September 20, 2024

Review Category : TMZ Music News

‘Star Trek’ Fights ‘Exhausting And Exhilarating’ For Benedict Cumberbatch

In Benedict Cumberbatch plays a mysterious newcomer who quickly finds himself facing off against the crew of the Enterprise. In an epic fight scene with Mr. Spock himself, Zachary Quinto, Cumberbatch says he wore himself out even before he actually got on set to shoot the sequence.

"It was exhausting but so exhilarating," Cumberbatch told MTV News last week. "These guys had been training a little bit longer than I had, because I was late to the process of being part of the film. But one of the best parts was the fight rehearsals with Zach and our amazing, amazing stunt doubles. I was dragged up to a standard — to his standard — by the most extraordinary experts."

Director J.J. Abrams sat in the director's chair for the franchise for the second time on "Into Darkness," but even he admitted that the sequence turned out more impressively than he had expected. "The fun of it was to shoot it outside with this built piece of this ship with actual wind and smoke and the sun," Abrams explained.

"It ended up looking so crazy real even before we did the visual effects," he observed. "The sun was huge, but we got the camera movement on such a grand scale so you knew you weren't on a stage. I mean, it was a really crazy thing to shoot."

Quinto revealed that they shot the sequence on just one moving platform, but in the film, it looks like he and Cumberbatch square off on two. He admitted that seeing the end result took ...

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Happy Mother’s Day From ‘Jersey Shore’ Star Vinny And His Mom!

Since the finale of "Jersey Shore," Vinny Guadagnino has been spending quite a bit of time with his mom, Paola. Not only did he move back into her Staten Island home, but the two are also working together on his brand-new series which means they're spending a lot of time together.

In fact, Vinny said it might be the most time he's spent with her in his entire life.

"Besides, like, when I was a baby and you never put me down," Vinny told his mom when he brought her and Uncle Nino along for an MTV News interview.

"I didn't put you down for the first five years of your life," she replied. "I have a broken hipbone because of it."

Even though Paola appears to drive him crazy in the reality/talk show, Vinny shrugged his shoulders and grinned when referred to as "a momma's boy" by his uncle.

"There was one particular time, Mother's Day, he was young, and he wasn't allowed to walk anywhere alone," his mom recalled when asked a favorite memory of her son. "He walked like half a mile, and he came back with a gift for me. But he was young, he wasn't allowed to do that, and he did it anyway. He got yelled at for doing that, but he did."

Check out these Mother's Day cards from MTV's cutest kids!

With Mother's Day just around the corner (on Sunday), MTV News thought it would be fun to dive a little bit deeper in the pair's relationship with a game we like to call "Momma ...

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‘Man Of Steel’ U.K. Ad: Russell Crowe Tells Superman To Dream Big

The ads for have spared no effort rendering the film's iconic hero, Superman, as nothing less than a messiah for the people of Earth. And in a new U.K. television ad, Supes' father Jor-El, played by Russell Crowe, meditates on the potential his son may one day have.

"What if a child dreamed of becoming something other than what society intended?" he asks. "What if a child aspired to something greater?"

The "something greater," according to the clip, is a lot of stone-faced reactions from Kal-El himself, Henry Cavill, as he squares off against the franchise's greatest villain, General Zod (Michael Shannon). Amidst shots of Superman being taken into custody by the same mortals he has sworn to protect, Zod lays waste to buildings and airplanes before the Son of Krypton finally loses his composure and decides to fight back.

How Michael Shannon became General Zod in "Man of Steel."

"300" and "Watchmen" filmmaker Zack Snyder directed "Man of Steel" from a script written by David S. Goyer and Christopher Nolan, whose work with Batman made the "Dark Knight" trilogy one of the most popular and critically acclaimed comic book adaptations of all time. Cavill co-stars with Amy Adams, Kevin Costner, Diane Lane, Laurence Fishburne and Christopher Meloni. The film offers its own "Batman Begins"-style origin story for the superhero, appearing to ignore the stories previously told in "Superman" and more recently, Bryan Singer's "Superman Returns."

