Thursday, May 8, 2008


Singer voluntarily turned herself in to police on Wednesday for questioning over apparent drug-smoking video.





For the second time in as many weeks, Amy Winehouse has been arrested by British police. Last month, the singer got off with a caution for slapping a man in a bar, and on Wednesday (May 7), she turned herself in again to face questioning over a widely circulated video that appears to show her smoking drugs.

"Amy Winehouse voluntarily attended a London police station today by appointment," a statement from Winehouse's spokeperson explained. "She was arrested in order to be interviewed and is co-operating fully with enquiries. The interview relates to a video handed to police earlier this year."

In the video, which was forwarded to police by the English tabloid newspaper The Sun earlier this year, the troubled Grammy winner looks like she is inhaling crack from a glass pipe. TMZ reported that Winehouse was arrested after the scheduled meeting for alleged possession of a controlled drug.

"Around 1 p.m. today a 24-year-old woman from the Camden area attended a London police station by arrangement and was arrested in connection with the alleged possession of a controlled drug," a spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police said, according to BBC News. "She remains in custody."

Winehouse's spokesperson confirmed for MTV News at 2:30 p.m. ET that the singer was still in police custody.

The British press has also reported that Peaches Geldof, the 19-year-old daughter of Live Aid co-founder Sir Bob Geldof, is scheduled to be interviewed by police later this week about footage of her handing money to a man as part of a suspected drug deal. The footage was reportedly seized from the same man who is thought to be behind the video that led to Winehouse's arrest.

In addition to the caution over the slapping incident, which required Winehouse to be held overnight in jail because a doctor reportedly found her "unfit for interview" at the time of her arrest, the singer was reportedly forced to give up on her quest to record a track for the upcoming James Bond movie. Producer Mark Ronson told The Associated Press that she was "not ready" to record any music at this time. Winehouse's label rejected those comments, saying the collaborators merely had artistic differences over the direction of the song.

Regardless, between a recent trip to a rehabilitation facility and her frequent run-ins with the law, the singer's ongoing struggles have prevented her from working in earnest on the follow-up to her 2006 breakthrough album, Back to Black. Though Winehouse's spokesperson said the singer has been in the studio working on new material, there is currently no timetable for its release.

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'It was unprecedented to see someone who has been such a good, consistent competitor crash and burn so bad,' one Entertainment Weekly writer says of Tuesday's show.





This season has brought a lot of firsts to "American Idol": Brooke White became the first contestant to stop a song and ask for a do-over. Carly Smithson was the first female contestant with a huge visible arm tattoo. Paula Abdul became the first judge to critique a song before it was performed.

Oh, and on Tuesday night, Jason Castro became the first final-four "Idol" contestant to seemingly take a dive on live TV in a bid to get kicked off the show.

At this point in the competition, the top four are typically shooting for the lights every week, pulling out their best stage moves, piling on the melismatic vocal runs and pandering to the crowd in a bid for votes and a shot at the title. Jason Castro? Not so much.

A week after a profile of the then-five finalists in Entertainment Weekly found Castro woefully unprepared upon meeting mentor Neil Diamond because he chose to hang with his brother and a friend over the weekend instead, Castro tossed a pair of serious bricks Tuesday night when he grinned his way through a frat-party-karaoke version of Bob Marley's "I Shot the Sheriff" and forgot the lyrics during a half-hearted take on Bob Dylan's "Mr. Tambourine Man."

Confronted with withering remarks from the judges — including Simon Cowell, who advised him to pack his bags — Castro shrugged, grinned some more and telegraphed a "who cares?" posture that suggested he was doing his best to get booted from the show. In that same EW article, Castro told the reporter as much, saying of the Diamond week, "What happens, happens. I'll sing, and if people like it, they like it. And if they don't, they don't. I'm kind of ready to go home."

"Last night was very strange, one of the stranger nights in 'Idol' history," said Michael Slezak, senior writer for EW, who did not write the magazine profile. "I felt really bummed, because I feel like Jason had the best shot of bringing some suspense to the competition and making it feel like the David/David finale was not a foregone conclusion, but he didn't have any of that passion that he brought to performances of songs like 'Hallelujah' or 'I Don't Want To Cry' during Mariah Carey week."

While the success of past top finishers, but not winners, such as Chris Daughtry and Jennifer Hudson might be driving Castro's quest to leave "Idol" without having to sing the traditional cheesy winner's ballad on finale night, Slezak said the difference was that those singers never stopped trying and didn't get kicked off because they appeared to give up. "Fans want to see the contestants keep trying and give their best performance," he said. "I don't know if this was his way of thumbing his nose at the show over Paulagate, or just a way to beg fans to stop voting for him, but it was unprecedented to see someone who has been such a good, consistent competitor crash and burn so bad. Even if he's not happy with the way the show has played out or how the production is seemingly not behind him, he owed it to the millions of fans who have voted for him to perform for them."

Perhaps the dreadlocked singer is just feeling squirmy about the sudden fame sprung on the show's finalists, as when he told the EW writer that he was overwhelmed by a bouquet of 150 balloons sent by fans who heard he'd been sick: "That's cool, but that's just weird."

Grammy-nominated songwriter Ace Young, the seventh-place finisher in the fifth season of "Idol," said he's heard from sources that Castro is just trying to "coast through" and get ready for the summer "Idol" tour and figure out his next career move. "I heard that it started a couple weeks ago, that he was kind of coasting," said Young, whose self-titled debut album is due July 15. "I hope it's not the case. I hope that deep down, he has a competitive spirit. I mean, I wanted it the whole time. I still do! It's funny when you see someone in a competition like this lose the fight out of the dog this early. What will happen later?"

How bad was Tuesday's performance? Dave Della Terza, founder of "Idol"-razzing site VoteForTheWorst, said he's not going to bother encouraging his site's devotees to get behind Castro, because it's too easy.

"He really doesn't seem to care anymore, and it's obvious he doesn't want to be there," Della Terza said. "It seems like there's gotta be something going on with him, because he's so over it. It seems like he's sabotaging himself, and maybe it's because he's finally seeing the machinations behind the scenes after they threw him under the bus last week. It just makes my job easier, though."

Perhaps Castro is holding out for his own Jack Johnson-style postshow career because he understands that he won't win the show in light of the long-predicted David vs. David finale. But Angel Cohn, senior editor of the blog Television Without Pity, said that in the process, Castro is "going out of his way to give the girls voting for him because he's cute a reason not to vote for him by messing up lyrics and singing songs about drugs." Cohn said Castro's calculated sabotage is probably not winning him any fans among the supporters of recently ousted singers Brooke White or Carly Smithson, either, both of whom seemed to genuinely want a shot at the title.

"Maybe he never thought he would get this far and he doesn't really want to work that hard," Cohn said.

Get your "Idol" fix on MTV News' "American Idol" page, where you'll find all the latest news, interviews and opinions. And relive six seasons of "Idol" hot messes and high notes in six minutes with our video timeline.

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'We are so excited we have fans here at all,' says Bill Kaulitz, frontman for the German pop-rockers.





According to their (rather rabid) fanbase, Tokio Hotel are: A) "Certainly the most interesting up-and-coming music act in recent years"; B) "The cutest Germans I've ever seen"; C) "F---ing amazing. ... They showed me that music doesn't have to be complex and full of technicalities for it to eat my f---ing heart alive"; D) "An amazingly talented group of young guys. And the twins are amazingly hot!"; or E) "sooooooooo HOTT!"

That's pretty hot(t). Of course, that enthusiasm is not shared by the other 98.9 percent of the planet, who probably only know Tokio Hotel as "that German band with the weird lead-singer chick" (if they know them at all).

And therein lies the problem — or, more specifically, the challenge — facing Germany's hottest pansexual pop-rockers: They are massively popular in their homeland (not to mention pretty much everywhere else in Europe), having sold more than 5 million albums, singles and DVDs in just more than three years, and they lord over a dedicated online army. Yet here in the States, they probably couldn't get arrested, unless frontman (yeah, he's a dude) Bill Kaulitz's epically spiked mane violates some sort of zoning laws or something.

In short, Tokio Hotel have a legitimate shot at being the biggest rock act on the planet. All that's standing in their way are the amber waves of grain and purple mountains majesty of the United States.

"It's really hard to get fans in another country, especially here, because America is so, so big, so it's really hard to get known in this country," Kaulitz said in a heavy accent. "We are so excited we have fans here at all. In America, we see a fan and it is like, 'Oh, we are proud! We have a fan in America!' "

So with the hopes of increasing that fanbase here in the States, Tokio Hotel — including Kaulitz and his brother Tom on guitars, bassist Georg Listing and drummer Gustav Schäfer — have just released their first English-language album, Scream, which features re-recorded versions of tracks from their first-two German efforts, Schrei and Zimmer 483. Distributed here by Cherrytree (an Interscope imprint), the album is chock-full of crunchy riffs and self-flagellating lyrics, a cash cow clearly aimed at the Hot Topic set and their chain wallets.

And if it manages to score big, well, then the guys in Tokio Hotel will know that their hard work has paid off. After all, getting to be the biggest band on the planet isn't easy.

"We had some help with [this album], because our English is not so good. For me, it was pretty hard to go into the studio and sing English for the first time, because I always sung in German, and we've been making music for seven years and it's always been in German," Kaulitz laughed. "So that took some time, and hopefully the fans will like it. It's really important to us that everyone can understand our lyrics, so we said we'd try it. But also, the fans in America want to hear German songs ... and last time we played here, we did two German songs [and] they sang the songs with us."

Ah, yes, their fans here in America. They're a small — but loyal (and vocal) — bunch, turning Times Square into a squealing mess Tuesday when the band appeared on "TRL" and packing Hollywood's vaunted Roxy earlier this year for Tokio Hotel's first U.S. show. Clearly, the seeds have been planted. And now, everyone involved with the band is hoping they'll come into bloom.

