The New Dancing With the Stars Cast

Dancing With the Stars is back with its 12th season. Can you believe its been that this dancing competition has been on for 12 years? ABC did an amazing job in picking this years group of cast members. There is someone for everyone. This should be a very interesting season to say the least!

Introducing the season-12 cast of Dancing WIth the Stars:

• Kendra Wilkinson-Baskett, 25, reality TV star

• Hines Ward, 34, Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver and two-time Super Bowl winner

• Ralph Macchio, 49, the original Karate Kid

• Sugar Ray Leonard, 54, former world champion fighter and member of the International Boxing Hall of Fame

• Chris Jericho, 40, WWF/WWE champion and host of the ABC game show Downfall

• Kirstie Alley, 60, Emmy winner and sometimes-Fat Actress

• Romeo, 21, rapper (dad Master P memorably noncompeted in season two)

• Chelsea Kane, 22, star of animated Disney Channel series Fish Hooks (along with DWTS alum Kyle Massey), costarred on Jonas L.A.

• Wendy Williams, 46, talk-show host

• Petra Nemcova, 31, supermodel

• "Psycho" Mike Catherwood, 31, L.A. radio personality from KROQ-FM

The new season starts March 21st for is live 2-hour premier. I know I'll be watching (with my mother lol) will you?

Full List of Oscar Winners

Oscar Winners 2011 List

The 83rd Academy Awards took place last night at the Kodak Theater in Hollywood. This year the Oscars took a "young and fresh" approach to the award show by having both James Franco and Anne Hathaway host the awards. "The Kings Speech" was the Academies favorite sweeping the awards and winning both for Best Actor and Best Picture. There weren't really any suprises this year. If you watched the rest of the award season prior to the Oscars, you bascially had a sense of who was going home with the Oscar. Here is the list of winner in case you missed it.

Best Picture
'Black Swan'
'The Fighter'
'Inception'
'The Kids Are All Right'
'The King’s Speech' (winner)
'127 Hours'
'The Social Network'
'Toy Story 3'
'True Grit'
'Winter's Bone'

Best Actor
Javier Bardem'Biutiful'
Jeff Bridges'True Grit'
Jesse Eisenberg'The Social Network'
Colin Firth 'The King's Speech' (winner)
James Franco'127 Hours'

Best Actress
Annette Bening'The Kids Are All Right'
Nicole Kidman'Rabbit Hole'
Jennifer Lawrence'Winter's Bone'
Natalie Portman 'Black Swan' (winner)
Michelle Williams'Blue Valentine'

Best Director
Darren Aronofsky'Black Swan'
David O. Russell'The Fighter'
Tom Hooper 'The King's Speech' (winner)
David Fincher'The Social Network'
Joel and Ethan Coen'True Grit'

Best Original Song
'Coming Home' from 'Country Strong'Music and Lyric by Tom Douglas, Troy Verges and Hillary Lindsey
'I See the Light' from 'Tangled'Music by Alan Menken Lyric by Glenn Slater
'If I Rise' from '127 Hours'Music by A.R. Rahman Lyric by Dido and Rollo Armstrong
'We Belong Together' from 'Toy Story 3' Music and Lyric by Randy Newman (winner)

Best Film Editing
'Black Swan'Andrew Weisblum
'The Fighter'Pamela Martin
'The King's Speech'Tariq Anwar
'127 Hours'Jon Harris
'The Social Network' Angus Wall & Kirk Baxter (winner)

Best Visual Effects
'Alice in Wonderland'Ken Ralston, David Schaub, Carey Villegas & Sean Phillips
'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1'Tim Burke, John Richardson, Christian Manz & Nicolas Aithadi
'Hereafter'Michael Owens, Bryan Grill, Stephan Trojanski & Joe Farrell
'Inception' Paul Franklin, Chris Corbould, Andrew Lockley & Peter Bebb (winner)
'Iron Man 2'Janek Sirrs, Ben Snow, Ged Wright & Daniel Sudick

Best Documentary Feature
'Exit Through the Gift Shop'
'Gasland'
'Inside Job' (winner)
'Restrepo'
'Waste Land'

Best Short Film (Live Action)
'The Confession' - Tanel Toom'The Crush' - Michael Creagh
'God of Love' - Luke Matheny (winner)
'Na Wewe' - Ivan Goldschmidt
'Wish 143' - Ian Barnes & Samantha Waite

Best Documentary (Short Subject)
'Killing in the Name'
'Poster Girl'
'Strangers No More' (winner)
'Sun Comes Up'
'The Warriors of Qiugang'

Best Costume Design
'Alice in Wonderland' Colleen Atwood (winner)
'I Am Love'Antonella Cannarozzi
'The King's Speech'Jenny Beavan
'The Tempest'Sandy Powell
'True Grit'Mary Zophres

Best Makeup
'Barney's Version'Adrien Morot
'The Way Back'Edouard F. Henriques, Gregory Funk & Yolanda Toussieng
'The Wolfman' Rick Baker & Dave Elsey (winner)

Best Sound Editing
'Inception' Richard King (winner)
'Toy Story 3'Tom Myers & Michael Silvers
'Tron: Legacy'Gwendolyn Yates Whittle & Addison Teague
'True Grit'Skip Lievsay & Craig Berkey
'Unstoppable'Mark P. Stoeckinger

Best Sound Mixing
'Inception' Lora Hirschberg, Gary A. Rizzo & Ed Novick (winner)
'The King's Speech'Paul Hamblin, Martin Jensen & John Midgley
'Salt'Jeffrey J. Haboush, Greg P. Russell, Scott Millan & William Sarokin
'The Social Network' Ren Klyce, David Parker, Michael Semanick & Mark Weingarten
'True Grit'Skip Lievsay, Craig Berkey, Greg Orloff & Peter F. Kurland

Best Original Score
'How to Train Your Dragon' John Powell
'Inception' Hans Zimmer
'The King's Speech' Alexandre Desplat
'127 Hours' A.R. Rahman
'The Social Network' Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross (winner)

