newsmakers

July 14, 2010 at 12:00a.m.

newsmakers

Polanski victim says case should end

LOS ANGELES

The woman who was the teenage victim in the Roman Polanski sex case says he is not a threat to anyone and charges should be dismissed. Samantha Geimer, who long ago identified herself, told the Los Angeles Times in a story posted Tuesday that the case should have been resolved 33 years ago when it happened.

“Enough is enough,” she said of the continuing efforts to prosecute Polanski. She was barred from talking about her civil-suit settlement with the director but said it didn’t influence her views. “I’ve felt this way from the beginning.”

Polanski pleaded guilty to unlawful sexual intercourse with her in a plea bargain that has been the subject of controversy. Swiss authorities refused to extradite the Oscar- winning director to the United States on Monday.

Ed Norton won’t play Hulk in ‘Avengers’ flick

LOS ANGELES

Ed Norton is speaking out on Facebook after Marvel Studios announced last week that the actor won’t reprise his Hulk role in its forthcoming “Avengers” film. Norton says he took to the social-networking site Monday because he felt it would be rude not to respond to an outpouring of support from fans.

After Marvel president Kevin Feige’s announcement Saturday that the studio would replace Norton with “an actor who embodies the creativity and collaborative spirit of our other talented cast members,” Norton apologized to fans that “it won’t work out” for him to play Bruce Banner again, adding he is proud of his work in the “Hulk” film and grateful to the studio for the opportunity to play the part.

Keith Richards’ wife says she beat cancer

NEW YORK

The wife of Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards is a cancer survivor. Patti Hansen reveals in the August issue of Vogue magazine that she was diagnosed with bladder cancer in 2007.

She says she first underwent chemotherapy, which shrunk the tumor but didn’t get rid of it completely. One doctor said she had two to three years to live.

Her next move was a bold one: Doctors removed her bladder and used her intestine to create a neobladder, or a new bladder. She also had her appendix removed and a full hysterectomy.

Anti-BP group has sticky protest

LONDON

Demonstrators have poured sticky, black liquid around a statue in the British Museum to protest its sponsorship by BP PLC.

The museum says the liquid was molasses and no damage was done to the 3,000-year-old carving of a human head and torso from Easter Island.

Protest group Culture Beyond Oil said in a statement that it chose the object because it “represents the way in which civilizations once considered invincible can collapse in a short period of time.”

The huge Gulf of Mexico oil spill has emboldened environmentalists calling for arts bodies to stop taking money from oil companies. London has seen a series of small protests outside museums and galleries sponsored by BP. The British Museum said Tuesday it was grateful for BP’s ongoing support.

Sela Ward stepping into ‘CSI: NY’ this fall

NEW YORK

Sela Ward is coming aboard “CSI: NY.” CBS said Tuesday that Ward will join the crime drama this fall for its seventh season. She will play an experienced investigator arriving from Washington, D.C.

Ward won best-actress Emmys for her roles on the dramas “Sisters” and “Once and Again.” She also landed a Golden Globe award for “Once and Again.”

She will replace exiting cast member Melina Kanakaredes, whose departure was announced Monday. The show resumes production July 28.