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Tag: law & order

  • Jason Alexander Enters Guilty Plea To Child Pornography Charges

    Jason Alexander – not to be mistaken with the famous Seinfeld cast member – pleaded guilty on Tuesday to possessing and promoting child pornography, according to the Westchester County District Attorney’s Office.

    Law & Order director Jason “Jace” Alexander could possibly face seven years imprisonment for child pornography charges.

    The 51-year-old native of Dobbs Ferry, New York, entered guilty pleas to one count of promoting sexual performance and one count of possessing an obscene sexual performance by a child. The charges against the director stemmed from possessing and file-sharing illicit and obscene performances of sexual conduct by children less than 17 years old.

    He is set to be sentenced on May 3, and he could face a maximum jail time of seven years.

    Jason Alexander was arrested in July 2015 after an investigator from the Westchester County District Attorney’s Office downloaded child porn from a suspicious IP address in Dobbs Ferry. Investigators traced the location of the IP address and it was revealed to be assigned to the director’s home. A search warrant was then issued.

    The District Attorney’s Office was able to collect strong evidence against the TV director during the forensic examination of his computer and hard drives that were confiscated from his residence. Illegal digital files of minors engaged in sexual acts were discovered on his personal computer and external hard drives, Westchester County District Attorney Janet DiFiore said.

    Assistant District Attorney Laura Forbes of the High Technology Crime Bureau is prosecuting the 51-year-old director’s child porn case.

    Alexander, who remains out on bail, directed a number of Law & Order episodes since mid ‘90s. His other TV projects include The Practice, Rescue Me, and The Blacklist. Jason Alexander has reportedly served as second vice president of the Directors Guild of America.

  • Angie Harmon, Sasha Alexander Out of Work as TNT Axes “Rizzoli & Isles”

    Angie Harmon and Sasha Alexander will soon find themselves out of work as TNT announced this week they are ending their crime drama, Rizzoli & Isles. The show’s seventh season will air this summer, and that will be its last.

    Angie Harmon plays the role of homicide detective Jane Rizzoli alongside Sasha Alexander’s role as medical examiner Maura Isles.

    TNT has recently undergone some management revamping. New boss Kevin Reilly reportedly prefers both edgier shows, as well as those that develop episode by episode. Rizzoli & Isles features individual stories that begin and ended in each episode.

    “It had a good run,” Reilly said on Thursday. “It felt like it was time.”

    Angie Harmon’s initial claim to fame came during her work as a fashion model. Her first big acting job was in Law & Order.

    Sasha Alexander is a Dawson’s Creek alum, on which she played the role of Gretchen Witter. She starred for the first two seasons of NCIS as Special Agent Kate Todd.

    Are you a Rizzoli & Isles fan? Are you disappointed to learn that Angie Harmon and Sasha Alexander have but one summer season left to star in these roles?

  • Richard Gere May Be Looking at Pricey Divorce

    Richard Gere might be heading towards giving up half of his estimated $250 million fortune, as divorce proceedings commence with his estranged wife Carey Lowell.

    A source told Page Six, “they are not getting along and they are very far apart on how much money she will get in their divorce.” The source added, “she (Lowell) can claim she gave up her career for him and for their 14-year-old son Homer, and that she deserves half of all his earnings since they got married in 2002.”

    Gere, 65, got married to Lowell, 53, in 2002, and the two have cited “lifestyle differences” as the cause of their separation. Gere, who shot to stardom after playing male escort Julian Kaye in 1980’s American Gigolo, raked in roughly $83 million in 2013, according to People Magazine. The actor’s bayfront manor in North Haven in the Hamptons is on the market for $47.5 million, which might be indicative that he is well aware a lofty divorce settlement is impending.

