Over the past year, Tom Hardy has become one of the most beloved and bankable movie stars on the planet. As a result of his brooding good looks and one-of-a-kind screen presence Hardy has gone from starring in critically adored but commercially overlooked indie fare like Bronson to big budget studio tentpoles like Inception, The Dark Knight Rises, and Mad Max: Fury Road. Of course, even though he's partying with Leonardo DiCaprio and pulling in seven-figure paychecks these days, Hardy still makes time for his passion projects. No, we're not talking about high-brow, challenging films with his favorite directors. We're talking about lip-syncing to Whitney Houston and posting video of it online. Yes, for some reason Hardy loves to drop his tough guy persona and rock out to his favorite jams on social media. We feel like it's best not to question it. Just let the beautiful hilarity wash over you: 1. Tom Hardy: “Stayin’ Alive” We’re pretty sure this is the most terrifying lip sync of “Stayin’ Alive” ever caught on video. Naturally, that also makes it the most hilarious. 2. Tom Hardy: “Pimp” 50 Cent posted this video of Tom Hardy lip-syncing to “Pimp” on Instagram. Remarkably, Mr. Hardy is sober these days…So we really have no idea WHAT inspired this. 3. Tom Hardy: “Fun, Fun, Fun” Tom Hardy and his friends are the new Beach Boys. It definitely looks like they’re living up to the title of this song. 4. Tom Hardy: “Bohemian Rhapsody” We already knew Tom had range as an actor, but who have guessed he’s such a versatile song stylist. His take on “Bohemian Rhapsody” might bring you to tears…of laughter. 5. Tom Hardy: “CREAM” Cash rules everything around Tom Hardy. Dolla, dolla bill, y’all 6. Tom Hardy: The Sound of Silence” Simon and Garfunkel, meet Tom Hardy and his stunt double. They might be the most badass folk duo in history. View Slideshow
Zoe Kravitz Shut Out Of ‘Dark Knight’ Casting Due To Race Even though she used to identify as a white girl , Zoe Kravitz has quickly had to learn Hollywood’s racist ropes . In her most recent magazine interview, the starlet reveals that she was even shut out of auditioning for The Dark Knight movie franchise — specifically because they weren’t in the market for “urban” actors. Via USWeekly : Where’s Batman when you need him to save the day? Zoe Kravitz said in a new interview with Nylon magazine that she was unjustly shut out of an audition for The Dark Knight Rises because of her ethnicity. “In the last Batman movie, they told me that I couldn’t get an audition for a small role they were casting because they weren’t ‘going urban,’” Kravitz, 26, said in the August issue’s cover story. “It was like, ‘What does that have to do with anything?’ I have to play the role like, ‘Yo, what’s up, Batman? What’s going on wit chu?’” The daughter of rocker Lenny Kravitz and actress Lisa Bonet — both of whom are biracial — the star has been careful about the roles she chooses as she grows her film career. Kravitz’s credits now include parts in the critically acclaimed Dope, Divergent, and Mad Max: Fury Road, and she is weary about getting typecast anytime soon. “I don’t want to play everyone’s best friend,” she told Nylon. “I don’t want to play the role of a girl struggling in the ghetto. It’s not that that story isn’t important, but I saw patterns and was like, ‘I don’t relate to these people.’” Looks like she’s well on her way to breaking out of those molds, right?
This bikini photo of Miranda Kerr requires little explanation. Once again, the sexy 29-year-old Victoria’s Secret model kindly posted an Instagram pic of herself for all to enjoy. “Good morning,” Kerr simply captioned it. It was a very good morning, indeed, thanks to her. Kerr gave no clues as to where this shot was taken, which is kind of annoying, as it looks breathtaking and we’d love to see it ourselves one day. Eh, it’s okay. We’ll settle for looking at Miranda Kerr bikini photos .
