Madonna
Photo: MTV News

Madonna has examined love a lot over the course of her career. She’s written numerous songs on the subject. So, it comes as no surprise that when it comes to her work as a film director, the pop superstar enjoys breaking down complex, historical romances.

Her new film, “W.E.,” which opens Friday, is all about one very famous, scandalous romance. It focuses on the tabloid romance between American divorcée Wallis Simpson and King Edward VIII in the 1930s. In a parallel story, the film also follows Wally (played by Abbie Cornish), a modern-day woman who becomes obsessed with their headline-making fling.

Right now, Madge’s plate is a bit full (with her new album, MDNA, dropping in March), but there’s another great romance she wouldn’t mind adapting for the big screen one day.

“There’s a lot of stories that I’m interested in,” she told MTV News. “I’m obviously always going to be drawn to stories about strong females ’cause we need, I need them, for inspiration. Well there’s a story, but you won’t even know about this person, Jane Digby.”

She went on to give a lengthy history lesson on Jane Digby. And, it seems that her story veers into some similar territory as “W.E.”

“She was in the English aristocrat in the [19]th century and she was excommunicated or outcast from society because she had an affair and she had a child,” she said. Madge then went on to explain that after Digby’s husband took her child from her, she began breeding horses in Greece. On her frequent trips across the Sahara to sell her horses, she had to dress like a man and be accompanied by Bedouin.

“One of her Bedouin guides became one of her closest friends and confidants,” Madge continued. “And she ended up falling in love with him and he fell in love with her. But he did have several other wives and he wanted to marry her.”

So Digby said she would marry him on two conditions: He leave his other wives and the couple live half of the year in the desert as Bedouin and the other half in the city.

So, does her story have a happy ending?

“He did agree to that and they lived together for the rest of their lives until she died. It’s an incredible love story. Lady Jane Digby,” she said, before joking, “It’s a comedy.”

Would you see a movie about Jane Digby’s love story? Leave your comment below.

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Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1678408/madonna-dream-film-movie.jhtml

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Much like Congress rethought its decision after the outpouring of public anger over the anti-piracy SOPA and PIPA (Personal Information Protection Act) acts, the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation had a change of heart on Friday (February 3) after intense criticism for its decision to stop funding Planned Parenthood initiatives.

Komen, the organization behind the popular pink-ribbon campaign, announced on Tuesday that it would stop funding breast cancer prevention, screening and education at Planned Parenthood health centers — a decision Planned Parenthood claimed was in response to pressure from pro-life groups. Over the past five years, PP centers with Komen program funding have provided nearly 170,000 clinical breast exams out of the more than 4 million exams performed nationwide at PP health centers, as well as more than 6,400 mammogram referrals out of 70,000 total referrals, according to PP.

Following the firestorm of controversy over the decision, the founder and CEO of the nation’s largest breast-cancer advocacy group said on Friday that the group would work to change the criteria that sparked the outcry.

“We will continue to fund existing grants, including those of Planned Parenthood, and preserve their eligibility to apply for future grants,” Nancy G. Brinker said in a statement. “We want to apologize to the American public for recent decisions that cast doubt upon our commitment to our mission of saving women’s lives.”

Brinker went further, acknowledging that the original decision to pull funding was done for “political reasons, or specifically to penalize Planned Parenthood.” In the wake of the public furor, Komen’s director of community health programs resigned in protest over the decision. In addition, 26 U.S. senators had signed a letter this week asking Komen to reconsider its withdrawal decision.

One of the leading artistic voices of dissent over the initial Komen withdrawal from Planned Parenthood were the Decemberists. The band had worked with Komen since the band’s keyboardist, Jenny Conlee, had revealed her breast cancer diagnosis. When news broke on Tuesday that Komen had pulled funding for breast cancer examinations at PP, the Decemberists redirected the funds from their “Team Jenny” T-shirt to PP.

On their website, they explained, “The Decemberists are deeply troubled by Komen for the Cure’s recent decision to cut off funding to Planned Parenthood, a vital resource in the battle against breast cancer. Providing cancer screenings to low income women is integral to the prevention and defeat of breast cancer and it is unconscionable that Komen should politicize this very important issue by bowing to the fear campaign being waged against PP by the right.”

