We hope you’re sitting down, because it was quite the weekend for boob tube nudity…and you’ll be standing at attention (in your pants that is) soon enough! First, Californication re-ASS-erted its boob tube supremacy with the royally hot Camilla Luddington (above), who previously played Kate Middleton in the TV movie William & Kate . Camilla made her nude debut baring outstanding T&A as a nanny caught skinny-dipping by her boss. Also making a welcome return to nudity, Rome ‘s Kerry Condon bared her luck-y twosome as a female jockey celebrating her big win on HBO’s Luck . Then on House of Lies , Dawn Olivieri and Megalyn Echikunwoke both bared boobage in a bid for attention from Don Cheadle , and Viva Bianca and Lucy Lawless both went braless as their rivalry heated up on Spartacus: Vengeance . More after the jump!
Remember the days of Singled Out and The Jenny McCarthy Show , when it was virtually impossible to flip through the channels without Jenny McCarthy sticking her Juggy McC-Cups square in your face? Well , Variety is reporting that the once and future queen of girly gross-out is bringing her signature blend of scatological humor and massively inflated mammaries back to the boob tube with a new reality series for Vh1 . Also called The Jenny McCarthy Show , it will ” feature guest panelists and skewer both pop culture events and personalities ” and ” is set to premiere in either summer or fall ,” according to the trade mag. It’s like 1997 all over again…somebody give Denise Richards and Fairuza Balk a call! Check out the breast of Jenny McCarthy right here at MrSkin.com
Set your eyes to ogling , VH1 viewers. That network will soon launch The Jenny McCarthy Show , a platform on which this gorgeous blonde will conduct interviews, give her take on pop culture, dish on current events look all around beautiful. Look for it to debut in the late summer or early fall. “We wanted to get back in the game and create a signature show that really hit that female funny sweet spot, and Jenny was always on the top of our list because our audience grew up with Jenny,” says Jeff Olde, VH1′s Executive Vice President of original programming and production. “We just kept stalking her until she was free.” McCarthy got her big break in the 1990s on MTV’s dating show Singled Out . She has since posed naked for Playboy and dated Jim Carrey. [Photo: WENN.com]
Written by Dolly Parton, the ballad was nearly recorded by Elvis Presley. By John Mitchell Whitney Houston in her “I Will Always Love You” video Photo: Arista Records On Sunday night’s Grammy Awards, Jennifer Hudson paid tribute to the late Whitney Houston , who was found dead a day earlier in Beverly Hills, by delivering a teary-eyed rendition of her most famous song, “I Will Always Love You.” What many do not know is that “Love You” is a tune with a long and interesting musical history that dates back to 1974 and has a connection to the King of Rock and Roll, Elvis Presley. “I Will Always Love you” was written by country superstar Dolly Parton on June 6, 1974, as the second single from Parton’s 13th solo studio album, Jolene. That’s right, by 1974, Dolly Parton had already released 13 albums. And it may interest fans of the song to know that while “I Will Always Love You” is most certainly a love song, it’s not really about the deeply passionate parting of two lovers that was conveyed in Houston’s cover; the song is about Parton’s professional parting of ways with her onetime partner and longtime mentor Porter Wagner. The song went all the way to #1 on the country charts, and along with “Jolene,” arguably one of Parton’s finest songs, propelled her out of Wagner’s shadow and onto the country A-list in her own right. The song brought Parton a fan in the unlikely form of rock god Elvis Presley, who expressed interest in recording a cover version of the tune. This, of course, delighted Parton. There was a catch, however: Elvis’ formidable manager, Tom Parker, insisted that she sign over 50 percent of the publishing royalties to Presley. That was a problem for Parton, who had a policy against signing away her publishing rights — no matter how big the star wanting to record her track. “He was planning to record my song, ‘I Will Always Love You.’ He invited me down to the studio, and the day of the studio, Colonel Tom Parker called and said that they only recorded songs that they had the publishing on, and I couldn’t do that,” Parton told David Letterman in 2010. “That broke my heart, because I loved Elvis. “I cried all night. Other people were saying, ‘You’re nuts. It’s Elvis Presley. I mean, hell, I’d give him all of it,’ ” Parton said. “I said, ‘I can’t do that. Something in my heart says don’t do that.’ And I just didn’t do it, and they didn’t do it.” Parton re-recorded the song herself in 1982 and included it on the soundtrack to her film “Best Little Whorehouse in Texas.” It again went to #1 on the country charts, making Parton the first artist ever to earn a #1 record twice with the same song as a singer. (Once Houston’s cover hit the top of the charts, she became the first songwriter ever to hit #1 three times with the same song.) Like so many other iconic moments in pop culture, Houston’s cover of “I Will Always Love You” wasn’t even supposed to happen. She originally intended to cover Jimmy Ruffin’s “What Becomes of the Brokenhearted” as the lead single from “The Bodyguard” until she found out the song had been used just one year earlier in the 1991 film “Fried Green Tomatoes.” Houston’s “Bodyguard” co-star Kevin Costner attempted to remedy the situation by introducing the singer to Linda Ronstadt’s 1975 version of “I Will Always Love You,” and Houston loved the song. She decided to rearrange it as a soul ballad with producer David Foster, and a classic was born. Houston and Foster, it seems, were not intent on owning the song’s publishing rights. With Houston’s legendary voice laid on the track, “I Will Always Love You” went on to become one of the biggest singles in music history, spending 14 weeks at the top of the Billboard charts — a record at the time — and helping “The Bodyguard” soundtrack sell 44 million copies worldwide to become the biggest soundtrack of all time. Eternally good-hearted, Parton complimented Hudson on her performance of the song at the Grammys and praised Houston’s amazing gift in a statement earlier Monday (February 13), saying, “I was brought to tears again last night, as I’m sure many were, when Jennifer Hudson sang ‘I Will Always Love You’ on the Grammys in memory of Whitney. Like everybody else, I am still in shock. But I know that Whitney will live forever in all the great music that she left behind. I will always have a very special piece of her in the song we shared together and had the good fortune to share with the world. Rest in peace, Whitney. Again, we will always love you.” For her part, Hudson was overjoyed to have a chance to say goodbye to her mentor at the Grammys. “It was the greatest honor of my life to be able to be the one to pay tribute to Whitney’s memory,” Hudson said in a statement Monday. “It was from my heart. I haven’t stopped crying since she passed. Her family is in my prayers.” Stick with MTV News all for all the Grammy red-carpet fashion , Grammy winners and performance recaps until the hangover wears off! Share your condolences with Whitney’s family and friends on our Facebook page. Related Videos Whitney Houston: Life And Music Of An Icon Related Photos Whitney Houston: A Life In Photos Related Artists Whitney Houston Jennifer Hudson
Critics say the found-footage TV series, while scary, suffers from poor writing and one really annoying character. By Eric Ditzian Eloise Mumford and Joe Anderson in “The River” Photo: American Broadcasting Companies, Inc. “The River” carries a sense of pop culture inevitably in its shaky, grainy found-footage escapades. After “Paranormal Activity” resuscitated the horror subgenre with its wide release in 2009 — grossing $193 million worldwide and spawning two sequels and a slew of variously successful imitators — it was only a matter of time until found-footage scares arrived on network TV. Thankfully, that arrival comes courtesy of “Paranormal” mastermind Oren Peli . “The River,” premiering on ABC on Tuesday at 9 p.m. ET, borrows liberally from Peli’s hit film franchise (as well as from past network hits like “Lost”) in a midseason replacement that sees a crew venture into the Amazon to locate a missing explorer named Emmet Cole. The question, of course, is whether “The River” can replicate the successes of its wildly popular forbearers (or, perhaps, the been-there-found-that disappointments of other genre copycats). Critics, at this point, are split. Some have found the series satisfyingly scary. Others have faulted the show’s weak character development. For those critiques and more, read on for a deep dive into reviews of “The River.” The Storyline “[‘The River’] is a nifty supernatural adventure tale set in mysterious river-riven regions of the uncharted Amazon. Topographically speaking, it is ‘Lost’ inside-out. The story is this: Emmet Cole (Bruce Greenwood), a world-beloved, globe-trotting ‘Crocodile Hunter’ sort, has gone missing. Six months after his disappearance, an emergency beacon begins suddenly transmitting and his former crew and co-stars, including his wife and son and the daughter of his also-missing cameraman, head into the jungle to find him, with TV cameras rolling. Emmet’s television catch phrase, ‘There’s magic out there,’ will prove to be presciently literal.” — Robert Lloyd, Los Angeles Times The Comparisons “There are so many moments in ABC’s ‘The River’ when you want to congratulate its creators for trying a little more blatantly to be ‘Lost’ than others will admit, and there are other times when you think, ‘Wow, ‘Paranormal Activity’ on a weekly basis, with a touch of ‘Heart of Darkness,’ might be interesting, too.’ Quick camera cuts, people in peril, freaky and scary happenings — what’s not to like? Put them together, and you have a series that cobbles together a pretty strong rooting interest. We all need a show like this on the small screen again. But is there really a weekly series here?” — Tom Goodman, The Hollywood Reporter The Writing “[W]hen the characters start to talk to each other? ‘The River’ just feels like one poorly written TV show. ‘The River’ is swimming in bad dialogue and clich
