Ish is real in Chicago ! According to DNAInfoChicago A man died after being shot Monday morning in an area of Back of the Yards that neighbors described as quiet. The 22-year-old man was in the 1700 block of West 44th Street about 4:50 a.m. when he was shot, said officer Michael Sullivan, a Chicago Police spokesman. He was taken to Stroger Hospital in critical condition, Chicago Fire Department spokeswoman Meg Ahlheim said. He later died of his injuries, said a spokeswoman with the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office. The morgue was not releasing the man’s identity pending notification his family. No one was in custody for the shooting, Sullivan said. Neighbors Gibron Lenero and Reyna Lenero said they woke up about 4:30 a.m. and heard arguing outside. Soon after, Reyna Lenero heard shots, she said. The couple, who moved to the area four months ago, said it’s a quiet residential street that’s well patrolled by police, and nothing like this has happened since they’ve been here. “It’s just families,” Gibron Lenero said. Reyna Lenero said she’s “a little bit” scared because the couple has two young daughters. “This was just a couple meters from our house,” Gibron Lenero said. Another local resident, Jose Gemenez, said he’s lived in different houses on the same street in this neighborhood for more than 30 years. He didn’t hear anything and was shocked when he saw cop cars and crime scene tape while getting his kids ready for school. “I’m kind of surprised because there’s a lot of police around here,” Gemenez said. “We don’t see the violence here usually.” He said the area was worse years ago, but things seemed to be getting better. “It’s not in this area, not on this side of the park,” Gemenez said. SMH. What will it take for violence to come to a complete halt in Chicago? Better schools? More police presence? Shutterstock
A longstanding gig will keep Sandra Bernhard from attending the Tribeca Film Festival’s closing-night screening of The King of Comedy on April 27, but it’s not like she needs her memory jogged. The comedienne recalls that making Martin Scorsese’s prescient and oh-so-dark 1982 comedy about a deluded stand-up comic ( Robert De Niro ) who kidnaps his favorite talk-show host ( Jerry Lewis ), was a “coming-of-age experience that left me a changed person.” Talk about a breakthrough. Bernhard played Masha, an obsessed and similarly deluded fan of Lewis’ Jerry Langford character, who after helping to carry out the the kidnapping, entertained the duct-taped Langford in her bra and panties. Great comedy is often deeply unsettling, and Bernhard’s portrayal of Masha is so unabashedly off the wall that she left movie audiences squirming and Jerry Lewis genuinely aghast. It’s one of the purest comic performances captured on film. Here’s a little taste: The Monster Masha I talked with Bernhard about her experience making the movie, her scene with three-fourths of the British punk band the Clash , and her thoughts on whether a movie as prescient as The King of Comedy could be re-made at a time when the world is full of Rupert Pupkins and Mashas. Movieline: Let’s start with all the talent you beat out for the role of Masha. You’ve talked about how Debra Winger and Ellen Barkin were in the running, but Meryl Streep wanted that part as well. Any others that come to mind? Sandra Bernhard: I had heard that as well. So many people were up for that role, but I don’t know who exactly because they obviously didn’t tell me. I only knew about Ellen because I heard from her directly. I know that the part kind of came down to me and another actress, but I don’t remember who it was. Somebody did tell me at one point but it wasn’t anybody really compelling. How has the movie’s meaning for you changed over the years? I haven’t seen the movie in a long time. How many times can you watch yourself, you know? It’s uncomfortable. I am curious to see it again all cleaned up and restored. The film was so representative of an era in filmmaking when people would take their time in a scene. It wasn’t a case of rush, rush, rush onto the next moment. You had room to breathe, and I think that in itself made people uncomfortable because the topic was so weird and out of left field at the time. Now, expectations of fame and desire run so extreme that the film almost seems tame in comparison, but there’s still something about The King of Comedy that’s very disarming and offbeat and something you’ll never see again. And so those are the emotions I feel. It was very evocative. I agree. One of the reasons the film is so memorable is the way the camera lingers on the discomfort that you and De Niro create in your scenes. It’s very visceral and pure in a way. Exactly. All of this extreme in-your-face social media doesn’t really have any impact because it doesn’t breathe. You don’t have to stay with it. As quickly as you look at it, it’s gone. This film has resonance and depth. It’s made of earth and mud and shit — stuff that sticks to you. And yet, for a film that observes the old rules of filmmaking, it’s pretty prescient when you consider the celebrity-obsessed moment we’re now experiencing. Yes, but even though it was predicting where things were going to go, it