SYDNEY, April 11 (Reuters) - Oscar-winner Geoffrey Rush on Thursday won initial damages of A$850,000 ($609,000) after a court ruled that the Australian arm of News Corp defamed him by saying he behaved inappropriately toward a co-star in a production of King Lear.
The Federal Court, which found News Corp’s Nationwide arm and reporter Jonathon Moran’s articles in the Daily Telegraph had failed to prove their allegations were true, will determine further damages later.
“This was in all the circumstances a recklessly irresponsible piece of sensationalist journalism of the worst kind, the very worst kind,” Judge Michael Wigney said in a decision read to a packed courtroom in Sydney.
News Corp had no immediate comment.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
The court ruled that News Corp defamed Geoffrey Rush by saying he behaved inappropriately toward a co-star in a production of "King Lear."
Rush, 67, and a star of Australian theater, sued News Corp’s Sydney tabloid over a series of articles that said he was the subject of a complaint to the Sydney Theatre Company regarding the 2015 King Lear production.
Under the headline “KING LEER,” and in later articles, the paper said the actor, in the title role, had been accused by a co-star of unspecified inappropriate conduct.
Rush, who won the Best Actor Oscar in 1997 for “Shine” and has since appeared in the “Pirates of the Caribbean” films, said the stories implied he was a major pervert, or guilty of major depravity, and his lawyer sought “very substantial” damages.
“There are no winners in this case,” Rush told reporters outside the court. “It’s been extremely distressing for everyone involved.”
He thanked his wife and children for their support “during this harrowing time.” ($1=1.3965 Australian dollars)
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By Janelle Griffith
Kim Kardashian West, who appeared on NBC's "The Apprentice" in 2010, has become a celebrity apprentice of a different kind.
The "Keeping Up With the Kardashians" star told Vogue magazine for a cover story in its May issue that she decided last summer to begin a four-year apprenticeship with a law firm in San Francisco.
Kardashian West, 38, who did not complete college, said she plans to take the bar exam in 2022. Four states, including California, where she lives, offer an alternative path to passing the bar known as “reading the law,” or apprenticing with a practicing lawyer or judge.
The reality TV star said she was inspired by her involvement in the case of Alice Marie Johnson, 63, a grandmother who was serving life in prison in Alabama for a nonviolent drug conviction.
She learned about Johnson through social media and lobbied on her behalf in a June 2018 Oval Office meeting with President Donald Trump. Days later, Trump commuted the sentence for Johnson, who had at that point been in prison for more than two decades.
Kardashian West told Vogue that she believed she could do more for criminal justice reform if she knew more.
In advocating for Johnson at the White House, "I would say what I had to say, about the human side and why this is so unfair," Kardashian West said. "But I had attorneys with me who could back that up with all the facts of the case."
"It’s never one person who gets things done; it’s always a collective of people, and I’ve always known my role, but I just felt like I wanted to be able to fight for people who have paid their dues to society," she said. "I just felt like the system could be so different, and I wanted to fight to fix it, and if I knew more, I could do more.”
The law runs in the family.
O.J. Simpson consulting with Robert Kardashian and Alvin Michelson during a hearing in Los Angeles on May 3, 1999.Vince Bucci / AFP - Getty Images file
Her late father, Robert Kardashian, was a prominent Los Angeles lawyer who was part of the legal team representing O.J. Simpson in his 1995 trial in the murders of his former wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend, Ronald Goldman. Simpson was acquitted.
When the recently freed Charles' lease application was rejected last month because of his prison record, Kardashian West took to Twitter. She urged landlords in Nashville, Tennessee, to give him "a second chance," saying she would pay his rent in advance for five years.
Days later, Charles, 52, said he had secured housing with help from, among others, Kardashian West and her rapper husband Kanye West.