You’ve done it now, Democrats. You’ve made Rush Limbaugh officially “ashamed” to be an American. That’s how the conservative radio host described himself yesterday when ranting about the budget sequestration, an issue President Obama says could cripple the economy if Congress can’t strike a deal before next month. Limbaugh believes that argument from Obama – who said yesterday that love of rich people binds the GOP together – is an “insult” to his “common sense and intelligence.” Rush Limbaugh: Ashamed of His Country “Here they come… sucking us in, roping us in,” Limbaugh said. “Panic here, fear there, crisis, destruction, no meat inspection, no cops, no teachers, no firefighters, no air traffic control. I’m sorry, my days of getting roped into all of this are over.” Limbaugh also believes The Dark Knight Rises is a liberal conspiracy .
‘Dark Knight Rises’ actor reveals his next film will be ‘Sin City: A Dame to Kill For.’ By Kevin P. Sullivan Joseph Gordon-Levitt Photo: Jeff Vespa/ Getty Images
In five decades, James Bond has racked up many feats from babes to bombs, but one figure 007 hasn’t charmed is Oscar, though that will begin to change this year. 007 will receive a full tribute at the 85th Academy Awards . [Related: Steven Spielberg Hoped To Direct James Bond – But Got A ‘No’ ] Oscar organizers will fete the franchise in celebration of its 50th anniversary during the telecast on Sunday February 24th. The original secret British operative was played by Sean Connery, starting with Dr. No in 1962. Connery stayed on for five Bond films when the mantle was handed off for one film to George Lazenby for 1969’s On Her Majesty’s Service before returning to Connery for 1971’s Diamonds Are Forever , Since then Roger Moore took on the role for seven installments, followed by Timothy Dalton and Pierce Brosnan. Daniel Craig is 007’s latest manifestation with three features under his belt, including the franchise’s latest and most successful film yet, Skyfall , which became the 14th film to hit the $1 billion mark in its worldwide theatrical run. Despite not being a big seducer of Oscar, Bond has scored some wins over the decades, including seven nominations and two wins. Goldfinger (1964) won a Best Effects, Sound Effects Academy Award and 1965’s Thunderball took another for Best Effects, Special Visual Effects. Noted Oscar telecast producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron: “We are very happy to include a special sequence on our show saluting the Bond films on their 50th birthday. Starting with Dr. No back in 1962, the 007 movies have become the longest-running motion picture franchise in history and a beloved global phenomenon.”
Oscar heavy-weights Zero Dark Thirty , Argo , Lincoln and Silver Linings Playbook are among the titles nominated for screenplay recognition by the Writers Guild. Documentary shortlisted films The Invisible Man , Mea Maxima Culpa and Searching For Sugar Man are also among the nominations in the non-fiction category for the 2013 Writers Guild Awards, which will be held Sunday February 17th in simultaneously in Los Angeles and New York. [ Related: Academy Names 15 As Best Documentary Oscar Contenders; ‘Central Park Five’ Snubbed ] The nominations follow: Original Screenplay Flight , Written by John Gatins; Paramount Pictures Looper , Written by Rian Johnson; TriStar Pictures The Master , Written by Paul Thomas Anderson; The Weinstein Company Moonrise Kingdom , Written by Wes Anderson & Roman Coppola; Focus Features Zero Dark Thirty , Written by Mark Boal; Columbia Pictures Adapted Screenplay Argo , Screenplay by Chris Terrio; Based on a selection from The Master of Disguise by Antonio J. Mendez and the Wired Magazine article “The Great Escape” by Joshuah Bearman; Warner Bros. Pictures Life of Pi , Screenplay by David Magee; Based on the novel by Yann Martel; 20th Century Fox Lincoln , Screenplay by Tony Kushner; Based in part on the book Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln by Doris Kearns Goodwin; DreamWorks Pictures The Perks of Being a Wallflower , Screenplay by Stephen Chbosky; Based on his book; Summit Entertainment Silver Linings Playbook , Screenplay by David O. Russell; Based on the novel by Matthew Quick; The Weinstein Company Documentary Screenplay The Central Park Five , Written by Sarah Burns and David McMahon and Ken Burns; Sundance Selects The Invisible War , Written by Kirby Dick; Cinedigm Entertainment Group Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God , Written by Alex Gibney; HBO Documentary Films Searching for Sugar Man , Written by Malik Bendejelloul; Sony Pictures Classics We Are Legion: The Story of the Hacktivists , Written by Brian Knappenberger; Cinetic Media West of Memphis , Written by Amy Berg & Billy McMillin; Sony Pictures Classics
