Film producer ordered to pay $3 million in sex scandal (Reuters)

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – A jury found movie producer Jon Peters was guilty on Friday of sexual harassment and ordered the man behind films such as "Batman" to pay more than $3 million to a former personal assistant.

The nine-woman, three-man panel awarded Shelly Morita $822,000 in compensatory damages. They found that Peters created a hostile work environment and acted with malice, which led to a second phase of the trial in which they awarded the Morita an additional $2.5 million.

Peters, a onetime hairdresser turned movie mogul whose producing credits include "The Color Purple," "The Bonfire of the Vanities" and "Superman Returns," was not present for the verdicts. Along with former business partner Peter Guber, he also ran Sony Pictures movie studio for a time.

Morita, a 44-year-old single mother, sued Peters and his company, J.P. Organization Inc., in December 2006.

She claimed he inappropriately touched her and alleged that he crawled into bed with her when they were in Australia during the filming of "Superman Returns."

In his testimony, Peters, 66, denied any wrongdoing. His attorney said the verdicts will be appealed.

(Reporting and writing by Sheri Linden; Edited by Bob Tourtellotte)

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CNN's Piers Morgan denies role in UK hacking scandal (Reuters)

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – CNN talk show host and former News of the World editor Piers Morgan on Tuesday angrily denied claims by a British lawmaker that he had taken part in phone hacking during his years as a journalist in Britain.

Morgan, who hosts the U.S. nightly talk and current affairs show "Piers Morgan Tonight," said he may have been a victim of hacking but that he had never hacked a phone himself.

"That MP (member of parliament) just claimed I boasted in my book of using phone-hacking for a scoop," Morgan said on Twitter during Tuesday's hearing by a British parliamentary panel in London on the scandal engulfing newspapers in Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation empire.

"Complete nonsense. Just read the book," Morgan tweeted. "I've never hacked a phone, told anyone to hack a phone, or published any stories based on the hacking of a phone."

Morgan, who edited the now-defunct News of The World in 1994-1995, was responding to remarks by British MP Louise Mensch at Tuesday's televised grilling of Rupert and James Murdoch, which was seen around the world.

Mensch stated that Morgan had boasted in his 2005 book "The Insider: The Private Diaries of a Scandalous Decade" of having won a scoop for his Daily Mirror tabloid newspaper by using a code to gain entry into another person's cell phone.

Morgan said Mensch had got her facts mixed up.

In the book, he wrote that he suspected he was a victim of phone hacking. "I wrote in my book that someone warned me phones could be hacked, so I changed my pin number."

Morgan, who said little during the first two weeks of the phone hacking scandal in Britain, said on his show on Monday that he did not believe that any story published in either the News of The World or The Daily Mirror under his editorship was obtained by unlawful means.

He also defended Rupert Murdoch, saying that he found it "impossible, personally knowing the man, to believe that he would have known about law-breaking on his newspapers, let alone would he condone it."

Morgan, 46, also worked on Murdoch's daily newspaper The Sun between 1989-94 before moving to The News of the World and then The Daily Mirror in London from 1995-2004.

He took over veteran Larry King's slot on CNN in January 2011 and is also a judge on the TV show "America's Got Talent".

(Reporting by Jill Serjeant. Editing by Peter Bohan)

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Hollywood gloats, silently, over News Corp scandal (Reuters)

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – British actors Hugh Grant and Steve Coogan may be publicly cheering the woes of Rupert Murdoch's media empire in a newspaper hacking scandal, but in Hollywood any gloating is largely taking place behind closed doors.

Since few American stars appear to have been targeted by the hacking into private phones at the shuttered British tabloid News of the World, the U.S. entertainment industry is watching from afar -- more spectator, than participant.

"I think the reaction (in Hollywood) has been very low key. Most people are watching the news unfold in London and wondering what will be the ripple effect on the various News Corp divisions here. The main focus is not the entertainment properties, but the news properties," said Sharon Waxman, editor in chief of industry website The Wrap.

In Los Angeles, home to Murdoch's Fox Television network and 20th Century Fox film studio, the focus is more on Thursday's nominations for the 2011 Emmys -- the highest honors in the TV industry -- and movie box offices, in particular this week's release of Warner Bros' newest "Harry Potter" movie.

"I think people are enjoying watching this guy roast but I don't think it's having any material impact. I think it is a case of schadenfreude," one senior executive at a rival Hollywood studio, who did not wish to be named, told Reuters.

