It’s hard to say whether Sound of My Voice is a wholly bogus and pretentious indie enterprise or a weirdly compelling bit of low-budget storytelling. Probably it’s a little of both – this is the kind of picture that may often make you snort audibly, even as you’re wondering how the heck it’s going to resolve itself. And ultimately, even if the payoff isn’t quite what it should be, the picture leaves a faint chill in its wake. You probably won’t feel totally shafted for sticking with it – maybe just a little punk’d. Snuggly couple Peter (Christopher Denham) and Lorna (Nicole Vicius) have set out to make a documentary about cults, hoping to infiltrate one mysterious group in particular. The gang’s meeting place is a top-secret basement location; the faithful are ferried to and fro in a van, but they’re not allowed to see where they’re going. Once the loyal subjects have gathered, decked out in aggressively peaceful looking white yoga clothes, a mysterious creature appears in their midst. Her name is Maggie — she’s played by indie darling Brit Marling , who also co-wrote the script – and she greets her followers while hooked up to an oxygen supply. You see, Maggie is a refugee from the future – 2054, to be exact – and she’s come back to show the human beings she loves how to prepare for what lies ahead. To do this, she wears white leggings and swaths her long blond tresses in a white scarf. Because she’s allergic to modern food, she grows her own fruit in the basement. Also, she’s wearing massively chipped dark nail polish, the kind of WTF touch that makes you stop and wonder – WTF? Actually, Sound of My Voice relies heavily on just that kind of WTF-ness. Is Maggie a con artist, a master manipulator, as Peter and Lorna at first believe her to be? But when she appears to have read bits of Peter’s past as if they were tealeaves, doubt begins to creep in, driving the couple apart. Maggie certainly knows how to challenge her followers, urging them to eat apples tainted with something that causes them to throw up (the fruit is a metaphor for logic, you see) and serving them a post-fast repast straight out of Fear Factor (I won’t tell you what it consists of, but she seems to carry a supply of it around in a baggie). There’s also lots of sharing and hugging, Esalen-style, as Maggie probes the psyches of those in her midst, testing them to see if they’re worthy of the wisdom she’s carrying around in her futuristic noggin. Director Zal Batmanglij – also Marling’s co-writer — doesn’t attempt too many fancy tricks, other than dividing his movie into convenient, bite-sized chapters. He and Marling infuse the story with just enough slackerish suspense: You may not care much about the rather aimless lead characters, but you do want to know what this Maggie shaman is all about. That’s partly thanks to Marling’s off-kilter charisma, which appears to be equal parts nerd-girl intensity and beach-babe shrug. Marling garnered heaps of attention last year for Another Earth , a movie she both cowrote and starred in, and it’s clear to see she knows how to do a lot with a little. The question of whether it’s enough depends on your expectations, and it’s possible that people have taken Marling too seriously too soon, which in turn has led her to take herself too seriously. She certainly digs right into this enigmatic role, and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t find her weirdly fascinating, with her heavy eyebrows and serene, pillowy half-smile. Still, a bit of skepticism is a good thing when dealing with either cults or alleged wunderkinds. At one point in Sound of My Voice , Maggie’s followers urge her to sing a song from the future, and she obliges, reluctantly, with an a capella version of a sweet little ditty about life changing all around us. A guy named Lem is banished from the circle forever after he points out that, far from being a song from the future, the tune Maggie just warbled is actually a Cranberries hit from the ’90s. Lem just may be the hero of the movie. Similarly, the jury is still out on just what it is, exactly, Marling is trying to sell us. Follow Stephanie Zacharek on Twitter . Follow Movieline on Twitter .
Marvel and Disney’s The Avengers is set to close out the 11th Tribeca Film Festival on Saturday night, but the blockbuster has already started cashing in abroad, where it’s an early hit with audiences. The superhero blockbuster featuring Robert Downey Jr. and Scarlett Johansson opened in 10 markets this week, earning a total of $17.1 million internationally. The haul included opening-day records in New Zealand and Taiwan, as well as new marks for a Disney release in Australia and Italy. As Bloomberg notes, the studio could use the hit after its recent $200 million loss on John Carter . [ Bloomberg ]
Facebook.com – Become a Fan! Twitter.com – Follow Us! Chris Rock and Julie Delpy were in New York at the Tribeca Film Festival on Thursday for the premiere of “2 Days in New York”. The film, a sequel to “2 Days in Paris” released in France last month and is now making its way through the film festival circuits!
