Piers Morgan wears many hats: talk show host, America’s Got Talent judge, former Daily Mirror editor. But one thing the British celebrity swears he is not? A phone hacker. Morgan was forced to defend himself today after Louise Mensch – a Conservative member of Parliament on the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee, who grilled Rupert Murdoch during that News Corp. chief’s hearing in London – accused bragging about his own history of breaking into voicemails. Said Mensch: “[Morgan] said in his book ‘The Insider’ recently, and I quote, that that little trick of entering a standard four-digit code allows anyone to call that number and hear your messages…” This is simply untrue, Piers Tweeted in response: “That MP just claimed I boasted in my book of using phone-hacking for a scoop. Complete nonsense. Just read the book. I’ve never hacked a phone, told anyone to hack a phone, or published any stories based on the hacking of a phone.” What a mess. Literally! Someone slammed a whipped cream pie into Murdoch’s face during his testimony!
Mercede Johnston, younger sister of Levi Johnston, is following in her brother’s nude footsteps and taking it all off for the cameras come September! The 18-year-old Mercede will be featured in a four-page nude pictorial in Playboy’s September issue, a magazine spokesperson confirmed today. Rumors of Mercede baring all in Playboy first surfaced in February. She has often been an outspoken critic of Bristol Palin , whose virginity Levi stole way back when, then went on to impregnate in early 2008. Like her sibling, Mercede Johnston tells – and bares – it all . In Palin’s new memoir, Not Afraid of Life: My Journey So Far , Bristol detailed giving it up to Levi while drunk off wine coolers on a camping trip. Suffice it to say, Mercede takes issue with Bristol’s account. “Does anybody really believe a good Christian girl, as Bristol claims to be, would really lose her virginity in a tent?” Mercede seethed on her blog . “I don’t think so. Usually girls want their first time to be meaningful and special,” she said, adding that Palin should’ve called it Not Afraid of Lies . The female Johnston continued to defend her brother after Palin claimed Levi “stole her virginity” in the book and on her recent media tour. As Barbara Walters even pointed out, how can Bristol say he “stole” it when the boning continued for a long time after that tenting session? “After she made those hurtful and indefensible statements in her book about my brother, I decided no matter how uncomfortable I feel talking about this … it is something which I must do,” Mercede wrote July 4. “No one deserves to be accused of such a horrendous thing. Especially not my brother who, believe it or not, truly loved Bristol with all of his heart.” Hopefully, Mercede puts her heart and soul into this Playboy shoot. After Levi’s Playgirl effort, she’s got big shoes to fill. Their parents? So proud.
It’s Hermione vs. Snape and Ron vs. Sirius in a showdown for the title of best ‘Potter’ character. By Terri Schwartz Photo: Warner Bros. With only four days left to vote in MTV News’ “Harry Potter” World Cup , the competition is heating up as the contestants narrow down. The Final Four “Harry Potter” characters were revealed Friday (July 8), and now Hermione Granger faces off against Professor Snape while Ron Weasley has a showdown with Sirius Black . It’s anyone’s call as to who will make it into the finals, let alone take home the trophy. “It gets down to who fans really want to see take this entire tournament home,” said Julia Hodges of DanRadcliffe.com and RupertGrint.net . Even with the stakes raised so high, the “Harry Potter” experts MTV has been chatting with have their own gut feelings about who is going to make it into the final round. And, according to Rosie Halse of the Leaky Cauldron , this is Hermione’s last hurrah. “This is where Hermione is going to fall down, unfortunately,” Halse predicted. “I love Hermione to pieces, but I think that Snape has a much more ardent following. He has so many twists and turns in the book, whereas Hermione is quite a constant character that perhaps Snape might win on a character basis.” But the experts still feel that one of the series’ Big Three will make it into the finals: Ron Weasley. “Sirius has been such an important role model to Harry, yet Ron has been such an important friend to Harry,” Andrew Sims of MuggleNet said. “I think in this competition, Ron is going to win because: A) popularity, and B) he’s always been by Harry’s side.” Voting for the Final Four continues on the MTV Movies Blog through Sunday, July 10, at midnight. Then the showdown between the last two “Potter” characters left standing begins promptly at 12:01 a.m. ET on Monday, July 11, with the winner being announced later that