Kendra Wilkinson: Motherhood?s Magic Is Lots of Laughs
Source: http://feeds.celebritybabies.com/~r/celebrity-babies/~3/3n2mngjHdAg/
Source: http://feeds.celebritybabies.com/~r/celebrity-babies/~3/3n2mngjHdAg/
Co-writer and star recalls cast's 'wild love of the Muppets' on set, in MTV News' Fall Movie Preview.
By Kara Warner
Fozzie the Bear, Kermit the Frog, Jason Segel and Miss Piggy in "The Muppets"
Photo: Walt Disney
For those of us who grew up with Kermit, Miss Piggy, Gonzo and the rest of the fun, furry gang known as the Muppets, their upcoming return to the big screen is one of the most anticipated of the year. And they're coming back with a bang: Their first feature film in more than a decade features an A-list cast, a killer marketing campaign, a hit soundtrack and a slew of celeb cameos.
Click for exclusive photos from fall's biggest flicks.
MTV News recently caught up with "The Muppets" co-writer and star Jason Segel to find out who is the funniest and most fun Muppet to hang out with, why people act differently around puppets and what's generally in store for Muppet lovers old and new.
MTV: We know it's like picking a favorite child, but who is your favorite Muppet?
Jason Segel: I must say Walter is going to be a new favorite. You haven't gotten to know him that well yet, but he sort of represents the point of view of the audience. He's just a crazy Muppets fan, and he reminds me a lot of Kermit before Kermit became Kermit. He's wildly hopeful and believes in goodness and friendship, so I have a real affinity for Walter.
MTV : Who is Walter's favorite Muppet?
Segel: Kermit. He is a wild, wild, wild Kermit fan. He has Kermit on his watch. Walter grew up with me in the city of normal people. He's the only puppet where he grew up, so when he saw "The Muppet Show" for the first time, he sort of felt like, "Oh my gosh, there are other people out there like me."
MTV : You have a lot of celeb Muppet fans in the film. Who geeked out the most with the Muppets?
Segel: I must say, there is something intrinsic of anyone who grew up with the Muppets, they have a wild love for the Muppets that comes out as soon as they come to set. Almost everybody legitimately freaked out. I think the thing that was the coolest was seeing Academy Award winner Chris Cooper — he's not a cameo; he's our villain — but this guy is one of the best actors alive, and to see him talking to these Muppets, looking them straight in the eye and laughing, there's a puppeteer right next to the Muppet, operating the puppet, but he looks straight at the puppet, and to see that that even happens to someone like Chris Cooper, it reaffirmed everything that I was working for.
MTV : There's something about puppets ...
Segel: There is something else. ... You can never touch an animated character; you could never actually be friends with it in its world. But with puppets, they exist in our world, and you can interact with them and touch them and feel like they're your friends, and I think that, viscerally, there's a different reaction to that. Sorry, I'm a total puppet geek. I could talk about this for hours. There was a little girl who came to set, and she got to meet Kermit. The puppeteers are always so gracious about meeting children when they come to set, and then the family was sitting behind the monitors and Kermit was doing a scene, and she said, out loud, in the middle of the scene, "I'm friends with him!" It just confirmed exactly what I believe that there's been something missing in that the Muppets haven't been at the forefront like what we had when we were kids.
MTV : So these are the Muppets we've known and loved, not a modern, raunchy version?
Segel: Never raunchy. The Muppets have always been subversive. They're all over the first season of "Saturday Night Live," and the first Jim Henson special was called ["The Muppet Show: Sex and Violence"]; it was very adult. The Muppets were always geared toward adult audiences, but they still managed to do that without ever being mean. It's so easy to get laughs making fun of people, and the Muppets never did that. They took maybe the harder route of being actually funny.
MTV : Who in your opinion is the funniest Muppet?
