February 25, 2025

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‘Great Gatsby’: The Reviews Are In!

Does live up to its name? Not everyone who saw it is sure.

Reviews are pouring in, comparing director Baz Luhrmann's ("Romeo + Juliet," "Moulin Rouge") film to the iconic F. Scott Fitzgerald novel that inspired it. Some love its depiction of 1920s excess, and some don't. Is the adaptation too faithful or not faithful enough?

Check out a cross-section of reviews for a few insights into the film:

How 'Great' Is 'Gatsby'?
"Clearly, a Baz Luhrmann film coming at you in 3-D is not posturing as a deep-dish literary adaptation. One expects only the surfaces of the novel, and indeed that's what you get in this 'Gatsby.' But on its own terms, that might have worked. Gatsby's lifestyle has a gleaming surface, after all. So where lies the failure of this not-so-great Gatsby? I think this may be a film that doesn't quite know what it wants to do." — Kirk Honeycutt, Honeycutt's Hollywood

The Performances
"[Tobey] Maguire's otherworldly coolness suits the observer drawn into a story he might prefer only to watch. [Leonardo] DiCaprio is persuasive as the little boy lost impersonating a tough guy, and [Carey] Mulligan finds ways to express Daisy's magnetism and weakness." — Richard Corliss, Time

The Direction
"The director has steadfastly proclaimed his passion for the novel, but the film he's made of it too often plays as no more than an excuse to display his frantic, frenetic personal style. A filmmaker who has increasingly made a fetish of excess and a religion of artificiality, Luhrmann and his team ('Moulin Rouge,' 'Romeo + Juliet') pile ...

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The Wanted Say They’re ‘Not The Same’ Without Nathan Sykes

Nathan Sykes might be down, but his bandmates in The Wanted aren't counting him out. Weeks after he underwent vocal cord surgery, the U.K. boy band is holding onto the hope they will soon be a fivesome again.

"You know for the first time in three years, in our careers, we're actually on time to every interview, which is slightly strange," Tom Parker joked to E! News. "But, yeah, obviously it's weird because we've never been apart. He's doing all right. I mean, we probably won't know for another month or so until he actually makes recovery and starts singing again. But he's doing good."

Jay McGuiness noted that "he's definitely in better spirits than when he first came round."

While the outlook looks positive that the 20-year-old will be wanted once again, Max George further explained, "There's a bit of a worry there. He's only young as well so the chances are he's going to be OK. But obviously there's always that underlying worry. It's a huge operation that he had. The signs, so far, have been really good, so fingers crossed."

His recovery comes at a crucial time in the band's career. They just dropped their new single off their 2013 album release and will debut their E! reality series, on June 2.

"He's coming back!... whether his vocal range is affected or his singing [is], he's definitely going to be a part of the group," Jay noted, with Tom adding, "He'll just get paid less, half the percentage of all of us."

Late last ...

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Mariah Carey, Miguel Go For Joy Ride In ‘#Beautiful’ Video

Mariah Carey and Miguel take turns thrilling one another in their sunny video for "Thursday night during "American Idol," and the simple clip shines a light on Miguel and MC's flirtation.

It kicks off with the two singers flying down a country road on his motorcycle, taking a cue from the song's sensual lyrics. Soon, MC does her best video vixen impression, posing on the bike, the sun shining down through the trees.

Cut to the twosome, hanging out under chandeliers in a barn. Miguel sits in his vintage red Porsche and watches Mariah, in a wispy little dress, dance for him. While she seems shy at times, he is more than poised. As the video closes out, Mariah does one final twirl for her beau before he asks her to join him in the car. And then, it just fades to black.

"#Beautiful" is the lead single off Mariah's 2013 album release. And, Carey explained to Ryan Seacrest earlier this week why she enlisted the Grammy-winner to join her on the song, describing her persona in the video as "the antithesis of the person you see on 'American Idol.' " "I'm a huge fan of his music and as I think everybody's just so blown away by him right now," she said. "We got together. He had started writing this song with just the guitar riff. He's the truth," she said, before adding that she wanted the track to have "a texture that feels fresh."

Carey is making a lot of fresh decisions about her career these days. She recently ...

