On Christmas Day, Ben Breedlove – a teenager in Austin who who suffered for years from hypertrophic cardiomyopathy – passed away, but not before he recorded a pair of moving YouTube videos. In the messages, Breedlove tells his life story, including multiple brushes with death, the final one taking place when he passed out in his high school hallway, leading to a peaceful vision that included a white room, a white suit and a visit from his favorite rapper, Kid Cudi. “I then looked at myself in the mirror,” Breedlove writes on a notecard in the video. “I was proud of MYSELF, of my entire life, everything I have done.” Ben Breedlove Life Story, Part 1 Ben Breedlove Life Story, Part 2 Ben’s mother says the videos were a “gift” to the family, while Kid Cudi has chimed in on his blog, writing: “This is why I do what I do. Why I write my life, and why I love you all so much. Life is really f– up sometimes… I know Ben is at Peace. To Ben’s family, you raised a real hero, he’s definitely mine.” Amen.
After learning about the death of Ben Breedlove, Kid Cudi took to Tumblr to reflect on the life and death of his 18-year-old fan from Austin. Cudi was Breedlove’s favorite rapper, and he recently succumbed to hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, a heart condition which causes the muscle to become too thick, and he shared his story about seeing Kid Cudi in the afterlife on YouTube . Here’s what he said after learning of Ben’s death: I am so sad about Ben Breedlove. I watched the video he left for the world to see, and him seeing me in detail, in his vision really warmed my heart. I broke down, I am to tears because I hate how life is so unfair. This has really touched my heart in a way I cant describe, this is why I do what I do. Why I write my life, and why I love you all so much. Life is really fucked up sometimes, but I know Ben is at Peace, and I hope he gets a chance to sit and talk with my Dad. We love you Ben. Forever. Thank you for loving me. To Ben’s family, you raised a real hero, he’s definately mine. You have my love. Here’s a look at the video of the late Ben Breedlove sharing his story with the world…
This year saw the Disney star experiencing professional and personal breakthroughs. By Jocelyn Vena Demi Lovato Photo: Denise Truscello/ Getty Images Demi Lovato will be on hand for MTV’s New Year’s Eve festivities to rock the night with a performance. But before the party kicks off, it seems fitting to look back on her big 2011, which wasn’t just a banner year for Lovato’s career, but also her personal life. After leaving treatment in January, Lovato opened up about her issues (which included eating disorders and self-mutilation) and was on the mend. She thanked her fans for standing by her while she sought treatment and focused on getting healthy. “I can’t tell you how much light you brought into my life in probably the darkest time of my life,” Lovato said shortly after being released. “Without you guys I wouldn’t be here today.” The former Disney princess decided to step away from her Hollywood career to focus on her pop career when she left her hit Disney show “Sonny With a Chance.” ” ‘Sonny’ was a chapter in my life I will be forever grateful for,” she said in April. “Thank you all for watching.” By July, she was fully in pop-star mode, dropping not only the single for “Skyscraper” but also the equally empowering video for the stirring ballad. “I’ve been pretty honest,” Lovato told MTV News about the track. “My whole journey has been about telling my story and hoping that when I share my story, it inspires somebody. So when I decided to come out with a single that was honest and about my journey and about standing strong and tall like a skyscraper, I hope that it inspired people. “I thought that there was a bigger opportunity for me to come out with a song that would inspire people, rather than it be just another dance song on the radio,” she added. The song was the lead single off Unbroken, which she dropped in September. “I think it’s grown-up, but it’s not too grown-up,” Lovato explained about the album. “It’s not tasteless. It’s growing up with my fans. It’s [like] I’m not a kid anymore, but I’m also not a full-grown woman either. So I’m in that in-between stage, trying to figure out where that is. So I’m figuring it out, just like my fans are.” In addition to causing a stir with her own music, Lovato had everyone going crazy over her cover of Lil Wayne’s “How to Love.” She also performed a heartfelt rendition of the national anthem at the World Series and recently returned to the Illinois treatment center where she spent time as a guest speaker . As the year wraps up, Lovato’s fans will have a new single to look forward to, the feel-good track “Give Your Heart a Break.” Related Videos Demi Lovato’s Year In Review
