If, like me you’re horribly old and ready to be sent by the farmer to the local dog food factory, you might remember a 1981 science fiction book called ‘ After Man: A Zoology of The Future ,’ by Dougal Dixon. Now sadly out of print (I still have a battered copy with a half-torn cover, because bragging rights), it featured fantastic naturalist illustrations of creatures extrapolated, evolutionarily, from modern fauna 50 million years after humanity had gone extinct. Wolf-like beasts descended from rats and ungulates descended from rabbits are the least weird creatures you’ll see, and it’s a crime no one has ever seen fit to make a half-decent movie based on concepts from the book. We’ll have to wait much longer for that, but based on the new international trailer, we can at least see something of the book’s influence on M. Knight Shyamalan’s next film, After Earth . The Will Smith and Jaden Smith-starring sci fi movie concerns the adventures of “legendary general” Cypher Raige* (Will) who, along with his young son Kitai (Jaden) crash land on planet Earth a thousand years after humanity abandoned it and moved out into the stars. Critically injured in the crash, the General is in desperate need of help; now Kitai must venture out alone into a completely re-forested home-world teeming with creatures, so we’re told in the trailer, that have all evolved to kill human beings. The glimpse of what looks like slightly evolved baboons is promising, and I’m actually shocked to admit this thing looks good. Shyamalan has not earned any benefit of the doubt, however, and I am confident that by film’s end we’ll be treated to some kind of clunky twist. Maybe it’ll turn out that they’re on the Planet of the Apes and that Jaden is actually Cypher’s father. Here’s the trailer. Let us know what you think in comments. * Dear science fiction filmmakers: please, dear god, please stop with the ridiculous naming conventions. Ross Lincoln is a LA-based freelance writer from Oklahoma with an unhealthy obsession with comics, movies, video games, ancient history, Gore Vidal, and wine. Follow him on twitter Follow Movieline on Twitter .
‘It’s actually referred to in the book, we just don’t see it in the book,’ Melissa Rosenberg tells MTV News. By Amy Wilkinson, with reporting by Josh Horowitz “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2” Photo: Summit Entertainment
My name is Cameron, I’m 13, I live in Texas, and I met Justin Drew Bieber on October 29, 2012 at 4:30 PM. I never imagined I would be writing my very own Bieber experience. I always read stories of beliebers meeting Justin – just praying it would be me one day. I had been saving up money for meet & greet tickets since the day Justin announced his Believe tour. I thought I had finally gotten enough money, then I realized just how expensive they were. My heart dropped, when I realized that I wouldn’t get to meet my idol. In mid-September, I was on the BieberFever website, (which I’m a fan club member of) and saw the post titled “Rules and deadlines for meet and greet contest.” I scrolled down the page to find out that there was a contest for Dallas which is where I live! I was freaking out. It said that all I had to do was email them a picture of my Bieber collection, so I did just that. It took me about an hour and a half to set up everything I had of Justin. After sending them my picture, I anxiously waited for a week, for the email announcement of who had won. They was going to be 10 winners per city. Around 9:30 the night before the concert, I checked my email one last time before I went to bed, and to my surprise there was an email from BieberFever that said I won! I was soooooooooo excited I started crying and freaking out so much. The next day, my mom picked me up from school at 11:30 AM and she took me to go get my hair done. We then went home and got ready for the meet & greet. The time finally came for the meet & greet, I was so nervous that I was shaking, I had butterflies, and the palms of my hands were so sweaty. I remember seeing Justin zoom by on his segway right before I met him. I saw him go into the black box made up of curtains, which is where the meetings took place. My older brother walked in before me. Justin reached out his hand to my brother and said, “Hi nice to meet you, I’m Justin Bieber.” My brother, being a secret belieber, couldn’t think of anything better to say than, “I know…” I walked in next and told myself to keep calm, but I knew that was impossible. The minute I saw Justin standing there looking at me, I completely froze. I was speechless. Justin then said, “Hey! Come stand on the other side of me so we can take the picture!” I nodded my head yes and walked over by his side. I remember thinking he was the skinniest guy I had ever met. I was shocking. He was SO sweet and gave me a huge hug. As we took the picture, I couldn’t even bring myself to believe that I was putting my arm around JB. As you can see in the picture, my arm is around his back. He also smelt AMAZING. I was very fortunate because Justin happened to be wearing a white tank top. Very very very cute on him. I then asked him to sign his book that I brought, and he said of course. I can’t even believe that this even happened. I’m still in shock even a week later. I’m so thankful for everyone who has helped me get to do this, including all the amazing beliebers who have supported me. I thank God every night for that experience. Justin truly is an amazing guy in person and in everything he does. I’m so proud to call him my idol. Once a Belieber, always a belieber. Beliebing 2007-forever. -@thtbeliebergirl View original post here: My name is Cameron, I’m 13, I live in Texas, and I met Justin…
