‘Birds of Prey’ tops North America box office but doesn’t quite soar
She couldn’t cut it, even with his help.
Over three grueling days of testimony, Mann, 34, testified that she couldn’t say exactly how many consensual sexual encounters she had with Weinstein, but that she was raped twice.
Her many consensual interactions with him occurred both before and after the alleged assaults.
The first alleged assault was at the Doubletree Hotel on Lexington Avenue in Manhattan, and is the basis for charges of first and third-degree rape in the indictment against Weinstein.
The second alleged assault took place at the Peninsula Beverly Hills hotel, and is not the basis for any charge.
According to Mann, the Los Angeles assault was a form of punishment for her decision to date an actor.
“You owe me one more time,” she said Weinstein told her.
But when confronted by defence attorney Donna Rotunno, Mann’s chronology appeared to contain inconsistencies.
For instance, she was long gone from her hairdresser job at the hotel – a gig that Weinstein got her – when she and the film mogul swapped emails about her new relationship.
Under pressure, Mann said she didn’t know precisely when the assault she alleges happened, but insisted that it was violent and forced.
She was challenged repeatedly about her claims, and questioned about her mental health history.
In 2014, according to testimony, she consulted a life coach and a psychic about her relationship problems, both with Weinstein and another boyfriend at the time.
— The Washington
Post
LOS ANGELES: For Warner Bros.’ new release “Birds of Prey,” the weekend brought good and bad news: It took in an estimated $33.3 million to lead the North American box office, but fared poorly for a superhero movie.
The three-day estimate, from industry watcher Exhibitor Relations, marked one of the lowest domestic launches in years for a studio superhero film, according to Hollywood Reporter.
The film, starring Margot Robbie as former Joker girlfriend Harley Quinn, has drawn generally strong reviews. Young ChineseAmerican director Cathy Yan won a special Sundance award for her debut film, dark comedy “Dead Pigs.”
Sony’s action comedy “Bad Boys for
Life,” with Will Smith and Martin Lawrence as wise-cracking detectives, slipped just one notch after topping the box office for three straight weeks, taking in $12 million.
Those two movies might have suffered a bit because this is Academy Award weekend, and viewers showed renewed interest in movies vying for the best-film Oscar on Sunday, starting with favorite “1917.”
The wrenching and technically impressive war film from director Sam Mendes earned $9 million for the weekend, down only slightly from the week before.
In fourth was another Universal picture, “Dolittle,” based on the children’s book about a veterinarian who can talk to animals. With a cast headed by Robert Downey Jr. and Emma Thompson, it took in $6.7 million.
And in fifth, one spot up from the previous week, was Sony’s “Jumanji: The Next Level,” at $5.5 million. It has Dwayne (“The Rock”) Johnson and Kevin Hart being plunged back into a dangerous video game world.