Oh to be young and in love and periodically a flesh-rending creature of globular, hairy, throbbing pulp. That’s the curse heaped upon the eponymous romantics in Jack and Diane , one of the more anticipated — and more disappointing — features in Tribeca 2012’s narrative competition. It’s hard to be too down on such lean passion; Jack and Diane ‘s premiere Friday night amounted to the culmination of nine years of work by filmmaker Bradley Rust Gray, whose acclaimed 2010 drama The Exploding Girl served as sort of a hetero prelude to the lesbian body horror/romance mashup swamping his latest: Diane (Juno Temple) is a hot British teen mess visiting her aunt in New York City, all babydoll dresses, knit watermelon halter tops and purple knee socks, rocked by the hormonal lighting strike that is butch, brooding Jack (Riley Keough). The girls club, they kiss, they bond, they exchange vaguely sweet Manhattan banalities (“I have a Metrocard if you want it”), and then… I don’t even know. On the one hand it’s not worth spoiling; jumpy genre reveals are involved, hinted at by customarily grisly animation by the Brothers Quay. On the other hand, Jack and Diane is too much of a mess to spoil, suffocated in the dynamics of longing without even the hope of dramatic — or even darkly comedic — satisfaction. It’s a movie whose shadowy genre overtones — a girl! In a bathroom! With a bloody nose! And a monster! — surrenders to the same auteurist A.D.D. that sank The Exploding Girl . For once, I would like to see Gray’s New York not refracted surveillance-style through long lenses and the fraught nubile wits of characters whose doe eyes and costumes connote virtually the whole story. Temple’s expressive genius — all matted blond hair and mischievous (and monstrous) pixie — goes only so far against Keough’s near-total blankness, getting most of its mileage out of a single early, affecting confessional between the star-crossed girls. Ultimately, though, it’s hard to know just how seriously to take Jack and Diane , with all its sinewy portent and bizarre porn digressions and tragicomic pube-shaving and actual straight-faced dialogue such as, “Do you have to take a shit? Try to do like I do and fart it out.” Viewers familiar with The Exploding Girl might realize after a while that they’re only staying with Jack and Diane for the promise of more B-list hipster-goddesses losing control; then it was Zoe Kazan’s simmering epileptic panic, and now it’s the viscera-devouring prospect of sapphic passion — in one case featuring Elvis Presley’s grandaughter (Keough’s mother is Lisa Marie Presley) and Kylie Minogue in a heavily tattooed cameo. It is what it is, and it never feels like much more. Nevertheless, there is at least one glint of salvation in Jack and Diane , though it has nothing to do with its filmmaking or performances (and here I should issue a spoiler alert): Keough and Minogue make out to the strains of Shellac’s rare and entrancing hate-punk ballad ” Doris ,” which I suppose means that someone somewhere has a clean MP3 of the notoriously vinyl-only single. Rejoice! Can I have a copy? Read all of Movieline’s Tribeca 2012 coverage here . Follow S.T. VanAirsdale on Twitter . Follow Movieline on Twitter .
