Jesse McCartney Talks Co-Starring With 'Twilight' Actor In 'The Last Airbender'

Jesse McCartney will be joining "Twilight" star Jackson Rathbone in the upcoming M. Night Shyamalan-helmed flick "The Last Airbender." McCartney — who plays Prince Zucko — assured fans of the writer/director who feel he may not be right for the part that Shyamalan has it all figured out.

"I heard a lot about this online," McCartney said, referring to fans' criticism. "There's a lot of hard-core fans out there [who] probably know more about it ... I'm still learning. This is M. Night's vision and this is what he wants. To all the fans, I can tell you I'm putting my best foot forward."

That foot forward includes intense kung-fu training for McCartney, who described his character as "an expert firebender." "I've been in kung-fu training for the last month and half-learning all the moves. I'm looking forward to it."

Although he is still learning all about the popular cartoon that first made its debut in Asia before gaining popularity in America, it was his little brother who was already a fan when McCartney signed on to the flick. "I heard about the series from my little brother who's an avid 'Avatar' fan," he explained. "I heard about the project, and that Night was directing it. He flew me out to Philly to read with him. I worked with him a lot on the character. He called me on my phone and was like, 'I want you to play this character.' And we took it from there."

McCartney is also looking forward to working with Rathbone — who will also be filming "New Moon" this year — on the movie. "He was there for the reading and he and I have been in training together. We're flying in a few weeks to start production and then to Greenland to start filming. He's a super nice guy. We've been getting along great."

As for any musical collaboration between the two, McCartney assures us that they'll have plenty of time to mull that over as they film the movie. "We haven't talked about that yet," he said. "I'm sure I'll get to know all of this about him."

Check out everything we've got on "The Last Airbender."

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

Dakota Fanning Adds ‘Twilight’ To Her Reading List
Dakota Fanning On ‘New Moon’ Role: ‘I Really Hope It Works Out’
Sundance honors `Push,’ `We Live in Public’
(AP)

Revealing Photos Of 'Twilight' Star Robert Pattinson Surface Online

Back in December, Robert Pattinson chopped off his trademark wild locks and started rocking a close-cropped 'do. The "Twilight"-verse nearly cracked in half.

Some fans welcomed the new look ("He looks way hotter!" said an MTV Movies Blog commenter), some were appalled ("Ewww, what happened to his hot sex hair?"), and many worried he'd no longer be able to convincingly portray vampire Edward Cullen in the soon-to-film sequel "New Moon" ("His. Legacy. Is. Gone!"). But a lot of you were happy to take your Robert/Edward any way you could get him ("The hair won't change the fact that this man oozes sexiness!!!").

Prepare for another epic OME-explosion: Revealing Pattinson pictures have surfaced on the Web. Still with us? The black-and-white photos feature a shirtless Pattinson staring all squint-eyed at the camera, a black scarf wrapped around his neck. In one, he's even showing a nipple. But perhaps most satisfying of all to those heartbroken over his new 'do is that in the pictures, he's once again sporting his familiar, beloved mane.

The photos come from a 2003 shoot that appeared in the South China Morning Post magazine. "He was painfully shy and incredibly polite," photographer John-Paul Pietrus told Life & Style of the shoot. The London-based Pietrus has previously shot Victoria Beckham and Rufus Wainwright, among others.

"He was a bit nervous, too, because I had him in some pictures with a girl," the photographer said of Pattinson, who at the time had not yet broken into acting. It would be another two years before his role in "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" brought him worldwide attention. "The shoot was based on swimwear from the 1930s. He had his shirt off, so some skin might have made him nervous."

"New Moon" is set to begin shooting in late March in Vancouver. It's anybody's guess what kind of hairstyle — Buzzcut? Wig? Hair extensions? — the actor will be sporting once he steps in front of the camera. If we know our "Twilight" fans, though, the biggest question of all will be whether Pattinson decides to do some more half-naked photo shoots.

Check out everything we've got on "New Moon."

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

Spector retrial enters key act as defense begins
(AP)
Sundance honors `Push,’ `We Live in Public’
(AP)
‘Harry Potter’ Star Daniel Radcliffe Talks Obama, ‘Twilight’ Heartthrob Robert Pattinson

Exclusive: See The 'Extreme' Fashion Of 'Confessions Of A Shopaholic'

In an exclusive featurette about the making of "Confessions of a Shopaholic" (which opens on February 13), the cast and crew divulge the inspiration behind the movie's designer gleam.

"Sex and the City" stylist Patricia Field created the costumes to reflect the fashion-forward energy of New York City, where the story of journalist Rebecca Bloomfield (Isla Fisher) unfolds.

"New York is literally the fashion capital of the world," Fisher exclaimed, "and there are so many brilliant stores."

Director P.J. Hogan took full advantage of shooting on location in Manhattan. "We shot in Bendel's, Catherine Malandrino's, Barney's," Hogan boasted.

"Rebecca has an original style," he added. "She doesn't dress like anybody else."

Field, who is known for creating over-the-top outfits for "SATC" and "The Devil Wears Prada," certainly wasn't expected to make Rebecca look like anyone else.

"It's just a little eclectic mix of something cute, something designer," Field said. "It was an opportunity for me to create a different look for people to see that they haven't really seen before. It's fashion-forward but an exaggerated for this extreme character who can't stop shopping."

And Fisher jumped at the opportunity to work with the fashion icon. "I wanted Becky to be adventurous and bright and colorful but at the same time high fashion," she said. "It was so much fun creating her with Patricia Field. She's such an amazing designer and she has such a unique vision."

Check out everything we've got on "Confessions of a Shopaholic."

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

‘The Dark Knight’ Deserves Oscar Nominations, Say High-Profile Fans

Lucy Hale Auditioned For Same 'New Moon' Role As Dakota Fanning

Believe it or not, there is another actress — in addition to Dakota Fanning — up for the part of Jane in "Twilight" sequel "New Moon." That great distinction belongs to Lucy Hale, star of the CW's "Privileged." She spoke about her auditions and her belief that, at this point, Fanning is a shoo-in for the role.

"Well, I did read [for the role of Jane]. We had some talks about it. But I think they just offered it to Dakota Fanning, the role I was interested in," the teen told Twist magazine. "Which is great — I'm a huge fan of her! So I think she'll probably take that. And I mean, as of right now, I'm not sure if it's going to work out. But I'm definitely still going to see it!"

The casting notice that had been floating around the Internet called for Jane to be a "petite blonde with a ... Botticelli angel-like face ... [and] crimson irises," a description that dark-haired Hale doesn't really fit. But there is one character she thinks she might have the look for, and that's the raven-haired Leah Clearwater.

"I'd take any role!" Hale told the magazine. "Leah Clearwater, but I think there's already talks with somebody else. I think they've already offered it to someone. I mean, we'll see. If not, it's all good."

When she was reminded that "High School Musical" star Vanessa Hudgens was already up for the part, Hale said, "Right, right, right! Yeah, I wasn't sure if that was true or not, but she'd be great for it!"

Check out everything we've got on "Twilight: New Moon."

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

Dakota Fanning On ‘New Moon’ Role: ‘I Really Hope It Works Out’
Sundance honors `Push,’ `We Live in Public’
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Joaquin Phoenix Rep Insists Actor's Hip-Hop Career Is Serious

There are some out there who would like you to believe that Joaquin Phoenix's much-hyped rap career is little more than a well-crafted hoax. His publicist is not one of them.

In a statement released to MTV News on Wednesday afternoon (January 28), Phoenix rep Susan Patricola said the actor's hip-hop turn is very real and that he's not letting a few naysayers stand in the way of his rap-star dreams.

"The transition from one career to another is never seamless. It should come as no surprise to anyone that Joaquin came from a musical family, in addition to winning a Golden Globe for his portrayal of Johnny Cash," Patricola wrote in an e-mail. "He intends on exploring his musical interests despite speculative, negative or positive reactions."

But, if EW.com's Hollywood Insider blog is to be believed, Patricola's statement might not put the skepticism to rest. A report on the blog claims the actor — along with brother-in-law Casey Affleck — is not only playing an elaborate, Andy Kaufman-esque prank on the media, but his publicists might be in on the joke too.

According to a source "who recently worked with Phoenix," the actor sees the entire thing as "an art project" and is involving everyone in it.

"He's going full out. He probably has told his reps that he's quitting acting," the source said. "Joaquin is very smart. This is very conscious. He has a huge degree of control."

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

‘Harry Potter’ Star Daniel Radcliffe Talks Obama, ‘Twilight’ Heartthrob Robert Pattinson
Joaquin Phoenix’s Rap Career Is A Hoax, Sources Say

Joaquin Phoenix's Rap Career Is A Hoax, Sources Say

In recent weeks, actor Joaquin Phoenix's announcement that he's decided to leave acting and pursue a career as a rapper has puzzled pretty much everybody.

