Brad Pitt has secured the latest victory in the battle for control of the French vineyard he owned with ex-wife Angelina Jolie, in the latest twist in the so-called ‘War of the Rosés’.

The Chateau Miraval estate, which produces an award-winning sparkling rosé, is at the center of a protracted court battle between the pair.

Jolie sought to overturn a preliminary ruling from the LA Supreme Court that accepted her ex-husband’s claim that she sold her share of their beautiful vineyard to Russian oligarch Yuri Shefler without his consent in 2021.

But in another victory for the Fight Club star, the court rejected allegations that his lawsuit was “frivolous, malicious and part of a problematic pattern.”

It now means Pitt’s legal team has the green light to take the lawsuit to court, in which the A-lister is suing Jolie for breaching an agreement that they would refuse each other first.

DailyMail.com’s court filings show that on March 8, the Hollywood star was given the green light to amend a rejected claim alleging breach of an “implied covenant” of fair dealing and good faith.

Judge Lia Martin rejected Jolie’s lawyers’ attempts to dismiss the lawsuit for breach of implied contract and quasi-contract, in the latest blow to Jolie and Shefler.

Last month the Mail revealed that Stoli had been stripped of a number of shares by a court in Luxembourg, making Pitt the majority shareholder.

The battle for the future of Chateau Miraval has so far been waged in courtrooms in France, Luxembourg and Los Angeles.

Pitt was shocked when his ex-wife sold her half of their beautiful Chateau Miraval estate to Russian billionaire Yuri Shefler in 2021 without his consent.

After their bitter divorce in 2016, Jolie sold her stake in the company to Yuri Shefler’s Stoli Group. Pitt claimed she violated an agreement that they would give each other first refusal.

Financial documents seen by DailyMail.com in February showed that the ultimate owner of the shares is a shadowy trust on the island of Jersey, controlled by a company in which Shefler is not a shareholder.

The baffling business arrangements make it impossible to know who is pulling the strings, but friends of Hollywood star Pitt say he is determined to get to the bottom of the matter.

A source close to the actor said: “Brad wants Jersey to start giving answers. He should have the right to know who bought his company.

‘He has put his heart and soul into Chateau Miraval and feels like the rug is being pulled out from under him. He’s not sure who he’s doing business with.’

In an earlier filing, Pitt alleged that Shefler tried to “bully” and “threaten” him with defamation, arguing that the Russian tried to bully him into submission by issuing a press release announcing their “partnership” the day after Jolie’s deal was completed.

Shefler then demanded the pair meet for talks after “personally insisting” that the release “emphasize” they were partners with Pitt – despite the A-Lister only learning of the deal through the announcement.

The filings are part of the Oscar winners’ bid to reverse Angelina Jolie’s $64 million sale of her share of the Chateau Miraval estate to Shefler.

He says the 2021 deal violated Jolie’s previous promise to offer him first refusal if she ever sold.

Shefler is accused of contacting Jolie’s divorce lawyers after reports of a “heated custody dispute” in 2021.

Pitt’s team also says representatives from Stoli – Shefler’s international drinks conglomerate – made an “unsolicited” offer for Miravel following news of the couples’ split.

Shefler insists that the US courts do not have jurisdiction to hear a full trial on this case.

But the momentum in the legal battle appears to be with Pitt, after a court in Luxembourg stripped Shefler of 10 percent of his shares, effectively making Pitt the majority shareholder again.

His legal team secured victory by arguing that the shares were given in 2013 with the understanding that Jolie would not resell them.

Judge Carole Kerschen ruled that it was necessary to end the ‘blocking of decision-making’ and save the company. A merits hearing in about two years is likely to decide that Pitt regains full control of the shares, which were transferred to Jolie’s company for one euro.

A source close to the actor previously said that the ruling leaves Shefler with “virtually no control” over the multibillion-dollar business in Provence.

