Adult Swim Show Features Vulgar “Black Jesus” A new Adult Swim show is facing an equal amount of backlash and praise from the religious and African-American communities. Among other things, the show which is titled “Black Jesus” features Jesus living as a hood fab Black man living in Compton, CA who smokes kush, is involved with drug dealers and curses on the regular. via TIME Magazine In John 20:29, Jesus says, “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” This was an issue with Doubting Thomas; it is not the problem that Black Jesus has. Like many shows with controversial concepts, the Adult Swim sitcom from Boondocks creator Aaron McGruder has no lack of detractors who have not yet seen it, yet still believe it is blasphemy. Granted, Adult Swim has already given them fodder, in the form of ads and trailers. And the bullet-point highlights of the first two episodes probably won’t do much to quiet the outcry among Christian groups who argue that it mocks their savior and their faith. The show puts the Son of God in modern-day Compton, where he curses, hangs out with drug dealers, changes bottled water into cognac, and smokes blunts. So what’s your take on this show so far, Bossip fam? Do you find “Black Jesus” offensive or funny?
Representing a slightly skewed take on 2004’s Cellular crossed with a lobotomized Silence of the Lambs , Brad Anderson’s high-concept thriller The Call would be an unremarkable bit of women-in-peril dreck were it not for two distinguishing factors — the sexualized sadism inflicted upon the half-dressed 16-year-old Abigail Breslin, and the equally sadistic Sideshow Bob coiffure affixed to the otherwise lovely Halle Berry. These indignities aside, there’s little to differentiate this high-pitched screamer from a particularly feverish Law and Order rerun, and it might be tough for such a film to dial in sizable auds to theaters. One of the more high-profile films to bear the WWE Studios label in recent years, The Call features no actual grappling, yet it shows the fingerprints of its benefactor in the presence of wrestling star David Otunga, as well as a serial-killer villain (Michael Eklund) who seems less psychopath than juice-head. Perhaps it’s unfair to blame the producers for the film’s overwrought tempo, but whatever the cause, the pic’s dunderheaded emotional timbre is miles removed from the relative class of director Anderson’s previous efforts The Machinist and Transsiberian , confusing macho aggression for menace, and tightly framed screaming for suspense. Berry stars as Jordan, a hotshot 911 operator who rules over the bustling call center known as “the Hive” — we know she’s a star when co-workers casually ask her for the institutional code for a multiple stabbing. Featuring some nice aerial photography of Downtown Los Angeles, the pic expends 10 minutes laying character foundations involving Jordan’s unseen cop father, her handsome LAPD-officer boyfriend (Morris Chestnut), and her charged relationship with an unsympathetic supervisor, then disregards these details entirely once the action gets rolling. Receiving a 911 call from a teenage girl in the midst of a home invasion, Jordan concocts an elaborate strategy to help her evade the predator, but gives the girl away by hitting the redial button when the call is cut off. (Berry’s character will similarly vacillate between Jason Bourne-like ingenuity and howling stupidity throughout the remainder of the film.) The girl is abducted and murdered by the unseen, catchphrase-spouting killer, and the guilt-ridden Jordan takes a leave of absence. Try as she might, Jordan can’t avoid the call to heroism, which arrives soon, via another emergency call. Teenage Casey (Breslin), has been drugged and kidnapped from a mall parking lot, and wakes up in the trunk of a car speeding down the freeway. Through some needlessly convoluted plot machinations, she has a friend’s untraceable pay-as-you-go cell phone in her pocket, and Jordan must don the headset once again to talk her out of harm’s way. It’s here that the film generates its only real sparks of invention, as the desk-bound Jordan is forced to coach the hysterical teen though a series of ruses to try to tip off passers-by. Unspooling more or less in real-time, the pursuit sequences manage to evoke the primary appeal of such high-concept material, for which one happily suspends disbelief just to see how long the filmmakers can stick to the premise. But no sooner can you say “this time … it’s personal” than the film disengages completely, running Jordan through some paint-by-numbers Nancy Drew routines, and veering toward the ickily exploitative as it invents reasons to remove Breslin’s shirt and tie her up. Berry is enough of a pro to muddle through yet another underwhelming star vehicle with her dignity intact, and Breslin acquits herself well enough for a problematic role in which she’s forced to cry and scream nearly continuously. Eklund is a hulking, malevolent presence, though his scrambled-brow attempt at a psychopathic glare provoked gales of laughter at the screening attended. Whether it’s the odd directorial tic of freeze-framing during moments of violence — perhaps intended to suggest a sort of rage-induced blackout, but which feels like a projector glitch — or the offputting cadence shifts in editing, the film hits a number of unusual technical notes, yet the overall quality is solid. Practical effects and freeway footage are well handled, as are the scenes contained entirely within the trunk of a car. Follow Movieline on Twitter.
