It seems like we’ve been waiting for an eternity, and the Divergent photos have done a decent job as tiding us over, but finally we get to see the first footage from the upcoming film. Check out the Divergent teaser below! Divergent Teaser The full Divergent trailer will premiere this Sunday during the broadcast of MTV’s Video Music Awards . Starring Shailene Woodley and Theo James, Divergent is based on the extremely popular Veronica Roth novels. The film opens in theaters on March 21st.
Though a Paramount release, Flight did not take the trajectory of a typical studio concept plucked from an internal idea bin. Screenwriter John Gatins began working on what would become the feature starring Denzel Washington and directed by Robert Zemekis earlier last decade on his own. While still new to Hollywood, Gatins, who first hit the scene as a writer on sports pics including Summer Catch and Hard Ball , sobered up. He took that experience and his fear of flying, to quietly craft the story that would evolve into Flight . The film, which debuted at the New York Film Festival in the fall and debuted in theaters in early November has cashed in with nearly $91 million at the domestic box office on a relatively modest budget – at least for Hollywood with a big star – of $31 million. On the Awards Circuit the film has won some attention including a Golden Globe nomination for Denzel Washington for Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama and he may well be on the road to a nomination for Best Actor next month when the Oscar nominations are revealed. Gatins has also received some attention including Best Original Screenplay by the Broadcast Film Critics Association and a nomination from the Image Awards. Flight ‘s plane crash makes for good imagery in a trailer, but it really serves as a set-up for one man’s personal struggle with addiction and denial, which forms the crux of Flight . Washington plays pilot Whip Whitaker, who successfully guides a plane that experiences a mid-air mishap to the ground, saving nearly everyone on board. He’s hailed for his heroism by the media, but what eventually percolates to the surface during the investigation is missing on-board alcohol and a cover-up that Captain Whitaker, was in fact, legally drunk. Whitaker is a master at concealing his insatiable drinking and cocaine use and as media attention continues to follow him, he deflects what is clearly a hastening descent in his personal life. M.L. caught up with screenwriter John Gatins about what prompted him to start writing Flight who shared the turbulence his script encountered on the way to the big screen. He shares how he segued his way into “the business” after graduating from Vassar and facing his own fears of flying while making the movie. When I first saw footage of Flight before seeing the film at the New York Film Festival, I wondered if it would be a straight-up plane crash story or if there was more to it. Obviously there is much much more to it and was curious how this came about. Was there a personal element to it? I got sober when I was 25 and that was part of it. I think I was 31 when I started writing [ Flight ] and I did it for me really, I didn’t have a boss. I wrote it on spec and I honestly didn’t think it was a movie that would ever get made. I’m a scared flyer, but was flying a lot for work and shooting in Europe. It’s a personal project I’d pick up and put down and then kept working in my normal life, trying to feed my family. It was after I wrote and directed Dreamer: Inspired by a True Story for DreamWorks that they then asked me what I wanted to do next and then I said, “Well, let me show you what I have been working on and I gave them the first 40 pages of this script and they went, ‘Woah.'” Around when was this? This was around 2004 – 2005. And they thought this was pretty heavy-duty considering I had just finished doing this PG-13 movie for them and has a very complicated central character. And it was also at a time in the business when these kinds of stories weren’t just jumping off shelves onto the screens. R-rated grown-up dramas just became anathema. People kept saying that audiences just don’t’ want to see these movies. But clearly you kept going… Yeah, it was a hard time for it and I was trying to also direct the movie. So Walter Parkes and Laurie MacDonald came on as producers with me and I continued to work on the script and I finally had a version that we could sneak to a few people in 2007. The script had some big agents respond to it and they said there was some great talent that may be interested in [the starring role], but then the writers strike came along. There were so many things happening to go against this movie, but then it all changed when