And despite the fact that it seemed like he was trying to punk the world, there was plenty of evidence to back it up. There was a video of the "Walk the Line" star spitting verses at a club in Culver City, California. Reports of him signing a deal with Diddy appeared in respected trade mags like the Hollywood Reporter. There were grainy YouTube clips of him performing at a club in Las Vegas (and subsequently falling off the stage). And then supposed "demos" were posted on a MySpace page — though, to be fair, Phoenix's publicist told MTV News that she didn't think those were legit.

And now, it appears that the whole "Joaquin Phoenix is a rapper" thing might not be legit either. According to EW.com's Hollywood Insider blog, a source told the site that Phoenix's rap career is nothing more than an elaborate hoax perpetrated by brother-in-law Casey Affleck (who is reportedly filming the entire thing for a documentary) to poke fun at pompous actors and the media.

The story quotes "one source who recently worked with Phoenix" as saying that "[Phoenix] said, 'It's a put-on. I'm going to pretend to have a meltdown and change careers, and Casey is going to film it.'

"It's an art project for him," the source continued. "He's going full out. He probably has told his reps that he's quit acting. Joaquin is very smart. This is very conscious. He has a huge degree of control."

Well, if this is all a joke, no one's in any hurry to reveal the punch line. Phoenix's rep didn't respond to MTV News' request for comment, and last week, when we contacted reps for Diddy about the Hollywood Reporter piece, we got no response either. So, it seems like the joke continues to be on us.

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

Slash wins round in lawsuit over house
(AP)
Joaquin Phoenix Rep Insists Actor’s Hip-Hop Career Is Serious

'Harry Potter' Star Daniel Radcliffe Talks Obama, 'Twilight' Heartthrob Robert Pattinson

Obama fever isn't just for American citizens — it seems that "Harry Potter" star and England native Daniel Radcliffe, has definitely caught it. And, he's willing to prove that he's got the president's back by inviting Sasha and Malia to hang out with him on the "Harry Potter" set.

"I'd like to take this opportunity to issue a public invitation to the Obamas that if their daughters would like a private tour of the 'Harry Potter' set, I would be honored to be their personal tour guide," he shared with the Daily Beast . Radcliffe begins filming the final installment of the franchise soon.

The actor, whose turn in "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" will hit theaters in June, also revealed that as much as he appreciates tradition, he insists that the world is excited about the change that an Obama administration promises.

"I am so proud and happy for this country. He is everything the rest of the world liked about America and now likes again. He is both Martin Luther King and JFK," he said. "He is a pioneer. He is a symbol of progress, which is what we dig about this country. What you love about England is all the old buildings and such — the traditions. I love that too. But this is what we want from you."

Politics aside, a topic that is also on the tip of everyone's tongue came up — "Twilight" star Robert Pattinson, who starred alongside Radcliffe in "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix." "I don't have his number, so haven't spoken to him [about any advice]. But I can safely say that his insisting that girls would choose me over him, that they would not," he said regarding Pattinson's status as a teen idol. "That they do not. He is much prettier and can be much more charming. And he can do that thing of being sultry and sexy."

He added, "Rob can just sort of stand there and look at something and start to smolder. And I just can't do that."

Check out everything we've got on "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows."

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

Sundance honors `Push,’ `We Live in Public’
(AP)
Dakota Fanning Adds ‘Twilight’ To Her Reading List
Dakota Fanning On ‘New Moon’ Role: ‘I Really Hope It Works Out’

Dakota Fanning On 'New Moon' Role: 'I Really Hope It Works Out'

Although there's been no official announcement, Dakota Fanning is confirming her interest in the role of Jane in "Twilight" sequel "New Moon." Jane, a vampire with dangerous mental powers, is a guard for the Italian sect known as the Volturi.

"It's definitely possible. I really hope it works out," Fanning told Hitfix.com. "It would be a really fantastic experience, I'm sure."

"I think that the actors are amazing," the 14-year-old actress, who seems to have the support of "Twilight" fans, told E! Online. "It would be really cool to be a part of that. I'm a big fan."

In a "New Moon" casting notice that went out earlier this month, Jane is described as a "petite blonde with a ... Botticelli angel-like face ... [and] crimson irises," E! reported. The notice also said that "fellow Volturi guards Demetri and Felix ... are three times the size of her, [and] they are terrified of her."

"We are considering all actors that have the unique requirements for the look of Jane, Dakota being one of them," a rep for Summit Entertainment told "Access Hollywood" regarding the rumors of Fanning's casting in the sequel to the hit vampire flick.

As of September, Fanning had yet to read any of the "Twilight" books, despite showing an interest in the series. "I haven't read them, but I have a lot of friends that read them all the time," she told MTV News. "They're so excited about the movie. When I went to Comic-Con, 'Twilight' was there. I have to read these books now, 'cause everybody's reading them, and I'm sure they're fantastic."

Check out everything we've got on "New Moon."

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

Sundance honors `Push,’ `We Live in Public’
(AP)
Dakota Fanning Adds ‘Twilight’ To Her Reading List

'Paul Blart: Mall Cop' Secures Second Box-Office #1

The Box-Office Top Five

#1 "Paul Blart: Mall Cop" ($21.5 million)
#2 "Underworld: Rise of the Lycans" ($20.7 million)
#3 "Gran Torino" ($16 million)
#4 "Hotel for Dogs" ($12.4 million)
#5 "Slumdog Millionaire" ($10.6 million)

The third coming of werewolves and vampires failed to take a bite out of Kevin James. "Paul Blart: Mall Cop" stayed at the top of the chart in its second week, bringing in another $21.5 million for a total gross of $64.8 million. Who knew a humble mall cop could earn so much love?

The third installment of the "Underworld" series, "Rise of the Lycans" opened at a respectable #2 with $20.7 million, but didn't do as well as the first two installments — "Underworld" opened in 2003 at $21.8 million, while "Evolution" made a splash of $26.9 million in 2006. Perhaps "Twilight" has consumed the audience for undead romance, or maybe moviegoers were just missing Kate Beckinsale's pleather.

Though he was snubbed by the Oscars, Clint Eastwood continues to attract big numbers. Dropping to #3 in its third week of release, "Gran Torino" still brought in $16 million, bringing the film's total gross to $97.6 million.

In its second week of release, "Hotel for Dogs" rose to #4 with $12.4 million. It fended off the competition from Brendan Fraser's family-friendly newcomer "Inkheart," which opened at #7 with a disappointing $7.72 million.

The top five was cracked by a now-familiar face. With $10.6 million, "Slumdog Millionaire" landed at #5 for the first time this week, helped by its Oscar nominations and an expansion into 1,411 theaters. Already a critical hit, "Slumdog" is becoming one at the box office with a cumulative total of $55.9 million so far. In the weeks leading up to Oscar night (February 22), could it climb even higher in the charts? When it comes to Danny Boyle's fairy tale, anything seems possible.

Upcoming Releases

Three movies will attempt to compete with Super Bowl Sunday. Opening next weekend are Liam Neeson's flick "Taken," Renee Zellweger's rom-com "New in Town" and Elizabeth Banks' suspenseful "The Uninvited."

Check out everything we've got on "Paul Blart: Mall Cop,""Underworld: Rise of the Licans" and "Slumdog Millionaire."

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

M.I.A. ‘Honored’ By Oscar Nod, Wants To Book Dave Chappelle For Baby Shower
Janet Jackson postpones shows in Japan
(Reuters)
Spector retrial enters key act as defense begins
(AP)

Mariah Carey, Mo'Nique Among Sundance's Big Winners

Mariah Carey may have won a Razzie for her performance in the 2001 movie "Glitter," but the pop diva's film career took a gigantic step in the opposite direction over the weekend as her Sundance entry swept the festival's top honors. "Push: Based on the Novel By Sapphire" grabbed Sundance's Grand Jury Prize: U.S. Dramatic. The movie, directed by newcomer Lee Daniels and starring Gabourey Sidibe alongside Carey, Mo'Nique and Lenny Kravitz also took home an Audience Award: U.S. Dramatic. Mo'Nique was recognized with the standout entry's third laurel, a Special Jury Prize for Acting.

"This is so important to me. Speaking for every minority in Harlem, in Detroit, in the Bronx, who has been abused, can't read, that's obese, that's been turned their back on," director Daniels told the audience, "If I can do this sh--, y'all can do this sh--."

Also picking up awards at Sundance's Saturday night ceremony hosted by actress Jane Lynch were two debut documentaries. Ondi Timoner's "We Live in Public" nabbed the Grand Jury Prize: U.S. Documentary for its story of Internet entrepreneur Josh Harris. Timoner beat out a pool of 16 other qualifying films to earn her second Grand Jury award. Louie Psihoyos' "The Cove" received an Audience Award in the same category for its look at dolphin killings in Japan.

