Bullied as a kid, Peter Jackson fights back on film

By Zorianna Kit
PARK CITY, Utah (Reuters) - The high-profile case of the West Memphis Three murderers might seem like an odd choice of films for director Peter Jackson, but the "Lord of the Rings" maker has come to Sundance with a documentary about the case and a new revelation of a possible suspect.
Jackson, who helped bankroll the defense of the three convicted killers who are now out of jail nearly 20 years after the crime, and the legal team claim they have testimony that the stepfather of one of the victims is the real murderer.
Whether that allegation eventually proves true will await prosecutors' action in West Memphis, Arkansas where the murders took place in 1993, and so far the prosecution has stuck by its belief they had the right culprits all along.
But where Jackson and one of the West Memphis Three, Damien Echols, are concerned, their documentary "West of Memphis" and this new testimony takes the fight further.
"It's got to be dealt with," Jackson told Reuters on Saturday at the Sundance Film Festival. "You can't just leave a murder case like that hanging in the air."
The high-profile case of the West Memphis Three who were tried and convicted as teens of murdering three boys prompted a call to action for Jackson when first told the disturbing tale of the young men linked to a grisly murder who were ultimately released from prison in August 2011.
"I was bullied and regarded as little bit of an oddball myself," Jackson told Reuters on Saturday. "And I see that happening to somebody else, so I just want to help them."
Jackson and director Amy Berg debuted "West of Memphis" at Sundance on Friday, and simultaneously defense lawyers issued a press release detailing their new revelations.
The documentary follows the case of what many believe was the wrongful conviction of Echols, Jason Baldwin and Jessie Misskelley, who were teenagers when they were accused of killing three 8-year-old boys in West Memphis, Arkansas in 1993.
The case already has been made famous by the HBO documentary series "Paradise Lost," but the story of the three jailed boys struck a chord in the Jackson and his wife and producing partner Fran Walsh as far back as 2005.
"It's an American story but it's a human story as well," Jackson said. "When you look at the original 'Paradise Lost' film, you see three kids who can't defend themselves, being persecuted in a medieval way -- witchcraft, satanic worship. It was kind of primitive. It makes you angry, so Fran and I contacted (Echols' wife) Lorri Davis and asked what we could do to help."
Jackson said he and Walsh funded the defense team's investigation anonymously, spending "more than thousands" of dollars paying bills for such things as DNA tests and sending investigators to interview additional witnesses.
"We're still doing that," Jackson said.
Only one week ago, he said, the filmmakers shot and edited the new revelation into the documentary, but they had no time to include the footage in early screenings.

Mallika Sherawat to teach Vivek how to kiss in intimate scenes

Mallika Sherawat has apparently promised to put Vivek Oberoi at ease before filming an intimate scene for 'Kismat, Love, Paisa, Dilli'

She has almost made a career out of the number of kisses she has shared with her co-stars on screen. We could very well imagine then that a few steamy scenes would be no big deal for Mallika Sherawat.

However, the same cannot be said about her co-star Vivek Oberoi, who for the first time will be seen indulging in some serious lovemaking scenes with her in their film Kismat, Love, Paisa, Dilli (KLPD).

Our source says, 'When Mallika read the scenes she was more than okay with the idea, but Vivek was a little skeptical.

He has never kissed on screen before, but she told him that it would be no big deal.'

Buzz is that after watching the sizzling Vidya Balan in The Dirty Picture, Mallika wants to go all out in the oomph department.

Adds the source, 'Most people know that she has no qualms about doing sensual sequences.'

Interestingly, one of them would be shot Buddha Gardens in Delhi, which is a popular lovers spot in the city.

Says a source, 'Vivek plays a hardcore Delhi guy and Mallika plays a Haryanvi. So the romance between them is also pretty loud and in your face.

The writers thought this would be an ideal location since people would be familiar with the surroundings and therefore will look natural.'

