Producer William Orbit tweets details about Madge’s top-secret project. By Jocelyn Vena Madonna Photo: Stephen Lovekin/Getty Images Since Madonna manager Guy Oseary announced she’d be working on an album over the summer, tentatively slated for a spring release , the Queen of Pop’s most loyal followers have been clamoring for updates about the progress of the record. Last week, it was rumored Madge had plans to work with M.I.A. and Nicki Minaj , and now producer William Orbit has some more news for the singer’s most loyal devotees. “Madonna has phenomenal understanding of both the minutiae of music and the big picture. Zooming in, zooming out. 4ever amazing. Plus VISION!!!” he tweeted . “Working with Madonna is a treat. Fantastic tracks and vibes. Going deep. She’s ON IT !!! This is THE album!” The Ray of Light producer’s tweets even reveal where the two have been cooking up tracks for the record. “WOWOWOWOW just looked out the window here in NY and IT’s SNOWING !!!!!” he wrote . “A Fairy Tale in New York but Hot Hot Hot in the studioooooo.” At the London screening for her film “W.E.,” Madonna spoke to Sky News about the top-secret project, addressing the nature of her celebrity and how it relates to her art. “Even when I try something old [I get criticized]. When I make my music, I come up against criticism,” she said. “So it kind of goes with the territory. I’m used to it.” What are you expecting from Madonna’s next album? Let us know in the comments! Related Artists Madonna
After Spears’ Dublin concert, a fan was thrown off a fairground ride outside the venue. By Kara Warner Britney Spears Photo: Danny Martindale/Getty Images Britney Spears expressed her condolences Tuesday (October 25) to the family of a fan who died after attending her concert Monday in Dublin, Ireland. Siobhan Healy, 31, was on a fairground ride called the Tip Top outside the concert venue when she was thrown to the ground and killed instantly. According to the U.K.’s Daily Mail, Healy had attended Spears’ concert earlier in the evening at the nearby O2 arena. “I was saddened to hear of the tragic accident in Dublin,” Spears tweeted Tuesday. “My heart goes out to the family. –Britney” A family friend told the paper that the accident has devastated the residents of Healy’s hometown of Willsborough. “The community is very shocked,” Michael McGreal said. “I know her family very well, we are all very upset.” An investigation has been launched to find out what caused the accident, with some speculating that the recent severe weather that has swept through Ireland might have been a contributing factor. Kenneth McFadden, the owner of the company that runs the Tip Top ride, also expressed his condolences. “We can’t say [what happened], it all happened so quick,” he said. “We are just in bits at the moment, we are just devastated.” McFadden also told the Daily Mail that he has had the Tip Top ride for nearly five years and never experienced any problems with it. Related Artists Britney Spears
Tennessee femcee Gangsta Boo will also chop it up with Sway on Wednesday at 4 p.m. on MTV.com. By Nadeska Alexis Mobb Deep Photo: Bryan Bedder/Getty Images Last month, New York titans Mobb Deep exclusively revealed the cover art for their upcoming Black Cocaine EP on our RapFix blog. Now, Havoc and Prodigy are set to swing by MTV’s “RapFix Live” on Wednesday at 4 p.m. ET to talk about the November release, which they’ll follow-up with their self-titled ninth studio album. The duo will chop it up with Sway about their latest projects, as well as their catalog of classic albums, including 1995’s The Infamous and 1996’s Hell on Earth. Those records ushered the two Queensbridge, New York, MCs to the forefront of the East Coast’s gritty street rap movement. And judging from the crowd’s reaction at this summer’s Rock the Bells Festival , hits like “Shook Ones II” haven’t lost much steam. But the Infamous Mobb Deep have been busy both in and out of the studio. Last month, Hav and Prodigy inked a new deal with Sony’s RED Distribution to release new projects via their Infamous Records imprint. And Prodigy is now a published author. After the release of 2006’s Blood Money, Prodigy served a stint behind bars , emerging this year with the controversial My Infamous Life: The Autobiography of Mobb Deep’s Prodigy, a book that brought back a flood of memories from the heyday of mid-90s rap. M-O-B-B will share the “RFL” couch with Tennessee rapper Gangsta Boo, perhaps best known for her lyrics on Three Six Mafia’s 2000 album, When the Smoke Clears: Sixty 6, Sixty 1, as well as her own solo projects. In addition to a new feature alongside Eminem on “Throw It Up,” the explosive single from Yelawolf’s Radioactive album, Gangsta Boo is gearing up to release an EP with Drumma Boy in February. Mobb Deep and Gangsta Boo have earned reputations as outspoken MCs in the game, so tune into “RapFix Live” this week to see what they’ll reveal. Tweet your questions for Mobb Deep and Gangsta Boo to @MTVNews with the hashtag #RapFixLive. Catch Mobb Deep and Gangsta Boo on “RapFix Live” on Wednesday, October 26, at 4 p.m. ET on MTV.com! Related Videos Mobb Deep, Gangsta Boo Hitting This Week’s ‘RapFix Live’ Related Artists Mobb Deep
