‘American Pie’ alum ‘admitted himself for proactive treatment to address health and personal issues.’ By Katie Byrne Seann William Scott Photo: Getty Images Seann William Scott, best known for his breakout role in the “American Pie” franchise, has entered a treatment facility for undisclosed issues. The actor’s reps told People magazine in a statement: “Seann William Scott has voluntarily admitted himself for proactive treatment to address health and personal issues. He appreciates the support of his many fans at this time.” It is unknown where he is being treated or what prompted the decision. Scott was most recently seen in the 2010 Kevin Smith buddy comedy “Cop Out,” starring Bruce Willis and Tracy Morgan. He also recently wrapped production on “Goon,” a hockey comedy written by Judd Apatow regulars Jay Baruchel and Evan Goldberg. Scott stars as Doug, a small-town bouncer who, after physically defending his best friend (Baruchel) at a hockey game, is recruited to play the enforcer for a minor-league team. While Scott has worked steadily since his breakout “Pie” role in the late ’90s, movie audiences will always associate him with the lovably inappropriate Steve Stifler. MTV News caught up with the actor last year while he was promoting “Cop Out” to talk about a potential fourth “American Pie” movie . While he was optimistic about the possibility and said the proposed story line “could be great,” he admitted some reluctance about rejoining the “American Pie” franchise. “I did three of them,” he said. “I had so much fun and loved the character, [but] I don’t want to be known as that character forever. Now I’m realizing that I probably will be known as that character forever.” Share your well-wishes for Seann William Scott in the comments.
But soon, the crew recalls to MTV News, Michael Rapaport took the reins. By Jayson Rodriguez, with reporting by Sway Calloway A Tribe Called Quest’s Q-Tip Photo: MTV News A Tribe Called Quest were approached with the idea of doing a documentary, and they couldn’t have been happier with the producer. Fellow Queens native Nas first introduced the idea of capturing the story of one of hip-hop’s greatest groups of all time. But by the time filming began, Nas receded into the background as actor Michael Rapaport took control of the project. ” ‘I want to shoot a documentary on you,’ ” Q-Tip told MTV News, recalling a conversation with Rapaport. “I had already breached Nas with the guys, and everyone was loving that idea. So I was thinking in my head … It’d be great to have someone we respect tell our story, who’s a part of it as well, and then Mike’s enthusiasm. I spoke to everyone about it. It was some hesitation [about Rapaport’s involvement]. … I think it was because Nas had initiated it.” Jarobi, who joined Sway by phone, added: “The Nas involvement kind of sweetened the deal for everybody.” According to Tribe DJ Ali Shaheed Muhammad, his reservations came from Rapaport not being part of the hip-hop community. “My hesitation was purely from a position that we’re bringing someone from the outside to be a part of the inside life,” he said. “We have to make sure that people understand who this family is and capture it and deliver it the same way we live our lives. It didn’t matter if it was a rapper or not. Nas being part of it is good, ’cause it’s someone from the inside who, from a producer’s perspective, makes sure everything is what it’s supposed to be.” The project has been controversial, with Q-Tip speaking out against Rapaport and the actor still moving forward with the doc, called “Beats, Rhymes and Life: The Travels of A Tribe Called Quest.” Tip said the friction stemmed in part from the group’s lack of control over the story, despite being listed as producers. An e-mail from the production team was inadvertently sent Tip’s way, the rapper told MTV News, detailing plans to silence the group. That was one too many red flags for him. “All of this stuff is going on, and we’re still trying to move forward in good faith, and we see this e-mail, inadvertently, which was a godsend,” he said. “I believe that that was the universe giving that to us and showing us who we were dealing with.” Stick with MTV News all week as we reveal more of our interview with A Tribe Called Quest and their concerns about the “Beats, Rhymes and Life” documentary. Related Videos MTV News Extended Play: A Tribe Called Quest Related Artists A Tribe Called Quest
