Here we go again. Money Makin’ Mitt done started some isht! Mitt Romney joked about his birth certificate at a rally in his home state Friday, taking a shot at President Barack Obama over doubts about where the president was born. “No one’s ever asked to see my birth certificate, they know that this is the place that we were born and raised,” Mr. Romney said, as he spoke about his and his wife’s births in the Mitten State. After decrying the tone of the president’s campaign, Mr. Romney waded into the muck on the stump Friday. Meanwhile his campaign aide assured reporters that the Republican presidential hopeful believes the president was born in the U.S. Mr. Obama, who has released his long-form birth certificate, was born in Hawaii. The Obama campaign immediately seized on the remark. “Throughout this campaign, Governor Romney has embraced the most strident voices in his party instead of standing up to them,” said Ben LaBolt, a spokesman for the Obama campaign. “But Governor Romney’s decision to directly enlist himself in the birther movement should give pause to any rational voter across America.” Spontaneous remarks such as the one Mr. Romney made Friday are characteristic of the candidate. They have repeatedly thrown his campaign off message when Mr. Romney has made offhanded comments about the two Cadillacs his wife owns and his friendships with Nascar team owners, among others. But some Romney supporters at Friday’s event found the remark amusing. “That was good,” 77-year-old John Edmonds said, chuckling. “That fit perfectly.” Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan, Mr. Romney’s running mate, again took some swipes at the president Friday over Mr. Obama’s 2008 comments that he had trouble winning certain working-class voters who “cling to guns or religion.” At the time, Mr. Obama was sharply ridiculed for the remark. “He said people from states like ours, we like to cling to our guns and our religion,” Mr. Ryan said, drawing on his own Midwestern roots. “I just have one thing to say: This Catholic deer hunter is guilty as charged and proud of it.” Wamp, wamp… These guys are so obvious with their stupid jokes and their not-so-subtle racist undertones. No wonder Mitt has ZERO percent of the black vote. Source WENN
Mississippi Church Members Distance Themselves From Decision To Deny Black Couple’s Wedding That Mississippi Church that tried to hate on a black couple’s nuptials is now saying they’re all very racially inclusive and only a handful of vocal members are to blame for banning Charles and Te’Andrea Wilson’s wedding from their sanctuary. Members of the First Baptist Church of Crystal Springs in Mississippi want the world to know that it isn’t a racist church. “We’re not,” Barbara Mack told WLBT-TV on her way into Sunday services. “We welcome anybody that wants to come through those doors.” Charles and Te’Andrea Wilson didn’t feel welcome when the church’s pastor told them the day before the wedding that the mostly white congregation had decided no black couple could wed there. Dr. Stan Weatherford, the pastor, said a small but vocal minority at the church objected, and threatened to vote him out if he went through with the Wilsons’ wedding. The couple was forced to scrap their plans and get married at another church on just one day’s notice. First Baptist member Ralph Miley told WLBT he hopes the church will eventually address the controversial decision. “Personally, I would like to apologize to the Wilsons, to their family and friends, and to the entire black community because this has happened,” he said. The First Baptist Church of Crystal Springs, Miss., forbade the wedding of a black couple in their house of worship. Barbara Mack’s husband, Bob, blamed the members who “intimidated the pastor and created a situation that had him in a bind,” and said they “have some misconceptions” about their religion. “We hope we can straighten them out, you know, get them to understand what Christianity is all about,” he said. But Charles Wilson told CNN that the time to “step up and be Christ-like” would have been before he and his wife were forced to move their wedding. “If it was such a minority of people, why didn’t the majority stand up and say, ‘in God’s house we don’t do this?’” he asked. We’re gonna need Mississippi to join the rest of us in the modern era. Time to put them Jim Crow days behind. But seriously, shame on the rest of them people for letting a couple of ignorant mofo’s make the whole congregation look like some rednecks. Source
The White Apple ‘is about letting go of the things we cannot change,’ lead singer Mandi Perkins tells MTV News. By Jocelyn Vena, with reporting by Travis Laubacher Of Verona Photo: MTV News
