National Entertainment
Case against Jussie Smollett resembles detailed movie script
CHICAGO — As authorities laid out their case against “Empire” actor Jussie Smollett, the narrative that emerged Thursday sounded like that of a filmmaker who wrote, cast, directed and starred in a short movie.
Prosecutors said Smollett gave detailed instructions to the accomplices who helped him stage a racist, anti-gay attack on himself, including telling them specific slurs to yell, urging them to shout “MAGA country” and even pointing out a surveillance camera that he thought would record the beating.
“I believe Mr. Smollett wanted it on camera,” Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson told reporters. “But unfortunately that particular camera wasn’t pointed in that direction.”
Police said Smollett planned the hoax because he was unhappy with his salary and wanted to promote his career. Before the attack, he also sent a letter that threatened him to the Chicago studio where “Empire” is shot, police said.
Smollett, who is black and gay, turned himself in on charges that he filed a false police report last month when he said he was attacked in downtown Chicago by two masked men who hurled derogatory remarks and looped a rope around his neck.
The actor “took advantage of the pain and anger of racism to promote his career,” police, Johnson said.
“This publicity stunt was a scar that Chicago didn’t earn and certainly didn’t deserve,” Johnson added.
The attack reverberated well beyond Chicago and swiftly took on political overtones, with liberals calling it a shocking example of Trump-era hate. Republicans seized on the criminal charges as proof that Democrats had rushed to judgment and unfairly disparaged the president’s supporters as bigots.
Smollett’s legal team issued a statement Thursday night, calling the actor a “man of impeccable character and integrity who fiercely and solemnly maintains his innocence.” The statement also said Johnson’s Thursday afternoon press conference was “an organized law enforcement spectacle.”
“The presumption of innocence, a bedrock in the search for justice, was trampled upon at the expense of Mr. Smollett,” the statement read.
Prosecutors released a four-page document that outlined their case against Smollett, who plays a gay character on the show that follows a black family as they navigate the ups and downs of the recording industry.
For the alleged hoax, Smollett solicited the help of two muscular brothers. One of them was Abindola “Abel” Osundairo, a friend he worked out with and who worked on the show as a stand-in for another character. He also supplied Smollett with the drug ecstasy, prosecutors said.
“He probably knew he needed somebody with bulk,” Johnson said of Smollett’s decision to hire the pair.
A few days before Osundairo and his brother, Olabinjo “Ola” Osundairo, were scheduled to fly to Nigeria, Smollett sent him a text that prosecutors said set the scheme in motion.
“Might need your help on the low,” he wrote his friend, according to the document.
During a meeting with the brothers, Smollett told them he wanted the attack to happen Jan. 28 near his apartment in the city’s Streeterville
Smollett then gave one of the brothers $100 to buy the rope, ski masks, gloves and red baseball caps that resemble those worn by Trump supporters, according to prosecutors. He drove them to the spot where he wanted the attack to take place, taking time to show them the camera that he said would capture it.
He drove them home, wrote a check to one of the brothers for $3,500 and flew to New York, prosecutors said.
The time of the “attack” was pushed back to 2 a.m. Jan 29 because Smollett’s return flight was delayed. The brothers ordered an Uber ride to pick them up at their apartment and climbed into the vehicle toting their supplies, including bleach because there was a decision to use that instead of gasoline, according to prosecutors’ summary.
Police know much of this, they said, because Chicago has one of the world’s most extensive video surveillance systems. Investigators, in effect, pieced together the route the two men took by cab and foot to and from the scene, Johnson said.
The encounter lasted about 45 seconds. The brothers, Johnson said, “punched him a little bit,” but the scratches and bruises that Smollett had on his face were “most likely self-inflicted.”
When police arrived, he told them what happened and pointed out the nearby surveillance camera, prosecutors said at the court hearing.
Smollett also tried to mislead police about the suspects, telling them that the area around one attacker’s eyes was white skinned, even though the brothers are black, prosecutors said.
Johnson said Smollett used the one of the most terrifying symbols of racial hatred — a noose — that is synonymous with lynchings.
“I’m offended by what happened and I’m also angry,” he said.
By the time Smollett appeared on “Good Morning America” on Feb. 14, police already had a pretty good idea that he was lying, thanks to dozens of search warrants, subpoenas and extensive analysis of camera and phone records. They also knew the names of the brothers, and the fact that they had flown to Nigeria and were scheduled to return to Chicago on Feb. 13.
The men were arrested and questioned for hours. At hour 47 — one hour before police had to either charge the men or release them — Johnson said the two confessed to what they had done. They were subsequently released without being charged.
Prosecutors charged Smollett late Wednesday with felony disorderly conduct — the charge that is used for filing a false police report. He turned himself in to police Thursday and was jailed until an afternoon court appearance.