Best Supporting Actor
Christian Bale 'The Fighter' (winner)
John Hawkes'Winter's Bone'
Jeremy Renner'The Town'
Mark Ruffalo'The Kids Are All Right'
Geoffrey Rush'The King's Speech'

Best Foreign Language Film
'Biutiful'Mexico
'Dogtooth'Greece
'In a Better World' Denmark (winner)
'Incendies'Canada
'Outside the law'Algeria

Best Original Screenplay
Mike Leigh'Another Year'
Scott Silver and Paul Tamasy & Eric Johnson'The Fighter'
Christopher Nolan'Inception'
Lisa Cholodenko & Stuart Blumberg'The Kids Are All Right'
David Seidler 'The King's Speech' (winner)

Best Adapted Screenplay
Danny Boyle & Simon Beaufoy'127 Hours'
Aaron Sorkin 'The Social Network' (winner)
John Lasseter, Andrew Stanton & Lee Unkrich'Toy Story 3'
Joel Coen & Ethan Coen'True Grit'
Debra Granik & Anne Rosellini'Winter's Bone'

Best Animated Feature Film
'How to Train Your Dragon'
'Illusionist'
'Toy Story 3' (winner)

Best Short Film (Animated)
'Day & Night' - Teddy Newton'The Gruffalo' - Jakob Schuh & Max Lang
'Let's Pollute' - Geefwee Boedoe
'The Lost Thing' - Shaun Tan & Andrew Ruhemann (winner)
'Madagascar, carnet de voyage' - Bastien Dubois

Best Supporting Actress
Amy Adams'The Fighter'
Helena Bonham Carter'The King's Speech'
Melissa Leo 'The Fighter' (winner)
Hailee Steinfeld'True Grit'
Jacki Weaver'Animal Kingdom'

Best Cinematography
'Black Swan'Matthew Libatique
'Inception' Wally Pfister (winner)
'The King's Speech'Danny Cohen
'The Social Network'Jeff Cronenweth
'True Grit'Roger Deakins

Best Art Direction
'Alice in Wonderland' Production Design: Robert Stromberg; Set Decoration: Karen O'Hara (winner)
'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part I'Production Design: Stuart Craig; Set Decoration: Stephenie McMillan
'Inception'Production Design: Guy Hendrix Dyas; Set Decoration: Larry Dias and Doug Mowat
'The King's Speech'Production Design: Eve Stewart; Set Decoration: Judy Farr
'True Grit'Production Design: Jess Gonchor; Set Decoration: Nancy Haigh

Are you suprised by the winners? Did anyone/movie get snubbed? What do you think?

Congratulations to all the winners!!

Universal Steps Up For Paul Paul Greengrass to Direct Martin Luther King Drama 'Memphis'

Universal Pictures will make Memphis, the drama about the assassination of Martin Luther King written and directed by Paul Greengrass. The picture is being produced by Scott Rudin, the Oscar-nominated producer of Best Picture candidates The Social Network and True Grit. Production on the film is slated to begin in June. It reunites the studio with Greengrass, who last made The Green Zone for Uni and who withdrew from making a fourth installment of The Bourne Identity. Even though that last picture came in at a high budget and didn't succeed at the box office, Greengrass turned in two hit Bourne sequels and the Oscar-nominated United 93.

Memphis steps in front of several pictures that were being mobilized about Dr. King. There is a Ronald Harwood-scripted DreamWorks project that has the backing of King's heirs, and Selma, an indie that Lee Daniels was working on with funding from The Weinstein Company (that project seems to have stalled completely), and Harpo's Oprah Winfrey and Kate Forte have an HBO deal for America: In the King Years, a 7-hour miniseries based on the seminal Taylor Branch book series, being adapted by Robert Schenkkan

9 Hottest Young & Black Stars

After a decade in which more black actors won Academy Awards than in the past seventy years combined, 2011 represents a setback: the Oscars failed to nominate a single black artist, and Vanity Fair’s influential “Young Hollywood” cover featured a single black performer. These nine-under-30 might not all be household names yet, but we think they represent the next generation of Anthony Mackies, Zoe Saldanas, and Will Smiths (literally).



-Gabourey Sidibe:

Lionsgate Sidibe’s Academy-Award nomination for her debut performance in “Precious” sends her to the top our list. She may be 27, but Sidibe’s making a name for herself playing teens on the big screen (she co-stars opposite Zoe Kravitz in the upcoming indie drama “Yelling to the Sky,” which premieres at the Berlin Film Fest this month) and on premium cable with the always-amazing Laura Linney and Idris Elba — on Showtime’s “The Big C.”

If an Oscar nod, film-festival fodder and high-profile cable series don’t make her instantly recognizable, appearing in Brett Ratner’s ensemble comedy “Tower Heist” will. She’s already made us cry, so making us laugh with co-stars Ben Stiller, Eddie Murphy and Matthew Broderick (she’s already hosted “SNL”) makes her precious, indeed.

-Jaden Smith:

Columbia Sometimes acting talent can be inherited — as Michael Douglas, Jeff Bridges, and Gwyneth Paltrow can attest. So it’s no surprise that Will and Jada’s offspring are following in their footsteps. Jaden, 12, was a natural charmer in last year’s “The Karate Kid” reboot, holding his own both with impressive acting chops and karate chops.

Little sister Willow is reportedly headed to star in an “Annie” remake (produced her very own Daddy Warbucks), and both are set to play the protagonist sibs in the fantasy adventure “Amulet,” based on a popular children’s graphic novel. It seems Smiths will be dominating the summer box office for decades to come.

-Keke Palmer:

The Weinstein Company Tweens know this 17-year-old beauty as the titular fashion exec in the hit Nickelodeon show “True Jackson, VP,” but she broke out five years ago as the girl who stole our hearts in the feel-good weepie “Akeelah and the Bee.”

Palmer, who has already appeared in 11 movies, will next play Queen Latifah’s daughter in “Joyful Noise,” a church-choir comedy also starring Dolly Parton. Two larger-than-life singer-turned-actresses sharing the screen already make this a must-see; hearing Palmer belting with the divas is icing on the cake.

