Did Megan Fox Diss Scarlett Johansson?

Any male on the planet will acknowledge that Megan Fox is one of the hottest looking women on the big screen these days. The 22 year-old actress' star is rising fast, and she seems to be quickening the pulse of both male audience members (excuse the pun) and Hollywood execs respectively.
She's also known for speaking her mind.
Fox is apparently in couple's therapy after having recently split with her boyfriend, Brian Austin Green (Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles). Discussing her male counterparts in the industry during a recent interview in the June issue of Esquire magazine, the young actress didn't hold back: "Actors aren't necessarily the most intelligent guys you're ever gonna come across," she said. "They're so easily manipulated that if you have any sort of control over your own sexuality, they're just f****d."
Ouch.
In the magazine, Fox talks about her sexual confidence, "I'm just really confident sexually, and I think that sort of oozes out of my pores. It's just there. It's something I don't have to turn on" … but perhaps even more interestingly, discusses how she has no desire to be like Scarlett Johansson—who she quite clearly sees as a rival of some sort, despite an assertion to the contrary.
"I don't want to have to be like a Scarlett Johansson—who I have nothing against," Fox said. "But I don't want to have to go on talk shows and pull out every single SAT word I've every learned to prove, like, 'Take me seriously, I am intelligent, I can speak.'"
"I don't want to have to do that," she adds. "I resent having to prove that I'm not a retard—but I do. And part of it is my own fault."
We'd love to hear the guys — and gals — take on this one. While we don't focus on celebrity gossip here, Fox's participation in one of the summer's biggest tentpole franchises makes her an obvious target of both male lechery and ridicule. What do you think? Is she justified in openly flaunting her sexuality while at the same time lamenting that's she's viewed as "a retard?" Chime in below…

David Fincher’s New iPhone 3GS Ad

As many of you are doubtless aware, today Apple rolled out its new iPhone, the iPhone 3GS. As part of its marketing campaign for the new phone, Apple turned to David Fincher (Fight Club, Benjamin Button), who directed a commercial for the product.
You can watch the commercial by clicking on the Video tab at the top of this article page.
Fincher enlisted the aid of Fight Club cinematographer Jeff Cronenweth to craft this new spot.
The ad is called "Break In" and shows a man breaking into Apple's headquarters to take a look at the new iPhone. Unfortunately for the perp, the iPhone's new video tool captures the entire thing.
The new phone sports a 3 megapixel autofocus camera with macro capability and video-recording support at 30fps with audio, of course. In addition, there is a built-in video editor application that enables quick edits before sending it via MMS or uploading it to YouTube or MobileMe. Whilst the video-recorder represents technology that's been present in most phones for a while now, the video editor app is the real kicker here.

Is Jennifer Connelly Quitting Hollywood?

Every so often a Hollywood celebrity will talk about quitting the business, taking time off to spend with family…or will go on late night talk shows looking disheveled and mumbling about how they're heading off on an adventure to start a musical career.
Now comes word that Oscar-winning actress Jennifer Connelly is about to quit the biz. In an interview with the UK's Daily Mirror, Connelly revealed that after What's Wrong with Virginia? finishes shooting, she will likely not sign on for any more projects.
"The biggest thing for me is wanting my kids to grow up safely and have happy lives," said Connelly. "To me that's enough. The family is the most important thing to me. I'm very blessed. I have gorgeous, healthy, funny kids and a good husband."
Connelly's father passed away recently, prompting a very sorrowful time for the 38 year-old actress. "…I went through a really hard time at the end of last year."
Connelly is married to actor Paul Bettany (The Da Vinci Code), who has several films soon to be released, including Priest and Legion.
What's Wrong with Virginia tells the story of a sheriff whose state senate bid is placed in jeopardy when his daughter begins to date the son of a charming but psychologically disturbed woman with whom the sheriff has engaged in a two-decades-old affair.

