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Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter Opening statements began on Wednesday in a civil trial against Oscar-winning filmmaker Paul Haggis, who has been accused of raping a publicist nearly a decade ago.  Haleigh Breest, who filed a lawsuit against Haggis in 2017, alleges that the screenwriter and director forced her to perform oral sex and then raped her after she reluctantly agreed to have a drink at his Soho apartment following a movie premiere. Her attorneys asserted to jurors that the director used his fame and position in Hollywood to pressure Breest, who was 26 at the time. “The defendant, Paul Haggis, is a famous movie director and screenwriter. He’s won two Oscars. He’s talented. He’s powerful. He’s also manipulative,” the plaintiff’s lawyer Zoe Salzman told the jurors in a Lower Manhattan courtroom. “The evidence in this case will show Mr. Haggis used his storytelling skills and fame to prey on, manipulate and attack vulnerable young women in the film industry.”

Four days after the end of the SAG-AFTRA strike, Netflix rolled out the blue carpet for the first post-strike Hollywood premiere of a major studio production attended by talent, Season 6 of the streamer’s British royal drama The Crown.

Adele Lim, screenwriter of Crazy Rich Asians and writer-director of Joy Ride, talked about the realities of bringing Asian stories to mainstream global audiences in a panel, ‘Asian Rising Power in Hollywood’, on the second day of Taiwan Creative Content Fest (TCCF). 

Oscars red carpet — has been experiencing a series of losses and recoveries in power. Ovation Hollywood, a shopping area previously known as Hollywood & Highland, has seen several key areas go completely dark, including credential and safety offices. The Dolby Theater, which will host the Oscars ceremony on Sunday, is part of the Ovation site.

Matt Donnelly Senior Film WriterA group of elite entertainment lawyers are leaving their respective companies to form a new firm, eyeing a 2022 opening date.The unnamed venture will be led by attorneys Matthew Johnson, P.J. Shapiro and Gregory Slewett of Ziffren Brittenham LLP, and Tara Kole of Gang, Tyre, Ramer, Brown & Passman.They have represented top show business creatives across film and television, and enjoy decades of combined experience.

Evan Funke heard a familiar sound one recent evening at Felix in Venice. "A director friend of mine was doing a pitch for a movie on the patio," he recalls of the scene at his critically acclaimed restaurant, where he serves as chef and owner.

Zendaya is opening up about her career in Hollywood.

When Jodi Peikoff joined hundreds of other women working in law who shared their abortion stories with the U.S. Supreme Court in December, it wasn’t the first time she fought for the cause.

Though they quickly became one of Hollywood’s most powerful couples, Stephen and Ayesha Curry’s love story had a humble beginning.