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‘Gatsby’ Aims For Great Box-Office Debut Behind ‘Iron Man 3’

F. Scott Fitzgerald is about to get his butt kicked by Stan Lee.

is expected to dominate the box office for a second consecutive weekend, fending off competition from as easily as the Avengers take down villains. The third solo go-round from the Marvel Comics character won't have any problem taking down the latest cinematic adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald's 1925 literary classic, which features Leonardo DiCaprio in the title role.

Last weekend saw with the second biggest opening of all time, just behind last year's "Marvel's the Avengers," which of course also featured Robert Downey, Jr. as billionaire inventor Tony Stark. Thanks to gargantuan success in newly expanded foreign markets like China, plus pricier 3-D and IMAX ticket prices, "Iron Man 3" is on its way to joining the elite club of 15 movies that have grossed more than $1 billion worldwide.

"Book it for a billion!" Exhibitor Relations Senior Box-Office Analyst Jeff Bock told MTV News. "While it may not hit even close to $500 million domestically, it is doing gangbuster business overseas. And that won't tail off for a few weeks."

In North America, "Iron Man 3" should clear another $70 million or more this weekend. After opening with $174.1 million, "it made $11 million on Tuesday," noted IMDB.com's Keith Simanton, who predicted a $75 million second weekend to MTV News.

None of which is to say "The Great Gatsby," which also stars longtime DiCaprio pal Tobey Maguire, Joel Edgerton ("Warrior"), Carey Mulligan ("Drive") and Isla Fisher ("Wedding Crashers"), will be a box-office bomb. Despite mixed ...

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Nicki Minaj ‘Happy’ At ‘American Idol,’ But Mum On Next Season

Maybe her answer would have been different if she'd been given a head's up that the dawg in the next seat was leaving, but on Thursday Nicki Minaj told Ryan Seacrest she was still feeling the love.

With just one week to go in the season after Angie Miller's shock elimination
 on Thursday night, Minaj sat down with host Seacrest on his radio show before the broadcast and had nothing but positive things to say about her bumpy stint on the once unbeatable reality singing franchise.

"That's a million-dollar question," she said when asked if she'd be back next year. Hours before sole original judge Randy Jackson announced his departure.
 "I have to say this all the time, but I want people to know it's genuinely from my heart. I love the people on 'Idol.' I genuinely do. If I had to do this all over again, I would have done 'Idol.' Because it's fun, it's laughs."

Amid rumors that the entire panel could be flushed in order to pump new blood into a show that went from being #1 in all of prime time to dropping another 25 percent from last year's already series-low ratings, Minaj lamented the focus on the negative.

"It's kind of sad that what people read all the time is only when something is negative," she said. "But they don't realize that we built a family. I feel happy here and I have to thank them for giving me this chance. They could have picked anyone in the world. And they picked me. So ...

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‘Fast & Furious 6’ Stars Cruise To MTV With Exclusive Clip!

If you thought the summer movie season already got off to a fast start, you haven't seen anything yet.

In advance of the upcoming release of the sequel "Fast & Furious 6," MTV will premiere an exclusive clip from the film, followed by a 30-minute conversation between Josh Horowitz and stars Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Jordana Brewster and Michelle Rodriguez. Not only will Horowitz dish up countless secrets from the film, but he'll be relaying fans' Twitter questions.

It all goes down Wednesday on MTV at 7:56 p.m. ET during "MTV First: Fast & Furious 6." Immediately following the premiere of the clip, fans can go to MTV.com to watch Horowitz chat with the cast. Submit your question on Twitter to @MTVNews by using the hashtag #MTVFirst #AskFast6.

(Diesel), Brian (Walker) and the rest of their crew after parting ways in the wake of $100 million Rio heist of "Fast 5." When Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson) reaches out to Dom for help in apprehending an international mercenary (Luke Evans), whose second-in-command is no less than Letty (Rodriguez), Dom's long-thought-deceased lover, the team brokers a deal to wipe their records clean and allow them to return home to start their lives over.

Tyrese Gibson, Chris "Ludacris" Bridges, Sung Kang and Gina Carano also star in the film, whose sequel has already been announced.

