Elton John Marvels As 'The Union' Opens Tribeca Film Fest

'We can't believe our luck,' Elton tells MTV News at red-carpet premiere of Cameron Crowe musical documentary.
By Eric Ditzian


Elton John
Photo: MTV News

Ten years on, the Tribeca Film Festival is going on as strong — and as unpredictable — as ever. Last spring, the fest kicked things off in midtown Manhattan with the premiere of "Shrek Forever After." This time around, Tribeca returned to its roots, settling into the Winter Garden at the World Financial Center (just steps from Ground Zero) for the debut of "The Union," Cameron Crowe's documentary about the Grammy-nominated musical collaboration between Elton John and Leon Russell.

"We can't believe our luck," Elton told MTV News Wednesday on the red carpet as paparazzi flashbulbs popped around him.

Joining the music legend on the carpet were Martin Scorsese, Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, Anna Kendrick, Rainn Wilson, Denis Leary, Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Zoe Kravitz, ?uestlove, David O. Russell and others. Elton himself confessed he was initially nervous to invite Crowe's cameras into the recording studio, but was very happy with the results and the opportunity to debut the film in New York.

"I've never had a song filmed when I'm writing it, but Cameron's such a friend, I trusted him," he told us. "New York City is my favorite place to play. I've played 62 shows at Madison Square Garden, I've played at Radio City, Central Park, Shea Stadium, Fillmore East. It's been a very important city in my musical career and probably the most exciting city in the world."

"The Union," then, provides a singular window into Elton's artistic process, and folks like ?uestlove couldn't wait to see what it was all about. "The '70s icons that we worship, they came before the information age," the Roots drummer told us. "Now, you can watch Kanye make beats, but I would love to see how Elton collaborates. Who does the music, who does the lyrics, how that all works out."

And as the celebs glided down the red carpet on their way inside the theater, many couldn't help but marvel at how the festival, born in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks, continues to thrive a decade later. "People forget that after 9/11, this neighborhood was devastated," Denis Leary told us. "People were afraid to come down and some people were moving out. [Robert] De Niro and [festival co-founder] Jane Rosenthal brought people back down. They brought culture back down and real spirit, which is much to their credit."

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/1662449/elton-john-the-union-tribeca-film-festival.jhtml

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Tyler Perry On Madea: Fans 'Won't Let It Go'

'Madea's Big Happy Family' director/star laughs to MTV News, 'That old broad is going to jump' once moviegoers tire of her.
By Kara Warner


Tyler Perry
Photo: MTV News

It's no question that Tyler Perry's Madea character is beloved by fans. So much so, that with the release of "Madea's Big Happy Family" this week, the outspoken, no-nonsense matriarch hits the big screen for the sixth time.

And as much as Perry loves the fan fervor for Madea, he's hinted multiple times over the years that he would love to kill the character off some way, somehow. But there's just one thing: The fans won't let him!

"The people, they won't let it go," Perry told MTV News at the premiere of "Madea's Big Happy Family" on Tuesday night. "They won't let it go. I got about a million messages on my message board of people saying how much they love it, so as long as people want to see it, I'll keep doing it," he promised.

"The minute they stop coming [to see Madea in movies], that old broad is going to jump, and she'll be gone, I'm telling you."

So with all that love/hate built up for his own creation, does Madea haunt Tyler Perry?

"No, not at all," he said with a laugh. "God forbid, that would be scary." Perry went on to say that hes very capable of separating the craziness of Madea from his own persona, despite what people may think.

"Sometimes I'll get excited and my voice will raise a little bit and people will think that's me going into [Madea]," he said. "But no." In "Big Happy Family," which opens this Friday,April 22, Madea is tasked with helping a few of her troubled family members get their lives back on track, via her M.O. of tough love and witty one-liners. The film also stars Shad "Bow Wow" Moss, David Mann, Cassi Davis, Tamela Mann, Lauren London, Isaiah Mustafa and Teyana Taylor.

Check out everything we've got on "Madea's Big Happy Family."

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

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1662368/tyler-perry-madeas-big-happy-family.jhtml

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Prodigy Didn't Want To Respond To Tupac Dis, N.O.R.E. Says

N.O.R.E. contradicts account of events in Prodigy's autobiography.
By Rob Markman


Capone N Noreaga
Photo: MTV News

The accounts in Prodigy's newly released book "My Infamous Life: The Autobiography of Mobb Deep's Prodigy" (Simon and Schuster) has fellow Queens rapper N.O.R.E. up in arms about P's recollection of things. On Wednesday, Noreaga spoke to MTV News and questioned why his longtime friend would bring up already-settled street beefs that eventually left two men shot.

The "Super Thug" rapper is also refuting Prodigy's claim that "L.A., L.A." — a 1996 dis song aimed at Snoop Dogg, Tha Dogg Pound and Tupac Shakur — was originally a Mobb Deep track. Noreaga goes on to say that originally, Prodigy wanted no parts of the much-hyped East Coast/ West Coast beef.

"Now, is he delusional?" Nore asked. "Have you seen the record ever been [credited as] Mobb Deep featuring Capone-N-Noreaga?"

The original "L.A., L.A." was recorded in 1996, and a remixed version later appeared on Capone-N-Noreaga's 1997 debut album The War Report. The track was a direct response to Tha Dogg Pound's "New York, New York" and its video, which famously featured larger-than-life versions of Snoop Dogg, Kurupt and Daz kicking over New York skyscrapers. While N.O.R.E. does admit that Prodigy originally had a verse on the C-N-N song, he says that P had his record label, Loud Records, request to have his verse removed.

