Mary Ann Mobley: Mississippi#39;s 1st Miss America 1959 dies at 75 after battle with breast cancer.In this Sept. 12, 1959 file photo, Miss America of 1960, Miss Mississippi, Lynda Lee Mead, right, of Natchez, is crowned by outgoing Miss America, Mary Ann Mobley, top left, also of Mississippi, in Atlantic City, N.J. The former Miss America, Mobley, who went on to appear in movies with Elvis Presley and make documentary films around the world has died.Mary Ann Mobley, the dark-haired and wholesome
A recent study of past and present pop music sought to rank the greatest singers of all time on the basis of their vocal range. We think it’s safe to say the results are… surprising. 17 Great Singers Ranked By Vocal Range! 1. Taylor Swift – #77 Taylor glammed up for the red carpet. Photos like this remind us why she’s had so many boyfriends. For example, if you can predict ahead of time which two crooners tied for the top spot, well then you, sir or madam, have quite the ear for music. You should probably replace all three judges on American Idol and produce Caleb Johnson ‘s first number one record. In other words, you can’t predict this list. No one can. We’ve all got our ideas of what constitutes good and bad music and this list throws concepts like creative ingenuity, songwriting ability and stage presence right out the window and judges artists solely by the highest and lowest notes they can hit. So there is a world in which Miley Cyrus and Bob Dylan are ranked side-by-side and you can’t even argue against it because, hey…it’s science. Check out the gallery above for some of the more jaw-dropping entries on the list. Bear in mind, this isn’t a comprehensive study of every singer that ever recorded, just a sampling of the top pop singers of the past 50 years, and the way they stack up against one another is sometimes unbelievable. Surprising revelations include: Katy Perry is a better singer than Taylor Swift? John Lennon and Elvis Presley have the exact same vocal range? Eminem is considered a singer?! So while John Kaufman won the big prize last night, this list answers the question of who is really The Voice. The answer(s) are certainly unexpected. As is this pretty decent cover of Dylan’s “You’re Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go” by Miley. Maybe they’re not so different after all! Miley Cyrus ft. Johnzo West – You’re Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go
Rihanna has joined The Beatles and Elvis Presley as one of just three acts to top the UK singles chart seven times over seven years. Rihanna landed back in the number one spot as the featured…
Move over, Tupac hologram . It’s time for another late icon to be resurrected on stage. Digital Domain Media Group, the company responsible for bringing Tupac to “life” at Coachella this year, is teaming up with Core Media Group (which owns Elvis’ brand) to “jointly produce a series of ‘virtual’ Elvis likenesses for a range of entertainment projects,” according to Billboard. “His lifelong fans will be thrilled all over again, and new audiences will discover the electric experience of Elvis the performer,” says Jack Soden, president and CEO of Elvis Presley Enterprises. “The high level of quality entertainment that both Core Media Group and Digital Domain deliver gives us great confidence that these projects will help continue the growth of Elvis’ rich legacy all over the world.” A much cheaper version of Hologram Elvis actually appeared on American Idol in 2007, singing a duet with Celine Dion. Will you go see this one on tour?