"We expect great live shows here. We've played a few times here, and it was great. So now we want to play a tour," Kaulitz said. "So we might come back and play a tour. I don't know. We are going back to Europe to start writing a new record, and then we'll do it in English. And then we want to come back."

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'I had to leave, 'cause he was acting just like me,' Sean Combs says of Derek Luke, who portrays the music mogul in January flick.





Tom Hulce could make Mozart into an 18th-century Bruce Springsteen and no one would be the wiser, but if Jamie Foxx didn't sound and move exactly like Ray Charles, his failure would be evident for all the world to see.

It's the major pitfall of playing a contemporary figure, and one that's made even more difficult when the figure you're portraying actually shows up to watch your performance.

Luckily, the cast of "Notorious," an upcoming biopic about the late Biggie Smalls, comes through with flying colors, insisted Sean Combs, who is portrayed in the film alongside other hip-hop artists like Lil' Kim, Tupac Shakur and, of course, the Notorious B.I.G.

"It's rare that you get a movie made about you when you're still relevant, but [they] took on the challenge," Combs said of the cast, adding that he was especially impressed with actor Derek Luke, who is playing Diddy. "People asked me years ago who you'd want to play me, and I said Derek Luke ... so it was just destined. I got to see him do his thing, and it was scary for me. I had to leave, 'cause he was acting just like me."

But while he had high praise for Luke, Combs saved his greatest enthusiasm for Jamal "Gravy" Woolard, a young rapper cast as one of the greatest MCs of all time.

"Gravy, the guy playing B.I.G., it was just too eerie for me to be on that," Combs marveled. "Gravy's killing it. If I tell you he's killing it, then that's all we need to say, you know what I'm saying? I don't think anybody could have done a better job."

"It's a little creepy," echoed the flick's music supervisor, Deric "D-Dot" Angelettie. "You know he's not B.I.G., and we accepted that, [but all of] B.I.G.'s people ... looked to Gravy and said, 'You can play B.I.G. You could do it!' I believe that Gravy has studied hard enough; I think he got enough battle scars from the streets that he could pull it off. We're very happy that he's a part of it."

Angelettie revealed that, as music consultant, he's been working with the actors to "make sure they sound like B.I.G. and [his widow] Faith [Evans] and Kim," he said. "To make sure the beats are right, the soundtrack is going to be right."

But as much as the film is about music, about the story of one man's journey from Brooklyn to the penthouse, it's more about Biggie's mother, Combs asserted. Voletta Wallace, who lives in the New Jersey house her son owned, will be played in the film by Oscar nominee Angela Bassett.

"It's not my movie," Combs said. "A lot of people don't know this, but it's not my movie. It's Miss Wallace's movie. It's from a mother's perspective. I'm just there as support."

"It's good for his mom. It gives [her] some relief that the world really appreciated her son. It's good for Brooklyn, it's good for hip-hop," Angelettie added. "It's [gonna be] very good."

"Notorious" will open in January.

For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.

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Rapper's charges include driving on a suspended license, reckless driving, endangerment.





Rapper DMX was arrested Tuesday by officers from the Arizona Department of Public Safety on charges of racing on a highway, driving on a suspended license, reckless driving, two counts of endangerment and three counts of criminal speed, all stemming from an incident that took place January 21.

According to the DPS, DMX (real name: Earl Simmons) was photographed by stationary traffic cameras positioned along the Loop 101 freeway in Scottsdale, Arizona. The cameras caught DMX driving a bright yellow 1966 Chevy Nova II — with a large "DMX" decal emblazoned across the windshield — well over the posted 65 mph speed limit, not once but three times.

At 8:24 p.m., Simmons was photographed driving 100 mph, and then, one minute later, another camera caught him driving 114 mph. Less than three minutes later, DMX was caught on camera again, this time driving 101 mph.

The DPS launched an investigation into Simmons' driving habits not long after and found enough evidence to arrest the rapper at his home in Phoenix. The DPS said DMX cooperated with the arresting officers and was booked into the Scottsdale City Jail. He later posted bond and was released.

"This is an important arrest," said Roger Vanderpool, the director of the state's DPS. "Criminal speeding endangers the lives of everyone on the road. [Simmons] wasn't singled out because of his notoriety. We have made several arrests in the last few months of those people who flagrantly violate the speed limit and therefore endanger the lives of everyone else on the road."

Tuesday's arrest is the latest legal trouble the rapper has faced in the Copper State. In late August, deputies with the Maricopa County sheriff's office raided the rapper's Cave Creek, Arizona, home and seized 12 pit bulls from the residence. Officials said the animals were malnourished and kept in inhumane conditions. At the time of the raid, police also discovered a large cache of weapons in his home, and in the backyard, police dug up the charred remains of at least one dog. DMX has not been charged with any crime in connection to that incident.

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'I think it's a much-needed addition,' William Moseley says of Caspian-Susan story line.




NEW YORK — Nearly 1,300 years may have passed in Narnia since the last big-screen adaptation of C.S. Lewis' beloved books, but the Pevensies were still looking youthful and beautiful at the red-carpet premiere for "The Chronicles Of Narnia: Prince Caspian" Wednesday night in New York City. William Moseley, Anna Popplewell, Georgie Henley and Skander Keynes were all smiles alongside the likes of Aslan and the White Witch, in the form of Liam Neeson and Oscar winner Tilda Swinton.

But it was a night dominated by the young stars of the hugely popular franchise ("The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" grossed nearly $750 million worldwide). Despite being the lead of the last Narnia adventure, William Moseley admitted to MTV News, "I still feel like a newcomer to this whole premiere thing." Indeed, Moseley made his film acting debut as Peter Pevensie in December 2005.

"It's a lot less freezing," Popplewell said, comparing the beautiful night in Midtown Manhattan to the London premiere two-and-a-half years ago. "It was a royal premiere ... and I had to really grit my teeth with my coat on," she recalled.

Few coats were seen in the sunny early evening on this go-round. In fact, one had to feel sorry for the Narnia guards in full battle regalia lined up along the red carpet.

Meanwhile, the titular star of the new adventure, Ben Barnes, confided that he had been dreading the premiere's gauntlet of reporters and photographers. He exuded calm, however, as he told MTV, "It's not as crazy as I thought it would be." Later, Barnes would inspire some hysteria simply by leaving the carpet to sign photos for the many Narnia fans who had come out for the event.

In recent weeks, Barnes' face seems to have been as omnipresent on the streets of New York as Starbucks — a fact that's been noticed by the actor. "It's so bizarre and surreal [to see the posters]," Barnes laughed. Asked if he'd followed the fan reactions to him since his casting had been announced, Barnes said, "I looked online once when I got the job and saw people write, 'I hate that they chose Ben Barnes. He's too old. He's got the wrong hair.' And then I looked again a few weeks ago, and they said they were sick of seeing my face everywhere. I won't be going [online] again."

If Barnes did go online again, he'd see that much of the prerelease chatter about "Prince Caspian" has been about a new element that the filmmakers contributed: a romance between Caspian and Susan. Barnes said he initially shared the concerns of many die-hard Narnia fans: "I was deeply concerned about [the romance]."

Director Andrew Adamson carefully defended the plot addition. "I think it's very sensitively handled," he said. "The kids are growing up. If you look at Ben and you look at Anna, it seems really implausible that they wouldn't have some feelings for each other."

Moseley is confident that the change only helps Lewis' story. "I think it's a much-needed addition," he said. "It adds a sweet, nostalgic touch."

But will it be the kind of change that fans can accept? Adamson was all optimism as he walked the final steps of the red carpet. "I think the Narnia fans are going to be happy," he told MTV News with conviction. "I'm a hard-core Narnia fan. I've seen the movie with some hard-core fans. I think people who see this movie are going to see the book that they read. I'm very respectful of these books. I grew up with them."

Check out everything we've got on "The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian."

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Singer was arrested Wednesday for the second time in as many weeks.





Amy Winehouse was released on an undisclosed bail amount Wednesday night after being arrested for the second time in as many weeks, according to CNN. Last month, the singer got off with a caution for slapping a man in a bar, and on Wednesday, she turned herself in to face questioning over a widely circulated video that appears to show her smoking drugs.

"Amy Winehouse voluntarily attended a London police station today by appointment," a statement released Wednesday by Winehouse's spokesperson explained. "She was arrested in order to be interviewed and is co-operating fully with enquiries. The interview relates to a video handed to police earlier this year."

The singer is scheduled to go before a judge to answer to the charges later this month, according to CNN.

In the video in question, which was forwarded to police by the English tabloid newspaper The Sun earlier this year, the troubled Grammy winner appears to be inhaling drugs from a glass pipe. TMZ reported that Winehouse was arrested after the scheduled meeting for alleged possession of a controlled drug.

"Around 1 p.m. today a 24-year-old woman from the Camden area attended a London police station by arrangement and was arrested in connection with the alleged possession of a controlled drug," a spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police said, according to BBC News.

The British press has also reported that Peaches Geldof, the 19-year-old daughter of Live Aid co-founder Sir Bob Geldof, is scheduled to be interviewed by police later this week about footage of her handing money to a man as part of a suspected drug deal. The footage was reportedly seized from the same man who is thought to be behind the video that led to Winehouse's arrest.

In addition to the caution over the slapping incident, which required Winehouse to be held overnight in jail because a doctor reportedly found her "unfit for interview" at the time of her arrest, the singer was reportedly forced to give up on her quest to record a track for the upcoming James Bond movie. Producer Mark Ronson told The Associated Press that she was "not ready" to record any music at this time. Winehouse's label disputed those comments, saying the collaborators merely had artistic differences over the direction of the song.

Regardless, between a recent trip to a rehabilitation facility and her frequent run-ins with the law, the singer's ongoing struggles have prevented her from working in earnest on the follow-up to her 2006 breakthrough album, Back to Black. Though Winehouse's spokesperson said the singer has been in the studio working on new material, there is currently no timetable for its release.

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Tour's North American leg starts in New Jersey on October 3; tickets go on sale for fan-club members May 12.