What

It’s got all the suspense and drama of a James Cameron film: The story of Cameron’s real-life quest to go into outer space.
Apparently, the Avatar and Terminator director has been interested in visiting space for a while, and got about halfway there back in the late '90s/early '00s. Speaking to MTV, Cameron said he had been working with NASA on a joint mission to the International Space Station; unfortunately, that got sidetracked by a number of delays, including a certain terrorist attack.
"I was going to go up and work on the International Space Station with our 3-D cameras," Cameron said. "I was pushing for something in the 30 day range and they were pushing for something in the 10 to 15 day range. We got partway down the road on that and, it was interesting, we were testing our 3-D cameras at the Titanic wreck site and September 11 happened. I wasn't prepared at that exact moment in my life, with a family, to go live in Russia for 12 months, which is what it was going to take to do all the training. so I held off."
He added that as the project was starting to ramp up again, the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated on February 1, 2003, killing all seven crew members.
"I was on the NASA Advisory Council at that time. My first meeting of the NASA Advisory Council was right after the Columbia accident. My first official duty was to go to the memorial service in Washington,"Cameron said.
After that tragedy, Cameron said interest in the mission flagged once more. But now, nearly seven years later, with funding for the International Space Station possibly running out in another half-decade, shooting in space could be extremely vital for the future of space exploration.
"It's not the craziest thing in history," Cameron said about filming a narrative set in outer space, "because the International Space Station is not currently planned to be funded beyond 2015. They've barely gotten the thing built, and now they have to have commercial people come in and figure out how to use [it]. So yeah, I absolutely think there's the possibility of something like that."
"The other thing is that NASA is looking now more toward the commercial sector to provide resupply to the space station and human transport," he added. "Their next human transport system isn't going to be online until 2016 or 2017. They were supposed to be online in 2012, but they're not going to make it."
Would a movie studio do for the private sector? Maybe if Avatar turns out to be as big a hit as its early reviews would suggest, Cameron can convince an exec to strap some booster rockets to craft services. Until then, we can always re-watch Aliens.

Jerry Bruckheimer Sees The Future in 3D

The return of 3D to movies still feels like a gimmick to some of us here at CinemaSpy. What makes this 3D revival different from those in the past, though, is that some big names in Hollywood are embracing it.
Recently we reported on Martin Scorsese's passion for the format. But he's not alone. Prolific producer Jerry Bruckheimer is also upbeat about the potential of 3D. Even though he didn't use it for the recent fantasy epic Prince of Persia, he suggested in a recent Q&A session that it would continue to tighten its grip on Hollywood.
"[For Prince of Persia] I think we talked about it briefly, but Avatar hadn't come out, so we couldn’t see the impact 3D would have," Bruckheimer said. "Plus Avatar was done all on a soundstage, pretty much, in a hangar and this picture was done in Morocco, the majority of it. So it was much more difficult, with the two cameras and the sand and the heat. But 3D is here to stay, it’s taking over cinema."
Another recent fantasy epic, Clash of the Titans, was also filmed in 2D but it was converted to 3D to capitalize on the popularity of the format. Bruckheimer didn't use that approach for Prince of Persia and in hindsight that was probably wise. But Bruckheimer has nothing against 3D as his upcoming output demonstrates.
"I saw Clash of the Titans in 2D because I heard it wasn't so good [in 3D]," Bruckheimer told Empire magazine in a recent interview. "Our goal is to give audiences something exciting both visually and storywise, and if you blow it on the visual side, that's not good. But we're doing Pirates 4 in 3D. We wanted to do Prince of Persia and Sorcerer's Apprentice in 3D, but the technology just wasn't there."
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time is being released on Blu-ray and DVD by Walt Disney Home Entertainment on September 14.