-Donald Glover:

Lionsgate Comedy writer, sitcom regular, Twitter aficionado, hipster fashionista — Glover is a man of many talents. After making the leap from “30 Rock” scribe to “Community” star, fan-casting nearly won Glover auditions as Spiderman and Superman; although he didn’t get the parts, the hype made Glover a social-media star.

Glover’s next project is reportedly a role in Jason Segel’s much-anticipated “Muppets” movie (produced by Judd Apatow), due out this November. If that’s not proof of his popularity, he’s currently nominated for the “On the Brink” NewNowNext Award, the only black actor competing with fellow pretty young things like Andrew Garfield, Darren Criss, and Nicholas Hoult.

-Zoe Kravitz:

Focus Another showbiz offspring, Kravitz (daughter of Lenny and former “Cosby” kid Lisa Bonet) has been appearing in movies since 2007′s comedy “No Reservations.”

After making her way through the indies “It’s Kind of a Funny Story,” “Birds of America,” and the upcoming “Yelling to the Sky,” the 22-year-old stunner will star in her first big-budget popcorn flick as a member of the “X-Men: First Class.” Kravitz plays the winged mutant Tempest. She’s also slated to appear in the reboot of another franchise, the classic post-apocalyptic Aussie thriller, “Mad Max: Fury Road.”

-Tessa Thompson:

Lionsgate Thompson shines as the youngest cast member in Tyler Perry’s emotional adaptation “For Colored Girls,” holding her own opposite a terrific ensemble of award-winning actresses, like Phylicia Rashad, Whoopi Goldberg, Kimberly Elise, Loretta Devine and Thandie Newton.

A primetime regular since 2006, (“Veronica Mars,” “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Heroes”) Thompson continues to impress with her stand-out character work. She’ll grace the screen in at least three films in 2011, including the pregnancy drama “South Dakota,” and the sci-fi thriller “Red & Blue Marbles.” After her heartbreaking performance in “For Colored Girls,” she’s ready for a leading role.

-Brandon T. Jackson:

Warner Bros. If a script calls for a funny, young black guy, chances are Jackson will be up for the part. He’s been the comic-relief sidekick in more than 20 movies already, most memorably in “Tropic Thunder,” “Tooth Fairy,” and last year’s “Lottery Ticket” and “Percy Jackson.”

Next up, the 26-year-old plays Martin Lawrence’s kid in the cross-dressing comedy “Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Son,” (in theaters this Friday) and “A Talent For Trouble,” an indie comedy due out later this year.

-Katerina Graham:

CW Google her name, and you’ll discover she already has a cult following (including thousands of fanfics) for her supporting role as Bonnie Bennett, a beautiful young witch in The CW’s hit supernatural drama “The Vampire Diaries.”

But the Swiss-born, half-Liberian model-turned-actress is quickly breaking into big-screen roles, popping up in the thriller “The Roommate” (now in theaters), “Boogie Town,” the upcoming hip-hop reboot of “West Side Story, and Cedric the Entertainer’s directorial debut, “Chicago Pulaski Jones.”

-Evan Ross:

City Lights Primetime soap fans know him from the current season of “90210,” but Ross and his smoldering eyes have been around since 2006, when he debuted in the urban coming-of-age drama “ATL.”
He’s yet to hit it big, but he’s appeared in more than 15 movies and shows.
With his inherited good looks from his mom, Motown diva Diana Ross, a nuanced acting style, and at least six more movies on the horizon — including the teen drama “96 Minutes” and “Macbett,” a Caribbean remake of Shakespeare’s “Macbeth” — we have faith that 2011 will be good to Ross.

-Kali Hawk:

Universal After her scene-stealing performance as Faizon Love’s much-younger girlfriend in 2009′s “Couples Retreat,” Hawk — who previously appeared in Spike Lee’s short Maria Carey-spoof “Lovers & Haters” and a few straight-to-DVD projects — played P. Diddy’s assistant in “Get Him to the Greek,” initiating her in the world of Judd Apatow-produced comedies.

For 2011, Hawk’s leading-lady looks and comedy skills scored her a role in Craig Robinson and Kerri Washington’s family laughter “We the Peeples,” the ensemble drama “Answers to Nothing” with Dane Cook and Elizabeth Mitchell, and the latest buzzed-about Apatow production, “Bridesmaids,” starring Kristen Wiig and Maya Rudolph.

2011 BAFTA Awards

BEST FILM WINNER
The King's Speech (2010)

Other Nominees:
Black Swan (2010)
Inception (2010)
The Social Network (2010)
True Grit (2010)


Alexander Korda Award for Outstanding British Film of the Year
WINNER
The King's Speech (2010)

Other Nominees:
127 Hours (2010)
Another Year (2010)
Four Lions (2010)
Made in Dagenham (2010)


BEST ACTOR WINNER
Colin Firth for The King's Speech (2010)
Other Nominees:
Javier Bardem for Biutiful (2010)
Jeff Bridges for True Grit (2010)
Jesse Eisenberg for The Social Network (2010)
James Franco for 127 Hours (2010)


BEST ACTRESS WINNER
Natalie Portman for Black Swan (2010)

Other Nominees:
Annette Bening for The Kids Are All Right (2010)
Julianne Moore for The Kids Are All Right (2010)
Noomi Rapace for The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2009)
Hailee Steinfeld for True Grit (2010)

Best Supporting Actor WINNER
Geoffrey Rush for The King's Speech (2010)

Other Nominees:
Christian Bale for The Fighter (2010)
Andrew Garfield for The Social Network (2010)
Pete Postlethwaite for The Town (2010)
Mark Ruffalo for The Kids Are All Right (2010)


Best Supporting Actress WINNER
Helena Bonham Carter for The King's Speech (2010)

Other Nominees:
Amy Adams for The Fighter (2010)
Barbara Hershey for Black Swan (2010)
Lesley Manville for Another Year (2010)
Miranda Richardson for Made in Dagenham (2010)


David Lean Award for Achievement in Direction WINNER
David Fincher for The Social Network (2010)

