Bradley Cooper is quickly turning into one of the most sought-after actors in Hollywood, with a very wide range. After recently leaving the production of Jane Got a Gun, it has been announced that Cooper will star in Steven Spielberg’s next film American Sniper . American Sniper is based on the autobiography of Navy SEAL Chris Kyle , which chronicles his life in the armed services and the emotional toll it took on his wife. Kyle, known for being the most lethal sniper in the history of the American armed forces, was tragically killed earlier this year by a fellow veteran on a Texas shooting range.
The same day she publicly apologized for her arrest last month and vowed not to make the same mistake again, Reese Witherspoon pleaded no contest to charges of disorderly conduct. The actress was not present during the hearing in Atlanta, but her attorney entered the plea on her behalf and agreed that his client will pay a fine of $213. Jim Toth, meanwhile, did appear before the judge and pleaded guilty to drunk driving. He did not receive any jail time, but must perform 40 hours of community service and attend an alcohol education program. There had been talk that Toth would enter rehab . “Consider yourself fortunate you didn’t injure your passenger and didn’t kill anyone,” a judge told the talent agent.
Pay up or get locked up TO Terrell Owens is desperate for a return to the NFL, but it appears he may be closer to spending time behind bars. Owens failed to show up at a child support hearing in Atlanta on Thursday according to reports: The judge, John Goger reset the hearing for July 19, but warned that if Owens fails to show up again, he could be thrown in the slammer. David Hartin, Owens’ attorney, took the blame for the former NFL superstar’s absence, claiming there was a miscommunication. The 38-year-old Owens is $20,000 behind on child support payments. Melanie Smith, the mother of Owens’ 7-year-old daughter, says that he’s stiffed her on child support payments for months. Under the terms of a previous agreement, Owens is supposed to pay Smith $5,000 a month, so Owens is presumably four months behind on payments. “It’s a tragedy, not only that we are here today; this is the third case she has had to file in the last year,” Smith’s attorney Randy Kessler told the TV station. Damn! When you decide to have hella kids, you gotta be responsibly ballin’ enough to be able to pay for them too. Get your life together Terrell! Source
George Zimmerman To Turn Himself In George Zimmerman has returned to Florida and will turn himself in to authorities by Sunday’s deadline after a judge revoked his bond in the Trayvon Martin case, an attorney said. Attorney Mark O’Mara announced Zimmerman’s return on his website Sunday, saying Zimmerman arrived late Saturday evening. Zimmerman, who is charged with second-degree murder in the fatal shooting of the 17-year-old Martin, was ordered by a judge Friday to return to jail. The press release on the website said the deadline for his surrender is 2:30 p.m. Sunday. The judge revoked Zimmerman’s bond, suggesting he and his wife had not been honest about their finances. During a bond hearing in April, the couple had indicated they had limited funds. But prosecutors say Zimmerman had raised thousands through a website he had set up for his legal defense. Zimmerman’s legal team said Sunday that they will ask for a new bond hearing to address those concerns, and that they hope Zimmerman’s voluntary surrender will show he is not a flight risk. Furthermore, the money Zimmerman has raised is in an independent trust and cannot be directly accessed by Zimmerman or his attorneys, according to the press release. Zimmerman has pleaded not guilty to the second-degree murder charge. He maintains he shot Martin in self-defense under Florida’s so-called “stand your ground” law because the teen, who was unarmed, was beating him up after confronting Zimmerman about following him in a gated community outside Orlando. Zimmerman’s credibility could become an issue at trial, legal experts said, noting the case hinges on jurors believing Zimmerman’s account of what happened the night in February that Martin was killed. Zimmerman was arrested 44 days after the killing, and during a bond hearing in April, his wife, Shellie, testified that the couple had limited funds available. Zimmerman took the stand at the hearing and apologized to Martin’s parents. Prosecutors pointed out in their motion that Zimmerman had $135,000 available then. It had been raised from donations through a website he had set up. They suggested more has been collected since and deposited in a bank account. Shellie Zimmerman was asked about the website at the hearing, but she said she didn’t know how much money had