Grab your grain of salt! A new report states that an unidentified PR firm was so worried that fans would not turn out for Tom Cruise’s arrival in India this past Saturday for the Mumbai Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol premiere, that they paid approximately 200 people $3 each to show up and scream for the actor when he walked out of the local airport gate. The paid extras were also given a buffet lunch. “Tom kaun? I don’t know who he is or what he does,” one hired fan told First Post’s Bollywood division . “We were told to come here by 1pm today and wait for a foreign VIP to come out of the airport gate and scream and shout when he came.” [ Movies.com via FirstPost.com ]
Actor’s pristine copy of ‘Superman’ debut sets record for comic book sale. By Gil Kaufman Nicolas Cage at the “Kick-Ass” premiere Photo: Frazer Harrison/ Getty Images It’s a good thing Nicolas Cage was able to get his rare copy of “Action Comics” No. 1 back in April after it was stolen from his house in 2000. Because in an online auction on Wednesday, the most sought-after comic in history sold for a record $2.1 million , after 50 people bid in an online auction on the June 1938 book in which Superman makes his debut. Cage’s copy (though the identity of the owner has not been disclosed, many believe it still belongs to the actor), one of only 100 believed to remain in existence, was graded at 9.0 before the auction, making it the best condition of an Action #1 that has ever been graded by the leading comic book grading company, Certified Guaranty Company. Shattering the previous $1.5 million record for a less-well preserved copy of “Action Comics” No.1 sold last March, Cage’s comic became the most expensive to ever sell at auction , when it went for $2,161,000. And it almost didn’t happen. Cage’s comic was stolen from his house in 2000 and then recovered by Los Angeles police when an unidentified man bought the contents of an abandoned storage locker in the San Fernando Valley. Cage reported it stolen on January 21, 2000, after noticing that it, along with two other rare comics, had been stolen from security frames mounted on the wall of his Los Angeles home. According to The Hollywood Reporter , experts believe that only five other No. 1’s with quality near Cage’s exist and all are in private hands. Cage bought his copy at auction in 1997 for around $150,000.
‘I wrapped a few days ago, so that will be the last time I’m taking that cowl off,’ actor says. By Gil Kaufman Christian Bale on the set of “Dark Knight Rises” Photo: Jared Wickerham/ Getty Images After lasting longer in the role than any other actor, Christian Bale has confirmed that the upcoming finale of director Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy, “The Dark Knight Rises,” will be his curtain call as the iconic crime fighter. “I wrapped a few days ago so that will be the last time I’m taking that cowl off,” Bale reportedly told the Philippine Daily Inquirer. “I believe the whole production wrapped yesterday, so it’s all done. Everything’s finished. It’s me and Chris — that will be the end of that Batman era.” The $200 million-plus epic , out July 20, will also feature Gary Oldman , Morgan Freeman, Michael Caine, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Anne Hathaway as Catwoman and Tom Hardy as villain Bane . The Oscar-winning actor also held forth on the complexity of the role that has been inhabited in the past by George Clooney, Val Kilmer and Michael Keaton. “Bruce Wayne is absolutely sincere as Bruce Wayne, and as Batman utterly sincere. But Bruce Wayne, the playboy, is a pure facade, it’s a lie he has, somehow, to control one side of your soul that’s not really under control,” Bale said. “In fact, only Alfred knows who he is. It’s time for Bruce Wayne to face the pain that has always stirred his life.” Bale took over as Batman in 2005’s “Batman Begins” and reprised his role in 2008’s $1 billion-grossing “The Dark Knight.” Though Hathaway has gotten some flack for the look of her Catwoman costume , Bale had nothing but praise for his co-star. “When Chris watched the screen test, he agreed that Anne did a wonderful job. In many ways, she has the hardest job,” he said. “There are a number of people who feel that the Catwoman role has been defined previously. So, I always saw Anne’s role as being the toughest job of any of us.” Check out everything we’ve got on “The Dark Knight Rises.” For breaking news and previews of the latest comic book movies — updated around the clock — visit SplashPage.MTV.com . Related Photos On The Set Of ‘The Dark Knight Rises’
Filming on The Dark Knight Rises has come to an end and, with it, so has the portrayal of this iconic super hero by Christian Bale. “I wrapped a few days ago so that will be the last time I’m taking that [Batman hood] off,” the actor star told the Philippine Daily Inquirer this week. “I believe that the whole production wrapped yesterday, so it’s all done. Everything’s finished. It’s me and [director Christopher Nolan] – that will be the end of that Batman era.” The Dark Knight Rises Trailer Bale and Nolan first teamed up in 2005 on Batman Begins , a critically-acclaimed installment of the franchise that earned $372 million across the globe. The Dark Knight then broke the $1 billion barrier and earned Heath Ledger a posthumous Oscar. The Dark Knight Rises , meanwhile, hits theaters on July 20, 2012 and also stars Anne Hathaway, Tom Hardy, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Gary Oldman, Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman. We have a feeling it will do rather well at the box office.