Other Nominees:
Darren Aronofsky for Black Swan (2010)
Danny Boyle for 127 Hours (2010)
Tom Hooper for The King's Speech (2010)
Christopher Nolan for Inception (2010)


Best Screenplay (Original)
WINNER
The King's Speech (2010): David Seidler

Other Nominees:
Black Swan (2010): Mark Heyman, Andres Heinz, John J. McLaughlin
The Fighter (2010): Scott Silver, Paul Tamasy, Eric Johnson
Inception (2010): Christopher Nolan
The Kids Are All Right (2010): Lisa Cholodenko, Stuart Blumberg


Best Screenplay (Adapted)
WINNER
The Social Network (2010): Aaron Sorkin

Other Nominees:
127 Hours (2010): Danny Boyle, Simon Beaufoy
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2009): Rasmus Heisterberg, Nikolaj Arcel
Toy Story 3 (2010): Michael Arndt
True Grit (2010): Joel Coen, Ethan Coen


Best Cinematography
WINNER
True Grit (2010): Roger Deakins

Other Nominees:
127 Hours (2010): Anthony Dod Mantle, Enrique Chediak
Black Swan (2010): Matthew Libatique
Inception (2010): Wally Pfister
The King's Speech (2010): Danny Cohen


Best Editing
WINNER
The Social Network (2010): Angus Wall, Kirk Baxter

Other Nominees:
127 Hours (2010): Jon Harris
Black Swan (2010): Andrew Weisblum
Inception (2010): Lee Smith
The King's Speech (2010): Tariq Anwar


Best Production Design
WINNER
Inception (2010): Guy Hendrix Dyas, Larry Dias, Douglas A. Mowat

Other Nominees:
Alice in Wonderland (2010): Robert Stromberg, Karen O'Hara
Black Swan (2010): Thérèse DePrez, Tora Peterson
The King's Speech (2010): Eve Stewart, Judy Farr
True Grit (2010): Jess Gonchor, Nancy Haigh


Best Costume Design
WINNER
Alice in Wonderland (2010): Colleen Atwood

Other Nominees:
Black Swan (2010): Amy Westcott
The King's Speech (2010): Jenny Beavan
Made in Dagenham (2010): Louise Stjernsward
True Grit (2010): Mary Zophres


Anthony Asquith Award for Film Music
WINNER
The King's Speech (2010): Alexandre Desplat

Other Nominees:
127 Hours (2010): A.R. Rahman
Alice in Wonderland (2010): Danny Elfman
How to Train Your Dragon (2010): John Powell
Inception (2010): Hans Zimmer


Orange Rising Star Award WINNER
Tom Hardy

Other Nominees:
Gemma Arterton
Andrew Garfield
Aaron Johnson
Emma Stone


Best Film not in the English Language WINNER
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2009)

Other Nominees:
Biutiful (2010)
I Am Love (2009)
Of Gods and Men (2010)
The Secret in Their Eyes (2009)


Best Make Up/Hair
WINNER
Alice in Wonderland (2010)
Other Nominees:
Black Swan (2010)

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (2010)

The King's Speech (2010)

Made in Dagenham (2010)
Best Sound
WINNER
Inception (2010)
Other Nominees:
127 Hours (2010)

Black Swan (2010)

The King's Speech (2010)

True Grit (2010)
Best Achievement in Special Visual Effects
WINNER
Inception (2010)
Other Nominees:
Alice in Wonderland (2010)

Black Swan (2010)

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (2010)

Toy Story 3 (2010)

Best Animated Feature Film
WINNER
Toy Story 3 (2010)
Other Nominees:
Despicable Me (2010)

How to Train Your Dragon (2010)


Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer
WINNER
Four Lions (2010): Christopher Morris(Director/Writer)
Other Nominees:
The Arbor (2010): Clio Barnard, Tracy O'Riordan(Director, Producer)

Exit Through the Gift Shop (2010): Banksy, Jaimie D'Cruz(Director, Producer)

Monsters (2010): Gareth Edwards(Director/Writer)

Skeletons (2010): Nick Whitfield(Director/Writer)
Best Short Animation
WINNER
The Eagleman Stag (2010)
Other Nominees:
Matter Fisher (2010)

Thursday
Best Short Film
WINNER
Until the River Runs Red (2010)
Other Nominees:
Connect (2010/I)

Lin (2010)

Rite (2010)

Turning (2010)

The Amazing Spider-Man

Columbia Pictures announced today that the title of the next Spider-Man film will be The Amazing Spider-Man.The studio simultaneously released a photo of Andrew Garfield as Spider-Man, the first shot of Garfield in the famous full mask and suit.

The film, which is now in production and is being shot entirely in 3D, will be released on July 3, 2012. The film stars Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Rhys Ifans, Denis Leary, Campbell Scott, Irrfan Khan, Martin Sheen, and Sally Field. The film is directed by Marc Webb from a screenplay by James Vanderbilt and Alvin Sargent and Steve Kloves based on the Marvel Comic Book by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko. Laura Ziskin, Avi Arad, and Matt Tolmach are producing the Marvel Entertainment production for Columbia Pictures. The executive producers are Stan Lee, Kevin Feige, and Michael Grillo.

Stars Who Beat Addiction

Ben Affleck: Not a Daredevil Any Longer
In 2001, Affleck tackled his addiction to liquor by checking himself into rehab after a weekend of excess in Las Vegas."Ben is a self-aware and smart man who had decided that a fuller life awaits him without alcohol," his representative said.



Robert Downey Jr: Iron Man
In 1999, the infamously drug-abusing but acclaimed actor compared his addiction to suicide: "It's like I have a loaded gun in my mouth and my finger's on the trigger, and I like the taste of the gunmetal." He was saying it to a judge at one of countless court appearances related to heroin, cocaine, or valium. At one point, even Woody Allen couldn't cast him in a film because Downey was uninsurable. Since his last arrest and stint in rehab in 2001, however, he's made a remarkable comeback, and is now one of the most bankable actors in Hollywood.



Robin Williams: Funnyman's Dark Side
The comedian was so shocked by the death of pal John Belushi in 1982 that he sought to end his addiction to cocaine. In 2006, he checked himself into rehab after suffering a relapse into alcoholism.