been raised. Circuit Judge Kenneth Lester set bail at $150,000. The 28-year-old was freed a few days later after posting $15,000 in cash — which is typical. Prosecutor Bernie De la Rionda complained Friday, “This court was led to believe they didn’t have a single penny. It was misleading and I don’t know what words to use other than it was a blatant lie.” The judge agreed and ordered Zimmerman returned to jail by Sunday afternoon. The defense countered that Zimmerman and his wife never used the money for anything, which indicated “there was no deceit.” The judge said he would schedule a hearing after Zimmerman is back in custody so he could explain himself. Benjamin Crump, an attorney for Trayvon Martin’s parents, Tracy Martin and Sybrina Fulton, said his clients have always said Zimmerman should remain in jail until trial. Let’s hope this bastard gets locked up for good. Source
Is Rihanna dating someone new? And is that someone a woman? “I’m on my first date in almost 2 yearz,” the star tweeted late last night, prior to revealing that date was with … Melissa Forde. And holding hands with her outside Malibu’s Giorgio Baldi before hitting up Hollywood’s famed Roxbury nightclub. The 24-year-old, who clearly does not give a f–k what anyone thinks, kept Tweeting hints that her relationship with Forde is romantic in nature. “Beautiful is great, submissive is even better. Bawse b***h who’s submissive yet the captain of the ship n HONEST…#priceless #marryME,” she wrote. “But she bad… So maybe she won’t…. But s**t, then again maybe she will.” The singer was having a good time, uploading photos to her social media account of her table at the club covered in bottles of booze … standard. Perhaps the most surprising Tweet? Rihanna posted a photo of herself and Melissa Forde with the caption, “#datenight my lover for the night.” Her background is still very much unclear, but she and Rih reportedly have matching tattoos that read, “never a failure, always a lesson.” So yeah, there’s that. Also, if it’s been really “2 yearz,” apparently hooking up with Ashton Kutcher and/or Chris Brown do not count as “dating.” What do you think of this situation? Is Rihanna changing teams on us? And would you blame her if she did? Share your comments below. [Photo: Pacific Coast News]
A judge granted bail for George Zimmerman at a hearing in Florida today, during which the defendant apologized to the family of Trayvon Martin. Circuit Judge Kenneth Lester set bail at $150,000, but would not allow his release immediately, citing further discussions needed about the terms. Lester said that Zimmerman must not contact the victim’s family; must wear an ankle monitoring bracelet; and adhere to a 7 p.m.-6 a.m. curfew. George Zimmerman Apology: I Am Sorry The hearing took place just a few hours after the release of a bloody photo of George Zimmerman’s head taken the night of the now-infamous altercation. Some say the photo could bolster his claim that Martin was the aggressor that night, and that he shot the teenager as an act of self-defense . In any case, the presumption of innocence was enough to earn Zimmerman bail. The judge’s order also states that Zimmerman cannot be in possession of any firearms and must not consume alcohol or controlled substances. Taking the stand briefly at the Seminole County Criminal Justice Center, Zimmerman addressed the parents of Martin, who were seated in court. “I wanted to say that I am sorry for the loss of your son,” he said. “I did not know how old he was,” he continued. “I thought he was a little bit younger than I am. And I did not know whether he was armed or not.” Zimmerman said he had made a similar statement to police. “I was told not to communicate with [Martin’s parents],” said the 28-year-old, who was charged with second-degree murder in the February 26 shooting. “I did ask [my attorneys] to express that to them.” Zimmerman has been behind bars since his arrest nine days ago. His attorney, Mark O’Mara, asked the judge to let him out of jail while he awaits trial. O’Mara also asked the judge to allow Zimmerman to leave the state while wearing a GPS bracelet, and to keep his location confidential to secure his safety. The judge said he will consider those requests before granting the release of Zimmerman, who will almost certainly plead not guilty in the case. Martin’s parents were in the courtroom, coming face-to-face with their 17-year-old’s killer for the first time. They wept at news of the bond. After the hearing, Martin family attorney Ben Crump said Martin’s parents were “very outraged” at the results of the hearing. He said: “It was devastating that [Zimmerman] got to give a self-serving apology to help get him a bond. Why is everybody protecting George Zimmerman?”
