Nelson Mandela, who spent 27 years in prison for fighting racist white rule, became South Africa#39;s first black president in 1994 and served one five-year term. He later retired from public life to live in his village of Qunu, and last made a public appearance when his country hosted the 2010 World Cup soccer tournament. “FILE -In this June 17, 2010 file photo, former South African President, Nelson Mandela leaves the chapel after attending the funeral of his great-granddaughter Zenani Mande
K. Michelle Says She Wants To Rekindle Relationship With J.R. Smith Reality ratchetista K. Michelle might be off the small screen for now, but that doesn’t mean she’s taking a break from bumpin’ her gums and putting her business on blast. The big-bootied LHH ATLien recently sat down with Hot 97 radio to talk being shunned from LHH NY, Toya being “sloppy seconds,” and wanting to bust it open in the bedroom again for NBA baller J.R. Smith . Here’s an excerpt of what she had to say: “I want to say what women won’t say. I’m tired of all the cookie-cutter stuff. So, sometimes you just wanna f**k. Every time I think about something sexual in my life, I think about a certain guy. His name’s J.R. I’m very open in saying that I want him back. What’s real is, once I had a taste of that real, I don’t want nobody else.” Check out the full interview, including K. Michelle singing her heart out (side note: this chick can saaaannngg) for J.R. Smith and more in the video below: YouTube/Hot 97
We forgive you PSY, but we can’t speak for A-Rod and Jeter. Korean pop sensation PSY wants us to know he deeply regrets making anti-American music back in the day. Via TMZ reports : PSY- the pop singer behind the hit “Gangnam Style” — says he “will forever be sorry” for performing a song in 2004 that called for the killing of “Yankees” … and is begging for Americans to accept his apology. The song in question was called, “Dear Americans” … and featured the lyrics, “Kill those fawking Yankees who have been torturing Iraqi captives.” He continues, “Kill those f—ing Yankees who ordered them to torture … Kill their daughters, mothers, daughters-in-law and fathers … Kill them all slowly and painfully.” In response to the outcry over his past racism Psy issued the following statement: “As a proud South Korean who was educated in the United States and lived there for a very significant part of my life, I understand the sacrifices American servicemen and women have made to protect freedom and democracy in my country and around the world. The song I featured on in question from eight years ago — was part of a deeply emotional reaction to the war in Iraq and the killing of two Korean schoolgirls that was part of the overall antiwar sentiment shared by others around the world at that time. While I’m grateful for the freedom to express one’s self, I’ve learned there are limits to what language is appropriate and I’m deeply sorry for how these lyrics could be interpreted. I will forever be sorry for any pain I have caused by those words. I have been honored to perform in front of American soldiers in recent months — including an appearance on the Jay Leno show specifically for them — and I hope they and all Americans can accept my apology. While it’s important that we express our opinions, I deeply regret the inflammatory and inappropriate language I used to do so. In my music, I try to give people a release, a reason to smile. I have learned that thru music, our universal language we can all come together as a culture of humanity and I hope that you will accept my apology.” While this would surely get him banned from performing at any RNC functions we can’t really fault this guy considering how much we love us some good ol’ Ice-Cube, Ice-T and NWA songs that have helped us through our own issues with America. Do you think this is going to hurt his career or should PSY be forgiven, considering that Chris Brown is still allowed to have a career? Image via Mediaite
What a b*tch! In what may be the lowest level this chick has sunk to post-election, Ann Coulter may have just dug her own grave. According to The Huffington Post , good ‘ole Ann needs to do some fact checking before she opens that mouth of hers again: The conservative pundit penned a column Wednesday in which she lashed out at the “deluge of unskilled immigrants pouring into the country” and portrayed Latinos as a lazy “underclass” looking for a government handout. Coulter titles the piece “America Nears El Tipping Pointo,” presumably to make a virtue of her ignorance of the Spanish language. In fact, Latinos use less than their fair share of government benefits. According to a study released this year by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities: Non-Hispanic whites accounted for 64 percent of the population