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Monday, February 20, 2012

Bobby Brown Skips Whitney Houston?s Funeral Over A Seating Dispute

Earlier today we learned a bit about Whitney Houston‘s funeral yesterday, specifically the amazing eulogy delivered by actor Kevin Costner, and right now we learn about ex-husband Bobby Brown‘s involvement (or lack, thereof) in yesterday’s special event. After it was in doubt that Bobby would even be allowed to attend the ceremony at all, he [...]

Elisha Cuthbert Britney Spears Lil Kim Bijou Phillips Rose Byrne

'Snow White' Star Sam Claflin Reveals 'Mirror Mirror' Audition

'I think Armie Hammer was always their #1 choice,' he says of ending up alongside Kristen Stewart in 'Huntsman' instead.
By Jocelyn Vena

Sam Claflin
Photo: MTV News

"Snow White and the Huntsman" star Sam Claflin apparently had enough charm to be up for the role of the prince in both big-screen adaptations of the classic Snow White fairy tale. In the end, the "Mirror Mirror" producers had their eye on a different young man.

"I think Armie Hammer was always their #1 choice," the "Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides" star told Teen.com. "But I kind of saw more similarities in their prince and the part I played in 'Pirates,' whereas [with this] I thought I wanted to pick up a sword and I wanted to do a bit of fighting and get a bit grittier and hopefully sort of open a few more doors for me."

Claflin isn't the only one adding some grit to his part: Kristen Stewart's version of Snow is light-years away from "Mirror" star Lily Collins'. "She tends to sort of not be in any princess-like costumes, which is good for her and kind of gives her that badass sort of fighting spirit, I suppose," Claflin said of the armor-clad heroine. "But she looks pretty damned awesome. Thumbs up."

"Snow White and the Huntsman," which also stars Chris Hemsworth as the Huntsman and Charlize Theron as the film's Evil Queen, opens this summer. A trailer for the darker take on the "Snow" story dropped back in November and gave fans an eyeful of what they should expect from the film, which includes snowy landscapes and even chillier emotions.

"Snow White and the Huntsman" follows Stewart's Snow White and her hunting mentor. After the evil queen, Ravenna, calls for her death, Hemsworth's Huntsman takes it upon himself to train Snow to fight off the Evil Queen after he disobeys her and allows her to live against the queen's orders.

Check out everything we've got on "Snow White and the Huntsman."

For young Hollywood news, fashion and "Twilight" updates around the clock, visit HollywoodCrush.MTV.com.

Katy Perry Nicole Scherzinger Carla Campbell Zhang Ziyi Trista Rehn

Sunday, February 19, 2012

'Ghost Rider,' 'This Means War,' And More: Double Feature Friday!

If one movie a night is never enough for you and you're looking for a flick to get you in the mood for this week's new release, Double Feature Friday is here to help. This new weekly column takes a look at the week's releases and pairs them with a complimentary film to watch before, [...]

Rachel McAdams Scarlett Chorvat Asia Argento Sienna Miller Ana Beatriz Barros

Bobby Brown Skips Whitney Houston?s Funeral Over A Seating Dispute

Lauren German T.A.T.u. Blake Lively Marisa Miller Heidi Montag

Robert Pattinson Talks 'Twilight,' 'Bel Ami' At Berlin Film Festival

'Having blockbusters in your life is never a bad thing,' he says at press conference.
By Jocelyn Vena

Christina Ricci and Robert Pattinson in Berlin on Friday
Photo: Sean Gallup/ Getty Images

Robert Pattinson appeared at the Berlin International Film Festival on Friday (February 17) to promote his latest effort, the big-screen adaptation of the Guy de Maupassant novel "Bel Ami." During the press conference, the actor opened up about making the film, which follows a manipulative young man who romances various women in 19th-century Paris.

"To work as a journalist? It's funny. I kind of like the idea, especially when he gets into the gossip section of the newspaper," the actor said about his character's job in the flick and how he related it to his own headline-making life.

Click for photos of Robert Pattinson at the "Bel Ami" event in Berlin.

