It’s not unusual for a Blu-ray to include footage left on the cutting room floor. But when it’s arthouse auteur David Lynch we’re talking about, well, everything is a little bit strange. Long thought lost, the work print of Blue Velvet (1986) was recently unearthed in Seattle, bringing to light over 50 minutes of deleted scenes, (sk)incuding one Lynch says is one of his favorites. In the book Lynch on Lynch , he describes being shown a “party trick” by a stripper extra on set: “They take these paper matches and split ‘em apart and then lick them and put them on their nipples, so the match-head is sitting right there and you really can’t see the little bit of cardboard. It’s sitting right there, very close. It may come out a quarter inch, but it burns for a while and then you put them out. It just burns long enough for the cut. And so it moved pretty nicely, you know.” “The flaming nipple scene” (above; you can see the stripper lighting her boobs on the right, as well as another topless extra on the left) has since become something of a Holy Grail for Lynch fans, and its skinclusion on the Blu-ray is a major find. The director told The Guardian UK he’s pleased about the revival, saying: “It’s like the song Amazing Grace. The footage was lost but now it’s found.” See the deleted scene over at Slash Film , and check out more from Blue Velvet , including full nudity from star Isabella Rossellini , right here at MrSkin.com!
Kris Humphries and Kim Kardashian who?!? Zooey Deschanel has break-up news of her own to share. Following two years of marriage, the New Girl actress has separated from Death Cab for Cutie lead singer Ben Gibbard. “It was mutual and amicable,” a source tells Us Weekly . “There was no third party involved.” Deschanel and Gibbard tied the knot outside of Seattle, Washington in late September 2009. They were introduced by their music manager at the time. (P.S. Watch New Girl . It’s hilarious). [Photo: WENN.com]
‘New Girl’ actress and Death Cab for Cutie frontman were married for two years. By James Dinh Ben Gibbard and Zooey Deschanel Photo: Getty Images Lasting much longer than Kim Kardashian’s 72-day marriage , Death Cab for Cutie frontman Ben Gibbard and Zooey Deschanel announced their separation after two years of marriage. Deschanel’s representative confirmed the news to Us Weekly on Tuesday afternoon (November 1). A source described the split as “mutual and amicable.” The insider added: “There was no third party involved.” Gibbard and Deschanel were first introduced by their mutual manager three years ago. In September 2009, the pair tied the knot near Seattle after dating for a year. According to People, Gibbard pulled out all the stops for his proposal with a three-carat diamond and platinum Neil Lane ring. In a recent interview with New York magazine, Gibbard spoke about his initial meeting with his wife. “I was just awestruck that she was even talking to me,” he admitted. Throughout the year, both parties have had a busy work schedule, with Death Cab for Cutie dropping their seventh studio album, Codes and Keys, in May, and Deschanel working on her Fox sitcom “New Girl.” Related Photos Zooey Deschanel And Ben Gibbard: A Look Back Related Artists Death Cab For Cutie
Teen rapper Brian Bradley, James Brown-alike Dexter Haygood and other favorites sail through to the finals. By Adam Graham Paula Abdul Photo: FOX Pint-size rapper Brian “Astro” Bradley, recovering addict Chris Rene and the formerly homeless Dexter Haygood are among the finalists on “The X Factor,” it was revealed on Tuesday’s (October 18) episode of the Fox singing competition. During the two-hour episode, the competition’s 32 remaining contestants were trimmed to 16. Those singers will face off in the live episodes, which begin next week, and ultimately try to claim the show’s $5 million recording contract. And in a last-minute twist — because of course there’s going to be a twist — one extra contestant was allowed through to the finals. Here are the 17 “X Factor” finalists:
Enrique Iglesias and Pharrell Williams also help out judges, while Mariah Carey can’t make it across the pond. By Adam Graham Rihanna and L.A. Reid Photo: FOX Half of the 32 “X Factor” semifinalists performed on Thursday’s (October 13) episode, which was delayed by a day due to Fox’s coverage of Major League Baseball . The contestants ventured off to their mentors’ luxurious homes and strutted their stuff in front of them, each vying for one of 16 spots in the finals. In three out of four cases, the judges were joined by a super-special celebrity guest: In Santa Barbara, California, Paula Abdul was accompanied by Pharrell Williams ; Enrique Iglesias was coupled with Nicole Scherzinger in Malibu, California; and Rihanna was by L.A. Reid’s side at his cozy estate in the Hamptons, New York. Meanwhile, over in France, Simon Cowell was stood up by Mariah Carey , whose plane was grounded by Hurricane Irene. When it was time to make decisions, a vocal coach and a team of music producers were there to give their impressions to Cowell, whose backyard, it should be noted, houses an absolutely enormous swimming pool. Simon’s pool aside, it was Rihanna who was the episode’s MVP. Not only did she help provide Reid feedback on the contestants, but three of them performed her songs, including Seattle crooner Phillip Lomax, who took RiRi by surprise with his laid-back, Sinatra-style take on “Don’t Stop the Music.” Other singers taking on Rihanna songs were Temecula, California, Bieber-hair-sporting brother duo the Brewer Boys, who did a Tejano version of “Only Girl in the World,” and James Kenney, who took on the emotionally charged “Russian Roulette.” As a judge, RiRi seemed most taken by pint-size 14-year-old rapper Brian “Astro” Bradley, whom she compared to “a mini J. Cole.” And the brimming-with-confidence Bradley didn’t hesitate to inform RiRi of his future plans with her, telling her frankly, “We will be doing a collab one day.” The Carey-less Cowell is tasked with mentoring the girls in the competition, and the standouts included 14-year-old Drew Ryniewicz, whose slowed, hushed take on Roxette’s “It Must Have Been Love” was called “magic” by the tight-T-shirted one, and rugby bruiser Caitlyn Koch, whose “Will You Love Me Tomorrow” caused Cowell to praise her pitch and tone. Cowell also enjoyed Simone Battle’s piano-ballad version of the Beatles’ “Help,” but he seemed less sure about Tora Woloshin’s electro version of “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction”: “It doesn’t quite get to me,” a puzzled Cowell explained. In the groups category, Salt Lake City, Utah, trio the Anser impressed Paula and Pharrell with their version of Pink’s “Perfect,” though Pharrell seemed perplexed by a group member’s decision to leave his striking red-framed glasses off during the performance. Virginia Beach quartet 4Shore were praised for their sound take on Brownstone’s “If You Love Me,” though Pharrell suggested the group needs to “dirty up their style a little bit.” And both the judges and the members of Lakoda Rayne seemed to agree something was “off” during their performance of Lady Gaga’s “Born This Way,” not surprising, considering the group was Frankenstein’d together by the judges and had never previously performed together as a unit. In the category of the Olds — sorry, the “Over 30s” — 53-year-old Elaine Gibbs and 42-year-old Stacy Francis stood out with their versions of Oasis’ “Stop Crying Your Heart Out” and Prince’s “Purple Rain,” respectively. (Of the latter’s, which seemingly echoed throughout the canyons of Malibu, Iglesias marveled, “I think the neighbors heard that.”) But the most memorable performance (for all the wrong reasons) came from formerly homeless 49-year-old Dexter Haygood, who strutted like Mick Jagger and kicked his legs in the air like David Lee Roth while screaming his way through Beyonc
It looks like there are real super heroes running around…but they don’t know that stuff gets real when you’re not in a comic book. The real-life super hero Phoenix Jones, has gained a big of notoriety for running around in a super hero costume and trying to fight crime. He’s even got a sidekick and little posse of crime fighters. But he may have crossed the line this summer. Jones pepper sprayed a group of women that he thought were fighting. According to the women (and the police), all they were doing was having a dance battle. The police weren’t pleased: “Our message has been the same from the beginning, if you see something that warrants calling 911, call 911,” said Seattle police spokesman Det. Mark Jamieson. “Just because he’s dressed up in costume, it doesn’t mean he’s in special consideration or above the law. You can’t go around pepper spraying people because you think they are fighting.” Jones said he thought he “witnessed a hit-and-run/attempted murder of a man and he responded to stop it.” Regardless, we commend Jones for trying to do what’s best. But also want him to sit down somewhere before he gets himself hurt. Why doesn’t he just become a cop and collect comic books like the rest of normal human civilization?