In Britain, Grant and Coogan -- both repeated targets of the tabloid press -- greeted the troubles at the News of the World with glee.

"The News of the World is ... a misogynistic, xenophobic, single parent-hating, asylum seeker-hating newspaper and it's gone to the wall and I'm delighted," comic actor Coogan said on a BBC chat show last week.

"A WATERSHED MOMENT"

Grant, star of "Four Weddings and A Funeral", called the closure of the tabloid on Sunday a "watershed moment when, finally, the public starts to see ... just how low and how disgusting this particular newspaper's methods were."

Bryce Nelson, professor of journalism at the University of Southern California's Annenberg School for Communication, attributed the reluctance to speak out in Hollywood to the power of Fox "in movies and television and in running tabloids that can get sensational material on people in the entertainment fields."

Said another industry source; "Murdoch touches everybody in some way, so nobody is standing up" to speak publicly.

Among those brave enough to put their heads above the parapet is comedian Jon Stewart, whose satirical TV program "The Daily Show" has waged a long war of words with conservative leaning Fox News cable television.

In a swift recap on Monday of allegations that News of the World employees hacked the voicemail of an abducted British teenager, Stewart commented: "I think I just threw up in my mouth a little bit."

And in what was dubbed a "schadenfreudegasm," the "Daily Show" wryly hailed Grant -- remembered for his humiliating 1995 arrest with a Hollywood prostitute -- as one of the heroes of the tabloid's downfall.

On a more serious note, former Washington Post correspondent Carl Bernstein asked whether Murdoch was facing his own Watergate.

"The circumstances of the alleged lawbreaking within News Corp suggest more than a passing resemblance to Richard Nixon presiding over a criminal conspiracy in which he insulated himself from specific knowledge of numerous criminal acts," Bernstein wrote in an article for Newsweek.

(Reporting by Jill Serjeant and Bob Tourtellotte in Los Angeles and Mike Collett-White in London)

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Just A Minute With: Woody Allen on nostalgia, scandal (Reuters)

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Woody Allen examines nostalgia among other topics in "Midnight in Paris," the latest in his string of films set in Europe.

The movie transports its protagonist, played by Owen Wilson, back to the good old days of the Belle Epoque and 1920s Paris, and sees Allen concluding that, really, he would have been miserable during any age, golden or not.

Allen, 75, talked to Reuters about what he longs for, if he gets nostalgic about filming in New York and what he dislikes about technology and other modern pleasures.

Q. You still write your scripts on a typewriter?

A. "I don't own a word processor; I am not a gadget person."

Q. So have you escaped the likes of Twitter and Facebook?

A. "Twitter -- I have no idea what Twitter is. But Facebook I know, because I saw the movie and I liked the movie. So I know what Facebook is. And I have a website, which I have never seen in my life and have no idea how it works or what the point of it is, but people have done it for me."

Q. So how do you adapt to the world of iPods and iPads?

A. "I have a telephone, a cell phone, but all I can do on it is call out and receive calls. I don't have any other use, I have no, what do you call it, text number?

"You ever see old people and their television set has tape over a lot of the buttons so they can't make a mistake? So they can't access those buttons, they can only turn it on and turn it off? ... I am exactly that way, as long as there is two buttons to press, I can do it."

Q. As a former TV writer, what do you think about the state of TV these days, of reality TV, of Snooki on 'Jersey Shore?'

A. "I never see any of that. I see the names in the papers and things but I don't even know what that is. I do watch television but not that. I watch sports almost exclusively."

Q. Your latest film, "Midnight in Paris" examines nostalgia, what do you get nostalgic about?

A. "I do get nostalgic in a weak moment ... thinking back and thinking, 'Gee, it was great to be able to play stick ball in the street and go run into the house and take a shower and eat some unhealthy food' -- not having any idea it was unhealthy or caring even if I knew -- but I didn't. It was a simpler life. But then when I stop and think, really? Go back to that life, was it so nice? It wasn't. I hated school, I did terribly, I had all kinds of problems. It was pretty terrible."

Q. Have your thoughts on mortality changed recently?

A. "No, I was against it when I was five when I was first became conscious of it. I have remained adversarial. We are hard-wired by nature to resist dying, to be self-preserving, to take care of ourselves, to fight for our lives, so I am no different than anyone else in that way. I may differ in this sense, I may belong to that group of people where it is on our consciousness more frequently. But there is nothing we can do it about it, but we probably suffer more, because we are not able to block it out as easily. Everyone is provided with a denial mechanism, mine is faulty."

