It looks like Billy Ray and Tish Cyrus only need to plan for one upcoming wedding now. Just a few days after news broke of Miley Cyrus’ engagement , brother Trace has announced that he and Disney actress Brenda Song are no longer planning to marry. Or even date for that matter. “Brenda and I have decided to go our separate ways,” the 23-year-old rocker said in a statement. “We split up a couple of months ago. We will continue to focus on our careers. I wish Brenda the best and much success in the future. I hope everyone can respect our privacy about this situation. Thanks so much.” Song and Cyrus got engaged in October , following nearly 18 months of dating and rumors than Brenda was pregnant . But no baby bump, nor any baby, ever materialized. We wish each the best in all future romantic endeavors. [Photo: WENN.com]
Members of the Ku Klux Klan are looking to take part in the Adopt-a-Highway program for a mile-long stretch of road in Georgia, according to reports. According to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the Georgia Department of Transportation is currently reviewing the request made May 21 by the Klan. The application was filed by International Keystone Knights of the KKK in Union County to clean up Route 515 in the Appalachian Mountains in Blairsville. “Any civic-minded organization, business, individual, family, city, county, state, or federal agency is welcome to volunteer in the Georgia Adopt-A-Highway program,” at least according to the department’s website. The state attorney general’s office is expected to decide shortly. “We just want to clean up the doggone road,” Harley Hanson, who filed the application, told the paper. “We’re not going to be out there in robes.” But Rep. Tyrone Brooks, head of the Georgia Association of Black Elected Officials, called on Georgia state officials to reject the application. “This is about membership building and re-branding in a public way,” he said. “What’s next, neo-Nazis or the Taliban or al-Qaida adopting highways?” “We are good, decent Christian Americans,” Hanson, the group’s “exalted cyclops,” added. “What we’re trying to do is to work with the local community.” It’s not the first time the KKK has participated in an “Adopt-a-Highway” program. In 2000, the KKK successfully adopted part of I-55 south of St. Louis after a federal judge ruled that the Missouri DOT could not bar them from doing so. The Georgia KKK group said it will file a lawsuit if the state rejects its application.
This just in from Disney HQ: After bashing records across the globe, The Avengers will go from puny Earthbound box office domination to the final frontier, screening for six lucky multinational cosmonauts currently in orbit: “Marvel Studios announced today that they arranged with NASA to transfer their record-breaking blockbuster film Marvel’s The Avengers to NASA’s Mission Control in Houston, which will uplink the film to the International Space Station (ISS), currently orbiting 220 miles above Earth. The film will then be screened for the space station crew’s exclusive enjoyment.” (Take that, Pentagon !) Keep an eye out for Loki up there fellas, eh? [Press release]
Also among this morning news briefs: James Bond gets a complete retrospective in Los Angeles, a film journalist jumps to the production side, Men in Black 3 melts at the British box office, and more… Sony Pictures Classics Sets U.S. Release for Palme d’Or Winner Amour Michael Haneke’s Amour will open Dec. 19 in New York and Los Angeles, the distributor announced on Tuesday. Amour is the director’s third Cannes prize-winner released domestically via Sony Classics, including his Best Director-nabbing Caché in 2005 and his Palme d’Or triumph The White Ribbon in 2009. Screen International’s Mike Goodridge Heads to Protagonist The longtime Screen journalist, who spent time with the publication in the U.S. before his appointment as editor in London in 2009, has been named CEO of the international sales and financing company Protagonist Pictures. He replaces outgoing CEO Ben Roberts, who was appointed as head of the Film Fund at the BFI in April. Protagonist titles include Tyrannosaur , Kill List , The Deep Blue Sea and Submarine ; its current slate includes Nick Love’s action thriller The Sweeney and Sightseers from Ben Wheatley. BAFTA to Mark James Bond’s 50th with Retrospective The British Academy of Film and Television Arts Los Angeles will team with the American Cinematheque to celebrate the 50th anniversary of 007 and the 25th anniversary of BAFTA LA with a complete retrospective of the James Bond series at the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood and the Aero Theatre in Santa Monica. The series commences June 8; find the complete schedule and more details here . Ethiopian Filmmakers Feted by Monaco and Cannes Filmmakers Henok Mebratu, Olisarali Olibui and Yidnekachew Shumete are participants of an educational program sponsored by The International Emerging Film Talent Association (IEFTA). The trio traveled to France/Monaco for the full works including premieres, meetings, workshops, seminars and parties presenting their work. Actor Billy Zane flew in to mentor the group, which also attended a benefit dinner hosted by IEFTA head Marco Orsini. IEFTA has supported emerging talent from the African country since 2008. Around the ‘net… Controversy Continues to Plague G.I. Joe 2 Officially adding 3-D was the excuse for a nine-month delay in the roll out of the previously planned summer blockbuster, but everything from Battleship’s failure to Channing Tatum’s diminished presence and more is now cited among the real reasons Paramount suddenly, shockingly delayed its summer tentpole. Deadline and THR report. Men in Black 3 Can’t Take Heat in U.K. The film opened on one of the warmest days of the year in Britain, and its £2.94 million ($4.58 million) opening weekend compares much more modestly to other recent debuts including The Dictator, American Reunion, The Avengers and The Hunger Games . The Guardian reports .
