Tag Archives: Stranger

A Lil Positivity: Strangers Help Raise $40K For Homeless Single Father After He Loses Everything

Go Be Kind Organization Helps Raise $40K For Homeless Single Father A random act of kindness can help the change the world by just helping one person at a time . According Fox 31 Denver a homeless single father had his entire life changed for the better after one stranger decided to #gobekind… Shortly after James Moss moved to Denver with his son Zhi last month, he was interviewed by Leon Logothetis, a writer, motivational speaker and philanthropist, who is on a tour to spread kindness. Moss left New York after a friend offered a him a place to stay and a job opportunity, but before he landed the offer fell through. “It seemed like everything I was trying to do was falling apart,” Moss said. Moss was looking for a shelter for he and his son, when Logothetis approached him with cameras and began asking him about kindness. Moss began talking about his homelessness. “I never expected it to be like this, but it’s like this. I’ve had nothing but good help along the way,” Moss said in the video, which is now posted to YouTube. The short encounter soon went viral around the world and hundreds of people helped raised thousands for the homeless father and his adorable son… That was just the beginning of the kindness, a woman who saw the video created a GoFundMe.com page for Moss. The campaign has a website to promote Logothetis’ tour stops and how people can help in their communities. “Phenomenal. Unbelievable,” Moss said. “It took off. I was like, ‘Are you serious?’” In four days, the page had already raised more than $39,000. “Just get me a car and a camper, you know what I mean?” Moss said with a laugh. “That’s what I’m trying to save some money up to get.” Though he’s still waiting to spend the money, James has already moved out of the shelter thanks to the kindness of yet another stranger. His new boss is also allowing him to bring Zhi with him to work until he can find, and afford, daycare. Check out the video below: This is beautiful! Check out more from the #GoBeKind organization HERE .

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A Lil Positivity: Strangers Help Raise $40K For Homeless Single Father After He Loses Everything

Single Mother Gets Engaged To Anonymous Sperm Donor To Her 2-Year-Old Daughter

How random is this? Mother Falls In Love With Sperm Donor Forget dating services — apparently the sperm bank is where it’s at . Not only can you come out of there with an adorable new baby, but if you take the time to track down your donor, you might skip out of the situation with a new boo as well! At least that is what happened to one Austrailian woman who is now engaged to the sperm donor that enabled become a mother again after having lost multiple children. Via MailOnline : The heartwarming tale of a woman who tracked down and fell in love with the ‘anonymous’ sperm donor who gave her a healthy baby girl could be made into a Hollywood movie have now announced their engagement. Newspaper, magazine and TV offers have come flooding in from all over the globe after Victorian couple Aminah Hart and Scott Andersen told their incredible story on the ABC on Monday night. The couple’s incredible romance has got more serious since Scott proposed while they were on holiday in Thailand with their daughter. At the age of 42 newly single Aminah Hart made a decision that changed her life in a way that she never could have imagined, leading her to meet and fall in love with the stranger whose sperm she used to conceive her daughter. At the time, the Melbourne professional wanted to have a child but had already suffered the tragic loss of two sons due to a genetic disorder called x-linked myotubular myopathy, a condition that affects muscles used for movement and occurs almost exclusively in boys. Her first son Marlon, conceived with her former husband, died at the age of four months, while she was living in England, and in 2010 when Aminah was living back in Australia, Louis – fathered by a former partner – died at the age of 14 months. ‘You can’t really put it into words. I had two relationships and two children but it wasn’t until the second one that I got a diagnosis of the genetic disorder,’ Aminah told Daily Mail Australia. ‘It took me a long time to make the decision and I considered everything: my age, social status and that I carried a fatal genetic disorder… I had the understanding that I wasn’t a great prospect.’ Aminah decided to ‘give it one last go’. The donor that stood out from the three was a man who described himself as ‘happy and easy going’ with a strong work ethic. She had grown up without knowing her own father, having last seen him when she was just 11 months old, so she was keen for her future child to meet their father. ‘Scott said on his profile that he was happy to meet any child that was conceived,’ Aminah added. Meanwhile, Aminah’s mother Helen had grown increasingly interested in who Leila’s father might be as her blonde hair and blue eyes were in contrast to Aminah’s West Indian appearance. Despite thinking it wasn’t a good idea at first, when her mum became convinced she’d found Leila’s father Aminah decided to contact the agency and offer her details in case he wanted to get in touch or see a photo of his daughter. Scott responded and the pair began exchanging emails, Aminah sent photos of Leila and by the time their daughter was one year old they had decided it was time to meet in person. ‘It was quite surreal that it was not uncomfortable. There was a little bit of romance born that night,’ Aminah remembered. Aminah sees their relationship as a ‘beginning rather than a happy ending’ and calls it a ‘really beautiful chapter’ in her life full of ‘happiness and joy’. OrangeSkyLaundry

