Mitt Romney picked Paul Ryan for Vice President this morning, and apparently thinks very highly of him, as Paul received a promotion within five minutes! Okay, not really, but in introducing the Wisconsin Congressman and rising GOP star to a Norfolk, Va., crowd, Romney finished his remarks with a gaffe: “Join me in welcoming the next President of the United States, Paul Ryan!”
‘I respectfully decline my induction as a member of Guns N’ Roses to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame,’ frontman posts on Facebook. By James Montgomery Axl Rose Photo: Kevin Mazur/ Getty Images Ever since Guns N’ Roses were announced as Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees in December, speculation has swirled about just who from the band’s lengthy list of current (and former) members would show up at the ceremony. Well, now we know who won’t : mastermind Axl Rose, who announced Wednesday (April 11) that not only does he have no plans to attend Saturday’s induction ceremony in Cleveland, but he wants nothing to do with the Hall at all. “I won’t be attending … and I respectfully decline my induction as a member of Guns N’ Roses to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame,” Rose wrote in a Facebook message. “I strongly request that I not be inducted in absentia and please know that no one is authorized, nor may anyone be permitted, to accept my induction or speak on my behalf. Neither former members, label representatives nor the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame should imply, whether directly, indirectly, or by omission that I am included in any purported induction of ‘Guns N’ Roses.’ ” Rose added that his reasoning behind the message was “personal” and “neither meant to offend, attack or condemn” any GN’R members who decide to attend the induction. He also hinted that, since Guns were announced as inductees, he’d worked with Hall officials to find an appropriate solution to the very real problem of who would be inducted under the name of Guns N’ Roses, hoping to avoid “a complicated or awkward situation.” But, apparently, no solution could be reached. “I feel we’ve been polite, courteous and open to an amicable solution in our efforts to work something out,” Rose wrote. “Taking into consideration the history of Guns N’ Roses, those who plan to attend, along with those the Hall — for reasons of their own — have chosen to include in ‘our’ induction … and how those involved with the Hall have handled things … [it] doesn’t appear to be somewhere I’m actually wanted or respected.” A spokesperson for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame did not respond to MTV News’ request for comment by press time. Rose also used his open letter to (once again) put to rest any and all speculation of burying the hatchet with former members — like guitarist Slash or drummer Steven Adler, to name a few — and launching a full-scale reunion tour, writing: “Time to move on. People get divorced. Life doesn’t owe you our own personal happy ending, especially at another’s — or, in this case, several others’ — expense,” he wrote. “Maybe we can get the ‘no show, grandstanding, publicity stunt, disrespectful, he-doesn’t-dare-about-the-fans crap out of the way … no one’s taking the ball and going home. … From my perspective, in regard to both the Hall and a reunion, the ball’s never been in our court. “In closing, regardless of this decision and as hard to believe or ironic as it may seem, I’d like to sincerely thank the [Rock Hall] board for their nomination and their votes for Guns’ induction,” he added. “More importantly, I’d like to thank the fans for being there over the years, making any success we’ve had possible and for enjoying and supporting Guns N’ Roses’ music. I wish the Hall a great show, congratulations to all the other artists being inducted, and to our fans, we look forward to seeing you on tour!” What do you think of Axl’s note? Share your thoughts in the comments! Related Artists Guns N’ Roses