Drew Barrymore: Bucking the Child-Star Curse
As a child star, Drew Barrymore was a regular at Studio 54, began smoking at 9, drinking at 11, smoking pot at 12, and doing coke at 13. She went into rehab at 13, and attempted suicide and then returned to rehab at 14. Since those dark days, however, Barrymore -- who doesn't claim to be 100-percent sober but says she's achieved a balance -- has become a child-star success story. She is now a notable actress and director, and has her own production company.



Anthony Hopkins: Defeating the Dragon
The celebrated Welsh actor stopped drinking in 1975, and has enrolled in 12-step programs. He credits a "golden voice" for saving him from alcoholism. "For me, giving it up was finding the airlock, the escape hatch. It all happened one Monday morning in 1975. It was as if a voice said, 'Ready! Go!' It was that clear, the voice of gold. The best part of myself, my subconscious, came to rescue me,'" he said.



Samuel L. Jackson: Used the Force
The movie star battled a serious heroin and cocaine addiction, suffering a number of overdoses before his family entered him into rehab in 1991. A couple weeks after he got out, he got one of his first major roles in Jungle Fever ... as a crack addict.


Russell Brand: Clean-Up Potty Mouth
The foulmouthed British comedian is a former sex and heroin addict who quit his habits after being caught doing drugs in a bathroom at a Christmas party. He's been clean and sober since 2002.

Pam Grier Joins RZA’s ‘Man With the Iron Fists’



Foxy Brown herself (actress Pam Grier) is headed out to the land of Shanghai for some stylish martial arts action in Wu-Tang Clan co-founder RZA’s Kung Fu throwback film and directorial debut, The Man With the Iron Fists.

The blaxploitation icon is starring in RZA’s passion project, which the rapper, musical producer, and occasional actor describes as a mashup of classic Kung Fu cinema, the spaghetti western genre, and “hip hop influence.” Add to that the involvement of Eli Roth (Hostel) behind the scenes, and there’s little doubt that Man With the Iron Fists won’t be a bloody homage in the vein of Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill.

Miss Grier tweeted about her being involved with RZA’s $20 million project, which is currently in the midst of production overseas in Asia. Younger moviegoers are most likely only familiar with the actress for her starring turn in Tarantino’s Jackie Brown and her recurring role on Showtime’s The L Word, but she’s kept busy over the past decade with brief appearances on shows like Smallville, Law & Order: SVU, and provided the voice of My’ria’h on the animated Justice League television series.

Man With the Iron Fists centers around a talented blacksmith (RZA) who makes a living constructing weaponry in feudal China and must rise to defend his home village from foreign invaders. Also along for the ride is quite the physically-intimidating lineup of thespians, including wrestler Dave Bautista, MMA arena fighter Cung Le, and actress Lucy Liu.

Oscar-winner Russell Crowe is officially onboard to star as well, though The Playlist has rounded up a few quotes from the Australian talent that indicates he won’t need to pack on extra muscle or work out much for his role. While he’s still the most decorated and prestigious member of the cast, the box office returns for Crowe’s last few films (Robin Hood and The Next Three Days) have been mixed and relatively underwhelming at best. On the other hand, Man With the Iron Fists‘ low cost means it won’t be too difficult for the movie to be a profitable undertaking.

RZA seems to have a strong affinity for hyper-stylized martial arts cinema and he’s recruited the likes of cinematographer Christopher Doyle (Hero, 2046) to create some stunning visuals involving combat in the world of ancient China. Man With the Iron Fists looks to be an overall slick, energetic exercise in Kung Fu action – even if the story and quality of acting on display end up leaving something to be desired.

The Man With the Iron Fists should make its way into theaters by the second half of 2011.

Guillermo del Toro & Christopher Nolan Talk ‘Memento’

Ah, “Memento.” The sophomore feature of a filmmaker that, for better or worse, continues to work in Hollywood with mainstream appeal, while he, as Guillermo del Toro puts it, manages to “still remain strange.” Beginning with “Memento” and now with the Oscar-nominated, “Inception” Christopher Nolan‘s films always seem to leave us scratching our heads—but he, and we, wouldn’t have it any other way.

Del Toro recently sat down with the self-described puzzle-maker following a screening of “Memento” at the American Cinematque’s Egyptian Theatre. Much of the discussion focused on the aforementioned memory-loss picture that, despite the skepticism of the “common wisdom” as del Toro so diplomatically put it, went on to huge success with audiences. Both written by Nolan, “Memento” famously came out of a collaboration with younger brother, Jonathan Nolan.

“I was moving to Los Angeles and I met my brother in Chicago and [we] drove my dad’s car… on the course of the drive we ran out of things to talk about, so he told me a story he was writing, a short story,” of man who couldn’t form new memories, yet was on a quest for revenge, holding onto the facts of his investigation by writing tattoos on his body,” I immediately said, I think it would make a terrific film, can I take that and write a screenplay from it?” It turns out Nolan finished the script and shot the film before his brother ever finished his version of the story, which was published in Esquire a week before the film was released, “It’s a brilliant short story,” Nolan said. “And the reason it took him so long was I found my way of telling sort of subjectively before he did,” he laughs, “I was sitting around my apartment one day trying to write the script, drinking too much coffee and thinking about banging my head against the wall when I suddenly realized, oh, if you revert the structure, if you tell it in reverse chronology then you deny the audience the information that the protagonist doesn’t know, so in one sense, you are putting the audience in this guy’s place.”

“There is a great moment, [a] beautiful calculation, the way you reveal the big visual motif ,” pointed out del Toro, “The tattoos on his chest.” “Well the fun thing is that you get to discover it with him,” Nolan replied, “and that seemed a very unusual thing to do, so he sees the thing on his hand and thinks it’s written there and tries to wash it off, but he can’t, and then sees a little trace of another, that was something that I thought would be really fun was to put the audience into this guy’s shoes of not even being able to trust his own body.”

