Jesus take the serpent… Virginia Pentecostal Pastor Dies From Rattlesnake Bite Mid-Service A “serpent-handling” West Virginia pastor died after his rattlesnake bit him during a church ritual, just as the man had apparently watched a snake kill his father years before. Pentecostal pastor Mark Wolford, 44, hosted an outdoor service at the Panther Wildlife Management Area in West Virginia Sunday, which he touted on his Facebook page prior to the event. “I am looking for a great time this Sunday,” Wolford wrote May 22, according to the Washington Post. “It is going to be a homecoming like the old days. Good ‘ole raised in the holler or mountain ridge running, Holy Ghost-filled speaking-in-tongues sign believers.” Robin Vanover, Wolford’s sister, told the Washington Post that 30 minutes into the outdoor service, Wolford passed around a poisonous timber rattlesnake, which eventually bit him. “He laid it on the ground,” Vanover said in the interview, “and he sat down next to the snake, and it bit him on the thigh.” Vanover said Wolford was then transported to a family member’s home in Bluefield about 80 miles away to recover. But as the situation worsened, he was taken to a hospital where he later died. Image via Kate Fowler Source
We need our black fathers to be there for us!!! NPR recently posted a discussion with director Janks Morton and one of the stars of his documentary “Dear Daddy,” which explores the issue of young black girls growing up without fathers. We thought we’d share an early trailer for the project along with some excerpts below: NPR: Janks, you talked about a lot of relationships, girls who never knew their fathers. There are young women whose fathers were in and out of their lives. Did you notice a difference in the stories that the girls told of what those different scenarios and what they meant? MORTON: What I saw, it doesn’t matter. The deserter, deceased, the disenfranchised, the whatever the circumstance, it doesn’t matter. The trauma that these girls – these 1.8 million, 18 to 24-year-old black girls, 1.8 million – are carrying on their heart, it’s not been given a voice. And what I found is that this arc, it goes through a woman’s life. It just manifests itself in all these different ways that I think, that if we can get this generation, you know, an opportunity to purge themselves of this trauma, I think there are some greatness that can begin to happen in the relationship dynamic in blacks. NPR also spoke with a woman named Jonetta Rose Barras, who wrote the book “Whatever Happened To Daddy’s Little Girl? The Impact Of Fatherlessness On Black Women”. She had some interesting things to add to the conversation about how fatherlessness causes deeper issues further down the line: NPR: But could part of the reason be that – and I just have to be, trying to be sensitive here – is part of the issue here that black women are the ones who perpetuate this by continuing to and choosing to – in some cases choosing to -have children without fathers who are reliable, without men who they know they can rely upon? And I have to ask if that’s part of the issue? BARRAS: Well, I have to look at my own self. I’ve been married twice. I had a child out of wedlock before I was married the first time. And I think that part of the problem is that you develop these kind of, I call them symptoms – the fatherless woman syndrome – you develop these handicaps based on the absence of your father. So you don’t believe that you’re lovable or worthy of love. You suffered the triple fear factor – fear of rejection, fear of commitment, fear of abandonment. You actually get involved with sexual activity because you’re looking for someone to love you. You have rage, anger and depression issues, and then you overcompensate, either using drugs, using work. And so these things come out in your life in ways that, kind of, alienates you in relationships. This is a very important issue and we want you to discuss it! Can we solve the “fatherlessness epidemic”? How can women who have already experienced the impact of being without their fathers move on and heal from their experience? How can men who don’t know their own fathers be better fathers to their daughters? How can women make better choices about who they let into their bodies to ensure the fathers of their children will be there for them? What’s been your experience? Do you have a relationship with your father? Have you tried to repair a fractured relationship?
