[Entertainment wRap] Trial to begin on Baldwin’s alleged stalker

MANILA, Philippines – Here are some entertainment news from October 6 to 12.

Baldwin stalking trial to begin November 6

A judge decided Tuesday, October 8, that a Canadian actress accused of stalking American actor Alec Baldwin will go on trial in New York on November 6 on charges that she strenuously denies.

Genevieve Sabourin, who has refused offers to settle the charges out of court, says they stem out of a “misunderstanding” and that she did “absolutely not” stalk Baldwin.

Sabourin was arrested in April 2012, days after showing up at Baldwin’s Manhattan apartment. The star of the TV comedy hit series “30 Rock” had filed stalking charges against her.

He accused Sabourin of sending love-struck emails and asking him to marry her.

The actress claims to have had a sexual relationship with Baldwin, having first met him in 2002, and that they had romantic ties afterwards.

Baldwin has admitted to seeing Sabourin in 2010, but only for dinner.

Prosecutors have twice indicated they would be ready to settle the case if Sabourin pledges to not go within 10 blocks of the home or office of the actor and his wife and to get therapy.

But Sabourin has rejected these conditions, saying she has no need of treatment.

France split over smoking link to Chereau’s death

Michele Delaunay, the French government minister for the elderly, has sparked a debate after the announcement late Monday, October 7, of the death of acclaimed film, theater, and opera director Patrice Chereau at the age of 68.

Most French media described his death as caused by a “long illness.” Delaunay, on the other hand, tweeted: “Chereau dead as a result of lung cancer: is it not time for cigarettes to be locked away in a cabinet for poison and sold only in pharmacies.”

The comment immediately triggered accusations on social media that the government health police was exploiting a high-profile death for their own ends. “Inappropriate,” “undignified,” and “shameful” were among the critical responses.

The furor prompted the minister to respond, which she did by pointing out that she was speaking out as a qualified doctor.

“I can no longer bear people dying because of tobacco,” she wrote. “It is immensely sad to see, once again, a talented man struck down by a legal weapon.”

Delaunay’s call for cigarette sales to be restricted to pharmacies came as a proposal to that effect, regarding e-cigarettes, was being discussed in the European Parliament. MEPs threw out the proposal on Tuesday but approved an anti-smoking bill.

Long-lost ‘Doctor Who’ episodes found in Nigeria

9 missing episodes of the cult BBC science-fiction drama “Doctor Who” have been found in a television station storeroom in Nigeria, nearly half a century after they were last seen, the broadcaster said Friday, October 11.

Among the recovered 1960s footages are most of the classic story “The Web of Fear,” a black and white adventure in which the Time Lord, then played by Patrick Troughton, battles a robot yeti in London’s underground train system.

The trove, described by the BBC as the “largest haul of missing episodes recovered in the last 3 decades,” also includes the 6-part story, “The Enemy of the World.”

Watch this teaser of the updated ‘Doctor Who,’ series 7, part 2:

The episodes were uncovered by Phillip Morris, director of Television International Enterprises Archive.

“I remember wiping the dust off the masking tape on the canisters and my heart missed a beat as I saw the words, ‘Doctor Who.’ When I read the story code, I realized I’d found something pretty special,” Morris said.

The tapes originally went from Britain to Hong Kong and then on to a series of television stations in Nigeria as part of the distribution systems that operated at the time.

“Fortunately in this case they had been kept in the optimum condition,” said Morris.

He joked that he is often described as the “Indiana Jones of the film world” for discovering the cache of tapes. 

The BBC destroyed many of the drama’s original tapes in the 1960s and 1970s but some were copied for sale to foreign broadcasters.

Despite the find, 97 episodes remain lost. – With reports from Agence France-Presse/Rappler.com

 

Alec Baldwin, Patrice Chereau photos from Shutterstock