Singers and Stop-motion Sadness

Singers and musicians of all genres came together for the annual iHeart Radio Music Festival. The two-day event, which was held at the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas, celebrated both established stars and up-and-coming artists. Celebrities and artists attending included British-Irish boy band One Direction, rappers 50 Cent, Macklemore and Iggy Azalea, singers Fergie, Usher, Chris Brown and Anna Faris, actor Chris Pratt, and American Idol host Ryan Seacrest.

Stop-motion fantasy comedy The Boxtrolls held its premiere in Los Angeles, with celebrities showing up with their families in tow for the event. Actors Sir Ben Kingsley, Elle Fanning and Nick Frost showed up in support of the picture. Kingsley, who plays the film’s villain, spoke about his character: “There’s a sadness in him that he covers up with all his flamboyance and his costume and his gestures. There’s a sadness in him, but I always like finding that in my characters.”

Silver screen siren Sophia Loren celebrated her 80th birthday in Mexico, surrounded by other Hollywood greats Andy Garcia, Jon Voight and Forest Whitaker.

In London, actor Idris Elba attended the 2014 MOBO nominations to receive the inaugural MOBO Inspiration Award. The awards were established in 1996 to help promote black music. “Of the awards I’ve been lucky to get, this is a very special one because it does talk about the thing that I want to do most, which is inspire other people to do the same as me,” Elba said on receiving the honor. “I don’t think I’m any sort of genius—just one of those people with a lot of get up and go, and this symbolizes that for me.”