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Archive: December 2010 (21-30 of 92)

Dec 23 2010 01:21 PM ET

Stephen Baldwin spills lawsuit on Kevin Costner

Categories: Lawsuits

(UPDATE: Costner’s rep tells EW that the actor’s lawyers filed a Motion to Dismiss Feb. 1. According to his rep, “[The Motion states] that there are no allegations or claims even in the complaint itself that Costner did anything wrong or participated in any way in the decision by Baldwin and Contogouris to sell their interests in Ocean Therapy Solutions back to another member of that company or the repurchase of those interests.”) Stephen Baldwin is suing Kevin Costner for $3.8 million over a tiff involving oil-separating technology that the Waterworld actor pushed to help solve the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. A complaint filed in Louisiana District Court alleges that Baldwin and friend Spyridon Contogouris entered into a joint agreement to help market the technology — developed under the Costner in Nevada Corporation (CINC) — to BP following the spill. Court papers, however, claim Costner excluded them from a meeting with BP that resulted in an $18 million down payment for the CINC technology. After allegedly not being told of the meeting, Contogouris and Baldwin claim Costner used the $18 million to buy them out of the enterprise, forcing them to give up approximately $2 million of their shares one day prior to BP’s $52 million purchase of CINC technology. Contogouris is suing for $10.64 million; both plaintiffs are claiming securities fraud and misrepresentation.

Dec 23 2010 12:27 PM ET

Betty Ford Center investigated after Lindsay Lohan fight

by Kate Ward

Categories: Misc.

Following an altercation between Lindsay Lohan and a Betty Ford staffer, the California Department of Public Health has decided to conduct an investigation at the Rancho Mirage, Calif., facility, the Associated Press reports. Though details are scant at this point, a spokesman from the department confirmed that that they are looking into matters after a Betty Ford employee, Dawn Holland, was fired after giving an interview to TMZ about her involvement in the incident. Lohan, who phoned police after an altercation with Holland Dec. 12, is currently under investigation for criminal battery, a misdemeanor.

Dec 23 2010 11:47 AM ET

'Spider-Man' back in action tonight

by Jeff Labrecque

Categories: Stage

Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark, the celebrated and controversial $65 million Broadway musical, will fly again tonight after canceling Wednesday night’s performance in order to rehearse under new safety guidelines, according to the Associated Press. Monday night, stuntman Christopher Tierney was hospitalized after crashing to the stage from 30 feet in the air, and he is now reportedly preparing for back surgery. Human error was initially blamed for the accident, and a second person will now make sure that all the actors subjected to aerial maneuvers are harnessed properly. “At this point we are satisfied they have put in place the appropriate controls,” said Maureen Cox, director of safety and health for the state Department of Labor.

Dec 23 2010 09:39 AM ET

Jim Morrison's Doors bandmates would prefer apology to pardon

by Jeff Labrecque

Categories: Lawsuits, Music

When Jim Morrison was posthumously pardoned by the State of Florida on Dec. 9, nearly 40 years after his conviction for indecent exposure at a 1969 concert in Miami, it seemed as if that episode was finally put to rest. But the surviving members of the Doors — Ray Manzarek, John Densmore, and Robbie Krieger — and the Morrison family insist that a pardon should never have been necessary in the first place. In a statement, the group said, “We don’t feel Jim needs to be pardoned for anything. His performance in Miami that night was certainly provocative, and entirely in the insurrectionary spirit of the Doors’ music and message. The charges against him were largely an opportunity for grandstanding by ambitious politicians — not to mention an affront to free speech and a massive waste of time and taxpayer dollars … If the State of Florida and the City of Miami want to make amends for the travesty of Jim Morrison’s arrest and prosecution 40 years after the fact, an apology would be more appropriate — and expunging the whole sorry matter from the record…”

Dec 22 2010 02:39 PM ET

David Schwimmer and wife expecting first child (Exclusive)

by Dave Karger

Categories: Celebrity Babies!

Image Credit: Sonia Recchia/Getty ImagesActor/director David Schwimmer and his wife, Zoe Buckman, are expecting their first child, Schwimmer’s representative tells EW.com exclusively. “They couldn’t be more thrilled,” she says. Schwimmer, 44, and Buckman, 26, a photographer, were married this past June. Schwimmer’s latest directorial effort, Trust, starring Clive Owen and Catherine Keener, is set for release in April 2011.

Dec 22 2010 01:17 PM ET

Two robbers arrested after breaking into 50 Cent's house, drinking his wine

by Kate Ward

Categories: Misc.