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Single Mother Gets Engaged To Anonymous Sperm Donor To Her 2-Year-Old Daughter

Florida Crazies: Man Sent Text Message In Movie Theater Right Before Shooting Another Moviegoer For Texting

Florida was built on hypocrisy and craziness… Man Sent Text Message In Movie Theater Right Before Shooting Texter Curtis Reeves Jr., accused of fatally shooting a man in a movie theater during an argument over texting , himself sent a text message from his seat in the Wesley Chapel Cobb 16 Theatres. Via TampaBay News reports: The revelation comes from court documents released Wednesday in the case that has drawn national attention. Matthew Reeves, the defendant’s son, said in an interview with deputies after the Jan. 13 shooting that he was running late to meet his parents for a 1:20 p.m. show of Lone Survivor. He texted his father that he was on the way. His father wrote back that he and his wife, Vivian, were in their seats. About 15 minutes later, Matthew Reeves walked into the theater as a single shot rang out. Matthew Reeves, a Tampa police officer, told investigators he caught Chad Oulson, who was struck in the chest, as he collapsed in the aisle. Authorities say Curtis Reeves, 71, who also made his career as a Tampa officer, shot Oulson, 43, during a confrontation over Oulson texting his daughter’s babysitter during the previews. Matthew Reeves told Pasco sheriff’s deputies that he didn’t see the argument or the shot but that “noise and light” was coming from the top row as he walked into the darkness of auditorium 10. According to court documents, Matthew Reeves told investigators he immediately went upstairs toward the commotion. He didn’t know where his parents were sitting. He could see one person stand, then take a few steps back and then a few steps forward to the end of the row. As the stranger collapsed, Matthew Reeves caught him and helped him to the ground. He noticed the man was bleeding from what appeared to be a gunshot wound to the chest. Someone handed Matthew Reeves a T-shirt, and he pressed it against the wound to stanch the blood. It was then, as he treated Chad Oulson on the floor of the theater, that Matthew Reeves looked toward the back row and saw his parents. “He said his father appeared to have a shocked look on his face,” according to the court records. As stunned moviegoers fled, and Chad Oulson’s wife, Nicole, screamed to witnesses that Reeves shot her in the finger, Matthew Reeves then got another bystander to take over tending to Oulson. He said he went to the lobby and told staff what happened and asked someone to call 911, then went to the kitchen and washed his hands. A theater employee said he gave Matthew Reeves some bleach to clean the blood. Reeves, who is charged with second-degree murder and aggravated battery with a firearm, is being held without bail at the Pasco County jail until his trial, which is tentatively set for this fall. If convicted, he could face life in prison. At a pretrial hearing on Wednesday, his attorneys waived his right to speedy trial, saying they want to hire experts and do their own investigation. SMH!!!!!!!!

