He’s about to embark on his ambitious one-man Mark Twain show , and soon enough Val Kilmer will also be a doctor, courtesy of William Woods University ! Kinda. “It’s embarrassing if you have a brother with a real doctorate. [Laughs.] I called him up without thinking — I was so excited! — and said, ‘You won’t believe it! They called me out the blue. I’m going to be just like you! Dr. Kilmer.’ There was a long pause, and I immediately realized what a mistake this phone call was.” [ Vanity Fair ]
Above the Buzz breaks down the teen star’s leap from tween-hood to maturity with ‘Boyfriend,’ a la Justin Timberlake. By Jocelyn Vena Justin Bieber Photo: Kevin Winter/ Getty Images In 2002, Justin Timberlake blew everyone’s minds when he dropped Justified , his star-making solo album. It propelled him from tween-dream poster boy to legitimate pop star. Exactly 10 years later, there’s another young singer who is looking to make the same leap. When Justin Bieber dropped “Boyfriend” earlier this week, he laid down the gauntlet and declared his pop-star manhood. His transition is one that Timberlake faced a decade ago as he looked to carve a new path for himself in a post-‘NSYNC world. With grinding, ear-busting production from the Neptunes and Timbaland , the onetime boy-bander created an album that sounded unlike anything his fans had heard before. Sure, he had teased it on ‘NSYNC’s last album, Celebrity , but this album was different — it was all Timberlake. It was sexy and definitely much edgier lyrically, with him singing about girls and sex in a more-mature way. At the time, he faced the incredibly difficult pop conundrum of having to grow up right before an audience. That’s the challenge Bieber now faces. At 18, he can’t stray too far from his My World days, but in order to grow as an artist and a person, he also can’t make “Baby” over and over again. And, honestly, who would want him to? Edgy and sexy feel like the innate next step for the teen star, with Usher as his mentor — a dude who made a name for himself singing songs about the things he does in the bedroom and flaunting his abs all over town. Although, it’s interesting to note that Bieber chose to follow in Timberlake’s footsteps. A little history lesson: Timberlake once was in a bidding war to sign Bieber on as his prot
‘Woody Harrelson is one of my favorite actors, and I was really, really excited to see Haymitch come to life,’ Aussie actor tells MTV News. By Kara Warner Liam Hemsworth Photo: MTV News As painful as it has been for us “Hunger Games” fans to wait for the film’s release, imagine how anxious the stars themselves have been to see it. We’ve heard how Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson reacted to seeing the finished film for the first time, and now it’s time to hear what co-star Liam Hemsworth had to say after his first viewing. “It was amazing just to see all the different actors and what they’ve done with it,” Hemsworth told MTV News recently. “Woody Harrelson is one of my favorite actors, and I was really, really excited to see Haymitch come to life. He’s awesome. I’m Team Haymitch all the way; I think he’s amazing. “The movie is intense from beginning to end, and it’s powerful,” Hemsworth added about the finished product. “You have this girl who gives so much hope and courage to everyone, and Jennifer is the perfect person to play it. She pulled it off perfect.” After joking with the Aussie actor about how his brother, “Thor” star Chris Hemsworth , helped him prepare for the initial audition, we asked Liam how he approached his character knowing that, while he doesn’t have a lot of screen time, his role in Katniss’ life is vital. “It does add a little pressure. It’s always harder when you’re coming in for smaller amounts and you have to convey everything that needs to be conveyed in small moments, but the writing was that good that it wasn’t hard,” Hemsworth said of maximizing his screen time. “The director was that good and Jennifer was amazing, so it was all kind of already there.” Check out everything we’ve got on “The Hunger Games.” For young Hollywood news, fashion and “Twilight” updates around the clock, visit HollywoodCrush.MTV.com . Related Videos MTV Rough Cut: ‘The Hunger Games’ Related Photos ‘Hunger Games’ World Premiere Red Carpet The Hunger Games