Prosecution aimed to prove MJ’s death could have been prevented if Dr. Conrad Murray had the proper equipment and staffing. By Gil Kaufman Steven Shafer Photo: Pool/Getty Images After five days of recess, the involuntary manslaughter trial of Michael Jackson doctor Conrad Murray resumed in a Los Angeles courtroom Wednesday (October 19) with the airing of a dramatic video showing an actor going into cardiac arrest and being revived following a propofol overdose. The Witness
Nicki Minaj goes seriously old school on the latest cover of W . We’re talking old, old, old school, people. Thanks to artist Francesco Vezzoli, the artist is transformer into a 18th-century woman, donning elaborate pieces by Dior Haute Couture, Vera Wang, and Western Costume Company. See for yourself: Said Vezzoli of working with Minaj, who surprised her biggest fan on Ellen this week in this adorable video : “I wanted to play with the public image of a female hip-hop star. During my entire career, I have always been fascinated by powerful women in history. I have spent a lot of time researching the ways they were represented in art and how their images were used to mold the public imagination.” Mission accomplished, we’d say. Compare this look to Minaj’s recent Cosmo cover . Notice any differences?
Former Beatle wed American heiress Nancy Shevell in London. By Gil Kaufman Sir Paul McCartney and Nancy Shevell leave the Marylebone Registry Office after their civil ceremony marriage on Sunday in London Photo: Danny Martindale/Getty Images Former Beatle Paul McCartney married for the third time on Sunday, taking his vows at the iconic Old Marylebone Town Hall in London where he wed first wife Linda Eastman in 1969. McCartney, 69, tied the knot with American trucking company heiress Nancy Shevell, 51. Unlike his lavish 2002 wedding to former model Heather Mills, which ended in a bitter divorce in 2008, Sunday’s affair was a quiet one, attended by close friends and family, including former bandmate Ringo Starr and wife Barbara Bach, ex-Beatle George Harrison’s widow, Olivia, Shevell’s son, Arlen, and her second cousin, “View” host Barbara Walters. Shevell wore a dress designed by McCartney’s daughter Stella, and the “Maybe I’m Amazed” singer slipped a five-carat square-cut Neil Lane diamond ring on her finger during the brief ceremony. All You Need Is Love: Wish Paul Well On Facebook According to a report in the Huffington Post, McCartney “appeared proud, content and eager” to share his joyful day with the crowd that had gathered and “raised his bride’s hand in triumph” as they walked down the steps of the town hall after the civil ceremony. “I feel absolutely wonderful,” McCartney told fans as he arrived at his London home after the wedding. Stella McCartney also helped whip up a three-course vegetarian feast served to guests at the reception at McCartney’s home in the St. John’s Wood neighborhood on what would have been late Beatle John Lennon’s 71st birthday. Veteran TV presenter Walters is credited with introducing the couple four years ago at a party in the Hamptons in New York. Shevell was married to attorney Bruce Blakeman for 20 years before meeting McCartney. Related Artists Paul McCartney
Rapper/actor will play a dad in the family comedy show. By Gil Kaufman Snoop Dogg Photo: Donna Ward/Getty Images He started out as a Long Beach hustler, made his bones as a breakout rap star and has played everything from a loveable stoner to Huggy Bear and an undead gangster in the 2001 horror flick “Bones.” But is America ready for Snoop Dogg family sitcom star? According to Deadline Hollywood the d-o-double g’s family comedy project has landed at NBC with a script in the works from veteran comedy writer Don Reo (“Blossom,” “Everybody Hates Chris,” “My Wife and Kids”). Snoop, the family man who has managed to strike a balance between lascivious rhyme dropper and pee-wee football coach, will play a dad in the show, which he will also produce. Snoop has already worked with Reo on the Fox sitcom “Brothers,” a show about a former NFL player on which he played the role of cousin Kenny the Lawyer. He’s already done a dry run as the man of the house in his E! reality show “Snoop Dogg’s Father Hood,” which followed his home life with his wife and three kids over two seasons. Snoop has seesawed between music and movies for years and was recently cast in the title role of the biopic “The Legend of Fillmore Slim,” the story of the 1970s San Francisco blues guitarist and pimp who was often referred to as the “West Coast Godfather of the Game.” Deadline noted that NBC has had mixed success with rapper sitcoms, ranging from the hit 1990s run by Will Smith in “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” to the notoriously awful 2001 pilot starring “Thong Song” star Sisqo and comedy icon Bob Newhart. Related Photos The Evolution Of: Snoop Dogg Related Artists Snoop Dogg
