‘Gone Till November’ will come out two years after Weezy’s release from Rikers Island. By Rob Markman Lil Wayne Photo: MTV News Lil Wayne has a story to tell. Well, Lil Wayne probably has a bunch of stories to tell, but this fall the multiplatinum rap superstar will release “Gone Till November,” his memoir based on the diaries he kept while he was locked up for eight months on Rikers Island in New York. The book, which will come out in November, two years after Weezy’s release from prison, is being described as an internal monologue, according to the Associated Press . It will be released through Grand Central Publishing, a division of Hachette Book Group. Weezy was freed from Rikers Island on November 4, 2010, after he served eight months of a year-long sentence for an attempted gun possession charge. Police had arrested the rapper in 2007 following his headlining performance at New York’s Beacon Theatre. Wayne eventually pleaded guilty to the charge and turned himself in to authorities in March of 2010. MTV News correspondent Sway Calloway caught up with Wayne in Miami at a welcome-home party just days after his prison release. When asked how his transition from prison was going, Weezy simply responded with a grin. “I forgot about yesterday,” he said after thanking his fans and family for their support. He hasn’t completely forgotten, however, now that Wayne, who has since toured the world and released his double-platinum Tha Carter IV, plans to reminisce a little. Will you be picking up Lil Wayne’s “Gone Till November”? Tell us in the comments Related Videos Welcome Home, Weezy! Related Artists Lil Wayne
‘It’s going to blow people’s minds,’ screenwriter tells MTV News about the in-the-works adaptation. By Jocelyn Vena, with reporting by Josh Horowitz Diablo Cody Photo: Jason Merritt/ Getty Images Diablo Cody explored the life of one particular “Young Adult” author in her screenplay for the Charlize Theron film. Next up, she herself is taking on the challenge of adapting a beloved young-adult franchise, “Sweet Valley High,” for the big screen. And while she’s knee-deep in work for the project, when MTV News caught up with the screenwriter at the Critics’ Choice Movie Awards on Thursday night in Los Angeles, she revealed one very juicy detail about the adaptation. “Oh my gosh! OK, so I am so excited about ‘Sweet Valley High.’ There’s original songs being written for it right now, which is the most exciting development. They’re amazing. They’re being written by these Tony and Pulitzer Prize-winning songwriters from Broadway who are the best,” she gushed, confirming that the film will be a musical version of the novels. “Brian Yorkey and Tom Kitt, who wrote [the Broadway show] ‘Next to Normal’; they’re amazing and I’m sorry, I could go on and on. But I’m very excited about ‘Sweet Valley High.’ It’s going to blow people’s minds. I haven’t really had the chance to talk about this yet, so it’s exciting.” The Francine Pascal novels (which debuted in 1983) follow the lives of twin teenagers, Jessica and Elizabeth Wakefield, who live in Sweet Valley, California. The series is full of puppy love, teen angst and the kind of drama and comedy that keeps people tuning into the CW and ABC Family week after week. If you’ve never read the books before, Cody assures you that you can still love the movie. “It [has] a lot of familiar ’80s awesomeness for fans of the series, and if you’ve never heard of ‘Sweet Valley High’ you will want to,” she said, noting that casting plans are still to be determined. “Obviously I will be playing the twins. Old-fashioned ’60s-style split screen,” she joked. Check out everything we’ve got on “Sweet Valley High.” For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com .
‘It’s going to blow people’s minds,’ screenwriter tells MTV News about the in-the-works adaptation. By Jocelyn Vena, with reporting by Josh Horowitz Diablo Cody Photo: Jason Merritt/ Getty Images Diablo Cody explored the life of one particular “Young Adult” author in her screenplay for the Charlize Theron film. Next up, she herself is taking on the challenge of adapting a beloved young-adult franchise, “Sweet Valley High,” for the big screen. And while she’s knee-deep in work for the project, when MTV News caught up with the screenwriter at the Critics’ Choice Movie Awards on Thursday night in Los Angeles, she revealed one very juicy detail about the adaptation. “Oh my gosh! OK, so I am so excited about ‘Sweet Valley High.’ There’s original songs being written for it right now, which is the most exciting development. They’re amazing. They’re being written by these Tony and Pulitzer Prize-winning songwriters from Broadway who are the best,” she gushed, confirming that the film will be a musical version of the novels. “Brian Yorkey and Tom Kitt, who wrote [the Broadway show] ‘Next to Normal’; they’re amazing and I’m sorry, I could go on and on. But I’m very excited about ‘Sweet Valley High.’ It’s going to blow people’s minds. I haven’t really had the chance to talk about this yet, so it’s exciting.” The Francine Pascal novels (which debuted in 1983) follow the lives of twin teenagers, Jessica and Elizabeth Wakefield, who live in Sweet Valley, California. The series is full of puppy love, teen angst and the kind of drama and comedy that keeps people tuning into the CW and ABC Family week after week. If you’ve never read the books before, Cody assures you that you can still love the movie. “It [has] a lot of familiar ’80s awesomeness for fans of the series, and if you’ve never heard of ‘Sweet Valley High’ you will want to,” she said, noting that casting plans are still to be determined. “Obviously I will be playing the twins. Old-fashioned ’60s-style split screen,” she joked. Check out everything we’ve got on “Sweet Valley High.” For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com .
Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson and Liam Hemsworth talk on-set pranks and meeting Suzanne Collins. By Kara Warner, with additional reporting by MTV UK Liam Hemsworth, Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson in “The Hunger Games” Photo: Lionsgate This week has been a real treat for “Hunger Games” fans. The highly anticipated film continues to be a serious competitor in our Movies Brawl 2012 , we’ve featured three of the castmembers as part of our select group of Ones to Watch this year, and now we’re rolling out the first part of three lengthy interviews with Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson and Liam Hemsworth. All questions were submitted via Twitter by you, the fans. The first batch features talk of hilarious on-set pranks, injuries and some details about the arena. Minor spoilers ahead for those who haven’t read the books! Be sure to check back here next week for part two of our interviews. @jjusan : I’ve heard a lot about pranking on the set… tell us one of the things that happened! Josh Hutcherson : They had a full life-sized dummy of one of our tributes that had gotten killed by a Tracker Jacker, and basically it’s all swollen and gnarly-looking and mangled, and Jennifer was out of her trailer so I took the dummy and put it inside her bathroom in her trailer. I wasn’t there for the big moment when she saw it, which I can’t believe I missed, but I’ve been told that she actually peed her pants in reaction to it. So, I was pretty proud of myself and amazed that someone actually peed their pants in fear, because I didn’t know that happened. Jennifer Lawrence : Pranks. Oh yeah, Josh, he took the dummy from one of the tributes that dies from the Tracker Jackers’ sting that is completely deformed and put it on my toilet, shut the door and [had it] holding a toilet paper roll, just for added effect. I’m in my trailer and open the bathroom door and scream and my friend grabs me and had to say “It’s fake, it’s fake, it’s fake!” I hate him. I still haven’t gotten him back for that, actually. I don’t know what to do to get him back for something like that. I’d have to find a real dead body. Liam Hemsworth : Jennifer would often try and make you laugh just before “Action.” She’d say something funny. She’d get you and really surprise you, though, because you’d be rolling up, ready for them to say “Action,” and she’d ask you some silly question about something. You’d hear it and be like, “Wait, what?” And then “Action” and you’d be like “OK. Thanks for that.” It’s funny to her, I guess. @PRIMdelenaTVD : What can you tell us about the arena? What was it like? Hutcherson : The arena is a giant. It’s a forest, pretty much. We shot it in the mountains of North Carolina, just outside of Asheville, and it’s pretty cool. The terrain we had to get through to get our cameras and equipment there was impressive that we even got it made in time. It looks amazing on film, too. @OttoRivera : Have you met Suzanne Collins? Lawrence : I have, she’s wonderful. That was, I think, the most nervous I’ve ever been meeting a person because I kept thinking, “What if she doesn’t like me?” But I did meet her, and she’s fantastic. @HGTribute_Manda :What’s the most difficult scene to shoot? Hutcherson :The cave scene for me, where Katniss and Peeta are in the cave after Katniss has rescued Peeta more or less, was tough to shoot, also my favorite scene to shoot because we didn’t have a lot of time. We had a lot of scene to get through and a lot of character arc to get through, so for me that was really fun but also a really big challenge. @eringabin : Did you get any injuries during filming? Lawrence : Yeah. There was the trees, there was tree climbing, getting scratched up by trees. My back started getting weird, I think from all the running downhill, so I had to go to the chiropractor once a week, which is terrifying . I’ve never been to a chiropractor before and it just feels like they’re going to snap your neck at any moment. There were some ankle and knee [injuries] but you don’t have time to be injured. The look on the producer’s face if I say “ow” is awful, so I tried to just kind of stay quiet about it. All month long, the stars of “The Hunger Games” will be answering your Twitter questions, exclusively for MTV News. Check back every Thursday in January for more answers from Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson and Liam Hemsworth. Related Videos The ‘Hunger Games’ Cast Answer Your Burning Twitter Questions Related Photos The Hunger Games