Singer performed ‘Bad Religion’ with male pronouns a week after big revelation about his sexuality. By Gil Kaufman Frank Ocean on “Late Night With Jimmy Fallon” Photo: NBC
Filmmaker Alma Har’el ( Bombay Beach ) was originally going to film Icelandic outfit Sigur Ros for their “Fjögur píanó” music video, but then she apparently ran into Shia LaBeouf and the whole concept changed into a Big Idea-filled meditation involving nudity, interpretive dance, and an underwater acid trip. Of course! Watch the NSFW (but oddly gorgeous) short and ponder away after the jump. “Originally [Har’el] was going to film us on super 8 in Iceland all playing the piano lines from the song,” explains bassist Georg Holm, “but then she rang and said she’d met Shia LaBeouf and they’d changed the idea. That was the last we heard of the concept and she told us nothing about what was going on.” LaBeouf is joined by actress Denna Thomsen in the piece, one of a dozen videos commissioned by the band to accompany their latest album, “Valtari.” According to the Wall Street Journal , each filmmaker was given a $10,000 budget and carte blanche to deliver a video. The video, Har’el suggests, “is about addiction to drugs, or sex, or anything–and how you get stuck in a cycle.” And the dead butterflies festooning the bedroom that imprisons the couple? The director says they symbolize “very beautiful things that die very fast,” the experiences or emotions that couple share ad nauseam. “For me, it’s about not knowing how to get out of something without causing pain to somebody else,” Har’el says. “For other people it might be about candy and fish. I’m down with that. [via WSJ ]
ML turns the spotlight on three filmmakers screening new work at the Los Angeles Film Festival this week. Directors with films in the festival’s Narrative and Documentary competitions have offered up their observations on their latest and greatest. Monday’s titles include three docs: Jeff Howlett’s A Band Called Death , Mai Iskander’s Words of Witness and Dominga Sotomayor’s Thursday Till Sunday . And trailers are included (naturally). A Band Called Death , directed by Jeff Howlett [Documentary Competition] Synopsis: Before Bad Brains, the Sex Pistols or even the Ramones, there was Death. Formed in the early ’70s by three teenage brothers from Detroit, Death is credited as being the first black punk band, and the Hackney brothers, David, Bobby, and Dannis, are now considered pioneers in their field. But it wasn’t until recently — when a dusty 1974 demo tape made its way out of Bobby’s attic nearly 30 years after Death’s heyday — that anyone outside a small group of punk enthusiasts had even heard of them. Equal parts electrifying rockumentary and epic family chronicle, the story of Death is one of brotherly love and fierce, divinely inspired expression. [Courtesy of Los Angeles Film Festival] Responses by Jeff Howlett: Howlett gives his take on A Band Called Death : A Band Called Death is a documentary about the Hackney’s, three African-American brothers from Detroit that formed the proto-punk band “Death” in the early 70s. The film is a family story of brotherly love, and the human spirit that uncovers a treasure in the form of a 1974 demo tape that established their name in American Punk Rock History. And why audiences should check the film out at the LA Film Festival: The audiences should check out our film to discover an inspiring story about a band who not only played infectious, groundbreaking music but also had a rich family history to tell. The audience is taken back into a neighborhood where Motown was the religion and rock and roll was, as the Hackney’s eldest describes it best “white-boy music”. Following 35 years of their lives we take a journey with the Hackney family as they tell us their personal stories, the struggles of being black in a “protopunk” band and having the spirit to never give up on your dream. Some anecdotes from the shoot: Our film was as one of our friends put it “discovered on twitter and produced through email”. Since each of the directors and producers were spread out across the map, the challenge became only viable through these virtual channels. Short end of that story is that a year into the project Mark and I were at the end of our budgets with working on the film to which we either needed to stop production or make it a ten year project. That very day it was brought to our attention that Scott Mosier was Tweeting about a trailer we had made and posted online, and saying how he would love to know more about the film. This conversation led to Scott turning on Matt Perniciaro, Kevin Mann and Jerry Ferrara who then helped develop it into the feature film it is now. About the trailer: This clip is of Brian Spears of Groovesville Productions who takes us on