Steven Spielberg ready for a '12 Angry Men’ situation at the Cannes Film Festival

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  Director Steven Spielberg, jury president of the 66th Cannes Film Festival, poses during a photocall before the opening of the 66th Cannes Film Festival in Cannes May 15, 2013. The 66th Cannes Film Festival runs from May 15 to May 26.REUTERS

Cannes, France –  Perhaps looking to stir up controversy at its 66th running, the Cannes Film Festival's red carpet questioner gave what seemed to be a backhanded compliment to this year’s president, Steven Spielberg.

Speaking to Spielberg on the red carpet Wednesday, he professed gratitude to the director of “Jaws,” four “Indiana Jones,”  and, most recently, “Lincoln,” for finally accepting Cannes’ invitation after years and years – and years -- of declining the offer.

Denying he had been ducking Cannes, Spielberg replied with veiled exasperation: “I was always busy filming each Spring!”

The Oscar winning director attended the red carpet event along with the festival’s eight judges: fellow Oscar winners Nicole Kidman, Christoph Waltz, and Ang Lee, and five other international notables.

At the judges’ press conference afterwards, inside Cannes’ glitzy Palace de Festivale, Spielberg again found himself on the defensive. Asked if he would be afraid to judge other filmmakers’ films, Spielberg responded flatly “No,” adding that as directors, actors, and producers, he and his fellow panelists “were used to being judged.”

The Cannes jury talked warmly of the festival, filmmaking, and working together at the prestigious annual event.

Ang Lee admitted he might be uncomfortable picking and choosing among colleagues, but other panelists seemed exhilarated to be part of Spielberg’s posse. Kidman said she had always wanted to pick Spielberg’s brain, “and now I get to spend two weeks with him!”

“I expect discussion on the highest level with these extraordinary artists,” added Waltz, a two-time Oscar winner for “Django Unchained” and “Inglourious Basterds.”

Spielberg concurred. Speaking of the panel, equally split between male and female and hailing from the U.S., Austria, Australia, Taiwan, Japan, Romania, India, France, and England, he said: “The great thing about such a multicultural group from so many disciplines is that we speak the common language of cinema.”

But he also admitted things might not go as smoothly as planned in picking the Cannes winners.

“I’m going to have to look at the Sidney Lumet film ‘12 Angry Men’ again to prepare for the final day (of deliberation),” Spielberg laughed.

Except this time around it could be five angry men, and four angry women.

Which would be even worse.

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Chelsea ready to rescue Rooney

On the way out ... Is Rooney joining Fergie at the exit door? Source: Graham Stuart / AFP

It’s been less than 24 hours since Sir Alex Ferguson announced his retirement and the rumour mill is about to explode. 

How will the club’s roster – and ability to recruit – be affected by Fergie’s exit? 

The Daily Mail have declared: "Ronaldo lined up for stunning Man United return as Rooney asks to follow Ferguson out of Old Trafford... and Chelsea are confident of luring £25m England striker to London".

Rooney reportedly told Ferguson two weeks ago that he "wanted a fresh start" after a punctuated season, where he played second-fiddle to Robin van Persie.

Meanwhile, they claim Ronaldo, who just banged in his 200th Real Madrid goal on Thursday (EST), is on the cusp of returning to Old Trafford. Outgoing CEO David Gill has been in Madrid meeting with the Portuguese’s agent.

The unanimous verdict seems to have anointed David Moyes as Ferguson’s successor at Old Trafford – but will that entice Rooney to stay or push him quicker out the door? The pair last worked together at Goodison Park in 2004, before a teenage Rooney departed for the bright lights of Manchester United. 

Before Ferguson’s bombshell, the Daily Mirror had linked Rooney with a move to Bayern Munich in a £30million deal. They’ve now revised that to add that Roman "Abramovich has personally sanctioned raid on Manchester United for striker who's facing reunion with his old Toffees foe Moyes".

Rooney hasn’t yet formalised his discontent with a transfer request, but it will be fascinating to monitor the situation in the coming days if Moyes is appointed. 

"Wayne Rooney has been told by Manchester United that he will not be sold this summer, although it remains to be seen whether David Moyes wants to keep the player with whom he had a difficult relationship at Everton," writes Oliver Kay in The Times.

