Ke$ha - My First Kiss
- Artist: Ke$ha
- Label: Photo Finish Records
- Director: Isaac Ravishankara
Emilie de Ravin Sara Foster Michelle Trachtenberg Carla Campbell April Scott
Emilie de Ravin Sara Foster Michelle Trachtenberg Carla Campbell April Scott
A Hollywood cinema is searching for a print of MJ's 1988 film with plans to give it a 'one night only' screening.
By James Montgomery
Michael Jackson's "Moonwalker"
Photo: Warner Bros.
Michael Jackson's short-film anthology "Moonwalker" may finally get a debut theatrical screening in the United States more than 20 years after it was released.
Back in 1988, MJ first unveiled the ambitious project, which contained several long-form videos for songs off his then-just-released Bad album, including his famous 25-minute clip for "Smooth Criminal." The film had been scheduled to be released in U.S. theaters that Christmas, but for whatever reason, that plan was scrapped. The movie was released on VHS early in 1989, and — surprise, surprise — became a massive success. But now, more than two decades after its debut, one theater is planning to give "Moonwalker" a proper premiere here in the States.
According to TMZ, Hollywood's Arclight Cinemas is actively searching for a print of the film, with plans to show it on the big screen ... for one night only.
The idea came after Jackson fans flooded Arclight's Facebook page with requests to show "Moonwalker," and the theater is now on the hunt for a copy of the flick. Even if the search is successful, there's no word on when the premiere would occur. The theater had not responded to MTV News' e-mail seeking a comment by press time.
However, Jackson fans might not want to hold their breath. In a follow-up story, TMZ reported that the late singer's estate had blocked Arclight's attempts to secure a print of the film, with a spokesperson for the theater telling the website: "We contacted the film's directors and producers and were finally directed to MJ's estate attorney [who] let us know the estate has the [film's] rights but have no plans to make ... prints available for rent at this time."
"Moonwalker" features videos for Jackson tracks like "Speed Demon" (directed by Claymation innovator Will Vinton), "Leave Me Alone" (which was released as a promo and won Jackson a 1989 Grammy for Best Music Video, Short Form) and, as mentioned, the iconic "Criminal," which features Jackson battling a group of mobsters led by Joe Pesci.
The flick also served as the inspiration for the super-awesome Sega game "Moonwalker, which featured a digital MJ morphing into a laser-blasting robot with the aid of his chimpanzee pal, Bubbles.
Would you go see a theatrical screening of Jackson's "Moonwalker" film? Tell us in the comments.
Related ArtistsLeslie Bega Vanessa Marcil Gabrielle Union Kelly Carlson Teri Hatcher
Emma Heming Ali Larter Tami Donaldson Adriana Lima Jessica Biel
'The Late Show With David Letterman' begins and ends week with Biebs.
By James Dinh
Justin Bieber
Photo: MTV News & Docs
David Letterman has officially caught Bieber Fever, as his late-night talk show will begin and end next week with appearances from the teen superstar.
According to CBS, Justin Bieber will visit "The Late Show With David Letterman" for a sit-down interview Monday, then return the following Friday to present the broadcast's Top 10 list. The pop star, who will also appear on Sunday's episode of "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition," is making the rounds to spread the word about his new 3-D feature film, "Never Say Never," hitting theatres February 11.
This isn't the first time the pop star has visited Letterman: In March of last year, Biebs visited the show to perform his hit single "Baby."
2011 may have just started, but the teen heartthrob has already dominated magazine covers and news headlines. From his girl-crazy photo spread with Vanity Fair to his hush-hush relationship with Disney starlet Selena Gomez, Bieber shows no signs of stopping. He's also shot his second episode of "CSI" (airing February 17) and has found time in the midst of his hectic schedule to discuss some star-studded collaborations for his sophomore album.
What do you want to hear Justin Bieber talk about on "Letterman" next week? Share your comments below!
Related ArtistsSamantha Mathis Moon Bloodgood Leslie Bega Vanessa Marcil Gabrielle Union
Maggie Gyllenhaal Aki Ross Kim Yoon jin Lena Headey Liz Phair
Saira Mohan Halle Berry Missy Peregrym Susan Ward Sienna Guillory
??She??s asked Reg to move in with her and he??s agreed. He has met all the family and is a hit.?Friends say she Reg is a "calming influence" which is exactly what Amy needs.
??It??s been an incredible past few weeks for Amy. She has completely turned her life around. It has been a long time coming ?? and she??s been writing songs for what seems an eternity ?? but finally Amy is satisfied and believes she has an album worthy of a four-year wait.???It is very raw and very personal ?? it promises to be another classic. She is now narrowing down the material and hopes it??ll be on shelves by the New Year.?I hope it's true that Amy has turned her life around - but we've heard "friends" saying this for years and it never ever sticks. Hopefully promoting this new album and having a steady relationship will keep her grounded long enough to deal with these demons head on. Outside forces are only bandages to her problems. Amy needs to figure this all out before it's too late.Photos by INF Continue reading
Michelle Malkin Amanda Detmer Charlies Angels Rachel Nichols Jennifer Aniston
But is it here to stay? Our music-industry experts weigh in.
