Month: July 2023

Kevin Spacey has been found not guilty of all sexual assault charges he faced in a U.K. trial. Spacey, 64, was acquitted in London’s Southwark Crown Court of charges including sexual assault, causing a person to engage in sexual activity without consent and causing a person to engage in penetrative sexual activity. It took the jury 12 hours over two and a half days to come to their decision.

The Academy Award-winning actor had faced nine sexual offense charges related to incidents reported by four men that allegedly took place between 2001 and 2013. Spacey pleaded not guilty to all of the charges. In a statement to the press after the verdict was reached, Spacey said: “I imagine that many of you can understand that there’s a lot for me to process after what has just happened today. But I would like to say that I am enormously grateful to the jury for having taken the time to examine all of the evidence and all of the facts carefully before they reached the decision. And I am humbled by the outcome today. I also want to thank the staff inside this courthouse, the security and all those who took care of us every single day, my legal team … for being here every day and that’s all I have to say for the moment. Thank you very much.”

Spacey starred in the Netflix series “House of Cards” until he was fired in 2017 when actor Anthony Rapp accused him of prior sexual misconduct which took place in 1986. Last October, Spacey won the $40 million civil lawsuit brought by Rapp, but a New York jury dismissed the claim.

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The Irish Times reported that singer Sinéad O’Connor, best known for her 1990 hit single “Nothing Compares 2 U,” has died at age 56.  O’Connor’s family said in a statement, confirmed by RTE: “It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our beloved Sinéad. Her family and friends are devastated and have requested privacy at this very difficult time.”  No cause of death was revealed as of press time.

O’Connor released her debut album in 1987, and its 1990 follow-up I Do Not Want What I Haven’t Got brought her international fame on the heels of her smash hit “Nothing Compares 2 U,” a song written and composed by Prince which became a hit across the globe.  The Irish singer’s mental health struggles plagued her over the years since her early rise to fame, culminating in a hospitalization in 2022 following the death of her 17-year-old son, Shane, whom she shared with musician Dónal Lunny. Shane went missing in January 2022, and O’Connor revealed days later that he’d died by suicide, tweeting at the time: “My beautiful son, Nevi’im Nesta Ali Shane O’Connor, the very light of my life, decided to end his earthly struggle today and is now with God. May he rest in peace and may no one follow his example. My baby. I love you so much. Please be at peace.”

At the beginning of July, O’Connor switched to a new Twitter account, using her full name. She seemed positive about the future, and tweeted on July 11th that she was working on new music and had hopes for an international tour:  “Hi All, recently moved back to London after 23 years absence. Very happy to be home : ) Soon finishing my album. Release early next year : ). Hopefully Touring Australia and New Zealand toward end 2024. Europe, USA and other territories beginning early 2025 : ).  Her final Twitter post on July 17 alluded to her son’s suicide as she linked to a “Great Tibetan Compassion Mantra” and wrote: “For all mothers of Suicided children.”

O’Connor is survived by her three children: Jake Reynolds, 36, Roison Waters, 27,  and Yeshua Bonadio, 16.

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LeBron James’ eldest son, LeBron “Bronny” James Jr., was hospitalized recently after suffering cardiac arrest. The 18-year-old was rushed to the hospital following a basketball workout at the University of Southern California on Monday, July 24. Bronny is currently in his freshman year at USC and is a member of the school’s basketball team.

According to TMZ Sports, a 911 call was made around 9:26 a.m. PT from the USC Galen Center in Los Angeles, California, where the Trojans basketball team plays and practices. According to the site, Bronny was unconscious and taken to the hospital via ambulance. A spokesperson for the James family told TMZ on Tuesday, July 25: “Medical staff was able to treat Bronny and take him to the hospital. He is now in stable condition and no longer in ICU. We ask for respect and privacy for the James family and we will update media when there is more information …LeBron and Savannah wish to publicly send their deepest thanks and appreciation to the USC medical and athletic staff for their incredible work and dedication to the safety of their athletes.”