night during MTV’s live stream of the “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2” red-carpet premiere in New York City. We’re streaming live from the red carpet at the New York premiere of “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2” on Monday, July 11, at 4:30 p.m. ET. Visit MTV.com to watch interviews with the stars and see the winner of the “Harry Potter” World Cup announced live. Tweet your questions for the cast @MTVNews using the hashtag #AskPotter. Check out everything we’ve got on “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2.” For young Hollywood news, fashion and “Twilight” updates around the clock, visit HollywoodCrush.MTV.com . Related Videos The ‘Harry Potter’ World Cup Related Photos “Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows, Part 2” The ‘Harry Potter’ World Cup Players
Critics praise the ‘stout farewell’ of David Yates’ action-packed franchise finale. By Terri Schwartz Daniel Radcliffe and Ralph Fiennes in “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2” Photo: Warner Bros. Pictures The final installment of the “Harry Potter” series is primed to make magic at the box office, but it’s already getting raves from critics as well. Early reviews of “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2” are positive across the board, earning the flick a whopping 100 percent fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes . And although that number is likely to dip a bit once all of the reviews come flooding in next week when it hits theaters — we’ll be streaming live from the red-carpet premiere on Monday, July 11, at 4:30 p.m. ET on MTV.com — the overwhelming consensus is that “Deathly Hallows, Part 2” delivers on every level. Additionally, it seems that splitting the “Deathly Hallows” into two parts was a good call. While reviews for “Deathly Hallows, Part 1” tended to find that the movie felt too much like a prelude to the climax of the upcoming “Part 2,” the early reviews for the final film make it clear that the last installment doesn’t skimp on the action, emotional core or storytelling that has driven the franchise. The real question is whether “Part 2” is a satisfying conclusion to the “Potter” series, and the consensus seems to be that it definitely is. But don’t take our word for it: Read on and check out what the critics are saying. The Story “The film versions of J.K. Rowling’s stories have enthralled me, and I watched them with child-like wonder. The final film chapter had me literally sitting on the edge of my seat at times, particularly in the scene where Harry, Ron and Hermione (who for reasons too complicated to go into here has to look like Bellatrix Lestrange) break into a bank and escape over the London skyline on the back of a fire-breathing dragon.” — Baz Bamigboye, The Performances “The actors here have to make the most of their fleeting moments, and they consistently do. What the post-‘Potter’ careers of Radcliffe, Watson and Grint will be like is anyone’s guess, but at this point they know how to take these particular characters to the bridge without breaking a sweat. Alan Rickman gets to show us many sides of Snape, and he’s as compelling as always, even when the flashbacks use some freaky age-erasing special effects that leave his face looking odd. [Helena] Bonham Carter’s Bellatrix Lestrange is as goth-gorgon as ever, but she has some fun with some early scenes in which she gets to portray the Hermione-on-polyjuice-potion version of the character. And during the film’s big climactic battle, [Maggie] Smith and Julie Walters get some tasty moments that make their relatively small roles over the course of the series worthwhile.” — Alonso Duralde, The Wrap The Split “Fully justifying the decision, once thought purely mercenary, of splitting J.K. Rowling’s final book into two parts, this is an exciting and, to put it mildly, massively eventful finale that will grip and greatly please anyone who has been at all a fan of the series up to now. If ever there was a sure thing commercially, this stout farewell is it.” — Todd McCarthy, The Hollywood Reporter The Action “Perhaps the greatest triumph of this final film is its ability to overcome the deficiencies of J.K. Rowling’s writing. In the last Harry Potter volume, she failed singularly to muster the epic feel needed; as a result, on the page, the concluding battle at Hogwarts was a damp squib. But [director David] Yates here transmutes it into a genuinely terrifying spectacle, as bloodied students fight desperately against a horde of screaming black-robed Death Eaters.” — Philip Womack, The Telegraph The End “And if you think you know how it all ends, you don’t. Yates has wisely tickled the face-off between the rivals to make it even better than the version Rowling wrote in her book. Unlike