By popular demand, and after garnering much criticism, a Florida county is putting the racy romance trilogy Fifty Shades of Grey back on library shelves. Before reversing its decision, the Brevard County Library System was perhaps the most prominent of the many bans of the book occurring nationwide. The county pulled 19 copies of the best-sellers from its bookshelves earlier this month, calling the popular novels by EL James “semi-pornographic.” Monday, the county announced that Fifty Shades of Grey would be available immediately through the library in response to requests from residents. Library Services Director Cathy Schweinsberg said that the library was against censorship and was reviewing its selection criteria after negative feedback. Public libraries in several states have banned the book, saying it’s too steamy or poorly written. It’s definitely the latter, though you can’t ban it for that. Bottom line: Sometimes you gotta lighten up and give the people what they want … mind-numbingly cheesy, Twilight fan fiction-inspired softcore erotica. As soon as Universal won the movie rights to the best-selling “mommy porn” trilogy, fans have partaken in an intense, ongoing fantasy casting game. Tell us who should play Christian and Anastasia in the surveys below: Who should play Christian in 50 Shades of Grey? Who should play Ana in 50 Shades of Grey?
MTV News visits the set of the book-to-film adaptation to get the juicy details on the Meyer’s parasitic story. By Kara Warner, with reporting by Josh HorowitzKara Warner, with reporting by Josh Horowitz On the set of “The Host” Photo: MTV News Hey Stephenie Meyer fans, have we got a treat for you. MTV News got a behind-the-scenes look at Andrew Niccol’s big-screen adaptation of Meyer’s “The Host.” The sci-fi romance is Meyer’s first adult novel, and we were lucky enough to get an exclusive sneak peek when we visited the set last month. “The Host” is the story of Melanie Stryder (played by Saoirse Ronan ), one of the last humans to have avoided capture by an alien race called Souls. The Souls operate more like parasites in that they invade human bodies and erase their personalities. The film follows the unlikely partnership of Melanie and her parasite as they seek out the last of Melanie’s human relatives and her love Jared (Max Irons). For Ronan, whom we witnessed running down corridors and jumping off tall precipices, her dual roles are a lot more physical than she expected, but she has relished the opportunity to flex those new action-type muscles. “I didn’t expect it to be so physical. I’ve been in a harness quite a bit, I’ve done stunts, I jumped off a balcony it was 30 feet in the air,” Ronan revealed with pride. “That was pretty cool.” Speaking to the film’s romance, Irons admitted that he enjoyed the struggle Jared has in wanting to be close to Melanie, but knowing in the back of his mind that he can’t. We watched Ronan and Irons film one of their more emotionally charged scenes that involved Jared trying not to kiss Melanie. “Jared’s struggle is when Melanie returns, she was the love of his life and he lost her, but then she walks back into his life,” Irons explained. “He wants to hold her, but the rational part of his mind is saying she needs to be killed.” From the looks of things on set, this big-screen adaptation has major potential to strike a chord among Meyer’s dedicated fanbase. The author told us that she’s enjoyed her involvement in the production and that being on the cave sets was particularly magical for her. “It was so awesome. The cave set was enormous, it was vast, they’re just so cool, so much fun to walk on,” Meyer enthused. “It was kind of like someone built something out of your imagination just for you.” The also stars Jake Abel, William Hurt and Diane Kruger, and is slated for a March 2013 release. Check out everything we’ve got on “The Host.” For young Hollywood news, fashion and “Twilight” updates around the clock, visit HollywoodCrush.MTV.com . Related Videos MTV Rough Cut: ‘The Host’ Related Photos ‘The Host’
Now that there’s no need to dance around spoilers (because everyone in the world saw it in theaters) we finally have an official Hunger Games trailer reel that includes the best scenes and plot turns of Katniss Everdeen’s journey from District 12 huntress to The Girl on Fire. Revisit highlights from Lionsgate’s mega-franchise adaptation with the Hunger Games Blu-ray trailer and see what’s in store in the jam-packed bonus features on for the August 2-disc Blu-ray and DVD release. Included in the three hours of bonus materials are an eight-part documentary on the making of the film, a sit-down chat with director Gary Ross, and the full Capitol propaganda film that appears within the movie. It would’ve been cool to see parts of the presentation and film Ross made to get the directing gig in the first place, but there are always future home video re-issues and special editions that more obscure materials could potentially find a home with. Meanwhile, start