Steven Spielberg

[BobbyD 2]

China Media, Public Angered by Spielberg

 

Hollywood director Steven Spielberg's decision to quit the Beijing Olympics over the Darfur crisis is drawing condemnation by China's state-controlled media and a groundswell of criticism from the Chinese public.

 

Last week, the American director withdrew from his role as an artistic adviser to the opening and closing ceremonies of the Summer Games, accusing China of not doing enough to press for peace in the troubled Sudanese region.

 

Officially, the Chinese government has not directly criticized Spielberg by name, expressing only "regret" over his decision. But the state-run media and the public have been far less restrained.

 

In newspaper commentaries and lively Internet forums, they have expressed outrage, scorn and bewilderment that China's Olympics have come under international criticism from Spielberg and others.

 

A biting front-page editorial Wednesday in the overseas edition of the People's Daily, the Communist Party's official newspaper, blasted Spielberg for his decision.

 

"A certain Western director was very naive and made an unreasonable move toward the issue of the Beijing Olympics. This is perhaps because of his unique Hollywood characteristics," it said.

 

Over the weekend, the Guangming Daily, also published by the Communist Party, ran an editorial saying Spielberg "broke his promise to make his contribution to the Beijing Olympics and betrayed the Olympic spirit."

 

He "is not qualified to blame China because he knows nothing about the great efforts the Chinese government has made on Darfur," it said.

 

An editorial in the China Youth Daily was equally scathing.

 

"This renowned film director is famous for his science fiction. But now it seems he lives in a world of science fiction and he can't distinguish a dream from reality," it said.

 

China is believed to have influence over Sudanese leaders because it buys two-thirds of the African country's oil exports. China also sells weapons to the Islamic government and defends it in the United Nations.

 

More than 200,000 people have died in Darfur in a conflict between rebels and militias backed by government forces.

 

China often uses its newspapers to make statements it does not want to officially comment on. But the issue also has exploded on the Internet, where scores of Chinese have been quick to add their criticism of Spielberg.

 

"We should have never invited him in the first place," was one retort on Sina.com, the country's largest Internet portal.

 

Others asked why China's Olympic Games were being linked to Darfur.

 

"Spielberg used the sacred Olympics as a tool. There are so many simpler or more complicated issues than the Darfur issue in the world," one said. "I rarely heard him say anything. Why was he so keen this time?"

 

But the recent storm of international criticism has prodded China to take some steps.

 

Earlier this week, the Foreign Ministry announced that China's special envoy to Darfur will be making his fourth visit to the region later this month.

 

In a telephone call Tuesday to British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, Premier Wen Jiabao detailed China's efforts to establish peace in Darfur, a move that underscored the sensitivity of the issue.

 

On Wednesday, the head of marketing for the Beijing Olympics defended China's stance on Darfur and appealed to activists not to pressure sponsors to pull out of the games.

 

"China has been doing a lot toward the resolution of the Darfur issue," said Yuan Bin, director of the Beijing Olympics marketing department. "I want to say the Olympics should be kept nonpolitical."

[ElleDriver 0]

Valerie Bertinelli: My Early Romance with Steven Spielberg

 

 

Valerie Bertinelli is unleashing more bombshells about her life to Oprah Winfrey – including her early dating history with ... Steven Spielberg?

 

Bertinelli, 47, who also admits on the Feb. 25 episode that she and ex-husband Eddie Van Halen cheated on each other, tells Winfrey about her early romance with the Oscar-winning director in the pre-Van Halen days.

 

"I went up to read for Raiders of the Lost Ark which I was so wrong for," Bertinelli says. "And the next day I got a call and some flowers ... [spielberg] asked me out. We went out a few times ... And did more."

 

The Jenny Craig spokeswoman is appearing on the talk show to promote her new tell-all book, Losing It: And Gaining My Life Back One Pound at a Time. As for why she chose to reveal so much about her life, Bertinelli told Winfrey it was a logical next step.

 

"I just figured, if they're going to watch me lose 40 lbs. and I'm going to be embarrassed that way, and there's going to be fat-ass pictures of me with my butt hanging out in Hawaii, I thought, 'Why not let the inner me out, too?'" Bertinelli said. "Because the inner me is, I hope, prettier than the outer me."

[ElleDriver 0]

Chinese filmmaker says Spielberg withdrawal "regrettable"

 

 

BEIJING (Reuters) - China's top filmmaker Zhang Yimou said Hollywood director Steven Spielberg's resignation as an adviser to the Beijing Olympics was "quite regrettable," but would not affect the Games, the China News Service said.