Bigger Than the Sound takes you behind the scenes with Katy before her ‘Part of Me’ video debuts tonight at 7:23 p.m. on MTV. By James Montgomery Katy Perry in her “Part of Me” music video Photo: Capitol You might not see Katy Perry when she arrives on set, but you definitely hear her — and the whirl of humanity that surrounds her every step of the way. There are publicists and managers, stylists and makeup folks, at least one assistant, the odd journalist and a few rather fashionable gentlemen whose roles are not clearly defined (though they smoke cigarettes and usually speak French). And on Monday, when I met up with Katy in London, there was also a documentary crew in tow — two camera guys, a director and a field producer — bringing the sum total of her posse to 15. And they make their presence known from the second they descend on the scene, snapping Polaroids, hanging wardrobe, moving furniture, gabbing, texting, dabbing, smoking, quietly judging (I am nothing if not insecure). It’s a whoosh of activity that not only announces her arrival, but makes you realize that it truly takes an army to make the Katy Perry machine operate on a daily basis. At the center of it all, of course, is Katy herself, who today strides into the penthouse of London’s Corinthia Hotel wearing sunglasses, singing about fish filets (she’d just covered Jay-Z and Kanye’s “Paris” on BBC Radio 1’s Live Lounge). Probably due to the past two years of her life, in which she rose from curio-case pop star to one of the most famous people on the planet, she seems completely oblivious to everything transpiring around her (or at least is used to it), and as she is encircled by her team, she’s still singing, her blue hair the only part of her that’s visible in the crowd. At this point, having spent enough time around the Britneys and Gagas of the world, I’m used to entourages — though Katy’s struck me as different. Maybe it’s the fact that her personal life has become very public, or that her every gesture is discussed ad infinitum on the Internet, but they seemed less like hired hands as an actual army, determined to protect their leader at all costs. They’re kind of like the Secret Service, only, you know, way more fabulous. Katy definitely knows this, as she explained during our interview — we’re premiering her brand-new “Part of Me” video tonight, which was the impetus for this chat — most of her favorite memories all involve her team. A recent one being the night she was reunited with some 40 members of her California Dreams Tour crew for a dinner that quickly devolved into an impromptu dance-off, which is why her neck was totally killing her on this day. She may be the queen bee, but she’s definitely not opposed to getting down and dirty with her drones. Not as if she’d ever refer to them as such. Though it’s impossible to truly get a read on anyone in an hour, I will say this about Katy Perry: Unlike Britney Spears or Lady Gaga — both of whom are plenty nice — she still seems like a pretty normal person, albeit one with blue hair. She screws around a lot (she jokingly threatened to punch me in the face if I kept screwing up my lines), displayed an impressive acumen for swearing and even worked the word “bro” into our conversation on at least six occasions. She spoke with great pride about the rigorous boot-camp training she underwent for the “Part of Me” video, even extolling the virtues of the MRE rations she dined on during production (“they tasted like a McRib!”). She can play the piano surprisingly well, as she displayed on the baby grand in our penthouse and openly pined for McNuggets (and if you’re keeping score at home, that’s the third time she referenced McDonald’s during our interview). She is, at this juncture in her career, still trying very hard to remain close to her roots, to the point where she keeps mentioning them when talking about making the follow-up to Teenage Dream. And she still seems determined to prove that all this success was not a fluke, mostly through sheer work. She’s currently promoting the reissue of Dream and has a 3-D concert film on deck after that. The next open spot in her schedule seems to be this summer, at which point she may “pull on a beanie and backpack across Europe” before getting to work on album number three. “Tireless” doesn’t seem to do her justice. Perhaps “driven” is the right term. Of course, one could wonder just how long all this normalcy can last, especially given everything that goes along with it (most folks I know certainly don’t travel with a documentary crew, after all). I’d wager she’s aware of that and hell-bent on proving that it can be done; that she can still have her McNuggets and eat them too. I wouldn’t bet against her, because she knows she’s got plenty of folks counting on her, and she’s determined to reciprocate their level of dedication. Just like you or me, she doesn’t want to let her loved ones down. Can Katy pull it off? We’ll all just have to wait and see. But if she does, the next time I catch up with her, there’s a pretty good chance her entourage will have doubled in size, meaning that you’ll know she’s arrived before she’s even in the building. And at that point, not only will she probably own several McDonald’s, but she’ll be able to staff them too. A girl can dream, after all. Don’t miss “MTV First: Katy Perry” tonight, when the pop star will debut her long-awaited video for “Part of Me” at 7:23 p.m. ET on MTV. Then head over to MTV.com for an exclusive 30-minute interview with Katy herself! Related Videos Get Ready For ‘MTV First: Katy Perry’ MTV News Extended Play: Katy Perry Related Photos The Evolution Of: Katy Perry