This past week, Movieline has spotlighted a number of Tribeca Film Festival filmmakers and trailers of their fest premieres. This weekend, we’re sharing more. If you’re in New York and want to see some films at the festival (or if you are looking for a taste of Tribeca from afar), here is a sneak glimpse of more of this year’s offerings from the festival’s World Narrative Competition and World Documentary Competition . Today’s spotlights include two features from Tribeca’s World Narrative Competition, Jack and Diane as well as Yossi . And from the World Documentary Competition, Movieline is featuring Downeast , Wavumba and The World Before Her . Be in the know and check them out — and share your thoughts on these and other Tribeca films. Jack and Diane by director Bradley Rust Gray – U.S. [World Narrative Competition] Synopsis : Tomboy Jack and bubbly Diane fall head over heels in love one hot summer in New York City. But neither Jack’s tough exterior nor Diane’s demure innocence prepare them for the intensity of their feelings. When Diane reveals she must leave the city for school in Europe at the end of the summer, Jack pushes her away. As Diane struggles to maintain their budding romance, she must also try to conceal from Jack the increasingly dark and violent visions that have begun to plague her. [Courtesy of Tribeca Film Festival] Comments by Bradley Rust Gray… Jack and Diane quick pitch : Girl eats girl. Girl feels sorry about eating girl. Girl misses girl. There’s some gum chewing in the middle. …and why it’s worth seeing at Tribeca : It’s quite likely the only film playing in New York next week which has an animated vagina in it. Thoughts about the trailer : We were trying to capture that awkward budding moment when two people have just exposed their hearts to each other; they feel vulnerable, sensitive, and excited – all feelings which the film re-engages with in different ways. [Read Movieline’s review of Jack and Diane here .] Yossi by director Eytan Fox – Israel [World Narrative Competition] Synopsis : Returning to the role that won him TFF’s Best Actor award in Eytan Fox’s Yossi & Jagger in 2003, Ohad Knoller gives another extraordinary performance as Yossi, a closeted gay man living a solitary existence in Tel Aviv. A perennially sad, workaholic doctor, Yossi has his quiet world shaken when a middle-aged woman walks out of his past and into his examination room. Their brief but emotionally charged reunion unnerves Yossi enough to make him spontaneously leave Tel Aviv. On the desolate roads of southern Israel, a chance encounter with a group of lively soldiers ignites Yossi’s desire to awaken from his emotional slumber. [Courtesy of Tribeca Film Festival] Comments by Eytan Fox… Yossi quick pitch : Yossi is a follow up to a film I made 10 years ago. It’s a character study of Yossi, of his psyche and soul. As the film starts, he is still suffering from post-traumatic stress due to the death of his lover during the war. He remains in the closet, so he is also at war with himself. As a cardiologist, he has essentially exchanged one army for another, because being a doctor also involves consistently dealing with crises and difficult issues. You even have a uniform! Ultimately, the film is about Yossi eventually processing the horrible things that have happened to him, things he has long repressed, and finding ways to escape the very difficult places that he has been in for years. He finally discovers a new way to define himself and create a new life. …and why it’s worth seeing at Tribeca : This is our world premiere for Yossi . I would say people should see it for Ohad Knoller’s performance. I’m just so impressed and moved by what he did with the character of Yossi again, ten years later. I don’t want to insult any other actors of mine or characters of mine, but I don’t think I’ve ever loved a character as much as Yossi as played by Ohad. Thoughts about the trailer : I think most American films are big on taglines, so I have some for Yossi . “It’s never too late to start your life” or “It’s never to too late to start again.” These might seem like clichés, but it takes a lot of hard work to change your life. You have to understand what you need to change, be brave and work to love yourself. Downeast by directors David Redmon and Ashley Sabin – U.S. [World Documentary Competition] Synopsis : The slogan on the ‘Welcome to Maine’ sign leading into Gouldsboro reads “Open for Business,” but the recent closure of the sardine canning factory has brought this small coastal town to a total standstill. Its laid-off residents — mostly 70-year-olds — just want to get back to work, so when Italian immigrant Antonio Bussone arrives from Boston aiming to open a new lobster processing plant, most of the local labor welcomes him with open arms. After all, they’re sick of sending their lobsters to Canada when there’s a ready-and-willing workforce to process them at home. So why is tapping into federal relief funds to finance the plant turning into the biggest struggle of Antonio’s life? [Courtesy of Tribeca Film Festival] Comments provided by David Redmon and Ashley Sabin… Downeast quick pitch : Downeast is a poetic exploration of Antonio Bussone’s tireless efforts to build a factory amidst conflict, navigate a faceless banking system, and employ a stagnant workforce that resides on the coast of Maine. …and why it’s worth seeing at Tribeca : The economic crises played out in the streets and suites of New York City. Downeast shows its impact on the lives of every day workers and those who press forward against the odds. Thoughts