By Akshay Bhansali
Ke$ha
Photo: Andreas Rentz/ Getty Images
In 2010, pop princesses, R&B icons and chart-dominating newcomers all danced to the same beat. Not only did dance music go pop, but pop music caught the club-music bug.
Between Katy Perry's "Firework," Ke$ha's "We R Who We R," Rihanna's "Only Girl (In the World)," Enrique Iglesias' "I Like It," Usher's "DJ Got Us Fallin' in Love" and "OMG" and countless other singles, established artists definitely looked to dance beats for surefire hits. And two of this year's biggest success stories in music were Jason Derülo and Taio Cruz; could there be a soul left in this country who hasn't heard "Dynamite" or "In My Head"?
The love went both ways, with dance music's biggest stars finding mainstream success this year. Dance-music maestro deadmau5 took up house-artist duties at this year's VMAs, and Swedish House Mafia and Usher teamed up for a medley of their gems at the American Music Awards.
So how did this happen? We caught up with some music-industry experts to get their takes.
"You definitely saw tempos go up this year," Jon Caramanica of The New York Times told MTV News. "And I think what you had are a lot of producers who are really familiar with nightclub stuff. They are familiar with Europe. Things are happening on a more global scale now."
"I think everything from Europe, and sometimes even Asia, it comes to America, and we just adopt things a little bit slower," said Jared Eng of JustJared.com. "I think it was just a change. People like different types of music at different times. And dance was of this moment."
Noah Callahan of Complex magazine added: "I think 2010 saw the merging of the pop and dance genres. Pop artists realized that there were best practices that could be borrowed from dance music. And, ultimately, [all] pop music that has been made in the past 20 years had ended up being remixed for the club by dance artists. I think they basically just cut out the middleman and went straight there."
Dance music being introduced into the hip-hop and R&B realms was particularly notable this year.
"I think David Guetta kind of at the end of last year and the beginning of this year spearheaded it," said freelance writer Julianne Escobedo Shepherd. "He produced a lot of tracks. I think as trends go, people revile 'unst-unst.' But it's just coming back around. Big-room techno was a way for people to get decadent in a year that no one could get decadent."
"You have someone like will.i.am, who's like, 'Well, I spent all this time in Ibiza, and this is what they are doing,' and he wants to find a way to bring that into his music," Caramanica said of the Black Eyed Peas mastermind. "R&B especially became dance music. And especially with your Jason Derülos, Taio Cruzes. Guys like that would have literally been blocked at the border two years ago. That would not have made it through customs. And now all of a sudden they have #1 songs. I think will.i.am had a lot to do with that last year."
Elliott Wilson of RapRadar.com added: "It's actually even affected hip-hop. I was talking to Q-Tip, and his next record, I feel like that's gonna kind of go in that vein. I know that was also Jay-Z's thought process with Blueprint 3 at first, that he wanted to make a little bit more of a world music [vibe], a little more dancey. I think the kids today want to go to the clubs. They wanna have a good time. They wanna dance. So I think the artists of today are trying to kind of feed that audience."
"I think it's caught on this year because the people who've done it have been successful," offered Clover Hope of Vibe magazine. "Like 'OMG,' with usher, he didn't have success until he made a dance record. He had 'There Goes My Baby' and these really, like, adult-contemporary records that didn't really catch on. And then once you see that everybody is doing it and that people are liking it, they are like, 'OK, let me just try this out.' It's like Auto-Tune. Like, 'Let me see what I sound like on a record by David Guetta.' They end up liking it and doing more of it."
So does the club-music trend have staying power. According to our tastemakers, not so much.
"I do think it's a blip," Caramanica said. "I don't think that's gonna be something that lasts in America. I think this is gonna be a moment we'll all look back on and go, 'Wasn't that weird when Jason Derülo and Taio Cruz had #1 records?"
"At some point, these R&B artists will get kind of sick of it and be like, 'Let me go back to my soul background,' " Hope said. "When you actually have to say something, dance doesn't really lend itself to substance. And I think that R&B artists, they really want to talk about love and in a deep way, and to do that, you need to do, like, a soul or a traditional R&B record. I want to say that it's kind of a fad."
"I think music is very cyclical," Eng offered. "So I think dance music might be here for a little bit, but I'm sure it will phase out at some point."
Wilson called dance music "the sound of today. I think that people want more aggressive, faster beats, and I think that that probably has legs until at least next summer."
What do you think? Is dance music here to stay? Let us know in the comments!
Related Videos Related ArtistsJamie Gunns Gina Gershon Cindy Crawford Missi Pyle Jennifer Gareis