May 29, 2011

Jessica Chastain off to roaring start in Hollywood

Jessica Chastain
Jessica Chastain is worried that she might be the first unknown actress everyone will get sick of.

The 30-year-old redhead plays Brad Pitt's wife in filmmaker Terrence Malick's "Tree of Life" which was awarded the top prize at the Cannes film festival last week.

The movie, a meditation on life set against the background of a Midwestern family in the 1950s that also stars Sean Penn, arrives in select U.S. movie theaters on Friday.

But that's not the only film the newcomer has on her resume, nor the only A-list actors and directors who want to work with her.

Later this summer Chastain stars in the drama "The Help," based on Kathryn Stockett's best-selling novel; "The Debt," an espionage drama starring Oscar-winner Helen Mirren; and the crime drama "The Fields" opposite Sam Worthington.

Two more of her films are scheduled to come out this fall -- one opposite Al Pacino -- and still others in 2012.

"I've made 11 films, nine are (waiting for release), Chastain told Reuters in an interview. "I'm a little worried that people will get sick of me. But because the characters are so different in each film, hopefully they won't."

Blame it on Malick, the semi-reclusive but revered filmmaker who gave Chastain her big break in "Tree of Life." Though the director's films -- including "Badlands" and "The Thin Red Line" -- are hardly commercial hits, the critical acclaim they engender makes Hollywood sit up and take notice.

"Tree of Life" was shot three years ago but Chastain said her association with the film instantly "changed my world" and "opened doors for me to work with other directors."

ROBIN WILLIAMS, AL PACINO LEND A HAND

It's not the first break to come her way. A native of northern California, Chastain attended the prestigious Juilliard school in New York on a scholarship from Juilliard alumni, actor and comedian Robin Williams.

"That was huge. It paid for my apartment, my books, my tuition. It paid for me to fly back and forth to see my family," said Chastain.

Yet the actress has never met Williams.

"I know at some point I'm going to meet him and it will be really special," she said. "Because I'm the first person in my family to go to college and I feel he made that possible."

As did her grandmother, who took Chastain to see a play when she was a girl, thus inspiring the youngster to pursue acting as a career. Her grandmother also helped Chastain move to New York for college.

"I was scared to live in New York and live in a dorm and she flew with me," said Chastain.

While in her last year at Juilliard, Chastain's class went to Los Angeles to showcase their talents to the entertainment industry. From there, Chastain landed a television deal with Emmy Award-winning producer John Wells' company.

"It was a blessing because I got to live in New York and do theater and the company would fly me out to L.A. to do television," said Chastain.

The transition to film occurred when Chastain was cast in the title role of a Los Angeles theater production of Oscar Wilde's "Salome," directed by and starring Al Pacino, in 2006.

Pacino decided to also direct a film version of the play -- part documentary/part fiction -- called "Wilde Salome" with the same players. The film is now scheduled to premiere at the Venice Film Festival in September.

"I learned how an actor changes a performance from (being in) a theater of 1400 people to a single camera. Al was like my acting teacher during that whole process," Chastain said.

Things came to a head for Chastain at the Cannes film festival earlier this month where "Tree of Life" not only walked away with the Palme d'Or, but her psychological thriller "Take Shelter," with Michael Shannon, won the grand prize in the Critics Week competition.

Things got even more intense at the festival when the Prohibition-era drama "The Wettest Country in the World" -- which she shot with Shia LeBoeuf -- found itself in the middle of a bidding war with distributors. It was picked up by the Weinstein company for a release in 2012.

"I will never experience anything like that again," said Chastain of her first Cannes experience. "I'm still recovering. It was a week of living on pure adrenaline, no sleep and a lot of excitement."


DON'T MISS

Lionel Messi hungry for more after winning Champions League

Lionel Messi
The Barcelona forward Lionel Messi has warned that Pep Guardiola's team are hungrier than ever after confirming their place among history's greatest sides at Wembley on Saturday night. The Catalans 3-1 win over Manchester United earned Guardiola his second Champions League trophy as a manager and his 10th trophy in his first three years as a coach.