Segel: They're all so different and they all represent different facets of humor. But I love a good pun, and Fozzie Bear is just the pun master. There's a comic philosophy on puns that it's the lowest form of humor, and it's also supposed to be incredibly antisocial, because it stops the conversation; there's no response to a pun. But I'll tell you, there's something so endearing about Fozzie Bear just punning his little heart out. He's also, he's totally undaunted by the lack of response from his audience. He just keeps on going. Fozzie has a totally unfounded confidence, which is a quality that I think is just awesome.
MTV : Which Muppet did you get to know that surprised you most?
Segel: Well, Rowlf is really pleasant to be around. He's incredibly, incredibly calm, which we make fun of a lot during the movie. Rowlf, of all the Muppets, Rowlf just loves a nice nap.
MTV : What will grab people most? What is your goal with the film? Do you want to make sequels?
Segel: I try not to think beyond this one at this point, because I'm superstitious, but I will say that for lovers of "The Muppet Show," not just the movies but the actual show, the final act of the movie is as close to a re-creation of "The Muppet Show" as was possible. That was a thrill, because at the end of the movie, the Muppets put on a telethon based very much on an episode of "The Muppet Show," so we recorded [a version of] the original theme song for the first time since 1979. We made an almost exact replica of the original Muppet Theater as well. Walking into that was unbelievable, and not just for me; I must say I saw it on the faces of some of the puppeteers as well. Some of the ones who had worked on the original "Muppet Show" walked in and were like, 'Wow, this is what we did for a few years." It was pretty cool.
From "Abduction" to "Muppets, "Moneyball" to "Breaking Dawn," the MTV Movies team is delving into the hottest upcoming flicks in our 2011 Fall Movie Preview. Check back daily for exclusive clips, photos and interviews with the films' biggest stars.
Check out everything we've got on "The Muppets."
For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com.
Related Videos Related PhotosSource: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1670332/muppets-movie-jason-segel-puppets.jhtml
Celebrity fans including former 'NSYNC singer JC Chasez, tourmate DJ Pauly D and more weigh in on why Brit is still on top.
By Jocelyn Vena
Britney Spears with Lady Gaga as Jo Calderone at the 2011 VMAs
Photo: Kevin Winter/ Getty Images
At the 2011 Video Music Awards, Lady Gaga's alter ego Jo Calderone presented Britney Spears with the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award by telling the audience that Spears "taught us all how to be fearless." And that fearlessness was honored with a dance-heavy tribute to the pop star. Brit's ever-growing legacy is the reason why she was so deserving of the special award, her celebrity fans and members of her inner circle told MTV News.
"She never lets you down," her longtime choreographer Brian Friedman told MTV News on the VMA black carpet on Sunday night. "She's definitely not dull. There's always something crazy coming around the next turn. I think it's a mix between music, which is always incredible, the dance performance you see on the stage, the iconic videos, the fashion, and then the fact that she can't be knocked down."
We spotted Kanye West, Lady Gaga, Britney Spears and more hanging out backstage!
Those sentiments were mirrored by her pal and former 'NSYNC member JC Chasez, who noted that even at 30, "She's actually been around long enough [to have a tribute]. She has a body of work to pull from."
Spears' former tourmate, DJ Pauly D, also gushed about the singer, who won Best Pop Video for "Till The World Ends."
Find out how Beyoncé and Jay-Z Celebrated Their VMA Baby News!
"Oh, man! She deserves it out of anybody," the "Jersey Shore" star said. "She's been killing it forever now. She's got so many albums, and every time she brings out an album, she brings it."
After Gaga presented Spears with the award on Sunday, a group of young female dancers of various ages, dressed up in Britney-themed costumes from her hit music videos, took the stage to perform some of her most memorable moves.
The 28th annual MTV Video Music Awards have wrapped, but the real action is just getting started! Stick with MTV News for winners, fashion pics, video and behind-the-scenes stories about everything that went down. Visit VMA.MTV.com for the latest.
Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1669948/britney-spears-video-music-awards-tribute.jhtml
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/beatcrave/~3/mkYpFgIEQBU/

When ABC announced that Cher's female-to-male transgender son Chaz Bono would be among the show's celebrity contestants this season, controversy wasn't far behind. Fan message boards immediately lit up with criticism of the move -- with many calling foul over the casting of a transgender person on a famously family-friendly series. Cher was quick to hit back at the haters over Twitter, calling them "stupid bigots" and predicting that the "VAST MAJORITY of People will LOVE CHAZ on DWTS!" And, now, Chaz himself is speaking out about the controversy.
"I'm just a regular guy," Bono, 42, told ABC's Good Morning America in a live interview on Tuesday. "All these ideas that children shouldn't watch me, that I'm going to be confusing, all of this stuff -- it's crazy. And for all of the kids and teens out there with gender dysphoria, I think it's going to have a really positive impact." Watch the interview below!
Led by OneMillionMoms.com, activist groups have been gathering their forces to protest Dancing with the Stars and call for a boycott of the upcoming season. On its website, the group calls Bono's casting "completely unacceptable and Christians should not watch the show, no excuses!"
Meanwhile, a representative of the Culture and Media Institute called Bono's casting "a ridiculous, agenda-driven move by Dancing with the Stars," but Bono is quick to say that he is not pushing an agenda at all.
"People who don't have gender dysphoria aren't going to catch it by watching me dance on television," he assures worried mom and other detractors. Frankly, says Bono, fhe hasn't really been paying attention to the controversy, since he is too busy learning the dancing, and says it's a "much bigger deal to everyone else than it is to me." Bono says that he's just been having a great time getting in shape (he's already lost eight pounds!) and challenging himself.
As for those who are planning on boycotting DWTS, Bono simply says: "I'd tell them to watch the show and decide after that. It's a dancing show. I'm not there talking about anything other than dancing."
The new season of Dancing with the Stars premieres on Monday, Sept. 19.
Source: http://www.ivillage.com/chaz-bono-reacts-dancing-stars-controversy/1-a-379923
The website for WHAT'S YOUR NUMBER? is finally up!
http://www.whatsyournumbermovie.com/
And the official Facebook page!
http://www.facebook.com/whatsyournumbermovie
And the official YouTube channel!
http://www.youtube.com/user/OfficialNumberMovie
Also, here's the trailer!
Source: http://www.prettyinthecity.com/blog/2011/5/5/whats-your-number-website.html
Fueled by Ramen will mark the occasion with two nights of concerts in New York, and MTV.com will stream Wednesday's show live!
By James Montgomery
Paramore's Hayley Williams
Photo: MTV News
Fifteen years ago, Fueled by Ramen began life in the dorm room of John Janick, a student at the University of Florida. These days, thanks to a catalog that includes releases by Fall Out Boy, Paramore, Panic! at the Disco, Jimmy Eat World and Yellowcard (to name just a few), an unusually strong commitment to their roster of artists and a harnessing of social media that borders on masterful, FBR headquarters is now located many stories above Sixth Avenue in Manhattan, in a space shared with the very major Atlantic Records.
Needless to say, things have improved slightly since those dorm-room days. And on Wednesday and Thursday of this week, the label will celebrate both their journey and their birthday with a two-night stand at New York's Terminal 5, a double bill that will include the likes of Paramore, Cobra Starship and Gym Class Heroes. Wednesday night's show will stream live on MTV.com, beginning at 6:30 p.m. ET, but to kick off the celebration, we asked some of Fueled by Ramen's biggest acts to think back to the day they inked their deals with the label — starting with Wednesday night's headliners, Paramore.
"We were playing a lot of local shows, it was around 2004. The guy we were working with in Franklin [Tennessee], he was kind of our manager at the time, and he was like, 'This guy, he has this label,' " frontwoman Hayley Williams laughed. "A couple people from [FBR] came down and watched us play older songs and newer ones — I think we played 'Hallelujah' for them, 'Here We Go Again,' I don't know, like a total of five songs — and thank God they liked it. We were really excited. From then on, I was like, 'OK, what are we going to do?' and we recorded most of those songs, and they showed up on our album, which was on Fueled by Ramen!"