Liam Hemsworth wanted a ring that was ‘beautiful and romantic,’ celebrity jeweler Neil Lane tells People. By Christina Garibaldi Miley Cyrus’ engagement ring Photo: Neil Lane Miley Cyrus certainly has a lot to celebrate. On Wednesday (June 6), the former “Hannah Montana” star announced that she will be walking down the aisle with her boyfriend of three years, Liam Hemsworth . The two met on the set of their 2009 flick “The Last Song” and have been dating on-and-off ever since. Earlier this year, the couple denied engagement rumors after Cyrus was spotted with what looked to be an engagement ring. But now, they are ready to make it official. Before Miley and Liam walk down the aisle, let’s take a walk down memory lane and relive their three-year relationship. After telling People magazine that she “is so happy to be engaged,” Cyrus took to Twitter to thank her fans for their overwhelming outpouring of well-wishes. “thank you for all the love today 🙂 I’m happy to share this news with you all,” Cyrus wrote. “I feel like all my dreams are coming true. ❤ have a great day” Now adorning Cyrus’ left hand is a stunning 3.5-carat sparkler, which Hemsworth had a hand in creating. The “Hunger Games” star teamed up with celebrity jeweler Neil Lane, who told People that Hemsworth wanted “something really beautiful and romantic” for his soon-to-be bride. The ring, which has a vintage feel, was handcrafted in 18-karat gold and is garnished with diamond floral patterns. Yet, it’s the antique center stone that truly makes this a unique and beautiful engagement ring. “It was hand-cut around 1880 or 1890 and it’s unique and in its original form,” Lane said. “At that time no two diamonds were alike, as they were all hand-cut, so it’s fascinating to look at because it hasn’t been re-cut to look contemporary over the years. I find that really romantic.” And, according to Lane, so did Hemsworth: “It’s everything he was looking for.” Hemsworth wasted no time in giving Cyrus the ring, which was completed last week, just in time for him to propose to Cyrus on May 31. Send your well-wishes to Miley and Liam in the comments below! Related Photos A Look Back: Miley Cyrus and Liam Hemsworth
Digital Domain Media Group is working on a ‘virtual’ Elvis for a series of film and TV projects. By Gil Kaufman Elvis Presley Photo: Getty Images We may not be getting those Left Eye, Michael Jackson or Notorious B.I.G. holograms we were hoping for anytime soon, but one of rock’s royal court will be digitally resurrected. Digital Domain Media Group, the company behind the earthshaking Tupac Shakur hologram that created a global sensation at this year’s Coachella festival announced this week that it is planning to create a virtual Elvis Presley. Working with the Core Media Group — which owns the rights to Elvis’ estate — Digital Domain said it is working on a series of “virtual” Elvis likenesses for a wide range of entertainment projects that could include everything from film and TV to “multi-platform productions throughout the world.” DDMG, the Oscar-winning folks behind the special effects in films such as “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” has already started on some of the Elvis virtual renderings and plans to announce plans for a full roll-out soon. “Elvis Presley is the king of rock and roll … you have to start with the king,” Ed Ulbrich, Chief Creative Officer at Digital Domain told MTV News when asked why the company’s next major project would focus on the first wave rock star. “We’re in the creative development stages now. Instead of a single application we’re looking to bring Elvis back across a host of platforms, including live concerts in venues.” Like the Tupac stunt, Ulbrich said the Elvis rendering would not be based on archival footage, but original, exclusive performances by the King using the company’s bleeding-edge technology. He was not at liberty to describe how that process is managed, but Ulbrich promised that like in “Button” and “TRON: Legacy,” it would involve the holy grail of the industry: creating a synthetic likeness of a human being that is just as believable as the real thing. The company is in the process of building the Elvis programming now and Ulbrich said there was no timetable on when we might see the first fruits of this new experiment because the Digital Domain team is determined to take as long as necessary to get it right. “We take this very seriously because we want to pay great respect to Elvis and his legacy,” he said. In a statement announcing the deal, Elvis Presley Enterprises President and CEO, Jack Soden said, “This is a new and exciting way to bring the magic and music of Elvis Presley to life. His lifelong fans will be thrilled all over again and new audiences will discover the electric experience of Elvis the performer.” While Ulbrich said he was not at liberty to discuss what other music legends may get the Tupac/Elvis treatment next, he acknowledged that is not to say that, “we’re not talking about other things or looking at other things.” For the time being, though, the focus is on Elvis. Now, as whether we’ll see young, hip-swiveling Elvis or the latter-period Las Vegas version, Ulbrich would only say, “you’ll have to [wait and] see.” Related Artists Elvis Presley Tupac
