‘Hunger Games’ star was up for Best Actress at the 2011 Academy Awards. By Jocelyn Vena Jennifer Lawrence Photo: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images Jennifer Lawrence has been selected by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to announce this year’s Oscar nominees. The “Hunger Games” actress will be joined by Academy President Tom Sherak at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills on January 24 to reveal just who will be up for one of those coveted gold statues, the Academy announced on Monday (January 9). The show, airing on ABC, is set to take place on February 26 with host Billy Crystal . Lawrence was up for Best Actress at the 2011 show for her star-making turn in “Winter’s Bone.” While she lost to “Black Swan” star Natalie Portman , she made headlines thanks to her body-hugging red dress. She’s next set to star in “The Hunger Games,” set for release on March 23. The same day her Oscars gig was announced, Lionsgate announced plans for pre-sale tickets for the highly anticipated flick , which also stars Josh Hutcherson and Liam Hemsworth . For those hungry to get their hands on tickets early, advanced sales kick off on February 22. When Lawrence was first cast in the film, which is based on the beloved novels by Suzanne Collins, fans had some reservations about whether she could fully embody the books’ heroine, Katniss Everdeen. “I wasn’t aware that everybody was so upset until I after I got my hair dyed, and people were like, ‘Oh my gosh, blond hair can turn brown. Wow. It’s a miracle,’ ” Lawrence told MTV News in May of last year. Check out everything we’ve got on “The Hunger Games.” For young Hollywood news, fashion and “Twilight” updates around the clock, visit HollywoodCrush.MTV.com . Related Videos MTV Rough Cut: Jennifer Lawrence Related Photos Meet Katniss From ‘Hunger Games’: Jennifer Lawrence
John Mellencamp: It’s About You isn’t really about you, or me, or even about John Mellencamp, the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer who has built an enduring career with his eminently likable, real-person stage demeanor and his songs’ connection with the way regular people live. It’s About You is quite possibly mostly about the filmmaker, Kurt Markus, a commercial photographer who has shot portraits for publications including Vanity Fair, Rolling Stone and GQ , as well as ad campaigns for the likes of BMW and Armani. But that’s surprisingly OK: Mellencamp invited Markus and his son, Ian, to tag along, video camera in tow, to record his summer 2009 concert tour and to eavesdrop, visually and otherwise, on recording sessions for his 2010 album No Better Than This . Mellencamp even told Markus at the outset, somewhat cryptically, that the movie should be about Markus. And so It’s About You — whatever the heck it’s actually about – is in the end a kind of visual journal, a photographer’s way of seeing and responding to what’s around him. Those events and moments and glancing touches might include a group of musicians huddled around a single microphone in Memphis’s hallowed Sun Studios, or the flash of producer extraordinaire T. Bone Burnett’s cuff-links during another session, held in the same room where Robert Johnson cut a potent handful of songs in 1936. Markus accompanies the visuals with a voice-over narration that’s sometimes grating and other times startling in its perceptions. The result is a kind of homespun video scrapbook, bumpy seams and glue splotches and all; it’s flawed, but at least it feels handmade and human. Mellencamp could have faded away when he was still John Cougar Mellencamp, in the late 1980s, but somehow he’s managed to thrive as a modern rock’n’roll troubadour, standing tall and sturdy even alongside more massive luminaries like Bruce Springsteen and Bob Dylan. His low-key manner, as it’s revealed in It’s About You , is probably part of the key to his longevity: Even when he’s singing about boarded-up houses and busted American dreams, he never comes off as haranguing or overly morose – there’s always a glimmer of cautious optimism in his eyes. Markus captures that gleam both in the performance footage and in the more spontaneous recording sessions. Some of these sessions took place at the First African Baptist Church, in Savannah, Ga., which Markus tells us is the oldest black church in America. He also tells us about – though doesn’t show us – the bullet-size holes in the church’s floor, used to provide ventilation for the runaway slaves who were once harbored there. And we see Mellencamp and his then-wife, Elaine (the two have since split), donning white robes before they’re dunked in the church’s baptismal pool. There’s a kind of offhanded grace in the image. It’s not that Mellencamp and his wife aren’t taking the moment seriously; it just seems to be more of a piece with everyday living rather than some monumental event. This isn’t, strictly speaking, a concert film, and at one point Markus half-apologizes for not having a sound person along: He wanted to keep the whole thing as intimate as possible, and for that reason, he even refuses to set foot on Mellencamp’s tour bus. He states that he believes some moments, even on tour, should be kept private. But the real intimacy of It’s About You comes through in Markus’s footage of faded, semi-deserted Midwestern downtown streets, with their battered storefronts and rusty signage. Markus narrates some of this footage in a sort of numbed monotone. And just when you might be wishing that he’d shut up and let the images speak for themselves, he comes out with something that stops you cold. “These empty shells of better days are the biggest attraction America has going for it,” he says at one point, meaning that they’re visions of something truly American that persist even in the face of economic hardship and decay. His camera shows us deserted drive-thru restaurants and shuttered shops in sections of San Antonio, and he remarks that it’s as if a plague had wiped out a whole population, suddenly and thoroughly. “It’s a Texas Pompeii,” he says, observing how sadly beautiful it all is. As captured by Markus, Mellencamp, now 60, is looking a little weatherbeaten himself, but in a handsome, vital way — he shows no sign of going the way of those sad, forgotten downtowns. Still, they’re a big part of what he’s all about. Because, in the end, it really isn’t about him. Follow Stephanie Zacharek on Twitter . Follow Movieline on Twitter .