If the teenage hedonists of Project X want to see what’s in store for them in 40 years — and surely they don’t — they might have a look at Italian writer-director-actor Gianni Di Gregorio’s smart and none-too-sweet little comedy The Salt of Life , in which a 60-ish retiree living in Trastevere suddenly realizes that not a single woman — not his reasonably affectionate but matter-of-fact wife, nor his flirty young next door neighbor, nor any of his various old flames and acquaintances – is interested in sleeping with him. It’s also, to my knowledge, the only movie about the love lives of sexagenarians that closes with the Pixies’ “Here Comes Your Man.” This is a movie that’ll play great with the blue-haired crowd, and yet I suspect touches like that will go over the heads of the oldsters. The overarching, bittersweet vibe of The Salt of Life is that you just never, ever get over it — whatever the hell it is. The Salt of Life is the follow-up to Di Gregorio’s surprise 2010 mini-hit Mid-August Lunch , in which some version of the character we meet here — a guy in late-middle age named Gianni, played by Di Gregorio himself — is forced into service cooking and otherwise waiting on his passive-aggressively demanding 90-something mother (played, with grand dame comic authority, by Valeria de Franciscis) and her equally wrinkly, chattery gal pals. Mid-August Lunch was Di Gregorio’s directorial debut. (He also wrote the screenplay for the 2008 drama Gomorrah .) And if it was the sort of movie to which you could take your mother — as well as your grandmother and your great-grandmother — it was also evidence that even safe, “nice” little movies, done right, can have a bit of the serpent’s bite in them. Di Gregorio has a light touch, but he never goes for the saccharine. Even when he stoops to making a Viagra joke — as he does in The Salt of Life — he can’t resist tipping it on its ear. And he refuses to overplay the moment — he ricochets off in another direction before you even know it. In The Salt of Life , Gianni — once again played by Di Gregorio, who has the air of a lovelorn basset hound — can’t help noticing that all his salt-and-pepper-haired buddies seem to be dallying with beautiful younger women. Almost half-heartedly, he decides he might have a go at it himself: His wife (Elisabetta Piccolomini), who seems to want him around only to make Ikea runs, probably wouldn’t care. And his daughter (played by Di Gregorio’s daughter, Teresa) has her own love life to worry about; her ex-boyfriend (Michelangelo Ciminale) is still hanging around the family apartment, and, seemingly out of a lack of anything better to do, becomes Gianni’s pal and partner in crime. In between fielding calls from his mother (de Franciscis, once again), who summons him to her home for important tasks like slapping the TV in order to get better reception, Gianni makes attempts with various younger cuties (nearly all of them, by the way, voluptuous in a way that you rarely see in American movies). He begins with his mother’s caretaker, Kristina (Kristina Cepraga), a captivating blonde goddess who eagerly tells him about a dream in which he played a significant role — as her grandfather. Then he moves on to an old acquaintance, Gabriella (played by mezzosoprano Gabriella Sborgi), who professes interest in him only to ignore him when he shows up, flowers in tow, at her house while she’s busy rehearsing. Old-flame Valeria (Valeria Cavalli) is thrilled to see him, but falls asleep on the couch before their date can ignite. And that vivacious next-door-neighbor, Aylin (Aylin Prandi), adores him but not quite in that way — she’s deeply appreciative of the way he’s always stopping by to walk her Saint Bernard, Riccardo. Di Gregorio (who also wrote the script) has set up a stock scenario for sure. But it’s what he does with it, and the way he tosses in casual but significant grace notes, that makes all the difference. Di Gregorio — who seems to be carrying the full weight of unrequited sexual desire in the cartoonishly heavy bags under his eyes — specializes in self-deprecation, especially when it comes to machismo. (And this is Italian machismo we’re talking about — not for the faint of heart.) When Gianni dons a new suit and struts past his buddies — they sit outside in their tracksuits, talking about football and women, possibly in that order — one of them remarks, “He must have a date!” only to have another retort, “He’s probably going to a christening.” He does, in fact, have a date, but the suit doesn’t help him much. Gianni’s inability to get anything started isn’t just a running gag — it’s the picture’s backbone, although Di Gregorio keeps the action and the jokes lissome and fluid, rather than locking them into a rigid formula. As actor, director and writer, he approaches the idea of ever-present longing with the suppleness of a dancer. On the surface, The Salt of Life may seem like a movie made just for old folks. The trick is that it really is about the youth that stays with you, even when your aging body is working hard to convince you otherwise. Follow Stephanie Zacharek on Twitter . Follow Movieline on Twitter .