The signing story of another of the label's breakout stars, Panic! at the Disco, is a little less traditional. Fall Out Boy's Pete Wentz discovered the band online and rushed to their hometown of Las Vegas to add them to FBR's roster. Of course, given the label's strong Web-based presence, it would become the blueprint for the way they'd do business moving forward.
"We started doing demos ourselves, just on our laptop, and posting to our personal websites, like MySpace or PureVolume, and just tried to send out links to anybody that was in a band that we were fans of in hopes they would listen. And somehow, we got lucky enough, and Pete contacted us, so that was our first introduction to Fueled by Ramen," Panic! drummer Spencer Smith explained. "Pete drove out and bought us Del Taco and listened to the songs and said that he wanted to sign us as we were driving him back to his hotel. So it all just happened within two weeks, I think, from him listening to the songs."
Help MTV celebrate Fueled by Ramen's 15th anniversary this Wednesday, September 7, as we present a live party featuring some of your favorite FBR acts, including Paramore. Check out MTV.com at 6:30 p.m. ET Wednesday to catch all the action!
Related ArtistsThe 'O.M.G.' singer looks forward to sharing the stage with his protégé on Sunday night.
By James Montgomery
Usher
Photo: Amanda Edwards/ Getty Images
HOLLYWOOD — At Sunday's 53rd Grammy Awards, Usher will be pulling double duty as both a nominee and a performer. Of course, given the massive year he just completed — with the success of his smash single "O.M.G." and as a mentor to rising phenom Justin Bieber — Ush's Grammy plans seem rather fitting.
Especially since he'll be performing with Bieber (and Bieber's pal Jaden Smith), a move that's just as much about celebrating Usher's successes as it is the successes of his young protégé.
"Having been through [the Grammys] so many times, you couldn't want for anything more than for your young protégé to have the opportunity to have one, so, in support of him having his moment, I wanted to be here," Usher told MTV News on Thursday, hours before his performance at the (Belvedere) RED launch party in Hollywood. "And also to be there to perform, to kind of tell the story of how we came together. This music business has definitely been good to both of us, and this year we have a lot to be happy for."
And just how will the dynamic duo tell that story? Well, Usher wasn't about to reveal all the details, but he did say that he's hoping their performance will show another side of Bieber ... a side most tend to overlook.
"The performance will be fun," Usher explained. "We want to get up there and just do what we do. Be comfortable, and have a great time. ... This is kind of a crossover for Justin. Having performed on so many different stages, this is the way that I wanted him to be seen and an opportunity to show the industry — a lot of the industry, that didn't believe [in him] — some of his other talents. He's going to play acoustically, and also, we'll get down a little bit."
And though Ush is up for a pair of Grammy awards on Sunday — Best Male R&B Vocal Performance and Best Contemporary R&B Album for Raymond v. Raymond — he's most looking forward to sharing the stage with Bieber and giving fans a look at where the young artist will be heading next.
"I'm very proud, man. I definitely saw it from the beginning, but thanks to the team that we have around us, it was made to happen. And that story has only just begun," Usher said. "The story of Justin Bieber doesn't stop with screaming girls; we need screaming fans all around the world ... a cultural experience that's much more than just fanfare. And that's what this is. That's what the Grammys will be; that's what my next phase for Justin is. This is the way I found him: I found him with a guitar in his hand, so I want him to be seen that way."
Don't miss "Snooki & Sway: Live From the Grammys," a red-carpet live stream kicking off Sunday at 6 p.m. ET on MTV.com. And stick with us all Grammy night for coverage of the red carpet, the show, the afterparties and beyond!
Related Photos Related ArtistsSource: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1657728/usher-justin-bieber-grammy-performance.jhtml