Madonna is taking her show on the road, and it sounds like it's gonna be pretty sweet. And sticky.

On Thursday (May 8), via a candy-as-sexual-metaphor-laden press release, the Material Girl announced the itinerary of her worldwide Sticky & Sweet Tour, which kicks off on August 23 in Cardiff, Wales, and will make stops in most major European markets throughout September, before heading stateside for an October 3 show at the Izod Center in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

The Sticky & Sweet show will hit venues throughout North America — including a pair of shows at New York's Madison Square Garden and stops in Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles and Miami — before heading down to Mexico and South America later in the year.

Just in case you weren't aware, the tour is in support of her 11th studio album, Hard Candy, which debuted at #1 on the Billboard albums chart in the U.S. and also topped the charts in 27 other countries, including Japan, France, the U.K., Germany, Mexico, Hong Kong and the United Arab Emirates. (Read what Madonna and Justin Timberlake had to say about making the album together— and check out our visit with the 1985 Madonna look-alike contest winner!)

Tickets to the first few North American Sticky & Sweet dates go on sale for Madonna's fan-club members on May 12 and will be made available to the general public later this month. All ticket information can be found through Madonna's official Web site.

North American dates for the Sticky & Sweet Tour:

· 10/3 - East Rutherford, NJ @ Izod Center
· 10/6, 10/7 - New York, NY@ Madison Square Garden
· 10/15 - Boston, MA @ TD BankNorth Garden
· 10/18 - Toronto, ON @ Air Canada Center
· 10/22 - Montreal, QC @ Bell Centre
· 10/26 - Chicago, IL @ United Center
· 10/30 - Vancouver, BC @ BC Place Stadium
· 11/01 - Oakland, CA @ Oracle Arena
· 11/04 - San Diego, CA @ Petco Park
· 11/06 - Las Angeles, CA @ Dodger Stadium
· 11/08 - Las Vegas, NV @ MGM Grand
· 11/11 - Denver, CO @ Pepsi Center
· 11/16 - Houston, TX @ Minute Maid Park
· 11/19 - Philadelphia, PA @ Wachovia Center
· 11/22 - Atlantic City, NJ @ Boardwalk Hall
· 11/24 - Atlanta, GA @ Philips Arena
· 11/26 - Miami, FL @ Dolphins Stadium

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Dreadlocked singer, done in by halfhearted performances, looks relieved upon being sent home.





After becoming the first "Idol" final-four contestant to seemingly give up and try to get thrown off the show, the 20-year-old dreadlocked singer from Rockwall, Texas, got his wish Wednesday night when he was shown the door following one of the most lackluster final-round performances in "Idol" history.

For most of the night, Castro seemed even more disengaged than usual, halfheartedly clapping when David Cook was whisked to safety and flashing a look of what seemed to be sweet relief when host Ryan Seacrest teasingly suggested midway through the results show that the elimination would be coming early.

His fate was sealed by a cover of "I Shot the Sheriff" that judge Randy Jackson termed "karaoke Bob Marley" and Simon Cowell called "atrocious." Seacrest teased that Castro sang "most of" his second song, the Dylan classic "Mr. Tambourine Man," which had inspired Cowell to tell the singer to pack his bags. Castro admitted that he did gather his things after the show, quipping, "Someone said I shot the tambourine man yesterday," which drew a laugh from Cowell.

Asked why he had such a hard time Tuesday night, Castro said he thought his inexperience was catching up to him. "It's getting tough for me," he said. "I think my inexperience is coming in ... just learning ... with the two songs the week before. ... So this week I tried to pick two songs I know and even that, I screwed it up." By the time Seacrest read the results, sealed by a season-high 51 million votes, fellow bottom vote-getter Syesha Mercado did her best to look surprised as Castro gave her a hug and awkwardly said, "It's been a pleasure."

The soft-spoken singer, who seemed at ease onstage but perpetually uncomfortable during the interview segments and Ford commercials, gleefully strapped on his guitar to make his final exit. When Seacrest opined that Castro looked "relieved," without missing a beat, the singer shot back, "It's three songs next week — I don't know what I would have done!" Fittingly, even with a song he said was one of his favorites, Castro stumbled through one last performance of "I Shot the Sheriff," dropping and improvising lyrics, including "All around in my hometown/ They're trying to take me home."

(Read John Norris' David vs. David finale, where you'll find all the latest news, interviews and opinions. And relive six seasons of "Idol" hot messes and high notes in six minutes with our video timeline.

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A mother and child reunion for TV actors in mom's day salute




By MICHAEL CIDONI, Associated Press Writer
25 minutes ago


Mother's Day

On-screen children honored their television mothers at "A Mother's Day Salute to TV Moms," an event put on by the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.

Attendees included Marion Ross ("Happy Days") and her TV offspring Erin Moran; Diahann Carroll ("Julia," "Dynasty" and "A Different World") and "World" co-star Jasmine Guy; Bonnie Franklin ("One Day at a Time") and Mackenzie Phillips and Valerie Bertinelli; and Holland Taylor ("Two and a Half Men") with Jon Cryer and Charlie Sheen.

Questions arose at the Tuesday night event about another show-biz mother — Britney Spears — who had scored greater access to her two sons in a custody proceeding earlier in the day.

"You know, I always say, 'If the camera followed you all of your life, we would think differently about you, as well,'" said Tishina Arnold, who plays the mom on the sitcom "Everybody Hates Chris." "There are certain things that we don't need to see or know. But Britney's always in our prayers — that she will be a productive mother."

Productive, like TV moms such as Ross' Marion Cunningham, Carroll's Julia Baker and Franklin's Ann Romano, whose go-it-alone character on "One Day at a Time" made for groundbreaking TV.

"She was the first one, who, on television — since then, I mean, it's all over the place — a single mother raising two kids," Franklin told AP Television. "And it was reflective of what was happening in the country. I mean, I hear that, still, to this day: 'That was me. That was my mother. You were my mother.'"

"One Day at a Time," incidentally, was inspired by the life of the show's co-creator, actor-writer-producer Whitney Blake, the mother of a TV mom, event attendee Meredith Baxter, who did her own matriarchal duties on TV's "Family," "Family Ties" and recently on "Cold Case."

As in reality, not all TV moms are good ones, especially Taylor's bawdy Evelyn Harper on "Two and a Half Men."

"I think that's pretty accurate," Taylor replied. "I mean, if you think 'Antichrist'/'Anti-mom.' I think what has trained me and prepared me for this role, as this particular mother, is that I have never had children. And not only have I never had children, but I didn't even notice that I haven't had children. So, with that in mind, I am beautifully equipped to play Evelyn Harper."

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Carly Simon charts new course with Brazilian-inspired CD




By CHARLES J. GANS, Associated Press Writer
1 hour, 2 minutes ago


Tall and slender, her blond hair flowing, she gently swayed her body and snapped her fingers to the beat of the samba-inspired melody, singing passionately about making love on moonlit beaches.

The CD is not only her first collection of original songs in eight years, but also finds the legendary 62-year-old singer-songwriter charting a new musical course inspired by the music of Brazil from Antonio Carlos Jobim and Luiz Bonfa to Caetano Veloso and Jorge Ben.

"I'm setting the lyrical themes to a carnival or Brazilian or slightly samba tempo so that life is joyous even in its sadness," said Simon during a break at the Manhattan studio. "Life is a dream even in its most painful moments, it's a dream that we can dance to."

"It all kind of reminds me of `Black Orpheus,' which I must have seen 10 times when it came out, and was so much the impetus for my getting into Brazilian music," she said, referring to the 1959 film with the Jobim-Bonfa score which retold the Greek Orpheus-Eurydice myth during Rio's Carnival.

Simon, whose 20-year marriage to writer-businessman Jim Hart ended in divorce last year, doesn't want to specify who's the boyfriend that inspired "This Kind of Love," in which she sings of falling in love with someone she "didn't see ... as my type at all."

But the new man in her life, Dr. Richard Koehler, a surgeon who served in the Gulf War, is unlike the musicians, writers and actors she's been involved with in the past.

"Because he's not an artist ... he's very different," said Simon, who met him when he was practicing on Martha's Vineyard, where she lives year-round. "Getting to know him has been quite amazing ... because he's more capable of love than anybody that I've known with the exception of one musician who I was engaged to a while back."

During the rehearsal, Simon put the finishing touches on new arrangements of some past hits — including the Oscar-winning "Let the River Run," "Anticipation," and "You're So Vain" — realizing she can no longer sing them as hard as she did in the good old days.

Simon considers her songs to be "problem solvers" that have helped her channel her emotions and deal with life's challenges. That was the case with her last album of original songs from 2000, "The Bedroom Tapes," recorded at her Vineyard home when she was suffering depression after battling breast cancer.

"There were some very starkly real, scary to myself, so open songs," said Simon. "I love that album ... and think it has some of the best work I've ever done."

Simon says her last label, Columbia, considered her a "heritage" artist and insisted she do standards albums such as the Grammy-nominated "Moonlight Serenade" (2005). Simon, who had sung these songs since childhood, was the first '70s pop star, before Rod Stewart or Linda Ronstadt, to record a Great American Songbook album with "Torch" (1981).

"I wanted to do original songs but they thought it was safer ... and would sell a certain number of records if I did the standards or lullabies (on the 2007 album "Into White")," she said. "I was creatively directed in that way by very well-meaning people who didn't recognize that a woman of my age has viable thoughts and feelings that people want to hear."

She got her chance when Starbucks' Hear Music label asked her to do an album of originals. She had already been thinking about a Brazilian-influenced album when Grammy-winning songwriter Jimmy Webb, who had co-produced her 1997 CD "Film Noir," unexpectedly called early last year to suggest setting her old songs to Brazilian rhythms.

"I always thought that Carly had a great voice, especially in her low register, that throaty, sexy part of her voice, for that kind of music," said Webb, who contributed the sensuous Jobim-inspired "The Last Samba," for the album. "It took off in a different way because it became time for Carly to create a new project."

