Entertainment
Filmmaker Paul Haggis found guilty of rape, must pay $7.5 million to his victim
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Sylvie Claire / November 11, 2022
Oscar-winning Canadian filmmaker Paul Haggis was found liable Thursday, Nov. 10, by a New York civil court for the rape of a publicist in 2013, to whom he will have to pay $7.5 million. The director of Crash (“Collision”) and screenwriter of Million Dollar Baby and Casino Royale, 69, was tried by a civil jury of the New York Supreme Court, after a liability trial that began on October 19. He has been accused since December 2017 by a publicist, Haleigh Breest, working in the film industry, of raping her in January 2013, when she was 26 years old.
In the wake, in the midst of the #MeToo wave of liberation of speech on sexual violence and sexism against women, the filmmaker had been targeted by accusations of sexual assault by three other women. But he appeared in New York only for the facts denounced by Haleigh Breest, which the filmmaker has always denied. He is not being criminally prosecuted for these rape charges. More recently, last June, Paul Haggis was arrested in the south of Italy, again under the suspicion of sexual assault against a young woman, facts that he still denied.
During the civil trial, the filmmaker’s lawyers suggested on Wednesday before the popular jury of the New York court that Haleigh Breest’s complaint had been teleguided by the Church of Scientology, with which Paul Haggis had broken away and which he has since criticized.
A thesis swept aside by the lawyers of the plaintiff. In her complaint, Haleigh Breest told that on the evening of January 31, 2013, after a film screening in Manhattan, the director had insisted that she come for a drink at his place, while she said she preferred to go out in a bar. Once in his apartment, Paul Haggis had made numerous advances before forcing her to perform oral sex on him and then raping her again. “I am grateful that I had the opportunity to go to court to seek justice and establish responsibility, and that the jury decided to follow the facts and believe me,” said the plaintiff Haleigh Breest in a statement.
Known for being one of the creators of the Walker Texas Ranger series, Paul Haggis won the 2006 Academy Award for Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay for Crash (“Collision”). He was also the screenwriter of Million Dollar Baby, Memoirs of our Fathers and Letters from Iwo Jima by Clint Eastwood, as well as episodes of the James Bond saga, Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace.
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Eva Descamps / February 28, 2024
You’ve seen him in “Star Trek”, “NCIS”, “Grey’s Anatomy” for the series, “Captain Marvel”, “The Recruit”, “Home of the Giants” for the movies… Canadian actor Kenneth Mitchell passed away at the age of 49 this February 24, 2024.
“It is with heavy hearts that we announce the dec! s of Kenneth Alexander Mitchell, a beloved father, husband, brother, uncle, son and friend,” read a post on his Instagram account announcing the sad news.
In August 2018, Kenneth Mitchell was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. He had been in a wheelchair since October 2019. By August 2021, he had lost the use of his voice due to the disease.
Entertainment
Alexei Navalny’s body handed over to his mother, says Russian opposition leader’s team
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Sylvie Claire / February 28, 2024
Alexei Navalny’s body, which his relatives had been demanding for over a week, has been handed over to his mother, the Russian opposition leader’s spokeswoman said on Saturday.
In recent days, Alexeï Navalny’s team has regularly complained about not having access to the body of the deceased Russian opponent. His relatives had complained that investigators would spend at least 14 days carrying out an “expertise” on his remains before handing them over.
Navalny’s relatives accuse the Kremlin of killing him and trying to cover up his tracks. According to Navalny’s mother, Russia is trying to decompose the body so that it can no longer be examined. Last week, Alexei Navalny’s mother and lawyers were not allowed to enter the morgue.
Eight days after his death, Navalny’s body was returned to his mother. The Russian opponent’s spokeswoman, Kira Iarmich, said on X (ex-Twitter) that she did not yet know whether “the authorities will prevent (the funeral) from taking place as the family wishes and as Alexei deserves ».
Alexei Navalny was the most prominent opposition figure in Russia, where he gained widespread popularity, particularly among the younger generation, thanks to his in-depth investigations into corruption under Vladimir Putin’s regime
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Eva Deschamps / February 16, 2024
Watching a Sylvester Stallone film in VF will never be the same again. Alain Dorval, the French actor who dubbed the American, died on Monday night, his family announced.
Alain Dorval had been battling cancer for several years, which finally claimed his life earlier this week at the Gustave Roussy hospital outside Paris.
He was best known as the French voice of Sylvester Stallone, but also distinguished himself as Tiger in the Fievel saga, and as Pat Hibulaire in the Disney universe.
Fans of the Rocky saga have been in mourning for several months. In October, actor Burt Young, who played Paulie, passed away. In early February, Carl Weathers, who played Apollo Creed, passed away.
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