Q. Why do you get respected so much in Europe?

A. "I think I gain something in the translation ... I make a film and all over Europe, all over the world, they love it, because possibly they are not seeing my mistakes."

Q. Are you too much for the Middle American mentality?

A. "Yes, we are a very religious country, but to me that is their problem. I don't subscribe to it. I am not religious or prudish. In that way I am slightly more European, but you will find that a certain amount of that more in New York, I think, rather than the rest of the country. New York is the closest we have to a European city. As you get out in the country it doesn't become a very puritanical and very raised eyebrows, but you can't give in an inch to that because that way lies sterility and death."

Q. Still, critics like this film. Do you think America is ready to forgive you for your past scandals?

A: "What was the scandal? I fell in love with this girl, married her. We have been married for almost 15 years now.

"There was no scandal, but people refer to it all the time as a scandal and I kind of like that in way because when I go I would like to say I had one real juicy scandal in my life."

Q. Do you miss filming in Central Park in 'the fall'?

A. "No, I love new York. And I am sure I will come back and work here, the only two things that have kept me from here is when a foreign place has put up the money and insisted that I work there or I couldn't afford to work here."

Q. Will your next film in Italy be inspired by Fellini?

A. "No. Why Fellini? ... Why not Antonioni? No, it is not inspired by anybody. It is just a comedy, not a romantic comedy, but an out-and-out comedy."

(Editing by Patricia Reaney)

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Congressman Weiner seeks treatment after sex scandal (Reuters)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Democratic Representative Anthony Weiner defied calls on Saturday from party leaders to resign and said he would instead seek treatment and a leave of absence after being snared in an Internet sex scandal.

The 46-year-old New York congressman announced his plans shortly after House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi publicly urged him to go for help, but also to step down.

Weiner's determination to remain, bolstered by support from his New York City constituents, has angered Democrats. They say his inappropriate online exchanges with women have hurt the party as it seeks to regain control of the House of Representatives from Republicans in next year's elections.

In a brief statement, the congressman's spokeswoman, Risa Heller, indicated Weiner would remain in office at least until he receives professional help at an undisclosed facility.

"Congressman Weiner departed this morning to seek professional treatment to focus on becoming a better husband and healthier person," Heller said.

"In light of that, he will request a short leave of absence from the House of Representatives so that he can get evaluated and map out a course of treatment to make himself well."

"Congressman Weiner ... has determined that he needs this time to get healthy and make the best decision possible for himself, his family and his constituents," Heller said.

Earlier on Saturday, Pelosi and other House Democrats called on Weiner to step down, frustrated by his refusal to step aside after admitting on Monday to inappropriate Internet relations with at least six women.

Democrats appeared to coordinate their statements to add pressure on the seven-term lawmaker to resign for his Internet exchanges with women, which included lewd pictures of himself, and then lying about it.

"Congressman Weiner has the love of his family, the confidence of his constituents, and the recognition that he needs help," Pelosi said in a statement.

"I urge Congressman Weiner to seek that help without the pressures of being a Member of Congress," Pelosi said.

Pelosi issued her statement after she was made aware of Weiner's "intention to take a leave of absence in order to seek treatment," an aide said.

Weiner, a fiery liberal re-elected last November with 61 percent of the vote, says his behavior was wrong but that he violated no laws.

Generally, all it takes to get a leave of absence, as Weiner plans to do, is to formally advise the House speaker. "You ask for it, you get it," an aide said.

'DISTRESSING AND SADDENING'

Weiner's political mentor, New York Democratic Senator Charles Schumer, said: "For those of us who are longtime friends of Anthony Weiner his wrongful behavior is distressing and saddening. It's clear he needs professional help and I am glad he is seeking it."

Pelosi has requested an ethics investigation to determine what, if any, House rules Weiner may have broke in his Internet exchanges. Such a probe could take months, even up to a year.

Democratic Party Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz and House Democratic campaign committee chair Steve Israel were among the other party leaders on Saturday to call on Weiner to resign.

"This sordid affair has become an unacceptable distraction for Representative Weiner, his family, his constituents and the House - and for the good of all, he should step aside and address those things that should be most important - his and his family's well-being," Wasserman Schultz said.