"Carly is an indomitable character," said Webb, the album's co-producer. "I sort of see it as an `I will not go gently' statement really ... a determination to keep movin' and groovin.'"

Simon had never stopped filling her notebook with ideas for lyrics. The Wim Wenders' film "Wings of Desire" inspired the sultry R&B song "So Many People." The tango-flavored "Sangre Dolce" resulted from an encounter in Central Park with a nanny taking care of a wealthy family's baby while longing for her child back in Argentina.

Art Buchwald


http://www.carlysimon

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Ne-Yo bringing awareness to foster care system




By JONATHAN LANDRUM Jr., Associated Press Writer
52 minutes ago


"A lot of aggravation was inside me," the 28-year-old singer-songwriter told The Associated Press. "Dad stuck around for a minute and decided it wasn't for him. But I credit my mom for being so positive, putting the pin in my hand.

"It's single women like her who don't get enough recognition."

Now Ne-Yo, whose real name is Shaffer C. Smith, is honoring moms like his own.

On Sunday, he'll host a brunch for 50 single and foster mothers from the metro Atlanta area to raise awareness of the need for reform of the foster care system in the United States.

"They need something special," he said. "So with the success I've been given, through the blessings I have, how could I not use it for good? This is a way to help people who deserve it — for both the mothers and children."

He will perform, and licensed child care workers are expected to provide activities for children between the ages of 1 and 10 in rooms separate from the event.

"My efforts are minor for what should be done," he told The Associated Press. "We're in a day and age where people care about themselves and no one else. That's the outlook a lot of people have. But it is everybody's responsibility to make sure that our future, which is these kids, are brought up the right way."

When Ne-Yo told his mother about the event, she broke into tears.

"I got a little emotional because trying to help children is a passion of mine," said Loraine Smith, 45. She helped maintain a household that included Ne-Yo, his grandmother, sister and five aunts while on welfare for a short stint.

"This is the best thing so far he has done to give back to the community," she said.

Ne-Yo won a Grammy for best contemporary R&B album for "Because of You."

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Portrait of Heath Ledger wins Australian art award





1 hour, 44 minutes ago


Heath Ledger

The painting features a bare-chested Ledger staring from the canvas as two images of the actor whisper into his ears.

On Thursday, it was awarded a secondary prize by the Art Gallery of New South Wales in its annual national portrait competition. Sydney artist Del Kathryn Barton won first prize with her self-portrait.

"Heath" by Vincent Fantauzzo was the popular choice among the 32,000 who saw the exhibition.

Ledger died of an accidental prescription drug overdose in January. He was 28.

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Just a minute with Christina Ricci on "Speed Racer"




By Nichola Groom
29 minutes ago


Christina RicciMermaidsHollywood

In her latest project, "Speed Racer," Ricci stars as
Trixie, the title character's precocious girlfriend.

The action-packed family film about race car drivers is
Ricci's biggest movie in years. For most of her adult career
the actress has mainly acted in low-budget independent

films.

Over pasta and iced tea at a Los Angeles restaurant, Ricci,
28, talked to Reuters about "Speed Racer," getting older, and
what she would do if she wasn't acting.

Q: You've been acting since you were 10. Did you ever think
about doing anything else?

Q: Are you like that in your own life, too?

A: "I like fixing my own clothes and holes and buttons.
(In) most of my house, any of the projects that were done in
there were done when I had nothing to do. I have to do two
things at once. I can't just watch television or watch a movie.
I also have to be doing a project at the same time."

Q: Does that make you want to work a lot too?

A: "I would definitely love to go from one movie to the
next, but I haven't necessarily been in a position where I
could do that and still be discerning. So, I think all my
projects and fix-it things have been so I can be patient and
wait for something I am really interested or believe in."

Q: In "Speed Racer," you play a young character, and yet
you are nearly 30. Do people think of you as a perpetual teen?

A: "This kind of movie is kind of perfect for me because
people are like 'It doesn't matter how old she is.' A lot of
people have trouble getting their head around, 'Well she
doesn't look old enough to be a professional, but we know that
she is almost 30.' So it's difficult sometimes in casting.

"I do totally agree with what they are talking about. There
is no part of me that is like 'I would be completely believable
as an FBI agent."'

Q: Do you feel like you are getting older?

A: "I never did before, and then I saw this picture and I
was like 'Oh my God, I am not impervious to age.' I think I
always believed it wouldn't happen. So yeah I do feel like I'm
getting older, but in the weirdest way because I don't feel
older. I still dress the same, so now I'm worried. Do I have to
start dressing older? Because I don't want to be one of those
freaky people that looks old but dresses like they are a
teenager."

Q: You've appeared on "Grey's Anatomy" and a few other TV
shows. Do you like doing TV?


Reuters/Nielsen

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Mariah Carey and Nick Cannon spill wedding beans to People





19 minutes ago


Nick CannonBahamas

The 38-year-old singer and the 27-year-old actor confirmed to People magazine that they tied the knot at Carey's Bahamian estate April 30 after a courtship that began in late March.

In an interview from the magazine's May 19 issue, Cannon said they clicked instantly when Carey cast him as a lover in the video for her new single, "Bye Bye."

"From the first time we sat down to discuss the video at the Beverly Hills Hotel, we connected," Cannon said. "We had so much in common spiritually, and we laugh at the same things. I didn't have to put on my Mac Daddy suave mode. I was able to be myself with her. We are both eternally 12 years old."

They began a whirlwind romance, and raised eyebrows when Carey was seen sporting a huge diamond ring on her finger at the Tribeca Film Festival premiere of her movie "Tennessee," in which she plays a waitress. Carey said she told "only about four people" about the wedding.

Were Carey's friends surprised?

"Some were, but some weren't," she said. "One thing (few people) knew was we got tattoos a few weeks earlier. So anyone who saw my (Mrs. Cannon) tattoo wasn't surprised."

Chiming in, Cannon said, "To me rings are special and exciting, but tattoos mean more than anything. They're forever and ever. They professed our love."

A dozen guests attended their sunset wedding, where they served Maine lobster and Dom Perignon champagne. The bride wore a gown by Nile Cmylo that showed off her curves and faded from off-white to pale pink.

"My pastor Clarence Keaton flew in from New York," Carey said. "The whole wedding was really beautiful and sweet. Being there with loved ones under the sky ... it was a spiritual moment."

Cannon said he was speechless watching Carey walk down the aisle: "I was elated, but I was thinking, `Don't pass out.' ... (The pastor) said, `The eyes are the window to the soul,' then gave us an entire minute to stare into each other's eyes. So I was saying, `Don't cry.'"

The pair said they've thought about having kids.

"It's part of the whole purpose of getting married," Carey said. "I'd just want our children to have the best childhood and upbringing they possibly could."

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Canadian filmmaker turns to Internet to finance movie




By Irene Kuan
18 minutes ago


Casey Walker launched a Web site earlier this year to raise
C$1 million ($988,457) and is selling frames of his
yet-to-be-made film over the Internet for C$10 a piece.

In return, investors will receive a credit in his movie,
advertisement rights on his site and a cut of the profits if
the film makes money.

So far he has sold more than 17,000 frames, bringing in
about C$170,000, including the biggest single sale at C$52,560.
Walker also has attracted investors from the United States,
Europe and Canada.

He hopes to reach a million in four months.

"I wanted to make a feature film since I got into this
business 10 years ago, and it's not easy to finance an
independent film in this country, especially for a first-time
director," Walker said in an interview.

He had shopped his script around Hollywood unsuccessfully
several times before returning to Canada. The idea for the Web
site came to him in 2006 after he saw another site called the
"Million Dollar Home Page." It was created by a man in Britain
who sold pixels of his site to advertisers and made more than
$1 million in five months.

"That's what inspired me to approach the public online to
fund-raise because his success was so rapid," Walker said.

People who buy the most frames from the site,
www.mymilliondollarmovie, get a higher spot on the credit
role listing them as assistant producer.

"It's the opportunity to see your name up in lights and be
part of a feature film, because becoming an assistant producer
on a project like this is not something most people have access
to, let alone access at the cost I'm offering it for," he said.

Walker realizes there is a chance the film will not get
picked up by a distributor, in which case he said he is
determined to distribute it himself.

His only guarantees are the film will be made, investors
will get credited, and can advertise by posting links, pictures
and videos on his Web site.

If the film is successful, 50 percent of the profits will
go to investors, based on the number of frames they purchased,
while the other half will be used to pay the production
company, cast and crew.

Walker described the film, titled "Free for all ... But
you" as a romantic comedy about two guys in love with a girl,
who is in a relationship with seven other people.

Reuters/Nielsen

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Ne-Yo bringing awareness to foster care system




By JONATHAN LANDRUM Jr., Associated Press Writer
51 minutes ago


"A lot of aggravation was inside me," the 28-year-old singer-songwriter told The Associated Press. "Dad stuck around for a minute and decided it wasn't for him. But I credit my mom for being so positive, putting the pin in my hand.

"It's single women like her who don't get enough recognition."

Now Ne-Yo, whose real name is Shaffer C. Smith, is honoring moms like his own.

On Sunday, he'll host a brunch for 50 single and foster mothers from the metro Atlanta area to raise awareness of the need for reform of the foster care system in the United States.

"They need something special," he said. "So with the success I've been given, through the blessings I have, how could I not use it for good? This is a way to help people who deserve it — for both the mothers and children."

He will perform, and licensed child care workers are expected to provide activities for children between the ages of 1 and 10 in rooms separate from the event.

"My efforts are minor for what should be done," he told The Associated Press. "We're in a day and age where people care about themselves and no one else. That's the outlook a lot of people have. But it is everybody's responsibility to make sure that our future, which is these kids, are brought up the right way."

When Ne-Yo told his mother about the event, she broke into tears.

