The Chicago Suntimes is reporting that Whitney Houston’s mother Cissy has confronted the person who snapped the photo of Whitney in her final resting place. A Houston family insider says that Cissy, “had a come-to-Jesus moment” with the guilty culprit and demanded the alleged six-figure fee for the photo be donated to charity. As she should! Whoever was selfishly evil enough to take a photo of the late Whitney Houston with the intention of selling it to trashy tabloid deserves far more punishment than having to donate their profit. What do you think about Cissy confronting the person that took the photo? Who do you think took it? RELATED: Oprah Interviews The Houston Family [VIDEO] Bobbi Kristina: “It’s A Lot Of Pressure But She Prepared Me For It” [VIDEO] Whitney Houston Leaves Everything To Bobbi Kristina In Will Whitney Houston’s Mother Cissy Kicks Out “Secret Son” From Atlanta Home Houston Family Sells Funeral Coverage For Bobbi Kristina Whitney Houston Laid To Rest Beside Her Father [PHOTOS & VIDEO] Ray J Finally Breaks His Silence Bobby Brown Releases Statement On Why He Left Whitney’s Funeral [VIDEO] Whitney Houston Celebrated At Funeral [PHOTOS & VIDEO] Bobby Declares Love For Whitney On Stage [VIDEO]
The Chicago Suntimes is reporting that Whitney Houston’s mother Cissy has confronted the person who snapped the photo of Whitney in her final resting place. A Houston family insider says that Cissy, “had a come-to-Jesus moment” with the guilty culprit and demanded the alleged six-figure fee for the photo be donated to charity. As she should! Whoever was selfishly evil enough to take a photo of the late Whitney Houston with the intention of selling it to trashy tabloid deserves far more punishment than having to donate their profit. What do you think about Cissy confronting the person that took the photo? Who do you think took it? RELATED: Oprah Interviews The Houston Family [VIDEO] Bobbi Kristina: “It’s A Lot Of Pressure But She Prepared Me For It” [VIDEO] Whitney Houston Leaves Everything To Bobbi Kristina In Will Whitney Houston’s Mother Cissy Kicks Out “Secret Son” From Atlanta Home Houston Family Sells Funeral Coverage For Bobbi Kristina Whitney Houston Laid To Rest Beside Her Father [PHOTOS & VIDEO] Ray J Finally Breaks His Silence Bobby Brown Releases Statement On Why He Left Whitney’s Funeral [VIDEO] Whitney Houston Celebrated At Funeral [PHOTOS & VIDEO] Bobby Declares Love For Whitney On Stage [VIDEO]
Wendy Williams weighed in AGAIN on the latest drama surrounding Fantasia and her alleged baby daddy Antwaun Cook . In case you missed it, Wendy put Fantasia on blast a few months ago for getting involved with a married man, and needing his financial support –saying she got herself into this mess and will likely never see a ring from her still-married man! Fast forward to the latest drama in Fanny’s life…Antwaun is allegedly cheating on Fanny not only with his wife, but with another chick. Wendy shared with her audience why she thought Fantasia’s man was looking for a new woman and invited the singer to stop by the show so they could talk. RELATED: Antwuan Cook May Be Over Fantasia, Spotted Getting Cozy With His Wife Wendy Williams Goes In On Fantasia & Her Married Man! Debbie Allen To Fantasia: You’ve Got Too Many Leeches Around You [VIDEO] Fantasia Announces Pregnancy [VIDEO] Fantasia Caught With Antwuan Cook AGAIN! [PHOTOS] Fantasia Testifies In Court, Admits To Aborting Antwuan Cook’s Baby Busted! Fantasia’s E-Mail Proves She Knew Antwuan Cook Was Married Fantasia’s Married Man Antwaun Cook Finally Releases Statement!
