Hi I’m Maryann and I’m 15, I CANNOT believe I’m writing my Bieber Experience. I’ve been a fan since literally the day the One Time music video went out on YouTube. I live near Justin, so I thought it would be easy to meet him! But I was wayyyy off. After almost 5 years of being a fan, I never once came close to meeting him. I started getting pissed, getting jealous, doing ANYTHING I can to meet him. Finally, on August 15, 2012, someone tweeted Justin’s rehearsals were in LA. After begging 12345678 different Twitter accounts, an amazing girl finally gave me the address. I was so nervous and scared to go, but I went with my 2 cousins that were planning on going also. I showed up and all the girls there were starting to whine and get annoyed. I asked why and they say “Usually Justin come in at 2 PM but it’s 4 PM and he’s not here yet. My heart broke. I thought he wouldn’t show up. Literally 2 minutes after the girl said this, Justin’s van pulled in. We started freaking out and crying. A mom started giving us directions about standing in a line because Justin’s claustrophobic and we can’t crowd him, so we stood in a line. Justin started running across the street almost 2 hours later to meet all of us . Is it weird I recognized his shirt from the Kiis FM interview and the Disney interview? I’m not a creeper, haha. Well anyways I was so surprised how well I kept my crying in until I met him. When I saw his van, I was bawling, when I saw him, I held it in. I was proud I didn’t embarrass myself. I met him, took a picture, asked for a hug (I didn’t let go, I think he was creeped out lol), and he left. I cannot believe the person I had on my wall, bought the CDs for, cried over, fangirled over, and watched the movie for just hugged me. I started crying, hugging random Beliebers I didn’t know, and handing out tissues. It was the best day of my life. Even though Justin was so busy and tired, he still had the time to come meet his fans. He really is an idol. -@biebersplatinum Follow this link: Hi I’m Maryann and I’m 15, I CANNOT believe…
My name is Lexi, and I’m from Phoenix, Arizona . I never EVER thought I would be sitting here writing my own Bieber experience. This long, amazing journey all started a few months ago when Justin announced his Believe Tour. I knew right then I would never be able to pay for tickets, given that my dad had recently had a heart attack and we had tons of medical bills to pay for. Then my friend Brooklynn (who also didn’t have tickets) and I started talking, and we then both thought, “Hey, why don’t we go wait outside the arena on the day of the concert and see if we can somehow get tickets from the Bieber Crew!” After weeks of preparing, we had this day planned out perfectly. We had posters made asking for tickets. Brooklynn’s mom brought us to the arena at around 3 p.m. and the concert started at 7. We were completely overwhelmed because of how many people were in need of tickets as well. Right when I walked out and saw the mass of people who were already there FOUR HOURS before the show even started, I was like, “Oh my gosh. We are not getting tickets.” So me and Brooklynn walked around with her mom, trying to find the Bieber Crew. We had met these two girls who told us that the Bieber Crew hadn’t come and given tickets yet, and were maybe secretly planning on coming out after everyone had gone in to take their seats. We walked around some more, and talked to a few scalpers who were trying to sell their tickets. We turned down a few offers that seemed sketchy and were too expensive. Then it was around 6, and one of my local radio stations, 101.5 Jamz was having a contest where one lucky winner would win two FRONT ROW tickets. Brooklynn was chosen out of the crowd of people to go answer a trivia question, and she got it right! She moved onto the “finals.” When the finals came around, they didn’t tell her to come back on stage, so a different girl unfairly won. At this point the concert was almost starting and people were starting to go inside the arena. We were sobbing. We were so close to giving up, when we saw that a ticket booth had opened up and they were selling leftover tickets , even though supposedly it was a sold out show. Brooklynn and I were waiting in line sobbing with her mom, like full blown tears at this point. Then her mom said, “Hey, why don’t you guys walk around one more time and see if there’s anyone selling tickets.” We got up and walked around when we heard the two girls who we had previously met before screaming on the top of their lungs. We panicked, and ditched our posters (except for one that said “Bieber Crew Make Our Dreams Come True”) and ran towards them. Then we saw ALLISON from the Bieber crew standing there with the two girls, who were holding tickets in their hands and sobbing. Then