According to the Hartford Courant, two men were arrested after they allegedly robbed 50 Cent’s Connecticut home. Nineteen-year-old Alexander Hernandez and 21-year-old Santos Padilla were taken into custody Tuesday when authorities found them inside the rapper’s mansion. One of the suspects was reportedly found in the rapper’s closet drinking from a bottle of wine belonging to 50 Cent. Hernandez and Padilla face third-degree burglary, second-degree criminal trespass, and possession of marijuana charges. Each are being held on $50,000 bail.

Dec 22 2010 01:08 PM ET

Ali Larter delivers baby boy

by Kate Ward

Categories: Celebrity Babies!

Former Heroes star Ali Larter and husband Hayes MacArthur have brought home a baby boy, People reports. Theodore Hayes was born Dec. 20.

Dec 22 2010 10:36 AM ET

'Call of Duty: Black Ops' pulls in $1 billion in sales

by Margaret Lyons

Categories: Tech

Activision’s megapopular Call of Duty: Black Ops officially raked in $1 billion in six weeks of sales, according to Variety, outpacing the previous highest-grossing video game, Modern Warfare 2. Black Ops crossed $650 million in sales in its first five days alone, and players have logged more than 600 million game-hours already.

Dec 22 2010 09:59 AM ET

'Spider-Man' accident blamed on 'human error'

by Jeff Labrecque

Categories: Stage

The accident that sent a Spider-Man stunt double to the hospital was the result of “human error,” according to the Actors’ Equity Association. In a statement, the union said they had “worked today with the Department of Labor, OSHA and the production to determine that the cause of the accident at last night’s performance of Spider-Man was, in fact, human error.”

Christopher Tierney had to be hospitalized after falling approximately 30 feet during an acrobatic scene towards the end of Monday night’s performance of Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark.

Scott Fisher, president of the company that builds equipment for the show’s aerial stunts, told the Washington Post that Tierney’s rope was supposed to have been clipped to the stage at one end and his back at the other. “The stage crew would have been responsible for making the connection for hooking him up,” Fisher said. “The actor is responsible for making the final check that he’s good to go. It’s sort of like packing your own parachute.”

Several members of the Broadway fraternity went online to criticize the production, which has suffered several delays and high-profile accidents. Rent star Adam Pascal wrote on Facebook: “I hope [Tierney] is ok and sues the sh– out of Julie, Bono, Edge and every other a–hole who invested in that steaming pile of actor crippling sh–!”

Tony-winning actress Alice Ripley wrote on Twitter, “Spider-Man should be ashamed of itself. Thiis is completely unacceptable and embarrassing to working actors everywhere.” She then added, “Does someone have to die? Where is the line for the decision makers, I am curious.”

9 to 5 actor Marc Kudisch also wrote on Facebook, “I wish employment for all my friends. But I wish them safety and security in their employment even more.”

Director Julie Taymor said in a statement: “An accident like this is obviously heartbreaking for our entire team and, of course, to me personally. I am so thankful that Chris is going to be alright and is in great spirits. Nothing is more important than the safety of our Spider-Man family and we’ll continue to do everything in our power to protect the cast and crew.”

Update: The Wednesday evening performance of Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark has been cancelled to allow crew members to fully implement a new safety plan. However, a spokesman for the show, Rick Miramontez, denied media reports that the show was being shut down indefinitely. “Absolutely false,” Miramontez told The New York Times. “The performance is on for tomorrow night.”

Dec 22 2010 09:09 AM ET

Lindsay Lohan accuser fired

by Jeff Labrecque

Categories: Lawsuits

Dawn Holland, the Betty Ford Center employee who filed a criminal complaint against Lindsay Lohan after an alleged physical confrontation, has been fired for speaking publicly about the incident. A statement on the Betty Ford website reads:

“In the three decades since our doors opened to patients Oct. 4, 1982, the Betty Ford Center and its employees have respected the privacy of our patients, all our patients. Ninety-six thousand women and men have come to the Center for addiction treatment over the past 28 years. When patients come to the Center for treatment, they come to a safe place where their identity is protected, where anonymity is safeguarded. Their simple priority when in treatment is to learn how to live a life free of alcohol and other drugs. Confidentiality and trust are key to the treatment and recovery process. Regrettably, on December 21, 2010, one of our employees violated patients’ confidentiality by talking to the media and by disclosing a privileged document. That employee has been terminated by the Betty Ford Center.”

Holland had given an interview about the incident to TMZ, explaining that the story was already public, that Lohan was vilifying her and that Betty Ford had failed to support her.