Wendy Williams weighed in AGAIN on the latest drama surrounding Fantasia and her alleged baby daddy Antwaun Cook . In case you missed it, Wendy put Fantasia on blast a few months ago for getting involved with a married man, and needing his financial support –saying she got herself into this mess and will likely never see a ring from her still-married man! Fast forward to the latest drama in Fanny’s life…Antwaun is allegedly cheating on Fanny not only with his wife, but with another chick. Wendy shared with her audience why she thought Fantasia’s man was looking for a new woman and invited the singer to stop by the show so they could talk. RELATED: Antwuan Cook May Be Over Fantasia, Spotted Getting Cozy With His Wife Wendy Williams Goes In On Fantasia & Her Married Man! Debbie Allen To Fantasia: You’ve Got Too Many Leeches Around You [VIDEO] Fantasia Announces Pregnancy [VIDEO] Fantasia Caught With Antwuan Cook AGAIN! [PHOTOS] Fantasia Testifies In Court, Admits To Aborting Antwuan Cook’s Baby Busted! Fantasia’s E-Mail Proves She Knew Antwuan Cook Was Married Fantasia’s Married Man Antwaun Cook Finally Releases Statement!
Dr. Seuss film is highest-grossing movie of the year so far. By Ryan J. Downey A scene from Dr. Seuss’ “The Lorax” Photo: Universal Studios “Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax” was the #1 movie at the box office for a second consecutive weekend, but the bigger story was the film that came in at #2. “John Carter,” which Disney hoped would kick off a franchise based on the classic Edgar Rice Burroughs stories that inspired generations of sci-fi, opened with $30.6 million. In an article bearing the headline ” ‘Ishtar’ on Mars,” the New York Times reported that “John Carter” cost about $350 million to market and produce. Even with its $71 million overseas total, “Carter” is a long way from an estimated break-even point of $600 million. “Ishtar” is a 1987 film famous for how hard it flopped despite the presence of two A-list stars (Warren Beatty, Dustin Hoffman) and huge marketing. The tale of a Civil War veteran who finds himself in the middle of a local conflict on Mars, “Carter” is the first live-action film directed by Andrew Stanton (“Finding Nemo,” “WALL-E”) and stars “Friday Night Lights” alum Taylor Kitsch in the title role. Reviews were decidedly mixed ; Rotten Tomatoes had assigned it a “Tomatometer” rating of 49 percent at press time. “Lifeless on Mars,” proclaimed TheWrap.com’s Alonso Duralde. “For all its efforts and intentions, and despite the occasional minor thrill, ‘John Carter’ winds up being as generic and forgettable as its title.” The folks behind “The Lorax,” meanwhile, had plenty to celebrate. The animated Dr. Seuss adaptation made $39.1 million in its second weekend in theaters, putting it past “The Vow” to become 2012’s highest-grossing film thus far with its estimated total of nearly $122 million. The second-week 44 percent decline of “The Lorax” was about on par with “Horton Hears a Who!,” which made $154 million during its domestic theatrical run in 2008. Found-footage party film “Project X” was #3 at the box office with $11.5 million for a $40.1 million total. Horror flick “Silent House” was a dud, opening at #4 with $7 million. The top five was rounded out by another box-office disappointment, “A Thousand Words,” which debuted with $6.3 million, barely more than the opening-weekend numbers for fairly recent Eddie Murphy flops “Meet Dave” ($5.25 million) and “Imagine That” ($5.5 million). Neither “A Thousand Words” nor “John Carter” suffered as badly as Eddie Murhpy’s sci-fi comedy “The Adventures of Pluto Nash,” which made $4.4 million during its entire theatrical run in 2002 against a production budget estimated to be more than $100 million. The comedy “Friends With Kids” opened at #13 with $2.1 million but played at only 374 theaters. By comparison, “John Carter” was at 3,749. This weekend’s new releases include the comedic big-screen version of “21 Jump Street,” the ’90s cop show that launched Johnny Depp. The reboot co-stars and was produced by Jonah Hill. Also coming up: Will Ferrell’s Spanish-language comedy “Casa de mi Padre,” the Jason Segel/ Ed Helms comedy “Jeff, Who Lives at Home,” the Adrien Brody drama “Detachment” and the latest in a string of poorly reviewed Nicolas Cage films, “Seeking Justice.” Check out everything we’ve got on “Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax” and “John Carter.” For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com . Related Videos MTV First: John Carter Related Photos Taylor Kitsch As ‘John Carter’
