Posts Tagged ‘MTV’

The only thing better than traveling to the moon is having the coveted moon man statue on your mantle piece.  Yes! MTV has announced the nominees for this year’s best music videos. Check below to see who I think will be taking home the hardware this year!

Best Collaboration

In the best collabo category, we have the heavy weights of hip hop and of pop.  Jay- Z and Alicia Keys with “Empire State of Mind”:

Beyonce and Gaga in “Video Phone”:

and Gaga featuring Beyonce in “Telephone”:

All chart toppers that kept us all rapping, singing, and dancing.  Can the lesser known  B.o.B. with “Airplanes” and 3OH!3 featuring Ke$ha with “My First Kiss” hold their own against the stars?

For the past several months, it seems that everyone has been humming “I could really use a wish right now, wish right now, wish right now.” And 3OH!3’s “My First Kiss” is upbeat , energetic, and refreshing.  I’m all about the triumph of the underdog for this category.

My vote: “My First Kiss” by 3OH!3

Best Dance Video

Cascada, Enrique, Usher, Gaga, and David Guetta are battling it out for best dance video of the year.  Remember when dance videos actually had choreography? Think Janet’s “Rhythm Nation” or even Paula Abdul’s “Cold Hearted Snake.” Yeah. Not so much anymore.

Cascada’s “Evacuate the Dance Floor” is a great song, but the video hardly qualifies as a dance video.

After watching all the hot, bangin’ bodies in David Guetta’s “Sexy Chick”, I wanted to diet not dance.

The girls in the video are smoking hot, but again, not so much dancing going on there. Maybe I missed the memo, but can we mandate that a video in this category at least have an eight count of choreography?  Well, I have no choice but to credit the creative one for allowing us a glimpse into her monster world.

My vote: “Bad Romance” by Lady Gaga

Best Female Video

Well, hi there, Beyonce and Gaga. These two rock stars show up again in this category with “Video Phone” and “Bad Romance,” respectively.  How do Ke$ha’s “Tik Tok,” Katy Perry’s “California Gurls” and Taylor Swift’s “Fifteen”  measure against these divas?

“California Gurls”, with its cutesy, Candy Land theme, could be a contender:

And because “Tik Tok” was such a hit, Ke$ha might be waking up feeling like she has a moon man next to her.

And, no, it’s not the CMAs, but I am diggin’ Taylor Swift’s “Fifteen”:

The song is great, and the video feels like a whimsical fairy tale. The lyrics and visuals make you a bit nostalgic about your own adolescent days, and if a music video has the power to make you think and not just watch, then it gets my vote.

My vote: “Fifteen” by Taylor Swift

Video of the Year

Okay, so Lady Gaga is up against herself with both “Bad Romance” and “Telephone” for Video of the Year.  Because little monsters all over the globe will be voting ‘round the clock to support Gaga, she is bound to win this category.

However, 30 Seconds To Mars really impressed me with their “Kings and Queens” video:

If you live in LA, you probably spent the first couple times watching it and saying, “hey, I recognize that place!” And then you start wondering, “how in the WORLD did they film this video throughout the streets of LA with NO traffic!?!” I mean, really. When is there ever NOT traffic in LA? There’s literally not a stray car seen in the video. Accomplishing that feat alone warrants 30 Seconds To Mars a moon man.

My vote: “Kings and Queens” by 30 Seconds To Mars

For a full list of this year’s nominees, visit mtv.com. Be sure to watch the MTV VMAs on September 12 at 9/8 c, and find out if my predictions were correct!

Be sure to check out more great posts from Music Editor Erica Renee Davis right here at Positively Celebrity!

Breathe easy my sweet Guidos. MTV’s Jersey Shore will be back for a third season!

A rep for the cable network told Us Weekly, “MTV is pleased that the Jersey Shore cast are returning to Seaside Heights to continue production on Season 3.” Phew! That was a close call.

Speculation on whether the show would continue production began when rumors spread that the JS cast was going on strike. The reason? To up their pay.

As it turns out, those rumors were untrue. “You have to laugh at crazy reports like that,” cast member Jenni “JWOWW” Farley told Steppin’ Out magazine.

Even though the cast denies the strike, they’ll be rakin’ in the dough. It’s reported that some of the cast members will be making as much as $30,000 an episode in Season 3. That’s triple the ten grand they made in Season 2, and a huge step up from the $5,000 they made in the show’s initial season.

While the cast throws on their tanning lotion for filming Season 3, be sure to catch Season 2 when it premieres on July 29.

MTV’s The Hills stars, Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt, exchanged nuptials in a secret ceremony in Cabos San Lucas, Mexico, on Nov. 20, Us Weekly reports in its newest issue.

It wasn’t the first time the couple had wedding planning on their minds. In 2007, Pratt popped the question (after just eight months of dating) with a diamond-encrusted platinum band set with a purple stone that he’d purchased from the mall.

Montag broke it off after only a few months because Pratt apparently wasn’t ready to give up his bachelor lifestyle hitting on other women in a club.