    Gere in American Gigolo:

    Lowell, who worked on NBC’s Law & Order between 1996-2001, filed for divorce in June, and is presently living in a rented house in the Hamptons. Lowell’s lawyer Robert Cohen commented that it was too early to discuss how much the divorce settlement might be. “Nobody has asked for anything yet,” Cohen told Page Six. “But she certainly wants her fair share of the marital assets.”

    Gere, who was spotted with Top Chef host Padma Lakshmi, reportedly threatened the paparazzi with an umbrella after an October court appearance with Lowell. Gere and Lowell refused to acknowledge one another during the courtroom proceedings.

    Lowell, who had been married twice before meeting Gere, is reportedly seeing a man who is going through his own contentious divorce, and the Pretty Woman actor is said to be highly displeased.

  • Olivia Benson: Mariska Hargitay On Her Popular Character

    Olivia Benson was first brought to life by actress Mariska Hargitay 16 years ago on the hugely successful show Law & Order: SVU, and as Hargitay heads into a new season of the show, she’s opening up about what Benson has been through and what it takes to portray such a strong character.

    Hargitay sat down for an interview on Inside The Actor’s Studio recently and said that getting ready for the role meant she had to learn physical things, like shooting a gun, but it also meant she had to train her mind to work like that of the character’s…which means she can spot a pickpocket in a crowd like a champ. She also had to view an autopsy, which she says was tough, but necessary.

    The actress also opened up about her costar Christopher Meloni, who left the show a few seasons ago. The pair made a hot onscreen duo, but their chemistry was only part of what made the show such a huge hit.

    “I’m so grateful for my time with him. I think Chris is incapable of lying. He is a truth-teller; he’s committed to the truth at all costs. I loved his passion and commitment…He made me better and I love him. I loved acting with him and I love him as a person,” she said.

    Hargitay’s character had to battle some demons last season, when she faced down the man who kidnapped and tortured her in court. But, she says, it was important for her to let fans of the show know that victims of even the most heinous crimes can find strength within themselves.

    “[A] lot of time people sort of put Benson up on a pedestal, right? Because they think she’s so strong, ‘I wish I could be like that.’ A lot of this is sort of Joyful Heart-induced and I always say, ‘She’s not so strong.’ We can’t define ourselves by an event. That’s something that happened to you. I think it was important for her to face him again because she can, and victims, I feel, need to sometimes be reminded of their own inner strength. That’s what I wanted to do,” she told Today.

  • Kate Mara’s Star Power Is On The Rise

    Kate Mara has always been a powerful actress, but with the success of the Netflix series House of Cards, her star power is definitely on the rise.

    The 30-year-old actress has been acting for 17 years. Her first role was in Law & Order when she was 14 and over the years, she’s been one of those actresses you see over and over but can’t quite recall their name.

    She’s starred in numerous television shows and made appearances in acclaimed films like Brokeback Mountain and 127 Hours. But, she never quite broke into the spotlight.

    But, all that is changing.

    Her strong performance in House of Cards playing newspaper reporter Zoe Barnes has led to roles in some high-profile films that are in the works.

    Mara just signed on to play Sue Storm (Invisible Girl) in the upcoming Fantastic Four reboot, joining other rising Hollywood stars Michael B. Jordan (Johnny Storm/The Human Torch), Miles Teller (Dr. Reed Richards/Mister Fantastic), and Jamie Bell (Ben Grimm/The Thing).

    The project has been in development over the past five years and is expected to be one of the biggest summer blockbusters in 2015.

    Mara said working with Academy Award-winner Kevin Spacey, who plays Frank Underwood on House of Cards, is a wonderful experience and nothing like she imagined.

    “Most people have this sort of picture of him as – and I sort of did as well before I started working with him – I thought he was going to be very, very serious, and a little intimidating,” said Mara. “And that’s not my experience with him at all. He’s hilarious and with all the dramatic stuff we had to do together, he kept it light with me and I always felt really comfortable with him.”

