When a filmmaker makes a movie based on historical events, there's added pressure to do the real-life story justice on top of creating a quality film. Much of the additional stress comes in the form of casting, and when Ron Howard wanted to tell the story of Niki Lauda and James Hunt's legendary rivalry in "
An exclusive clip that MTV News is debuting as part of our Fall Movie Preview demonstrates just how important the rivalry between the on-screen Lauda and Hunt is for "Rush." As Howard told MTV News in an interview, casting Daniel Brühl as Lauda, the celebrated Austrian Formula One racer, was surprisingly easy. Peter Morgan, who wrote "Rush," "Frost/Nixon" and "The Queen," suggested the "Inglourious Basterds" standout for the role, and Howard was inclined to agree with the pick. "Brühl is like a chameleon. He's like one of those actors. Every generation has maybe two, but most often one. He's a real artist, a great guy to work with," Howard said. "In talking to him, I could tell how challenged he was and determined to created Niki Lauda, a character that's known very well internationally." Hunt, the British driver who would challenge Lauda just days after a serious crash, was another matter altogether. "We immediately had a great Lauda, but every bit as important — if not more important — was James Hunt, also an icon and tougher to immediately fill, so that was a matter of casting," Howard said. "I started meeting some people, started thinking about it, and it wasn't going very well. I thought, ...
How Chris Hemsworth’s Homemade Audition Got Him Into ‘Rush’
What Was Wiz And Amber’s Most Frame-Worthy Wedding Moment?
BROOKLYN, New York — The celebration just doesn't stop for Wiz Khalifa. On Sunday, the Taylor Gang captain hit the 2013 MTV Video Music Awards exactly one week after he and wife Amber Rose commemorated their marriage with a ceremony for family and friends.
And though the night's big 'NSYNC reunion left even Wiz completely stoked, he told MTV News that walking down the aisle with Amber was truly a moment he'll never forget. So what was the highlight?
"Probably the first dance with me and Amber," Wiz told us when we spoke to him on the red carpet outside the Barclays Center. Though he wouldn't reveal which song they danced to, the rapper added that "seeing her walk down the aisle ... was just mind-blowing."
The night before their wedding ceremony, Amber posted a celebratory twerk video to Instagram that quickly went viral. On the day of the actual event, Wiz's Taylor Gang took to Twitter to give a few updates.
Wiz's life may seem like a nonstop party, but the Pittsburgh MC is hard at work on his third solo LP, Blacc Hollywood, a record he said is heavily inspired by his and Amber's son, Sebastian, who was born in February.
"My son really just motivated me because I was kinda confused as to what I needed to do next and what was the best moves for me," he admitted. "When I had him it kinda became all clear. So this album is gonna be really edgy. It's gonna be really fun and going back to my roots, but ...
Read More →Miley Cyrus’ Fluffy, Marshmallowy VMA Set: What You Didn’t See
Miley Cyrus left little to the imagination with her risqué performance at the 2013 MTV Video Music Awards on Sunday night, but aside from all of that extra tongue and twerkin', the 20-year-old star put some serious thought into the props for her stage show.
Miley hit the stage to perform her hit single "We Can't Stop," before joining Robin Thicke briefly on "Blurred Lines," and prop designer Almitra Corey gave MTV News a rundown of what they sketched out behind the scenes.
In addition to emerging from the belly of a giant bear to perform, Miley was also flanked by even more of the furry creatures while she gyrated across the stage. "It was all Miley's idea to have as many bears as possible," Corey explained. "We had an illustrator and cartoonist design the faces of the bears, including those for the girls who were twerkers and 'Amazon Ashley,' who had the bear head on her back and was throwing out marshmallow treats into the audience. Those were designed by an artist named Todd 'REAS' James."
She noted that Diane Martel — who directed Miley's "We Can't Stop," plus Thicke's "Blurred Lines" and "Give It 2 U" videos — had some input as well. "It was a collaborative effort between Miley and director Diane Martel," she said. "They wanted there to be a lot going on, like a carnival aspect that would be kind of crazy and get weird and I think it was accomplished."