‘Hunger Games’ star was up for Best Actress at the 2011 Academy Awards. By Jocelyn Vena Jennifer Lawrence Photo: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images Jennifer Lawrence has been selected by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to announce this year’s Oscar nominees. The “Hunger Games” actress will be joined by Academy President Tom Sherak at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills on January 24 to reveal just who will be up for one of those coveted gold statues, the Academy announced on Monday (January 9). The show, airing on ABC, is set to take place on February 26 with host Billy Crystal . Lawrence was up for Best Actress at the 2011 show for her star-making turn in “Winter’s Bone.” While she lost to “Black Swan” star Natalie Portman , she made headlines thanks to her body-hugging red dress. She’s next set to star in “The Hunger Games,” set for release on March 23. The same day her Oscars gig was announced, Lionsgate announced plans for pre-sale tickets for the highly anticipated flick , which also stars Josh Hutcherson and Liam Hemsworth . For those hungry to get their hands on tickets early, advanced sales kick off on February 22. When Lawrence was first cast in the film, which is based on the beloved novels by Suzanne Collins, fans had some reservations about whether she could fully embody the books’ heroine, Katniss Everdeen. “I wasn’t aware that everybody was so upset until I after I got my hair dyed, and people were like, ‘Oh my gosh, blond hair can turn brown. Wow. It’s a miracle,’ ” Lawrence told MTV News in May of last year. 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: Jennifer Lawrence Related Photos Meet Katniss From ‘Hunger Games’: Jennifer Lawrence
Dear Bossip , I dated a man off and on for almost 10 years. Our relationship was long distance and it was more off than on. In February, he moved to my city for our relationship and a month later I discovered I was pregnant. He freaked out and told me I had to choose between him and the baby I was carrying. I chose the baby. It wasn’t a hard choice. He began to tell me all the lies and things he had done in the past to get me to see that I did not want to raise a child with him. For example, he was 19 years old when we met, not 21 like he told me. And, he had even married someone during one of the times when we were not together. When I still refused to have an abortion he said he would not be a part of the child’s life and would only do what child support made him. When my daughter was born I didn’t invite him to the hospital. I let him know later and he demanded a blood test. After she was proven his, he wanted to work out child support payments between us, but did not want to see his daughter. I had already started the process of child support when we went to court. The judge ripped him a new on and thoroughly embarrassed him. He left in tears, but I think that it had more to do with the amount that he is required to pay. The judge gave me full custody of our daughter and gave him one supervised visitation day per week. The judge encouraged me to be open to supervised visits if he wanted them. I was given full custody because he sent me several emails begging me to, “kill ‘it’ so we could be together.” And, “This ‘thing’ was ruining our plans.” And, even after she was born he still referred to her as ‘it’ and ‘thing,’ and nothing more than a financial obligation, and the sooner he starts paying the sooner he’ll get done. So, the judge said, “Okay, you just want to pay and have no say, so be it.” That was 3 weeks ago and yesterday he called for his first visit. This visit is in my orders, and it says as long as it does not inconvenience me. So, I am not breaking the law if I don’t allow him a supervised visit. I can supervise him myself or allow him to use a court appointed supervision service. I am completely revolted by this person and I don’t trust him around me or our daughter. I feel like I’d need to be strapped, but I don’t want to have that on around my daughter. The judge only urged me to allow visitation, but said she understood if I had concerns and stopped just short of taking away his rights. I love our daughter so much words can’t describe it, and the selfish part of me is happy that she is legally all mine and that I have complete say so over her life, but I also know that children need both parents. Do you think it is possible that he could change enough to where I could allow him to visit our daughter or be around her alone? Concerned Mommie Dear Ms. Concerned Mommie , This is what I want you to do: I want you to start waking up extra early and watch the morning news shows like the Today Show , and Good Morning America . I want you to notice the current news stories about little children who are with one parent while on visitation and then all of a sudden, in the middle of the night, someone comes into the home and takes the child from their crib. Then, the next day the police are searching high and low looking for a mysterious child abductor who came into the home while everyone was sleeping and took the child, with no visible signs of forced entry, and the police, the community, and the parent who had the child are stumped of why and who would come into the home and take the child. And, you know what happens next? Fingers and evidence start pointing toward the parent who the child was left with, who is crying and acting all hysterical on the news talking about, “Please bring my baby back home. I love my child.” And, the child is found buried or in some lake or river not too far from the house. Then, we learn that the couple was in a bitter custody battle and