lifestyle WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2015

Gap Kids and babyGap launches Spring 2015 Collection

ress your young ones cute and trendy crochet and lace tops add to the uber-chic shirts along with vintage fleece hoodies and this spring with Gap’s new spring col- feminine look and go with not only denims color chino are the key pieces of the season. Dlection. For girls, Gap Kids offers fit but also denim shorts, leggings in printed While toddler girls can be dressed up in and flare dresses, tanks, knit pants in floral and solid options woven jogger in chambray, color and print prints and quilted pattern that can be lay- For boys, Bedford cord, straight fit den- or fashion dresses in print, texture, eyelet ered with cardigans and bomber jackets. For ims, linen and gingham shirts, polo’s in stripe and stripe. the fashion conscious young ones, watch and solid in shades of yellow, navy and For babies, choose from cute woven tops out for dresses available in floral chambray whites and sweat pants with hoody stand to fashion knit pants as babyGap offers prints to eyelet details. out to make way into wardrobes. Gap also some exciting pieces this season for your lit- Woven tops and graphic tee in colors of offers a wide range of graphic tee that can tle one. The new Spring 2015 collection is pink, greys and shades of navy outfitted be worn with denims or shorts. Lived in chi- now available across all Gap stores in the with various options of printed leggings no continues to make a statement while for UAE, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and Oman. help achieve the look of the season. Super layering shirts and denim jackets are the key skinny and skimmer jeggings are a must highlights. have for the season for young girls. Shirred, For toddler boys, plaid shirts and oxford Nicolas Giacobone, (from left) Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, Alexander Dinelaris and Armando Bo pose in the press room with the award for the best picture for ‘Birdman’ at the Oscars. — AP Four lessons from this year’s Oscars he 87th Academy Awards are happened most recently in 2012 over, and the campaign sea- sound editing), strategists are Tson (which was equally brutal, reminded that a single vote can mean and fascinating) provides make the difference. So nobody several lessons. wants to lose out on even one vote.

Festivals are a big deal Rules were made to be broken. This year it was unanimous: All A lot of online pundits predicted eight best-picture contenders had “Birdman” couldn’t win, because it debuted at a festival. For the past lacked a nomination for editing: five years, it was 60%-80% of the Every best-picture winner since top contenders. But in the decade 1980’s “Ordinary People” had boast- since the Oscar ceremony shifted ed at least a nomination in the its date a month earlier, festival important editing category. platforms are increasingly valuable. Similarly, many predicted “Boyhood” and “Whiplash” bowed Alexandre Desplat would split the at the January 2014 Sundance; the vote, since he had two nominations other best-picture contenders in one category. And others pre- bowed at various fests (Cannes, dicted that the popularity of New York, etc) culminating in the “Birdman” and “Boyhood” meant Nov. 11 launches of “American that one would win for picture, the Sniper” and “Selma” at the AFI Fest other for director. This leads us to (an increasingly important strategic point 4: option). Fests offer a high-profile launch in terms of global press and, Oscar pundits are full of hot air. crucially, can start the want-to-see On Feb 23, the day after the buzz among industry voters. Academy Awards, there was a lot of talk about “Birdman” having “turned Campaigning: The X Factor the tide” with its PGA-SAG-DGA Every year there are more meet- wins, after “Boyhood” had won so the-filmmakers receptions and many critics prizes. But critics and post-screening Q & A. And the guild members are completely dif- results: a mixed message. Patricia ferent voters. For all we know, Arquette, JK Simmons and Eddie members of the PGA might have Redmayne were everywhere. On been in “Birdman’s” corner for the other hand, Alejandro Gonzalez months, but didn’t have the chance Inarritu was busy working and was to voice their opinion until January. not on the circuit. Yet all of them So Oscar punditry is thoughtful, but won. Richard Linklater and Michael often based on nothing but hunch. Keaton were tireless campaigners, And that means every Oscar pundit, but went home empty-handed. No including us. — Reuters one will ever know whether the handshaking and personal contact helped gain even a few crucial votes. But when there are ties (as

