Tim Porter's blog: July 2011

July 2011

07/31/2011

Will Beyonce's 4 Be #1 Again?

Experts think B needs a hit single soon, but her latest album seems poised to top the charts again next week.
By Jocelyn Vena

Beyonce's <i>4</i>
Photo: Columbia

As a contender for 2011 Summer Diva, Beyoncé is certainly making great strides to rule the airwaves this summer. After B's fourth solo LP, 4, debuted at #1 last week, it's looking likely that she'll top the charts on next week's Billboard albums chart as well.

A rep for SoundScan hadn't responded to MTV News' request for an exact number of units expected to be sold by next week, but Billboard is reporting that a lack of high-powered new releases should secure a repeat top spot for Beyoncé's latest.

The buzz around B and the album will probably only continue to grow, since she's slated to debut a video for her next single, "Best Thing I Never Had," very soon. But her album's success comes as a bit of a surprise, seeing as "Run the World (Girls)" nor any other single has really resonated with fans or radio so far.

"Beyoncé, I love her, but none of her singles thus far off 4 seem poised to be doing huge numbers," Perez Hilton told MTV News.

But we should not count B out in the singles department just yet, Us Weekly senior music editor Ian Drew said.

"You've got to remember that Beyoncé, being typical Beyoncé, her albums generally are anchored by really big hits; this album doesn't have those hits yet," Drew told MTV News. "It's not to say that it won't. There are some very strong songs on the album, but they have not been released yet. There are those songs on it, but they have not come out yet and they haven't struck yet. Beyoncé is coming out at a time when radio is very crowded."

Despite those obstacles, B is definitely marching to the beat of her own drummer. "She's going in a different direction," Drew said. "She's taking control of her own career."

Have you checked out Beyoncé's new album? Share your reviews in the comments!

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Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1666940/beyonce-4-album-sales.jhtml

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Jul 31, 2011 9:31:14 PM

Michael Jackson Doctor Conrad Murray's Trial To Be Televised

Judge rules that camera will be allowed in the courtroom for manslaughter case.
By Gil Kaufman

Conrad Murray
Photo: AFP/ Getty Images

For what promises to be one of the most bizarre and riveting legal proceedings in years, a Los Angeles judge ruled on Monday that a television camera will be allowed in the courtroom when Michael Jackson's doctor goes on trial for involuntary manslaughter.

Reuters reported that Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Michael Pastor, approved the presence of a camera in the trial of Dr. Conrad Murray as long as it does not interfere with the proceedings in the closely watched case.

The judge asked for the "absolute least-intrusive placement" of a TV camera in the courtroom, but blocked cameras from documenting jury selection.

Pastor also announced that he would bump up the opening date of the trail by four days to March 24, at which point jury selection will begin. Murray, who faces up to four years in prison if convicted, has pleaded not guilty to the charges, and the trial is expected to last around six weeks.

Cardiologist Murray was hired to be Jackson's personal physician in the run-up to the King of Pop's planned 50-date comeback series of shows at London's O2 arena in the summer of 2009. The doctor told police that he provided Jackson, 50, with sedatives and the surgical anesthetic propofol in order to combat the singer's chronic insomnia. He said he did so on the morning of June 25, 2009, when Jackson died of what a coroner deemed acute propofol poisoning.

TMZ reported on Tuesday (February 8) that Murray's lawyers plan to argue that Jackson was already in weak health before he died and that it's unfair to blame propofol for his passing. Unnamed sources close to the case told the gossip site that at the time of his death, Jackson's body was already failing him in part because concert promoter AEG Live had "driven [him] over the edge" with a rigorous rehearsal schedule for the shows.

Murray's lawyers reportedly plan to call witnesses to say that Jackson was not showing up for rehearsals and when he did he showed "clear signs" of frail health. They also reportedly plan to argue that it was Jackson who administered the final, fatal dose of propofol to himself while Murray was out of the room.

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Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1657464/conrad-murray-trial.jhtml

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Jul 31, 2011 4:31:14 PM

Five Reasons You Need To See 'Attack the Block'

We're more than a little obsessed with "Attack the Block," which crash-lands in theaters today. The film has been a massive hit with UK audiences, and it won the midnight feature award at SXSW this year, along with the best narrative audience award at the 2011 Los Angeles Film Festival. We're also willing to bet [...]

Source: http://moviesblog.mtv.com/2011/07/29/attack-the-block-review/

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Jul 31, 2011 11:31:13 AM

Amy Winehouse Dies At 27

Amy Winehouse, British pop singer, was found dead today in her home in London at the age of 27. The singer known for her big hair?and even bigger voice?died of as yet unknown causes. ?Police confirmed that a 27-year-old female was pronounced dead at the home in Camden Square northern London; the cause of death [...]

