‘Yeah, of course he’ll be involved,’ Em says of his frequent collaborator Dre in radio interview. By Carter Maness Dr. Dre and Eminem Photo: Kevin Winter/ Getty Images
Throughout the ’70s and into the first part of the ’80s, it was hard to ignore singer/songwriter/actor/sometimes talk show host and best-friend of the Muppets Paul Williams. He won Grammys and even an Oscar for hits he wrote including “We’ve Only Just Begun,”, “Rainy Days on Mondays,” “Evergreen,” “Just an Old Fashioned Love Song” and “Rainbow Connection.” Barbra Streisand, The Carpenters and even Kermit the Frog are among the artists he wrote super-hits for. Below, Paul Williams gives us his top ten movie songs of all time and dishes insight on Stephen Kessler’s documentary about him, Paul Williams Still Alive , about his raging ascent and crashing fall and return to form… Johnny Carson first brought the artist onto the Tonight Show as the swinging ’70s were just beginning. He did television, movies, concerts. If there was a group of “It-guys” in that crazy decade, Williams would surely have been a part of that cadre of people at the center of all that spectacle. But as the ’80s wore on and into the ’90s Paul Williams all but disappeared from the center of it all. Drugs and booze did him in for a while, though he came roaring back though via a less flashy route. Enter fan and Oscar-nominated filmmaker Stephen Kessler. He had long been a fan of Williams as a teen growing up in Queens, NY and his songs which he described as about “depression, loneliness and alienation,” and set out to find Williams and make a documentary. Williams said ‘yes’ but he was hardly a willing participant, at least initially, as Williams told Movieline. “By the time I decided to go along, he had spent a lot of time and a lot of money. I didn’t want to flat out say no and didn’t know how to say no.” Williams added that he thought there was nothing worse than some older famous guy trying to reach for that last bit of notoriety. Kessler is very present in the film, which goes against most documentary standards unless you’re Michael Moore or Morgan Spurlock. With Williams reluctant initially to open up and only providing limited access, the story unfolds interweaving a treasure-trove of ’70s pop culture which Paul is at the center and Kessler’s desire to get at his core and open up. I’m an actor, I can ignore the camera if I want to. But it’s exhausting to try and pretend I don’t notice the camera,” said Williams. “I didn’t want to do that, it seemed ridiculous.” One thing cameras caught and the film surfaces, decades later, is footage of Williams, high, while doing late night talk shows. Now 22 years sober, it’s a painful reminder of his past life and he even said during the film that he didn’t want his daughter to see that. But he relents and said he hopes it will help others. “I became a shallow ride and my behavior was totally unacceptable. One of the best things I did was to say to keep that footage in the movie. I think by leaving in you get a sense of how bad it got,” he said. “[There is] a sense of real disappointment and leading edge of shame. In a certain context it’s hard to watch, but you get a sense that recovery works. You see the yin and yang of the whole deal and you see that now, my life is such a gift. I hope I can make a difference… I love my life. And I’m blown away by the reaction.” PAUL WILLIAM’s TOP 10 MOVIE SONGS: Rock Around the Clock by Bill Haley, Blackboard Jungle (1955) Main title theme by Elmer Bernstein, The Man with a Golden Arm (1955) Lose Yourself by Eminem/Bass/Resto, 8 Mile (2002) When You Wish Upon a Star by Harline/Washington Pinnochio (1940) The Man That Got Away by Arlen /Gershwin, A Star is Born (1954) With a Song in My Heart by Rodgers/Hart, With A Song in my Heart (1954) Somewhere by Bernstein/Sondheim, West Side Story Moon River by Mancini/Mercer, Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961) Alfie by Bacharach/David, Alfie (2004) Streets of Philadelphia by Bruce Springsteen, Philadelphia (1993) Born To Be Wild by Dennis Edmonton AKA: Mars Bonfire, Easy Rider (1969) And what are your favorites? Paul Williams Still Alive opens in NYC today. Follow Brian Brooks on Twitter . Follow Movieline on Twitter .
