March 14, 2025

About the author  ⁄ MTV News

Katy Perry Gets All Lisa Frank For ‘Roar’ Artwork

Katy Perry may have spent the past week burning — and burying — her past in preparation for her new single but when it comes to the artwork for said single, she's taking a different approach.

Rather than symbolically destroying her past, she's embracing it ... choosing an image that recalls nothing quite so much as the work of school-supply queen Lisa Frank, the woman who ruled the '80s and '90s with her neon-colored, animal-inspired designs (here's a quick primer for the uninitiated). And yes, given that she attended school during this era, we're assuming Katy was a big fan.

Okay, mostly, we're getting Frank-ian vibes from the bright, tiger-striped border, but her bad-ass Japanese silk Sukajan jacket — with embroidered tiger — isn't far off. Slap this thing on a Trapper Keeper and we'd be having some serious sixth-grade flashbacks ... though, if we're being honest, we do think the image could benefit from some decoupage fruit or a unicorn, but hey, we're purists.

Anyway, as you are no doubt aware, "Roar" is the first single off Perry's hotly-anticipated Prism album, and she'll premiere the track in full on Monday (August 12). She's already given her fans a sneak peek at the song via a teaser clip that features (what else?) a cat.

Perry's been promoting her new album with a gold-plated 18-wheeler, which is currently driving cross country for reasons not entirely clear ... though, with the debut of the "Roar" artwork, at least we have an idea of what ...

Read More →

George Clooney, Matt Damon Team Up In ‘Monuments Men’ Trailer

Could be this year's "Argo"? Well, let's see: It's based on historical events; is directed by a well-regarded actor and features John Goodman. So, maybe?

We'll let you draw your own conclusions as the first trailer for George Clooney's directorial follow-up to "The Ides of March" is here, with Clooney once again pulling double duty in front of and behind the lens.

The film stars Matt Damon, Cate Blanchett, Bill Murray and Bob Balaban, and centers around the titular "Monuments Men," a real-life group of art historians and museum curators tasked with rescuing treasured artifacts from destruction during World War II. Though the coalition included about 345 men (and women!) from 13 different countries, Clooney's take appears to focus on the American effort.

The screenplay, co-written by Clooney, is based on the book, "The Monuments Men: Allied Heroes, Nazi Thieves and the Greatest Treasure Hunt in History" by Robert M. Edsel.

In the clip, Clooney's George Stout (a conservationist at Harvard University) lays out the rescue plan thusly to Matt Damon's James Rorimer (a curator at the Metropolitan Museum of Art): "I'm to put a team together and do our best to protect buildings, bridges and art before the Nazis destroy everything."

"How many men?" Rorimer asks.

"Six," Stout replies.

"Jesus," Rorimer responds.

"Well, with you, it's seven," Stouts says optimistically.

"Well, that's much better," Rorimer deadpans.

And that exchange pretty perfectly captures "The Monuments Men's" tone — earnest, with tongue lightly in cheek. Sounds a lot like another historical drama we've seen...

opens December 18, 2013.

...

Read More →

John Mayer And Katy Perry Are Having No Trouble In <i>Paradise Valley</i>

John Mayer hinted at a reunion with ex-girlfriend Katy Perry when he dedicated a song to the singer at his tour-opening show in July. Since then, the duo have confirmed the fact that they're back together — which is good timing, considering Perry is featured on Mayer's upcoming sixth studio album, Paradise Valley.

According to Rolling Stone, the title of the Perry-tinged track is "Who You Love," a fitting moniker for a song featuring the newly mended couple. Rumors of a reunion started flying at last month's show at Milwaukee's Marcus Amphitheatre, where Mayer praised Perry for taking the time "to continue to get know me and love me" after his throat surgery.

Perry confirmed that things were not platonic between the pair at the "Smurfs 2" premiere where she told Extra, "We're doing a lot of collaborating" — a statement accompanied by more than a few winks.

But that doesn't apply to Perry's new record, Prism, which drops in October. "He is not, actually," she told E! News when asked whether Mayer will be featured on the record.

Mayer's relationship with Perry is not the only one being rekindled. After working with Mayer on "Pyramids," Frank Ocean is returning the favor, appearing on Paradise Valley in a track called "Wildfire."

"I love Frank [Ocean]'s stuff," Mayer told Rolling Stone at the beginning of the year. "Frank is such an interesting, deep, touched, wonderful guy. They don't make a lot of other Frank Oceans, and the guy is looking for another."

Mayer previously released a lyrics ...

Read More →

‘Elysium’ Star Matt Damon Thinks ‘Star Wars’ Force Is Strong With J.J. Abrams

After starring in big-budget action franchises, Matt Damon finally stars in his first live-action, full-on science fiction blockbuster with

Damon's leading-man looks get covered by a thick coat of grime and grit in the film, courtesy of a post-apocalyptic Earth where the entire human race lives in slums and works in factories. Well, not all of the human race; the elite few rich enough and powerful enough to make their way to the space station Elysium live in the lap of luxury, free of poverty, war, and disease.

