And the winner for Unexpected Video of the Week goes to… On Thursday night, during the second annual Hilarity for Charity event – a fundraiser organized by Seth Rogen and his wife that benefits The Alzheimer’s Association – the actor jumped on stage with The Backstreet Boys. And got down with his bad self! Watch in impressed amazement now as Rogen shows off his moves to “Everybody (Backstreet’s Back).” Does the group need a sixth singer?!? Seth Rogan Performs with The Backstreet Boys
Clark Gregg has gone from babysitting the Avengers to child actors. Gregg, aka S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent Coulson , took a break from the Marvel Cinematic Universe to write, direct and star in his second feature Trust Me , in which he plays another kind of highly specialized agent — the Hollywood kind, for kids. What drove Gregg — who will return as Coulson on Marvel’s upcoming TV show Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. despite being killed off in The Avengers — to roll up his sleeves again and make a second film? “I think people have realized that if you spend some time acting, you learn something about writing and directing as well. Not all of them can do it, but certainly Ben Affleck has proved that he can [as have] a lot of other people. If you’re an actor a lot of times you end up being a song in someone else’s mix tape, and every once and a while you want to be the DJ.” Check out my full in-depth interview with Gregg, his wife Jennifer Grey and other members of the Trust Me cast below: Follow Grace Randolph on Twitter . Follow Movieline on Twitter .
Clark Gregg has gone from babysitting the Avengers to child actors. Gregg, aka S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent Coulson , took a break from the Marvel Cinematic Universe to write, direct and star in his second feature Trust Me , in which he plays another kind of highly specialized agent — the Hollywood kind, for kids. What drove Gregg — who will return as Coulson on Marvel’s upcoming TV show Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. despite being killed off in The Avengers — to roll up his sleeves again and make a second film? “I think people have realized that if you spend some time acting, you learn something about writing and directing as well. Not all of them can do it, but certainly Ben Affleck has proved that he can [as have] a lot of other people. If you’re an actor a lot of times you end up being a song in someone else’s mix tape, and every once and a while you want to be the DJ.” Check out my full in-depth interview with Gregg, his wife Jennifer Grey and other members of the Trust Me cast below: Follow Grace Randolph on Twitter . Follow Movieline on Twitter .
Poor Tyler Perry not only was his movie panned, but he tries to branch out creatively and ends up with a lawsuit. Man Sues Tyler Perry Over Temptation Movie According to TMZ Tyler Perry’s ‘Temptation’ has been called everything from “beyond dumb” to “flamboyantly bad” — yet a small-time screenwriter is suing, claiming Perry jacked the universally panned script from him. It’s the classic Hollywood sob story … a man from Gary, Ind., says Perry stole his idea for “Temptation: Confessions of a Marriage Counselor,” which didn’t wow critics, but did rake in $49 million. In the suit, William James says the plot is similar to “Lovers Kill,” which he wrote in 2009. The lawsuit is light on details … it just says both films center on a married couple … the wife is tempted by another man, and the affair ruins the marriage. Apparently James hasn’t seen “Unfaithful” … “Legends of the Fall” … “The English Patient” — need we go on? But here’s the best part: James doesn’t even know for sure that Perry ever saw his screenplay — in the suit, he claims he gave a copy to “an associate” of Oprah Winfrey, hoping it would make it to Perry. Reps for Perry and Lionsgate … the movie distributor, also named in the suit … had no comment. Madea couldn’t be reached, but we’re guessing she would’ve said, “Hellerrr!” … if she picked up our call. Do you think this guy has a case or is he just another money-hungry person looking for a come up?