in 2010 and received 69 percent of the entitlement benefits. In contrast, Hispanics made up 16 percent of the population but received 12 percent of the benefits, less than their proportionate share — likely because they are a younger population and also because immigrants, including many legal immigrants, are ineligible for various benefits. Coulter implies in her piece that non-whites are “nitwits who deserve lives of misery and joblessness.” She singles out immigrants from Latin America as particularly “nitwitty,” saying they have too many babies out of wedlock, without citing a published source for the assertion. Nearly half of undocumented-immigrant households — 45 percent — consisted of a spouse or cohabiting couple with one or more children, compared to 34 percent of legal immigrants and 21 percent of the U.S. born, according to a 2010 Pew Hispanic Study. Apparently unaware that Latinos do not depend disproportionately on government benefits, Coulter writes: That’s a lot of government dependents coming down the pike. No amount of “reaching out” to the Hispanic community, effective “messaging” or Reagan’s “optimism” is going to turn Mexico’s underclass into Republicans … Rather than being more hardworking than American, Hispanics actually work about the same as others, or, in the case of Hispanic women, less. Wow! Pure hate…SMH. Images via WENN
Country pop star Taylor Swift was spotted with One Direction member Harry Styles, once again! The rumored young couple was seen exiting a party at the Crosby Hotel in New York City. Earlier on, the two were dining with Glee star Dianna Agron , who is a close friend of Taylor Swift. Styles and Swift were holding hands as they hopped in a car headed back to Swift’s hotel. This is the latest in a string of sightings between couple. Taylor Swift is known for penning songs about her various paramours. People are already speculating song titles in case she and Harry Styles don’t last. Put your most creative title in the comments!
Welcome back to the Gold Linings Playbook, otherwise known as the Oscar Index, in which we take the pulse of the pundits handicapping this year’s emerging Oscar class! Oscar handicapping began in earnest this week with The New York Film Critics Circle’s selection of Kathryn Bigelow’s Zero Dark Thirty as Best Picture , adding further speculation that the hunt for Bin Laden drama may steal some of Ben Affleck’s Argo ’s thunder. In the past decade, four of the NYFCC’s Best Picture winners have gone on to win the Academy Award: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King ; No Country for Old Men ; The Hurt Locker , and The Artist . But never mind Argo ; Lincoln better watch its back. On Wednesday, the National Board of Review also named Zero Dark Thirty Best Picture , Bigelow Best Director, and Jessica Chastain Best Actress. Also getting some newfound awards season cred courtesy of the NYFCC are Matthew McConaughey, named Best Supporting Actor for Magic Mike and Bernie , and Rachel Weisz, a below the radar choice for Best Actress for Deep Blue Sea , assuring that that DVD screener will be retrieved from the pile. Other NYFCC winners in the main categories are in line with pundit expectations: Bigelow for Best Director; Daniel Day-Lewis ( Lincoln ) for Best Actor, and Sally Field ( Lincoln ) for Best Supporting Actress. Independent Spirit Awards nominations, which were announced last week, have been harbingers for Academy Award consideration, but only twice — Platoon and last year’s The Artist — has the Best Feature winner gone on to win Hollywood’s ultimate prize. Still, Best Feature nods have given Beasts of the Southern Wild , Moonrise Kingdom and especially Silver Linings Playbook a decided Oscar boost. There is still time to mount Don Quixote-like quests for statuette consideration (Linda Cardinelli’s self-financed Best Actress campaign on behalf of Return ) or for critics to float their own long-shot candidates they deem to be at least worthy of consideration ( End of Watch , suggests Roger Ebert). But in this early going, it’s more fun for seasoned Oscar-watchers — literally those watching at home — to think about which nominees would make for a more entertaining Academy Awards broadcast, which is in dire need of a reboot. Luckily, Lincoln is a shoe-in for major award consideration, so we have host Seth McFarlane’s Ford Theatre jokes to look forward to. Here’s hoping the Academy once again allows Best Song contenders to perform, just so we can see the bombastic production number sure to accompany Adele’s “Skyfall.” The prospect of multi-nominations for Argo increases the possibility that an Oscar will be accepted with an “ Argo f*** yourself” flourish. And right now, there’s no denying that we like the possibility of another emotional Sally Field acceptance