Everyone is familiar with that special breed of screen performer whose names are associated with not only longevity, but also ubiquity. Gene Hackman reigned among this class for much of the last few decades, his title soon overtaken by Michael Caine, Samuel L. Jackson, Nicolas Cage and others who’ve shown a willingness to earn paychecks in everything from Oscar bait to glorified grindhouse fare. Yet another thespian exceeds them all in output, not only with an impressive slate of completed work but also a calendar-busting array of upcoming projects. Just who is the most in-demand player in Hollywood? It might come as a surprise, but by all appearances Danny Trejo holds that title. The character actor has achieved something close to omnipresence in recent years; so saturated are movies with Trejo’s image that you can almost overlook his appearance while watching one of his many films. Much of this has to do with the fact that, despite the former boxer and ex-con’s dependable ruffian visage, he has assembled an impressively varied resume relying on both gritty roles in direct-to-rental genre pulp and such diverse mainstream titles as The Muppets , A Very Harold and Kumar Christmas , and Spy Kids 4D — to say nothing of his frequent television work. And with news this week of Trejo and director Robert Rodriguez’s Machete Kills shooting next month, the actor’s profile will only broaden from here. Using the comprehensive (if admittedly unreliable) IMDB Pro as a launching pad, I went about separating the real Trejo wheat from the development chaff for one of the most robust slates anyone has achieved in a generation: COMPLETED Sushi Girl (the role of Schlomo): A man is released from jail after six years and has a celebratory sushi dinner with the rest of crew, eating sushi off of a naked girl who is supposed to be oblivious as they try to reclaim their loot. Haunted High (The Janitor): A New England private academy finds itself with a demonic headmaster, while the janitor is also the enforcement guardian of the school. (SyFy original movie) Counterpunch (Manny Navarro): A bipolar boxer from Miami tries to win the Golden Gloves championship, with the help of his counselor. Amelia’s 25th (Don Javier): A young actress has a midlife crisis the day she turns twenty five in Los Angeles. IN THE CAN/POST-PRODUCTION Bro’ (Gilbert): A college student gets involved in the wild partying lifestyle of a professional motocross racer. Skinny Dip (El Tigre): A grindhouse offering about a young woman (played by Sasha Grey) who, following the death of her boyfriend, dresses as a cop and takes on the role of a vigilante. The Cloth (Father Connely): Centering on a secret order of the Catholic Church formed to deal with a rise in demonic possessions. Pendejo (Pedro): A rich playboy is forced by his father into the lowest position of a company he technically owns. Alcatraz Prison Escape: Deathbed Confession (Narrator): The true story of what happened to the only escapees from Alcatraz prison. Strike One (Manny Garcia): A young boy in a gang-infested neighborhood has a former-gang-member uncle as a role model. The Insomniac (Jairo Torres): Following a break-in at his home a man develops insomnia and comes to learn the people he knows cannot be trusted. Death Race: Inferno (Goldberg): Trejo reprises his role from the first sequel of the remake. And that’s not all: Add to this glut an array of other “announced” projects in various stages of development, and Trejo may ultimately be involved with nearly two dozen titles over the next 12 months. Among those titles with the actor attached — but which remain unconfirmed and/or unproduced as of this writing — include Five Thirteen , Dead in Tombstone , Left Turn , Human Factor , Badass , Vengeance , Tarantula and Raggedy Anne . And of course there’s Machete Kills , shooting in April. At that rate Trejo could turn down half his roles and Burbank would experience a barista shortage from the bulk of actors who finally are able to find work. Brad Slager has written about movies and entertainment for Film Threat, Mediaite, and is a columnist at CHUD.com . His less insightful impressions on entertainment can be found on Twitter .
