VARIOUS: SHOWBIZ Review of the Year 2010 - YEARENDER Part 1 - The biggest showbiz headlines including big movies, the Oscars and celebrities in legal trouble

Record ID: 393238

  • Title: VARIOUS: SHOWBIZ Review of the Year 2010 - YEARENDER Part 1 - The biggest showbiz headlines including big movies, the Oscars and celebrities in legal trouble
  • Date: 17th December 2010
  • Summary: LONDON, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM (FILE) (ORIGINALLY 4:3) (REUTERS) GEORGE MICHAEL PERFORMING
  • Embargoed: 1st January 2011 12:00
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  • Location: Italy, Germany, Usa, France, United Kingdom
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  • Country: USA
  • Topics: Legal System
  • Reuters ID: LVA5D5II5NU6NK4A01CB6KSEMRZU
  • Story Text: 2010 was a year of Oscar winning firsts and celebrities in court. The big films in the year pulled in kids and parents alike and the familiar Hollywood faces of Jeff Bridges and Sandra Bullock took home their first Oscars. The court system was busy handing out celebrity justice. Lindsay Lohan was a regular, with several stints in jail and Charlie Sheen made headlines for unruly behavior.

    OSCAR WINNERS
    Iraq war movie "The Hurt Locker," took the Oscars by storm, winning six of the major film honors, including best movie and director for Kathryn Bigelow, who became the first woman to win that honor. The drama about a squad of bomb defusing specialists and the emotional toll war takes on them also secured the Academy Award for best original screenplay, and claimed honors for film editing, sound editing and mixing.
    "Hurt Locker" and Bigelow won Oscars over stiff competition from her ex-husband, James Cameron, whose sci-fi adventure "Avatar" became the top-grossing movie ever with 2.5 billion dollars (USD) at the box office and was seen as the front-runner for best movie going into the show.
    "Avatar" earned 3 Oscars, but in technical categories -- visual effects, cinematography and art direction.
    Veteran Jeff Bridges claimed best actor, playing a drunken country singer in the drama "Crazy Heart." The son of Hollywood star Lloyd Bridges held his trophy high over his head, looking to the heavens and thanking his deceased parents.
    Another veteran, Sandra Bullock, was named best actress for "The Blind Side," in a first for the leading lady once dubbed "America's Sweetheart" because she won so many early fans in her romantic comedies.
    But, in "The Blind Side," she took the part of a real-life, strong-willed mother who helps take a homeless youth off the street and makes him into a football success.
    Dark drama "Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire" earned two Oscars including supporting actress for Mo'Nique and adapted screenplay for writer Geoffrey Fletcher, who became the first African American to claim that honor.
    Christoph Waltz won best supporting actor for his turn as a menacing Nazi officer in revenge fantasy "Inglourious Basterds," which followed a band of American Jews killing their enemies behind lines during World War Two. Waltz became a familiar sight on the podium, locking up the best supporting actor category at all the major award shows.

    BIG MOVIES OF 2010
    Family films were the big box office winners in 2010. Leading the world in ticket sales was Disney/Pixar's latest installment of "Toy Story." This version, "Toy Story 3." was screened in 3D and pulled in $415 million. The moved also earned itself a Golden Globe nomination for best animated film.
    In second place on the worldwide charts was "Alice in Wonderland." The fantastical Disney film starring Johnny Depp as the Mad Hatter earner $334 million and picked up several Golden Globe nods.
    In third was Robert Downey Jr.'s "Iron Man" sequel. The film, which also starred Mickey Rourke, earned $312 million.
    Vampire drama "Eclipse" the third in the Twilight series pulled in $300 million from screaming teenagers and their families.
    Mind-bending drama "Inception" and the latest Harry Potter installment rounded out the top of the list.

    CANNES FILM FESTIVAL
    Thai film "Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives" won the coveted Palme d'Or for best picture at the Cannes film festival on Sunday (May 23). The mystical exploration of reincarnation as a well-to-do farmer confronts his imminent death was directed by Apichatpong Weerasethakul.
    Best actress went to France's Juliette Binoche for her turn in "Certified Copy," by Iranian director Abbas Kiarostami.
    The best actor award was shared between Spain's Javier Bardem, for "Biutiful," and Italy's Elio Germano for "Our Life." Both had been tipped for the prize.
    Chadian picture "A Screaming Man" picked up the jury prize, effectively for the third best movie out of the 19 in the main competition in Cannes eligible for awards.

    VENICE FILM FESTIVAL
    Sofia Coppola's "Somewhere," an insider's look at the life of a Hollywood actor who becomes numb to life through drink, drugs and a string of one-night stands, won the top prize at the Venice Film Festival. The choice of the U.S. director's movie for the Golden Lion award came as a surprise since the film earned mixed reviews.
    Vincent Gallo won the best actor prize for his performance in "Essential Killing," in which he plays a suspected Taliban fighter on the run from U.S. forces in Afghanistan and Europe. Gallo, who does not utter a word in the film, spent his time in Venice escaping paparazzi and wearing a balaclava to hide his face.

    BERLINALE
    Roman Polanski's much-anticipated movie "The Ghost Writer" had its world premiere at the Berlin Film Festival on Friday (February 12) with the film's stars Pierce Brosnan, Ewan McGregor and Olivia Williams braving the Berlin chill to walk the red carpet but with the director unable to attend due to his house arrest in Switzerland.