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/beatcrave/~3/LvAdoRIyeBY/

Jul 31, 2011 6:31:16 AM

Photos | 2010 American Music Awards Presenter, Nominee And Performer Highlights

2010 American Music Awards Presenter, Nominee And Performer Highlights

Jul 31, 2011 1:31:47 AM

07/30/2011

'Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes' Stars Give Apes Top Billing

Tom Felton, James Franco and other castmembers say come for the apes, stay for the story ... or just the apes.
By Kara Warner

Freida Pinto and James Franco at the "Rise of the Planet of the Apes" premiere
Photo: Frazer Harrison/ Getty Images

HOLLYWOOD — There is enough intrigue, presumed destruction and primate shenanigans in the trailers for "Rise of the Planet of the Apes" to entice more than just the fans of the 1968 original into theaters when the film opens next week. But when MTV News caught up with the principal castmembers at the Hollywood premiere on Thursday, we asked them to sell us on a few more of the film's must-see elements, aside from their furry co-stars. Basically, if people come to see the apes, what will make them stay?

"Wow, James [Franco], Freida [Pinto], Andy [Serkis], everyone else," Tom Felton said, speaking to his co-stars' appeal. "There is a mixture of CGI and special effects that we've never seen onscreen before, along with a strong story and a strong message: Humans can't play God too much. We should not overstep our boundaries when it comes to manipulating Mother Nature."

Pinto countered that it's all about the apes. "I think this is one of few films that really give them a voice as well," she said. "Of course, 'Planet of the Apes' did as well, but 'Rise of the Planet of the Apes' gives them a voice in a very revolutionary way."

One of the prominent primate voices heard is that of Caesar, played by seasoned motion-capture performer Andy Serkis, who, according to Franco, is the main reason why the film is any good.

"The apes, I think Andy Serkis and WETA should get top billing," Franco said. "They stole the show; they're incredible."

Actor John Lithgow, who plays the father of Franco's character, was the only one who thought folks will start out loving the apes and leave loving the humans.

"They [will] stay for the people, and the extent to which the apes become people," he said. "It's a story, it's a great story, that's why they stay."

Check out everything we've got on "Rise of the Planet of the Apes."

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

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Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1668137/planet-of-the-apes-rise-premiere.jhtml

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Jul 30, 2011 8:31:13 PM

Lady Gaga: Amy Winehouse "Gave Me Hope"

During a Los Angeles radio appearance on Thursday, Lady Gaga shared her thoughts on the passing of Amy Winehouse -- and told the emotional story behind her power ballad "The Edge of Glory."

"I didn't know Amy (Winehouse); I just loved her so much," Gaga told KIIS-FM's JoJo Wright. "I was such a huge fan, and I was a go-go dancer in New York when she was really big. So Amy gave me hope."

This account came days after Lady Gaga took to Twitter to express her grief and sadness after 27-year-old Winehouse died suddenly -- possibly from alcohol withdrawal -- in her London home on July 23. "Amy changed pop music forever, I remember knowing there was hope, and feeling not alone because of her. She lived jazz, she lived the blues," tweeted Gaga on July 24.

While on the radio, the singer also shared the powerful story of how her grandfather's death led her to write "The Edge of Glory." Watch her emotional retelling below.

"I had never experienced death before in my family -- it was my very first time," Gaga recalls. "And my grandmother and grandfather were married sixty years, and my grandmother was a virgin when she got married. So there was this purity between the two of them. And I just remember feeling so sad, and yet I knew that when he looked at her and she looked back -- even though he couldn't really move -- they both sort of acknowledged that they had won at life, because they won at love with each other."

When Gaga and her father returned home from their visit, they began doing tequila shots ("I've got that kind of relationship with my dad," she notes). While they were reminiscing and drinking, she sat down at the piano and wrote "The Edge of Glory."

"And my dad never really wrote music with me, but he was always kind of around the piano when I was a kid going, 'Yeah kid, that's good! That note right there, that's the one! That's the lyric right there!'" says Gaga. "So I was crying and he was crying and I was writing this song, and he was saying, 'That's it, that's it.' So for some reason, I felt like I was able to express what my dad couldn't express, which was what was so hard was [for my dad] to watch [my grandfather] be on the edge, to watch him cross over but not be there yet.”

In the process of making the "Edge of Glory" video, Gaga had to mourn the passing of another man close to her: saxophonist Clarence Clemons, who plays on the song.

"Clarence was on the video, and he and I became very close friends and I viewed him as a father figure in my life," she says. "And he died the day the music video came out."

"I'm just glad that Grandpa and Clarence are up in heaven together," Gaga says with a smile. And with Amy Winehouse up there too, there's bound to be some beautiful music in the clouds.