With The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part II finally in theaters, it’s time to get to spoiler-talkin’ — did Bill Condon & Co. blow minds with the Big Crazy Twist in their big-screen adaptation? How much sexy time do newborn vampires have? Is imprinting totally not creepy when the power of Taylor Lautner ’s abs is compelling you? Spoilers, obviously! Five films and a few billion dollars into Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight franchise, the Breaking Dawn crew have put together arguably the best film in the series. Whether you’re a Twi-hard or staunchly unconverted to the sparkly cause, sound off below on all the over-the-top vampire theatrics of the franchise finale, starting with these nine key moments, scenes, and changes from the book: The Battle Sequence Let’s shove the elephant in the room out of the way first: How about that battle scene? The X-Men -style mutant power stand-off that closes Meyer’s novel series was always going to be the film’s biggest technical challenge, with invisible vampire powers surging across the battlefield left and right. Harder still, in the books the battle was anti-climactic, a non-starter that never actually takes place on the page. I repeat: Nobody dies. No heads roll. Literally nothing happens. Enter screenwriter Melissa Rosenberg and Meyer’s big cinematic fix. We now see what Alice sees, the future possibility of a Cullen-Volturi massacre that ends with Aro’s death, not to mention the certain doom of many beloved Twilight characters. The fake-out ending allows for the best action of the franchise, not to mention a key element seldom seen throughout the faithful films to date — surprise. Bella’s Fierceness Critics, feminists, and non-fans of the books have long complained about Bella’s passivity, with good reason; for the majority of the series she’s fragile, self-doubting, and almost always in need of protection by the men in her life. Where Breaking Dawn is most satisfying, then, is in Bella’s emotional and physical transformation. She’s strong. She can arm-wrestle and eat mountain lions. She has a temper. She has an appetite for blood, and for sex. After four years of watching Bella mope around Forks, she finally grows a pair — and while that is a reversal of the average-girl fantasy that made Twilight popular to begin with, and despite the fact that her superpower is a maternal and protective “shielding” talent instead of something more, y’know, awesome, it’s so much better to see Bella Swan strong than not. Jacob’s Abs They’re real, and they’re fabulous. They’re also, hilariously enough, integral to the scene at hand: Jacob strips down in front of Charlie to morph into wolfy form in order to keep the Cullens from leaving town. The exchange between Taylor Lautner and Billy Burke also injects a much-needed dose of levity to the franchise, which brings me to… The Humor Finally, the Twilight franchise has a sense of humor. That sidelong glance between Edward and Jacob before Bella learns her bestie has eyes for her new baby; the way newborn Bella hungrily grabs her man, ready to do it for forever now that she no longer has to worry about getting pregnant and being crushed to death/being eaten in the heat of the moment. And while we’re on the subject…
I met Justin Bieber October 19 th , 2012 in Minneapolis, Minnesota . I had heard of the hotel he was staying at, and I knew I had to go there to see if I could find him. All day I was tweeting how I was going to try to find Justin, and everyone was just saying “good luck with that,” but I had hope . The car ride down there I was already screaming at the possibility of meeting him and the fact that we would be in the same city was already a crazy thought! I was able to get down to the hotel at around 8pm and once we got there, there were only about 10 girls there so far. They had all said he just drove by 10 minutes earlier and waved out the window, I was so mad that I missed it! The good thing was that we knew he had to come back to the hotel sometime that night, and I knew I would wait there all night until he came back. After about 2 hours of waiting Dan and Scrappy pulled up, said hi, and went into the hotel . I was in awe when I saw them. It was crazy, and I knew that Justin had to