Singer Phil Labonte tours picked-over convenience store, feels aftershock at the Tokyo airport. By Gil Kaufman All That Remains Photo: Prosthetic Records Massachusetts metalcore band All That Remains had barely arrived in Tokyo last Friday for a soundcheck for their show that night when a massive 9.0-magnitude earthquake shook Japan and they found themselves caught in the midst of one of the worst disasters to ever befall the island nation. While Tokyo was mostly spared the devastation that nearly wiped out a number of northern cities closer to the epicenter following the deadly combination of the largest quake to hit Japan combined with a massive tsunami, ATR singer Phil Labonte and his crew definitely felt the ground shake. They ran down five flights to the street to see what was going on as the light fixtures and doors shook back and forth violently in the building. As they hit the street, they could see skyscrapers swaying from the initial trembler and several strong aftershocks. In an exclusive video diary recorded for MTV News on his iPhone, Labonte described the aftermath of the quake and the challenges the band faced in trying to catch a flight out of the shattered nation Saturday. The clip opens with images of confused and scared-looking Japanese citizens standing in the street as aftershocks continued to rattle the city. “Our area around [the venue] wasn’t really affected in the way [the northern city of] Sendai was. There was no tsunami, there was no major damage to any buildings,” he said, noting that you could sense “something has gone on” when you walked around on the streets outside his hotel. After a large aftershock in the middle of the night on Friday that set off alarms in the hotel, Labonte said he packed up his bags as a precaution in case he had to run outside in an emergency. “That’s really all that I’ve been doing is watching the news,” he said, before walking across the street to tour a neighborhood convenience store. Confirming reports, Labonte filmed images of store shelves stripped bare of food and water, with row upon row of essentials snatched up by worried citizens. “As you can see, a lot of food is not here,” he said. “You imagine all these shelves would be full in one of the most modern cities in the world. … Most of the water’s been picked away clean … and it happened pretty fast too.” While awaiting their flight to San Francisco at the Narita International Airport on Saturday morning, Labonte said things were initially calm. With the exception of a few bedrolls laid out on the floor by people who seemed stuck at the airport, he said things looked pretty business-as-usual despite the emerging picture of the massive damage done to northern cities such as Sendai and the then-burgeoning threat posed by failing nuclear-reactor cooling systems. “There’s some places where it looks like people have been camping out, trying to get out. I guess there’s been a lot of delayed flights,” he said. With nearly eight hours to go before their flight left, Labonte checked back in a short time later to report a strong aftershock, which he said caused the large floor-to-ceiling windows in the departure terminal to flex in and out. “It’s still a pretty active situation. It’s changing pretty much by the minute,” he said. Finally, the band made it onto the flight, and Labonte reported that the band and crew were all OK. “I should take a second to send our deepest sympathy to all the people that have had loved ones lost. … It’s really awful and we’re very fortunate to not only have gotten out of Japan with no injuries and survived with not a scratch on anyone, but to be able to actually document this.” A number of artists, from Katy Perry and Lady Gaga to the Jonas Brothers , Blink-182’s Mark Hoppus and Diddy have urged fans to donate to the Red Cross and offered their condolences to the victims of the natural disaster. For more information on what you can do to help with earthquake and tsunami relief efforts in Japan, head to MTV Act , or text REDCROSS to 90999 to make a $10 donation. Related Artists All That Remains