we hugged them and congratulated them. Allison asked if we had tickets and we said no. She said, “Well sorry we’re out of tickets.” So the tears came back. Then she whispered to someone else from the Bieber Crew (I think it was a dancer, but we weren’t sure because it was dark outside) and then said, “Do you girls really want these tickets?” and we shouted YES! She said, “Is it just you two girls or is there someone else with you?” Brooklynn said, “Well my mom is here,” and Allison asked, “Well she wouldn’t mind if you went without her, would she?” Then we said no, and she handed us tickets. “Here are two tickets in the front row!” Then we hugged her so tight, thanked her and screamed at the top of our lungs! I was hyperventilating, literally. We ran away and didn’t get a picture with her in the midst of all the excitement. I was about to pass out, for real. We approached her mom who was still waiting in line at the ticket booth, and Brooklynn screamed, “MOM WE GOT TICKETS. CAN WE GO?” and she said, “Yes, yes! GO!” We ran in, and got inside the arena. There were probably 15,000 people out there and we were in the front. I couldn’t hold in the tears. We walked in right before Carly Rae Jepsen started performing. Everyone around us was so sweet and congratulated us. It all happened so fast and I can truly say it was the best day of my life. Justin was probably 3 feet away from us when he touched people’s hands. He SWEAT on me. Not kidding. I made eye contact with Justin Drew Bieber, the person I’ve been dreaming about seeing for 3 years. I am so blessed and thankful and could have never done this without Allison and my friend Brooklynn. It was truly amazing and I can’t even put it into words how happy I am. I’m still in shock. If any of you don’t have tickets for Believe Tour, DO NOT GIVE UP . I never EVER EVER EVER thought I would actually see Justin in person, let alone be in the FRONT ROW. Thank you to everyone on Twitter who supported me through this journey. Allison: if you ever come across this, thank you. You made my dreams come true. Justin if you’re reading this, thank you SO much. I love you so much I can’t even describe. I’m so proud of you. To everyone else reading this, Justin is right. Never Say Never -Lexi @niall5eva Read the original: My name is Lexi, and I’m from Phoenix, Arizona. I never…
This week’s Wired 25 focuses on the person who is just as important as the MCs when it comes to making songs. The producers. The sometimes unsung heroes of the music we love are the composers and beatmakers who keep our feet moving and our heads nodding everywhere you go… Continue
Filmmaker Jenle Hallund has looked into the soul of America, and it sounds like we need a good shrink. Hallund is the intrepid soul who has spent the last weeks watching and, in some cases, listening to the 501 submissions that have come across her desk after controversy-courting Danish filmmaker Lars Von Trier invited the world to reinterpret one of six great works of art for a community film project that will be unveiled at the Copenhagen Art Festival on Oct. 12. Participants had to base their entries on one or more of six different works of art that Von Trier admires: James Joyce’s Ulysses, “which once was banned in the United States because it was seen as obscene and lewd”; August Strindberg’s play The Father , “which still stands as a striking example of a dysfunctional family”; Paul Gaugin’s painting Where Do We Come From? What Are We? Where Are We Going? French composer César Franck’s improvisations; or the music of the late Sammy Davis Jr., “who stepped himself into the hearts of people through song;” and the Zeppelin Field grandstand in Nuremberg, Germany that Hitler’s main architect Albert Speer created. The project is being called Gesamt , which translates to “coming together” or “a joint piece of work,” as Hallund explained to us back in August, and the filmmaker, who is a script consultant on Von Trier’s 2013 project, Nymphomaniac , as well as co-director of Limboland (2010), is now in the process of culling, editing and shaping those submissions into a film that she says will be called Disaster 501 — What Happened to Man? based on her interpretation and understanding of the material she received. “I think why I decided early on to make it a disaster movie was that most of the submission questioned the fundamentals of our humanity: love, morality and relationships,” Hallund wrote in email correspondence with me. “And nature was depicted as decaying and threatening.” But Hallund explained that now that she is “further in the editing process,” she has worked with “beautiful and tender moments and stunning visuals. The ache for the sublime and the ideal is still the dream for us,” Hallund noted, adding: “The most touching element for me is