Chris Brown and Nicki Minaj are confirmed to perform at the 2012 BET Awards on July 1. By Rob Markman Kanye West Photo: Chris Hyde/Getty Images Expect lots of drama, plenty of laughs and possibly even a few superheroes in the building when Samuel L. Jackson hosts the 2012 BET Awards on July 1, live from the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles. On Tuesday (May 22), BET announced the nominees for their 2012 awards show and even confirmed performances by Chris Brown and Nicki Minaj (though there was no official word on whether the Hulk will attend). BET president Stephen Hill held a press conference in New York City on Tuesday, and with the help of Big Sean , DJ Khaled, A$AP Rocky, Diggy, Mindless Behavior and Melanie Fiona, he spilled the beans about the big show. Samuel L. wasn’t in attendance, but “The Avengers” star sent a pre-taped message promising that the show will be “too big to miss.” Kanye West leads the nominations with seven, including two Video of the Year nods for the Throne’s “N—as in Paris” and “Otis.” Beyonc
‘It’s basically a big party with no judgment,’ Roc Nation singer tells MTV News of the concept for her ‘How We Do’ video. By Rebecca Thomas Rita Ora Photo: MTV News The last time an R&B upstart sampled the Notorious B.I.G. on her debut single, it was the early aughts: Eminem was still cleaning out his closet and Pink and Christina Augilera were pop’s reigning bad girls. Amidst all that, Ashanti ‘s Biggie-sampling “Foolish” scaled the charts and spent 10 weeks at #1 on the way to becoming one of the decade’s most successful singles. Now, 10 years later, Rita Ora is dipping into Mr. Wallace’s vault for her first Stateside release. But whereas the onetime Murder Inc. princess made a breakup ballad for the ages, Ora’s debut single, “How We Do (Party)” — which gets musical inspiration from the late Big’s grimy “Party and Bullsh–” — is as bouncy as a box spring. When the newly minted Roc Nation signee visited the MTV newsroom earlier this month, we drilled her with questions about the tune and its equally effervescent video. “It’s basically a big party with no judgment,” Ora explained of how the visual matches the sentiment of the number, written by Kelly Sheehan and Bonnie McKee. “So there’s a whole bunch of people in there, from a guy who’s got knickers on and who’s colored in paint on his chest to an old man kind of shaking his hips around. … It’s definitely [about embracing] anyone who wants to come to a party,” she laughed. In the clip, the Kosovo-born, West London-raised beauty down a Basquiat-style crown as she presides over a colorful bash that alternates between a lush garden at twilight, a foil-wrapped bedroom and a white-cube space complete with guests using their torsos as paint brushes. ” ‘Cause when the sun sets, baby, on the avenue/ I get that drunk sex feeling, yeah when I’m with you,” she coos to the camera. The infectious tune dares you not to dance along, and last week at New York’s SOB’s, a room full of seen-it-all industry types gathered for a Roc Nation showcase fully rocked out. Ora, for her part, announced the next song in her set by throwing an oversize Coogi sweater (we think Big would have approved!) over her tank. With a red knit cap pulled down over platinum-blond curls, she called to mind a cross between mid-’90s-era Faith Evans (during her courtship with Mr. Wallace, of course) and Gwen Stefani, whom Ora cites as an influence. “I am a huge Notorious B.I.G. fan and I loved his Coogi sweaters and … I found one for 10 pounds actually in a village shop back home,” she told us of the Brooklyn icon’s signature cover-up. The connections to Biggie don’t end there, though. Ora is the latest on a growing roster of acts being groomed by Jay-Z, the Roc Nation mogul and Big’s old Bed-Stuy pal. Back in February, Shawn Carter himself accompanied his new artist, single in hand, to iHeartRadio’s Z100. The video went viral and the Jordan-wearing 21-year-old hasn’t looked back since. What do you think of Rita Ora? Tell us in the comments or on our Facebook page! Related Artists Rita Ora
Visual-effects house behind the 2-D image tells Wall Street Journal that Dr. Dre has a vision beyond Coachella for his virtual friend. By Kara Warner Tupac’s hologram at Coachella Photo: Kevin Winter/ Getty Images Tupac Shakur has made quite an impact on pop culture since his death in 1996, so we shouldn’t be too surprised that his eye-popping and downright magical materialization at the Coachella music festival on Sunday night alongside Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre is dominating the headlines. The spectacular surprise has caused such a stir that there’s a chance we might be seeing a lot more of this “new” Tupac very soon. According to a Wall Street Journal interview with Ed Ulbrich of Digital Domain Media Group Inc., the visual-effects house responsible for making the rapper’s image (as well as the virtual versions of Brad Pitt in “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”), there are plans to take the 2-D image on tour. (Although ‘Pac’s ghostly figure has been widely reported as a hologram, Ulbrich told the Journal that its technical description is a 2-D image and not a hologram, which is 3-D.) Moving forward with discussions of a tour are representatives for Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg who, according to a source close to the project, will be meeting to discuss the logistics involved in scheduling a string of performances with the virtual Tupac. The report cites one option would be to tour in stadiums and involve other hip-hop stars like Eminem, 50 Cent and Wiz Khalifa. Another option is a limited tour that would only feature Dre, Snoop Dogg and the virtual Tupac in smaller arenas. “We worked with Dr. Dre on this, and it was Dre’s vision to bring this back to life,” Nick Smith — president of AV Concepts, the San Diego company that projected and staged the image — exclusively told MTV News on Monday (April 16). “It was his idea from the very beginning and we worked with him and his camp to utilize the technology to make it come to life. … You can take their likenesses and voice and … take people that haven’t done concerts before or perform music they haven’t sung and digitally re-create it.” “This is not found footage. This is not archival footage. This is an illusion [and] this is just the beginning,” Ulbrich told the Journal. “Dre has a massive vision for this.” Do you want to see virtual ‘Pac in concert? Let us know in the comments! Related Photos Tupac’s Hologram At Coachella Related Artists Tupac
