“Young vet, who 'shot 18' in war, takes own life in Muncie movie ... - Star-Press” plus 4 more

Young vet, who 'shot 18' in war, takes own life in Muncie movie ... - Star-Press
Main Aurr Mrs Khanna Movie Preview - Glamsham
How Hugh Jackman got all emotion during Wolverine - Adelaide Now
'Couples Retreat' takes in $35 million - News-Democrat
Sendak sees "Wild Things" adapted for screen - Asbury Park Press

Young vet, who 'shot 18' in war, takes own life in Muncie movie ... - Star-Press

Posted: 14 Oct 2009 12:14 AM PDT

MUNCIE -- Without warning, a 21-year-old Indiana National Guard soldier killed himself with his brother's gun while watching Zombieland in a Muncie movie theater Monday night.

Jacob W. Sexton had a faint pulse as emergency medical crews worked to save his life at the Showplace 12 theater. He later died, according to Delaware County Coroner James Clevenger Jr., of a self-inflicted, single gunshot wound to the head.

Jacob was on leave while serving in Afghanistan and had previously served in Iraq. He was at the movie with his two brothers, Jeremiah and Jared, and his best friend, Terry Keagy.

When the group went to buy tickets, the manager asked for identification, according to police.

Jacob spoke up, the manager told police, saying, "I shot 18 people and you want to see my identification?" He then showed the manager a military ID.

"(Jacob) always was loud and obnoxious," said Jeremiah, 20.

Jeremiah is in the same National Guard unit as his brother, but has not yet been deployed to Afghanistan.

Jeremiah said Jacob asked for his gun, a 9 mm Taurus, which he played around with as they were watching the zombie killer movie.

"He did not say anything," said Jeremiah on Tuesday.

Jacob then told Keagy to duck, grabbed his head, pushed it down and then shot himself.

In shock, the brothers tried to help Jacob before emergency crews arrived.

"It was so surreal," said Jared.

About 13 people were in the theater when the shooting occurred around 10:30 p.m.

One of the witnesses, Alexandra Dougherty, told police she and her friends heard a real loud pop and thought it was a firecracker.

"I was freaking out because I did not know what happened," said Dougherty, who later learned someone shot himself.

The Sexton brothers and Jacob's friend had been drinking, according to police, who had no immediate answers for why Sexton shot himself.

"I don't think it was something that was planned," said police Sgt. Mike Engle. "It was an impulsive decision he made."

Engle and other officers interviewed the victim's brothers and friend along with other witnesses. Police also checked with the Pentagon, and military officials offered no immediate clues to Sexton's death.

Engle said Sexton left no clues behind and even his brothers and close friend, Keagy, could not say why Sexton shot himself.

"We have not found what triggered this," said Engle.

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Main Aurr Mrs Khanna Movie Preview - Glamsham

Posted: 08 Oct 2009 06:48 AM PDT

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How Hugh Jackman got all emotion during Wolverine - Adelaide Now

Posted: 13 Oct 2009 05:33 PM PDT

WHEN Gavin Hood received a call from Hugh Jackman about directing his latest project X-Men Origins: Wolverine he thought someone was playing a practical joke on him.

"I got a real surprise when Hugh Jackman called me up to talk about directing Wolverine," he says.

"I said, 'Who's this? Is this April Fool's Day - who's winding me up?'. "

When the South African-born director, who won a foreign film Oscar for Tsotsi in 2006, finally realised he was really talking to the Aussie star he agreed to meet with him.

"He was a big fan of Tsotsi," he says.

"I said Tsotsi, Wolverine - I don't see the connection and he said, 'I want you to go away and read some of these comics and I think you might see a connection'."

After immersing himself in the X-Men comics Hood developed a liking for the Wolverine character.

"There's a degree of self-loathing and inner conflict that exists," he says.

"Here's a guy who's deeply ruled by his emotions, wants love, can't find it, lashes out at the world and pulls back.

"This is why I fell in love with the character. I thought this was one screwed-up guy who's so interesting to me.

But it was a personal link to the mindset of the Wolverine character that convinced Hood to come on board.

"I was in the military for two years - I lost one of my best friends - that's why I got this guy and this rage," he says.

Once Hood agreed to get involved the director decided the story needed a controversial change which risked causing a stir among the ardent fans of the comic books.

"When I came on to the project we had a very well-written story," he says. "You had Wolverine and you had Sabretooth and they're beating the crap out of each other. How can we make this villain more dangerous and how can we up the emotional stakes?

"So I asked if we could go to some obscure source in the comics, which only some fans agree with, which is that maybe Sabretooth is Wolverine's brother.

