannah Montana," ''The Unit," ''Hill Street Blues," ''Barney Miller," ''Lou Grant,...

Celebrities gathered at Churchill Downs Racetrack on Saturday for the 140th Kentucky Derby, toasting with mint juleps and sporting their wide-brimmed best for all the Louisville, Ky, festivities. Stars like Miranda Lambert, Beth Behrs, and mom-to-be Meagan Camper, joined by boyfriend Pete Wentz, channeled their inner Southern belles for the races, stepping out in brightly colored dresses and fancy hats for the big day. On Friday, Tom Brady made a handsome solo appearance at a preparty, kicking off the action-packed weekend. Take a look at all the stars at this year's races, and then get nostalgic with the best Kentucky Derby snaps from years past!

Audiences are most used to seeing the beautiful and bubbly Alia Bhatt in tough, gritty roles that play to her vivacious and feisty nature. So viewers were in for a very pleasant surprise with Alia’s look in 2 States as the fresh-faced South Indian girl, complete with traditional South Indian attire and mannerisms.

The 2-film old actress had to work hard on her looks and costumes for 2 States. Alia plays ‘Ananya Swaminathan’, a headstrong and opinionated young woman, who is confined by the demands and rigors of an orthodox Tamil upbringing. To prepare for her conservative role, it is reported that Alia undertook intense training to perfect the detailed nuances of the South Indian accent and the particular cultural gestures that are prevalent in South India. An integral part of Alia’s preparation was getting the clothing just right. In the film she is seen in a variety of conventional garments,...

Tfe's Vivien Leigh Centennial Celebration continues with Abstew on Leigh's own favorite

 

Even if Vivien Leigh had only created Scarlett O'Hara and Blanche DuBois on film, her place as a Hollywood legend would be unquestionably well secured. Her portrayals of the those two Southern Belles are so iconic that the rest of her modest filmography tends to get overlooked (she made only 19 films in her caree, more than half of them British films before her star-making performance in Gone With the Wind). It certainly doesn't help that many of the films are not easy to find and some, like the 1955 film version of Terrance Rattigan's play The Deep Blue Sea (another film version of the play was released last year with Rachel Weisz which, incidentally, earned her many comparisons to Vivien Leigh), have never been made available for home viewing (although you can watch the entire film on youtube here.

Bluebell is about to welcome another Breeland! Days of Our Lives alum Maree Cheatham has been cast to play the grandmother of Jaime King's Lemon Breeland in an upcoming episode of Hart of Dixie when it returns for its third season this October, we've exclusively learned. And it seems like Lemon inherited her strong and take-charge personality from her grandmother! Fans of the CW charmer will be meeting Grandma Bettie Breeland, Brick's feisty mother who packs a lot of punch and is a pillar of the Southern Belles, when she ends up paying her granddaughter a visit to help preserve the Breeland name. Two Breeland women teaming up? Watch out, Bluebell! In addition to her time as Marie Horton on Days...

Tune in for an all-new episode of Shark Tank tomorrow night. A duck hunter enters muddy waters on ABC's Shark Tank on Friday, 2/22, 9/8c On the next Shark Tank, a man from Madison, Ms enters into muddy waters when he asks the Sharks to invest in his camouflage clothing line designed for duck hunters. Also on the show, three brothers from Boise, ID hope the Sharks can envision investing in their family business -- one-of-a-kind eye wear made from sustainable wood. Later, sorority sisters from Dallas, TX hope the Sharks find a perfect fit for their premium denim line, and a pair of Southern Belles from Loganville, Ga try to charm the Sharks into investing in their...

The 12th season of American Idol opened not with Nicki Minaj, Mariah Carey or Keith Urban, but with Phillip Phillips singing his triple-platinum hit, "Home." It was a not-so subtle reminder that Idol produces not only results but big, bankable stars, including Carrie Underwood, Kelly Clarkson, Jennifer Hudson and, of course, Phillip Phillips, the pawn-shop worker who was swept to the heights of international superstardom by the hands of Idol voters. But only time and a seemingly endless stream of cover songs will tell if this season will produce a star of Phillip,...

Searching for the perfect fit for your must-see winter reality TV? Try sizing up Lifetime's Double Divas. The new series, premiering Thursday at 10/9c, opens the doors to the LiviRae lingerie shop where bra-fitting experts Molly Hopkins and Cynthia Richards welcome clients ranging from bridesmaids to boyfriends. Known as the "bra whisperer" and the "Thomas Edison" of custom lingerie, these Southern belles bring their intimate expertise — and over-the-top personalities — to women of all shapes and sizes. And even if you're not vying for a fitting, you can tune in for the ladies' tell-all talk. We did, and here's what they had to say.