‘I’ve professed my love for her pretty much,’ Banks tells MTV News of Suzanne Collins. By Josh Wigler, with reporting by Josh Horowitz Elizabeth Banks as Effie Trinket in “The Hunger Games” Photo: Capitol Couture Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth — all names you’ll want to stand up and applaud for when the credits roll on “The Hunger Games,” no doubt. But if there’s one person you’ll really want to tip your hat to, it’s Suzanne Collins. Like J.K. Rowling with the “Harry Potter” series and Stephenie Meyer of “Twilight” fame, Collins is the novelist who dreamed Katniss Everdeen, Peeta Mellark and Gale Hawthorne into existence. Without her, you wouldn’t have a tribute to fight for. Without her, you wouldn’t be on the cusp of what’s sure to be 2012’s biggest blockbuster so far. Certainly, actress Elizabeth Banks identifies Collins as the great hero of the “Hunger Games” franchise. In fact, “hero” isn’t a strong enough description — to Banks, Collins is a full-fledged rock star. “To me, the biggest star here is Suzanne Collins,” the actress and hard-core “Hunger Games” fan told MTV News about her feelings on the novel’s author. “She created this entire world, all of this pandemonium, all these characters. She birthed this whole situation. She couldn’t be a nicer lady. She’s the loveliest lady, and I’m a total geek around her. To me, she’s a total rock star.” Just as many fans would kill for the chance to spend time with the “Hunger Games” cast, so too did Banks swoon over getting one-on-one time in with Collins. “I’ve professed my love for her pretty much,” Banks laughed. “The books are done, and they’re the books, so she doesn’t need me to dissect them with her, but I’m very happy that she’s happy with the film. So to me, it was always about, ‘Let’s make director Gary Ross happy with the film, let’s make Suzanne happy. Everyone else, who cares.’ ” Of course, Banks cares very much about the fans, a group she described as “unbelievable.” “The passion of everyone here is crazy. It’s very exciting,” said Banks. “I’m very excited to see this movie with an audience. I saw it in a small room with two other people, so the energy in the room is going to be ballistically bananas. I brought tissues. It’s very emotional, this movie! I cried making it; It’s very emotional for me.” If Banks is already emotional over “Hunger Games,” she’ll want to bring plenty of tissues with her for “Catching Fire,” the planned sequel to the Collins-inspired movie. Though Banks wouldn’t confirm a start date for “Catching Fire,” she did tease a fashion item that she might end up wearing in the sequel. “In the books, Effie appears at the Reaping in a green dress,” she teased. “I did not wear the green dress in the movie. But we have it. It exists. So I think we’ll break that one out in ‘Catching Fire.’ ” Check out everything we’ve got on “The Hunger Games.” For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com . Related Videos Live From ‘The Hunger Games’ Red Carpet Premiere Related Photos ‘Hunger Games’ World Premiere Red Carpet
