Roger Avary won an Academy Award for co-writing the 1994 movie “Pulp Fiction” with director Quentin Tarantino. The Academy Award-winning co-writer of the film “Pulp Fiction” was arrested after sheriff’s deputies said he crashed his car in Ojai early Sunday while driving drunk, injuring his wife and killing a passenger.Roger Avary, 42, was driving at 12:54 a.m. when the accident occurred outside the Ojai Lumber Co. building at 1900 E. Ojai Ave., said Capt. Monica McGrath of the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department.Avary’s wife, Gretchen, 40, was ejected from the back seat and was taken to Ojai Valley Community Hospital with serious injuries, McGrath said.Another passenger, Andreas Zedini, 34, of Italy, died at Ventura County Medical Center after county firefighters had to extricate him from the vehicle, McGrath said.Avary was arrested on suspicion of felony driving under the influence and was booked briefly into Ventura County Jail before he posted $50,000 bail, McGrath said.Avary had most recently served as co-writer and executive producer of the movie “Beowulf.”In 1995, Avary won an Academy Award for co-writing the movie “Pulp Fiction” with director Quentin Tarantino.He has won awards for work on the film “Killing Zoe.”"Beowulf,” a film that Avary co-wrote with Neil Gaiman, was released last year.Avary and his wife are residents of Ojai, a small city in Ventura County known to be favored by artists.tiffany.hsu@latimes.com
It seems no one’s quite sure what set off Britney Spears’ latest breakdown. The fallen pop star spent two nights in Los Angeles’ Cedars-Sinai Medical Center last week after failing to surrender her two sons to her ex-husband, Kevin Federline, initiating a three hour standoff with cops. According to People magazine, Spears tested free of illegal drugs and alcohol at Cedars-Sinai. “She tested clean,” People’s unnamed source said. “This lady is as clean as clean can be, and has been for some time.” But London’s News of the World claims her bizarre behavior was the result of a “purple monster” mix of vodka, NyQuil and Red Bull, which she downed along with 100 prescription pills, including 12 Vicodins, six Ritalins and 10 sleeping pills. After consuming that cocktail, Spears called her pregnant 16-year-old sister, Jamie Lynn, and said she’d be taking over the spotlight soon, shouting “You’re not going to be the only f—ing Spears on the front cover of a magazine next week!” London’s News of the World reported. However, Paul L. Doering, professor of pharmacy practice at the University of Florida, said Spears would not have been able to stand had she taken all those drugs and chased them with alcohol, let alone make a phone call. “I can tell you without hesitation that a human being could not ingest all of those drugs and still be on this planet,” he told ABCNEWS.com. “The additive effect, the combined toxicities, the out-and-out poisonous properties of those things would send someone surely to the morgue rather than to the ER, especially if swilled down with vodka or any other alcoholic beverage.”
This woman doesn’t know it, but she’s risking a lawsuit.
You, too, could be sued for thousands of dollars by the major record companies — even if you’ve never once illegally downloaded music.
That’s because at least one lawyer for the Recording Industry Association of America, the Big Four record companies’ lobbying arm and primary legal weapon, considers the copying of songs from your own CDs to your own computer, for your own personal use, to be just as illegal as posting them online for all to share, according to a federal lawsuit filed in Arizona.
Jeffrey Howell of Scottsdale stands accused of placing 54 music files in a specific “shared” directory on his personal computer that all users of KaZaA and other “peer-to-peer” software could access — pretty standard grounds for an RIAA lawsuit.
However, on page 15 of a supplemental brief responding to the judge’s technical questions about the case, the RIAA’s Phoenix lawyer, Ira M. Schwartz, states that the defendant is also liable simply for the act of creating “unauthorized copies” — by ripping songs from CDs.
Schwartz is a partner in DeConcini McDonald Yetwin & Lacy, the family firm of former Sen. Dennis DeConcini, R-Ariz.
“It is undisputed that Defendant possessed unauthorized copies of Plaintiffs’ copyrighted sound recordings on his computer,” the brief states. “Virtually all of the sound recordings on Exhibit B are in the ‘.mp3′ format. … Defendant admitted that he converted these sound recordings from their original format to the .mp3 format for his and his wife’s use. … Once Defendant converted Plaintiffs’ recording into the compressed .mp3 format and they are in his shared folder, they are no longer the authorized copies distributed by Plaintiffs.”
“I couldn’t believe it when I read that,” New York lawyer Ray Beckerman told the Washington Post. “The basic principle in the law is that you have to distribute actual physical copies to be guilty of violating copyright. But recently, the industry has been going around saying that even a personal copy on your computer is a violation.”
In other words, according to Schwartz’s logic, every single person who’s ever “ripped” a CD for portable listening on an iPod or other MP3 player could be liable for astronomical damages.
Apple itself estimated earlier this year that only 4 percent of music on iPods worldwide had been purchased through iTunes, implying that most of the rest had been ripped from CDs.
In October, Jammie Thomas, a Minnesota single mother, was ordered to pay the record companies $220,000, or $9,250 for each of 24 songs a jury found she’d shared online.
The RIAA’s own Web site is more conciliatory, but implies that the organization reserves the right to go after music “rippers” should it change its mind.
“If you make unauthorized copies of copyrighted music recordings … you could be held legally liable for thousands of dollars in damages,” it plainly states before adding that “transferring a copy onto your computer hard drive or your portable music player won’t usually raise concerns so long as the copy is made from an authorized original CD that you legitimately own [or] the copy is just for your personal use.”
However, Schwartz isn’t the only RIAA bigwig who’s recently implied that those concerns may be raised more often.
Copying a song you’ve paid for in CD form is “a nice way of saying ’steals just one copy,’” Sony BMG top lawyer Jennifer Pariser testified during cross-examination in the Jammie Thomas case in early October.
Mariah Carey is back with a new body and hot look. The pop diva rocked club TAO last night in Las Vegas, where she counted down to 2008. Mariah arrived sporting a white cocktail number and for once her dress actually looked like it fit her.
When asked what her New Years resolution was she responded, “I should have them, but I’ve already done them. Mariah told reporters that she had reached her diet goals. That explains why she looked so good in the tight dress.
Mariah attended the bash with an entourage of 30, which included Rapper Da Brat,”American Idol” judge Randy Jackson, Kelis and Nas. Others that attended the party included Rick Fox, R&B singer Mario and the music band Earth Wind and Fire. Mariah closed the night by playing her new track “Migrate” which features T-Pain.
Songstress Mariah Carey was in Las Vegas last night to help count down to the new year at TAO Nightclub. The only problem — she was a few seconds off!
Watch the video and pay special attention to the time displayed in the background. Happy 30 seconds after New Year’s, everyone!
http://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid285859616/bclid294430730/bctid1363158419
*Christmas Day became an unexpected surprise for Lil’ Wayne fans. Without fanfare, the Cash Money/Universal artist slipped out a five-song digital EP on Dec. 25 dubbed “The Leak.”
The project is only available as digital downloads from Amazon.com, iTunes and Rhapsody. It should hold fans over until the scheduled February release of his next full-length album, “Tha Carter III.”
As previously reported, Lil Wayne told Billboard.com he was pushing the release date for “Tha Carter III” from Dec. 18 to February due to widespread leaks, including “Gossip,” which appears on the digital EP.
The other four tracks on “The Leak” include “I’m Me,” “Kush,” “Love Me or Hate Me” and “Talkin About It.”