TV Guide Magazine: Why should audiences watch a show about a bra boutique?

Cynthia Richards: People have coined us the doctors of lingerie — writing prescriptions and filling bras with breasts! We are the best at what we do. We have a gift. It's knowledge, experience and compassion.

Those feisty Southern Belles, plus two new additions, are back for a brand spanking new season of Bravo’s The Real Housewives of Atlanta. They say Atlanta is, “The city too busy to hate.” Well, the society dames of the South must’ve forgotten that slogan, because the housewives were back to their usual antics! Note: Spoilers ahead...Read more»...

As you tune in to your favorite TV shows tonight, we think it’s only fair that You decide the night’s best sound bite.

After you’ve watched your favorite shows, submit your choice sound bite in the comments section of this post. Will it be from the season premiere of The Real Housewives of Atlanta (it’s time to catch up with your favorite Southern belles)? Black Girls Rock! or Seal Team Six: The Raid on Osama bin Laden? The Cleveland Show or The Walking Dead? Revenge or Homeland? Once Upon a Time or Dexter? The Amazing Race or Bob’s Burgers?...

TLC is serving up more charming Southern Belles for us to savor and orders an additional round of episodes and HOLLAday specials of "Here Comes Honey Boo Boo Child." Y'all ate that slop up, as the Mcintyre, Georgia family is raking it in with additional episodes of the hit series, as well as three HOLLAday specials (Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas). The show, which premiered in early August 2012, has averaged 2.3 million viewers to date. Its first half of the season ends Wednesday, September 26 at 10 Pm Et/Pt with a special one-hour episode titled .It Is What It Is." From TLC .Here Comes Honey Boo Boo has become a pop culture phenomenon,. said Amy Winter, general manager...

Since Mondays are just the worst, we here at Zap2it have decided to give your week a much-needed wake-up call with 10 TV teasers -- just to remind you that when the work day is over, your DVR waits to welcome you home.

This week, our Monday Kickstart includes scoop on Dean's storyline in "Supernatural" Season 8, some major players in "Dallas," and the "Psych" singalong we've all been waiting for.

"Dallas": Two new series regulars will be introduced in the second season. One is Emma, a wealthy twenty-something woman who is poised, classy, and slightly aloof -- understandable, given the fact that she's spent most of her life sheltered in an ivory tower, thanks to her father. The other is Drew Ramos, Elena's older brother, who was deeply damaged by his father's death and spent a lot of time as a troubled druggie. He's cleaned up his act now,...

It’s always interesting to see who takes which role with the frequent remakes coming. But of late, the Southern Belles (i.e. South Indian actresses) have turned the tides in their favour with films like Singham, Chashme Buddoor and the latest, Himmatwala which will see Ajay Devgn in Jeetendra’s role.

After much deliberation and names like Katrina Kaif and Anushka Sharma in the mix, director Sajid Khan, with some friendly suggestion from lead actor Ajay, has zeroed in on the ‘Chand Jaisa Chehra’ actress – a fact confirmed by none other than Ajay’s business associate, Kumar Mangat. “Yes, it’s Tamannaah opposite Ajay in Himmatwala. The shooting starts in August. Ajay has Bol Bachchan on release and Son Of Sardar is almost complete. Himmatwala is the only other project he will start this year.”

Now the film is undergoing an upgrade but it’s believed Sri Devi’s...

The Cma nominations are out! And it's definitely Carrie Underwood's year with Five nominations. For once, she beats out rival Taylor Swift who only has three! Taylor Swift, Carrie Underwood, Lady Antebellum and more country ladies will be vying for the most prestigious awards in the country music industry this June. Hoda Kotb announced the nominations on The Today Show on April 23 and we're so excited to see our favorite Southern belles nominated for So many awards! Taylor, 22, is nominated for three awards, Carrie, 29, is nominated for five, and Miranda Lambert is up for four! The CMAs will be aired live from Nashville, Tenn., on June 6. Here is the complete list: Video of the Year: Jason Aldean -- "Dirt Road Anthem" Kenny Chesney Featuring Grace Potter -- "You and Tequila" Toby Keith -- "Red Solo Cup" Lady Antebellum -- "We Owned the Night" Miranda Lambert -- "Over You" Brad Paisley...