many other franchises, the quality of the Harry Potter films never dropped. The producers could have broken box-office records with a basic cardboard set thanks to the dedicated fanbase. Yet they have blown a fortune to make a special experience for them.” — Grant Rollings, The Sun We’re streaming live from the red carpet at the New York premiere of “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2” on Monday, July 11, at 4:30 p.m. ET. Visit MTV.com to watch interviews with the stars and see the winner of the Harry Potter World Cup announced live. Tweet your questions for the cast @MTVNews using the hashtag #AskPotter. Check out everything we’ve got on “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2.” For young Hollywood news, fashion and “Twilight” updates around the clock, visit HollywoodCrush.MTV.com . Related Videos Scenes From ‘Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows – Part 2’ Related Photos “Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows, Part 2”
I was asked to be a contributor in this book, Countdown Calendars, by C&T Publishing. It is just hitting the shelves now and C&T has put together this fun book trailer to showcase 10 of the designs. I thought I’d share it with you. If you follow my blog, I’m sure you’ll guess my calendar Broadcasting platform : YouTube Source : One Designer Pursuing her Dreams Discovery Date : 26/06/2011 01:48 Number of articles : 2
Fif, who has famously sparred with MCs, says ‘Playground’ will be based on ‘events from my own childhood and adolescence.’ By Gil Kaufman 50 Cent Photo: Ray Tamarra/ Getty Images 50 Cent is getting in on the bullying game. No, the brawny rhymer/actor with a reputation for starting beef with his fellow MCs is not going in on another of his rap peers, he’s branching out and adding another book to his r
This is not a meet and greet experience, this is a NEVER SAY NEVER experience. It was the day of the Never Say Never premiere in the UK and my sister, her friend and I were ready on our journey to see our idol when my mom said, “You ready for this?” We looked at each other smiled and screamed YES! We made our way to the Q and we sat down for hours and hours. Everyone was singing Justin’s songs and we joined in. A private jet flew over the arena and I got extremely excited. It looked like Justin’s private jet, I noticed and pointed thinking if that was Justin, maybe he had seen me. We walked near the arena by the gates and found a space right at the front. We waited for roughly 3 hours, they played all of Justin’s songs and all of a sudden the big screen came on and a big black van pulled up and Justin Bieber came out the car with Kenny! My heart stopped beating and already tears were exiting my eyes. We watched Kenny walking side by side with Justin who was tweeting or something. The arena was rumbling and Justin made his was into the arena. As he was being interviewed, he turned his face and blew a kiss. Before I knew it, Justin was making his way around to see and us and thank us. He was coming towards me and I stopped crying. I handed him my book and to my suprise he autographed it for me, then he looked at me and smiled. I was just staring at him for what felt like minutes. My sister didn’t get his autograph and was upset with me. Justin made his way to Cineworld where he would watch his movie. I noticed that Scooter was heading towards me and I asked to take a photo with him, he took my camera and had taken 2 photos. Everyone started to make their way of the arena arena and I was extremely happy that he had noticed me. As we were leaving, someone tapped my sister on her shoulder. We turned around and a women was standing there. She said, “Who are you with?”, so my sister had told her. We noticed she put her hand in her pocket and pulled out Never Say Never tickets to go and watch his movie! My jaw dropped and she said, “but you have to have an adult with you”. This was the best day of my life. All of a sudden, Jon M Chu walked in, followed by Scooter. They both said their speech and said thank you for making this possible and a voice said NEVER SAY NEVER. I reconized that voice and started to cry, it was Justin’s. He walked into the cinema and he was talking to us all for about 5 minutes. He thanked us all for coming and I was jumping up and down. My mum wasn’t a fan of Justin and after watching his movie, she loves him and has so much respect for him. This is a memory that would last a life time and someday it ill be a story to tell my kids. Read more from the original source: This is not a meet and greet experience, this is a NEVER SAY…