Producers Amit Chandra and Kishen Chowdhary have apparently made sure they acquire all required permissions for the shoot to avoid any objections later on, considering that this will be one of the most important sequences in the film.

Gingrich wins key vote, reshapes Republican race

Republican White House hopeful Newt Gingrich defeated one-time frontrunner Mitt Romney in the key South Carolina primary in an upset that transforms the topsy-turvy race.
The former House speaker, who had surged ahead in the final days of campaigning here, pulled off a surprise victory in the battle to be the party's presidential nominee in November, US media said, citing exit poll data.
The result destroys the aura of invincibility that had cloaked Romney, the former Massachusetts governor, until a few days ago, and had made him the man to beat in a race that now moves to Florida for its primary on January 31.
In a message on his Twitter account, Gingrich said: "Thank you South Carolina. Help me deliver the knockout punch in Florida. Join our Moneybomb and donate now."
Shouts of "Newt, Newt" echoed in the former speaker's campaign headquarters here when Fox television called the primary for Gingrich, with one supporter saying, "I feel like I want to kiss everybody."
Three different winners have now emerged in the first three contests of the bitterly-divided 2012 Republican race to be the party's standard-bearer to take on Democratic President Barack Obama in the November elections.
South Carolina marked Gingrich's first triumph after Christian conservative former senator Rick Santorum squeaked out a victory in Iowa and Romney romped home in New Hampshire, dividing up the electoral spoils and bragging rights.
The fight was on between Santorum and libertarian congressman Ron Paul for the third place here, as they jostle for status before the Florida vote.
Gingrich's win will rekindle doubts about whether Romney, a multi-millionaire investor and champion of the party's establishment, can rally the conservative core, which views him with suspicion.
Romney came out swinging late Saturday, vowing he was moving on to Florida prepared for the long-haul as he congratulated "speaker Gingrich and my fellow Republicans on a hard-fought campaign here in South Carolina."
"This is a hard fight because there is so much worth fighting for," he told supporters shouting "We need Mitt" in the state capital Columbia.
"This election is a battle for the soul of America. It's a choice between two very different destinies for America," Romney added, attacking Obama as having no idea how to get the struggling economy back on its feet.
"If President Obama thinks he can compare his record of job losses, with my record of job creation that's a battle we're going to win."
South Carolina is key in the path to the White House as no Republican since 1980 has captured the party's nomination without first winning here.
Romney's defeat in the southern state where he was once favored by nearly 20 points turns what he hoped would be a sprint to the nomination into a marathon, where his rivals must somehow overcome his more sophisticated, well-oiled operation.
Santorum praised Gingrich for his "great victory" adding "he kicked butt."
"There's a momentum for Newt and he capitalized on it," he told CNN, reassuring supporters that he would not bow to pressure to quit to allow conservatives to coalesce around one candidate.
"We have conservative organizations, we just got together and started endorsing us this week. We think for the long-term, we're going to be in much stronger shape."
With all eyes now on the vote-rich battleground of Florida, Susan MacManus, professor of political science at the University of South Florida, told AFP: "I think it will be really fascinating if Newt Gingrich comes very close to Romney or beats him.
"That makes Florida the epicenter of this nominating process. Republicans are well aware, not just Florida Republicans, but elsewhere, that if a Republican candidate cannot win Florida they are probably not going to win the White House."
Gingrich rose in South Carolina with a series of feisty debate performances, and drew a standing ovation Thursday with a blistering reply to a question about his marital woes, a query he denounced as "despicable."
Romney meanwhile has sought to deflect attacks that he built his vast fortune while firing workers, saying he expected such jibes from Obama, not fellow Republicans -- traditionally the party of business.