Gary Ross may have been an unexpected choice to direct The Hunger Games , but his quest for the gig was no less obsessive than the fervor of the novels’ fans; it took him exec-stalking across the Atlantic, involved elaborate custom-made storyboards, and inspired him to make a video of actual Hunger Games fans and their love for Suzanne Collins’s sci-fi series. (Besides, who else could’ve brought on Steven Soderbergh to direct second unit on one of the film’s big scenes?) Sure, Ross had been Oscar-nominated four times before (for writing Big , Dave , and Seabiscuit , which he also co-produced), but his resume was so far removed from the realm of dystopian teen science fiction that some fans were wary of what he’d do to the beloved franchise. He learned about the books from his children, both teenagers, pored over the first book himself, and decided at 1:30 a.m. that he needed to be the one to direct the big-screen adaptation. So what was his first move? Stalking, of course. “When we met directors, before I had met hardly anybody, he came to London – I was there working on another movie – and he pretended he was there for Wimbledon,” recalled producer Nina Jacobson, who optioned Collins book in 2009 before ultimately taking it to Lionsgate after fielding offers from multiple studio suitors. “We went out for breakfast and had an amazing conversation and it was very clear that what he loved about the book, and what mattered about the book, were the characters and the themes, and that he really got it. He got it at the most fundamental level. I had known him for a long time, but from that point on I was very mindful of how insightful he was about the material and how much he understood what it was really about.” Ross had never before had to audition for a directing job, he told Movieline earlier this month, so he went all out in his official pitch presentation. Commissioning multiple concept artists (“More than I’d had on the actual movie,” he quipped), Ross constructed elaborate storyboards depicting the look and feel of dystopian Panem, which he and production designer Philip Messina describe as “retro-futuristic.” But at the centerpiece of his presentation was a video he’d shot consulting young fans of the books discussing what themes spoke to them most in The Hunger Games . That video helped sell Jacobson. “He had this video that he had done of his kids and their friends, and what those kids loved about the book,” she recalled. “He could really appreciate from a fan point of view what it is that makes these books so moving – the idea, which was even inside his original conversations, that Katniss’s relationship with Rue is the thing that opens her up to the possibility of trusting Peeta. The deeper character and thematic lines in the material, he understood from the beginning, but he also had a sensitivity to what spoke to kids.” Once he landed the job, Ross pulled in notables in many fields to help achieve his vision, including composers James Newton Howard and T Bone Burnett, Clint Eastwood’s DP Tom Stern, and editors Stephen Mirrione (a Steven Soderbergh regular) and Juliette Welfling ( The Diving Bell and the Butterfly ). He also tapped an old friend to help out with one brief, but key, scene that he couldn’t shoot himself. Enter Soderbergh, who stepped in on second-unit duties and operated the camera himself on [SPOILERS] a riot scene that breaks out in District 11 during the Games. [END SPOILERS] Judge for yourself if Ross was the director for the job when The Hunger Games hits theaters March 23. Meanwhile, Ross is set to direct the sequel, Catching Fire , with Simon Beaufoy scripting. Read more on The Hunger Games . Follow Jen Yamato on Twitter . Follow Movieline on Twitter .
MTV News gets to know the 26-year-old ‘Call Me Maybe’ singer, who has suddenly found herself in the big leagues. By Natasha Chandel Carly Rae Jepsen Photo: MTV News Carly Rae Jepsen has suddenly found herself in the big leagues. Justin Bieber recently signed the YouTube pop starlet to his Schoolboy Records label, much like his mentor, Usher , helped catapult him into superstardom when the R&B icon took Bieber under his wing. It all started when Bieber tweeted, “Call me maybe by Carly Rae Jepsen is possibly the catchiest song I’ve ever heard,” creating an immediate runaway hit of the track off Jepsen’s EP Curiosity. And now, a music video spoof of the song, featuring heavy pop hitters like Selena Gomez , Ashley Tisdale and, of course, Bieber, has likely made “Call Me Maybe” the song of the season. “I have no idea why Justin Bieber picked me out of everyone he could have picked, but I’m so glad he did,” Jepsen told MTV News recently. So, who is the girl who wants you to call her, maybe? We already know the 26-year-old Canadian singer has fans in high places, and her track is in the top 10 on the iTunes singles chart, alongside the likes of Adele and Katy Perry. But there is much about this up-and-coming pop singer that you might not know, and MTV News would like to acquaint you with some lesser-known facts about Carly Rae Jepsen. 1. She is an “Idol” alum. In 2007, Jepsen placed third in the Canadian version of the popular “Idol” competition, touring across the country for the “Canadian Idol” Top 3 Concert Tour. During her first audition, Jepsen impressed the judges so much, singing original material, that one judge proclaimed his wish for her not to move forward in the show so he could sign her to a record deal right there and then. 2. She might collaborate with Justin Bieber. The Bieb is certainly “paying it forward.” This past Christmas, Usher recorded a song with his prot