did so in a much more human, relatable way that we’ve lost in the inception of all the things that The King of Comedy predicted. Do you think this movie could be made or remade today? No way. At one point, Jack Black wanted to remake it, and I was like — I mean I love him, he’s fabulous, don’t get me wrong, but I don’t think it would have worked. It’s too late to remake it. We’re here and there’s nothing to really predict. It’s just an ongoing conversation you have every day of the week like, “Can you believe he’s famous?” There’s nothing to say about it. We’re in the middle of it. Scorsese has said making the film was very difficult and trying because of the subject matter, and he and De Niro didn’t work together again until 1989 for Goodfellas . Was that evident when you were filming? I don’t remember it being that way, but I think Marty puts a lot of his own intellectual and emotional weight into everything he does. He’s a brooding kind of person and I think that things get under his skin and affect him. I’m so the opposite. I just go and do it, and then I pull out of it. I try not to stay with the feelings. Maybe it shook him up in a way that didn’t affect me. When it’s your film and you’re making it, you’ve got a lot more at stake. Do you have one particularly memorable moment of him directing you. Did you crack Scorsese up? I cracked him up more than once, but I think the most important thing I learned from working with him was keep to things very small. I was used to working on stage where everything needs to be big and gesticulated and over-the-top. Whereas, when you’re making a movie, the littlest nuance and the littlest emotion are read very easily when the camera is right there in your face. So he would always tell me, “tone it down.” Your performance is very real and that makes the movie all the more unsettling. I remember flinching while watching the film and thinking, “This is so intense.” It was, and in order to not, like, completely shatter the screen, there had to be a little bit of holding back. You have a scene where you tangle with members of the Clash in the movie: Paul Simonon, Mick Jones and the late Joe Strummer. How did that happen? Marty was a big fan of theirs, and I think they were in town doing something and he just got them to do the scene. We shot that in front of the Colony Records on a very, very hot day — sometime in July. It was nuts. They were just smoking and leaning against the place, you know, talking to me, and I said: “look at the street trash….” It was crazy. Did De Niro or Lewis give you any guidance on the set? Well, Jerry loves to direct. Whereas he is not as magnanimous as the rest of them, he would still acknowledge a powerful scene or a great moment by his reaction. He would register total fear and shock while sitting across the table from this lunatic Jewish girl. He had never seen anything like me. In that respect, the movie also represents a real moment in comedy: you’ve got Lewis, the old guard, starring opposite you, who was satirizing his brand of Vaudevillian comedy in your nightclub act. Absolutely. There couldn’t have been two more disparate worlds than the ones Jerry Lewis and I inhabited in 1981 when we shot the picture. Jerry had never been in a movie with a lady like me. I was deconstructing self-deprecating female comedy and the kind of dusty shtick of that generation — my father’s generation. I think that was another reason they liked me for the role: I brought that new avant-garde attitude to the whole thing. Did you improvise the entire dinner scene with Lewis? There were parameters — points that I needed to get to throughout the scene — but Marty wanted me to bring some of the act I was doing at a time into it, and he just let me go. I was supposed to be this crazy character who was on her own in the world. And I just tapped into who I was at the time and let it fly. Both Masha and Rupert are incredibly self-involved characters seeking fame and attention. All these years later, it feels like a world of Mashas and Ruperts is being spawned before our eyes. That certainly was the most prescient part of the movie when you look at it now. But at least they were interesting, complex characters. Now they’re just morons. I’d do anything to see anybody as interesting as the two of us, God forbid. Look at the crap on all the different websites and the blogs. It’s like, sorry, you’re not cutting the mustard. You have nothing to add to this conversation.Can it. Will you be in attendance on closing night? I can’t be there because I’m performing in Pittsburgh in association with the Andy Warhol Museum . The gig has been on the books for six months now. They wouldn’t let me out of the gig so I said, at least I had more than 15 minutes of fame . Last question. What are you doing next? I’m on the road doing my one-woman shows. I’m in the middle of trying to set up this TV series for myself and another actress, but I don’t want to talk about it as this stage. And I’m shooting a little independent small film in Brooklyn in the fall called Love in Brooklyn . It’s a cute film that supposed to take place in the ‘80s. It has a dance vibe to it. Follow Frank DiGiacomo on Twitter. Follow Movieline on Twitter.