Robert Pattinson has a lot riding these days. He traveled to Cannes for the world premiere of David Cronenberg’s Cosmopolis in which he plays a multimillionaire on a 24-hour odyssey through New York City (mostly in his limo) and he stars in Declan Donnellan and Nick Ormerod’s Bel Ami in which he portrays a man grabbing power by manipulating Paris’ most wealthy women. And of course there was his most recent annual win for Best Kiss at the MTV Movie Awards last weekend (he and Twilight co-star Kristen Stewart have taken the “prize” for four years straight – those sexy things). Pattinson spoke with CBC host George Stroumboulopoulos about his latest pursuits and more. The actor talks about Twilight type-casting, how Ryan Gosling inspired him, his feelings about Heath Ledger and his run-in with singer Adele. Cosmopolis opens in Cronenberg’s native Canada in the next few days (it is slated for the U.S. this year) while Bel Ami will debut Stateside this weekend. (Video of the Robert Pattinson George Stroumboulopoulos Tonight interview is below and airs Thursday, June 7, at 11:05 pm on CBC television – Interview re-printed with permission by CBC). You know, post- Twilight franchise , you were trying to go down different roads? Was this legitimately part of your planning? Robert Pattinson : This was not part of the plan at all. I just thought I was totally oversaturated everywhere, I wanted to do little tiny parts or maybe no parts at all. I got this three weeks before I was finishing the last Twilight movie, and I was really, really determined to find ensemble pieces or anything small just so I didn’t have to be in everybody’s face and annoying everyone. And then this thing came up. Is this a new experience for you though, to watch your film back and go, oh wait a minute, how do I promote this movie? RP: Ah, completely. It reminded me, I watched this interview with Ryan Gosling once, and he said when he did The Believer a few years ago, and people were saying – cause he’d done Young Hercules for three or four seasons – and then he did The Believer and everybody was asking about his craft. And it’s the most, most confusing thing. I was in Cannes doing these interviews, and I was really fighting to not look pretentious for years, and someone gives you one inch of the possibility of being pretentious, and you’re like grabbing it so hard, going around being the biggest douchebag. And now I’ve kind of reined it in again. The one thing I imagine that you’re dealing with is aside from your close circle of friends — actual humanity, actual human conversations, the connections we all crave as a person, it’s harder and harder for you to find, isn’t it? RP: Yeah, but I just remember, I think I was pretty similar before. Like I would be one of those people who was desperate to go to a party and then they go to the party and just stand in the corner with the people they came with and refuse to acknowledge that anyone else is there. So I don’t really miss anything. And you kind of, you have all these fantasies if I wasn’t famous I’d meet all these random people in the street all the time. But you don’t meet random people in the street. Most of the time you’re trying to avoid everybody even if you’re not famous. Actually I had this argument with Adele, which is probably the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever said. I was saying, “you know, you can really just like reach for it,” and she was like, “you do realize I am like the biggest-selling female artist ever?” And I just for some reason just decided to get into an argument with her. How does that happen, at two o’clock in the morning somewhere? R.P. Yeah, and then waking up and kind of really, really regretting every word I said. Do you think much about the fact that when this franchise goes away, that you need that second act to your career? Do you think about that? RP:  The only thing I ever thought about was thinking, I don’t want anyone to think that I somehow got trapped by something, you know. And I don’t know if anyone really does, the general public, about Twilight – but the amount of times you get asked, “oh, are you worried about being typecast?” I’m just worried about people saying, like, “What happened to that guy?” And also, you think, you want to do something at least a little bit worthwhile with what kind of power you’ve been given, through luck. And not just keep trying to extend the same thing for as long as possible. I’m not very scared of it going away at all. If I could somehow maintain a career in which I keep making movies like Cosmopolis , than I think it would be amazing, because not very many of them are made. You know, I always thought after The Dark Knight , for instance, it makes tons and tons of money, and Heath is doing something just outside — and people understand what he’s doing, it’s not like he’s not doing something totally crazy, but it’s just slightly outside the box of what people are used to seeing, and I really thought that was going to change everything as to how the big budget movies are made. But it didn’t, at all. If every single actor wasn’t afraid of trying to do something slightly abstract and not concerned about their movie making tons and tons of money, then eventually the industry would change. But then you and other guys in your position, can you make these kinds of films, then? And not just as actors? RP: I think you can once. I don’t know how many other times. I’m desperately trying to get a superhero movie now.
