While other awards have the distinction of being bigger predictors of who'll win the Oscars, the Palm Springs International Film Festival is usually a fun indicator of who will give the best red-carpet interviews and acceptance speeches through the rest of January and February. After Selma producer Brad Pitt's musical introduction to David Oyelowo last night, we hope that rep holds true this year.
"Tonight we celebrate an actor brave enough to step into the shoes of Martin Luther King," Pitt said, presenting Oyelowo with the Breakthrough Performance Award. "And I know that there is one lingering question in the back of your minds and that question is, how the hell do you pronounce his name?"
AdvertisementADVERTISEMENT
After coaching the audience through it — Oh-yellow-oh — Pitt decided to make them sing with him, to the tunes of the "Ole!" cheer and then Coldplay's "Yellow." It was no drunk Mariah Carey, but we like to think it's a little glimpse into what it's like to be a child in the Jolie-Pitt household.
Other highlights from PSIFF included Benedict Cumberbatch teasing that Imitation Game co-star Keira Knightley accidentally went to Palm Beach instead of Palm Springs, and Theory of Everything star Eddie Redmayne sweetly thanking his new wife of two weeks. Gone Girl star and Breakthrough Performance recipient Rosamund Pike joked that she made movies like Doom and Wrath of the Titans to convince David Fincher to cast her one day. Glad that worked out for her.
Now that the stars are all warmed up, we can't wait to see what silliness they'll be up to at the Golden Globes next week!