The original DVD release of the film had a feature where the viewer could reconstruct the story linearly. According to Nolan, he only got into the restructured version for the first few minutes, “I just looked at the opening sequence which had become the closing sequence, and what’s backwards, they ran forwards, and what I got a real kick out of was that David Julyan’s music for the first time in his career became happy when you ran it backwards,” he laughed “and I found that kind of thrilling, so I put that on there but as a hidden extra because when we were making the film, I really didn’t let anybody reorder the script, I said you have to make this film thinking about your audience the whole time, think about ‘okay, how is it going to appear on screen, how does that information come to the audience?’”

But much of the emotional content of the film Nolan attributes to the performance of lead, Guy Pearce, who he originally had reservations about casting, “I went with him and sat and talked about the script,” he said. “He wasn’t at all what I had in mind, I imagined somebody older with more obvious history to him, Guy was quite young and when I spoke to him I realized that he has such a passion for the script and he just tapped into something with it, and it was clearly very important to him and you just go with that, and you say, well I had someone else in my head, but you seem absolutely perfect.”

“I wrote [Memento] in a very cold way, I wrote it as a puzzle, – it was more in a distant way, and what Guy brought to it was he took on the challenge of not treating it as a puzzle, treating it as a man and his emotions and what the reality of that situation would be, so in doing that he just opened up the truth of that situation for the audience.” But as del Toro points out, the reality of the film is not one reaching for too much naturalism, “he’s the best insurance salesman tattoo artist I ever met,” he laughed, but it still works within the world of the film, as Pearce brought a very human quality to a character that was quite out of the norm. “I had, in trying to be clever in a sense—trying to grasp at these tropes from film noir crime fiction—write in a more intellectual way. But what Guy did was he made the film emotional for an audience, and I think that opened it up in a way that I value tremendously and it changed the way that I write.”

Nolan also credits the influence of Quentin Tarantino, who inspired him to do more reading. As del Toro notes, the ‘90s and early aughts became an era of neo-noir filmmaking, but out of that dense library of post modern femme fatales and gum shoes, “Memento,” years later, still has legs to stand on. “I think [these other neo-noirs] stem very much from Tarantino and his work in the nineties,” said Nolan “and certainly for me, I find his work really exciting and it pushed me to really read… I spent years reading crime fiction and I think if ‘Memento’ holds up a little better than some of the other neo-noir of the time, it’s probably because I found inspiration in books rather than movies,” noting how films drawing inspiration from their contemporaries, such as Tarantino, are not the ones to last “there’s a limit, particularly when Tarantino’s work is already ironic and already retro, so then you’re already reflecting on reflection if you’re looking at the movie’s sensibility. But I think he certainly inspired me to look into the literary origins of the genre.”

Another major influence for Nolan? Ridley Scott and “Blade Runner,” which came out just as he was becoming interested in film, “I was so struck by ‘Blade Runner’ when I saw it and when I look at this film again, I think there’s so much concern with memory and identity that I carry over from that film, because it just made such an incredible impression on me.” But Scott’s approach to ambiguity is somewhat of a cautionary tale for Nolan, whose films, generally leave us as an audience, hanging. “This is why I don’t answer questions about my own films, is because Ridley Scott has said, he thinks that Deckard is a replica, so you’re not really free [to come up with your own interpretation]. I’m not going to argue with him, he should know.”

While Nolan understands that providing answers to the puzzles is important, he also feels that sometimes the ambiguities are the answers. “You have to feel that there’s an authority behind the film that knows what’s going on and I have a very precise interpretation of the film and it was constructed according to that and when we first went to film festivals I would have to explain that. But in Venice my brother came up to me afterwards and said ‘you can’t do that,’ ” when Nolan asked why not, the other Nolan gave him two reasons. “He said ‘you made a film where it’s ambiguous at the end specifically because you’re in the point of view—you’re in the head—of a guy that can’t know the truth and so the audience doesn’t know the truth in the end, but if you tell people as the creator of that, you’re actually violating the terms of the story’” he laughed, adding, “and ‘we’ll make much more money if you don’t tell people.’” A polarizing stance for sure, but it does keep us wondering, as Nolan asks us the same question Teddy asks Leonard, “are you sure?”

CAUTION: Glee's Valentine's Day Episode Preview

Fellow Gleeks! Are you as excited as I am for tonights Valentine's Day episode?! Glee is finally back after its Super Bowl special Sunday night. The Glee episode, with its rendition of the late Micheal Jackson's "Thriller," aired directly after the Super Bowl drawing 26.8 million viewers, making it the most-watched scripted show in three years.

This second season is coming back bigger and better than ever! Tonight, McKinley High School is full of love. Here is a preview of the song selection of tonight episode along with two clips. Enjoy!

The track list goes as follows:

“Fat Bottomed Girls” (Queen) - Puck

“Silly Love Songs” (Paul McCartney) - The Warblers

“P.Y.T.” (Michael Jackson) - Artie & Mike

“Firework” (Katy Perry) - Rachel

“When I Get You Alone” (Robin Thicke) - The Warblers

Santana, Santana. Gotta love her. In this clip, someone FINALLY gives it to Santana and calls her out on being a bitch. Even when she is crying and vulnerably, she is still a bitch lol. She is definitely one of my favorite characters. Its nice to see a glimpse of Santana's soft side. I'm still waiting on a back story for her though. She is a stereotypical Latina. Spicy, with serious attitude problem, and is a slut. Ugh... can we get a better representation of a Latina on Glee please?

So does Blaine have a crush on a guy from the Gap? Seriously? Do you see Kurt's face in this clip? He looks like he's being a good sport. Can Blaine and Curt get together already, or is it too much for America to have a gay teen couple on prime time television? We will see what happens with the both of them later on in the season.

Hopefully I didn't spoil too much of the episode for you Gleeks. Tonight's episode airs at it's usual time, Tue 8/7c. GLEEK OUT!!! Make sure to comment after tonights episode. Thanks!

Be sure to follow me on Twitter, JadexRaven (just click on the name). Thanks ;-)

FX renews 'The League' for a 3rd season

On Monday, the network announced that it has ordered 13 episodes of the show, which is set against the backdrop of a fantasy football league and its zealous participants.