We forecast the year that will be for your favorite stars, in Bigger Than the Sound. By James Montgomery Beyonce Photo: Jason Merritt/Getty Images Welcome to 2012, the year that will either bring us the end of civilization as we know it or perhaps flying cars (finally!) Of course, between those two events, there’s also going to be a presidential election, the London Olympics and that last “Twilight” movie (finally x 100!), not to mention a whole lot of activity within the lives of your favorite stars, too: Babies, weddings, honorary doctorates in nanotechnology; this is the year it’ll all happen. Which is why, with the new year upon us, I’ve decided to get my Kreskin on with these predictions for 2012. Don’t ask me to gaze deep into my crystal ball and try to foresee who’ll win the White House or the World Series, because, seriously, if I knew that, don’t you think I’d be wagering right now? Instead, I’m tackling the important topics. Here’s my 2012 forecast for the Beyonc
First electoral event of the year takes place Tuesday, and MTV is on the scene. By Gil Kaufman Ron Paul campaigns in Iowa Photo: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images When it comes to presidential politics, Iowa is #1 in line, no matter what. Though it only serves up around 1 percent of the national delegates in presidential contests, pundits and political junkies have looked to the Hawkeye State for more than 40 years for an early indication of who will represent the party in the race for the White House. With President Obama facing no Democratic challenger in his bid for a second term, all the attention at Tuesday’s Iowa caucus will be focused on the Republicans vying to come out on top in Iowa: Ron Paul, Newt Gingrich, Mitt Romney, Michele Bachmann, Rick Santorum, Rick Perry and Jon Huntsman. As of press time, libertarian rabble-rouser Paul was in the lead, in part due to his dedicated core of young supporters. Frequently ignored by the national media, Paul is an enigma in this year’s GOP field thanks to his views on legalizing drugs and abolishing the departments of Education and Commerce, among others. But according to the latest Public Policy Poll , Paul was leading the pack at 23 percent, followed by Romney at 20 and the fast-fading Gingrich at 14. Not surprisingly, Texas congressman Paul is well ahead with voters under the age of 45, with 33 percent of their likely votes compared to Romney’s 16. But the Huffington Post reported that what remains to be seen is whether those hard-partying college students intent on casting their votes for Paul will show up to the caucuses after whooping it up on New Year’s Eve and slowly making their way back to campus after the long winter break. Unlike most of the primaries over the next few months and the general election, Iowans will not walk into a voting booth and pull a lever, punch a card or swipe a touch screen to help vault one of the candidates into an early lead. In a quirky throwback to a previous time, they’ll gather in meeting halls, school gymnasiums and even living rooms to hash out their choices, a scenario that could be disorienting for young voters who may be casting ballots for the first time. With 1,774 caucuses statewide, any registered voter can show up at his or her local caucus meeting after pre-registering as a party member. Once there (the events begin promptly at 7 p.m. and last about an hour), they’ll hear bids from representatives of the candidates and then chat with friends, neighbors and strangers about the strengths and weaknesses of the various candidates as well as about issues that concern them. After everyone has said their piece, they’ll vote in a paper-ballot straw poll and choose their delegates to the state convention. Those 40 Republican National Convention delegates don’t have to immediately declare which candidate they support, but the press will quickly declare a winner based on the percentage of delegates won by each candidate. Unlike in years past, most of the leading candidates for the GOP nomination have not lavished the same kind of attention on Iowa that past presidential hopefuls have. That’s likely the reason why a recent Iowa State University/ Gazette/ KCRG-TV9 poll found that with just one week to go, nearly 38 percent of respondents said they were still trying to decide their vote, with another 34 percent saying they were leaning one way and only 28 percent locked in on the candidate they were definitely supporting. In other words, no matter who has the lead going into Tuesday