case, and the only way to get rid of their financial problem, or to hurt and make the other parent angry they harm the child. Now, I ask you, he told you when you were pregnant that you had to choose between him and the baby, and when you chose the baby he told you that he wants no part of the child’s life, and that he would only do what child support made him. Then when the child was born he wanted a blood test, and when she was proven to be his he still didn’t want to see her, and he only refers to your child as ‘it,’ ‘thing,’ and nothing more than a financial obligation; now, I want to know if you think it’s okay to leave your daughter alone with this man? (I’m perched in front of the computer screen in my chair with my hand under my chin waiting for you to respond) You see, this is exactly why I don’t believe in long distance relationships. Especially being with someone for 10 years, and you don’t live in the same state, and he doesn’t put a ring on your finger or ask you to marry him in all that time. You don’t know what MoFo’s are doing while you’re not there. They can tell you anything at night when they do their routine check-in call. Girl, puhlease. Y’all better get out of these long distance relationships in 2012. Besides, who sits around and waits for someone for 10 years, and you live in two different states!?! Where they do that at???? You got to be a ditzy broad to sit and believe that your man was faithful and monogamous all that time while you were in another state. And, then this fool moves to where you are because all-of-a-sudden he decides that he wants to be in a fully committed relationship with you, but soon after you become pregnant and this knee-grow shows his ass. But, hold up, it gets better. He then proceeds to become Mr. Confessional and shares all the lies he’s told you over the past 10 years. My gosh, that must have taken a few days. And, then this fool tells you that he married someone else when you two were supposedly not together at one point. Uhm, ma’am, this was your “Player Free” card to get Angela Bassett on his ass and do a Waiting To Exhale on him. I don’t believe that you can be that oblivious and naïve and be with someone for 10 years, and then they all of a sudden they show you their ass for you to kiss, and you happily oblige. There had to been some clues, signs, hand signals, gestures, smoke signals, Morse Code, Braille inscriptions, or something. But, Ms. Honey, I’m sorry and I have to stress this over again, he revealed to you all of the lies he ever told you over the course of your relationship, and he admitted to being married while you two were on the outs at one point. SMDH! I can’t! I can’t! I can’t! That’s some MF’ing –ish right there! Does he still have two balls? You should have grabbed them and snatched them off!!! And, let me be clear, you are writing me and asking if you can leave your child with him for his visitations? The same man who refers to your child as “it” and “thing” and a “financial obligation.” The same man who asked you to choose between him and your child? The same man who has told you that he wants nothing to do with the child? Again, you’re asking me if you can leave your child with him for his visitations? (Does anyone know how to do a brain cleanse of nut juice?) You see ladies, this is what happens to your brain on d**k. You live in a fog of contentment and so-called love. You’re disillusioned about your relationship, and you’ll keep holding out faith and hope that the man you spent time and energy on will one day, some day, be the man you want him to be. You’ll even consider leaving your child alone with him even after he’s told you that he doesn’t want any parts of her life, or to be acknowledged as the father. You will push and push and push him to be in the child’s life, and then I’ll be watching the morning shows with you on the screen falling out and screaming because someone took your child in the middle of the night while they were at their father’s house. Ms. Lady, don’t you leave your child alone with that man. Don’t force him to be in the child’s life if he doesn’t want to. And, if you need to carry your .45; Magnum; or pistol while you’re supervising the visit with him, then so be it. And, for extra precautionary measure you should have someone from the courts to accompany you. Therefore, both of you can put caps in his ass if he should decide to do something stupid or reckless. I would be watching him like a hawk. He better not make any sudden moves or slight gestures. POW! A bullet in his ass! – Terrance Dean Hey Bossip Fam, what do you think? Share your opinions and thoughts below! Also, e-mail all your questions Terrance Dean : loveandrelationships@bossip.com Follow Terrance Dean on Twitter : @terrancedean “LIKE” Terrance Dean on Facebook , click HERE! Make sure to order my books Mogul: A Novel (Atria Books – June 2011; $15), and Straight From Your Gay Best Friend – The Straight Up Truth About Relationships, Love, And Having A Fabulous Life (Agate/Bolden Books – November 2010; $15). They are available in bookstores everywhere, and on Amazon, click HERE!
