Sep 1
In addition to recording this PSA as a UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador, Angelina Jolie reportedly donated $100,000 to relief efforts right after the floods devastated Pakistan.
There’s no question that celebrities can bring attention to a topic. But do their appeals encourage you to donate more (or at all)?
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Sep 1
On Sunday we learned that Kylie Minogue will be launching a new world tour next year called Les Folies Tour 2011 and that she WILL be bringing that tour here to the US along the way. Today we get our first look at the official 2011 Kylie Minogue Calendar with which we can block out [...]
He front-loads his movies with nakedness, then ‘in your mind, everyone is naked the rest of the movie.’By Kara Warner
Robert Rodriguez
Photo: MTV News
“Machete” was originally conceived as a fake trailer in “Grindhouse,” but fan demand convinced director Robert Rodriguez to make the story into a full-length feature, which opens Friday. The film, which revolves around the titular character and his attempt to clear his sullied name, is full of blood, action, crazy weaponry and beautiful naked and half-naked women.
When we caught up with the “Sin City” and “Spy Kids” filmmaker recently, we asked how he decides when to play the naked card and when to avoid it.
“Ask my sister. She tells me, ‘You need to have more hot chicks in this movie!’ ” Rodriguez said, playfully deferring to his co-editor and co-writer, Alvaro Rodriguez.
“I have a trick,” he admitted. “I did this in ‘Sin City’ too. People say, ‘There’s so much nudity in “Sin City.” ‘ I say, ‘No, if you look close, there’s only [some] at the very beginning.’ ”
Rodriguez said showing a lot of skin from the get-go makes people think they’re seeing more than they do. “If you do it at the beginning of the movie, in your mind, everyone is naked the rest of the movie if they’re scantily clad — because that’s how the comics are drawn,” he said. “['Machete'] was the same way.”
Rodriguez cited a particular scene at the beginning of the film, in which Machete tries to save a beautiful (and naked) woman, as his prime example. He said the decision to have the actress appear sans clothing throughout the entire scene helps enable extra tricks in the plot that wouldn’t work otherwise.
“That was the first scene I wrote. There’s got to be a girl that he goes to save and she’s naked and he’s having to run out with this naked girl over his shoulder, but then you put a twist on it,” Rodriguez explained, continuing with a pseudo-spoiler. “She ends up working for the other side and tricking him by being nude. That way he doesn’t see it coming. Everything else, he’d be able to see a trick coming,” he said, adding that there isn’t much more skin in the rest of the film (save for a topless scene in a pool). “It’s really just that trick.”
“Machete,” starring Danny Trejo, Jessica Alba, Michelle Rodriguez, Robert De Niro and Don Johnson, opens Friday.
What do you think of Rodriguez’s trick? Will it affect how you watch the film now? Let us know in the comments!
Check out everything we’ve got on “Machete.”
For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com.
From Madonna’s ‘A Certain Sacrifice’ to Taylor Swift’s ‘Valentine’s Day,’ pop stars’ first forays into acting have been interesting.By Eric Ditzian
Taylor Swift in “Valentine’s Day”
Photo: New Line Cinema
Last February, during a swing through South Korea, Rihanna told MTV Asia that she had dreams of becoming a Hollywood superstar.
“I would love to get into comedic movies,” the 22-year-old said. “As well as action. I love action. I would love to play a badass one day.”
Well, a badass she very well might be, as she’s signed onto “Battleship,” a sci-fi action flick based on the classic board game and co-starring Taylor Kitsch and Alexander Skarsgård. Of course, this isn’t the first time a celebrated singer has ditched the recording studio for the soundstage. As Rihanna boards “Battleship,” she joins a long line of artists-turned-actresses. Let’s take a look back at the first movie roles from some our favorite singers.
Beyoncé in “Austin Powers in Goldmember”
No disrespect to the 2001 MTV movie “Carmen: A Hip Hopera,” but 2002’s “Goldmember” was Beyoncé’s first turn on the big screen. And what a debut it was. She essentially played herself, albeit a ’70s version of herself with super high hair and a handgun, but that is exactly what Beyoncé needed. The role didn’t require very much in terms of acting chops and gave her the chance to get comfortable in front of the camera. Veteran comedic talent like Mike Myers, Seth Green and Michael Caine got the laughs, while Beyoncé benefited from simply sharing the frame. “Goldmember” grossed almost $300 million worldwide, and she went on to star in the critically acclaimed “Dreamgirls” a few years later.