‘When it’s done, you’ll see how authentic it is,’ Crooked I tells MTV News on the video set. By Nadeska Alexis Slaughterhouse on the set of “Hammer Dance” Photo: MTV News Slaughterhouse passed through Austin, Texas, to perform at the Shady 2.0 Showcase during South by Southwest earlier this month, and while they were in town, the boys — Joe Budden, Royce Da 5’9”, Crooked I and Joell Ortiz — slotted some time to film the video for their latest single, “Hammer Dance.” MTV News caught up with the four rappers on set, where they explained the video’s concept and give an update on their upcoming album, Welcome to: Our House. “I think it’s just a day in the life of Slaughterhouse, a lot of energy,” Crooked I told MTV News. “We’re gonna give fans a chance to shine, and I think when it’s done, you’ll see how authentic it is. When we roll into town, we jell with people, no matter where they are, who they are, what part of the world they’re from. We’re just average dudes trying to do extraordinary things.” “Hammer Dance” is the latest single from the group’s sophomore album, which is expected to debut this summer. Slaughterhouse wouldn’t give a specific release date just yet, but they did reveal that their Shady Records boss, Eminem, is in the final stages of mixing. “[We’re] still working out minor tweaks, [but] it’s way more done than people know,” Royce said. “Marshall is actually mixing right now. He’s actually mixed the entire album, and that wasn’t even the original plan, so we’re super excited about that. He’s just taking songs to another level.” Eminem is known for his hands-off approach with artists, but the Detroit native was very much involved in the creation of Welcome to: Our House, as the group explained. “Real talk: A lot of people don’t give Eminem enough credit for his production and his arrangement and his mixing,” Crooked I said. “What he’s doing to add to the album is phenomenal, and I think he deserves props and a salute for that.” “He’s turning it into a movie,” Royce concluded. “It’s becoming way more visual, when he comes and puts his stamp on it, if you will.” What are you expecting from new Slaughterhouse music? Let us know in the comments! Related Artists Slaughterhouse
50 Cent performs his 2003 album “Get Rich or Die Tryin'” with some help from Marshall Mathers. By Nadeska Alexis 50 Cent and Eminem perform March 16 Photo: Sam Hendrick/ MTV News 50 Cent made a rare appearance in Austin, Texas on Friday night to perform his classic 2003 album Get Rich or Die Tryin’ in its entirety, and fans who were hoping for that rumored Eminem performance were not the least bit disappointed. The opening lineup at the SXSW Shady 2.0 Showcase included 50 Cent’s new G-Unit artists Paris and Kidd Kidd, plus Action Bronson, Black Hippy’s Schoolboy Q, Don Trip and Big K.R.I.T. Yelawolf was forced to cancel his appearance due to an injury but his fellow Shady Records signees, Slaughterhouse, took the stage before Fif dishing out freestyles, in addition to singles like “Hammer Dance” from their upcoming album welcome to: Our House . 50 Cent hit the stage shortly after 11pm, launching into “What Up Gangsta?” decked out in an appropriately nostalgic outfit–a camouflage bullet-proof best and Yankees cap. Throughout the week there had been whispers of an Eminem guest appearance during Fif’s set, and Marshall Mathers confirmed those rumors on the second song of the night. Fifty rolled right into “Patiently Waiting,” spitting his first verse and within seconds Em burst onto the stage, delivering the hook and his verse, casually decked out in jeans a baseball cap and his signature hoodie. At times, Fif’s commentary during the show was just as entertaining as the actual songs. “It’s been 10 years. That album sold 13 million copies,” he told the crowd, marveling at the success of Get Rich or Die Tryin.’ “The money came so fast, I couldn’t f— it up,” he added, getting some laughs from the crowd. “I was trying everything I could think of.” Tony Yayo hung by Fif’s side as the crowd continued to go wild for tracks like “Many Men,” and “In Da Club.” And although the Queens rapper was in great spirits, he still managed to get in a bit of a rant, taking aim at some of his critics. “I guess it’s not what have I done, but what have I done for you lately, is that right?” he said, the annoyance evident on his face. Still, Fif treated fans to a few more songs, including an encore performance and a freestyle over Eminem’s “Till I Collapse,” which commanded another Shady appearance on stage. “Wanksta” was the closing number of the night, and though fans stayed put, expectantly, for another few minutes, that was it folks. Related Videos South by Southwest 2012 Related Photos SXSW 2012 50 Cent, Eminem Collab At SXSW Related Artists Eminem 50 Cent
Diddy is the third hip-hop artist to win an Academy Award , following in the footsteps of Eminem and Three 6 Mafia. The music mogul won the Best Documentary Academy Award for his role as executive producer on the film “Undefeated,” which follows the trials and tribulations of an all-black high school football team. This guy is really doing his thing! He also recently announced his new network Revolt! RELATED: Diddy Announces REVOLT Music and News TV Network [VIDEO] Celebs Hit The 2012 Golden Globes Red Carpet & After Parties [PHOTOS]
No hating women allowed… this is for the fellas who can appreciate… just kidding. Turn the page for all the cake shaking footage you can handle from this year’s Rio Carnival in Brazil.
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