In a change of pace, Katy Perry has ditched the blue hair, over the top wardrobe and heavy makeup in favor of pure, glamorous sexiness in Interview magazine. A surprising and smoldering change of pace. Wearing a bejeweled bra, chandelier earrings and black gloves, Katy was photographed by Mikael Jansson and styled by Karl Templer for the March issue. Thursday marks the release of Interview ‘s interview of Perry, conducted by Kristen Wiig, but her new look is already one of our favorite Katy Perry photos . Dare to disagree? Take a look below: Katy Perry unzipped? Where do we sign up?
No one seems to know where this recently unearthed topless pic of Christina Ricci came from, but thanks to the blue sparrow tattooed on her rightie, we can comfortably confirm that it’s her. It’s like tagging a wild tiger, but for sweater kittens! Although she had her boobs reduced from a natural D-cup (a rarity for her 5’1″ height) to a B, we think that because of her small frame, Christina still looks pretty good. How about you, Skin fans? Do you like the new and reduced Christina Ricci , or was her surgery a tragedy of TITanic proportions? Play a rousing round of comBARE and contrASS with Christina Ricci in Prozac Nation (2001) and After.Life (2009) right here at MrSkin.com!
We have an update on Bobbi Kristina Brown. The 18-year old daughter of Whitney Houston and Bobby Brown, who was rushed to the hospital for two separate anxiety attacks since her mother passed away Saturday afternoon, is no longer under doctor’s care. But her family is still concerned about the teenager’s well-being and is considering some kind of professional treatment for her. In an eerie, frightening report, TMZ quotes insiders who say Bobbi was found asleep in a hotel room bathtub on Friday afternoon, the same position paramedics found Whitney in the following day. After repeated, unanswered knocks from Bobbi’s friends, security arrived, unlocked the door and helped fish the troubled young woman out of the tub. It’s unknown what caused that incident, but family members are, understandably, even more worried about Bobbi’s current state of mind and fear she may be suicidal. As they ponder the next best step, Bobby Brown left a concert in Nashville over the weekend and landed in Los Angeles last night to be there for his daughter. “Obviously the death of her mother is affecting her; however, we will get through this tragedy as a family,” the singer said in a statement to Extra . “Again, I ask for privacy during this time.
The official results of an autopsy performed on Whitney Houston yesterday will not be released for weeks. But sources tell TMZ the family of this legend has been informed by the coroner’s office that Houston died from a lethal mixture of prescription pills, most notably Xanax, and alcohol. As previously confirmed, Houston was found unresponsive in her hotel room bathtub on Saturday afternoon and new reports identity the singer’s aunt, Mary Jones, as the individual who found her there and administered CPR on the bathroom floor. However, officials have told the family Whitney likely died prior to being submerged, as there was not enough water in the artist’s lungs to cite drowning as the cause of death. At last night’s Grammy Awards, meanwhile, host LL Cool J led the audience in a prayer for Houston, while Jennifer Hudson later paid emotional tribute to the icon via a rendition of ” I Will Always Love You .”
Their divorce is amicable and we don’t normally like to read into things like this, but Katy Perry’s new song, “Part of Me,” sure sounds like a dig at Russell Brand. The newly Katy started off her 2012 Grammy Awards performance singing her hit “E.T.”, but then the music suddenly stopped and she burst into “Part of Me.” Aggressively, she sang lyrics like: “You chewed me up and spit me out / Like I was poison in your mouth / You took my light, you drained me down / You ripped me off, your love was cheap.” Easy to interpret it as bitterness toward Brand, no? Watch Perry perform in a ridiculously tight, form fitting rubber cat suit of sorts with her blue hair below: Katy Perry – Part of Me (Live at Grammy Awards) Perhaps the strongest indication that this was aimed at Russell? The original song lyrics include, “You can keep the dog from me, I never liked him anyway.” But last night, Perry sang: “Keep your diamond ring, in fact, you can keep everything – except for me.” Ouch. That’s got to hurt, R … amicable split or not.