If you think of Penn Badgley in terms of Dan Humphrey , the character he played for five years on the CW Network’s Gossip Girl , prepare to have your world rocked. The actor is about to make the transition from television to film look easy with a big performance in a small film: Greetings From Tim Buckley , which opens in New York and Los Angeles on May 3 and in other select markets later that month. Badgley plays Jeff Buckley , the remarkably talented musical artist known for his album Grace and a much-adored interpretation of Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” , who, like his singer/songwriter father in the movie’s title, died much too young. Directed by Daniel Algrant ( People I Know ), Greetings From Tim Buckley is about Jeff’s attempts to get out from under the long shadow cast by his late dad (played by Ben Rosenfield ). Buckley pere died from a drug overdose at the age of 28, but, despite his short life, left behind a substantial, mostly critically acclaimed body of work, including nine studio albums. Jeff was working on his second album in Memphis, Tenn. when he drowned while swimming in the Wolf River there in 1997. He was 30. The story is a rich one, but Badgley was at a distinct disadvantage from the get-go. Greetings From Tim Buckley did not have permission to use Jeff’s music in the film — a second planned Buckley biopic, Mystery White Boy , will have that privilege — which meant that the actor had to convey the singer’s immense talent and charisma without tapping into his songs. He more than rises to the occasion thanks to a tour-de-force a cappella performance at a record store that moviegoers surely will be talking about in the weeks to come. I spoke to Badgley late last year after I saw Greetings From Tim Buckley at the Toronto Film Festival. With the movie premiering at the Tribeca Film Festival on Tuesday and opening commercially, it’s a good time to hear what he has to say. The actor spoke candidly about how he came to his interpretation of the singer, how falling in “real, true earth-shattering love” with actress Zoe Kravitz helped his performance, and why he says he’s “done” with TV. Movieline: What made you want this part so bad? Penn Badgley: Jeff was seductive and alluring and daunting and huge in my mind, but ,specifically, the story appealed to me. The film obviously doesn’t have a lot of his music in it, and there’s so much about his father whom I didn’t know anything about. But it was very clear that the screenwriters had captured his voice. They had captured his essence and his soul and his art and where it all came from. The quiet, organic snapshot of him felt very right. The scene that everyone will be talking about is your a cappella interpretation of the Led Zeppelin III album in the record store. I understand that was part of your audition tape. Well, yeah, it was included among the audition scenes that they sent to everybody. And I remember reading it and thinking Jesus, this is certainly bizarre and specific. I couldn’t imagine that many people knew what to do with it. But, there was something about that scene that spoke to his voice and spoke to his qualities so beautifully. I knew that if I didn’t do it for my audition scene I would still have to do it later if I remained in the running for the role. So, I just knew: I’ve got nail this. You certainly do in the movie. It’s one of those performances that you really can’t rehearse. It has to be vulnerable and exposed and unabashed. I did it in the audition the way I did it in the film because there’s really no other way to do it. And when I finished, I remember thinking, “Holy shit, I might have just gotten this thing.” How many takes were required during filming? We did three takes total. They were all different but all evoked the spirit of that scene. And there really was no way to prepare for it. Thankfully, the thing that saved me is that I knew the material. I went through a Led Zeppelin phase as a teenager, and I was really familiar with that stuff. Honestly, if the scene had required me to sing something that I didn’t really know, I don’t know how I would have done it. Buckley had a five-octave range. I’m not musically trained, but you seemed to be moving through the octaves without any trouble. Do you have a similar range? I think I might. I don’t know my actual range but it’s similar. I just happen to have a deeper voice. So, Jeff could go higher than I can. But I can go lower than he could. In