LeBron and his wife, Savannah James, welcomed Bronny in October 2004; the couple also share son Bryce, 16, and daughter Zhuri, 8. Bronny, a McDonald’s All-American player, recently committed to playing ball for USC.

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Netflix’s upcoming limited series “Painkiller,” starring Uzo Aduba and Matthew Broderick, lifts the veil on America’s opioid crisis. Per an official synopsis, the six-part fictional series will spotlight “stories of the perpetrators, victims, and truth-seekers whose lives are forever altered by the invention of OxyContin.”

Painkiller investigates the role of one family in making OxyContin “the No. 1 opioid in the country.” Matthew Broderick, starring as Richard Sackler, says in the series’ official trailer: “All of human behavior is essentially comprised of two things: run from pain, run toward pleasure; pain, pleasure. If we place ourselves right there between pain and pleasure, we will never have to worry about money again.”

In the series, an investor from the U.S. attorneys office (played by Aduba) is determined to take the Sackler dynasty’s Purdue Pharma down, and recruits a batch of sales workers who they claim will convince doctors to “take pain seriously.” Says Aduba: “You lie, you hurt people, you go down. They are doing the exact same thing as crack dealers but they are getting rewarded it.”

Painkiller is based on the book of the same name by Barry Meier, as well as Patrick Radden Keefe’s article in The New Yorker titled “The Family That Built the Empire of Pain.” In addition to Aduba and Broderick, Painkiller stars Taylor Kitsch, Dina Shihabi, John Rothman and West Duchovny. Guest stars for the series include Clark Gregg, Jack Mulhern, Sam Anderson, Ana Cruz Kayne, Brian Markinson, Noah Harpster, John Ales, Johnny Sneed and Tyler Ritter.

Painkiller premieres Thursday, Aug. 10 on Netflix.  Take a look at the trailer – here.

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Greta Gerwig’s Barbie raked in $155 million domestically over the weekend, making it the highest U.S. opening ever for a film directed by a woman, beating the previous $153 million earned by Anna Boden’s Captain Marvel. Barbie also beat The Super Mario Bros Movie’s $146 million opening weekend, making Barbie the highest-grossing domestic opening for 2023. Worldwide, Barbie achieved $337 million in combined earnings.

Jeff Goldstein, Warner Bros. Pictures president of domestic distribution, said in a statement: “The massive, overwhelming response we’ve seen out there proves what we’ve known from the beginning: that ‘Barbie’ is not only an incredibly special film, but clearly the theatrical event of the summer, if not the year. We couldn’t be more thrilled to be part of it, and congratulate everyone involved in this brilliant labor of love.” Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling star as Barbie and Ken, along with a cast including Issa Rae, Dua Lipa, Simu Liu, Michael Cera, Helen Mirren, John Cena and Will Ferrell.

Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer opened with $174.2 million earned worldwide, and $80.5 million achieved domestically, beating industry estimations.

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Apple TV+ shared a trailer for the epic western crime drama ‘Killers of the Flower Moon,’ featuring Leonardo DiCaprio and Lily Gladstone. The film had its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival in May.

Based on the David Grann nonfiction book of the same name, Killers of the Flower Moon explores the murders of Osage Nation members in the 1920s after oil was discovered on tribal land. An official film synopsis reads: “Based on a true story and told through the improbable romance of Ernest Burkhart (DiCaprio) and Mollie Kylie (Gladstone), Killers of the Flower Moon is an epic western crime saga, where real love crosses paths with unspeakable betrayal.”

Killers of the Flower Moon, directed by Martin Scorsese and written by Scorsese and Eric Roth, also stars Robert De Niro, Jesse Plemons, Brendan Fraser and John Lithgow. The film is Scorsese’s first since The Irishman, starring De Niro, was released in 2019.

Killers of the Flower Moon will open in select theaters Oct. 6 before a wide release Oct. 20. The film will later stream on Apple TV+. Take a look at the trailer – here.

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