Q-Tip, Ali Shaheed, Jarobi reveal to MTV News why they lost ‘trust’ in director Michael Rapaport and share e-mail from producers that prompted ‘red flags.’ By Alvin Blanco, with reporting by Sway Calloway A Tribe Called Quest’s Q-Tip Photo: MTV News Q-Tip is finally telling his side of the story regarding Beats, Rhymes and Life: The Travels of A Tribe Called Quest, the Michael Rapaport-directed documentary about the legendary group that premiered at Sundance in January. MTV News’ Sway Calloway sat down exclusively with A Tribe Called Quest members Q-Tip, Ali Shaheed Muhammad and Jarobi, who called in by phone, on Monday (March 14) and the group opened up about the misgivings they’ve been having regarding the doc. Up until now, fans had mostly been privy to Tip’s online commentary, but they went into detail about some of the “red flags” that led them to reconsider their support of the film. (Tribe member Phife was not present.) According to Q-Tip, on December 17, 2010, a couple of weeks after he initially expressed concern about the film, an e-mail was accidently sent to him by one of the producers that read as follows: “First off let’s close the Billing Block and put it on the poster so they can’t get on that. Then we’ll f— them on everything else.” Seated next to Ali in our newsroom, Q-Tip contended that the e-mail conversation clearly stemmed from the group’s early concern about not being credited as producers on the film. “I mean, what you think?” Q-Tip responded rhetorically when Sway asked about his immediate reaction to the e-mail message. “I mean, automatically you revert back, because this is some hip-hop sh– ultimately.” But the rapper didn’t “revert” and violence was averted. Still, Q-Tip maintained that despite this point of contention, the group was still participating in the film’s production and were awaiting edits they requested be made. Our interview also contradicted Rapaport’s assertions to MTV News that Q-Tip was speaking for himself and not the group. Tip said another grievance he had with the filmmaker was the questionable timing of the documentary trailer’s leaking to the Internet. The nearly five-minute preview clip was also erroneously titled, he said. “The same day of the announcement that it came to Sundance, that ‘Beats, Rhymes & Fights’ trailer came out,” Q-Tip said, referring to an earlier version of the title. “All of this stuff is going on and we’re still trying to move forward in good faith and we see this e-mail, inadvertently, which was a godsend. I believe that that was the universe giving that to us and showing us who we were dealing with.” The producers’ response to their own e-mail gaffe only made Q-Tip more agitated. “Their whole comeback to that was, ‘Oh, he’s just frustrated, everybody’s frustrated,’ ” Tip said. But he countered, “When you’re frustrated you say, ‘Yo, I’mma kick his ass. He’s an a–hole, I can’t stand him, I’mma f— him up. I can’t f— with him again.’ Those are things you say out of frustration. But when you say, ‘First off, let’s close the Billing Block and put it on the poster so they can’t get on that. Then we’ll f— them on everything else,’ that’s strategy. “That’s premeditated, first. And second, you feel comfortable to say it to the rest of your team. That means that if the environment is conducive for you to have that kind of banter and that kind of language, God knows what else they’ve been saying amongst themselves. So how can we trust them?” The only member of the group that attended the “Beats, Rhymes and Life” Sundance premiere was Phife . And in spite of the ongoing drama, A Tribe Called Quest still say Rapaport did a great job directing the film and that everyone should see it. Stick with MTV News all week as we reveal more of our interview with A Tribe Called Quest and their concerns about the “Beats, Rhymes and Life” documentary. Related Artists A Tribe Called Quest
Justin Bieber & Rascal Flatts: “That Should Be Me” Video! Always up for working with other artists, Justin Bieber recently teamed up with Rascal Flatts and their brand new video has hit the web. The “Baby” singer and the “Bless the Broken Road” band collaborated to create a new song called “That Should Be Me.” Over the weekend, Bieber tweeted about the newly released video, writing, “And just saw… #ThatShouldBeMe vid with @rascalflatts is now #1 on ITUNES!! Thank u all so much. We are very proud of that song. #MuchLove.” In other news, Bieber offered up some advice to his loyal Twitter followers, as he wrote on his wall earlier today, “Think before you say something hurtful to someone else. It may look like they’re ok but they’re not. Words are more powerful than you think.”