Joan Jett, Heart, the Cure and the Spinners also among nominees. By Gil Kaufman Guns N’ Roses’ Axl Rose Photo: Jeff Kravitz/ FilmMagic.com One defined rock in the 1980s and early 1990s, and the other’s biggest hit name-calls the genre. Those might be some reasons why Guns N’ Roses and Joan Jett are among the leading nominees for this year’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame class of 2012. In addition to the Axl Rose-led group and the woman who made “I Love Rock ‘n Roll” a rallying cry, other first-time nominees who could take the podium at the April 14, 2012, induction ceremony at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum in Cleveland, Ohio, include legendary mope rockers the Cure, sister act Heart, hip-hop icons Eric B. & Rakim, classic vocal group the Spinners, blues giant Freddie King, soul act Rufus with Chaka Khan and 1960s rockers the Small Faces/Faces. A number of previous nominees are back again for another shot at the Hall, including the Beastie Boys, Red Hot Chili Peppers, War, Donovan and Laura Nyro. Acts become eligible for the Hall 25 years after the release of their first single or album, so this year’s crop all started releasing music in or before the year 1986. Jett is one of the most iconic women in rock, from her teenage jailbait tour in the all-girl group the Runaways to her tough-as-nails leather-clad days as a solo star and bandleader of the Blackhearts. With her signature low-slung guitar, spiky black hair and Elvis sneer, Jett broke out as a solo star in the early 1980s with a string of fist-pumping hits (many of which were covers of old-school rock tunes) including “I Love Rock ‘n Roll,” “Crimson and Clover,” “I Hate Myself for Loving You,” “Do You Wanna Touch Me” and “Bad Reputation.” Led by the mercurial Rose, GN’R re-invented hard rock with 1987’s Appetite for Destruction, which featured such indelible glam-punk hits as “Welcome to the Jungle,” “Paradise City,” “Sweet Child o’ Mine” and “It’s So Easy.” The band splintered a decade later amid a clash of egos, disagreement over musical direction and drug issues that resulted in Rose soldiering on alone with a parade of replacement sidemen. New York’s Eric B. & Rakim are considered one of the greatest hip-hop duos of all time, rising to prominence on 1986’s Paid in Full with a sound that mixed scratching and samples of old-school R&B with B.’s hard-hitting rhymes on tunes such as “Eric B. Is President,” “I Know You Got Soul,” the title track and “Move the Crowd.” Formed in 1976, British band the Cure have become shorthand for a certain kind of poppily depressive goth rock sound. Fronted by fright-wig-and-red-lipstick-wearing Robert Smith, the Cure are enduring college rock favorites thanks to such gloomily frothy tunes as “Friday I’m in Love,” “Just Like Heaven,” “Close to Me” and “Why Can’t I Be You?” Sisters Ann and Nancy Wilson formed Heart in 1973 in Seattle, Washington, mixing their love of hard rock and folk music on such mid-1970s radio staples as “Crazy on You,” “Magic Man” and “Barracuda.” R&B vocal group the Spinners were birthed on the fertile Detroit soul scene in 1961, hitting the charts multiple times with songs including “It’s a Shame,” “I’ll Be Around,” “Could It Be I’m Falling in Love” and “Games People Play.” Chicago blues band Rufus struck gold with lead singer Chaka Khan, who helped them score hits with “Tell Me Something Good,” “Sweet Thing” and “Ain’t Nobody.” Late Texas bluesman King (known as “The Texas Cannonball”) was often referred to as one of the “three kings” of electric blues guitar, along with Albert King and B.B. King. He was best known for the songs “Have You Ever Loved a Woman” and “Hide Away” and for being one of the first blues players to have an integrated backing band. Like the Who, English mod rockers the Small Faces were heavily influenced by American R&B, which they explored on signature songs “Itchycoo Park,” “Lazy Sunday” and “All or Nothing.” In their second phase as the Faces, members included future Rolling Stones rhythm guitarist Ronnie Wood and singer Rod Stewart. Dissension has become one of the reliable side stories of the Rock Hall ceremonies. While such notoriously splintered acts as Led Zeppelin and the Talking Heads managed to set aside differences for one night (Blondie, Creedence Clearwater Revival and Van Halen not so much), the biggest question this year is whether sole remaining Guns member Rose will make nice with his estranged former bandmates should the group make it into the Hall of Fame. Related Artists Guns N’ Roses Joan Jett