Fans also tell MTV News they’re looking forward to ‘Dark Knight Rises’ and hoping for new music from Lil Wayne. By James Montgomery Nicki Minaj Photo: Getty Images As the last few hours of this glorious, Adele -ified year disappear, MTV News is turning its attention to the next 12 months, which promise to be full of big-time blockbuster films (“Avengers,” “The Dark Knight Rises,” “The Hunger Games”) and even bigger-time celebrity events ( Beyonc
Arrival of ‘Deathly Hallows, Part 2′ was a moment that made headlines and marked the end of an era. By John Mitchell “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2” Photo: WB For millions of people all over the world, the approach of midnight on July 15 brought with it a gut-wrenching mix of excitement and heartache. “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2” was set to open all over the world, and as fans lined up outside movie theaters — some in costume as their favorite character — we realized that this was it. The joy of seeing the final installment of the most successful film franchise in history was tempered with the sadness that we’d never get to do this again. This truly great thing that had been, from first book to final film, a part of our lives for well over a decade had reached its end. For an entire generation, the film’s release was like turning the final page on our childhoods. “Deathly Hallows, Part 2” wasn’t just a movie; it was the event of the summer. And the bittersweet moment is also MTV News’ #8 Top Newsmaker of 2011 , because it made headlines and marked the end of an era. The stars of the film definitely seemed to understand just how close to fans’ hearts the franchise had become . It had, after all, touched them too. Asked if there’d be tears upon the film’s release, Emma Watson cheekily told MTV News at the MTV Movie Awards, “Maybe a few. Maybe one or two, just little ones.” The film set box-office records for the biggest first day ($92.1 million) and largest opening weekend, both domestically ($168.5 million) and worldwide ($314 million), ever and received the best reviews of any film in the franchise. The praise wasn’t contained to critics and fans: Even the stars of the film were in awe of the final product. “I was a wreck because of the film itself,” Daniel Radcliffe told MTV News at the film’s New York premiere. “You’ve got to have a heart of stone to not find part of it — especially Alan Rickman’s performance — heartbreaking, so yeah, I’ve done my fair share of crying already. … I think that we proved in doing ‘Potter’ that you can bring integrity and perpetual growth to a franchise.” Fans’ devotion to the books, films and characters created by J.K. Rowling was manifest in the enthusiastic response to our “Harry Potter” World Cup , MTV News’ month-long, March Madness-style tournament to find out which character was the fan favorite. More than 7.4 million votes were cast in the competition, resulting in a final face-off between Ron Weasley and Professor Severus Snape . In the end, the compellingly complex Snape took the title, and star Alan Rickman thanked fans at the film’s New York premiere, telling MTV News that Snape’s victory was “a vote for ambiguity and things where you don’t quite know how they’re going to turn out.” He continued, “Also, it’s [Snape’s] values that you can’t talk about without ruining the film, but things like courage and determination and loyalty and love, actually.” The success of the series itself could be seen as a celebration of those same things. On the surface, the “Harry Potter” films are fantasies about a boy wizard and his underdog friends navigating a magical universe in which evil lurks in the shadows. But above all, the “Potter” books and films champion courage, determination and loyalty in the face of great adversity and are premised on the notion that love ultimately conquers all. We can think of no better message for a film series to impart on a generation of young people facing a real world mired in conflict and economic turmoil. It’s sad that there’s no more “Potter” to look forward to, but the magic created by Rowling; directors Chris Columbus, Alfonso Cuar
Adele’s 21 and Justin Bieber’s Under the Mistletoe snag #2 and #3 spots. By Rob Markman Michael Buble’s Christmas Photo: Reprise Wondering what gifts will await you on Christmas morning? Don’t be surprised if Ol’ St. Nick stuffs your stocking with a copy of Michael Bubl
Fans of the novel wondered if Mara could live up to Noomi Rapace’s 2009 portrayal of Lisbeth Salander. By Jocelyn Vena, with reporting by Josh Horowitz Rooney Mara Photo: MTV News When Rooney Mara was cast as Lisbeth Salander in David Fincher’s big-screen adaptation of “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo,” fans of novelist Stieg Larsson’s best-selling franchise immediately wondered if she could fill the shoes once worn by Noomi Rapace in a 2009 film version of the novels. Even when Mara saw those films, months before she auditioned for the role, she wondered the same thing. “I saw [the Danish movie] before I ever read the books. And I think she’s incredible,” Mara told MTV News at the junket for the film, which opened Tuesday. “I left that movie thinking ‘I can’t do that, I don’t even want to try doing that.’ ” However, a turning point came for Mara when she finally picked up the novels. “And then whenever I read the books I had a different interpretation of the character,” she said. “And then I felt like I had to do it. I couldn’t imagine my life without doing it.” Mara had to physically transform herself into the tatted and pierced hacker from the books, emotionally battered but physically strong. While she could have reached out to Rapace for advice on how to get into that headspace, she opted to go it alone. “You know, I think this is such an internal character and I think playing it is such an, it’s sort of an internal experience,” she explained. “Even though I felt so supported, it’s really something you have to go through on your own. So I don’t think we would have much to talk about ’cause it’s sort of your own quiet experience.” The flick also features Daniel Craig, Stellan Skarsg