Nick Cannon and Heather Morris have also been added to the list of big-name hosts for the series, which returns March 29. By John Mitchell Lucy Hale Photo: Getty Images In the early aughts, the MTV series “Punk’d” became a pop-culture phenomenon, and now, the sneaky celebrity pranksters are back for more. “Punk’d” returns for an all-new season on Thursday, March 29, at 10 p.m. ET/PT, featuring a new celebrity host each week and guaranteeing the most hilarious moments in the show’s history. Nick Cannon, Lucy Hale, Mac Miller and Heather Morris will join the ranks of previously announced celebrity hosts Justin Bieber, Miley Cyrus, Kellan Lutz, Bam Margera, Hayden Panettiere, “Punk’d” alumnus Dax Shepard and Tyler, the Creator, and they all have one goal in mind: to pull a killer prank on their unsuspecting celebrity friends. So, who are this season’s unsuspecting celebrity marks? Well, we already know that Rob Dyrdek, Liam Hemsworth, Khlo
My names Valerie and I’m 16 years old, I live in Las Vegas, Nevada . My dream has always been to meet Justin or at least see him up close because I had been to his concert here in Vegas, but it’s not the same feeling as if you see him up close or meet him. The day he went on Ellen in November to tell Whitney Elementary that he would donate money to them and perform for them , it was like an ‘omg’ moment. I wanted to go, but one problem. I’m not in Elementary school. I’m a sophomore in Highschool. I told my friend about it and she’s a huge Belieber as well, so we decided that somehow we would get to see Justin that day. I didn’t believe it, but I told myself in order to feel good. I talked to some friends who had gone to Whitney when they were younger and they said they might be able to get me in, but that didn’t work out. So my friend and I kind of started loosing hope and just starting to realize we weren’t going to see Justin at all. We forgot about it until at our local radio station they started talking about how Justin was coming and he was going to perform . They mentioned them hosting a Meet & Greet and they would be giving out tickets daily, blah blah blah. I freaked out, my friend and I called day and night. We only had a week to do this and win those tickets. Ends up we didn’t win them. It’s Thursday night and we’re devastated, so she calls me and tells me, “We’re going. We’re not giving up. I’ll get my dad to drive us tomorrow, but we have to ditch school and not get caught”. I was ready for it. The next day December 16th, 2011 I woke up thinking I could meet Justin today. I wasn’t getting my hopes up though. We went to school but towards the middle, we ditched. We got to Whitney Elementary and they had bunch of security. We tried several times to sneak into the school but we stopped once the police told us we could end up tased, lol. Anyways, we waited and waited until finally Justin arrived in these really nice sleek black cars. He got out with Alfredo and waved to us. There weren’t that many girls yet. But he ended up going in Ellen’s Swaggin’ Waggin’ that was parked outside Whitney. He got changed and while this was happening, Scooter and Kenny were outside waiting for him. We started yelling and screaming so they would come over and they did. They happily came and signed autographs, gave hugs and just talked to us . Kenny signed my jacket and Scooter took a picture with me & my friend. By this time I was already so happy. I just can’t even explain it. I hugged Kenny and told him thank you. I told Scooter thank you. When they were about to leave, we asked him if Justin would come talk to us and he smiled and said “I’ll get him to come here. He wants to anyways” I was like akdfjaljklsjfklasdf. We waited another while after this and finally Justin came out of Ellen’s bus. By now there was a lot more girls waiting for him including me. Everyone was going crazy, many were crying uncontrollably, others just screaming and jumping up and down. He came towards us and waved, he kept smiling and laughing. I couldn’t believe how close I was to him. He moved down the row of girls, and finally he got so close. I can’t describe what I was feeling. He looked at me and my friend and said Hi, he signed some autographs, and hung out for a few minutes, he tried to get to