Bradley Cooper, Helen Mirren nab top nods at Tony Awards

Hollywood stars Bradley Cooper and Helen Mirren bagged nomination in the best Hollywood Gossip actor in a leading role (play category) at the 69th annual Tony Awards for their performance in "The Elephant Man" and "The Audience" respectively.

Cooper, 40, will face competition from Steven Boyer ('Hand to God'), Ben Miles ('Wolf Hall Parts One & Two'), Bill Nighy ('Skylight') and Alex Sharp ('The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time') in the category. 

While Mirren, 69, will fight Geneva Carr ('Hand to God'), Elisabeth Moss ('The Heidi Chronicles'), Carey Mulligan, ('Skylight') and Ruth Wilson ('Constellations') to bag the award, said The Hollywood Reporter. 

Nominees for best performance by an actor in a leading role in a musical are Michael Cerveris ('Fun Home'), Robert Fairchild ('An American in Paris'), Brian d'Arcy James ('Something Rotten!'), Ken Watanabe, ('The King and I') and Tony Yazbeck ('On the Town'). 

Kristin Chenoweth ('On the Twentieth Century'), Leanne Cope, ('An American in Paris'), Beth Malone ('Fun Home'), Kelli O'Hara, ('The King and I'), Chita Rivera, ('The Visit') comprise the nomination for best performance by an actress in a leading role in a musical. 

The play "Wolf Hall Parts One & Two" sits at the top with eight nominations, including the best play category, best actor in a leading role, best direction for Jeremy Herrin and best costume design. 

It will see competition from "Disgraced", "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time" and "Hand to God" for the award in the best play category. 

"Hand to God" comes close to "Wolf Hall Parts One & Two" with five nominations. Besides the best actor and actress category, it is also nominated for the best direction for Moritz von Stuelpnagel and in the best actress in a featured role category for Sarah Stiles.

The nominations for the best musical includes "Fun Home", "An American in Paris", "Something Rotten!" and "The Visit". 

Other nominations in the best direction of a play category include Stephen Daldry ('Skylight'), Marianne Elliott ('The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time'), Scott Ellis, ('You Can't Take It with You'). 

Nominees in the best direction of a musical category are Sam Gold ('Fun Home'), Casey Nicholaw ('Something Rotten!'), John Rando ('On the Town'), Bartlett Sher ('The King and I') and Christopher Wheeldon ('An American in Paris'). 

Tommy Tune will receive the special Tony Award for lifetime achievement in the theatre. 

The awards are set to be handed out June 7 in a ceremony, to be hosted by Kristin Chenoweth and Alan Cumming.

Hilary Swank to star in 'Denial'

Actress Hilary Swank will play the lead role of historian Deborah E Lipstadt in the Hollywood Gossip true-story drama, "Denial". 

Mick Jackson ("The Bodyguard") will serve behind the lens, and two-time Oscar nominee David Hare will pen the screenplay based on Deborah E Lipstadt's book "History on Trial: My Day in Court with a Holocaust Denier", reported Aceshowbiz. 

Swank, 40, will play Lipstadt, who was sued for libel by fellow historian David Irving after she called him out as a Holocaust denier.

He lost the case and the court found he did deliberately misrepresent historical evidence in order to depict Adolf Hitler in a favourable light. Tom Wilkinson is cast to play a barrister in the film. 

'Lord of the Rings' cinematographer Andrew Lesnie dies at 59

Australian cinematographer Andrew Lesnie, who won an Oscar for his work on the Hollywood Gossip first "The Lord of the Rings" movie in 2001, has passed away. He was 59. 

Lesnie was believed to have suffered a heart attack on Monday. 

A spokesman from the Australian Cinematographers Society confirmed the news of his demise, said The Hollywood Reporter. 

"We have been advised of the sudden death of Andrew," the spokesman said, adding that his family would provide an official statement later.

Lesnie spent more than a decade collaborating with director Peter Jackson on the six "Lord of the Rings" and "Hobbit" films. 

He also worked with Jackson on the remake of "King Kong" (2005) and "The Lovely Bones" (2009). 