"Without all the other X-Men characters, we were in danger of making a movie about two guys fighting with each other. Most of the fans are pleased we did this - that we went with the relationship with the brothers - because it's so delicious between them."

Producer Lauren Shuler Donner says it was during the filming of X-Men 2 that she first discussed the possibility of a Wolverine film with Jackman. Shuler Donner says part of the Wolverine saga takes place in Japan and she liked the story so much she shared it with Jackman.

"I went to Hugh and told him there's a real treasure here. Hugh read it and he loved it too," she says.

"So we went to the studio and asked if we could do this Wolverine saga.

"The studio saw it, loved it and understood why we wanted to do it but wanted to ground the audience to who Wolverine was before we took them on this Japanese saga.

"They said 'Let's do his origins first - let's tell the audience who he is'."

With Wolverine 2 now in pre-production, fans can expect the Japanese part of the story to come to life on the big screen.

"We now have a writer - Christoper Macquarie (The Usual Suspects) - on to Wolverine 2," she says. "His idea for it is really good so I'm really excited about it."

Hood says releasing X-Men Origins: Wolverine on Blu-ray Disc in high definition will maintain the film's quality for people to enjoy in their homes.

"Making a movie we're trying to get the technical qualities as good as you can and make beautiful images and get great sound," he says. "Usually the only time you see things at that level is when you're in the cinema and things degrade from there on. The great thing about Blu-ray is it's helping us as filmmakers better preserve the quality of what we've made for a longer lifespan."

X-Men Origins: Wolverine is the first Blu-ray Disc from 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment to feature Live Lookup which allows viewers to see what other films the actors have appeared in.

X-Men Origins: Wolverine is available today on DVD and Blu-ray

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'Couples Retreat' takes in $35 million - News-Democrat

Posted: 12 Oct 2009 01:00 AM PDT

LOS ANGELES -- "Swingers" co-stars Vince Vaughn and Jon Favreau buddied up for the weekend's top movie as "Couples Retreat" debuted with $35.3 million, while the micro-budgeted fright flick "Paranormal Activity" leaped into the top 10.

Shot for a reported $15,000, "Paranormal Activity" came in at No. 5 with $7.1 million as distributor Paramount expanded it into daylong release after two weeks of midnight-only screenings.

"Paranormal Activity" played in narrow release of just 160 cinemas, a fraction of the theater count for other top movies. It averaged a whopping $44,163 a theater, compared with $11,780 in 3,000 theaters for "Couples Retreat."

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Sendak sees "Wild Things" adapted for screen - Asbury Park Press

Posted: 14 Oct 2009 01:19 AM PDT

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Instead, he credits Europe for producing films faithful to childhood, like Francois Truffaut's "The 400 Blows" and Lasse Hallstrom's "My Life as a Dog."

"They broke that sound barrier a long time ago," said Sendak. "We've always been the prissy country."

Speaking with Sendak, it quickly becomes apparent how much he simply feels how deep his passions run for writing, for children, for those close to him. In recent years, he's lost several very good friends "like leaves falling off trees" including his longtime partner, Dr. Eugene Glynn.

"I could not read, nor hear music," says Sendak. "Grief completely overwhelmed me."

His brother Jack and sister Natalie perhaps the two people most important in forging Sendak's creative life are also gone now. Sendak recalls his own childhood as sickly and unlooked-after, but extremely lucky for his siblings. Jack, older by five years, often created things drawings, toys with his younger brother, sitting with him while he was sick in bed.

"I will never get over their loss," says Sendak. "I don't want to get over their loss."

But just a week earlier, Sendak says, he began to come out of his depression. It started by picking up "Great Expectations" by Charles Dickens, one of his great loves, and was followed by listening to Mozart's "Don Giovanni."

"I'm coming back to life and the movie of "Wild Things' and everything is life-enhancing," says the author. "One looks for signs and symptoms of what is good and what is bad, what is pulling you down and what is holding it up. It's Mozart, but I haven't listened to him carefully for a long time. Now he's back in my life with a vengeance. ... And there's Charles Dickens."

Sendak has two books in the works the "old thrill" is back, he says. One is, at this point, purely text and a tribute to his brother. The other is illustrated and about a boy who "unfortunately for him happened to look like and be a pig."

Max, of "Wild Things," would at this point be around 50. Sendak has previously joked that he imagines him still living with his mother and in therapy. He notes, though, that he's perfectly free to revise that vision.

"If I had a preference, he would be an artist," says Sendak. "He would be an artist and it could be in any profession in painting, in illustrating, in writing, in music. Oh, God, if he were a great pianist, I would be so happy!"

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