Uma’s ’Rents Sound Off in Stalking Trial
Uma Thurman's parents weren't exactly psyched to get some "creepy" emails from a fan who had a big crush on their daughter.
Taking the stand today in the trial of Jack Jordan, a former mental patient accused of stalking the Oscar-nominated actress, Robert Thurman said "air-raid sirens" went off in his head after receiving the chilling missives.
"I was trying to remember the number of the FBI," the elder Thurman told jurors in a packed NYC courtroom, per the New York Daily News.
The Columbia University professor testified that the Thurmans were sent 19 emails that detailed the 37-year-old Jordan's increasing obsession with the Dangerous Liaisons star and raised serious concerns about his daughter and her two children's safety.
" 'Today, the center of my forehead is ticking now and then. I feel in love with your daughter Uma,' " he read aloud from one of the notes.
Earlier, mother Birgitte Thurman testified that she first encountered Jordan, a Maryland native, in 2005, when he phoned the family residence and informed her that he and the blond beauty "had a predestination to be together."
Jordan was arrested last October outside Uma Thurman's Greenwich Village pad and booked on charges of misdemeanor stalking and harassment. He faces a year in jail if convicted.
Thurman, who turned 38 today, was not in court, but could testify as early as tomorrow.
Cashmere Mafia: Dangerous Liaisons
(S01E03) So I am really starting to enjoy Cashmere Mafia. And the reason? It’s that little lady in the blue shirt above. Frances O’Connor is fantastic! Can you believe she’s British? Her American accent sounds so natural. Furthermore, her comedic timing is always spot on.
Everyone else’s storylines range from mediocre to pure crap. There’s Juliet, who’s moderately interesting. There’s Caitlin who I like but they are trying to hard with her. And then there’s Mia. Oh, Mamma Mia! You’re story was so interesting that I checked my emails, Windexed my kitchen counters, and tidied up my living room during your scenes. And I didn’t miss a thing.
More about Zoe:
Zoe was great this episode. I had a feeling something was going to happen with her co-workers. In the past two episodes, Katherine and the secretary guy (didn’t catch his name) were both funny and quirky. I thought: why spend so much effort on these incidental characters if nothing will come of it?
I loved how the writers took Zoe’s insecurities from the last episode (i.e. about losing her husband to the stay-at-home uber-mom) and carried them into this one with her slight jealousy of Katherine. Zoe told her husband that she dislikes that Katherine “shakes what her momma gave her” to get ahead in business. I think the show is doing a great job with the development of this character and I can’t wait to see more interactions with Zoe and Katherine (as Katherine is totally under-qualified for her new job).
And then there’s Juliet:
Juliet’s story confuses me. I know I’m supposed to sympathize with Juliet but I just don’t. In fact, in the beginning of the episode I even felt bad for her penitent husband Davis. I think the show should have spent more time building up how in love Juliet was with her husband and how dedicated to their marriage she was. Then they can drop the infidelity bomb. I only had half the pilot episode to get to know Davis before I was told that I should hate him because he cheated on Juliet.
And I really feel bad for Bobby, the poor sap Juliet dated in business school. This guy clears his schedule and flies in from London to see Juliet. She cancels on him then goes to him after meeting with Cilla then laughs in his face while they are about to have sex.
And Caitlin:
So, from the previews for next week’s Cashmere Mafia, it looks like Caitlin is back to batting for the heterosexual team. And thank goodness for that. Now, I have nothing against the L-word, but Caitlin and Alicia have NO chemistry. It’s just not fun to watch these two women. I feel like Caitlin should call Alicia and cry on her shoulder about some guy that didn’t work out–not make out with her in the street.
I did love the blemish snafu that poor Caitlin dealt with this episode though. I know it probably seemed shallow to some viewers but I thought it was pretty original. It was refreshing to hear some dialogue about real stuff. I felt like I was listening to normal women when Mia and Caitlin walked in the park and complained about the pimple. These ladies are always talking about such big things: their big jobs, their big break-ups, their big plans for revenge sex, their big questions about their sexuality.
And Mia:
I just don’t even want to discuss Mia. I think it’s a damn shame what Cashmere Mafia is doing with her character. And what an ill-use of Lucy Liu. Mia is great in dialogue with her friends but her story is just not compelling enough. It’s very contrived in fact.
After I heard that Jack was the one who approved the cover for “Modern Man” (which pictured a woman eating a man holding on to the plate), I just knew where all her conversations would lead. They would all be about how she was hurt that Jack didn’t call her back, while she pretended that she fundamentally disagreed with the cover. And of course, it was obvious that she would still run the cover. After all, while she’s an emotional mess, she’s still a savvy businesswoman. Note the sarcasm, please. I hoped that the voiceover at the end would save her storyline this episode and it started well but wrapped up too quickly and cleanly. What do you think about her?
