Steve Jobs attends the 2010 Academy Awards at the Kodak Theatre, Hollywood, CA. Picture: Paul Smith/Featureflash
Steve Jobs resigned today as CEO of Apple after 14 years in the position.
In a letter addressed to the Apple Board of Directors and the Apple Community, he said: “I have always said if there ever came a day when I could no longer meet my duties and expectations as Apple’s CEO, I would be the first to let you know. Unfortunately, that day has come.”
Jobs will be succeeded as CEO by Tim Cook, who was previously the company’s Chief Operating Officer and has been responsible for the day-to-day running of Apple since Jobs took a medical leave of absence in January. Jobs will remain with the company as Chairman of the Board.
“I believe Apple’s brightest and most innovative days are ahead of it. And I look forward to watching and contributing to its success in a new role,” said Jobs.
Jobs battled pancreatic cancer in 2004 and he took a previous six-month leave of absence from Apple in 2009, ultimately undergoing a liver transplant.
Director Tom Hooper won the top film honor at tonight’s Directors Guild of America Awards for his movie The King’s Speech, beating out hot competition from The Social Network director David Fincher.
The DGA award is one of the most accurate forecasts for the Oscars. In the 62-year history of the Directors Guild awards there have been only six times when the winner failed to go on to win the Academy Award for Best Director.
As Hooper accepted his nomination, from The King’s Speech stars Colin Firth and Helena Bonham-Carter, he thanked his mother who first brought the story to his attention after she attended a reading of the play.
“She came home and rang me up and said, ‘I think I’ve found your next movie,’” said Hooper. “The moral of the story is, listen to your mother!”
For the second year in a row, Hannah Montana star Miley Cyrus has been voted the “worst celebrity influence of the year” by readers of AOL’s “Just So You Know” web site. From an estimated total vote of around 100,000 people, 58% voted for her. In the past year Miley has gone through a racy makeover that hasn’t gone over so well. She topped the poll ahead of Lindsay Lohan and Demi Lovato.
In the week that the Oscar nominations were announced, Miley also picked up a nomination, although probably not one that she wanted. She received a nomination for Worst Actress in the 2011 Golden Raspberry Awards – the Razzies – for her role in The Last Song. She’ll be “battling” Jennifer Aniston, Megan Fox, Kristen Stewart and the ladies of Sex and the City 2 for the “honor”. The Razzies will be announced on February 26th, the night before the Oscars.
The year has got off to a whirlwind start for Black Swan star Natalie Portman. Following on from her recent Golden Globe win, this Sunday she’s nominated in both the best actress and in the ensemble cast categories at the Screen Actors Guild Awards. Earlier this week she was nominated for the Academy Award for best actress — and is the hot favorite to be taking home the Oscar.
But it doesn’t stop there. Natalie has no less than five movies being released in 2011. The romantic comedy No Strings Attached, with Ashton Kutcher, opened last week at number one in the US box office. The Other Woman, a comedy drama about a woman’s difficult relationship with her five-year-old stepson, opens on February 4th.
On April 8th Natalie stars with Danny McBride, Zooey Deschanel and fellow Oscar-nominee James Franco in the medieval comedy fantasy Your Highness. In May she stars in Marvel Studios big summer superhero movie Thor with Chris Hemsworth and Anthony Hopkins. And she’ll be rounding out the year with the weird indie drama Hesher. which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival last year. The movie also stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Rainn Wilson.
Of course, for mom-to-be Natalie, 29, her most important production this year will be the birth of her first baby, due in the summer, with fiancé Benjamin Millepied who appeared with her in Black Swan.
Australian actor Hugh Jackman, who was the host of the Academy Awards in 2009, is returning to the stage at the Kodak Theatre next month as a presenter at the 83rd Academy Awards ceremony.
The X-Men star joins previously announced presenters Oprah Winfrey, Halle Berry, Jeff Bridges, Sandra Bullock and Marisa Tomei.
Jackman’s next movie Real Steel, a futuristic robot boxing drama, is scheduled for release in October.
The 83rd Academy Awards will be presented on Sunday, February 27th, 2011 and televised live on the ABC TV Network in the USA and in more than 200 countries worldwide.
Irish actor Colin O’Donoghue celebrated his 30th birthday by attending the world premiere of his movie The Rite in which he stars with Sir Anthony Hopkins.
In the psychological thriller, which is inspired by true events, O’Donoghue plays a seminary student sent to study exorcism at the Vatican in spite of his own doubts about the practice. He challenges his superiors to look to psychiatry, rather than demons, in treating the possessed. But when he meets Father Lucas (Hopkins) – a legendary priest who has performed thousands of exorcisms – his armor begins to fall.
The Rite opens in the USA on Friday, January 28th.
Donald Sutherland, star of such classic movies as M*A*S*H, Klute, The Dirty Dozen and Don’t Look Now, was honored today with a star on Hollywood Boulevard’s world-famous Walk of Fame. His star, which is number 2,430, was placed next to his actor son’s Kiefer Sutherland.
Donald has a batch of new movies opening soon, the Roman epic The Eagle, with Channing Tatum and Jamie Bell, opens on February 11th; The Mechanic with Jason Statham and Ben Foster; Man on the Train with U2′s Larry Mullen Jr,; Moby Dick with William Hurt, Ethan Hawke and Gillian Anderson; and Horrible Bosses with Colin Farrell who joined him today at the unveiling.
Farrell read out a letter from Kiefer Sutherland who was unable to attend the ceremony as he was filming in New York.