"I got a little emotional because trying to help children is a passion of mine," said Loraine Smith, 45. She helped maintain a household that included Ne-Yo, his grandmother, sister and five aunts while on welfare for a short stint.

"This is the best thing so far he has done to give back to the community," she said.

Ne-Yo won a Grammy for best contemporary R&B album for "Because of You."

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Portrait of Heath Ledger wins Australian art award





1 hour, 43 minutes ago


Heath Ledger

The painting features a bare-chested Ledger staring from the canvas as two images of the actor whisper into his ears.

On Thursday, it was awarded a secondary prize by the Art Gallery of New South Wales in its annual national portrait competition. Sydney artist Del Kathryn Barton won first prize with her self-portrait.

"Heath" by Vincent Fantauzzo was the popular choice among the 32,000 who saw the exhibition.

Ledger died of an accidental prescription drug overdose in January. He was 28.

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Jammys bring Phish together again; awards show to end




By NEKESA MUMBI MOODY, AP Music Writer
2 hours, 42 minutes ago


Phish-heads

While all members of the beloved jam-band appeared — and two of them grooved onstage (Trey Anastasio and Page McConnell) — they didn't perform together Wednesday night. And as they accepted their lifetime achievement award, there was no hint of another reunion, dashing rumbling hopes that Phish might become the latest act to get back together for a blockbuster tour.

But the coming together of Anastasio, McConnell, Jon Fishman and Mike Gordon was still the highlight of an emotional and electric evening, as they thanked fans for their groundbreaking journey as the most popular jam-band since the Grateful Dead and one of the most popular touring bands in rock.

Not only was it the highlight, it was also the peak for the seventh annual Jammys, which celebrates the best in improvisational music. In an interview with The Associated Press on Thursday, the show's executive producer and co-founder, Peter Shapiro, announced it would mark the last Jammy Awards as the event morphs into a larger celebration of live music.

"We've kind of accomplished what we set out to do. In a good jam you kind of have to take chances and go in new directions," he told the AP. "That's why we, on this high ... are going to take this momentum in a new direction."

It's hard to deny the Phish reunion as the awards show's best moment, despite a history of unique performances that included acts ranging from String Cheese Incident and members of The Dead to John Mayer and Buddy Guy. As Anastasio came the podium to speak, the crowd at the Theater at Madison Square Garden went from roaring cheers to silence.

"I always wanted to somehow have a moment when I could convey to some degree what all of this meant to me and I know to the other guys, too," Anastasio said.

"I feel like as a musician we're servants, and musicians from the beginning of time have been there to express the mood and the musical feelings in the air for whatever's going on in that particular culture," he said. "It's the greatest joy as a musician to be able to translate that, be part of something and watch the scenery around you. That's what it felt like to be in Phish all those years."

The four men haven't been onstage together since their last performance in Coventry, Vt., in 2004, which wrapped up a farewell tour and a 20-year run for Phish. Since then, each has been working on individual projects.

The foursome embraced each other warmly as they received their trophy, one of two for the evening (they also won best download for a years-old recording released last year for charity). Gordon told the audience he'd been sick earlier in the day and had considered not coming, but said he rallied for "my deepest brothers ever."

The idea of a Phish appearance, and possibly a reunion, added special excitement to the Jammys.

"They helped establish a model for a lot of jam bands that came after them," said Allman Brother and Gov't Mule's Warren Haynes. "They are one of the forerunners of this movement and it's great for them to be here."

But the appearance of Phish wasn't the evening's only stirring moment. Haynes performed with Squeeze's Glenn Tilbrook and Tea Leaf Green on the classic "Tempted"; Galactic jammed with Booker T. and Sharon Jones, then backed rap legend Doug E. Fresh as he beatboxed his way through "The Show" and "La Di Da Di."

But the two most exciting sets came, not surprisingly, with an infusion of Phish: Anastasio transfixed the crowd as he performed the Beatles' "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" and "Everyone Has Something to Hide Except for Me and My Monkey" with the Fab Faux; and McConnell jammed with jazz musicians Roy Haynes, Christian McBride, James Carter and Nicholas Payton in a special jazz tribute.

"It's pretty wild. Jam-band crowds seem to be the most enthusiastic music lovers out there," said Payton. "The roots are the same, blues, gospel jazz: it's all different branches of the same tree."

Shapiro hopes that whatever develops after the Jammys will reflect that. Though the details are still being worked out, he said it will be an event that is broader than the sometimes niche scene of jam-bands.

"The Jammys always celebrated live music and I don't think that people realize (the variety)" Shapiro said.


(This version CORRECTS to McConnell from McDonnell.)

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`CSI' star Gary Dourdan charged with felony drug possession





11 minutes ago


Gary Dourdan

The 41-year-old actor was arrested after police found him asleep in his car in Palm Springs on April 28. He was allegedly parked on the wrong side of the street with the car's interior light on.

Prosecutors said Dourdan is scheduled to appear in court in Indio, about 130 miles east of Los Angeles, on May 28. The criminal complaint was dated Tuesday.

A call to Dourdan's attorneys wasn't immediately returned early Thursday.

Dourdan has played crime scene investigator Warrick Brown on CBS' "CSI" since 2000.

Several celebrities were in Palm Springs for the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in nearby Indio.

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Tuesday, May 6, 2008


'Hannah Montana' star avoids questions about controversial pics by skipping down red carpet.





In her first major public appearance since near-topless photos, which were shot for Vanity Fair, stirred considerable debate among fans, parents and celebs like Madonna and Hilary Duff, "Hannah Montana" star Miley Cyrus appeared Saturday night at the Disney Channel Games concert, held at Orlando, Florida's Walt Disney World, and thanked her fans for their undying support.

"I hope you had an awesome time," Cyrus was quoted as saying on People. The Disney moneymaker skipped her way down the event's red carpet, seemingly to avoid questions about the photo scandal. "I saw a sign back there that said, 'Miley, I'm praying for you.' I could not be more appreciative. Thank you, guys, for all your support. Without you, none of this would be possible. I love every one of you, and I could not be more appreciative. God bless you."

Cyrus' set opened with "See You Again," and later on, the star previewed two tracks — "Fly on the Wall" and "Breakout" — from her forthcoming, yet-untitled album, which hits stores July 22.

Other performers that took the stage Saturday included the Jonas Brothers, the Cheetah Girls and Jordan Pruitt.

But the fans weren't the only ones backing Cyrus up. In an interview with the Orlando Sentinel, Cyrus' "Hannah Montana" co-star Jason Earles said she's taking last week's controversy in stride. "She's one of the strongest people I've ever met," he told the paper. "She'll do everything to make sure she does right by her fans. It will be all right. I know what kind of person she is. She has a great heart."

Last week, the 15-year-old pop sensation issued a statement apologizing both for controversial photos she'd taken privately, depicting her in her bra and panties, and for those she'd taken for the Vanity Fair spread. Cyrus, who expressed embarrassment over the pictures, appeared to be topless in the images, which were shot by celebrity photographer Annie Leibovitz.

In the statement, Cyrus said, "The pictures of me on the Internet were silly, inappropriate shots. I appreciate all the support of my fans and hope they understand that along the way I am going to make mistakes and I am not perfect. I never intended for any of this to happen, and I am truly sorry if I have disappointed anyone. Most of all, I have let myself down. I will learn from my mistakes and trust my support team. My family and my faith will guide me through my life's journey."

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'I don't think people her age look at [the photo] the same way their parents do,' JT says.





Long before he brought sexy back, starred in movies, became best pals with Timbaland or played the role of "the cute one" in 'N Sync, Justin Timberlake was just another cog in the Mickey Mouse money machine, logging two seasons on Disney's "Mickey Mouse Club."

He's also spent pretty much every waking minute of his teens and 20s living directly in the spotlight. And in that time he's managed to find himself at the center of at least one significant public controversy ("wardrobe malfunction" anyone?).

So, obviously, he can sympathize with the ongoing plight of current Disney star — and public pariah — Miley Cyrus. So when we caught up with JT backstage at New York's Roseland Ballroom (where he'd just shared the stage with Madonna), we figured we'd ask him all about Cyrus' revealing Vanity Fair and Internet photos. It turns out, much like the Material Girl herself, Timberlake thinks the entire issue has been blown out of proportion.

But unlike Maddy, he sees the Cyrus controversy as part of a much larger problem: the public's rather insatiable desire to tear down anyone and everyone.

"Of course they're going to pick [on] a wholesome, American, young female [for] the first sign of anything," Timberlake said. "Unfortunately, there's a picture of her that's published with her in just a blanket. ... And that's the photo, that's the catalyst. But that's also the age we live in. People want to take a photo, and that's who you are for a year's time. We've all become victims of that."

And to that point, he thinks that Cyrus' young fans aren't the ones keeping Mileygate going. In fact, they've probably already forgotten about the issue entirely. The real problem lies with what those fan's parents think (as one MTV News intern already pointed out here).

"I don't think people her age look at [the photo] the same way their parents do," Timberlake said.

And though he wishes the whole situation would just go away, he joked that he's cooking up plans for making a quick buck off it. After all, in addition to being a singer, an entertainer and an actor, he's also a business man.

"I'm gonna make 'Leave Miley Alone' T-shirts," he laughed.

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B takes the stage after Jay jokingly disses 'Crazy in Love.'





Jay-Z was voted the greatest MC of all time and Mary J. Blige is the greatest R&B singer of our generation, so when they call themselves "the Heart of the City," they're really repping Anytown, U.S.A. If you love hip-hop and/or R&B, you've more than likely been enamored with Jigga and MJB at certain points, if not throughout their careers.

The box-office receipts are indicating that their fanbases (both individually and collectively) aren't waning. Their joint-headline venture is selling out across the land, and even though the duo played a show in New Jersey several weeks back, on Friday Jay and Mary finally made it to their city, NYC. Who has meant more to the Apple than Jay and Mary? There's a short list of artists that have arguably had just as significant an impact, but a pair who have meant more? That's a tough one.