a virtual tour of the studio as the band records their first album, “For the Whole World to See.” — Words of Witness , directed by Mai Iskander [Documentary Competition] Synopsis: Updating your Facebook status is a political act in this visceral, on-the-ground documentary of a 21st century revolution in progress. When the Egyptian people rose up against President Mubarak, Heba Afify was a 22-year-old journalist for an English-language paper. Her Facebook and Twitter accounts, along with those of many young Egyptians, become essential weapons in bringing down the former regime, a means to rally support and focus the movement’s strength. Director Mai Iskander follows Afify into the homes and offices of protestors, organizers and citizens caught up in revolutionary fervor, providing a thrilling perspective on a populace rising up to demand the right to live their own lives. [Courtesy of Los Angeles Film Festival] Responses by Mai Iskander: Iskander gives her take on Words of Witness : Words of Witness is a feature-length documentary that follows 22-year-old journalist Heba Afify as she navigates Egypt’s revolution and the rigid boundaries of her concerned mother to examine the struggles, hopes and fears of a people on the brink of democracy. And why audiences should check the film out at the LA Film Festival: Despite the cultural, linguistic and societal differences that separate Egypt and the United States, Words of Witness reveals at least one universal truth: where there is no struggle, there is no progress. Whether the rallying cry is, “Out with Mubarak” or “We are the 99 percent,” people everywhere know that the first step in making their country better, is to “lead themselves.” Through the lens of a country on a path to self-determination, Words of Witness inspires audiences—wherever they are—to reflect on the value of democracy and their role in the democratic process. Iskander shares some observations about the shoot: Since I do not look particularly Egyptian, I was often stopped and questioned as to why I was there. People were often very suspicious, and I certainly don’t blame them. This was a very tumultuous, volatile time. Here they were ripping at the seams of a regime that had been in place for 30 years. A revolution is a very vulnerable time for a country—it is only natural that they should question everything. And some insight on the trailer: I hoped to communicate the deep desire to shape one’s own fate—which dwells within not only a people, but also within every individual. I wanted to tell a story that shows how this desire cannot be quelled indefinitely; eventually it will overcome any obstacle in order to be realized. — Thursday Till Sunday , directed by Dominga Sotomayor [Narrative Competition] Synopsis: In the soft pre-dawn light, a young family loads into their car and begins a journey that will affect them all far deeper than the usual weekend get-away. With a mixture of nostalgia and anxiety, Thursday till Sunday deftly captures the end of a childhood as the young daughter, from her vantage point in the back seat, begins to realize that something is strained — or possibly broken — between her mother and father. With uncommon beauty and style, writer/director Dominga Sotomayor perfectly captures the emotional dynamics of a young family at a crossroads and the claustrophobia of the open road. [Courtesy of Los Angeles Film Festival] Sotomayor gives her take on Thursday Till Sunday : It’s the road trip of two children and their parents to the north of Chile during a long weekend. Everything is seen from 10-year old Lucía’s distant and fragmented point of view. As the landscape gives in to the desert, the parents’ crisis is revealed and the holiday slowly turns into a possible last family trip. And why audiences should give it a look at the LA Film Festival: I hope they will connect with real feelings, along with their own childhood memories and the sensation of being a kid. Some anecdotes from the set: The anecdotes are several (shooting almost everything within the constraints of a car; having kids in every shot; traveling with the whole crew out of the city), but most of these were self-imposed challenges and ended up working in favor of the film. I personally believe the greatest challenge of the film was creating a sense of intimate atmosphere and an overall intimate film when surrounded by a very ‘un-intimate’ environment during the production (trucks, crew, grip, etc); keeping the children’s energy upbeat and have them feel this trip as a long game. An observation about the trailer: I wanted to transmit the overall atmosphere of the film, its ability to convey genuine emotions, and introduce the point of view of the 10-year old girl that drives the whole film.