On Friday, the band added an update to their initial posting, writing, “The Decemberists are pleased that Komen for the Cure reversed their decision.”

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1678513/susan-g-komen-planned-parenthood.jhtml

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He is the champion, our friends.

Adam Lambert will join iconic band Queen on tour this summer, both sides announced this week, a development that follows the singer’s 2009 American Idol finale performance with original members Brian May and Roger Taylor; as well as their teaming up again at the MTV European Music Awards in November.

“The intention is to pay tribute to [late singer Freddie Mercury] and the band by singing some f-cking great songs,” Lambert tells Great Britain’s The Daily Star. “It’s to keep the music alive for the fans and give it an energy that Freddie would have been proud of.”

Lambert, of course, admits that he has no intention of replacing Mercury, who passed away from AIDS in 1991.

“That’s impossible,” he said. “The way I’m choosing to view it is that it’s a great honor and one I’m in no way going to shirk.”

Adam and the group will tour in May and stop at Knebworth in England, where Queen played their final gig with Mercury in 1986.

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2012/02/adam-lambert-to-front-queen-tour-this-summer/

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The Dr. Manhattan cover of “Before Watchmen”
Photo: DC Comics

Who watches the “Watchmen,” you ask? Right now the answer appears to be everyone.

DC Entertainment announced Wednesday (February 1) that a new “Watchmen” prequel series is officially in development. Titled “Before Watchmen,” the project spans seven different miniseries starring popular characters from Rorschach to Doctor Manhattan. The continuation of “Watchmen” had been rumored for quite some time, but today’s announcement turns rumors into facts — and the reaction to those facts is divided, to say the least.

Some fans believe that more “Watchmen” is a great idea, especially considering the involvement of top-tier comic book talents including Darwyn Cooke and Brian Azzarello. For others, even excellent creative teams won’t wash away the panic some are feeling at the prospect of revisiting the most successful, self-contained graphic novel of all time. Indeed, “Watchmen” writer Alan Moore has already spoken out against the existence of “Before Watchmen,” telling the New York Times that it’s “completely shameless.” Artist Dave Gibbons’ stance, meanwhile, is considerably warmer: “I appreciate DC’s reasons for this initiative and the wish of the artists and writers involved to pay tribute to our work. May these new additions have the success they desire.”

From fans to creators and all the onlookers in between, arguments about whether or not “Before Watchmen” should even exist are sure to rage on in the coming days, weeks and months. But the MTV Movies Team is focused on a different question: Will “Before Watchmen” lead to more “Watchmen” movies?

Up front, it should be noted that the film adaptation of Moore and Gibbons’ graphic novel wasn’t a smash success at the box office, only yielding $185 million worldwide against a $130 million budget. But the film’s high-profile release drew renewed attention to the “Watchmen” brand, propelling its ranking as the top-selling graphic novel for 11 straight months. “Watchmen” also pulled in strong initial DVD sales and rental figures. An unconventional success, perhaps, but success all the same.

Even with all those factors considered, would the “Watchmen” movie’s creative team be on-board for sequels? Actors Patrick Wilson and Malin Akerman, who played Nite Owl and Silk Spectre respectively, spoke with MTV News about the topic in 2009, and both expressed skepticism. “I just don’t know where you would go,” Wilson said. “You would need one good idea.”

“I don’t really know how [a sequel] would ever be possible,” Akerman added. “Because ‘Watchmen’ is ‘Watchmen,’ and we covered pretty much the whole novel.”

Clearly, there is now more ground to cover than Akerman once realized, so future “Watchmen” movies based on original comics material are certainly possible. But if “Watchmen” does have a future on the big screen, director Zack Snyder will not be involved — if comments he made three years ago still hold weight, that is.

“I know that I wouldn’t have anything to do with it,” Snyder said in February 2009. “It would be like me going to ['No Country for Old Men' author] Cormac McCarthy and going, ‘I have an idea for a [sequel]: You write a book, and I’ll write a movie, and you can release it. You’ll win a Pulitzer; I’ll win an Oscar. It’ll be awesome.’

“The attitude toward comic books, they show their hand a little bit,” he added. “They would never say that about a real novelist, but they would about a comic book.”

