Penelope Cruz: Wild days are behind

AGENCIES

LONDON: Penelope Cruz says that she believes she has mellowed down with age and that she cannot tolerate alcohol like she once could. The Bandidas star confessed that she has left her wild child days behind and now has settled into married life and parenthood with Spanish actor Javier Bardem. 

“About 10 years ago I had a wild, confused phase — I just wanted to get lost in life and not think about the consequences,” News.com.au quoted her as telling German magazine In. 

“After two beers now I’m already tipsy. I guess, I’m what men would call a cheap date!” she added.

Skyfall: Old dog, awkward new tricks

In the half-century since superspy James Bond from Ian Fleming’s novels first swished smugly into the big screen, martini in hand and flanked by international beauties, there have been six actors who’ve passed through the franchise, starting with Sean Connery in 1962’s Dr. No, to current title-holder Daniel Craig. However, by effect of having grown up with him in the role, Pierce Brosnan, Craig’s predecessor, has always been my Bond of choice. Naturally, there was some personal resistance when Craig’s Casino Royale came out a few years ago; the actor seemed too rough-edged, too brutish-looking, to replace the always suave and ready-with-a-quip—not to mention donning those impossibly impeccable suits—Brosnan. That resistance, turns out, is still in place, tested recently at a Skyfall showing—the 23rd in the series and the first to be directed by indie hitmaker Sam Mendes, of American Beauty fame. This latest Bond escapade, to its credit, does try to walk the line between preserving beloved tradition and exposing Bond’s background with more relish than has been attempted before. But while the film might be more incisive in terms of characters’ history and humanity, one questions whether that approach is congruous with the series’ established structure, and whether it is even necessary at this point.

Skyfall begins with an end. On a mission in Turkey to retrieve a hard drive containing the names of all undercover double agents working within terrorist organisations around the world—a list that would mean certain death for these spies were it to be released—our hero is accidentally shot and presumably killed by fellow agent Eve (Naomie Harris) while grappling with a mercenary atop a moving train (preceded by a motorcycle chase over the rooftops around the Grand Bazaar…did you expect any less?). Of course, Bond isn’t really dead, even though all of MI6—the British secret service—believes him to be. No, he takes the opportunity to relax at an unnamed island, drinking and dallying with local female offerings, and glowering at his boss M (Judi Dench), who had given Eve the callous order to “take the bloody shot.”

Bond is, however, pulled back into the game when the MI6 headquarters is bombed, and whoever is responsible not only has the aforementioned hard drive, and has hacked MI6’s network, but is also pursuing a personal vendetta against M. Subplot emerges in the form of Gareth Mallory (Ralph Fiennes), a national security administrator who believes M’s methods are ill-fitted to these tech-dominated times and is keen to nudge her into retirement, something the unsmiling, ever-severe M does not want. Not only must Bond defeat the villainous entity, but he also has certain mommy-abandonment issues to resolve with M (Freud would have a field day with this), as well as proving his own relevance in the modern world—all without wrinkling his suit.

One can certainly appreciate Mendes’ attempt to dial down the acrobatics to focus more on individuals, and delve into their backstories, their motivating forces. Skyfall alludes to Bond’s childhood, a grim one, the results of which we’re meant to see in the cold, detached, half-robot that he’s become today. But while these tangents sound interesting, they feel out of place in a franchise whose success has been based on larger-than-life characters and scenarios—removed from the real world—and playful camp value. We watched Bond because he was unlike anything we’d ever seen, unflappable to the extreme, and with skills beyond compare (the man has no need for keys, as far as I can tell). The action, the gadgets, and the ladies—oh, the ladies!—was all part of that fantasy. So, to try to ‘humanise’ Bond would have called for an extensive revision of these conventions, because otherwise, if we’re to think of him as a credible everyman, the rest of his posturing just seems, well, a bit silly, really. And that is precisely the problem with Skyfall; it is too attached to familiar Bond tropes, while also aiming for depth and emotional complexity—an ineffective mix, turns out.

