When Edgar Martirosyan got the call to deliver pizza to Hollywood's Dolby Theatre during Sunday night's Academy Awards, he thought he was bringing dinner to a bunch of hungry writers. But then, after a few befuddled minutes, he found himself onstage ... ...
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Author Archives : MTV News
Who’s Taking Home An Oscar In 2015? Our Inappropriately Premature Predictions
Boy, weren't the Oscars fun? After months and months of writing about the same movies featuring the same actors winning the same awards, you almost wish that it would never end. That's exactly why we're officially kicking off the 2015 Academy Awards coverage right now.
Sure, I've seen only a couple movies so far that legitimately have a shot at winning any awards this time next year, but that's never stopped anyone from talking about the Oscars as if he or she was an expert.
So here it goes, Oscar season is only just starting, and these are the early, early, early contenders.
"Foxcatcher"
The true-life drama about the heir to the DuPont fortune and the Olympic wrestler he killed was all set to be a player in this year's award season, but a last-minute delay pushed it to 2014. If it connects with the critics, we could see a nomination for Steve Carell, who gave a chilling performance in the leaked trailer that the studio quickly took down but everyone saw anyway.
"The Imitation Game"
Benedict Cumberbatch has hung around the fringes of award season for a few years now, coming closer than ever this year by starring in the Best Picture winner, but this year will be his big one. He's starring as World War II code-cracker, computer scientist and persecuted gay man Alan Turing. The script topped the Black List in 2011 and is considered by most accounts to be great. It's pretty much a can't-miss, unless — you know — the movie isn't any good.
"The ...
Read More →How Kanye West Inspired ‘Divergent”s Dystopian Soundtrack
Kanye West can add one more jewel to his sparkling crown of accomplishments: the rapper's Yeezus inspired the soundtrack for the upcoming film Divergent.
"One of the great creative breakthroughs we had was that we, talking to Neil Burger the director, really looked at Kanye's Yeezus record and 'Black Skinhead' in particular and said, 'You know what, musically this sounds like the world of Dauntless,'" music supervisor Randall Poster told MTV News, referring to the most brazen of factions in the "Divergent" universe.
"Obviously, the lyrical topicality was not going to work for us and so doing some exploration we sort of landed on this producer Gesaffelstein who worked with Kanye," he said.
The French producer/DJ's contribution, a collaboration with A$AP Rocky titled "In Distress," hit the Web a few days ago. It's a pounding, almost spooky track that I could easily see scoring more than a few of the characters' fear landscapes. And perhaps it will.
According to Poster, the soundtrack of the film is intrinsically woven throughout, a choice that stands in sharp contrast to soundtracks for the likes of "The Hunger Games: Catching Fire," which were released almost as companions to the films itself.
"I think that was one of the reasons why I was invited to work on 'Divergent,'" Poster said, referring to his predilection for making music a prominent force in film.
The music supervisor is well-known for having an eclectic musical palette, choosing striking tunes, in particular, for Wes Anderson's films.
"It was our intent at the outset to really try to create a cohesive soundtrack where the film ...
Read More →Scarlett Johansson Pregnant With First Child?
Scarlett Johansson is pregnant with her first child.
After all the Oscars buzz had died down, it was announced on Monday (March 3) that the actress is expecting with her fiancé, Romain Dauriac, according to E! News and Us Weekly. A rep for Johansson has not returned MTV News' request for comment by press time.
Johansson, 29, and Dauriac, a French journalist, had been dating for about nine months until September 2013, when they decided to tie the knot. She was previously married to actor Ryan Reynolds. Ironically, she told Elle U.K. last year: "I'm not having kids any time soon. I'm in a nice relationship, I'm working a lot and, like I said, [marriage is] not important to me...To me, being in a functioning relationship doesn't mean you have to be married."
There is no word on when the wedding will be, as Johansson is currently filming "Avengers: Age of Ultron." "Avengers" is set to hit theaters in 2015. As for how pregnancy might affect her Black Widow character or alter the filming schedule, we'll have to wait and see.
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What’s Next For Matthew McConaughey, Lupita Nyong’o And The Other Oscar Winners?
With the 2014 Oscars safely behind us, it's time to turn our attention to the future. So what's next for the big winners from this year's Academy Awards?
Matthew McConaughey
All right, all right, all right. The McConaughnaisance hit its potential peak with McConaughey's win for Best Actor, but can the star keep up his rejuvenated streak? First up is the highly anticipated last episode of HBO's "True Detective," something that is sure to spark numerous buzzy discussions online.
Then in November, McC anchors Christopher Nolan's mysterious "Interstellar." Given Nolan's track record, we don't expect this will screw up anything, and neither will his rumored role in "Magic Mike 2..." Though last we heard, his part was limited to being a bust inspiring writer Channing Tatum.
One thing that's not in his future? A second season of "True Detective," as the actor definitively told the Oscars' pressroom he wouldn't be revisiting Rustin Cohle any time soon.
Cate Blanchett
As usual, when you ask what Blanchett is up to next the answer is, "so much." She's voicing the part of Hiccup's mother in the animated sequel "How to Train your Dragon 2," appearing as elf Galadriel in "The Hobbit: There And Back Again," co-starring with Natalie Portman and Christian Bale in Terrence Malick's "Knight of Cups," and that's just 2014.
