Wait, what?!? Woman Claims Clifton Powell Asked To Be Called Monique During Rape Yesterday we reported that actor Clifton Powell had been accused of rape, apparently the rabbit whole goes a lil’ bit deeper than we expected. As he raped her in his hotel room, actor Clifton Powell insisted that a woman call him “Monique,” the alleged victim claims in Federal Court. Suing under the pseudonym Kiyante Myers, the woman says she was 24 when Powell raped her on Aug. 29, 2011. “Defendant Powell is a professional actor that has participated in several movies during his career,” the complaint states. According to the complaint: “On August 28, 2011, at approximately 10:00 p.m., defendant Powell came into Harrah’s Casino, where the plaintiff is employed as a cocktail waitress. The plaintiff and defendant have known one another for approximately two years. “After a brief encounter, defendant Powell asked when she would be getting off from work and if she would like to go out afterward. “Plaintiff agreed to defendant Powell’s request and after getting off from work around midnight, plaintiff met defendant Powell outside of the casino and together went to the W Hotel Bar for drinks. “After the drinks at The W Hotel, both plaintiff and defendant went to The International House Hotel at 221 Camp Street, where defendant Powell was a registered guest. “After she entered his hotel room, defendant Powell asked plaintiff to take her pants off so that he could perform oral sex, which led to a consensual sexual relation. “Later that same day, when plaintiff and defendant Powell awoke, defendant Powell wanted to engage in sexual relations again, but plaintiff declined his offer, informing him that he was too rough with her last time. “Defendant Powell convinced her that he would ‘take it easy’ this time. “After a short period of consensual sex, defendant Powell’s voice began to change and he began to be rough with plaintiff and told her he wanted to be called ‘Monique.’ Plaintiff began to resist defendant Powell, which was met with physical force as he pushed her face into the mattress while choking plaintiff from behind. Da fawk is this ninja on?! Damn we hope this isn’t true. Clifton always played characters that were so trill, let us find out he’s got some Oscar De La Hoya in him… Image via YouTube Source
If, like me, you’ve been lamenting the steady bleed of thoughtful, investigative journalism from newspapers and magazines, the Toronto International Film Festival offers hope via visual media. Scanning the list of documentaries that the festival will be screening, the subject — and the fresh, innovative ways in which the filmmakers are tackling them — calls to mind the original, smart, and, often, great journalism that came from the pages of Harold Hayes’ Esquire magazine in the 1960s and early’70s, arguably, the gold standard of 20th Century magazine writing. And here are the 10 docs that will have my undivided attention here in Toronto. Now I just have to find the time to see them. 1. Stories We Tell , Sarah Polley: Initial reports are that the wise-beyond-her-33-years actress and filmmaker has made a stunning auto-documentary by becoming, as she puts it, “a detective in my own life.” Polley — the daughter of the late actress and casting director Diane MacMillan Polley, who died when Sarah was 11, and British actor-turned-insurance-agent Michael Polley — delves into her murky family history to separate fact from fiction. I hear that the answers she unearths resonate like a punch in the gut. 2. Love, Marilyn , Liz Garbus: The enduring perception of Marilyn Monroe as a “Candle in the Wind” to use the title of Elton John’s exquisite song, gets an overhaul in Garbus’ close-up of the actress and sex symbol. The Bobby Fischer Against the World filmmaker uses an ensemble of actresses — including Marisa Tomei, Viola Davis, Ellen Burstyn, Evan Rachel Wood and contemporary trouble doll Lindsay Lohan — to give voice to Monroe’s never-before-seen personal papers, diaries and letters which reveal her to be a fiercely ambitious steel magnolia with a poet’s soul. 3. The Gatekeepers , Dror Moreh: The buzz has been building on this documentary since it debuted on the festival circuit in Jerusalem in July and, according to a couple of sources who’ve seen it, The Gatekeepers is an eye-opening look at the real costs of the Palestine-Israeli conflict told through the unprecedented first-person accounts of six former Shin Bet (Israeli Security Agency) leaders. Word is the film is unflinching, hair-raising and, all the more powerful, because it humanizes the agents who did their government’s dirty work in the interest of homeland security. (Sound familiar?) As former Shin Bet chief Avraham Shalom says in the film: “In the war against terror, there is no morality.” 