I suppose it all comes down to relevance—something the film itself refers to. While Bond considers how equipped he is to deal with cyber-terrorists, this could also speak of the franchise’s own possible obsoleteness. Yes, there was a time when slick superspies with a taste for weapons, women, wine and witticisms might have seemed novel, and Bond certainly played a role in amping up the spy genre, but times have changed and grittier stories have emerged—the Bourne series, for instance—making Bond, still caught within that gun-barrel POV, feel very much stuck in the past.

Craig’s performance is restricted by a script that requires him to be agile, but not necessarily expressive. And his sexual chemistry with the ladies, a major element in Bond films (let’s leave the feminist diatribe against the Bond Girl concept for another time), is at its lowest here; both Harris and the exotic Bérénice Marlohe feel like perfunctory additions. But if there’s one reason to watch Skyfall, it’s for Javier Bardem’s stint as the menacing Silva, Bond’s bane of the day. Sporting blond hair, and playing a deranged maniac with homosexual inclinations, Bardem is fantastic, able to create a psychologically-layered entity that you at once despise and pity. The act almost matches the wondrous bad-fella he portrayed in No Country For Old Men, and his scenes—that initial monologue in particular—are mesmerising.

I can’t, obviously, speak as a fan, but Skyfall seems partly disloyal to the Bond phenomenon, while at the same time unable to fully invest itself in another direction—neither here nor there. The cinematography is beautiful, no doubt, and the animated introductory theme with Adele’s smoky serenading is a wonder on its own, but as far as plot goes, there isn’t enough spectacle or convincing emotional engagement. And with two more editions to come in 2014 and 2016, a dignified end seems anywhere but close.

Where do the 'Twilight' stars go from here?

ASSOCIATED PRESS

LOS ANGELES: Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson and Taylor Lautner have walked their last "Twilight" red carpet with the arrival this weekend of the series finale "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2." Now, they must step into careers of their own using the superstardom the multi-billion-dollar franchise has provided them.

Making that transition from a beloved film series with a fervent fan base can be tricky. Do you stick to the same kinds of roles that people came to love you for and maintain the safety of familiarity? Or do you veer drastically in the other direction to prove to the world that you have range - that you're so much more than just a mopey teenage girl or a hunky set of abs?

"Harry Potter" star Daniel Radcliffe, for example, has successfully made choices that showcase his versatility, from appearing on stage naked in a Broadway production of "Equus" to the gothic horror film "The Woman in Black." His "Harry Potter" co-star, Emma Watson, played a damaged party girl this year in "The Perks of Being a Wallflower," a character who couldn't have been more different from the fastidious Hermione Granger.

The three core "Twilight" stars have all struck while the iron was hot, making a variety of films in between the five "Twilight Saga" installments about high schooler Bella Swan and the vampire and werewolf who competed for her affections.

Stewart was the best known of the "Twilight" trio before being cast as Bella. She'd played Jodie Foster's daughter in the 2002 thriller "Panic Room" and a commune singer who befriends Emile Hirsch's character in Sean Penn's Oscar-nominated "Into the Wild" (2007).

Her choices between the "Twilight" movies have run the gamut, from playing a young Joan Jett in the 2010 biopic "The Runaways" to a fairy-tale warrior princess in this summer's "Snow White and the Huntsman." Next month, she'll appear in "On the Road," based on the iconic Jack Kerouac novel.

"Kristen seems to do a lot of indie movies. `Snow White and the Huntsman' is more of an outlier in terms of being a blockbuster," said blogger and "Twilight" expert Cleolinda Jones, author of the "Movies in 15 Minutes" series. "But it seems like she's got the kind of personality where she's got to do what she has to do ... she's not thinking in terms of career strategy."

Andrei Constantinescu of the Dallas-based Legacy Casting says he'd like to see Stewart mix it up even more.

"Her non-'Twilight' film choices are bold and different to a point, but her dark and broody acting style, similar to her real-life persona, is a bit played," said Constantinescu, whose work as an extras casting director includes the TNT series "Dallas." `'I'd love to see her in a romantic workplace comedy like `The Devil Wears Prada.'"