Season 4 is coming to a close for the sassy Southern belles of "The Real Housewives of Atlanta" on Sunday. Kandi launches her new sex-toy line, NeNe's decision about her marriage is weighing on her, Kim surprises Kroy with a fancy birthday present, and Cynthia hosts a model call at her agency to find Atlanta's new "it" girl.

Check out Kandi's casting call of a different sort for her Bedroom Kandi launch party in the clip above. Kandi, Sheree and Phaedra get to sample the goods with complimentary foot massages from some of the hunky male models, while Kandi wonders aloud, "Do we get a happy ending?"

And see the sneak peek below of NeNe's chat with Cynthia about the fate of her relationship with Gregg. After a season's worth of wooing from her "business partner" John, is NeNe second guessing her decision to divorce?

The Season 4 finale of "The Real Housewives of Atlanta...

The new show Gcb (formerly known as Good Christian Bitches) is a lot of fun. But it's also a missed opportunity. Set in a wealthy Dallas neighborhood where the wives of the 1% worship the twin deities of Jesus and Nieman Marcus, the show presents us with a familiar set of Southern mean girls. It's The Real Housewives of Atlanta or The Help, only whiter and with more punch lines and Bible verses.

The show satisfies our familiar recession-era desires for cartoonish rich women we can envy and enjoy and feel smugly superior to. Kristin Chenoweth is delightful as Carlene, the Bible-quoting Queen B, and Annie Potts is great as Gigi, the matriarch who testifies that "God often speaks to me through Christian Dior." But despite its guilty pleasures, the show still isn't what I was hoping for: a knowing, affectionate-yet-satirical look at the absorbing and sometimes bitchy subculture of churches and church ladies.

Parker Posey was all set to host last night's awards ceremony, but fell ill — and so, as live-bloggers Eric Hynes and Claiborne Smith report, Sundance festival director John Cooper reluctantly took the helm, choking up a bit right at the top as he drove himself through a remembrance of Bingham Ray. Rebounding, he brought on director and actress Katie Aselton as co-host and it was on to the awards. You can actually watch all this here (select "2012 Sundance Film Festival"). An overview of what the critics are saying about the winners:

Grand Jury Prize: Documentary. The House I Live In, "a lucid, long-view unpacking of the War on Drugs from Eugene Jarecki, who ably dissected the lead-up to the Iraq War in Why We Fight." The Boston Globe's Ty Burr: "The movie marshals a wide selection of talking heads, from Oklahoma prison guards and Reagan-era appointees to street dealers and Jarecki's own nanny,...

Sundance Institute this evening announced the Jury, Audience, Next and other special awards of the 2012 Sundance Film Festival at the Festival's Awards Ceremony, hosted by Parker Posey in Park City, Utah. An archived video of the ceremony in its entirety is available at Sundance.org/Live.

"Every year the Sundance Film Festival brings to light exciting new directions and fresh voices in independent film, and this year is no different," said John Cooper, Director of the Sundance Film Festival. "While these awards further distinguish those that have had the most impact on audiences and our jury, the level of talent showcased across the board at the Festival was really impressive, and all are to be congratulated and thanked for sharing their work with us."

Keri Putnam, Executive Director of Sundance Institute, said, "As we close what was a remarkable 10 days of the 2012 Sundance Film Festival, we look to the year...

The 2012 Sundance Film Festival has come to an end, and the winners of the Jury, Audience, and Next <=> awards have been announced. There was a great selection of films this year at the festival, and I've seen more good than bad. I'm ultimately happy with the outcome. Beasts of the Southern Wild was this year's most buzzed about film and took home the top Grand Jury Prize. I didn't like it as much as everyone else, but it was still good, and it won. I think it was just way too over hyped for what I ended up seeing. Maybe I would have liked it more had I gone in with no expectations.

Here's the full breakdown of winners:

Sundance Institute this evening announced the Jury, Audience, Next <=> and other special awards of the 2012 Sundance Film Festival at the Festival’s Awards Ceremony in Park City, Utah. An archived video...

The Sundance Film Festival prepared to come to a close for 2012 tonight as the festival held its some of its last screenings and mounted an awards ceremony to celebrate the best films of this year's festival. The biggest jury prizes went to Beasts of the Southern Wild (reviewed here [1]) and Eugene Jarecki's war on drugs documentary The House I Live In. The Surrogate (reviewed here [2]) took an Audience Award, as did the doc Searching for Sugar Man (reviewed here [3]) and the film Valley of Saints. The full list of awards is below. The 2012 Sundance Film Festival Awards presented this evening were: The Grand Jury Prize: Documentary was presented by Charles Ferguson to: The House I Live In / U.S.A. (Director: Eugene Jarecki) — For over 40 years, the War on Drugs has accounted for 45 million arrests, made America the world's largest jailer and damaged poor communities at home and abroad.