Posted on andPOP : Hey there sadistic folks, it’s the end of May and we know you’ve all eagerly been awaiting the end of month fail compilation. My facial expression is 50 percent horror 50 percent shock and 100 percent can’t-tear-my-eyes-away while watching these … Continue reading → Read more at andPOP . andPOP – POP Culture with Substance Broadcasting platform : YouTube Source : andPOP.com Discovery Date : 27/05/2012 20:43 Number of articles : 2
Francis Boyle is a Professor of Law at the University of llinois School of Law, where he currently teaches courses on Public International Law and International Human Rights. He was a part of the prosecution team that tried former US President George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld and their legal advisors in absentia in Malaysia. Barack Obama, the current US President, is an accessory after… Broadcasting platform : YouTube Source : Antemedius – Liberally Critical Thinking Discovery Date : 28/05/2012 14:34 Number of articles : 2
Lee Daniels-directed film, also starring Zac Efron and Matthew McConaughey, has met with decidedly mixed reception. By Kara Warner Nicole Kidman in “The Paperboy” Photo: Lee Daniels Entertainment Much ado is made over the glitz and glamour that surrounds the exotic Cannes Film Festival each year. A lot of what brings so many celebrities and so much attention to the international film fest is its location. Who doesn’t want to travel to the sandy shores of the French Riviera for “work”? The other big draw, of course, is the opportunity to see movies of all genres, budgets, origin, etc., many of which can get an early jump into awards-season consideration with positive reviews from the notoriously hard-to-please Cannes audiences. From the outside looking in, “The Paperboy” is one of the films at the festival that has major awards-buzz potential because of its director, Oscar nominee Lee Daniels (“Precious”), and its cast: Nicole Kidman, Zac Efron, Matthew McConaughey and John Cusack. Judging from the initial reactions to the small-town, sexed-up murder mystery, however, the reception has been decidedly mixed. “Daniels wants to show us realities that other movies don’t, and I truly think that he’s got the talent and drive to do it. But there’s a major downside to that impulse,” wrote . “If what happens on screen is in any way odd or exaggerated or, even worse, if it defies common sense, the clang of falseness is going to be deafening. “The line on this movie in Cannes is the same one that a lot of critics, including me, took on Daniels’ ‘Shadowboxer’: that it’s so luridly overripe it’s nuts — or, at the very least, high camp,” Gleiberman continued. “Certainly, you’re going to have that feeling during the scene when Kidman, at the beach, saves Efron from a jellyfish sting by urinating on him — which is an anti-jellyfish home remedy, but the way the scene is shot, I think Daniels had something else in mind. The wrong notes, the extremeness, just piles up from there.” Efron and Kidman spoke to the film’s extremes during a press conference Thursday (May 24). “I don’t think I was supposed to feel comfortable,” Efron said. “It’s like life. This character is supposed to be learning the ways of the world, and that can be very uncomfortable. But it’s also exciting.” “I’d been looking as an actor for something raw and something dangerous,” Kidman said. “I may be uncomfortable watching the movie. But that’s my job — it’s my job to give over to something, not to censor it, not to put my own judgments of how I feel as Nicole playing the character. I am there to portray a truth.” And no matter the discomfort surrounding the onscreen nudity, sex or the pee scene, Efron said he loved the experience of making the movie. “I’ve been in love with her for a long time, since ‘Moulin Rouge,’ “the actor said of Kidman. “It was the loveliest time in the world for me.” For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com . Related Photos 2012 Cannes Film Festival
Also in today’s Biz Break: Tim Heidecker’s polarizing Comedy finds a buyer, Matthew Lillard’s Fat Kid heads to Cannes, an Italian festival war turns even uglier, and more… The Tomb opens for Stallone, Schwarzenegger and Co. Shooting is underway on the prison-break action thriller pairing two of the ’80s most iconic stars with Jim Caviezel, Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson, Amy Ryan, Vincent D’Onofrio and more. Mikael Hafstrom directs for Summit Entertainment. Focus’ Admission , with Tina Fey and Paul Rudd, Gets Shooting Paul Weitz will direct the film based on Jean Hanff Korelitz’s 2009 novel of the same name, featuring Fey as a Princeton University admission officer who is caught off-guard while visiting an experimental high school