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Serena serve: I'm not ready

Testy ... Serena Williams insists she is courteous despite outburst Source: MIC SMITH / AAP

Serena Williams earned her 49th career singles title by rallying to beat Jelena Jankovic in an ill-tempered final of the Family Circle Cup final.

World No.1 Williams and Jankovic got into a testy verbal exchange early in the second set after Williams accused Jankovic of trying to rush her on the service return.

After the exchange, Williams won 12 of the final 14 games.

She has won 22 consecutive clay court matches at WTA Tour events and Fed Cup and 15 straight matches in Charleston. That includes titles last year and 2008.

Bad blood between the two surfaced early in the second set with Jankovic serving after having just won the first set.

Jankovic was in mid-swing on a serve when Williams stopped and held up her racquet indicating she wasn't ready to play the point. The two then verbally sparred with Williams telling Jankovic to "wait until I am ready.''

"Honestly, you have a problem,'' Williams shouted across the net at Jankovic.

Jankovic then protested during the change over to the chair umpire telling him that Williams shouldn't get "special'' treatment.

After the match, Williams insisted she, and Venus, are the most courteous players on the WTA Tour.

"I wasn't ready,'' said Williams.

"I am the most respectful player, other than Venus. I am so respectful to my colleagues.''

Unfortunately that respect doesn't always extend to line judges. At the 2009 US Open Williams once told a line judge she was going to shove a tennis ball down her throat.

View the original article here

Serena serve: I'm not ready

Testy ... Serena Williams insists she is courteous despite outburst Source: MIC SMITH / AAP

Serena Williams earned her 49th career singles title by rallying to beat Jelena Jankovic in an ill-tempered final of the Family Circle Cup final.

World No.1 Williams and Jankovic got into a testy verbal exchange early in the second set after Williams accused Jankovic of trying to rush her on the service return.

After the exchange, Williams won 12 of the final 14 games.

She has won 22 consecutive clay court matches at WTA Tour events and Fed Cup and 15 straight matches in Charleston. That includes titles last year and 2008.

Bad blood between the two surfaced early in the second set with Jankovic serving after having just won the first set.

Jankovic was in mid-swing on a serve when Williams stopped and held up her racquet indicating she wasn't ready to play the point. The two then verbally sparred with Williams telling Jankovic to "wait until I am ready.''

"Honestly, you have a problem,'' Williams shouted across the net at Jankovic.

Jankovic then protested during the change over to the chair umpire telling him that Williams shouldn't get "special'' treatment.

After the match, Williams insisted she, and Venus, are the most courteous players on the WTA Tour.

"I wasn't ready,'' said Williams.

"I am the most respectful player, other than Venus. I am so respectful to my colleagues.''

Unfortunately that respect doesn't always extend to line judges. At the 2009 US Open Williams once told a line judge she was going to shove a tennis ball down her throat.

View the original article here

Serena serve: I'm not ready

Testy ... Serena Williams insists she is courteous despite outburst Source: MIC SMITH / AAP

Serena Williams earned her 49th career singles title by rallying to beat Jelena Jankovic in an ill-tempered final of the Family Circle Cup final.

World No.1 Williams and Jankovic got into a testy verbal exchange early in the second set after Williams accused Jankovic of trying to rush her on the service return.

After the exchange, Williams won 12 of the final 14 games.

She has won 22 consecutive clay court matches at WTA Tour events and Fed Cup and 15 straight matches in Charleston. That includes titles last year and 2008.

Bad blood between the two surfaced early in the second set with Jankovic serving after having just won the first set.

Jankovic was in mid-swing on a serve when Williams stopped and held up her racquet indicating she wasn't ready to play the point. The two then verbally sparred with Williams telling Jankovic to "wait until I am ready.''

"Honestly, you have a problem,'' Williams shouted across the net at Jankovic.

Jankovic then protested during the change over to the chair umpire telling him that Williams shouldn't get "special'' treatment.

After the match, Williams insisted she, and Venus, are the most courteous players on the WTA Tour.

"I wasn't ready,'' said Williams.

"I am the most respectful player, other than Venus. I am so respectful to my colleagues.''

Unfortunately that respect doesn't always extend to line judges. At the 2009 US Open Williams once told a line judge she was going to shove a tennis ball down her throat.