‘A lot of people have been assuming that Jeezy’s been ripping us off,’ says A&B’s Tony McGuinness of ‘F.A.M.E.’ By Akshay Bhansali Young Jeezy Photo: Prince Williams/Getty Images Recently, Atlanta MC Young Jeezy put out his much-awaited Thug Motivation 103 album’s latest single, “F.A.M.E. (Fake Ass Muthaf—as Envy),” featuring closing bars by a back-in-the-game T.I. , online, and since then, the song has been viewed more than 160,000 times and has been heavily commented on. Ironically, the song, in which Jeezy and T.I. both call out hateration and envy, has been met with a smidge of criticism, though judging by the type of folks leaving the comments , it should come as no surprise. In fact, the J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League-produced song is based around a 2005 trance-music classic, Above & Beyond vs. Andy Moor’s “Air for Life,” which features vocals by Carrie Skipper. In the comments section of the song online, trance-music purists both lament the hip-hop reworking of “Air” but also suggest the sample was used without permission, something Above & Beyond’s Tony McGuinness (the Above & Beyond trio also includes Jono Grant & Paavo Siljam
‘All of my adult life has been economic downturn,’ a young activist tells MTV News about corporate greed, unemployment, social injustice. By Uptin Saiidi, with additional reporting by Akshay Bhansali Occupy Wall Street protests in New York City Photo: Mario Tama/Getty Images NEW YORK — What started as just a dozen college students camping overnight on Wall Street three weeks ago has mushroomed into thousands of protesters and Street-inspired gatherings across the country, from Los Angeles to Boston. On Monday, a number of protesters dressed up as zombies, holding Monopoly money in their mouths in a gesture to financial workers. The crowd was especially energized after more than 700 of them were arrested over the weekend by New York City Police Department officers, who claimed they were blocking traffic on the Brooklyn Bridge. Thousands marched from the “base camp” at Zuccotti Park, a plaza near the city’s financial center, chanting, “Take the bridge!” Even as the number of protesters continues to fluctuate, the gatherings have remained relatively small by New York City standards. The longevity of the unrest, however, is far from normal. MTV News recently headed downtown and caught up with some of the young protesters to see what exactly was on their minds. Mike Chrisemer, a 24-year-old graduate student at the City University of New York, said he got involved on the second day of the protest and doesn’t plan to abandon the cause. “The general feeling is that the top 1 percent of people is ruling over the rest of us, the 99 percent, and it’s not the status quo that we want to see anymore.” Sympathetic supporters have been donating food to the “occupiers,” and those who camp overnight at the park rely on portable gas for laptop energy. Social media networks like Twitter have, of course, helped spark interest in the cause and serve as a vehicle to spread its message. For those who cannot get to NYC, a live stream is available at the Occupy Wall Street website . Celebrity involvement has also helped stoke media attention. Lupe Fiasco , Susan Sarandon, Mark Ruffalo and filmmaker Michael Moore made appearances in the past week, while “30 Rock” star Alec Baldwin has expressed support over his Twitter At around 1 p.m. ET last Friday, an online rumor began to spread that Radiohead would be giving a surprise performance that afternoon in support of the protest. The buzz was put to rest when the band’s rep later denied the group would perform, but it’s likely that many curious onlookers (and Radiohead fans) had headed to the park anticipating the event. By 4:30 p.m., a statement was posted on the Occupy Wall Street site apologizing for the miscommunication; they further explained that an email from Radiohead’s manager turned out to be a fake and cited the challenges of verifying information in an open-source movement. The band’s no-show didn’t slow down momentum though. Late Friday afternoon, an influx of curious spectators wandered the park, many admitting they came after hearing the concert rumors. “That probably brought a lot of these people here, but they’re still here. It’s not just about Radiohead, it’s not a pop culture movement, it’s a real movement to challenge the status quo,” Chrisemer told us. The protests come at a time when the unemployment rate among American youths under 25 is at 18 percent compared to the national rate of 9 percent. Nearly half of young Americans are underemployed, and the amount of student loan debt has