Newton talks geeks, genius and ‘Norbit’

Kam Williams

Thandiwe Newton was born in London on Nov. 6, 1972 to a mother from Zimbabwe and a British father. En route to fame and fortune, she would remove a “w” and a syllable from her name, which means “beloved” in the South African language of Xhosa — appropriate, as Newton would later play the title character in the silver screen adaptation of the Toni Morrison novel “Beloved.”

But Newton is probably best known for her work in “Crash,” where she played a woman violated right in front of her husband by a crude cop during a profile stop. Although she wasn’t nominated for an Oscar, she won a British Academy Award for that brilliant performance. Full story

Age, wisdom led to role of Whitaker’s lifetime

Bob Tourtellotte

LOS ANGELES — It may end up being the role of a lifetime for Forest Whitaker, and if so, the actor said it took all his age and experience to pull it off.

Whitaker has swept through Hollywood’s award season winning almost every prize in sight for his portrayal of brutal Ugandan dictator Idi Amin in “The Last King of Scotland.” Full story

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