Pitt and Jolie purchased the 1,300-acre Miraval estate in 2008 as 60-40 partners, with Pitt as the majority shareholder.

Five years later, he donated an extra 10 percent to Jolie’s company Nouvel for one euro, making them equal.

But after their acrimonious split in 2016, the estate found itself at the center of a $350 million divorce battle.

In 2021, Jolie sold Nouvel to a group controlled by Shefler. Pitt’s lawyers claimed she “knew and intended that Shefler and its subsidiaries would attempt to control the company.”

By Milly Veitch for Mailonline

Published: 04:25 EST, March 5, 2024 | Updated: 04:25 EST, March 5, 2024

As raunchy scene become more and more commonplace in films and TV shows, intimacy co-ordinators (ICs) become a much more familiar presence on sets.

These are professionals who help cast and crew through choreographing and coaching talent through shooting sex sequences, including discussions on boundaries and comfort.

Many actors – including Emma Mackey of Sex Education, Emma Stone of Poor Things and Rachel Zegler West Side Story – have in recent years expressed their gratitude for ICs they worked with, insisting they’re an important cog in the machine of the modern movie-making process, especially in the wake of the #MeToo movement.

Most recently the role of ICs was brought into the spotlight after viewers were left uncomfortable when 21-year-old Jenna Ortega’s character – an 18-year-old student called Cairo Sweet – slept with her teacher, played by 52-year-old Martin Freeman, in the movie Miller’s Girl.

Viewers were quick to express their unease at watching the young star – most known for playing school student Wednesday Adams – engaging in ‘uncomfortable’ sexual scenes with the Sherlock actor who is 31 years her senior.

However Jenna insisted she was ‘sure of what she wanted to do’ – and was completely supported during filming, according to the movie’s intimacy coordinator Kristina Arjona, who has clapped back at claims the raunchy on-screen moment was ‘gross.’

‘There was many, many people throughout this process, engaging with [Jenna] to make sure that it was consistent with what she was comfortable with, and she was very determined and very sure of what she wanted to do,’ she told Dailymail.com.

But what does it take to make a sex scene work? Everything from technicalities – including the simulation of intimate acts – to emotional comfort and the actors’ performance has to come together perfectly.

Here’s how ICs make it work…

THE ‘TOOLKIT’

The toolkit of a film intimacy coach – put on set to ensure actors are comfortable and scenes look realistic – is a diverse one, as Bridgerton’s Jonathan Bailey, shared in 2022.

Speaking to the Radio Times, the actor who plays Viscount Anthony Bridgerton, revealed that he’d been instructed to use a half-deflated netball when acting out lustful scenes with the character of Kate Sharma, played by Simone Ashley, in season two of the show.

The semi-flattened sporting equipment, he said, enables actors to move against each other in a realistic manner, without intimate parts of the body touching.

Jonathan explained: ‘It’s amazing how that whole industry has just come on, even in a year. There are new tricks to the trade – little cushions – and it’s amazing what you can do with a half-inflated netball.

‘If there are two people doing a sex scene, the rule is they must have three barriers separating them and there are certain acts where a half-inflated netball can allow for movement without having to connect physically.’

Jonathan has also praised IC Lizzy Talbot’s work on set, saying: ‘It’s pretty silly really and we have some hilarious moments, but it makes it less awkward.’

It’s not the first time the actor has lifted the lid on some of the show’s intimacy co-ordinators’ secrets.

Appearing on Lorraine to promote the first series last year, he had also told the daytime TV host how his underwear-covered derriere had been painted with flesh-coloured make-up for an al fresco love scene against a tree.

Other tricks commonly used to make raunchy scenes sing include aloe vera to prevent chafing – particularly if actors spend hours re-filming, breath mints to ensure kissing tastes palatable to both parties and nipple daisies to allow intimate scenes to take place with some modesty preserved.

REHEARSAL

This week Sophie Rundle has said that actresses still want to film sex scenes, but that intimacy coordinators are ‘vital’.

