Oscar-nominated actress Samantha Morton (Minority Report, In America) is opening up about her violent past. After her parents divorce when she was just a toddler, Morton spent several years in children’s homes. At the age of 14, she was staying in a group home when there was a riot. During the course of the riot, the building was set on fire. When the police arrived, Morton “picked up a knife and was accused of threatening to kill an older girl who had been bullying her for a long time”.

Morton was locked up for three days, and eventually the charge of attempted murder was downgraded to “making threats to kill”. Morton’s punishment was 18 weeks in what she calls an “attendance center”, which is sort of like juvenile detention mixed with school. She says she felt at the time (and still feels) embarrassment and remorse, but she says that the incident was the result of physical abuse:

Samantha Morton, the actress, has disclosed that she was charged with attempted murder and eventually convicted of making threats to kill at the age of 14.

Morton, 31, grew up in care where she was exposed to a tough and often violent environment. She has decided to speak put about her criminal conviction after directing her first film – about a girl growing up in a children’s homes.

Morton was in a home in Nottingham when the incident occurred.

In an interview with the Guardian, she explained that there had been a riot and the building had been set on fire.

It was when the police had arrived that Morton picked up a knife and was accused of threatening to kill an older girl who had been bullying her for a long time.

“I was physically abused and I retaliated”, she said. “The only person I hurt in the end was myself.

“I was locked in a cell for three days. It was terrible. I just sat there thinking, I don’t want this life – I’m not a petty criminal. I’m not a thug. I was so ashamed of myself.”

The charge of attempted murder was reduced to making threats to kill. Morton was convicted and sentenced to 18 weeks at an attendance centre. She said the experience turned her life around.

“I felt humbled, I felt remorse, I felt embarrassed.”

Morton plans to work with children in care in the future. She said: “What shocks me is that so many people leave care and become homeless, and when you’re homeless you get into crime, prostitution and drugs, and it is a vicious circle. That’s what we need to change”

From The Telegraph

Samantha Morton is absolutely right, it is a vicious circle. The statistics on foster kids and group home kids are devastating – increased rates of drug and alcohol abuse, imprisonment, and violence. Of all of the issues for celebrities to get involved with, the issue of fixing the broken foster/juvenile crime/child care system is one that desperately needs more involvement, more work, more awareness, more money. I knew Samantha Morton had a rough childhood, but I had no idea it was this difficult.

Samantha Morton is shown at am AMFAR benefit on 5/22/08. Credit: WENN.com

The Cannes Film festival officially ends today after two weeks of premieres, parties and glamor on the French Riviera. The top prize at the festival, the Palm D’Or, will be announced at 7:30 pm Central European Time, which is 6 hours ahead of EST. Frontrunners are generally thought to be Steven Soderbergh’s Che and maybe Clint Eastwood’s Changeling, although past winners were often complete surprises and it could go to any of the deserving films in competition.

On Friday night, Michelle Williams made her second red carpet appearance and looked a little more somber than on Thursday, when everyone was heralding her return to the red carpet after the death of her daughter’s father, Heath Ledger, in January.

In an article about the seedy side of Cannes, author Liz Jones mentioned that the photographers at the premiere of Williams’ film were shouting questions at her about Heath. Her description is sad:

I see Michelle Williams braving the red carpet to promote her new film as shouts from the paparazzi, begging her to give just one soundbite about the death of her former fiancee; Heath Ledger, rain down on her narrow shoulders like hail.

[From The Daily Mail]

Williams was at the premiere of Synedoche, New York, with a screenplay written by Charlie Kaufman, who also wrote Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and Adaptation. She appears in the film along with Samantha Morton, Catherine Keneer, and Philip Seymour Hoffman. When I saw these photos I got confused, because I thought the photocall pictures we published earlier were from Williams’ film Wendy and Lucy, but it turns out they were for Synedoche, and that Williams is in two movies at Cannes this year. According to IMDB, Synedoche, New York is about “a theater director [played by Philip Seymour Hoffman, who] struggles with his work, and the women in his life, as he attempts to create a life-size replica of New York inside a warehouse as part of his new play.”

Also shown are photos from the premiere of The Palermo Shooting Saturday, where the stars of the film along with plenty of lesser-knowns showed up. Shown are Milla Jovovich, Campino, Dennis Hopper, Kerry Washington (who was also at the Synechdoche premiere), Phoebe Price (who I know primarily from D-Listed), Dennis Hopper’s super skinny wife Victoria, some chick named Jana Pallaske in a ridiculous pink feather dress, Sarah Marshall, and Zhang Zilin.

Michelle Williams, 27, made her first red carpet appearance since her daughter’s father, Heath Ledger, died of a prescription drug interaction on January 22. People Magazine reports that she made a last-minute decision to fly to Cannes to promote her film, Wendy and Lucy. She wore “vintage Chanel Haute Couture” to the premiere of the film last night, and appeared refreshed and happy at a photocall with her co-stars today.

“It was decided on Monday night that she could come to Cannes, and she got on the next plane to arrive just in time to get dressed and come to our premiere,” said a rep for Wendy and Lucy. “She came in and had a long nap and then came to the screening.”

Williams, 27, was radiant in a vintage Chanel Haute Couture dress. She will remain in Cannes at least through Friday night to promote another festival movie in which she appears, Synecdoche, New York, before flying back to the United States to resume filming a Martin Scorsese movie in Boston.

[From People]

Williams is the star of the film Wendy and Lucy, which IMDB describes as “a narrative feature about woman whose life is derailed en route to a potentially lucrative summer job. When her car breaks down, and her dog is taken to the pound, the thin fabric of her financial situation comes apart, and she is lead through a series of increasingly dire economic decisions.” Williams’ performance has been well reviewed. Cinematical notes that she didn’t attend the screening for the film, and that it is thought that she attended the screening for Adoration next door.

I love her hair like that, it’s lovely in soft controlled waves. She looks beautiful and relaxed, and this seems like a good time for her to resume her career and start making public appearances again.

Also shown at the photocall are Samantha Morton, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Catherine Keener. Thanks to WENN.