 

Zhang and Spielberg were working on the direction team for the opening and closing ceremonies for the August 8-24 Games, widely expected to be a spectacular affair showcasing China's rich culture and new confidence.

 

The absence of the three-times Oscar winner, who pulled out last month over China's policy on the conflict in the Sudan region of Darfur, would not have any effect on the Opening Ceremony, Zhang was quoted as saying by the semi-official China News Service.

 

Spielberg said China was doing too little to help halt the bloodshed in the western Sudanese region of Darfur, where Khartoum-linked militia have battled rebel groups.

 

"This has been a very difficult decision for me, as I have cherished the relationships with my Chinese counterparts, in particular ... Zhang Yimou, who is a close personal friend," the American said in his statement.

 

Some 200,000 people have died and 2.5 million have been driven from their homes in more than four years of conflict in Darfur, according to estimates by international experts. Khartoum puts the death toll at 9,000.

 

China says it is concerned about the humanitarian situation in Darfur and has played an active role in pushing forward the peace process, while rejecting all attempts to "politicize" the Olympics.

 

Zhang, most famous for his Oscar-nominated films "Raise the Red Lantern" and "Hero," said preparations for August 8 opening ceremony had reached the stage of "large scale rehearsals with more than 10,000 performers."

 

The 56-year-old gave little else away as he spoke to reporters on entering the Great Hall of the People for the opening of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), an advisory body to China's National Parliament.

[sanlee 49]

Downey Jr. Is Star Struck By Spielberg

 

Hollywood star ROBERT DOWNEY JR. was left speechless after meeting his idol, legendry director STEVEN SPIELBERG.

 

The actor was in between takes for his forthcoming movie The Soloist, where he plays an inquisitive journalist, when the Jurassic Park filmmaker dropped by for a chat.

 

But despite waiting 25 years to meet his hero Downey Jr couldn’t manage more than a few words.

 

He says, "I couldn’t believe it. He’s over by the monitors and I’m like ‘Jesus Christ, there he is’ and he talks to me about a couple of things and then he leaves the set and I’m like ‘God darn it! I’ve only been waiting 25 years to have one of those moments.’"

 

Source: pr-inside

[BobbyD 2]

(Pagesix.com)

 

Early Hissing Over 'indiana Jones'

 

LET'S hope the early buzz on the long-awaited fourth "Indiana Jones" picture is as off-base as much online movie chatter often turns out to be. Harrison Ford reprises his famous role in "Indi ana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull," which opens May 22. "This is the Indiana movie that you were dreading," snarks one blogger on the Ain't It Cool News Web site. "There was not a single moment that I thought [indy] . . . was in any sort of peril or even significant inconvenience." A big snake that appears in one scene is "as crappy as a Mad TV prop" and it "looks like the whole jungle was made of plastic." As far as Ford's dialogue goes, "he has a few lines that work and a million that don't." Meanwhile, John Hurt, who plays Indy's colleague, disdains the flick and executive producer George Lucas. "It's cops-and-robbers stuff," Hurt told the Times of London. "And it's all to make Mr. Lucas an extra billion, as if he needs it."

[BobbyD 2]

How to Break a Prenup

Just Prove You Were Coerced, Defrauded, Threatened, Drugged or Didn't Have a Lawyer

By RUSSELL GOLDMAN

July 10, 2008

 

Cynthia Rodriguez believes her marriage to Yankee slugger Alex Rodriguez is "irretrievably broken." She wants their two kids, their $12 million Florida mansion and her Mercedes.

 

She also wants a "determination as to the validity or enforceability" of the prenuptial agreement they signed before getting married.

 

Just because Cynthia signed a prenup does not mean a judge won't throw it out, divorce attorneys told ABC News. Airtight prenuptial agreements are rare, and a number of factors can give an angry spouse the means to get out of it.

 

Rules for prenups vary from state to state, and each contract has to be evaluated on its individual merits. But lawyers looking to help clients get out of prenups generally look to see which of the rules may have been broken when the contract was signed.

 

"Any lawyer looking to get his client out of a prenup is going to ask three questions," said James Hennenhoefer, president of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers. "When was it signed? Where was it signed? And under what conditions was it signed?"

 

Timing is a big deal when it comes to breaking a prenup, lawyers said. The closer the contract is signed to the wedding date, the easier it is to break -- a result of parties not having had time to fully vet the contents of the contract.

 

"The first thing I'll ask a client looking to sign a prenup is whether a wedding date has been set," said Mark Seff, a family law attorney in Hollywood, Fla. "If they're looking to sign an agreement at the last minute, a few days beforehand, I turn them away."

