With Bravo still considering its options for The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, and with a new rumor spreading that Russell Armstrong recently broke the cheekbones of his wife, at least one aspect of this tragedy has been settled: The late reality star will be cremated and a funeral will be held for him in Los Angeles next week. There had reportedly been a conflict over where Russell#39;s ashes would be spread – California or Texas – but because the couple was still married at the time of h
The 42nd President of the United States of America, Bill Clinton, celebrates his birthday today. The Big Dawg is now 65. Happy birthday, Bubba! William Jefferson Clinton, the pride of Hope, Ark., remains the only Democrat to win two full White House terms since Franklin Delano Roosevelt. He also presided over the largest peacetime economic expansion in U.S. history, and left office extremely popular despite being impeached. Hey, no one’s perfect, right? His wife, Hillary Clinton, is currently U.S. Secretary of State. Their daughter, Chelsea, married Marc Mezvinsky last summer in New York State. In a political flip-flop of Mitt Romney-esque proportions, Bill Clinton is marking his 65th birthday by going vegan. Seriously. No more burgers! What a difference a quadruple bypass makes. “I like the vegetables, the fruits, the beans, the stuff I eat now,” the ex-President tells CNN. After experiencing heart problems leading up to the 2004 surgery, Clinton has now lost 20 lbs.: “I feel good, and I have so much more energy.” Glad to hear. Have a veggie burger on us tonight, BC!
With Bravo still considering its options for The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills , and with a new rumor spreading that Russell Armstrong recently broke the cheekbones of his wife, at least one aspect of this tragedy has been settled: The late reality star will be cremated and a funeral will be held for him in Los Angeles next week. There had reportedly been a conflict over where Russell’s ashes would be spread – California or Texas – but because the couple was still married at the time of his suicide, Taylor is making the funeral arrangement. Troy Christiansen, an attorney for Russell’s side of the family, tells TMZ the current arrangement is fine with his clients.
We drop in on the band during rehearsals at the iconic Forum and see parallels between the two, in Bigger Than the Sound. By James Montgomery The Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Anthony Kiedis Photo: MTV News The Forum — the slightly decrepit, strangely Roman arena on the corner of Manchester and Prairie in Inglewood, California — first opened its doors on December 30, 1967, and has, in the years that followed, played host to both the “Showtime” Lakers and the Gretzky Kings, not to mention just about every L.A.-area concert you’ve ever heard of, or were too drunk to remember. Parts of Led Zeppelin’s live How the West Was Won were recorded here, as were live albums by Cream, Steppenwolf, the Bee Gees and P-Funk, to name just a few. Over the course of its existence, it’s been known alternately as “the Fabulous Forum,” “the Los Angeles Forum” (even though it’s in Inglewood) and, in a move of corporate branding so subtle most locals didn’t know the difference, “the Great Western Forum.” Now, it’s mostly just an oval located in the center of an asphalt ocean in a less-than-desirable part of town. The Lakers and the Kings bolted for the shiny new Staples Center in 1999, and the live shows dried up soon after. A church owned it until last year and now people just jog around it. It is a fate unbecoming of such a legendary venue, really — a slow decline into obsolescence and calisthenics — and yet, this is how these things tend to go. Michael Balzary and Anthony Kiedis — the slightly graying yet strangely sculpted half of the Red Hot Chili Peppers — first opened their doors (or, you know, were born) on October 16 and November 1, 1962, respectively, and have, in the years that followed, arisen from the L.A. punk scene to achieve the kind of heights few in the music business can dare dream of: 65 million albums sold worldwide, nine Hot 100 singles in the U.S., and seven Grammy Awards, to name just a few. Over the course of their existence, the pair have been known as Flea and, well, Anthony (or maybe Sir Psycho Sexy). They have recorded some of the most celebrated albums of both the alt-rock heyday — namely, Mother’s Milk and Blood Sugar Sex Magik, — and the uncertain times that followed (1999’s Californication ), and they most certainly do calisthenics. And yes, you can probably see where I’m going with this. Because it’s not exactly difficult to draw parallels between the three entities: The Forum, a grandiose (and somewhat gaudy) monument to ’60s idealism and the excesses that followed, Flea and Kiedis the poster children for the decay that set in once that idealism gave way to cold hard fact, when those excesses devolved into plain old addictions. All three grew preternaturally old beneath the hazy sunshine of Southern California, and all three proudly wear the scars that came with that aging. They have each witnessed incredible highs and crushing lows, triumphs and tragedies, and they are all still standing. And because of that, both the arena and the Chili Peppers, which Flea and Kiedis formed in the obtuse shadow of the arena back in 1983, have become Los Angeles icons, the kind with pock marks on their faces and dirt beneath their fingernails; the real kind. In fact, about the only difference between the Forum and the Peppers seems to be that the latter is still fully operational. Other than that, they belong to each other. And yet, it is perhaps due to nothing more than grand cosmic coincidence that the Peppers have chosen the Forum as the rehearsal spot for their upcoming world tour, a very big endeavor in support of their very big I’m With You, the first new Chili Peppers record in more than five years. Or at least that’s what they told me on Wednesday when I stopped by to host the premiere of their brand-new “The Adventures of Rain Dance Maggie” video. “We just got the call to show up to the Forum for rehearsal and were like, ‘Yes, that’s a good place to do it!’ ” Kiedis said. “They needed space to goof around with our stage and our lights … [but] I was warming up in one of the cavernous bowels of this beautiful institution, and I looked up and there was a great old photograph of [former Lakers’ guard] Nick Van Exel, charging me with the ball, number nine, looking me down, big head, big heart, big eyes … remember the time he got the ref?” Of course, I got the feeling, based on the second part of that statement, that it wasn’t mere coincidence that brought the Chili Peppers to the Forum, nor was it a love of Lakers ball (though, to be fair, Flea did point out that “This building is the home of Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Byron Scott, Norm Nixon [and] many, many Bob McAdoos”). Instead, it was something much bigger; a love for the old building, or even a sense of purpose. After all, the Forum was where they learned how to be musicians, much like the long lost Club Lingerie, the punk spot operated by the late Brendan Mullen, who is eulogized on I’m With You ‘s “Brendan’s Death Song.” It is where they underwent several passages of manhood. In a way, they grew up here. “The second rock show I ever saw here was with [Anthony],” Flea laughed, peering up at the vaulted ceiling. “We came in here to see the Who, we snuck in, and we snuck in to see Queen here, too.” “We used to not have any money was the thing, but we wanted to go to the shows,” Kiedis smiled. “So we’d get right up to where they let you in at the turnstile, and we’d get down and go [through], and if they’d catch us, God bless ’em. But they never could.” So, in a sense, without the Forum, there probably would be no Red Hot Chili Peppers. Which is why they treat the place with such reverence, why, during rehearsals, they joined drummer Chad Smith and new guitarist Josh Klinghoffer to tear through old songs with a fury usually reserved for the actual live shows. It was almost as if they were paying tribute to the old ghosts that haunt the twisting corridors, or, more probably, to the bands that have brought the roof down over the past four-plus decades. It was an amazing thing to watch, and I couldn’t think of a more fitting setting. After all, the Forum and the Red Hot Chili Peppers share a bond much stronger than you could possibly imagine. They are both survivors. And to witness the band still operating at their peak, nearly 28 years after they first began, well, it somehow fills you with hope for the venerable old venue too. After all, the Forum deserves a comeback too, or at least a better fate than folks jogging around its perimeter. And maybe, in some small way, the Chili Peppers’ rehearsals — buoyant, fun, funky and, most important of all, loud — can help breathe new life into the old place, to lift it up and set it back on its feet. You get the feeling Flea and Kiedis feel a sense of duty to at least try. After all, it’s the least they could do. Related Videos MTV First: Red Hot Chili Peppers Related Artists Red Hot Chili Peppers
Band played ‘Amy’ at charity show in California on Thursday. By Gil Kaufman Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong and Mike Dirnt (file) Photo: Bryan Bedder/ Getty Images There was a good reason Green Day had a “no cell phone” policy at their secret show at the Tiki Bar in Costa Mesa, California, on Thursday in support of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation: They were debuting some new songs. In addition to giving some very lucky fans a peek at some fresh tracks they are working on for their next album, the trio also unwrapped “Amy,” a brand-new tribute to late singer Amy Winehouse. The touching, unplugged-style tune dedicated to the “Rehab” singer, who died at age 27 last month of as-yet-unexplained circumstances , alludes to Winehouse’s troubled life and her signature fashions with evocative lyrics. “Amy, is your heart singing out of tune/ Are your eyes just singing the blues/ Dirty records from another time/ Some blood stains on your shoes,” go the opening lines, according to lyrics posted on the band’s official website . A scratchy bootleg recording of the song features singer Billie Joe Armstrong crooning the 1950s-style doo-wop tune over gently picked electric guitar. “No one really knows about your soul/ And I barely even know your name/ Burning rhythms and posting lies/ For a bunch of fools drown in shame/ Amy don’t you go/ I want you around/ Singin’ woah please don’t go/ Do you wanna be a friend of mine?/ Did you tattoo a lucky charm/ To keep you out of harm’s way?/ Warding off all evil signs/ But it never really kept you safe.” The final bit laments Winehouse’s premature death and substance battles with the lines, “You’re too young for the golden age/ ‘Cause the record bin’s been replaced/ 27 gone without a trace/ And you walked away from your drink.” The song ends with the emotional image, “May I have this last dance/ By chance if we should meet?/ Can you write me a lullaby?/ So we can sing you to sleep.” Green Day are the latest artists to pay tribute to Winehouse, a list that also includes U2 , Coldplay and M.I.A. In addition to “Amy,” Green Day also previewed a number of other new songs during a full set of unheard tracks, including “Nuclear Family,” “Carpe Diem” and “Sweet 16.” “Thanks everyone for coming out to the show Thursday night and supporting us and the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation,” the band wrote on its site. “We have been in jamming and writing new songs for the last few months. It felt great to play these new Green Day songs live and share our ‘work in progress.’ Stay tuned for more!” Related Videos Amy Winehouse Remembered Related Photos Amy Winehouse And Other Idols Gone At Age 27 Amy Winehouse: A Life In Photos
When Oscar-winner Francis Ford Coppola took to Comic-Con to present his new horror project Twixt , he blew minds in Hall H by live-editing footage from his iPad. Now you can watch the first trailer for Twixt to get a taste of what Coppola’s got cooking with his Gothic murder-mystery tale about a hack novelist named Hall Baltimore (Val Kilmer) who befriends a ghostly girl named V ( Elle Fanning ) while searching for his next story in a small California town.