View the original article here

Serena serve: I'm not ready

Testy ... Serena Williams insists she is courteous despite outburst Source: MIC SMITH / AAP

Serena Williams earned her 49th career singles title by rallying to beat Jelena Jankovic in an ill-tempered final of the Family Circle Cup final.

World No.1 Williams and Jankovic got into a testy verbal exchange early in the second set after Williams accused Jankovic of trying to rush her on the service return.

After the exchange, Williams won 12 of the final 14 games.

She has won 22 consecutive clay court matches at WTA Tour events and Fed Cup and 15 straight matches in Charleston. That includes titles last year and 2008.

Bad blood between the two surfaced early in the second set with Jankovic serving after having just won the first set.

Jankovic was in mid-swing on a serve when Williams stopped and held up her racquet indicating she wasn't ready to play the point. The two then verbally sparred with Williams telling Jankovic to "wait until I am ready.''

"Honestly, you have a problem,'' Williams shouted across the net at Jankovic.

Jankovic then protested during the change over to the chair umpire telling him that Williams shouldn't get "special'' treatment.

After the match, Williams insisted she, and Venus, are the most courteous players on the WTA Tour.

"I wasn't ready,'' said Williams.

"I am the most respectful player, other than Venus. I am so respectful to my colleagues.''

Unfortunately that respect doesn't always extend to line judges. At the 2009 US Open Williams once told a line judge she was going to shove a tennis ball down her throat.

View the original article here

OFFER REJECTED:Prosecutors Not Ready to Agree to Holmes Guilty Plea

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  July 23, 2012 FILE: James E. Holmes appears in Arapahoe County District Court in Centennial, Colo.

DENVER –  Prosecutors in the Colorado theater shooting on Thursday rejected an offer from suspect James Holmes to plead guilty in exchange for avoiding the death penalty and accused defense lawyers of a serious breach of court rules by making the offer public.

In a scathing court document, prosecutors said the defense has repeatedly refused to give them the information they need to evaluate the plea offer, so the offer can't be considered genuine.

No plea agreement exists, prosecutors said, and one "is extremely unlikely based on the present information available to the prosecution."

They also said anyone reading news stories about the offer would inevitably conclude "the defendant knows that he is guilty, the defense attorneys know that he is guilty, and that both of them know that he was not criminally insane."

Neither the defense nor the prosecution immediately returned phone calls Thursday.

Holmes is charged with multiple counts of murder and attempted murder in the July 20 shootings in a packed theater in the Denver suburb of Aurora. Twelve people were killed and 70 were injured.

Holmes' attorneys disclosed in a court filing Wednesday that their client has offered to plead guilty, but only if he wouldn't be executed.

Prosecutors criticized defense attorneys for publicizing the offer, calling it a ploy meant to draw the public and the judge into what should be private plea negotiations.

Prosecutors did not say what information the defense refused to give them, but the two sides have argued in court previously about access to information about Holmes' mental health.

Karen Steinhauser, a former prosecutor who is now a law professor at the University of Denver, said prosecutors clearly do not want to agree to a plea deal without knowing whether Holmes' attorneys could mount a strong mental health defense.

"One of the issues the prosecution needs to look at is, is there a likelihood that doctors, and then a jury, could find that James Holmes was insane at the time of the crime?" she said.

Prosecutors also criticized comments to The Associated Press by Doug Wilson, who heads the state public defenders' office.

Wilson told the AP Wednesday that prosecutors had not responded to the offer and said he didn't know whether prosecutors had relayed the offer to any victims as required by state law.

Prosecutors said that violated the gag order.

They also said they have repeatedly contacted "every known victim and family member of a victim -- numbering over one thousand" about possible resolutions of the case, including the death penalty and life in prison without parole.

George Brauchler, the Arapahoe County district attorney, is scheduled to announce Monday whether he will seek the death penalty for Holmes. Brauchler hasn't publicly revealed his plans. He has refused repeatedly to comment on the case, citing the gag order.

Pierce O'Farrill, who was shot three times, said he would welcome an agreement that would imprison Holmes for life. The years of court struggles ahead would likely be an emotional ordeal for victims, he said.