terms of the speaking voice you use in the movie, you’re interpreting Buckley, not mimicking him. I knew that I couldn’t mimic him, because Jeff had this beautiful, high, lilting speaking voice. If I had to do just three minutes of Jeff Buckley, I guess I could have tried to do more of an impersonation, but I felt that if I had to augment my voice in every scene I wasn’t going to be able to be that free. So, I thought, okay, why is it important that he has a high speaking voice? If he had a low voice, people would have said he had a beautiful, low, lilting voice. So, I chose to figure out what was it about him that made people respond the way they did and work with those qualities in a way that was totally honest with myself. What did you end up deciding was essential about Buckley? He was a quiet, ecstatic, gentle and, yet, full of rage. He was also in some ways very immature. The way that he seemed to interact with people was infinitely endearing but, at the same time, on paper, it should have been almost annoying. It’s like he was always on a tightrope as an artist and as a person. I think because of the talent that he clearly had, he believed in himself so much that he almost had this certain arrogance. At the same time he was painfully, painfully self-conscious and self-aware. Everybody is full of contradictions but he was an extreme case of that. It’s like all of those strange contortions of his voice and his body and his face were expressions of the tension between those contradictions. It was him acting out, and so we’re telling part of the story through my body language and voice, too. It was like adopting he body language of feral cat. Is there a musical album in the cards for you? You’ve got the chops. It’s something that I’ve been madly in love with and dreaming about for two decades, but until recently, I didn’t really know any other musicians. What’s beautiful about this movie is that, because of it, I now have a lot of friends who play. In fact, almost all my friends in Brooklyn are musicians and they’ve been inviting me to play little opening sets for them – just unannounced little gigs. And I definitely am going to pursue it. I’ve always been quietly writing and playing in private, and it’s like everything that I was experiencing before and during the shoot allowed me to finally realize some of my own music. So, yeah, I think I will definitely be doing something soon. I don’t know about an album. I mean, the music industry is in a weird state. What I really want to do is play live and create an experience in a room that you can’t necessarily capture and play again. The first time you and I talked, you said that falling in love with Zoe Kravitz at the time you were playing Buckley helped you really put yourself out there for the part. How so? At that time I was falling madly in love in a way that was changing me and opening me up. And it was an integral part of playing Jeff. Technically, I could probably play guitar and sing better now because I have a year of consistent experience under my belt, but, at the time, I was kind of going through what Jeff was going through emotionally in the movie in the sense that the worlds of music and love and women and art were opening up to me. Honestly I needed it. It was like this cosmic intervention where, if you’re going to play somebody like Jeff you’ve got to at least be in love, you know? The universe answered you. Yeah, very much. And being in love, real, true, earth-shattering love – even though it sounds hyperbolic I really was going through it — helped me be as good as I could be. I suspect this role will lead to more film offers for you. After so many years in television, are you now concentrating on movie roles? For me, this movie is a beautiful step forward. Gossip Girl has given me everything that I have now. It gave me the opportunity to live in New York and to be in a position to get this role. It also put me in New York City so I could meet Zoe. And it’s put me in a place where I haven’t had to do a bunch of other shit just to make money. I’m super grateful for it, but this movie has come at the right time to take a step forward. I have been working in television for 13 years now, and you know, I’m just done with it. I have nothing against television, but I’m done. More on Penn Badgley: Anthrax’s Frank Bello Says Penn Badgley ‘Blew Me Away’ In Greetings From Tim Buckley Follow Frank DiGiacomo on Twitter. Follow Movieline on Twitter.