your Hunger Games Blu-ray/DVD shopping plans now, as there will undoubtedly be Twilight -level activities surrounding the release at midnight on August 18. Full press release follows: SANTA MONICA, CA, May 23, 2012 –Lionsgate’s The Hunger Games juggernaut will arrive on home entertainment at 12:01 A.M. on Saturday, August 18, as the first film in Lionsgate’s (NYSE: LGF) The Hunger Games franchise, which has already grossed nearly $400 million at the North American box office and is approaching $650 million at the worldwide box office, debuts on 2-disc DVD (plus digital copy), 2-disc Blu-Ray (plus digital copy), VOD and digital download with three hours of previously unavailable bonus materials in the biggest home entertainment launch in Lionsgate’s history, the Company announced today. The film, based on the New York Times best-selling novel from writer Suzanne Collins, achieved a remarkable four-week run as the #1 film at the North American theatrical box office where it has already grossed $392 million, ranking as the 14th highest-grossing film of all time, and it is approaching $650 million at the worldwide box office with an early June opening slated in China. The 2-disc Blu-ray and 2-disc DVD arrive loaded with over three hours of extensive bonus materials including the comprehensive eight-part documentary, “The World is Watching: Making of The Hunger Games.” Other special features include a sit-down conversation with director Gary Ross as well as numerous featurettes that examine the global success of the books, the creation of the control room in the film and the filmmakers’ motivation behind creating new scenes that were not in the book plus much more. The Blu-ray Disc set contains an additional exclusive feature, “Preparing for the Games: A Director’s Process,” which looks at the progression of taking three key scenes from the book to the screen. The Hunger Games Blu-ray Disc and DVD is a must-have film that is hailed as “exciting and thought-provoking in a way few adventure dramas ever are” (New York Daily News). Fans will be able to pre-order the Blu-ray Disc and DVD, starting on Friday, May 25th, for $39.99 and $30.98, respectively. “The motion picture event of the year is poised to become the home entertainment event of the year and, with a midnight launch and midnight retail events scheduled at stores around the country, we expect to replicate the same level of consumer excitement generated by the film’s theatrical debut,” said Ron Schwartz, Lionsgate Executive Vice President & General Manager, Home Entertainment. “This is far and away the biggest home entertainment launch in Lionsgate’s history and, true to a theatrical marketing campaign that incorporated an unprecedented reliance on digital and traditional media alike, our home entertainment launch will involve a similarly innovative and integrated digital and packaged media rollout that we will unveil in the weeks ahead.” Directed by Academy Award® nominee Gary Ross (Seabiscuit), The Hunger Games, starring Academy Award® nominee Jennifer Lawrence (Winter’s Bone), features an ensemble cast that includes Golden Globe® winner Donald Sutherland (Citizen X), Academy Award® nominee Stanley Tucci (The Lovely Bones), Academy Award® nominee Woody Harrelson (The People vs. Larry Flynt), Lenny Kravitz (Precious) and Emmy® nominee Elizabeth Banks (TV’s “30 Rock”). The film also stars some of the industry’s brightest up and coming actors such as Josh Hutcherson (The Kids Are All Right) and Liam Hemsworth (The Expendables 2). The Hunger Games is the first in a trilogy of books published by Scholastic that has already become a literary phenomenon with over 36.5 million copies in circulation. Set in the future, one male and one female from each of the twelve districts of the nation is forced to participate in the annual competition called The Hunger Games, which is broadcast live throughout the country for the entertainment of the Capitol’s wealthy residents. Sixteen year old Katniss Everdeen (Lawrence) volunteers in her younger sister’s place to enter the games, and is forced to rely upon her sharp instincts as well as the mentorship of drunken former victor Haymitch Abernathy when she’s pitted against highly-trained Tributes who have prepared for these Games their entire lives. If she’s ever to return home to District 12, Katniss must make impossible choices in the arena that weigh survival against humanity and life against love. BLU-RAY & DVD SPECIAL FEATURES* “The World is Watching: Making of The Hunger Games” – an eight-part documentary covering the “making of” the film in all aspects from the pre-production process all the way through the theatrical release and fan reactions “Game Maker: Suzanne Collins and The Hunger Games Phenomenon” featurette “Letters from the Rose Garden” featurette – insights from Donald Sutherland on the development of his role as President Snow “Controlling the Games” featurette – stories and concepts behind creating the control center “A Conversation with Gary Ross and Elvis Mitchell” Propaganda Film (in its entirety) Marketing Archive “Preparing for The Games: A Director’s Process” (Blu-ray Exclusive) * Subject to change [via Lionsgate]