Oscar’s diversity still a controversial topic

hat was missing from the Academy Awards turned ‘Selma’ star tions were announced, according to Topsy. The number of sense of humor they share. “I found it hilarious,” he said. All’s out to be the issue that could not be ignored on the Another knowing line from Harris came when he praised mentions peaked that day and the hashtag became popular good, said Penn’s publicist, Mara Buxbaum, on Monday. “As Wnight trophies were handed out. The lack of non- actor David Oyelowo, who played Martin Luther King Jr. in the again Sunday night. Inarritu said, they are indeed great friends,” she said. “Sean white contenders for major acting awards this year became a movie “Selma” but was passed over for an acting nomination. Penn is currently in Haiti with President Clinton. He is not focus on the day Oscar nominations were announced. Harris asked Oyelowo to stand and the audience applauded. Arquette backlash available for an interview.” Lynn Elber and Steve Loeper in Los Hollywood’s commitment to reflecting the nation’s diversity, “Oh, sure,” Harris said. “Now you like him.” Oyelowo was Meryl Streep stood and cheered when Patricia Arquette, in Angeles contributed to this report. and its sensitivity to how these issues are perceived, could not arguably involved in the emotional high point of the show. her acceptance speech for best supporting actress award, be missed on Sunday’s show - from the opening joke on. The movie’s anthem, “Glory,” by Common and John Legend, made a ringing declaration in favor of equal rights and pay for Non-nominated minorities won the Oscar for best song shortly after the two musicians women. Her elaboration backstage, however, struck some To some viewers, the Academy Awards made it a specific Best and whitest performed it. A camera cut to Oyelowo as the song was being who heard about it as pitting groups against each other. “It’s point to emphasize diversity during the show, from Harris not- Host Neil Patrick Harris put it right on the table. “Tonight, sung and his face was stained with tears. time for all the women in America and all the men that love ing Oyelowo in the audience to making Oprah Winfrey a joke we honor Hollywood’s best and whitest - excuse me, bright- women, and all the gay people, and all the people of color target. Nowhere was the effort more evident than in the est,” he said. It drew a knowing laugh, and no small amount of Boycott that we’ve fought for to fight for us now,” Arquette said back- awards presenters, who included Terrence Howard, Kerry parsing. Was Harris tweaking Hollywood for an embarrassing Haywood saw references to Oscar moments on Twitter stage, leading some critics to wonder if her call for wage Washington, Viola Davis, Winfrey, Oyelowo, Chiwetel Ejiofor, shortcoming? Or was he making fun of the people who have Sunday night but had no personal knowledge of them. He equality was for white women only. Idris Elba, Kevin Hart, Eddie Murphy, Lupita Nyong’o, Zoe raised it as an issue of concern? Obviously, the Oscars are an wasn’t watching. Being in the entertainment business, he usu- Saldana and Octavia Spencer. — AP entertainment program and hosts are expected to make ally tunes in. This year, he participated in a boycott of the Penn and Inarritu jokes, said Eric Haywood, a writer on Fox’s hit drama “Empire.” Oscars ceremony by some black viewers that was organized The line, coming from one of Hollywood’s most prominent Yet jokes can also make people feel that their concerns are not through the Twitter hashtag #OscarsSoWhite. liberals, seemed shocking. “Who gave this son of a bitch his being taken seriously, he said. “As it stands, the joke is likely to That hashtag appears to have been started by a friend of green card?” actor Sean Penn said, announcing the win for be reduced to a meme, which the Academy is in no way obli- Haywood’s, Washington lawyer April Reign, according to “Birdman” as best picture, directed by Mexican-born Alejandro gated to address and can easily dismiss,” said Robert Jones, a Twitter, and was the gathering place for a steady stream of Inarritu. A slur? No, Inarritu said backstage that he and Penn Brooklyn writer and creator of the social justice blog, Son of commentary on Hollywood’s lack of diversity. There have been are friends and the reference to the document that confers Baldwin. “It is, after all, just a joke, right?” some 140,000 mentions of the hashtag since the day nomina- residency status to immigrants was an example of the rough

David Oyelowo attends the Governors Ball after the Oscars. Akiva Schaffer, (from left) Andy Samberg, Common, winner of the award for best original song in a feature film for “Glory” from “Selma” and Questlove attend the Governors Ball. — AP photos