Rick Santorum posted another convincing win in yesterday’s Louisiana’s GOP primary, but still faces doubts over whether he can broaden his appeal to win the race. The Republican presidential candidate said the race was far from over, recalling the naysayers who said Ronald Reagan was too conservative to win the nomination. But the road ahead is difficult for Santorum, who’s slogging it out a game of numbers to clinch the 1,144 delegates needed to clinch the party’s nomination. Santorum will win at least eight of the 20 delegates up for grabs, according to CNN. Going into Louisiana, Mitt Romney had 563 delegates to Santorum’s 251. At this point, it is very unlikely that Santorum, Newt Gingrich or Ron Paul can overtake Romney, with their only chance being to keep him from hitting 1,144. If that were to occur, the nominee could be decided at an open convention when party officials convene this summer, but it remains a long shot at best now. The candidates get a few days of breathing space before the next round of primaries on April 3 when Wisconsin, Maryland and the District of Columbia vote. Louisiana Republican primary results: Rick Santorum 91,305 (49%) Mitt Romney 49,749 (27%) Newt Gingrich 29,655 (16%) Ron Paul 11,460 (6%)
New to the distribution arena, Alamo Drafthouse co-founder Tim League became enamored of a small Belgian crime drama called Bullhead at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival. Less than a year later, he and his Drafthouse Films operation have an Oscar contender on their hands. Not too shabby for a company younger than the Obama administration. Bullhead , from first-time feature director Michaël R. Roskam, centers on a contemptuous, troubled cattle farmer who is dragged into Belgium’s bovine hormone mafia underworld. Lead actor Matthias Schoenaerts (pictured above) packed on 60 pounds of muscle for the complex, acclaimed role. The film made such an impression at Cannes that League lobbied “fiercely” to include it in the lineup for his venue’s annual Fantastic Fest, despite its wide perception among viewers and industry alike as a sci-fi/horror/Asian genre showcase. “We had to really convince them to show it at the festival,” League told Movieline in a recent interview. “And it was after the festival and the great response that it had from our audience that we decided we wanted to make an offer on it for the label.” “The label,” of course, is Drafthouse Films, a venture that grew out of the festival, which itself had been an evolution from programming the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema — the Austin-based theater chain that League co-founded with his wife, Karrie, in 1997. The impresario saw distribution as a natural next step, commencing in 2010 with director Chris Morris’s suicide-bomber satire Four Lions . “We realized that a lot of these films really didn’t have an opportunity to find a great home for U.S. distribution,” League said. “So we thought we were building an audience with the festival and we might as well build a label to walk alongside it with the same sensibilities.” (Incidentally, Four Lions had closed Austin’s flagship film fest, South by Southwest, six months earlier.) For its second release, the distributor gave Bullhead a U.S. home and entered the Foreign-Language Oscar race in one fell swoop. “We really loved Bullhead , and there was just a strange set of circumstances that fell into place where we expressed our interest, and before we had the contract done it was Belgium’s official entry to the Academy Awards, which kick-started the process,” League said. “But even still, we knew we were a long shot. It’s been wild to see it fall into place.” The Drafthouse team was at Sundance last month when the good news came through. “We were watching the announcement live on television,” League said. “And we got the nomination, and we celebrated and had a glass of champagne, then everybody just hunkered down at their computers for about five hours and set a lot of wheels in motion. We had to put the trailer together, the poster together, the ad campaign. We had to hire a bunch of folks to help us out with the process.” Those hires were made from preparations the team had already done for the film’s distribution, but the nomination sped up the process. Drafthouse Films plans to release six films a year theatrically and on VOD, but it isn’t following a set model each time. It has three films planned for this year so far: Bullhead , the subversive comedy Clown and SXSW favorite The FP . Meanwhile, League admits Bullhead is an underdog at the Oscars — particularly against A Separation , the Golden Globe-winning Iranian film that’s also up for best screenplay. Nevertheless, he says, it’s a category that has seen upsets and surprises. The Drafthouse team will be in Los Angeles to support the film on Feb. 26, throwing a Bullhead party on Oscar night. “Win or lose, we’re super happy to be a part of it,” League said. Bullhead will be released in New York, Los Angeles and Austin on Feb. 17, with further expansion to come ahead of the Oscars.