Jay and MJB have two sold-out dates coming up at Madison Square Garden. Friday's show was added last, and of course it was filled to the brim. Women and men. The 'hood and Hollywood. Young and long in the tooth. Grimy rapper Uncle Murda and cleaner-than-a-preacher-on-Sunday celebrity Oprah Winfrey. Everyone came out to the show.

With fans including Jodie Foster, Naomi Campbell and Justin Timberlake in attendance, Hov and the Queen did what they do: electrify with an endless array of hit records.

During Jay-Z's solo set, he has a part where he shows off. Jay literally sits in the DJ booth and pushes buttons to cue up instrumentals of classics like "Money Ain't a Thang," "Who You Wit" and "Hard Knock Life." "F--- that," Jay yelled every time he played a song, cutting it off within seconds of bringing it up. Humorously, he started " '03 Bonnie & Clyde" and just like before, he stopped it after a second. "F--- that," he said with a grin. Then Hov pulled up Beyoncé's "Crazy in Love" and, you guessed it, said, "F--- that too. ... No disrespect."

But almost immediately, Beyoncé came onstage, walking with a sassy "how dare you" strut. Jay started "Crazy in Love" again, and B did her crowd-pleasing "uh oh" dance. She walked over to Jay, did a spin, smiled and went backstage. Jay doubled over laughing.

The Heart of the City Tour hits Atlantic City, New Jersey, Monday night (May 5) and returns to New York May 6 and 7.

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'I'm anxious to get into the next one,' Terrence Howard says of his moment to shine in 2010 follow-up. 'I don't want to be a sidekick.'





"I am Iron Man," Tony Stark tells an assembled group of reporters in the last scene of the superhero movie, which soared into the stratosphere with an astronomical $100 million at the box office this past weekend. But it's the question mark after the credits, and not the exclamation point before them, that had all the fans talking on Monday (May 5).

As in, now that he's forged a suit of indestructible alloy, shifted his business priorities and saved the world, just where does Iron Man go next?

Turns out, we're all a little like Nick Fury, since what we really want to talk about is "The Avengers Initiative."

Lucky for us, so does "Iron Man" director Jon Favreau, who first hinted that Marvel's Mightiest Tag Team would find its way to the big screen when he chatted with MTV News in January.

"The idea of doing an Avengers movie is really compelling," he told us.

Too compelling to pass up, apparently. In a recent press release, Marvel Studios announced that "The Avengers" would hit the big screen in July 2011, following solo efforts from Iron Man, Hulk, Thor and Captain America (four of the six founding members, minus Ant-Man and Wasp).

It's a colossal comic consortium whose time has finally come, Favreau insists, thanks to the fact that Marvel Studios now controls so many of its own properties, enabling cross-pollination. And much like the team itself, which was formed to fight evils no single super can face, the barrage of comic book flicks will add up to a sum greater than its parts.

"And I'll tell you why," Favreau grinned. "You got the first movie, the first movie you do the origin story. Number two is always better — 'Spider-Man 2,' 'X-Men 2' — now you get to number three. Now you're starting to run out of ideas. You start to have to add more characters. And the third ones inevitably feel like they're trying to live up to the second one. And so the Avengers would afford us the opportunity to bring together a bunch of characters established in other Marvel movies and bring 'em together to tell a story together that feels more organic as opposed to the [usual] number three."

An organic story that would almost certainly be set up in one or more of the solo efforts, which include "Iron Man 2" and "Thor" in 2010 and "Captain America" in 2011.

For instance, we know that Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) appears briefly in the upcoming "The Incredible Hulk," offering to help General Ross (William Hurt) with his little green problem. Could the setup for "The Avengers" be a rampaging Hulk, too powerful for just one man to tackle?

"I haven't spoken to ['Hulk' star] Ed [Norton] since Comic-Con last year when we all appeared together," Favreau said when we asked about the Hulk setting up the Avengers in the original comic.

We don't know if the threat will come from the Hulk, but given his druthers, "Iron Man" star Terrence Howard thinks it should definitely follow some sort of rogue super, and the balance between those with powers and those without.

"That department, S.H.I.E.L.D., seems to be more on the side of the American people or the world's interests. Like we have the CIA, but many of their operations are for the sake of maintaining political stability," he said. "I think S.H.I.E.L.D. is more about maintaining a social balance. The power comes back to the hands of the people. To be a part of that [would] mean a lot."

But before he can allow himself to get excited about "The Avengers," Howard is positively giddy over "Iron Man 2," which has already been announced for April 30, 2010.

"Now I'm anxious to get into the next one. I don't want to be a sidekick, I don't want to be a wingman. I want to have my own thing," he beamed. "I want to be War Machine."

War Machine's appearance, set up in the film when Howard's Jim Rhodes looks at a suit and says, "Next time," is just one of the many sequel nuggets foreshadowed in the first film — none more heavily, perhaps, than Tony Stark's bout with alcoholism.

For his part, Downey can't wait to develop that aspect of the character.

"If he's drinking, there are so many reasons he would. It could be because it's his 40th birthday and he's looking at his mortality," he said of the character's inner demons. " ... Then you can start playing with those ideas a bunch."

But who would Iron Man face? Unlike the first film, in which the true villain isn't revealed until late in the movie, Downey promised that the second villain will be front and center from the very beginning.

"We think about the opening sequence for 'Iron Man 2' that we want to see. And we got a badass one," he revealed. "As you would hope and expect, we reveal who the nemesis is."

Mandarin? Spymaster? Ultimo? With two years to wait, for comic fans everywhere, right now the villain is time.

Check out everything we've got on "Iron Man."

For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.

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'We're not looking to top anything,' Zac Efron says of the series' big-screen debut.





It's a sequel to two of the most successful cable movies of all time — a one-off that became a franchise that became a veritable license to print money for Disney and stars like Zac Efron, Ashley Tisdale and Vanessa Hudgens. So now that "High School Musical" is making its first trip to the big screen with the series' third installment, the talent behind the toe-tapping tale must be feeling the pressure to succeed big time, right?

"We're not," star Monique Coleman casually told reporters during a recent press conference the day before filming began on "High School Musical 3: Senior Year." "We're making another movie. I know, personally, I'm not going in there tempted to do it better, but just to do it justice."

"It's hard to look at it as a pressure, because we've been looking forward to this for so long," Efron echoed. "We're not looking to top anything."

The stated desire to just keep on trucking is an unfamiliar refrain for any follow-up, let alone one that's spawned so much. But, then, what's made "HSM" a success in the first place has always been its utter lack of pretense, insisted Hudgens, who said the story for the next installment will follow a similarly accessible theme.

"The characters you see are a little over-the-top and stuff, [but] they're people that go to high school," she said of the continuing adventures of Sharpay, Troy and Gabriella. "Like, you have the brainiac who is in charge of the clubs and everything, you have the new girl who comes to school, and you have the jock. [But] they're all real characters that you know and see in high school."

But whereas the first two films dealt with adolescent love and angst, Efron confessed that this film deals with love and angst of a different kind — an adult kind.

"This is the final year at East High for the Wildcats, so we're kind of deciding for ourselves what we should do with our futures," he said of the thrust for part three. "For my character, basketball is a huge priority, but then there's also his new love of theater. [There are] a lot more decisions to make."

Decisions like where to go to college, what to study, even what becomes of your friends once you leave. It's a series of moments that have about them an air of finality, as the characters stand on the threshold of a new life elsewhere.

But how does that jibe with recent reports that Disney was already planning "High School Musical 4"? For his part, Efron told MTV News in January that he was ready to say goodbye to the "HSM" gang.

"I know our characters are growing and we're growing as people and we're making tougher decisions, and you definitely see relationships blossom," Hudgens added. "[But for now,] this is the last chapter for the Wildcats."

That means handing off the baton to a younger crowd of actors, like Matt Prokop and Justin Martin, who will no doubt feature prominently in any future installments. For these guys, getting cast in "HSM" is no different than making a varsity team, asserted director Kenny Ortega.

"Our cast was very generous in welcoming them. Zac called Matt the minute that he heard he got the job, and Ashley has been incredible in embracing these kids into the fold," he said. "They have all been wonderful in welcoming them and making them feel a part of the experience."

"I think it's nerve-racking for anyone coming to a cast that's already been established for the past three years," Corbin Bleu added. "I mean, we're all friends, we all know each other very, very well, but I think that they stepped up and came ready to work, and I think that we've accepted them as much as we've accepted each other."

Check out everything we've got on "High School Musical 3: Senior Year."

For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.

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Brown and Banner ham it up for MTV News, pretend to interview each other.





Barry Bonds declining a wardrobe change, the Maloof brothers taking dance lessons from Chris Brown — and David Banner showing off his guns for the first time. Who couldn't enjoy themselves on the Los Angeles set of Banner's "Get Like Me" video?

"It's a lot of ladies," Brown told MTV News, while sitting on his motorbike. "The whole thing has been fun — even just chilling with everybody."

Chris Brown guest-stars in the video and the song, as does Yung Joc.

"Making this record with Banner and Joc — me and Banner are real close friends," Brown said. "We did the movie 'This Christmas' and working [on the set], he said, 'I got this record that if you get on, I think it will be great.' I told him I didn't want to do a typical R&B record — I don't wanna do the hook-kinda thing that every other R&B artist does. I would more like to be in tune with the verse or do a verse almost like I'm rapping, but singing it. I recorded the song in [Virginia], he said, 'Oh word, that's dope.' "

Chris' chat with MTV News was then interrupted by Banner: The two began bantering in fake British accents, then brought it back to their native American-speak.

"I know that since he's a big superstar now, he's trapped in the tour bus and like, 'I wish I could just go out and just have fun!' " Banner joked of Brown.

"I ain't Michael [Jackson]!" Chris laughed.

"How great is Chris Brown?" Brown continued in the guise of a reporter questioning Banner.

"Chris Brown is all right, but we in the 'hood, so I can't really tell nobody how much I bump Chris Brown when the homies not around," the Mississippi rapper responded. "It's haawwwrd! Hawwwrd in the streets."

