You guys know that I love Greek hottie Maria Menounos , but lately, I’ve had to make do with either pictures from her show or red carpets where she’s all covered up. But here’s Maria in a bikini for Men’s Fitness , and now this is more like it! I don’t know about you guys, but this spread is really helping with my daily workout. Right now, I’m on pace for a new personal record. Related Articles: McKayla Maroney Teaches The Dougie Gymnast McKayla Maroney’s Teenage Legs Minka Kelly’s Body Is Just Spectacular I Want To Bang Minka Kelly
One week after their rumored breakup, the two end a pretty rocky weekend on a good note by celebrating Justin’s big night. By Jocelyn Vena Selena Gomez and Justin Bieber Photo: Getty Images
MC talks to Mixtape Daily about getting back to his ‘raw’ beginnings on F— Em We Ball. By Rob Markman, with reporting by FLX B.o.B’s F— Em We Ball mixtape Photo: Atlantic
Lindsay Lohan does not read reviews of her performances, according to TMZ , which is a smart move when it comes to her much-publicized turn as Elizabeth Taylor in the Lifetime movie, Liz & Dick . The picture, which chronicles Taylor’s tempestuous love affair with Richard Burton , doesn’t air until Nov. 25, and already critics are carving into Lohan like she’s a Thanksgiving turkey. The reviews aren’t uniformly poisonous, and Grant Bowler, who plays Burton, is actually drawing good notices, but Lohan has not been so fortunate. Even the most charitable critics tend to damn her with faint praise, such as Variety’s Brian Lowry, who calls her performance “adequate.” But that review sounds downright positive when you compare it to the Napalming Lohan got courtesy of The Hollywood Reporter. Below are distillations of five reviews from most to least positive. That’s right. I saved the worst for last, and followed it with a trailer from the biopic. 5. Lohan certainly is adequate, barring a few awkward moments, thanks largely to the fabulous frocks and makeup (courtesy of Salvador Perez and Eryn Krueger Mekash, respectively) she gets to model.” — Brian Lowry, Variety 4. “Lohan, in character as Taylor, is often so believable you might think you’re seeing the real thing, but then every once in a while she’ll backslide and deliver lines that sound DOA.” — Linda Stasi, New York Post 3. “Elizabeth Taylor loved diamonds. This new movie about her life feels more like rhinestones….It’s tempting to say the movie’s big problem is that Lohan is no Liz Taylor. And she isn’t — though that’s not entirely her fault. There aren’t all that many actresses, or women, who can stop a room simply by walking into it. Liz Taylor in her prime could do that. She could make men melt. Lindsay Lohan’s Taylor does not.”— David Hinckley, New York Daily News 2. “Suffice it to say, Lohan’s no Taylor (not that anyone is or ever could be). But poor Linds doesn’t stand a chance. As seen here, her skills are rudimentary — made rustier by a long absence and a lot of other extracurricular activities. She delivers lines dutifully, competently, and at times woodenly, but she also looks like someone who has to think about what she has to say before she says it.” That’s usually called “sleepwalking through a role” instead of actually “occupying” one. Lohan is somewhere in-between most of the time, though closer to sleepwalking.” — Verne Gay, Newsday 1. “It should come as no great surprise that Lifetime’s Liz & Dick movie starring Lindsay Lohan is spectacularly bad…. Lohan is woeful as Taylor from start to finish. But, whatever you do, don’t miss Liz & Dick . It’s an instant classic of unintentional hilarity. Drinking games were made for movies like this. And the best part is that it gets worse as it goes on, so in the right company with the right beverages, Liz & Dick could be unbearably hilarious toward the tail end of the 90-minute running time. By the time Lohan is playing mid-’80s Taylor and it looks like a lost Saturday Night Live skit, your body may be cramped by convulsions.”— Tim Goodman, The Hollywood Reporter [ TMZ , Variety , New York Post , New York Daily News , Newsday , The Hollywood Reporter ] Follow Frank DiGiacomo on Twitter. Follow Movieline on Twitter.