4. The Act of Killing , Joshua Oppenheimer, Christine Cynn: That documentary masters Errol Morris and Werner Herzog came aboard as executive producers after seeing this film in various stages of completion should tell you that this is no ordinary documentary. But wait until to you hear its cinematic conceit: Oppenheimer and Cynn filmed Indonesian paramilitary leader Anwar Congo and his cohort — who participated in the murder of more than a million alleged Communists, ethnic Chinese and intellectuals in the 1960s — proudly and chillingly reenacting some of their murders in the style of their favorite movies: westerns, musicals and film noir. This should give new life to the debate over violence in the movies sparked by the Aurora tragedy in July. 5. Reincarnated , Andrew Capper: Capper, the global editor for Vice magazine, chose a compelling subject for his first feature-length documentary: the evolution of pot-loving rapper Snoop Dogg to pot-loving Rastafarian Snoop Lion during a trip to Jamaica to record with the DJ named Diplo. Whether Snoop is merely trying on a new career-rejuvenating persona the way that David Bowie did (multiple times) in the 1970s, or looking for a more spiritual reason to inhale a buttload of chronic, the musical artist born Calvin Broadus has a playful-but-knowing charisma that I bet will play well on camera. I think he’s ready for his close-up. 6. Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God , Alex Gibney: The Taxi to the Dark Side director takes on another powder-keg subject — sexual abuse in the Catholic church — and I hear that fireworks ensue. Gibney begins with the headlines-making case of Father Lawrence Murphy, who beginning in the 1950s, is believed to have molested as many as 200 boys at the St. John’s School for the Deaf in St. Francis, Wisconsin. Although the Vatican was made aware of the priest’s actions in 1963, he was never defrocked and, in fact, was allowed to remain at the school until 1974 (when he was transferred). Mea Maxima Culpa , which translates to “My Most Grievous Fault,” takes Gibney all the way to the Vatican where he scrutinizes the roles that the late Pope John Paul II and his successor Pope Benedict XVI (then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger) played in this tragic tale. 7. Artifact , Bartholomew Cubbins: Based on the coy picture I found on the Toronto Film Festival’s website, the Dr. Seuss-monikered director of this film is actually also its subject: actor and Platinum-selling 30 Seconds to Mars front man Jared Leto. (He has used the pseudonym before.) Since Leto has, so far, defied my predictions that he would be a musical flash in the pan, I’m eager to see whether he can cut it as a filmmaker. (I like his acting, but let’s say I’m skeptical that he can direct.) Artifact is about Leto and his band battling their record label Virgin/EMI in court while writing songs for a new album and, according to the TIFF synopsis, “struggling with big questions over art, money and integrity.” I suspect that droves of pretty young things will want to see this documentary, too, albeit for different reasons. 8. How to Make Money Selling Drugs, Matthew Cooke: With candid assists from Eminem, 50 Cent, Susan Sarandon and other celebrities, Cooke’s directorial debut is getting good word-of-mouth for its satirical Trainspotting -meets- Casino approach to a subject that makes most people’s eyes glaze over: the United States’ ineffectual drug policy. Cooke even employs a video game within the film to make his point. Donkey Bong ? 9. First Comes Love , Nina Davenport: Another auto-doc that taps into the, um, ripe subject of single motherhood as a choice. Unattached at the age of 41, Davenport decided to have a baby on her own — in New York City, no less — and to film the process. I’m hoping that it’s a candid corrective to The Back-Up Plan. 10. The Central Park Five, Ken Burns, Sarah Burns, David McMahon: I’m not a dedicated fan of Burns. His PBS Jazz documentary series irritated me, but I get why this particular project, which has been acquired by Sundance Select for distribution, is generating buzz. The subject of this collaborative effort with his daughter Sarah (who wrote a 2011 book about the Central Park Five) and son-in-law, McMahon, speaks volumes about race, crime and politics in New York City. In 1989, five black and Latino teenagers from Harlem were arrested and later convicted of raping a white woman in New York City’s Central Park. They spent between 6 and 13 years in prison before a serial rapist confessed that he alone had committed the crime, leading to their convictions being overturned. For more from Movieline at the Toronto Film Fest, click here. Follow Frank DiGiacomo on Twitter. Follow Movieline on Twitter.