“I’d just turned 21, and it was scary because I was so young,” Montag told Us following the split. But the pair gave it another (evidently successful) try in May 2008.

“The minute we said our vows, I couldn’t stop crying,” Montag, 22, tells Us.

Though, it seems that everyone in the family won’t be quite as thrilled about the nuptials, particularly Montag’s mom.

“I called her right before the ceremony, sort of hinted that something that happened, but her reaction was to ask me if we were breaking up! I told her it might be something else, and she said, ‘Well, if you ever plan on getting married just know that your stepdad is really upset that you want your father to walk you down the aisle,’” Montag tells Us.

“She was starting so much drama, it kind of pushed me toward wanting to get married without that,” she adds. “I don’t know when I’ll tell her.”

Rumors of more Spider-Man films were put to rest as Sam Raimi and Tobey Maguire recently signed on for a fourth and fifth installment of the Spider-Man saga.

Maguire will return as the web-slinging, friendly neighborhood wall-crawler. Raimi’s connection to the production is yet to be established. “I’m really excited about Spider-Man, and I’m hoping to direct it,” said Raimi. “I don’t have a script yet, but production would start probably by March of 2010, I’m guessing. It sounds like a long time away, but we need a script first, and a lot of pre-production has to take place.”

The role of Mary Jane Watson, played by Kirsten Dunst in the previous three films, has not yet been confirmed. “Kirsten, I’d love to work with her again,” Raimi told MTV’s Splashpage. “I hope she’ll be written into it. I couldn’t imagine making one without her, and I think she’s an important part of the movies.”

Sony is still casting for the films’ villain, though speculation via the internet has lead to discussion of Dr. Curt Connors, played by Dylan Baker, turning into The Lizard as he did in the comic series. In the series, when Connors tries to regrow his missing arm with a reptilian serum, it accidentally transforms him into a monster with thick scaly skin, a deadly bite and the ability to communicate with other reptiles. There is also talk of Mary Jane’s astronaut ex-fiancée John Jameson undergoing a transformation into Man-Wolf. I personally would like to see Carnage dawn the screen and fulfill his entitlement.

There’s been a lot of talk over whether or not the two movies will be shot back-to-back, like the “Lord of the Rings” films. James Vanderbilt turned in a working draft of Spider-Man 4 to Sony Pictures in May 2008, and his story arc encompassed two films, making Spider-Man 5 shootable at the same time. Raimi says shooting back-to-back films will be determined by the studio head.

Smack me upside the head and say it ain’t so! The latest author in the continual onslaught of “poor rich me” is none other than Maureen McCormick, aka Marcia Brady, who reveals in her new book, “Here’s the Story: Surviving Marcia Brady and Finding My True Voice,” unimaginable liaisons with pseudo-brother Barry Williams (her TV stepbrother), outings with Michael Jackson (seriously), Steve Martin (seriously?) and “it’s-a-miracle-I’m-not-dead” cocaine binges at the Hefner Playboy mansion (dear Lord, Marcia!) and the home of (wait for it!)…Sammy Davis, Jr!

The book reveals the trials and tribulations of a beaten and tattered star-on-the-rise, who eventually falls flat on her face and nearly fades into obscurity.

Once the most prominent member among TV’s most popular TV families of the era, McCormick’s real-life family drama paled in comparison (her father’s infidelity was a cause of anxiety for the teen queen). Following years of drug abuse, drug addiction, and at least one unwanted pregnancy later, she finally kicked the habit and battled her demons – legally.

Thanks to reality-TV, our dear Marcia is once again the darling of the small screen, having appeared on MTV’s Celebrity Fit Club and most recently on Outsider’s Inn with singer Carnie Wilson and Bobby Brown (yes, as in hip hop artist Bobby Brown). In any case, today McCormick faces life with clarity and is drug-free. And that’s certainly something to write home about.

The show might be jam-packed with drama, but in no comparison than the rumors circulating this week. To recap, several gossip rags reported that Lauren had hooked up with Audrina’s on-off boyfriend Justin ‘Bobby’ Brescia. To any avid Hills watcher, this is perhaps the equivalent to hell freezing over.

The two former BFF’s have been taking swipes at each other via their myspace pages. Audrina even admitted on the Chelsey Handler Show that all is not as it seems in La-La land.

Lauren posted on October 3, “The rumor I’m referring to is that I ‘hooked up’ with Audrina’s non-boyfriend Justin…eww.” Then later in the same blog directly addressing Audrina, “We promised we wouldn’t let people get into our ears and make us fight. You KNOW I didn’t do this and I have never given you a reason not to trust me. What you are doing is hurtful and I don’t want to fight with you.”

However, Audrina is playing this one a little more tight-lipped. She blogged, “I have a lot I need to get off my chest lately, as there are a lot of false and malicious things being said about me…So I’ll be posting often.”

There’s nothing better to boost ratings than some off-the-camera drama. 

