Entertainment Express: Led Zeppelin, CNN Heroes, Lady Gaga, Jeffrey Katzenberg, Brad Pitt.

 

* Sunday night was a busy one on both US coasts – in Los Angeles, the CNN Heroes ceremony took place, where celebs like 50 Cent handed real-life heroes like South Africa’s Thulani Madondo awards for their efforts to make the world a better place…

* …while across the country, in Washington DC, President Barack Obama handed out Kennedy Center Honors, to more-than-deserving recipients like Led Zeppelin, David Letterman and Dustin Hoffman.

* DreamWorks Animation CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg was given the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award, which was presented to Oprah last year, as part of the honorary Oscars handed out this weekend. Katzenberg may head up what is arguably the biggest animation company around, but his heart seems to be just as large – given his intense fundraising abilities and role in setting up a telethon in the days after the 9/11 attacks. I would have given him the award just for helping to bring The Little Mermaid to life!

* At the box office, Brad Pitt’s Killing Them Softly, which premiered at Cannes earlier this year, has not fared well against the current crop of movies on circuit like Lincoln, Skyfall and the final Twilight installment.

* Lady Gaga did what most new visitors to South Africa do – she went on “safari” (although we usually call it a game drive) and took lots of pictures. This was before playing a 2-hour show in Joburg, and visiting a primary school, ahead of her second Born This Way Ball in Cape Town on Monday night.

[P.S The Prodigy also played SA this weekend. See, it really is the place to be!]