Politics lurched to the forefront Tuesday in Cannes as director Andrew Dominik’s Killing Them Softly took its turn as the spotlighted world premiere here. But this isn’t just any world premiere: This one featured Brad Pitt, who manages to still excite even some otherwise jaded festival attendees. Mobs climbed over each other as the actor entered and exited the morning press conference for his new film about a group of criminals and mobsters vying for self-interest. One can only choose which bad guy to root for. Based on George V. Higgins’ ’70s-era novel Cogan’s Trade , Dominik adapted the story, setting his mob-infused drama against the backdrop of the economic crisis and the election of President Obama in 2008. “What I liked about the book was that it had great characters,” said Dominik, who previously directed Pitt in The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford in 2007. “But when I was adapting it, I realized it was a book about economic crisis. I always feel crime films are about capitalism. All the characters are motivated by money only, and I realized also that people in America are concerned about money – and people in Hollywood are motivated by that… I was.” Brad Pitt plays Cogan, a pragmatic hit man whose job is to whack armed robbers who held up a gambling session packed with mobsters. Frankie (Scoot McNairy) and Johnny (Vincent Curatola) pull off the heist in a dingy back room brimming with scowling gangsters. Though a messy job, they manage to take off with the loot, humiliating their otherwise intimidating victims. “[While] reading this story, I realized it is a commentary on the times now, the foreclosure debacle and the economic crisis,” said Pitt, who also serves as a producer on the film. “It wasn’t until the end of the story that I saw it was in fact a microcosm of what’s happening now as a [manifestation] of the macro world.” As with John Hillcoat’s Lawless , which premiered here Saturday, the use of violence – and there certainly is a good amount of it in Killing Them Softly – became a momentary hot topic in the packed press conference with both Dominik and Pitt defending it as necessary and a reflection of society generally. “I don’t understand the obsession with violence,” Dominik said. “It’s like people who don’t want to show children fairy tales. But fairy tales dramatize children’s concerns and emotions.” Added Pitt: “Violence is an accepted part of the gangster world. It’s an accepted possibility when dealing in crime. I’d have a much harder problem playing a racist for instance than, say, shooting someone right in the face.” Continuing, Pitt related violence to everyday life and perhaps inadvertently ushered in 10 minutes of conversation about politics and even his personal life — some of which is bound to generate standalone headlines including rumors about his marriage, how he is likely to vote and even gay marriage. “We live in such a violent world,” he said. “I grew up hunting. If you have a hamburger… Have you seen how they butcher a cow? It’s so violent, it’s morbid. It’s part of the everyday. So violence has a place in film. I don’t see a world without it.” Pitt’s character in the film, which drew early mixed reactions here today, is centered on self-interest. He doesn’t particularly crave violence, but uses it as a means to an end. He’s not bloodthirsty nor does he particularly find murder palatable, but he’s willing to do it as painlessly as possible in order to get ahead. “It’s a metaphor for business — it’s cutthroat but has to be done,” he said. “I’d love someone to develop a documentary about what makes a Democrat or a Republican,” Pitt added. “How do people vote against their own self-interest? I lean Democrat and to the left, but I am interested in how all people think.” At one point, the conversation meandered way off the Killing Them Softly script and the titillating subject of Pitt’s pending marriage to Angelina Jolie came out. He said there is no truth to the rumors that they’ve set a date, but a wedding is in the future, but added, “I’m still hoping we’ll figure out the marriage equality situation in the States before that happens.” Pitt had said some years ago he and Jolie would marry once gays were allowed to be married. He also said they’d “love to do a movie together again sometime.” Despite the film’s not-so-subtle metaphors about the economic crisis and President Obama’s election, Dominik and Pitt said its planned Stateside rollout this September had nothing to do with the pending fall presidential campaign in the US. Pitt did, however, take a jab at the financial fallout that began in ’08 — as well as those responsible: “The economic crisis was criminal, by the way, and there have been no repercussions from that criminality.” Read more of Movieline’s Cannes 2012 coverage here .