National Venables Bell & Partners San Francisco has just released their Super Bowl spot for Audi — and it’s a good one. In the Twilight-ish, vampire-filled commercial the new Audi headlights aren’t really the life of the party. We predict this to be one of the best Super Bowl spots out there. It’s funny, memorable, taps into the vampire pop culture explosion and communicates a consumer benefit. Nice… Broadcasting platform : YouTube Source : The Denver Egotist Discovery Date : 26/01/2012 08:18 Number of articles : 2
Say what you will about Armond White , at least the iconoclast film critic is a conversation-starter. Over at CityArts White has posted his annual “Better-Than” list , in which he pairs seemingly disparate films of the year to show you why the movies you love/think are great are, in fact, vastly overrated. Example: ” Jack and Jill > The Descendants ,” White insists, in a clear trouncing of “humility” over “sanctity.” “Adam Sandler’s affectionate, very broad ethnic satire defies Alexander Payne’s smug denial of America’s ethnic history,” he writes. Don’t stop there, Armond! As the 2011-2012 transition births yet more critic Top Ten lists (hey, check out Movieline’s here and here and here and here !), it’s lists like these that give us fresh perspective on the underrated, or even perfectly adequately-rated films of the year. And at least where White dumps on certain lauded Oscar contenders he also proposes films with themes he sees as tighter, better, more valuable by comparison. The Adventures of Tintin > The Artist Spielberg restores the essence of cinema (from the Greek “kinesis,” meaning movement), defying Hazanavicius’ too-cute silent movie hoax. Joy vs. Inanity. I suppose even The Artist ‘s supporters can acknowledge that it can seem, perhaps, “too-cute” — and boy, Tintin was nothing but movement. Sure? Rise of the Planet of the Apes > The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo Rupert Wyatt reboots the original series as a fresh, wild vision of modern frustration, defying Fincher’s apathetic wallow in pathology and brutality. Emotion vs. Style. White raises a good question: What happened to all those critics who Oscar-raved about Apes when it came out last summer? Paul > Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives Greg Mottola, Simon Pegg and Nick Frost grasp the depth of American pop culture while Apichatpong Weerasethakul peddles Asian obscurantism. Joyous vs. Spurious. “Asian obscurantism” Uncle Boonmee may be, but… Armond, you crazy for this one. Colombiana > The Help Olivier Megaton and Zoe Saldana find new racial, sexual and genre archetypes to discover the meaning of love, defying the stereotyping of black women’s civil rights struggle. Progress vs. Relapse. Are some of these pairings seemingly arbitrary? Sure. Is Colombiana more progressive than The Help ? By golly, yes . Jack and Jill > The Descendants Adam Sandler’s affectionate, very broad ethnic satire defies Alexander Payne’s smug denial of America’s ethnic history. Humility vs. Sanctimony I spoke too soon. This shit cray. Still, thank you Armond for even juxtaposing two movies like Paul and Uncle Boonmee in my brain. True contrarian or no, what a feast for thought. Some of these arguments are just insane enough that they make sense. Read White’s full 2011 Better-Than List here and tell us what you think — and which better-thans you’re in agreement with — in the comments below. Follow Jen Yamato on Twitter . Follow Movieline on Twitter .
Despite what Twitter tries to convince us with its ” Beyonce gives birth ” proclamations, and as cute as the name Tiana May Carter might be, Beyonce is still pregnant. One of the most hyped celebrity babies of all time has yet to arrive.
Chances Mitt Romney knew who Kim Kardashian was before his speechwriters came up with this line? Not good. Chances you’ll laugh anyway? Very good. The Republican presidential candidate, locked in a tight race with Ron Paul and the surging Rick Santorum leading into Iowa’s caucuses tomorrow, dropped some wit and pop culture knowledge into his stump speech in Council Bluffs on Sunday. Romney drew similarities between President Obama’s campaign promises of four years ago and the wedding vows of Kim Kardashian. Take a look: Mitt Romney Kim Kardashian Joke “I’ve been looking at some video clips on YouTube of President Obama, then-candidate Obama, going through Iowa, making promises,” Mitt Romney said. “I think the gap between his promises and his performance is the largest I’ve seen since, well, the Kardashian wedding and the promise of until death do us part.” ZING! Kim and Kris Humphries famously kalled it quits after just 72 days of marriage last year, a union some say was staged for Kourtney and Kim Take NY . Romney, who will never be accused of having a magnetic personality, has nevertheless loosened up a bit in recent weeks with lines such as this one. The 64-year-old father of five sons, Mitt later credited his daughters-in-law with keeping him in the loop on celebrity gossip . At least he’s honest.