Young women bullied by their peers into committing suicide has become a staple of today’s news cycle, but as Anna Karenina demonstrates, it’s hardly a new phenomenon. Whether you’re talking about 19th-century Russian aristocrats or Midwestern teens in the age of Facebook, as Keira Knightley tells me, “The rules of society change, but the way that society works does not.” I sat down with Knightley and director Joe Wright to talk about their bold adaptation of Leo Tolstoy’s novel and its continued relevance in our contemporary digital world. Their passion for the material is as palpable as the film’s lush production design. Check out the videos below to get the behind-the-scenes scoop on the most daring movie this Oscar season: Anna Karenina is now playing in limited release. Follow Movieline on Twitter . Follow Grace Randolph on Twitter .
If you haven’t noticed, there’s a fierce battle being fought out there for the right to heft a gold statuette at the Dolby Theater on Feb. 24 and forget to thank some vital member of your family. And though more than a half dozen pictures and performances that the blogosphere is touting as Oscar-worthy have yet to be seen by the public (and, in some cases, the very bloggers who are touting them), the virtual home office at Movieline has decided it’s time to throw open the doors to the Institute For the Advanced Study of Kudos Forensics and start up the Oscar Index . How The Oscar Index Works This year, Movieline’ s Oscar Index will be presented differently than it has been in the past. We’ll soon add the now-iconic graph that tracks the weekly rise and fall of the candidates based on fluctuations in the Institute’s extremely sensitive media seismometers. What will be different is that, with each award category that we track, we’ll present four different rankings. Movieline Executive Editor Jen Yamato , Managing Editor Brian Brooks and myself will each provide our personal weekly rankings of the movies and actors in the running, and then those results will be weighted and averaged to determine an official Movieline ranking for each category. This week, we begin with the Best Picture category. Next week, we’ll weigh in on the Best Director, Best Actor, Actress and Best Supporting Actor and Actress races. Oscar for Best Picture 2013 Right now, Lincoln is the picture to beat with its heart-and-soul performance by Daniel Day-Lewis — his world-weary slump-shouldered walk alone is worth the price of admission — a beautiful script by Tony Kushner and some pitch-perfect scenery chewing by Tommy Lee Jones and James Spader. The picture finishes at the top of two of our three lists, and Awards Daily calls it “Arguably, the best film of the year so far,” adding: “Films this thoughtfully created don’t come around very often.” The consensus at a number of blogsites, such as Indiewire , is that Ang Lee’s Life of Pi, Ben Affleck’s Argo and David O. Russell’s Silver Linings Playbook are also going to be nominated for Best Picture. Paul Thomas Anderson’s The Master has also been mentioned, but the film opened so early in the race and, with the exception of Joaquin Phoenix’s comments about how he really feels about Oscars, the movie could use a second wind unless The Weinstein Company is shifting its weight to a Silver Linings push. But coming up fast is Tom Hooper’s Les Misérables , which our own Ms. Yamato notes, is “scaring” a lot of the other contenders. Meanwhile, Michael Haneke’s Amour and Benh Zeitlin’s Beasts of the Southern Wild are long shots, but still in the race. Indeed, the latter film finished in the number 10 spot on each Movieline editor’s list. An even darker horse is Skyfall , but I (alone) agree with Deadline that the movie’s critical and box-office success and its popularity among Academy members bode well for a best-picture nomination. Here’s the rundown of each Movieline editor’s Best Picture picks in descending order: Frank DiGiacomo’s Picks 1. Lincoln 2. Silver Linings Playbook 3. Argo 4. Les Misérables 5. Life of Pi 6. Skyfall 7. Zero Dark Thirty 8 . Flight 9. The Master 10. Beasts of the Southern Wild — Jen Yamato’s Picks 1. Les Misérables 2. Lincoln 3. Silver Linings Playbook 4. Argo 5. Life of Pi 6. Zero Dark Thirty 7. Anna Karenina 8. The Master 9. The Hobbit 10. Beasts of the Southern Wild — Brian Brooks’ Picks 1. Lincoln 2. Silver Linings Playbook 3. Les Misérables 4. Argo 5. Life of Pi 6. Amour 7. Django Unchained 8. Anna Karenina 9. The Dark Knight Rises 10. Beasts of the Southern Wild And the winners are…
