‘This album Ludaversal, it’s all about progression,’ Ludacris tells MTV News By Rob Markman, with reporting by Christina Garibaldi Ludacris Photo: Hard to imagine that Ludacris can get any bigger, but with more than a dozen years in the rap game, Luda is looking to take things to another level on his next album. “This album Ludaversal, it’s all about progression. We’re taking it to heights that you never, ever seen before,” the Atlanta MC told MTV News earlier this month at the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival in Tennessee. It’s been two years since Luda dropped Battle of the Sexes, and the rapper/actor aims to catch his fans up on all of his goings-on. “I’ve had seven albums, so right now it’s about trying to go places that I haven’t been. I’ve traveled over the world for the past year and I brought a lot of experiences back with me and put ’em in the music,” he said. “I’ve had a lot of personal experiences, so you’re going to get to know the real me and things that have been going on over the past three or four years.” When it comes to MCing, you’d be hard-pressed to find a rapper more skilled than Luda. Still, as an artist, he has been able to grow and venture into the world of pop thanks to key collaborations with Justin Bieber , Enrique Iglesias and David Guetta . With Ludaversal, Cris said he will continue to grow and branch out musically while still keeping things deeply rooted in hip-hop. The album’s first single, “Jingalin,” is an LL Cool J-inspired dance record, but Luda will keep things interesting with records with Usher and David Guetta as well. While Ludaversal doesn’t have an official release date, Cris said he hopes to drop it on his birthday, September 11. What is your favorite Ludacris album? Let us know in the comments.
Perry’s ‘Part of Me’ documentary gives fans a candid look at the demise of her relationship with Russell Brand. By Christina Garibaldi Katy Perry in the “Katy Perry: Part of Me 3D” trailer Photo: It’s been a whirlwind of a year for pop superstar Katy Perry . In 2011, she earned six #1 singles off her Teenage Dream album, embarked on a worldwide tour and endured a very public breakup from Russell Brand . And now fans can share all these experiences and more as Perry is set to release her 3-D documentary, “Part of Me,” on July 5th. The movie chronicles her unparalleled year as she has career highs, but suffers personal lows. And it’s those very personal moments, especially with Brand, that many will find most surprising. For the past six months, Perry has been mum on the issue of her divorce, and now for the first time, she is opening up about the split. The film picks up just a few months after the two tied the knot , as Perry embarks on her biggest tour to date, the California Dreams Tour. Fans witness Perry put in hours of hard work preparing for the tour and traveling to hundreds of different cities. Yet, with the success that she was having onstage, it was offstage where things were falling apart. It seems her new marriage and a grueling tour schedule were not mixing well, but it was not from lack of trying: Perry was adamant that while on her nearly yearlong tour, she take time out to see her husband, but in the end, it just couldn’t save the marriage. At one point, while flying to one of her tour stops, Perry admits to the camera, “I’m trying to keep my marriage alive.” “Part of Me” gives fans a rare glimpse inside a celebrity marriage, with Brand featured throughout the film. Some moments are touching, like when the comedian comes to wish her well on the opening night of her tour, yet some are heartbreaking to watch. In one scene, Perry is crying uncontrollably, delaying the start time of the concert, but like a true professional, she chokes back the tears and puts on a brave face for her fans. Perry talks candidly about Brand in the film, revealing that it was her skyrocketing career that could have played into the downfall of her marriage. “I thought to myself, ‘When I find that person that’s going to be my life partner, I won’t ever have to choose [between the partner and my career]. They won’t be threatened or have weird motives.’ Then I started to realize, that’s not true,” she admits. Yet, when asked in the film whether she still misses Brand, Perry begins to cry and admits that she does, but says she did everything she could to make it work. “I have that same belief system with everything, from career to my life to my personal life, everything. And I will do everything it takes to not fail,” she shares. “And I did everything it took, but it still failed.” Perry recently told MTV News that even though the subject of her divorce is difficult to deal with, she felt she would be doing her fans a disservice if she didn’t include it in the film. “The truth will always prevail,” Perry said. “Everything has to be handled integrously and appropriately, and it’s not nice to air all your dirty laundry, because that stinks, so I had to be very delicate with the situation, but I couldn’t avoid the elephant in the room,” she explained. “If you were to have seen that movie and walked out and [my breakup] wasn’t at all mentioned, like it never happened, you’d be like, ‘Eh, this is weird. What is she trying to hide?’ I don’t like to hide.” Check out everything we’ve got on “Katy Perry: Part of Me.” For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com . Related Artists Katy Perry
During O Music Awards, ‘Jackass’ star Chris Pontius, Neon Trees and Jackson Browne will join the Lips as they try to land Guinness spot. By Brendan Dempsey Wayne Coyne of Flaming Lips Photo: It’s no secret that the Flaming Lips have their sights set on the Guinness World Record for most concerts performed in multiple cities in a 24-hour time period. The innovative rockers have just announced they will be joined by “Jackass” and “Wildboyz” star Chris Pontius, Jackson Browne, Neon Trees, Karmin and a slew of additional artists as they gun for the record, currently held by Jay-Z, who played seven shows from Atlanta to L.A. in 2006. The Flaming Lips and friends plan to play eight shows from Memphis, Tennessee, to New Orleans, beginning Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. ET and continuing for 24 hours. The gigs will take place in conjunction with the O Music Awards, a 24-hour awards ceremony that will be broadcast on MTV, VH1 and CMT and livestream at Omusicawards.com. The Flaming Lips will jump aboard their aptly named bus, “Endeavor,” and travel to each new location just as the opening band is finishing its set. They’ll perform what promises to be a raucous and exciting mini-set before moving on to the next location. The O Music Awards ceremony will give out 24 awards, one for each hour of the festival. Categories that artists are vying to win include Must Follow Artist on Twitter, Best Online Concert Experience, Most Adorable Viral Star, Fan Army FTW, Best Music App and Digital Genius Award. “The O Music Awards are all about the celebrating the wonderfully messy and soulful spirit of music,” said Van Toffler, President of Viacom’s Music and Logo Group. “This insane bus brigade and the assorted collection of artists and pranksters that are taking part not only make me incredibly happy, but pretty much sum up what a good 24 hour binge should involve, minus the libations.” Along with the pomp and circumstance of winning awards, the first 12 installments of Stop/Watch will air during the concerts. Stop/Watch is a 60-second online music series in which artists have one minute flat to perform a complete song — with a countdown clock running! The first 12 Stop/Watch artists are: Joseph Arthur, Carolina Chocolate Drops, Citizen’s Band, John Forte, the Hives, Rhett Miller, Miracles of Modern Science, Peasant, Punch Brothers, Saint Motel, P.T. Walkley and the Wombats. Tickets to all of the O Music Awards shows can be purchased here. You can also catch the show live on your smart phone through the mobile web or the MTV News app. Here’s the full lineup of shows:
We broke the nudes back in January when our Skin Skout saw a sneak peek at the Sundance Film Festival , and now pics of That ’70s Show and Are You There, Chelsea? babe Laura Prepon popping off her top in Lay the Favorite (2012) have leaked online . So what can we expect from this highly SKINticipated first look at Laura’s lovely lungs? Something like the episode where she and Mila Kunis worked on their sunlamp tans (left) on That ’70s Show …just outdoors. And topless. Summer 2012 is turning out to be a dream come true for nudity lovers- first Sarah Silverman , then Kristen Stewart , now Laura Prepon [ SEE THE PICS HERE ]…who will be the next sexy star to make her nude debut? When they do, you’ll find out about it here on the Mr. Skin blog!