The actress, 35, is most known for her roles as Ada Thorne in Peaky Blinders and Ann Walker in Gentleman Jack, where she had lots of intimate sequences.

Speaking to The Radio Times Podcast, she explained that intimacy coordinators are ‘really important’ for safeguarding actors and crewmembers.

Sophie insisted that women are very willing to film steamy scenes, but that they can be made more ‘interesting’ for the camera with the help of trained coordinators.

She said: ‘Putting in intimacy coordinators as an element of safeguarding is really important.

‘Having someone assigned to oversee the process is vital because it allows for a neutral third party and anonymity if you feel uncomfortable.’

She continued: ‘Women are allowed to be sexual. We’re not saying no more sex scenes!

‘Can we do them in a way that isn’t just titillating for someone else to watch? There are more interesting ways of exploring that narrative than just boobs.’

Sophie has previously opened up about filming sex scenes, gushing about the impact of having intimacy coordinator Ita O’Brien on set for her raunchy scenes with co-star Suranne Jones in Gentleman Jack.

Speaking to You Magazine in 2019, she said: ‘It was amazing, because usually when there’s a sex scene you turn up knowing there are some flesh-coloured pants waiting for you in your trailer and you just have to get on with it.

‘And so often you hear terrible stories about it all going wrong and people feeling exploited.

‘But with Gentleman Jack, we were determined to make things different, so we all sat with Ita and talked about our past experiences [of sex scenes].

‘Everyone was like, “God, this horrible thing once happened to me on set”, so everything was out in the open and that really calmed the nerves.’

Ita also insisted all sex scenes were carefully rehearsed, with the women enacting specific moves selected from manuals such as The Lesbian Kama Sutra – rather than improvising, as is often the case on TV and film sets.

Sophie explained: ‘It meant that we felt so much more empowered than we would normally, and that was important because we also wanted to tell these women’s story in a way that represented them and wasn’t simply for titillation.’

CONVERSATIONS ABOUT BOUNDARIES

This week, intimacy coordinator Kristina Arjona – who worked on Miller’s Girl with Jenna Ortega and Martin Freeman – has exclusively revealed to DailyMail.com that Jenna was involved in decisions about the curation of the racy moments, as she insisted that at no point were any ‘boundaries surpassed.’

‘I’m hyper aware of both of my talent and making sure that we’re consistently checking in and that at no point are any of their boundaries being surpassed,’ she stressed.

‘And again, making sure – especially with someone who’s significantly younger – that they are giving continuous consent.’

The film sees Cairo and Jonathan become entangled in a very complex and inappropriate relationship, with Cairo choosing to pen a sex story after being given a creative writing assignment by her tutor-turned-love interest.

Kristina discussed the ‘level of nudity’ with Jenna and Martin, as well as which ‘simulated sex scenes’ were required, before talking them through modesty garments and the ‘additional barriers’ they could use to ensure an ‘appropriate distance’ was maintained.

This information was also given to the actors in a written format 48 hours before the scenes were filmed, but Kristina stressed that they ‘also have the option on the day to change their mind if they don’t want to do any of the elements that we’ve discussed.’

She revealed there were ample discussions between cast and crew before the scenes were shot and that test audiences were used to give bosses an idea of what was ‘too much.’

‘For this film, in particular, because of the sensitivity of the content, they had some different variations of how they wanted to shoot these scenes so that audiences could watch them at test screenings to see what was too much.’

However, viewers were quick to voice their disdain for the intimate scenes that ultimately ended up in the movie, with one simply writing: ‘I’m uncomfortable.’

Another wrote: ‘I think I am finally done watching these age gap movies. They are all gross and I am tired of it. No amount of Jenna Ortega or Martin Freeman could save this one for me [sic].’

Others defended the film – which was directed and written by Hollywood newcomer Jade Halley Bartlett, with one writing: ‘An erotic thriller starring Martin Freeman and Jenna Ortega lol like what were people expecting.’