Assistant House Democratic Leader James Clyburn repeated his call for House Democrats to address the issue when the House returns next week from a one-week recess.

A Democratic aide said they could pass a resolution urging Weiner to resign. While it would not be binding, it would show that Weiner faces a solid wall of opposition in his own party.

A poll this week found support for Weiner among his constituents.

According to a NY1-Marist poll, 56 percent of adults in his district believed he should stay in office, while 33 percent said he should quit.

The telephone survey of 512 adults was conducted on Wednesday and had a margin of error of plus or minus 5 percentage points.

Patrick Egan, a political science professor at New York University, said the poll results were not particularly surprising. "This isn't Kansas, Utah or Alabama. This is New York where people are more forgiving of such things," he said.

(Additional reporting by Richard Cowan; Editing by Peter Cooney)

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Swedish king flatly denies improprieties, scandal grows (AFP)

STOCKHOLM (AFP) – Swedish King Carl XVI Gustaf gave a rare interview in an attempt to quash a swelling scandal, flatly rejecting media reports he had visited strip clubs and even had indirect contact with organised crime.

In a long interview with the TT news agency published late Monday, Sweden's head of state denied recent reported claims from a former mafia member, Mille Markovic, that he had pictures in his possession showing the king in a sex club in the same shot as two naked women.

"No, it is impossible that they exist," the king insisted, stressing that "it is also difficult to comment on something one has not seen and no one else has seen either."

The royal court has demanded that public broadcaster TV4, which in a report two weeks ago about the alleged pictures said a journalist had seen them, show the shots to prove there is any substance to the claims.

The TV4 report and a new book about another shady figure from Sweden's underworld alleged friends of the king had been willing to pay large sums of money to block the publication of pictures of the monarch in compromising situations.

One of the king's childhood friends, Ander Lettstroem, admitted in a statement last week he had contacted people involved with organised crime, but insisted it was purely his own initiative and had nothing to do with Carl XVI Gustaf.

In Monday's interview, the king reiterated a previous statement that he had no knowledge of Lettstroem's actions and had nothing to do with his confession.

"That he has been in contact with such people ... is not appropriate. That's something one could wish he had not done, I must say," he said, adding that "I have distanced myself completely from his actions and thereby also from our acquaintanceship."

He admitted the scandal had "of course hurt confidence in me, and even confidence in the monarchy and also Sweden."

"That is something I really regret, but it is something I will fix, and I will work double as hard in the future," he said.

The latest scandal comes just over six months after a tell-all biography of the king hit the bookstands, causing uproar with its descriptions of his participation in wild parties and affairs with young women.

The allegations also come shortly after the royal court announced the king's wife, German-born Queen Silvia, had launched a probe into her father's Nazi past.

When asked about claims in the book he had visited several specific strip clubs, the king on Monday was often on the defensive, responding repeatedly with "No," and "I have no idea."

Following the latest allegations, several polls have shown that a majority of Swedes would like the king to soon abdicate and hand over the throne to Crown Princess Victoria, who has long been far more popular than her father.

The king, who reached the official retirement age of 65 last month, reiterated Monday he has no plans to step aside in favour of his 33-year-old daughter.

"There is a tradition and custom and that is not what is going to happen," he said.

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Shriver doesn't discuss scandal at Winfrey taping (AP)

CHICAGO – Maria Shriver didn't address revelations that her husband fathered a child with another woman when she appeared at Oprah Winfrey's farewell show on Tuesday.

Shriver, the TV journalist and Kennedy heiress, walked onstage wearing a sparkly blue dress with Winfrey's best friend Gayle King. Earlier in the day it was revealed her husband, Arnold Schwarzenegger, fathered a child with a woman on his household staff more than a decade ago.

In a statement Shriver called it a "painful and heartbreaking time." Last week, Schwarzenegger and Shriver announced they had separated.

But on Tuesday evening Shriver focused on Winfrey.

"You have given me love, support, wisdom and most of all the truth," Shriver said to applause as Winfrey responded, "the truth."

Shriver highlighted Winfrey's efforts at spreading education.

"You've believed in others so they could believe in themselves and most importantly you've taught young women and men to focus on learning everything they can," Shriver said.

Shriver appeared on the second of two star-studded episodes taped at the United Center. It is scheduled to air May 24.

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