The day started off great! When I arrived at the arena, I saw DJ Tay James. We didn’t bother him because he was with a group of people he knew talking, so we walked over to the buses. Later we saw Nick Demoura riding up on a bike and we stopped him and asked him to sign our book. Tay was walking over and we got pictures and he signed the book as well this time. He filmed us for WeKnowTheDJ.com!! We also met Kannec, and Robert Caplin who also signed our First Step 2 Forever books. Then my mom got a DM from Dave Reynolds saying, “text me your full name and number,” with his phone number in it. My mom did and when we saw him walking around, we went up to him and gave him his sweatshirt she made him. When we went in the line for the meet and greet, I saw Dan Kanter. I ran over to him and was like, “Dan! You’re on my necklace!!” He said, “Cool! I’ve seen your tweets about that! That’s so cool! “ I walked into the little tent where the m&g was, and looked at Justin. I handed Kenny the 4 letters I had with me and walked over to Justin. He said hi then I said, “Hi. Can I have a hug?” and this is what he said, “I’m actually really sick and I don’t want to get you sick. I’m really Sorry.” I told him it was okay and that he looked amazing. I remember he was wearing the same pants as Dan. Kenny and my mom talked for a little. The whole time they were talking, I just felt Justin’s arm around my waist. Finally we got the picture. On our way out I saw Dan & Tay again and got another picture. When I asked Tay for another picture he was like, “We already got one earlier!!” and I was like, “Not in my phone!” and he was like, “Ohh! I got ya!” We got to our seats and saw Kanec walking around, we called him over and I got up and hugged him. He was like, “So you met him?” I was like “Yes!!”. He saw we had Estovar stuff so he went and got Michael Vargas for us! They came back out and sat there and talked to us for at least 30 minutes. Then Michael saw we had more stuff, he asked who it was for, we told him Legaci. He went back and brought Micah out for us. Micah talked to us for a little but he wasn’t feeling well. So he took all the stuff back, and said he would send the guys out. Well about 5 minutes later, all of Legaci walked out wearing the sweatshirts. They came over to our seats and talked with us and we all hugged. Then my mom asked them if they would sing Happy Birthday to Ali since this was her present. They did! They signed stuff and told us to meet them by the buses after the concert. During ‘Down To Earth’, Alfredo was looking up and down the rows in our section and my mom stopped him and asked if he liked the hoodie she made him (Kanec took it to him for us) He looked at her and was like, “I WAS LOOKING FOR YOU! Thank you sooo much!” After the concert we walked back to the buses. Micah was out signing stuff. Then Alfredo was walking over, we called him over by FERNANDO!! He hugged me, then signed my hat. Chris and Micah tweeted us that night, Kanec DMed me and the next day, Dom and Del tweeted my mom, and Dom and Dan Kanter tweeted me! -JoHanna/ @JoHannaBeliebes Read the original here: The day started off great! When I arrived at the arena, I saw DJ…
‘Twilight’ experts point out inconsistencies and omissions in the MTV Movie Awards-debuted sneak peek. By Eric Ditzian Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart in “Breaking Dawn” Photo: Summit Entertainment On Sunday morning, a few hours before the 2011 MTV Movie Awards went live and while the red carpet at the Gibson Amphitheatre was still a hive of pre-show activity, we welcomed three “Twilight” experts into the fray with a simple assignment: Take an early look at the “Breaking Dawn” teaser trailer, which we would be debuting during the Movie Awards, and let us know what you think. They more than came through. Kara Hassell of TwilightersAnonymous.com , Laura Byrne-Cristiano of TwilightLexicon.com and Kallie Matthews from TwilightSeriesTheories.com analyzed the trailer like only die-hard “Twilight” specialists can. But there was too much info to pack into one story . And now that a few days have passed since the trailer’s debut and the bloggers’ opinions are still fresh in our minds, we have a few lingering questions we want answered in the future. Two Wedding Rings? Early in the trailer, we see Kristen Stewart’s Bella Swan wearing a large diamond-incrusted ring — a family heirloom, as explained in the book. But as Matthews pointed out, when Bella notices she is pregnant in the trailer, she is wearing a simple silver band. What gives? Will the two-ring situation be explained? Matthews thinks she knows the answer already. “I’m thinking it’s one of those things where the one ring really is an heirloom,” she told us. “You put it away and wear it on special occasions.” Too Hot for PG-13? Last summer, Summit Entertainment distribution chief Richie Fay assured us that, despite the book’s sex scenes and horror-like elements, the adaptation would not be rated R . That hasn’t stopped online