Also in Wednesday afternoon’s quick news roundup, The Hobbit is set to premiere in Down Under later this year, Paul Rudd and Emile Hirsch complete a “secret” indie and Captain America 2 appears to have found its directors. Also up is news on a network starring Asian Americans and Universal chief Ron Meyer heads to UCLA festivities. IFC Midnight Takes Rights to Antiviral U.S. rights to Brandon Cronenberg’s Cannes debut Antiviral have been picked up by IFC Midnight. The film, also with a screenplay by Cronenberg, stars Caleb Landry Jones, Sarah Gadon, Douglas Smith and Malcolm McDowell. The film follows “Syd March, an employee at a clinic that sells injections of live viruses harvested from sick celebrities to rabid fans. Syd supplements his income by selling illegal samples of these viruses on the black market,smuggling them out of the clinic in his own body. When he becomes infected with the disease that kills superstar Hannah Geist, Syd becomes a target for collectors and obsessed fans. Arianna Bocco, Senior Vice President of Acquisitions & Productions of Sundance Selects/IFC Films negotiated the deal with Gregory Chambet of TF1 International. Asian Americans Take Spotlight in Network’s Film Fest Mnet , the first national, 24/7 English-language television network in the U.S. for all things Asian, kicks off the third season of Short Notice with a film festival that allows fans to select their favorite short film created by and starring Asian Americans . As one of Mnet’s original programming series, the show premieres on Wednesday, June 13 at 8 p.m. ET/PT with new host George Wang. Universal Chief Ron Meyer to Deliver UCLA Commencement Ron Meyer, Universal Studios President and COO, will be the 2012 Commencement Speaker for this year’s UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television’s (TFT) commencement ceremony. Recipients of TFT’s 2012 Distinguished Alumni Awards are director and screenwriter Penelope Spheeris for Film and Shirley Jo Finney, the award-winning international director/actor, for Theater, both of whom will receive their awards at the ceremony. UCLA Names New Chair of Dept. of Film, Television, and Digital Media William McDonald, award-winning cinematographer and professor, has been appointed the new Chair of the Department of Film, Television and Digital Media (FTVDM) at UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television (TFT) and will assume his new position on July 1st. GKids Takes Rights to Japan’s From up on Poppy Hill GKIDS is handling theatrical, home video, television and VOD rights and will qualify the film for the Academy Awards in the Best Animated Feature category. Directed by Goro Miyazaki, the film is set in Yokohama in 1963, about a high school couple’s innocent love and the secrets surrounding their births. The story takes place in a Japan that is picking itself up from the devastation of World War II and preparing to host the 1964 Olympics. GKids plans a March 2013 release. Around the ‘net… Elvis will Appear in Film and TV – Virtually CORE Media Group, which owns the Elvis Presley brand, has signed a deal with digital production company Digital Domain Media Group to develop, produce a series of “virtual” Elvis Presley apparitions for film and TV projects, Deadline reports . The Hobbit to Debut November in New Zealand The screening at Wellington’s Embassy Theatre will take place two weeks ahead of the film’s release on 14 December. Oscar-winning Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson said it was fitting to hold the premiere “where the journey began.” Based on the novel by J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit is set 60 years before the Lord Of The Rings trilogy of films, BBC reports . Paul Rudd and Emile Hirsch Complete ‘Top Secret’ Indie The actors worked on Prince Avalanche by writer-director David Gordon Green, based on Hafsteinn Gunnar Sigurosson’s Icelandic comedy Either Way . The film revolves around two men whose lives intersect while working on a road striping crew together. Green and his longtime collaborators Lisa Muskat and Craig Zobel produced the film with James Belfer and Derrick Tseng, Variety reports . Russo Bros. Appear to be Headed to Captain America 2 Anthony and Joe Russo are close to signing on to direct the Captain America sequel for Marvel. The Russo’s credits include You, Me & Dupree and NBC’s comedy Community , THR reports .