Then in 2015 Blanchett has already filmed parts in a thriller called "Blackbird" for David Mamet, and is co-starring in Kenneth Branagh's "Cinderella;" plus whatever she's going do with the other 11 months. One guess: not reteaming with Woody Allen, despite ...
Read More →Girls On ‘Girls’: Nina Would Save That Talk For Another Time
If you're a human with a premium cable subscription and even a slight interest in pop culture, chances are you had a little June Squibb in your life last night. Yes, Squibb was nominated for (and lost) an Academy Award for her role in "Nebraska," but in case you felt like pulling a Mia Farrow, she also had guest role on "Girls" as Hannah's ailing grandmother.
New Yorker Nina Riddel, a 31-year-old film festival organizer, caught up with the March 2 episode, "
Are You a Girl? Do You Relate to 'Girls' in General? Are You a Hannah/Marnie/Shosh/Jessa/Charlotte/Carrie/etc? What's Your Baggage? Share a Sample Chapter Title For Your Mindy Kaling-Style Memoir. What's a Moment From Sunday's Episode That Felt Most Like Something You'd Do? And Something You'd Never Do? What's a Lie ...
I'm a woman.
Yes. Especially in the first season I found it confrontingly, sometimes painfully accurate. Now I am feeling that way about Broad City, which is somehow a more soothing recognition.
Hannah, but I also think Shosh will grow into a Hannah.
Ooh, thats a big question. A high genetic risk of breast cancer, a gaslight-y ex, an estranged father who left my mom for someone younger than me — for starters. Life is full of surprises!
Revenge Fantasies While... Not Jogging.
Take family negativity in stride. I love how real and dysfunctional everyone was. Shows that insist on sentimentality are so oppressive. Or maybe refuse to listen to good advice from a family member? (I thought Hannah's mom was very right about Adam.)
Have that commitment conversation! Especially by phone when the other person is working!
Jennifer Lawrence’s Night Of Spills, Selfies And Awesomeness At The Oscars
Heading into Oscar night, all eyes were obviously on Jennifer Lawrence. Would she win again? Would she fall again? Now that the night is over, we know that the answers to those questions are "yes" and "no," respectively. The evening started off stro... ...
Read More →PREMIERE: CHAPPO’s ‘I’m Not Ready’ Is A Song To Drink Wine, Fist-Pump And Have Sex To
There are songs to get down to — and I do mean get down — and then there are songs like CHAPPO's "I'm Not Ready." According to lead singer Alex Chappo, it's a jam to "have sex while drinking wine and fist-pumping" to. Whew.
That kind of multi-tasking might not seem possible to the average layman (pun intended), but CHAPPO is all about the mythological and impossible, so start brushing up on your Kali-style moves before pressing "play."
"It's at times like wandering into a strange new forest," Chappo said of an average CHAPPO live show. "Animals are playing instruments, insects are vibrating and creating a pulsating drum circle; the trees and plants are dancing and a hazy, foggy atmosphere swirls around you, excites you, and at times confuses and scares you. You're suddenly without clothes."
We'd expect no less from a man whose earliest musical memory is: "Wandering through the streets of New Orleans hearing Iko Iko and random groups of people chiming in and singing 'Hey Now!' 'Hey Now!' and then stumbling onto different jazz and zydeco bands on the street."
"I'm Not Ready" evokes that same kind of wild confusion. A swirling, poppy kind of jam that seems like it should be straight-forward on the surface, the song takes you to some weird mind-corners, with Chappo singing emphatically, "Tell my baby it's not her fault/ She's long passed but that's your job/ Rack your brain and travel back" before wailing, "You and I have got to try something."
When it comes to "I'm Not Ready" — along with the rest of ...
Read More →Kanye West Takes DONDA Music To Roc Nation
Kanye West is taking his creative team at DONDA to Roc Nation. On Monday (March 3), a press release confirmed that Jay Z's Roc Nation label would now manage DONDA Music, with a focus on international tours and releases. Kanye launched the company bac... ...
Read More →What Caused The ’12 Years A Slave’ Oscars Beef?
At the 2014 Oscars "12 Years a Slave" was the big winner in multiple categories... But given the cold shoulder two members of the production team gave each other, it's a surprise the movie even got as far as being made. So what happened between director Steve McQueen and writer John Ridley?
The rift was first noticeable when Ridley neglected to mention McQueen in his acceptance speech for Best Adapted Screenplay. Granted, Ridley did thank the cast and crew in general; but he also mentioned nearly every other major player by name. This wouldn't be the first time a name was skipped in an Oscar speech, though, so its not a smoking gun.
Then this Vine from the ceremony surfaced and started making its way around the Internet:
That's Ridley walking down the aisle to accept his Oscar and purposely walking right by McQueen, who doesn't even look at Ridley. This is followed by McQueen's weird fingertip clap, of course, but that's an entirely different issue. And we could write this off as Ridley not being affectionate, but he straight up hugs another dude right after walking past McQueen.
Then — not glimpsed in the Vine — when the entire production team went up on stage to accept Best Picture, Ridley stood further back than anyone else on the team, flashing a peace sign with his fingers but otherwise looking relatively stoic. Again, not a glaring sign of things gone wrong (he could have just felt crowded on stage) but all this body language certainly points to an unhappy Ridley.
Looking back ...
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