Lindsay Lohan’s schedule is too packed with jet-setting and partying to sit for a deposition in a lawsuit, according to the photographer who’s suing her. Grigor Balyan sued Lindsay and her assistant last year, claiming the assistant crashed into him in 2010 outside an L.A. nightclub while driving Miss Crazy. Lindsay was riding shotgun and wasn’t injured, but the celebrity news photographer says he ended up in the hospital – and wants Lohan to pay for it. Balyan says his attorney has been trying in vain to get Lindsay to sit for a deposition, but she says she’s too busy … a claim which really pisses them off . After all, besides making terrible movies on occasion, Lindsay Lohan photos prove she’s “busy” partying around the world or dragging her ass to court. Balyan also claims LiLo said she couldn’t come to L.A. last week for the deposition, yet as we know, she flew all the way from NYC for her probation hearing. Balyan is asking a judge to ORDER Lindsay to sit for a deposition regarding this case ASAP, and also wants her to pay $4,842.43 for his lawyer fees. Just add it to the list …
Kevin Clash says he is gay and has never tried to hide that, and indeed was involved a relationship with the younger man accusing him of inappropriate sexual behavior. The voice of Sesame Street’s beloved Elmo says the accuser was over 18, however, not underage as he has alleged. Clash took a leave of absence Monday. Kevin Clash , who’s performed as Elmo for 27 years, is 52. He admits he had “a relationship with the [now 23-year-old] accuser,” but not an illegal one. “It was between two consenting adults and I am deeply saddened that he is trying to characterize it as something other than what it was,” he said in a statement. “I am taking a break from Sesame Workshop to deal with this false, defamatory allegation.” Clash also confirmed he is “a gay man” and has “never been ashamed or tried to hide it, but felt [ my relationship with the accuser ] was a personal and private matter.” Sesame Workshop backs up Clash on one count, saying that after a “thorough investigation” they “found the allegation of underage conduct to be unsubstantiated.” Still, the family-oriented organization found that Kevin Clash “exercised poor judgment and violated company policy regarding Internet usage and he was disciplined.” The Workshop added that Clash “insists that the allegation of underage conduct is false and defamatory and he is taking actions to protect his reputation.” As for why he was disciplined by his employer, an email Clash wrote to his accuser reads, “I’m sorry I keep talking about sex with you, its driving me insane.” The puppeteer adds, “I want you to know that I love you and I will never hurt you. I’m here to protect you and make sure your dreams come true.” “I’ll have my assistant book a ticket for you to come to NY and we can talk about this in person.” To clarify, the email was written well after the accuser turned 18 ; the allegation made by the accuser is that the two were intimate before he was 18 . Clash denies any wrongdoing , while admitting a consensual relationship .
Despite being a compulsive liar and having no one else to blame but herself for probably two-thirds of her problems, Lindsay Lohan remains convinced police are out to get her. Lohan, who is facing jail time for her most recent probation violation, is telling friends that the cops have a vendetta against her and will stop at nothing to bring her down. Best of all, Lindsay is STILL CLAIMING that she wasn’t driving when her Porsche slammed into a truck in June. Officials do not concur and will charge her with lying to police . LiLo claimed she was a passenger in her car, and that her assistant was the one who was actually driving and caused the Pacific Coast Highway Crash. Yet witnesses say she was in fact behind the wheel . Obviously. Lindsay is said to be “terrified” of going back to jail, especially since Judge Stephanie Sautner made it clear she would revoke her probation and send her ass back there. If she breaks the law again, that is. Sautner can revoke probation on mere suspicion – without having to wait for a conviction – of a crime, but it remains to be seen if she will. She’s tough, but fair after all. Lindsay says she’s done a good job obeying the law since her no contest plea in the jewelry heist case, which tells you a lot about her self-perception problems. Still, she plans to throw herself at the mercy of the court, supposedly, in an attempt to stay out of the pokey. What do you think: should Lindsay Lohan do hard time ? Yes, that train wreck brat will never learn otherwise! No, quit trying to make an example out of her, haters! View Poll »
Lindsay Lohan is apparently being accused of allowing two dudes who robbed a Hollywood Hills mansion to come inside during a house party there. Police have interviewed Lohan in the burglary investigation following the break-in Sunday, but she is not a suspect … at least not right this minute. You never know with Linds. The incident occurred at a multi-million dollar mansion. The owner invited LiLo, who had brought her brother Cody, her assistant and two other guys. The party lasted all night, and Lindsay left at around noon Monday, right after the owner realized expensive watches and sunglasses were missing. He told everyone to stay and then called the police. When they arrived, he told them that he believed the guys Lohan brought ganked the stuff. The cops began asking questions of Lindsay, to which she replied, “Am I a suspect?” An officer answered, “No.” Then Lindsay peaced, TMZ reports. The case is still under investigation .