Also in Wednesday afternoon’s quick news roundup, The Hobbit is set to premiere in Down Under later this year, Paul Rudd and Emile Hirsch complete a “secret” indie and Captain America 2 appears to have found its directors. Also up is news on a network starring Asian Americans and Universal chief Ron Meyer heads to UCLA festivities. IFC Midnight Takes Rights to Antiviral U.S. rights to Brandon Cronenberg’s Cannes debut Antiviral have been picked up by IFC Midnight. The film, also with a screenplay by Cronenberg, stars Caleb Landry Jones, Sarah Gadon, Douglas Smith and Malcolm McDowell. The film follows “Syd March, an employee at a clinic that sells injections of live viruses harvested from sick celebrities to rabid fans. Syd supplements his income by selling illegal samples of these viruses on the black market,smuggling them out of the clinic in his own body. When he becomes infected with the disease that kills superstar Hannah Geist, Syd becomes a target for collectors and obsessed fans. Arianna Bocco, Senior Vice President of Acquisitions & Productions of Sundance Selects/IFC Films negotiated the deal with Gregory Chambet of TF1 International. Asian Americans Take Spotlight in Network’s Film Fest Mnet , the first national, 24/7 English-language television network in the U.S. for all things Asian, kicks off the third season of Short Notice with a film festival that allows fans to select their favorite short film created by and starring Asian Americans . As one of Mnet’s original programming series, the show premieres on Wednesday, June 13 at 8 p.m. ET/PT with new host George Wang. Universal Chief Ron Meyer to Deliver UCLA Commencement Ron Meyer, Universal Studios President and COO, will be the 2012 Commencement Speaker for this year’s UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television’s (TFT) commencement ceremony. Recipients of TFT’s 2012 Distinguished Alumni Awards are director and screenwriter Penelope Spheeris for Film and Shirley Jo Finney, the award-winning international director/actor, for Theater, both of whom will receive their awards at the ceremony. UCLA Names New Chair of Dept. of Film, Television, and Digital Media William McDonald, award-winning cinematographer and professor, has been appointed the new Chair of the Department of Film, Television and Digital Media (FTVDM) at UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television (TFT) and will assume his new position on July 1st. GKids Takes Rights to Japan’s From up on Poppy Hill GKIDS is handling theatrical, home video, television and VOD rights and will qualify the film for the Academy Awards in the Best Animated Feature category. Directed by Goro Miyazaki, the film is set in Yokohama in 1963, about a high school couple’s innocent love and the secrets surrounding their births. The story takes place in a Japan that is picking itself up from the devastation of World War II and preparing to host the 1964 Olympics. GKids plans a March 2013 release. Around the ‘net… Elvis will Appear in Film and TV – Virtually CORE Media Group, which owns the Elvis Presley brand, has signed a deal with digital production company Digital Domain Media Group to develop, produce a series of “virtual” Elvis Presley apparitions for film and TV projects, Deadline reports . The Hobbit to Debut November in New Zealand The screening at Wellington’s Embassy Theatre will take place two weeks ahead of the film’s release on 14 December. Oscar-winning Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson said it was fitting to hold the premiere “where the journey began.” Based on the novel by J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit is set 60 years before the Lord Of The Rings trilogy of films, BBC reports . Paul Rudd and Emile Hirsch Complete ‘Top Secret’ Indie The actors worked on Prince Avalanche by writer-director David Gordon Green, based on Hafsteinn Gunnar Sigurosson’s Icelandic comedy Either Way . The film revolves around two men whose lives intersect while working on a road striping crew together. Green and his longtime collaborators Lisa Muskat and Craig Zobel produced the film with James Belfer and Derrick Tseng, Variety reports . Russo Bros. Appear to be Headed to Captain America 2 Anthony and Joe Russo are close to signing on to direct the Captain America sequel for Marvel. The Russo’s credits include You, Me & Dupree and NBC’s comedy Community , THR reports .
Boyz up against longtime rivals Jodeci in round one; voting open now! By John Mitchell, with reporting by Jocelyn Vena Boyz II Men Photo: Jeff Fusco/ Getty Images Our Battle of the Boy Bands got off to a roaring start Monday as fans of new groups like the Wanted and One Direction and legacy acts like ‘NSYNC and New Kids on the Block hit our bracket hard to push their favorites on to the next round. One group that is in it to win it is Boyz II Men , who told MTV News they were among the “progenitors” of the entire boy-band genre. “We were kind of like the progenitors, the torch holders of a lot of the artists, of a lot of the boy bands that came about,” Nathan Morris told us. Highest Chart Achievement In the mid-’90s, Boyz II Men ruled the charts. That’s not hyperbole, either — three of the top-10 longest-running #1 singles in the history of the Billboard chart belong to the band. Their top song, though, is actually a duet, and with 16 weeks spent atop the chart, it’s also the biggest single ever: “One Sweet Day” with Mariah Carey. Boyz II Men are one of just four artists or groups to have held the #1 spot for at least 50 weeks cumulatively. On the all-time list, they fall at #4, behind only (ahem!) Elvis Presley, the Beatles and Carey. (With 47 weeks, Usher falls just short at #5.) Clearly, the band has quite a few chart achievements under its belt. Standout Video The Boyz made a series of great videos for their hits “End of the Road,” “I’ll Make Love to You” and “Water Runs Dry,” but for its cameos alone, “On Bended Knee” rises above. In the clip, each band member breaks up with and eventually reconciles with a girlfriend, played by four famous actresses: Victoria Rowell, Ren
