The “Super Jewish” State Senate District After Assemblyman Dov Hikind and a key lobbyist in the influential Jewish social services organization Agudath Isreal both praised the State Senate’s decision to create an Orthodox Jewish-majority district last week , it seems unlikely that any elected official in southern Brooklyn will blast its creation in the redistricting process. In an interview with Shimon… Broadcasting platform : YouTube Source : The Politicker Discovery Date : 30/01/2012 07:44 Number of articles : 2
It’s a bird, it’s a plane! (Well, it is a plane.) Manhattanites are a tough bunch; it takes more than topless paparazzi or oddly threatening skywriting to phase them. But after watching this video of three RC planes shaped like humans flying over the city’s bridges we wondered what people thought as they watched people fly through the sky. Were they scared? Jealous? Did they believe that the angels… Broadcasting platform : YouTube Source : The New York Observer Discovery Date : 30/01/2012 13:35 Number of articles : 3
It’s a bird, it’s a plane! (Well, it is a plane.) Manhattanites are a tough bunch; it takes more than topless paparazzi or oddly threatening skywriting to phase them. But after watching this video of three RC planes shaped like humans flying over the city’s bridges we wondered what people thought as they watched people fly through the sky. Were they scared? Jealous? Did they believe that the angels… Broadcasting platform : YouTube Source : The New York Observer Discovery Date : 30/01/2012 13:35 Number of articles : 3
Miller gives MTV News a tour of the ‘illest city in the world,’ including the park he made famous. By Rob Markman Mac Miller Photo: David Wolff-Patrick/Redferns PITTSBURGH — Some call it Steel City, others call it the City of Bridges, but Mac Miller simply calls his hometown “the illest city in the world.” After releasing his 2010 mixtape K.I.D.S., Miller set out and toured the world, spending more and more time away from home. It was that time away that inspired the name for Mac’s debut album , Blue Slide Park. Named after his favorite childhood hangout, Mac aimed to shine the spotlight on his city. After months of touring in 2011, the “Knock, Knock” MC invited MTV News to come out to a pair of homecoming shows back in December and gave us a tour of the ‘Burgh, starting, of course, with Blue Slide Park, a playground tucked inside the much-larger Frick Park. “Welcome to the world-famous Blue Slide Park,” Mac told MTV News, acting as our tour guide. If you aren’t from the ‘Burgh, chances are you didn’t quite catch the significance of BSP ‘s opening track, “English Lane,” but after a trip to the real-life playground, it all starts to make sense. “I was literally walking to Blue Slide Park and the album was almost done and I was walking to get some last-minute inspiration,” Mac said, explaining how the park’s adjacent street became the title for the #1 LP’s first song. “I walked by and was like, ‘English Lane would be an ill title for a song, that’s how I wanna open the album ,with a song called ‘English Lane,’ ‘ because that’s how you walk up to Blue Slide Park.” Granted, some of the scenery has changed, for instance, the slide isn’t quite as blue these days. “When I announced that I was coming out with an album called Blue Slide Park, some vandalizing kids dumped a bucket of red paint down the slide,” the 20-year old rapper said with some disappointment. Still, while walking through the famed playground and its surrounding area, the memories began to mount for Mac. There were his baseball days at Stan Lederman Field and the make-out sessions that followed his little league victories. “I was into girls in the fifth grade,” Mac said while showing off a low-key cove where he’d take his junior high school honeys. Now, when the breakout rap star returns to his old stomping grounds, word spreads quickly as fans flock to the neighborhood hangout in hopes for an autograph or a picture with Miller. Still, it all provides a certain comfort. Back in July, after Mac first announced the album’s title , he explained what it all meant to MTV News. “No matter what happens in life, no matter where you go, where you’re off to, what happens with the park, that slide will always be blue. That will always be Blue Slide Park no matter what,” he said. “You can go to New York and live for 10 years and become a huge business mogul and then come back to the ‘Burgh and no matter how much money you got, that slide is still blue.” Barring any vandals, of course. Check in with MTV News everyday this week as Mac Miller takes us back to the ‘Burgh and spotlights Pittsburgh vibrant hip-hop scene. Also tune into to ‘RapFix Live’ on Wednesday to see exclusive behind the scenes footage from Mac’s pair of December homecoming shows. Related Videos Back To The ‘Burgh With Mac Miller Related Artists Mac Miller