Messi, who scored Barça's second with an excellent strike in the second half, has now won the European Cup three times. But the Argentinian, 23, wants to win more. "This team is incredible," he said. "I think today we can't really fully appreciate what we're doing, what we are achieving. We want to keep winning trophies and we can keep going further and further."

But even the modest Messi had to acknowledge the gulf in class. "We were superior against Manchester and deserved the win," he said. "It is another cup for us and I managed to score a goal again. I saw a bit of space there, the goalkeeper came out a bit and luckily it went in. Now we're going on holiday – after taking the cup home to our people – then we will start thinking about what we can achieve next season."

The win means Barça are now one ahead of United in terms of Champions League titles and one behind Liverpool, who have five, though they remain five off the record-holders Real Madrid.

"We're pleased with the win because of how we did it, against Manchester United, one of the greats," Guardiola said. "We have produced something extraordinary, though, and we have four European Cups now, joining Ajax and Bayern Munich."

Guardiola highlighted the progress made since 2009, when he led Barça to an unprecedented treble in his first season in charge. "We played much better than two years ago in Rome [when they beat United 2–0]," he said, "and against a superb team that have also improved."

The Barça forward Ibrahim Afellay, who came on as a substitute at Wembley, is keen for his manager to stay. The Dutch player, who joined from PSV Eindhoven in January and is now a European champion, said: "He signed a new contract so we think he is going to stay. We hope he stays because he is the best coach in the world. He was part of the reason I joined. If a coach like that tells you he wants you then you come. But with a club like Barcelona, you don't have to think for one second."

DON'T MISS

May 28, 2011

Casey Anthony Homicide

Casey Anthony
Testimony in the Casey Anthony murder trial resumed Saturday with the Orlando mother's former boyfriend on the stand discussing text messages between the two the night after Anthony's daugther was reported missing to police -- nearly a month after her last reported sighting.

In the messages, Anthony told Anthony Lazarro that she had been driving around with police looking for her daughter.

"If they don't find her, guess who gets blamed and spends an eternity in jail?" Anthony texted.

Anthony called herself "the dumbest person and the worst mother."

"The best person in my life is missing and God only knows if I'm ever going to see her again," read another text.

Prosecutors began questioning Lazarro the day after Judge Belvin Perry questioned their attempts to introduce other instant messages that Assistant State's Attorney Frank George said showed Anthony believed her daughter was in the way of their relationship.

"... Only a few more days and you can bring your ass over anytime you want and stay any night you want," read one text message that prosecutors said was sent June 10.

George said the message and others like it would help prove Anthony's motive for killing her 2-year-old daughter, Caylee, whose skeletal remains were found in a wooded field in December 2008.

Anthony, 25, is charged with seven counts, including first degree murder, aggravated child abuse and misleading police in the death of her daughter, whose remains were discovered in December 2008.

Prosecutors say Anthony used chloroform on her daughter and then put duct tape over her nose and mouth, suffocating the girl.

Anthony's attorneys argue that she did not kill Caylee, but rather that the girl accidentally drowned in the Anthonys' pool. They say Anthony and her father panicked, and kept the death a secret. George Anthony denied that claim in testimony Thursday.

George said the instant messages showed that Caylee's presence was stifling her lifestyle, which prosecutors have attempted to paint as hard-partying and carefree.

"She couldn't do what she wanted to do," George told Perry in a discussion held without the jury present in the courtroom.

But Perry questioned the logic, asking why Anthony did have not also plot to kill her parents.

After Perry said he did not believe the evidence was relevant and would be excessively prejudicial even if it was, prosecutors withdrew their attempt to have it introduced into evidence, for the time being at least.

Testimony Friday focused largely on Casey Anthony's car, a white Pontiac Sunfire found abandoned in a parking lot and later towed to an impound lot where her parents, George and Cindy Anthony, picked it up two weeks later.

George Anthony and a tow company manager testified that Casey Anthony's car reeked of the unmistakable odor of a decomposing body.

Towing company operations manager Simon Birch said the the car gave off a faint smell when it was closed up, a smell that became stronger when the Anthonys arrived and they opened the door and then the trunk of the car.