"Something that was written in ... 1885, for it to be the exact same situation as it is now, where you have a template article and you just replace the name and it could be about anybody, I thought that was really funny. But he's not really a journalist. ... It's basically like being a reality TV star now," he said. "It was one of the jobs where you could kind of [get ahead]; he found a loophole in life where he could get money and a reputation by basically doing nothing. It was fun; it was interesting."

As for the film, Pattinson said that he agreed to do it because he thought he might never get the chance to play a character like that again. "It's funny, the structure of 'Bel Ami' and the character of Georges really rarely comes up in movies anymore because he's completely unrepentant, and normally a movie has to teach somebody a lesson nowadays. It was quite fun playing that," he said. "They both have their good sides."

He added that when he first read the script, he related to Georges' motivations. "I read the script a long time ago. I was pretty young. I think I've changed a little bit," the actor said. "I kind of understood that. You create an empire just so you can sh-- on someone else. I think I've grown up a little bit. I'm not as horrible."

The film is much different in tone than "Twilight," and Pattinson addressed any concerns he might have about bringing that audience along to this film, which opens in March.

"I guess my responsibility, I think, it's not necessarily to give anything back other than try and do the best work you can. You get an audience for doing certain jobs, so I think the biggest disservice you can do to your audience is trying to repeat the same thing and to come just to get money or whatever," he said. "If a 'Twilight' audience would come watch 'Bel Ami,' it's a movie that I wouldn't have thought that audience would go to, so I think that in some way, it's kind of doing a service to someone. I felt like I learned a lot from it."

Pattinson spoke about balancing smaller films with big ones like "Twilight." "Having blockbusters in your life is never a bad thing," he said. "When you're making it, if everyone is expecting it to be a blockbuster, it's kind of lame."

Check out everything we've got on "Bel Ami."

For young Hollywood news, fashion and "Twilight" updates around the clock, visit HollywoodCrush.MTV.com.

Related Photos

Robert Pattinson And 'Bel Ami' Cast Take On Europe

Amanda Swisten Marley Shelton Susan Ward America Ferrera Adrianne Palicki

'Friday Night Lights' Movie Still In The Works

'We're not done with 'Friday Night Lights,' ' executive producer Peter Berg tells MTV News.
By Kara Warner, with reporting by Josh Horowitz

Taylor Kitsch on the "Friday Night Lights" TV series
Photo: NBC

The last time we checked in on a potential movie based on the "Friday Night Lights" TV series, star Taylor Kitsch told MTV News that he knew just as much as we did. "I hear hearsay and all this kind of stuff," Kitsch said, adding that executive producer Peter Berg could always make it happen. "If Pete sets his mind to something, he'll usually get it done."

MTV News was lucky enough to catch up with Berg himself at a "Battleship" preview at Toy Fair in New York, and we asked for an update on the movie.

"Jason Katims, who was our super talented show-runner, is about done with the script," Berg said. "You never know. So much of these things become scheduling. Kyle [Chandler] is busy, Adrianne [Palicki] is busy, Taylor is busy, Connie Britton is busy, but if we can get everyone in the same room at the same time, we all want to do it. We're not done with 'Friday Night Lights.' "

Speaking to a potential plotline, Berg said they plan to involve some real-life elements pegged to former Texas Tech football coach Mike Leach but that things will revolve around Coach and Tami Taylor from the TV series.

"[Katims] has come up with a really great storyline that parallels what happened to Mike Leach, one of my heroes, a coach at Texas Tech who was unjustly fired and unjustly accused of mistreating a player with a concussion, which was proven to not have been the case. He's now at Washington State getting ready for what I think will be a great redemption story," Berg explained. "It would be critical that we get Kyle and Connie [onboard for the film] — we anchored the show around them — and then bring in Riggins, Tyra, Lyla and all other characters as we could get them. But the idea is to really revolve it around the coach."

Kitsch seemed to have reservations about returning to his beloved character, but he's open to a cameo. "I loved the way I left Riggs," Kitsch said when asked if he'd like to continue on with the character. "You never know. Maybe a little cameo or something. We'll see if he even wants me in it."

