Connect with us

Published

on

Disgraced movie mogul Harvey Weinstein has been found guilty of rape in a trial in California.

The 70-year-old predator had been on trial in Los Angeles, charged with raping and sexually assaulting two women and committing sexual battery against two others.

A jury has found him guilty of raping one woman, but not guilty of sexual battery by restraint of another woman.

The jury was unable to reach verdicts on several counts, including charges involving Jennifer Siebel Newsom, the wife of California Governor Gavin Newsom, and the allegations of another woman, with a mistrial declared on those counts.

In addition to being found guilty of rape, Weinstein was found guilty of forced oral copulation and sexual penetration by a foreign object involving the same woman, who said he appeared uninvited at her hotel room during a Los Angeles film festival in 2013.

Weinstein appeared to put his face in his hands when the initial guilty counts were read, then looked forward as the rest of the verdict was read.

He faces up to 24 years in prison when he is sentenced.

“Harvey Weinstein will never be able to rape another woman. He will spend the rest of his life behind bars where he belongs,” Ms Siebel Newsom said in a statement.

“Throughout the trial, Weinstein’s lawyers used sexism, misogyny, and bullying tactics to intimidate, demean, and ridicule us survivors. The trial was a stark reminder that we as a society have work to do.”

Film producer already serving 23-year sentence

The Oscar-winning film producer is already serving a 23-year jail sentence for rape and sexual assault after being convicted in a landmark court case in New York in 2020, which was seen as a watershed moment for the #MeToo movement.

However, earlier this year he was granted permission to appeal.

As such, the month-long LA trial, widely viewed as symbolic, assumed greater significance.

In their closing argument, prosecutors had urged jurors to complete Weinstein’s fall from grace, arguing it was time for his “reign of terror to end”.

In turn, his lawyer had argued the four women were untrustworthy.

Alan Jackson argued the stories of two women who Weinstein was alleged to have sexually assaulted on consecutive days in 2013 “simply never happened”.

He also said Weinstein’s alleged rape and assault of the other two women in 2005 and 2010 were “100% consensual” encounters that the women engaged in for career advancement.

The birth of the #MeToo movement

Once one of Hollywood’s most influential figures, whose films included Shakespeare In Love, Pulp Fiction, The English Patient and Gangs Of New York, Weinstein had the power to make and break careers in the movies.

But in October 2017, in reports by the New York Times and the New Yorker, he was accused of sexual misconduct by a number of women. He was also accused of reaching settlements to keep the stories quiet.

Read more:
Journalists who helped bring down Weinstein ‘flabbergasted’ to see their work turned into film

‘He was so determined’: California governor’s wife breaks down in tears as she accuses Weinstein of rape

In the months that followed, dozens more women came forward to allege incidents of rape, sexual assault and harassment by Weinstein dating back decades.

He admitted his behaviour had “caused a lot of pain”, but consistently denied all the sexual allegations made against him.

It was a moment that gave birth to the #MeToo movement as women came forward to detail incidents involving powerful figures in the entertainment industry and beyond.

The Pulitzer-prize-winning expose of Weinstein by New York Times reporters has now been turned into a film, She Said, starring Carey Mulligan.

Continue Reading

Entertainment

Adele bids tearful farewell to Las Vegas residency as star admits she doesn’t know when she’ll perform next

Published

on

By

Adele bids tearful farewell to Las Vegas residency as star admits she doesn't know when she'll perform next

Adele has bid a tearful farewell to her Las Vegas residency show, as the Someone Like You star admitted she doesn’t know when she’ll perform again next.

The British singer-songwriter, 36, launched Weekends with Adele at Caesars Palace in November 2022 and performed her 100th show there on Saturday.

Her mammoth run of sell-out shows at the venue, which seats around 4,000 people, has been a success but has taken its toll.

In July, Adele said she would be taking a “big break” from music after her current run of shows.

Videos posted online from her concert on Saturday show the singer getting tearful as she bid Vegas goodbye.

“It’s been wonderful and I will miss it terribly and I will miss you terribly,” she said.

She added: “I don’t know when I next want to perform again.”

More on Adele

Adele has performed every Friday and Saturday across the residency, with plenty of memorable moments.

One included when she burst into tears after spotting Celine Dion at a performance.

Adele is known to idolise the Canadian singer.

Read more from Sky News:
Wicked lands largest opening weekend of 2024 at Vue
Lauren Laverne ‘all clear’ after cancer
Kanye West accused of sexual assault

Speaking at the beginning of September, during a show in Germany, Adele told fans she wouldn’t see them “for an incredibly long time”.

“I just need a rest and I have spent the last seven years building a new life for myself, and I want to live it now,” she added.

Continue Reading

Entertainment

Denzel Washington’s sons talk about family, secrets, identity, and The Piano Lesson

Published

on

By

Denzel Washington's sons talk about family, secrets, identity, and The Piano Lesson

John David Washington says he felt like he had to conceal his desire to act because of the external expectations of him being the child of Denzel and Pauletta Washington.

He tells Sky News it took some time for him to pursue an acting career, choosing football instead to assert his “independence” and create his own “identity” separate from his famous family.

“I’ve been wanting to do this my whole life… but I was hiding it,” he said.

“I had to conceal that passion based on my relationship to the world and more specifically, my folks being in the industry, so I chose ball.

“I loved ball, but I was sort of hiding my love for the arts under a helmet – literally an American football helmet – and so when I wanted to become an actor, when I decided to pursue it, that was a big shock to some people.”