"It's a very, very unique and distinctive smell," Birch said, noting that he has had the misfortune of coming into contact with decomposition in cars numerous times.

George Anthony said the odor was so powerful he could not drive it home from the impound lot where it had been towed without rolling down the windows, he said.

"I did worry for my daughter and granddaughter," George Anthony testified. "I didn't want to believe what I was smelling."

George Anthony recalled his mind racing with concern for his daughter, whom he had believed was with the car in Jacksonville, Florida, and his granddaughter, whom he had not seen in nearly a month.

"Please God," he recalled thinking as he prepared to open the trunk, "don't let this be Casey or Caylee."

Anthony said he took the car home and opened the windows and sunroof to let it air out.

It was only when Cindy Anthony called 911 later that day did police learn of the car and the odor -- sparking the investigation that led to the discovery months later of Caylee's remains and the arrest of the toddler's mother.

Defense attorney Jose Baez questioned both George Anthony and Birch why they did not alert police of the smell.

"Looking back, sir, there's a lot of things I wish I would have done," George Anthony said.

In response to a question from Baez implying he was trying to distance himself from evidence in a potential crime, George Anthony said, "I would not have walked away ... from something. That's not in my makeup. ... I believe I'm a pretty good guy."

Earlier in the day, Baez questioned why Birch never called police, even after learning the car had been towed by authorities for forensic analysis.

"I had no idea why it was towed to forensics," Birch said.

William Waters, a friend of Anthony's who testified that he went shopping with her on July 5, testified that she had a friend's car at the time. He said she explained that she did not have her own because it needed an alignment or a tune-up.

Waters also testified that Anthony attended an Independence Day party at his house on July 4, 2008 -- about two weeks after Caylee was last seen -- and that the two also went shopping the next day. She gave no indication that anything was wrong either time and only briefly mentioned her daughter, Waters testified.

Waters' testimony was similar to statements Thursday from numerous witnesses who said Anthony did not mention her daughter's disappearance until her mother, Cindy Anthony, reported the girl's absence to police on July 15.

Defense attorneys explain Anthony's behavior as a result of what they allege was sexual abuse by her father beginning as a child. Anthony was schooled from a young age to "hide her pain," her attorneys argue. In testimony, George Anthony has denied sexually abusing his daughter.

In cross-examination by Baez, those who saw Anthony and her daughter together testified that Caylee was well taken care of and that Anthony, at least to their knowledge, appeared to be a good mother.

In a dramatic moment Friday morning, the fiancee of Casey Anthony's brother broke down when asked to describe Anthony's relationship with her daughter.

The fiancee, Mallory Parker, described the relationship as "amazing."

"Casey and Caylee had a very special bond," Parker, a witness for the prosecution, said with a quivering voice while under cross-examination by Baez.

Anthony appeared to cry as Parker spoke.

In all, Anthony is charged with first degree murder, aggravated child abuse, aggravated manslaughter of a child and four counts of misleading police. If she is convicted of capital murder, she could be sentenced to death by the seven-woman, five-man jury.

Anthony has pleaded not guilty and denies harming her daughter or having anything to do with her disappearance. Baez has said that once all the facts are known, it will become clear that his client is not guilty.

The trial is expected to last six to eight weeks.


Source : CNN

DON'T MISS

Lohan begins serving sentence on house arrest

Lindsay Lohan
Lindsay Lohan returned to a women's jail before dawn on Thursday and was released before rush hour to begin serving a four-month jail sentence at her home for a probation violation.

The actress left the lockup with an ankle monitor that she must wear for about 35 days, sheriff's spokesman Steve Whitmore said.

The term is longer than the three weeks or less that Lohan would have spent in a solitary confinement unit at the jail, where she served 14 days last summer for another probation violation.

Whitmore said the "Mean Girls" star is paying for the costs of her monitoring.

Superior Court Judge Stephanie Sautner sentenced Lohan to 120 days in jail and 480 hours of community service in April after determining the actress took a necklace without permission from a store near her home.