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Florida Crazies: Man Sent Text Message In Movie Theater Right Before Shooting Another Moviegoer For Texting

Fawk A Dumb Thug: Brooklyn Man Sentenced To 25-To-Life After Bragging “Ville Up Hoe!” On Facebook After Murking HS Hoops Star

This guy deserves to rot in a cell. The family of young woman who was a promising Harlem HS hoops star is finally seeing some justice for her murder two years ago. Via NY Post reports : A young thug was sent silent and sullen to prison today for the random Harlem murder of high school basketball star Tayshana “Chicken” Murphy — instead, his vile Facebook posting from an hour after the shooting spoke for him. “Ville up hoe,” Tyshawn Brockington, 23, had snarled online, a reference to Manhattanville Houses, which was at war with Murphy’s Grant Houses, leaving her as a bloody, innocent casualty in her building’s fourth floor stairwell two years ago. By “Ville up,” the killer had meant that in Murphy’s death, Manhattanville had just notched a one-up victory in the two projects’ senseless war, prosecutors explained. And “Hoe” was the killer’s final blow to the stranger who was his victim — again senseless given her undisputed virtues as a sister, daughter, friend and athlete. “Killing her was not enough,” prosecutor Jeffrey Levinson said of Brockington at the emotional Manhattan Supreme Court sentencing. “He has to call her a pr0stitute, or a sl*t, or a wh*re.” The judge, too, decried Brockington’s Facebook posting before giving him a 25-to-life sentence, the maximum allowed. “Certainly the vile comment – “Ville up hoe” — made an hour later, showed some kind of abhorrent pride in what he had accomplished,” said Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Thomas Farber. Four rows of the fallen basketball stars’ family members, friends and coaches attended the emotional sentencing. “You took her breath,” mom Tephanie Holston said in a victim impact statement, her voice dignified but quavering as she faced her daughter’s murderer. “She wasn’t yours.” Murphy, a senior at Murry Bergtraum High School, had been considered one of the country’s top female point guards. Her dream was to make it big — by shattering the gender barrier in the NBA, the prosecutor said. “She set her sights on playing with the NBA with the men… and she made the promise that once she got there, she was going to bring everybody with her,” he said. Watching the trial had been painful, said the judge. “This is about young people killing other young people. And this is really really tragic to me,” he said. “Sitting through the trial, and watching the videos and thinking about these two housing projects … What could that be,” he said of the bloody rivalries between the two projects, “other than some desire to create a sense of self worth by creating a sense of otherness against people who should be your brothers and sisters. “That to me is incredibly tragic,” he added. “Those bullets ended your life in a significant way as well,” judge told the perp. “I try never to sentence out of vengeance,” he said. “We’re desperately in need of kinship rather than otherness. But I can’t impose in in a case like this any sentence other than the maximum sentence.” Two lives have been effectively lost to gun violence: an 18-year-old girl who died far too young, and a 23-year-old man, who could spend the rest of his life in prison for her murder,” said Manhattan DA Cyrus Vance, Jr., in a written statement issued after the sentencing. “My office will continue to work with communities across Manhattan to put an end to the gang and gun violence that was one of the contributing factors to Ms. Murphy’s untimely death.” SMH. Stop the violence! When you’re young it’s easy to get caught up in gang and turf BS but that ish truly ain’t what life is about. Now this dummy will be spending the rest of his life in jail and this family is without a loved one. Continue reading

Men In Black 4: It’s Coming!

Ah, the franchise. It’s brought us such amazing films as  Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides ,  Transformers 3 , and  Scary Movie 5 . Now, another franchise is capitalizing on its immutable success, as Sony has announced it is moving forward with  Men in Black 4 . Unknown writer Oren Uziel has been hired to pen the script. No word yet on whether the franchise’s stars Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones will return, or whether the franchise will go the  Bourne direction and center on new characters. Also no word on whether Barry Sonnenfield, who directed the first three films, will return.

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Men In Black 4: It’s Coming!

After Golden Globes Win, Is ‘Argo’ The People’s Film?

