Eddie Murphy accepted a Career Icon Award, Bill Murray presented the Johnny Carson Award for Comedic Excellence to David Letterman, and Letterman himself punctuated an evening of precision profanity with an f-bomb of his own at the first annual Comedy Awards last night in New York.
The Other Guys was awarded the first-ever golden microphone, winning for Best Comedy Film. READ FULL STORY »
Elizabeth Taylor is expected to be buried Thursday at Forest Lawn in Glendale, Calif., says People, citing reports. The service will be strictly for family members, including her 10 grandchildren. Taylor died Wednesday at the age of 79. Swift burial is a Jewish custom. Forest Lawn-Glendale is also the final resting place of her friend Michael Jackson.
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Elizabeth Taylor on ‘General Hospital’: Remembering the legend’s fascinating, and goofy, soap stint
Debbie Reynolds remembers Elizabeth Taylor
Elizabeth Taylor and ‘The Scandal of the Century’: A look back at the romance that rocked the world
Image Credit: Hulton Archive/Getty Images
Richard Leacock (pictured, center), a cinema vérité documentary filmmaker best known for his film Primary, which followed John F. Kennedy during his presidential campaign, has died.
Leacock, who also produced The Flesh (1962) and 1 P.M. (1972), was known for his unobtrusive, candid film style and is often said to have inspired the first wave of reality television programs. The 89-year-old died Wednesday in Paris, according to the Associated Press.
“Richard Leacock was one of the true pioneers of documentary filmmaking,” said director Martin Scorsese in a statement. “His work spanned a vast array of subjects, styles and approaches to the form, and he was involved in some of the finest and most important documentaries in the history of cinema, from Robert Flaherty’s Louisiana Story to Primary and The Chair to Monterey Pop. He was instrumental in the development and use of lightweight, portable equipment, which opened the way for genuinely independent filmmaking. And he had a remarkably sensitive, quick camera eye. He paved the way for all of us.”
Image Credit: Sunset Boulevard/Corbis
Elizabeth Taylor, the Hollywood icon who was as famous for her eight marriages as she was for her 54 movies and two Oscars, died this morning of congestive heart failure at Los Angeles’ Cedars-Sinai Hospital, where she was being treated during the last two months for her condition. Taylor, 79, is survived by her four children, 10 grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren. Michael Wilding, Taylor’s son, said in a statement: “My Mother was an extraordinary woman who lived life to the fullest, with great passion, humor, and love. Though her loss is devastating to those of us who held her so close and so dear, we will always be inspired by her enduring contribution to our world. Her remarkable body of work in film, her ongoing success as a businesswoman, and her brave and relentless advocacy in the fight against HIV/AIDS, all make us all incredibly proud of what she accomplished. We know, quite simply, that the world is a better place for Mom having lived in it. Her legacy will never fade, her spirit will always be with us, and her love will live forever in our hearts.”
Taylor had long since transitioned out of acting but had remained famous for being herself, a screen legend since her child star days in the 1940s. Taylor’s violet-eyed beauty had enthralled audiences ever since she was 12, when she starred in 1944′s National Velvet, still the definitive girl-and-her-horse movie. READ FULL STORY »
Timothy Durham, the president and chief executive office of National Lampoon, Inc. — the comedy company that brought you such movies as Animal House and Vacation — was arrested on Wednesday for allegedly perpetrating a $200-million Ponzi scheme involving a business loan company, according to Reuters. Durham, 48, and two former executives at Fair Financial Services — a company that Durham co-owned — were charged on Tuesday with wire and securities fraud in a federal indictment. The charges allege that Durham and one of his co-defendants used investor funds to “maintain their lifestyles and to pay for personal expenses.” When contacted by EW, a National Lampoon spokesperson declined to comment.
Reps for Seann William Scott (American Pie, Role Models) tell People in a statement that the 34-year-old actor “voluntarily admitted himself for proactive treatment to address health and personal issues.” What those issues entail, and where specifically Scott is being treated, were not disclosed; the statement simply concludes that he “appreciates the support of his many fans at this time.”
Oscar-winning special effects supervisor Christopher Corbould, 53, was found not guilty of failing to ensure the safety of a crew member who died during the filming of 2008′s The Dark Knight, reports Reuters. Special effects technician Conway Wickliffe, 41, was killed in 2007 when his vehicle hit a tree during a test for an action sequence in the film. Today, jurors at England’s Guildford Crown Court unanimously cleared Corbould of wrongdoing in Wickliffe’s death. In the credits of The Dark Knight, director Christopher Nolan dedicated the film to Wickliffe as well as to actor Heath Ledger, who died shortly after wrapping his Oscar-winning role as The Joker.
The Writers Guilds of America West and East will begin negotiating a new deal with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers on Thursday, the organizations announced in a joint statement today. The current contract, which expires in May, was signed in Feb. 2008 after a 100-day industry-halting strike by Hollywood’s movie and television writers.
Former Little House on the Prairie actress Melissa Gilbert and her husband of 16 years, Bruce Boxleitner, of the TRON movies, have split, a rep confirms to People. The couple, who wed in 1995, has one son together and three from previous marriages. “We have loved each other for a very long time and we share four incredible sons together,” Gilbert said in a statement to the magazine. “On behalf of our family we ask to be allowed our privacy during this very difficult time.”