In helmer Steph Green’s debut feature, Run and Jump , a family must adjust to life with father — specifically, a father who has suffered brain damage from a stroke, and who returns home with a camera-toting medical researcher in tow. The wife of the stroke victim — an extraordinarily vibrant, red-haired mother of two and a warm, coaxing hostess to the uptight researcher — helps the household accommodate the strangers in its midst. Skirting traumatic turmoil, Run discovers reserves of strength and joie de vivre that could prove irresistible to European and American auds. The pic begins in medias res with Venetia ( Maxine Peake ) picking up her husband, Connor ( Edward MacLiam ), from the hospital where he spent a month in a coma and four months in recovery, and then collecting Ted Fielding ( Will Forte ), the American psychologist who will become the family’s houseguest and record Connor’s progress through the lens of his camera. Connor’s medial frontal lobe damage immediately makes itself felt in myriad unsubtle ways. The formerly skilled carpenter withdraws into a solipsistic state, totally absorbed in producing endless impractical wooden spheres instead of the well-crafted furniture he used to sell. He ignores his wife and children and fashions a wooden fork and spoon with which to touch people and things, thereby avoiding personal contact. Movingly, helmer Green and co-scripter Aibhe Keogan carefully dole out odd moments that briefly illuminate Connor’s prior existence as a vital, responsive man, seen in quick flashbacks from Venetia’s perspective or in moments of reconnection in the present day. But Connor is not alone in his slow emergence from isolation. Ted, at first keeping a fastidious distance from Venetia and the children (a young girl and a teenage boy), soon finds himself drawn in, lured out of hiding by Venetia’s vivacity as they share marijuana, a bike ride in the rain and even a kiss — as romance, hesitant and ambiguous at first, unexpectedly blossoms. Ted also takes an interest in the kids’ activities and starts to take over as male head of the house; troubling questions of loyalty and commitment multiply as Ted becomes the go-to guy for everyone, including Connor, much to the consternation of friends and in-laws. But these conflicts also serve as enrichments, expanding the inner circle to include a compensatory member. With remarkable warmth and immediacy, Green and co-scripter Keogan have managed to capture the beauty of an obviously flawed family, one neither too perfect nor too demographically balanced to ring true, and imbue it with a sense of plenitude that seems to flow as much from the sun-drenched land itself as from the quirkily particular personalities involved. Green and lenser Kevin Richey sometimes employ a handheld camera to suggest Connor’s disorientation and the buoyant Venetia’s whirlwind energy as, bathed in light, she bustles about to avoid thinking too much. Follow Movieline on Twitter .
DMX is not happy with how he was portrayed on OWN Network’s Iyanla: Fix My Life. In fact, he wants to have the episode yanked from the air and says he may sue. DMX Interview The rapper says he appeared with the understanding that the show would focus on his addiction to women, but instead it went in a different direction. Namely, the oft-troubled Ruff Ryders rapper’s drug abuse problems and its collateral damage, including his estranged relationship with his son. “Iyanla did not ‘fix’ DMX’s life just made his image worse, and does not have DMX’s personal written consent to use the footage,” X’s rep said in a statement. DMX also talked to TMZ about the incident, and was even more blunt. “Iyanla set the whole thing up to make me look bad for ratings,” he said. That lady is toxic … My last words to her were that she can suck my d**k and she still can.” Well, that explains how he feels about the matter. Iyanla Vanzant issued on open letter to X, telling him to get some help, and urging him to live “a clean life.” He claims her treatment of him was anything but.
Monday saw Dzhokhar Tsarnaev charged with using a weapon of mass destruction, but officials aren’t focused exclusively on the suspect in custody. Katherine Russell Tsarnaev, the wife of deceased Boston bombing suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev, is wanted for questioning by federal authorities. The widow says she learned her husband and brother-in-law were the accused Boston Marathon bombers the same way as most Americans: on TV. A lawyer for Katherine, also the mother of Tamerlan’s 3-year-old daughter, Zahara, claims she had no clue her husband allegedly plotted the bombing. Federal investigators visited the 24-year-old at her parents’ home in North Kingstown, R.I. Her attorney says she is “decidinh how we want to approach this.” Tamerlan Tsarnaev , 26, died after a shootout with cops early Friday after officials say he and brother Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, 19, fatally shot an MIT officer. Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, 19, remains in a Boston hospital, but is unable to speak – according to some sources, due to a self-inflicted throat wound. Dzhokhar was somewhat miraculously captured alive and in custody Friday night after a massive, city-wide manhunt that lasted nearly 24 hours. Authorities want to speak with Katherine as they are trying to piece together a motive, and whether the pair had ties to any Islamic terror cells. The brothers, ethnic Chechens, left Russia with their family in 2002 and became legal residents of the U.S. Dzhokhar later became a U.S. citizen. Investigators are focusing on the six months Tsarnaev spent last year in the predominantly Muslim provinces of Dagestan and Chechnya. They want to know if he was radicalized by the militants in the area who have waged a low-level insurgency against Russian security forces for years. The suspects’ parents moved back to Russia.