Although MTV has banished music videos to its more obscure network, MTV2, the MTV Video Music Awards continues to be must-see television for the stellar performances, entertaining fashion choices, and inevitable drama.  Here’s what to expect this year:

THE HOST: MTV ventured to the other side of the pond to find this year’s host, Russell Brand, a stand-up comedian who is better known as “the British guy” from Forgetting Sarah Marshall.   Brand, who teeters between comedic genius and completely insane, is an interesting choice to host the awards show, and he’s the first to admit it. In a recent interview, Brand manically declared, “no one knows who I am, no one!”  Brand, whose hair is just as unruly as his personality, will undoubtedly contribute to the show’s madness with his unusual sense of humor and charming British accent.

THE PERFORMANCES:  The Jonas Brothers, called “God’s favorite Virgins” by host Russell Brand, will have their set introduced by brother Joe’s rumored girlfriend, Taylor Swift. Hot mamma, Christina Aguilera, will croon her brand-new single, “Keeps Getting Better”, promising a first look at her new image and sound.  In collaboration news – Kid Rock is set to share the stage with Lil’ Wayne, and T.I. and Rihanna will debut “Live Your Life”.  Kanye West will deliver a blow-out performance to close the show, lifting his juvenile ban on MTV events.

BRITNEY SPEARS: The VMAs would not be complete without an appearance by Britney Spears.  It was confirmed (finally!) that she will open the show, and while the exact nature of her much buzzed about appearance remains unclear, MTV president, Van Toffler, assures that it will be “fun and unexpected”.  Britney’s past antics – gyrating on stage with a snake, locking lips with Madonna, and a disastrous “comeback” performance – could easily be characterized as fun or unexpected, so let’s hope those two words will assume a very different, positive meaning for the pop princess this year.

Tune in this Sunday, September 7 at 9 pm ET for all the promised music and mayhem (and a rare chance to catch music videos actually being played on MTV)!

Forget your viewing glasses and black and white refinery at home; this is a different kind of Opera. 

Another David Judaken production and formerly known as Mood, this venue is an upscale destination located on Hollywood Boulevard and Schrader on Los Angeles. 

Most recently, the celeb-heavy club was featured on MTV phenomenon show, The Hills. 

Lauren Conrad and her cohorts aren’t the only hot Hollywood figures to hit this venue; Paris Hilton, Travis Barker, Britney Spears, Leonardo DiCaprio, Kevin Connelly and Tyson Beckford, all pack a star-powered punch on any given night of the week. 

Expect to encounter the paparazzi gauntlet on your way to the velvet rope.

True to it’s theme, Opera serves up signature drinks like The Fat Lady Sings and The Phantom. Average drink prices are about $12.

Opera also shares an entrance with its next-door neighbor, the more rock-and-roll Crimson. Together, these venues can be hired for private parties to accommodate a combined 700 partygoers. Opera was host of this year’s US Weekly’s annual Hot Hollywood awards.

OPERA 

1650 Schrader Blvd.

Los Angeles, CA 90028

323-960-3300

Saturday Night Live has tapped Olympic Golden Boy, Michael Phelps, to host its 34th season premiere on September 13.  Lil’ Wayne, who Phelps jammed to on his iPod before races, is set to be the musical guest.

While Phelps might seem like an odd choice for SNL, we all know that the eight-gold-medal-winning phenom performs well under pressure.  Perhaps a hosting gig on a sketch comedy program isn’t too big of a stretch. Plus, Phelps can provide endless material for sketches revolving around men in too tight (and often too scant) swimwear. 

The superhuman swimmer is ratings magic, and SNL is not the only program to take advantage:  MTV has secured Phelps to make an appearance at the MTV Video Music Awards on September 9.

There are two divergent crowds when it comes to athletes and Saturday Night Live: those who love it and those who find it agonizing to watch.  Can Phelps pull this off or will he be a fish out of water?

Reality television has left the Hollywood Hills for Capitol Hill.  A new show, based on MTV’s The Hills, will follow D.C. socialite Katherine Kennedy (pictured above), boutique owner Krista Johnson, and Sophie Pyle, a student on hiatus from UNC.

While the girls are blonde and yes, beautiful…there’s a twist.  They call themselves the “Charity Mafia” for their devotion to philanthropy, and Kennedy has a masters degree in business and technology from Georgetown University.  This isn’t exactly sounding like The Hills that we all know and love…

But before you assume that the bevy of attractive (and smart?) do-gooders will translate into drama-free television, think again.  Producers found the girls on a members-only D.C. social networking site, Late Night Shots, whose members’ partying antics and “trust-fund baby” status have been met with intense dislike by a number of D.C. area denizens.   

Although it appears that the show is not lacking in potential Speidis, the producers are having difficulty casting men.  Perhaps reality television star on your resume won’t impress when trying to land that coveted internship on The Hills.

While MTV has more than their hands full with L.C. and her crew, the new reality show has landed itself a prime spot: following Project Runway on Lifetime.  Is L.C. about to be so last season?