"I don't see his death bringing me peace," O'Farrill said. "To me, my prayer for him was that he would spend the rest of his life in prison and hopefully, in all those years he has left, he could find God and ask for forgiveness himself."

A plea bargain would bring finality to the case fairly early so victims and their families can avoid the prolonged trauma of not knowing what will happen, said Dan Recht, a past president of the Colorado Criminal Defense Bar.

"The defense, by making this public pleading, is reaching out to the victims' families," he said.

View the original article here

NBC reportedly ready to retire Jay Leno, put Jimmy Fallon into late-night game

NBC is ready to announce Jay Leno’s retirement, expecting to move Jimmy Fallon into the coveted late-night time slot, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

The announcement is expected in May, according to two high-level industry sources. The 2013-14 television season would be Leno’s last, according to the paper. 

Fallon would then move from his “Late Night” spot into the 11:35 p.m. slot during the summer of 2014. A formal kickoff would happen in the fall.

Sources told the Hollywood Reporter that the network will bring in Fallon partly out of concern about the competition on ABC, which moved younger-skewing Jimmy Kimmel to the 11:35 time slot in January.

Leno, 62, has hosted “The Tonight Show” for 20 years.

NBC denied the report. And Leno’s rep said, “we do not speculate on rumor.”

Click for more from the Hollywood Reporter.

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Texas 'Cruz Missile': Pol Standing by His Principles, Ready to Take the Heat

Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz has earned a few nicknames in the brief seven weeks he’s been in Congress – including the unflattering “Senator No.” But nobody can say the freshman senator has broken his campaign promise to shake up Washington upon arrival.

The Tea Party-backed candidate has so far made good on vows to be combative and uncompromising in his adherence to conservative principles.

The 42-year-old Cruz has already voted against Senate rule changes to modestly curb filibusters, aid for Superstorm Sandy victims and the Violence Against Women Act.

He also was one of only three "no" votes against Massachusetts Democratic Sen. John Kerry's nomination to be secretary of State. And he publicly skewered President Obama’s nominee for Defense secretary, former Nebraska Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel.

All of that has helped Cruz earn such nicknames as “Cruz Missile,” “Senator No” and even “The GOP's Nasty Newcomer.”

He also was featured in the past few weeks by Politico and The New York Times.

Senior Texas Sen. John Cornyn and voters across the state have praised Cruz for his brashness and sticking to his principles.  

"He's been a terrific partner," Cornyn said. "What he's finding is there's a lot of critics in Washington when you try to change the status quo."

At a stop last week at Lodge Lumber, in Houston, owner John Lodge said Cruz seems like the first elected official in a long while who is on his side.

He's gotten down to business," Lodge said. "He's the man."

However, Cruz’s actions have also resulted in sharp criticism from both parties.

Republicans worry about whether the Cuban-American lawmaker, whose father was tortured in Castro's Cuba, went too far by challenging Hagel’s integrity and if he will spoil their efforts to reach out more to Hispanic voters.

MSNBC host and Democrat Chris Matthews went as far as to compare Cruz’s suggestion that Hagel has been too cozy with Iran and North Korea to former Sen. Joseph McCarthy accusing politicians and other public figures of being Communist sympathizers.

“My view is simple: Washington is a rough-and-tumble place,” Cruz said last week. “If folks want to attack me personally, they're welcome to it. Texans elected a senator to go to Washington and speak the truth."

This weekend, Cruz, a Harvard Law School graduate and former clerk to Chief Justice William Rehnquist, doubled down on past remarks about Marxist professors at his former law school, revisited in a recent story in The New Yorker.

“The New Yorker is shocked -- shocked -- to discover that there are Marxists on the Harvard faculty,” said Cruz spokeswoman Catherine Frazier. “It's curious that the New Yorker would dredge up a 3-year-old speech and call it ‘news.’ "Regardless, Senator Cruz's substantive point was absolutely correct: In the mid-1990s, the Harvard Law School faculty included numerous self-described proponents of ‘critical legal studies’ -- a school of thought explicitly derived from Marxism.”

Still, Cruz allows the Hagel grilling might have resulted in negative consequences.

"The flurry of attacks on me has had their intended effect, which was to shift the conversation away from Chuck Hagel," he said. "Away from his record, away from his refusal to provide financial disclosures, and toward the direct, nasty, personal attacks leveled at me."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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