Beasts of the Southern Wild

The House I Live In, Beasts of the Southern Wild, The Law in These Parts and Violeta Went to Heaven Earn Grand Jury Prizes

Audience Favorites Include The Invisible War, The Surrogate, Searching For Sugar Man and Valley of Saints

Sleepwalk With Me Receives Best of  Audience Award

Park City, Ut . Sundance Institute this evening announced the Jury, Audience, and other special awards of the 2012 Sundance Film Festival at the Festival.s Awards Ceremony, hosted by Parker Posey in Park City, Utah. An archived video of the ceremony in its entirety is available at www.sundance.org/live.

.Every year the Sundance Film Festival brings to light exciting new directions and fresh voices in independent film, and this year is no different,. said John Cooper, Director of the Sundance Film Festival. .While these awards further distinguish those that have had the most impact on audiences and our jury,...

Fox Searchlight was the big winner at the Sundance Film Festival 2012, as two of their acquired titles won top awards. It is no surprise that Benh Zeitlin‘s Beast of the Southern Wild (our review here) picked up the grand jury dramatic prize, as it was the most-buzzed of the fest. The Surrogate, starring John Hawkes, won the dramatic audience award and one can read our review of that drama here. It was great to see other fest favorites like Mike Birbiglia‘s Sleepwalk With Me and The Queen of Versailles among other winners. Check them all out below and see our full coverage here.

Park City, Ut — Sundance Institute this evening announced the Jury, Audience, Next <=> and other special awards of the 2012 Sundance Film Festival at the Festival’s Awards Ceremony, hosted by Parker Posey in Park City, Utah. An archived video of the ceremony in its entirety is available at www.

By no means intended as an exhaustive list, Clothes on Film ponder an overview of 2011 in costume. Concentrating on mainstream fare that those outside of big cities are likely to have seen, we consider which costumes delighted, surprised and best of all, enlightened us. Expect to spot Drive, Melancholia and Hugo on this list somewhere.

Costume encompasses every item of clothing worn on film. By strict definition costume is not ‘wardrobe’; wardrobe is what Oprah Winfrey wore on her talk show. While at Clothes on Film we embrace all forms of costume, we do have a slight bias for contemporary, although only because it is often underrepresented in the face of (admittedly dazzling) period or fantasy wear. This roundup will comprise both period and contemporary, but...

Barring any late additions or surprises, the full lineup for the 2012 edition of the Sundance Film Festival (January 19 through 29) is now complete. We've seen the the Competition and Spotlight, Park City at Midnight, Next <=> and New Frontier lineups, the Premieres and the Documentary Premieres. Today's the festival's unveiled its Short Film program. Once again, straight from the release:

U.S. Short Films

This year's 32 U.S. short films were selected from 4,083 submissions.

U.S. Narrative Short Films

’92 Skybox Alonzo Mourning Rookie Card (Director: Todd Sklar, Screenwriters: Todd Sklar, Alex Rennie) — Jim and Dave are brothers who haven't spoken in years and don't like each other very much, but are forced to come together for a week when their dad dies in Kansas City. A limited edition 1992 Skybox Series Alonzo Mourning rookie card is a point of contention.

The Arm (Directors and screenwriters: Brie Larson, Sarah Ramos, Jessie Ennis) — In an...

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Southern belles and grits, fried chicken and stifling heat, milkshake bars and Jim Crow laws announce that this is early 1960s Mississippi, and although Bob Dylan is singing about it, times don’t look like they are a’changin here anytime soon. The dangerous and illusory “separate but equal” laws controlling segregated society in the state mean that black people are pressed firmly into the role of second class citizens. These laws are aided by long ingrained hypocrisy in the heart of the society; middle class white women habitually keep black maids who virtually raise their children for them, yet these maids are mistrusted and even considered to carry diseases that warrant providing them with a separate “blacks only” toilet.

Returning to this stifling and rotten atmosphere is Skeeter, recent graduate and would-be journalist played by Emma Stone. Skeeter manages to land a job writing a...