as many fans as possible. There was a lot and I’m just grateful for even being 3 ft of distance to him. By now he was in hurry cause he had to perform, so he left and said maybe he would come back, but he didn’t. My friend and I waited til the private concert was over and he came back out but didn’t get close to the fans he went back into the cars and drove away, but what I do and always will remember was him waving goodbye as he was driving out of the school. That day I went home knowing that I could die happily. My hero, inspiration, my everything had said hi to me and smiled. One smile, that’s all I asked for. I don’t think I’ll ever forget Dec.16, 2011. -princejdrew | tumblr Originally posted here: My names Valerie and I’m 16 years old, I live in Las…
Hey everybody. My name is Angeliesse and I am 15 years old. Let me just start off by saying that I never thought that I would be able to get a picture with Justin. I had seen him at many different events before, but a picture with him just seemed impossible. To everyone who is losing hope about getting to meet Justin, DON’T. You HAVE to believe because it CAN happen. Okay, so mybieberexperience started on February 12, 2012 when I had found out that Justin was in NYC . I was a little scared about going to see him because the last time I had went to one of his events, I got trampled on and I now need surgery on my back. I thought to myself, “It’s worth it if you get to see Justin” so I quickly became determined to see him. The next day my friends and I decided not to go to school and we went to Justin’s hotel. We got to the hotel at around 8am and an hour and a half later, we saw Justin’s Escalade come up and soon after Justin and Selena were walking out of the hotel. Selena quickly went into the car, but I was able to get a picture with Justin along with two other people. Before I got my picture, I said Hi to Moshe, who was holding Justin’s laptop that said ‘swag’ in big letters on the back of it . I told Justin I liked his laptop and he just smiled. Justin was in a bit of a rush so after I got my picture with him, he had to go into the car. While he was in the car, this guy kept on banging on the window. Justin opened the door and said, “Stop it!” , but the guy kept on annoying him, so Justin once again opened the door and said, “Can you just stop it!” This annoying dude did not respect any of Justin’s wishes so finally Justin opened the door again and said, “Go away!” Everyone knew that this guy was making Justin mad, so my friend Emily decided to make the guy stop by pushing him and said, “JUSTIN SAID STOP, ALRIGHT!” Hopefully Justin saw because the guy actually stopped after that. What can I say? BELIEBERS GO HARD! My friend Reiko, Emily and Ryan hadn’t gotten their picture, and I wanted to see Justin again so I decided to stay outside with them for the rest of the day. While we were waiting for Justin, Moshe came out, and he was SO CUTE! We asked him where Justin was and he said, “Justin is working” with his cute little accent. At 1 o’clock, Allison came out of a car, and began to walk her dog , we all noticed her and it was kind of funny because she looked a little scared of us at first, but we didn’t want to bother her, so we just said was Hi and then I also said that her dog was cute and she said Thank You. At around 2:30, we saw Justin’s car come and Justin came out, but he was on the phone and wasn’t able to take pictures with any of us but he said, “I’ll be out later”. At 3:30 we saw Kenny who was SUCH a sweetie pie! I asked him for a picture and he put his arm around me while my friend Reiko took the picture. Afterwards I said, “Kenny! You smell so good!” and he mouthed ‘thank you’ to me but he couldn’t really talk since he had his mouth wired (I assumed it was because of his surgery). At around 4 Moshe came out of Justin’s car with a box of pizza. Throughout the entire day we had all been arguing about how to pronounce his name, so I asked him, “Moshe! Can you just make a clarification here?! How do you pronounce your name?!” and he laughed and said, “You pronounce it Mo-she” and I said thanks and he went inside. At 4:30 Justin came out. I tried to get a second picture with him but I wasn’t able to get one because people were crowding him, and he even asked everyone to step back he said, “Can everyone please just step back. I’m claustrophobic”. Everyone moved back, and many girls were able to get their pictures. When he was done, he was rushed into his car. I quickly went up to the window of the car and put my hand up and started waiving. Justin who was now on the other side of the car, came to the side I was on, and put his hand to my hand and smiled. My heart melted. Later that day Justin also tweeted about the fans he had met that day, and just knowing that he was talking about me and my friends made me FREAK OUT. I did all of this with a back in need of surgery, and when I got home that day I was in so much pain, but thinking about how Justin looked at me, and how close I was to him made me feel better because this was literally the most happiest moments of my life, and was worth it all to me. For people who say Justin is rude to his fans, he is NOT. He is the sweetest person in the world, and he really cares about every single one of his fans. I love you Justin, thanks for everything, and please pray for my back! Thanks, Angeliesse @JBswag_Angel More: Hey everybody. My name is Angeliesse and I am 15 years old. Let…