Joan Rivers’ New Book Has Crass Jokes Regarding Whitney Houston’s Death Why can’t people just let Whitney R.I.P.??? Comedian Joan Rivers is taking some heat for two Whitney Houston jokes that reportedly appear in her upcoming book, “I Hate Everyone … Starting With Me.” The Village Voice reports that in a section on travel, Rivers writes: “I hate Houston … it’s crawling with bugs. Oh, wait, that’s Whitney Houston; I’m sorry, my bad. (Can I just mention that Whitney looked fabulous at the Grammys? She was in mahogany from head to toe.)” Houston, 48, was found dead in her Beverly Hills, Calif. hotel bathtub on Feb. 11, the day before the Grammys. The jokes shouldn’t be a surprise to those who read the book’s description on the website of publisher Penguin, which reads, “uncensored and totally uninhibited (Rivers gives) the best of her worst to First Ladies, closet cases, hypocrites, Hollywood, feminists, and overrated historical figures,” and goes on to call the book an “honest, unabashedly hilarious love letter to the hater in all of us.” Also in February, Rivers was criticized by some for snarky remarks she made about Houston’s wardrobe on the E! show “Fashion Police.” According to Women’s Wear Daily, Rivers said, “Am I sorry (Houston) died? Of course I am, for God’s sake.” She also said “If Angelina Jolie died tomorrow, I would still say she was anorexic.” After Houston’s death, Rivers tweeted, “Whitney Houston. What a sad tragedy — the end of the life of an incredible talent. RIP to an amazing singer and legend.” Rivers’ book will be published June 5. What do y’all think…is Joan Rivers doing the most?? Source
After months of humiliating posters and destabilizing trailers , the big-screen “adaptation” of Heidi Murkoff’s megahit advice tome What to Expect When You’re Expecting has finally arrived at multiplexes nationwide. Critical reactions are about as chilly as you might expect for a film that turns one of the most influential books of the last quarter-century into a kitchen-sink ensemble romcom; while director Kirk Jones’s film does seem to have its following ( 21 percent fresh on Rotten Tomatoes! Even A.O. Scott is into it ! Sort of!), the overriding sense seems to be one of vague — or maybe not so vague — loathing. Let’s cool off with a refreshing dip in the bile. 9. “The best seller What To Expect When You’re Expecting has been around for 28 years, making the book much newer than most of the jokes in this all-star movie.” — Farran Smith Nehme , NY Post 8. “The cheerily childless out there don’t get any screen time, not just because this is a film about having kids but because they wouldn’t fit into the overall worldview, which is that you haven’t lived until you’ve spawned, or, barring that, snagged a cute infant from Ethiopia.” — Alison Willmore , Movieline 7. “In a year when women’s reproductive freedoms are constantly in the political crosshairs, What to Expect When You’re Expecting feels like just another affront to anyone who owns and operates a uterus.” — Alonso Duralde , TheWrap 6. “Any movie that opens with Cameron Diaz tossing her cookies on the set of a Dancing with the Stars -esque reality show can’t be all bad, right? That’s the mother of all rhetoricals, and speaking of mothers: This mostly laugh-free pregnancy comedy, adapted from Heidi Murkoff’s pop-parenting best-seller, is at least a slight step up from director Kirk Jones’s last effort, 2009’s claw-your-eyes-out-awful Robert De Niro vehicle Everybody’s Fine .” — Keith Uhlich , Time Out New York 5. “I guess this picture should get some novelty points for providing a theme song to a miscarriage scene. David Gray’s ‘Forgetting,’ in case you were wondering. Get it? Because there’s always a next time? Despite the small pleasures the movie’s performers strive to provide, I sincerely hope that no siblings are considered.” — Glenn Kenny , MSN Movies 4. “Nutshell, meet review. Review, meet nutshell. I can sum up my feelings about What to Expect When You’re Expecting in a single word: Ugh. Ugh, because of the acting. Ugh, because of the dialogue. Ugh, because