Denzel Washington got his hand on the script and he wanted to meet me. He told me he wanted a bigger director than me to handle this, which was understandable I guess… Some big actors only have a few guys or gals they want to work with. Then Robert Zemeckis got a hold of the script around the same time and those two connected and then the three of us connected. For everything that had gone wrong for so many years there was a moment in time when everything went right. Bob wanted to be very collaborative with me when making the movie. He said to come to Atlanta and I got to really be there and have a creative voice in it and it really was the best of all possible worlds. Talk about how you three collaborated. Did the script evolve much while you were working with Washington and Zemekis? It was kind of great. Before this, I had only known Denzel as his characters, I had never met him. His characters have this intense presence and in life he also has this presence. He does his homework man – he really does his homework. He was really with the 2007 draft he first received, but with every new draft there was, we kept him in the loop. He’s a guy who definitely started to carry that pain around. He was putting on those shoes so to speak to play the part almost immediately. It was great because for a lot of people this is a small movie, it’s a $30 million movie that we shot over 45 days all on location. It was a bit like making the school play at times, we all rolled up our sleeves to get this done. It was a small ensemble of actors and a small filmmaking crew. So there’s something very intimate about it. Denzel has gone out of his way to give credit to the script. And it’s been really nice for me honestly since I did work so long on the movie and he recognized that. What’s on the screen isn’t much different than what’s in that ’07 draft. Bob did some really smart things making me focus on the point of view. Did that ’07 script portray Denzel’s character as so focused despite his dependencies? I’ll tell you what really struck me about the story was how functional he was at least on the outside. Of course things are going south on the inside, but after the crash he receives notoriety and credit for saving lives and despite being in various states of inebriation all the time, he is able to handle himself in such a remarkable way at least publicly. I’ll tell you a story. my guilty pleasure is the New York Post and one day while doing the domestic junket out here I was reading Page 2 and there was this whole article about this huge rock star Cardiologist in New York who was being sued by his two ex-wives and, among a lot of things, they both alleged that he was high on cocaine all the time and that he failed four drug tests at the hospital and was high 24/7. And you think this is the guy you put your life into and he’s blazing on drugs. I mean, it’s remarkable and there’s this parallel to [Denzel’s character] Whip Whitaker who is so high yet functioning and walks this tight rope. Instinctively he’s the best guy to fly that plane, impaired or not. That’s what helped to create that weird conflicted ambiguity in the plane because you’re thinking, ‘Am I rooting for this character or not?’ If I was on the plane and he saved me and I knew he was the only one who could do that, I’d think I wouldn’t care what his mind was all about at that moment. I think that functionality almost made it more difficult for his character to come to terms with the addictions he was facing… They say for most people to want to make a change they have to hit a bottom in their life. For a guy like that to be able to do heart surgeries successfully or a guy to successfully fly a jet, then people continue to skate along in life. People often don’t change unless they have to. That happens sometimes when people wake up in handcuffs, or in a hospital or in a psych ward and they say, ‘what happened?’ It’s like, well all that managing you were doing with all these issues – it ran out. Your ability to pull it off and manage it just quit on you. And he’s an amazing dude that Whip Whitaker, he can do almost anything. Was there a progression in his personality from the original scripts to the final version? Was that functionality fully there? That functionality was always there because I felt that’s the thing that makes us conflicted. I always watch war movies and I would always think that if I was in a war, I’d have to drink every day with that constant drum of anxiety because I don’t know how I’d get through that experience of knowing someone is constantly trying to kill me. The men and women overseas right now, I just don’t know how they deal with that. I think pills or booze would calm my brain… But I think it would have been