Dear Bossip , I have been married for three years. We are both in our late 20’s and are having the worst problems. When we first married I lost my father, and my husband was semi there for me. But, there were warning signs of him not being the one. He would drink every weekend so much that he wouldn’t come home the next day and never could tell me where he was. Women showed up at our door saying they slept with him, but I was so grief stricken I believed him and not them. I felt if we got married things would change between us. NOT! Things got worst. He would party every weekend, not come home, and I would find text messages and phone calls in the early mornings to other women. I left him for about two weeks during our year and half of marriage. He changed a little. But, it was also going into wintertime so of course he wanted to stay home. For these past three years of our marriage he has been in and out of jobs. So, I have had the only income. Yes, he cooked and worked around the house, but all that stopped this past year. His father passed away unexpectedly. It was like my husband’s life was turned upside down. He was raised by his father from ages 11-18. They were extremely close. Now, my husband has been left with all this money from insurance and acts like he could care less about me or this marriage. He says he has other things to worry about. I have been finding him texting other women, confirmed he has met up with a few of them. But, I have no confirmation he has slept with any of them. He says it’s due to my mouth, and if I would stop talking so much he would be around more. Yes, I have a mouth sharper than a razor. My tongue can cut through knives. But, I only lash out because I am hurt. I am hurt from the physical abuse, the cheating, the lying, and the emotional abuse. I know he has a lot of issues. And, I have always been known to want to save the world. I know he can be the man I need him to be. He has potential and I can see it in him. But, he said he will never change. This is who he was when I married him. I want to help him, I love him. I think I just don’t want to give up on the marriage since I am so young. And, maybe if he seeks counseling maybe he can change for the better. What do I do? – In love with Mr. Wrong Dear Ms. In Love With Mr. Wrong , Chile, I truly don’t get you people. Why are you all so against marriage counseling prior to getting married, and even after? Don’t they still offer those classes and sessions for couples who are considering walking down the aisle? Isn’t it still possible for folks to meet with their pastors and get some spiritual and marriage counseling so couples can see if they are the right match, and any issues or concerns can be resolved before marrying? Honey, y’all will meet someone one week, and by next week you’re planning the marriage. You don’t know anything about each other except that the sex is off the chain. And, all of a sudden you’re in love and can see yourself spending the rest of your life with them. Get the freak out here with that bull-ish!!! And, some of you women around here with this “savior complex,” and want to save the damn world need a damn reality check. The hell! You’re not superwoman. You’re not even supergirl. You want to save someone else’s life, but your life is a horrid mess. The hell you look like trying to help someone else when you need some damn help yourself? If you’re spiritually, mentally, and emotionally broken then how the hell can you be of some assistance and help to someone else? How about saving your own damn selves, and working on you and your low self-esteem. Peep the video, “Worry About Yourself!” Please take heed and follow the instructions of this little girl. She’s got more sense than some of you grown a** women! Here’s the sad part: You’re trying to build him into the man you want him to be. Well, what about the man he already is, and the man HE wants to be? Have you thought about what he wants and who he wants to become? And, then you sit your simple self up here and say, “He has potential and I can see it in him.” Uhm, sweetie, I’ve said this a thousand times, STOP DATING THE POTENTIAL IN PEOPLE. You women get so caught up in the potential of a man, and who you see him becoming, but if that is not his vision, or idea, or dream, or desire, then he will never be your potential, or the man you want him to be. STOP IT! Who he is today, he will be tomorrow. It’s as simple as that. And, if you have proof that your husband is cheating on you with other women, either texting, staying out late, and random women showing up at your door claiming they slept with him, then why