Los Angeles: A lawyer for Jamie Spears has denounced a Los Angeles judge’s decision to suspend him as conservator of his daughter Britney Spears’ $US60 million ($83 million) estate.
LA Superior Court Judge Brenda Penny removed Jamie Spears from the role on Wednesday, local time, and set a November court date to consider whether to terminate the 13-year-old legal arrangement. The judge replaced him temporarily with an accountant suggested by Britney Spears’ attorney.
A lawyer for Jamie Spears, left, said the outcome was “disappointing, and frankly, a loss for Britney Spears”.Credit:AP
“Respectfully, the court was wrong to suspend Mr Spears, put a stranger in his place to manage Britney’s estate, and extend the very conservatorship that Britney begged the court to terminate earlier this summer,” Vivian Thoreen, a lawyer for Jamie Spears, said in a statement on Thursday.
The outcome was “disappointing, and frankly, a loss for Britney Spears,” Thoreen said.
The Stronger singer previously told the court that her father was controlling and that she was afraid of him. After he was suspended, the pop star said that she was “on cloud 9 right now”.
Thoreen, however, said Jamie Spears had helped the singer revive her career and re-establish a relationship with her children under the conservatorship, which has governed her personal and financial affairs since she had a mental health breakdown in 2008. Details of the singer’s mental health have not been publicly disclosed.
“For anyone who has tried to help a family member dealing with mental health issues, they can appreciate the tremendous amount of daily worry and work this required,” Thoreen said.
“For Mr Spears, this also meant biting his tongue and not responding to all the false, speculative, and unsubstantiated attacks on him by certain members of the public, media, or more recently, Britney’s own attorney,” she added.
In a surprise move earlier this month, Jamie Spears asked the court to end the conservatorship.
Reuters
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The Colombian singer has claimed she was attacked by wild boars who attempted to take off with her belongings while on a recent holiday.
Shakira has revealed she and her son were attacked by a pair of wild boars while on a recent Spanish holiday.
The 44-year-old Colombian singer recounted the ordeal, that took place at an unnamed park near Barcelona, in a series of Instagram Stories shared Wednesday.
“They’ve destroyed everything,” a Spanish-speaking Shakira said in the clip, which does not show the Hips Don’t Lie singer’s face.
“Look at how two wild boar which attacked me in the park have left my bag,” she added, while showing off her dusty purse. “They were taking my bag to the woods with my mobile phone in it.”
The clip also showed various photos of the two wild boars in question, seemingly taken by Shakira.
The Latin pop icon admitted she put up a fight to keep her handbag.
“Milan tell the truth,” Shakira said to her son in the clip, while showing him walking to the bathroom. “Say how your mummy stood up to the wild boar.”
Neither Shakira nor her son appeared to have been hurt by the encounter at the unnamed park.
Wild boars have been an issue in Spain and are listed on the World Conservation Union’s most invasive species list.
In 2016, 1,187 phone calls were logged related to wild boars being a nuisance in communities around Barcelona, according to The Guardian.
Shakira is in a long-term relationship with Spanish football player Gerard Piqué, with whom she shares two children, sons Milan, 8, and Sasha, 6.
It is understood the pair live in Spain.
This story originally appeared on Fox News and has been reproduced here with permission
Jamie Spears has given a lengthy statement after a judge removed him as his daughter’s conservator, calling the decision “a loss for Britney”.
Jamie Spears has released a lengthy statement through his lawyer after a court ended his 13-year conservatorship over his daughter, saying the ruling is “a loss for Britney”.
Mr Spears released the statement through his lawyer, Vivian L. Thoreen, after the court suspended him as Britney Spears’ conservator, a role he has had since 2008, the New York Post reports.
“Mr. Spears loves his daughter Britney unconditionally. For thirteen years, he has tried to do what is in her best interests, whether as a conservator or her father. This started with agreeing to serve as her conservator when she voluntarily entered into the conservatorship,” the statement began. “This included helping her revive her career and re-establish a relationship with her children. For anyone who has tried to help a family member dealing with mental health issues, they can appreciate the tremendous amount of daily worry and work this required.”
Ms Thoreen added that Mr Spears’ tasks included “biting his tongue and not responding to all the false, speculative, and unsubstantiated attacks on him by certain members of the public, media, or more recently, Britney’s own lawyer. These facts make the outcome of yesterday’s hearing all the more disappointing, and frankly, a loss for Britney.”
The pop star alleged in explosive court testimony back in June that the conservatorship was “abusive.” She said at the time that she also wanted her father charged with conservatorship abuse.
Last month Mr Spears filed documents to end his conservatorship but Britney had wanted him removed before the conservatorship was terminated because it would force him to hand over all files and documents.
Britney’s lawyers told reporters outside the courtroom on Wednesday that the next priority is to dissolve the conservatorship altogether.
The next hearing has been set for November 12.
Britney’s lawyer, Matthew Rosengart, asked the court to appoint certified public accountant John Zabel as temporary conservator of Britney’s $60 million estate.
