French Cinema Greats Pay Tribute to Actor Killed in Skiing Accident

Stars including Catherine Deneuve, Isabelle Huppert and Lea Seydoux were present at the funeral ceremony for Ulliel at the Saint-Eustache church in central Paris. Bertrand GUAY AFP
Stars including Catherine Deneuve, Isabelle Huppert and Lea Seydoux were present at the funeral ceremony for Ulliel at the Saint-Eustache church in central Paris. Bertrand GUAY AFP
TT

French Cinema Greats Pay Tribute to Actor Killed in Skiing Accident

Stars including Catherine Deneuve, Isabelle Huppert and Lea Seydoux were present at the funeral ceremony for Ulliel at the Saint-Eustache church in central Paris. Bertrand GUAY AFP
Stars including Catherine Deneuve, Isabelle Huppert and Lea Seydoux were present at the funeral ceremony for Ulliel at the Saint-Eustache church in central Paris. Bertrand GUAY AFP

Some of the greatest names in French cinema came together to pay a final tribute to their fellow star Gaspard Ulliel on Thursday, whose death last week aged 37 in a ski accident shocked the country.

Stars including Catherine Deneuve, Isabelle Huppert and Lea Seydoux attended the funeral ceremony for Ulliel at the Saint-Eustache church in central Paris.

At the entry to the church was a giant picture of Ulliel, cigarette defiantly clenched between his lips, AFP said.

Among those bearing the coffin into the church was the French actor Jeremie Renier, who played the partner of fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent, Pierre Berge, in the 2014 bio-pic "Saint Laurent" in which Ulliel had the starring role.

Ulliel was already in the top rank of French actors, and gained international attention for his performance as the famous cannibal in "Hannibal Rising" in 2007.

He also had a leading role as Midnight Man in the new Marvel TV series "Moon Knight" starring Oscar Isaac, which launches on Disney+ in March.

He died last week following a skiing accident in southeast France.

Ulliel won a Cesar, the French equivalent of an Oscar, for best actor in 2017 for "It's Only the End of the World" in which he starred alongside Marion Cotillard and Seydoux, now internationally famous for her role in the James Bond franchise.



Showbiz in 2024: Taylor Swift, Oasis and Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Make Headlines

A man walks past a mural of Oasis band members Liam and Noel Gallagher by artist Snow Graffiti on a wall in Whitefield, near Manchester, Britain, August 31, 2024. (Reuters)
A man walks past a mural of Oasis band members Liam and Noel Gallagher by artist Snow Graffiti on a wall in Whitefield, near Manchester, Britain, August 31, 2024. (Reuters)
TT

Showbiz in 2024: Taylor Swift, Oasis and Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Make Headlines

A man walks past a mural of Oasis band members Liam and Noel Gallagher by artist Snow Graffiti on a wall in Whitefield, near Manchester, Britain, August 31, 2024. (Reuters)
A man walks past a mural of Oasis band members Liam and Noel Gallagher by artist Snow Graffiti on a wall in Whitefield, near Manchester, Britain, August 31, 2024. (Reuters)

From Taylor Swift's record-breaking Eras tour to Sean 'Diddy' Combs' arrest, 2024 saw various stories from the entertainment world dominate headlines.

Below are some of the biggest.

* Taylor Swift won more awards, released another hit album and performed her Eras tour, the first to surpass $1 billion in revenue. Her Vienna shows were cancelled after authorities foiled a planned attack. Swift closed Eras' European leg in London before she wraps it completely in Vancouver on Dec. 8.

* US rapper and producer Sean "Diddy" Combs pleaded not guilty to charges he used his business empire, including his record label Bad Boy Entertainment, to sexually abuse women.

Combs has denied wrongdoing and his lawyers have argued the sexual activity described by prosecutors was consensual.

* One Direction member Liam Payne was found dead after falling from a third-floor hotel room balcony in Buenos Aires, triggering an outpouring of tributes from fans.

* Oasis announced a series of reunion gigs. Fans waited long hours in virtual queues to buy tickets only to find hiked prices as part of a "dynamic pricing" scheme, sparking probes into Ticketmaster over the sale.

* A New Mexico judge dismissed involuntary manslaughter charges against actor Alec Baldwin, agreeing with his lawyers that prosecutors and police withheld evidence on the source of the live round that killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins when he pointed a gun at her on the set of Western "Rust" in 2021.

Armorer Hannah Gutierrez was convicted of involuntary manslaughter and sentenced to 18 months.

The film premiered at a low-key Polish film festival in November.

* Harvey Weinstein's 2020 conviction for sexual assault and rape was overturned by New York's highest court, reopening the landmark case that fueled the #MeToo movement.

* Singer Justin Timberlake pleaded guilty in a New York State court to a lesser traffic charge than drunk driving - driving while ability impaired - after he was arrested when police spotted him failing to obey a stop sign and veering off lane.

* Beyonce's "Cowboy Carter" became the first album by a Black woman to land at No. 1 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart.

* "Inside Out 2" became the highest-grossing animated film of all time, taking $1.698 billion at the global box office.

* The world said goodbye to: actors Donald Sutherland, James Earl Jones, Maggie Smith, Shannen Doherty, Carl Weathers and Louis Gossett Jr., music supremo Quincy Jones and singer-songwriter Kris Kristofferson among others.