Justin Bieber Passes Michael Jackson's Box-Office Record

'Justin Bieber: Never Say Never' has outgrossed MJ's 'This Is It' in U.S.
By Gil Kaufman


Justin Bieber in "Justin Bieber: Never Say Never"
Photo: Paramount Pictures

Michael Jackson may have dubbed himself the King of Pop, but the late icon didn't hold the box-office crown for long. Less than a year after the posthumous MJ documentary "This Is It" became the most successful concert-themed film in U.S. history, Justin Bieber is poised to snatch the mantle.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, "Justin Bieber: Never Say Never" has earned $72.2 million in domestic box office so far, passing Jackson's $72.1 million haul. And while Bieber has racked up those impressive numbers in just six weeks, he's got a long way to go before he laps the global receipts for the MJ doc.

"This Is It" has grossed $189.1 million overseas for a global total of $261.2 million. Music films don't typically play well overseas, and THR noted that "Never Say Never" has grossed a more modest $10.8 million overseas so far, with Paramount executives predicting that it could top out around $20 million internationally.

The impressive U.S. numbers were likely goosed by the re-release of the film recently with 40 additional minutes of bonus footage from director Jon M. Chu. Bieber still has a little way to go to climb the list of the top-grossing documentaries of all time. "Never Say Never" is currently stalled out at the #3 position, around $5 million behind "March of the Penguins," according to Box Office Mojo, and well short of the all-time record held by Michael Moore's "Fahrenheit 9/11," which has taken in $119.1 million to date.

Bieber set off a classic MJ-style fan frenzy a few weeks ago when he visited Liverpool, England, for his world tour. And just a week later, he posed with his new wax figure at London's Madame Tussauds, checking off another item on the list of milestones to an MJ-like career.

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Robert Plant And Alison Krauss Win Grammy Album Of The Year

Raising Sand, from Led Zeppelin vet and bluegrass superstar, wins five Grammys on Sunday night.
By James Montgomery with MTV News staff


Alison Krauss and Robert Plant accept the award for Album of the Year at the Grammy Awards on Sunday
Photo: Kevin Winter/ Getty Images

"I'm bewildered," Robert Plant said onstage as he accepted the Grammy Album of the Year award with Alison Krauss on Sunday night. "In the old days we would have called this selling out, but it's a good way to spend a Sunday."

He was probably one of the few who were surprised, because Raising Sand, which won five trophies at Sunday night's show, is in many ways the perfect Grammy album. It features two respected veterans, a critically lauded producer, some sandpaper-and-velvet vocals and a baker's dozen of time-tested standards.

You're probably familiar with Robert Plant from his Led Zeppelin days, and you might be aware of producer T-Bone Burnett's work on the "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" soundtrack (it won the Grammy for Album of the Year in 2002). And if you don't know who Alison Krauss is, she possesses a haunting set of pipes and is one of the meanest fiddle players in the world. Oh, and she's won 21 Grammys, more than any other female artist and the seventh-most in history.

Really, she's the key to Sand's success, and not just because of her voice (or her fiddle playing). She and Plant first met in 2004, at a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame tribute to legendary bluesman Leadbelly, and the former Zeppelin man was amazed by her knowledge of American Roots music — so much so that they began kicking around the idea of recording an album together. Three years later, Sand was released.

And while Plant possesses the more famous voice, the album's finest moments radiate from Krauss. Whether she's getting bluesy on Little Milton's "Let Your Loss Be Your Lesson" or entwining with Plant's husky voice on songs like "Please Read the Letter" and Roly Salley's winsome "Killing the Blues," she more than carries her end of the bargain.

And perhaps that's also due to producer Burnett, who handpicked the 13 songs the duo cover on Sand. His arrangements are sparse — giving the two voices ample room to breathe — yet dense, warm and crackling at the same time. It's a testament to his work that he's often given just as much billing as Plant and Krauss on the project ... and it's certainly justified.

To date, Sand has sold more than 1 million copies, heaped tons of acclaim and actually earned a Grammy last year — "Gone Gone Gone (Done Moved On)" took home the award for Best Pop Collaboration With Vocals.

One expert was surprised not by the album's success, but by the fact that it's actually quite a good album.

"At first, the album seemed like a vanity project. ... Two names, clearly a one-off record, didn't have to be any good, you know?" New York Times music critic Jon Caramanica said. "Led Zeppelin fans would buy it because of Robert Plant, Alison Krauss would get a check. But it actually turned out to be a really thoughtful, really good record. So when you combine all that with the fact that the Grammys love to lionize one of their own, I could really see it taking home some awards."