So will we see more “Watchmen” on film? At this point, it’s simply too early to say. But where one would have thought the prospect impossible just three years ago, the possibilities are virtually endless today.

Do you want to see new “Watchmen” movies? Tell us what you think of “Before Watchmen” in the comments section!

Check out everything we’ve got on “Watchmen.”

For breaking news and previews of the latest comic book movies — updated around the clock — visit SplashPage.MTV.com.

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1678307/before-watchmen.jhtml

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Miley Cyrus has gone very public with her defense of gay marriage.

In July of last year, the singer got a tattoo (below) on her finger that she posted on Twitter, along with the caption “All LOVE is Equal.” She got a lot of flak for the move, criticism she’s now responding to via an editorial in Glamor.

“A lot of people mocked me,” Miley writes. “They said, ‘What happened to you? You used to be a Christian girl!’ And I said, ‘Well, if you were a true Christian, you would have your facts straight. Christianity is about love.’”

Cyrus is speaking out now on the topic, she says, due to the “unnecessary threats” leveled at both her and her supporters. She adds:

“I believe every American should be allowed the same rights and civil liberties. Without legalized same-sex marriage, most of the time you cannot share the same health benefits, you are not considered next of kin and you are not granted the same securities as a heterosexual couple. How is this different than having someone sit in the back of the bus because of their skin color?”

It’s just not right, Miley concludes of the argument that homosexual couples are somehow held to a different standard than heterosexual couples.

“We all should be tolerant of one another and embrace our differences,” she writes.

No doubt Cyrus will fall under fire once again for making her beliefs on this controversial subject well known, which is exactly why we admire her so much for doing so.

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2012/02/miley-cyrus-defends-gay-marriage-beliefs-tattoo/

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Alex Russell in “Chronicle”
Photo: 20th Century Fox

With “Chronicle,” found footage comes to the superhero genre. It’s a fun and exciting take on a story you’ve probably heard before, and the critics agree. You can check out MTV’s review over at the Splash Page.

We’ve rounded up a mostly spoiler-free sampling of the reviews out there for your reading pleasure. Check out what the critics are saying about “Chronicle.”

The Story
“Told mostly (we’ll get to that in a bit) through the video-camera lens of a pasty Seattle high school loser named Andrew (Dane DeHaan), the film “documents” the aftermath of his encounter with a mysteriously glowing space rock. Along with friends and fellow discoverers Matt (Alex Russell) and Steve (Michael B. Jordan), Andrew realizes he can levitate objects and possesses super-human strength.” — Ty Burr, Boston Globe

The Leads
“From the start, there’s an undertow of cruelty to the teenagers’ high jinks as they learn what they can do, as when they levitate a stuffed animal to frighten a child. Mr. Trank brings a light touch to these self-discovery scenes — the three are flexing fast-evolving muscles — as well as a creeping sense of menace. In this respect, Mr. DeHaan, whose vulnerability and physical awkwardness here can evoke the young Leonardo DiCaprio in ‘What’s Eating Gilbert Grape,’ is invaluable. Mr. Russell and Mr. Jordan are as likable as their characters, but it’s Mr. DeHaan who pulls you uneasily in.” — Manohla Dargis, The New York Times

The Writer and Director
“Sometimes a movie arrives out of the blue that announces the arrival of considerable new talents. Josh Trank is 26, and this is his directing debut. Max Landis, also 26, has written a couple of shorts. His father is the director John Landis, but connections don’t teach you how to write.” — Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

The Found Footage
“One of the cleverest conceits is the way in which shots are framed so that it really does seem as if we’re seeing everything through Andrew’s lens. Helped by the keen eye of cinematographer Matthew Jensen, mirrors — really, any shiny surface — help fill in the settings.” — Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times

The Final Word
“Bolstered by the natural performances of a trio of little-known actors, the very watchable ‘Chronicle’ keeps us captive throughout.” — Claudia Puig, USA Today

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Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1678497/chronicle-reviews.jhtml

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Alex Russell in “Chronicle”
Photo: 20th Century Fox

With “Chronicle,” found footage comes to the superhero genre. It’s a fun and exciting take on a story you’ve probably heard before, and the critics agree. You can check out MTV’s review over at the Splash Page.