about the trailer : The trailer shows the tensions involved in opening a factory when multiple interests are involved. Wavumba by director Jeroen van Velzen – The Neterhalnds [World Documentary Competition] Synopsis : Mysticism and color reign in this stunning documentary, steeped in the fishermen lore of Kenya. Dutch filmmaker Jeroen van Velzen explores his visceral memories of an early youth spent in coastal Kenya, where a reverence for the sea reigns high. Via the locals’ enigmatic recitation of a well known folktale, we are introduced to a spirit-filled island, to which a fisherman’s visit has the magic to alternately bless or curse his bounty. [Courtesy of Tribeca Film Festival] Comments by Jeroen van Velzen… Wavumba quick pitch : Wavumba is a film about an old fisherman, Mashoud, who wants to catch a big shark as he did in the old days. Mashoud brings me into a world where fantasy, belief and reality cannot be differentiated from one another. …and why it’s worth seeing at Tribeca : Not everyone has a childhood like mine, but every child grows up with amazing stories or myths he believes in. That makes this film more than just my personal discovery. By bringing you into the Kenyan reality, which is bound to other laws than ours, I want to wake up that feeling of magic you had as a child. Thoughts about the trailer : In the trailer I want convey the main story lines of the film. The reasons for heading back to Kenya and making the film are personal, but by following Mashoud on his quest to catch a big shark and by listening to myths told by an old Kenyan story teller I want to take people on a journey with me back to the world which inspired me. The World Before Her by director Nisha Pahuja – Canada [World Documentary Competition] Synopsis : Young, beautiful, and ambitious, Ankita and Ruhi compete in the Miss India pageant for the chance at a career in the beauty industry, one of the few opportunities for women to find success and empowerment in contemporary India. On the opposite end of the spectrum from Miss India is Durga Vahini, the women’s wing of the Hindu fundamentalist movement. Filming for the first time within a Durga Vahini camp, director Nisha Pahuja offsets the pageant narrative with that of camp leader Prachi, a fiery and compelling figure expressing a very different voice in the debate over women’s issues. [Courtesy of Tribeca Film Festival] Comments by Nisha Pahuja… The World Before Her quick pitc h: The World Before Her looks at The Miss India beauty contest and a Hindu fundamentalist camp for girls — two competing ideas of India playing themselves out on the bodies of young women. …and why it’s worth seeing at Tribeca : There’s a lot more to the film than women in bikinis and women with guns – what’s happening in India really is a mirror that shows the West back to itself. We deal with two of the most critical and defining issues of the day – fundamentalism and capitalism. We also look at the struggles that women in India continue to face. Thoughts about the clip : In this clip you will meet Prachi our key fundamentalist character. She has a very complex relationship with her father and in this clip she expands on that relationship. In so doing Prachi points to the larger reality of female infanticide – still practiced in India. Read all of Movieline’s Tribeca 2012 coverage here .
Amanda Bynes has agreed to lay low after her agent and manager ordered her to stop being a fixture of the Hollywood nightlife scene. Is a trip to rehab next? As has been widely reported, Bynes was arrested for DUI after she hit a police car, then returned the next night to the same club she went to beforehand. She was then involved in another traffic incident last week. As she keeps on partying (and some say crashing), friends are urging the star to go to rehab. “Amanda has been in a downward spiral for six months. Even though her dad publicly said she doesn’t drink he knows she has a problem,” says a friend. As a source told The New York Post , “She is not the same girl. She just does whatever she wants. Friends are concerned; it’s not the Amanda they know.” “It’s truly sad to witness. She is refusing to go [to rehab].” Says another alleged source close to the situation: “Amanda was just going out without thinking after her DUI arrest. She was spotted texting and driving and just putting herself in really horrible situations.” “Amanda’s agent and manager have ordered her to lay low and avoid clubs. She desperately wanted to go to Coachella last weekend and she has been told not to go the second weekend of the festival, but she is an adult.” “It would just look very bad if she were to go against her advisers and end up going to Coachella. She has promised that she won’t go and she hasn’t been spotted at any nightclubs in almost a week, which is a beginning for her.” In any case, Amanda did agree to lay low … as far as we know. Perhaps the comparisons to another troubled Hollywood starlet finally struck a nerve? “Amanda thinks its extremely unfair that people are calling her the new Lindsay Lohan,” says a source. “Comparisons between the two are just ridiculous as Amanda has never been arrested for drug possession or for stealing anything.” “Yes, she got arrested for a DUI, but that doesn’t mean she is headed down the same road. Amanda doesn’t harbor negative feelings towards Lindsay, she doesn’t even know her, she just thinks it’s sexist that the two are being compared.” “Men in Hollywood that get arrested for DUI don’t face the same scrutiny that women do; that really irks Amanda. She isn’t taking the DUI lightly.”