be coming soon. The number of people outside his hotel grew to about 35-40 girls after about 4 hours of standing in the freezing cold. All of a sudden everyone started screaming and running. I turn around to see this black SUV parked and Justin’s security guard walking out. THEN JUSTIN GETS OUT!!! I completely lost it. They kept telling us to stay back or else Justin would have to leave, so all us girls tried to cooperate as best we could even though we were all dying inside. Justin thankfully first came over to the side where I was standing and I couldn’t even believe what I was seeing before my eyes. Alfredo Flores was taking the pictures and I handed my camera to him and then got my picture with Justin. I literally wrapped my arms around his waist so tightly. He was so gorgeous in person I can’t even comprehend it and his face was so flawless. Even everyone I knew thought it was a fake picture and just a cutout of him because he looks so perfect. His voice when he talked was literally heaven. I told him I loved him , and the time went by so fast, I just wish I could relive that moment over and over. After taking the picture I was screaming non-stop in the car ride home and couldn’t believe this was real life. I would always read Bieber experiences on this tumblr, and I never thought I would ever have the chance to make my own. It seems so surreal, and I am so thankful that I got to meet him. I had been waiting my whole life for this moment and it was HANDS DOWN the greatest day of my life. Not only did I meet Justin, but his concert was still the next day. My countdown started at 124 days and the day had finally come. My friend, Morgan and I had floor seats and were row 31, but thanks to THE BEST SECURITY GUARD EVER, we got moved up to 6 th row and it was AMAZING! I will never forget when the countdown hit 0:00 and I literally died and was hyperventilating uncontrollably. After the concert we went back by his tour bus and all of a sudden Kenny and Alfredo came outside with Justin’s hamster, Pac! They were putting it away and I was so tempted to take it, but I didn’t… It was the best concert of my entire life and Justin is just perfect in every way. I will never get over the fact that I met my idol, and I will forever be in shock! Never give up on your chances of meeting him because I promise you will meet him someday if you try to make it happen!Dreams do come true, you just have to follow them and BELIEVE. –Alex Brown Excerpt from: I met Justin Bieber October 19th, 2012 in Minneapolis,…
My name is Akvile, I’m 17 and I live in London . June 18th 2012 was when I got my first picture with Justin Bieber. Just the feeling of being in his presence was honestly amazing. He is so stunning, you can just get so starstruck. I got my picture with him at Radio 1 in London, there were quite a few people there so I couldn’t talk to him , he had to leave pretty quickly because there was paparazzi also. That week was amazing because I met the whole crew. September 12th to 14th= the best few days of my life, honestly. September 12th was when Justin was recording the acoustic set for the BBC Radio 1 Teen Awards so we went to the studios. We saw him go in but he ran inside quickly due to paparazzi. We stayed there till around 5.20pm. We had wristbands to his ‘Just Getting Started’ book signing and we heard that the doors to get into the signing closed at 6pm so we decided to just leave and go there . The moment we left, as we were walking down the road, we heard screams and turned around to see that he had just left. The car was coming in our direction so we ran to the end of the road and stood at the turn so he could see us. As the car was turning slowly, we waved at him and he was banging on the window at us and waving. Then he kissed the window of the car at us and drove off. That made my entire day. At the book signing, it was INSANE. We were near the end so it was really rushed because Justin was really sick, they wanted to get him out of there as soon as possible. I didn’t get to speak to him or anything, he was looking elsewhere when it was my turn so he didn’t notice me. We weren’t allowed to film but I managed to get a video of some of it. The next day included a lot of waiting again and we saw him towards night time at his hotel. When he got back from the Jonathan Ross show, a few of my friends got to meet him and get amazing pictures. We didn’t manage to get to him on time but I’m glad they did. We all decided that we were not leaving until we saw him and we stayed out the entire night. He came out for us around 11-12pm and fans swarmed him. He said, “Guys chill out, we can take pictures, let’s just hang out.” He asked everyone to line up but no one listened and so he said he’s going back in and then he left. I didn’t think he would come out for us again, but later on he did, at around 1.30am, and it was the best experience ever. The entire time I watched him, I was standing two feet away from him for like an entire 2 minutes