    LINDSAY LOHAN
    Lindsay Lohan was a regular at the Beverly Hills Superior Courthouse in 2010. The 24-year-old actress has been dealing with probation violations stemming from a 2007 offense for drunk driving and cocaine possession. At last count Lohan avoided more jail time and was ordered back to a drug and alcohol rehab program until January, after failing a random drug test.
    Lohan admitted in September she had tested positive, reportedly for cocaine, in a court-ordered drug screening shortly after being released early from a different rehabilitation program. In August, she served two weeks of a 90-day jail sentence for violating probation in the 2007 case.
    The former teen idol's movie career has been derailed for three years because of failed drug tests, missed alcohol education classes, stints in rehab and three brief spells in jail.

    CHARLIE SHEEN
    Charlie Sheen, the highest paid actor in television, found himself in hot water on several occasions in 2010. The actor pleaded guilty in August to assaulting his third wife, Brooke Mueller, in December 2009, and was sentenced to drug and alcohol rehab and three months probation. Sheen filed for divorce from Mueller on November 1.
    In October, Sheen was found by police drunk and incoherent inside a damaged suite in New York City's Plaza Hotel. But he was not arrested and no criminal charges were filed against him. He is now tied up in lawsuits with an adult film star who was in the room with him in New York and has filed civil charges claiming assault.

    MEL GIBSON
    Mel Gibson, the Oscar-winning actor/director who once meant box-office gold has had a tumultuous year off the big screen and in the tabloids. Gibson and his now-ex girlfriend Oksana Grigorieva have been battling out custody arrangements over their infant daughter in the public arena.
    Audio tapes reportedly between Grigorieva and Gibson were leaked in the summer, exposing Gibson ranting at, and threatening Grigorieva. The "Braveheart" and "Passion of the Christ" director has remained silent throughout the furor, which resulted in the loss of a cameo part in the upcoming sequel to the comedy "The Hangover" and his being dumped by his long-time Hollywood talent agency.
    The Los Angeles police are also investigating Gibson on suspicion of domestic abuse, and Grigorieva for possible extortion. Neither has been charged.

    ROMAN POLANSKI
    Roman Polanski has been battling the legal system over a 1977 charge of having sex with a minor. The filmmaker, who won the best director Oscar for 2002 Holocaust film "The Pianist," is wanted for fleeing the United States on the eve of his sentencing over a 1977 charge of having sex with a 13-year-old girl, to whom he also was accused of giving drugs and alcohol.
    Polanski was arrested in September on a U.S. warrant by authorities in Switzerland, where the "Chinatown" director was set to receive a lifetime achievement award at the Zurich Film Festival.
    Polanski spent several months under house arrest in Switzerland but avoided extradition to the United States. His film "The Ghost Writer" opened the Berlin Film Festival and swept the top prizes at the European Film Awards.

    GEORGE MICHAEL
    British pop singer George Michael was released from prison after serving four weeks for driving under the influence of cannabis. The 47-year-old was sentenced to eight weeks in jail after he smashed his car into the facade of a London shop in July.

    CAMERON DOUGLAS
    The son of Oscar-winning actor Michael Douglas was sentenced to five years in prison for possessing heroin and dealing large amounts of methamphetamine and cocaine out of a New York hotel room.
    Douglas, 32, pleaded guilty to the charges in January, following his arrest in 2009 at the trendy Gansevoort Hotel in Manhattan. Douglas was credited with time already served. He also agreed to cooperate with agents of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration who are pursuing other cases.

    LIL WAYNE
    U.S. rapper Lil Wayne was released from jail in New York City after serving eight months of a one year sentence stemming from a 2007 gun possession charge. While in jail, the rapper released "I Am Not a Human Being," which last month topped the Billboard 200 chart. His album "Tha Carter III" was the biggest-selling U.S. release of 2008 and won him four Grammy Awards in 2009.
    Lil Wayne pleaded guilty to attempted criminal possession of a weapon after a plea agreement in which Carter gave up his right to appeal over a case in which a gun was found in his tour bus in July 2007.

    WESLEY SNIPES
    Actor Wesley Snipes reported to prison in Florida to begin serving a 3-year sentence on tax charges. The star of the "Blade" action movies, was convicted in 2008 for willful failure to file tax returns from 1999 through 2001.

    RANDY AND EVI QUAID
    Randy Quaid and his wife Evi have been in and out of the legal system this year. The couple as arrested in Canada on US arrest warrants. Randy Quaid was arrested in September on suspicion of burglary and entering a building without consent. Evi Quaid was booked on those charges, as well as resisting arrest.
    Earlier this year, they were arrested on charges of failing to pay their bill at a California hotel. Evi Quaid was forced to pay $10,500 in restitution in that case and she pleaded no contest to defrauding an innkeeper.

    SNOOKI
    Reality TV star Nicole Polizzi, more widely known as Snooki, from MTV's "Jersey Shore" fame, made headlines for actions not on television. The 22-year-old was arrested in August for disorderly conduct and sentenced to community service in Seaside Heights, New Jersey. The second season of MTV's reality program, "Jersey Shore," which was filmed in Miami, was a smash hit for MTV.
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