so easy to go down that path of Whip just being crazed… Yeah, yeah yeah… There are so many people who function at such a high level of – work hard, play hard. You see them Monday through Friday and then you catch that person on the weekend and you’re like, “Whoa!” How did you work in the mechanics of the crash? You must’ve had to research past incidents… Oh man that was crazy, that was crazy because I’m a nervous flyer. Those NTSB records are public record and they’re pretty dense but also equally fascinating. I also spoke to a lot of pilots and they pointed me toward different incidents. That must’ve been encouraging experience helping you to overcome being nervous flyer [laughs]. It was miserable [laughs] but fascinating at the same time. Denzel said something really funny when we were on a panel and they asked him what he thought about Whip being a pilot as opposed to something else and he said, ‘It’s the most dramatic choice John could’ve made. If he worked at the post office, it wouldn’t have been that big of a deal. You wouldn’t have gotten your mail. That’s different from being in a plane at 30,000 feet that’s dropping. But the research was fascinating. You can read the black boxes and some of them are very dramatic. Zemeckis is also a pilot and flies so he has a complete understanding. He loves to fly, but I hate to fly. While we were flying to Atlanta and back he’d be like, ‘Let’s work.’ We’d literally be working on the script while on the flight talking about a plane crashing while we’re on the plane. That math is never good for me [laughs]. Was the crash in the film based on an actual accident? There are a couple of accidents that it was based on. But there was a crash off Oxnard, CA in 2000. A pilot told me to look at that and it was fascinating. Air traffic control asked them to take the plane out over [Santa Monica Bay] so as to limit collateral damage on the ground. And they did fly it inverted but they put the plane back over and lost control. It was an un-flyable plane, it wasn’t their fault. They did an amazing job. And this pilot said that had they known what was really wrong with the plane, they might have known their only recourse was to keep it inverted and descend. It was really rough. Is writing one of your first passions? You were a drama major and you mentioned that you did many things including acting when you first moved to California… I think I’ve always been a storyteller. I’m Irish and we like to tell stories and I come from a family of storytellers and in storytelling there’s an element of performance in it. Arguing for ‘air-time’ at big family events requires that performance. So being the youngest of four I felt I had to perform. My first instinct then was that I wanted to be an actor, but when I was at Vassar, it was great because it’s very academic. I read so many plays, which gave me a great foundation which I didn’t realize until I had to access that as a writer. Writing was ‘easier’ because you just write by yourself. It’s not easy, but you don’t need permission. The first script I wrote I wrote on a legal pad, I didn’t even have a computer. What was your big entrée when you first arrived in California that kept you going or encouraged you to maintain that path? I had friends from Vassar who were starting to work in the biz. We were in our mid 20s and we got together for a poker game and this guy said to me, “You’re so funny man you should write a script. I’ll pay you to write this script once you get broke enough.” So the next day I contacted him and said, “I think I’m broke enough.” And he paid me $1,000 – $500 to start and $500 to finish – to write this crazy script about a kid in high school who fakes his own suicide. And that script was sold to Disney and it started it all off. It started my whole career. It was Smells Like Teen Suicide . It was great, it got me into a lot of rooms. People wanted to meet that guy who wrote that dark, dark teen comedy. What other genres would you like to tackle that you haven’t yet? Great question… I want to do a big comedy. It’s funny when I started out, even though Smells Like Teen Suicide was a dark movie, it was a dark comedy reaching for a laugh. Then I got into doing sports movies and was on that road for awhile and there’s comedy in that too. And actually, there’s a good amount of comedy in Flight . Yeah, I’d like to go for a big comedy at some point. I’ve made a family movie, sports movies and perhaps a sort of sic-fi movie. Flight is mostly an adult like grown-up drama. Denzel said, “Look it’s an R-rated movie and there are no guns. It’s different. We don’t make these movies anymore.” But, I have an idea to write a high school movie because I’m about to have a teenager who is going into high school. I feel like I have one more young voice movie in me, so we’ll see…