The judge agreed to Mr Zabel’s appointment despite pushback from Mr Spears and his legal team.
A source said that Britney “burst into tears” after the ruling.
The insider added, “She’s in shock and at a loss for words but literally jumping for joy. She hasn’t felt joy like this in 13 years.”
The Sometimes songstress also told fans via social media she was on “cloud 9” — literally and figuratively, as she was flying a plane — after the hearing ended.
While the plot summary sounds heavy, Netflix’s new miniseries has a surprisingly light touch.
Perhaps the most surprising thing about Netflix miniseries Maid is that there is levity – optimism and hope born out of gritty determination.
Because there is easily another version of this story that is so mired in the heavy circumstances of its titular character, a young woman named Alex, played with doe-eyed charm and weight by Margaret Qualley (The Leftovers, My Salinger Year).
Inspired by Stephanie Land’s memoir Maid: Hard Work, Low Pay and a Mother’s Will to Survive, Maid’s themes are in its source material’s title. But by placing a fictional character at its centre its gives creator Molly Smith Metzler the nimbleness to really balance the tone so that Maid never feels like a chore.
One night after her partner Sean (Nick Robinson) gets so drunk he punches a hole through the wall next to her head, Alex takes her daughter Maddy (Ryley Nevaeh Whittet) and leaves.
With no qualifications and not much of an employment, only a beaten down car and $18 in her wallet, Alex has few choices. A frustrating trip to social services results in little more than a referral to a cleaning service which pays $37.50 to clean an entire mansion – and that’s before the cost of the uniform and supplies, which comes out of Alex’s dwindling reserves.
In her case, every cent counts, literally. Every $2.41 of petrol pumped is $2.41 she doesn’t have to feed herself or Maddy.
As a visual motif, there’s an onscreen running total of Alex’s finances whenever any money comes or goes, a stark reminder of the precariousness of living below the poverty line.
Securing a roof over their heads while also fighting for custody of Maddy in a court system that’s not set up to understand the nuances of many women’s situations, there is no time to process the emotional maelstrom of her life.
And her mother Paula, played by Qualley’s real-life mum Andie MacDowell, is a hot mess, a woman who can’t be relied on to stay in the conversation, let alone be a responsible grandparent.
Similarly, Sean’s mother proves to be a volatile personality, and those insights suggest there is a strong generational aspect to these cycles of poverty and struggle.
Alex keeps going because she has to. And it’s that pluck that makes Alex such a compelling character to follow.
She’s not conventionally determined in the Erin Brokovich mould, it’s a grit born out of survival which means it’s layered with exhaustion, exasperation and disappointment.
But Qualley makes the character so watchable as she reclaims a life that had slowly been taken away, almost by stealth.
That’s the other aspect of Maid that really impresses, which is how it engages with the many shades of abusive in a relationship. Alex initially believes she hadn’t been abused because Sean hadn’t touched her, but she knew something wasn’t right.
It’s through the experiences of the women she meets – social workers, other women – that she comes to understand that abuse comes in different forms that don’t leave a physical mark.
Maid isn’t an overwrought or melodramatic series, and it’s not naïve or idealistic. It deals with the hardship of female poverty with a straight approach, and always centred through the experiences of this sympathetic character that you want to root for.
Meghan and Harry’s sensational departure from the royal family left the monarchy reeling – now Kate’s new plan has been revealed.
Never work with animals or children, or so the legendary Hollywood saying goes. Clearly, this is not an adage that applies to royal life where during her HRH career, Kate the Duchess of Cambridge has spent an inordinate amount of time crouched on heels chatting to shy, bouquet-toting preschoolers and has, so far had contend with lambs, elephants, goats, a rhino, alpaca and at least one snake.
Overnight, she added a tarantula to that list after asking to hold the eight-legged furry creature while she and husband Prince William were at Ulster University. (He, meanwhile, saying it was “very cool” and that “George is obsessed with snakes – he’s going to be so upset he missed this.” Don’t worry George, you’ve got decades of handling all creatures great and small for the cameras to come.)
The royal couple also practised their kicking skills, watched Gaelic games and resisted the urge to dance when greeted by students playing traditional instruments.
The Cambridges arrived in Northern Ireland just over around 15 hours after walking the red carpet at the premiere of the latest instalment in the Bond franchise, with the duchess debuting her most dramatic (and fabulous) look of her royal career, wearing a heavily embellished, sculptural Jenny Packham gown. It was a portrait in dazzling self-assuredness and the sartorial equivalent of “Hear me roar”.
If anyone was labouring under any sort of assumption that Kate might ease back into the work after taking an unusually long and unexplained 66-day break from her royal duties over the northern summer, this week has put paid to that.
Rather, the takeaway from this week’s outings is clear: The Cambridges are coming out swinging.
With the UK back open for business, all the signs are pointing to the duke and duchess ramping up their goodwill efforts as the royal house tries to put this year’s turbulent and deeply damaging events behind, while simultaneously preparing as the clock ticks down to a once-in-nearly-a-century shift at the top.