Actor who plays Ron Swanson tells MTV News that ‘the evil Tammy Two’ returns in the fall. By Jocelyn Vena, with reporting by Josh Horowitz Nick Offerman in “Parks and Recreation” Photo: NBC As the latest season of “Parks and Recreation” rolls along, fans of the quirky NBC comedy have been rooting for the show’s leading lady, Leslie Knope, as she tries to win the hearts of the folks in Pawnee, Indiana, by running for a spot on the city council. But Leslie isn’t having all the fun. Pawnee’s resident curmudgeon, Ron Swanson (played by Nick Offerman), is finding himself caught up in an unexpected friendship with the always-optimistic government star Chris Traeger (Rob Lowe). As always, Swanson is working to make sure government doesn’t run smoothly, and of course he faces the possibility that one of his ex-wives could show up and bring their own brand of trouble to his life. “If we can help it,” Offerman told MTV News at the Sundance Film Festival when asked if there would be a chance to bring back one of his character’s former wives, both named Tammy (one played by his real-life wife, Megan Mullally, and the other by Oscar nominee Patricia Clarkson ). “I know that there’s one juicy story coming up in the fall for Tammy Two, the evil Tammy Two [Mullally].” But until then, Offerman, offscreen, will be wearing another hat. He recently wrote one of the show’s upcoming episodes, and in addition to some more Knope-related election excitement there will also be a shakeup in his character’s romantic life. “Oh gosh. It was so fun and exciting and crazy. The episode is called ‘Lucky.’ Leslie Knope gets this really lucky interview with sort of the Anderson Cooper of Indianapolis. But then the interview is canceled and it comes back on, and some hilarity ensues,” he explained. “Meanwhile, Ron Swanson and Chris Traeger are vying for the attentions of Andy Dwyer’s women’s studies college professor. It’s very funny.”
Following Cynthia Nixon’s declaration that homosexuality – at least in her case – is a choice , the reaction within the gay community has been strong, swift and mixed. The harshest rebuke of the Sex and the City star has likely come from celebrity chef Cat Cora, who appeared yesterday on The Talk and said: “I’m gay, and I was born this way,” adding of Nixon’s view and how it could impact others: “I really feel like it was dangerous and irresponsible of Cynthia, especially in this environment today when so many young people are taking their lives.” Continued Cora, making a plea to the actress who is currently starring on Broadway: “I know growing up as a young gay person how much you hate yourself, how much you already think you’re different. And for someone to say, ‘It’s a choice, you can be this way or that way,’ I think it’s dangerous and I ask Cynthia to please, reach out to the community and say – to all the people who do hate themselves right now, all the young kids who are impressionable – to say, ‘You’re OK, take it one day at a time, it gets better.'” Nixon has been in relationships with both men and women, but dismisses the classification of “bisexual.” I completely feel that when I was in relationships with men, I was in love and in lust with those men,” she told The Daily Beast . “And then I met [girlfriend Christine Marinoni] and I fell in love and lust with her. I am completely the same person and I was not walking around in some kind of fog. I just responded to the people in front of me the way I truly felt.” Finally, in a Huffington Post article , Tracy Baim – editor of the Chicag-based LGBT publication The Windy City Times – writes: “The bottom line is that those who hate us, want to cure us, or even kill us don’t really take the time to understand these nuances. “Yes, there are some who advocate a ‘nature made us this way’ argument to help us accept ourselves. But others still try to get gays to suppress their sexuality, or transgender people to suppress their gender identity, no matter how they got that way.”