Big winners in the festival's World Cinema categories included Sebastiбn Silva's "The Maid (La Nana)," which garnered the World Cinema Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic, and Lone Scherfig's "An Education," written by Nick Hornby, which was presented with an Audience Award by actor Benjamin Bratt.

The Sundance Film Festival released the following list of awards handed out at the Saturday night ceremony:

Directing Award: U.S. Documentary - Natalia Almada, "El General"
Directing Award: U.S. Dramatic - Cary Joji Fukunaga, "Sin Nombre"
World Cinema Directing Award: Documentary - Havana Marking, "Afghan Star"
World Cinema Directing Award: Dramatic - Oliver Hirschbiegel, "Five Minutes of Heaven"
Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award - Nicholas Jasenovec and Charlyne Yi, "Paper Heart"
World Cinema Screenwriting Award - Oliver Hirschbiegel, "Five Minutes of Heaven"
U.S. Documentary Editing Award - Karen Schmeer, "Sergio," directed by Greg Barker
World Cinema Documentary Editing Award - Janus Billeskov Jansen and Thomas Papapetros, "Burma VJ," directed by Anders Шstergaard
Excellence in Cinematography Award: U.S. Documentary - Bob Richman, "The September Issue," directed by R.J. Cutler
Excellence in Cinematography Award: U.S. Dramatic - Adriano Goldman, "Sin Nombre," directed by Cary Joji Fukunaga
World Cinema Cinematography Award: Documentary - John Maringouin, "Big River Man"
World Cinema Cinematography Award: Dramatic - John De Borman, "An Education," directed by Lone Scherfig
World Cinema Special Jury Prize for Originality - Benoоt Delйpine and Gustave de Kervern, "Louise-Michel"
World Cinema Special Jury Prize: Documentary - Ngawang Choephel, "Tibet in Song"
World Cinema Special Jury Prize for Acting - Catalina Saavedra, "The Maid (La Nana)"
Special Jury Prize: U.S. Documentary - Jeff Stilson, "Good Hair"
Special Jury Prize for Spirit of Independence - Lynn Shelton, "Humpday"
Special Jury Prize for Acting - Mo'Nique, "Push: Based on the Novel by Sapphire"

Will it be a curious night for "Benjamin Button"? Can "Slumdog Millionaire" rise out of obscurity to grab Oscar gold? Will Brad Pitt surprise leading contenders Mickey Rourke and Sean Penn? The MTV Movies team has the Academy Awards covered every which way with news, interviews, photos and more. Check out a complete list of the Oscar nominees here, and keep it locked on MTVNews.com until the statues are handed out February 22.

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

Sundance honors `Push,’ `We Live in Public’
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M.I.A. ‘Honored’ By Oscar Nod, Wants To Book Dave Chappelle For Baby Shower

'The Dark Knight' Deserves Oscar Nominations, Say High-Profile Fans

This year's Academy Awards nominations were announced on Thursday (January 22), and while Christopher Nolan's "The Dark Knight" received nods in eight categories (including the Best Supporting Actor nomination for the late Heath Ledger), the record-breaking film failed to receive a nod for Best Picture.

On its way to becoming the second-highest-grossing film of all time (behind 1997's Best Picture winner, "Titanic"), "The Dark Knight" has been the focus of no small amount of praise from actors and filmmakers — with many of those complimentary words aimed at the late Heath Ledger's portrayal of the Joker. Here are some words of praise for the movie we've gathered since its release:

Oscar-winning actor Philip Seymour Hoffman: "As a kid, I was a big comic book collector. What [Nolan]'s doing is taking it to a whole other exciting great place."

Actor Guy Pearce, star of Nolan's 2000 film, "Memento": "I thought it was really powerful and obviously very different from past Batman films. But I was mostly struck by Heath in the film. I think he really was one of the most strange and compelling characters I've ever seen."

Actor Liam Neeson, who played Batman's nemesis in "Batman Begins": "I thought it was very dark, very entertaining. Wonderful performances. The tapestry of the story was quite wonderful."

Actor Mark Ruffalo, who auditioned for Harvey Dent: "It raises the bar in that entire genre. It's great. It's great filmmaking."

Paul Levitz, president of DC Comics: "Chris Nolan did an extraordinary job. ... And what Heath did to the Joker, you couldn't do in print — the facial expressions, the body language, how his body twitched. That was the magic of film. Will it influence how it's done in the comics? I'm sure in some fashion. Will it be replicated? No."

"Cloverfield" director Matt Reeves: "I almost had nightmares after 'Dark Knight' from Heath Ledger's performance. He so captured that anarchy and bitterness. There's nothing scarier than the person who has nothing to lose. Anarchy is pleasure for them. He definitely deserves some recognition from the Academy Awards. I've never seen somebody in that kind of film who brought that kind of complexity and resonance to the character. He just popped off the screen in a way I'll never forget. It's astonishing."

Will it be a curious night for "Benjamin Button"? Can "Slumdog Millionaire" rise out of obscurity to grab Oscar gold? Will Brad Pitt surprise leading contenders Mickey Rourke and Sean Penn? The MTV Movies team has the Academy Awards covered every which way, with news, interviews, photos and more. Check out a complete list of the Oscar nominees here and keep it locked on MTVNews.com until the statues are handed out on February 22.

Check out everything we've got on "The Dark Knight."

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

M.I.A. ‘Honored’ By Oscar Nod, Wants To Book Dave Chappelle For Baby Shower
Sundance honors `Push,’ `We Live in Public’
(AP)

'Donkey Punch': Crimson Tide, By Kurt Loder

A "donkey punch" is a killer sex technique that, like the music of Kenny G, the books of Bob Greene and the thespian endeavors of Paris Hilton, is probably best heard about rather than experienced, since it can in fact actually kill. However much it may or may not occur in real life, this startling coital maneuver provides a serious jolt in "Donkey Punch," a bare-bones British indie that offers more sweaty dread (and actual character development) than you'd expect from simple slasher trash.

The story begins in the Spanish resort of Marbella (looking laughably fake here, since the picture was shot in South Africa). At a raucous beach bar, three vacationing English sun bunnies — the lusty Lisa (Sian Breckin), the frisky Kim (Jaime Winstone, daughter of Ray) and the comparatively demure Tammi (Nichola Burley) — encounter a trio of fellow Brits: the hunky Marcus (Jay Taylor), the hulking Bluey (Tom Burke) and the comparatively demure Josh (Julian Morris). The guys are crewing for a wealthy yacht-owner, currently absent, whose boat is tied up in the nearby marina. They invite the girls aboard and introduce them to a fourth pal, the mild-mannered Sean (Robert Boulter). Soon the lines are cast off and the boat is cruising out toward open water.

Once the craft is anchored, booze and drugs appear, and a party gets underway. The talk turns to sex — specifically, the fabled donkey punch: a sock in the neck at a crucial peak of carnal frenzy. While Sean and Tammi chastely bond, the rest of the group heads belowdecks for more athletic interaction. There follows an unusually long and (for an R-rated film) graphic group-sex scene, during the course of which a donkey punch is administered and its recipient, not at all surprisingly, dies. What now?

Well, you know what now. The guys don't want to get jailed for murder when they return to shore (the killing was recorded on a minicam, now mysteriously missing), and the girls aren't likely to keep the deadly event to themselves. The rest of the movie is powered by claustrophobic menace and a notably effective score, by Franзois-Eudes Chanfrault, that features spectral synths and the eerie clack of electro-castanets. First-time feature director Olly Blackburn, a music-video veteran, keeps the action compact — an escape is attempted, then foiled; one of the guys brings out a shark gun; one of the girls discovers a novel use for a signal flare. This being an unabashed genre picture (shot in two weeks, for less than $1 million), the ending is never much in doubt. Getting to it, however, involves a slightly better-than-usual assortment of cheap, harrowing thrills.

Don't miss Kurt Loder's reviews of "Inkheart" and "The Lodger," also new in theaters this week.

Check out everything we've got on "Donkey Punch."

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

“Idol” David Cook to hit colleges on U.S. tour
(Reuters)
Dakota Fanning Adds ‘Twilight’ To Her Reading List

Dakota Fanning Adds 'Twilight' To Her Reading List

Long before rumors began to circulate about Dakota Fanning joining the "New Moon" cast, we here at MTV News wanted to know if 14-year-old Fanning was among the teenagers obsessed with the "Twilight" series.

Fanning, of course, being the busy working actress that she is, admitted that she'd heard about the vampire-book phenomenon but hadn't yet found time to jump on the bandwagon.

"I haven't read them, but I have a lot of friends that read them all the time," she told MTV News in September while promoting "The Secret Life of Bees." "They're so excited about the movie. When I went to Comic-Con, 'Twilight' was there. I have to read these books now, 'cause everybody's reading them, and I'm sure they're fantastic."

Well, if the rumors are true, then Fanning will have to start reading the series soon to find out all about Jane, the "New Moon" vampire she's supposedly in talks to play. (Summit Entertainment, the movie's studio, has yet to comment on the report.) In the book, Jane has dangerous mental powers, which she puts to use as a guard for the Italian sect known as the Volturi.

