Friends, Family Remember Sydney Pollack
Friends, family and colleagues held a private memorial service for the late Sydney Pollack on Saturday in Los Angeles, according to the Associated Press. No other details were given.
The two-time Oscar-winning producer, director and actor died of cancer on May 26 at the age of 73. He is survived by his wife, Claire, two daughters and six grandchildren. His only son, Steven, died in a plane crash in 1993.
Audrina Patridge Visits Regis & Kelly
Audrina Patridge Visits Regis & Kelly
Ever since the unauthorized release of her nude photos onto the Internet, Audrina Patridge has been under the entertainment media’s spotlight as new details keep emerging about the photo shoot.
In an attempt to tell her side of the story, Audrina has been scheduling appearances on the entertainment news show circuit, which she kicked off with an appearance on the Ryan Seacrest show. Audrina took the opportunity to defend her actions and thank all of her friends, family, and co-stars that had publicly supported her.
It appears that Audrina is trying to take advantage of this new found attention to help promote her career, as there have been several paparazzi sightings of her at popular Hollywood hotspots such as the STK and this morning at Live with Regis and Kelly.
With the recent premiere of the 3rd season on The Hills, it looks as if Audrina may be looking to give her co-stars Heidi Montag and LC a little competition in the tabloids - as she continues to set tongues wagging with her recent live lingerie performance with The Pussycat Dolls.
Friends, Family Identify Alleged R. Kelly Victim
UPDATE: Another woman identified both the alleged victim and R. Kelly in the singer’s sex tape in court today, testifying the girl was a minor when the recording was made. Audrey Hampton, a 23-year-old student at the University of Wisconsin, said she played basketball with the girl and went to school with her for several years.
“There’s no question” that’s her friend, Hampton said, adding that she recognized her face, voice and some of her mannerisms, such as “the way she licked the bottom of her lip.” She admitted under cross-examination, however, that she couldn’t recognize her friend’s body per se.
Hampton’s mother also testified, saying she found the tape in her daughter’s bedroom in early 2000, watched it and promptly threw it away without ever showing it to the police.
Also on Thursday, a woman was arrested outside the courtroom after she shouted “Free R. Kelly!” at the jurors as they got off the elevator. She was taken into custody on a contempt charge and held in lieu of $50,000 bail. The jury told the judge they didn’t hear what she said and the day continued as scheduled._______________________________________
R. Kelly’s lawyers may be arguing that the R&B star has been wrongfully accused when it comes to his alleged taped encounter with a not-at-all legal girl, but a handful of people have already called it as the prosecution sees it.
During testimony given yesterday in Kelly’s child-pornography trial, which kicked off Tuesday with a courtroom viewing of the sex tape in question, four witnessesincluding two relativespositively identified the girl who Chicago authorities maintain is on the tape (which they say was made about 10 years ago when she was only 13 or 14).
The girl, who’s now 23, has denied it’s her on the video.
Simha Johnson, who says she was the alleged victim’s best friend growing up, told the court she saw the Kelly tape twice while they were in high school. She recognized her pal as the featured female both times.
“I know her like the back of my hand,” Johnson, 24, said.
She and her friend started visiting Kelly’s Chicago recording studio and meeting up with him at a neighborhood basketball courtand, at one time, his home, where the video was supposedly filmedwhen they were about 12, Johnson said. Her pal introduced Kelly to her as her “godfather.”
Kelly also used to frequently give her friend between $100 and $500 in cash as gifts, Johnson said.
Meanwhile, the defense argued that the tape could have been doctored as part of a scheme devised by the girl’s relatives to extort money from the Grammy winner.
Under cross-examination, Johnson admitted she, too, had received gifts from Kelly from time to time, including $100 for her 13th birthday, and that her friend had never mentioned having a sexual relationship with Kelly.
“Something could have been done to that tape to put [Kelly’s] head on a different body, and you wouldn’t know it,” defense attorney Sam Adam Jr. contended.
Showing the jury a picture of a shirtless Kelly, he asked Johnson how she recognized the singer’s body on the tape.
“His head was on it,” Johnson replied, prompting laughter from a handful of jurors and giving the defense an opening to pursue its edited-tape argument.
“Something could have been done to put a different head on that body,” Adam suggested.
Johnson’s father also positively ID’d the alleged victim, as did the girl’s aunt and uncle, who said they first saw the tape in 2001, a few weeks before someone anonymously mailed the tape to the Chicago Sun-Times.
The aunt, Delores Gibbon, denied any knowledge of an extortion plot and said she didn’t immediately alert authorities when she saw the tape because she was concerned about doing what was best for her niece.
Originally published May 22, 2008 at 10:00 a.m. PT
Daniel Dae Kim Issues Apology
Daniel Dae Kim has issued an apology following his arrest for suspicion of drunken driving yesterday morning. The statement is as follows:
I am deeply ashamed and embarrassed by my actions of Thursday morning. It saddens me to know that I jeopardized the welfare of the kind people of Hawaii, a community that I love and call my home.
It is my intention to cooperate fully with the police and I am grateful to them for their sensitivity throughout this matter.
To my friends, family, colleagues and fans, thank you for your kind words of support. To those I have disappointed I can only ask that you accept my heartfelt apologies. I am truly, truly sorry.
To be honest, this is a difficult topic for me to discuss, because it's an unfortunate situation all the way around, and there are no winners and no right answers. And as someone who has lost a close family member to an accident caused by a drunk driver, I certainly don't think drinking and driving should be condoned in any way.
That said, it's also no secret that I have always known Daniel Dae Kim to be one of the kindest, most sincere men I have ever met. (Honestly. And countless others will back me up on that.) And so, I just want to say that I personally find it honorable that even in his darkest hour, Daniel has managed to remain genuine, straightforward and humble—and admit he was wrong. I hope that counts for something. It certainly does in my book.
As for you Lost fans wondering if this arrest will affect Daniel's longevity on the show, I want to remind you that producers Damon and Carlton both have told me that the previous castmember arrests had absolutely nothing to do with the decision to kill them off of the series. Personally, I'm hoping Jin sticks around for a good long time, 'cause I for one, would miss him dearly.
As always, feel free to weigh in with your own thoughts below.