In addition to his role as a rapper, Yauch was also involved in film and human rights efforts. By Gil Kaufman Adam Yauch Photo: Getty Images Like an intertwined set of fat laces on an old-school Adidas shell toe shoe, the verbal flow of the Beastie Boys was always seamless. MCA, AD-Rock and Mike D dipped in and out of each others lines and traded off verses like a three-headed hip-hop hydra, their flows unique, but always tightly packed. With the death of Adam Yauch (aka MCA) on Friday (may 4) at the age of 47, that flow is forever interrupted, but the New York-born rapper’s legacy lives on not just in his rhymes but in his many efforts outside the scope of his MC role. While the B-Boys always presented a united front in the studio and on stage, MCA was a renaissance man whose many interests ranged from direction videos and movies to his decades-long efforts to aid the cause of Tibetan freedom. Along with lending his indelible, rough-hewn voice voice to the trio’s eight studio albums, Yauch was a cinephile who used the group’s bully pulpit explore his second passion: directing. Under the pseudonym Nathaniel Hornblower (aka Yauch’s mustachioed Swiss “uncle”), Yauch directed a number of the band’s most innovative and eye-popping videos , including the robot attack clip for “Intergalactic,” the Italian spy spoofing “Body Moving,” as well as the 2006 Beasties documentary, “Awesome: I F–kin’ Shot That!” He also directed and produced the 2008 street basketball documentary “Gunnin’ For that #1 Spot,” which the first title released by his film company, Oscilloscope Laboratories. Since then, Oscilloscope has become the home of a steady flow of interesting and offbeat documentaries and features, including “We Need to Talk About Kevin,” “Flow,” “Bellflower,” “Wendy & Lucy,” the environmental docu-comedy “No Impact Man,” the Banksy movie “Exit Through the Gift Shop” and 2009 Sundance darling, “The Messenger.” As Hornblower, he was behind the camera for the 20-minute star-studded remake of the band’s 1996 frat boy anthem “(You Gotta) Fight For Your Right (To Party),” in which “Eastbound and Down” star Danny McBride stepped into MCA’s iconic leather jacket. Oscilloscope is also releasing one of the most anticipated head-trip movies in decades this summer, “Samsara,” an HD visual spectacle that is a sequel of sorts to the 1992 70-MM non-narrative classic “Baraka,” as well as a documentary about LCD Soundsystem’s final show, “Shut Up and Play the Hits.” Yauch, a Buddhist, was also passionate about the cause of Tibetan freedom. He was one of the co-founders in 1994 of the Milarepa Fund, a non-profit organization that raised money for and promoted the cause of the Tibetan people’s desire to break free from the People’s Republic of China. After donating money to the cause through royalties from a pair of songs from the Check Your Head album that sampled the chanting of Tibetan Monks, Yauch oversaw the launch of the annual Tibetan Freedom Concerts. The first one, in 1996, took place in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park and raised nearly $1 million for Tibetan exile groups thank to sets by the Smashing Pumpkins, A Tribe Called Quest, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Foo Fighters, De La Soul and Rage Against the Machine. Subsequent shows took place in 1997 in New York (U2, Sonic Youth, Radiohead, Michael Stipe and Mike Mills of R.E.M.), Washington, D.C. in 1998 (Dave Matthews Band, Wyclef Jean, Pearl Jam, KRS-One), Amsterdam, Wisconsin, Sydney and Tokyo in 1999 (Run-DMC, the Roots, Garbage, Alanis Morissette) Tokyo (2001) and Taipei (2003). Share your condolences for MCA’s family, friends and fans in the comments below. Related Videos Adam Yauch: Remembering A Beastie Boy Beastie Boys’ Adam Yauch: 1964-2012 Related Photos The Beastie Boys’ Adam ‘MCA’ Yauch: A Life In Photos Related Artists Beastie Boys
Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright and Oscar-nominated actor Sam Shepard doesn’t take a lot of lead film roles, but when he does, he makes them count. Take this week’s Blackthorn , the sweeping epic tale of what might have happened if — as some historians believe — legendary outlaw Butch Cassidy wasn’t gunned down by Bolivian forces in 1908, and instead went on to live a quiet, reclusive existence in that country under the pseudonym James Blackthorn.