2021 started off abysmally for the house of Windsor with Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex launching an unprecedented fusillade against the Firm during their Oprah interview. Intense global scrutiny abruptly turned on the palace, which suddenly stood accused of institutional racism, a callous disregard for mental health and a malignant indifference to suffering.
While Britons generally sympathised with the royal family, the Windsors suddenly had a stars and stripes-themed target on their backs and some serious reputational damage to try and patch up.
Polling done of ethnic minority Brits weeks after the Sussexes’ Oprah outpouring found that a relative majority of non-white voters (43 per cent) said they believe the royal family is racist. On the question of whether the UK should “continue to have a monarchy in the future”, 43 per cent agreed, while 40 per cent said they wanted an elected head of state. Harry and Meghan had been treated unfairly by the royal family, according to nearly half (49 per cent) of respondents.
There are also troubling developments brewing on British soil.
In 2019, 46 per cent of 18-to-24-year-olds thought that the UK should continue to have a monarchy. That figure fell to 40 per cent in 2020 and as of earlier this year was sitting at 31 per cent.
A roughly 33 per cent fall in only two years? That sort of abrupt decline in support amongst the next generation should have courtiers stress-eating their way through packets of Duchy of Cornwall shortbread.
While the Duke and Duchess are clearly in the midst of ramping up their personal work on climate change, mental health and early years development, the bigger picture is that the royal family is in the midst of a readiness campaign to try and safeguard the crown ahead of the tumult of the coming years.
Like a historic house in an earthquake zone, for Buckingham Palace it is a question of when, and not if, it is going to be shaken to its very foundations when the crown is handed down to Charles.
With Harry and Meghan having long absconded to live compassionate and authentic lives down the road from Ellen, that responsibility to shore up the monarchy ahead of this period of seismic change now falls exclusively to William and Kate.
Whether the crown emerges intact is pretty much on them, and them alone.
(Really, who would want their jobs?)
Like politicians on the campaign trail, the royal family must be astutely aware of which segments of Britain wholly support them (retired colonels, Tatler readers, people who collect commemorative shortbread tins) and those who are much more ambivalent about this whole hereditary monarchy palaver, which is to say younger and racially diverse audiences.
It is against this backdrop that the Cambridges’ smiley, sunny outings should be read, not as them resolutely getting back to the 9-5 grind, but as part of this project to (try at least) to both patch their image up post-Megxit and to future-proof the throne.
Which is how we get to a future Queen in under 24-hours going from Oscars-worthy glamazon to demonstrating her best football moves to holding a tarantula, all as part of a hard week’s work.
Also on the agenda yesterday, the usual tucking in to of local fare, including indulging in a regionally-appropriate tipple. “Now we’re talking – I’m going to go for a whisky,” William said, according to the Telegraph, before enjoying some Tayto chips. (Kate settled for a half pint of Guinness.)
Later, while playing a game involving trying to pronounce Irish names, William joked “I’m going to have another drink – I’m not doing very well at this.”
Good thinking Your Royal Highness. You’ve got a hell of a lot of ground to cover yet.
Daniela Elser is a royal expert and a writer with more than 15 years experience working with a number of Australia’s leading media titles.
Bra Boy Koby Abberton has revealed how much he pocketed from his stint on SAS Australia, and it’s a lot more than you’d think.
He was one of the most watchable stars on this season of SAS Australia, and Koby Abberton was certainly paid handsomely for his efforts.
The 42-year-old Bra Boy, who exited the show on Wednesday night due to back problems, told Triple M Sydney’s Moonman In The Morning that he pocketed $100,000 from Channel 7.
“I was paid 100 grand,” Abberton declared on Thursday morning’s show.
“Another thing that I’m talking about there is other avenues of work, you be loud and proud and sometimes you find it, so that’s what that was.”
Burgess, 32, is Seven’s key talent for this season, generating significant media coverage over his appearance thanks to interest over his off-field indiscretions over the past 18 months.
The pay packets are fairly eye-watering given the show was shot over just two weeks earlier this year in Capertree Valley, NSW.
The chef’s brief appearance on SAS was said to be part of his network contract, meaning he didn’t receive an initial special fee that all the other celebrities got.
Of the celebs who received a sign-on fee, former politician Emma Husar was the lowest paid on SAS, reportedly getting $25,000.
Most stars who signed on received between $50,000 to $70,000.
SAS Australia airs Monday to Wednesday on Channel 7
Big Bang Theory’s Mayim Bialik has revealed she had a “terrible” falling out with Neil Patrick Harris, which saw them estranged for years.
Mayim Bialik has revealed that her friendship with fellow sitcom star Neil Patrick Harris disintegrated in “terrible” fashion years ago.
The Big Bang Theory actress, 45, opened up about why their relationship went downhill, saying that she is not a fan of musicals during a chat with James Corden on The Late Late Show on Tuesday.
She shared a “terrible story” about the time she was a teen and saw a 1997 production of the Jonathan Larson-penned show Rent, in which her then-friend, How I Met Your Mother star Harris, now 48, played filmmaker Mark Cohen.