People can soon stop asking ” Where is Casey Anthony ?” The acquitted murder suspect went into hiding after her July 17 release, with people speculation that she was everywhere from California to the Bahamas. Thanks to a judge’s order, however, Anthony soon will return to her native Orlando, Fla., within the next three days to report to a local probation office. Orange County Judge Stan Strickland signed court documents requiring Anthony to serve a year of supervised probation on her check fraud charges. “She should report to probation, probably within 72 hours,” Strickland said . Last year, Srickland sentenced Anthony – then awaiting trial for murder – on charges that she stole a friend’s checkbook and forged several checks. Last week, he said he intended for Anthony to go to supervised probation upon her release. Department of Corrections officials misinterpreted that order. Believing that Casey Anthony had served her probation while in jail, her lawyers did not have her report to probation. That’s what she must do this week. It is unclear where Anthony will stay when she returns to Orlando, but you can bet there will be police officers protecting her at every turn. Anthony, who has received myriad threats since she got out of jail, where she spent nearly 1,000 days since 2008, has said through her legal team that she will be undergoing major mental health treatment .
Jesse James#39;s attorney John Schilling tells us that if Lindemulder chooses to relocate to Texas to be near Sunny, she#39;ll be ordered to inpatient rehab. If she remains in California, she#39;ll only get monitored visitation of her daughter. Not all has been bad this week for Jesse James, who confirmed his split with Kat Von D on Monday. The motorcycle mogul, 42, was awarded sole custody of his daughter Sunny, 7, in an Orange County, Calif., courthouse on Monday, following a several-years-l
Looks like Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan have buried the hatchet. We know. You can all breathe an enormous sigh of sweet relief. The ho-cialites partied together in Malibu this weekend, with Lohan rolling over to Hilton’s beach pad for a small shindig with some of Paris’ friends. Paris’ sister Nicky, actress Emma Roberts and Inception star Lukas Haas were among those on hand, with one source at the party saying: “Everyone was so surprised when Lindsay walked in; we thought they didn’t get along. But they immediately gave each other a big hug.” The crew kicked it on the beach, in Paris’ hot tub and had a mini dance party – and not once did anyone see Lohan drink ANY alcohol. Sources say Paris is “very excited” about her friendship with Lohan, adding that after they rekindled it, “She LOVED seeing her again.” We’re glad to hear it and lope it lasts. Now we just need to get Britney Spears back in the mix to fully reunite the 2006 ho train . [Photos: Pacific Coast News]
We know Leighton Meester is suing her mom . And getting sued by her mom. Now, new reports say she wants custody of her younger brother Lex as well. Leighton regularly sent money to her mother, Constance Meester, who served as her daughter’s manager before Leighton fired her earlier this year. The actress, 25, says this money for her brother’s health needs, and that her mother used the money to get cosmetic surgeries for herself instead. It is not known how old Lex is, or what condition(s) he suffers from. But Constance just countersued Leighton, claiming she owes her even more … and that the 25-year-old actress came at her wielding a bottle . Now The Roommate star just wants to make sure Lex is alright. “Leighton is disgusted by her mother and is determined to get her brother Lex out of that situation,” an insider reveals. “She wants Lex to leave their mother’s California home and come to live with her in New York.” According to the lawsuit, Leighton provided her family with money out of the goodness of her heart, but she’s now tired of her mom’s lifestyle. Lex, short for Alexander, recently had brain surgery, Radar reports . While Leighton has supported him willingly, she says her mom abuses this. “[Constance] is healthy and able to work, but refuses to do so. She expects her daughter [Leighton] to support her financially,” the lawsuit states. “Leighton is really close to her brother, so she just hates that she can’t be there to help him more,” the source said. “She’s worried for him.” Here’s hoping this gets resolved … as well as it can.