Gaga’s tour promoters are negotiating with government officials for Jakarta concert to go forward despite threats from extremist groups. By John Mitchell Lady Gaga Photo: Kevin Mazur/ WireImage Lady Gaga has responded to the increasingly volatile situation surrounding her “Born This Way” concert in Indonesia, saying on Twitter that she has been asked by authorities to censor her show and has received threats of violence from Islamic hardliners should it go on as planned. Earlier reports indicated that Gaga’s planned June 3 concert at Jakarta’s Gelora Bung Karno Stadium had been canceled after Indonesian national police refused to issue a permit, citing objections from Islamic groups who worried that Gaga’s performance would corrupt the nation’s youth. However, Gaga’s tour promoters are currently negotiating with government officials and police for the concert to go forward as planned. “The Jakarta situation is 2-fold: Indonesian authorities demand I censor the show & religious extremist separately, are threatening violence,” Gaga tweeted Tuesday (May 22). “If the show does go on as scheduled, I will perform the BTWBall alone.” Fifty thousand tickets for the show have been sold. While Indonesia is a secular state governed as a multi-party representative democratic republic, it has the world’s largest population of Muslims, most of whom practice a moderate form of the religion. However, there are also more extremist fringe groups that have in recent years become increasingly vocal, particularly regarding Western entertainers visiting the country. Beyonc
Mixtape Daily previews Jones’ new tape, which drops Tuesday. By Rob Markman, with reporting by Michael Primo Jim Jones Photo: MTV News The O.D.: A Mixtape Daily Exclusive Jim Jones has quite the street catalog. From his 2002 mixtape Ryder Muzik to his original M.O.B. tape with ByrdGang in 2006 and The Ghost of Rich Porter in 2010, Jim has no shortage of quality underground material. On Tuesday, Capo plans to follow tradition when he drops F.E.A.S.T. “I’ve been working on the mixtape called the F.E.A.S.T. ; it’s called ‘Family Eatin’ and Stay True,’ ” Jones told Mixtape Daily. “We’ve got a dope group of individuals. Some you’ve seen before, some new faces.” Jones isn’t stopping with music. For F.E.A.S.T., he plans to drop a number of cinematic music videos. “I picked, like, eight songs, and I’ve strung ’em along like movies,” he said. “Something good for people to look at. I haven’t seen something like that in a minute. I think it’ll be very interesting.” Check back with Mixtape Daily on Tuesday to see more on Jim Jones’ F.E.A.S.T., and check out the tape’s track list below! 1. “F.E.A.S.T Prelude” 2. “No Way” (featuring Trav) 3. “Paper Chase” (featuring Trav) 4. “Comin From” (featuring T.W.O and Sen City) 5. “Get Mine” (featuring Sen City) 6. “True Religion” (featuring Ryder and Hynief) 7. “60 Rackz” (featuring T.W.O) 8. “Show Off” (featuring Trav) 9. “Don Juan” (featuring Mel Matrix) 10. “Don’t Judge Me” (featuring Future) 11. “Top of the Year” (featuring Sen City, Mel Matrix, T.W.O, Lady H, Trav, Shoota, Chris Luck and Pure) 12. “Suicide” (featuring Ryder, T.W.O and Sen City) 13. “Forgive” (featuring T.W.O) 14. “Youu” (featuring Sen City) 15. “AirOnes” (featuring Ryder) 16. “Sleep When You’re Dead” (featuring Trav, Mel Matrix and Shoota) 17. “Vamp Life” For other artists featured in Mixtape Daily, check out Mixtape Daily Headlines . Related Artists Jim Jones