The 40-year-old actor says when he decided to pursue an acting career, he kept the decision quiet.

“Some people didn’t know I was even pursuing it professionally until I got a job,” he said.

More on Netflix

Danielle Deadwyler as Berniece and John David Washington as Boy Willie in The Piano Lesson. Pic: David Lee/ Netflix 2024
Image:
John David with fellow actor Danielle Deadwyler. Pic: David Lee/ Netflix

Since switching to acting, John David has starred in a number of notable roles including the protagonist in Christopher Nolan’s Tenet, Ron Stallworth in BlacKkKlansman and Joshua in The Creator.

He also led the stage revival of the 2022 Tony-nominated play The Piano Lesson on Broadway alongside Samuel L Jackson.

“He [Jackson] originated the role [I play] in 1987 at Yale with Lloyd Richards and August Wilson,” John David said.

“So it was of great importance for us to learn from both he and Michael Potts about August Wilson. It was a great blessing for me, I think, for all of us to have him present on set.”

Read more from Sky News:
Squid Game creator: ‘I’ve become numb to the violence’
Rust premieres three years after fatal shooting

The Piano Lesson is the third August Wilson play to be adapted for the screen by Denzel Washington’s production company Mundy Lane Entertainment.

It is part of a pledge made by the Gladiator II actor to make all 10 of the playwright’s works into films.

The Netflix project is directed by another Washington family member, Malcolm, and stars most of the cast from the Broadway revival.

The Piano Lesson (L-R): Actor Ray Fisher, writer-director Malcolm Washington, and his brother and star John David Washington on set. Pic: Katia Washington/ Netflix 2024
Image:
The Piano Lesson is Malcolm Washington’s directorial debut. Pic: Katia Washington/ Netflix

Set in 1936 Pittsburgh in the aftermath of the Great Depression, the film centres on a family heirloom, a piano, that is etched with the carvings of their family history made by their enslaved ancestor.

Malcolm says he started reading the play for the first time during the pandemic and immediately wanted to be involved in the film adaptation.

“I think with this movie, reclamation of story and identity is so central to the theme and it’s something that’s central to my life where I both acknowledge the fertile ground that I was raised on and who I am today.

“That’s what Wining Boy [played by Michael Potts] really is trying to do, he’s trying to build on that legacy, so that’s a story that really resonated with me.”

The filmmaker added: “I take all the gifts that my ancestors laid in front of me, and I’m trying to build something for the next generation to pass down – all of their gifts, plus mine to the next generation and let them build on it.”

John David Washington in The Piano Lesson. Pic: David Lee/Netflix
Image:
Malcolm has dedicated his directorial debut to his mother, Pauletta Washington. Pic: David Lee/Netflix

Malcolm says his goal was to put family at the forefront of the production. By dedicating his feature debut to “Mama”, he is acknowledging the dedication and sacrifices that mothers make for the growth of their families.

“There’s so much pointing to my mother in particular, who inspired this adaptation so much. I see so much of her life in Berniece’s character [played by Danielle Deadwyler] – and that became a guiding light for me in this adaptation,” he said.

“As we made this thing and started reconnecting with our ancestors, my mum became like a kind of representative of them.

“She’s the matriarch of our family. She tells me about my grandparents and great-grandparents and the line that I come from, and I see them in her.

“And when the movie ends, I want people to kind of have that moment of reflection for their own lives. So in dedicating it to her, I was trying to dedicate it to all mums everywhere.”

The Piano Lesson is now available on Netflix.

Continue Reading

Entertainment

Blockbuster Wicked lands largest opening weekend of 2024 at Vue

Published

on

By

Blockbuster Wicked lands largest opening weekend of 2024 at Vue

Blockbuster Wicked has landed the largest opening weekend of 2024 at Vue International.

The film, starring Oscar-nominated actress Cynthia Erivo and Grammy-winning pop star Ariana Grande as Elphaba and Glinda, surpassed both Gladiator II and Paddington In Peru.

It has also had the largest opening weekend for a stage musical adaptation in the cinema chain’s history.

A boss for Vue International said it had seen a “sea of pink and green” over the weekend.

Ariana Grande (left) as Glinda and Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba in the film.
Pic: PA
Image:
Ariana Grande (left) as Glinda and Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba in the film. Pic: PA

Pic: PA
Image:
Pic: PA

Cinemagoers in London's Leicester Square Vue on the opening night of Wicked. 
Pic: PA
Image:
Pic: PA

Released on Friday, Wicked is up 60% on Les Miserables’ opening weekend in 2012 and three times larger than the 2022 film adaptation of Matilda.

Founder and chief executive of Vue International Tim Richards said: “Vue has seen a sea of pink and green over the opening weekend of Wicked, which has shown continued high demand for the big screen experience.

“We saw record-breaking pre-sales for Wicked, followed by a chart-topping opening weekend – the biggest for 2024.”

More on Cinema

The film is the first of two parts, with the second expected in November next year.

Wicked and Gladiator II – known together as Glicked – have reportedly failed to beat out Barbenheimer, Barbie and Oppenheimer, in its own opening weekend last summer.

Read more from Sky News:
Leicester City sack manager
Bar staff to be trained to deal with drink spiking
Army officer charged over dummy grenade alert at airport

Glicked brought in £215m in worldwide ticket sales – with Wicked making the majority of that.

Continue Reading

Trending