Sunday Independent 2022-01-09

Bang Showbiz The nameplate on Penelope Cruz’s Oscar statuette is upside down. The 37-year-old actress – who won the Academy Award for best supporting actress in Vicky Cristina Barcelona back in 2008 – explained her dad Eduardo offered to attach the personalisation to her statuette when she failed to do so on the night, but he put it on the wrong way and she refuses to change it because she views the error as a fitting tribute to her father, who died in 2015 from a heart attack aged 62. “They give you the name plate separately and you can go there and they can (affix it) for you, but I didn’t do it that night. And then my father, he did it for me, but he didn’t have his…

Debashine Thangevelo debashine.thangevelo@inl.co.za That “coming now now” tagline in M-Net’s promo for the fourth season of MasterChef SA has been pretty hard to miss. As far as generating hype around the cooking reality show goes, the channel is certainly working it. And finally, viewers can put their curiosity to bed as the new judges have been announced. Zola Nene, Gregory Czarnecki and Justine Drake take over the baton from Pete Goffe- Wood, Benny Masekwameng and Reuben Riffel. To date, there have been three seasons as well as a celebrity edition, which aired in 2015 and was won by comedian Chris Forrest. While the judging panel is new, the celebrity chefs are well-known. Also an award-winning author, Nene is no stranger to judging on a cooking show. She was a hit…

Bang Showbiz Scientists have named a newly-discovered tree after Leonardo DiCaprio. The four-metre tree, which grows only in Cameroon’s Ebo Forest, has been officially named Uvariopsis dicaprio after the Wolf of Wall Street star campaigned to stop logging in the woodland. Dr Martin Cheek, a senior research leader at the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew, London, told the BBC: “We think he was crucial in helping to stop the logging of the Ebo Forest.” The tropical plant – which has yellow flowers – is the first one new to science to be officially named by Kew scientists this year. DiCaprio – who can now put the wood into Hollywood – previously took to his social media channels to support a campaign against the logging of the Ebo Forest. International experts…

Kadian Pow On the eve of the release of the Sex and the City sequel, And Just Like That, I was excited. The show follows Carrie, Miranda and Charlotte as they navigate life at 50 in a world that has changed quite a lot from that in the 2000s. I really wanted to see how Carrie, Miranda and Charlotte might navigate a different world after nearly 20 years. When it comes to TV narratives about older women, we, the audience, may still have hang-ups about their representation, and what we imagine their lives are supposed to be about. But in recent years those representations have evolved with shows such as Grace and Frankie – and now And Just Like That. These series give us the humour of The Golden Girls…

Buhle Mbonambi buhle.mbonambi@inl.co.za The Republic Season 2 (Sundays at 8pm on Mzansi Magic) Do you ever get the feeling that South Africa is a drama series? Well, it’s not just you. After the successful first season, which saw The Republic win multiple Saftas, the show has returned and this time is inspired by the July 2021 unrest and the State Capture Commission. It’s very eerie and uncomfortable to watch, but it’s still excellent TV with the best actors on South African TV. A must watch. tick, tick... BOOM! Soundtrack The story of Jonathan Larson is one that most theatre lovers know very well. One of the most brilliant playwrights (he wrote Rent), he sadly was only celebrated after he passed. The film is about Larson, who was waiting tables…

Gerry Cupido geraldine.cupido@inl.co.za You’ve just come home from your summer holiday yet you’re feeling exhausted. I’m sure at some point we’ve all heard ourselves saying, “I need a holiday from my holiday”. A holiday over the festive season can leave you feeling more exhausted than rested. While it’s all enjoyment and laughter while we booze it up and party all night, far more than we usually would, it all catches up with us as soon as we settle down and have to head on back to work. As we step into the new year, now is the time to revitalise your body. Essential Living has shared five ways to remain to maintain those positive vibes throughout the day. Mindful meditation Mindfulness meditation has a number of positive health benefits, including…