Last night’s Golden Globes cemented Argo as the People’s Film from an awards season stand-point, setting the scrappy underdog to stand toe-to-toe with the monolithic Lincoln . Theoretically, the “People’s Film” would be The Hunger Games , which won Favorite Movie at the People’s Choice Awards, but in the context of the Oscars, the populism is relative to the awards — and none of the elite awards are more populist than the Golden Globes. The Hollywood Foreign Press Association established the annual Golden Globes as an opportunity to gather Hollywood’s elite, and the awards create the appearance of a competitive event instead of simply another gala. The goal is TV revenue, ostensibly to fund the HFPA’s philanthropic endeavors. The voting is dubious, with a body of less than 100 journalists with a penchant for press junkets that hinge on the interviewee’s charisma and charm. This is why the Globes live up to their reputation of grinning, drunken swagger: they can be loose and fun, because at the end of the day, it’s not about the awards, it’s about the audience. So the HFPA awarded Argo the title of Best Motion Picture – Drama, as well as giving Ben Affleck the award for Best Director — something he cannot replicate at the Oscars, where he’s not nominated for Best Director. But the narrative is shifting in Argo ’s direction. The film has always been a contender. With just three directed films and a severe image challenge as a personality, actor-turned-director Affleck has reconfigured himself as a filmmaker who demands respect. The fictionalized true story behind Argo , tying a Middle Eastern thriller to Hollywood in-jokes, was always the sort of smart film audiences could embrace. The box office reflected this, earning more than $111 million in the United States (ignoring a probable post-Globe, pre-Oscar rerelease), which is less than Lincoln to date but still nothing to scoff at for an R-rated political thriller. Along the way, Argo has quietly been picking up awards from various critics groups. It was one of the AFI Films of the Year and made the National Board of Review’s Top Films list. It won ensemble awards from the Hollywood Film Festival and Palm Springs International Film Festial, took the top prize from the San Diego critics and took 2nd place from the New York critics. This past week, it scored a major win at the Critics’ Choice Awards, taking Best Picture and Best Director on the same day the AMPAS directing wing blocked Affleck out. Like the Globes, the Critics’ Choice flexed the populism muscle, despite the assumed prestige from an umbrella group of critics. The Critics’ Choice tried something new this year by being broadcast on the CW, awkwardly combining the general intelligence of film critics with the popcorn atmosphere of the network. The organization received flack for poor decisions such as cutting away from the screenplay award (which went to Lincoln ‘s Tony Kushner) and for focusing on less prestigious nominees in favor of name recognition. What all of this amounts to, however, is a critics award that was aiming for Golden Globe-style populism. Argo winning both Critics’ Choice and the Golden Globe for Best Drama has set its tone and changed the popular conversation, commanding awards-watchers to take the film seriously again after losing momentum earlier in the season thanks to the thunder-stealing Zero Dark Thirty . What remains to be seen are the results of the Screen Actors Guild and the BAFTAs . Argo has received ensemble attention, so SAG’s big award isn’t out of the realm of possibility, but Argo has not received the individual acting attention that Les Miserables , Silver Linings Playbook , or even Lincoln have. This makes SAG the biggest landmark on Argo ’s horizon, because a win there would solidify the film’s narrative as the People’s Film, and the one that people want to win it all. Chime in below with your Oscar musings: With all this populist momentum, does Argo have a shot at Best Picture? MORE ON THE GOLDEN GLOBES: WATCH: Jodie Foster Wins The Golden Globes With Her ‘Coming Out’ Speech ‘Argo’ & ‘Les Misérables’ Take Top Movie Prizes At Golden Globes – WINNERS LIST High Five! The Best GIFs Of The 2013 Golden Globes John Hendel is a playwright from Los Angeles. Follow him on Twitter @hendyhendel . Follow Movieline on Twitter .

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After Golden Globes Win, Is ‘Argo’ The People’s Film?