Madonna in “A Certain Sacrifice”
Madge’s first high-profile role arrived in 1985 with “Desperately Seeking Susan,” but she actually shot her first movie six years earlier. The low-budget “A Certain Sacrifice,” a sex-and-violence filled story set in New York’s Lower East Side, languished on the shelf for years until Madonna hit the mainstream. She actually did everything she could to prevent the film’s release, but “Certain Sacrifice” eventually got a home video release. Madonna might not be proud of the flick, but it certainly didn’t have a negative effect on her Hollywood career. She went on to star in a slew of glitzy productions, including “Evita,” for which she won a Golden Globe in 1997.
Queen Latifah in “Jungle Fever”
Latifah signed her first record deal when she was just 17. By the time she was 21, she’d also landed a small role in Spike Lee’s “Jungle Fever.” She went on to meatier roles in “House Party 2″ and “Juice,” opposite Tupac Shakur. By the new millennium, she had an Oscar nomination for “Chicago” on her résumé and a string of starring credits to her name.
Britney Spears in “Crossroads”
At perhaps the height of her fame, Spears took on a starring role in 2002’s “Crossroads,” a road-trip story featuring musical interludes and the talents of Dan Aykroyd and Zoe Saldana. The film was a critical dud and a box-office disappointment, and Spears has yet to get another chance at the big screen. In recent years, she’s contented herself with cameo appearances in “How I Met Your Mother.”
Taylor Swift in “Valentine’s Day”
The country superstar appeared as herself in 2009’s “Hannah Montana: The Movie,” but not until this year’s hit ensemble comedy, “Valentine’s Day,” did Swift slip into an acting role. She played a high school student who falls for her classmate, played by none other than Taylor Lautner. No word yet what her next movie project might be, but her, “Valentine’s” director Garry Marshall is gearing up for his next ensemble flick, “New Year’s Eve.” Ms. Swift, ya interested?
Who is your favorite musician-turned-actor? Talk about it in the comments.
Check out everything we’ve got on “Battleship.”
For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com.
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Sep 1
‘That’s part of my job and her job — to keep her evolving,’ he tells Billboard.By Kara Warner
Lady Gaga
Photo: Jeff Kravitz/ FilmMagic
Hot on the heels of Lady Gaga’s confident pronouncement that her upcoming album is the “absolute greatest work I’ve ever done,” “utter liberation” and an “anthem for my generation for the next decade” comes echoing praise from a reliable — if slightly biased — source: her producer RedOne.
“It’s going to be shocking, shocking, shocking!” the Moroccan/Swedish master mixer behind “Just Dance,” “LoveGame,” “Poker Face,” “Bad Romance” and “Alejandro” told Billboard of Gaga’s new music. “You never want to go too far from your brand — people love you for a reason. But we still want to give them something with a kick, something that makes them say, ‘Oh my God! We didn’t expect this!’ ”
RedOne (real name: Nadir Khayat) said a big part of his job and future collaborations with Gaga are about evolution. “When you heard ‘Bad Romance’ after ‘Poker Face,’ it was like the best thing you’ve ever heard,” he said. “We want that type of reaction. I think that’s part of my job and her job — to keep her evolving.”
The producer told Billboard that he worked on at least two tracks on Gaga’s new album but also encouraged her to collaborate with others (he produced a total of nine tracks on The Fame and The Fame Monster), though he wouldn’t divulge which hitmakers might be producing songs on the upcoming album.
“After ‘Just Dance’ and ‘Poker Face,’ ‘LoveGame’ and ‘Boys Boys Boys,’ I got a sound out of her, and that made it easier for other producers,” he said. “Her sound is so defined that, no matter what, people can follow it. That sound belongs to her.”
What are you expecting from Gaga’s new music? Let us know in the comments!
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Sep 1
Today, the heavy metal world lost a true legend. Ronnie James Dio, who most recently fronted the Black Sabbath-without-Ozzy band Heaven & Hell, lost his battle with stomach cancer at 7:45 a.m. PST. He was 67.
?My heart is broken,? said his wife and manager, Wendy Dio in a statement. ?Many, many friends and family were [...]
In spring 2009, just as Heaven & Hell (Black Sabbath with Ronnie James Dio) were getting ready to put out their debut full-length, ‘The Devil You Know,’ Dio and bassist Geezer Butler sat down in an apartment in New York’s East Village to talk about the making of the disc, the sorry state of the [...]
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