If you’ve read about the Iron Man 3 footage that Marvel Studios has shown to bloggers, then you know that, during the Mandarin’s helicopter attack on Casa Tony Stark ( Robert Downey Jr. ), Pepper Potts ( Gwyneth Paltrow ) ends up flying to safety in one of the armored suits. It sounds like a cool scene, and I won’t be surprised if it’s a set-up for another later in the movie. But I’m not so thrilled about Marvel Studios chief Kevin Feige’s recent comments that Potts could suit up for her own adventures in future Iron Man installments. Kevin Feige Talks About Pepper Potts’ Possible Future In Armor Here’s what Feige says in an interview with About.com : I will tell you this. In this movie [ Iron Man 3 ] we play with the convention of the damsel in distress. We are bored by the damsel in distress. But, sometimes we need our hero to be desperate enough in fighting for something other than just his own life. So, there is fun to be had with “Is Pepper in danger or is Pepper the savior?” over the course of this movie. In terms of where we go with future movies, we’ll see. In the comic books she does get a taste for the suit and becomes her own hero named Rescue, who doesn’t necessarily battle other people, but is on missions to help people and to save people. Will we do that down the line with Gwyneth Paltrow? Who knows. But her being in the suit is something we have been playing with since Iron Man 2 , where we did some designs and it didn’t end up fitting in that movie. But the little taste you saw here [in an Iron Man 3 clip] is something that we’re certainly interested in. Why Pepper Potts As Rescue Is A Jump-The-Shark Idea I hope it’s a passing interest because the idea of Paltrow’s character donning her own metal suit (insert Spanx joke here) to rescue families threatened by a hurricane or some other catastrophe sounds like a jump-the-shark premise that is devoid of the tension and smart-assery that distinguishes the Iron Man movies. I’m not familiar with the comics storyline to which Feige refers, but “Rescue” sounds like a very Saturday-morning-cartoon name. And that’s where this G-rated idea belongs. If the Marvel Studios is serious about putting Goop-curating Gwynnie in full-metal jacket mode, then they’ve got to surprise the audience by having her play against type. Contrary to what Feige says in this interview, Paltrow should be kicking super-villain ass Michelle Rodriguez -style to the point where Tony feels threatened by her superhero potential. Now that’s an Iron Man subplot. Feel free to contact my agent. Follow Frank DiGiacomo on Twitter. Follow Movieline on Twitter.
On vacation this week in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Kim Kardashian and Kanye West strolled past the iconic Christ the Redeemer statue. Did they snap photos like any regular, respectful tourist? Tweet their affection for Lord and Savior? Or actually strike the same pose as Jesus Christ Himself? Do we really need to tell you the answer? The Kim Kardashian baby bump is definitely prominent in the above photo, but we somehow doubt it’s the aspect most readers will focus on. What do you think of this act? Kim and Kanye posing like Jesus is… So funny! So, so, so wrong! View Poll »
Kerry Washington and those lovely, pouty lips of hers are posted on the cover of Uptown Magazine… Via UPTOWN: On what drew her to Django and the controversy around the movie: “I’ve never seen slavery dealt with this way before in film. So often it’s a white character who’s the savior of black people.” “We should have a plethora of visions and interpretations of who we are as a nation.” But she admits, “This is not necessarily the film I would make about slavery.” On growing up in the Washington household and her multi-culti family: She still remembers the lively, sometimes heated, discussions on race and society around the dinner table. “My family’s very multiethnic,” she says. “When we get together for the holidays, it is the U.N., across the board.” On the culture shock when she enrolled in an upper east side private school: Prior to Spence, Washington thought her working-middle-class family was balling. “We had a microwave and two cars. We had a dishwasher before anyone in the building,” she says. “And then you go to this other world, and it’s, ‘Oh, we’re taking a helicopter to your house in the Hamptons?’ For a lot of classmates, I knew the only other black women they’d known were their domestic help.” On leaving the entertainment business: “Sometimes I feel like I can’t do this anymore.” Almost once a year, her hair and makeup folks hear it: “I am done! I’m so done.” On why she’s no saint: “If you look at my body of work, I’ve always taken huge risks. I’ve played prostitutes, drug addicts, pimping lesbians. I do work I’m drawn to.” Make sure you cop the issue when it hits newsstands and peep more pics below:
Zig Ziglar, a motivational speaker who wrote more than 30 books on living a balanced life, and who built a huge following over his long life, has died in Texas. He was 86. Ziglar, who had been suffering from pneumonia, passed away Wednesday at a hospital in the Dallas suburb of Plano, said his assistant, Jay Hellwig. With an aim at helping people achieve success in both their careers and personal lives, in addition to a focus on Christianity, Ziglar was a prolific speaker. He appeared at events alongside world leaders over the years, including several U.S. presidents and former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. “Mr. Ziglar was the same guy behind the closed doors as he was preparing for his presentations to thousands of people that he was when sitting at the kitchen table,” Hellwig said. Ziglar started his fulltime career in motivational speaking when he was in his 40s. His first book, “See You at the Top,” was published in 1975, when he was 49. “He got saved at the age of 42, which means that he accepted Jesus Christ as his savior,” Hellwig said. “Ever since that day is what he said was the turning point of his life.” “The last 41 years of his life he lived fully with that as his mission. He also had the uncanny ability to make everyone he ran into feel like they were his friend.” A World War II veteran from Yazoo City, Miss., he went to work in sales for a series of companies, where his interest in motivational speaking grew. Ziglar’s company, which features more than a dozen speakers advocating the “Ziglar Way” in his vein, offers motivation and performance training. One of his many well-known books, “Confessions of a Grieving Christian,” was written after the 1995 death of his oldest daughter, Suzan, at the age of 46. Another daughter, Julie Ziglar Norman, co-wrote “Embrace the Struggle,” a book that described how his life changed after he suffered a brain injury 2007. In addition to his daughter, Ziglar is survived by his wife Jean, with whom he celebrated 66 years of marriage Monday; his son, Tom Ziglar; and daughter Cindy Oates.
‘You did a fantastic job,’ singer tells Polish producer Jimek. By Gil Kaufman Beyonce Photo: Kevin Mazur/ Getty Images As if the honor of being on Beyonc
‘I chose that song and I ran with it and I think I did me and I loved it,’ singer says of song choice that got him axed. By Kelly Marino Colton Dixon Photo: MTV News After a record 53 million votes were cast, America has allowed Elise Testone to continue on with her “vacation” in the bottom three on “American Idol” Thursday night as Colton Dixon — a potential favorite — was voted off. And while this may come as the second-most surprising elimination of the season, the Tennessean, who found himself in unfamiliar territory with the fewest votes, acknowledged he only had himself to blame. “It’s all good,” Dixon told MTV News backstage after the show. “There is always going to be peaks and valleys, but [Wednesday] night, I should have chosen a different song to begin with. And I know that. I knew I was going to be in the bottom three because of that. I was hoping I wasn’t going to leave, but stuff happens.” The Mohawked metal rocker was rolling through the competition after receiving praise for his versatility and unique twists on perfect song choices. But Wednesday night he fell flat when he chose to start off with Lady Gaga’s “Bad Romance,” which turned out to be more of a “Bad Rendition.” Even Jimmy Iovine was confused, calling his performance somewhere between “1985 Billy Idol on MTV ‘TRL’ to ‘Spider-Man’ on Broadway” — and we kind of agreed . As the night went on, Colton failed to redeem himself when he took to the stage a second time to perform Earth, Wind and Fire’s “September.” Crouched over his piano, the skinny, tight-jeans-wearing contestant took a more somber approach to one of the grooviest tunes in soul music. However, despite any further confusion caused by the arrangement, he still stands by his motto: Stay true and take chances. “I loved ‘September.’ ” Dixon explained. “It’s been one of my favorites that I’ve done on the show, just because it was so different than the original. A lot of people don’t like change, or so much change, you know, and I definitely changed that song and I understand the feeling that the original gave off. But um, that wasn’t me and that wasn’t my style. I chose that song and I ran with it and I think I did me and I loved it. So in some cases, there is a balance, but if you’re feeling something, you need to run with it no matter what they are going to say. It’s a risk every week. So you have to be willing to take that risk, and I did.” The risk may have caused him the competition, but the 20-year-old said he’s glad he got to have one last moment to himself when it came to performing his swan song, Lifehouse’s “Everything.” “I wanted to end tonight the way I started it,” Colton said. “I felt like I strayed last night, and I hate that I did but I was ready to bring it back and bring my focus back. I wasn’t singing for the judges. I wasn’t singing for my family or anyone in the audience. I wasn’t singing for anyone at all. I was singing for my Lord, the savior Jesus Christ. And we had a good time on that stage so I’m so glad I got to do that song.” Get your “Idol” fix on MTV News’ “American Idol” page , where you’ll find all the latest news, interviews and opinions. Related Photos Most Shocking ‘American Idol’ Exits