of characters doing ridiculous things and acting the way no reasonable human being on this planet would act/react. It’s a comedy with few laughs, a romantic tale with zero sizzle, and, supposedly, it’s a movie for both sexes. I say it’s for neither. And stay away… stay far, far away… from this one on date night if you ever again hope to convince your partner it’s your turn to choose a movie.” — Rebecca Murray , About.com 3. “Sure, it’s just a silly, stupid Hollywood chick-flick, but the movie’s attitude is so repugnant that it deserves its own special warning: This movie may cause you to seek an immediate vasectomy . There is hardly a shred of believable human behavior in this film. Granted, I haven’t hung out with a pregnant woman for nine months straight, but Banks’s and Diaz’s inanely hyperbolic performances sure do feel like the sort of caricatures that exist only in a Hollywood type’s head. (By the way, it goes without saying that just about everybody in this movie is well-off enough that a baby will present no great financial burden to them. Too bad if you’re sitting in the audience and can’t afford a child — you’re probably not worthy to be a parent anyway.)” — Tim Grierson , Deadspin 2. “The movie reads like an extended Caroline Hax ‘Tell Me About It’ column of petty complaints so stunningly self-involved, irresponsible, and selfish that what the movie needs most is a representative of Child Protective Services to take all the babies to better homes. It is another measure of the movie’s disregard of its audience that we go back to the Dudes so they can reverse everything they said the first time. It is not that they have learned anything. The movie is just lazy enough to hope some warm ‘parenting is wonderful’ comments will erase the synthetic waste of celluloid (pixels?) that has gone before. No such luck.” — Nell Minow , BeliefNet 1. “‘End of day, family’s all that matters,’ says Quaid, never mind that his character’s abusive fathering made his son into an obese neurotic. ‘Kids—that’s all we really leave behind.’ If that’s true, and if millions of years of biological, intellectual, and technological evolution must yield to shallow-field American family values, the least we can do is cop to our shoddy legacy. Let’s start with this disdainful, demoralizing, grimly unfunny bastard of a film.” — Eric Hynes , The Village Voice [Reviews via Rotten Tomatoes ]
LET’S GET READY TO RUUUUUUUUUUUUUMBLE! First Lady Michelle Obama and Oprah Winfrey are not all smiles and buddy-buddy as they’d like us all to believe according to a new book titled “The Amateur: Barack Obama in the White House” by Ed Klein. The two female powerhouses have allegedly had some ugly beef before and after Barack Obama was elected president: Michelle allegedly insulted Oprah’s weight at one point, with Oprah claiming that the First Lady “hates fat people.” The book, due out this week, is excerpted in Sunday’s New York Post. When Obama gained Oprah’s endorsement for the 2008 presidential election, the talk show queen enjoyed a close relationship with both the future president and his wife. But once the election was over, the author claims that Michelle and her staff rudely pushed Oprah aside, while the president remained close to the talk show titan. In one particularly outrageous allegation, Klein writes that Michelle turned down Oprah’s invitation to appear on her TV show to discuss childhood obesity, one of many causes adopted by the First Lady. The book claims that Oprah then raged: “Michelle hates fat people and doesn’t want me waddling around the White House!” Klein, a regular contributor to Vanity Fair, follows that allegation with another bombshell, writing that Michelle told her staff: “Oprah, with her yo-yo dieting and huge girth, is a terrible role model. Kids will look at Oprah, who’s rich and famous and huge, and figure it’s OK to be fat.” But wait it gets nastier!! Oprah had some tricks up her sleeves too apparently… One unnamed source in Klein’s book even charges that Michelle believes Oprah allegedly encouraged Hillary