We’ve rounded up a mostly spoiler-free sampling of the reviews out there for your reading pleasure. Check out what the critics are saying about “Chronicle.”

The Story
“Told mostly (we’ll get to that in a bit) through the video-camera lens of a pasty Seattle high school loser named Andrew (Dane DeHaan), the film “documents” the aftermath of his encounter with a mysteriously glowing space rock. Along with friends and fellow discoverers Matt (Alex Russell) and Steve (Michael B. Jordan), Andrew realizes he can levitate objects and possesses super-human strength.” — Ty Burr, Boston Globe

The Leads
“From the start, there’s an undertow of cruelty to the teenagers’ high jinks as they learn what they can do, as when they levitate a stuffed animal to frighten a child. Mr. Trank brings a light touch to these self-discovery scenes — the three are flexing fast-evolving muscles — as well as a creeping sense of menace. In this respect, Mr. DeHaan, whose vulnerability and physical awkwardness here can evoke the young Leonardo DiCaprio in ‘What’s Eating Gilbert Grape,’ is invaluable. Mr. Russell and Mr. Jordan are as likable as their characters, but it’s Mr. DeHaan who pulls you uneasily in.” — Manohla Dargis, The New York Times

The Writer and Director
“Sometimes a movie arrives out of the blue that announces the arrival of considerable new talents. Josh Trank is 26, and this is his directing debut. Max Landis, also 26, has written a couple of shorts. His father is the director John Landis, but connections don’t teach you how to write.” — Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

The Found Footage
“One of the cleverest conceits is the way in which shots are framed so that it really does seem as if we’re seeing everything through Andrew’s lens. Helped by the keen eye of cinematographer Matthew Jensen, mirrors — really, any shiny surface — help fill in the settings.” — Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times

The Final Word
“Bolstered by the natural performances of a trio of little-known actors, the very watchable ‘Chronicle’ keeps us captive throughout.” — Claudia Puig, USA Today

Related Videos

• Talk Nerdy

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1678497/chronicle-reviews.jhtml

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Jasika Nicole on “Fringe”
Photo: FOX

There’s a running gag on “Fringe” about good-natured FBI agent Astrid Farnsworth: Even though she spends almost all her screen time assisting and taking care of the delightfully delirious Walter Bishop, the kooky scientist can never quite remember her name. “Aspirin,” he’s called her, or “Asteroid” or any other number of “A” names.

Sadly, fans can relate to Walter’s repeated mistake. Sweet and mysterious though she may be, the alluring Astrid is relegated to supporting status so often that it’s far too easy to forget her name. But that all changes with “Making Angels,” the new episode of “Fringe” airing Friday (February 3).

Forget Olivia, Walter and Peter — this one is all about Astrid.

Actress Jasika Nicole, who plays Astrid on “Fringe,” spoke with MTV News about both versions of her character taking center stage in “Making Angels,” the challenges of merging two versions of the same person for the first time and much more.

MTV: We’ve been waiting forever for the Astrid episode of “Fringe.” What took so long?

Jasika Nicole: I’ve been waiting so hard and long, just like the fans have! [Laughs.] I don’t know why it took so long. It would be one thing if it seemed like Astrid didn’t have a lot of fan support and people aren’t interested, but I feel like fans have been begging to learn and see more of this character. I don’t know for the life of me why it took so long.

At the beginning of the season, I called ["Fringe" show-runners Jeff Pinkner and J.H. Wyman] and said, “I want you guys to know that I’m so happy on this show, but I would really, really love to know if there’s an Astrid episode coming up. It would really give me something to look forward to.” They were super vague about it. And I assumed that whenever she did get her episode, it would be a situation where Astrid figures out [the episode's mystery] at the last minute, or everyone’s on LSD and she has to go out and save the day. That would be an easy way out. But I’ll tell you, I was really surprised with the episode. It’s so beautiful. It’s personal, it’s sweet, and it’s really sad at the same time. I don’t know why it took so long. But I think all the support the episode has been getting is going to make them feel really crappy that they didn’t do this sooner. [Laughs.]