are you sitting your dumba** over there waiting for some actual physical proof? Leave his a**!!! In the three years you’ve been together your husband has consistently been seeking out other women, texting and having relations, and he has been physically, mentally, and verbally abusive, then in what year do you think he will change, ma’am? If his behavior has been consistent for three years then I want you to take a look at your marriage and your husband and you tell me what is consistent about him? Because I see it. Chile, you better change your mantra from “Change we can believe in,” to “Change made me leave!” I’m a firm believer that some folks don’t belong together. Yes, you can love someone, but you don’t have to be with them to love them. You can love someone from a distance and maintain your sanity and health. Some people do more harm when they are with you, than apart. Look, your marriage is poisonous. You both are hurting one another and going on these vicious attacks to get one over on the other person. Hurt people hurt people. And, it’s clear that you’re both hurting. And, you don’t know how to resolve the issues and problems other than attack one another because you don’t see one another as your partner, or spouse, but as some random person who is out to personally attack and destroy you. You are his wife, and he is your husband. If you and he are serious about saving your marriage, then explore a professional licensed marriage counselor. You both have some unresolved issues and a counselor, or therapist, can help you address them. If he is unwilling, and he continues with his behavior, which to me shows his lack of respect, and love for you, then you should explore divorcing him. He clearly is, and does not take into consideration your feelings, and emotions. And, if he’s particularly physically and verbally abusive, then definitely leave his a**! No one should put up with a spouse who calls them out of their name and puts their hands on them. Be the change you want and deserve. Stop waiting on him to change. You teach people how to treat you, and if someone continues to berate and demean you, then you taught them how to treat you. And, both you and I know that you don’t deserve to be treated any ole’ kind of way. – Terrance Dean Hey Bossip Fam, what do you think? Share your opinions and thoughts below! Also, e-mail all your questions Terrance Dean : loveandrelationships@bossip.com Follow Terrance Dean on Twitter : @terrancedean “LIKE” Terrance Dean on Facebook , click HERE! Make sure to order my books Mogul: A Novel (Atria Books – June 2011; $15); Hiding In Hip Hop (Atria Books – June 2008); and Straight From Your Gay Best Friend – The Straight Up Truth About Relationships, Love, And Having A Fabulous Life (Agate/Bolden Books – November 2010; $15). They are available in bookstores everywhere, and on Amazon, click HERE!
Jesus take the wheel… Mother And Infant Child Bleed To Death On Roadside As Drivers Pass By A wife and mother of two young children has sadly lost her life along with her infant son after they were struck by a truck while riding on a family motorcycle inside of a highway tunnel in Jaipur, India. via Hindustan Times In a shocking case of public apathy, a man lay on the road crying for help inside a tunnel next to the bodies of his wife and infant daughter with nobody stopping by for around 40 minutes after a speeding truck hit his motorcycle. The 26-year-old woman and the eight-month-old infant who were run over by the truck died inside the newly opened Ghat Ki Guni tunnel in Jaipur on Sunday while the man and his son escaped with minor injuries. Police said the injured husband kept crying for help for around 40 minutes but the motorists ignored their cries and every vehicle passed by without stopping delaying prompt medical treatment. CCTV footages showed that the woman’s husband and his four-year-old son beseeched passers-by for help for almost 10 minutes. However, no one stopped to help them, police said. The accident victims were attended to only when a staffer of a toll booth noticed the crying husband and his son inside the tunnel on a CCTV monitor. “Kanhaiya Lal along with his 26-year old wife Guddi, four-year- old son Tanish and eight-month-old Arushi was on his way to in-laws’ house in Luniawas village from their house in Thikariya village yesterday when a speeding truck hit their motorcycle 300 metres inside the tunnel,” police said on Monday. Apparently, it’s common for a family of four to travel on a two-wheeler in this country, although travel through this particular tunnel is banned. Our thoughts and prayers go out to this family.