U2, Metallica, Nickelback and more battle it out in a heavyweight region. Voting in all first-round matchups is now live! By James Montgomery U2’s Bono and Dick Vitale Photo: Getty Images MTV’s third-annual Musical March Madness tournament tipped off Monday, with voting opening in all first-round matchups. But with a bracket busting with bands — 64 in all, each battling to hoist the championship trophy when the tournament ends April 3 — we realize that choosing your favorites in each contest can be a daunting task (unless your favorite happens to be Tokio Hotel — they’re having no problem racking up the votes). After all, sometimes even the selection committee has a difficult time distinguishing between AWOLNATION and Five Finger Death Punch. Vote for your favorite band, discuss and share on Facebook and Twitter in the MTV Musical March Madness interactive bracket! So with first-round voting open until Sunday (polls close at midnight ET), we’re going to spend the next few days breaking down each Musical March Madness region, starting with the mighty, meaty Midwest, a bracket loaded with meat-and-potatoes rock acts … and, uh, Bon Iver, too. Can the top-seeded Black Keys run the table? Will MMM superpowers My Chemical Romance continue their tradition of deep tournament runs? Or, like last year, will the Midwest go to an upset-minded underdog, like Chevelle or Sum 41? Read on for our picks in each opening-round tilt. #1 The Black Keys vs. #16 AWOLNATION: On the surface, the Keys should win this one with ease. Then again, as any MMM historian will surely tell you, the three-year history of the tournament is littered with jaw-dropping upsets (like #16 the Hold Steady knocking off #1 Nickelback in 2010, or 16th-seeded Sum 41 dumping #1 Arcade Fire last year). Still, with so much momentum — back-to-back breakout albums, a sold-out arena U.S. arena tour — we like Auerbach and Carney over a very game Aaron Bruno. #2 Bon Iver vs. #15 Sum 41: The pride of Eau Claire, Wisconsin, faces off against the pride of Ajax, Ontario, in this opening-round barn-burner. Bon Iver was a surprise second seed in the Midwest (geography was a determining factor, as always), while one could argue that, based on last year’s MMM run alone, Sum 41 should be way higher than a 15 seed. Bad news for the bearded one, we’re taking tourney-tested Sum 41 for the upset. #3 Pearl Jam vs. #14 Five Finger Death Punch: It’s rock legends versus fast-rising, faster-playing metallers here, and though Pearl Jam currently hold a rather-sizeable lead so far, we’re not writing off Five Finger Death Punch just yet. Hard-rock bands tend to do surprisingly well in MMM (they’re fans vote equally hard), which is why, we think by week’s end, it’ll be the Death Punch who roll to round two. #4 U2 vs. #13 Modest Mouse: Last year, U2 were a surprise early exit, losing to eventual champs Green Day in round two, while Modest Mouse have never made it out of the first round of the tourney. Based on that alone, we’re taking Bono and Co. here, though, after one day of voting, this one is still pretty close. #5 My Chemical Romance vs. #12 Death Cab for Cutie: MCR are the only band in MMM history to make the Final Four twice, including a heartbreaking championship-game loss to Coheed and Cambria in 2010. Death Cab? Uh, yeah … they’ve been to the second round. Once. This one won’t even be close: MCR are going far in this tourney. #6 Kid Rock vs. #11 Chevelle: It’s Michigan versus Illinois in this first-round barnburner, which could have been an actual NCAA tournament matchup if Illinois didn’t suck so bad this year. Kid Rock has been getting in touch with his Seger side in recent years, while Chevelle roared back in 2011 with the (actually pretty great) Hats Off to the Bull , and so far, it’s the rockers who hold a commanding lead over the Kid. Can they hold on? We’ll say they do, and advance to the second round. #7 Metallica vs. #10 Guns N’ Roses: A true clash of the titans, this one could go either way (though it hopefully won’t end like the pair’s 1992 Montreal show did, with both James Hetfield and the city set on fire). Understandably, this one is currently the closest matchup in the entire tournament, with the Gunners holding a .02 percent edge. There’s a whole week still to go, but this one might be too close to call. #8 Nickelback vs. #9 Rise Against!: A total style clash in every conceivable way, Rise Against! jumped out to an early lead, but thanks to some feverish tweeting , Nickelback have swung things in their favor. It’s still close, but we think Kroeger and Co. pull it out — if only because we suspect a Black Keys/Nickelback second-rounder will be, uh, interesting . MTV’s 2012 Musical March Madness Tournament is underway! Voting in the first round runs until midnight ET on Sunday, March 18, and winners are determined by fan votes, so if your favorite act made the cut, it’ll be up to you to guide them to glory. You can rally the troops on Twitter using the hashtag #MMM or by downloading one of our custom badges — but get ready, it’s gonna be a war. Related Videos Musical March Madness Returns! Related Photos MTV’s Musical March Madness 2012