that all of these submissions, all of these people who bravely shared a piece of themselves all take part in creating the painting of the soul of our civilization.” Given this site’s U.S. roots, I asked Hallund what the American entries she received said about the soul of its civilizaton. “The American soul speaks and shouts fear and loneliness, and an overwhelming sense of estrangement and anger — of being disconnected from others and losing purpose and individuality,” Hallund wrote. “The soul of America expresses a rootlessness and a loss of humanity.” And yet, she explained, “A tender but cutting longing for love and meaning,” is also evident. Hallund, who received approximately 55 submissions from the U.S. and will use “visuals, stills, sound or music” from 10 to 12, said that, “overwhelmingly,” the themes of the American submissions “can be categorized into male and female.” “All the male submissions, regardless of which works of art they reference, are angry, desperate — full of malice and a sense of fear,” Hallund said. “The men address, either verbally or visually, a sense of being trapped inside their skin, of taking pleasure in hurting women. They are very animalistic and afraid . We have the broken and humiliated man who can no longer walk or love. “The female American soul,” she continued, “is without love — almost resigned to the loss of it. The female voice is very tender and soft. They speak of the love of their fathers, the sadness of the pain they have caused, and their longing for a man to love them.” Or, she said, “it’s the voice of a woman lost and afraid of disappearing….Fighting to assert control over her sexuality.” “Depressing stuff, I know,” said Hallund. But fascinating as well. I asked the filmmaker if traveling to Copenhagen next month is the only way that Americans can see Disaster 501, and she replied that she is exploring options to put it online. “I haven’t found the right solution yet,” she said. If she can turn 501 submissions of film, music and writing into a single film, she can do anything. Follow Frank DiGiacomo on Twitter. Follow Movieline on Twitter.
According to TMZ , a diver working on a water tank on the set of The Lone Ranger drowned this morning in Los Angeles: “Law enforcement sources tell TMZ the movie wasn’t being shot today, and the person who died in the tank was prepping it — possibly cleaning it — when someone noticed no bubbles from the gear were surfacing. That’s when they pulled the man out of the water.” The Johnny Depp blockbuster is filming for a July 3, 2013 release. More info to come. [ TMZ ]
It’s not after every interview that you stand up to leave and then your subject drops a bomb that changes how you see them, but at Fantastic Fest anything goes. So I was amused when, after talking opening night selection Dredd 3D (in theaters nationwide on Friday), lower jaw acting, and Indiana Jones baby names with actor Karl Urban , he mentioned he’d read my stuff. “Even the one where you said I have no charisma,” he laughed. Mea culpa , Karl. Months ago I’d written my reaction to the very first Dredd 3D trailer. “With Urban set to never take off that Dredd mask in the film — and delivering lines like ‘I’m the law’ with no trace of Sly’s charisma — this feels like a precursor to the RoboCop reboot, only with less emotion,” I opined . (Technically I never said Urban himself lacked charisma, but still .) Later I caught the film’s world premiere screening at Comic-Con and was pleasantly surprised to see how the film, directed by Pete Travis from a script by Alex Garland, navigated my concerns with strong performances by its cast — including, yes, Urban and his Judge Dredd grimace. It turns out Urban not only is one charismatic dude in person (and onscreen, as his recent work as Bones in Star Trek attests quite plainly, and with his full face exposed!), he’s got quite the sense of humor. I offered to reconsider my stance if he gave Fantastic Fest karaoke a whirl following tonight’s Dredd 3D premiere, but the truth is in that moment I already had. So, for the record: Karl Urban — charisma for days. Karaoke skills — to be determined. Enjoy our chat below and stay tuned for more from Fantastic Fest! You’ve been in many geek-oriented properties but it was nice to see you dive into Comic-Con full on, and now Fantastic Fest, which is my favorite time of year. It’s good fun. I guess I only get to experience a small fraction of it. Well, you’ll experience it tonight when they take you to karaoke. [Laughs] Oh, no. That would be a bad move. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, there aren’t many musicals on my resume. That’s true! Why is that? Yeah, why is that? If you see me at karaoke you’ll find out why. Well — let’s jump into Dredd . Stallone’s version, which is quite different from your new one, came out 17 years ago. Where were you when it hit theaters? I was living in Auckland. And Judge Dredd as a character was dear to me. I read it as a kid. I responded to the sort of tough, enigmatic lawman who is essentially a Man With No Name Western archetype — The Man With No Face. Yes, essentially — an enigma in many ways, but defined by his actions. The character and the comics were something that I read, but I went along for the movie. As a fan of the comics how did you respond to the movie? I think that film was very much a product of its time. You know, the way that comic book adaptations were treated in the ‘90s is quite different from how they’re treated now, and tonally our films couldn’t me more different. We’re a lot grittier, a lot more realistic, a lot more futuristic and less sci-fi. And the character is actually quite different. Dredd in our movie is a bit more monolithic, he’s a bit more stoic. He’s a man of few words but he’s got a great dry sense of humor. I think he’s like a tightly-wound coil that is ready to leap forth at any given point, but the character is also compassionate — you can see that in when he chooses not to kill people. And there’s a wariness about him which also humanizes him. Essentially I think the biggest humanizing factor is that relationship with Anderson. That, to me, is the heart of the movie. In the beginning of the film Dredd is so consistent, and that consistency is one of his virtues — but over the course of the film he learns to be flexible, and learns to value life so much more. Exactly. That’s what I liked about it. The heart of this piece is this story of two people who get together, a senior cop and a rookie cop, they don’t like each other, they don’t particularly get on, and Dredd doesn’t think that she’s worthy of even wearing the uniform. But over the course of the film that changes, and I find that really interesting – for a guy who sees the world in such black and white terms and who often has to make a decision that results in life or death actions, to suddenly be confronted with the idea that he could actually be wrong about this person, I could be wrong about this situation… suddenly there’s this whole gray area and what happens in the story is a tiny crack in Dredd’s worldview. He does something at the end of this film that he would never do, that he would have difficulty explaining or justifying to anyone else, but he knows it’s the right thing to do. I found that to be so interesting in Dredd — so much of the film is filled with violence, and so much of the action looks “cool” as action movies do these days, but what I came away from the film was the feeling of the loss of life. It is, and it’s interesting that you should speak of that because I think it really does evoke a certain sadness. This is what humanity has degenerated into, and I think great science fiction films have that tone. Look at the sadness throughout Blade Runner ; it’s the same with Dredd , the state of humanity and often the choices that people within the film who live in Peach Trees [tenements], the choices they make. Alex Garland mentioned that he spent a while going back and forth on the script and that you added your own notes as well — how did that work out? It was a truly collaborative experience — one of the most collaborative experiences I’ve ever had. Alex, when he came onboard to write this, immediately contacted John Wagner, the creator of Dredd . A couple of months later Alex delivered a script and one of John’s few notes was, “Dredd says less.” So Alex in his next draft incorporated that note, cut down the dialogue, and we got to Cape Town. Three weeks before we’re shooting Alex and I sit down for a script meeting and I open up my page and Alex sees these lines that I’ve drawn through his dialogue. He looks at it quizzically and I say, “Look, I love this dialogue — but Dredd says less.” So from even there on we sat down and reduced it. I was lucky to be working with a writer who wasn’t precious, who could see the value in economy. And that’s one of the things in Dredd — the economy of movement, the economy of speech. That seems like it might be unusual for an actor to voluntarily reduce his own dialogue, but then you took on a role where most of your face is obscured. Was that a hard choice to make? Was there any hesitation knowing that people might only see your jaw? No, I guess I was blinded by the affinity I felt for the character. I didn’t really start this by approaching it from a perspective of fear, a how the fuck am I going to do this? It was just like, Okay, this is a challenge. What have I got to work with? Is there a secret to acting just with your jaw? Well it’s not actually just acting with your lower face. You’re using your voice and your physicality, how