“I’ll spend months working with an actor, and I think I spent four months with Ashton,” the filmmaker said recently about his time prepping Kutcher for 2005’s Elizabethtown . But the actor, who was still starring in That 70’s Show at the time, refused to devote a few weeks to the ill-fated project co-starring Kirsten Dunst. At the time, Crowe realized, “This is not meant to be,” dropped Kutcher and replaced him with Orlando Bloom. Although the film bombed at the box office, Crowe still remembers it favorably: ” Elizabethtown was a movie made for all the right reasons, and people who connect with the movie really connect to it.” [ THR ]
Ashton Kutcher cheated on Demi Moore with a 22-year old in San Diego named Sara Leal. Case closed, right? This explains why the actress filed for divorce from her husband of six years last week. Not exactly, friends say. In the latest issue of People , an insider says Kutcher and Moore’s marriage “[had] been deteriorating for a long time. Ashton was ready to end it, [but] he wanted to wait for Demi to actually do it. He loved her but couldn’t live with her. Among the issues that reportedly plagued the couple? Their age difference, his promiscuity and her insecurities. One friend of the actor’s goes as far as to say “they were fed up with each other,” adding: “If anyone was uncomfortable with the age difference, it was Demi, not Ashton. She drove him crazy after a while with questions and doubts.” Pick up the latest issue of People for a lot more on this split.
‘Are we on ‘Dancing With the Stars’?’ the actor recalls thinking at the time. By Kara Warner, with reporting by Josh Horowitz Kristen Stewart and Taylor Lautner in “Twilight: Breaking Dawn – Part 1” Photo: Summit Entertainment Considering all the moments in “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1” Taylor Lautner might feel nervous about, we would pick the imprinting scene to be right at the top. Lautner has said in the past that the imprinting scene was a particularly “tough” challenge for him, but MTV News recently found out that there’s one thing that gives the teen heartthrob even more anxiety: dancing — specifically the complex, emotional dance his character Jacob shares with Kristen Stewart’s Bella at her wedding reception. “I was extremely nervous, especially when they told us there was going to be lifts and stuff,” Lautner told MTV News about hearing the news that he had to learn choreography. “I was like, ‘Are you kidding me? Are we on “Dancing With the Stars”? No.’ I thought it was going to be a simple slow dance, which it was in the end, but there were a few little lifts I was nervous about,” he admitted. “But in the end, it turned out well. It’s a very beautiful scene, visually, and everything that’s going on in it.” It turns out Lautner wasn’t the only one worried about dancing. Jackson Rathbone and Ashley Greene had to pull off a particularly challenging maneuver that had some startling consequences. “We had to get a new Ashley Greene,” Rathbone joked when asked about how he and Greene managed to master a full flip. “I broke Ashley. No, she was amazing. She was an amazing trouper letting me do it, because it’s dangerous, it’s scary. We had rehearsed it a bunch, and then on the day, she was in the heels, so we had to rehearse in the heels to make sure everything was kosher. It was good. We hit it.” Check out everything we’ve got on “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1.” For young Hollywood news, fashion and “Twilight” updates around the clock, visit HollywoodCrush.MTV.com . Related Videos MTV Rough Cut: Taylor Lautner Related Photos ‘Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1’ Premiere
‘He needs a hug, but if you hug him, he’ll try to stab you,’ Reedus tells MTV News of his character. By Josh Wigler Norman Reedus Photo: MTV News Given its comic book basis, some “Walking Dead” characters seem safer than others. Main hero Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln), for instance, isn’t likely to go anywhere anytime soon. But then there are folks like Rick’s former partner Shane Walsh (Jon Bernthal) who are already long gone in the comics at this point in the TV series, proving the AMC survival horror show’s willingness to veer off the paneled path that’s come before. Another example of a man who could exit the scene early is Daryl Dixon, “Boondock Saints” actor Norman Reedus’ hillbilly hunter who does not appear in the comics at all. In fact, for a while there, it looked like Daryl was about to meet his maker in this past Sunday’s episode, titled “Chupacabra,” after sustaining injuries from a fall and nearly becoming fresh meat for two very hungry walkers. But thanks to an unexpected visit (or hallucinated appearance, rather) from his hateful brother Merle — Michael Rooker’s one-handed character who’s been missing for several episodes now — Daryl was able to