With fan expectations high for the film, "Man of Steel" could re-launch the franchise if it's as successful as distributor Warner Bros. hopes it ...

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Chance The Rapper: There Was ‘A Lot Of Acid Involved In <i>Acid Rap</i>’

If you're looking to take a "Chance" on a new rapper, look no further than 20-year-old phenom Chance the Rapper from the Southside of Chicago, whose latest mixtape, Acid Rap, boasts the musicality of a young Kanye West or 3 Stacks, with a style and flare all his own.

Chance the Rapper took his first crack at music during his freshman year of high school when he linked with a friend to form the group Instrumentality, performing at school events and open mics around the city. But by senior year — when he was suspended for 10 days and used that time to record his debut mixtape, 10 Day — he'd officially become a one-man act, under an alias derived from his full name, Chancelor Bennett.

Right off the bat he'll tell you that 2012's 10 Day was the breakout tape that gave everyone a chance to make their judgments on his talents as an MC, with Acid Rap being his channel to get as wild as he wanted.

"They're both conceptual tapes, but Acid Rap is a little bit more free-form, just a collection of songs. But there's still one cohesive thing about it, something that perpetuates through the tracks ... and that's the questions," he tells MTV News. "None of the songs are really declarative statements; a lot of them are just things that make you wonder ... a lot like LSD."

Throughout the trippy tape, you'll pick up on nostalgic samples of Slum Village, A Tribe Called Quest, Mary J. Blige, John Legend and even an ode to Kanye West's ...

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Alicia Keys Takes Her ‘Tears’ To Vegas For New Video

Alicia Keys is nursing a broken heart on her new single "Tears Always Win." And there's probably no better place to try to get over a heartache than Las Vegas, a.k.a. Sin City. That's where the singer headed to shoot the video for the new Girl On Fire single.

"I actually just finished the video for 'Tears Always Win' last night," she told MTV News Thursday night backstage at ," where she had performed the song. "So I love it. I love it 'cause it's a slice of life.

"It's a girl and her working two jobs and she's got all these things going on. But the whole time, she's totally distracted because she's only thinking about how she feels [about her ex], almost at the point [where] you're thinking about the person, but you're also thinking about, kind of, your loneliness and how you feel. How're you gonna get through it? The video is totally beautiful, really unexpected. It has some Vegas pieces in it. I think the way it goes on, it really brings a relevance to the words and you'll really feel it. I'm loving it."

So, will the video's protagonist get over the guy? Well, hearing her describe the song makes it seem unlikely. "So, 'Tears Always Win' is really about a relationship that's over and you're remembering all the times that it was there," she said. "You're remembering all the ways they filled your space and now that it's not there. You're telling yourself you don't need them, but you're missing them and you're crying about ...

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Lil Wayne, Birdman Have Enough Tracks For <i>Like Father, Like Son 2</i>

Earlier this year, Lil Wayne told MTV News he would retire after dropping Tha Carter V, but after sitting down for an interview on this week, it's abundantly clear that there are still multiple projects coming from Weezy over the next few years.

During the episode, Wayne confirmed that he still plans to drop his DEVOL album, a new Big Tymers project with Birdman and Drake and Like Father, Like Son 2 with Birdman.

The original joint project was released in 2006, led by the single "Stuntin' Like My Daddy," and Weezy said there's already plenty of recorded material that can be used to put the project together.

"We haven't started working on that yet, but we have so many songs together, so all it takes is a little sharpening, and we have an album," Wayne said when asked if the LP was still coming. "That's been the formula forever, though. It's never been the [right] time, but in reality, we record every day, and it's for whatever it's for."

Lil Wayne doesn't remember having seizures.

He added that he's usually so busy recording features that he rarely has time to work on his own music. "Nowadays, thank God, when I go to the studio every night, I always have to do something for someone else, and then I get to work on whatever I can work on."

And in terms of Wayne calling it quits on recording for good, Birdman will stand behind whatever move he makes next. "To me, he works so hard, you never saw no ...