"Loud called us and said, 'You have to make sure that Prodigy verse doesn't exist,' " Nore said. "What happened was in between that time 'Pac dropped ['Hit 'Em Up'] and said, 'Mobb Deep, don't one of you dudes got sickle-cell.' "

"L.A., L.A." provided a notable moment in the mid-'90's East Coast/ West Coast feud, when rappers from both New York and California hurled disses at each other. The late Notorious B.I.G. and Tupac Shakur were the principal players, but rappers like Nas, Jay-Z, Mobb Deep and Snoop Dogg were also called out at one point in the coastal rivalry.

In his book, Prodigy criticized Jay-Z for not standing up to 'Pac's slander, but Nore contends that originally Prodigy also had some apprehension in involving himself in the war of words. "So, even when he said he was mad at Jay-Z for not representing New York, he's delusional," he says. "['L.A., L.A.' wasn't him; that wasn't his idea. That was a Capone-N-Noreaga, Tragedy thing."

N.O.R.E. also points out another discrepancy in the autobiography that was released earlier this week. Prodigy claimed that his Mobb Deep counterpart Havoc once punched veteran Queensbridge rapper Tragedy in the face for having an affair with his girlfriend while Nore looked on.

"When he says that [Havoc] stepped to Trag and I was there, it was all fabricated," he says. "All I know from Havoc and Trag's relationship was that they were cool. So, when I read the book, and he's actually saying things that he's heard, maybe from his perspective, but he's definitely not speaking the truth when it comes to me."

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Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1662452/prodigy-mobb-deep-tupac-nore.jhtml

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Reese Witherspoon Says Kissing Sick Robert Pattinson 'Wasn't Pleasant'

'Water for Elephants' actress reveals, 'He did have a very runny nose.'
By Aly Semigran, with reporting by Josh Horowitz


Reese Witherspoon
Photo: MTV News

On camera, the love scenes between Reese Witherspoon and Robert Pattinson in their period drama "Water for Elephants" — which opens in theaters Friday (April 22) — look glamorous and romantic. Behind the scenes, however, it was anything but.

Never mind that both stars were involved in relationships during the filming of the big-screen adaptation (Witherspoon with her now-husband, Jim Toth, and Pattinson with speculated girlfriend Kristen Stewart) but the 24-year-old actor also happened to be fighting a nasty cold.

As the "Twilight" hunk revealed during his "MTV First: Robert Pattinson" special, "The love scene in ['Water for Elephants']: I was doing it when I had a really bad cold." He went on to divulge, "My nose is running all over the place, and it was in one of the additional photography scenes, and Reese had this wig on, and literally, I was wiping my nose on her wig."

And when his Oscar-winning co-star sat down with us, she confirmed it was just as unsavory as he described. "He did have a very runny nose, yeah," she recalled, adding, "It wasn't appealing; it wasn't pleasant."

Still, the 35-year-old actress knows that even a runny nose wouldn't deter Pattinson's most fervent fans. Her advice for anyone planning on getting close to RPattz on or off camera: "Bring a Sudafed!"

However, when Witherspoon isn't dispensing advice on how to get through a love scene with RPattz, she's enjoying domestic bliss with her husband. In fact, the newlyweds have been finding themselves in the same situation as many couples: compromising what shows to watch on television.

The actress said that while she's had to watch the biker drama series against her will, she's now turned into "a big fan." But, there was no need to convince the star to watch "Eastbound and Down," the soon-to-be-retired HBO comedy starring Danny McBride.

" 'Eastbound and Down' makes me laugh," Witherspoon told MTV News. "You gotta love Kenny Powers."

Would you want to make out with Robert Pattinson even if he had a cold? Let us know in the comments section and on Twitter!

Check out everything we've got on "Water for Elephants."

For young Hollywood news, fashion and "Twilight" updates around the clock, visit HollywoodCrush.MTV.com.

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Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1662467/reese-witherspoon-robert-pattinson-kiss-water-for-elephants.jhtml

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Jeremy Renner Cast In 'The Bourne Legacy'

Film is not set to include Matt Damon's Jason Bourne.
By Kara Warner


Jeremy Renner
Photo: Getty Images

After months of speculation, Universal has officially named actor Jeremy Renner as the star of "The Bourne Legacy."

According to Deadline, the two-time Oscar nominee (for "The Hurt Locker" and "The Town") is expected to "sign on quickly" to play a new character in the spin-off film written and directed by "Bourne" screenwriter Tony Gilroy.

Renner will reportedly play an operative from a covert government program that is even more dangerous than the Treadstone brainwashing program that hatched Jason Bourne, memorably played by Matt Damon in the first three hit films.

For those who have been following the ups and downs of the "Bourne" saga, Renner's casting is not at all a surprise, given reports that leaked earlier this month saying he had been offered the role. The actor beat out a slew of talented and buzzworthy contenders, which reportedly included Alex Pettyfer, Taylor Kitsch, Dominic Cooper, Garrett Hedlund and Luke Evans.

Gilroy has previously stated that although Damon's Bourne will not be a part of "Legacy," he has left the door open for future Bourne-centric films down the road.

"The easiest way to think of it is an expansion or a reveal," Gilroy said of his story for "Legacy." "Jason Bourne will not be in this film, but he's very much alive. What happened in the first three films is the trigger for what happens. I'm building a legend and an environment and a wider conspiracy. ... The world we're making enhances and advances and invites Jason Bourne's return [down the road]."

Production is said to begin in September.

Check out everything we've got on "The Bourne Legacy."

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

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1662493/jeremy-renner-bourne-legacy.jhtml

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