Justin Bieber may or may not be hanging with Selena Gomez in Norway . But he’s definitely starring alongside will.i.am in a new music video! The musical heavyweights have teamed up for ” #thatPOWER ,” which involves a hologrammed Bieber visiting cities around the globe. Said will.i.am to Entertainment Tonight: “This video is probably the most time-consuming video that I’ve ever been a part of because I had to rehearse choreography… It’s not dance, it’s like synchronized movement.” Justin Bieber and will.i.am – “That Power” (Music Video) “#thatPOWER” is the latest single off will.i.am’s upcoming album #willpower. It will be released on April 23.
Armed with explosives and guns, the Boston Marathon bombing suspects battled law enforcement officers in a Boston suburb early Friday morning. The two men unleashed chaos and killed an MIT campus officer before police took one of the men into custody and the other fled, officials said. The suspect taken into custody later died. Officials identified the man on the run as the “white-hat” suspect, referring to the photos released by the FBI Thursday. Authorities warned he should be considered armed and dangerous. The standoff with the suspects in Watertown, Mass., erupted after the fatal shooting of a Massachusetts Institute of Technology police officer. A transit police officer was also wounded in the Watertown firefight. Officials in Watertown were warning residents to “stay in their homes and not open their doors unless a police officer is there,” according to reports. “There is a terrorist on the loose,” said one officer at an impromptu press conference at about 4:30 a.m. Friday morning, after the intense battle. The suspect at large is believed to be the man who physically placed the bags containing the homemade bombs which killed 3 and injured 170 on Monday. He is described as “dressed in a grey hoodie, light skinned male, brown curly hair,” with international links and having been in the country legally a year. The suspects approached the MIT officer and shot him in head, sources said, then stole the MIT officer’s cruiser, robbed a nearby 7-11 and carjacked a Mercedes. They briefly kidnapped the driver of the SUV, and the suspects threw explosives out the window of the moving car in what was a harrowing and chaotic scene. The dead suspect had an improvised explosive device strapped to his chest and law enforcement sources warned that the suspect on the run may as well. The intense situation in Watertown followed an hours-long lockdown at MIT, where the campus police officer was shot and killed while investigating. A disturbance was reported on the Cambridge campus. It is not clear exactly what, but the suspects are believed to have killed the MIT officer and fled. Even as police swept the campus, there were reports of a violent car chase and then an extremely heavy police presence in Watertown, four miles away. The events began unfolding with reports of shots fired on the MIT campus at 10:48 p.m. ET, and the situation remained “active and extremely dangerous” for hours. It was later reported that a campus officer had been killed. Watertown resident Andrew Kitzenberg described the police shootout outside his house that followed when officials tracked down the Boston bombing suspects . “They engaged in gunfire for a few minutes,” he told NBC News. “They were also utilizing bombs, which sounded and looked like grenades, [during] the gunfight.” “They also had what looked like a pressure-cooker bomb.” Kitzenberg said two people took cover between a black Mercedes SUV and a sedan, and began shooting 70 or 80 yards toward six Watertown police vehicles. “It was a firefight,” the witness added. “There was a long exchange of gunfire.” One of the shooters then ran toward the cops, while the other got into the SUV. The person on foot later fell to the ground, either tackled or shot. The other drove the SUV through the line of police cars at the end of the street, he added. Kitzenberg said that while he had a “very clear view of the shooters,” he couldn’t see their faces but described them as “average size, average height.” Story developing … UPDATE : The two bombing suspects are brothers, aged 19 and 20, and legal permanent U.S. residents of Chechen origin, law enforcement sources say.