"There were no auditions," a source revealed to E! Online. "They just offered it to her outright, and now they're in negotiations. They've been going back and forth."

In a casting notice that went out earlier this month, Jane is described as a "petite blonde with a ... Botticelli angel-like face ... [and] crimson irises," E! reported. The notice also said that "fellow Volturi guards Demetri and Felix ... are three times the size of her, [and] they are terrified of her."

"Twilight" fans have already shown their support for the casting. A petition sent to Summit Entertainment, the studio producing the films, says the 14-year-old would be "perfect" as Jane.

Check out everything we've got on "New Moon."

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

Sundance honors `Push,’ `We Live in Public’
(AP)

M.I.A. 'Honored' By Oscar Nod, Wants To Book Dave Chappelle For Baby Shower

M.I.A. has a lot going on these days, what with her first child expected any minute now and loads of award nominations. But the "Paper Planes" singer has more than just an impending bundle of joy to celebrate — like an Oscar nomination.

The 31-year-old Brooklyn resident was giddy on Thursday thanks to the news that her collaboration with A.R. Rahman for the "Slumdog Millionaire" soundtrack, "O Saya," was nominated in the Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures (a.k.a. best original song).

"This is a great honor. Thank you to all the people who are supporting us and the making of a real story of a 'Slumdog Millionaire,' " the singer said in a statement. "Maybe I can afford to book Dave Chappelle at the baby shower now. Thank you again; my mum wants everyone to know what wonderful news this is for her."

It could be a hectic February for the singer, though. She's due to give birth on the same night as the Grammys (February 8), where she's up against Leona Lewis, Adele, Coldplay and Robert Plant & Alison Krauss in the Record of the Year category. The Oscars are two weeks later (February 22), so assuming she gives birth on or near her due date, she could be able to perform on the big show (not that being pregnant stopped her from performing a few months back).

If she manages to snag the Oscar, M.I.A. could join a short list of contemporary artists who've managed to crash the Hollywood bash in the category over the past decade and break the iron grip of such schmaltzy Oscar faves as Alan Menken ("The Little Mermaid," "Beauty and the Beast") and Stephen Schwartz ("The Prince of Egypt"). Among them: Eminem ("Lose Yourself," 2002), the Frames' Glen Hansard ("Falling Slowly," 2007) and, most memorably, Three 6 Mafia's Juicy J and DJ Paul, who took the award in 2006 for "It's Hard Out Here for a Pimp."

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'Che': Cuba Libre? By Kurt Loder

A four-and-a-half-hour movie in subtitled Spanish, you say? About a dubious and long-dead '60s revolutionary? I have to admit that such a picture might normally not vault to the top of my must-see list. But "Che" is a Steven Soderbergh film — two films, actually — so it's not entirely what you might expect. For one thing, Che Guevara, the man who helped Fidel Castro impose a 50-year-long (and counting) dictatorship on Cuba, is played by Benicio Del Toro — an actor who can say more with his dark brood than many actors can with a mouthful of dialogue. And as usual, Soderbergh not only directed the picture, but shot it, too (under his usual pseudonym), so there's very little sag and drift, and it looks great. I saw both films when they were screened together last month (separated by a half-hour intermission), and I was not bored.

Part One of "Che" shows us the Argentinian adventurer meeting Castro (played with a marvelous darting lightness by Mexican actor Demiбn Bichir) in Mexico City in 1955, and sailing to Cuba with him and a small group of fellow revolutionaries intent on toppling the corrupt and brutal (and U.S.-backed) Batista dictatorship. It also follows Guevara on some of his post-revolution foreign travels, when he was a sort of Marxist rockstar on the international world-leader/cocktail-party circuit. And we see him in New York delivering a fiery address at the United Nations, condemning a long series of American interventions in Latin America. (That's Del Toro up at the podium, but the footage is black-and-white, and it looks totally newsreel.)

Laying all of this out chronologically would have allowed for plenty of sag and drift, so Soderbergh hops back and forth through the years, and he keeps us hopping with him, with little complaint. There are some wonderful small moments. Just before a TV appearance, for example, Che is offered makeup for the cameras; he rejects this notion, but then, on his way to the door, turns and says, "Maybe a little powder."

Considering the length of this bipartite movie, a surprising amount of relevant information has been left out. Che's hatred of capitalism (ironic in a man who favored Rolex watches) and individualism generally pretty much guaranteed the messes he created in overseeing agrarian reform and the National Bank of Cuba. And there's only the most oblique reference to his tenure as commander of the notorious La Cabaсa prison, where he presided over the "revolutionary justice" executions of hundreds, some have said thousands, of people — CIA stooges and traitors, in his view; children as young as 14, in the testimony of others. Also elided from the film is his failure to export Cuban-style insurrection to such other countries as the Congo, from which he departed in defeat with his beret between his legs.

Guevara's final failure — the subject of Part Two of "Che" — was his attempt to foment a communist revolution in Bolivia, where actual Bolivians looked upon him as a dodgy foreigner, and ultimately betrayed him to government troops and their CIA trainers. He was executed by Bolivian soldiers in October of 1967. He lives on, of course, as a T-shirt — the crowning capitalist irony — and as a symbol of romantic rebellion to many, many people, including all manner of wealthy musicians and actors: exactly the sort of capitalist lackeys who would find themselves either imprisoned or facing a firing squad under their hero's system of summary justice (along with many otherwise-blameless homosexuals of their acquaintance).

The most interesting thing about these two extraordinary films is how glancingly they deal with the troublesome (and now outmoded) political ideals of this supremely political man. The director has approached his subject as the complicated human being he was in life, not the overblown symbol he has become since his death. Del Toro plays him this way, too — we hear as much as we should about the odiousness of the Batista regime (although not of the Castro regime that followed it), and the low estate of the average Cuban under a military dictator who sucked up millions from American business interests and openly did deals with mainland Mafia kingpins. But what we take away from both pictures is the exhausting grind of the revolutionary life, and the restless disillusion that can settle in after the wars of liberation have been won. The movies don't begin to tell the whole story of Che Guevara — that's what books are for; but they do suggest substantial human truths about idealism, betrayal and despair. And that's not bad.

Don't miss Kurt Loder's review of "My Bloody Valentine 3-D" and "Paul Blart: Mall Cop," also new in theaters this week.

Check out everything we've got on "Che, Part 1: The Argentine" and "Che, Part 2: Guerilla."

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

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Arcade Fire Score 'Donnie Darko' Director's New Movie

What do you do if your first film became an unlikely cult hit and your follow-up was eviscerated by critics and ignored by audiences? Well, you adapt a "Twilight Zone"-style story into a suspense-driven morality tale and enlist possibly the most well-respected indie rockers in the world to record the score.

At least that's the approach being taken by "Donnie Darko" and "Southland Tales" writer/director Richard Kelly, who recruited the Arcade Fire to record 80 minutes of original music for his upcoming feature, "The Box," staring Cameron Diaz and Frank Langella. In an exclusive interview, Kelly walked MTV News through the origins, outcome and motivations behind the collaboration.

From the start, the director had only one choice in mind to score the movie. "They're just, like, my favorite band, period," he said. "I saw the Neon Bible tour. I went to, like, four shows. And I just have always felt that their stuff was really cinematic." At the Hollywood Bowl show in September 2007, Kelly went backstage and handed a copy of the "Box" script to songwriter/vocalist Win Butler.

"He read it pretty quickly and gave me a call back to say that they were really intrigued," Kelly said. "He and [singer] Rйgine [Chassagne] were interested in potentially doing some music for it."

What was it about the script that convinced the band — which, at the time, was finishing off five years of constant touring and recording — to take on the project? Kelly believes the band responded in a personal way to certain themes in the story. "They're really political," he said. "And I think with 'The Box,' it's a morality tale, and it takes place in 1976, but conceptually, there's a real message to the film in terms of what it has to say about the nuclear family, and about greed, or about what everyone is willing to do to achieve a certain level of happiness in their life."

Kelly adapted the script from a '70s-era short story by "Twilight Zone" vet Richard Matheson. The film follows Diaz as one-half of a miserable suburban couple (James Marsden plays her husband) who are approached by a mysterious stranger (Langella) with a creepy proposition: press the button on this box and you'll receive $1 million, but someone on the planet will die as a consequence.

After Arcade Fire signed on, Kelly, Butler, Rйgine and violinist Owen Pallet, along with engineer Marcus Jobs (who'd worked on both of the band's albums) met up in a Toronto studio and, for the entirely live recordings, they assembled a full orchestra, including strings, brass and a Mellotron, as well Rйgine's vocal elements. "It was really amazing to see them work," Kelly said. "They're really dedicated artists."

The band's focus was on a Russian style of composition, explained Kelly, with "the strings being really raw and emotional. I think they were able to create a score that feels like it's from another era."