Holy Sith! Zack Snyder Planning ‘Seven Samurai’-Inspired ‘Star Wars’ Film? (UPDATE)

UPDATE : Whoops, never mind. In a statement to The Hollywood Reporter , Snyder’s rep has flatly denied the report. “While he is super flattered because he is a huge fan,” the statement says, “Zack is not involved in any way with the new  Star Wars . He is currently in post on his two films,  Man of Steel  and  300: Battle of Artemisia .” Looks like the Internet got played by a fun-having rumor monger. I look forward to seeing if there’s any kernel of truth to anything else in the report. Original story continues below… *** In case you were wondering, you can rest easy in the knowledge that Disney has absolutely no intention of treating the Star Wars franchise like a finite resource. Instead, they plan to mine it like spice from the cruelest mines of Kessel, and the proof is the possibility of a Kurosawa-inspired film set in the galaxy far, far away, brought to you by Zack Snyder , the man currently tasked with finally bringing a post-Christopher Reeve Superman to theaters. Vulture has brought us news of a rumor blowing up like the Death Star that 300 , Watchmen and Man of Steel director Snyder is developing a new stand-alone Star Wars film based on Akira Kurosawa’s The Seven Samurai that would exist, almost certainly, separate from the planned Episodes 7, 8 and 9. The plot would replace feudal Japanese swordslingers with lightsaber wielding Jedi. And since the original Star Wars was heavily based on Kurosawa’s The Hidden Fortress , it would allow us to declare — and you knew this was coming — that the circle is now complete. The setting is unclear, but Vulture ‘s source claims it would take place after the events of Return of the Jedi . As we know, Episodes 7, 8 and 9 are also going to take place long after Jedi . How awesome does that sound? My mouth already waters at the notion of a live action Star Wars TV show set in the aftermath of the rebellion against the Empire. This makes me positively drool. That said, I’d prefer there just be Seven Samurai … IN SPAAAACE, without having to graft the Star Wars brand name onto it. But since Roger Corman already covered that with his schlocky B-movie classic Battle Beyond The Stars , I’ll take what I can get. Especially since it’ll be awesome exploring the idea of Jedi Ronin in the post-Empire galaxy. Bring it, and may the force be with us. And maybe next, we can get the Star Wars version of Zatoichi . Please, please hire Ian Holm for that. [via Vulture ]

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Holy Sith! Zack Snyder Planning ‘Seven Samurai’-Inspired ‘Star Wars’ Film? (UPDATE)

Disney Sets ‘Pirates Of The Caribbean 5’ For 2015

Johnny Depp is still sailing toward another round in the Caribbean, but the swashbuckling will have to wait a couple years. Disney unveiled a slew of dates for a half-dozen of its anticipated titles Monday with Pirates of the Caribbean 5 anchoring July 10, 2015. [ Related: Johnny Depp Taps Keith Richards For ‘Pirates Of The Caribbean’ Return ] Depp will be on deck once again as Jack Sparrow with Jerry Bruckheimer producing from a script by Jeff Nathanson. The Pirates series has grossed over $3.7 billion worldwide. The last feature, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides took in a cool $1.043 billion globally. No director has been named for the next installment. Also headed to theaters from Disney is Maleficent , the untold story of the villain behind the 1959 classic, Sleeping Beauty , which stars Angelina Jolie in the title role as well as Sharlto Copley, Elle Fanning and Sam Riley. It is moving to a July 2, 2014 release from its March 14, 2014 original. The Muppets 2 , starring Ricky Gervais and Ty Burrell will head to theaters March 21st in 2014, while Chris Evans starrer Captain America: The Winter Soldier will open April 4, 2014. The pic directed by Anthony and Joe Russo will be available in 3-D. Also in 3-D is Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy , set for August 1, 2014 with James Gunn as director. And 1952 (3-D)m starring George Clooney is set for December 19, 2014. Keith Richards, who appeared as Captain Teague in the franchise in On Stranger Tides and 2007’s At World’s End teased last November he may head back to Pirates once again. “I spoke to Johnny a couple of weeks ago and he said, ‘Are you up for another one?’ I can leave it at that because I know no more,” Richards told BBC 6 Music last year. “But I do have the costume!”