The audience gave Harris a big round of applause for his performance — but Bialik wasn’t having it.
“I mean, this was a long time ago … But when your friend is in the play and then everybody is clapping at the end, and you say to your boyfriend next to you, ‘I don’t want to stand for this’,” Balik said.
“And then you look up and Neil Patrick Harris is looking right at you — it’s a bad day.”
She did clarify that Harris was “fantastic,” but she still didn’t feel compelled to pump him up.
“I mean, he is amazing, but I just wasn’t into the [idea of], ‘Let’s give a standing ovation.’ It wasn’t my thing,” she continued.
Then things got much worse.
“But that’s the time when you don’t say it out loud, because Neil was reading my lips, and when I went backstage to say hi to him he said, I kid you not, ‘Why did you say you weren’t going to stand up?’
“He read my lips,” she added. “I did not have a good answer. It was terrible. It was bad.”
Luckily, Harris has apparently forgiven her and tried to smooth things over.
“We didn’t speak for a long time. [Harris] says that he forgave me and he sent me flowers when he heard that I’m still carrying this terrible [guilt] — I mean, I felt terrible,” the Call Me Kat actress continued. “It just wasn’t my thing.”
This story originally appeared on NY Post and has been reproduced here with permission.
After an explosive court case which saw Britney Spears go head-to-head with her dad, the star has finally been granted a huge win.
Britney Spears has had a major win in her ongoing battle to remove her 13-year long conservatorship.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Brenda Penny today ruled to suspend her father, Jamie Spears as conservator, following explosive testimonies from the singer.
Ahead of the decision, Britney’s lawyer Matthew Rosengart delivered a powerful speech, telling the judge that Jamie “cannot be in my client’s life for one more day.”
He requested a suspension of her father as conservator, a review and a complete termination of the conservatorship within a 30 to 45-day period.
Britney’s legal team stated they would not accept her father’s recent request for the immediate termination of the conservatorship as they claimed he wanted a settlement and was also attempting to avoid an investigation into the abuse alleged by the singer.
Britney was not present in court for the ruling, but her parents, Jamie and Lynne Spears, watched on via a Zoom link.
Huge crowds of her fans gathered outside the Los Angeles court while the hearing took place, carrying homemade signs featuring photos of the singer and #FreeBritney, the viral hashtag supporting the star.
They erupted in celebration as the news of the ruling spread.
Shortly after the decision was handed down, Britney’s new fiancé, Sam Asghari, took to Instagram with a simple message.
It comes just days after a documentary from the New York Times claimed that Jamie was responsible for illegally bugging his daughter’s home and phones to monitor her private conversations.
Rosengart asked the court to investigate the claims, describing the alleged surveillance “unfathomable”.
Wednesday’s ruling comes after an explosive few months in the case, beginning with Britney telling judge Brenda Penny in June that she wanted the legal arrangement terminated.
The pop star, 39, begged the court to allow her to regain control of her personal affairs and finances during a bombshell hearing in which her court-appointed lawyer, Samuel D. Ingham III, resigned after she claimed he never told her that the conservatorship could end.
During Britney’s explosive 24-minute testimony, she called her father an “abusive” conservator and levelled a number of shocking accusations against him, including that he forced her to go on tour in 2018 and sent her to a mental health facility against her will in 2019.
She also claimed her conservators would not allow her to have her IUD (contraceptive device) removed, and once put her on lithium “out of nowhere,” a drug she described as so strong that she “couldn’t even have a conversation” with her parents.
“I shouldn’t be in a conservatorship if I can work and provide money and work for myself and pay other people. It makes no sense,” argued the singer, who performed a four-year, 248-show Las Vegas residency and judged a season of The X Factor while under the conservatorship.
Spears’ father was given control of her life and finances in 2008, shortly after her very public breakdown amid her divorce from Kevin Federline, with whom she shares sons Sean Preson, 15, and Jayden James, 14.
Since then, Britney has not been allowed to drive or vote, has lived on a strict allowance and has had most key decisions about her life taken out of her control.
Jamie shared the role with a lawyer, Andrew Wallet, for many years.
Wallet resigned from the case in March 2019, and Jamie temporarily stepped down as Britney’s conservator that September due to his ailing health.
A licensed fiduciary, Jodi Montgomery, has been filling in for Jamie ever since, though he still oversees how Britney spends her multimillion-dollar fortune as the conservator of her estate.
Prior to requesting the conservatorship’s termination, Britney had petitioned to have Jamie removed, with Ingham saying in November 2020 that his then-client was “afraid of her father” and would not perform again with him in charge.
During a July hearing, the star told the judge that she wanted her dad to be charged with “conservatorship abuse”.
Jamie has denied mismanaging Britney’s life and career, saying on numerous occasions that he “loves” and “misses” his daughter.
To celebrate 20 years since the cult-classic movie Zoolander hit screens, its stars have revealed the actors who almost landed the roles.
Some of the cast of cult classic movie Zoolander have reunited for its 20th anniversary to spill secrets about the making of the film that was initially savaged by critics and at the box office.