Brand-new clip finds the band trapped within a nightmare of its own invention. By James Montgomery Evanescence’s Amy Lee on the set of their “My Heart Is Broken” video Photo: Matt Elias/MTV News After nearly a month spent touting its various ethereal qualities , on Tuesday (January 24), Evanescence premiered their video for “My Heart Is Broken,” a dark, dreamlike thing that pushes Amy Lee’s claustrophobic musings to the next level. And somewhere beyond that too. As Lee told MTV News back in December, the look and feel of the “Broken” clip was very much influenced by the British fantasy/horror flick “Paperhouse,” about a young girl who creates vivid dream worlds to escape the harsh reality of everyday life, only to eventually realize she’s stuck in those dreams — inspiration that certainly resonates with the song’s lyrics, which are very much about being trapped in a dark, desolate place and trying to free one’s self despite mounting evidence to the contrary. Working with director Dean Karr, and aided very much by fiber-optic technology, Evanescence have created a video that is both haunting and haunted. It opens with Lee suspended in an inky void, a single light projecting from her finger. While her bandmates bash away in the blackness, she slowly begins to fill her emptiness by creating a dream world — a fallow field, a sea of stars, a crumbling room — until she eventually realizes that, in spite of her attempts, she is just as trapped as she was before. At clip’s end, the viewer is left to wonder whether she has the power to escape (though a cracked mirror seems to indicate she can), which, in a way, only further connects the video to the song itself: Like Lee sings, each of us have within ourselves the ability to free ourselves from any situation; whether we do or not is largely our decision. The first step seems to be realizing that the walls we surround ourselves with are largely of our own creation. The rest is up to us. What do you think of the “My Heart Is Broken” video? Share your reviews in the comments! Related Artists Evanescence
Sundance represents an opportunity to ‘[push] forward with Common as an actor and as a producer,’ the rapper tells MTV News. By Josh Wigler, with reporting by Josh Horowitz Common at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival Photo: Jemal Countess/Getty Images PARK CITY, Utah — When you’re making your debut as a producer and lead actor in a feature film, it doesn’t hurt to surround yourself with stellar actors like Danny Glover, Charles S. Dutton, Dennis Haysbert and Michael K. Williams. With talent like that on your side, it’s nearly impossible not to produce good work. That’s Common ‘s hope, at least. The rapper/actor makes his first turn as a leading man in a feature film in “LUV,” the Sundance Film Festival drama about an ex-con who leaves prison and strives to mentor his troubled nephew upon release. The film represents a lot of firsts for Common: It’s his first starring role and it’s the first movie he’s ever acted in and produced to appear at Sundance. “This is something that is me,” Common told MTV News at the fest. “And it’s a part of what I want to do pushing forward with Common as an actor and as a producer.” The Chicago MC is no stranger to appearing onscreen, of course. He’s had memorable roles in movies like “Wanted” and “Terminator Salvation,” and he stars on the AMC western “Hell on Wheels.” But this is Common’s first time in an independent movie, and the differences between the indie world and the studio system became abundantly clear to him very early on. “Things are just different. But what’s still cool about it is you’re really using your artistic creativity to come together and make the best thing, because you don’t have that many resources,” he said. “You don’t have the bigger budgets, you don’t have the things that [studio films have]. You need to use total creativity to make things rise. “So this is a first for me — and it’s a great first,” he added. The 2012 Sundance Film Festival is officially under way, and the MTV Movies team is on the ground reporting on the hottest stars and the movies everyone will be talking about in the year to come. Keep it locked with MTV Movies for everything there is to know about Sundance. Related Videos Sundance 2012: Interviews From Park City Related Photos Celebrities Hit The Ground At Sundance 2012 Film Fest Related Artists Common