Clinton to run against President Obama in the upcoming election. Klein and his sources contend that the President has remained close to Oprah but that Michelle started pushing her away shortly after the 2008 election, refusing to return calls and instead letting aides deal with Oprah. What’s more, as Oprah prepared to interview Michelle at that time, she was forced to get approval of her interview questions from Jeff Stephens. The book also contends that two of Michelle’s advisers were unhappy with Oprah’s influence and that the talk show host was so comfortable with her access to the President, she had a plan to redecorate the Lincoln bedroom! The author quotes sources close to Oprah claiming that Michelle is “very jealous” and lacks trust in her husband. These sources also contend that the president phones Oprah late at night and asks for advice to improve his popularity , a move that does not sit well with the First Lady. “Michelle thinks he should turn to her, not Oprah, for that kind of advice,” the book quotes an anonymous source. The President asked his wife to make peace with Oprah, sources tell the author, and that is why Michelle taped a May, 2011 interview for one of Oprah’s final shows. That peace offering has done nothing to stem the now-ingrained dislike that both women have for each other, according to Klein. DAYUM!!! Michelle was calling Oprah a chubby lumpkins behind her back and Oprah was trying to late night creep with Obama? This is sounding less like politics as usual and more like high-school drama. We’re not sure about the validity of Mr.Klein’s new book, but it sure does sound scandalous. Do you think there is any truth to the Oprah and Michelle beef? Source
‘All I’ve heard is that it’s very scandalous, to say the least,’ Dobrev tells MTV News of the best-selling book. By Jocelyn Vena Nina Dobrev Photo: MTV News Nina Dobrev hasn’t read the best-selling “Fifty Shades of Grey” just yet, but with every young starlet’s name floating around as a possible contender for the female lead, literature student Anastasia Steele , she might want to start reading up. “All I’ve heard is that it’s very scandalous, to say the least,” the “Vampire Diaries” star told MTV News. “I haven’t read it, but who knows? I mean, well, I guess we’ll have to see.” Fans of the erotic trilogy might not mind seeing Dobrev get her S&M on with her “Diaries” co-star Ian Somerhalder in the big-screen adaptation of the E L James book. But she confessed that if she does play the part, she wouldn’t want to have Somerhalder playing the millionaire beau, Christian Grey . “I don’t know if that’s a good idea,” she said. “I think it’s best for any of the actors on the ‘Vampire Diaries’ to kind of do their own things … and create new characters. And as much as you try when you shoot a movie, if it’s two of the same people, the fans will always see you as … they’ll see me as Elena and they’ll see him as Damon if we do a film together.” So, that means “Fifty” fans will only get either Dobrev or Somerhalder if either gets cast in the film. And Dobrev is most certainly rooting for him. “I think it would be better [if] either he should get it or I should get it,” she said. “I know that apparently he’s really great for the role, so I hope that he gets it.” Given how sexy the book is, casting might not be the only challenge. Some fans are wondering how they can adapt the highly charged sex scenes for an R-rated version of the film . “Making this movie will absolutely be a challenge. It is going to take a devoted director who admittedly likes the books and understands that, first and foremost, this is a love story,” Lisa Parker from FiftyShadesFilm.com told MTV News. “If telling the love story is the main focus, then we do believe the steamy sex scenes can be shot and edited in a way to get us an R-rated movie rather than NC-17 … [the fans] are confident that Ms. James will protect the integrity of her story regardless of the ultimate rating.” Who would you like to see cast in the film version of “Fifty Shades of Grey”? Tell us in the comments.