talk, as Byrne-Cristiano put it, that “we’ve got to make this R.” Well, now that we’ve seen the first trailer, it seems regardless of the PG-13 rating, the flick is going to be pretty steamy. Just how hot? Though we’ve gotten a peek — Robert Pattinson’s Edward Cullen cracking a headboard mid-coitus and the duo taking a honeymoon skinny dip — the real question about the heat factor will have to wait until we glimpse a different scene: the famous one with the feathers . “There are no feathers on the bed,” she noted. “That’s a well-known point that everyone wants. So in that trailer, there are three moments, and there’s got to be another one.” What Else Has Changed? The eagle-eyed Hassell noted two small but significant changes from “New Moon” to “Breaking Dawn.” For one, Jamie Campbell Bower, who plays the blond vampire Caius, seems to have a reworked ‘do . “His hair is A-plus!” she said. “A lot better than ‘New Moon.’ ” And Hassell also noted the Volturi’s thrones appear to have gotten a makeover. “It seems like the ones in ‘New Moon’ are more intricate,” she said. “The ones in ‘Breaking Dawn’ are very square and not as ornate.” It’s hard to say what accounts for such changes; the same production designer, for example, worked on both films. But it does raise the question: What else has changed in the world of “Twilight” for these final films? Will We See The Wedding Dress Before Opening Night? While the trailer showed us much more than many predicted — a shirtless Taylor Lautner as Jacob Black, Bella quizzically examining her pregnant belly — there was one thing we didn’t catch a glimpse of: Bella’s wedding dress. Might we see the gown in a subsequent trailer? Or will Summit hold that back until the film itself? “I’m hoping beyond hope that we get the wedding dress in the next trailer. I’m not holding my breath. I think we’ll have to wait,” said Hassel, adding, “I hope it’s something classic that fits in with [author] Stephenie Meyer’s vision. But Kristen’s gorgeous. She’ll look great in anything.” Check out everything we’ve got on “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1.” For young Hollywood news, fashion and “Twilight” updates around the clock, visit HollywoodCrush.MTV.com .
‘It really wraps up the story in such a beautiful way,’ the ‘Twilight’ star tells MTV News. By Terri Schwartz, with reporting by Eric Ditzian Jackson Rathbone Photo: MTV News There’s plenty of “Twilight” goodness to look forward to at Sunday’s MTV Movie Awards , but what Jackson Rathbone is most looking forward to is the sneak peek of “Breaking Dawn” that his castmates Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson and Taylor Lautner will present during the big show. Rathbone shared his enthusiasm for the final two “Twilight Saga” films when we caught up with him on the set of his new film “Live at the Foxes Den,” describing the finale as “the culmination of this saga, and it really wraps up the story in such a beautiful way. We had the amazing [director] Bill Condon on, and I was very, very excited to play Jasper once again in these films and kind of step up.” Fans who have read the book know Jasper and his lady Alice (Ashley Greene) have a very significant role in the “Breaking Dawn” plot arc, but Rathbone said he was more excited to show off Jasper’s love and devotion to his family in the next two movies than he was for his beefed-up role. “There’s an amazing moment in ‘Breaking Dawn’ – I can’t say which movie, though. I’m sorry, I’m not technically allowed. But there’s a very fulfilling moment for myself as an actor and as a fan of the books and of the film series that you get to see, in the end, really how much these characters love one another and how much they function as a family, even though they are kind of an odd family of vampires. Vegetarian vampires, at that. They’re an odd bunch,” Rathbone said with a laugh. “But, I mean, the way they love and feel about each other and the way they protect and support one another I think is beautiful, so I think we’re going to get to see that happen in ‘Breaking Dawn.’ ” Will wizards, vampires or dream thieves steal the 2011 MTV Movie Awards ? Find out June 5, when the 20th annual show airs live at 9 p.m. ET/PT. Tune in at 7:30 p.m. ET/PT that night for the “America’s Best Dance Crew” finale and Movie Awards pre-show, loaded with live action from the red carpet, exclusive movie clips and a special edition of “After Hours.” To get into the magical movie mood, it’s Sneak Peek Week — five days of exclusives and interviews with the casts of “Fright Night,” “Horrible Bosses” and more. Check out everything there is to know about Sneak Peek Week, the Movie Awards and the pre-show at MovieAwards.MTV.com ! Related Videos Get Ready For The 2011 MTV Movie Awards! Related Photos Twilight: Breaking Dawn