Pattinson has made some of the most daring and impressive choices of the three of them. Before being cast as the swoony vampire Edward Cullen, the lanky British actor appeared in another blockbuster franchise as Hogwarts student Cedric Diggory in 2005's "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire." In 2009, he played Salvador Dali in the barely seen "Little Ashes," and last year he starred opposite Reese Witherspoon in the circus romance "Water for Elephants" - although Associated Press reviewer David Germain wrote there was "barely a spark" between the two.

But Pattinson also has worked with the likes of David Cronenberg, starring this year in the acclaimed Canadian director's financial drama "Cosmopolis," which takes place almost entirely inside a limousine. And he'll soon work with Cronenberg again in "Maps to the Stars," and also begin shooting Werner Herzog's "Queen of the Desert."

Jones says Pattison has wisely chosen to parlay his "Twilight" fame to collaborate with serious directors and actors.

"He knows he has a certain box office appeal so the fangirls are going to see him no matter what he's in," she said. "People are willing to work with him the first time, they see all this potential he has, then they want to come back and work with him again."

Constantinescu echoed those thoughts: "He's the one to watch for additional films down the line," he said. "We are just scratching the surface with Robert."

Then there's Lautner, who was just 15 when he auditioned for the role of the sensitive, muscular werewolf Jacob Black. He'd appeared in a few films by then, including playing the title character of Sharkboy in 2005's "The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl in 3-D." In between the "Twilight" films, he stuck to lighter fare. He was part of the ensemble cast of 2010's "Valentine's Day" in a romantic subplot opposite Taylor Swift.

But Lautner's leading-man debut was last year's "Abduction," a title that naturally inspired plenty of puns about his famously toned frame. The thriller from director John Singleton found Lautner playing a high-school student who gets caught up in a web of intrigue. AP reviewer Jake Coyle wrote that Lautner "handles himself reasonably well" but the script was the film's "major deficiency."

Constantinescu says he doesn't expect Lautner will stray far from crowd-pleasing fare.

"He's very good at playing the young, muscular jock or hero," he said. "Similar to Kristen, I'd love to see roles that offer Taylor different objectives than to be the hero, take his shirt off and save the day. However, I'm not sure that the public would believe him as anything more than the borderline superhero he has become famous for."

Jones agreed: "He's not going to be in the next mumblecore indie movie," she said of Lautner. "I'm not sure where he goes with this after age 30. His current trajectory is kind of clear, but I don't know what happens when he grows out of his dimples."

Channing is People's sexiest man

AGENCIES

LONDON: Channing Tatum is taking home this year’s coveted title of People magazine’s Sexiest Man Alive. The Magic Mike star, who bared almost all of his incredibly chiselled body in the flick, was still modest when he heard the news. 

“My first thought was, ‘Y’all are messing with me’,” People magazine quoted him as saying. “I told (my wife) Jenna (Dewan-Tatum) after we’d been in the bathtub washing our dogs because they’d gotten skunked. She was like, ‘What?’ … she calls me (the Sexiest Man Alive) now,” he said. 

Once she got past the initial shock, Dewan-Tatum, 31, said that she couldn’t agree more with their choice. “People know him to be fun and sexy, but they don’t know how emotionally deep and spiritually open he is,” she said. “He is such an open-hearted person; what you see is what you get,” she added.

Lady Gaga tweets some racy images before concert

Its Lady Gaga and who else.........Lady Gaga’s tweets were getting a lot of attention ahead of her Buenos Aires concert Friday night.

The Grammy-winning entertainer has more than 30 million followers on Twitter and that's where she shared a link this week to a short video showing her doing a striptease and fooling around in a bathtub with two other women.

She told her followers that it's a "surprise for you, almost ready for you to TASTE."

Then, in between concerts in Brazil and Argentina, she posted a picture Thursday on her Twitter page showing her wallowing in her underwear and impossibly high heels on top of the remains of what appears to be a strawberry shortcake.

"The real CAKE isn't HAVING what you want, it's DOING what you want," she tweeted.