"I'm a gangsta dancer!" Brown said minutes later, yelling, "It's hard out here too! Ballets, pirouettes!"

Banner, Brown and Yung Joc would later be doing synchronized dancing and filming with an MLB legend.

"Barry Bonds came out!" Banner said with pride. "You know how y'all like to have your rappers' friends — Barry Bonds is here. Barry came fresh out of court to come holla at me. That's real."

Banner's Greatest Story Ever Told will be out toward the end of July. He said the reason it didn't come out last year as planned is because he's trying to build up his brand.

"When the album comes out, we're trying to make sure it's a statement," he explained. "Greatest Story Ever Told: Listen to the title. We have to make sure [the impact] matches."

Banner produced approximately 80 percent of the LP himself; Akon and the production team of Cool & Dre contributed as well. Guest vocals were secured from Snoop Dogg, Lil Wayne, T.I., UGK, Kandi Burrus (formerly of Xscape) and Jim Jones.

"Get Like Me" is all about stuntin', and in the video you'll see plenty of performance and glamour shots of women and Banner's own vehicles.

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Jury selection for long-delayed case to begin Friday.





A woman will testify at R. Kelly's upcoming child-pornography trial that she had a three-way sexual encounter with Kelly and the allegedly underage girl shown in the videotape at the center of the case, the Chicago Sun-Times reported on Saturday (May 3). Jury selection for the long-delayed case is scheduled to begin Friday.

In the case, prosecutors claim to have identified the girl in the videotape, who is now in her 20s. Kelly's lawyers are planning to argue — and the alleged victim will reportedly testify — that she is not the girl in the tape, according to the Sun-Times.

But the new witness could weaken that defense, since she will identify the girl — and claim the girl was underage — sources reportedly told the paper.

"She was involved in a threesome with [the girl] and R. Kelly," one source reportedly said.

Lawyers involved in the case declined to comment to the paper, citing a gag order. The witness' testimony was among the items discussed in secret hearings last month before Judge Vincent Gaughan, who closed the hearings to the public and sealed many court filings (several news organizations have attempted to unseal the proceedings and documents). At one of those hearings, Gaughan said the new testimony would be admissible at trial, sources said.

Kelly was charged with 21 counts of child pornography in 2002 (seven of which were later dropped) for allegedly videotaping himself having sex with a girl prosecutors said was 14 years old at the time; he pleaded not guilty.

If convicted, Kelly faces up to 15 years in prison.

For full coverage of the R. Kelly case, see The R. Kelly Reports.

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Superfans get their first sneak peek of the vampire love story's big-screen debut.





Just as Edward and Bella came to Stephenie Meyer in a dream, "Twilight" fans have spent recent months fantasizing about what the first official images from this December feature film would contain. Congratulations, Twilighters: You've made it this far without shrieking so loud that your head explodes — although, it probably isn't for lack of trying.

Now, with the first trailer upon us, MTV News brings you our official shot-by-shot analysis. Normally, we'd tell you to pause-play-pause along at home and tell us if you see things the same as we do, but something tells us your mouse is already screaming for mercy.

Shot 1: A crane shot swoops in on Edward and Bella, alone in the woods of Forks. "How old are you?" she asks breathlessly, to which he replies, "17."

Shot 2: As Edward looks over her shoulder, Bella's eyes say it all (damn, that Kristen Stewart can act!). "How long have you been 17?" she queries, afraid of the answer.

Shot 3: Edward, squatting down, feels the dangers of the forest. If such brevity could ever foreshadow the ominous events to come, Robert Pattinson is doing it nicely here. And is that a cheetah scream on the soundtrack?

Shot 4: In the most vivid display of deer destruction since "Bambi," Edward takes to the hunt. Quick shots of some poor animal who has no idea what's about to hit it are intercut with footage of a fast-moving Edward. For this vegetarian vampire, there is no other choice.

Shot 5: Take another look at Edward Cullen, and you might notice that he's eyeballing Bella the way we'd expect him to have hungered over that now-dead deer. Even in this brief trailer, we can see how director Catherine Hardwicke will portray Edward's undead dilemma. Oh, and what do you think of Pattinson's non-accented voice while saying "a while"?

Shot 6: The return of the tagline: "When you can live forever ..."

Shot 7: Edward soaring through the forest. It looks to me like he's running through trees, not on top of them. But do Twilighters even still care about this issue anymore, or has footage like this forgiven it?

Shot 8: Hey, it's somebody other than our star-crossed lovers! "This is wrong, Edward," warns Kellan Lutz, a.k.a. Emmett. "She's not one of us!"

Shot 9: A harried Edward takes in Emmett's advice. Is it just me, or does Robert look a lot like James Dean in "Rebel Without a Cause"?

Shot 10: A quick shot of Edward giving in to his desire ... for a little lip action. I'm sorry, but every time I see this image, I'm reminded of the Movies Blog regular who keeps asking about how much tongue there will be.

Shot 11: The end of the tagline: "... what do you live for?"

Shot 12: Yes! This is what you've been waiting for, folks. Standing in the Forks High parking lot after getting dissed (yet again) by Edward, Bella leans against her truck.

Shot 13: Edward gives her the stink-eye from across the lot. Notice how far away he's standing.

Shot 14: As an out-of-control van veers into frame, a key moment from the "Twilight" novel comes to life.

Shot 15: Edward flies into the shot with superhuman speed, stopping the van from crushing Bella. His strength leaves a dent in the side of the vehicle.

Shot 16: As the soundtrack swells, both characters look up at each other, realizing all that has just been revealed. Well, does the scene look like you imagined it?

Shot 17: "From the worldwide bestseller ..." Don't you wish Stephenie would just appear here and take a bow or something? At least a little curtsy? OK, maybe not.

Shot 18: Edward and Bella in some sort of residence (the Cullen house?), as she attempts to assert some strength. "I'm not scared of you," Bella insists.

Shot 19: "You really shouldn't have said that," Edward replies, flashing a mischievous grin.

Shot 20: You'd better hold on tight, spider monkey! Edward whisks Bella through the window and into the tree-climbing adventure that reveals the full breadth of his power. That sound you hear is a few thousand Twilighters screaming, "OMG!" in unison.

Shot 21: The "Twilight" logo, surrounded by ominous clouds, with a bit of thunder on the soundtrack. As the release date of "12.12.08" follows behind it, we realize that we truly are in for one hell of a storm.

Check out everything we've got on "Twilight."

For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.

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MC's official site says it will have more on the matter soon.





50 Cent may have lost a bit of weight for his latest movie role, but the MC is still a force to be reckoned with. A fan in Angola appears to have learned that lesson the hard way recently when he jumped onstage during a G-Unit show in the African nation and snatched 50's chain from his neck mid-song.

On shaky video captured by a fan, an unidentified person can be seen climbing onstage, ripping what appears to be a chain from 50's neck and then jumping back into the crowd. The music stops almost immediately and the crowd can be seen surging back and forth as it appears the culprit is making his way to the back of the venue.

On Monday, the matter was addressed on 50's personal Web site, ThisIs50: "Recently 50 Cent, Lloyd Banks and Tony Yayo were performing in Angola, Africa. Being that security was limited, fans were able to interact with the group on stage. However one fan had a different motive, and bit off more than he can chew, as he attempted to run up on 50 and snatch his chain."

According to the post, "50 pushed him off the stage and jumped into the crowd and then all hell broke loose." The site promised more on the incident soon, including live footage from the chain grab.

An unnamed G-Unit insider reportedly told TMZ that what isn't seen in the fan video was that 50 jumped off the stage, "and punched the man who tried to jack him." The insider also reportedly said, "The chain is around 50's neck right now."

(For more on 50's recent trip to Africa, head here and here.)

A label spokesperson for 50 had not commented on the matter at press time.

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Plus: Lil Mama demands equal opportunity for female MCs, and Young Dro shows off his 'Swag Shop.'




Artist: Young Dro

Representing: Grand Hustle

Mixtape/ DVD: I Am Legend/ "The Swag Shop"

411: When you hang out with a guy named Dark Gable, your swag has to be at 110, so you won't get overshadowed. Not a problem for Grand Hustle's Young Dro. If you haven't noticed by the rainbow gators, matching Polo shirts and equally colorful lyrics, the Atlanta native has his own style.

" 'Swag Shop' is a shop where you can whip in and get you a 50-piece swag with extra swag sauce," Dro joked outside of T.I.'s Grand Hustle studio. In reality, "The Swag Shop" is a documentary-style DVD that Dro is putting together with producer Dark Gable. In the DVD's trailer, we see Dro talk to Tip via computer video hookup, touch the town with wife Fantasia and lay vocals in the lab. There will also be some new songs to accompany the release when it hits the streets.

"I'm not going through [the DVD] saying, 'I got swag, swag, swag,' it's just showing," Dro explained. "I'm showing you my regular self. You're gonna be able to see from the way I dress, the oysters I crack open, all the behind-the-scenes stuff."

In the meantime, Dro has his mixtape I Am Legend getting love down bottom.

"People looking at it like an album," he said of the mixtape, while getting ready to leave in his custom Escalade. "[It has a] lot of original songs. We didn't jack for beats too much. Put out a lot of original stuff. We're giving them their money's worth."

Dro's long-talked-about second LP, The Young and Restless, is coming out sometime. We don't know an exact date, but he says this year.

"We're at the last stages of it," he said. "It's about to be a closed casket. I just wanna take my time. It's a lot of people out there rushing." Danjahandz, Mannie Fresh, Akon, Fantasia, T.I., Lil Wayne and Midi Mafia are all on point for the project.

Joints To Check For

» "House on Me." "That's it," Dro says. "If all else fails, put the house on Dro. Place your bets on me. I'm one of the best to have done it, still am. I'm gonna be spitting the gutter fire, hard concrete. Put the house on me. Bank on it."