whose co-founder (Rudd) attended college with her. Life-changing revelations ensue; Michael Sheen, Gloria Robin, Wallace Shawn and Lily Tomlin co-star. The Comedy Goes to Tribeca Film Tribeca Film has announced its acquisition of director Rick Alverson’s controversial character study , which premiered at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival. The film centers on a Williamsburg hipster (Tim Heidecker) who is indifferent to the fact he’s an heir and whiles away his on “games of mock sincerity and irreverence.” Eric Wareheim, Gregg Turkington (a.k.a. Neil Hamburger), and LCD Soundsystem frontman James Murphy co-star. Tribeca Film plans a select theatrical release day and date with on-demand platforms where it will be available in 40+ million homes through a variety of video-on-demand offerings, as well as iTunes, Amazon Watch Instantly, VUDU, Xbox and Samsung Media Hub. Fat Kid Heads to Cannes Matthew Lillard’s SXSW Audience Award-winning directorial debut Fat Kid Rules the World will go to Cannes with Outsider Pictures, which has acquired the international sales rights. Adapted from K. L. Going’s young adult novel, the film centers around Troy Billings — age 17, overweight and suicidal. Just as he’s about to jump in front of a bus, he’s saved by Marcus, a charming high school dropout / street musician. Around the ‘net… IFC Films to Save the Date Michael Mohan’s ensemble romantic comedy, featuring Lizzy Kaplan, Martin Starr, Mark Webber, Alison Brie and Geoffrey Arend, has scored distribution through IFC Films. “Michael Mohan has made an emotionally moving and often very funny film about commitment, skillfully transplanting Jeffrey Brown’s graphic novels,” said IFC president Jonathan Sehring. Deadline reports . Italian culture minister blasts Rome Film Festival The festival’s controversial decision to shift dates to November — thus directly competing with the 30 year old Turin Film Festival and the 53-year-old Festival dei Popoli in Florence. The move is “against the overall interests of Italian cinema,” according to culture czar Lorenzo Ornaghi. THR reports.
Irish boy band easily defeated Jonas Brothers in the championship matchup. By Christina Garibaldi Westlife Photo: Getty Images The fans have spoken. After two weeks of intense matchups and more than 12 million votes, Westlife have come out on top in MTV’s Battle of the Boy Bands . The Irish boy band easily defeated the in the final round, with more than 70 percent of the final vote. It was a hard-fought finale with both bands’ fanbases tirelessly voting in the hopes of giving their band the championship, but in the end, the international firepower of Westlife was too much for JoBros fans to handle. Westlife may not have been favored to win this competition, but from day one they proved they were fighters and were out to make a statement. They got everyone’s attention early on when, amidst accusations of cheating, they fairly beat out fan favorites the Backstreet Boys in the first round. They had no trouble at all beating out their next two opponents, O-Town and the Beatles, and managed to get past newcomers the Wanted in the Final Four to ultimately take on the Jonas Brothers in the championship. This win in the Battle of the Boy Bands seems to come at a perfect time for the group because their 14-year career is about to come to an end. Westlife have decided to go their separate ways after the conclusion of their Greatest Hits Tour, which kicks off later this week and wraps up at the end of June in front of a hometown crowd in Dublin, Ireland. Congratulations to Westlife and to all their extremely loyal fans: You have certainly proved your devotion and didn’t let up no matter how tough the competition was. Thanks to all the bands that participated. From newcomers One Direction, Mindless Behavior and Big Time Rush to veteran groups Boyz II Men and the Backstreet Boys , it was truly an epic tournament. But it wouldn’t have been possible without all of you, the fans. All of your vigorous voting resulted in some shocking upsets , some heated matchups and some rally-from-behind wins, making this a true battle of the boy bands. Are you happy with Westlife winning the Battle of the Boy Bands ? Let us know in the comments. Related Videos Battle Of The Boy Bands Related Artists Westlife Jonas Brothers
The international trailer for Total Recall seems to reveal a little more of what’s going on in the remake/reboot/whatever based on Philip K. Dick’s short story “We Can Remember It For You Wholesale.” Director Len Wiseman’s version stars Colin Farrell, Kate Beckinsale and Jessica Biels. Opens August 3rd. Broadcasting platform : YouTube Source : Deadline | Hollywood Discovery Date : 04/05/2012 00:01 Number of articles : 2