Smollett’s attorneys asked that the actor be freed on his own recognizance, but Cook County Judge John Fitzgerald Lyke Jr. rejected that idea. Lyke, who is also black, said he was bothered by the allegations involving the noose.
“The most vile and despicable part of it, if it’s true, is the noose,” he said. “That symbol conjures up such evil in this country’s history.”
The judge set Smollett’s bond at $100,000, and the actor soon walked out of jail after posting the necessary $10,000. He declined to comment to reporters.
Smollett is earning more than $100,000 per episode, according to a person familiar with the situation. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because salary details were involved. The studio declined to comment on the actor’s salary.
As is customary with a successful TV series, regular cast members on “Empire” received a boost in pay as part of contract extensions that followed the drama’s renewal for a second season, the person said.
Smollett is counted among the series regulars.
The companies that make “Empire,” Fox Entertainment and 20th Century Fox Television, issued a statement Thursday saying that they were “evaluating the situation” and “considering our options.”
Smollett has been active in LBGTQ issues, and initial reports of the assault drew outrage and support for him on social media. Referring to a published account of the attack, Trump said last month that “it doesn’t get worse, as far as I’m concerned.”
On Thursday, he tweeted to Smollett: “What about MAGA and the tens of millions of people you insulted with your racist and dangerous comments!? #MAGA.”
___
AP Television Writer Lynn Elber in Los Angeles contributed to this report.
___
Check out the AP’scomplete coverage of the Jussie Smollett case.
Don Babwin, The Associated Press
Alberta
Province adds $335 million over three years to attract more investment from Hollywood
Action! for Alberta’s film and television industry
Alberta’s screen-based sector has momentum, and Alberta’s government is helping to make the province a magnet for the job-creating film and television industry.
In 2020, Alberta’s government launched the Film and Television Tax Credit, causing the province’s film and television industry to grow in size and reputation. Since then, Alberta has attracted 129 productions with a total production value of $1.7 billion. This growth has resulted in approximately 9,000 direct and indirect jobs for Albertans.
To keep this momentum going, Alberta’s government continues to make changes to the program and increase investment in it. One year after the tax credit was launched, the cap was raised, resulting in a doubling of the province’s film and television sector. Now, Alberta’s government is increasing its investment to a total of $335 million over three years to continue attracting the attention and investment dollars of Hollywood.
“Alberta is experiencing exponential growth in our film and television sector, and we are well on our way to becoming a top Canadian jurisdiction for producers from around the world. Since the introduction of the Film and Television Tax Credit, the film and television sector in Alberta has doubled. Productions reach every part of Alberta – big cities, small towns and rural locations – and use local resources, businesses, accommodations and contractors, supporting thousands of jobs.”
As the province’s film and television industry grows, so does the quality and number of Alberta-made productions. To help grow and promote local talent and productions, Alberta’s government is also doubling the funding to the Alberta Made Screen Industries Program. This funding will support local producers and attract productions from around the world to set up shop in Alberta.
“Alberta-made film and television productions showcase Alberta’s unique culture, breathtaking landscapes and stories to audiences across the globe. We are increasing our support to smaller productions because they provide a unique Alberta-made training ground for emerging talent and create local, highly skilled workers in the sector.”
The Film and Television Tax Credit and Alberta Made Screen Industries Program work together to showcase the beauty and diversity of Alberta, create jobs, diversify the economy and support hospitality, service and tourism in the province. These targeted incentives to the film and television industries are helping to ensure Alberta remains the economic engine of Canada for years to come and the next film and television hub.
“The tax credit is central to the success of the industry. This is a competitive industry globally, and here in Alberta we’re fortunate we had the cap removed. Now we can see productions with budgets from $100,000 to well over $100 million. Now that we have a robust production environment, there are more opportunities for people to have well-paying creative jobs.”
“The Alberta government has provided supports for the film and television industry that provide certainty. It gives us more flexibility in how we’re moving forward in our film and television work and the way that we’re running our businesses.”
“Seeing the increase to the Alberta Made Production Grant in the last budget has been fantastic. It will help grow the local industry, which means so much to local performers because that’s where they build their resumés. It allows them to be a working performer, and not take side jobs or a day job somewhere else, and really focus on their craft.”
Quick facts
- According to Statistics Canada data:
- Every $1 million of production activity in the screen-based production sector creates about 13 Alberta jobs.
- Every $1 million of government investment under the Film and Television Tax Credit program is expected to support about 85 Alberta jobs.
- The film and television industry is experiencing significant growth nationally and globally.
- Every year, Alberta graduates more than 3,000 creative industry professionals from its post-secondary institutions.