you do something. If you think about the massacre that occurs in this film, the loss of innocent life. At that juncture you can see a violent gear shift within Dredd and the way he treats Wood Harris’ character, the perp-prisoner, Dredd gets a little off the leash at that point and that’s an emotional response to what’s just gone on. That’s a good point. Can we also talk about the female characters in the mix? Lena [Headey] as the big boss is a wonderfully complex, ferocious character. The women in this film are bad ass. They are dominant and proactive and smart and scary and formidable. Lena is so compelling to watch, particularly to work with; she made choices that are so left-field and scary as a result. And of course Olivia does such an extraordinary job of bringing a humanity to this whole story; she’s a key way into Dredd, but she humanizes the story with her vulnerabilities and her insecurities and you see her grow — she becomes empowered, she becomes a tough and badass judge. You’ve been in Star Trek and comic book movies and, tell me if this is right — I read that you named one of your children after Indiana Jones? My wife, actually, had the dibs on that one. I got to name the first son. But we were watching Raiders of the Lost Ark and it was the scene where Marion’s been abducted by the Arab swordsman and she’s in the basket going, “Indy!” We were sitting on the couch like, Indy — let’s do that. So yeah, he’s named after a famous abduction. [Laughs] I go to him sometimes, “Doctor Jones!? Have you brushed your teeth, Doctor Jones?” And he loves it. His nickname is Jones. Given all that I’ve wondered if you’ve taken to messing with the media when it comes to Star Trek spoilers . Are you messing with us? No! I don’t believe I messed with you. I promised exclusive footage at Comic-Con, and I gave exclusive footage. I didn’t lie! Follow Jen Yamato on Twitter . Follow Movieline on Twitter .
‘It made me very, very emotional knowing that this is the person who gave me courage to continue,’ bullied singer tells MTV News. By Gil Kaufman Demi Lovato and Jillian Jensen in the season premiere of “The X Factor” Photo: Stew Milne/ FOX
September 11, 2012. The day I saw the person who changed my life. I know this is actually a sad day but this day seriously changed my life. I’ve never thought I’d ever write my Bieber experience but here we go. My name is Evelyn. I’m 14 years old and I live in Frankfurt, Germany. I’ve been a belieber since 2010 when Justin performed ‘Baby’ at the VMAs. I know I wasn’t there from the beginning but I’ll sure be there until the end. Anyways, Justin gave an acoustic concert at the airport here in Frankfurt. You had to win tickets for this. I didn’t win, but that didn’t stop me from going . Straight after school I went with my group of friends to the airport. It was around 12pm. At first, we didn’t know where we had to go so we asked people. After 30 minutes we finally arrived at the hall where beliebers were already standing at the barrier. I talked with some of them and they told me that Kenny was there and took pictures with them. At 4pm they let the girls in who had tickets and w e tried everything to get to the concert but they wouldn’t let us in. We still stayed there. After 30 minutes, Kenny came out and w e chased after him like crazy! Luckily I got a picture with him and I told him that I love him and he said, “I love you too!”. After that we got back to the barrier where we waited the whole time. We sang Boyfriend, As Long As You Love Me, Baby and a lot more songs. Then we saw Moshe but only for a few seconds. It then around 6pm when the security guys told us that Justin is coming down to say hello to us. I was so excited. Justin finally came down with Alfredo by his side with his camera and everyone started panicking and screaming. No one would have thought he’s coming down to see us. He gave everyone an autograph and you could tell he was really happy. He is so beautiful and perfect in real life. He smiled at all of us and I took so many photos and videos. When Justin, Alfredo and Moshe went outside to the car everyone started crying. When a few left and everyone calmed down, Dan Kanter, his guitarist, came out and we followed him to the escalator and sang the Dan Kanter Song. When he was at the escalator I screamed his name and he looked at me, waved and winked. I waited 3 years for this moment to happen. I never gave up. I’m still in shock and I can’t actually believe that I saw my idol. Justin means the world to me and I finally met him. Here is the original post: September 11, 2012. The day I saw the person who changed my…