The Tribeca Film Festival opened Wednesday night with the world premiere of Universal’s The Five-Year Engagement , ushering in 10 days of the festival’s 11th annual event. Initial word from insiders is that this year’s festival lineup is its strongest in years. Days from now, attendees will be buzzing about what works and what doesn’t, but Movieline is offering up a sneak glimpse into many of the films playing in the festival’s narrative and documentary competitions , plus its genre-centered Cinemania section. Ahead of the festival, we reached out to its filmmakers to give quick comments about their films and a peak at their trailers or clips, which Movieline will debut here in the coming days — including exclusive premieres, such as the trailer for The Revisionaries , featured below. Have a look, mark your calendars, and share your thoughts on these and other Tribeca films. The Revisionaries , by director Scott Thurman – U.S. [World Documentary Competition] Synopsis Once every decade, the 15 members of the Texas Board of Education meet in Austin to revise the state’s textbook standards. Led by Don McLeroy, a Young Earth Creationist, Evangelical Christian, and beloved local dentist, the panel will debate and implement controversial new standards related to science, evolution, social studies, and American history that will ultimately go into effect in textbooks adopted by schools across the nation. Challenged by outspoken activist Kathy Miller, as well as Thomas Ratliff, a moderate conservative out to unseat him, McLeroy faces an uphill battle, with the fate of American education itself hanging in the balance. [courtesy of Tribeca Film Festival] Comments by Scott Thurman: The Revisionaries quick pitch : The theory of evolution and a re-write of US history are caught in the crosshairs when an unabashed creationist seeks re-election as chairman of America’s most influential board of education. [The film] is about the rise and fall of a small-town dentist, outspoken young earth creationist, and Chair of the Texas Board of Education during a crucial period in determining high-school textbook content for public schools throughout the entire state, which influences schools across the country. …and why it’s worth checking out at Tribeca : The Revisionaries is a very important and timely film about the politics of education. I hope the creative director at Tribeca, Geoff Gilmore, won’t mind if we mention that he’s stated, “It’s such an intriguing point-of-view with the Christian right-wingers.” In an election year, what could be more important than learning more about a major battleground in the American culture wars? Thoughts about the trailer : I’d like audiences to be more informed about how the Texas Board of Education’s political process occurs, and to better understand the motivation and strategies of a handful of characters with opposing world views involved in that process, which could affect all of our children. Although we don’t advertise any specific action steps, we hope the film motivates audiences throughout the country to become more aware of the public school standards in their own state and understand the importance of participating in state board of education elections. First Winter by writer/director Benjamin Dickinson – U.S. [Tribeca Film Festival World Narrative Competition] Synopsis When winter begins, life is serene for a group of new-age Brooklynites living in a remote country farmhouse. Sex, drugs, yoga, and organic cooking absorb their days, safely tucked away from the stresses of urban life. But when a blackout of apocalyptic proportions strands them with no heat and no electricity during the coldest winter on record, their utopian commune is breached by anxiety and their idyllic harmony begins to lose its tune. As time wears on and the food supply dwindles, power struggles, jealousy, and desire threaten the group’s ability to work together in order to survive. [courtesy of Tribeca Film Festival] Comments by Benjamin Dickinson… First Winter quick pitch : It’s about letting go of what’s unnecessary. …and why it’s worth checking out at Tribeca : It’s a compelling story about Brooklynites with some nice drugs, sex, emotional violence, and jokes in there, and but so that’s just to set you up for what it’s really about, which is love and death. Thoughts about the trailer : I wanted to communicate more than anything the tone of the film, which I think this does nicely. It’s slow and visual and moody. The landscape gradually takes over. Jackpot by director Magnus Martens – Norway [Cinemania section] Synopsis Terrified, bloodied, and clutching a shotgun, Oscar Svendsen awakes and emerges from underneath a dead body. He finds himself in the midst of a crime