Daughter of Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love turns 19 a month before Nevermind ‘s 20th anniversary. By Gil Kaufman Frances Bean Cobain Photo: Steve Granitz/WireImage From the moment of her birth, she was instantly the most famous baby on the planet. Frances Bean Cobain , now 19, is the only child of late Nirvana singer Kurt Cobain and Hole frontwoman Courtney Love . As we were digging through the tape archives this week in the midst of the 20th-anniversary celebration of Nirvana’s landmark Nevermind album, we unearthed some footage of the rock offspring spending quality time with her parents and thought it was worth catching you up on what Frances has been up to lately. Born August 18, 1992, Frances — whose godfather is former R.E.M. singer Michael Stipe and godmother is actress Drew Barrymore — had a childhood that was unusual even by Hollywood standards. While Love tried her best to keep the young Frances out of the spotlight, the toddler would occasionally make the papers on Love’s arm at a movie premiere or public event. Photos: Growing Up Frances Bean Cobain. As she grew older, Frances continued to mostly shun the spotlight, giving only a handful of interviews to date, including her first one in 2005 as a 13-year-old to Teen Vogue. Here are five facts you may not know about Frances Bean:
Apple’s newest iPhone and iPad mobile operating system, iOS 5, has already been jailbroken months before its scheduled release. On Monday (June 6), Apple sent out advance copies of the next-generation iOS 5 to software developers. The next day, a member of the iPhone hacking collective Dev-Team, going by the pseudonym “MuscleNerd,” tweeted that he Broadcasting platform : YouTube Source : The Pulse of Mobile Tech Discovery Date : 08/06/2011 19:37 Number of articles : 3
In light of Prince’s 53rd birthday, popcrush.com put together a list of his best “B-Sides” of all time! “The following B-Sides are listed in chronological order starting with the 1982 release of ‘How Come You Don’t Call Me Anymore’ and closing with the 1989 release of ‘I Love U in Me.’ Enjoy!” Top 10 Prince Songs Prince Only Charging $25 For Los Angeles Concerts [VIDEO] Can A Man Go To A Prince Concert By Himself? [VIDEO] ‘How Come U Don’t Call Me Anymore’ Released: Sept. 24, 1982; B-side of ’1999′ Single Prince recorded this B-side at Sunset Sound Studios in L.A. during the making of the ’1999′ album. This one is a beautiful four-chord progression acoustic piano ballad that showcases Prince’s vocals and lyrics. A touch of jazz and a healthy dose of Gospel make this an instant Prince classic. Although a B-side, Prince performed ‘How Come U Don’t Call Me Anymore’ live during the 1999 and Purple Rain tours and continues to play it today. ‘Irresistible B—–’ Released: Nov. 23, 1983; B-side of ‘Let’s Pretend We’re Married’ The original version of ‘Irresistible B—–’ was recorded in December 1981 soon after Prince started exclusively using the Linn LM-1 drum machine. The song begins with a 40-second instrumental funk of bass and drums before Prince begins to share all the things he likes about this irresistible girl. He can’t stop thinking about her — even though his friends suggest he let her go — as he explains, “ they don’t know the things you do to me when we’re alone .” A great, sparse Prince funk track with a stellar bass line. Not only a Top 10 Prince B-side, but a Prince classic. Click here , for the rest of the best B-Sides from Prince…
Summer is near and the warm weather is live and in full effect! The beach is calling your name and for all you warm weather, sand loving, book readers out there the best time to read a great book is now. Grab a pen and some paper and get your bathing suit ready for a little beach reading. You no longer have to feel like looking for a good book from a black author is like finding a needle in a haystack because I have listed 5 books to read while soaking up that summer sun, all by black authors of course. 5. “Their Eyes Were Watching God” by Zora Neal Hurston : this classic tells the story of Janie Crawford and her search for love as she pushes through after a few failed marriages during the 20th century. 4. “Shyt List” by Reign: Unlike so many other African American fiction novels, “Shyt List” is not just about some drug dealing dope boys and paper chasing chicks.”Shyt List” tells the raw and cut throat story of Yvonna Harris, who is a very disturbed woman suffering from severe Schizophrenia that developed as a defense mechanism as a result of a troubled childhood. This is a woman you do NOT want to cross unless you have plans to make it on her “Shyt List.” “Shyt List” is a 5 part book series by Author, T. Styles also known under the pseudonym, Reign. 