While it lacks the new film's overt social commentary, the original "Star Wars" broke new ground in 1977 by presenting a run-down scifi universe, with a level of wear and tear that seems to have inspired at least half of "Elysium's" aesthetic. With a new "Star Wars" movie on the way, MTV News' Josh Horowitz had to ask Damon about his thoughts on returning to a galaxy far, far away.

"I'm happy that [director] J.J. [Abrams] is doing it," answered Damon. "I remember when they made the second batch [starting in 1999], and I was so kind of nervous about it. Ultimately I think that the first three — they exist and nothing can affect them, so why not? If you can get a J.J. Abrams to — if you can get buy-in from him, then that's the best shot of [getting the film on the right path]."

Damon wouldn't reveal if he's pursuing a role in the film, but at this point every A-list Hollywood star has been rumored to be involved. Starring ...

Read More →

Lady Gaga’s Nude-Video Collaborator: Who is Marina Abramovic?

Like Andy Warhol to a previous generation of rock and pop acts, performance artist Marina Abramović has become a muse to some of today's biggest stars.

From her appearance in the new Jay Z video for 
 to a just-dropped provocative clip
 from Lady Gaga, Abramović has become a muse and touchstone for a whole new generation.

But who is Abramović and why are Jay and Mother Monster hyping her to their fans?

Abramović was born in Belgrade, Yugoslavia in 1946 and began her career in the early 1970s as a painter, visual, text and sound artist as well as one of the pioneers of the performance art movement. Along with fellow performance artists Vito Acconci, Chris Burden and Bruce Nauman, Abramović helped explode the boundaries of fine art with conceptual performances and happenings that often involved her testing the limits of her endurance and pain threshold.

Like Burden, who once crucified himself on a Volkswagen Beetle in a piece called "Trans-fixed," Abramović was not afraid to put herself in harm's way for such pieces as 1973's "Rhythm 10," during which she played a kind of Russian roulette with a series of knives, cutting herself multiple times in the process, which she then repeated. In "Rhythm 5" from 1974, she lay at the center of a burning 5-point star until she lost consciousness.

But perhaps her best known work is 2010's "The Artist is Present," a grueling performance during which Abramović sat silently for 736 hours in a gallery at New York's Museum of Modern Art staring at a group of ...

Read More →

Logan Lerman Says Percy Jackson Is ‘Not The Hero Anymore’

With in theaters now, 21-year-old Logan Lerman returns as the demigod son of Poseidon — but don't expect his triumph in "Lightning Thief" to have left him jaded. In fact, as Lerman told MTV News, fans will find Percy lacking major confidence in this sequel.

"At the end of the first movie, Percy was the hero. He saved the day and everything was great," Lerman said. "Now, at the beginning of this film, we find him, and he's not the hero anymore. He's filled with self-doubt. He's been one-upped by another demigod, and he's not sure if he's good enough to be the hero that might be expected of him."

Of course, you'll have to purchase a movie ticket to find out if Percy can live up to his legendary destiny and retrieve the Golden Fleece. And though his character had a rough go of it this time around, Lerman told MTV News that when it came to the film's stunts, he had an easier time thanks to his training for "Lightning Thief."

"I was pretty good with the sword work and the wire work now," Logan explained. "When we did the first movie, I didn't know anything about any of that. So having to pick up a sword for the first time and feel comfortable was a little nerve-racking. Now, I can go out there and [say], 'Let's learn this sequence. Let's train to figure out what the choreography is, and make it crazy and make it good.' We just did a lot of prep for all the choreography ...

Read More →

Drake Was Told ‘You’ll Never Be A Big Tymer,’ But He’s Still Down

Fans were up in arms when Birdman announced plans to work on a new Big Tymers album with Lil Wayne and Drake — minus Mannie Fresh — but it turns out that the Toronto rapper had no idea that project was on the table, until he started receiving hate mail.

"I didn't get the phone call about that," Drake told MTV News, clearly caught off guard by the question, and even glancing over at his management for answers. "But I'm sure I'll be involved."

"I would've loved to bring the Big Tymers out [at OVO Fest], that would've been crazy," he said after catching himself. "But maybe we'll save that for next year."

Drake explained that he never actually had a conversation with Birdman about working on a Big Tymers album, but only heard uproar over the project in passing, after Birdman initially announced the news on a special YMCMB edition of "RapFix Live" in Miami and ruled out Mannie Fresh's involvement.

"Mannie Fresh is an incredible guy and of course Birdman is one of a kind," he said. "I think I heard about it or watched some of it, and then I got people being like, 'You'll never be a Big Tymer, your sh-- is terrible — just going off on me."

"So I'm not the one being like, 'Oh I'm a new Big Tymer,'" he added, laughing. "[But] I'm down though, to work on anything. If Birdman calls me to work on something I'ma work on it."

During his most recent visit to "RapFix Live" last month, Birdman admitted that after ...

Read More →