The promise of seeing Channing Tatum , Matthew McConaughey, and their manscaped compatriots bare (almost) it all in Steven Soderbergh ’s Magic Mike has quickened the collective pulse of the film’s target audience in the weeks leading up to Friday’s release. But while ladies and many gents will get a titillating thrill from the scantily-clad dance numbers and cheesy-fantasy bumps ‘n’ grinds (and there are so, so many), what elevates the film beyond its “ Showgirls -with-men” concept is the depth and naturalness in the story of 30-year-old star performer Mike (Tatum) and his pursuit of the American dream as one of the “Cock-rocking Kings of Tampa.” Based loosely on Tatum’s eight-month experience as a male stripper in his teens — a time during which Tatum admits to witnessing a much more dark and depressing version of events than what producing partner/writer Reid Carolin transposes to the script — Magic Mike flies on Tatum’s charismatic turn as the male stripper at the center of this world filled with g-strings and crumpled dollar bills, the most ubiquitous, and sweat-drenched, tokens of power in this strange little world. An ambitious would-be entrepreneur who diligently saves the cash he earns working nights at McConaughey’s all-male dance revue, Tatum’s Mike dreams of starting his own custom furniture business but bad credit and a crap economy — and, more problematically, his hedonistic lifestyle — keep him from realizing his ideal life. When he meets an eager-but-directionless college dropout ( Alex Pettyfer ) and takes him under his wing, Mike sees a chance to mentor the kid. But the more that success comes at the club, the more Mike sees his real goals slipping further out of reach. Closing the LA Film Fest on a star-studded note — and with plenty of testosterone on the red carpet — Magic Mike should ride into release on Friday with healthy word of mouth, if only judging by the enthusiasm level in the ladies room following a press screening last week. Granted, a number of men seemed to have been left lukewarm by the sight of Tatum & Co. in various states of undress in the film: Cos-playing as firemen, Marines, doctors, and the like, air-thrusting in the daintiest of thongs, dry-humping dozens of female club extras. But the ladies room? Positively abuzz. A few loudly complimented the costume design, which boasts more thongs than we’ve seen since Baywatch — and those whale tails weren’t sported by oiled-up actors like McConaughey, who, set legend has it, improvised a “tuck and roll” move following a wardrobe malfunction (an overzealous extra was the culprit ) that seems to have made it into the film, a glimmer of panicked realism flickering across his face. There’s deeper prodding to be done about the men who protest too much about male nudity in Magic Mike , joyous moments of man-butts and chests, mostly, shot with plenty of humor. And there’s no real tit for tat, so to speak, with the few instances of female topless nudity seen in the film; lady boobs don’t really equal dude butts on the nudity continuum, but that’s how it is. Likewise, female-performer strip clubs and their male-performer counterparts are inherently different to boot, a fact that Soderbergh, Tatum, and Carolin rightly recognize — it’s generally dimly-lit sexual voyeurism vs. bright and cheesy fantasy spectatorship. But boy, does Soderbergh get that gloriously cheesy vibe. One could simply call it abs olutely s pec tacular on account of the man meat, which certainly delivers on raunchy, knowing fun. But it’s the deeper themes, captured in an observational style, that really make Magic Mike work as more than just a cheap thrill. It may be a stripper movie, but it’s also about economic self-determination and the struggle between art vs. commerce — and that goes as much for Soderbergh and Tatum as it does for the characters grasping for dollars, and their creative destinies, on-screen. Look for Movieline’s full review of Magic Mike this week, and stay tuned for more on the film. Read more from the LA Film Festival here . Follow Jen Yamato on Twitter . Follow Movieline on Twitter .
Hollywood.TV is your source for celebrity gossip, news, and videos of your favorite stars! bit.ly – Click to Subscribe! Facebook.com – Become a Fan! Twitter.com – Follow Us! Korea is taking over Hollywood with the first annual Look East Korean Film Festival, a celebratory weekend honoring Korean film. During the festival, two of Korea’s finest actors, Lee Byung-hun and Ahn Sung-ki, were honored at the world famous Grauman’s Chinese Theatre. The duo of dashing actors got their hand and foot prints immortalized in cement, then took time to address the huge crowd on Hollywood Blvd! Later at the Look East opening ceremony, Lee Byung-hun was still beaming from the ceremony earlier in the day! We imagine it’s an experience the pair won’t soon forget! Congratulations to you both!! Hollywood.TV is the global leader in capturing celebrity breaking news as it happens. Launched in 2008, we capture all the latest news, exclusive celebrity interviews, star videos and hot celebrity gossip from around the world every minute of everyday. HTV is on the streets 24/7, at all the industry events and invited by the stars to cover their every move in Hollywood, New York and Miami. Hollywood.TV is currently the third most viewed reporter channel on www.youtube.com YouTube with almost 400 million views, and our footage is seen worldwide! Tune in daily for all the latest Hollywood news on www.hollywood.tv and http like us on Facebook!