Cash Money boss’ interview, airing at 4 p.m. ET on MTV.com, will serve as a preview for the new MTV series ‘Deep Cover.’ By D.L. Chandler Birdman Photo: Johnny Nunez/ WireImage Fresh from making the top five of Forbes ‘ highest-paid hip-hop entertainers list , Cash Money honcho Birdman is this week’s featured guest on Thursday’s “RapFix Live” at 4 p.m. ET on MTV.com. After new Shady Records signee Yelawolf graced the studio last week with his smooth Southern charm, this week’s show will focus on an in-depth interview with New Orleans native Birdman. The $100 million man is doing pretty well for himself thanks to the overwhelming popularity of prot
To raise money for earthquake relief, Mark Hoppus puts handwritten lyrics and other memorabilia up for sale. By Gil Kaufman Blink-182’s Mark Hoppus Photo: Ethan Miller/ Getty Images Blink-182 are the latest artists to get involved in trying to aid the victims of Japan’s deadly earthquake and tsunami. The reunited pop punk trio’s Mark Hoppus has set up an eBay auction site on which he’s offering up a number of rare items in an effort to raise funds for the survivors of the massive 8.9-magnitude quake that hit the country on Thursday. Singer Hoppus has donated a raft of items, from the original handwritten lyrics sheet for the group’s early hit, “Rock Show,” which is already drawing bids in excess of $17,000, to used backstage passes, the band’s dressing-room sign from the 2000 MTV Video Music Awards and the orange sweater Hoppus wore in the “Dammit” video. At press time all items had gotten significant bids, including a “What’s My Age Again” promo CD ($2,025), the VMA sign ($3,050), the orange sweater ($2,226.99), a hand-painted Blink bunny figurine ($1,000) and the backstage pass ($905). Hoppus announced his intention to raise the funds on Friday, just hours after the quake struck, tweeting , “So sad for what’s happening in Japan. Gonna dig in the bins & find some old blink-182 items to auction for the Red Cross.” He then chronicled each item as it went up and solicited fans for requests on what things they’d be interested in bidding on. Hoppus joined a growing group of artists offering their assistance in raising funds for the Japanese people , including Lady Gaga , Linkin Park’s Mike Shinoda and actor Charlie Sheen. For more information on what you can do to help with earthquake and tsunami relief efforts in Japan, head to MTV Act , or text REDCROSS to 90999 to make a $10 donation. Related Artists blink-182
Video features Bieber performing song with country band Rascal Flatts. By Jocelyn Vena Justin Bieber Photo: Neil Mockford/ Getty Images The weekend that Justin Bieber cut his hair , he also shot the music video for his “That Should Be Me” remix, featuring country band Rascal Flatts. This weekend, the full music video premiered, and it shows off that very famous cut. The video is a meta-statement on making videos. The guys of Rascal Flatts pull up to the studio while Bieber sits in a room practicing the track. Bieber and the band sit and rehearse the song before they are brought to the room to shoot the lo-fi performance video. We see the camera and lights filming the guys, who stand in front of a white backdrop performing the song. Bieber is occasionally seen in the sparse room alone singing the track, dressed in black. Shots of the finished performance are edited with those of Bieber and the band rehearsing the track, off his Never Say Never – The Remixes album, which was released last month. The video ends with Bieber walking off the set. “They flipped out,” lead singer Gary LeVox said of bringing his daughters to the set the day of the shoot with the teen star. “Brittany ended up singing one of his songs to him. He was hugging them and was so sweet to them. I’ve even got a low-grade Bieber fever. I think I’m in the running for dad of the year.” Bieber also tweeted about the video’s runaway success on Sunday, writing , “And just saw… #ThatShouldBeMe vid with @rascalflatts is now #1 on ITUNES!! Thank u all so much. We are very proud of that song. #MuchLove.” Related Photos Justin Bieber’s Famous Former Hair Related Artists Justin Bieber
Park’s Mike Shinoda has designed T-shirts to benefit the relief effort. By Gil Kaufman Lady Gaga Photo: Ian Gavan/ Getty Images As the situation in Japan continues to deteriorate in the wake of Friday’s massive 8.9 magnitude earthquake, the need for assistance has spurred a number of stars to reach out to fans to enlist their help. Just days after announcing the initial dates of his first tour, the My Violent Torpedo/ Defeat Is Not an Option Show , troubled actor Charlie Sheen announced that he will be donating $1 from each ticket sold to the Red Cross Japanese Earthquake Relief Fund. Linkin Park’s Mike Shinoda has also gotten into the game quickly, designing T-shirts to benefit his band’s Music for Relief charity . One shirt features the image of a paper crane-like white butterfly above the LP logo, and the other one reads “Not Alone” in a red, white and blue font. Donations of $10 can be made by texting “MFR” to 