Archives for September 2008

The legal crusader portrayed by Julia Roberts in the Oscar-winning film "Erin Brockovich" is now working for a New York City personal injury law firm that specializes in asbestos cases.

The real Erin Brockovich entered into a consulting contract with Weitz & Luxenberg, a Manhattan firm that also employs Democratic Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver.She will be involved in soliciting cases and investigating claims. Brockovich told the New York Post, "I'm hands-on and they're hands-on so it will be a team effort."

Already the 48-year-old Brockovich has filmed two TV ads for the law firm seeking individuals who may have contracted lung cancer from exposure to asbestos, the Daily News reported. Brockovich also consults with a West Coast law firm, Girardi & Keese.Roberts won an Oscar for her portrayal of the environmental activist in the 2000 movie.

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ALBANY - A top city law firm that employs Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver has recruited famed activist Erin Brockovich as a pitchwoman.

JULIA ROBERTS AS ERIN BROCKOVICH-Brockovich, made famous by Julia Roberts' Oscar-winning big-screen portrayal, has started as a paid consultant to Weitz & Luxenberg, a firm spokeswoman said Thursday.

ACTORS BRAVE UPCOMING BIOPICS-Though not a lawyer, Brockovich will refer clients and cases to the personal injury firm and help with research, spokeswoman Marcia Horowitz said.

"There are a lot of people who go to her with different matters," Horowitz said. Brockovich already has filmed two television ads for Weitz & Luxenberg, targeting those who contracted lung cancer from exposure to asbestos. "I'm Erin Brockovich," she says to the camera in one spot. "I've seen what big corporations can do. I've seen the harm they've caused ordinary working people.

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Tony Strickland, Republican candidate for the 19th state Senate District, unveiled a new TV ad this week that features a testimonial from Erin Brockovich, the famous legal clerk whose story was dramatized by Julia Roberts in the eponymous 2000 film.
 
"I am a consumer advocate and I'm a Democrat," says Brockovich in the ad. "But I'm also an independent thinker. And so is Tony Strickland."
 
Brockovich, a registered Democrat, praised Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin on her blog and wrote that she is thinking of becoming an independent."Look, we don't always agree, but who does?" Brockovich asks in the ad. "Tony listens, he's open to new ideas, and he gets it done. And that's good enough for me."

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Erin Brockovich took on the big boys and won the largest legal settlement in United States history. Her story was made into a hit movie and since it was released her life has not slowed down. Brockovich sat down with 3TV to talk about issues close to her heart, the upcoming presidential election and why people should care.

She said, “Before I get started I’ve got to do one thing. I have to set the record straight, ladies and gentleman, I'm not Julia Roberts.”

The movie Erin Brockovich was based on her real life investigation and legal triumph with lawyer Ed Masery that turned into the largest direct action lawsuit of its kind. More than 600 people living in Hinkley, California were exposed to a deadly toxic waste being dumped in the area by Pacific Gas and Electric Company.

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Canadian reporter Arthur Kent, whose live reports on Iraq's missile attacks during the 1991 Gulf War, has settled a lawsuit against the makers of the movie Charlie Wilson’s War.

Kent claimed in the lawsuit filed last April that Universal Studios violated his intellectual property rights by using without his consent, segments of a 1986 news program he made about the Soviet Union’s war in Afganistan.

The segments were used in the Tom Hanks-Julia Roberts movie.

Terms of the settlement are confidential, but Kent said in a statement on Friday that he is very pleased. The 2007 film, directed by Mike Nichols, also stars Philip Seymour Hoffman and Amy Adams.

Last Saturday at 11 p.m. the scene outside "Equus" got almost as fevered as the one onstage where a naked stable hand furiously maims six horses.

As Daniel Radcliffe, the actor starring as the troubled young man, left the Broadhurst Theatre to sign autographs, frantic teenaged girls, some perched high on friends' shoulders, squealed and clicked cameras as they tried to capture the moment.

SEE MORE HOLLYWOOD STARS WHO MADE A SPLASH ON BROADWAY"It's pandemonium," said an onlooker in a crowd that had gathered to gaze from across the street. No, not quite - it's Dan-demonium. The bigger the star, the bigger the commotion. And with his string of international "Harry Potter" blockbusters, Radcliffe is one of fall's brightest stars.

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Chicago Sun-Times film critic Roger Ebert declined comment on Wednesday when we asked whether it was true that New York Post film critic Lou Lumenick had smacked him with a rolled-up binder during a screening of "Slumdog Millionaire" at the Toronto Film Festival.

 But after reading our "truthful" account Thursday, Ebert has confirmed that he tapped Lumenick several times on the shoulder because he was blocking the movie's subtitles - and that Lumenick "jumped up and whacked me on the knee."

Ebert, whose cancer has rendered him speechless, writes: "I think the guy was wrong ... But I am plenty hearty enough to withstand a smack." The reaction of Ebert's wife, Chaz: "I'll get a no-neck guy from the West Side to break his knees." Click to read Ebert's statment.

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A pretty woman kicked off a night of beautiful music on behalf of lung cancer research.Julia Roberts made a rare public appearance Wednesday at the Stand Up for a Cure concert at Madison Square Garden to get the sold-out crowd pumped up for the evening's main event, the Dave Matthews Band.

"Hello New York City!" the Oscar winner exclaimed. "I cannot tell you how excited I am to be in the greatest city in the world to introduce one of the greatest bands of the world."

Roberts also took the opportunity to thank all those who made the event possible, saying, "We should all feel good about participating. I'm thrilled to be able to say that on Sept. 10 that we are welcoming some of the heroes and first responders from Sept. 11. As New Yorkers, we are beholden to all of them."

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Julia Roberts has revealed that she isn't worried about growing older and is ‘relieved’ to enter her forties.

The ''Pretty Woman'' star, who reached the landmark age last October, also said that turning 40 doesn’t really men anything to her, reports China Daily . "I guess I felt relieved after my birthday because everybody anticipates it so much for you that now we can all just relax. It's done. I had a lovely party with all of my kids and kin, and we had a great time,” she said.

"However, it doesn't mean anything really. But getting older to me is nice anyway. I guess that there is a sense of relief. I think you are released from certain concepts as you get older," she added.

Julia also revealed that she is focusing on her personal life now, rather than her professional prospects. "My career is at half-pace now. I wasn't really cranking a lot of movies out anyway. I've just never really been that driven to go, go, go. You have to take time to recover, enjoy things and keep sort of replenishing that well,” she said.

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Julia Roberts has revealed that she isn't worried about growing older and is 'relieved' to enter her forties.The 'Pretty Woman' star, who reached the landmark age last October, also said that turning 40 doesn't really men anything to her, reports China Daily.

"I guess I felt relieved after my birthday because everybody anticipates it so much for you that now we can all just relax. It's done. I had a lovely party with all of my kids and kin, and we had a great time," she said.

 "However, it doesn't mean anything really. But getting older to me is nice anyway. I guess that there is a sense of relief. I think you are released from certain concepts as you get older," she added. Roberts also revealed that she is focusing on her personal life now, rather than her professional prospects.

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