speech that would top her “you like me” outburst 27 years ago. Until then, how did the week’s developments impact the ever emerging Oscar field? Best Picture One can devise a potent drinking game out of every time click-savvy Huffington Post queries in a headline whether a certain film can be considered to be a “front-runner.” They have so far posed the question on behalf of Argo , Lincoln , Les Miserables , and Zero Dark Thirty . Into the fray gallops Quentin Tarantino’s Django Unchained , which had its hotly-anticipated Director’s Guild Association screening last weekend. Judging by the mostly rapturous Twitter response from acolytes, it went pretty good. But is it Oscar-worthy? Michael Haneke’s Amour swept the European film awards over the weekend, while The Master was annointed top film of 2012 by Sight & Sound. Just sayin’. But Zero Dark Thirty is making a direct assault on Hollywood’s top prize with its NYFCC and NBR wins this week for Best Picture and Best Director. Meanwhile, the bulk of this year’s buzziest Best Picture wannabes were fall and winter releases, which does not bode well for Moonrise Kingdom (a May release) and Beasts of the Southern Wild (June), but their DVD releases could help refresh memories. 1. Zero Dark Thirty 2. Lincoln 3. Les Miserables 4. Silver Linings Playbook 5. Life of Pi 6. Argo 7. Beasts of the Southern Wild 8. Moonrise Kingdom 9. The Sessions 10. Skyfall Ones to watch: Django Unchained , The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey , The Impossible , The Master Best Director “Standing ovation for Tarantino at DGA,” tweeted Anne Thompson from the first screening of Django Unchained . But it’s a strong field of contenders, in which four slots are by most accounts assured for Affleck, Bigelow, Hooper, and Spielberg. Bigelow’s NYFCC and NBR wins this week put her seriously in the hunt. That leaves one slot open for once-certain nominee Paul Thomas Anderson ( The Master ), or Wes Anderson ( Moonrise Kingdom ), Ang Lee ( Life of Pi ), and Behn Zeitlin ( Beasts of the Southern Wild ). 1. Kathryn Bigelow ( Zero Dark Thirty ) 2. Steven Spielberg ( Lincoln ) 3. Tom Hooper ( Les Miserables ) 4. Ben Affleck ( Argo ) 5. David O. Russell ( Silver Linings Playbook ) Ones to watch: Paul Thomas Anderson ( The Master ), Michael Haneke ( Amour ), Peter Jackson ( The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey ), Quentin Tarantno ( Django Unchained ) Next: Best Actor & Best Actress
Magdalena Frackowiak is some 26 year old polish model…and I am not even sure if this is her or not…I just saw her in her little dainty, lovely bra top that I want to lick until it dissolves…..and figured it must be….cuz I’ve DONE POSTS ON HER BEFORE …and she makes me wish communism was still in affect, and that leaving her country was next to impossible, giving me hope that I run across her in the human sex trade…but now I’ve got no hope… she’s too important and high profile…and rich…but at least I’ve got the pics…whether these cute ones I find erotic…or tits and ass and tits
The Griffins have sung their way through the small screen, making a Broadway-style splash at the start of each program about “Violence in movies and Sex on TV.” And apparently, they’ll have their chance to do just that on the big screen. Family Guy creator – who of course will fete the big screen as this year’s Oscar telecast host – said that a feature length movie about the animated irreverent nuclear family is in the offing, though it is not clear when it will actually happen. During a visit to UCLA for MTV’s series Stand In , MacFarlane said that “it will happen at some point,” he’s quoted as saying via Huffington Post . MacFarlane also announced a new Oscars contest in the surprise visit to the Westwood campus in L.A.’s Westside. He told an undergraduate film and television class that a contest sponsored by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will allow college students to appear on the February 24th Oscar telecast. Up to six winners will serve as trophy carriers during the show, replacing models who typically carry in the statuettes. “In re-imagining what we want the Oscar show to be, we wanted everyone appearing on that stage to feel a deep commitment to film and its legacy, and most importantly, its future,” said Oscar telecast producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron in a statement. “That was the impetus in creating this special honor for young film students who will inspire a new generation to create the films that will be honored in the future.” MacFarlane said that Family Guy is based on his own student film. Speaking of Oscars hosts past, MacFarlane offered up his empathy, noting jokingly that the event is a “crazy little variety show,” adding, “all I can do is do what I think is funny and most entertaining.” He noted to the UCLA class: “The Oscars is a tricky venue. The (hosts) who have not done well, I would classify them as a noble failure, an honorable failure, because at least they were trying something new… If I can do it without torpedoing my career and getting drummed out of the business… All I can do is my very best.” [ Source: Huffington Post ]