just listening to him talk. He was so unwell but he still looked so perfect. I asked him for a hug and he was like ‘sure’ and I hugged him and whispered “thank you” in his ear because honestly, it was all I’ve ever wanted to say to him. I got a picture with him and it was just brilliant. When he left, we waved at him and then I honestly just collapsed and cried. I hugged all of friends, just crying because I have never been so happy before. That night, we actually slept on the street because we all missed our trains home, but we had fun so it was no big deal, except it was absolutely freezing that night. The next morning, we all heard that he wouldn’t be coming out because he was sick so we were so upset to hear about that so we wanted to do something for him. I got an idea and I ran to the nearest arts and crafts store I saw and bought some tape. I decided to write a note saying ‘Get well soon Justin’ and covered it in tape so that I could stick it on the car. Then my friends decided to join in and we decided to cover the car in those notes. Right before Justin left, as he was driving out, he had the car door open, JUST so he could say bye to us all. He drove out and said, “Hey guys!” to us, so we said hi and wished him to get well soon. As he drove away, we ran after the car as fast as we could and taped the notes onto the windows. I was so happy that we managed to do it. I was hoping he would smile at them, but I NEVER expected him to actually Instagram a picture of those notes on his car and say thank you to us . I cried my eyes out when I saw that Instagram and the tweets. We actually managed to make him smile and make him feel better when he was sick. That was such an amazing feeling for me, I couldn’t stop crying . We all made the effort and we did it, we made him smile and we made him feel better. Justin Drew Bieber is my pillar. He is my everything. He has helped me through so much and he’s the reason that I’m still here and living. I’m so grateful. I finally managed to thank him. The hours and days we spent waiting for him. All the time we spent staying outside during freezing weather. All of the times we were running everywhere to see him despite me having fractured legs and being in constant pain, it was just all SO worth it in the end. He is WORTH IT. Every 11:11, we all wished to meet him. And it happened. So the moral of MY story is – your dreams can come true. You just have to believe in them. -@AkvileEagle See the original post: My name is Akvile, I’m 17 and I live in London. June 18th…
Linda Hogan appeared yesterday on Access Hollywood Live to promote her book “Wrestling the Hulk: My Life Against the Ropes,” only for the conversation to quickly turn to the Hulk Hogan sex tape . “It really is quite an embarrassment for our family,” Linda said of the video, which depicts Hogan giving it to Heather Clem in 2006. “I’m not really shocked because I knew that he was having affairs and I knew that he was cheating.” Hogan has admitted to stepping out on his wife, but has insisted he had no knowledge he and Clem were being filmed, nor did he play a role in releasing the tape. He also sort of blamed Linda for the affair because he said she abused him physically and emotionally during their marriage. Linda, meanwhile, told host Billy Bush that she has viewed the footage. “It actually did make me upset,” she said. “I’ve seen him on TV so much, but this was different. To see your husband in a room with another woman … It’s a whole life of deception. I’m glad to be away from that now.”
The writer whose anti-Kate Gosselin tell-all book controversy resulted in legal threats and the book being pulled from Amazon says he’s got more dirt to dish yet. Robert Hoffman, author of the e-book Kate Gosselin: How She Fooled America , paints her as a grating hypocrite capable of abuse and violence toward her kids. Hoffman once reported her to Child Protective Services and claims Kate is continuing to “exploit and humiliate” her eight children by filming a new reality show . He admits he has not verified the information about the show but heard about it through a very credible source – one who says high-level people are involved. “I got a call from a source who told me about Kate filming the kids with someone else in the past two weeks for a new reality show. The person is a big name,” he says. Hoffman says he wrote about the 37-year-old reality star to expose her time in the limelight as an “eight-year web of lies, abuse, greed and manipulation.” Jon Gosselin was rumored to have leaked and/or stolen information about Kate for his book, although Hoffman denies this, saying he found Kate’s hard drive in a dumpster. That story sounds about as real as Kim Kardashian ‘s marriage to Kris Humphries. [Photo: WENN.com]
