I personally think this is a bunch of B.S....but you know she's going to be getting off w/ a slap on the wrist http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tm...d=762&e=1&u=/nm/20021029/en_nm/crime_ryder_dc Mon Oct 28,10:14 PM ET By Jill Serjeant BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. (Reuters) - Actress Winona Ryder (news) claimed she was preparing for an acting role when she was first detained last December on suspicion of shoplifting at the posh Saks Fifth Avenue store, a Saks security manager testified on Monday. But her "performance" was captured on a 90-minute store videotape of her ill-fated shopping spree, part of which was shown to the jury on the first day of Ryder's trial on charges of burglary, grand theft and vandalism. Saks security manager Kenneth Evans testified that Ryder was "polite and apologetic" when she was stopped leaving the Beverly Hills store and found with some 20 items of designer clothes, handbags and accessories concealed about her person and in her shopping bags. When Evans told Ryder that the police were being informed of the incident, "she immediately stood up and took hold of my hand and apologized for what had happened," Evans said. Ryder then told him "my director directed me to shoplift in preparation for a role I am preparing," he added. It was not clear what role or which director Ryder was referring to. In opening statements, prosecutor Ann Rundle told the jury that the Oscar-nominated actress went to Saks with intent to steal, even bringing scissors to clip security tags from purloined items and wads of tissue to conceal them. A TWO-FOR-ONE PROGRAM Although she did pay for three items, she had her "own two-for-one bonus program -- for every item she purchased she would help herself to another," Rundle said. Ryder, who turns 31 on Tuesday, followed the proceedings looking serious and demure in a black dress. Her lawyer, Mark Geragos, said Ryder was innocent of shoplifting items valued at more than $5,500 and had been singled out by security staff "who got out of control" because of her celebrity status. Geragos said the famous video surveillance tape shows her doing nothing "except -- surprise -- shopping." He said evidence would show that early on in her shopping trip, Ryder had told a store assistant to keep her account open, explaining she planned to pay for the items later. The Saks surveillance tape, only a small section of which has been shown on television, showed the petite waif-like actress roaming the store, laden down with numerous shopping bags and with merchandise piled high in her arms. At one point, she dropped her belongings and is clearly seen on the tape kneeling on the floor and stuffing socks, hair accessories and a soft hat inside another hat which she then placed in her arms while she continued to browse. Saks manager Evans said he became suspicious because of the amount of non-Saks bags she was carrying in a store where most shoppers leave merchandise bought elsewhere in the store's own parking lot. Evans said a female security agent watched Ryder through the specially designed slats of a dressing room door cutting the sensor tags off merchandise and putting the items in her shopping bags. He later recovered four of the tags still bearing pieces of fabric matching holes in the goods allegedly stolen by Ryder. Evans said he had not realized for some time that the woman he was watching on store cameras was the star of "Girl, Interrupted" and "Age of Innocence." "I couldn't care less who she was," he told the jury. Geragos claimed Ryder was mistreated by store security personnel after she was taken back inside for questioning. "They threatened her, did all kinds of things ... One of the guys lifts up her ... shirt -- she's not wearing a bra -- and she screamed at them to stop," Geragos said. "My client did not believe this was happening to her." The trial is expected to last for about a week. Ryder could face three years in prison if convicted.
im going to go rob a bank..but only because im about to make a movie about robbing banks. im sure anthony hopkins eats people too.
I'm off to battle space aliens in a distant galaxy...... and I had a small role in the film 'Chaplain'; I actually went back in time.....oops, I've said too much..... how can you change the character from a Quick-E-Mart attendant to an Eskimo firefighter? I'm sure there was a point to this post.....that's right, Winona can't escape these charges. Unless the Jury is crooked.
There's a hillarious Mr. Show sketch that relates to this. An actor goes to extreme lengths to prepare for his roles. He puts himself through medical school for a brief non-speaking cameo as a doctor, and eventually undergoes a labotamy for a role as an invalid.
I just can't imagine that Peter Guber will vote to convict. I can't believe the prosecution allowed him on the jury. Today is Winona's birthday, by the way. Someday she will be mine. Oh yes. She will be mine.... Ooops. Now I've said too much.
Lisa: Is that Ranier Wolfcastle? Bart: Check out the gut... Wolfcastle: It's for a movie! I'm playing a fat secret agent!
Is it just me or does this article sound tabloitish? "Evans said he had not realized for some time that the woman he was watching on store cameras was the star of 'Girl, Interrupted' and 'Age of Innocence.'" Why do we need her resume again? Something tells me that this story and episode was somehow planted or planned out or both. For what reason, I have no idea, unless, in the warped mind of hollywood, they seem to think that a shoplifting charge and trial would draw some much needed interest to Ryder and her fading career.
I just think the writer was trying to think of a more interesting way to say that the dude didn't recognize Ryder.
Probation, probably. I don't know if it's actually true, but the CNN folks were saying that Ryder was receiving more scripts since this arrest than she was beforehand. Perhaps this arrest will end up being the career boost she was needing. She had been fading considerably in recent years. This certainly got her back into the limelight. Of course, if she picks another bunch of costume dramas to star in, it'll only be a matter of time before she's on the sidelines again.
From the story on Chron.com: Her attorney denounced the security guards as liars even before the trial began. At the start of her shopping trip, she paid more than $3,000 for a jacket and two blouses. The defense said Ryder believed the store would keep her account "open" while she shopped and would charge her later. But there was no evidence of an account. How would that work, exactly? Does Saks do an inventory after Winona Ryder leaves and if anything is missing (because it was folded and stuffed in her bag), they simply charge it to Winona's credit card? I understand the concept of having an open account, but you still have to let the store know what you've got so they can charge you for it. But I guess when you've got no real defense, you've got to go for something no matter how silly.