The judge said at a hearing that if Lohan served time under house arrest, she could not leave to whittle down her community service hours at a women's shelter and the county morgue.

Lohan pleaded no contest earlier this month to misdemeanor grand theft but did not receive additional jail time. The jail term was imposed after Sautner determined Lohan violated her probation in a 2007 drunken driving case.

Whitmore said the actress was cooperative when she turned herself in, and it took about an hour for her to be fingerprinted and booked. No new mugshot was taken.

Lohan's attorney, Shawn Holley, did not immediately return an email message seeking comment.

The actress has been cast to appear as the wife of John Gotti Jr. in a biopic of the infamous New York mob family. Shooting is scheduled to begin later this year.

DON'T MISS

May 27, 2011

The former "American Idol" judge

Kara DioGuardi
The former "American Idol" judge has a new show in the works: The producer will unveil what it's like behind the scenes in the music business with her docu-series for Bravo, "The KARA project." This will be in addition to being head judge for the new competition show, "Platinum Hit."








DON'T MISS

Oprah Winfrey's 'Favorite Things' reportedly add up to $23.8 million

Oprah Winfrey
Oprah Winfrey's favorite thing must not have been money ... or she just had a few million dollars to spare, because the cost of her "Oprah's Favorite Things" audience giveaways adds up to about $23.8 million.

Oh, to be an accountant on "The Oprah Winfrey Show."

The daytime diva wrapped her 25-year daytime talk show run Wednesday to the best ratings she's had since 1994. But Winfrey also wrapped the hopes of fans being the all-too-excited recipients in that giveaway-happy studio audience.

The total cost of the holiday freebies she's given away since 2002 comes out to about $23,809,050 -- we have Jezebel to thank for calculating that number.

Computations were based on the items' retail price and then multiplied by 300, the number of people usually in Winfrey's studio audience.

Some of those "Favorite Things," with individual prices shown, include:

    Origins Perfect World White Tea Body Cream ($30)

    Frontgate's Portable DVD Player ($400)

    Croissants ($4)

    Burberry coat ($700)

    Burberry purse ($700)

    BlackBerry 7105T from T-Mobile ($300)

    $1,000 credit card

    LG HDTV Refrigerator ($3,800)

    Elfa Customizable Closet System ($1,000)

    Tory Burch "Silver Anniversary" tote bag and flat shoes ($450)

    Sony Vaio FJ Notebook ($1,500)

    H&M swimsuit ($15)

    "O's Guide to Life" ($30)

    iPad with Scrabble app ($500)

    UGG Australia sparkle boots ($175)

    A 2012 Volkswagen Beetle ($22,000)

    For the full list, click here.

Granted, many of the items were donated by their respective companies, including the Pontiac G-6's she screamingly distributed in 2004. But we hope the giveaways will continue in some form at OWN.

As for the hostess with the mostest, she plans to take it easy for a while.

"Staying in pj's all day," she tweeted Thursday. "Getting hair braided ... for summer vacation. Reading all ur emails!"

DON'T MISS

Lindsay Lohan Begins House Arrest

Lindsay Lohan
You are not likely to see many pictures of Lindsay Lohan over the next month, as the troubled actress turned herself in to authorities early Thursday morning (May 26) to begin her 35-day sentence of home confinement in connection with her deal in a recent theft case.

According to People magazine, Lohan, 24, turned herself in to authorities at Los Angeles' Lynwood Jail shortly after 5 a.m. Pacific time, at which point she was fitted with an electronic ankle bracelet that she will wear while serving her term at her Venice, California, townhouse.

"She is now confined to the interior premises of her home at all times," the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department said. Lohan had originally been sentenced to four months in jail after pleading no contest May 11 to stealing a $2,500 necklace from a Venice jewelry store, but because of chronic jail overcrowding in Los Angeles and because she's a nonviolent offender, she was eligible for house arrest.

Lohan was originally charged with felony grand theft due to the listed price of the necklace, but the judge reduced the charges to a misdemeanor in April.