He added, "It's kind of like ['Psycho' composer] Bernard Hermann on acid, what they did. It's very lush, and kind of a very bombastic, emotional score — and kind of Hitchcock. It feels like a score from the 1970s."

Of his reluctance to discuss the collaboration until now, the director admitted, "It's like when there's something really cool happening, you get nervous." But now the film is completed and plans are being worked out to release the score as a separate soundtrack. "I put that in Win's court," Kelly explained, "because it's his music, and I just feel really blessed that they were willing to score the film, so it'll be out there. It'll be a big release, I'm sure."

Kelly can only hope for the same for the film itself. After the triumph of indie darling and Jake Gyllenhaal launching pad "Donnie Darko," the director frittered away much of his Hollywood cred with alternate-reality head-scratcher and box-office bomb "Southland Tales," staring The Rock. Both films, incidentally, had killer soundtracks. With "Box," Kelly has promised to deliver a commercially viable movie — with yet more kick-ass tunes — that maintains a genetic link with the trippy sci-fi suspense of "Darko."

"I'm really excited for people to hear what they've come up with," said Kelly of the Arcade Fire soundtrack. The same is undoubtedly true for his latest film, which hits theaters late in 2009.

Check out everything we've got on "The Box."

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

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'Paul Blart: Mall Cop' Steals Box-Office #1 From Clint Eastwood

The Box-Office Top Five

#1 "Paul Blart: Mall Cop" ($33.8 million)
#2 "Gran Torino" ($22.2 million)
#3 "My Bloody Valentine 3-D" ($21.9 million)
#4 "Notorious" ($21.5 million)
#5 "Hotel for Dogs" ($17.7 million)

The wide variety of crowd-pleasing films on offer helped make this a record-breaking Martin Luther King Jr. weekend. The total haul was nearly $200 million, up more than 29 percent from the same period last year, making it an all-time MLK high.

Proving that it takes another cop to make Dirty Harry's day, Kevin James' first solo comedy, "Paul Blart: Mall Cop" took in an impressive $33.8 million, beating out all other newcomers for the top spot at the box office.

But Clint Eastwood is still feeling lucky, as "Gran Torino" just fell to #2, bringing in $22.2 million, for a grand total of $73.2 million so far. In its second week of nationwide release, "Torino" is also the only film from last week to remain in the top five, as Clint's sophomore competitors "Bride Wars" and "The Unborn" dropped to sixth and seventh place.

Horror newcomer "My Bloody Valentine 3-D" took the place of "Unborn," opening at #3 with a respectable $21.9 million, proving that it pays to market your horror flick as an event extravaganza. Was anyone else disappointed that massive knives didn't leap out of the screen, or that waves of fire didn't toast the front row?

Fox Searchlight's biopic "Notorious" opened with a small share of controversy. Four men were stabbed at an afterparty in Brooklyn on Saturday, and another individual was reportedly shot at a screening of the film in Greensboro, North Carolina. But that kind of negative press didn't deter audiences from checking out the Notorious B.I.G. biopic, which opened at #4 with $21.5 million. That's only a few million shy of "Valentine" from fewer screens across the country, and it's one of the biggest openings of a rap-oriented movie to date.

"Hotel for Dogs" marked its territory at #5 with just $17.7 million, a long way from the money "Marley & Me" did just a few weeks ago. It's not bad business, but audiences might be suffering from a bit of puppy fatigue, and chose to take the little ones to "Mall Cop" instead.

"Defiance" and "Last Chance Harvey" both expanded nationwide from limited runs, with modest results. Only "Defiance" managed to crack the top 10, landing at #8 with $9.2 million from 1,900 screens, whereas "Last Chance Harvey" lingered at #13, bringing in $4.7 million from 1,054 theaters. December saw specialty films and limited runs like "Slumdog Millionaire" and "Gran Torino" do better numbers than splashier studio offerings, but that balance seems to be tipping back, as audiences flock to the biggest and most notorious movies of the weekend.

Upcoming Releases
Lakeshore's "Underworld: Rise of the Lycans" will look to take a bite out of the box office, New Line's long-delayed fantasy "Inkheart" will finally hit theaters, and the Weinstein Company will attempt to capitalize on Mickey Rourke's buzz with "Killshot."

Check out everything we've got on "Paul Blart: Mall Cop."

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

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Dominic Monaghan Planning To Return For 'Lord Of The Rings' Prequels

PARK CITY, Utah — In the eyes of many geeks, "Star Wars" ruined its perfect batting average by going back to the well, as did "Indiana Jones" and several other notable franchises. But now, Dominic Monaghan is promising that "Lord of the Rings" won't leave a similar bad-sequel aftertaste in the mouths of its beloved fans.

And, to ensure it, Monaghan and his fellow Hobbits are making plans to once again return to Middle-earth.

"They really want us to come back, and I think there's a really strong chance that we might be back," Monaghan revealed to MTV News at the Sundance Film Festival, doing publicity for his Slamdance breakout "I Sell the Dead."

While it remains to be seen whether his old friends Elijah Wood, Sean Astin and Billy Boyd feel the same way about returning for "The Hobbit" or another possible prequel in development, Monaghan was eager to add his name to the returning "LOTR" talents. "It's being produced by Peter Jackson, who obviously made the first films, and his special-effects company are making it," he explained. "It's directed by Guillermo del Toro, who I think, outside of Peter Jackson, would be the number-one person to give this any amount of the tenderness that it deserves. Obviously, Ian McKellen's going to be back for it, and Andy Serkis is going to be back for it."

As die-hard fans of J.R.R. Tolkien know all too well, however, the participation of Monaghan and friends means that new scenes will have to be added to the beloved book. "We're not in 'The Hobbit,' no, but I think the idea in [Jackson's, Del Toro's and the other producers'] heads is that the trilogy of the 'Lord of the Rings' films was so beloved by the fans that they're really keen to try to say thank you for the support that they gave to the 'Lord of the Rings' movies and possibly bring back some of those characters that they know and love," he explained of new story lines.

"It's a completely different story," Monaghan continued. "You don't have the same characters all the way through it. And I always read 'The Hobbit' as being more of a children's introduction to the story, and then 'Lord of the Rings' was kind of the main piece."

As for the "going back to the well too many times" stigma that haunted Indiana Jones last year, Monaghan insists he isn't afraid of pushing his perfect record as Meriadoc "Merry" Brandybuck a bit further.

"I don't really see myself retiring [Merry]. I don't have any kind of retirement ideas," said Monaghan, whose angst-ridden "Lost" character Charlie Pace has brought him an equal amount of fame in recent years. "You obviously want to be careful that you're playing the same beats. You just re-explore that character. And I think once you're in your Hobbit feet and your Hobbit costume, it's pretty easy to get back in there.

"And you would watch the films," he said of his plans to prepare to play Merry again. "And try to understand the tonality of what you were trying to play. I was trying to play a boy, like an 11-year-old boy [in the original films], so I would just go back into what it was like to be a boy and have that sense of innocence [again]. So it's not a huge push to get me back in there.

"I've been chatting with Pete and [writers] Fran [Walsh] and Philippa [Boyens] about the chance of us coming back," he said of the recent activity that fans all over the world will undoubtedly find precious. "I think the fans of the first three 'Lord of the Rings' films will be charmed by going back into the world."

The MTV Movies team is the braving Utah temperatures, celebrity-packed screenings and swag-filled parties at this year's Sundance Film Festival to bring you news and sneak peeks of the big screen's next big things. Head over to the MTV Movies blog for reviews, interviews, clips and more.

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Mariah Carey Amazes Critics, And Her Husband, At Sundance

PARK CITY, Utah — During the 2007 and 2008 Sundance Film Festivals, Nick Cannon was known as an indie-film actor by day, hard-partying superstar by night. This year, however, the newly married Cannon found both elements of his personality evolving.

"I'm the Sundance Kid!" laughed Cannon, who was spotted all over town during the weekend with wife Mariah Carey. "But yes, this is quite different. It's so amazing, because past years have been nothing but a party. My mentality was different; we ain't gonna go into [what was going on], but you know how Sundance can be."

This year, Cannon has welcomed his recording-legend wife to the annual snow-soaked paradise — and Sundance has done the same. Her inner-city drama, "Push," has garnered some of the fest's best reviews, while Cannon's blood-soaked thriller, "The Killing Room," has kept pace with its own positive buzz.

"To be able to share this with your wife — she has a film up here, and I have a film — you couldn't imagine or even hope for something this great," Cannon marveled.

As the power couple's loyal fans know, they capped off their wild weekend by heading to Washington, D.C. to perform at Barack Obama's inaugural celebrations. But even before they caught their plane, Cannon was flying high over Carey's "Push" performance.

