Title: Sex Crimes Unit Director: Lisa F. Jackson A recent premiere at the 2011 Los Angeles Film Festival, as part of its summer showcase, director Lisa F. Jackson’s Sex Crimes Unit is an emotionally pulverizing documentary look inside the special, same-named division of the New York City District Attorney’s office. An incredible snapshot of justice deferred but thankfully not denied, the movie will continue to air on HBO as part of its summer documentary series. Part of the film details the painstaking overhaul of outdated laws that impinged on victims’ rights in sexual assault cases — the ridiculous “corroboration” requirement, struck down in 1974, and the rape shield law of 1975,…

Benjamin Bratt has signed on to be a series regular in the ABC medical drama ‘Private Practice,’ www.tvline.com is reporting. His first appearance will be on this season’s finale, and he will become a full-time cast member in the fall. There aren’t any official details on Bratt’s character yet. But his entrance is expected to coincide with the departure of original series regular Audra McDonald, who plays Dr. Naomi Bennett. The actress is leaving ‘Private Practice,’ which films in Santa Monica, as she wants to spend more time with her family on the East Coast. Bratt is most well-known for his portrayal of Detective Rey Curtis on ‘Law & Order’…

‘Law & Order: Los Angeles’ is once again being revamped creatively, as creator and producer Dick Wolf has said that it will now more closely resemble the original ‘Law & Order’ series, Deadline.com is reporting. One major change is that the spin-off will do exactly what helped make the original series famous-filming an episode whose story is ripped from the headlines. When the series returns on April 12, the episode, titled ‘Benedict Canyon,’ will follow a famous Hollywood stylist who’s murdered in what seems to be a random robbery gone wrong. The story is based on the recent murder of Hollywood publicist Ronni Chasen. However, while investigators are saying Chasen’s…

Actress Mariska Hargitay has hinted she may be leaving “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” after nearly ten years to spend more time with her child. Hargitay, who started playing Detective Olivia Benson in the long-running TV drama in 1999, admits she’s missing out on family time and is thinking about leaving the show. She tells Ladies Home Journal, “I just want to see my kid.” Hargitay and husband Peter Hermann had a son, August, who was born in 2006 and the actress admits she and Hermann are trying to have a second child. Aside from the show, Hargitay has played a police officer in guest spots on other “Law…