Prince, Paris, and Blanket Jackson, the children of the late Michael Jackson, have decided to instill a self-imposed boycott of Dr. Conrad Murray’s trial. The physician, accused of involuntary manslaughter, faces a long prison term if convicted. The trial, which began last week, is expected to last weeks. Sources say that for the kids, especially Prince and Paris, rehashing the details of how Michael died is just too hard, and they’re trying to tune it out . Katherine Jackson, Michael’s mother and the kids’ guardian, is said to be relieved that kids aren’t more curious and desperate to pay close attention. After prosecutor David Walgren displayed the body of Michael Jackson in the opening statement of the Dr. Conrad Murray trial , the stakes were high. Katherine was unhappy and disturbed the shocking pic was displayed, and the 911 call placed after MJ was found unresponsive was also unnerving. At this point it’s unlikely that the kids will be called as witnesses against Murray, as the prosecution feels it has plenty of others to prove its case. The children certainly do not wish to be involved whatsoever. However, if asked to take the stand, Prince Michael will testify without complaint. [Photo: Fame Pictures]
Once again, an animal has proven more popular than Brad Pitt at the box office. A week after The Lion King in 3D finished with the most money earned, Dolphin Tale did the same, beating back a strong challenge from Pitt, Jonah Hill and Moneyball . What’s Your Number Trailer The fictional front office of the Oakland A’s can at least take solace in the fact that they aren’t Anna Faris. Her comedy, What’s Your Number? , tanked, as evidenced by the following box office results : Dolphin Tale : $14.25 million Moneyball : $12.5 million The Lion King 3D : $11.1 million 50/50 : $8.85 million Courageous : $8.8 million Dream House : $8.2 million Abduction : $5.65 million What’s Your Number? : $5.6 million Contagion : $5 million Killer Elite : $4.85 million
Single-named phenomenon Cancer has a deservedly chilly reputation outside of Hollywood, but in films, the heterogeneous class of diseases inhabits a world all its own as a performer, provocateur and villain. In this week’s 50/50 , Cancer arrives with a harrumph and lingers like a noxious haze, making it the Joan Crawford of 2011. This begs the question: What are Cancer’s five greatest performances in cinema? The answer will force you into a beautiful monologue.
Earlier this month, Tyler Perry was crowned entertainment’s highest paid man . Upon hearing this news on last night’s Conan , a staffer decided to get a piece of that $130 million bufferoony paycheck with his own mouthy, Madea-style character, Grandma Deondra. Check out the video and stick around for more Buzz Break.
Critics herald the baseball flick as ‘the prime Brad Pitt movie.’ By Kara Warner Brad Pitt in “Moneyball” Photo: Columbia TriStar On paper, “Moneyball” is a movie that sells itself. It’s based on a best-selling book about our national pastime, the screenplay for which was adapted by Oscar winners Aaron Sorkin and Steve Zaillian, and it stars Brad Pitt, in all his handsome, charming splendor, as Oakland A’s general manager Billy Beane. Throw in a killer supporting cast that includes Jonah Hill, Philip Seymour Hoffman and several real-life ball players, and you’ve got the makings of a hit. With a 94 percent certified fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes , “Moneyball” seems to be a solid winner with critics. So take an early seventh-inning stretch and settle in for some sports clich
Young actors are wonderful creatures, breezing — or busting — on to the landscape as if from nowhere, indulging us in the delight of discovery. But the twin pleasure of finding a new actor is watching an older one sidestep into territory you don’t expect, becoming someone you’d never have thought he could be. That’s where we’re at with Brad Pitt, who has never been better than he is in Bennett Miller’s Moneyball . As Billy Beane, the beleaguered Oakland A’s general manager who turned his team around by thinking outside the Major League Baseball box, Pitt works wonders by seeming to do nothing at all.
‘I can’t say something nice about Angie without Jen being drug in,’ he tells ‘Today’ about his recent Parade interview. By Jocelyn Vena Brad Pitt and Matt Lauer on the “Today” show Photo: NBC News Brad Pitt can’t seem to escape talking about his Jennifer Aniston comments in Parade. In an interview with the “Today” show airing Thursday, the “Moneyball” star once again went on the defensive. “I don’t know what was pieced together or put together. All I know is that my point was, the best thing I’d done as a father is be sure that my kids have a good mother,” Pitt tells Matt Lauer in the interview. “That’s all I was, or am, trying to say. It has no reference to the past. And I think it’s a shame that I can’t say something nice about Angie without Jen being drug in. You know, she doesn’t deserve it.” Pitt was quoted by Parade as saying, “I wasn’t living an interesting life myself. I think that my marriage had something to do with it. Trying to pretend the marriage was something that it wasn’t.” He later released a statement to clarify those comments, writing, “It grieves me that this was interpreted this way.” The latter sentiment is mirrored in his interview with “Today.” “I don’t want them to say anything bad like that about Jen. She’s a dear friend of mine,” he said, adding that Aniston has not reached out to him about the Parade interview. During the chat, Pitt also got the chance to open up about the Oscar buzz around “Moneyball.” “It remains a great piece of material for me that I got to take on. And we’re all — it’s too early to talk about all that other stuff,” Pitt said. “It’s all good fun if your number comes up, and it’s even more fun when your friend’s number comes up.” Check out everything we’ve got on “Moneyball.” For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com . Related Videos MTV Rough Cut: Brad Pitt And Jonah Hill In ‘Moneyball’
Thelma and Louise. Seven. Fight Club. The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. The Tree of Life. To say nothing of this week’s superb Moneyball . With a few arguable exceptions, these are among the Brad Pitt films you’ll find generally accepted as canonical. So which, if he had to choose one, do you think he would hand down as his legacy? Hint: None of them .