Ben Stiller (Derek Zoolander), Christine Taylor (Matilda) and Milla Jovovich (Katinka) spoke to Esquire about making the hilarious satirical flick about the fashion industry and revealed that Jake Gyllenhaal was in the running for Hansel at one point when Owen Wilson almost missed out due to other commitments.
The New York Post reports that Stiller said that Wilson was always his first choice for Hansel, but when the “Loki” star seemed to have some scheduling conflicts, the filmmakers were forced to hold auditions and look elsewhere.
“The only one that I remember clearly was a young Jake Gyllenhaal doing this wide-eyed version of Hansel that was really funny,” Stiller said.
He said Will Ferrell also was not the first choice to play evil fashion mogul Mugatu.
“Andy Dick was supposed to play [the villain] Mugatu,” he said, noting that Dick had a conflict with shooting a sitcom. “Now it’s impossible for me to picture anybody but Will [Ferrell] doing it.”
Taylor also said she didn’t initially audition for the role of Matilda.
Sarah Jessica Parker and Kate Hudson were both offered the part but after they didn’t work out Stiller asked his wife to consider it.
Stiller said he was also going to also play both Maury Ballstein (who in the film was actually portrayed by Stiller’s real father, Jerry) and Derek’s twin’s brother.
“One of Derek’s brothers was [supposed to be] a Springsteen impersonator,” Stiller recalls. “We ended up obviously going with the coal miner thing.”
The film opened just two weeks after 9/11 and originally received less-than-positive reviews.
But alas, it has stayed a cult classic two decades on and a sequel was released in 2016.
“It was such a hard time with comedy,” said Taylor. “Laughing might be a remedy in the moment, but the truth of the matter is, people weren’t ready.”
“It was a weird time,” Stiller added.
This article originally appeared in the New York Post and is republished here with permission
The first full trailer for Brooke Blurton’s upcoming season of The Bachelorette has dropped, and WA’s stunning coastline also gets a starring role.
Opening with the Carnarvon-born social worker looking stunning in a long flowing red dress, it features Blurton staring whimsically atop a cliff over a vast red-dirt landscape into the Indian Ocean.
The one-minute clip is understood to be filmed at Shark Bay overlooking Cape Perron and is set to a version of Feeling Good, a song made famous by Nina Simone and Michael Buble, among others.
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“This is the land of my people. Yamaji country in Western Australia,” Blurton begins.
“Growing up here has made me feel very connected to the ocean. It is shaped who I am. I would love to share my life with someone special.”
Blurton’s season will be an Australian first, the first openly bisexual Bachelorette, and will feature both male and female suitors.
“For me true love is about making a soul connection, no matter who they are,” Blurton continues.
“I have so much love to give and I’m so ready to find that special someone to give it to.
Brooke Blurton. Credit: Ten
The highly-anticipated season is set to be a fascinating watch, seeing how producers navigate male and females - which are rumoured to be split into separate houses - along with yet another more extensive lockdown during filming in Sydney.
Heartbreakingly last month, Blurton had to rush home after announcing the passing of her sister.
“On the 11/8 I had just received news that my sister passed away,” Blurton said at the time.
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“I’ve been trying to process that on my own being stuck in a Sydney lockdown without my family, off country and by myself.”
She returned to Perth in mid-August and entered the mandatory 14 days quarantine ahead of attending the funeral.
A new drama is bubbling on The Block, with this year’s divide between teams potentially seeing one couple punished on auction day.
As the pointy end of The Block draws closer — and one team has all but secured the power to choose the auction order — all five teams are left pondering the divide created by this year’s explosive cheating scandal.
Ronnie and Georgia look set to claim the top spot on The Block’s leaderboard given they’re now a massive eight points ahead of second place stars Kirsty and Jessie. Unless the returning team make massive slip-ups in the coming weeks, they’re a shoe-in for the win.
In Wednesday night’s episode, Tanya didn’t hold back about how she saw things potentially panning out, making it clear she and her husband wouldn’t be making any effort to patch things up.
“I think from what I’ve seen in past seasons, it’s actually been pretty tough having that kind of power. Knowing Ronnie and Georgia, they’re power trippers, they’ll love it,” she said of the couple — who she slammed in a fiery on-screen rant earlier in the season.
Speaking to producers, Georgia herself hinted that tension between teams may ultimately result in the “cheaters” being penalised in the order.
“I don’t like the term alliance, because I don’t like to make it feel like we’re excluding people,” she began.
“But the division happened when (houses) three and four decided not to play by the rules, and compromise everybody on The Block.
“Actions have consequences and it would seem that this division is one of those consequences,” she said rather cryptically.
Weighing in on the possible outcome, fellow contestant Jessie joked to producers of Ronnie and Georgia: “It’s kinda good we’re besties … You wouldn’t wanna be talking sh*t about them on TV would you?”
Meanwhile, controversial Love Island twins Josh and Luke made their intentions to repair their fractured relationship with Ronnie and Georgia in order to avoid copping a dodgy spot in the auction schedule clear.