Another wrote: ‘Apparently people are freaking out because Jenna Ortega kisses a girl in once scene, and assumes the doggy style position with Martin Freeman in another. Like guys, it’s a movie, she’s acting. Chill.’

A source also told DailyMail.com: ‘People need to get over the fact that Jenna is not Wednesday Adams and that she is a grown woman who is exploring serious roles as a talented actress.

‘The fact that this stirred the pot and is being labelled as gross is incredibly misogynistic.’

EDUCATING YOUNGER, NEWER SET MEMBERS

ICs can also be useful when working with a cast which has varied experiences when it comes to sex scenes.

In 2022, West Side Story’s Rachel Zegler, shared: ‘I was extremely grateful for the one we had on [West Side Story] – they showed grace to a newcomer like myself and educated those around me who’ve had years of experience. Spontaneity in intimate scenes can be unsafe.’

Dame Emma Thompson has also hailed coordinators as ‘absolutely essential’ saying on LBC: ‘It’s all very well, if you’re a bloke it’s a different kind of thing.

‘I think if you’re a young woman on a set, which is largely peopled by men, the crew will be 90 per cent men and the women won’t be on the set with you, because generally speaking we do not have parity on any level on film sets, it’s all men.

‘And that’s a very uncomfortable position for a young woman who’s starting in the industry, but it is absolutely essential that there is someone there to protect them. Absolutely essential.’

EASING ANXIETIES

Emma Stone recently revealed how having an IC on Poor Things helped her take moments away from the scene to help ease anxieties.

In the movie, the star plays lead character Bella Baxter, who is resurrected by an eccentric scientist in Victorian London.

One controversial sex scene in the film involves two young boys watching Bella (Emma) work as a prostitute after their father hired her to teach them how to have sex.

Defending Poor Things, Emma told BBC Radio 4: ‘Bella is completely free and without shame about her body.’

However, she also NPR how working with a coordinator for such scene comforted her.

‘I remember reading something once, that an actor on stage doing a very dramatic scene, and having meltdowns and doing monologues for 90 minutes a night just in theater, your body feels like it’s the equivalent of going through something like a car crash, because your heart is racing, you’re having these big physical reactions to these emotions that you’re kind of asking yourself to go through,’ she explained.

‘And I think even when you know you’re acting, when you know none of this is real, there’s no real sex happening, this is all choreographed …you sometimes underestimate what your body is going through separately.’

The film is currently certified 18 in the UK, however only after the controversial sex scene was modified to meet the criteria. 

A statement by the British Board of Film Classification read: ‘We originally saw this film for advice. We informed the distributor we would be likely to classify the film 18 on condition that changes be made to one short sequence depicting sexual activity in the presence of children.’

They added: ‘This is in accordance with the Protection of Children Act 1978. When the distributor submitted the film for formal classification, the scene had been re-edited, and we were able to classify the film 18.’

The picture contains over a dozen explicit sex scenes and a huge amount of foul language.

By Sarah Liversidege for Daily Mail Australia

Published: 05:35 EST, December 7, 2023 | Updated: 1:12 PM EST, December 7, 2023

Strictly Come Dancing star Karen Hauer’s estranged husband Jordan Wyn-Jones has insisted his mother left her engagement ring to him after her death – as his father claims he owns.

Professional dancer Karen, 41, was given the £60 gold H. Samuel band with a single jewel when Jordan proposed before their wedding last year, but it emerged the couple had split last month.

Jordan’s late mother Anne owned the ring and his father Lee said it was returned to him after her death.

But Jordan told MailOnline: ‘It was my mother’s ring, she left it to me when she passed away.’

He added, “I knew I wanted to give her my mom’s ring as soon as I met her.”

Jordan insists that the ring be returned to him because Karen knows how much it means to him.

He said, ‘She’ll send it back. It’s not in her DNA to cause pain. It was my mother’s ring. She left it to me when she died, but she knows that. I have to laugh when I think of her like that.’