As Corey pointed out, Miley's dancer Amazon Ashley was busy passing out treats to ...
Read More →One Direction Dish On Hanging Out With Lady Gaga
When we saw that Lady Gaga gave One Direction a little pep talk Sunday night at the 2013 MTV Video Music Awards, there were a ton of questions on our minds. Did 1D see her butt? How can we meet her? But perhaps the most pressing question we had: What... ...
Read More →Miley Hugged Up On <i>Who?</i> Behind The Scenes At The VMAs
The 2013 MTV Video Music Awards provided us with plenty of memorable on-screen moments — Miley, we're looking at you — but, as is often the case with a show this massive, some of the best moments actually happen off camera, when the stars let their guard down and prove that, yes, they're just like you and I (except for Gaga, of course ... she's basically from another dimension entirely).
As luck would have it, MTV News had reporters stashed all over Brooklyn on Sunday night, from the red carpet corner of Dean Street and Sixth Ave to the very VIP Vault hidden deep beneath Barclays Center, where the night's biggest acts kicked back, relaxed and drank from an open bar (beer, wine and champagne only). Seriously, if a star stepped off stage, ducked around a corner, or even tried to hide in a dressing room, our intrepid team of writers was there, and now, we've compiled their notes to bring you the behind-the-scenes moments that otherwise would have gone unnoticed.
This is the VMAs You Didn't See.
Lady Gaga and Miley Cyrus certainly dominated discussions following the show, but, from the moment they rolled onto the red carpet (and we do mean rolled), they let it be known that the VMAs were definitely their show. Gaga arrived in the back of a vintage Rolls Royce, one that was supposed to stop feet before the carpet began ... only the Mother Monster decided she was going to step out in style, and had her driver take the luxury car ...
Read More →Justin Timberlake Says He’s ‘Not Worthy’ Of VMA Video Vanguard Award
Since it came at the tail end of his epic, career-spanning Video Music Awards performance — and subsequent 'NSync reunion (!!!) — it's kind of difficult to remember that Justin Timberlake also won the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award at Sunday night's show.
Which is saying something, considering it's the VMAs highest honor, an award given out to music-video innovators like its namesake, not to mention Madonna, U2, R.E.M. and the Beastie Boys.
And as you could tell by his humble, slightly self-effacing acceptance speech, Timberlake doesn't quite consider himself to be in the same company of those legends ... sentiments he echoed earlier in the day, when he sat down with MTV News' Sway Calloway to discuss his upcoming VMA performance, and the Video Vanguard Award.
"This is the 'You got old award,'" he joked. "No, in all seriousness, when you look at the people I'm included with [in] receiving this award, I don't feel like I'm worthy of it, but I'm not going to pass it up."
He also added that the award had him in a nostalgic mood ... and not just because he's made so many iconic videos over the past two decades. As it turns out, he was also giving us a sly bit of foreshadowing to Sunday night's onstage reunion with his former 'NSync bandmates.
"To come here and perform again, there's a little bit of nostalgia for me," he said. "It feels like a good time to be back at the VMAs"
And after everything we witnessed at last night's show, we'd have to agree ...
Read More →Thanks Miley! 2013 VMAs Shatter Twitter Records
The 2013 MTV Video Music Awards brought out the biggest stars in the business ... and one of the biggest audiences in the show's history.
Sunday night's show garnered a total audience of 10.1 million viewers — a 66-percent increase over last year's show — making it cable's top-rated entertainment telecast of the year among viewers aged 12-34, and earned a 7.8 rating in the same demo, a 47-percent compared to last year's show.
The encore presentation of the VMAs earned an additional 2.8 million viewers, bringing the grand total to 12.9 million total viewers across both airings on MTV. Ratings for the MTV Video Music Awards Pre Show" had 4.6 million viewers, and earned a 3.6 rating in the 12-34 demo.