To celebrate the 20th anniversary of the iconic album, we crunch the numbers to measure its huge impact. By James Montgomery Kurt Cobain Photo: Michel Linssen/Redferns Twenty years ago today (September 24), Nirvana released Nevermind, and the world hasn’t been the same since. The album would go on to usher in rock’s great renaissance, cause a seismic shift in popular culture, bring the underground to the mainstream and make unwilling stars out of three rather scruffy guys from the Pacific Northwest (OK, so Dave Grohl was technically from Northern Virginia, but he lived in Seattle while they were making the album). And while we’d like to say the earth shifted slightly on its axis the moment that first box of Nevermind s was cracked open, we’d be exaggerating. Back then, Nirvana were relative unknowns, and with popular music dominated by the likes of Whitney Houston, Natalie Cole and Color Me Badd (not to mention rock behemoths like Metallica and Guns N’ Roses), the odds of them making an impact of any sort seemed long, at best. Of course, we all know how things turned out. All week long, we’ve been paying tribute to Nevermind ‘s 20th anniversary on MTVNews.com, but today, the album’s actual birthday, we’ve decided to honor its legacy in a slightly different way: by crunching the numbers. Because unlike the countless biographies, as-told-to features and behind-the-scenes tell-alls that came in the album’s wake, the numbers don’t exaggerate: Nevermind was (and still is) huge. Even if it probably never was supposed to be. Here are some vital stats about Nirvana’s seminal album: 7,305 : Number of days since Nevermind was released. In case you’re wondering, that’s 175,320 hours, or 10,519,200 minutes, or 631,152,000 seconds. 46,521 : Number of copies of Nevermind originally shipped to retailers by Geffen Records, which hoped the album would eventually sell 200,000 copies. 144 : Nevermind’s debut position on the Billboard Top 200. 9 : Number of weeks after its release that Nevermind was certified platinum (for shipment of 1 million units) by the Recording Industry Association of America. 1 : Nevermind ‘s position on the Billboard Top 200 during the week of January 11, 1992, when it overtook Michael Jackson’s Dangerous to become the nation’s highest-selling album. 253 : Total number of weeks Nevermind spent on the Billboard Top 200. 30 million : Number of copies Nevermind has sold, worldwide. In the U.S., it’s certified as diamond by the RIAA, for shipment of 10 million copies. 0 : Number of Grammys Nevermind won (it was nominated for two). 4:30 : Total length of first single, “Smells Like Teen Spirit.” The album version runs 5:01, making it the second-longest song on Nevermind (after aptly named hidden track “Endless, Nameless”). 9 : Number of times Kurt Cobain shouts “a denial” at the end of “Smells Like Teen Spirit.” 6 : Highest position “Smells Like Teen Spirit” held on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart. $670 million : Amount, in cash and stock, Colgate-Palmolive paid to acquire Mennen, manufacturers of Teen Spirit anti-perspirant, in February 1992, six months after the release of “Smells Like Teen Spirit.” 2 : Fragrances of Teen Spirit currently available: “Sweet Strawberry” and “Pink Crush.” During the height of the brand’s popularity, there were as many as 10. $30,000-$50,000 : Estimated budget of the “Smells Like Teen Spirit” video . $7 million : Estimated budget of Michael and Janet Jackson’s “Scream” video, widely reported to be the most expensive of all time. 18-25 : Age of extras in the “Smells Like Teen Spirit” video, according to the casting call . Extras were instructed to “adapt a high-school persona, i.e. preppy, punk, nerd, jock” and “be prepared to stay for several hours.” 4 : Number of nominations “Smells Like Teen Spirit” received at the 1992 MTV Video Music Awards. It won two, for Best Alternative Video and Best New Artist in a Video. 1 : Number of nominations “Weird” Al Yankovic’s “Smells Like Nirvana” received at the same show. $50,000,000 : Amount earned by the Kurt Cobain Estate in 2006, when he topped Forbes magazine’s annual Top-Earning Dead Celebrities list 12 years after his suicide. MTV News reveals the Nevermind You Never Knew , celebrating the 20th anniversary of Nirvana’s definitive album with classic footage, new interviews and much more.