Marvel ‘Captain America’ Plotline Angers Tea Party Members

When comic book heroes collide with real world hot button politics—is there any more incendiary combination (aside from sex and politics, that is)? If you're Marvel Editor in Chief Joe Quesada, today you're probably thinking "no".
For you see, today Marvel find themselves squarely in the crosshairs of the Tea Party movement in the United States, the conservative and libertarian protest movement that emerged in early 2009 partially in response to the federal government's stimulus package.
Much to Marvel's chagrin, their patriotic superhero, Captain America, — wrapped as he is in Stars & Stripes — apparently doesn't like the Tea Party movement. In a recent Marvel comic edition, Captain America and his sidekick, the Falcon, try to infiltrate the Watchdogs, a group that bears more than a passing resemblance to the Tea Party movement. In one frame, a protester holds up a sign that reads "Tea bag the liberals before they tea bag you"; a sign inspired by a real-life Tea Party protest.
In the comic book, the Watchdogs are portrayed as an anti-government, racist group.
With Marvel Entertainment gearing up to start production on The First Avenger: Captain America feature, the timing is probably less than ideal. Tea Party leaders are less than impressed with Marvel's inky intimation, and the publisher's eleventh hour promise to alter the protest signs depicted in that scene when it reprints the comic seem to be falling on deaf ears. Yesterday, Fox News reported the following about the story:
But the change may come too late to placate a chorus of critics who noticed the apparent jab at the Tea Party movement and who accused Marvel of making supervillains out of patriotic Americans.
Michael Johns, a board member of the Nationwide Tea Party Coalition, said he felt the "juvenile" dig will ultimately do more damage to Marvel's brand than to the Tea Party movement. He also disputed the insinuation that the growing movement lacks diversity.
"The Tea Party movement has been very reflective of broad concerns of all Americans," Johns said. "Membership is across ethnic, religious and even political lines."
Quick to soft pedal the PR blunder, Marvel said the comic storyline meant no offense and that 'dig' at the Tea Party was accidentally added late in the production process. Hoping to quell the damage, Quesada released the following statement:
The book was getting ready to go to the printer, it was on fire already from a deadline standpoint, but the editor on the book noticed that there was a small art correct that needed to get done. On the first page featuring the protestors, the artist on the book drew slogans into the protest signs to give them a sense of reality and to set up the scene. On the following page featuring the protestors again, there were signs, but nothing written in them. From a continuity standpoint, this omission stood out like a sore thumb, but was easily fixable. So, just before the book went to the printer, the editor asked the letterer on the book to just fudge in some quick signs. The letterer in his rush to get the book out of the door but wanting to keep the signs believable, looked on the net and started pulling slogans from actual signs…
Oh for the good old days when Marvel's titular character only had to worry about simple things, like taking on Nazis.
And speaking of takes, what's your take on all of this? PR blunder aside, did Marvel make an honest mistake; did the writers try to slip a little bit of "political agenda" into the mix…or does any of it really matter? After all, Captain America has got to be a registered voter, right? Which means he pretty much has to end up picking sides in the ballot box.
Perhaps we're just never supposed to know what side he picks. And perhaps that is the overriding point here. After all, superheroes and domestic politics have always made strange bedfellows.

Dark Knight Envy? Buy Your Very Own 1966 Batmobile

Back on January 7 we reported a story about CarInsurance.org's marketing campaign that compiled a list of [nearly] every single version of the Batmobile ever created. We didn't editorialize about our personal favorites, but for the purposes of this story it would have to be either the Tumbler — as featured inBatman Begins, The Dark Knight…and we presume the forthcoming third film in the trilogy, The Dark Knight Rises — or the original 1966 Batmobile featured in the Batman television series, based on a 1955 Lincoln Futura show car.
Coincidentally, if you missed it, around the same time Gizmodo published a story about a company called Fiberglass Freaks who are making build-to-order Batmobiles that are identical replicas to that same 1966 Batmobile.
We're not talking about 1/18" replicas. We're talking about actual, life-sized, functioning, driving cars. The car comes with some pretty significant extras including rocket exhaust flamethrower, a detect-a-scope…and for that contemporary touch, a DVD player and high-end stereo. This particular Batmobile is built from a 1970's Lincoln Town Car that they provide (so that gives you some idea of what sort of size and ride to expect).
It’s more than just a “kit car.” The wheel wells are enclosed with steel tubs. The doors are finished inside and out, and the doors even sound solid when they latch. The rocker panels are attached to the floor pan with steel and fiberglass. When you sit in the car, your head doesn’t hover over the front windshield, and you have plenty of leg room, too. We wet sand the car by hand to remove any surface imperfections in the paint, then we buff and polish the car to an incredible shine.
For some fascinating behind-the-scenes photos of custom car builder George Barris constructing the original 1966 Batmobile, go here…and scroll down the page almost half way.
While this strikes us as the ultimate fanboy indulgence, it's also pretty damn cool (we'll admit, we want one). And if you have a spare $150,000 burning a hole in your Batsuit, they'll build one for you, too.