‘Mac Miller deserves it. He’s working hard and he’s happy,’ Pharrell tells MTV News of the Pittsburgh MC’s success. By Rob Markman, with reporting by Ricky Louis Pharrell Photo: MTV News So what does a #1 album get you? If you’re Mac Miller , it gets you studio time with one of rap’s most storied producers, Pharrell Williams . Less than a week after the Pittsburgh spitter’s debut Blue Slide Park landed the #1 spot on the Billboard albums chart, Mac linked up with the Neptunes hitmaker in a Miami recording studio and got to work. “He came down to Miami. He was like, ‘Yo I want to do something,’ ” Pharrell told MTV News in an interview earlier this month. “He went in and again, just made like two really good records.” No telling where those records will end up, but Miller is pretty excited about the collaboration as well. “just made somethin’ crazy with @Pharrell all I can say is wait til y’all hear this,” Mac tweeted after the session in November. Pharrell and Mac returned to the studio in January, this time with Busta Rhymes, Reek Da Villian and Kendrick Lamar. If the picture that Miller tweeted is any indication, fans can expect quite a bit from the two sessions. While Mac crafted the majority of his Blue Slide Park album with local producers E. Dan and Big Jerm at ID Labs studios, he has also been branching out, clocking in time with some of rap’s most revered beatmakers. Aside from Pharrell, Miller has already recorded with DJ Premier, DJ Jazzy Jeff and Just Blaze. The multiplatinum Skateboard P applauds Miller’s efforts and toasts his recent success. “Mac Miller deserves it. He’s working hard and he’s happy. He’s very thankful, he’s a super humble kid and he deserves it,” Pharrell said. “That’s what the game needed, and it’s just sprouting up everywhere and it’s so awesome for us to all be able to do it.” What do you expect to hear from Pharrell and Mac Miller’s upcoming collaborations? Tell us in the comments! Related Videos Back To The ‘Burgh With Mac Miller And Wiz Khalifa Related Artists Pharrell Williams Mac Miller
Singers from Adele to Justin Timberlake have sung stinging goodbyes. By John Mitchell Katy Perry performs “Part of Me” at the 54th Annual Grammy Awards Photo: Robyn Beck/ AFP/ Getty Images The breakup song is a rite of passage for just about every singer. Mostly, they’re sad-sack anthems about moving on, but every so often, the wound is raw enough that the artist is inspired to issue their former lover a cutting message: I’m better off without you. That’s what Katy Perry seems to be doing with her new single “Part of Me,” which she premiered at the Grammy Awards on Sunday. With lyrics like “Days like this I want to drive away/ Pack bags and watch your shadow fade/ You chewed me up and spit me out like I was poison in your mouth/ You took my life, you drank me down/ But that was then and this is now,” it’s pretty clear she is dressing down her ex, Russell Brand, and has no intention of beating around the bush. Need less-obtuse lyrical evidence that the song is about Brand? Later, she sings, “You can keep the diamond ring, it don’t mean nothing anyway/ In fact, you can keep everything, except for me.” Perry has only exchanged rings with one gent, and that’s Brand. But this isn’t her first kiss-off track: On Teenage Dream , Perry laments a love gone wrong on “Circle the Drain,” which she reportedly penned about her relationship with Travie McCoy. It doesn’t present a flattering picture of her time with the Gym Class Heroes frontman. “You fall asleep during foreplay/ ‘Cause the pills you take/ Are more your forte,” Perry sings. “Wanna be your lover/ Not your f—ing mother/ Can’t be your savior/ I don’t have the power/ I’m not gonna stay and watch you circle the drain.” Ouch. Whether “Part of Me” or “Circle the Drain” will stand the test of time to rank alongside the most-famous kiss-off songs in pop history remains to be seen, but Perry has certainly got people talking right now. From Gloria Gaynor’s disco classic “I Will Survive” to George Michael’s “Faith” and pretty much half the songs in Kelly Clarkson’s catalog, it’s a genre that could use a little fresh blood, though these five (relatively) recent additions to the cannon do a pretty solid job of holding down the jilted-and-not-having-it fort. Justin Timberlake, “Cry Me a River” and “What Goes Around … Comes Around” We’re giving