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Stephenie Meyer's 'The Host' Casts Saoirse Ronan

'Hanna' star set to play Melanie Stryder and the alien who invades her mind.
By Kara Warner


Saoirse Ronan
Photo: MTV News

For the die-hard Stephenie Meyer fans out there worried about going into withdrawal after "Breaking Dawn: Part 2" descends upon theaters in November 2012, fear not. The movie adaptation of author's other best-seller, "The Host," has found a star in Saoirse Ronan.

According to Deadline, the film, which was written by Andrew Niccol for independent production company Inferno, will reportedly be looking to find a distributor at the Cannes International Film Festival next week.

Meyer is said to have been heavily involved in the process, and selected writer/director Niccol because she was a fan of his films "Gattaca" and his script for "The Truman Show."

"The Host" is the story of Melanie Stryder, one of the last humans to have avoided capture by an alien race called Souls. The Souls operate more like parasites in that they invade human bodies, fuse to each person's consciousness and erase their personalities. Melanie is eventually implanted by a Soul called Wanderer. Somehow, however, Melanie avoids surrendering her consciousness to Wanderer, who is so overwhelmed by her host's memories and feelings, the alien is driven to reconnect with Melanie's old life. As the two share Melanie's body, they find an underground colony of humans hiding from the Souls.

The 17-year-old Ronan, known for her noteworthy performances in films like "Atonement," "The Lovely Bones" and most recently, "Hanna," will reportedly play both Melanie and Wanderer.

Meyer will be attending the festival to help present the project to prospective buyers.

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

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1663166/stephenie-meyers-host-casts-saoirse-ronan.jhtml

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BREAKING NEWS: Justin Bieber is Not a Saint

GASP! Justin Bieber may not be the ever-so-perfect teen idol that fans think he is. The singer was outed by the red-headed lady from CSI who claims he had a semi-Chris Brown moment on the set of the show. I think I know somebody whose about to get Twitter-bombed, and her name is Marg Helgenberger. The actress called out the Biebs this week, and even used the word ?brat? to describe his antics. She says that while on the set of the show the teen wonder acted a bit like a 17-year-old?imagine that! Marg told a French talk show that he actually locked a producer in a closet, and later punched a cake. I?m going to go ahead and guess that locking someone in a closet was probably part of a prank. No offense to JB, but I can?t picture him physically shoving someone in a closet like a serial killer ? the guy looks like he could be overpowered by a cranky toddler. Anyway, as for the cake punching, that?s pretty funny stuff. Maybe he requested chocolate and they got vanilla? How dare them. Don?t they know we?re dealing with the Biebs here? There are people who would eat [...]

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Lady Gaga's 'Judas' Video: A Pop-Culture Cheat Sheet

Gaga's latest clip mixes the sacred with the profane and includes a nod to Marlon Brandon too — here are all the references!
By James Montgomery


Lady Gaga
Photo: George Pimentel/ Getty Images

Love her or hate her, you've got to admit that Lady Gaga knows how to make a music video. Her clips always have been a mixture of high-art posturing and knowing nods to pop-culture ephemera, and "Judas" is no different. While it's not filled with blink-and-you'll-miss-it references like "Telephone" or odes to German Expressionism like "Alejandro," there's still plenty to wrap your eyes around in "Judas," offering a mixture of the sacred and the profane. Gaga merges mentions to religious iconography and cult biker flicks (and pretty much everything in between) in the video, and so, we decided to take notes. Here's our "Judas" pop-culture cheat sheet, alphabetized for your perusing pleasure ... you can't tell your Botticellis from your Brandos without it.

"The Birth of Venus": Iconic 15th century painting by Sandro Botticelli depicting the Roman goddess Venus emerging from the sea. Art historians have interpreted the work in many ways — a contemplation on physical and spiritual beauty, a celebration of the divine, a "wedding painting" meant to, uh, inspire the bride and groom — but in "Judas," when Gaga strikes a pose similar to the painting, she seems to be paying tribute to all three.

"Electric Chapel": Gaga has said that she created her Monster Ball Tour so that her fans "would have a place to go ... a safe place ... an 'Electric Chapel.' " It's also the name of a song on her upcoming Born This Way album. In "Judas," the Chapel is reimagined as a biker bar, where LG attempts to warn Jesus about Judas' impending betrayal.