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Mariska Hargitay Gets Star on Hollywood Walk of Fame

    Mariska Hargitay is officially a Hollywood legend. The Law & Order: SVU actress got her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Friday, making her the 2,511th person to be honored. And in a very nice sentimental gesture, Hargitay’s star was placed next to her mother’s, actress Jayne Mansfield, who died in a car accident when Hargitay was just three years old.

    The Emmy and Golden Globe award winning actress is currently filming her 14th year as Detective Olivia Benson on SVU. The popular series, which investigates sexually oriented crimes, was the first spinoff stemming from the Law & Order franchise. The hour long show typically takes its plot lines from current headlines and events and delivers the narrative from two separate vantage points. The first half of all Law & Order shows depict the investigative part of the crime, that is where Hargitay’s character Detective Benson does her police work. While, the second half of the episode, shows the audience the prosecution part of the crime.

    The 49-year-old actress played bit parts in television and film before being cast in a recurring role in the hospital drama ER in 1997. From there, she got the attention of Law & Order creator Dick Wolf. Both Mr. Wolf and Hargitay’s long-time friend Hilary Swank were present at the ceremony. Mr. Wolf spoke at the event. “I love you, you’ve done an incredible job. You are one of the icons of television, and certainly, I think the female icon for millions of women not only here, but all around the world.”

    SVU inspired Hargitay to help victims of sexual assault and violent crimes. In 2004, she started the Joyful Heart Foundation. Their mission statement is “to heal, educate and empower survivors of sexual assault, domestic violence and child abuse, and to shed light into the darkness that surrounds these issues.”

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  • Mariska Hargitay to Fight Crime in Real Life

    Mariska Hargitay is doing something similar to her tough detective character on Law & Order in real life. On T.V., Hargitay often deals with domestic violence and sexual assault. Now, the actress is leading a group of others in Hollywood in a campaign against domestic violence and sexual assault called No More, which will include public service announcements directed by Hargitay herself.

    Inquisitr reports that the public service announcements were funded by the Joyful Heart Foundation, which introduced a new circular blue symbol that Hargitay said she hopes will become synonymous with the fight against domestic violence. “The shame and stigma belongs with the perpetrator,” she said. “Let’s not stand by; let’s not accept it anymore. No more.”

    The website for Joyful Heart foundation posted some grim statistics to make people aware of the real problem we are actually facing:

    -One in three women (30%) report being a victim of domestic violence; one in five women (20%) report being a victim of sexual assault.

    -60% of Americans, 15 years of age or older, know a victim of domestic violence or sexual assault. Among the 70% of women who have experienced domestic violence and told someone about it, more than half (58%) said that no one helped them.

    -Three out of four (73%) parents with children under the age of 18 said that they have not had a conversation about violence in the home.

    -Three quarters of Americans (75%) say they would step in and help if they saw even a stranger being abused, but almost two thirds (64%) of Americans age 15 or older say if we talk more about domestic violence and sexual assault, it would make it easier to help someone.

    “This is an epidemic that is afflicting our society and I believe that it is an epidemic we can change,” Hargitay said. “For the first time in history, the domestic violence and the sexual assault movements, the two communities, are coming together with this symbol. It’s to this movement what the pink ribbon was to breast cancer, what the red ribbon did for HIV/AIDS; it got people together, under one umbrella, talking about it.”

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tu4eGnOpWc8

    The television star has built up a reputation for her advocacy in domestic violence issues, and has also built up a reputation to bank it! This year Mariska Hargitay was placed near the top of the enviable list of highest-paid television actresses. She finished No. 2 on the list behind Modern Family star Sofia Vergara, earning $11 million from June 2012 to June 2013.

    Some other powerful stars who are joining Mariska Hargitay in the No More campaign are Courteney Cox, Amy Poehler, Debra Messing, Tate Donovan and fellow Law & Order star Ice-T. Hargitay said she hopes the effort will take a national stature the way other celebrity-backed awareness campaigns have.

    Image via wikipedia