‘Gentlemen Prefer Blondes’ Star Jane Russell Dies at 89

Actress Jane Russell, best known for her films during the 1940s and 1950s, passed away in her Santa Maria home Monday at the age of 89. Russell’s daughter-in-law Etta Waterfield says the actress died of a respiratory-related illness.
Russell was discovered by eccentric billionaire Howard Hughes who cast her in his sexy and controversial 1941 western The Outlaw. The 1943 release was famously the subject of a legal battle over exactly how much of the actress’ cleavage could be displayed and not violate production code. Nevertheless, the film turned Russell into a star.
She went on to appear opposite such leading men as Frank Sinatra and Bob Hope, but perhaps her most famous role was opposite Marilyn Monroe in 1953′sGentlemen Prefer Blondes.
Other notable roles included Double Dynamite (with Groucho Marx and Frank Sinatra), His Kind of Woman and Macao (both opposite Robert Mitchum).
Russell was also the number one pin-up girl of US troops stationed overseas during World War II, and her curvy figure earned her the role of an early spokesmodel for Playtex bras.
A vocal advocate of adoption, she also founded the Women’s Adoption International Fund.
Until her health began to decline a few weeks ago, Waterfield said Russell remained active singing and working for various causes.
A service will be held to honour Russell at Pacific Christian Church in Santa Maria on March 23.

Tracy Morgan Gets Support from 30 Rock Co-star, Wins Comedy Award After Gay Gibe

Tina Fey, creator and star of NBC’s sitcom30 Rock, has publicly expressed support for her co-star on the show, Tracy Morgan, amid a storm of controversy over a joke the actor/comedian is alleged to have made in a recent stage show. During the stand-up performance in Nashville, Morgan reportedly went on an ‘anti-gay tirade’ and is said to have joked that he’d “pull out a knife and stab” his own son if he were gay.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the allegations against Morgan were made by Kevin Rogers, who attended the show and said that before the show he was a fan of the Saturday Night Live alumnus. Rogers subsequently posted a piece on Facebook titled “Why I No Longer ‘Like’ Tracy Morgan – A Must Read.” The story was later picked up by the website of Truth Wins Out, a non-profit organization that campaigns against anti-gay extremism.
Morgan himself has since said sorry for any offense that he caused. In a statement to the trade paper he apologized to his fans and the gay & lesbian community for his “choice of words.”
“I’m not a hateful person and don’t condone any kind of violence against others,” Morgan said. “While I am an equal opportunity jokester, and my friends know what is in my heart, even in a comedy club this clearly went too far and was not funny in any context.”
Fey, also a former SNL star, has now offered her support to Morgan. Although she admitted that “the violent imagery of Tracy’s rant,” disturbed her, she indicated that homophobia was not something she associated with her co-star.
“It also doesn’t line up with the Tracy Morgan I know, who is not a hateful man and is generally much too sleepy and self-centered to ever hurt another person,” The Reporter quotes her as saying.
“I hope for his sake that Tracy’s apology will be accepted as sincere by his gay and lesbian coworkers on30 Rock, without whom Tracy would not have lines to say, clothes to wear, sets to stand on, scene partners to act with, or a printed-out paycheck from accounting to put in his pocket,” she added.
Meanwhile, NBC exec Robert Greenblatt had said he was pleased that Morgan has apologized. At the same time, however, he gave a thinly veiled warning to the actor and other stars of the network’s shows that NBC won’t take kindly to being embarrassed in this way again.
“We will always recognize an artist’s freedom to express him or herself, but not when reckless things are said no matter what the context,” said Greenblatt. “Unfortunately, Tracy’s comments reflect negatively on both 30 Rock and NBC – two very all-inclusive and diverse organizations – and we have made it clear to him that this kind of behavior will not be tolerated.”
The controversy may have exploded too late to make the judges at the 51st Monte Carlo Television Festival’s Golden Nymph Awards think twice about rewarding Morgan for his role in 30 Rock. The star was named Outstanding actor in a Comedy Series at the event on Friday night.

