Hollywood stars focus on election as awards season starts

The Hollywood awards season began on Sunday with A-list stars using the occasion to make political points two days ahead of the U.S. presidential election. Robert De Niro urged viewers of the Hollywood Film Awards to vote for Hillary Clinton as he said the current political climate resembled a film from the Marx Brothers where "lunatics rule the world", according to ceremony organisers. De Niro, who has previously called Republican candidate Donald Trump "totally nuts" picked up the Hollywood Comedy Award for "The Comedian" in which he plays an ageing comic.