MTV: You’ve always been vocal about who Astrid is and what she’s about. For the audience, though, we’ve had to piece things together: You get a bit of Astrid here and there, but she’s not at the forefront the way Olivia and Peter are. When you got your episode, did Astrid measure up to your vision of her? How did the episode change your perspective on the character?

Nicole: I think [myself and the writers] were on the same page. But before with Astrid, we just got the CliffsNotes version of her. She’s kind, thoughtful and a great caretaker. The other Astrid is very smart and she’s a little bit vacant in terms of emotional relationships and isn’t the best communicator. That was kind of it. You didn’t know anything about her family, what it’s like when she got home … it was just overviews of these two characters. But this episode delves into them much more. You see to what extent this Astrid is a caretaker. She does something that’s just really beautiful. She’s such a sweet, caring, sincere woman. It made Astrid seem like a real person. Before, you see her taking care of Walter. She laugh at his jokes and there’s this weird husband-wife, father-daughter thing going on. [Laughs.] But now we get to see her in relation to someone who is not Walter. It’s the first time in the four seasons we’ve really seen her interact with another person and putting herself out there so much.

The alternate Astrid has been a little one-note because you’ve only seen her at work, very focused on her job. She delivers her information and that’s pretty much it. But the truth is, she has a life and she has a family. Something traumatic happens where she comes from in that universe, and she’s so distraught and incapable of handling what’s going on by herself, that she comes to this universe to seek out our Astrid. That’s definitely a side of her you’ve never seen before. I always wanted to know what she’s like in personal situations instead of professional ones. You get to see that. This episode is really about alt-Astrid.

MTV: One of the beauties of “Fringe” is that we get multiple versions of the same character — even though they’re literally the same person, they’re very different in many ways. With the two Astrids coming face to face in this episode, how do those differences and similarities come into play?

Nicole: What’s interesting about having an alternate universe is trying to figure out where your paths went differently. What went on here that didn’t go on there? Why aren’t we the exact same person? With the Astrids, it’s a little different because they’re fundamentally different to the core — possibly at a genetic level, if you’re of the theory [that alt-Astrid is on the autism spectrum]. That changes your relationships with your family members, which is something that’s essential to the story of this episode. Not only are the two Astrids different, they’re so different that they have different relationships with the people in their lives. They’re the only constant. Everybody around them is different, but this connection that they have is the only solid thing that they have between them. That’s going to help the alternate Astrid to figure out what’s going on in her life in this crazy, tumultuous time.

MTV: “Making Angels” isn’t just the first Astrid-centric episode of “Fringe,” it’s also your first chance to get in on some of the fun your co-stars have been having: acting opposite yourself for pretty much the entire episode. On one hand, that’s got to be pretty cool. On the other, it has to be pretty tricky, right?

Nicole: You’re right, it was a double-whammy. It’s like you’re sticking two days into one. You have to know exactly what you’re going to do, you have to know so well how you’re going to play those characters in the beginning of those scenes. It takes a lot of foresight. The emotional part is really tough, but then there’s the technical stuff. You have to stand and make sure your outline is the same every time. There’s a point where [the two Astrids] shake hands, and I could not for the life of me figure out how they were going to make it work. It’s too big of a concept for me to grasp. But what was really cool is that they were able to merge the split screens on the monitors in video village, so they were watching it in real time. I’m doing it with my stand-in, but they’re watching both Jasikas on the screen.

At one point, we’d been doing this one scene for like eight hours or something. We were tired. It was a big scene with two Olivias in it, two Astrids, Walter and Peter. There’s all this stuff going on. We ended up not being able to finish the green screen that night. We had to come back and finish the next day. But they only needed to stick me in the scene. There are four or five other characters in the scene, but they’re just filming me in front of the green screen playing off of dialogue that we had recorded the day before. Because we had done it for eight hours, I knew it like the back of my hand. I smiled at imaginary jokes being pulled, I watched imaginary people walking in — it was just so surreal. It’s like you’re playing a pretend game while you’re drunk by yourself, but there are people watching you do it! [Laughs.] Nothing about it makes sense, but the end result is phenomenal.

The new episode of “Fringe,” “Making Angels,” airs Friday (February 3) at 9 p.m. ET.

Check out everything we’ve got on “Fringe.”

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

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1678494/fringe-making-angels-episode.jhtml

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