The magazine reported that her sentence could be reduced down to just over two weeks in all, thanks to time off for good behavior and budgetary constraints. The judge in the case also sentenced Lohan to perform 480 hours of community service, but she will not be allowed to perform that work while under house arrest.

In addition to the community service — which will mostly be at a homeless shelter for women, with the remainder at the Los Angeles County morgue — Lohan was ordered to undergo psychological counseling and participate in a shoplifters alternative course.

DON'T MISS

May 18, 2011

Amanda Knox Appears in Court to Face Slandering Charges

Amanda Knox
Amanda Knox has appeared in court to face charges of slandering murder squad detectives who led the investigation into the Meredith Kercher killing.

The 23-year-old is accused of slandering seven police officers after she told her original trial she had been ''cuffed twice'' around the back of the head during questioning.

Dressed in a white shirt and black trousers, the American student spoke to confirm that she understood Italian by trial judge Daniele Cenci for the brief hearing.



Knox was jailed for 26 years in December 2009 for the brutal sex killing of Kercher, 21, who was found semi-naked and with her throat cut.

During the trial she claimed she had been ''hit on the head'' by police during questioning about the murder and prosecutors immediately launched a case against her.

At an earlier hearing in Perugia, where she is serving her sentence, she had insisted she was defending herself and attempts to have the case thrown out by her legal team were overturned.

Knox made the allegations in June 2009 during her trial and they had earlier been repeated by her parents Curt Knox and Edda Mellas, who are also facing a similar charge after giving a newspaper interview.

The slander charge came about as in the murder trial Knox recalled her police questioning and said: ''One shouted, 'You don't remember?' then a policewoman behind me hit me across the back of the head. I turned towards her and she did it again.

''They were only decent with me when I made my statement. They wanted a name, but I couldn't give them one.''

Under Italian law slander is punishable with a fine and/or a prison sentence of between two and six years.
Miss Kercher

Besides the police officers she is also said to have slandered an interpreter by telling the court she had suggested to Knox to say that perhaps someone else was involved in the murder.

Mr Knox was in court for the hearing and it was the first time he had seen his daughter in more than a year as he has found a new job and been unable to get time off work.

Knox and her former boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito, 26, who was also convicted of the murder, are currently appealing their sentences and the next hearing will take place on Saturday.

Two court-appointed independent forensic experts had been due to report back on their findings over contested evidence including a 30cm kitchen knife on which DNA from Knox was said to be on the handle and that of Miss Kercher on the blade.

Her defence has argued the results are so low they should not have been used to convict her and in leaked preliminary findings the experts have confirmed the samples are too low to re-examine.

They have also asked for extra time to examine documents from the forensic investigation and the appeal court judge has given them an extra 40 days, meaning a verdict is unlikely before the summer.

Miss Kercher, from Coulsdon, Surrey, was in Perugia as part of her Leeds University degree and had only been in Italy for two months before she was murdered in November 2007.

DON'T MISS

May 15, 2011

Zara Anne Elizabeth Phillips

 Birth Name   
Zara Anne Elizabeth Phillips
Date of birth
15 May 1981
Place of birth
St Mary's Hospital, Paddington, London
Nationality
United Kingdom
Alma mater   
University of Exeter
Religion   
Christian
Father   
Mark Phillips
Mother
Anne, Princess Royal
Brother
Peter Phillips
Grandmother
Elizabeth II
Grandfather
Prince Philips


Zara Phillips
Miss Phillips, who is engaged to be married to Mike Tindall, the England rugby centre, is in relaxed casual clothing in keeping with her image as one of the more down-to-earth members of the Royal family.

Wearing faded blue jeans and a black fleece top, she stands with arms folded and legs crossed against the cut ends of a pile of felled timber. Her black Labrador, Storm, poses with her.

Miss Phillips is the granddaughter of the Queen. She is also an expert rider, competing in equestrianism to world level.

She is patron of several charities, many linked to the worlds of horse racing and eventing, and has designed her own clothing range.

She lives with Mr Tindall at their home in Gloucestershire. They are due to marry on July 30 in Edinburgh. Theirs will be the second Royal wedding of the year.

DON'T MISS