recently surpassed credit card debt. Tim Payne, a 20-year-old New York University undergrad, said he had been coming to the park between classes to hold signs and participate in the protest. “College tuition keeps going up and the top 400 people have more wealth than the lowest 125 million. I have all these loans out and they’re profiting off that, and I don’t think that’s fair.” Some reports have been critical of the protesters for reportedly failing to deliver a clear message about their grievances. Instead, critics say, the rally has become a gathering place for anyone dissatisfied with, well, just about anything. When MTV News spoke with some of the young activists on Friday, their cardboard signs had messages that varied from dissatisfaction with financial corruption, NYPD police brutality, discrimination against Muslims and workers’ rights. “People have so much frustration with government and media, and they’re taking this out as an outlet in different ways,” NYU student Payne explained. It’s still unclear whether the protests will succeed in channeling frustration into a lasting movement similar to the Tea Party’s conservative movement, which was started in 2009 by a group of Americans fed up with the status quo for different reasons. Occupy Wall Street protesters seem to be hopeful that they will have a voice that continues to be heard and gains momentum into the 2012 elections. “It’s more than just Wall Street,” Payne added. “It’s the fact that all of my adult life has been economic downturn. And I heard a quote once: it was ‘When did the future change from a promise to a threat?’ I feel like the people here still have faith in the future and are trying to change it.” Share your thoughts on the ongoing Wall Street protests in the comments below! Related Artists Lupe Fiasco
TheDirty.com founder says he ‘felt bad’ for the actress because the photos are obviously ‘personal and private.’ By Jocelyn Vena Scarlett Johansson Photo: Kevin Winter/Getty Images When nude pics of Scarlett Johansson hit the Web this week, the actress and her team quickly worked to make sure that they were taken down from any sites that had published them. The man behind one of those sites, Nik Richie of TheDirty.com, told E! News that he felt bad for the actress when the shots hit the Net. “I usually never remove images I get from hackers or third parties,” he explained. “When you’re a public figure, you’re looking for attention as far as press and media. But in Scarlett’s case, I felt for her.” The photos include one featuring Johansson topless and another of her nude backside. “In this case, Scarlett Johansson’s images were definitely an exception. I actually felt bad,” Richie said, adding, “These images were a little more personal and private. Scarlett doesn’t need to leak photos, she’s pretty established. So this wasn’t a press play. This was someone hacking into her phone, stealing her text messages and leaking them onto the Internet.” Richie said it wasn’t so much the fear of legal action from Johansson’s team that prompted his decision. In fact, in his line of work, cease-and-desist letters are standard business. “When I got the cease-and-desist from [Johansson’s attorney] Marty Singer, I wasn’t really afraid. I’ve gotten cease-and-desists from him before previously with other celebrities,” he said. “It wasn’t Marty that motivated me to take things off the TheDirty.com. It was the more I looked at the images, I really thought they were hacked,” he continued. “I really felt bad for Scarlett Johansson in the situation, so I thought, ‘Let’s take them down, let me be the bigger person for once.’ ” Johansson is reportedly working with the FBI to investigate who hacked her phone and released the photos. Fox News reported that the actress had actually been interviewed by the FBI months ago in connection with the stolen photos. A number of other celebrities have allegedly also been affected by the hacker, including Demi Lovato and Selena Gomez . Photos stolen from Mila Kunis that feature Justin Timberlake are also reportedly floating around. However, that reportedly didn’t stop Timberlake from hanging out with his former “What Goes Around” video co-star Johansson in New York. “They were dancing and talking to each other all night like old friends,” a source tells Life & Style . “People were surprised that she showed up with him, but they both seemed happy to see each other.” The friends were reportedly seen hanging out at New York City hotspot 1Oak on September 15. “He was all smiles with her. Scarlett and Justin left together with two of his friends around 5 a.m. and hopped into a black SUV,” the source added. “You can tell the two are great friends and had a blast together. Scarlett seemed really into him, but he didn’t seem interested because of Jessica Biel. It was like he just considers it a friendship.” Related Photos The Way They Were: Ryan Reynolds And Scarlett Johansson
