'Arthur' Leading Ladies Muse On Film's 'Charming' Billionaire Drunk

'If he came into a party I was in, I would be out of that party so fast,' Helen Mirren laughs to MTV News about Russell Brand's character.
By Kara Warner


Helen Mirren and Russell Brand in "Arthur"
Photo: Barry Wetcher/Warner Bros.

For some people, the idea of meeting and hanging out with a hapless, immature and perpetually drunk billionaire sounds like a great time. For others, not so much. Such is the case with the leading ladies of "Arthur," in which Russell Brand stars as the aforementioned reckless billionaire, with Helen Mirren playing his very patient nanny, Hobson, and Greta Gerwig his love interest, Naomi.

When MTV News caught up with Mirren and Gerwig recently, we asked them how they would react to meeting Arthur in real life.

"Oh, [I would] fall in love with him," Gerwig enthused. "He's so funny! I don't know, it's hard to separate [Brand from his character, but Arthur] is so funny and charming and crazy, who wouldn't?" she reasoned. "I think that's the point of the movie."

Mirren, on the other hand, didn't think meeting Arthur would be quite as much fun.

"I think if I met Arthur, I just would have no time for him whatsoever," she said. "If he came into a party I was in, I would be out of that party so fast," she said with a chuckle. "But, maybe I'd bump into him somewhere and be charmed by him, but I would certainly never find myself in a position of looking after him."

Speaking to the idea of employing the esteemed Oscar-winner as a nanny, Brand, naturally, was very keen on the concept." Helen Mirren, who plays Hobson, my nanny, in this lovely, fun-filled film 'Arthur,' would be a bloody good nanny," Brand told us. "She's fantastic at looking after you; she has authority and sensitivity."

Check out everything we've got on "Arthur."

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

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Donald Trump Confirms He?s Considering Run For President

Reality star and business man Donald Trump has confirmed the rumors – he IS considering a run for President of the United States! The ‘Apprentice’ star shared: “I am seriously considering running. I hate what’s happening to our country. Our … Continue reading

Source: http://www.imnotobsessed.com/2010/12/08/donald-trump-confirms-hes-considering-run-for-president/

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Natalie Portman Addresses 'Black Swan' Dancing Controversy

'I had a chance to make something beautiful with this film,' Oscar winner says.
By Jocelyn Vena


Natalie Portman in "Black Swan"
Photo: FOX Searchlight

A month after Natalie Portman took home the Oscar for her portrayal of a prima ballerina in Darren Aronofsky's dark thriller "Black Swan," controversy erupted regarding whether she had actually performed the dances in the film. Portman's ballet body double, Sarah Lane, claimed that the majority of the dancing was performed by professionals.

Those who worked closely with the star in "Black Swan" promptly spoke out to defend Portman. Her fiancé and co-star, Benjamin Millepied, initially spoke out about it, saying, "There are articles now talking about her dance double [Lane] that are making it sound like [Lane] did a lot of the work, but really, she just did the footwork, and the fouettés, and one diagonal [phrase] in the studio. Honestly, 85 percent of that movie is Natalie."

Aronofsky and Portman's foil in the film, Mila Kunis, have also been vocal about their support of Portman. However, up until now, Portman herself has remained mum on the subject.

When E! News spoke to the star at her junket for "Your Highness," she seemed completely content to brush off the chatter. "I had a chance to make something beautiful with this film and I don't want to give in to the gossip," she explained. She also noted that she has no further comment regarding the fact that she didn't give Lane a shout-out in her Best Actress Oscar acceptance speech.

"I don't remember my Oscar speech at all," she said. "And I'm actually too embarrassed to watch it."

While promoting "Black Swan," Portman spoke candidly to MTV News about the rigors of training for the film, which included months of prep to learn the proper way to dance ballet. "I definitely felt both physical and mental aftershocks from the experience, because it was the first thing I've ever done that was this physically demanding on top of an emotionally demanding part," she said of the "really extreme" training.

Check out everything we've got on "Black Swan."

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

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TV Ad For Norwegian Deaf Metal

This image, which nicely compliments the video below, is for a 1993 metal comp that featured some pretty ripping bands, including Eucharist, Dissection, Impaler, At the Gates, Pitchshifter and Therion, along with a bunch of groups we've never heard of. Good luck tracking it down. But before you try, check out this Norwegian TV ad [...]

Source: http://blog.mtvmusic.com/2010/06/02/tv-ad-for-norwegian-deaf-metal/

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Britney Spears Didn't Write Femme Fatale Tracks: Does It Matter?

Ke$ha, Ryan Tedder and other Spears songwriters defend the pop 'icon' from criticism that she didn't pen songs on her latest release.
By Jocelyn Vena


Britney Spears
Photo: C. Flanigan/ WireImage

Britney Spears launched her career as a fresh face with the perfect amount of girl-next-door charm and sex appeal and rocketed her way up to pop superstardom. She followed her debut, ... Baby One More Time,with a series of chart-topping albums, including her latest release, Femme Fatale. And while fans are loving the new album, some critics are making a fuss over Spears' lack of songwriting credits.

