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Paul Haggis files appeal in extortion suit against rape accuser
Oscar-winning filmmaker Paul Haggis has filed an appeal against a judgment which dismissed his lawsuit against a woman who accused him of rape.
Haggis' lawyers informed by an online portal that accuser Haleigh Breest's team "confronted him with a draft complaint containing false and scandalous accusations that they threatened to publicly file unless he paid her $9 million".
So, Haggis submitted an appeal claiming "severe emotional distress".
Breest sued Haggis in December last year, claiming the latter had raped her after she accepted his offer to drive her home following a film premiere in 2013.
Haggis' case was dismissed, but Breest has been allowed to move ahead with a countersuit regarding the alleged assault.
Haggis has denied the claims.
Five screenwriters get awarded
The Academy has awarded five screenwriters with the 2018 Nicholl Fellowship in Screenwriting competition.
The winners are Allison Buckmelter and Nicolas Buckmelter ("American Refugee"), Joey Clarke, Jr. ("Miles"), Grace Sherman ("Numbers and Words"), and Wenonah Wilms ("Horsehead Girls"), reports suggest so.
The fellows will each receive a $35,000 prize, the first installment of which will be distributed at the Academy Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting Awards Presentation and live read on 8 November at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills.
For the sixth consecutive year, an ensemble of actors will read selected scenes from the winning scripts.
A total of 6,895 scripts were submitted for this year's competition. Nine individual screenwriters and one writing team were selected as finalists.
Their scripts were then read and judged by the Academy Nicholl Fellowships Committee, who ultimately voted the winners.
Fellowships are awarded with the understanding that the recipients will each complete a feature-length screenplay during their fellowship year.
The Academy acquires no rights to the works of Nicholl fellows and does not involve itself commercially in any way with their completed scripts.
The Academy Nicholl Fellowships Committee is chaired by Academy Writers Branch Governor Robin Swicord.
Ken Jeong to star in 'Occupation: Rainfall’
South Korean-American actor Ken Jeong has bagged a role in Australian science fiction film titled Occupation: Rainfall.
Being helmed by Luke Sparke, the film is the sequel to the 2018 released movie Occupation, reports suggest so.
Jeong will begin shooting in early October in Australian locations including the Hunter Valley and the Gold Coast.
Praising Jeong, Sparke said, "We are building a whole new world with Occupation: Rainfall and to have Ken join the film alongside our awesome returning cast members is mind blowing.
"I have admired his work and his successes for years and can't wait to see what brings to the project when he arrives here for shooting."
Occupation: Rainfall picks up two years into the intergalactic invasion of earth, when survivors in Sydney fight back in a desperate ground war. As causalities mount, the resistance and their unexpected allies uncover a plot that could see the war come to a decisive end.
Apart from Jeong, the film includes actors like Temuera Morrison, Dan Ewing, Stephany Jacobsen, Aaron Jeffery and Zac Garred.
Loki, Scarlet Witch to get own series
Loki and the Scarlet Witch, along with other beloved Marvel superheroes who are yet to appear in their own standalone movies, will reportedly feature in a series that will go live on Disney streaming service.
Disney is enlisting the superheroes as the company prepares to launch its upcoming streaming service. The entertainment company is in early development of an ambitious plan for a number of limited series centered on popular characters from the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), reports suggest so.
Marvel and Disney had no comment.
There's an important distinction from other Marvel small screen efforts, however. The actors who portrayed these heroes and villains in the Avengers films and their spin-offs, such as Tom Hiddleston and Elizabeth Olsen, are expected to play them in the streaming shows.
Moreover, though sources close to the production are staying mum on the cost of the programming, the budgets are expected to be hefty. Each series is expected to include six to eight episodes.
Movies are a huge part of my life: Bradley Cooper
Actor Bradley Cooper says movies have been a huge influence in his life, sometimes healing him and sometimes providing him the energy to go on.
"I always felt like I wanted to direct movies. Movies are a huge part of my life as a kid healing me, energising me, inspiring me but you can't choose the moves that I have at the point of making the movie," Cooper said in a statement to a leading publication.
Cooper has expanded his creative horizons and will be making his directional debut with A Star Is Born. Warner Bros. Pictures will release the film in India in October.
He is also co-producing the project through his 22 and Green production company along with Jon Peters, Bill Gerber and Basil Iwanyk.
The project is based on the 1937 film by the same name, which was directed by William Wellmam. The story centres on a fading movie star who helps an aspiring actress while his own career spirals downward.