Jordan’s father Lee said over the weekend that the ring was his before it was given to his son’s ex, Karen.

Lee told The sun: ‘That’s it – if she sends the ring back to him instead of me, I’ll never see him again. I completely understand where Karen is coming from. She got the ring as a gift and as far as she knew it was hers.

“I’m grateful she gave it back to Jordan, but it’s actually mine.”

‘It’s not about the money. It’s purely sentimental value. Some things money can’t buy.’

MailOnline has contacted Karen for comment.

Jordan and his father Lee had a falling out when he met Karen and he didn’t attend their wedding last year.

He added: ‘I vividly remember buying it from H Samuel in Brighton – and it holds so many memories.

‘That ring is extremely sentimental to me. And it’s probably only worth £1,900 now. If things had been different between me and Jordan, he very well could have gotten my blessing. But the truth is he didn’t.’

It comes after her husband Jordan blamed Strictly for ruining the couple’s relationship.

The couple married last year but split after just 16 months following a difficult time.

Jordan has revealed that their relationship has become a series of video calls due to her demanding Strictly schedule and tour.

Although the couple hoped for children, the fact that she is a woman, a strict professional, makes decisions about having a baby much more difficult than for most other women. It goes without saying that it is impossible to participate in the show while pregnant.

But as Karen approaches her 40s, Jordan, 34, wants to set his sights on becoming a father.

“Karen is dedicated to her career, which she has worked very hard for,” Jordan said. “She’s amazing and I admire her for that. That’s one of the reasons I wanted to marry her – because of how powerful she is.

‘But we wanted different things. There was a plan to have children, but there was no plan.

“When we first met, we discussed it. You say things like: ‘I want to have children’. And she had told me that she would like to have children with me. But in the interview, Karen said, “Children are not the future” – which made me sad. I’ve always wanted to be a father.

‘I wouldn’t say it was a shock, but I knew subconsciously in the back of my mind…why would she want to have a child with me?

‘I had become vacant in our relationship. I was loving and caring towards her, but I was vacant because of the situation we were in.”

Although Jordan was Karen’s third husband – she was previously married to two dance partners, Matthew Hauer and Kevin Clifton, and then to opera singer David Webb – Kevin had only been married once before.

Karen cut a somber figure as she appeared on a Strictly live show with comedian Eddie Kadi last month, hours after it was reported she had split from her husband Jordan.

She and Jordan married last year and described the ceremony at the time as a ‘fairytale’, but sources claim the couple have gone their separate ways after a ‘difficult time’.

A source told the newspaper about their breakup Mirror: ‘Karen and Jordan have been going through a rough patch over the past few months and decided to part ways. It’s obviously very sad for both of them.

“But there is no ill will whatsoever. The split is amicable and they wish each other the best.”

In August this year, Karen revealed that she and Jordan were having counseling to help them with their relationship.

She told Hello! magazine: ‘Advisory. You know what I think communication is huge, but learning to communicate, you know, so we get outside help.

“So when we have tough moments or something like that, it’s just seeing and understanding the vulnerable side of each other, and knowing that we’re both working on things because nobody’s perfect.”

She added: ‘There is no such thing as a happy marriage or a happy relationship with the perfect couple.

“It’s about dealing with things the right way and not just running away from things, and I think that allows us to understand and understand each other even better.”

“It’s kind of like the old saying, if everything is a priority, nothing is a priority,” said Jason Johnson, who was deputy police chief in Baltimore and oversaw compliance with the city’s consent order. In a recent column, he warned Louisville about this buy carefully. “When you put down this huge consent decree, it’s honestly like the department just stepped into a bucket of concrete.”

Mr Johnson, who calls himself a “constructive opponent” of the decrees, said the layers of approval required made it difficult for Baltimore to implement changes quickly. And, he said, the Justice Department wanted rules for officers that went beyond what the Constitution required, whether or not they impeded the ability to stop crime. “I can tell you at the table that there was no interest in having conversations about the impact of some of these policies,” he said.