» "I'm Sick of It." "When I say, 'I'm sick of it,' I really be nauseous," Dro said. "You can see people in the streets trying to do what you do, you really be sick of it. These chicks out here try to play tricks on you, I'm sick of them too. I'm kushed up to where I'm sick of myself. Everybody gets sick of something sometime."

» "Makin' All That Money." "That's for the ladies like my single moms in the club," Young said. "Don't let nobody cheat you, if you not there getting that money. For all my college-tuition chicks. My mousse babies. Not moose-looking women, but ladies moussing their hair. If you getting to that money and you looking good, get your money. I'll break bread with you. I ain't no crab."

Don't Sleep: Other Notable Selections This Week

» J Armz - How to Be an MC 51
» DJ Wats - Iron Man
» DJ Scope - Scope Drop That Edition
» Trapaholics and Andre 3000 - Alter Ego The Mixtape
» DJ Whiteowl and 50 Cent - The Rulers Back 3

'Hood's Heavy Rotation: Bubbling Below The Radar

» Baby (featuring Lil Wayne) - "I Run This" remix
» Bow Wow - "Pole in My Basement"
» J Dilla - "Pay Jay"
» Pharoahe Monch - "Broken Heart"
» Shawty Putt (featuring Lil Jon) - "Dat Baby"
» Show Stoppas - "Whoop Rico"

Fire Starter: Mazzi

One of the mainstays of the underground hip-hop collective S.O.U.L. Purpose, Mazzi has been performing his brash rhymes at concerts — opening up for Eminem, Big Pun and Big Daddy Kane, among others — and in corner ciphers. He's also been behind the scenes working radio promotion for Def Jam. Maz recently started kicking up dust, making fun of "hipster rap" and up-and-coming artist Jay Electronica with the new viral video "Lesson A." Just last week, S.O.U.L. Purpose released an independent LP, The Construction, and part of the profits will go to the Boys & Girls Club of America.

Celebrity Faves

"I'm doing the knowledge, E. I'm trying to get paid in full." Lloyd was so young when Eric B. and Rakim's classic album Paid in Full and its title track came out in 1987, he couldn't even say, "What happened to 'peace'?" But he's doing the hip-hop legends some poetic justice on his new record, "Girls Around the World." He flips the beat from "Paid in Full" on the track, which features Lil Wayne.

"Can't get you off my mind; you're like my favorite song," he sings in a high pitch. "Just wanna turn you on, rock you all night long."

"You know what it was, when Eric B. and Rakim was out with 'Paid in Full,' the intensity was a little bit more special," Lloyd said, explaining why he chose to pay homage to that record on his third LP, Lessons in Love, which comes out this summer. "It was also something considered to be sacred. Being a part of this game, you dedicated everything you had to being innovative with your sound. There's a lot of ringtone artists who only come out with a really good song, and they disappear forever. To be back for a third time, it means that we must be pretty good at what we're doing. If we're gonna do it, let's not slack up and get lazy. Success just builds expectation in my world. ... That's what I want to be one day. I want to be a legend."

Lloyd is now planning a "Girls Around the World" video and wants its theme to be based on one of Martin Lawrence's funniest films. Stay tuned.

The Streets Is Talking: News & Notes From the Underground

Kanye and Rih Rih. Jay-Z and Queen MJB. Now it's looking like it will be Weezy and Key C. Lil Wayne has his eye on Keyshia Cole to be his tourmate soon after Tha Carter III drops on June 10. Originally, Wayne was in talks with 50 Cent to go out with the G-Unit later this year.

"Um, that one, I don't think is gonna work no more," Wayne said about touring with the Unit. "It was something that ain't went right. I think I might go out with Keyshia Cole. You're bringing two different types of people in there. You got people coming to soothe their souls with Keyshia, and you got people who wanna throw their hands up with me. It's like listening to the radio. I think a concert should be like listening to the radio. When you listen to the radio, and your top-five or top-eight songs come on, it's hip-hop, it's R&B. ... I think you gonna get that from me and Keyshia and whatever in between that."

"I'mma kidnap him and take him on tour with me," Cole told us Thursday, on the set of the new Game video "Pain."

"I think it's a little harder to get him on the stage than it is to get me," she smiled. "We gotta make sure we get together on that."

Speaking of hip-hop and R&B, what's bigger than the collaboration between Usher, Beyoncé and Lil Wayne right now? "Love in This Club Part 2" features the New Orleans nightmare rapping and singing with the reigning king and queen of R&B.

"And it started with a hug, but now we making love in this club," Wayne drones. "We not gonna stop just because the people in the crowd are watching us/ 'Cause we don't give a dayyyummm what they say."

"I ain't gonna front, I actually recorded it with Keri Hilson," Birdman Jr. said. "I was hoping that Usher would keep my little singing part, my little four bars at the end. That's the best part of my verse, everybody was saying. He kept it. I respect him for that. A lot of singers, sometimes you go to singing on their song, and they know you're a rapper. They just chop that whole part off. But he kept that. Usher's a real dude for that. I respect him for that." ...

He's the only Snowman who can heat things up and not melt. Young Jeezy's guest appearances have been impeccable. We're gonna check for his album, but Mr. 17.5 has already made his verses indispensable on the streets, the clubs and for the first time in his career, the very top of the Billboard charts with Usher's "Love in This Club."

After his short hiatus last year (Jeezy says he had to take time to count his money), he came out with verses on remixes of Shawty Lo's "Dey Know" and Rocko's "Umma Do Me."

"I'm in the streets every day," Jeezy told us in his Dirty South Studios. "I was in the club. I was in the strip club, matter of fact. It might have been Onyx. I heard ['Umma Do Me'], and I was like, man. I found out Drummer Boy did it. I know Rocko from around the way. I listened to it, then I said, 'Let me jump on it.' I jumped on it on some mixtape type vibe. I didn't write it or nothing. When I caught up with them, I said it's a gift and the whole nine. That's what real cats do. You see somebody else doing what they do, you throw that lifeline out. Ain't nobody do it for me. I threw that lifeline. Same thing with that Shawty Lo. You throw that lifeline out. I liked the song. [Lo] is from the West Side and they do what they do.

"Matter of fact, I couldn't resist that one," he added of the Lo record. "I liked the beat. I wanted the beat. The beat is crazy. I wasn't sure what they was doing with it. I wanted to get on it anyway. It's like sparring to me. You gotta stay in it. I was like, 'I'm not about to drop [an album] anytime soon. Let me go out and play a little bit.' "

Jeezy's third album is coming out this year (he wouldn't reveal anything more on that subject), but he promises a mixtape before then.

"They want Jeezy, they gonna get Jeezy," he laughed.

The Snowman held true to his word. Over the weekend, a brand-new song called "Put On" was leaked online. The song was produced by Drumma Boy (Rocko's "Umma Do Me") and features Kanye West. Check for 'Ye's use of the auto-tune machine. ...

She obviously has a ton of style and spunk, but does Lil Mama have the poetic acumen to make her a hip-hop mainstay? Songs like "G-Slide," "Shawty Get Loose" and "Lip Gloss" have solidified her as a young, up-and-coming rap star, but a certified lyricist? Not just yet. Mama, however, says that if you listen to the meat of her recently released debut, VYP: Voice of the Young People, there's no missing her distinguished way with words.

"One of the biggest misconceptions about me would have to be my skills," she told us. "They try to compare me to other new female artists who may have been out in the past, who may have got a shot then flopped. Then they be like, 'She's gonna do the same thing. She's not a real rapper. She can't keep up with this person or that person.' But if you put me in the ring with a lot of the top dudes in the spot right now, I'll slaughter them.

"I feel the need to put lyrical content in my songs," she added. "That's what I do. I'm an artist. I don't sit in the studio and dance around. I love to dance. I wish I could go in a room and let somebody write my songs, and I come back and read it and record it. Artists that are out right now, that's what they are doing. They come back in and say, 'Oh, that's it? What's the melody? That's how I sing it?' Then they go in the booth and lay it down and go back to their own pretty life. Me, I'm different. When I write, my soul is into it. I need clarity. When I write, I'm not gonna write, 'Nick nack, patty wack/ Give a dog a bone.' "

In Mama's opinion, there is a double standard when it comes to male and female rappers.

"For one, I'm a female," she said about why she doesn't get the accolades she thinks she deserves. "For two, they hear a song like 'Lip Gloss.' They feel, 'It's easy; it's this, that.' But if a man was to put out the same type of song — different concept, same type of flow on the hook, it's: 'Hot. He's crazy!' When it's a female, never. Then you have people who want the chance to do what I'm doing and instead of giving it to me, they'd rather hate."

The young'in is spittin' insightfully on her next single "L.I.F.E." Life as a shorty shouldn't be so rough.

"Well, I have a record on my album called 'L.I.F.E.,' " she said. "I know people say, 'She always mentions that song,' but 'L.I.F.E.' is one of the strongest records on my album. I talk about the orphanage, teenage pregnancies. It's three verses, and I give you a different story on each verse. Where I come from, my grandmother is a foster parent. I have a lot of cousins who got pregnant at an early age. My father and other men in my family had to deal with not having fresh clothes [growing up]. Going into free lunch and having to eat really quickly then having to leave. You had people who were very offended by their situation. I write about that. This record, 'L.I.F.E.,' it's very touching. [Some of my family] feel like I'm directing [the lyrics] towards them, but it's a very broad song. It's a million young girls who go through that and millions of young guys who go through that."

She also has a concept that will remind you of Daryl Hannah in "Splash." Well, maybe Ariel.

"I have a record called 'Swim' about a guy who can't keep up with me," she continued. "I'm in a different lane. I'm a mermaid, I'm in the ocean and swimming, and he walks on his two feet. It's like the cartoon 'The Little Mermaid.' Except, it's coming from my point of view. In the cartoon, she wants to be where he is. In this song, he wants to be where she is. He can't live that life."

For other artists featured in Mixtape Monday, check out Mixtape Mondays Headlines.

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