"Aw man, that movie is incredible. My wife did an amazing job," he said of the flick, in which Carey plays a decidedly un-glammed, non-"Glitter"-y social worker. "And I just feel so good for her, because it's one of those things where somebody has been so great in another field, has accomplished so much [in the music industry], people are reluctant to accept them in another industry. And she's just blazing it. She's just as impactful in this as she is in anything."

Cannon insisted Carey's performance was so impactful that it even beat his own presentation as a distraught, teary-eyed homeless man in "Killing Room."

"She blew me out the water," he conceded. "All day!

"That's the thing: When you see 'Push,' not only do you forget that's Mariah Carey, you might not even recognize it's Mariah Carey," he insisted. "It's one of those performances. She don't talk the same, she don't look the same — she just went in and did her thing."

When asked if Carey would be similarly diplomatic and choose his role over hers, Cannon said no way. "Well ... she sees my film tonight. So, we'll be debating that on our way to the inauguration," he said hours before the "Killing" premiere. "But this is so not her type of flick. She doesn't like horror films and blood and all that stuff. ... There's gonna be a lot of closing of the eyes in this one. But she's a true movie buff, so she'll appreciate it."

And as these two movie buffs have been making the rounds together as the King and Queen of Sundance 2009, one question keeps coming up: "People always say, 'Are you gonna work together?' " he said. "I don't know. It would have to be something fun, like a cameo. I don't know if we would literally do a [whole film] together, but we both love comedy. So you might see us as characters somewhere and go, 'Was that? Nah.' Or something like that."

Sure, Nick Cannon's 2009 Sundance experience has been decidedly different than it has been over the last two years. But Nick and Mariah's love for a good party was well documented in their single days, and married life doesn't have to change that — although it sometimes makes for an earlier end to the evening.

"We've been hitting a few [big events]. I had a party last night — I was DJing over at Harry O's, that's the spot out here," Cannon explained. "We've been doing our thing, but then heading to the crib early, waking up and working.

The MTV Movies team is braving the Utah temperatures, celebrity-packed screenings and swag-filled parties at this year's Sundance Film Festival to bring you news and sneak peeks of the big screen's next big things. Head over to the MTV Movies blog for reviews, interviews, clips and more.

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'Twilight' Actor Edi Gathegi Talks 'New Moon' Love Interest

SANTA MONICA, California — When last we saw "Twilight" vampire Laurent, he had aided the Cullens, turned his back on his fellow nomads and vanished into the woods of Forks.

Now, with a new director and a much-anticipated sequel just weeks away from filming, Edi Gathegi is eager to channel his character's evil side — and find true love in the process.

"It was a tiny little independent film — did moderately well in the box office," Gathegi laughed when he stopped by the MTV News studios for an exclusive interview to discuss "New Moon" and his latest movie, "My Bloody Valentine 3-D." Asked how his life has changed in the seven weeks since the vampire flick's record-breaking opening weekend, he grinned and said: "I've gotten a lot of MySpace requests."

Gathegi has also been spending a lot of time on YouTube and is particularly fond of a fan-made video that uses footage from various movies to continue Laurent's journey. "Yeah, I saw that," Gathegi said. "These fans are so passionate that they will spend time in their homes, editing splices together, because they're so in love with the story."

And, speaking of love, any good Twilighter knows that in "New Moon," Laurent meets Irina, a Denali sister whose actions will impact the future movies. That YouTube video casts "Tristan + Isolde" beauty Sophia Myles as Irina — a choice that would greatly please Gathegi.

"She's a good choice. I could be happy with that," he said of the 28-year-old Brit. "I like her work. ... Now I'm not going to be able to get her out of my mind for that character."

Of the soon-to-be-cast role, Gathegi said Irina should be "extremely vulnerable, as I think that's what leads her to make the choices that she makes. She should also be hard-headed. Vulnerable and hard-headed. But I think those are things that a good actress can do, so type-wise, I don't even know. I don't even think people saw me as Laurent for a while. So just let the best actress win, I say."

Speaking about his castmates, with whom he'll soon be reuniting, Gathegi said, "It's a 'Twilight' family. We were together for press junkets and tours, and this has been eight months together, ever since we shot in March. We've just been with each other constantly. And then we're going to go into the next one, and then they're going to do [parts] three and four, God willing. These are, like, lifelong friends at this point."

Just moments before the interview, Gathegi's phone went off. When the actor started laughing and showed us the caller ID, we saw that it was the one-and-only Taylor Lautner on the other end. "Taylor and I are going to his parents' place for dinner tonight — and then go to the gym," he said, adding that the duo were getting together to celebrate Lautner's recent re-signing as Jacob Black. "We're going to celebrate tonight. ... You should see this kid! He's jacked. He's taking it seriously.

"We've worked out in every city on our tour," Edi said of his 16-year-old spotter. "If you see him, you'll know immediately. This kid is so strong right now, it is unreal. He has achieved with his body what people with steroids cannot achieve. The only way I can describe it is that God has given him this time for this growth spurt and this body right now."

As for the rest of Laurent's "New Moon" arc, Gathegi said he's looking forward to "being fully bad. Not just halfway bad. I like the transition from being conscious and compassionate, to ['New Moon' when Laurent realizes] that's too difficult. I've got to be a vampire."

Commenting on the directorial musical chairs, Gathegi said he has yet to meet the new man in charge of the series, Chris Weitz. "Catherine [Hardwicke] was a doll. I loved that woman. I think she made the decisions she made for her reasons," he said. "Now I'm looking forward to the future. I'm looking forward to working with Chris. I think he's very capable. He's got that experience with huge pictures, with 'The Golden Compass.' He's going to make it beautiful. I loved 'American Pie,' so his track record is very promising for me. And I heard he's great with actors. I think 'New Moon' is going to be really good. ... He's up to his neck in things to do, so he's not concerned with [meeting with the returning actors yet]. We'll meet on set."

As for the moment, Gathegi said only half-jokingly, he's just trying to get a script to read. "I'm going to fire someone, because Robert [Pattinson] read it. He's like a supporting role in the freakin' film!" the actor smiled, threatening to call Mr. Pattinson on his cell phone. "Nah, he's in London now. I don't want to make any long-distance calls. I'm cheap."

Check out everything we've got on "New Moon."

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

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'Paul Blart: Mall Cop': Heavy Duty, By Kurt Loder

Are fat jokes okay to laugh at if it's a fat guy himself who's soliciting our amusement? I don't know: Watching Kevin James flop, skid and hoover up food in "Paul Blart: Mall Cop," I kept thinking of John Candy and Chris Farley, two other overweight comedians whose obesity contributed to their early deaths — Candy's at 43, Farley's at 33 (of a drug overdose, but his weight was already a problem). There's something disturbing about it. James has an appealing sweetness, but he lacks Candy's physical grace and Farley's comic mania. As a performer he's something of a lump, a sort of jolly sad-sack who always seems to be looking for a hug. Those who find this funny may like the movie; those who don't may wish the movie (which James co-wrote) were funnier.

James' character, Paul Blart, is a security guard at a vast New Jersey mall. His dream is to become a state trooper, but he can't pass the training course — not because he's so fat, the movie would like us to believe, but because he's hypoglycemic: without a periodic sugar fix, he tends to pass out. So, here he is at the mall. His fellow guards are clock-punching sluggards, but Paul is totally dedicated, making the rounds of the mall's brand-name shops on his silly Segway transport cart as if he were a general surveying the morale of his troops.

Outside of work, he's a lonely guy. "People tend to write me off," he says. (Where do we sign? I wondered.) Abandoned by his immigrant wife, who only wanted him for a green card, Paul lives dumpily with his mother (Shirley Knight) and his teenage daughter, Maya (Raini Rodriguez). Mom lets him inhale all the pie he wants (he slathers it with peanut butter first, yum), and Maya wishes he could find a nice girlfriend. In fact, Paul is smitten with a pretty blonde named Amy (Jayma Mays), who runs a sort of wig kiosk at the mall. Amy is super-cute and, as seems the case with anyone who stands next to Paul, rather petite. In the real world, the chances of her reciprocating Paul's romantic interest would be somewhere in the vicinity of nonexistent. The moment we see her flash a fond smile at him, though, we know the movie has decided otherwise.

One night, while Paul is patrolling some far acre of the mall, the place is invaded by a gang of high-tech thieves. They have earpiece communications and they leave motion sensors outside every entrance. (All this for a mall job?) And along with majoring in larceny, they also seem to have minored in Broadway musicals — how else to explain all their leaping through the air and somersaulting off of high galleries? They also have a hot line in skateboard moves. (And what more convenient place to show those off than amid the long, sweeping arcades of a mall?) The gang's leader is a young snot named Veck (Keir O'Donnell). His plan is to steal all of the mall's credit-card-machine codes, lam out on a waiting private plane to the Cayman Islands and ... well, I'm not sure what, actually. This plan made no sense to me, especially after state cops and SWAT teams started piling up outside the mall. Did Veck think he could fly out of the country without attracting the attention of air-traffic controllers? Did he think the Caymans, a high-profile financial center, would be a good place to set up a major financial swindle? Did he not realize the islands are a British territory, and would swiftly extradite his busted butt back to the States at first request? But this is already more deep thought than such a silly plot concoction merits.

