Films
Sylvester Stallone Denies Rape Claim after Accuser Files Police Report
Actor Sylvester Stallone is denying a claim he sexually assaulted a woman in California in the 1990s..
Actor Sylvester Stallone is denying a claim he sexually assaulted a woman in California in the 1990s.
According to TMZ, an unidentified woman filed a police report in mid-November alleging the now-71-year-old Rocky star raped her at his Santa Monica office in 1990.
A spokesman for the Santa Monica Police Department confirmed to Reuters that law enforcement was investigating the matter, and would refer its findings to the district attorney.
The 27-year-old accusation would fall well outside the state’s ten-year statute of limitations on rape and sexual assault cases.
“We got a complaint that was made in November of alleged sexual misconduct in the 1990s,” SMPD spokesman Saul Rodriguez said. “We are looking into it and will gather information and whatever we discover will be passed to the district attorney.”
Stallone reportedly admits to spending three days with the woman during a film shoot in Israel in 1987, but claims that he never saw her in 1990, the year the incident is alleged to have taken place.
Stallone’s attorney, Marty Singer, told TMZ Thursday the actor may be planning to take legal action against the accuser for filing a false police report.
“My client categorically disputes the claim,” Singer said in an emailed statement.
In November, the Daily Mailreported that it had obtained a police report filed in Las Vegas in 1986 in which Stallone was accused of pressuring a then-16-year-old girl to engage in a threesome with himself and his bodyguard, Mike De Luca.
A representative for the actor called the allegations a “ridiculous, categorically false story,” and said Stallone had never been contacted by law enforcement over the alleged incident.
Stallone is the latest prominent figure in Hollywood to have been accused of sexual misconduct in recent months, as part of the ongoing scandal first sparked by a now-infamous October New York Times exposé on film producer Harvey Weinstein.
Follow Daniel Nussbaum on Twitter: @dznussbaum
The post Sylvester Stallone Denies Rape Claim after Accuser Files Police Report appeared first on News Wire Now.
Films
‘Antebellum’ has a ‘Get Out’ vibe, but doesn’t live up to its twist
“Antebellum” is built around a provocative twist, and it’s a good one — as well as one that definite..
“Antebellum” is built around a provocative twist, and it’s a good one — as well as one that definitely shouldn’t be spoiled even a little. Once that revelation is absorbed, however, the movie becomes less distinctive and inspired, reflecting an attempt to tap into the zeitgeist that made “Get Out” a breakthrough, without the same ability to pay off the premise.
Originally destined for a theatrical run, the movie hits digital platforms trumpeting a “Get Out” pedigree in its marketing campaign, since there’s an overlap among the producing teams.
More directly, the film marks the directing debut of Gerard Bush + Christopher Renz, who have championed social-justice issues through their advertising work. The opening script features a quote from author William Faulkner, whose intent will eventually become clearer: “The past is never dead. It’s not even past.”
If that sounds like a timely means of drawing a line from the horrors of slavery to the racism of today, you’ve come to the right place.
The story begins on a plantation, where the brutal overseers carry out grisly punishments against those tilling the fields. A few have just tried to escape, led by Veronica (Janelle Monae), and they pay a heavy price for their resistance, which does nothing to curb her defiance.
Also written by Bush + Renz, the script take too long before revealing what makes “Antebellum” different, but the middle portion — a “The Twilight Zone”-like phase when it’s hard to be sure exactly what’s going on — is actually the film’s strongest. (Even the trailer arguably gives away too much, so the less one knows, the better.)
The final stretch, by contrast, veers into more familiar thriller territory, and feels especially rushed toward the end, leaving behind a host of nagging, unanswered questions. That provides food for thought, but it’s also what separates the movie from something like “Get Out,” which deftly fleshed out its horror underpinnings.
Although the filmmakers (in a taped message) expressed disappointment that the movie wasn’t making its debut in theaters, in a strange way, the on-demand format somewhat works in its favor. In the press notes, Bush says the goal was “to force the audience to look at the real-life horror of racism through the lens of film horror. We’re landing in the middle of the very conversations that we hoped ‘Antebellum’ would spur.”
“Antebellum” should add to that discussion, so mission accomplished on that level. Monae is also quite good in her first leading film role (she did previously star in the series “Homecoming’s” second season), but otherwise, most of the characters remain underdeveloped.