Rihanna and Jay-z Set To Perform At London 2012 Olympic Festival Rihanna will be taking her controversial cakes to London to hit the stage with none other than her mentor and man on the low bossman Jay-z. Musical stars, including Jay-Z, Rihanna, David Guetta and Elton John, films from the likes of Alfred Hitchcock and Mike Leigh and art from Yoko Ono and others will all be part of the London 2012 Festival, a cultural celebration across Britain tied to the Summer Olympics that kicks off on Thursday. The festival, which runs through Sept. 9, includes 12,000 events and performances across the country in celebration of the Summer and Paralympic Games. Organizers say there will be 10 million tickets for free and paid-for events in such fields as film, music, theater, fashion, dance and art. The festival’s web site describes it as “the biggest festival the U.K. has ever seen.” Source Maybe while she’s out of town, her smash buddies will stop fighting over he r.
‘We all miss the rush of being onstage together,’ Nick Lachey tells Ryan Seacrest. By Jocelyn Vena 98 Degrees Photo: Back in April, Nick Lachey had the message “#neversaynever” for his fans after he shot down rumors that 98 Degrees would be hitting the road this summer. The excitement over a possible 98 Degrees reunion began to spread in late March after the band’s website was spruced up, leading fans to speculate that something greater was coming. Now, a few months later, the rumors seem to finally be coming true — in part, at least. The band just announced they will be reuniting for one show this summer. On Wednesday, Nick Lachey opened up to Ryan Seacrest about their plans to take the stage at the MixTape Festival in Hershey, Pennsylvania, in August. “I think we’ve all been lucky in the 11 years since we last performed together to go on and do stuff individually. Drew [Lachey] was the winner of ‘Dancing With the Stars’ season 2, and I’ve gone and done some solo stuff. But there really is nothing like coming together as a unit, as a group, as a band, on the stage, and I think we all miss that. We all miss the rush of being onstage together, performing together, and certainly the fans have kind of been clamoring for it, so it just felt right,” he said. “We always said we were not broken up, we were just taking a break, and now it just seemed like the right time to put everything back together.” He also clarified his previous declaration that the band would not be getting together at all, despite the original spate of rumors. “I didn’t say we weren’t going to do it, but there was some speculation about a full tour happening this summer and our fans have been kind of eager to see us get back together,” he said. “I just wanted to make sure that they understood that a full tour wasn’t happening this summer, but obviously [I’m] very excited to announce that we’re doing this big festival in Hershey in August. So that will be our one and only appearance.” While brother Drew notes that they would have to be able to shuffle around their schedules in the right way to make dates outside of the MixTape Festival work, he added that this particular date felt like the right event to test out the waters for something bigger in the future. “We’re very excited about the opportunity, and we’ve been toying around with the idea for a couple years of ‘if we got back together, when would be the right scenario?’ ” he said. “And this music festival right here just kind of seemed like the right time to get back together and do a show and kick the tires and see how it feels.” Other boy bands on the lineup for the MixTape Festival include the Wanted, New Kids on the Block and New Kids/ Backstreet Boys mega-band NKOTBSB. Related Artists 98°