I’m sure Nicole Kidman would like to get a few projects out there in the very near future, if only to let the specter of Trespass fade into obscurity. If Deadline is correct, one of the films that can help us forget the Joel Schumacher travesty is The Family Fang — as they tell us, the actress has bought the rights to and will star in an adaptation of Kevin Wilson‘s novel. She’ll also produce with Per Saari through their Blossom Films, putting the two back in business with Rabbit Hole co-producers Olympus Films.

Wilson‘s book centers on “performance artists who routinely sucked their kids into taking part in a variety of bizarre events.” After “the full grown children return home in a state of crisis, they are unwittingly enlisted to help in the execution of a daring and mysterious final performance by their parents, who are...

Do we really need another film where white people sort out race relations? Who does The Help really help, asks John Patterson

Coming so swiftly on the heels of The Black Power Mixtape, which smelt of cordite, tear-gas and revolution, The Help, which smells of jasmine, magnolia flowers and compromise, is bound to seem a little tame in comparison. Like most top-down, white-created fictions about the African-American experience (to wit, The Blind Side) it takes a white perspective, offers a white protagonist as the galvaniser of events and fairly reeks of self-congratulation, cultural tourism and historical revisionism. Thankfully, it's also anchored by rock-solid performances from Viola Davis and Octavia Spencer as the eponymous black maids working in upper-middle class white households in 1961 Mississippi, and by their diverse employers – Emma Stone, Jessica Chastain, Bryce Dallas Howard – Southern belles raised in the shadow of Margaret Mitchell and Scarlett O'Hara.

None of which...

You don't have to tell Scott Porter that a show like Friday Night Lights — the football drama that won Emmys, a Peabody and inspired a catchphrase ("clear eyes, full heart, can't lose!") — doesn't come around often. He already knows.

"It was a lightning-in-the-bottle moment of magic with Friday Night Lights and I know that I can never do that again. So to do something starkly different, but still try and capture that same type of magic and create and own a character was great," Porter says. "I wanted a show to be able to call my own again."

Fall TV: Get the lowdown on this season's must-see new shows

Porter's second chance comes courtesy of Hart of Dixie, The CW's new drama following a city slicker doctor, Zoe Hart (Rachel Bilson), whose career forces her to move to the South where she encounters alligators, Southern belles and a...

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Oh, those bad girls! The stars of season seven of "Bad Girls Club" (Oxygen, Mondays at 9 p.m.) have settled into lovely New Orleans, and at first it seemed the laid back Louisiana setting might have had a soothing effect on our delicate flowers. But that's just crazy, because you don't call 'em bad girls for nothing. In this exclusive clip, watch the girls scream, curse, threaten, shoulder shove and get all up in one another's faces following a visit to a night club. Enjoy your Southern belles! After the club, a fight ensues in the house between both groups and...

"The civil-rights movement might have ended segregation and beat back centuries of slavery and oppression, but let's save a slow clap for well-meaning white folks with the moral courage to put themselves at the center of the narrative," begins Scott Tobias at the Av Club. "Based on the bestest-seller by Kathryn Stockett, The Help joins Glory, Cry Freedom, Driving Miss Daisy, and many other noble adaptations in filtering the black experience through the white experience, but credit Stockett (and the film) for conceiving a sneaky end-around. As a progressive-minded college graduate in small-town Mississippi in 1963, Emma Stone goes about collecting testimonials for a book about the experiences of African-American maids. So, you see, it's really their book — she's merely the conduit through which their harrowing, touching stories can be told. But in reality, it's her book and her stories, and the central conceit is just some literary flim-flammery to convince...

Everett Emma Stone, Octavia Spencer and Viola Davis in “The Help”

The film adaptation of author Kathryn Stockett’s best selling 2009 novel “The Help” features an all-star cast of leading actresses, including Viola Davis, Emma Stone, Bryce Dallas Howard and Allison Janney. The 137-minute film follows the interconnected relationships between black and white families in Jackson, Mississippi during the 1960s as the Civil Rights Movement grows in force.

Director and screenwriter Tate Taylor has been friends with Stockett since childhood.

with specialist help from Anna Breslaw

Welcum to the Ring Of Fire, otherwise known as a bridal shop in Hotlanta.

The team preps to deal with the Southern belles. Holly is Bride #1, and she likes "glitz" and wants something "Poofy. I like poof." Her mother immediately shoots this down: "I don't want you to look like a mermaid." "But I like mermaids!" Holly's got upper arms that could choke a horse.

Roni, Bride #2, insists on wearing her cowboy boots at the ceremony and is getting married in a barn. Roni's mom has opinions. "Southern women are hard, y'all," says a hapless shopkeep with frosted tips.

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