Stewart bids a topless farewell to her days as Bella Swan in the celebrity-studded clip. By Kevin P. Sullivan Kristen Stewart in the “On the Road” trailer Photo: MK2 Productions The trailer for “On the Road,” an adaptation of Jack Kerouac’s seminal beat generation novel, finally hit the Web and brought the cool of 1960s America with it. We saw Kristen Stewart shake it and roll one up. Garrett Hedlund talks about the dumb stuff that he does and can’t explain, and Sam Riley sounds disturbingly like Heath Ledger’s Joker. Here are our five key scenes from the “One the Road” trailer. KStew Rolls Deep This is not the Bella Swan you know. This is Marylou, the 16-year-old, reefer-smoking chick that Dean Moriarty (Hedlund) just married. We’re not sure if there could have been a more striking image to let us know that Kristen Stewart has left Forks, Washington, far behind her. A Breezy Drive Let’s take that last part back for one second. If we needed a clearer image that Stewart is removing the mantle of Bella Swan for her future career, we have what looks like a shot of the actress removing something else in the front seat with Garrett Hedlund and Sam Riley: her top. We’ve seen Stewart with an edge in several of her other films, but for “On the Road,” she seems to be bidding “Twilight” adieu in style. The Freakout As a key work of the beat generation, what would a film adaptation of “On the Road” be without a good old-fashioned drug freak-out dance? Here we see Hedlund tripping out and getting his freak on. It’s rare that we see such a loose Hedlund, and the scene gives a good idea of the kind of shenanigans Dean will be up to.
New Orleans rapper Mystikal was at the height of his career when he was sentenced to a six-year prison term. Several labels were interested in signing Mystikal after his release from jail in 2010, but the rapper ultimately decided to stay close to home and sign with Cash Money Records . We’re not sure when Mystikal’s dropping a new album, but he just released a new song and video, “Original,” featuring Lil Wayne and Birdman . Check it out: WARNING: EXPLICIT CONTENT RELATED: Mystikal On Signing A Deal: “Everybody’s Interested!” [EXCLUSIVE] Lil Wayne & Dhea Spotted At Lakers vs. Heat Game [PHOTOS] AUDIO: Mystikal Released From Prison VIDEO UPDATE: Mystikal Explains Skype Scam VIDEO: VH1 Hip-Hop Honors “Dirty South” Tributes
Oprah Winfrey traveled to Atlanta to conduct the first interview with the family of late pop icon Whitney Houston for her OWN series, “Next Chapter.” In addition to speaking with Whitney’s daughter Bobbi Kristina , Oprah spoke with Whitney’s close friend, manager and sister-in-law, Patricia Houston , and Whitney’s brother Gary Houston . Oprah spoke to Patricia and Gary about the day Whitney Houston died, her past drug abuse, Bobby Brown and more. Patricia Houston on the day Whitney Houston died Patricia Houston discusses altercation at pre-Grammy party Patricia Houston on Whitney Houston’s lifestyle Patricia Houston on Whitney Houston and drugs The Houston family discusses Bobby Brown Gary Houston on how his mother Cissy Houston is coping with her daughter’s death RELATED: Bobbi Kristina: “It’s A Lot Of Pressure But She Prepared Me For It” [VIDEO] Whitney Houston Leaves Everything To Bobbi Kristina In Will Whitney Houston’s Mother Cissy Kicks Out “Secret Son” From Atlanta Home Houston Family Sells Funeral Coverage For Bobbi Kristina Whitney Houston Laid To Rest Beside Her Father [PHOTOS & VIDEO] Ray J Finally Breaks His Silence Bobby Brown Releases Statement On Why He Left Whitney’s Funeral [VIDEO] Whitney Houston Celebrated At Funeral [PHOTOS & VIDEO] Bobby Declares Love For Whitney On Stage [VIDEO]
