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Lawsuit bombshell shakes Kobe Bryant memorial service

<p>The widow of sporting star Kobe Bryant has sued the owner of the helicopter that crashed amidst fog and killed the former Los Angeles Lakers player, their 13-year-old daughter and seven other people aboard.</p> <p>Vanessa Bryant announced the wrongful death lawsuit in Los Angeles Superior Court and first said on Tuesday in an emotional public ceremony amidst hundreds of sporting legends and musical artists that she would be going ahead with the suit.</p> <p>The lawsuit says the pilot was carelessly negligent by flying in cloudy weather conditions on January 26 and should have aborted the flight that killed all nine people aboard.</p> <p>The lawsuit names Island Express Helicopters Inc. and also targets pilot Ara Zobayan’s representative or successor, listed only as “Doe 1” until a name can be determined.</p> <p>It claims Zobayan was negligent in eight ways, including failing to correctly assess the weather, flying into conditions he wasn’t cleared for and failing to control the helicopter.</p> <p><img style="width: 500px; height: 281.624500665779px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7834756/kobe-bryant-victims-2.jpg" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/ec128715b14e44ac8c73cd4d6a5f8bbb" /></p> <p>Ara Zaboyan,50  was flying Bryant, 41, and his daughter Gianna, 13, along with Payton Chester, 13; Sarah Chester, 45; Alyssa Altobelli, 14; Keri Altobelli, 46; John Altobelli, 56; and Christina Mauser, 38 when it crashed and killed them.</p> <p>The lawsuit was filed the morning of the public memorial service for Kobe Bryant and the rest of the lives taken in the crash, including Zobayan.</p> <p>It was held at a sold-out crowd at Staples Center, an arena Bryant spent most of his career making memorable highlights in the NBA and achievements not many other sporting stars can claim.</p> <p>Zobayan was Bryant’s frequent pilot and had been attempting to navigate in heavy fog that limited visibility to the point that the Los Angeles police and sheriff’s departments had even grounded their helicopter fleets.</p> <p>Under the visual flight rules that Zobayan was following, he was supposed to be able to see exactly where he was going.</p> <p>Zobayan was cited by the Federal Aviation Administration in May 2015 for violating those rules by flying into reduced visibility airspace, the lawsuit said.</p> <p>In his last transmission, Zobayan had told air traffic control he was climbing to 1219m, strictly to get above the clouds.</p> <p>He was just 30m short of breaking through the cloud cover when the helicopter banked left and plunged into a hillside, according to the National Transportation Safety Board.</p> <p>While there is no final conclusion on what caused the crash in Calabasas, there is said to be no sign of a mechanical failure.</p> <p>However, a final report will not be expected for a full year or so.</p>

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Final moments of Kobe Bryant’s fatal helicopter crash revealed

<p>The pilot in the helicopter that crashed in California, killing NBA star Kobe Bryant and eight others, was climbing to avoid a cloud layer before the aircraft plummeted, an accident investigator said.</p> <p>Speaking at a news conference Monday, Jennifer Homendy of the National Transportation Safety Board said pilot Ara Zobayan told air traffic controllers via radio he was climbing before the Sikorsky S-76B plunged more than 300 metres and crashed in Calabasas on Sunday morning.</p> <p>“When [Air Traffic Control] asked what the pilot planned to do, there was no reply,” Homendy said.</p> <p>The helicopter did not have a black box and was not required to, she said. Investigators will be looking at an iPad believed to have been used by Zobayan for flight tracking and weather briefings.</p> <p><span>The weather observation at the nearby Van Nuys Airport at 9.51 am on Sunday recorded visibility of 2.5 miles with a ceiling of 1,300 feet, the <em><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2020/01/27/weather-fog-kobe-bryant-crash/">Washington Post</a> </em>reported.</span></p> <p>Some aviation experts said Zobayan might have been disoriented by the fog in the area, but Homendy said investigating teams would look into every relevant factor from the pilot’s history to the engines.</p> <p>“We look at man, machine and the environment,” she said. “And weather is just a small portion of that.”</p> <p>Zobayan was a certified pilot and flight instructor, Homendy said. The aircraft’s owner Island Express Helicopters said Zobayan was <a href="https://apnews.com/d5769dce7e07abcb79ec44474c262a9a">the chief pilot for the company</a>.</p> <p>“Ara has been with the company for over 10 years and has over 8,000 flight hours,” the company said.</p> <p>The <a rel="noopener" href="https://nypost.com/2020/01/27/kobe-bryants-helicopter-tried-to-climb-to-avoid-clouds-before-crash-ntsb-officials-say/" target="_blank">accident</a> killed retired athlete Bryant and his 13-year-old daughter Gianna Maria-Onore Bryant; college baseball coach John Altobelli, his daughter Alyssa Altobelli and wife, Keri Altobelli; girls’ basketball coach Christina Mauser; mom Sarah Chester and her 13-year-old daughter, Payton Chester; and Zobayan.</p>