- The production workforce has grown 71 per cent from 2017, or by about 4,000 workers across all positions.
- Alberta’s Film and Television Tax Credit supports medium- and large-scale productions with costs over $499,999 through a refundable tax credit on eligible Alberta production and labour costs to corporations that produce films, television series and other eligible screen-based productions.
- The Alberta Made Production Grant supports productions with a budget of up to $499,999.
- The Alberta Made Screen Industries Program, through the Alberta Made Production Grant, supports smaller productions that do not qualify for the tax credit, covering 25 per cent of eligible Alberta production costs to a maximum of $125,000.
- Every $1 investment in the Alberta Made Production Grant program generates an additional $4 in economic return.
Alberta
Edmonton to host “Road to the JUNOS Concert Series” leading up to Juno Awards week
From Explore Edmonton
Road to The JUNOS Concert Series Builds Excitement to JUNO Week.
Access and Diversity Key for Fans and Artists.
The JUNOS 2023 Host Committee is excited to announce an Edmonton-based concert series, titled Road to The JUNOS, as a lead-up to The 52nd Annual JUNO Awards Broadcast and JUNO Week from March 9-13.
The concert series will be set in small, intimate venues around Edmonton and feature local and regional artists who one day may end up on the JUNOS stage. Road to The JUNOS is a collaboration between the JUNOS 2023 Edmonton Host Committee, CBC Music and Explore Edmonton. It aims to provide excitement and create momentum leading into Canada’s biggest celebration of music.
The 10-show concert series will run from Monday, February 6 through Tuesday, February 28 at local venues in Edmonton. Of note, the artists playing these events come from a wide variety of backgrounds and genres and offer an opportunity to see some of Canada’s newest and most exciting talent. Fans can be a part of an intimate JUNOS concert with an affordable advance ticket price of only $10.
Road to The JUNOS is possible thanks in part to federal funding through PrairiesCan’s Tourism Relief Fund. This Fund is positioning Canada as a destination of choice for domestic and international travel. PrairiesCan administers the Fund in Alberta.
“Edmonton is a vibrant and dynamic cultural hub and our government’s support for Road to The JUNOS will bring that experience to visitors from across Canada and around the globe. Through the Tourism Relief Fund and our partnership with organizations such as Explore Edmonton, communities across Canada will capitalize on the jobs and economic activity generated through Edmonton’s growing tourism industry.”
– The Honourable Dan Vandal, Minister for PrairiesCan
“Road to The JUNOS is an important step in positioning Edmonton as an all-season destination and celebrating our community’s business and arts districts. I’m proud to see our government supporting Edmonton to build on its leadership in arts and culture while strengthening local tourism activity that benefits businesses in our city.”
– The Honourable Randy Boissonnault, Minister of Tourism and Associate Minister of Finance
“Road to The JUNOS is an exciting opportunity to grow Alberta’s music industry, showcasing local talent to visitors from all parts of Canada. The Alberta government is proud to support this series of concerts that features Alberta’s talent on stage as well as the venues, promoters and other music professionals.”
– The Honourable Jason Luan, Alberta Minister of Culture
“Canada has a long history of producing exceptionally talented musicians. The Road to The JUNOS concert series hopes to help give a platform to some of our up-and-coming artists and audiences a chance to say ‘we saw them when’.”
– Aimée Hill, co-chair, 2023 Host Committee
“Explore Edmonton is proud to support The JUNO Awards in March and we are delighted to be a part of this grassroots concert series. Promoting our local music venues, supporting talented Canadian musicians, and giving Edmontonians quality music experiences at an affordable price is such an important piece to the whole JUNOS experience. And we get to show off a little for the rest of Canada!”
– Traci Bednard, CEO of Explore Edmonton
The JUNOS Experience starts here. For more information and to buy tickets, visit: https://edmonton.junoawards.
-
Frontier Centre for Public Policy1 day ago
Christmas: As Canadian as Hockey and Maple Syrup
-
armed forces1 day ago
Canada among NATO members that could face penalties for lack of military spending
-
Daily Caller1 day ago
LNG Farce Sums Up Four Years Of Ridiculous Biden Energy Policy
-
National2 days ago
Conservatives say Singh won’t help topple Trudeau government until after he qualifies for pension in late February
-
Daily Caller2 days ago
Shoot Down The Drones!
-
Business1 day ago
Comparing four federal finance ministers in moments of crisis
-
Daily Caller18 hours ago
Former FBI Asst Director Warns Terrorists Are ‘Well Embedded’ In US, Says Alert Should Be ‘Higher’
-
Business9 hours ago
For the record—former finance minister did not keep Canada’s ‘fiscal powder dry’