A few extra nuggets…
- I loved the blog shout-out! They could’ve used Page Six of the New York Post but no, Cashmere Mafia bowed the phenom that is the BLOG. “I hate the internet!” –Caitlin
- Do these ladies always order the same exact thing when they eat together? At breakfast they all had fruit salads and orange juices. And for lunch they all had salads and the same pink lemonade-looking drinks.
- Quote of the night: “I’m not your lesbian test-drive.” –Alicia to Caitlin. No one likes to be a lesbian test drive. But, while we’re on the subject, of the four “Cashmere Mobsters,” Frances O’Connor would be my lesbian test drive.
- Mia’s (Lucy Liu’s) ponytail was ridiculous.
Annette Bening Biography
The preternatural poise exuded by versatile, attractive performer Annette Bening is a byproduct of her years of successful stage work in regional theater that culminated with a 1987 Tony-nominated portrayal in Tina Howe’s “Coastal Disturbances”. Although her feature debut as the sexually frustrated wife of Dan Aykroyd in the lackluster comedy “The Great Outdoors” (1988) may have disappointed, audiences soon took note of her streamlined carriage and superb vocal instrument when she etched an aptly uneasy portrait of wickedness as the Marquise de Merteuil in Milos Forman’s “Valmont” (1989). The cool subtlety of her performance caught the attention of Stephen Frears, who ironically had directed his own version of the same tale, “Dangerous Liaisons”, six months earlier. (Bening had, in fact, auditioned for Michelle Pfeiffer’s role in that film).
Frears cast Bening alongside John Cusack and Anjelica Huston in his classy film noir, “The Grifters” (1990), adapted from the novel by Jim Thompson. Although it was her nude scenes in the film which generated the most publicity, Bening injected considerable verve and authority into her portrayal of a tough young hustler who coolly uses her body as one of the tools of her trade–a performance intentionally modeled after Gloria Grahame’s in Fritz Lang’s landmark noir “The Big Heat” (1953). The role earned Bening a Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination, propelled her into the front rank of Hollywood leading ladies and prompted references to her as the “thinking man’s sex symbol.” She went on to demonstrate her versatility by portraying nurturing, supportive wives in “Guilty By Suspicion” and “Regarding Henry” (both 1991) before returning to a more seductive role opposite future husband Warren Beatty in “Bugsy” (1991), surprising everyone by winning the heart of the Playboy of the Hollywood World.
After a three year hiatus to marry and start a family, Bening and Beatty again co-starred, this time in “Love Affair” (1994), the second remake of a 1939 film of the same title. They played two people engaged to others who fall in love after an accidental meeting. While many hoped to draw comparisons between the couple’s real-life romance and their film characters, the pair vehemently denied any connections and the on screen results were less than stellar. Juggling motherhood and a career, Bening has made sacrifices, relinquishing the coveted Catwoman role in “Batman Returns” (1992) when the stork first flew into her life and dropping out of “Disclosure” (1994) due to her second pregnancy. She won acclaim for her deft comic turn as a lobbyist romanced by “The American President” (Michael Douglas) and as Queen Elizabeth in Ian McKellen’s adaptation of Shakespeare’s “Richard III” (both 1995).
After appearing in Tim Burton’s “Mars Attacks!” (1996), Bening starred alongside Bruce Willis and Denzel Washington in “The Siege” (1998) and teamed with Aidan Quinn as a psychic with telepathic connections to a killer in Neil Jordan’s “In Dreams” (1999). She followed with what many felt was her best work in years, playing the domineering real estate broker wife of a man undergoing a mid-life crisis in the acclaimed “American Beauty” (also 1999). For her performance, she netted a Best Actress Academy Award nomination. Bening followed with a comic turn opposite Garry Shandling in the Mike Nichols-directed comedy “What Planet Are You From?” (2000). After a lengthy hiatus from the screen, Bening—who dropped out of the Disney comedy remake “Freaky Friday” shortly after filming began—took on the role of actor/director Kevin Costner’s spirited and refreshingly age-appropriate love interest Sue Barlow in the under-appreciated Western revival “Open Range” (2003). The actress then accumulated some of the best reviews of her career when she starred as a diva stage actress caught up in a May-December romance with a young social climber only to end up plotting a delicious revenge in “Being Julia” (2004), a bravura turn that ultimately earned her a Golden Globe award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy. Hot off the heels of her Golden Globe win, Bening grabbed an Oscar nomination for Best Actress in a Leading Role and was considered a heavy favorite going into the awards.
- Born:on 05/29/58 in Topeka, Kansas
- Job Titles:Actor, Dancer, Cook, Secretary, Teacher
Family
- Brothers: has two, both older
- Daughter: Ella Corinne Beatty. born on April 8, 2000; father, Warren Beatty
- Daughter: Isabel Ira Ashley Beatty. born on January 11, 1997; father, Warren Beatty
- Daughter: Kathlyn Elizabeth Bening Beatty. born on January 8, 1992 by Caesarean section; father, Warren Beatty
- Father: A Grant Bening.