Goodluck Jonathan Tells Entertainers

In what looked like a show of shame, the entire arts community including the best of Nollywood stars threw caution to the wind on Monday, 21 March 2011 at Goodluck Jonathan’s presidential dinner with entertainment practitioners held in Lagos at the Eko hotel and Suites as they, shockingly, jostled to receive at least one carton of Jonathan’s branded biscuit and T-shirts.
Sculptors, movie producers, actors, authors, TV personalities, sports men, musicians among other creative artists all converged in high volumes as their representatives took turns on the podium to state their demands to the President whose table was surrounded by Senator Ita Giwa, Silverbird TV boss Ben Murray Bruce, Onyeka Onwenu and a few others.
With just two minutes accorded to each speaker TV presenter Mo’ Abudu challenged Goodluck, who’s seeking election to return to office under the umbrella of the People’s Democratic Party, on the sorry state of the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), which she said is supposed to be a national pride and the one other TV stations should look up to as against what it is now.
‘What do we do about NTA? Mr. President can we make it work? All the station does is sell airtime; no programmes, nothing’, Abudu, an independent producer pointed.
Others like producer Amaka Igwe and comedian Ali Baba stressed that piracy is the major problem that is milking entertainers’ sweat, suggesting that a special anti-pirate squad should be formed within the Nigerian Police Force and equipped with necessary tools to enhance their effective delivery.
However, amid the cheer and merriment, it did not come as a surprise when Mr. Jonathan reiterated his basket of promises to Nigerian entertainers in his address, adding that he should have been closer to the industry before this time.
It’s not news that politicians come closer and get reasonable with the peoples’ demands only when election time is in sight. But Mr. President told them; ‘I’m not interacting with you because I need your votes’.
‘Entertainment is an area we don’t take serious, but it’s a key sector the Nigerian Government should look into. I need to be closer to you’.
Big Brother Africa host, IK Osakioduwa did a good job as the MC of the event as he pleaded decorum from the actors who almost strangled ushers sharing the ‘Goodluck Biscuits’ and souvenirs.
Disdain was apparent in the eyes of top-shot celebrities present (the likes of Genevieve Nnaji, Stephaine Okereke, D’banj, Ramsey Naoh, Olu Jacobs, Kanu Nwankwo, Jay Jay Okocha and a very few others) on seeing their colleagues guard cartons of biscuit and Jonathan’s branded T shirt under their arms with their last breathe as they exited the hall.
‘Oh my God, I can’t believe this. Do this people know its biscuit inside that carton? This is a shame’, an A-list comedian tells us

Crazy in love

Lovers of African movies gathered in Maryland, USA, late last year for the premiere of the movie that stars the Nigerian star actor, Jim Iyke. It also stars Daneline Moore, Altorro Black, and Crsytal Millan among many others.
The movie, produced by J & J Solid media and Mekdoss Productions, is a combination of romance, thriller and comedy. Crazy in Love tells a story of a lady who falls in love, not knowing that love can be a blurry mess of confusion, illusion, and loss. The lead character, Lillian, is blissfully in love but something goes wrong, and she has to learn her lesson the hard way. She suffers mental disorder and she is committed to a mental institution in order to rediscover herself. As she takes her journey back to sanity, she finds strength within herself and begins to appreciate and love the person she is.

Jessica Tata Turns Herself In

Jessica Tata, the woman accused of fleeing the states after a fire at her Houston day care center killed four children, has allegedly turned herself in to authorities in Nigeria.
Jessica’s brother, Ron Tata, said that relatives in Nigeria claims Jessica went to the U.S. consulate early Saturday. U.S. officials say they still don’t have her in custody.
“She just felt really, really, really bad about the whole situation, especially for the families. It would be the right thing to do,” Ron said.
Her mother, Josephine Tata, said Jessica would not fight extradition and may return to Houston as early as this weekend.
U.S. Marshals Service spokesman Jeff Carter said the 22-year-old woman wasn’t in the agency’s custody, and Harris County district attorney spokeswoman Donna Hawkins said she had received no information that Jessica Tata was being held.
It is believed that Tata fled to Nigeria two days after the fire erupted in her home day care center on Feb. 24. Three children were injured in addition to the four casualties.
Tata has been charged with manslaughter, injury to a child and child abandonment. She is accused of leaving the children alone while she shopped at a nearby store. Authorities believe the fire was ignited by a stove top burner that had been left on.
Family members of the child victims said that they were relieved to hear Tata had turned herself in.
“I cried, but they tears were of joy,” said Keisha Brown, whose 16-month old son Elias died in the fire. “All I wanted was justice and closure.”
Elias’ grandmother Jodie Brown said she was excited that Tata had “taken the responsibility she needed to take.”
The U.S. Marshals Service placed Tata on its list of the 15 most wanted fugitives and offered a reward of up to $25,000. Interpol, the international police agency, alerted its member countries, including Nigeria, that she was being sought by the U.S.