3. “Justify My Thug” by Wahida Clark . “Justify My Thug”, also a book series, is about our favorite black couples in Thug Fiction, Kaylin and Angel Santos, Tash and Trae Macklin and it tells more about what happened in Tash and Trae’s marriage after Tash decides to try and play a game of “get back” but cheats too close to home and Trae finds out about Tash’s infidelity and possible love child. Meanwhile Kaylin and Angel’s marriage is on the rocks after Kaylin is under the impression that Angel knew of Tash’s affair with Kaylin’s brother, Kyron. Can these two marriages remain standing after the ultimate betrayal? 2. “Pleasure” by Eric Jerome Dickey. This erotic tale is set in Atlanta and is the story and Nia Simone and her insatiable appetite for more than one man. Lucky her, she happens to meet twins and she can’t pick just one. The book is filled with eroticism for your ever wandering mind. 1. “Getting To Happy” by Terri McMillan. Ms. McMillan is back and with the sequel to every black woman scorned tale, “Waiting To Exhale.” This tale fast forwards to fifteen years later, Savannah is getting a divorce at age 51, Bernadine is onto failed marriage number 2 and is taking prescription pills to mask the pain. Meanwhile Robin is becoming a shopaholic as her wedding aspirations goes unnoticed and Gloria realizes she has taken her happiness and security for granted. See what is next for the ladies of “Getting To Happy.” Already read some of the books listed, feel free to comment or leave suggestions. Best-Selling Author, Terrance Dean, Heads Off-Broadway With His New Novel, “MOGUL” Best-Selling Author, Danielle Santiago Concludes Her Trilogy With, “Allure Of The Game” Author Jumata Emill Jones Debuts With His Suspenseful Thriller, “NEVER DEAD” Wait’ll You See My…The Top 5 Anthony Weiner Songs REWIND: Jill Scott’s Sexiest Lyrics Does Angela Yee Want To Be Hip-Hop’s Dr. Ruth?
Posted onNovember 30, 2010byBenny Hollywood|Comments Off on Jared Leto Fights Censorship Of 30 Seconds To Mars’ ‘Hurricane’ Video
Singer/director claims video has been banned by a number of outlets for its sexual imagery. By Gil Kaufman 30 Seconds to Mars’ Jared Leto in “Hurricane” Photo: EMI After spending a month of sleepless nights rushing to finish a 13-minute cut of 30 Seconds to Mars’ epic “Hurricane” video , you’d think singer Jared Leto could finally enjoy a bit of a break. But on the same day that the clip debuted on MTV.com, Leto was back at work, decrying what he called the censorship of the video, which contains copious amounts of S&M imagery, heavily choreographed slo-mo fisticuffs, and an seemingly endless string of controversial images intended to shock and confuse. In a blog entry on JaredLeto.com posted on Monday and titled “BANNED FROM TELEVISION,” Leto, who directed the clip under his pseudonym, Bartholomew Cubbins, posted a letter (one of several he claimed he received) from an unnamed executive at an unnamed TV network who explained why the video couldn’t be aired in its present state. “Overall the bondage theme will warrant a POST 10 p.m. restriction as the film is in its current form,” read the letter. “There is one shot that will have to be removed completely for a POST 10 p.m. restriction. 09:17 — WOMAN RUNS FINGER OVER OTHER WOMAN’S G-STRING-CLAD BOTTOM AND TOUCHES HER ANUS — This shot makes the video completely restricted. There are other bondage shots towards the end of the film that [C]ompliance were unclear about, they would have to view frame by frame on tape to gauge whether they would need to be cut too for POST 10PM. The violence in the film is not graphic and would warrant a POST 7 p.m. restriction. But the overall sexual content does push the restriction up.” The letter then goes on to log, scene-by-scene the potentially objectionable images, from one in which Leto’s character jumps out of a skyscraper window (not a problem), to another in which a priest, rabbi, and imam burn holy books on a pyre in an alley, and a brief image of dripping hot wax over a woman’s body. The breakdown explicitly states more than 40 scenes or images that are restricted to after 10 p.m. and others that are more suitable for showing after 9 p.m. or 7 p.m. “We always knew there would be some images that would have a tough time getting through,” Leto told EW.com on Monday about the controversy. “But we didn’t expect this kind of pushback that we’re getting now.” Leto has said he’s working on a “creative” solution to edit the original 20-plus-minute clip down so he can at least get it shown before the 10 p.m. curfew. He also told EW.com that the plan all along was to have several versions of the video available to fans, including an uncensored full cut. “I had always planned on having an explicit version and then a version that was not so explicit,” Leto said. “The version that we were