scene in what used to be a respectable strip joint, surrounded by corpses and staring down the barrel of a gun pointed at him by a detective with the National Criminal Investigation Service. Naturally, Oscar is taken into custody, and during his interrogation he timidly relates a bloody story of betrayal, murder, and a soccer lottery prize that was meant to be shared with three ex-con co-workers. But is this the whole story? [Courtesy of Tribeca Film Festival] Comments by Magnus Martens… Jackpot quick pitch : Jackpot is a crime-comedy based on an original story by author Jo Nesbø. …and why it’s worth checking out at Tribeca : If you want to see something hilarious from Norway with a memento to Tarantino´s absurd action universe, you better not miss Jackpot . Thoughts about the trailer : The trailer starts as a scary movie with a crime plot and shifts into a comedy. We wanted to communicate that Jackpot has many ingredients from different genres. While We Were Here by director Kat Coiro – U.S. [World Narrative Competition] Synopsis In this tightly crafted relationship drama, Jane (Kate Bosworth) and her husband Leonard (Iddo Goldberg) travel to Naples—where Leonard is playing viola with the local orchestra—hoping to reinvigorate their silently disintegrating marriage and escape a personal tragedy that hangs heavily between them. Jane, left alone most days, wanders the streets listening to tapes she made of interviews with her grandmother, seeking inspiration to finish a book based on the old recordings. Facing writer’s block, she takes a day trip to stunning Ischia, where she meets Caleb (Jamie Blackley), a young American leading a hermetic yet Dionysian life on the island. As the two embark on an unlikely emotional affair, Jane’s carefully constructed world begins to crack open and she faces drastic changes in her life. [Courtesy of Tribeca Film Festival] Comments by Kat Coiro… While We Were Here quick pitch : Kate Bosworth plays a woman in an unhappy marriage who accompanies her musician husband to the south of Italy where she meets a young, devastatingly handsome man ten years her junior, with whom she embarks on an affair… …and why it’s worth checking out at Tribeca : The setting alone is worth the price of admission. Filmed on location on a little island off the coast of Italy, the movie takes place in grottos, on beaches, off of cliffs, in castles — it’s full-blown location porn. The other draw is the cast. Jamie Blackley is a rising star who shines as Kate Bosworth’s much younger lover, the legendary Claire Bloom narrates and Bosworth taps into a remarkably vulnerable place as a woman at a crossroads. Thoughts about the clip : The clip doesn’t give away any of the tightly wound story but it does transport the viewer to a romantic place and gives a sense of the black and white photography, the stunning location and the original orchestral score. Graceland by director Ron Morales – Philippines [Tribeca Film Festival Cinemania section] Synopsis : Once every decade, the 15 members of the Texas Board of Education meet in Austin to revise the state’s textbook standards. Led by Don McLeroy, a Young Earth Creationist, Evangelical Christian, and beloved local dentist, the panel will debate and implement controversial new standards related to science, evolution, social studies, and American history that will ultimately go into effect in textbooks adopted by schools across the nation. Challenged by outspoken activist Kathy Miller, as well as Thomas Ratliff, a moderate conservative out to unseat him, McLeroy faces an uphill battle, with the fate of American education itself hanging in the balance. [Courtesy of Tribeca Film Festival] Comments from Ron Morales… Graceland quick pitch : Graceland is an intense kidnapping drama that forces its viewers to see the motivations of several characters on several sides of a very dark story. It poses a lot of moral questions, is intensely exhilarating, and takes no prisoners. …and why it’s worth checking out at Tribeca : There’s nothing else like Graceland at Tribeca this year. Its raw ferocity and intense subject matter set it apart from other features, and the fact that it was written and directed by a Filipino now living in Manhattan allows it the exoticism of a foreign film with the heart of a local project. Thoughts about the trailer : The trailer is an extension of the film – calm and intense, with a strong air of concern that hints at the horrors to come. It highlights Arnold Reyes’ bravado performance, which begins calm and subdued, but ultimately throttles the film like a freight train toward it’s unexpected conclusion. Stay tuned for more exclusive festival previews at Movieline, and read all of our Tribeca 2012 coverage here .