‘It feels like I’m eating a bunch of cake right now,’ Spencer tells MTV News about her awards-season recognition for ‘The Help.’ By Josh Wigler, with reporting by Josh Horowitz Viola Davis and Octavia Spencer in “The Help” Photo: Dreamworks PARK CITY, Utah — Octavia Spencer needs no “Help” when it comes to feeling the love during this awards season. Having already won a Golden Globe for her turn as sassy maid Minny Jackson in “The Help” on top of numerous other nominations, Spencer can add another notch to her increasingly impressive belt Tuesday (January 24) — because, to the surprise of precisely no one, the 41-year-old actress has earned a well-deserved Best Supporting Actress nod at this year’s Academy Awards . “I am never presumptuous, because these sorts of things are beyond our control and I didn’t want to be set up for disappointment,” Spencer said in a statement reacting to the nomination. “A lot of us actually went to dinner last night and slept over and wanted to be together when we found out, so in case we didn’t get that call we wanted to be nice and hungover.” Earlier in the week, MTV News caught up with Spencer at the Sundance Film Festival , which she attended as part of the cast of the alcohol drama “Smashed.” When asked for her views on her probable nomination, the always humble actress revealed that she wasn’t even giving the possibility any thought. “I’ve been very good about not thinking about Oscar,” she told MTV’s Josh Horowitz. “I know I’m going to the BAFTAs, and I know I’m going to the SAGs. It would be nice to go to the Oscars. “That little movie was about something that resonated with people, and it became a phenomenon,” she said of her experience with “The Help,” adding that she hopes moviegoers will embrace her new movie “Smashed” with an equal amount of passion. “Hopefully I’ll continue to get more roles like this, in extremely wonderful and very relevant films. … It feels like I’m eating a bunch of cake right now!” The 2012 Sundance Film Festival is officially under way, and the MTV Movies team is on the ground reporting on the hottest stars and the movies everyone will be talking about in the year to come. Keep it locked with MTV Movies for everything there is to know about Sundance. Related Videos Sundance 2012: Interviews From Park City Oscars 2012: And The Nominees Are…
‘I just asked a normal question,’ Rock tells MTV News about what prompted the director’s passionate criticism against Hollywood. By Josh Wigler, with reporting by Eric Ditzian Chris Rock Photo: MTV News PARK CITY, Utah — The old refrain of “more money, more problems” seems to apply to Spike Lee’s “Red Hook Summer,” the director’s new drama he unveiled at the Sundance Film Festival on Sunday. During a Q&A session following the screening of the filmmaker’s religion-focused feature, actor and comedian Chris Rock (at Sundance for his new film “2 Days in New York” from Julie Delpy) asked Lee if he would have done anything differently had he “actually gotten… studio money” for the film. Lee’s response was a fiery one, fueled with comments that condemned the Hollywood studio system for knowing “nothing about black people.” “We never went to the studios with this film. I bought a camera and said we’re gonna do this mother[bleeping] film ourselves. I didn’t need a mother[bleeping] studio telling me something about Red Hook! They know nothing about black people,” Lee said in response to Rock’s question, according to the New York Post . “And they’re gonna give me notes about what a 13-year-old black boy and girl do in Red Hook? [Bleep] no!” Lee’s response was nothing short of perplexing to Rock, who told MTV News that he “just asked a normal question.” “I just asked him how it would have been different if he’d had it financed by a studio. If he had more money,” he continued. “That was it. That’s all I said. Everything else, I don’t know. You gotta ask Spike.” In “Red Hook Summer,” Lee tells the story of a young boy sent by his mother from Atlanta to spend the summer in Red Hook, Brooklyn, with his grandfather, a strict preacher he’s never met. The film stars Clarke Peters, Jules Brown and Thomas Jefferson Byrd. Do you think Spike Lee’s criticism at Sundance out of line? Sound off in the comments section! The 2012 Sundance Film Festival is officially under way, and the MTV Movies team is on the ground reporting on the hottest stars and the movies everyone will be talking about in the year to come. Keep it locked with MTV Movies for everything there is to know about Sundance. Related Videos Sundance 2012: Interviews From Park City Related Photos Sundance 2012: Behind The Scenes Photos Celebrities Hit The Ground At Sundance 2012 Film Fest