6.2 quake hits near southern Mexico coast: USGS

MEXICO CITY: A 6.2 magnitude earthquake struck near Mexico s southern coast on Saturday, US Geological Survey seismologists said, but initial reports indicated there were no injuries.The quake occurred at a depth of 66 kilometers (41 miles) some 57 kilometers southwest of Mapastepec, in Chiapas state, and was felt as far away as San Salvador, the capital of El Salvador.Red Cross officials in the nearby town of Tapachula said there had been strong movement underfoot but no injuries, according to radio reports received from Mapastepec.Much of Mexico lies on the Pacific Ring of Fire, where most of the world s earthquakes and volcanic eruptions occur.A historic 8.1-magnitude quake struck off Mexico s Pacific coast in 1985, and while it was centered 350 kilometers from Mexico City, it devastated the capital, killing at least 10,000 people. (AFP)

Gingrich leads by 13 points with half of S.Carolina vote counted

COLUMBIA, South Carolina (Reuters) - Newt Gingrich was beating his nearest rival, Mitt Romney, by 13 percentage points with half the votes counted in South Carolina's Republican U.S. presidential primary on Saturday.

With 50 percent of the vote counted, Gingrich had pulled in 40 percent of the vote, followed by Romney with 27 percent. Former senator Rick Santorum was in third with 18 percent and Representative Ron Paul in fourth with 13 percent.
All the major television networks had already called the race for Gingrich.
(Reporting by Deborah Charles; Editing by Bill Trott)

US, France to ensure strength of Afghan mission

WASHINGTON: The United States and France have agreed to work together to ensure the 'continued strength and effectiveness' of the NATO-led mission in Afghanistan, the State Department said on Saturday.The statement was made in telephone talks between US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe, after an Afghan soldier opened fire on French troops, killing four and wounding 15 others.French President Nicolas Sarkozy has said Paris will consider speeding up its withdrawal from Afghanistan in the wake of the deadly incident, which his defense minister said was the work of a Taliban infiltrator.Clinton 'expressed profound condolences on behalf of the American people for the deaths of four French soldiers in Afghanistan this week,' the State Department said in a statement.She and Juppe 'agreed that the US and France should work together with ISAF partners and the government of Afghanistan to ensure the continued strength and effectiveness of the mission,' it said.Sarkozy suspended French military training and joint combat operations with Afghan troops in the wake of the shooting. The 21-year-old Afghan, who has been identified as Abdul Mansour, was arrested after the incident.Friday s attack was the second time in a month that French troops were shot dead by an Afghan army soldier, bringing the country s overall death toll to 82 since troops deployed in 2001.France is one of the largest contributors to the 130,000-strong NATO force fighting the Taliban, who ruled Afghanistan from 1996 until they were ousted from power in 2001 in a US-led invasion. Clinton and Juppe also discussed the deteriorating situation in Syria ahead of upcoming Arab League meetings, the State Department said.

Karzai says he has spoken with Hizb-i-Islami

KABUL: Afghan President Hamid Karzai said on Saturday he had met a delegation from Afghan insurgent group Hizb-i-Islami for peace talks, a sign that he wants to assert his authority over a nascent peace process.Weeks ago, the Taliban offered to open a political office in Qatar, a potential venue for possible peace talks with the United States and other countries. Karzai maintains Afghanistan should take the lead in talks, and wants to show he has the power to bring non-Taliban insurgents into the process.The move is likely to be unpopular with Afghan voters, but displays Karzai s determination to demonstrate his authority, and gain control over any peace process for Afghanistan.'Recently we had talks with delegations from the Hizb-i-Islami of Afghanistan led by His Excellency Engineer Gulbuddin Hekmatyar,' Karzai told the Afghan parliament on the opening day of its winter session.'In these talks we expressed our point of view in a brotherly and friendly manner. We hope that our talks continue and bring beneficial results,' Karzai said.In the early 1990s, forces led by Hekmatyar, opposed to the government of then-president Burhanuddin Rabbani, took part infighting in Kabul which is thought to have killed tens of thousands. Hekmatyar quit Afghanistan in the mid-1990s, and his whereabouts have been unclear since then.