Eye of Horus: An ancient Egyptian symbol of protection, closely associated with the goddess Wadjet. In "Judas," Gaga wears eye makeup that recalls the symbol, which makes sense, since, as Mary Magdalene, she attempts to protect Christ from Judas' backstabbing.

Foot Washing: A religious rite observed by several Christian denominations. In the Bible, Christ washed the feet of his apostles before the Last Supper, the final meal he shared before his crucifixion. Gaga washes Christ's feet in "Judas," perhaps symbolizing his forthcoming demise, something that Judas certainly had a hand in.

Golden Gun: Fictional weapon from the 1974 James Bond film "The Man With the Golden Gun," and a totally kick-ass sidearm in the "GoldenEye" video game. Gaga wields a similar piece in "Judas," though hers doesn't contain bullets; instead, it's a rather grandiose tube of lipstick, which she smears on Judas' face.

The Kiss of Judas: In the Bible, it is Judas' final act of betrayal — he kisses Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane after the Last Supper as a way of identifying him to the soldiers who have come to arrest him. The same scene is played out in "Judas," as the betrayer plants a pair of kisses on Christ's cheeks.

Mary Magdalene: A disciple of Jesus and one of the most controversial characters in the Bible, early scholars painted her as a repentant prostitute, while in the 20th and 21st century, she has come to be celebrated as a patron saint of women's preaching and ministry. Not surprisingly, Gaga takes on the role of Magdalene, reimagining her as a badass chick with a penchant for chola fashion.

Norman Reedus: American actor/model known for his roles in "The Boondock Saints" and, more recently, AMC's "The Walking Dead." In "Judas," he plays the titular apostle with gleefully evil aplomb.

Rick Gonzalez: American character actor who has appeared in dozens of films, most notably "Coach Carter" and, uh, "Old School," where he played "Spanish." In "Judas," he's given a gangster makeover as Jesus Christ.

Sacred Heart: Religious icon that symbolizes Christ's divine love for humanity. Often depicted as bleeding and wrapped in thorns, in "Judas," Gaga can be seen wearing a Sacred Heart on her wardrobe.

Simon Peter: One of Christ's 12 apostles, also known as Saint Peter, he is regarded by the Catholic Church as the first pope. Before the Last Supper, when Christ washed his apostles' feet, Peter originally refused, claiming he was not worthy. During Christ's arrest, Peter sliced the ear of a servant of the High Priest who had come to seize him. In "Judas," Gaga singles out Peter at the "Electric Chapel," patting him on the back.

"The Wild One": 1953 biker film starring a young Marlon Brando as the leader of the Black Rebels Motorcycle Club. That leather-clad gang of ne'er-do-wells seems to be the direct inspiration for Christ's biker-apostles in "Judas."

Can you spot any other literary, historic or pop-culture references in Lady Gaga's "Judas" video? Tell us in the comments.

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'Thor' Sequel Is A 'Tantalizing' Prospect, Kenneth Branagh Says

'There's a passionate fanbase out there that will say what they think,' the director tells MTV News.
By Kara Warner, with reporting by Josh Horowitz


Kenneth Branagh
Photo: MTV News

With the mighty "Thor" having vanquished the competition at the box office this weekend, we can now officially turn to talk of sequels. Specifically, would esteemed director Kenneth Branagh be willing to take on another "Thor" movie?

"We went through so many possibilities for how the story might go, that of course the prospect of that is very tantalizing and fascinating," Branagh told MTV News about toying with the sequel idea. "I loved working with this group of actors and had a fantastic experience working with everyone in the Marvel family," he added.

"You know as well as I do, there's a passionate fanbase out there that will say what they think. People will vote with their feet. And because it's such a big chunk of change for everybody involved, I think that's going to have a crucial, crucial impact but it would be a lovely challenge and problem to have should we do a second one," he said.

Branagh went on to say that in doing research for "Thor," he discovered plenty of fun, new elements of the story that warrant further exploration in future installments.

"When I first got involved with this, I was so thrilled. The first big, really exciting moment when I started really going through the comic books was all the descriptions of powers," he explained. "I loved it, amazing. People's body weights, how tall they were, what they could do, all of that kind of stuff. There's a vast amount of that from the Thor universe that I'd like to see," he said, before reiterating that it's up to fans to support and show film some love. "As they say in the voiceover of 'Big Brother' back home [in the U.K.], 'You. Decide,' " he said with a laugh.

Share your reviews of "Thor" in the comments below!

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

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

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