85944. After tweeting on Sunday morning, “Remember as you go about your day please #prayforjapan & if you are able, text REDCROSS to 90999 to donate $10 to Japan’s emergency relief,” Katy Perry followed up later in the day with the message , “Imagine … if we ALL texted REDCROSS to 90999 we’d have raised over 60 million dollars for #JAPAN RELIEF! BE THE CHANGE YOU WANT TO SEE! BE!” A growing collection of stars is urging fans to donate to Japanese earthquake relief. On Friday, Lady Gaga sprung into action and offered her fans a special wristband whose proceeds will go to help the victims. “I Designed a Japan Prayer Bracelet. Buy It/ Donate here and ALL proceeds will go to Tsunami Relief Efforts. Go Monsters,” Gaga wrote . She also urged fans to visit the Citizen Effect website, where contributions will be matched by Google CEO Eric Schmidt and his wife, Wendy. They’ve offered to match the first $100,000 donated to a special fund set up to help the Red Cross deliver emergency services to people in Japan. Other celebrities urging action include Justin Bieber, Taylor Swift, Adam Lambert, Diddy and many more who’ve sent their prayers to those affected via Twitter. Britney Spears encouraged fans to donate to relief organizations, tweeting , “So tragic. My heart is breaking for Japan.” Also making pleas were Conan O’Brien , Chris Brown and George Takei , each asking their followers to donate to the Red Cross. As the official death toll in the worst quake to hit the island nation mounted on Monday (March 14) to 1,833 — with thousands more believed to have perished — Japan was facing a growing threat from a number of hobbled nuclear power plants. A second explosion in two days occurred at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant on Monday morning, just hours before the plant’s #2 reactor lost its cooling abilities. While no significant release of radioactive materials is believed to have occurred yet, the race to cool down and secure the nation’s nuclear plants is as urgent as the search for survivors from the devastating natural disaster. New images and video continue to emerge that paint a partial picture of the destruction in towns such as the 20,000-resident Minami Sanriku, which CNN reported had been turned into a virtual pile of rubble by the quake and the ensuing tsunami. As gas and food stocks run low, Japanese citizens have been asked to ration their supplies while the United States and 69 other nations have pledged to help with search and rescue efforts. For more information on what you can do to help with earthquake and tsunami relief efforts in Japan, head to MTV Act , or text REDCROSS to 90999 to make a $10 donation. Related Artists Lady Gaga Linkin Park
‘I’m Into You’ will be next single off Love? album, which still has no release date. By Gil Kaufman Lil Wayne Photo: Kevin Winter/Getty Images Steven Tyler isn’t the only “American Idol” judge trying to make the most of a double dose of weekly prime-time exposure on TV’s biggest reality show. While Aerosmith’s back catalog has gotten a boost thanks to its prominent placement on “Idol,” fellow judge Jennifer Lopez has parlayed her spot on the program into the highest-charting single of her career with “On the Floor.” And over the weekend, she revealed that she’s got a strong follow-up single ready to go. Speaking with fans during an online chat , on Saturday, Lopez said she’s finished a song called “I’m Into You” with Lil Wayne that will be the next single from her still unscheduled Love? album. “My next single I believe will be a song called ‘I’m Into You’ and it’s going to feature Lil Wayne, so look out for that,” she said. Asked to name her favorite rapper, Lopez said it used to be Nas, but that these days she’s really feeling Weezy, whom she called a “very unique” and “fresh” voice. “Plus he’s on my single!” And though J.Lo did not have a specific release date to announce for the album, she said it would “probably” come out in late May, once two or three singles have hit radio. That would be perfect timing, of course, since “Idol” wraps in mid-May. Lopez, who has toured sporadically during her music career, also said that she planned to launch a world tour in support of Love? . Over the course of the two years she worked on the new album, Lopez said she also recorded Spanish-language versions of some of the songs, and plans to release a full-length Spanish album next. Asked what the hardest part of being a judge on “Idol” this season has been so far, Lopez said, “I didn’t expect that it would be such an emotional roller coaster for me.” She also admitted that saying goodbye to the departing contestants has been very difficult for her. Don’t miss “Idol Party Live” every Thursday on MTV.com, following the “American Idol” results show, for analysis, celebrity guests and even some karaoke — get in the conversation by tweeting with the hashtag #idolparty ! In the meantime, get your “Idol” fix on MTV News’ “American Idol” page , where you’ll find all the latest news, interviews and opinions. Related Artists Jennifer Lopez Lil Wayne