Justin Timberlake a little extra shine on our kiss-off list because he did the genre justice by bringing the sex to it then coming back for more — which is a pretty good metaphor for how we’d like to break up with him. “What Goes Around” was in many ways a sequel to Timberlake’s 2002 single “Cry Me a River,” from his debut solo set, Justified . “River” details the dissolution of a relationship after his girl cheated on him and is allegedly a behind-the-scenes look at what really ended his three-year relationship with Britney Spears. “I’m not going to specifically say if any song is about anybody,” Timberlake told MTV when asked who the ballad was about. “I will say writing a couple of songs on the record helped me deal with a couple of things.” Noted. Timberlake returned to the post-Britney well for “What Goes Around,” from 2006’s FutureSex/LoveSounds , though for his second spin, the spurned heartthrob changed the message from “How could you?” to “You’re gonna get yours.” The lesson here is clear: Do not cheat on JT unless you would like several awesome pop songs assassinating your character penned in your honor. (And, really, wouldn’t you rather be the subject of “LoveStoned”?) Adele, “Rolling in the Deep” While assembling this list, we tried to keep it to songs where we could identify the subject (i.e. Britney in “Cry Me a River,” Carey Hart in Pink’s “So What,” which you’ll find below), but we’re making an exception for Adele ‘s “Rolling in the Deep.” The song is so ubiquitous after its many Grammy wins and so famously about her ex that it is impossible to ignore. And while Adele has never spoken publicly about who the songs on her massive album 21 are about — and the guy has smartly never stepped forward to say, “Yeah, I’m the one who was pretty awful to the world’s current favorite singer” — “Rolling in the Deep” is still without question the most-stinging kiss-off song in recent memory. The powerhouse vocalist doesn’t sugarcoat her feelings, singing, “Finally, I can see you crystal clear/ Go ‘head and sell me out and I’ll lay your s–t bare/ See how I leave with every piece of you/ Don’t underestimate the things that I will do.” Depending how you look at it, Adele possibly offered up the harshest kiss-off ever in the history of sound. If it wasn’t bad enough to have an album’s worth of songs dedicated to how much you sucked as a boyfriend, we wonder what it feels like to watch that album go on to win six Grammys and sell close to 7 million copies, seemingly en route to becoming the first 10-time platinum album in the U.S. since Usher’s 2004 Confessions . They say looking good is the best revenge (and she did that too, looking glam and trim on Grammy night), but we think Adele’s critical and commercial success probably stings the hardest. Pink, “So What” Our thoughts on success killing the game when it comes to slapping your ex in the figurative face also applies here: “So What,” the lead single from Pink ‘s fifth studio album, 2008’s Funhouse , was the singer’s first #1 hit. (Doesn’t that seem strange? It’s true though.) This song was written by Pink while she and Carey Hart were separated and the oft-brutally honest singer did not hold back when it came to taking shots at the motocross superstar. The song’s chorus says it all: “So, so what/ I’m still a rock star, I got my rock moves/ And I don’t need you/ And guess what, I’m having more fun/ And now that we’re done, I’m gonna show you tonight/ I’m alright, I’m just fine/ And you’re a tool/ So, so what/ I am a rock star, I got my rock moves/ And I don’t want you tonight.” Hart must be into that sort of thing, however, because he and Pink reunited not long after the song was recorded and he even good-naturedly cameos throughout the video. The pair now have a baby girl, Willow, and appear happier than ever. Maybe it took a good kiss-off for these two love birds to realize they couldn’t live without each other. Alanis Morissette, “You Oughta Know” In case you don’t know already know, this angst classic is all about Dave Coulier, a comedian-actor best known as Joey Gladstone on the former ABC sitcom “Full House.” Yes, Alanis Morissette wonders if Uncle Joey is thinking about her when he’s, you know, getting busy with his new girl. Eek. Once you know this song is about Coulier, it’s difficult to watch “Full House” the same way. After all, we learn an awful lot about his relationship with the much-younger Morissette — including that we should probably give them a rundown on what you are and are not permitted to do in a movie theater. Sure, there are more-recent breakup tracks and, yes, we were trying to keep this list contemporary, but much like the end of a relationship gone sour, it’s hard to shake a great kiss-off song. What’s your favorite kiss-off song? Tell us in the comments below! Related Videos Greatest Kiss-Off Songs Of All-Time Related Artists Katy Perry