Known for balancing technology with artistic considerations, Lesnie also shot the 2011 film "Rise of the Planet of the Apes", directed by Rupert Wyatt.

Story PageRobert Redford feted by Film Society of Lincoln Center

Oscar-winning director Robert Redford became the 42nd recipient of Film Society of Hollywood Gossip Lincoln Center's Chaplin award for lifetime achievement. 

The 78-year-old actor-director, whose big screen career spans more than 50 years, was celebrated by several colleagues and friends including his "The Way We Were" co-star Barbra Streisand. 

She handed him his award, said the Hollywood Reporter.

Ann Tenenbaum, chairman of the board of Film Society of Lincoln Center Chaplin (FSLC), described the honouree as "an icon ? a great actor, a great director and, bar-none, the champion of independent filmmaking of our time". 

"The world of cinema will forever be indebted to Robert Redford and the Sundance Institute," the independent filmmaking lab ? named after the character that Redford portrays in the 1969 film Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid ? that the actor established in 1981 on land in Utah that he purchased in the early sixties. 

The location subsequently became the site of the annual Sundance Film Festival. 

Redford's three-time costar Jane Fonda ? they collaborated on "The Chase" (1966), "Barefoot in the Park" (1967) and "The Electric Horseman" (1979) ? said they first met in 1963, when they were both young up-and-comers on Broadway. 

"I was in love with him for every movie we did together," she said, noting that she was drawn not only to his looks but to his outlook about the world and to his abilities as an actor. 

"I don't think there's any other actor who's had a bigger influence on American cinema," she said.

Angelina Jolie, Salma Hayek's weird eating habits

In the last few years we've been hearing about a new food trend in the West — Hollywood Gossip eating insects. There have also been reports that say why some creepy crawlies make a good eat and how it isn't just a gimmick. There are many reasons stated for this fad — from bugs tasting delicious, being low cal and how they fill you up, to how eating bugs helps the environment. 

Interestingly, there are celebs, too, who love to dig into a plate of dead grasshoppers or fried ants. Recently, actress Salma Hayek posted a video of her online with a dead cricket in her mouth before crunching it up and consuming it. Here's looking at some of the 'bug-eating' celebs...

This isn't the first time that Salma Hayek has shown interest in eating creepy crawlies. Earlier, in an interview with the American TV host, David Letterman, she mentioned that since her childhood, eating bugs have been a part of her diet and culinary heritage. Salma, born in Mexico, a place known for it's centuries-old tradition of eating bugs, loves little fried ants with a guacamole (an avocado-based dip known in Mexico). During the show, she even talked about the smoky flavour of grasshoppers and different recipes using worms.

Shooting 'Twilight' sex scene was 'agony': Kristen Stewart

Actress Kristen Stewart, who came into limelight with her role as Bella Swan in the Hollywood Gossip "Twilight" saga, says the pressure of living up to the expectations of the series' fans wasn't easy.

The 25-year-old told Harper's Bazaar magazine that shooting sex scenes, like one with former boyfriend Robert Pattinson in the series' fourth installment "Breaking Dawn", was "grotesquely uncomfortable", reports people.com

"I only hate them when they're contrived," she said.

"On 'Twilight' we had to do the most epic sex scene of all time. It had to be transcendent and otherworldly, inhuman, better sex than you can possibly ever imagine, and we were like, 'How do we live up to that?' It was agony. Which s***s, because I wanted it to be so good," the "Still Alice" star added.

Leonardo Dicaprio 'obsessed' with dating app

Actor Leonardo DiCaprio reportedly loves using the dating app tinder to look for Hollywood Gossip women and can't get enough of swiping through potential dates to see "who's out there".

"Leo confessed that he was using the dating app under the name Leonard. He said he hasn't been on any dates yet but is obsessed with swiping on girls and seeing who's out there. He said there's actually a lot of other celebs who use Tinder just for fun!," a source told Star magazine, reports femalefirst.co.uk.

In addition to using the application, it has also been reported that the 40-year-old has called on the help of singer Justin Bieber.

"He knows Justin hangs with a ton of models, so they obviously have a lot in common," a source told OK! Magazine.