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‘Idol’ Finalist Kree Harrison ‘Blessed’ To Work With Randy Jackson

Let's be honest, as much fun as we make of his sparkly lapel pins, ridiculous "in it to win it!" yammering and over "yo"-ing, we're all gonna miss the Big Dawg.

While Randy Jackson had a longer-than-anyone-could-have-reasonably-expected run on outliving all other judges to date on the program, after Thursday night's shock elimination of Angie Miller,
 this year's top three finalists said they were just glad to have known him.

"I feel so blessed that this is not the season that he chose [to leave]," said country rocker Kree Harrison, who is headed to next week's finale. "I love him and we've definitely bonded. I appreciate everything that he's said and done for all of us. I love Randy. Hopefully we'll work together one day."

The woman Kree will be facing off against, powerhouse R&B belter Candice Glover, had similarly warm vibes about the man who encouraged her through three seasons of "Idol" striving before he announced his departure
 on Thursday. "I was definitely very, very sad," she told MTV News after Thursday's elimination show. "Because Randy was here the three years that I've been on here and he's seen me grow as an artists, as a person, as a musician and singer. I definitely look forward to his opinion and all his 'In it to win it' chants."

Though she'll be on to bigger and better things by the time season 13 rolls around in 2014, Glover said things will definitely be different next year without Randy.

Eliminated singer Miller echoed those sentiments, saying she felt honored to be one ...

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As I Lay Dying Singer Tim Lambesis Due Back In Court June 10

As I Lay Dying frontman Tim Lambesis remained behind bars at a Vista, California detention facility on Friday (May 10), one day after pleading not guilty to a charge of solicitation of murder.

The singer was arrested on Tuesday by officers with the San Diego Sheriff's Department, who allege he attempted to hire an undercover detective to kill his estranged wife. At his arraignment hearing, prosecutors requested that Superior Court Judge Martin Staven set Lambesis' bail at $20 million, saying he was a flight risk and a danger to his wife, Meggan.

Prosecutors also laid out their case against Lambesis, alleging he had twice told a man at a gym that he wanted his wife killed, then met with an undercover detective to set up the potential hit, giving the agent an envelope containing, among other things, $1,000 in cash, photographs of his wife, and the security gate code to her house. He also allegedly told the agent the dates he would be with the couple's three adopted children, in order to give himself an alibi.

"When specifically asked do you want her dead, he said 'Yes that's exactly what I want,'" Deputy District Attorney Claudia Grasso told the judge. "The victim now is terrified and living in seclusion ... [Lambesis] is substantially motivated to kill his wife."

Lambesis' attorney, Anthony Salerno, disputed those claims, saying his client was "set up" by the man at the gym and never intended to hurt anybody. Salerno also pointed to the large crowd of supporters who had shown up for the ...

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Miley Cyrus Follows <i>Maxim</i>’s Hottest With <i>Billboard</i> Awards Surprise

After months of teases, Miley Cyrus finally seems poised to give fans new music from her forthcoming album. The singer took to Twitter late Thursday to reveal, as coyly as she could, that fans can expect something new from her at the Billboard Music Awards this month.

"Maybe y'all will find out a LIL sum at the up coming @billboard music awards! Maybe.... Like.... A.... Singgggg.....llllleeeee.................," she wrote, leaving fans in the dark about any other details. The show goes live from Las Vegas on May 19.

Back in March, when she called into Ryan Seacrest's radio show, Cyrus teased that she was likely to drop a collaboration with Snoop Lion, which she recorded for her as-yet-untitled upcoming album.

Nicki, Weezy, Taylor Swift and others will perform at the 2013 Billboard Music Awards!

Fans got a taste of what the new Miley sounds like courtesy of two collaborations: one additional collabo with Snoop titled and a will.i.am team-up called

Additional details about Cyrus' next album release have yet to be announced, but production team Da Internz noted that Miley is all grown up on it. "I can say it's definitely going to shock a lot of people; definitely grown up," Ernest "Tuo" Clark told MTV News earlier this year. "It's natural; it's not her trying to do like pop, four on the floor. What she did was, I just feel like, was different and needed in the game and, then, for her, a huge 'wow' factor.

In addition to new music, the singer has been named ...

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