Facebook.com – Become a Fan! Twitter.com – Follow Us! Robert De Niro, Billy Crystal, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Dakota Fanning, Diane Von Furstenberg, Ivanka Trump, Judge Judy, and Mayor Michael Bloomberg toasted the Tribeca Film Festival at the Vanity Fair Party at the State Courthouse In Lower Manhattan.
Holo-Pac parodies place the late rapper in the cast of ‘Titanic’ and Jem’s backup band. By Kara Klenk Tupac’s hologram performance at Coachella 2012 Photo: AV Concepts It’s been a crazy week for Tupac Shakur, who, despite having passed away in 1996, has been all over the news after his hologram performance at Coachella. The intriguing yet creepy display has sparked plenty of debate and questions about the future of touring and whether holograms disrespect the memory of late music legends. Never one to miss a viral joke opportunity, the Internet has scooped up Holo-Pac and run with it, resulting in Holo-Pac memes spreading to the far corners of the web. Trailing the success of other parody accounts such as @AngiesRightLeg and @DarthVader, the Twittersphere welcomed @HologramTupac this week, which impressively garnered more than 30,000 followers in only a few days. @HologramTupac tweets at celebrities and fans alike, often pausing to clarify that he is not a zombie, which apparently has been a point of confusion for some. Animated GIFs have been popping up everywhere, animating the Shakur hologram into classic movies like Harry Potter , Star Wars, and Titanic . Even more still photos have been Photoshopped to turn Holo-Pac into a member of the Starship Enterprise or, fittingly, of Jem’s backup band the Holograms . Others have taken the meme past the rapper and come up with dream lineups of other deceased stars. A parody Coachella lineup featuring solely hologram acts boasts headliners like Michael Jackson, The Clash and Mozart. And just when you thought they’d thought of everything, you discover an animated GIF of Tupac as the popular “Haters Gonna Hate” meme. That’s right. It’s a meme of a meme! Did your head just explode from the meta cleverness of it all? Did we miss any of the great Holo-Pac memes? Post it on our Facebook page! Related Photos 2012 Coachella Music Festival Related Artists Tupac
Kelly Clarkson, The Fray and LL Cool J also on tap for inaugural summer music festival at Pennsylvania’s Hershey Park. By Jocelyn Vena Pauly D Photo: Getty Images Hey, pop fans: Hankering to party at your own summer music festival? Well, the spankin’ new MixTape Fest has your back. The festival, set to take place August 17-18 at Hershey Park in Pennsylvania, will bring together an interesting array of artists ranging from old-school acts like LL Cool J to newbies the Wanted. Over two days and two stages, nine artists are set to perform. This marks the first year of the festival. The Friday show will include performances from Kelly Clarkson, The Fray (both acts will also be on their own tour at the same time), New Kids on the Block, DJ Pauly D and Steel Panther. NKOTBSB, LL Cool J featuring Z Trip, the Wanted and the Dan Band all will take the stage for the Saturday show. According to a press release, this will be the only North American date for boy-band mega-group NKOTBSB after they wrap up a tour abroad. “It’s an honor for us to be a part of the inaugural year of MixTape,” New Kids on the Block said in a statement about the festivities. “To share the stage with such mega-artists as Kelly Clarkson, LL Cool J and the Fray is really exciting. “With the artist selection, and all of the amenities and accommodations offered, this festival is raising the bar to the next level. We couldn’t think of a better way to spend our weekend than with our amazing fans, and there couldn’t be a better setting than such a fun-filled festival with such an amazing bill of artists.” Tickets will go on sale April 27. More information about the festival can be found on the MixTape Fest 2012 official website . Related Artists The Wanted NKOTBSB