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Liam Neeson’s son pays touching tribute to his late mother Natasha Richardson

<p>Liam Neeson’s son Micheál has chosen a touchingly beautiful way to pay tribute to his late mother, Natasha Richardson, nine years after her death.</p> <p>According to <em><a rel="noopener" href="https://pagesix.com/2018/10/22/liam-neesons-son-changes-last-name-to-richardson-to-honor-late-mother-natasha/" target="_blank">Page Six</a></em>, Micheál has legally changed his surname from Neeson to Richardson to ensure his mother’s legacy lives on forever.</p> <p>Known for her extensive acting career, Natasha passed away in 2009, aged 45, after a skiing accident was to blame for a traumatic brain injury.</p> <p style="text-align: center;"><img style="width: 500px; height: 281.25px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7821555/liamneeson.jpg" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/5429367ecbc3465d975efd1a97ad9f9b" /></p> <p>The couple’s sons, Micheál and Daniel, were 13 and 12 when their mother died unexpectedly.</p> <p>Fellow actress and Natasha’s mother, Vanessa Redgrave, told the <em><a rel="noopener" href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/auhome/index.html" target="_blank">Daily Mail</a></em> that Micheál’s intention was not to offend his father but to pay tribute to his mother.</p> <p>“That wasn’t because he wanted to avoid his father’s fame, which is enormous,” she said. “He wanted to hold his mother close to him – because she was a remarkable actress. Absolutely remarkable.”</p> <p style="text-align: center;"><img style="width: 500px; height: 337.16666666666663px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7821556/gettyimages-83689249.jpg" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/6bcea1a056d04051b986e8c5b3fa4836" /></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><em>Natasha Richardson with Micheál (left) and Daniel (right)</em></p> <p>An earlier interview dating back to 2015 with Micheál by the <em><a rel="noopener" href="https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/rising-son-bcxqkr3j60c" target="_blank">Sunday Times</a></em> revealed that the now 23-year-old tried to hide his emotions as he “pushed it out". The built-up grief then led to unfortunate decisions that he now regrets.</p> <p>“Things just started going downhill. The people I was with, we were partying a lot. It was dark. I hit rock bottom,” he admitted. </p> <p>“Everybody said, ‘This kid has lost his mum, that’s where the problem comes from.’ And I was like, ‘No it isn’t, I just like to party.’ But looking back, I realise it was a delayed reaction.”</p>

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Vanessa Redgrave recalls unapologetic speech at 1978 Oscars: "I had to do my bit"