Did you see this coming?? Folks are asking BET why the show airs so late in defense of poor viewer turnout and, according to The Grio , the network isn’t putting any of the blame on their shoulders: When T.J. Holmes left CNN to host his own show on BET, Don’t Sleep, some called it a risky move, while the network’s viewers seemed to be excited. Holmes saw it as an opportunity to “reach out and report on stories that directly affect the African-American community.” Unfortunately, the viewership has not lived up to hype. Holmes’ show combines comedy, news and commentary not unlike The Colbert Report and The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. Don’t Sleep airs in the 11 pm time-slot and drew 400,000 viewers on to its October 1 premiere. The October 9th episode drew 1 million viewers, but since then, it has slipped to as low as 203,000. “To be honest, the ratings haven’t been great in the past two weeks. Our audience always says they want this kind of programming, but they don’t show up,” said Debra Lee, BET’s CEO. theGrio’s 100: T.J. Holmes, News anchor leaves CNN for BET As a result, Don’t Sleep will now be on for one hour once a week, instead of every night. BET released a statement saying, “The viewers have spoken and due to the overwhelming demand, Don’t Sleep will now be expanded to a one hour weekly format allowing for a more comprehensive discussion of the issues and events affecting the African-American community,” “We will now have an hour-long format to educate, empower, and engage. This will allow us more time to delve deeper into topics and determine how we can all, in our own way, be agents of change,” Holmes wrote on his website. “As part of being extended to an hour, the show will move to Wednesday nights at 11 p.m. This will allow us to do on-location reporting from cities and communities across the country.” Here’s a thought BET. How about you address the rest of your programming as a whole and leave real shows like ‘Don’t Sleep’ alone for now. Images via twitter
Yesterday, People anointed Channing Tatum Sexiest Man Alive . Without a doubt, 2012 was Tatum’s year, with three successful movies in The Vow, Magic Mike , and 21 Jump Street . But People has its share of critics just the same. The main complaint? With a singular exception – Denzel Washington in 1996 – the magazine has picked a square-jawed white guy (usually an actor) EVERY year. In 2008, Hugh Jackman took the top honor. In 2009, Johnny Depp was selected for a second time. Last year, Bradley Cooper walked away with the crown. The year before that, it was Ryan Reynolds, perhaps in anticipation of his film Green Lantern . Should they rename it Sexiest Milquetoast White Man Alive? Asks the Daily Beast: Where are the Blair Underwoods, the Taye Diggses, the Morris Chestnuts? The Terrence Howards, the Jesse Williamses, the Idris Elbas? Inside. And if you believe People ’s official line, it is what’s inside that counts. A representative for the magazine wrote: “ People is sensitive to representing people of color in its pages; our Sexiest Man Alive issue is no exception. Every section in this year’s issue includes a diverse group of men.” Brett R. Johnson, associate editor of The Root, said, “That response is expected … They can’t come out and say black men don’t sell magazine covers.” Though there are some sports celebrities, most of the picks skew toward Hollywood, and actors rather than musicians. Perhaps that’s part of the issue. Jay-Z, Kanye West, Kobe Bryant, or Michael Jordan during their primes would’ve been fine cover stars, no? A rep for People explained of the criteria: “Is he hot at the moment? Is he sexy? Is his career on fire this year? Channing Tatum fits that criteria this year, which is why he was named 2012 Sexiest Man Alive.” The list, then, said Jezebel ‘s Jessica Coen, isn’t truthfully the “sexiest man in general, just – ‘handsome man who’s getting the most work right now,’ “And what makes that so strange is that People is not a trade mag.” “People’s response places the blame on Hollywood. That’s a copout. They have a lot of power as a media outlet, but their response is akin to throwing up their hands.” “Hollywood and the media – and that includes People – have a highly symbiotic relationship.” “Putting a man of color on the inside is like saying, ‘He’s hot, sure, but just not hot enough for the cover. Only a white man can be number one.’” “Which is kind of how the world has worked for the past couple centuries.” What do you think? Share your comments and vote in our survey below: Channing Tatum: Sexiest Man Alive? Yes, look at him! Nah, but he ain’t shabby! Not even close! View Poll »