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

Emmy Rossum Emma Watson Mischa Barton Kristin Cavallari Jamie Gunns

Justin Bieber & Selena Gomez Spend Some Bonding Beach Time With His Younger Siblings

Last Monday we saw cute photos of popstar Justin Bieber enjoying a playdate with his younger half brother Jaxon on a beach in Malibu, CA. Since that playdate, Justin flew cross country to spend part of his Valentine’s Day with a very special 6-year old fan. Today we learn that JB has made his way [...]

Amanda Bynes Lacey Chabert Gretha Cavazzoni Taryn Manning Carmen Electra

Pixie Lott flaunts her style at LFW as she changes into one ensemble after another?

For those who work in the fashion world, London Fashion Week is about looking at future trends and the work of emerging designers ? but let?s be honest, for celebrities its all about showing up to various fancy events in nice outfits in an attempt to get noticed by the press.

And this weekend Pixie Lott did exactly that as she changed in and out of different impressive looking ensembles, all of which certainly made us sit up and take notice of her.

We spotted her wearing four different frocks in the last few days; at the Felder Felder show she wore a floor length sheer dress which was slashed to the thigh and paired with boots. At the PPQ show (where she sat next to a very pregnant Pixie Geldof) she wore a chic black jacket, at the Temperley one she donned a cute leopard print dress while at the Mulberry?s show she wore a blue jacket paired with a light blue skirt.

There are still a few more days of LFW left, we only hope Pixie keeps up the good work while it lasts.�

Jodi Lyn OKeefe Rachel Perry Stacy Keibler Desiree Dymond Tara Reed

Matthew Perry Joining The Cast Of ?The Good Wife?

I still can’t see him as anything other than Chandler from Friends even though he has long left that character behind. Now Matthew Perry has a new role, as Mike the charming lawyer on The Good Wife. CBS announced the news yesterday that Matthew will be joining the cast, and that his first episode will [...]

Olivia Munn Lindsay Lohan Minka Kelly Jennifer Morrison Maggie Gyllenhaal

'Breaking Dawn' Secrets Revealed: Kristen Stewart's 'Doll' Double

"It was creepy ... in a good way," special effects supervisor tells MTV News of creating the Kristen Stewart look-alike.
By Kara Warner

Kristen Stewart in "Breaking Dawn - Part 1"
Photo: Summit Entertainment

For all the "Twilight" fans familiar with "Breaking Dawn," via both Stephenie Meyer's source material as well as the movie "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1," you know that the much-discussed, heavily hyped birth scene is one of the more graphic and disturbing scenes in all of Meyer's mostly PG-rated world.

It's safe to say that curiosity was fully piqued when it came to seeing how director Bill Condon decided to adapt it in the film.

In a nutshell, the scene is pretty graphic and cringe-worthy. For those who have seen the "Making Of" documentary with the recently released DVD/Blu-Ray or happened to catch the sneak peek MTV News got ahead of time last week, you've been introduced to the Bella doll that the filmmaking team used in place of Kristen Stewart for a few scenes. This week's Twilight Tuesday brings you a few fun details about the making of the doll, to which I affectionately refer as "Robot Bella" (even though it/she is clearly not a robot).

According to John Rosengrant, the film's animatronics and special makeup effects supervisor, the idea behind the creation of the Bella replica doll was to make the birthing/near-death scene appear as real as possible and to show Bella in her very emaciated form that Meyer describes in the book.

"It's very hybrid, the approach," he told MTV News. "We tried to shape the whole Bella, what she looks like emaciated and all that, but it's also digitally augmented, and that was from the get-go, this was going to be a hybrid-type effect."

If you look closely at the features of the doll, especially when Robert Pattinson is shown acting out that very emotional scene with it, there is a creepy element involved.

"It was creepy when we created the look of her, in a good way," Rosengrant said. "I was actually shocked that that was the edict and I think that is maybe [credit] to Bill Condon as the director, wanting to make something like that real because the previous movies didn't strike me that they would embrace something like this."

What are you looking forward to most in "Breaking Dawn Part 2"? Leave your comment below!

Check out everything we've got on "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, Part 1."

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