 

The Rodriguezes were married in November 2002, one month after signing their agreement.

 

Another question of time has to do with how long the couple was established before they decided to get married.

 

"If the couple had been living together, was already involved sexually and had perhaps made babies together, their relationship is unique," Hennenhoefer said. "If the prenup does not reflect that, it can be tossed out. If the couple was established, they have a confidential relationship, which is different from the sort of fiduciary relationship two people looking to enter a business contract might have."

 

Aside from the timing of the agreement, a lawyer is also going to look at what other "external factors" were at play when the contract was signed, said New York divorce attorney Raoul Felder.

 

"Getting out of a prenup isn't a do-it-yourself job," Felder said. "You need a lawyer to look at the external factors and determine if there was extortion, fraud or duress

 

Those are all legal ways of saying that if you were tricked or forced into signing the agreement, you can likely get out of it.

 

Another way out of a contract is to prove you were "lacking capacity," Felder said.

 

"If someone said, 'Sign, or I'm going to hit you over the head,' that's duress," he said. "If you were taking drugs when you signed, that's lacking capacity."

 

Seff, the Florida attorney, said that not having a lawyer review the contract might also be grounds to toss the agreement.

 

"Typically, a wife who is marrying a wealthier husband goes along and signs off on it," he said. "A lawyer reviewing the contract during a divorce is going to check if that party had the benefit of counsel."

 

In 1989, it was widely reported that a judge ordered director Steven Spielberg to pay his first wife, Amy Irving, $100 million in a divorce settlement after throwing out a prenuptial agreement written on a bar napkin and signed with no lawyers present.

 

Many lawyers are increasingly videotaping the signing of prenups, to prove at a later date that both people willingly entered the contract "without being influenced or coerced," Seff said.

 

According to Felder, infidelity alone isn't grounds to throw out a prenup.

 

"Cheating isn't a deal breaker," he said. "Everybody does that all the time."

[ElleDriver 0]

Spielberg donates money to support gay marriage

 

 

Steven Spielberg and his wife, Kate Capshaw, are the latest celebrity donors to the fight against California's November ballot initiative that would overturn the state Supreme Court decision legalizing same-sex marriage.

 

Spielberg and Capshaw have donated $100,000 to fight Proposition 8, they announced in a statement Monday.

 

"By writing discrimination into our state constitution, Proposition 8 seeks to eliminate the right of each and every citizen in our state to marry regardless of sexual orientation," the statement said. "Such discrimination has NO place in California's constitution, or any other."

 

Also known as the Marriage Protection Act, Proposition 8 would amend the state constitution to limit marriage to a man and a woman. If passed, it would overturn the court decision that made the state only the second in the U.S. to legalize same-sex marriage.

 

Brad Pitt gave the same amount to the cause last week.

[BobbyD 2]

Spielberg's DreamWorks Joins Universal

 

A person close to the deal says Steven Spielberg's DreamWorks studio has signed on with Universal Pictures to distribute its films.

 

Universal will distribute up to six DreamWorks movies a year domestically and overseas, except for India, said the person, who was not authorized to speak on the record and requested anonymity.

 

The deal has been anticipated as DreamWorks prepares to break off from Paramount, which has owned the studio since 2006. There has been ongoing friction over the costs of keeping Spielberg and his outfit there.

 

DreamWorks has lined up $1.5 billion through Reliance Entertainment of India to finance its future film slate.

[tyler 408]

Isn't GMD part of Universal?

[BobbyD 2]

Isn't GMD part of Universal?

Naw, baby...United Artists, at least for the time being.

[BobbyD 2]

DreamWorks, Universal ink deal

Studio sign seven-year distribution pact

By TATIANA SIEGEL

 

DreamWorks has nailed down its seven-year distribution pact with Universal -- as expected -- but there are several aspects of the deal which stand out.

 

In the end, there was no bidding war for DreamWorks pics. Universal will invest $150 million in the new venture in return for an 8% distribution fee. And Par will still be distributing many films before and after the new Universal deal takes effect.

 

Disney supposedly had engaged in casual talks with DreamWorks principals Steven Spielberg and Stacey Snider.

 

The Universal deal had been expected given Universal's longstanding ties with Spielberg and Snider.

 

The 8% distribution fee for releasing DreamWorks' slate of films is similar to the amount Paramount Pictures collects for releasing DreamWorks Animation pics, which remain at Par through 2012.