Under fire for his anti-gay comments on Piers Morgan Tonight, former Growing Pains star Kirk Cameron defended himself in a Facebook post Tuesday. His tone was less combative and his comments much better-worded, but Kirk did not apologize for his beliefs, or the manner in which he voiced them. In fact, Cameron criticized the media and those contributing to the backlash, defending principles he stands for and the right to express them publicly. The actor defended his appearance on CNN (below) this way: Kirk Cameron on Gay Marriage “During the CNN interview, I was asked to express my views about homosexuality, gay marriage, and abortion. While that was not the agreed-upon purpose of the interview, I was pleased to answer Piers’ questions as honestly as I could. “To some, my responses were not sufficiently ‘loving’ toward the gay community. I can only say that it is my life’s mission to love all people, and I expressed the same views clearly and emphatically expressed throughout Judeo-Christian scriptures.” “As a Bible believing Christian, I could not have answered any other way.” “I’ve been encouraged by the support of many friends (including gay friends, incidentally) in the wake of condemnation by some political advocacy groups.” “In the case of one of my gay friends, we regularly talk and have healthy and respectful debate. We learn from each other, and serve others alongside one another.” “I thank God for all of my friends… even when they hold very different views on issues of faith and morality. I do not, however, believe that the right way to advance our views is to resort to name-calling and personal attacks, as some have done to me.” “I also believe that freedom of speech and freedom of religion go hand-in-hand in America. I should be able to express moral views on social issues – especially those that have been the underpinning of Western civilization for 2,000 years – without being slandered, accused of hate speech, and told from those who preach ‘tolerance’ that I need to either bend my beliefs to their moral standards or be silent when I’m in the public square.” “I hope more than a few people could see the large volume of secularist morality being imposed on me. In any society that is governed by the rule of law, some form of morality is always imposed. It’s inescapable.” “But it is also a complicated subject, and that is why I believe we need to learn how to debate these things with greater love and respect.” GLAAD was unsatisfied with the star’s explanation and offered its own response: “Saying that gay people are ‘detrimental to civilization’ might be ‘loving’ in Kirk Cameron’s mind, but it’s gay youth and victims of bullying who truly suffer from adults like Cameron who espouse these ideas,” said senior director Herndon Graddick. Cameron blasted gay marriage and homosexuality for being “destructive to so many of the foundations of civilization” and said if one if his sons told him he was gay, he would encourage him to “work through” those “issues.” What do you think? Is Kirk out of line? Or is he right on the money? Is there a double standard – at least in how certain views are treated by the media?
During the EA Game Changers event at the 2012 Game Developers Conference, Maxis announced SimCity . It’ll be coming to PC in 2013, which clearly isn’t soon enough. Curvy roads were announced first, much to the applause of the audience. This is the first SimCity in which your cities will exist alongside your friends’. The goal is to make the most “playful and responseful” SimCity yet , and the teaser… Broadcasting platform : YouTube Source : Destructoid Discovery Date : 06/03/2012 00:59 Number of articles : 2
Lohan scored early laughs as host but ‘Saturday Night Live’ castmembers did heavy comedic lifting. By Ryan J. Downey Lindsay Lohan Photo: FilmMagic Following a week of self-deprecating promos and a cold open starring Jason Sudeikis as Mitt Romney and Andy Samberg as Kid Rock, Lindsay Lohan ‘s monologue dove right on top of the white elephant inside New York’s Studio 8H: her troubles. And while the crowd (and cast) was clearly supportive during at the top of the show, the evening’s sketches featured “SNL” regulars doing the comedic heavy lifting. Lohan’s lines were noticeably few. When she did speak, she clearly read from cue cards. But the monologue was a great start. Clad in a form fitting blue dress with a leggy slit, she began: “I feel lucky and grateful to be here tonight and that’s why I really want to thank all of my friends at ‘SNL’ who trusted me enough to have me back. This studio feels like home to me,” then suddenly, a mock “house arrest” style alarm sounded when she started to move. “Wait, so the alarm goes off if I leave the stage? I thought it was if I left the studio!” she said, to supportive laughs. Keenan Thompson was soon by her side, pretending to check her eyes for dilation. Lohan said she could just as easily be checking him, to which he replied, “Oh, I’ll save you the trouble! I’ve been stoned since ‘Good Burger!’ ” Kristen Wiig was out next. “I do get the feeling that everybody thinks I’m going to screw something up,” Lohan told the “Bridesmaids” star. “Everybody believes in you,” Wiig said. “We wouldn’t have you back otherwise.” The audience applauded those lines pretty loudly. Then Wiig immediately pretended to pat the host down, jokingly explaining, “I’m a lesbian now.” “Been there done that,” Lohan replied. As expected, following Lohan’s invitation on “Late Night With Jimmy Fallon” on Thursday, Fallon made a short, supportive appearance. “The new / old Lindsay Lohan is back!” the “SNL” veteran declared. “Are you sure?” she asked sheepishly. “You’re the same little girl who stole our hearts in ‘The Parent Trap,’ you’re the teenager who dazzled us in ‘Mean Girls,’ ” he said, all to loud cheers. “You’re the lady who absolutely blew us away in ‘The Help.’ ” The last line, of course, was a reference to Emma Stone, who played a dazed and confused Lohan in a 2010 “SNL” sketch. “You can do this,” he added. “And if for any reason you can’t, Jon Hamm is on standby as backup host.” Sure enough, the “Mad Men” star (who was in “Bridesmaids,” and had a recurring role on “30 Rock,” as well) was right there in the audience. While Hamm never stepped in to take over, the early consensus online was that Lohan was given noticeably little to do and relied heavily on cue cards and / or teleprompters. To be fair, the long-running iconic show is famously rewritten and rehearsed until the eleventh hour and many hosts (and castmembers) often read cue cards. The studio crowd seemed to want to support her, but Twitter users were much less forgiving. “This may be the first time Lindsay Lohan had trouble doing lines,” @DrunkEnough said. “The paddling to Comeback Island would be more believable if Lohan didn’t need a teleprompter to remember the plots of her own movies,” tweeted @Shinangovani. A “Real Housewives of Disney” sketch, during which Lohan threw a mean right cross as a Rapunzel who knowingly wasn’t much different than Lohan’s own public persona, mostly killed. But it was followed by a flat “2012 Psychic Awards” bit opposite Bill Hader where her reliance on off-camera lines became extremely clear. Next, Hader, Andy Samberg, Bobby Moynihan and Jason Sudeikis were in their usual roles in a “scared straight” sketch, where Thompson played the prison inmate whose stories are derived from famous movies and whose taunts are filled with increasingly vulgar sexual innuendo. “My name is Lorenzo Macintosh,” Thompson said, with the show’s host beside him. “And I’m Lindsay Lohan,” she replied to much applause, scoring more points with self-deprecation. The “scared straight” sketch had more lines for Lohan than anything else in the episode. There were jokes about spending time in rehab in Malibu and a reference to “Herbie: Fully Loaded,” “Freaky Friday,” “The Parent Trap,” “Mean Girls” and the $2500 necklace she was accused of stealing from an L.A. jewelry store, a violation of her probation from a 2007 driving case. “If you ever think of stealing a diamond,” she warned the trio of young hooligans, “just remember: ‘every kiss begins with rape.’ ” She read all of the lines, flubbing some of them. After Jack White’s first musical segment and a Lohan-less “Weekend Update,” the host returned as part of a group of ’50s style “delinquent teen girls” dancing in a busy street. Fred Armisen, in drag, was the focal point of the sketch. Lohan did more dancing than speaking (though she looked great in her extremely short shorts) and was absent from the night’s first digital short. As the show hit the hour mark, Lohan had appeared only three times since her opening monologue. A sketch about a hip-hop morning radio show in Minnesota included Lohan as “our intern, illiterate Lisa.” Two castmembers played the show’s hosts and another castmember played the “news lady.” Lohan’s character briefly read some incorrect copy (she was “Illiterate Lisa,” after all) but the “SNL” trio handled all of the proverbial heavy lifting as the sketch went on. Next was a pharmaceutical commercial sketch featuring Wiig and Hader. Lindsey was once again nowhere to be found. “East coasters, what’s happening on #SNL? Should I keep practicing and working hard at what I do, or is that not necessary any more?” tweeted Josh Groban. “That awkward moment when you’re hosting #SNL