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Disney Sets ‘Pirates Of The Caribbean 5’ For 2015

‘Django Unchained’ A Hit With African American Audiences: Biz Break

The film starring Jamie Foxx , Christoph Waltz and Leonardo DiCaprio is riddled with the N-word, but that has not turned off African American audiences. Also in Thursday’s news round-up, the Senate Intelligence Committee is set to investigate CIA contacts with the Zero Dark Thirty filmmakers; DiCaprio is headed for Santa Barbara fest honors; and John Turturro doc will bow NYC non-fiction series. Django Unchained Popular with African Americans The debate about the hefty use of the N-word has not turned off the African American audience. Quentin Tarantino’s latest film brought out an audience that was 42 percent black on Christmas day and is consistently pulling in 30 percent. Django Unchained has grossed $77.8 million in North America and may surpass the $120 million made by Inglourious Basterds in 2009, THR reports . Senate to Investigate CIA Contacts with Zero Dark Thirty Filmmakers Senate Intelligence Committee is reviewing CIA records of contacts agency officials may have had with director Kathryn Bigelow and screenwriter Mark Boal, but the committee does not have plans to interview the filmmakers. The CIA’s acting director Michael Morell also criticized the movie as “not a realistic portrayal of the facts,” Deadline reports . Disconnect to Open Santa Barbara International Film Festival; Leonardo DiCaprio to Be Honored Henry-Alex Rubin’s Disconnect will open the 28th Santa Barbara International Film Festival. Starring Jason Bateman and Hope Davis, the film explores the way digital technologies, which aim to bring people together, increase the emotional distance between them. Leonardo DiCaprio will also be honored opening night with the festival’s American Riviera Award on February 1st. Past recipients include Martin Scorsese, Sandra Bullock and Mickey Rourke, Deadline reports . Gerard Depardieu Granted Russian Citizenship The Kremlin has given Russian citizenship to French actor Gerard Depardieu. Depardieu recently said he’d give up his French passport after the government criticized his decision to move abroad to avoid paying higher taxes, BBC reports . John Turturro to Bow NYC Doc Series Rehearsal for a Sicilian Tragedy , a documentary that follows actor John Turturro on a journey to his maternal homeland, Sicily will open the 22nd season of Stranger Than Fiction, the weekly documentary series at IFC Center January 8th. The series, which continues through February 26th, features a Q&A with the filmmaker and other guests. For a look at the schedule, visit their website .

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‘Django Unchained’ A Hit With African American Audiences: Biz Break

Johnny Depp Taps Keith Richards For ‘Pirates Of The Caribbean’ Return

The $3.5 billion Pirates of the Caribbean franchise may see another mega-star reprise in its fifth installment, and it may not just be Johnny Depp . Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards may return to the franchise after an invitation from Depp. Richards has bombarded the franchise in all four installments with his persona alone. Depp made no secret that the superstar musician inspired his flamboyant portrayal of Jack Sparrow since its launch back in 2003 with Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl . Richards took the cue and sailed into the role of Captain Teague in 2007 with Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End and again in Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (2011). Now with a fifth return the swashbuckling franchise, even Depp is apparently awaiting Richards’ final ayyy or nay, though he teased that the plank has been lowered for his return. “I spoke to Johnny a couple of weeks ago and he said, ‘Are you up for another one?’ I can leave it at that because I know no more,” Richards told BBC 6 Music. “But I do have the costume! (It helps because) some kids who don’t know nothing (sic) about the Rolling Stones go, ‘There’s Johnny Depp’s dad! There’s Captain Teague, arrgh!” Keith Richards and the rest of his Rolling Stones crew have hit the big screen more recently in Brett Morgen’s documentary Crossfire Hurricane , which had a premiere bash last month at the BFI London Film Festival and is currently making the fest rounds. The feature marks the bands’ 50 years together. [ Source: Hollywood.com ]

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Johnny Depp Taps Keith Richards For ‘Pirates Of The Caribbean’ Return