Kellz talks throat surgery, getting nasty again and Trey Songz’s dis in new radio interview. By Rob Markman R. Kelly Photo: Evan Agostini/Getty Images R. Kelly is ready to put the “R” back in R&B. After undergoing throat surgery in July, Kelly stopped by 107.5 WGCI’s Morning Riot radio show in Chicago for a rare interview in which he dropped the title for his next album, Black Panties, and talked about the shots Trey Songz has fired in his direction. “It was really scary,” Kellz said of his surgery. “At the end of the Love Letter Tour, towards the end, I started feeling it. I thought I had a cold, but, man, I had like a cyst as big as a golf ball on my tonsils. The doctor’s though, they cut it out, they took care of me really good.” While he is known for super sex anthems like “Your Body’s Callin’,” “Ignition” and “Half on a Baby,” R. Kelly took a gentleman’s approach on his 2010 album Love Letter. But don’t put him in a box. For his upcoming 11th solo LP, the Pied Piper is going to get nasty once again. “I just did the whole Love Letter joint and everybody thinking, ‘Oh that’s the direction he’s goin’ now,’ ” Kelly said on the Morning Riot on Thursday. “Nah, that was a moment in time, just like ‘Ignition’ and ‘Bump n’ Grind’ and all this stuff was a moment in time. Now this Black Panties album … it’s the new 12 Play .” In 1993, the 12 Play singles like “Your Body’s Callin’ ” and “Bump n’ Grind” helped propel Kelly to the top of the charts, while low-key album cuts such as “I Like the Crotch on You” showed a more explicit side that fans ate up. Kellz didn’t reveal much more about the new album, but did say that the first single, titled “10 Minutes” would be coming soon. At his peak, Kelly was untouchable when it came to male R&B singers. But after his infamous (in which he was found not guilty) and a few less-than-stellar albums, he wasn’t as flawless as he had been in the 1990s and early 2000s. New artists like Chris Brown and Trey Songz emerged as R&B’s leading men. Despite working together on Trey’s second album (R. Kelly produced “Grub On” on Trey’s 2007 Trey Day ). Since then the “Say Ahh” singer has been throwing shots at the R on songs and in interviews, for hopping on to current trends like using Auto-Tune, instead of standing as an innovator. Kellz shrugs it all off. “I was pretty numb. I don’t feel those type of things. It’s like I’m bulletproof when it comes to beef. I don’t deal with beef, I love steak,” he said about Trey’s shots, before paying his rival a compliment, sort of. “I know Trey Songz is a guy that if he keeps with the hits and he humbles himself a little bit more, he will definitely be one of the runners up.” Related Artists R. Kelly
Hill adapted the ’80s TV series — one of his ‘Moneyball’ co-star’s first acting gigs — for the big screen. By Eric Ditzian, with reporting by Josh Horowitz Brad Pitt Photo: MTV News After years of pleading and promising, Jonah Hill has reportedly landed Johnny Depp for a cameo in the big-screen adaptation of the ’80s TV series “21 Jump Street.” Hill actually had another connection to a “Jump Street” vet in Brad Pitt, who appeared in one episode as a long-haired high school kid. The actors now star in “Moneyball,” a film that had wrapped production a year before cameras began rolling on “21 Jump Street.” But Hill never hit up Pitt about joining in the new “21 Jump Street,” as MTV News learned at the Toronto International Film Festival. “I did ’21 Jump Street,’ ” Pitt told his co-star. “It was one of my first jobs.” “Yeah, I know!” Hill responded. “I didn’t bring it up with him just because I didn’t think he’d want to talk about it that much. You were on ’21 Jump Street,’ because I had to watch all the episodes before I adapted it. You were fantastic!” “I don’t even know what I did!” Pitt said. “That was the first big gig. You get a gig, man, you get a line! I think [my one line was] yes or no. I don’t know what I said.” Hill, meanwhile, is still refusing to confirm reports that Depp will appear in “21 Jump Street,” which is set for a March release date. “You’ll have to see,” he told us earlier this month. Depp himself is not nearly as circumspect, dishing us the details this past summer. “I went and did my bit as I was hoping to, and it worked out really well. It was really fun,” he said. “I got to spend some time with Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum and the wonderful directors [Phil Lord and Chris Miller] on that. It was a great experience.” Check out everything we’ve got on “21 Jump Street.” For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com . Related Videos MTV Rough Cut: Brad Pitt And Jonah Hill In ‘Moneyball’