‘Just to be nominated and have the chance to have one is incredible,’ he tells MTV News. By Kelley L. Carter, with reporting by Kelly Marino J. Cole Photo: C Brandon/ Redferns As confident as J. Cole sounds in his music, he’s not so sure if he’ll take home the Best New Artist trophy at Sunday’s Grammys . When the rapper and Jay-Z prot
“I wanted to run Michael Parks from Red State for an Oscar this year, and I was told I’d need $250,000 minimum to do that. We thought we were eligible for SAG Awards, but it turns out that you have to actually submit to the SAG Awards, even if you’re a SAG member, which doesn’t make sense to me. And then the Golden Globe people didn’t want to give Michael Parks consideration because we didn’t screen the movie for them specifically when the movie was out in theaters, but it never was out in theaters so it was kind of ridiculous. You have to jump through these ridiculous little rings to even be considered, and then it’s a popularity contest around who has the most money to run.” [ Moviefone ]
Mitt Romney was likely never as much of a lock as the mainstream media seems to believe, but Saturday’s South Carolina primary results still came as a surprise. Newt Gingrich rose from the political ashes for the second time with two strong debate performances this week and pulled off an unlikely win in the Palmetto State. With 40 percent of the vote to Mitt’s 27, and nearly all precincts reporting, Newt won big and turned the fluid Republican presidential race on its head once again. Only a week ago, Romney seemed likely to win all three of the initial contests, a scenario that would have put him on a relatively clear path to the nomination. But with Thursday’s announcement that Rick Santorum actually won Iowa , followed by today’s results, Romney is now a front-runner who has lost two of three. The result marked a swift, extraordinary turnaround in Gingrich’s fortunes, after he finished well out of the top three in both Iowa and New Hampshire. So maligned was his candidacy that Newt himself had conceded his campaign might be over for good by tonight if he failed to turn in a strong performance. He did turn in such a performance, and as such, the quest to represent the GOP against President Barack Obama in November is quite far from over. This marks the first time that three different Republican candidates have won the first trio of contests in what has been an unpredictable race from the start. Since 1980, every South Carolina GOP primary winner has gone on to win the nomination, but whether Gingrich can continue that streak is far from certain. Romney has by far the most formidable financial resources and organization, giving him a big edge Florida, which holds its primary January 31, and beyond. Santorum finished third and Ron Paul fourth in South Carolina. The candidates square off in a debate once again Monday night in Tampa. Stay tuned … Newt South Carolina Victory Speech Clip
Candidates campaigning for the Presidential ticket usually opt for safe campaign songs carefully chosen to align themselves consciously and subconsciously with certain sets of values, but last night, Ron Paul went a different route: He and his supporters celebrated their second-place victory in the New Hampshire Republican primary to the sounds of “The Imperial March” from Star Wars . Yes, Darth Vader ‘s theme song. Most folks know the Imperial March is not your traditional signifier of wholesome, upstanding goodness. I mean, it’s Darth Vader’s personal theme , the ditty that warns of impending throat crushings and legions of Stormtroopers at the ready to exact all manner of evil for the dark side. But Paul, as the Telegraph noted , knows his demographic. And he gave a rally cry of a speech following his New Hampshire success that explained the song choice, kinda. “I sort of have to chuckle when they describe you and me as being ‘dangerous,’ Paul said to a crowd that reportedly cheered the loudest when the ominous Vader tune played over the loudspeakers. “That’s one thing they are telling the truth, because we are dangerous — to the status quo!” Sure? Over at NPR’s Morning Edition geek props are in order to Robert Smith for his amusing report on the random confluence of Star Wars and Ron Paul, which suggests that Paul is channeling more Skywalker than Vader: “Getting the nomination for Ron Paul is like hitting a 2-meter target from an X-wing fighter.” Which makes New Hampshire voters, perhaps, the womp rats? In any case, just another curious instance of pop culture co-opting after all that superhero chatter and Paul’s Bond villain-esque nickname, “Dr. No.” (He does kind of resemble an impish Joseph Wiseman…) [ NPR , Telegraph ]
Original American Idol Kelly Clarkson made a surprise endorsement in the 2012 Republican presidential race last night, throwing her support behind Ron Paul. This did not go over well with some fans. “I love Ron Paul. I liked him a lot during the last republican nomination and no one gave him a chance,” she wrote of the candidate. “If he wins the nomination for the Republican party in 2012 he’s got my vote. Too bad he probably won’t.” Many of Clarkson’s 925,000 followers took issue with her support for the Texan, citing the alleged racism and homophobia of Paul’s old newsletters . “That’s because you willfully ignoring his voting record, his statements, interviews, newsletters, and policy positions,” one follower Tweeted at her. “You are obviously living under a rock. I don’t even live in the United States and hear about his stupidity,” Tweeted another fan from abroad. Clarkson tried to maintain calm, responding:
Jo Jo Simmons On The Breakfast Club. Power 105 1′s The Breakfast Club Interviews Jojo Simmons discusses getting held hostage in Houston, also explains what happens with him and the Tranny he met via Twitter, and talks about being a wack rapper and his brother Diggy Simmons… Continue
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