There’s a new housewife in town on The Real Housewives of Orange County. Lydia McLaughlin joins the crew. Will the truce between Vicki and Tamra hold? How will Lydia fit in with the rest of the women? We’re about to find out!. Alexis is the first housewife invited over to Vicki’s house to meet Baby Troy. She brings lunch. Plus 10 . That’s how it works. A new baby is born and people should take food. That baby is so cute. He’s like a grumpy little old man! Plus 15 for cuteness! Everything is going great and then Alexis brings up Brooks. Briana gets really quiet and gives a telling “huh.” Vicki says she can’t explain what’s going on with Brooks to anyone because even she doesn’t know what’s going on. But it seems that she’s not saying anything because Briana’s at the table. Briana doesn’t approve of Brooks. Alexis says Vicki has to make the decision for herself. Here’s my vote: Vicki, kick him and his gross sayings to the curb. Heather goes to visit Terry at the office and she’s thinking of trying to get their house in a magazine. Terry starts looking at the magazine on his phone and not paying attention to Heather. Minus 12, Terry. Phone down, man. Gretchen and Tamra are shopping for baby Troy and Briana. Tamra makes Gretchen wear a baby carrier and then she races strollers. It’s hilarious. Plus 8 . Briana goes to visit Vicki at the office to get out of the house. Briana says she doesn’t want to hold Vicki back from dating by being there, but Vicki says she puts her daughter first. Then Vicki goes on to say that Briana was too hard on Brooks and Briana disagrees. She says they talk all day every day while Vicki’s telling everyone that she and Brooks are broken up. Briana says that if Vicki wants to have Brooks over to the house then she and Ryan and the baby will leave. “I don’t want to do this anymore.” Vicki’s the master of conflict avoidance. Minus 15 . Heather’s meeting with new housewife Lydia McLaughlin, owner of Beverly Hills Lifestyle Magazine. Lydia’s a hugger. Heather’s not. It’s awkward. Plus 8. Heather drops the bomb on Lydia that they want to do the magazine, but they want to be on the cover. Lydia says that’s not her call. They chit-chat about people they have in common. Lydia’s mom sees Terry for her plastic surgery. They have a mutual friend named Casey. And Lydia used to be one of Alexis’ neighbors. Dun dun dun!! Lydia is “very authentic” and doesn’t like to pretend that she’s anything that she’s not. So she lives in Orange County. Tamra is breaking ground on her fitness studio. She and Eddie have named it CUT Fitness. Vicki’s coming by to see the space and Eddie warns Tamra not to get into a fight. Vicki drives to see Tamra. Across the street. Minus 15 . Tamra called it that Vicki would want to give her business advice and almost instantly, Vicki starts asking about insurance and budget and then pans Tamra for going in on the studio with Eddie instead of doing it totally on her own. Lydie, the new housewife, has been married for 7 years and has two sons, Stirling and Maverick. Their goal as parents is to keep the boys grounded. He has to do pull-ups before they can go on their date. Minus 25. Lydia says they live within their means as they get into an Aston Martin to drive to the harbor to get on their yacht to go to dinner. She drinks lemon drop martinis. A personal favorite of mine. Plus 10 . Tamra and Vicki decide to go to dinner. It’s awkward. There’s lots of staring and “ummmm” and “soooo.” Vicki says “you’re hurt, but I’m really hurt.” Way to avoid any responsibility at all, Vic. Minus 5 . Tamra thinks Vicki’s blaming her for everyone hating Brooks so that she won’t have to blame Briana. Ding ding ding!! We have a winner! Tamra tells Vicki to be happy and they toast to not saying mean things to each other. At Casa Dubrow, the family’s getting ready to go to Temple. Heather tells Terry it’s time for him to start getting up to work out in the morning because he’s sacrificing family time for fitness. He plans to atone for his bad jokes and non-diaper changing ways. Plus 8 At Temple, Colette turns into the Honey Badger. She don’t give a… If Heather made it to kid #4 before getting a willful one, she got lucky. Tamra’s four weeks away from the gym’s opening and she’s planning a dinner party for the girls. She wants them to see the space before it’s finished. In a phone call, Vicki tells Tamra she wants to invite Alexis to the party. That goes about as well as expected. Tamra’s obviously not a fan of the idea, but she tells Vicki that if she’s sure she wants Alexis to be her plus one, then go for it. Oh, Vicki. Way to derail the friendship train. EPISODE TOTAL: -13 SEASON TOTAL: +101
Speculation continues to swirl surrounding Teen Mom star Farrah Abraham, her sex tape, how it came to be, and when if will see the light of day. The video, which was made with porn star James Deen , was made for her eyes only and never intended for the public … if you believe her lies. In a new interview , Deen says Farrah signed a release, got paid for the tape and was part of a for-profit plot to make it look like it accidentally leaked. “I was approached to do this,” Deen says of the Farrah Abraham porn . “There was this whole scheme … ‘you guys can go out on a date and we’ll take pictures and pretend you’re dating’ … and I said absolutely not.” “There was this whole strategy and it blew up in their faces.” By “they,” he means Abraham’s PR people and the production company that created an elaborate scenario for him to pose with Farrah as a dating couple. Presumably, this idea was concocted based on the premise that a “leaked” tape would generate huge buzz and an even bigger payday for Abraham. It was all a big lie to make money, James Deen says, and Farrah was in on the whole scheme from the start. He did her … but he wouldn’t do that. “I have no desire to participate in that kind of publicity,” he said, noting that he tried to talk Abraham out of the ruse and made it clear he wasn’t on board. “I told them, someone is gonna see this and be like, ‘Oh, that’s James Deen, and someone’s gonna call me and say, ‘Hey man, what’s up with this chick?’” “And I’m gonna say, ‘We shot a porno and that’s it.’ I’m not going to say I’m dating someone I’m not,” adds Deen, and that’s exactly what happened. When he was photographed with Abraham after a meeting with Vivid Entertainment, he directly said upon being asked that they aren’t dating – just filmed a porno. “I can say whatever I want to, it’s not like I have any legal restrictions in any way, shape, or form,” he said of the tape, which is still being shopped . Deen also pointed out the obvious: That’s there’s no way anyone would believe a porn star like him would be involved in this without being contracted. “I was approached to do this, and I was like, ‘I’m the worst person to do this.’ Not to be arrogant, but if you watch pornos and I’m in it … people are gonna know it’s me.” “I’m a public person, especially in the adult film world.” “On the street, most people might not recognize me, but if you’re going to watch a porno and you’re into porno, it’s like, ‘Hey, there’s that porn guy!'” “I told them I’m not the right person to cast for this.” But hey, they paid him and he did his thing. He just didn’t go along with the ruse they wanted him to, apparently. The real question, at the end of the day: Do you wanna see the thing? You bet! She’s hot! Maybe. Need to see a sneak peek first. No way. I refuse to acknowledge that disgrace of a mom! View Poll »
Already?? Erica Dixon Responds To Buckeey Fight Rumors Season 2 hasn’t even started yet, but the Love & Hip Hop Atlanta cast members are continuing to feed the masses with tid bits of foolery in the weeks leading up to the premiere of next season. The latest word on the street is that LHH ATLien and Lil’ Scrappy babymama Erica Dixon recently got slappy happy on set with Shay “Buckeey” Johnson, who was Scrappy’s ride-or-die sidechick from last season, and sliced her face up with a razor blade. However, Erica was quick to address the rumors and (kind of) clear up what actually went down via her Instagram with a quick caption: via Rhymes With Snitch Earlier today rumors spread that Love and Hip Hop Atlanta’s Erica Dixon and Shay ‘Buckeey’ Johnson got into a knock down drag out fight, presumably over Lil Scrappy, and that Erica sliced Buckeey’s face with a razor blade. Erica says there was no razor, she did it with her bare hands… After Mediatakeout reported that Erica and Buckeey were fighting at an event and that Erica cut Buckeey’s face with a razor Erica Instgramed, “WTH? I don’t need any type of weapon, I got these hands!! #runupgetdoneup #pointblankperiod” Erica tried to keep the details light, but there were eyes in the building that reportedly saw what REALLY went down. Hit the flip for the full story…
Wednesday, April 10 was National Siblings Day, but even though it’s April 11, we’d be remiss if we didn’t give props to the celebrity brothers and sisters out there. Star sibs are everywhere, sharing love like the rest of us (only with better genes). This year marks the 14th annual occurrence of National Siblings Day, which isn’t as big as Mother’s Day or Father’s Day. Heck, we didn’t know it existed. Well, it’s time that changed, don’t you think? Agreed, THGers. Go ahead and give your sibling(s) a call in honor of this national day of familial love. Then browse through a little gallery of celebrity siblings we put together. Who’s your favorite? Who’d we miss? See/comment below!
The Vampire Diaries’ has cast its latest bad guy, the immortal and mysterious Silas. Actor Scott Parks has been cast in the role, which will be pivotal this spring. It was unclear, given the events of the past few episodes – warning, Vampire Diaries spoilers ahead! – if the ancient witch would ever reveal his true self. Silas can take on any form, an ability he’s already put to good use and surely will again as the CW series’ fourth season gears up for its finale May 16. With the casting of Parks, however, we now know he will be seen in his original body at least once, though it’s not clear when or for how long. That’s The Vampire Diaries for you! Always keeping you on your toes … and providing gratuitous shots of Ian Somerhalder and Nina Dobrev making out.
We all know Quentin Tarantino can’t seem to escape controversy. But in China? Today was supposed to be the Chinese opening day for Tarantino’s latest film, Django Unchained . But before the film could make a splash, Django Unchained was pulled from theaters all across China ! The film importing company responsible for bringing Djang o to China said the shutdown was due to unspecified technical issues, according to Movie Fanatic. Django was met with some backlash, as well as a bunch of critical acclaim and awards, after its release on Christmas of last year. Could the excessive violence and coarse language be to blame for the shutdown? The film apparently passed the Chinese censors, and had been advertised for weeks. But if you read through some Django Unchained quotes , you might find a couple things the Chinese government objected to.