The finale stage is set on The X Factor . With four contestants still alive entering tonight’s elimination episodes, viewers and judges selected the three acts that would take the stage next week and compete for a $5 million grand prize. First, something NOT mentioned during the broadcast: L.A. Reid has announced he will NOT return for Season 3. But who won’t return for next week’s finale? Following astute words from Khloe Kardashian (“These finals really mean everything to these contestants.”), we learn that Fifth Harmony is safe. So is Tate Stevens . Will Carly Rose Sonenclar or Emblem3 be joining them next Wednesday night? America has voted and… EMBLEM3 HAS BEEN ELIMINATED! Simon Cowell assures the boys they will have an illustrious career, but they will not have millions in their pockets next week. Did viewers make the right call? Yes, but what a season! No, it should have been Carly Rose! No, it should have been Tate! No, it should have been Fifth Harmony! View Poll »
U.S. soccer star Hope Solo insists husband Jerramy Stevens never laid a hand on her, despite the former NFL player’s arrest for domestic violence two weeks ago. Hope Solo married him the next DAY, so that’s hopefully an encouraging sign. There was wide speculation that Stevens attacked Solo during a house party at their residence, but she just released a statement, claiming that never happened: “My beautiful husband & i happy as can be! [sic] Let me set the record straight!!! Jerramy has NEVER treated me poorly! The truth always prevails!” Jerramy Stevens was arrested again last night for violating his probation. The domestic violence bust following the November 12 incident, when cops were called and found blood on Hope Solo’s elbow, triggered that violation. Jerramy was released after a judge decided there wasn’t evidence to charge him, but even suspicion of a crime can lead to the revocation of probation. Stevens has been on probation for a previous drug possession charge from October 2010 when he was nabbed after cops found a baggie of pot on him. He was playing for NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers at the time. Earlier today, Solo called out people for judging Stevens. “I feel bad for all the ignorance in the world,” the 31-year-old wrote. “People are so quick to judge. The media spins stories in such dramatic fashion.” “I will Continue to show love,and never make judgements. I am blessed w True Love & the beautiful game of soccer. I wish everybody the same happiness.” Read more celebrity gossip at: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2012/11/jerramy-stevens-arrested-hope-solos-husband-in-jail-for-probatio/#ixzz2DfkUvXwl Read more celebrity gossip at: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2012/11/jerramy-stevens-arrested-hope-solos-husband-in-jail-for-probatio/#ixzz2DfkUvXwl
We’re down to the special six on The X Factor , as two more contestants were sent home tonight. Up first, just eight minutes and 12 irritating Khloe Kardashian remarks into the broadcast, PAIGE THOMAS heard her name called as the first singer eliminated. It then came down to two surprising selections, considering the performance of CeCe Frey on Wednesday: Diamond White and Vino Alan sang for their X Factor lives. Diamond went with “I Was Here,” while Vino hopde to avoid “Trouble.” Watch both renditions here: Diamond White – “I Was Here” Vino Alan – “Trouble” So, what say you, judges? With only L.A. Reid choosing to give Diamond the boot, VINO ALAN became the second finalist eliminated. Do you agree with these choices? No way, Paige deserved to stay! Nope, Vino all the way! Yes, but I wish them luck! View Poll » Here’s a look at how America has ranked the remaining six: Carly Rose Sonnenclar Tate Stevens Emblem3 Fifth Harmony Cece Frey Diamond White
Kevin Clash, the embattled voice of Sesame Street’s beloved Elmo, is now facing new allegations that he had a sexual relationship with a second underage boy. As a result, he has resigned from the PBS show he has been a part of for decades. In a statement released Tuesday, Sesame Workshop said : “Sesame Workshop’s mission is to harness the educational power of media to help all children the world over reach their highest potential.” “Kevin Clash has helped us achieve that mission for 28 years, and none of us, especially Kevin, want anything to divert our attention from our focus on serving as a leading educational organization.” “Unfortunately, the controversy surrounding Kevin’s personal life has become a distraction that none of us want, and he has concluded that he can no longer be effective.” “[He has] resigned from Sesame Street. This is a sad day for