Carrie Underwood may be a talented, Grammy-winning (heck, everything-winning) country music superstar and the perky, blonde success story that justifies American Idol ‘s iron grip on pop culture — but can she make the hills come alive as Maria von Trapp in NBC’s Sound of Music ? That’s what Chicago & Hairspray producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron must believe, because the pair (who are also producing the upcoming Oscars telecast ) aren’t just tapping the reigning Queen of Country to fill Julie Andrews’ iconic clogs, they’re also taking the ballsy step of doing it in a live broadcast. A live broadcast: That rare beast so prevalent in the early days of television when performers didn’t need auto-tune and could pull off the highwire act of beaming their performance into millions of homes as it happened, flubs and all. “Speaking for everyone at NBC, we couldn’t be happier to have the gifted Carrie Underwood take up the mantle of the great Maria von Trapp,” said NBC Entertainment chairman Robert Greenblatt (via THR ). “She was an iconic woman who will now be played by an iconic artist.” Maybe it’s the shock of hearing that anyone would dare remake one of the greatest musicals of all time — or that Underwood, who’s certainly built an empire for herself cobbled together from platinum-selling albums and songs about keying her boyfriend’s car and guest appearances on How I Met Your Mother , has the hubris to say, Yes, I can be the Julie freaking Andrews of a new generation — but Underwood as the wide-eyed nun fleeing Nazis in the Swiss Alps doesn’t quite compute. Carrie Underwood as Maria von Trapp sounds about as right as Nick Jonas as Marius in Les Miserables . (Then again, Zadan and Meron cast Jonas as a Broadway superstar on NBC’s Smash , so… yeah.) [Watch Underwood perform “The Sound of Music” on CBS, h/t @gerradhall.] What do you think of Underwood as Maria, and NBC’s holiday live-broadcast remake of The Sound of Music ? Sound off below, my little lonely goatherds? [ THR ] Follow Jen Yamato on Twitter . Follow Movieline on Twitter .
In Monday afternoon’s round-up of news stories, Twilight rocketed atop the box office again. Liz & Dick is Lifetime is a ‘moderate’ success despite the hype. Dubai picks an opening film and highlights lineup. Susan Boyle may head to the big screen. And India is set for a Cannes fete. Twilight On Top at the Box Office Again Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2 , the final installment of the vampire fantasy films, has topped the US box office for the second week in a row. Early estimates suggest it took $43.1 million between Friday and Sunday, James Bond film Skyfall was second with $36 million, followed by Steven Spielberg’s Lincoln with $25m (£15.6m). Domestic revenues for the year currently stand at $9.75 billion, with a strong December line-up still to come. The current annual domestic record is $10.6 billion, set in 2009, BBC reports . Liz & Dick Pulls In 3.5 Million Viewers The made for Lifetime TV movie about Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton was the fourth biggest viewed origin movie premiere on ad-supported cable this year. It drew 3 million less viewers than Steel Magnolias which played the network in October, Deadline reports . Life of Pi to Open Dubai International Film Festival The festival running December 9 – 16 will also include Hitchcock , Cirque du Soleil: Worlds Away and Cannes Palme d’Or winner Amour . The Sapphires will close out the event. Other highlights include Karzan by Kadar Bekas and Wadjda directed by Haiffa Al Mansour, Saudi’s first-ever female moviemaker to shoot a film on her own in the conservative country THR reports . Fox Searchlight Eyes Susan Boyle Biopic The company has picked up the life rights to Boyle’s story along with rights to the musical I Dreamed a Dream . The idea will be to merge the two to develop a re-imagined film version of the musical. A director and screenwriter are still pending, Deadline reports . Cannes to Fete India in 2013 It’s hard to believe Cannes news is beginning, but event organizers said it will commemorate the 100th anniversary of India’s film industry by making it the festival’s “Guest Country” for 2013. The home of Bollywood will be the third country to be honored by festival organizers following Egypt in 2011 and Brazil last year. The 66th annual Cannes film festival runs from May 15 to 26, The Guardian reports .