Spears didn't write any of the tracks on her 1999 debut, but by her second album, Oops! ... I Did It Again, she had was making some songwriting contributions. Over the course of five albums, she has co-written 17 tracks, including hit singles "Everytime" and "Me Against the Music." With Femme Fatale, Brit left the writing to others. And many industry insiders are defending the star for not taking credit for work she didn't do on Femme Fatale.

Songwriter Heather Bright, who wrote the track "Trouble for Me" on Spears' latest, gave Spears credit for not pushing to get credit for a song she had nothing to do with.

"I would just like to address one thing! The media is talking trash about how Britney didn't write any of the songs on her album ... HELLO! Wake up everybody! NONE OF THESE ARTISTS WRITE THEIR OWN SONGS!!!!!!" she wrote, before slamming a laundry list of stars who do seek credit for songs they don't write. Bright also praised pop stars who in fact write their own songs.

Like Bright, Ke$ha, who penned the Femme Fatale track "Till the World Ends," defended the pop star. Not writing any songs on the album doesn't make Britney any less of an artist, Ke$ha said.

"I think people should be themselves and be their own artist, whatever that means for her," Ke$ha said in an interview with MTV Canada. "She's an amazing singer, an amazing performer and she's an icon. I don't think that that means she has to write. I do write my own music, some people don't and it doesn't at all make them any less of a brilliant artist, obviously, in her case, an icon."

While Spears didn't write for her current album, she explained that it was important to pick songs that were right for her.

"I really like to choose songs that empower people and make them feel good about themselves, first and foremost. I have a team of people that I work with, Max Martin and Dr. Luke, that are amazing producers," she told MTV News recently. "They bring me a load of songs but usually I'm very quick with the way I work and the type of songs that I like. And if I like it, then I'll record it."

"Gasoline" songwriter Claude Kelly told us that Spears always knows what's best for her.

"She's very, very much in control of what she records, how she sounds, how she portrays herself on the record," Kelly said of Britney's process. "There's no grand master puppeteering — that's kind of a myth. She knows what she's going to cut. She's not going to sing anything she doesn't want to and she has this amazing ability when she gets behind the mic. It's like eye of the tiger."

Songwriter and One Republic frontman Ryan Tedder also gave props to Spears for not taking credit for music she had nothing to do with. "I love that Britney does that. She knows where she is, and she shows up to the studio and says, 'What am I singing today guys? Okay, cool! Let me look at it,' " he said. "So to me it's whatever, be thankful for what you have."

Do you think Britney is less of a pop star because she doesn't write her own songs? Sound off in the comments.

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Flavio Briatore & Elisabetta Gregoraci's Italian Stroll

Italian businessman Flavio Briatore and wife Elisabetta Gregoraci were spotted strolling with their 1-year-old son Falco Nathan on Friday (April 8).

The family-of-three were joined by some friends as they enjoyed a sunny afternoon in Rome, Italy.

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Source: http://celebritybabyscoop.com/2011/04/08/flavio-briatore-elisabetta-gregoracis-italian-stroll

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Ronnie James Dio Dead at 67

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Source: http://blog.mtvmusic.com/2010/05/16/ronnie-james-dio-dead-at-67/

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Michael Jackson Estate Rakes In $310 Million To Date

Singer left behind more than $400 million in debt.


Michael Jackson
Photo: Time Life Pictures/DMI/Time Life Pictures/Getty Im

Between album sales, movie profits, licensing arrangements and lucrative deals for Cirque du Soleil shows, the estate of late King of Pop Michael Jackson has raked in more than $300 million since the singer's shocking death in June 2009.

According to TMZ, legal documents released on Thursday reveal that executors of MJ's estate have managed to make a major dent in the more than $400 million in debt that Jackson owed at the time of his death.

The first accounting from the executors shows that they have already spent around $159 million paying back various debts, income taxes and other expenses, which include providing support for the pop star's mother, Katherine Jackson, as well as his three young children.

"Although there remain unresolved creditor claims, pending litigation and additional challenging business, tax and legal issues, and the estate is not yet in a condition to be closed, the executors have made substantial progress in reducing the estate's debt," the documents state, according to a Reuters report. Two of Jackson's longtime confidants, attorney John Branca and music executive John McClain, were named as administrators in a will sign by the pop icon.

In addition to paying to make "substantial improvements" to the Jackson family's Havenhurst estate in Encino, California, the executors also spent an undetermined amount of money on "last illness and funeral and memorial service expenses." Those costs included a $900,000 payment to the Forest Lawn Memorial cemetery where Jackson is buried and $35,000 on expenses described as "costume for memorial."

TMZ reported that not only did the famously cash-strapped Jackson have more than $400 million in debt, but his estate also owed more than $40 million to concert promoter AEG tied to the scuttled This Is It Tour, for which MJ was rehearsing when he died unexpectedly. They've also paid $27.2 million in taxes and $4 million in mortgage payments on Jackson's properties.

Despite the solid sales of the Michael album and millions of units of the singer's back catalog being sold, as well as the box office of the "This Is It" movie and DVD sales, the estate is not nearly out of the woods. TMZ noted that the administrators have received more than 65 creditors' claims, some of which are subject to "extremely high" interest rates, and there are several outstanding lawsuits against the estate in several countries.

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Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1658290/michael-jackson-estate.jhtml

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