“We are friends with Tanya and Vito … But it’s more trying to mend our relationship with Ronnie and Georgia,” Luke said.
“One of the things that we have in common is that we’re competitive and they’re competitive. The auction order is critical for us and for them, so it only makes sense for us a build a relationship with them, so we can sooner or later chat with them about the auction order,” he explained.
Elsewhere, in a moment away from the cameras, Josh was heard ranting about Ronnie and Georgia’s latest challenge win, muttering: “Last night was f*cked hey, the judging.”
It's been a quarter of a century since the worst massacre in modern Australian history.
Key points:
Nitram is a film about the Port Arthur perpetrator
The film's producers say it can create a conversation around the importance of gun laws
However, many Tasmanians and people connected to the event say they will not be watching
So, when news broke that a film would soon be released depicting the murderer's life and behaviour in the lead-up to the mass shooting, for many people, the reaction was not, "Too soon", but "Why?"
Disturbing and uncomfortable, Nitram dramatises the events before a lone gunman killed 35 people and wounded 22 others at the Port Arthur historic site and Seascape guesthouse in April 1996.
The massacre prompted a major gun reform across Australia, and director Justin Kurzel said he was drawn to take on writer Shaun Grant's screenplay because of its strong message about firearms laws.
"There's a particular scene in the film, where the character goes into a gun store.
"And the way he buys these guns like he's buying fishing rods, I found spoke to me about gun reform in a way that I'd never seen before — it emotionally affected me."
Kurzel and Grant have collaborated before, on the 2011 film about the Snowtown murders.
Nitram avoids showing the massacre itself, but news of its production sparked widespread outrage last year, including criticism that portraying the life and motivations of the murderer would inevitably generate sympathy.
Essie Davis and Justin Kurzel on the set of Nitram. (
Supplied: Madman Entertainment
)
"I think that some people watch the film and, you know, they may feel a kind of sympathy," Kurzel said.
"Others I know don't, and they feel as though the character is extremely dangerous.
"For us, it was about trying to find something familiar and recognisable more than anything else."
Kurzel lives in Tasmania, with his wife, actor Essie Davis, who plays the reclusive heiress who befriends the gunman.
Kurzel said he was well aware of the ongoing sensitivities about the Port Arthur massacre in Tasmania, where even 25 years on, many people refuse to say the gunman's name.
Caleb Landry Jones stars as the Port Arthur killer, and won the Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actor for his portrayal. (
Supplied: Madman Entertainment
)
The film's title, Nitram, is the gunman's first name reversed.
"The last thing I want to do is bring trauma to this place that I absolutely adore and love," he said.
"But there was something in the script that started a conversation about this event that I know is very hard to have here.
American actor Caleb Landry Jones is the star of the film, with a performance that earned him the best actor award at the Cannes Film Festival.
Judy Davis and Anthony LaPaglia play the murderer's parents.
Nitram received no support from Screen Tasmania and the Tasmanian Government refused to engage in any conversations with the filmmakers. The film was shot in Geelong, Victoria.
"Because of the sensitivity of the film, we felt the last thing we wanted to do, especially in that area, was trigger any trauma by recreating particular scenes," Kurzel said.
'It's too raw for them to watch'
Kelly Spaulding was 19 on the day of the Port Arthur massacre, working on a farm on the Tasman Peninsula, when he heard low-flying helicopters.
"It wasn't until I knocked off work and came into the local shop that I heard there had been an incident at Port Arthur," he said.
He raced home to check if his mother, who usually worked at the Port Arthur historic site tearooms, was there.
"Luckily, Mum hadn't been at work that day," Mr Spaulding said.
Mr Spaulding and his mother went to the site to help, not knowing what was unfolding.
"The communications were pretty bad back then," he said.
"So nobody knew [whether] the gunman was out and about or what was happening on that afternoon.
"It was a pretty horrific event, how it unfolded."
Kelly Spaulding was 19 on the day of the Port Arthur massacre on April 26, 1996.(
ABC News: Chris Healy
)
Mr Spaulding is now mayor of the Tasman Peninsula, which includes the settlement of Port Arthur.
He said the 1996 massacre was still raw for many people in the community, and he would not be seeing the film.
After learning about the film after it had already been shot, Mr Spaulding and the filmmakers have been in communication, so he can tell the community what to expect.
"There is a whole generation of new, young people in the area [who] may be curious. They may wish to watch the movie and inform themselves," he said.
The reflection pool memorial at the Port Arthur Historic Site.(
ABC News: Luke Bowden
)
"I think for anyone like myself that was affected, or worse affected people, they won't have any need to — they know the story.
"It's too raw for them to watch."
Mr Spaulding is in two minds about Nitram being filmed in Victoria.
"If it was filmed here, it would have been quite confronting," he said.
"But, then there is the other side, that [if it had been filmed on the Tasman Peninsula] at least they would have been putting money back into the community."
'It raises the hairs on the back of your neck'
A quarter century ago, Colin Riley was part of the police team that arrested the Port Arthur gunman.
"It's just one of those things that it is a bookmark in your life," he said.