Singer takes to Twitter to say her statement to Teen Vogue was taken out of context. By Jocelyn Vena Katy Perry Photo: Getty Images Katy Perry has taken to Twitter to clarify some recent comments that were published in her Teen Vogue cover story. The singer took issue with the way her quotes about the perils of fame appeared in the magazine. In the issue, the singer is quoted as saying, “I’m tired of being famous already!” according to Yahoo! “But I’m not tired of creating. Fame is, I think, just a disgusting by-product of what I do. It’s quite a delicate creature — it’s a wild animal of sorts. It can love you, and then it can attack you. “I still want to be as approachable and relatable as possible — when I meet fans and they’re crying, I’ll say, ‘Calm down, there’s nothing to cry about. I’m not going to bite you or attack you or grant you three wishes,’ ” she continued. ” ‘Let’s just hang out and have a good time.’ But really, I stopped focusing on what other people think a while ago. If you try to be everything to everyone, you’ll only end up completely confused.” On Monday night, Perry tweeted that she had not been quoted correctly in terms of the tone of her statements. O the joy of something verbally said being taking out of complete context in PRINT. This is why there’s a continuous ♥/☹ for the media world — Katy Perry (@katyperry) April 10, 2012 “O the joy of something verbally said being taking out of complete context in PRINT. This is why there’s a continuous [love/hate] for the media world,” she wrote. “U see, the fame quote was spoken in jest (which is typical of me) BUT it’s not really about that. The fact is: my success, & u my fans have afforded me the most incredible luxury: to grow as an artist & a human. THAT, I could not be more grateful for.” But it’s hardly the first time that Perry has used Twitter to explain interviews that she’s done or comments that she’s made. After being asked about dueting with Rihanna, she noted that she wanted the song to be “a little more brave” than Beyonc
New York’s DJ Clue and Funkmaster Flex compete over bragging rights to world premiere of Minaj’s latest Roman Reloaded single. By Rob Markman Nicki Minaj Photo: Kevin Winter/ Getty Images After two of New York City’s biggest rap radio DJs faced off on Tuesday night, there was clearly only one winner: Nicki Minaj . With Nicki’s April 3 release date for Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded inching closer, disc jocks are clamoring for exclusives from the YMCMB star, and Power 105’s DJ Clue and his rival, Hot 97 DJ Funk Master Flex, tussled over bragging rights to the Queens MC’s latest track. It all started Tuesday morning when Nicki retweeted a DJ Drama message urging fans to tune into DJ Clue’s show later that evening to hear the world premiere of Minaj and 2 Chainz’s Roman Reloaded collaboration, “Beez in the Trap.” But Clue didn’t get a chance to drop the exclusive as it hit the Internet hours before his show went on air. Flex then took credit for playing spoiler by hacking into DJ Clue’s email and lifting the track. Clue quickly hit Twitter to refute Flex’s account, ending his note with the hashtag #CompulsiveLiar.” Whatever the order of events, Nicki’s “Beez in the Trap” single clearly came out on top. The ’80s-inspired track is a departure from “Right by My Side,” the R&B duet that Minaj and Chris Brown released earlier on Tuesday. Instead, “Beez” finds the Harajuku Barbie once again taking aim at unnamed rap chicks. “Bitches ain’t sh– and they ain’t sayin’ nothin’,” she boasts on over a sparse drum track. Underground favorite 2 Chainz doesn’t compromise a thing spitting alongside the multiplatinum rapper. He drops a charismatic 16-bar verse where he goes on about his Lexus LS 450, True Religion jeans and his pimp ways. With the newly released Roman Reloaded tracks, Nicki seems to be striking a balance between melodic pop tracks (“Starships,” “Right By My Side”) and the rap fare that she came into the game with (“Stupid Hoe,” “Roman Reloaded”). “April 3 is gonna be a doozy. It’s gonna be crazy,” Nicki promised when MTV News caught up with her at the NBA All-Star Game in February. “It’s gonna be important for just hip-hop culture and pop culture. It’s gonna be very big.” What do you think of Nicki Minaj’s “Beez in the Trap”? Tell us in the comments! Related Artists Nicki Minaj