The short version: Both Amy and Maya get taken hostage, and Paul has to rescue them. To do so, he must turn various features of the mall against the thieves. Some of this — like a bob-and-weave showdown in a fake tropical-garden area — is entertaining. (James expends a lot of good-natured energy in trying to make it so.) Mostly, though, Paul's various thief-baiting stratagems retain the moist impressions of a scriptwriters' spitballing session.

I know this is January, the month where dreadful movies go to die, and I know we have to take what we can get. But this? Spring has rarely seemed so far away.

Don't miss Kurt Loder's review of "My Bloody Valentine 3-D," also new in theaters this week.

Don't miss Kurt Loder's reviews of "Che" and "My Bloody Valentine 3-D," also new in theaters this week.

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

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‘My Bloody Valentine 3-D’: Wet One, By Kurt Loder
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Voletta Wallace, Biggie's Mom, Says She 'Felt Bad' For Lil' Kim

Notorious B.I.G.'s mom, Voletta Wallace, says she wants to speak to Lil' Kim. In the wake of the Queen Bee's comments that she was going to eventually "expose" Ms. Wallace and Faith Evans, Ms. Wallace told radio personality Angie Martinez yesterday that after watching the film "Notorious," she had remorse for the way her son treated Kim.

"I felt bad for Kim," Wallace said. "Bad because Christopher did not treat her well. Christopher didn't love her the way she deserved to be loved. I honestly felt Christopher cheated on her, Christopher lied to her."

Wallace also that Big's whirlwind romance and subsequent marriage to Faith Evans undoubtedly hurt Kim (watch a clip from "Notorious" depicting the love triangle here), with whom he was also romantically involved.

"If you're gonna get married and you're dating somebody and seeing somebody, at least sit down and talk to this person. Don't just go get married and walk away from somebody that really cared for you. I really felt bad for her."

Wallace said she and Kim — who has spoken negatively about the film — haven't spoken for quite some time, but should they meet up again, Big's mom has some specific questions.

"I want to believe she loved him," Wallace — who called the Big/Kim relationship "tumultuous" — explained to Martinez. "I want to know: Did my son love you?"

It wasn't until Big's death that his mother learned the extent of his and Kim's relationship, she said, adding that she knew Kim as an artist and "talented performer."

"I never knew that relationship was really that deep," Wallace commented.

"Notorious" opens in theaters Friday (January 16).

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Faith Evans Calls Lil’ Kim’s ‘Notorious’ Badmouthing ‘Just Sad’

Spike Lee Isn't Interested In Making Barack Obama Film With Will Smith

The combination of Barack Obama, Will Smith and Spike Lee sounds like a winning ticket on any ballot, be it at the box office or beyond.

But according to the noted Brooklyn filmmaker — despite Obama's comments about his and Smith's similar ears and the Fresh Prince's own lobbying to play the president-elect — a movie involving all three would never happen.

"Not doing it," Lee told MTV News on Friday (January 16) during the Sundance Film Festival. "Everybody and their mama is doing a documentary on Obama."

The "Do the Right Thing" director also added that he's not interested in doing a project on Vice President-elect Joseph Biden either. "It's not an interest for me," he said. "I'd love to see them, but it's not something that I want to do."

Besides, Lee noted, Smith doesn't actually want to portray Barack Obama in a movie — he actually wants to be the president of the United States.

"Will wasn't joking," Lee said, laughing.

In past interviews, Smith has often explained that if he sets his mind on something, he truly believes he can achieve it.

"Obama beat him to the punch," Lee said. "They'll still let him run, though, if he wants. You gotta speak to Will, I guess. I can't speak for him."

Lee is set to host a symposium on Monday at Howard University centered on the inauguration of America's first black president.

"Be the Change: Live From the Inaugural" will air live on MTV on Tuesday, January 20, at 10 p.m. ET/ 7 p.m. PT. MTV News will have wall-to-wall coverage of the event and of the scenes in Washington, D.C., New Orleans and Kenya in the days leading up to the event and in the days that follow.

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‘Dark Knight’ sweeps People’s Choice Awards
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Heath Ledger Remembered By Co-Stars As Anniversary Of His Death Nears

Just days before the one-year anniversary of Heath Ledger's death, colleagues of the actor — who won a posthumous Golden Globe on Sunday — remember him in an article published on Entertainment Weekly's Web site Friday (January 16). Since the news broke that Ledger had suddenly died of an accidental overdose in his SoHo loft in New York City last January 22, relatively few friends and colleagues of the actor have spoken about it. Now, in the wake of the anniversary, they are sharing with Entertainment Weekly some of their fondest memories of the actor.

While he's more commonly lauded for his appearances in films like "Brokeback Mountain" and "Dark Knight," for a generation of girls he will always be the rebellious teen heartthrob Patrick Verona from "10 Things I Hate About You."

"Heath always seemed so mature," co-star Julia Stiles said. "I got the sense he was averse to becoming any kind of teen idol. I think he felt like '10 Things' had more substance, but he anticipated that if he did more movies like this, he'd get stuck doing teen romantic comedies."

Soon, he would star in an array of films, from epic period pieces like "The Patriot" or more intense fare like "Monster's Ball." And he wanted to prove that despite his youth, he could call the shots on his career.

"He wanted to try something different, something where the movie wasn't resting on his shoulders," "Monster's Ball" director Marc Forster said. "The one thing he said was, 'I'm not going to participate in the promotion of the movie. I'm just going to come in and focus on the acting.' ''

"[Ledger] was his own man," Mel Gibson recalled. "He was going to do what he was going to do. He was looking for a way to fulfill himself in his art and in who he was. He didn't have the cart before the horse."

Terry Gilliam, who worked with Ledger on two occasions, including the last film the actor worked on, "The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus," remembered a different side of Ledger.

"He was obsessed with his daughter [Matilda]," he said. "She became the center of his thoughts. He would drag her up to my house in London. Here's Heath, Academy Award nominee, and he'd just grab his daughter, stick her in a backpack, hop on the [subway] and come up to the house. Nobody would have thought, 'There's Heath Ledger!' He was just a guy with a kid."

Meanwhile, "Dark Knight" co-star Gary Oldman said he had initial concerns about working with Ledger on the film.

"I kind of raised my eyebrow at the casting," he said. "But any concerns that one may have had vanished when you got on the set with him. I did a couple of scenes with Heath in the first leg of the shoot in London. I called a friend and he said, 'How's Heath?' I said, 'He's breathtaking. He's going to be astounding.' I could tell just working for five minutes with him.

"If Heath does get an Oscar nomination," he added, "I can just picture him up there, looking down and going, 'F---!' "

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

‘Dark Knight’ sweeps People’s Choice Awards
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Heath Ledger’s Family Say His Golden Globe Nomination Is ‘Deeply Appreciated’

'My Bloody Valentine 3-D': Wet One, By Kurt Loder

Nothing buffs up a cheap horror flick like 3-D — especially a horror flick of the slash-bash-and-bleed variety. And especially if the three dimensions are rendered in RealD, which is to the old 3-D projection process of the 1950s as a bunker-buster is to a slingshot.

Without RealD, the new remake of "My Bloody Valentine," the 1981 Canadian slasher film, probably wouldn't be worth walking across the street to watch. As it is, though, the movie's pretty entertaining. The director, Patrick Lussier, who started out editing Wes Craven tinglers, knows exactly what this sort of picture needs to deliver — gore and nudity — and he brings it in buckets. The movie wastes no time getting wet: Right near the beginning, there's a pickax attack that sends a guy's eyeball rocketing off the screen and into our laps. Lussier doesn't overdo this sort of 3-D clichй, though — he has kickier things in mind. You want to see a girl's smile widened with a shovel? A long sequence involving a naked victim-chick? A midget yanked up on the tip of an ax and planted in the ceiling? Check, check, and check. (The original "MBV" was gutted of nine minutes by the MPAA before it could be released in the U.S.; this even more arterial remake arrives with an R rating. A fully restored version of the 1981 film was released on DVD last Tuesday.)

The movie also has a story, you may be mildly interested to know. It's similar to the one in the original film, but not slavishly so. It's set in a small mining town called Harmony, where 10 years ago a young miner named Tom Hanniger (Jensen Ackles, of "Supernatural") accidentally caused a tunnel collapse that killed five men and put a sixth, Harry Warden (Rich Walters), into a coma. A year later, Harry came out of it, in a foul mood, apparently, and started hacking up doctors, nurses and other slow-moving folks into raw, gooey chunks. (Lussier is artful in staging this scene: We don't see the full frenzy, only the meat-strewn aftermath, and our only sight of Harry is when the camera pans over to a blood-spattered hulk sitting silently slumped in shadow — an efficiently chilling tableau.)