Time to add yet another Marvel-themed series to the Disney+ line-up. It’s been the assumption that any Marvel series on the Disney streaming service will focus on second-string characters, rather than the big ones like Iron Man and Captain America. So far, that’s turning out to be correct. The latest is Hawkeye, a series that will feature Jeremy Renner‘s Clint Barton. The Hawkeye show won’t just focus on Clint, though. It will also feature fan-favorite character Kate Bishop.
Variety broke the news about the Hawkeye TV series headed to Disney+. They describe the project as an “adventure series in which Clint Barton, a.k.a. Hawkeye, will pass the torch to Kate Bishop. Bishop is a Marvel Comics character who took up the Hawkeye mantle after Barton.” Bishop has been around in the comics since 2005, and became a fan favorite with Matt Fraction and David Aja’s series Hawkeye, which kicked-off in 2012. Here’s the synopsis of that run:
Clint Barton, breakout star of a little Marvel movie you might have seen a while back, continues his fight for justice…and good rooftop BBQs! With Young Avenger Kate Bishop by his side, he’s out to get some downtime from being one of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes…but when the apartment building he’s moved into, and the neighbors he’s befriended, are threatened by a tracksuit-wearing, dog-abusing gang of Eastern European mobsters who say “bro” an awful lot, Clint must stand up and defend his new adopted family…any way he can.
The series was much more grounded than the Marvel movies, which would make for a different – and less expensive – experience should the TV series want to draw from it directly. All I ask is that Lucky the Pizza Dog make an appearance.
There’s an unintentional subtext to this news: it confirms Clint is going to survive Avengers: Endgame. Of course, we still have no idea just what the hell is going to happen in Endgame, and rumors persist that the film will involve some sort of time travel that resets the already established timeline. With that in mind, it’s safe to assume that everyone is going to survive the movie. But that’s all just speculation. There has also been speculation that Kate Bishop will appear as a character in Endgame. One of the film’s trailers features Clint training a young girl to fire an arrow, but we don’t know for sure that it’s Kate. It could also be one of his kids, grown older. We’ll know for sure later this month.
In addition to Hawkeye, Disney+ has plans for Marvel shows featuring Loki, Falcon and Winter Soldier, and Vision and Scarlet Witch. There’s probably even more they haven’t announced yet.
All the land the light touches is ours ,and I’ve been screaming about my skinny-legged villain for the last hour. I grew up in a Disney-loving household, and that means I have very high expectations for the live-action remake of The Lion King—not because I like any of the previous live-action remakes but because The Lion King is near and dear to my heart.
So, when the official trailer hit the internet this morning, we were all struck by the amount of Mufasa and Scar on display, even if I wasn’t exactly completely in love with Scar the way I was watching the animated movie.
Maybe it’s because I’ve always seen Scar as a hot villain with an awesome battle wound, but watching this mangy lion stroll up to Simba is a bit different than the original film. Having Jeremy Irons voice the animated role, there was a pompous air to Scar that made his the character he was. I almost feel sorry for this version. He’s mangy, underfed, and has clearly been attacked and not supported by his older brother.
I was a Scar stan before, but now I feel like I’m going to be a Scar apologist, and this is what Disney does to me! Anyway, looking at the response to the trailer on Twitter, many fans were equally concerned about the presentation of Scar.
I like Chiwetel Ejiofor, but there is a ridiculous level of pompous entitlement to Scar that only a white-privileged luvvie like Jeremy Irons can deliver. #TheLionKing
What I’ve learned is that, no matter what, I’m going to love and want to protect this ugly lion with my whole heart, so it’s going to be extremely interesting watching the live-action Lion King and trying to justify why I love him so much. Look at his poor little ear! He’s hurt!
Guys, Game of Thrones returns in just a few short days!!! So, we asked the BuzzFeed Community what theories and questions they want answered in the eighth, and FINAL, season. The results will blow your mind like the Great Sept of Baelor...
Warning: Spoilers ahead, but then...why are you reading this if you're not all caught up?!?!
1.Is Azor Ahai Jon, Dany...or someone else?