Digitally, things were equally as big. During the two-hour telecast, social media exploded, as fans reacted to VMA performances and winners in ways we never thought possible. The show generated 120 national and worldwide trending topics on Twitter and 1.2 million Instagram likes. And during one particular performance — that would be the combo of Miley Cyrus' twerk-tastic "We Can't Stop" and Robin Thicke's "Blurred Lines" — you actually set a record for most tweets per minute: an astounding 360,000, shattering the previous record holder, Beyoncé's Super Bowl performance.
And both VMA performers and winners benefitted from all that exposure. Justin Timberlake — who took home the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award and delivered a career-spanning performance (and bonus 'NSync reunion!) — posted a 1,876 percent increase in sales on iTunes, while Bruno Mars' first-time-on-TV performance of Read More →
‘NSYNC’s First 1999 VMA Performance: 7 Things That Didn’t Exist Then
It's hard to imagine a world in which MTV viewers didn't know who 'NSYNC is, but it's even harder to imagine a world in which iPhones don't exist. But an iPhone-less world was indeed reality back in 1999 when 'NSYNC first took the VMA stage in their debut performance.
Picture it: August 1999. The dawn of a new millennium was nigh. The Y2K bug was a thing -- watch out, or your elevators might plummet through their shafts, and all ATMs may spew forth cash at exactly January 1, 2000. (Stupid metric system K!) Hawaii was barely a state! Anyway, it was a really long time ago, and most people's phone still plugged into the wall, meaning you could only talk on the phone as far as its cord stretched. Yes, phones had cords.
Anyway, it was the 1999 VMAs, Eminem was still a fresh-faced young potty mouth from Detroit. Freaking Smashmouth opened the VMA Pre-Show. Sugar Ray was nominated for things! And NSYNC was already a pop powerhouse, having dropped their eponymous album the year before, but they weren't like "Bye Bye Bye" big, global juggernaut/ Bieber big. Hard to imagine such a world where NSYNC might've elicited a "who" rather than an "OMFG JUSTIN! JOEY!
But it's a world worth examining. Mainly so we can learn from history and never return to this NSYNC-less world. So let's take a look at things that did not exist in the year 1999, when NYSNC first took the VMA stage.
Twitter
It's true. If you wanted to tell people random stuff, you either had ...
Juicy J Still Catching His Breath After Miley Cyrus’ VMA Performance
BROOKLYN, New York — Apparently Juicy J can't say no to ratchet performances either. Miley Cyrus' 2013 MTV VMA performance of started out cute — oversize teddy bears and party favors for fans — but it quickly turned into an all-out twerk fest on Sunday night.
While some fans were shocked, Juicy thoroughly enjoyed the former Disney star's show.
"Miley Cyrus is super seeeeeeexy," Juicy J told MTV News excitedly as he was getting ready to exit the Barclays Center.
Things got even crazier when Miley's ditty ended and Robin Thicke strutted out onstage to his own summer hit, "Blurred Lines." Cyrus, who was scheduled to share the bill with Thicke, quickly stripped to flesh-colored, latex underwear and fondled herself with a foam finger, the kind typically found at sporting events. Miley trended on Twitter and Google throughout the night and by the time the sun rose, fans were still raging and critics were, well, critical.
But Juicy J famously welcomed Miley to twerk onstage during one of his concerts back in June, and he was definitely among the fans.
"Man, Miley Cyrus did a great job man. Robin Thicke, salute," he said. "It was crazy. When she took those clothes off? Whoa."
Future, who has a collaboration with Miley in the works, also praised the pop princess, even if his reaction was more subdued than Juicy's. After all, he was holding hands with girlfriend Ciara when we caught up with him. "Miley's performance? It was breathtaking," he said. "Miley always come with it. It was exciting, it was ...
Read More →2013 VMAs Gave Us The Most ’90s Flashbacks <i>Ever</i>
Although us '90s kids have tried to leave behind the jelly shoes and Joe Boxer shorts of our youth, pop culture has a way of rifling through our collective consciousness' closet and pulling out those long-suppressed memories, only to adorn itself onc... ...
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