Dr. Conrad Murray has pleaded not guilty to involuntary manslaughter in the death of Michael Jackson

The medic – who was the ‘Thriller‘ singer’s personal physician – appeared in front of Judge Michael Pastor today (25.01.11) at the Los Angeles County Superior Court and insisted he was “an innocent man”.

Members of Michael’s family, including his mother Katherine and his brother Randy, were in court to hear Dr. Murray’s plea.

Earlier this month, Dr. Murray – who was with Michael when he died of acute intoxication by the hospital grade anaesthetic Propofol at his Los Angeles home in June 2009 – was ordered to stand trial by Judge Pastor for involuntary manslaughter after a number of witnesses raised questions over his professional conduct.

During the preliminary hearing – where the prosecution had to convince the judge there is sufficient evidence for a full trial – witnesses included paramedics who attended the home where Michael died, his personal bodyguard and a Los Angeles detective who interviewed Dr. Murray.

The prosecution sought to show Dr. Murray had administered Propofol to his client on the day of his death before leaving him unmonitored.

Court testimonies further alleged Dr. Murray had not appeared to know how to correctly administer CPR, had tried to hide evidence of the medication he had been giving Michael and that by the time he called medics his client had already passed away.

The six-day hearing ended with testimony from two doctors who said they felt Dr. Murray acted outside of standard of medical care.

The 57-year-old medic – who was released on $75,000 bail – will next appear in court on February 7 and the selection of the jury for his trial will begin on March 28.

If convicted, Dr. Murray faces a maximum of four years in prison.

Source: BANG Showbiz

127 Hours

James Franco portrays Aron Ralston in this true story film, who finds he needs to resort to drastic measures in order to survive being trapped by a boulder in the Moab Utah desert. The film displays superb work by lighting specialists who worked to film in the desert and also create realistic lighting in such an intense environment while also making it as realistic as possible. James Franco’s acting is flawless in his role and is quite possible a contender for many upcoming award shows.

Aron Ralston is adventuring through the Moab Utah desert, during his hike he however he becomes trapped when a large bolder pins his arm against a valley wall. Unable to move the heavy rock that is now wedged against the stone walls he needs to find a way of saving himself, having told no one where he was going. After five days of being trapped with no luck of escaping and running low on water and food he has only one option which will test his willpower to survive the ordeal.

The most intense scene involves Aron Ralstons escape from the boulders clutches. The editing and sounds used in the short five minuets of footage is the most dramatic and gut wrenching moment of the films entirety. It is no wonder that they had issues in theaters of people passing out watching this particular scene. Those of you who have seen the film know of which moment I am talking about. When he got to a certain point it almost seemed as though he would be unable to continue but he persevered and in doing so it even my head ache and stomach roll. The film makers defiantly came across the right way of portraying how to make it the most realistic process it could be for someone standing on the other side of the glass.

The lighting was another aspect I found well done. I am not sure if they did it with lights or actually filmed the process when the light was at the right moment of the day but either way it was executed perfectly. Every day at eight o’clock Aron was able to get fifteen minutes of sunlight between the crack of earth which he was locked into. They either lit this area where he was trapped amazingly and made it seem as though the sun was rising to a point where it crept into the crevice or they actually found the perfect area to film. I guess I will have to wait until the DVD to find out in the special features.

This film while beautifully made and an excellent portrayal of Aron Ralston’s story of survival is also intense and some may have difficulty watching it. The scene where he finally finds the courage to free himself from the clutches of the boulder threatening to kill him is a very graphic and intense scene which is not appropriate for all audiences and there may be some that wont be able to handle this scene, my advice is to those who think they can, watch the film its a great story and James Franco’s acting is superb. Those who cant either close your eyes or steer clear. But if you like a true survival story see it for sure.

Written by Nathan Couture

News Source: MovieFilmReview

Rupert Grint is looking forward to finding love

The 22-year-old actor – who has played schoolboy wizard Ron Weasley in the ‘Harry Potter’ franchise since 2001 – admitted being a star from such a young age has hindered his progress on the relationship front, as being so busy made it “difficult” to find romance.

He explained: “It was quite difficult to sustain a relationship, because I was so busy. I went out with people, but never anything too serious. It wasn’t that easy.

“Now it’s something I’m really looking forward to.”

The British star also revealed kissing co-star Emma Watson – who played Hermione Granger – in the final film was “a bit strange”.

He added to The Times magazine: “It was quite a tricky kiss, a bit strange, but quite sweet really.

“It was just one shot, but we had about six takes. It was all right, yeah. Easy after the first take.”

Rupert recently admitted he had found it hard to adjust to life post ‘Harry Potter’, despite the hit movie franchise having taken over his life for many years.

He said: “I haven’t quite adjusted to life without ‘Harry Potter’. I’m really sad actually, I’ve missed it. But I think it’s a good time really to kind of move on. It has been a long time. After ten years, I do kind of want to stretch a bit more and explore different characters and do different things.”

Source: BANG Showbiz

Emma Watson thinks she had “too much freedom” growing up.

The 20-year-old actress – who landed the role of Hermione Granger in the ‘Harry Potter’ film franchise when she was just nine years old – admits she found her fame “scary” at times because there were so few limits imposed on her during her adolescence.

She said: “I do things in my own way, but I’ve never felt any need to rebel. To be honest, I’ve always had far too much freedom. I had a job when I was 10. I started living on my own when I was 17 or 18. I’ve earned my own money; I’ve travelled the world. What would I rebel against?

“I’ve had so much freedom, sometimes it was hard. My parents wanted to protect me, but they had no idea how to. I had to learn as I went and make my own mistakes.

“I went from being totally unknown and never acting professionally to being in a major movie and being very famous. It all happened so quickly, I didn’t have any time to work things out. It’s been pretty scary at times.”

The British beauty is now studying at America’s Brown University and is delighted to be treated just like any other student.

She told America’s Marie Claire magazine: “The first year at Brown was about finding my feet. I found a great group of girlfriends, and now that I know how things work and what the professors expect, I’m really excited about going back for my second year, because I feel this time I can relax and enjoy it.

“Brown has a real sense of community, and people are very protective of me. They really look out for me; they want me to feel like I’m part of it.”

Source: BANG Showbiz

Dina Lohan — In the Land of Lindsay

Dina Lohan was spotted out near Lindsay’s rehab facility Monday night — which means Michael Lohan was at least 100 or so yards away from where this photo was taken.

Dina is currently holed up at a hotel in Palm Springs, CA — which is a taxi cab ride away from the Betty Ford clinic in Rancho Mirage.

As we first reported, Michael tried to visit Lindsay yesterday — but claims he wasn’t allowed in the joint because Dina was armed with a protective order against him.

Source: TMZ