Mitt don’t love dem hoes! No but seriously, he really doesn’t give a fawk about a woman’s life or her rights, at least not if you believe two women who had close contact with him during their pregnancies. According to National Enquirer reports : GOP presidential candidate MITT ROMNEY is hiding TWO shocking pregnancy scandals from the public. A Massachusetts woman has charged that the former governor pressured her to ignore her doctors’ advice to terminate her pregnancy after she suffered a life-threatening complication – and another woman claims Romney tried to bully her into giving her son up for adoption by threatening her with excommunication from the Mormon Church. Incredibly, when he was running for public office in the ’90s, Romney presented himself as a pro-choice candidate. These days, he says he believes abortion should only be legal in cases of rape, incest or when the mother’s life is in jeopardy. BUT as a bishop in the Mormon Church in the 1980s, Romney’s views were far more rigid and coldhearted, charges Carrel Hilton Sheldon, a woman who was a member of his “ward” (congregation). In 1983, Carrel, already a mother of four, was in her eighth week of pregnancy when she developed a potentially lethal blood clot. She was given an overdose of the blood thinner Heparin, which caused severe internal bleeding and extensive damage to her kidneys. On the verge of needing a transplant, doctors recommended she terminate the pregnancy to save her life. In an exclusive ENQUIRER interview, Carrel’s husband, 68-year-old Garret Sheldon, says that as his wife lay in her hospital bed with her life “in peril,” Romney visited repeatedly to badger her into carrying the child to term. Romney’s behavior prompted his church superior, Harvard-trained physician Dr. Gordon Williams, to intercede. “Even HE believed my wife should terminate her pregnancy!” recalled Garret. “He said to Mitt, ‘Hey, this is threatening her life – back down!’” Carrel later wrote an article about the devastating experience, recalling that Romney – whom she did not originally identify by name – heartlessly told her: “As your bishop, my concern is with the child.” Author Ron Scott also wrote about the incident in his book “Mitt Romney: An Inside Look at the Man and His Politics.” Scott says that after Romney was unable to persuade Carrel to continue her pregnancy, he went to her parents’ house to make his case. “I have never been so upset about anything in my life,” Phil Hilton, Carrel’s father, told Scott, adding that he ordered the young bishop out of his home and was prepared to “throw (Romney) off the porch if he paused for even a second.” In another case the following year, Peggie Hayes had a run-in with Romney that changed the way she viewed both him and the Mormon Church forever. A former baby sitter for Mitt and Ann Romney’s five sons, the now- 52-year-old woman says the GOP candidate had been a father figure and mentor to her during her teen years. “The relationship we had developed made me feel that I could always rely on him during times of adversity,” Peggie told The ENQUIRER in an exclusive interview. “I grew to trust that Mitt would always be there to support me through the toughest of times.” But that all changed in 1984, when Peggie says the young bishop completely shattered what she’d always believed was an “unbreakable bond” between them. At the age of 24, Peggie – who was divorced and raising a 3-year-old daughter alone – learned she was pregnant again. Unwed and scared, she leaned on Mitt and Ann for moral support. But shortly after the birth of her son, Dane, Romney visited Peggie at her home and told her that, because she was raising the newborn without the help of his biological father, the church expected her to give up the baby “so that he could be adopted by a Mormon couple in ‘good standing.’ ” “And if I chose not to give my son up for adoption,” Peggie continued, “Mitt essentially threatened me by saying I would be excommunicated by the church.” Peggie refused to give up her son, who’s now an electrician living in Salt Lake City. And although she wasn’t excommunicated, she never saw or spoke to Romney again. “His staunch conservative actions proved to me that his loyalty to the Mormon Church will always take precedence over innocent people’s lives,” she declared. This is just disgusting. For those women who support Mitt Romney, we gotta ask WHY???
Kim Kardashian has conquered another medium, but she may not be so thrilled about its coverage for once in her life. Illustrator Noval Hernawan has teamed with Bluewater Productions – the same company behind comics in honor of Robert Pattinson , Justin Bieber and many others – to create “Kim Kardashian: 15 Minutes.” It will chronicle the reality star’s rise to fame and all of her ex lovers, including first husband Damon Thomas and, of course, focus a great deal on the Kim Kardashian sex tape . “It’s safe for me to say that overall, I’m quite happy with the end result of this project,” Hernawan says. “I’m very grateful to be given this opportunity, and I hope the reader will enjoy the book as much as we enjoyed making it. Hopefully Kim will too!” Kim Kardashian: 15 Minutes is out RIGHT NOW. Will you pick up a copy?