trying to get on broadcast is not the explicit version, and that’s still having a really difficult time.” Leto is frankly a bit confused about why the networks that reportedly rejected the video are so upset about the sexual images in it. “I’m not interested in provocation for provocation’s sake,” he explained. “I just think it’s interesting that when you turn on the news or whatever else catches your interest, how much violence and negativity is available out there. As soon as it comes time for sexuality, it’s a big shock that people are sexual beings. It’s an interesting double standard to me.” What do you think of 30 Seconds to Mars’ “Hurricane” video? Tell us in the comments. Related Artists 30 Seconds To Mars
The horrific gang rape of a 16-year-old girl is roiling Canada. It's suspected that she was drugged at a rave on Saturday and then assaulted in a nearby field by a group of males. Truly adding insult to injury: The attack in Pitt Meadows, B.C., was photographed and videotaped — and the evidence was then published on Facebook by one of her alleged attackers. The photos and video “have been viewed, shared, saved and reposted numerous times,” an official told the Vancouver Sun. The images are spreading like wildfire, and it's impossible to contain. This is the typical predicament law enforcement faces when it comes to online child pornography: Once it's out there, it's usually out there for good. The digital trail is just too difficult to trace. We've seen a similar thing with teen “sexting.” A boyfriend gets angry when his girlfriend breaks up with him, so he texts a naked photo of her to all his buddies, they send it to all their buddies, and so on and so forth. In the end, it's hard to know just how many people have seen the image and where it's ended up. This reminds me of reports earlier this year about a woman who goes by the pseudonym Amy: Her uncle sexually abused her as a little girl and circulated the photographic evidence in child porn circles. Now she's calling for damages from anyone caught with images of her abuse; so far, her photos have shown up in more than 800 child porn prosecutions. In a letter to the court, she wrote: “It is hard to describe what it feels like to know that at any moment, anywhere, someone is looking at pictures of me as a little girl being abused by my uncle and is getting some kind of sick enjoyment from it. It's like I am being abused over and over and over again.” The same could also be said about the images of the alleged gang rape. The major difference here is that the material is being distributed via a mainstream website. For the most part, these are not pedophilic child pornography collectors; many of the distributors are teenagers themselves. This of course has many adults asking that age-old question: What's wrong with kids these days? I suspect there are a couple explanations that do not require us to label “kids these days” as amoral animals. No. 1 on my list is, of course, the culture of victim blaming. According to one report, “only hours after disturbing pictures were posted on Facebook, teens were already suggesting the victim was a willing participant and asked for it.” This “othering” response allows people to mentally guard themselves against the possibility of ever being a victim themselves; it's what's known as the “just-world phenomenon” (and, ironically, it creates a less just world). Of course, the other defining element here is the Internet. The Web allows us to share videos — whether it's a crazy cat trick or footage of someone's death — with very few keystrokes, and often very little thought. These kids have grown up in the age of “Two Girls One Cup,” a coprophilic video that rose to viral status thanks to the utter horror that it inspired in viewers. There are legion examples of even journalistic videos and photographs that have whipped around the Web specifically because they are horrifying — think of the Neda Agha-Soltan video, for example. These sorts of images are the norm. We have access to them, they exist, and so we view them — duh. Carry this view a little further and it isn't hard to understand how even a nonsociopathic teenager might opt to view a photo of a girl's rape, or even send it along to a friend. This is so often how we share things, good and bad; we hit “forward” or “re-tweet” or “like,” etc. Technology offers us a sense of privacy, and detachment, even as we're sharing these things with the entire Web. The online mentality is one of entitlement and total freedom, no one has ownership over anything (just ask record label execs). I would venture to say that it hasn't even occurred to many of the kids — the ones who are not, you know, patently evil — that they are violating this girl themselves. added by: Future_America