night, there could be a major upset in the making if the candidates’ last-minute barnstorming blitzes have a big impact on Iowa voters used to lots of face time with their candidates. Plus, the winner doesn’t always take the prize, as in 2008, when former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee came in first in Iowa , despite Romney’s lavish spending of around $12,000 per vote. That’s why candidates have historically spent months and months meeting Iowa voters and introducing themselves over and over in order to pass the most crucial Hawkeye exam: the likability test. Once the dust clears, after months of campaigning and 13 televised debates, the national press will anoint a legitimate front-runner and a number of the candidates with the lowest totals will likely hang it up. MTV is on the scene in Iowa! Head to Iowa.MTV.com for all our Iowa caucus coverage , and stick with PowerOf12.org throughout the presidential election season to follow Andrew Jenks on the campaign trail. Related Videos Power Of 12: Andrew Jenks Kicks Off Election 2012
Both celebs were photographed without their wedding bands this week. By Kara Warner Katy Perry and Russell Brand in Los Angeles on December 3 Photo: Jason Merritt/Getty Images Katy Perry and Russell Brand have both been spotted in public sans wedding bands recently, and while there has been no official word regarding a separation of any sort, nothing sets the Internet rumor mill spinning like a high-profile married couple stepping out with naked ring fingers. Perry was first spotted without her ring around Christmas, but she was splashing around in the ocean and could have chosen not to wear the ring for fear of losing it, not to make a statement about her relationship status. A wedding-ring-free Brand was snapped by photographers walking around London on Thursday (December 29), further fueling rumors of marital trouble that have been swirling, which both Brand and Perry addressed recently. “There are always rumors, aren’t there? In the end, you have to just not engage with Internet technology, which is difficult because a lot of the nude women websites I quite enjoy,” Brand joked to Ellen DeGeneres about breakup rumors during his visit to her talk show. “I’ve treated the whole Internet now like it’s a wicked little liar. Yeah. I am really happily married,” he added. “I’m married to Katy. Perpetually, until death do us part was the pledge.” Perry took to Twitter in November to brush off earlier rumblings. “First I’m pregnant & then I’m divorced. What am I ‘All My Children’?! #ericakane #pshhh #ifihadadollarforeverytime …,” she tweeted . The pop princess and cheeky British comedian have been married since October 2010 . Related Videos MTV News Extended Play: Katy Perry Related Artists Katy Perry Russell Brand
Couple have two children together and have been dating since 2006. By Jocelyn Vena Camila Alves and Matthew McConaughey Photo: Joe Scarnici/Getty Images Two kids and nearly six years later, Matthew McConaughey popped the question to his longtime lady love, model Camila Alves, over the holiday weekend. Her answer? A big yes! The actor confirmed the engagement on Twitter. “Just asked camila to marry me, merry Christmas,” he tweeted on Christmas Day, also posting a photo of him and Alves kissing next to Christmas decorations. The couple have a 3-year-old son, Levi, and a daughter, Vida, who turns 2 next month. In the March issue of Esquire, the actor gushed about his bride-to-be. “Before this, I had a super home in the Hollywood Hills that I did by myself — landscaping, detailing pretty much everything. But that house was mine. And yeah, we coulda gone in there right away. Camila would have said, ‘Fine, don’t change a thing.’ But I thought, ‘I found the woman I wanna do it with, the woman I wanna make a family with, hopefully live our life out together.’ She needs to have 50 percent of that,” he said. “I mean, it’s a lot easier for me to be at 100 percent. I’d always been 100 percent. It’s braver for me at 50 percent.” In September 2008, McConaughey opened up to People about Alves, calling her “the love of my life.” The two began dating in 2006. “I always wanted to be a father and thought it would be great, but it just took the right woman and the right time to make it all happen,” he said. “We’re a family now. I see the future and it’s clearer to me now. Walking around with this cool responsibility all the time, it’s a wonderful thing.” Share your well-wishes with the newly engaged couple in the comments below!