After a momentary holiday lull, it’s back on! Or as Calvin Candie says in Django Unchained . “We got us a fight going on that’s a good bit of fun.” Academy voters were given one extra day to mull over their Oscar nomination ballots, thanks to a voting deadline extension necessitated by complaints and concerns over the Academy’s first-ever electronic voting system. They could use that 24 hours to digest the Producers Guild Award nominations , which were announced Wednesday, a day early. From here, the awards season proceeds at 48 frames per second , bringing the Oscar race into sharp focus. The Director’s Guild of America nominations for Best Director will be announced Jan. 8, with Oscar nominations announced on the 10th,in advance of the Golden Globes, which will be handed out on the 13th. The PGA ceremony will be held on the 26th, followed by the SAG awards the following night. Feb. 2 brings the DGAs, one of the most reliable Oscar indicators, followed by the Independent Spirit Awards (and the Razzies) on the 23rd and the Oscars on the 24th. This is the earliest Oscar voting in history, Variety’s Jon Weisman noted, and he feared for the “dark horse” candidates as voters race to catch up to the big ticket films such as Django Unchained and Les Miserables that were released at the end of the year. “We’ll never quantify the impact… on the coming Academy Award nominations, but I’m thinking negative,” he writes. The Best Picture race was most impacted this week. So, let’s consult the Gold Linings Playbook to see which films benefited from the PGA bump. Best Picture Since 1990, the winner of the PGA’s Darryl F. Zanuck Award for Outstanding Producer of Theatrical Motion Pictures -winner was denied on Oscar night only seven times, most recently in 2006, when The Departed took Best Picture honors instead of the PGA’s choice, Little Miss Sunshine . Its 10-film field included most of the expected nominees from A ( Argo ) to Z ( Zero Dark Thirty ). Django Unchained ’s n-word – nomination – only accelerated its momentum, while Beasts of the Southern Wild , a non-union production, deemed ineligible for SAG consideration, and also denied Golden Globe nominations, saw its own Oscar cred strengthened. (Apparently, Hollywood Foreign Press Association members would rather party with Nicole Kidman than Quvenzhane Wallis ) biggest surprise was the nomination of Skyfall , which may be poised to do for Bond films what Beauty and the Beast did for animated films; be the first to be nominated for a Best Picture Oscar. But Skyfall shouldn’t press its Oscar-night tux just yet. Last year, Bridesmaids , The Ides of March and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo did not parlay their PGA nominations into Best Picture bids. The Master , Flight , and The Dark Knight Rises , each snubbed by the PGA, have their advocates, and should not be counted out. 1. Lincoln 2. Zero Dark Thirty 3. Argo 4. Silver Linings Playbook 5. Django Unchained 6. Les Misérables 7. Life of Pi 8. Beasts of the Southern Wild 9. Moonrise Kingdom 10. Skyfall Ones to watch: The Dark Knight Rises, Flight, The Master Best Director The heat is still on Zero Dark Thirty , now officially the target of a Senate Intelligence Committee investigation over alleged contact between the filmmakers and CIA officials, but Kathryn Bigelow’s nomination is inevitable. Quentin Tarantino is riding taller in the saddle with Django Unchained ’s PGA nomination, but it’s a tight field and Life of Pi and Silver Linings Playbook are safer, far less controversial films. Still, it helps to have Samuel L. Jackson in your corner. The PGA snub of The Master sees Paul Thomas Anderson’s Oscar hopes further recede. 1. Steven Spielberg ( Lincoln ) 2. Kathryn Bigelow ( Zero Dark Thirty ) 3. Ben Affleck ( Argo ) 4. Ang Lee ( Life of Pi ) 5. David O. Russell ( Silver Linings Playbook ) Ones to watch: Quentin Tarantino (Django Unchained). Michael Haneke (Amour), Tom Hooper (Les Miserables), Paul Thomas Anderson (The Master)
Robert Pattinson, Channing Tatum also rank on MTV News’ list of the best film characters of the year. By MTV News Staff Christian Bale as Batman in “The Dark Knight Rises” Photo: Getty Images