channel his inner Dixon, kill the two walkers through some very rudimentary means, and return himself to Hershel’s farm in one piece. (Well, almost — thanks for that almost-lethal head shot, Andrea!) Daryl Dixon has quickly become a fan-favorite character on “Walking Dead,” not just for the folks at home, but even for creator Robert Kirkman . It should come as no surprise that Reedus himself is a huge Daryl fan. The actor has had a lot to explore over the course of one and a half seasons of “Dead,” and given the character’s continued journey toward redemption and harmony with his fellow survivors, it seems safe to say that Daryl will hang around for a bit longer — even if he doesn’t need to, in Reedus’ point of view. “Daryl’s interesting,” the actor told MTV News about his character. “While the rest of the group is fighting zombies to survive and make this world work, Daryl can handle himself. He can hunt, he can track, he can protect himself. His turmoil is emotional: how to deal with other people. There are these moments when these other characters you wouldn’t expect keep telling him, ‘You’re worth a damn. You’re better than you think you are.’ There are certain things that happen when you realize how hard his upbringing is. He needs a hug, but if you hug him, he’ll try to stab you. “I’m trying to play him like a wet cat in an alley,” Reedus continued. “You try to take care of it, but it hisses at you and rips your hands up. But he wants you to take him home. That’s what this group represents to Daryl, I think.” Tell us what you thought of this week’s “Walking Dead” in the comments!
George Clooney is an Oscar winner, a philanthropist and a bachelor with a new beautiful woman on his arm almost every year. Yet the actor tells the latest issue of Rolling Stone that life wasn’t always so perfect. Far from it, in fact. Referring to a spinal injury he suffered on the set of Syriana in 2005, Clooney said he was bedridden and “at a point where I thought, ‘I can’t exist like this. I can’t actually live.” Clooney added that the severe headaches and spinal fluid leaks through his nose were the most painful experiences he’s ever had. “I was lying in a hospital bed with an IV in my arm, unable to move, having these headaches where it feels like you’re having a stroke, and for a shirt three-week period, I started to think, ‘I may have to do something drastic about this’…but I never thought I’d get there. See, I was in a place where I was trying to figure out how to survive.” Fortunately, of course, the star did just that. He said drank heavily at the time, but surgery eventually helped with the spinal difficulties. He still suffers from bad headaches.
St. Louis production duo claim they wrote music for ‘Saturday Night Live’ skits ‘Shy Ronnie’ and ‘Like a Boss.’ By Gil Kaufman Andy Samberg Photo: Getty Images A St. Louis production duo who claim they created the tracks that became the “Saturday Night Live” digital shorts “Like a Boss” and ” Shy Ronnie ” have filed a lawsuit against the show and cast member Andy Samberg claiming they haven’t been properly paid for their work. StarStrukk Production members Aleric “Rick tha Rular” Banks and Monique “Foxx StarStrukk” Hines filed a lawsuit in New York Federal court last week against NBC Universal, Samberg, The Lonely Island, and Universal Republic Records for willful copyright infringement and unjust enrichment. According to The Hollywood Reporter the suit alleges that Samberg’s band, The Lonely Island, recorded the tracks submitted by the duo “verbatim,” and then added lyrics on top. Samberg performed “Like a Boss” with Seth Rogen on “SNL” on April 4, 2009 and in December of that year he got together with Rihanna for the Emmy-nominated “Shy Ronnie.” The pair told a local paper that they hooked up with Samberg through a mutual connection in California in 2008, when they submitted tracks to Lonely Island for the band’s debut album. “Like a Boss” was featured on the trio’s 2009 disc Incredibad , while “Shy Ronnie 2: Ronnie & Clyde” was featured in this year’s Turtleneck & Chain . In August 2010, StarStrukk told a local paper that they were excited about being nominated for an Emmy for the “Shy Ronnie” skit, which they said featured a beat they tried, unsuccessfully, to sell to local acts like City Spud and Yung Ro as well as Young Jeezy. But after not getting the credit they felt they deserved or being paid appropriately, they filed suit. Banks claims he signed a form sent by the Universal Music Group in which he stated that he was a 50 percent owner of the copyright on “Like a Boss” as the writer and producer of the tune. According to the suit, he received a response letter that only gave him 25 percent interest in the tune. But, so far, Banks says he hasn’t gotten any producer royalties or profits from the songs. A spokesperson for NBCU could not be reached for comment at press time.