Are you ready to get fast and furious again? Tune in Wednesday, May 15 to kick your movie-going motor into high gear!

Check out everything we've got on "Fast & Furious 6."

...

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Slayer Guitarist Jeff Hanneman’s Death Due To Cirrhosis

Despite reports that he may have died following the fatal effects of a spider bite, Slayer announced on Thursday that original guitarist Jeff Hanneman
 succumbed to the effects of fatal alcohol-related liver disease.

The band said Hanneman, who died last week at the age of 49, suffered from alcohol-related cirrhosis, which causes irreversible scarring of the liver.

"We've just learned that the official cause of Jeff's death was alcohol related cirrhosis," Slayer wrote in a statement. "While he had his health struggles over the years, including the recent necrotizing fasciitis infection that devastated his well-being, Jeff and those close to him were not aware of the true extent of his liver condition until the last days of his life. Contrary to some reports, Jeff was not on a transplant list at the time of his passing, or at any time prior to that. In fact, by all accounts, it appeared that he had been improving -- he was excited and looking forward to working on a new record."

Hanneman and Kerry King founded the group in 1981 after King was trying out for another band. The two bonded over their shared love for Iron Maiden and Judas Priest, going on to release their first album Show No Mercy in 1983. They went on to release 11 more albums over the next 26 years; their last release was 2009's World Painted Blood. He contributed both lyrics and music to every one of those albums, and wrote iconic songs like "Raining Blood," "War Ensemble," "South of Heaven" and "Angel of Death," which ...

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‘Glee’ Season Five Should Be Set On ‘Wacky Cruise Ship,’ Darren Criss Says

What might be in store for the kids of "Glee" now that the fourth season has wrapped up? Well, Darren Criss doesn't know all that much, but he's got some big dreams for Blaine and the crew.

While much of this past season involved working out the kinks of having the Gleeks scattered across the country, Criss is proposing a plan for season five that would bring the band together.

"I always joke I want the show to go, like all great teen comedy clichés, I kind of want to go to the summer job land," he told MTV News, referring to a turn "Saved by the Bell" took in season three when the characters worked together at a beachside resort. "They all have the same summer job, preferably someplace nice like a beach ... so that'd be cool. Maybe a cruise ship? Maybe a wacky cruise ship, and we can spend a season on the ocean. Actually that sounds kind of bad. Something nice and exotic would be pretty cool. We can be the entertainment on the boat."

With that scenario unlikely to unfold anytime soon, Criss tried to imagine what life might look like for Blaine come season five and beyond.

"I don't know. The problem is anybody who watches the show knows there's so much going on; there's a lot of characters. It's a lot of kids in various different places. And the reality is when you're shooting a television show, there are real hard, fast things you can and cannot do," he explained. "You have to build ...

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‘Arrested Development’ Stars Recite Their Favorite Lines: Watch Now!

It's been seven long years since we last heard from the Bluth family. Ever since — the low-rated but critically acclaimed cult comedy — ended its run on Fox in 2006, the show's dedicated fans have held out hope that the dysfunctional clan would make a comeback.

In its time off the air, "Arrested Development" has managed to do what few canceled shows have done before: expand its fanbase beyond that initial audience. With the help of robust DVD sales and binge watching, via streaming services like Netflix, people are constantly discovering (and rediscovering) the crazy adventures of the "Arrested" gang.

And those efforts paid off: On May 26, Netflix will release 15 brand-spanking-new episodes all at once, and fans will finally be able to see what insanity the Bluths have been up to.

When we caught up with the cast to talk about the show's long-awaited return, they proved to be some of the show's biggest fans. We asked them to name their favorites lines from the series, bons mots they undoubtedly are asked to quote to fans all the time, and without missing a beat, they were able to list off a number of memorable one-liners. (Click on the embedded video to see for yourself!)

Now that creator Mitch Hurwitz has crafted 15 new scripts filled with even more choice lines, we wondered where the series goes from here. Is there a finale in mind?

"I don't think Mitch has that in his head," Michael Cera, who plays George Michael, told MTV News when asked about a potential series end.

"He's so ...

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