- Mother: Shirley Bening.
- Sister: older
- Sister-in-law: Shirley MacLaine.
- Son: Benjamin Beatty. born on August 23, 1994; father, Warren Beatty
Significant Others
- Husband: J Steven White. married in 1984; divorced in 1991; former director of the American Conservatory Theatre; also a noted fight choreographer; met Bening when he was directing her in 1981 production of “Romeo and Juliet”
- Husband: Warren Beatty. married c. February 1992; couple deliberately kept exact date and place of wedding secret
- Companion: Andrew Lack. worked at NBC News; dated; no longer together
- Companion: Ed Begley. dated briefly
- Companion: Ned Bellamy. dated in college; co-founder of the Actors’ Gang
Education
- San Francisco State University, San Francisco, California, theater, BA
- Patrick Henry High School, San Diego, California
- San Diego Mesa College, San Diego, California
- American Conservatory Theatre, San Francisco, California
Milestones
- — Cast as the abandoned wife (Norma Shearer’s role in the original), in the remake of the 1939 comedy “The Women” (2005)
- 1980 Performed with Colorado Shakespeare Festival
- 1985 Performed with Denver Center Theater Company, starring in “Pygmalion” and “The Cherry Orchard”
- 1986 Moved to New York City
- 1986 Off-Broadway stage debut as Holly Dancer in “Coastal Disturbances” (November)
- 1986 TV-movie debut in “Manhunt for Claude Dallas” (CBS)
- 1987 “Coastal Disturbances” moved to Broadway; Bening received Tony nomination
- 1987 Landed guest spots on episodes of “Miami Vice” (NBC) and “Wiseguy” (CBS)
- 1988 Feature film debut as Dan Aykroyd’s onscreen wife in “The Great Outdoors”
- 1988 Played small role Central Park Zookeeper in Off-Broadway production of Michael Weller’s “Spoils of War”
- 1989 Portrayed the manipulative, seductive Marquise de Merteuil in Milos Forman’s “Valmont”; first starring role
- 1990 Delivered brilliant portrayal as the bubbly, treacherous con-artist Myra Langtry in Stephen Frears’ “The Grifters”; earned an Oscar nomination as Best Supporting Actress
- 1990 Offered a strong turn as a ditsy wanna-be actress in Mike Nichols’ “Postcards From the Edge”
- 1991 Garnered further acclaim in “Regarding Henry” (reteaming her with Nichols), “Guilty By Suspicion” and “Bugsy”, the movie which paired her with future husband Warren Beatty
- 1994 Starred with Beatty in “Love Affair”, a pallid remake of “An Affair to Remember” (1957) and “Love Affair” (1939)
- 1995 Played Elizabeth to Ian McKellen’s modern dress “Richard III”; also received a Golden Globe nomination as Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy for her work opposite Michael Douglas in Rob Reiner’s “The American President”
- 1996 Appeared in Tim Burton’s “Mars Attacks!”
- 1997 Received second annual Peter J Owens Award at 40th San Francisco International Film Festival
- 1998 Starred with Denzel Washington and Bruce Willis in Edward Zwick’s “The Siege”
- 1999 Acted the role of a woman who discovers she and a serial killer share the same psychic vision in Neil Jordan’s “In Dreams”
- 1999 Played the shrewish, status-seeking wife of a man undergoing a mid-life crisis in the acclaimed “American Beauty”; received Best Actress Oscar nomination
- 2000 Co-starred with Garry Shandling in “What Planet Are You From?”
- 2002 Voiced Abigail Adams on the short lived PBS animated series “Liberty’s Kids”
- 2003 Starred opposite Kevin Costner and Robert Duvall in the western epic “Open Range,” directed by Kevin Costner
- 2004 Stared as a successful actress who escapes from her loveless marriage to her theatrical producer (Jeremy Irons) in “Being Julia,” based on the novel “Theatre,” by W. Somerset Maugham; received SAG and Oscar nominations for Best Actress
- Apprenticed with the American Conservatory Theater, where she performed as a pregnant Lady Macbeth, Titania in “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” Laurel in “The Caucasian Chalk Circle” and Emily in “Our Town”
- Family moved to San Diego, California in the mid-1960s
- First show business job as a dancer in “The Green Show” presented outside San Diego’s famed Old Globe Theatre
- Passion for scuba-diving led her to work as a cook on a charter scuba-diving boat at age 17 before college
- Pregnancy forced her to give up the coveted catwoman role to Michelle Pfeiffer in “Batman Returns” (1992) and to drop out of “Disclosure” (1994)
- Raised in Wichita, Kansas until the age of seven
- Returned to the stage after a decade as “Hedda Gabler” in an L.A. production
- Went to Hollywood where she appeared in pilot for TV series, “It Had to Be You”
- Worked as a secretary for her father beginning at age 14