Lindsay Lohan was involved a bad car accident on the Pacific Coast Highway and is in the emergency room at an L.A. hospital, according to reports. She collided hard with an 18-wheeler and her car is totaled . The star, who has been filming her new movie Liz & Dick , saw her passenger window was shattered and the rear bumper torn off her car. Lohan did not go to the hospital by ambulance, sources say, although an ambulance was called to the scene and she went there afterward. No word on her condition, although she should come out of this fine, according to TMZ. Doctors are performing tests on the 25-year-old. Fingers crossed for Lindsay Lohan . Poor girl. More details to follow … UPDATE : Lohan’s assistant was in the passenger seat and was also taken to the hospital. Lindsay was driving. Both Lindsay and her assistant (the passenger) were bleeding and bruised, and the assistant was in an ambulance. Lindsay and her assistant were both conscious after the accident. [Photo: WENN.com]
The Film : Being John Malkovich (1999), available today on Blu-ray and DVD via The Criterion Collection Why It’s an Inessential Essential : It’s strange to think that a film with John Malkovich’s name in its title isn’t really considered to be “a John Malkovich movie.” Instead, Being John Malkovich is understandably normally associated with screenwriter Charlie Kaufman and director Spike Jonze, both of whom really broke out thanks to BJM ’s success. While Jonze reveals on The Criterion Collection’s new audio commentary track that he and Kaufman were dead-set on getting Malkovich for the film, Being John Malkovich could really be about any celebrity. At the same time, that’s one of the many things that’s funny about Being John Malkovich : It’s a metaphysical black comedy about what people projecting things onto celebrities that don’t necessarily have anything to do with those celebrities. Malkovich just happens to be the guy whose mind Schwartz (John Cusack) and his vampish colleague Maxine (Catherine Keener) invade after they inadvertently discover a miniature portal into his head, and so his comic performance is consequently often overlooked in discussions of the film. He’s the biggest butt of Kaufman and Jonze’s jokes (I love when Maxine casually insults him by saying that he has a “too-prominent brow”), but he also reaffirms his fantastic comic timing, as when he cops a feel after ineffectually cooing to Maxine, “Shall we away to the boudoir?” Malkovich also demonstrates a deceptively subtle knack for physical comedy, like when he gives a buffoonishly perplexed look after being told by a date that he’s “creepy.” In a moment’s time, he scratches his head and tucks his lower lip beneath his teeth. It’s pretty hilarious because it’s done with such sly conviction. How the DVD Makes the Case for the Film : Criterion includes a number of great little behind-the-scenes on its new two-disc DVD set. In an interview with comedian John Hodgman, Malkovich reveals that when he was first given the script, “I saw the title and didn’t really think much about it.” He then initially turned the project down at the behest of his producing partner Russ Smith, who wanted Kaufman and Jonze to make the film “about” someone other than Malkovich. Later, Malkovich was taken aside again by Francis Ford Coppola and introduced directly to Jonze, whom Coppola said “everyone would [eventually] be working for.” According to Malkovich, after he signed onto the project, Kaufman apparently cut “some of the worst jokes about me — meaning the most cruelest ones,” from the screenplay. “I like those jokes,” he tells Hodgman nonchalantly. “I think they’re really funny.” Ironically, while Malkovich says that the film, “isn’t at all about me, it’s about people’s perceptions of me,” he apparently suggested that Charlie Sheen play his character’s best friend in Being John Malkovich . (Kevin Bacon had apparently already turned down that role.) But Malkovich had never met Sheen until that point; he just “struck me as the kind of person I would go to in an existential crisis.” Other Interesting Trivia : There’s a really bizarre and hilariously unfocused audio commentary track on disc one, where Michel Gondry, who was originally supposed to direct the film (he would later work with Kaufman on Human Nature before their Oscar-winning collaboration Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind ) talks about everything but the film. At one point, he calls Spike Jonze up and jokingly browbeats him to confess that he fell in love with Keener on set. This is after Gondry wonders aloud if the cameraman got a boner when filming a POV shot from Malkovich’s perspective while he has sex with Keener. Gondry dismisses the idea that Malkovich became aroused by Keener but still insists that the cameraman and the director must have gotten sprung. I wonder what Malkovich thinks… PREVIOUS INESSENTIAL ESSENTIALS The Last Temptation of Christ The Sitter Citizen Ruth The Broken Tower Dogville Night Call Nurses Strange Fruit: The Beatles’ Apple Records Jeremiah Johnson Simon Abrams is a NY-based freelance film critic whose work has been featured in outlets like The Village Voice, Time Out New York, Vulture and Esquire. Additionally, some people like his writing, which he collects at Extended Cut .