In a written statement, Nick Grad, the network's executive VP original programming, said the network is "fired up to continue our partnership with Jackie and Jeff Schaffer and the ensemble cast. We love the show, and the reaction the cast received across the country during their recent comedy tour is a sign the show is really building momentum.”

The show was created by Jeff Schaffer ("Curb Your Enthusiasm," "Seinfeld") and Jackie Marcus Schaffer ("Disturbia," "EuroTrip"). The husband-and-wife team are executive producers and directors, as well. The cast features Mark Duplass, Stephen Rannazzisi, Nick Kroll, Paul Scheer, Katie Aselton and Jon Lajoie. The series is produced by FX Productions.

‘The Hobbit’ Will Start Filming This March

Among the issues that have plagued development of The Hobbit in recent memory: financing troubles due to studio bankruptcy; a major directorial change after years of delays; actors boycotting the production; a thankfully avoided location change from New Zealand; the firey destruction of one of Peter Jackson‘s workshops; and most recently, a perforated ulcer that cost the director a trip to the hospital and the film its February start date.

It’s with all this in mind that it gives me great pleasure to announce that finally, at long last, cameras are set to begin rolling on The Hobbit in March. (Rejoice.) Read some quick, hopeful words from director Peter Jackson, along with a full list of the confirmed cast, after the break.
Many wondered whether Peter Jackson’s recent health troubles would cost the films their planned December 2012/2013 release dates, but fear not. His surgery may have caused “a slight delay” (as it was officially referred) in the start of filming, but he’s out of the hospital and recovering at home. The new start date is March 21.

The press release reads:

This date has been chosen following practical considerations of the filming schedule requirements, actor availability and the NZ seasons. Shooting will take place at Stone Street Studios in Miramar and on location around New Zealand.

Peter Jackson didn’t have much to say in the announcement, but it was nice to hear from him nonetheless.

“Despite some delays we are fully back on track and very excited to get started.”

A genuine sign of optimism, or a publicity-conscious effort to maintain the illusion of sanity?

With all the frustrations that Jackson has been forced to contend with throughout this ordeal, it would be hard to blame him for collapsing under the pressure. But since it’s the Lord of the Rings legacy at stake here, let’s go ahead and assume that he’s as mentally stable as he’s ever been and, come time to film both parts of The Hobbit, his enthusiasm for the project won’t have diminished. Best of luck, Jackson!

The Hobbit stars Martin Freeman as Bilbo Baggins. Reprising their roles are Andy Serkis, Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen and Cate Blanchett. The rest of the confirmed cast includes:

Richard Armitage (MI-5, Captain America) as Thorin Oakenshield, leader of the Dwarves, whose grandfather ruled the Lonely Mountain settlement destroyed by Smaug.
Aidan Turner (Being Human) and Rob Kazinsky (EastEnders) as Kili and Fili, nephews of Thorin.
James Nesbitt (Bloody Sunday, Millions) as Bofur, “a disarmingly forthright, funny and occasionally brave Dwarf.”
Adam Brown as Ori, “another of the Dwarf Company which sets out to reclaim the Lonely Mountain from the infamous dragon, Smaug.”
Graham McTavish (Secretariat) as Dwalin, blue-bearded, first to arrive at the home of Bilbo Baggins.
John Callen as Oin, skillful fire-maker. Brother of Gloin.
Stephen Hunter (All Saints) as Bombur, the fat, sleepy and slow member of Thorin’s company.
Mark Hadlow (King Kong) as Dori, strongest of the Dwarves, who carries Bilbo on his back at one point.
Peter Hambleton (The Strip) as Gloin, brother of Oin, initially suspicious of Bilbo’s worth, but eventually convinced. Father of Gimli from The Lord of the Rings.
Ken Stott (Charlie Wilson’s War) is the Dwarf Lord Balin
Sylvester McCoy (Doctor Who) is the wizard Radagast the Brown
Mikael Persbrandt (Day and Night) is Beorn, an enormous shape-shifter who can take the form of a bear
Jed Brophy (The Lord of the Rings) is the dwarf Nori
William Kircher is the dwarf Bifur

Super Bowl XLV: Commercials and Movie Trailers

Were you Black and Yellow (Pittsburgh Steelers) or Green and Yellow (Greenbay Packers) for Super Bowl XLV? Well whichever team you were cheering for, congratulations to the Greenbay Packers for winning Super Bowl XLV. The Lombardi trophy is finally going back home. Hopefully with this win, the radio's will kill Wiz Khalifa's "Black and Yellow." The football season is officially over (*sigh*, *sad face*), and so is that damn song lol.

Whether you felt the Super Bowl was boring (i.e. me lol) or exciting, the majority of American's watching the Super Bowl couldn't wait for the commercials. Personally, I don't think all the commercials were funny. There were a few that I really liked. If you noticed, most of the commercials were ads for cars and the 2011 Summer Blockbusters.

Below are a few of the movie trailers aired during the Super Bowl and a couple of the commercials that I liked the best. Maybe you liked the same one's I did, and maybe you didn't. Feel free to take a look and comment!

My Favorite Super Bowl Movie Trailers

These are my (JadexRaven) most anticipated movies for the 2011 Summer Blockbuster season.

#6.

I don't know much about Captain America, but I'm excited to see the Avenger's movie. So basically, this is a much see for that reason alone.

#5.

This movie looks too cute. Anna Hathaway is the voice of Jewel, Jessie Esienberg from "The Social Network," is the voice of the main character Blu, and of course George Lopez is the voice of Bobo the Tucan. I've always like animated movies and I've always wanted to go to Brazil lol. Its looks funny, and I love all the colors.

#4.

Again, Thor is part of the Avengers so this is a must see. Natalie Portman plays Jane Foster in this movie (this girl just doesn't stop!) and Chris Hemsworth who plays Thor is completely hot!

#3.

Who doesn't want to see sexy hot women, and even hotter cars driving around in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil? This is definitely a guys guy movie, but not according to my mother lol. She loves the cast and even more so, Dwayne 'The Rock" Johnson! Plus my sexual chocolate Tyrese is in the movie lol.

