Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt to wed “within the next couple of weeks” & other: May 2008

Friday, 30 May 2008

MTV enlists stars for awards shorts

Stiller, Sandler, Downey to do spoofs for Movie Awards

MTV has enlisted a slew of talent -- including Ben Stiller, Robert Downey Jr. and Adam Sandler -- to play an even bigger role in Sunday's Movie Awards, which airs live from the Gibson Amphitheatre in Universal City.

For starters, several stars have signed on to create their own short films to premiere during the show, including Stiller, Downey and Jack Black, who co-star in Paramount/DreamWorks' upcoming "Tropic Thunder" (Paramount is MTV's corporate sibling). Movie Awards host Mike Myers also created two shorts featuring two new characters he created.

In addition, Sandler created a promo for the show, playing his character from Columbia's upcoming "You Don't Mess With the Zohan," that's already airing. (Sandler also is receiving a special award during the show, but the details are being kept under wraps.)

"In the past, our short films have been parodies of films, where we've come up with the ideas and presented them to the studios (for their approval)," said Robin Reinhardt-Locke, senior vp studio relations and celebrity talent at MTV360. "This time, we're putting (creative control) in the stars' hands."

She said the stars really embraced the idea, pointing out that Stiller even he hired his own writer (Mike Bender) and director (Nick Stoller) to work on the short, which she said is a "very funny tribute to viral films" but declined to elaborate. The video also will air at MTV.com and other sites after its on-air premiere.

Additionally, the Movie Awards are expanding on something MTV started last year with its Video Music Awards, during which the network partnered with Universal to screen "The Kingdom" for fans with talent and producers.

This week, working in partnership with various film studios, MTV has scheduled what it's calling the "2008 MTV Movie Awards Sneak Peek Week," running every day through Friday at theaters and studio lots in and around Los Angeles.

Along with generating buzz for the awards show and the movies, the event is intended to give fans the chance to watch several films ahead of their opening and participate in a Q&A with the stars. The movies being screened include "Zohan," Paramount Vantage/MTV Films' "The Foot Fist Way," Fox's "The Rocker," Warner Bros.' "Get Smart," Paramount/DreamWorks' "Kung Fu Panda" and Columbia's "Pineapple Express." Sandler, Black, Will Ferrell and Seth Rogen are among those slated to participate.

"The Movie Awards truly kick off the bulk of the summer movie season, and the studios understand the power and positioning of the show and our audience reach," Reinhardt-Locke said.

See Also

Tuesday, 27 May 2008

Will & Grace star agrees film deal

'Will & Grace' star Debra Messing has joined the cast of a new family drama-comedy called 'Humboldt Park'.
Variety reports that the cast of the film also includes John Leguizamo, Alfred Molina, Freddy Rodriguez, Jay Hernandez, Mercedes Ruehl, Luis Guzman, Melonie Diaz and Vanessa Ferlito.
'Humboldt Park' tells the story of three siblings who return to the family home for a festive visit.
Messing will play the wife of Leguizamo's character.
Shooting on the Alfredo De Villa-directed film begins next week in Chicago.

Lindsay Lohan opens up about life post-rehab

Troubled actress Lindsay Lohan has spoken about her party girl image six months after leaving a rehabilitation facility in Utah.
The 21-year-old star told Glamour magazine that she hoped to rid her life of bad influences and return to work following her stay at the Cirque Lodge clinic.
In her first interview since rehab Lohan said: "There are friends that have been hard to hang out with because they've gone down a different path. But it's hard because I'm the kind of person who wants to trust everyone."
She added: "I'm fine being alone during the day, but I hate being alone at night. I like having friends around me, but now I'd much rather be at home. That's not to say I'll never go to a club again, because I'd be lying."
Asked what she believes is the biggest misconception others have about her, Lohan replied: "That I don't have my head in the right place. That, and probably that I'm not a good person ... because actually I am."

Tiny Masters Of Today for special all-ages Brooklyn show

Lightspeed Champion and Tiny Masters Of Today have joined forces to play a special show in Brooklyn, NY on June 5.

The all-ages matinee will take place on Chancellor�??s Day, described by Tiny Masters as �??an inexplicable school holiday on June 5 that only kids in New York get!�?�

The special two-hour performance will begin at 4pm at Union Hall, and the band say there could even be some special guests.

The teenage duo release their debut album �??Bang Bang Boom Cake�?? in September 2007. Collaborators on the record included Jon Spencer Blues Explosion drummer Russell Simins, and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs.

They recently enlisted the services of drummer Jackson Pollis, also a member of Gene Jacket with supermodel Agyness Deyn and Alanna Masterson.

Meanwhile, Tiny Masters Of Today have three festivals scheduled for the forthcoming season.

They will play:

Milwaukee, WI Milwaukee Summerfest w/ Paramore (June 30)
Chicago, IL Lollapalooza (August 1 �?? 3)
Pittsburgh, PA NAMU Festival w/Bob Dylan, Raconteurs (8)

--By our New York staff.
Find out more about NME.

Lithgow puts "Heart" into old-fashioned storytelling

NEW YORK (Hollywood Reporter) - "Why do all of us want to
hear stories?" John Lithgow asks, launching into his
entertaining one-man show, "John Lithgow: Stories by Heart."

Oscar nominee Julie Christie weds

'Doctor Zhivago' star Julie Christie has wed her long-term partner in India.
CBS News correspondent Sheila MacVicar reported that the 66-year-old secretly wed journalist Duncan Campbell in a small, private ceremony.
Christie's brother Clive Christie confirmed to the UK's Daily Mail newspaper that the wedding had taken place, but that he did not attend the event two months ago.
The actress once said: "I don't see any reason for getting married unless you're religious, which I'm not."
Commenting on the newly married couple, columnist Neal Sean said: "He's very studious, very educated and she's always been about broadening her mind, her appeal, that sort of stuff."
Christie is among the nominees for this month's Oscars for her return to cinema screens as an Alzheimer's sufferer in the film 'Away from Her'.
She has already won Screen Actors Guild, Golden Globe and National Board of Review awards in the US for her performance.
The actress previously won an Oscar for the John Schlesinger film 'Darling', before turning her back on Hollywood in the 1970s.
"Julie Christie is something of a recluse, not just from life itself but basically from the whole sort of Hollywood shebang as it were," said columnist Sean.

Amy Winehouse and Pete Doherty filmed playing with rodents

Amy Winehouse and Pete Doherty have filmed themselves playing with a litter of baby mice, and uploaded the videos to YouTube.

In two short videos, one entitled �??Winemouse�??, the pair is filmed holding several of the estimated 13 day-old rodents, comparing one to Razorlight frontman Johnny Borrell.

Winehouse even sends a message through one mouse to incarcerated husband Blake Fielder-Civil�?�

�??Blake please don�??t divorce Amy, she loves you�?� she says, mimicking a �??mouse�?? voice and holding one rodent up to the camera.

�??Wait my big brother wants to say something�?� she says, as Doherty holds up another mouse, and she continues �??If you divorce her you�??ll have me to deal with. I�??m only a day old but I know what love is�?�

Doherty sighs �??Aw�?� before the filming ends.

--By our New York staff.
Find out more about NME.