<p>Vanessa Redgrave is someone who isn’t afraid to speak her mind, and that’s exactly what the 81-year-old actress did when she sat down with <em><a rel="noopener" href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/vanessa-redgrave-recalls-unapologetic-political-speech-at-1978-oscars-1136251" target="_blank">The Hollywood Reporter</a></em> for an exclusive interview.</p> <p>The actress, who made her on-screen debut at the age of 21 in the film <em>Behind the Mask</em> where her father Michael Redgrave played the lead, has made a name for herself throughout her time in the industry. </p> <p>She is the proud recipient of every acting honour available, including an Oscar, Golden Globe, Emmy, Tony, BAFTA and countless more awards from Venice and Cannes.</p> <p>But the successful star had other plans growing up, where she saw herself as a dancer. </p> <p>“I wanted that more than anything, but it became clear that it wouldn’t work, that I would be too tall,” she said, addressing her 6-foot tall height.</p> <p>She has been at the forefront of Hollywood’s most successful films. Movies such as Michelangelo Antonioni’s <em>Blow-Up</em> (1966) where she speaks fondly of the Italian director saying that he “is a terrific man and a real artist. I felt he was somewhat glorious", to the Catholic drama <em>The Devils</em> (1971). But for Redgrave, her most memorable role, and the one she constantly revisits is Josh Logan’s musical interpretation of <em>Camelot </em>(1967).</p> <p>“I was thrilled to bits to get that role,” she says. “It was a huge thing for me.”</p> <p>Regarding her work on stage, American playwrights Arthur Miller and Tennessee Williams have named her “the greatest living actress of our times” and in the UK, her name is spoken with the same level of respect as Dame Judi Dench and Sir Ian McKellen.</p> <p>But the talented artist isn’t immune from criticism, as she is a proud advocate for political causes and regularly uses her platform to speak up on what she believes in. In the past, she has voiced her disagreement with the Vietnam and Iraq war. She also ran for political office in Britain as a member of the Trotskyist Workers Revolutionary Party. And, at the age of 80, she directed her first ever film <em>Sea Sorrow</em>, which was a documentary highlighting the conditions refugees must face when fleeing to Europe.</p> <p>After congratulating the Academy for standing up “to a small bunch of Zionist hoodlums” who had criticised her for producing and featuring in a documentary regarding Palestine in her 1978 Oscar acceptance speech, she was put under intense scrutiny as many in the audience booed her off the stage.</p> <p>And while her comments were directed towards extremists in the Jewish Defense League, who had offered a bounty to have her killed, the phrase “Zionist hoodlums” tarnished her image for many, even though she ended her speech with a promise to “fight anti-Semitism and fascism for as long as I live".</p> <p>Fire bombings at cinemas showing her documentary and having a statue of her burned to ashes were only a few of the things Redgrave faced after saying those words, but 40 years later, she still remains unapologetic.</p> <p>“I didn’t realise pledging to fight anti-Semitism and fascism was controversial. I’m learning that it is,” she says. And her political conquests have always been driven by one thing: a sense of responsibility to do the right thing.</p> <p>“I had to do my bit,” she says.</p> <p>“Everybody had to do their bit, to try and change things for the better. To advocate for what’s right and not be dismayed if immediately you don’t see results.”</p> <p>She credits her parents as her inspirations behind her powerful personality – actors Sir Michael Redgrave and Rachel Kempson, but also writers such as Cecil Day-Lewis and EM Forster – for making her more politically aware. Her long list also features fellow co-worker and African-American actor Paul Robeson, who featured in one of Redgrave’s first acting jobs as the lead in a 1959 performance of <em>Othello</em>.</p> <p>“He was wonderful, wonderful,” she remembers, “Paul played Othello and Tony Richardson directed it! So, I have a sackful of people to admire and look up to there!”</p> <p>Redgrave recently finished shooting Matthew Lopez’s play <em>The Inheritance</em> and will soon be featuring in three other projects: Adrian Nobel’s <em>Mrs. Lowry and Son,</em> <em>The Aspern Papers</em> by director Julien Landais and Christoph Waltz’s directorial debut, <em>Georgetown</em>.</p> <p>“I have a big mortgage, so I have to pay the bills!” she says matter-of-factly while remaining thankful for the opportunities she is still given. “It’s still so rare. If you have the chance, well, you have to keep going at it.”</p>

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