On the film, he said, "I knew I wanted to tell a love story and I thought music can be involved. There is no pure way of communicating than singing as you can hide. It is just like a series of events, images, sounds and compositions but eventually they started to add up and I thought well this is the one but I knew I needed the engine and the fuel and that was Lady Gaga."
Weinstein accused of 11 more sexual assault
British police are reportedly investigating 11 allegations of sexual assault against disgraced American movie producer Harvey Weinstein, who is already facing similar charges in the US.
The Metropolitan Police said it has received allegations of sexual assault from 11 victims in connection to "Operation Kaguyak", as per media reports.
Although the police statement did not identify the accused, in accordance with police policy meant to protect suspects who have not been charged, it has been widely reported that Operation Kaguyak is the name of the British investigation into Weinstein.
The Metropolitan Police have not confirmed this.
The latest allegation, which was received in August, relates to the sexual assault of a woman (identified only as "Victim 11") in an unidentified location in the early 1990s, according to the statement.
Many of the 11 allegations received date back to the 1990s, though others are from 2014 and 2015.
In August, CNN reported that Weinstein was facing new allegations of sex trafficking and rape in the US, after a German actress filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles alleging that Weinstein raped her during the Cannes Film Festival in 2006.
She is suing Weinstein for violation of human trafficking laws, assault, battery and false imprisonment. It is the second sex trafficking case filed against the disgraced Hollywood producer.
Weinstein, who also is facing criminal charges in New York, has denied all allegations of "non-consensual sexual activity".
The former media mogul has pleaded not guilty to six felony sex crimes in the US -- two counts of predatory sexual assault, two counts of rape, one first-degree criminal sex act charge and one criminal sex act.
The charges against Weinstein came nine months after The New Yorker and The New York Times published accounts from several women accusing him of various forms of sexual misconduct.
Since then, more than 40 women, including actresses Ashley Judd, Gwyneth Paltrow and Angelina Jolie, have accused Weinstein of sexual misconduct. Weinstein was fired from the Weinstein Company, which has since filed for bankruptcy and been sold off.
The women's accounts -- and the public's willingness to believe them -- emboldened others around the world to stand up to powerful, abusive men in what has come to be known as the #MeToo movement.
Louise Redknapp pays birthday tribute to her mother
On the occasion of her mother's birthday, singer Louise Redknapp got emotional and thanked her mother for her constant support.
The 43-year-old posted a throwback picture of herself with her mother Lynne online, and captioned it: "Happy birthday mum, thanks for being by my side. Love this pic. Makes me smile every time."
Louise has no doubt relied on her mother's support since ending her marriage to football player Jamie Redknapp last year. The pair had been married for 19 years before finally calling it a day.
But the singer, who shares sons Charlie, 14, and Beau, 9, with her former husband, proved she's handling life as a single mother well as she opened up about life with her boys earlier in the year.
Lodge using Gunvalson for money?
Television personality Vicki Gunvalson's boyfriend Steve Lodge is using her for money, claims her co-star from The Real Housewives of Orange County.
The allegation came from Gunvalson's estranged friend Kelly Dodd, reports suggest so.
"Do you think that guy is hitting it and quitting it?" Dodd asked of Steve.
"My friend was dating the girl that Steve was dating. He told the girlfriend that he's only using Vicki for money. Swear to God. Money talks... In my book, Steve's a bad guy," she added.
"He's hiding something. And everyone should know what kind of a person he is," Dodd added.
Dodd didn't share that with Gunvalson directly. But Tamra Judge, who heard Dodd's claim, passed it along to Gunvalson the next day.
"Of course Kelly says that," Gunvalson said, defending her man and denying Dodd's claim.
"He has money. Shame on (Kelly) for talking about my relationship. It's bulls- that everybody's after what I have! And by the way, I don't have that much money," Gunvalson added.
Lena Dunham in good spirits amidst her battle with chronic pain
Actress Lena Dunham, who has been battling with endometriosis and chronic pain, stepped out for a stroll here.
The 32-year-old actress looked better in health as she paid a visit to her friend, reports suggest so.
Dunham was spotted wearing navy tea dress with short sleeves and a floaty hem, accessorised with a small black handbag, whilst heeled mules gave her petite frame a boost.
It has been nearly a year since the Emmy nominee underwent a radical hysterectomy after suffering severely from endometriosis, and the star has been an open book about her experience with the condition on social media.
Last week only the Girls actress shared a polaroid taken from her stay at the hospital, where she sat on the edge of her bed while waiting to be discharged.
"Thank you Georgie for capturing that chronic illness isn't pretty," she wrote in the photo, thanking her photographer, Georgie Wileman.
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