Also in Tuesday’s round up of news, the Academy taps a new Communications Managing Director, Phase 4 Films nabs a Billy Bob Thornton and Eva Longoria starrer. Former rocker turned filmmaker plans a film on a Philadelphia hockey team and some very early Disney sketches get animated. Focus Features’ James Schamus to Take Hamptons Film Festival Honors Focus CEO James Schamus will feted with the Industry Toast at the 20th Hamptons International Film Festival on October 5th. In addition to heading the specialty distributor, Schamus is a screenwriter, producer and academic. Focus is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year and he previously served as co-president of indie film production company Good Machine. He received an Oscar nomination as producer for Ang Lee’s Brokeback Mountain , which became Focus’ highest growing film. The 20th Hamptons International Film Festival takes place October 4th – 8th on Long Island’s East End. Academy Names Jasmine Madatian as its Communications Managing Director Madatian will serve as Managing Director, Communications, a new position created by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Madatian will report to Christina Kounelias, AMPAS’ chief marketing officer. She will oversee all of the Academy’s publicity and corporate communications campaigns, including the Academy Awards as well as outreach for the organization’s year-round programming, education, preservation and other key initiatives. Around the ‘net… Phase 4 Picks Up The Baytown Outlaws North American rights to the Billy Bob Thornton and Eva Longoria action comedy went to Phase 4 with an eye to an early 2013 release. Directed and co-written by Barry Battles (with Griffin Hood) the story follows three ruthless Alabama brothers who find themselves on the wrong side of a group of characters who are both colorful and lethal, Deadline reports . Rob Zombie Eyes Philadelphia Flyers in Broad Street Bullies Zombie will write, direct and produce the project about the Philadelphia hockey team, which went on to many victories and penalty minutes in the ’70s, Deadline reports . Jesse Eisenberg Gets OK to Pursue Lawsuit Against Lionsgate An LA judge sided with The Social Network star in a lawsuit against Lionsgate for promoting his likeness and name in Camp Hell which he only makes a short appearance. The DVD release positions him in a starring role, THR reports . Very Early Disney Sketches Get Animated The original sketches for one of Walt Disney’s earliest characters have been animated 85 years after they were drawn. Oswald the Lucky Rabbit was created in 1927, a year before Mickey Mouse debuted, and the rabbit starred in 26 cartoons in the 1920s and 30s. Archivists have used dozens of drawings from Disney’s personal sketchbook to create a new Oswald cartoon, BBC reports .
Also in Tuesday morning’s round up of news briefs, BFI London Film Festival sets October dates and a revamp, former stripper colleagues accuse Channing Tatum of taking their experiences for Magic Mike and Welsh actor Victor Spinetti has died. George Clooney and Grant Heslov to Produce August: Osage County The two have signed on as producers of the screen adaptation of the Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning play by Tracy Letts. Oscar-winners Meryl Streep and Julia Roberts star as mother and daughter in the film, directed by John Wells from Letts’ screen adaptation. Clooney and Heslov join producers Steve Traxler and Jean Doumanian, The Weinstein Company said. The story tells the dark, hilarious and deeply touching story of the strong-willed women of the Weston family, whose lives have diverged until a family crisis brings them back to the Midwest house they grew up in, and to the dysfunctional woman who raised them. BFI London Film Festival Sets October Dates The 56th annual event will take place October 10 – 21 and will include a number of new venues throughout the British capital. Recently the festival announced a partnership with American Express. Around the ‘net… Strippers Claim Channing Tatum Took Their Stories Two former male strippers who worked with Tatum have accused him of stealing a number of their ideas for the upcoming Magic Mike , directed by Steven Soderbergh. The director’s film has been promoted as being based on Tatum’s own experiences working as an young stripper in Florida during the mid-1990s, The Guardian reports . Jennifer Connelly in Running for Re-team with Russell Crowe in Noah Connelly and Crowe starred in A Beautiful Mind and now it appears that they will pair up again, this time playing Crowe’s Noah’s wife in the Biblical epic directed by Darren Aronofsky, Deadline reports . Welsh Actor Victor Spinetti Dead at 82 Spinetti appeared in over 30 films including the Beatles’ movies and Dylan Thomas’s Under Milk Wood starring Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton. Spinetti had cancer, BBC reports .