Josh Fox, whose Oscar-nominated 2010 documentary Gasland investigated communities affected by natural gas drilling, was arrested today while attempting to film a public House hearing on hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking,” according to Politico (via Indiewire ). “This is a public hearing,” Fox said as he was being handcuffed. “I’m within my First Amendment rights, and I’m being taken out.” Fox is working on a sequel to Gasland , and the hearing was being held to explore the EPA’s investigation of fracking contamination in Wyoming . Fox was asked to leave by security and when he refused was charged with unlawful entry. The hearing proceeded, with subcommittee chairman Rep. Andy Harris (R-MD) noting that filming and photography by noncredentialed press was not allowed by rule. (Watch Harris’ remarks, and the entire hearing, via pre-recorded webcast here .) “That’s why we have rules that control who is recording…” he added, “just so we clear the air on that.” Before he continued, Rep. Brad Miller (D-NC) motioned for an exception. “I think all those rules are to control access where there’s limited access, but it is very clear that we have space in this room for either of them to film this hearing. If you claim that that rule does not allow them to film, or more accurately allows you the discretion to turn them away, I move that the rules be suspended to the end so the fella who wanted to film for HBO be allowed to film this hearing and that ABC News be allowed to film this hearing and all God’s children be allowed to film this hearing until the room is too full to conduct our business.” Miller’s motion went to voting, with members voting 7-6 in favor of a motion to table his motion , and that was that – a riveting mini-drama in its own right. Below, Huffington Post -obtained video of Fox’s arrest. [Screenshot and video via Huffington Post ]
Bruce Jenner had a scare at the doctor’s office on Friday, but all now appears to be okay with the Kardashian patriarch. Sources confirm that the former Olympic Gold Medalist scheduled an appointment due to a red mark on his face. His physician removed a small piece, a biopsy revealed it to be cancerous and Jenner later had a larger chunk taken out at an outpatient facility. The reality star must stay out of the sun, but is expected to make a full recovery. TMZ has posted a photo of Bruce, post-surgery. We don’t even have a Kim Kardashian joke to make here. We’re glad to hear Jenner will be okay.
Lindsay Lohan got the thumbs up from Judge Stephanie Sautner in her latest probation hearing this morning. This was expected, but you never know with her. Her probation officer had written LiLo glowing probation report, to which Sautner added, “Keep doing what you’re doing. You appear to be doing very well.” The model morgue employee is due back for another hearing Feb. 22, by which point she must finish an 15 additional days of community service, plus therapy. She’s really turning things around, and that includes her style! Check out what Lindsay wore today and how it compares to some of her recent court appearances. What’s her best courtroom look? You decide by voting below!
Teen Mom star Amber Portwood was just reamed out in an Indiana courtroom, accused of violating her probation and pulling a no-show for two urine tests. Law enforcement sources say Portwood got popped on December 16 for possession of a controlled substance. It’s unclear what exactly the substance was. She also failed to provide mandatory urine drug screening results on December 16 and December 19. Not a smart move when you’re on probation already. That’s not even all. Amber Portwood is on the hook for various other alleged probation violations , including failure to complete anger management class. A judge recently ordered her to set up a college fund for her young daughter, Leah. You can probably guess whether or not that’s happened. Spoiler: It has not. As such, Amber was ordered to remain in custody until her hearing in late January. At that point, the Teen Mom ‘s longer-term fate will be determined. SIDE NOTE: This is her second straight Christmas in jail. Wow.