Mr Riley, who is now the head of the Police Association of Tasmania, said the prospect of the film had caused anxiety for former and serving police officers who responded to the shooting.
Colin Riley, now head of the Police Association of Tasmania, was one of the officers responding to the 1996 massacre. (
ABC News: Luke Bowden
)
"Every time we talk about Port Arthur, it raises the hairs on the back of your neck," he said.
He said he had no intention of seeing the film.
"I think it's a generational thing. It's probably not going to happen in my lifetime, I suspect."
Hobart screenings uncertain
The film will be released on September 30, in parts of the country where cinemas are not affected by COVID-19 restrictions.
It will also be available to stream online later this year.
However, Tasmanian audiences may have difficulty finding it in cinemas.
There has been no real marketing in the state.
It will be shown in Launceston next month, but it is unclear if, or when, it might be screened in Hobart.
"I think there will be those [who] definitely will never want it screened in Tasmania," Kurzel said.
"However, if there's an opportunity for those [who] do want to see it and, especially, generations [who] want to understand and learn more about this event and what changed in Australia after this event, then my hope is that they can have the opportunity to see that."
It's been a quarter of a century since the worst massacre in modern Australian history.
Key points:
Nitram is a film about the Port Arthur perpetrator
The film's producers say it can create a conversation around the importance of gun laws
However, many Tasmanians and people connected to the event say they will not be watching
So, when news broke that a film would soon be released depicting the murderer's life and behaviour in the lead-up to the mass shooting, for many people, the reaction was not, "Too soon", but "Why?"
Disturbing and uncomfortable, Nitram dramatises the events before a lone gunman killed 35 people and wounded 22 others at the Port Arthur historic site and Seascape guesthouse in April 1996.
The massacre prompted a major gun reform across Australia, and director Justin Kurzel said he was drawn to take on writer Shaun Grant's screenplay because of its strong message about firearms laws.
"There's a particular scene in the film, where the character goes into a gun store.
"And the way he buys these guns like he's buying fishing rods, I found spoke to me about gun reform in a way that I'd never seen before — it emotionally affected me."
Kurzel and Grant have collaborated before, on the 2011 film about the Snowtown murders.
Nitram avoids showing the massacre itself, but news of its production sparked widespread outrage last year, including criticism that portraying the life and motivations of the murderer would inevitably generate sympathy.
Essie Davis and Justin Kurzel on the set of Nitram. (
Supplied: Madman Entertainment
)
"I think that some people watch the film and, you know, they may feel a kind of sympathy," Kurzel said.
"But there are others I know that don't, and they feel as though the character is extremely dangerous.
"For us, it was about trying to find something familiar and recognisable more than anything else."
Kurzel lives in Tasmania, with his wife, actor Essie Davis, who plays the reclusive heiress who befriends the gunman.
Kurzel said he was well aware of the ongoing sensitivities about the Port Arthur massacre in Tasmania, where even 25 years on, many people refuse to say the gunman's name.
Caleb Landry Jones stars as the Port Arthur killer, and won the Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actor for his portrayal. (
Supplied: Madman Entertainment
)
The film's title, Nitram, is the gunman's first name reversed.
"The last thing I want to do is bring trauma to this place that I absolutely adore and love," he said.
"But there was something in the script that started a conversation about this event that I know is very hard to have here.
American actor Caleb Landry Jones is the star of the film, with a performance that earned him the best actor award at the Cannes Film Festival.
Judy Davis and Anthony LaPaglia play the murderer's parents.
Nitram received no support from Screen Tasmania and the Tasmanian Government refused to engage in any conversations with the filmmakers. The film was shot in Geelong, Victoria.
"Because of the sensitivity of the film, we felt the last thing we wanted to do, especially in that area, was trigger any trauma by recreating particular scenes," Kurzel said.
'It's too raw for them to watch'
Kelly Spaulding was 19 on the day of the Port Arthur massacre, working on a farm on the Tasman Peninsula, when he heard low-flying helicopters.
"It wasn't until I knocked off work and came into the local shop that I heard there had been an incident at Port Arthur," he said.
He raced home to check if his mother, who usually worked at the Port Arthur historic site tearooms, was there.
"Luckily, Mum hadn't been at work that day," Mr Spaulding said.
Mr Spaulding and his mother went to the site to help, not knowing what was unfolding.
"The communications were pretty bad back then," he said.
"So nobody knew [whether] the gunman was out and about or what was happening on that afternoon.
"It was a pretty horrific event, how it unfolded."
Kelly Spaulding was 19 on the day of the Port Arthur massacre on April 26, 1996.(
ABC News: Chris Healy
)
Mr Spaulding is now mayor of the Tasman Peninsula, which includes the settlement of Port Arthur.
He said the 1996 massacre was still raw for many people in the community, and he would not be seeing the film.
After learning about the film after it had already been shot, Mr Spaulding and the filmmakers have been in communication, so he can tell the community what to expect.
"There is a whole generation of new, young people in the area [who] may be curious. They may wish to watch the movie and inform themselves," he said.