NBC “Insider” Says Matt Lauer Should Be Fired From Today Show NBC executives faced some heavy backlash earlier this year over the firing of long time “Today Show” host Ann Curry, and now a person close to the situation is saying that Matt Lauer should be next in line to get the boot. via THG With ratings still down and The Today Show still trailing Good Morning America, a former executive at NBC has a solution for this long-running daily program: Fire Matt Lauer. “This problem is not going to go away until Matt Lauer does,” the anonymous insider tells The New York Daily News. “He’s great, but fairly or unfairly, his brand is damaged.” This isn’t the first time such an idea has been floated, with many viewers clamoring for Lestor Holt to replace the veteran anchor. Alexandra Wallace, meanwhile, has come on board as the new producer at Today, taking over for Jim Bell, who was behind the Ann Curry firing. It seems like there’s no love for the old school Today Show hosts over there in the NBC corporate offices….we can’t help but wonder who’s next…
Barack said today that the plan is “odious” and the new bill has Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni feeling torn between siding with the ‘demands’ of the evangelical church vs. incoming aid from donors. According to Reuters : Some international donors have threatened to cut aid if the legislation, which is now before a parliamentary committee and was first introduced in parliament in 2009, becomes law. “Ugandans want that law as a Christmas gift. They have asked for it and we’ll give them that gift,” parliament speaker Rebecca Kadaga told Reuters on Tuesday. As House speaker Kadaga can ask the committee to expedite scrutiny of a bill in order to bring it back to the House for final debate and voting. Existing legislation already outlaws gay sex. The new bill prohibits the “promotion” of gay rights and punishes anyone who “funds or sponsors homosexuality” or “abets homosexuality”. Kadaga said it was still possible to pass the bill this year although there was little time remaining before the House went on recess for Christmas holidays. “It’s very, very possible, we can do it,” Kadaga said. Homosexuality is taboo in many African nations. It is illegal in 37 countries on the continent, including Uganda, and activists say few Africans are openly gay, fearing imprisonment, violence and loss of jobs. Last month Uganda’s leading daily newspaper, Daily Monitor, reported a spat in Canada between Kadaga and Canada’s foreign minister over Uganda’s harassment of gay people. “If homosexuality is a value for the people of Canada they should not seek to force Uganda to embrace it. We are not a colony or a protectorate of Canada,” the paper quoted Kadaga as saying. Her comments drew support among some Ugandans on Twitter and Facebook and upon returning from Canada she received a rapturous welcome at Entebbe, Uganda’s main international airport. Clare Byarugaba, coordinator for Civil Society Coalition on Human Rights and Constitutional Law (CSCHRCL), said the group would petition the constitutional court to declare the draft legislation unconstitutional. “The international community supports us and we also believe in the constitution of our country which protects the rights and freedoms of everyone,” she said. “And we’ll petition it (constitutional court) and we strongly believe the law will be on our side,” she said. International activist group Avaaz condemned the decision. “Sentencing people to life in prison for love is not a “Christmas gift”, it’s a sickening violation of human rights,” campaign director Emma Ruby-Sachs said in a statement. In August gay rights activists hacked several Ugandan government websites to denounce what they regard as harassment of homosexuals in the east African country. The country also banned 38 NGOs in July it accused of promoting homosexuality and recruiting children into homosexuality. Think she’s getting coal in her stocking this year?? Images via tumblr