Departments also have to bear the costs of new technology, better equipment and better training, as well as fees for a monitor to check their compliance. Still, believers point out that decrees of consent can be much cheaper than unconstitutional policing. Minneapolis has paid out more than $70 million in police misconduct settlements over the past five years, including $27 million to Mr. Floyd.

“What we’re talking about is broad institutional reform,” said David Douglass, the deputy monitor of the New Orleans law of consent and founder of a nonprofit called Effective Law Enforcement for All, which helps communities develop voluntary reforms. . “So yes, it’s expensive, but I guess I’d say, ‘So what?’ measured by the damage and the resulting benefit.”

One of the strengths of decrees of consent, for those who like them, is that they are not subject to the political winds that blow mayors and police chiefs in and out of office. In Baltimore, Michael Harrison, who was appointed commissioner for his success in implementing the New Orleans police overhaul, has just resigned, but the assent order remains in effect. Experience running a department with a decree of consent has become a plum mark on a chief’s resume. In Minneapolis, the new chief is Brian O’Hara, who hails from Newark, where he served as director of public safety.

Superdrug is going to launch new own-brand condoms with a reminder of the importance of consent on the packaging.

The retailer launched a new campaign to crack down on what it calls “destructive non-consensual sexual conduct.”

The health and beauty retailer has teamed up with reality TV star Georgia Harrison and UK sexual health charities Brook and Fumble.

The campaign is also supported by UK Says No More and Switchboard National LGBTQ+ Helpline.

Starting in September, Superdrug condoms will remind users to look for “consent over compliance” with new packaging.

The boxes will also contain a QR code that will take people to the You Before Yes site, where they can find videos and blogs that answer some of young people’s most common questions about sex.

In the store, customers will also find sexual consent information on checkout screens.

Caris Newson, Superdrug’s director of health care, said: ‘Far too often people are exposed to destructive non-consensual behavior and are denied access to information and support.

“Better consent-based behavior won’t happen overnight, and we’re committed to working with our partners to bring about long-lasting change.”

Revenge porn campaigner Georgia wrote in an Instagram post, “If you didn’t know, consent is something I’m incredibly passionate about.

“That’s why I’m proud to partner with Superdrug and announce that I’m their new brand ambassador for their consent campaign.

“Today Superdrug has launched ‘You Before Yes’ to address the important issues not only related to sexual consent, but consent in general.

“It is intended to educate and empower you to find your voice and equip you with the knowledge and understanding to keep you and others safe.

“I encourage you to watch this video where I share some of the horrific DMs I’ve received without consent and hope it inspires you to denounce non-consensual behavior. Remember it’s you before Yes!’

Amy O’Connor, Public Relations Manager at Superdrug said: ‘We believe Georgia is the perfect person to embody this ambassador role for our campaign as she is nothing but courageous, inspiring and a true testament to resilience and empowerment.’

The campaign comes after Georgia’s ex-boyfriend, fellow reality TV contestant Stephen Bear, was jailed for 21 months for his act of “revenge porn.”

The recording was caught on CCTV in his garden in Loughton, Essex, on August 2, 2020, without Georgia’s knowledge, and he soon uploaded it to the adult website OnlyFans, earning £2,000 from it.

Love Island star Miss Harrison waived the right to anonymity granted to her under the Sexual Offenses Act, saying she felt compelled to do so because so many people knew about the video.

Judge Christopher Morgan jailed Stephen for 21 months and gave him a restraining order not to contact Georgia.

The reality star was also ordered to sign the sex offenders register and will receive a reporting obligation for 10 years.

Following the sentencing on March 3, the Deputy Chief Prosecutor for the East of England, Hannah Von Dadelszen, said Bear will be forced to “sell whatever assets he has” to repay the £2,100 earned on Miss Harrison’s video.