HBO
"Missandei said the direct translation is: 'The Prince/Princess That Was Promised.' Could it be that boat-sex baby IS Azor Ahai?"
3.Will Harry Strickland, leader of the Golden Company, be in possession of the legendary Targaryen Valyrian steel sword Blackfyre?
HBO
"Blackfyre was originally owned by Aegon The Conqueror. After the events of the Blackfyre Rebellion, Aegor 'Bittersteel' Rivers (bastard son of King Aegon IV Targaryen) fled to the Free Cities where he founded the Golden Company, with Blackfyre in hand."
4.Is Arya going to use Littlefinger's face to assassinate someone else?
HBO
"I think Arya is going to use Littlefinger’s face to get into King’s Landing to kill Cersei. And Arya may also have Jaime’s face at some point when she kills him."
"I’ve always thought that Syrio Forel made it out alive! The last thing he said to Arya was, 'Not today.' So maybe he really did live past that battle. His 'death' was left so open ended. I hope he’s OK I loved him so much."
Jaqen obviously knows something we don’t. The way he treats Arya and the knowing smirk he gives her when she leaves for Winterfell (and simply the fact that he lets her leave without a known consequence) just leads me to think there is something about him that is important. I’ve heard theories that he is Rhaegar and given hints throughout the books and show, I’m pretty convinced.
The Stark children (Jon included) and Ned Stark dreamt about going down there. Jon and Ned felt like they were being watched by the stone kings as they walked further into the crypts so it must mean something is in there, right?
10.Is Gendry actually the child of Robert Baratheon and CERSEI?
HBO
"I want to see Gendry be revealed as the assumed stillborn son of Robert and Cersei. His mother is a mystery and it would be great to see that Gendry is in fact is Cersei's son. It would be awesome to see him being the right ruler of Westeros, after marrying Arya."
"My advice would be, take a deep breath and if you need a consultant, I’m your girl,” Miller told “Inside Edition” on Tuesday.
Huffman announced Monday she was pleading guilty to charges of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and honest services mail fraud for her involvement in the bribery scheme. The actress said she accepts “full responsibility” for her actions.
Huffman now faces four to 10 months in prison, Us Weekly reported.
If she does end up serving prison time, Miller, who finished an eight-month stint in federal prison for bankruptcy fraud in March 2018, told “Inside Edition” that Huffman should “keep a low profile” and be kind to others.
“Be respectful of everyone, keep a low profile, be kind to people. Tell your story, but listen,” Miller advised.
Abby Lee Miller offered some prison advice to Felicity Huffman.
(Getty Images)
The reality star said Huffman should be worried about how the prison guards may treat her because she is a “big star.”
“She's a big star and I think when she gets there, they're going to be out for her. And I don't necessarily mean the other inmates, I think they will welcome her with open arms,” Miller told "Inside Edition." “It was definitely the guards [who messed me up].”
“[The guards are] supposed to call you by your name or by your number. They would say, 'Where's that Dance Moms lady? Where's that dance lady? We're going to get her,’” the reality star added.
Huffman, “Full House” actress Lori Loughlin and her husband Mossimo Giannulli were among the 50 people arrested in March for allegedly paying bribes to William “Rick” Singer to help their children get into elite universities by altering college entrance exams and faking athletic profiles.
The “Desperate Housewives” star paid $15,000 to have someone secretly alter her daughter’s answers on the SAT, officials said.
"My daughter knew absolutely nothing about my actions, and in my misguided and profoundly wrong way, I have betrayed her. This transgression toward her and the public I will carry for the rest of my life. My desire to help my daughter is no excuse to break the law or engage in dishonesty," Huffman said in a statement Monday.
Loughlin and Giannulli, along with 14 other parents, were charged Tuesday with a "second superseding indictment with conspiring to commit fraud and money laundering.” They reportedly could face up to 40 years in prison — a maximum of 20 years for each of the charges.
Fox News' Mariah Haas and Sasha Savitsky contributed to this report.
