IN THE SPOTLIGHT
South Korean pop star Sulli found dead at her home
SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA » South Korean pop star and actress Sulli was found dead at her home south of Seoul on Monday, police said.
The 25-year-old was found after her manager went to her home in Seongnam because she didn’t answer phone calls for hours, said Kim Seong-tae, an official from the Seongnam Sujeong Police Department.
Kim said that there were no signs of foul play and that police did not find a suicide note.
“The investigation is ongoing and we won’t make presumptions about the cause of death,” said Kim, adding that security camera footage at Sulli’s home showed no signs of an intrusion.
In a statement sent to reporters, SM Entertainment, Sulli’s agency, said her death was “very hard to believe and sorrowful.”
Sulli’s legal name is Choi Jin-ri. She began her singing career in 2009 as a member of the girl band “f(x)” and also acted in numerous television dramas and movies.
French court refuses to surrender U.S. art dealer to Poland
PARIS » A lawyer for a New York art dealer says his client is back in the United States after a French court ruled against surrendering him to Poland.
Jean-Jacques Neuer said Monday that the Court of Appeals in Paris ruled against Poland’s request for the return of Alexander Khochinskiy.
Khochinskiy was arrested in February at Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport based on a European Union-wide warrant from Poland.
Neur called the appeals court’s decision “extremely rare” within the EU.
Poland accuses Khochinskiy of holding an 18th-century painting by French artist Antoine Pense that the Nazis stole from a Polish museum during World War II.
The Russian-born American citizen says he inherited “Girl With a Dove” in 1991 and only learned Poland wanted it in 2010.
The United States refused to extradite him in 2015.
Kevin Smith crafts his ‘real big cinematic gravestone’
LOS ANGELES » Kevin Smith says he’s crafted his “real big cinematic gravestone” 25 years after “Clerks.”
The 49-year-old writer-director-actor says a major heart attack in February 2018 prompted him to rewrite his script for “Jay and Silent Bob Reboot” to make a more personal statement about fatherhood, aging and legacy.
He called on friends and called in favors and reconnected with actors from his past, including “Chasing Amy” star Ben Affleck.
The resulting movie is a silly but heartfelt examination of nostalgia and growing up. The movie in theaters this week is packed with meta references to other films and what Smith calls his own “myopic career.”
Smith is planning sequels to “Clerks” and “Mallrats.”
“Clerks” debuted to acclaim in 1994 at the Sundance Film Festival. It’s a profane, slice-of-life film centered on a convenience store. Smith played