 

Snider and Spielberg recently exited Paramount to partner with Reliance Big Entertainment, which will distribute the new DreamWorks' projects in India. It is assumed that the duo will retain the DreamWorks moniker, though the 12-member DreamWorks Animation board will have to approve that.

 

Reliance invested $550 million in the company, with DreamWorks hoping to add an additional $700 million to its coffers via JP Morgan by the end of the year.

 

Universal has also invested $150 million in Spielberg and Snider's new venture and will be a minority stakeholder.

 

In announcing the arrangement, DreamWorks and Universal said the deal will take effect in 2009 and will include approximately six films per year.

 

However, the first DreamWorks-produced, Uni-released project will not likely hit the bigscreen until 2010 given that Paramount is onboard to distribute a number of DreamWorks pics through the end of 2009. Additionally, as part of Paramount and DreamWorks' divorce settlement, Paramount has an option to co-finance and co-distribute 15-20 DreamWorks-led films that had been developed during DreamWorks' three-year stint with Par.

 

Paramount also retains sequel and remake rights to all films it has distributed or will distribute for DreamWorks.

 

"Steven and I have both enjoyed successful, long-time relationships with Ron Meyer and everyone at Universal," said Snider, a former Universal chairman. "Having spent a decade in the Universal family, I'm very familiar with their talented distribution and marketing teams, under the dynamic leadership of Marc Shmuger and David Linde. Steven and I are looking forward to this new association with our old friends."

 

Universal co-chairman Linde said the studio, which currently releases an average of 28 films per year, will not scale back the number of films produced by the Uni, Focus and Rogue labels. Instead, studio will increase the number of films it distributes annually at a time when most studios are reducing their slates.

 

"We pursued this deal because we felt comfortable with Stacey and Steven and are confident in their ability to make commercial movies," Linde said. "(Spielberg and Snider) did their homework. They certainly didn't make this decision lightly. They will get the kind of distribution and marketing that they want."

 

As part of the deal, Universal will advance DreamWorks the marketing costs of the films.

 

Though Universal will be saddled with distributing an extra six movies a year, move is considered savvy for the studio. Paramount execs concede that DreamWorks titles such as "Transformers" and "Dreamgirls" greatly benefited the studio's bottom line.

 

DreamWorks founder David Geffen, who will not be following Spielberg and Snider to the new company, negotiated the deal on behalf of DreamWorks. Linde said it was a "team effort" in bringing the new DreamWorks incarnation into the Universal fold.

 

Spielberg began his career making movies for Universal and kept his DreamWorks offices on the lot.

 

"Universal has always been my home base, so this agreement starts a new chapter in what has been a long and successful association," said Spielberg. "While it feels great to come home again, it feels like I never left."

[tyler 408]

Isn't GMD part of Universal?

Naw, baby...United Artists, at least for the time being.

 

 

Thank God.

[princess 1,713]

Steven Spielberg and wife Kate Capshaw have a little fun at a pretzel vendor on 61st street and Madison Avenue after lunching at Le Bilboquet.

[sanlee 49]

Steven Spielberg's Emergency Motorbike

 

Steven Spielberg is said to be so paranoid about security he has a getaway motorbike permanently parked outside his office. A new book, written by journalist Nicole LaPorte, alleges the 'Indiana Jones' director keeps the never-before-used bike for the gravest emergencies and at one point his employees were issued with 'survival kits' which included gas masks.

 

LaPorte also claims he is so secretive he verges on "near-paranoia" and abides by several bizarre practices to keep his business secret, including keeping a "dome of silence" above his desk.

 

One extract from 'The Men Who Would Be King: An Almost Epic Tale of Moguls, Movies, and a Company Called DreamWorks' reads: "In Spielberg's office, hanging above his desk, a plexiglass half-moon keeps sound from reverberating so that his phone conversations remain ultra-confidential. When an assistant once asked what the funny thing over Spielberg's desk was, a security guard referred to it as a 'dome of silence'."

 

Another extract alleges: "When Spielberg's long-time editor views footage in the screening room, a black cloth is draped over the projection booth window to hide the screen."

 

While a third extract claims: "Every document that leaves the office - a script, development report, even a memo - is coded, so that should it somehow get into the wrong hands, the person responsible for the breach can be identified."

 

Spielberg's representative has denied the claims in the book and insists they are not true.

 

The spokesperson said: "This description is so far from the real world of Steven that it doesn't deserve a comment.

 

"If the rest of the book is like this excerpt, readers can expect very little of what they read to be true."

 

LaPorte has defended her work, however, saying although none of the DreamWorks founders would talk to her, she has spoken to nearly 200 current and former employees.

 

Source femalefirst