but you aren’t the star of any of the sketches … ” tweeted user @chescaleigh. “Lindsay Lohan hasn’t made me laugh yet,” chimed in culture commentator and New York Times best selling author Toure, also via Twitter. “Can we still replace her with Jon Hamm?” Lohan had a little more to do in a sketch opposite Kristen Wiig, playing it straight to a neck brace-wearing Wiig’s wild antics. But it was clear that she was still reading all of her lines, even studying them during moments where Wiig was performing. The next sketch, a previously aired commercial spoof starring Hader and Armisen, marked yet another Lohan-less moment. The last sketch of the evening was an ensemble bit with Andy Samberg as “Rude Buddha.” Lohan wasn’t required to do much more than ask, “Is there any way that you can help me reach nirvana?” She had been looking to “SNL” to kickstart a career comeback. Earlier in the week, she told Fallon she had begged producer Lorne Michaels to have her back on the show. “Saturday Night Live” has played pivotal roles in Lindsay’s career since she was 17. Former “SNL” head writer and castmember Tina Fey wrote and co-starred in “Mean Girls,” which remains Lohan’s biggest hit aside from “Freaky Friday.” Lindsey made her “SNL” hosting debut the day after “Mean Girls” was released, guesting in a pair of, now classic, sketches. She returned as a surprise guest during a “Weekend Update” segment in December of that year, under a fog of tabloid speculation about her weight loss, love life, medical problems and pop singer aspirations. Two years later, Lohan admitted to Vanity Fair that Fey and “Weekend Update” co-host Amy Poehler had sat her down and expressed concerns for her well being. “I just started bawling,” she told the magazine. “I knew I had a problem and I couldn’t admit it.” In addition to the hard partying regularly followed by the paparazzi, Lohan has been cast and recast in movie projects (including one about ’70s porn star Linda Lovelace) and tangled with the law, including a situation where she was accused of theft after wearing an expensive necklace out of a Venice, California jewelry store. Four years after Lohan made her third hosting appearance on “SNL” in 2006, Emma Stone played her in a sketch that lampooned the young star’s problems. On Thursday’s taped appearance on “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon,” Lohan publicly asked the ex-“SNL” castmember to drop by Studio 8H during the taping. Fallon also played a clip of the sketch that launched Rachel Dratch’s recurring “Debbie Downer” character back in 2004, the same year that “Mean Girls” (written by “SNL” veteran Tina Fey) was in theaters. Fallon famously had trouble keeping a straight face during his time on “SNL” and the inaugural “Debbie Downer” sketch was one for the “breaking” record books. Fallon, Lohan, Amy Poehler, Horatio Sanz and Fred Armisen couldn’t stop laughing during Dratch’s dour one-liners. “I was trying to not to laugh,” Fallon recalled. “I know you were, but it made it worse,” noted Lohan. In an interview with NBC’s ” Today ,” also on Thursday (March 1), Lohan told host Matt Lauer that “I still need to go through the process of proving myself, with ‘SNL,’ being on time, keeping my … stuff together.” She also said she had gotten clearance from her legal team to address her recent troubles on the long-running sketch comedy show. She talked openly about staying clean and sober and called her time doing community service in Los Angeles “humbling” and “a learning experience.” How do you think LiLo performed on “Saturday Night Live?” Share your thoughts and comments below. Related Photos The Highs And Lows Of Lindsay Lohan Related Artists Lindsay Lohan
Party planner Colin Cowie tells MTV News the fete would involve Beyonce, spaghetti and an ‘amazing, over-the-top’ cake. By Jocelyn Vena Justin Bieber Photo: Lester Cohen/ WireImage As Justin Bieber heads into his birthday weekend, we’re sure the newly legal star has some big plans to celebrate. To get an idea of what a Justin Bieber 18th Birthday Mega Bash might look like, we turned to party planner to the stars Colin Cowie, who dished on how he’d plan out the Bieb’s big par-tay. “Since it’s his first real big birthday and he really plays to a big world, he deserves a big party,” Cowie said. “And I would pull out all the stops.” Everything from the location to the food to the entertainment has to live up to Bieber’s celebrity, but also has to still feel intimate. “I’d take a great nightclub and throw a fabulous party in a nightclub, not too big … invite 200 of his best friends,” he explained, suggesting Manhattan hot spot the Double Seven as a possible location. “I think I would use a combination of a DJ to start with, get the crowd going, add a couple live musicians just to build the energy and then have a live band,” he said of the entertainment. “And maybe Usher puts together a great musical repertoire, invites someone like Beyonc