From a Run-D.M.C. classic to raps with not-so-merry sentiments, here’s MTV News’ nontraditional playlist. By Rob Markman Kanye West Photo: Ben Hider/Getty Images Sure, Michael Bubl
‘Barbz, shld i twerk in the stupid hoe vid???’ Minaj asks fans. By Jocelyn Vena Nicki Minaj Photo: Frank Micelotta/Getty Images If Nicki Minaj ‘s latest Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded track, “Stupid Hoe,” seems off-the-wall, her fans should probably expect the video to be as well. And given the hints that the fierce MC has dropped on Twitter, something zany is definitely in store. Over the course of the last few days, the singer has been keeping her Barbz and Kenz up-to-date on the video shoot, which will by all accounts feature multiple costume changes, multiple setups and even some fried chicken. “Next shot is in a bathing suit and [hairstylist] terrence got me eating fried chkn and carrot cake!” she tweeted, later adding, “gettin my nailz done. still shootin the vid. 2 more looks!!!!” The rapper later posted a photo of her manicure, which featured animal prints and rainbow colors. “Barbz, shld i twerk in the stupid hoe vid???” she asked. “but i 4got my twerkin moves … dang.” She may not end up twerkin’ in the video, but as of Wednesday, she still had some work to do on the clip, so it seems anything could make the final cut. “Stupid Hoe” will be the second video off of Minaj’s February 14 release. Earlier this month, she teased the clip for “Roman Reloaded,” the album’s lead single. “Well, [Roman] was there [in Moscow] secretly because [alter ego] Martha wanted him to go there, so they put him in this thing with monks and nuns; they were trying to rehabilitate him,” Minaj explained. “But I can’t tell exactly what happened, you’ll just see it in the video format, but let’s just say he got out of there.” Minaj added that the video for “Roman in Moscow” “will be shot real soon.” Those aren’t the only Minaj videos that fans are excited for. Her clip for Madonna’s lead single, “Gimme All Your Luvin,” had everyone buzzing when she tweeted about a kiss she shared with the Queen of Pop. While little is known about that video, a behind-the-scenes photo of Nicki donning red sunglasses and hanging out with M.I.A. on set hit the Web late Tuesday night. Related Artists Nicki Minaj
‘Barbz, shld i twerk in the stupid hoe vid???’ Minaj asks fans. By Jocelyn Vena Nicki Minaj Photo: Frank Micelotta/Getty Images If Nicki Minaj ‘s latest Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded track, “Stupid Hoe,” seems off-the-wall, her fans should probably expect the video to be as well. And given the hints that the fierce MC has dropped on Twitter, something zany is definitely in store. Over the course of the last few days, the singer has been keeping her Barbz and Kenz up-to-date on the video shoot, which will by all accounts feature multiple costume changes, multiple setups and even some fried chicken. “Next shot is in a bathing suit and [hairstylist] terrence got me eating fried chkn and carrot cake!” she tweeted, later adding, “gettin my nailz done. still shootin the vid. 2 more looks!!!!” The rapper later posted a photo of her manicure, which featured animal prints and rainbow colors. “Barbz, shld i twerk in the stupid hoe vid???” she asked. “but i 4got my twerkin moves … dang.” She may not end up twerkin’ in the video, but as of Wednesday, she still had some work to do on the clip, so it seems anything could make the final cut. “Stupid Hoe” will be the second video off of Minaj’s February 14 release. Earlier this month, she teased the clip for “Roman Reloaded,” the album’s lead single. “Well, [Roman] was there [in Moscow] secretly because [alter ego] Martha wanted him to go there, so they put him in this thing with monks and nuns; they were trying to rehabilitate him,” Minaj explained. “But I can’t tell exactly what happened, you’ll just see it in the video format, but let’s just say he got out of there.” Minaj added that the video for “Roman in Moscow” “will be shot real soon.” Those aren’t the only Minaj videos that fans are excited for. Her clip for Madonna’s lead single, “Gimme All Your Luvin,” had everyone buzzing when she tweeted about a kiss she shared with the Queen of Pop. While little is known about that video, a behind-the-scenes photo of Nicki donning red sunglasses and hanging out with M.I.A. on set hit the Web late Tuesday night. Related Artists Nicki Minaj
Nine-track EP includes tracks from Stronger and revamped versions of older songs. By Jocelyn Vena Kelly Clarkson Photo: Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images Kelly Clarkson is reimagining some of her songs for a special iTunes sessions album. The nine-track EP will drop December 27, with pre-orders kicking off Tuesday (December 13). According to a press release, the album will include three songs from Clarkson’s latest album, Stronger, including its lead single, “Mr. Know It All,” along with “What Doesn’t Kill You (Stronger)” and “You Can’t Win.” She will also kick it old-school with revamped versions of “Never Again,” “Since U Been Gone,” “Why Don’t You Try” and “My Life Would Suck Without You.” The final two tracks include the holiday classic “I’ll Be Home for Christmas” and an interview with the star. Clarkson’s Stronger 2012 world tour is slated to kick off January 13. She will start in Connecticut at the MGM Grand Theater at Foxwoods before making her way around North America, with stops in New York, Austin, Atlanta and Los Angeles. The tour will end April 10 in San Diego. Stronger, Clarkson’s fifth studio album, dropped in October and debuted at #2, right behind Coldplay’s Mylo Xyloto. Clarkson is readying the release of her next single, “What Doesn’t Kill You.” “There were a few different titles that were going around, and I think the reason why we came up with Stronger was just because every song was about empowerment and almost, like, overcoming stuff,” Clarkson told MTV News about the album title. “So, even if it was a bad situation and a sad song, it was about overcoming that. … So I think that’s why [we named it that], and I think after 10 years of doing it, you feel a little stronger personally and musically. People know you better. It’s just easier, I think.” Is your favorite Kelly Clarkson hit included on the new iTunes album? Let us know in the comments! Related Videos MTV News Extended Play: Kelly Clarkson Related Artists Kelly Clarkson
