Keanu’s Depo Won’t Leave Legal Matrix
Keanu Reeves’ next court date will remain his own private session.
A judge has granted the actor’s request to seal the transcript and tape of his deposition pertaining to a paparazzo’s negligence lawsuit, deeming it a “reasonable request.”
“I expect everyone to comply in good faith,” Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Elizabeth A. Grimes said Monday. “I do not view this as an attempt by the defense to take unfair advantage of the plaintiff.”
Reeves’ attorney had argued that, if a video of the Q&A session got out, it would “undoubtedly be analyzed frame by frame in an attempt to embarrass Mr. Reeves.”
Meanwhile, legal eagle Joseph Farzam, who’s representing shutterbug Alison Silva, said that the public was unlikely to give Reeves the fine-tooth comb treatment reserved for celebs such as “Paris Hilton, Britney Spears and Anna Nicole Smith.”
The Street Kings star is “certainly not more important than the president of the United States,” Farzam argued.
But, per Grimes’ order, only the warring parties’ lawyers and expert witnesses will have access to the depo transcripts and an unnamed third party will hang onto the tape.
Silva sued Reeves in November for unspecified damages, claiming that “in a sudden, erratic and dangerous manner” Reeves hit him with his Porsche in March 2007 while pulling out of a parking space in Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif., leaving him with “serious injuries to body and severe shock and injuries to the nervous system and person, all of which…have caused and continue to cause Plaintiff great mental, physical and nervous pain and suffering.”
The case is scheduled to go to trial Oct. 27, but the judge expresed her belief that the two sides will settle up before then.
Keanu Reeves Sued for Uncool Car Maneuver
Keanu Reeves fights, and sometimes talks, in slow motion. It doesn't look as if he drives that way, though.
A paparazzo who was reportedly knocked down by The Matrix star's Porsche in March, presumably while he was trying to get a shot of the actor as he pulled out of a parking space, sued Reeves for negligence on Monday.
Brazilian shutterbug Alison Silva alleges in his lawsuit that Reeves' actions in the parking lot of a Rancho Palos Verdes, California, clinic on Mar. 19 caused "serious injuries to body and severe shock and injuries to the nervous system and person, all of which injuries have caused and continue to cause Plaintiff great mental, physical and nervous pain and suffering." (View the full lawsuit.)
Silva also states that his vehicle was damaged, although police confirmed at the time that it was the photographer himself who was "grazed" by Reeve's car, a 1996 Porsche 911. There was no mention of another vehicle.
According to authorities, paramedics treated Silva at the scene and then transported him by ambulance to a nearby hospital. Reeves emerged from the run-in unscathed and no criminal charges were filed.
Because of said injuries, Silva claims, his earning capacity has been severely limited. He's seeking undisclosed damages.
Reeves, who in the driving world is mostly known for his solo motorcycle mishaps (he ruptured his spleen and fractured a few ribs in 1988), was last on the big screen in The Lake House, one of the sentimental projects he likes to sprinkle in among the sci-fi flicks.
Next up he plays a widowed LAPD detective who has to face off against the entire department when he's implicated in the death of a fellow officer in The Night Watchman, and he's attached to star in a remake of The Day the Earth Stood Still, which already has a Dec. 12, 2008, release date.
Reeves will play the even-tempered, poker-faced alien visitor.
Lawyer: Keanu’s No More Popular Than O.J.
He may have crossed big-screen paths with Abe Lincoln, but the real-life Keanu Reeves is “certainly not more important than the president of the United States.”
So said the lawyer representing a paparazzo who’s suing Reeves in arguing that there’s no reason to seal the actor’s upcoming deposition, per documents filed Friday in Los Angeles Superior Court.
Noting that former President Bill Clinton’s testimony during the Monica Lewinsky scandal had been televised, attorney Joseph Farzam also aruged that Reeves is no more “popular than O.J. Simpson, whose deposition and in fact entire trial proceedings were televised.”
“Although he has fans and a few of his movies have been quite popular, the public has not shown much interest in his public private life unlike Paris Hilton, Britney Spears and Anna Nicole Smith,” Farzam continued.
Shutterbug Alison Silva has occused the Matrix star of hitting him with his Porsche in March 2007 while pulling out of a parking space in Rancho Palos Verdes, leaving him with injuries and diminished earning power.
A hearing on Reeves’ motion to seal his deposition is scheduled for June 9, while the case is set to go to trial Oct. 27.
Reeve’s legal campheaded up by the same attorney who successfully lobbied the court to keep Lindsay Lohan’s deposition in a car accident-related negligence suit under wrapscontends the video, if obtained by the media, “will undoubtedly be analyzed frame by frame in an attempt to embarrass Mr. Reeves.”
Meaning, the depo tape could end up on the $1 DVD rack alongside A Walk in the Clouds and The Lake House?
Enough Of The Whips, Indiana Jones Gets A Widget!
The first trailer for Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull was apparently seen more than 200 million times worldwide in the first week alone, so it is safe to say that people will be interested in seeing the next one. If back in 1989 a marketing guy suggested using a ‘widget’ to promote Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, he would no doubt have been hit over the face and most likely fired instantly. However, now in 2008 the idea is held as genius and it is likely that a guy over at Paramount’s marketing department now has his own parking space.
If you divert your eyes to the right sidebar, you will see this ‘widget’. It includes access to Indiana Jones news, past trailers and will no doubt be hosting the next trailer whenever it arrives. I will be keeping it there until the trailer is released, but if they have more interesting things popping up on it then I will keep it there for a little while longer, so keep your eye on it.
You can also put the widget on your own blogs and any social networking sites you are on.
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull can be seen in non-widget form on May 22nd!