• George Clooney says he looks forward to more changes in Hollywood as he reflected on his career after being awarded the American Film Institute's Life Achievement Award. The 57-year-old's work as an actor, director and human rights activist was the focus of a star-studded celebration at the Dolby Theatre earlier this month. TNT will air the ceremony on Thursday. Clooney's career spans more than three decades, from his breakthrough role on television's ER to drifting through space in the movie, Gravity. He's also known for directing films such as Monuments Men and Good Night, and Good Luck. The star was all smiles during the tribute, where he was honored by stars from Jennifer Aniston to Bill Murray, along with his parents and his wife, Amal. Photos of him playing his most memorable roles overlooked the stage as the celebration unfolded, and Clooney told his own story through video vignettes. The actor's social justice work was cited even early on in his Hollywood career. Actor Richard Kind said Clooney once persuaded him to help clean up East Los Angeles after the riots in 1992. Clooney also joined in the fight for same-sex marriage and more recently, helped raise money for victims of Hurricane Harvey and mentored survivors of the school shooting in Parkland, Fla. On international issues, Clooney tried to bring attention to the humanitarian crisis in Sudan and was the UN designated Messenger of Peace from 2008 to 2014. "Look, if the cameras are going to follow me where I go, then I'm going to where the cameras should be," Clooney said in one of his vignettes.
• The ducks, geese and hardy cold-water swimmers in London's Hyde Park have a new neighbor: a monumental floating structure made from 7,506 stacked barrels colored bright red, mauve and blue. "The London Mastaba," unveiled Monday, is the latest installation by Christo, a master of supersized artworks who has previously wrapped Berlin's Reichstag in silver fabric and festooned New York's Central Park with thousands of saffron-colored cloth gates. The 83-year-old artist's first major creation in London rises 65 feet above the surface of the park's Serpentine Lake. Its slope-sided trapezoid was inspired by ancient Mesopotamian benches and Egyptian tombs. The colors have been chosen to complement the lush greenery and gray-blue skies of a London summer. The sculpture will float on the lake until Sept. 23, when it will be dismantled. The Bulgaria-born, New York-based Christo is unconcerned about getting divergent reviews. "Any interpretation is legitimate -- critical or positive," he said. "All make you think. This is why we are human -- to think."
A Section on 06/19/2018