Despite trailer, Christopher Nolan’s Batman film is shrouded in secrecy. By Eric Ditzian Christian Bale in “The Dark Knight Rises” Photo: Warner Bros. The “Dark Knight Rises” trailer left the MTV News movie staff with a whole fresh set of questions: Is Robin really in the movie? Why is Bruce Wayne walking with a cane ? But in a way, there was something very familiar about our state of mind after checking out the new footage. That’s because, since the beginning of the year, we’ve been consumed with burning questions about Christopher Nolan’s third Batman film. And at every turn, we’d tried to get answers to those questions, hitting up the film’s stars time and time again. Sometimes, we came away with new insights. Sometimes, answers only led to another set of queries. There’s something exasperating about this whole endeavor — but also something awesome. And the movie doesn’t even hit theaters for another seven months. When it does finally arrive, will the film deliver a definite end point to the story line Nolan and his cohorts have been spinning since 2005’s “Batman Begins”? After all, Nolan himself promised us back in February, before production even began on the project, that it would: “We’re very much excited about really finishing a trilogy and giving a conclusion to our story,” he said. “And that’s what we’re doing.” By the end of the year, after shooting had wrapped, co-star Gary Oldman assured us Nolan had stuck to that promise. “There’s a conclusion,” he said. “[Nolan] brings and he touches on the first [film, ‘Batman Begins’] and he weaves it in, and it resolves. And I think it’s a trilogy, but it’s just great. The story is terrific. I mean, it’s just epic.” So, a tiny bit of confirmation there. Yet Oldman also laughed afterward, “I can’t say anything!” That was a theme we heard repeated again and again during the year. When we asked Joseph Gordon-Levitt if his character was Robin, he answered, “You know I can’t have this conversation!” When we pressed Tom Hardy about his role as the villain Bane, he exclaimed, “I can’t [talk about it], so let’s have another question!” And when we wondered whether Marion Cotillard was telling us the truth when she claimed her character, contrary to rumor, would not in fact turn out to be Talia al Ghul, the daughter of “Batman Begins” villain, Ra’s al Ghul, the actress responded with a sly smile, “I am!” We’re not sure what’s more impressive: Nolan’s oeuvre or his ability to keep his actors’ lips sealed. They would, however, say one thing without worrying about giving up a “Dark Knight Rises” spoiler: Everyone loves Nolan. “It’s genius, what he does,” Hardy shared. Cotillard told us, “It’s amazing to work on Christopher Nolan’s set,” while Nestor Carbonell added, “He’s one of these amazing storytellers.” If anyone could sum up the year in “Dark Knight Rises” news, though, it was Liam Neeson , who may or may not actually be in the movie (though we’re pretty sure he is) and who told us simply that he doesn’t have “a f—ing clue what it’s about!” Well put, Mr. Neeson. Us too. But we can’t wait to find out. Check out everything we’ve got on “The Dark Knight Rises.” For breaking news and previews of the latest comic book movies — updated around the clock — visit SplashPage.MTV.com . Related Videos ‘Dark Knight Rises’: The Year In Review Related Photos On The Set Of ‘The Dark Knight Rises’
Film has been wildly successful overseas, but critics wonder if it’s worth the hype. By Kevin P. Sullivan “The Adventures of Tintin” Photo: Paramount It has already made a killing overseas, but now it’s time for “The Adventure of Tintin” to make a splash in the States. Though not as widely known in the U.S., Tintin has the help of two of today’s most popular filmmakers, director Steven Spielberg and producer Peter Jackson . The reviews are generally positive for “The Adventures of Tintin,” with 75 percent of critics’ approval, according to RottenTomatoes.com . We’ve taken our own sampling of the critical response, so here’s a rundown on what they have to say. The Story ” ‘The Adventures of Tintin’ derives mainly from three World War II-era books, ‘The Crab With the Golden Claws,’ ‘The Secret of the Unicorn’ and ‘Red Rackham’s Treasure.’ These titles mean a great deal to Tintin’s European fan base — the film has already made close to a quarter-billion dollars overseas — and less so to the average American multiplex visitor. The script, by Steven Moffat and the team of Edgar Wright and Joe Cornish follows Tintin (who looks either 12, 22 or somewhere in between) and his faithful dog Snowy as they come into possession of a model sailing ship, the Unicorn, containing a clue to the whereabouts of a vast treasure. Kidnapped and bundled on board a steamship commanded by the career alcoholic Capt. Haddock, our boy-man hero becomes the pawn in an age-old duel between Haddock, a good old sot, and the sinister Sakharine.” — Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune The Performance Capture “I’m not one of those people with a knee-jerk disdain for motion capture (I enjoyed ‘The Polar Express’ and loved Jim Carrey in ‘A Christmas Carol’), but in ‘Tintin,’ the technique that renders all that movement so flowing and frictionless also makes the characters come off as if their souls were made of sponge. Is this the ‘uncanny valley’ — the much-discussed phenomenon whereby motion-capture characters look just human enough so that what’s missing from their eyes is subtly disquieting?” — Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly The 3-D “I was surprised by how much I enjoyed myself. Spielberg not only uses 3-D but bases his story on one of Europe’s most beloved comic characters. The 3-D he pulls off, just as Scorsese did in ‘Hugo,’ because he employs it as an enhancement to 2-D instead of an attention-grabbing gimmick.” — Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times The Actors “If the mocap technique falls somewhere between live-action and animated moviemaking, the same goes for the performances, which are altogether fluid yet sometimes (especially in certain dialogue-heavy sequences) give the impression of watching a very realistic video game with the sound turned up a few thousand notches. [Andy] Serkis (‘King Kong,’ ‘The Lord of the Rings’) nonetheless manages to turn Haddock into what will surely be the trilogy’s most memorable personage, while [Jamie] Bell (‘Billy Elliot’) makes Tintin about as interesting as he can be, which is to say sometimes less so than his dog.” — Jordan Mintzer, The Hollywood Reporter The Final Word “Though the acting is uniformly strong, the story just isn’t engrossing, particularly for those not familiar with Tintin comics. There are a few spectacular scenes, such as a biplane flying into a lightning storm and a crash-landing in the Sahara, but the thrills are sporadic. Chases abound but none is breathtaking. … The much-publicized collaboration between producer Peter Jackson and Spielberg sets high expectations. But while the technical artistry is there, the film lacks a sense of magic, intrigue and mystery.” — Claudia Puig, USA Today Check out everything we’ve got on “The Adventure of Tintin.” For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com . Related Videos MTV Rough Cut: ‘The Adventures Of Tintin’
Critics are praising David Fincher’s direction and Rooney Mara’s performance. By Kevin P. Sullivan Rooney Mara in “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” Photo: Sony Pictures The year’s most anticipated movie about ritualized serial killing, “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo,” finally hits theaters Tuesday (December 20), and critics have applauded both director for bringing his signature style and ‘s performance. This is the second time we’re seeing a big-screen adaptation of the
The Roots – UNDUN from The Ghettonerd Company, LLC on Vimeo. The Roots’ album and Common’s upcoming set really saved the end of the 2011 for hip-hop. To help paint their musical picture, Philly’s most wanted commissioned this short film to go along with their new album undun. “undun is the story of this kid who becomes Broadcasting platform : Vimeo Source : MissInfo.tv Discovery Date : 14/12/2011 14:33 Number of articles : 3
When the late filmmaker Ken Russell passed away last week at the age of 84, he’d been planning to remake the infamous 1976 X-rated Alice in Wonderland musical in which Alice is taken on a tour of Wonderland by a randy White Rabbit. Ahem. And who had Russell hoped to bring along on his naughty trip down the rabbit hole? Lady Gaga , of course!
The Rock N’ Roll Hall of Fame announced its 2012 batch of new inductees, which includes The Beastie Boys, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Laura Nyro, Donovan, and first-time qualifiers Guns ‘N Roses. That’s a varied group, but they all have one thing in common: fantastic, often bizarre appearances in motion pictures. Join us as we revisit the cinematic work of these five acts, as well as identify the key ’80s actress with strong personal ties to three of the aforementioned inductees. I’ll buy you a Snickers if you can name her offhand.
The first trailer for The Five-Year Engagement has arrived, and only time will tell where it falls on Universal chief Ron Meyer’s well-known quality-control spectrum . Does the story of one couple’s protracted wedding plan look funny enough? Sure. Will Emily Blunt and Jason Segel bring in the dates and the dudes alike? Why not? But do you know what really sells this movie? I can barely even write it.