Not long after that, a gaggle of teenagers decided to throw a party — down in the mine, of course. This didn't turn out well, since Harry decided to attend, too. Now a decade has passed. Tom has disappeared, and his old sweetheart, Sarah (Jaime King), has married his best friend, Axel (Kerr Smith), who's currently the county sheriff. Then one day Tom reappears, and he and Axel are soon butting heads over Sarah. At which point a bruiser with a gas mask, a pickax and a Darth Vader wheeze turns up and starts making everybody's life far livelier than they could possibly wish. Harry, is that you?

Lussier exults in the fundamental cheesiness of the gore genre, and in among the cast he's inserted one actor who'll be familiar to aficionados. Tom Atkins, a veteran of such '80s films as "Creepshow" and "The Fog," is an emblem of B-movie authenticity. His performance here has a vintage stiffness that makes you wonder if he might secretly be auditioning for the Brian Donlevy role in a remake of one of the old Quatermass movies. Not a bad idea, actually — "The Creeping Unknown" cries out for revisitation. Maybe Lussier should pay a call. And bring along some of that RealD stuff.

Don't miss Kurt Loder's reviews of "Che" and "Paul Blart: Mall Cop," also new in theaters this week.

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

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'Notorious' Gets Seal Of Approval From Biggie Friend Dream Hampton

"Notorious" director George Tillman had a lot of "bosses" to please during the production of the Biggie biopic. There was Diddy, the executive producer; Big's mother, Voletta Wallace, who served as a producer on the film; the Brooklyn lyricist's former managers, Wayne Barrow and Mark Pitts, also had a hand in making the movie — not to mention, Lil' Cease was present on set as a consultant.

Another potentially hard person for Tillman to please was writer Dream Hampton. The veteran hip-hop scribe had penned articles on Big's friend-turned-foe Tupac Shakur, she'd been hired to write both Diddy and Jay-Z's biographies, and she hung out often with Biggie in the rapper's Bed-Stuy neighborhood.

The Detroit native reported from the set of "Notorious" for an article in the February issue of Vibe magazine.

Her verdict?

"George Tillman rocks," Hampton told MTV News on Thursday.

She credits the "Soul Food" director for his commitment to detail. In her article, Hampton notes Diddy actor Derek Luke is caucusing with Tillman as they try to get Puff on the phone. They need to know exactly where in his own black SUV he was sitting when he heard the bullets that would change [Diddy's] life and end Big's."

"As mad as Kim is," Hampton said, referring to Lil' Kim's criticism of the film, "I think that a lot of that stuff came out pretty good."

What Hampton didn't think turned out so well was the representation of Big's full persona. In her article, Hampton praised Jamal "Gravy" Woolard's work as the iconic rapper, but she explained that the way the Notorious one was portrayed was more G-rated than she recalled.

"I would have put 200 more n---as in, because Big was surrounded by people all the time," Hampton explained. "He would have always had ... a blunt. And there would have 500 more jokes."

Of course, Hampton knows there's about three more movies' worth of material when it comes to her friend's life — making the movie was not an easy task. According to Hampton, other projects may need to be green-lit to provide the full story. Tillman, she said, could be the one to open that gate with his work, much like he did for black films after "Soul Food" was released.

She also reiterated Diddy's remark that "Notorious" is a mother's movie, although Hampton's comment wasn't entirely complimentary, as she called Ms. Wallace "judgmental." She said the rapper's mother, like most mothers, may not know her son as well as his friends — some of whom weren't included in the movie.

She said the lyricist's death left a lot of matters unresolved between parties and the effects — which include members of Big's camp's attitudes toward the movie — are still ongoing.

" 'Pac was somebody who was constantly talking about dying,"  Hampton said. "Big named his albums Ready to Die and Life After Death, but he'd also [joke], 'Yeah, if I make it across the street.' ... So when I look at how 'Pac went to the studio and did like two dozen albums, he was preparing to die. Biggie was not ready to die by any stretch of the imagination. So what's left behind is kind of a mess. He was the glue to his crew. If Jay died, [his crew] would be straight. Biggie just wasn't ready to die, and no one around him was ready for him to die. He had friends who were super depending on him. So, like Wayne says, there's a lot of people ... like, with Kim ... for some, that was the highlight of their life. Like how someone is stuck in their high school days or college days.

"Big would be disappointed with how a lot of that sh-- is going down," she added.

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William Wallace, Neo And More '90s Movie Badasses

Welcome to MTV News' search for the Greatest Badasses of All Time. All this month, we'll be asking celebrities (and you) to help us decide which 10 movie characters should make our list. Submit your own pick at the MTV Movies Blog, and check back in with MTV.com as we unveil the final selections, beginning January 26.

In the '80s, you usually had to be brawny (Stallone, Schwarzenegger), supernatural (Jason, The Terminator) or from another world (Boba Fett, General Zod) to be a badass. During the final decade of the 20th century, however, the ability to kick butt and take names became more realistic to the common man.

Martin Riggs. Bud White. Clarice Starling. El Mariachi. Jack Ryan. Samuel Gerard. Vic and Vincent Vega. None had rippling muscles or superpowers, all wore their flaws on their sleeves and each showed moviegoers that if you had the resolve, determination and a pretty big gun, you could be a badass too. Hell, even 5'4" Joe Pesci won an Oscar portraying "Goodfellas" badass Tommy DeVito — a character who no one found funny.

As MTV News continues our search for the Greatest Badass of All Time, here are a few more top contenders to keep an eye out for:

Joe Hallenbeck: Much like Riggs in "Lethal Weapon" (also penned by badass screenwriter Shane Black), this main character in "The Last Boy Scout" was unpredictable, quick with a one-liner and miserable in his everyday life. But as Bruce Willis' Scout was shooting the bad guys through a hand-puppet, taking out snipers on the football field, and finding his wife's lover in the bedroom closet, it was hard not to love the guy. The sky is blue, water is wet and Joe Hallenbeck remains one of the coolest movie creations of the '90s.

Darth Maul: The only new prequel character on the same level as the original "Star Wars" trilogy, George Lucas' red-and-black sith wielded a double-sided lightsaber and double-barreled badassitude. Without saying a word, Maul became the man.

"The Crow": Sadly, Brandon Lee never lived to see his final creation become the beloved badass that would have finally taken him out of his father's shadow. Eric Draven was a grieving goth, a dubious good guy and a superhero without any showy powers; to a generation of outsiders eager to dress like the character and look to Draven for inspiration, not even three crappy sequels and a mediocre TV show could tarnish the legacy of James O'Barr's dark hero.

Dr. Hannibal Lecter: It took a dozen guys, restraints, a gurney and a hockey mask just to move the guy from one place to another. 'Nuff said.

Ethan Hunt: By the time 1996 rolled around, superstar Tom Cruise was hungry for a franchise; he chose well. Dusting off a "Mission Impossible" character from the '60s, Cruise re-envisioned American agent Hunt as a mountain-climbing, lead-footed, helicopter-dodging man of mystery.

Jack Ryan: From Alec Baldwin to Harrison Ford to Ben Affleck in the next decade, Ryan rarely looked the same. But what remained was the character's fierce resolve, patriotism and ability to make the audience feel like we were alongside him facing those clear and present dangers.

Jules Winnfield: The man had a great gimmick (reciting a bible verse before each hit), a head full of Soul Glo and quite possibly found God personally intervening to save his life. This "Pulp Fiction" icon was so bad, in fact, that his wallet even declared it on his behalf.

Leon: "He's coming up." Those three words would send a shiver down the spine of anybody, regardless of how many henchmen they had between themselves and the iconic main character of " The Professional." Quite possibly the greatest portrayal ever of a one-man army — although Leon did have a tender spot when it came to one special little girl.

Neo: It's no mistake that the letters in his name could be reversed to spell the "One," or that nothing became cooler in 1999 than the thought of black leather, dark sunglasses and the ability to dodge bullets in slow motion. Sure, the sequels tarnished Neo's legacy a bit — but, overall, he's still one high-flying, rapid-punching, "whoa!"-exclaiming badass.

William Wallace: They may take his life, but they'll never take his freedom. This 13th-century Scottish warrior slashed his way through a few hundred English opponents, five Oscar wins and anybody who dared to make fun of his kilt. Still not convinced he was a badass? The dude was hanged, racked and disemboweled, and still refused to ask for mercy — let's see Sly Stallone do that.

From James Bond and Darth Vader to Lara Croft and Ellen Ripley, we need your help determining which movie characters should be called the Greatest Badasses of All Time. Head over to the MTV Movies Blog to submit your own pick, and stay tuned to MTV.com as celebrities weigh in with their own lists. We'll begin unveiling the top 10 on January 26, so check back to see if your pick made the cut!

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‘Dark Knight’ sweeps People’s Choice Awards
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