August 15, 2012 . The day I’m blessed enough to say I met the person who has changed my life. My name is Melanie and it all started when my friend, Amy, and I went to Justin’s rehearsal studio for a chance to meet him. We arrived there at around 3:15 when we saw around 10 other Beliebers. Once one mom organized everything about an hour later, we were all in line waiting for Justin to come out and we stressed the fact that we had to stay calm or else he wasn’t going to meet all of us since there was around 25 of us now. Suddenly, at 4:45, we saw Selena drive into the parking lot, but we couldn’t freak out because Moshe had told everyone in past days to stay calm if we all wanted to meet Justin. So, we attempted to stay calm when we saw Selena and some of Justin’s backup dancers drive by. When all of a sudden, at 5:30, we see Justin on the other side of the street jwalking over to our side and we all really did stay in our lines but it’s obviously impossible not to freak out. We yelled at him to be careful and he was like “I’m not gonna die, guys.” I was honestly crying, shaking, hyperventilating, and just everything seemed so unreal. While I saw him take pictures, sign autographs, and hug all the people in front of me, I looked into the van and said hi to Dan and he waved back and I also said hi to Moshe and he smiled at me when Justin was still going down the line. Then he came to me. My heart literally stopped. I was so unbelievably flustered and I was shaking sooooo much, but I managed to hug Justin and tell him I loved him and he said I love you too. I honestly don’t know how I didn’t faint right then and there. His embrace is the most comforting thing ever. I felt so safe in his arms . Then we took our picture and he kissed me on the cheek! (I seriously don’t even know how I’m possibly typing this right now). Amy needed to take her picture, but I guess we were too slow so Justin grabbed MY phone and took a selfie with her . I told him thank you so much for everything and he smiled. After he went down the entire line, he left in the swagger van and it was all hysterics. I was literally on the floor crying and shaking. Then we saw Nick walking towards us and I tried to pull it all together and take a picture with him . I told him he was awesome, his choreography is bomb, and we were wearing matching shoes and he smiled and gave me a thumbs up. Amy and me took a picture in front of Selena’s car just because we wanted to. Everyone was freaking out and crying because we couldn’t believe this actually happened. Everything happened so fast and it just seemed so surreal. I mean I honestly cannot grasp the fact that I met the person who saved my life and gave me a reason to not give up. The person who made me believe in myself and my dreams. Justin is seriously the sweetest, most talented, beautiful, caring, flawless, perfect, gorgeous, and humble person ever. He appreciates every single one of his fans so much because we’re family . He works hard every single day for countless hours just to please us. I still cannot believe I was blessed enough to meet Justin and trust me guys, don’t ever give up! Your time will come, I promise. I convinced myself everyday that I would never meet him and look what happened. I honestly cannot thank and appreciate Justin and the crew enough for all that they do for us. This is seriously the best day of my entire existence and I will never forget any second of it. I want to thank him from the bottom of my heart for making my ENTIRE life. I don’t think I could ever describe or explain how much I love him. – @Bieber_Invasion Read more: August 15, 2012. The day I’m blessed enough to say I met…
Four-time Grand Slam tennis champ Maria Sharapova is no longer engaged to professional basketball player Sasha Vujacic, she revealed yesterday. Speaking after a third-round victory Friday, Maria was asked about the relationship and said that they’ve split up, “since the end of spring, actually.” “It was obviously a challenging decision, you know, from both of our ends.” “I was waiting for someone to actually ask me that question,” the 25-year-old Russian beauty added. “I have never really been the person to announce things.” “I never announced when we were even together or never announced we were engaged. I never have in any of my previous relationships, as well.” “It was a really nice period of time for both of us, but our career schedules just made it extremely difficult … we still have a tremendous amount of respect for each other.” Word of their engagement came in October 2010, when Vujacic proposed on the one-year anniversary of their first meeting at a friend’s barbecue. The Slovenian guard was a first-round draft pick of the Los Angeles Lakers in 2004, winning two championships with them until being traded in 2010. Sasha then one played season with the New Jersey Nets as a teammate of Kris Humphries before leaving the NBA to play professionally in Turkey. [Photo: WENN.com]