#2.

I've seen all of the previous Pirates of the Caribbeans and this is the final one. I love Johnny Depp. He plays Jack Sparrow perfectly. Penelope Cruz shot this movie while she was pregnant! In this final installment, they are searching for the Fountain of Youth.

#1.

I LOVE Transformers! The really enjoyed the first two, and this one if going to be even better. I'm not sure how "hot" this movie will be without Megen Fox. She was replaced with Rosie Huntington-Whiteley who plays Carly. Plus I love my Tyrese!! Delicioous!

My Favorite Super Bowl Commercials from each Quarter

These are my (JadexRaven) favorite commercials from Super Bowl XLV from each Quarter.

FIRST QUARTER

3.

At first I said to myself, typical mad black woman. Then quickly I realized she was trying to get him to watch what he eats, so it got funnier. Then when she saw him say hi and check out that white girl. She was like, "Oh hell no!" So instead hitting him, she knocked out that girl! Too hilarious!! I think any one of us women would have done the same thing lol.

2.

Now of course, there is always one commercial that has that real "shock" value and freaks America out. Usually, to freak America out and get them talking, a commercial has to push that "gay" boundary. This commercial completely freaked my out! Therefore, it was a good commercial!

1.

I really loved this commercial! It was so so funny. My family and I were laughing the entire time. Everyone knows that older people are funny and always tell it how it is. "It's a cruise for plus size individuals." "Forty-two wild Italians." I love old people.

SECOND QUARTER

3.

I actually don't like this commercial, but I had to say something about it. Facebook in a car? Really? Checking and updating your Facebook through a voice command from your car? Shameful. Mike Zuckerberg is officially taking over the world.

2.

Have you ever accidentally sent a text message or an email to someone or a group of people that wasn't meant for their eyes? If you have, did you imagine doing something like this? Lol. I'm sure many people have, and so have I. I think a lot of us can relate lol.

1.

This has to be my absolute favorite commercial of the Super Bowl. This little boy is too damn cute!! He was trying to make things move all day, then all of a sudden he steps in front of the car and it finally works! He couldn't believe it lol. What a good dad!

THIRD QUARTER

1.

Eminem had two commercials this Super Bowl and out of the two, this one was my favorite. Detroit really has been through hell and back. The Detroit Lions, and the highest unemployment rate in the country. This commercial shows you that even though Detroit is down and out, it still has character and is full of pride.

FOURTH QUARTER

1.

I love this commercial because it's a woman driving a hot ass Chevy Camaro, kicking ass, looking beautiful and is a teacher! GIRL POWER!!!

Your Highness Trailer

Starring James Franco, Danny McBride, Zooey Deschanel, and the Beautiful Natalie Portman

Hanna Trailer

Saw this Movie last year... GREAT actions scenes comparable to Chloe Moretz in Kick Ass

Zebra Crossings Trailer

I really want to see this... tell me what you think

Chris Brown is Set to Appear on "SNL"

Am I the only one excited about this? I may be one of few, but this is definitely great news. Chris Brown is set to appear on the next episode of "Saturday Night Live." This will be his very first appearance on "SNL."

The people at "SNL" have been wanting to book Chris since 2009, but ever since the scandal surrounding the Grammy's two years ago, he's shyed away from major public appearance. Beside's party walk-in's during some tour dates, with him most recently appearing at the 4Sixty6 Lounge in West Orange, New Jersey on January 22nd, his last major public appearance was at the 2010 BET Awards where he paid tribute to the late Micheal Jackson.

“It’s not up to me, but I’m sure we would [book him] if he had another hit single. We don’t care about scandal. We just care about what brings us ratings!” said cast member Kenan Thompson last year.

This seems the step in the right direction for Mr. Breezy. He is set to tape next week's episode.

Chris will be the musical guest with host Russell Brand. With his mixtape "In My Zone 2" getting rave reviews and being nominated for a Grammy, as well as album F.A.M.E dropping March 22nd, it seems fit to have him on the show to get back in the public's good graces.

I'm sure he will do a skit or two. Knowing Russell Brand, they will definitely be making fun of the "situation" two years ago. He's done a lot in the past two years to rebuild his image. Hopefully, he will be able to regain some of the fans he's lost and make new ones as well. This appearance will hopefully help America move on and look forward to seeing the better, more mature Chris Brown.

Congrat to Chris!!

SAG Awards 2011 Winners

The 17th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards took place this past Sunday night, January 30th on TBS. "The Kings Speech" and "The Fighter" were the favorite at this award show as well, with both movies winning four out of the five awards in the Theatrical Motion Pictures category. The HBO network also won big with five wins all together. Here are the full list of winners...

Theatrical Motion Pictures

Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture

"The King's Speech"

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role

Colin Firth, "The King's Speech"

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role

Natalie Portman, "Black Swan"

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role

Christian Bale, "The Fighter"

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role

Melissa Leo, "The Fighter"

Primetime Television

Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series

"Boardwalk Empire"

Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series

"Modern Family"

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series

Steve Buscemi, "Boardwalk Empire"

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series

Julianna Margulies, "The Good Wife"

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series

Alec Baldwin, "30 Rock"

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series

Betty White, "Hot In Cleveland"

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries

Al Pacino, "You Don't Know Jack"

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries

Claire Danes, "Temple Grandin"

SAG Honors for Stunt Ensembles

Outstanding Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Motion Picture

"Inception"

Outstanding Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Television Series

"True Blood"

I think its safe to say that with "The Kings Speech" winning for Best Movie at the Golden Globes and Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture, it is safe to say that "The Kings Speech" will win Best Picture at the Academy Awards, as well as Colin Firth winning for Best Actor in a Motion Picture as well. Melissa Leo and Christian Bale won for their Supporting Actor roles in "The Fighter" once again. I think they both will win the Oscar for their performances. And once again Natalie Portman one for her role in Black Swan. I think we can infer the three shoe-in wins at the Academy Awards. The Social Network was shut at this award ceremony, let's see what they win, if they win at all, at this years Academy Awards.