Looks like that first steamy image from Brian DePalma’s femme thriller Passion was just the tip of the erotic iceberg! New images from the film have emerged from Cannes , where the film is seeking buyers, showing more of stars Rachel McAdams as a businesswoman and Noomi Rapace as her assistant, who become locked in a deadly power struggle that will involve lingerie, showers, and kinky masks. If these pics don’t get this movie sold, I don’t know what will. Passion is a remake of the 2010 French film Love Crime , which starred Kristen Scott Thomas and Ludivine Sagnier; it’s DePalma’s first film since 2007’s Redacted , and judging from the stir the first image has created, should mark a return to DePalma’s wheelhouse. And, really: Has there been a single film still in recent memory as immediately enthralling and dangerous and seductive as the Passion mask shot below? Sign me up. The new images were posted to the film’s Facebook page (via The Playlist and De Palma A La Mod ), which adds this synopsis: The offices of a prominent multinational corporation is the setting for this story of a power struggle between two contemporary women. Isabelle has unlimited admiration for her direct superior, Christine, a woman well-schooled in the ways of power. Christine enjoys holding sway over Isabelle, leads her one step at a time and ever more deeply into a game of seduction and manipulation, of dominance and servitude. The game is played for keeps, and there is no turning back. [via The Playlist ]
Looks like that first steamy image from Brian DePalma’s femme thriller Passion was just the tip of the erotic iceberg! New images from the film have emerged from Cannes , where the film is seeking buyers, showing more of stars Rachel McAdams as a businesswoman and Noomi Rapace as her assistant, who become locked in a deadly power struggle that will involve lingerie, showers, and kinky masks. If these pics don’t get this movie sold, I don’t know what will. Passion is a remake of the 2010 French film Love Crime , which starred Kristen Scott Thomas and Ludivine Sagnier; it’s DePalma’s first film since 2007’s Redacted , and judging from the stir the first image has created, should mark a return to DePalma’s wheelhouse. And, really: Has there been a single film still in recent memory as immediately enthralling and dangerous and seductive as the Passion mask shot below? Sign me up. The new images were posted to the film’s Facebook page (via The Playlist and De Palma A La Mod ), which adds this synopsis: The offices of a prominent multinational corporation is the setting for this story of a power struggle between two contemporary women. Isabelle has unlimited admiration for her direct superior, Christine, a woman well-schooled in the ways of power. Christine enjoys holding sway over Isabelle, leads her one step at a time and ever more deeply into a game of seduction and manipulation, of dominance and servitude. The game is played for keeps, and there is no turning back. [via The Playlist ]
Apparently Lisa Vanderpump is not the only cast member on The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills who has let fame transform her from a spoiled rich woman to a REALLY spoiled rich woman. Kyle Richards, a pal tells Radar Online, is simply “not the same down to earth woman she used to be,” adding: “Her real friends have noticed. She recently told an actual close friend to ‘contact my assistant’ about making plans with her. Like she was too busy to make time for them now. They were so hurt.” And it’s more than just the attitude of Paris Hilton’s aunt, according to this anonymous, totally real insider; there are random examples of the new Kyle Richards , such as: “She sets DVRs on multiple TVs throughout the house and watches herself for HOURS analyzing her outfits, hair and makeup, and the camera angles she’s shot from. It’s incredible how she’s changed so much and become obsessed and superficial.” In other Real Housewives news that isn’t at all scripted for season three: Taylor Armstrong recently got blitzed at the birthday party for Kyle’s four-year old daughter. Friends are reportedly concerned. Bravo is reportedly giddy.
You know what a Freudian slip is, right? It’s when you mean to say one thing, but another, altogether filthier, thing comes out of your mouth instead. For example: You might mean to tell your assistant, “Ms. Fredrickson, we need to sit down and talk,” but instead you say “Ms. Frederickson, you need to sit on my cock.” Freudian slip! TV news anchors are especially prone to these hilarious slips of the tongue, as demonstrated in this supercut from the humor website WorldWideInterweb.com . Keep fucking that chicken…uhm, we mean, enjoy.