Sesame Street.” The accuser, who’s now in his 30s, filed a lawsuit against Clash, claiming the two met on a gay phone chat in 1993, when the accuser was 15 and Clash was 32. He says Clash “trolled gay telephone chat line rooms to meet and have sex with underage boys.” In the lawsuit, filed in federal court in NYC, he says Clash “groomed [the accuser] to gain his trust by, among other things, taking him to nice dinners and giving him money.” Kevin Clash , now 52, allegedly “preyed on teenage boys to satisfy depraved sexual interests.” Although the sex occurred nearly 20 years ago, the accuser did not take action until today. Why? Because “did not become aware that he had suffered adverse psychological and emotional effects from Kevin Clash’s sexual acts and conduct until 2012.” One can’t help but think Sheldon Stephens ‘ similar accusations against Clash – which he recanted in a settlement he wants to undo – played a role too. In any case, the second, currently unnamed accuser is demanding more than $5 million. Clash has left the broadcast, effective immediately. [Photo: WENN.com]
–Justin Bieber is discovered to be scalping his own concert tickets. How do you get the Bonus Show? Become a member: www.davidpakman.com If you liked this clip of The David Pakman Show, please do us a big favor and share it with your friends… and hit that “like” button! www.davidpakman.com Become a Member www.davidpakman.com Like Us on Facebook: www.facebook.com Follow Us on Twitter: www.twitter.com Get TDPS Gear: www.davidpakman.com 24/7 Voicemail Line: (219)-2DAVIDP Subscribe to The David Pakman Show for more: www.youtube.com Broadcast on October 2, 2012 http://www.youtube.com/v/W1qf3lZOWCE?version=3&f=videos&app=youtube_gdata See the rest here: Justin Bieber Scalping His Own Tickets
Underwood wins Video of the Year for ‘Good Girl’ and Collaborative Video By Gil Kaufman Carrie Underwood at the 2012 CMT Music Awards Photo: FilmMagic “American Idol” has struggled to produce hit rock and R&B stars lately, but the show clearly has a knack for pumping out country acts. Just look at the winner’s circle for Wednesday night’s CMT Music Awards ceremony, where “Idol” winner Carrie Underwood took home two major honors and Scotty McCreery went home with some hardware as well. Underwood, who also performed on the broadcast hosted by Toby Keith and actress Kristen Bell, snagged her third Video of the Year honor for the “Good Girl” clip, and hit the podium once again for Collaborative Video of the Year for her work on the “Rescue Me” video with Brad Paisley. Underwood’s man, professional hockey player Mike Fisher, played the role of dutiful husband by giving his wife a big hug and kiss when she and Paisley won their award, then held her purse during the acceptance speech. Paisley had some fun, too, wrapping his arms around Fisher before taking the stage and giving him a long hug before thanking, “this beautiful woman for being in the video, or else it’s just a dork walking through the desert.” He concluded, “to my wife at home, there’s nothing between me and Mike,” to which Underwood added, “not yet!” Season 10 “Idol” champ McCreery continued his winning ways by scoring the USA Weekend Breakthrough Video of the Year for “The Trouble With Girls,” which he accepted just hours before his high school graduation ceremony. Other winners included Luke Bryan for Male Video of the Year for “I Don’t Want This Night To End,” Miranda Lambert for Female Video of the Year for “Over You” and Lady Antebellum for Group Video of the year for “We Owned The Night.” Bryan was clearly excited about his win, saying, “When you’re at this level of what we do as singers, and your fans vote, it speaks huge volumes and it’s crazy to be fan-voted for an award and win it … I don’t really get caught up in trying to be cool, trying to play a part. I just freaking get so excited about this stuff and I will always enjoy it.” Lambert’s acceptance speech was one of the most emotional of the night. Celebrating her third straight Female Video win for the song she co-wrote with husband Blake Shelton about the death of his brother, she thanked Shelton’s brother, “from heaven, for inspiring us to write this song.” Thompson Square accepted the Duo Video of the Year (“I Got You”) and Jason Aldean took home his first belt buckle with CMT Performance of the Year for “Tattoos On This Town.” The show opened with a bang, with a video bit pitting the hosts against each other in a battle to anchor the show alone that featured cameos from Matthew McConaughey, Jon Bon Jovi, President Obama and GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney. “This is one of the toughest decisions I’ve had to make since I’ve been in office, but I decided I want them both,” Obama said when forced to decide between the country star and the actress. Not wanting to offend any potential swing voters, Romney split the difference too, suggesting the pair work together. “See, I just put two people back to work,” he joked. The show also featured performances from Willie Nelson with Toby Keith, Jamey Johnson, Darius Rucker and Zac Brown Band, as well as Paisley with Hank Williams Jr., Lambert and Journey with Rascal Flatts. Related Artists Carrie Underwood