The reflection pool memorial at the Port Arthur Historic Site.(
ABC News: Luke Bowden
)
"I think for anyone like myself that was affected, or worse affected people, they won't have any need to — they know the story.
"It's too raw for them to watch."
Mr Spaulding is in two minds about Nitram being filmed in Victoria.
"If it was filmed here, it would have been quite confronting," he said.
"But, then there is the other side, that [if it had been filmed on the Tasman Peninsula] at least they would have been putting money back into the community."
'It raises the hairs on the back of your neck'
A quarter century ago, Colin Riley was part of the police team that arrested the Port Arthur gunman.
"It's just one of those things that it is a bookmark in your life," he said.
Mr Riley, who is now the head of the Police Association of Tasmania, said the prospect of the film had caused anxiety for former and serving police officers who responded to the shooting.
Colin Riley, now head of the Police Association of Tasmania, was one of the officers responding to the 1996 massacre. (
ABC News: Luke Bowden
)
"Every time we talk about Port Arthur, it raises the hairs on the back of your neck," he said.
He said he had no intention of seeing the film.
"I think it's a generational thing. It's probably not going to happen in my lifetime, I suspect."
Hobart screenings uncertain
The film will be released on September 30, in parts of the country where cinemas are not affected by COVID-19 restrictions.
It will also be available to stream online later this year.
However, Tasmanian audiences may have difficulty finding it in cinemas.
There has been no real marketing in the state.
It will be shown in Launceston next month, but it is unclear if, or when, it might be screened in Hobart.
"I think there will be those [who] definitely will never want it screened in Tasmania," Kurzel said.
"However, if there's an opportunity for those [who] do want to see it and, especially, generations [who] want to understand and learn more about this event and what changed in Australia after this event, then my hope is that they can have the opportunity to see that."
Katie Price is facing jail time after allegedly being caught under the influence of alcohol and drugs following a car accident.
Katie Price has been rushed to hospital after rolling her BMW in a “drink and drug drive” smash in the early hours of Tuesday morning.
According to The Sun, the 43-year-old star could be facing jail time over the accident.
Pictures show Price’s car turned on its side across the road – with the mangled front crashed into some bushes.
The blue lights of an ambulance can been seen behind the vehicle, with it confirmed that the road was briefly closed due to the accident earlier on Tuesday.
Wreckage from the car has also been pictured at the location.
Police at the scene arrested Price, who is understood to be banned from driving, for alleged drink-driving – and she may now face jail time if charged and found guilty.
Authorities are investigating reports she was on an “all-night binge” and may have even been driving to get more drugs when she crashed.
Sources told The Sun she had “stayed up all night partying with a few close friends”.
Meanwhile, her family have shared a message saying their “worst fears nearly came true” in her alleged “drink-drive” crash.
During an appearance on Monday’s Good Morning Britain, Price appeared to confirm that she was still serving a driving ban, and won’t get her licence back until later this year.
A source said of today’s accident: “Katie rolled her car and was in a bad way when police arrived.
“She’s in hospital now and everyone is desperately worried about her and why she was driving.”
A Sussex Police spokeswoman confirmed: “Police responded to reports of a single-vehicle collision on the B2135 near Partridge Green around 6.20am on Tuesday (September 28).
“A woman, 43, was arrested on suspicion of driving while above the legal limit for alcohol and drugs, and has been taken to hospital to be checked over.
“The road was blocked temporarily while recovery of the vehicle was arranged.”
Paramedics added that they were called to the early morning crash and took one person to hospital.
Shortly afterwards, a statement from Price’s family was published to her Instagram account.
The message finished up with: “It takes great strength for one to acknowledge they need help, we hope the door is now open for Kate to learn to love herself and to be happy within.
“Mental illness is not a personal failure.”
The crash came just hours after Price spoke about her difficulty visiting son Harvey at his residential college in Cheltenham because she can’t get behind the wheel.
She explained on Good Morning Britain: “Obviously I don’t get my licence back until December, so I can’t just whiz in the car down there and it’s not close.”
Price was expected to get her driving licence back in April, but was banned for a further six months following an administration bungle.
The mother-of-five served an 18-month disqualification after withholding the identity of the driver of her pink Range Rover following a crash.
When she rang the UK Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency to arrange her new licence earlier this year, she was told to serve another six months due to totting up another offence for speeding.
However, it is believed the forms Price needed to fill out after the conviction were sent to an old address.
According to the Sentencing Council, the maximum jail term for drink-driving is six months with an unlimited fine.
Price has previously been banned from driving six times in the last 10 years, with her first in 2010.
She was off the roads for six months following the incident, and in 2012 received a 12-month disqualification after failing to respond to two speeding tickets.
Price then got a six-month ban in 2018 for speeding after notching up 12 penalty points.
A year later, she was barred for three months after driving while disqualified in January 2019.
Price’s latest ban was given in October 2019 for 18 months after failing to tell police who was driving her pink Range Rover when it crashed in Bexley.
This article originally appeared on The Sun and was reproduced with permission
