Snipes loses bid to postpone start of prison sentence

Prison-boundWesley Snipeswill spend the upcoming holidays behind bars after a judge denied his request to delay his surrender date until the New Year.

The Blade star and his lawyers have spent two years fighting his 2008 conviction, which found him guilty of failing to file returns or pay tax on earnings of£25.3 million, dating back to 1999.

He lost his appeal and his battle for a retrial and was recently ordered to turn himself in to Pennsylvania authorities by Thursday to begin his three-year sentence for tax evasion.

His attorney Daniel Meachum made a last-ditch attempt to postpone the surrender date last week by asking a federal judge in Florida to push back the start of Snipes' jail term until 6 January.

The actor cited his"four minor children"for the postponement, claiming he didn't want to leave them"in the middle of the holiday season".

But the judge rejected the motion because Snipes was handed the original punishment over two-and-a-half years ago, therefore giving him"all of that time to place his affairs in order"

In documents detailing the ruling, the judge adds,"The sooner he begins his sentence, the sooner it will end."

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Wesley Snipes ordered to prison for tax evasion

Wesley Snipeshas been ordered to surrender at a federal prison in the US state of Pennsylvania to begin a three-year sentence for tax evasion.

The star of the Blade films was ordered to report to a prison in the town of Lewis Run on 9 December.

Snipes asked a judge last week to let him remain free on bail while he appeals to the US Supreme Court to overturn his conviction.

The actor, 48, was convicted in 2008 for failing to file tax returns.

Snipes appealed to a court in Atlanta in the US state of Georgia after being found guilty by a jury in Florida. But the court upheld the conviction and sentence.

The actor's lawyers then argued last month that Snipes had a legal right to remain on bail while they prepared a fresh appeal.

Snipes's lawyers also said at hearing in the town of Ocala in Florida last month that jurors should be interviewed about whether they had perjured themselves by stating during jury selection that they did not have preconceived opinions about the actor.

His lawyer, Daniel Meachum, said he had received e-mails from multiple jurors, who claimed others in the jury believed the actor was guilty before the trial began.

At the time of his conviction in April 2008, prosecutors said Snipes had earned more than $37m (£24m) in gross income between 1999 and 2004, but had not filed tax returns or paid any federal taxes.

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Nolan confirms 'Batman' departure

Christopher Nolanhas confirmed that The Dark Knight Rises will be his last Batman film.

The upcoming movie will bring an end to the trilogy of Christian Bale-starring films helmed by the Inception director.

"I must say that I'm glad - I'm very, very glad - to be embarking on the last chapter of our Batman saga without any sense of obligation or duty to the studio,"Nolan told Entertainment Weekly.

"They did very well with Inception. So I'm able to go into finishing our story in a very enthusiastic way."

He added:"I feel very glad that I'm doing another Batman film. I think it would have been daunting to sit down and write an original script after Inception."

"I love working within the realm and rules of our Batman world. It's kind of nice to have someplace to go that I'm super-excited about."

The Warner Bros and DC Entertainment movie is due for release in summer 2012.

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Johnny Depp: 'Disney hated Jack Sparrow'

Johnny Depphas revealed that Disney bosses initially“couldn’t stand” his flamboyant portrayal of Captain Jack Sparrow in the first Pirates of the Caribbean movie.

In an interview with Vanity Fair, the actor said former chief executive Michael Eisner"couldn't stand"the way he interpreted the role.

However, studio execs didn’t always recognise the genius of the actor's out-of-leftfield take on the beloved antihero.

Depp went on to earn an Oscar nomination for his performance.

A Disney spokesman said the company"could not be happier"with his work.

"The entire team at Disney could not be happier with Johnny Depp's performances in the Pirates trilogy which is why we are so excited to be bringing back a fourth installment to audiences next summer,"he added.

"I think it was Michael Eisner, the head of Disney at the time, who was quoted as saying, 'he's ruining the movie',"Depp said.

One suit, says the actor, even asked him if Captain Jack was"gay."

Depp recalls:"And so I actually told this woman who was the Disney-ite... 'But didn’t you know that all my characters are gay?' Which really made her nervous."

The actor also revealed that Mr Eisner had questioned whether he was"some kind of simpleton"or even drunk when acting in the movie.

Depp famously based the character on the Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards, who appeared in At World's End, the third film in the series, following Dead Man's Chest, which also starred Keira Knightley and Orlando Bloom.

Depp is currently filming a fourth installment - On Stranger Tides - which is due out next year.

Depp will next be seen opposite Angelina Jolie in The Tourist, which opens December 10.

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