‘You can never call a Meryl Streep win a real upset, because she’s so beloved in the industry,’ BoxOffice.com’s Phil Contrino tells MTV News. By Kevin P. Sullivan Meryl Streep poses with her award at the 2012 Oscars Photo: Getty Images Heading into Sunday night’s Academy Awards , few expected any major surprises in the top categories. “The Artist” was expected to take Best Director, Actor and Picture, while Octavia Spencer and Christopher Plummer had been considered locks in the supporting categories for weeks. In the Best Actress category, however, some Oscar analysts ( MTV News included ) may have been too quick to call the Best Actress category for Viola Davis in “The Help.” Such confidence resulted in the biggest surprise of the evening when Meryl Streep won her third Academy Award for her portrayal of Margaret Thatcher in “The Iron Lady.” So what happened to Viola Davis? In the night that belonged so heavily to the odds-on favorite, how was it that Streep pulled off the upset? Even Streep had to admit that most people thought the award belonged to Davis. “When they called my name,” she said during her acceptance speech, “I had this feeling I could hear half of America going, ‘Oh no! Oh come on, why her? Again?’ But … whatever.” Entertainment reporter Jo Piazza said that the crowd’s familiarity with Streep may have been her key to Oscar gold. “It wasn’t Meryl’s performance that gave her the edge,” Piazza said. “It was the fact that she hasn’t won in 30 years. Her performance was great, but that was what gave her the advantage.” The perceived disappointment was a direct result of both Davis’ status as a favorite and the success of “The Help.” When it came to ensemble awards, even “The Artist” couldn’t come close to topping the wins for “The Help” this awards season. The cast won at the SAGs, the National Board of Review and the Broadcast Film Critics Association. It also certainly helped to have Octavia Spencer cleaning up the Supporting Actress awards wherever she went. Because of the awards and nominations close to Davis and her strong performance in the film, many saw her as the favorite for Best Actress, despite splitting many of the key awards with Streep. Davis won over the Broadcast Film Critics Association and took home the Actor at the SAG Awards, the last major awards show before the Oscars. But all of that overlooks the hefty haul of awards Streep took home before last night’s Academy Awards. Naturally, Streep won Best Actress at the BAFTAs, a victory undermined by the very British subject matter of “The Iron Lady, but also, more importantly, at the Golden Globes, where Streep’s future Oscar seemed the most likely. Though it may have initially been thought of as the Hollywood Foreign Press Association’s signature celebrity-love, Streep’s Globes win should have been considered more heavily when predicting the Oscars. Streep, after all, embodied many of the key traits of an Oscar winner. She played a historical figure, donned makeup to transform into her character and is a repeat winner, so perhaps there shouldn’t have been as many “Oh, no’s” as there were. Phil Contrino of BoxOffice.com told MTV News that Streep’s status as a Hollywood legend should have precluded any talk of upsets. “You can never call a Meryl Streep win a real upset, because she’s so beloved in the industry,” he said. “It’s important to remember that she was running very close to Viola Davis for most of the season.” The MTV Movies team has the 2012 Oscars covered! Keep it locked at MTV.com for updates on the night’s big winners and the best red-carpet fashion . Related Videos Oscars 2012: Show Highlights Oscars 2012: Red Carpet Highlights Related Photos Oscars 2012: Parties Oscars 2012: The Main Show
In the grand tradition of the late, great Robert Opel : “It’s long been rumored that Opel’s streak across the screen was not necessarily a unilateral act of transgression by Opel, and that he may have had a co-conspirator or two. The facts that he gained access to the backstage area in order to stage the streaking, and that he was given a post-show press conference, give rise to the suspicion that the event was set-up by the producers of the broadcast, maybe to give the long-venerated institution a little jolt.” [ The Awl ]