Lady Gaga wore decidedly unglamorous baggy jeans and a blouse outside her Buenos Aires hotel Thursday as three burly bodyguards kept her fans at bay. Another pre-concert media event where she was supposed to be given "guest of honor" status by the city government Friday afternoon was cancelled.

After Argentina, she is scheduled to perform in Santiago, Chile; Lima, Peru; and Asuncion, Paraguay, before taking her "Born This Way Ball" tour to Africa, Europe and North America.

Justin Bieber and Taylor Swift shines more in MTV Europe Music Awards 2012

Justin Bieber and Taylor Swift took home three awards each at MTV Europe Music Award 2012. Taylor Swift won for Best Female, Best Live and Best Look whereas Justin Bieber won for Best Male, Best Pop and Best World Stage.

The show was made more rocking with Psy's hit number Gangnam Style which won Best Video.

"This is beautiful. This is my very first time to participate, perform, be nominated, as an Asian artist, as a Korean artist, so I don't know what to say," he told journalists backstage.


He added that his next album would have more English songs on it.

Gangnam Style has been viewed more than 670 million times on YouTube and received a record-breaking 4.9 million "likes" on Facebook since being released in July.

MTV chose a circus theme for this year's awards at the 100-year-old Festhalle venue, and Rita Ora opened the show by belting out her No. 1 British hit "R.I.P." from a giant bird cage.

Despite being billed as the Europe Music Awards, the majority of nominees are traditionally North American, and 2012 is no exception.

Last year's awards in Belfast attracted 23 million viewers on all platforms, while this year's nominations attracted a record 184 million votes online and on mobile devices to decide the winners.

Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitts' kids on the movie

Most of the children are inspired from their parents. So they want to do exactly what their parents did. Same things happened for the Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitts' kids. Their children are following their footsteps and heading to a big screen.

Walt Disney Studios has confirmed that 4 years old Vivienne Jolie-Pitt will play the child version of Elle Fanning's Princess Aurora in the live-action movie Maleficent. They have also told that the A-list couple's other children 8 years old Pax and 7 years old Zahara will also appear in the fantasy flick. But Pax and Zahara have smaller parts and don't have any dialogues. Shiloh was supposed to be in it too but she was bored and not in the mood during the day her part was supposed to happen, so she ended not being in the film.Shiloh who is 6 has a brief role in Pitt's 2008 film The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.

Also Read the article on the Adele and the Bond theme Skyfall
 
Maleficent is a reimagining of the classic fairy tale Sleeping Beauty told from the villainess' perspective. The film also stars Juno Temple, Sam Riley, Brenton Thwaites, India Eisley, Miranda Richardson and Kenneth Cranham. It's slated for a March 2014 release.

Justin Bieber on Oprah show

Justin Bieber on Oprah show

Oprah Winfrey's show is listed as one of the most famous TV show. She used to interview the biggest name of the Hollywood. Now even Oprah Winfrey is eager to sit down with an international pop sensation Justin Bieber. As on Tuesday, October 23, Bieber hits concerts at All-State Arena in Rosemont. Oprah tweeted as "BELIEVE concert so impressive. Thanks for a SUPER FUN nite Can't wait to talk to you tomorrow!".
The next day Oprah met up with the 18 years old Justin Bieber at the Chicago's RL resturant to dish about all things Bieber for her show. To know more about Justin Bieber, just hit his Justin Beiber's website. Being on the busy schedule Bieber tweeted as "Me and @Oprah just swaggin it out," followed by, "Great interview with @Oprah . Now day 2 here in Chicago. #BELIEVEtour".
 To catch the interview, check out the episode when it premieres Sunday, November 25 at 9 p.m. ET/PT on OWN.  

Justin Drew Bieber ( born March 1, 1994)is a Canadian singer-songwriter, musician, producer, entrepreneur, investor, and actor. Bieber was discovered in 2008 by American talent manager Scooter Braun, who came across Bieber's videos on YouTube and later became his manager. Braun arranged for him to meet with entertainer Usher Raymond in Atlanta, Georgia, and Bieber was signed to Raymond Braun Media Group (RBMG),and then to an Island Records recording contract offered by record executive L.A. Reid. His debut extended play, the seven-track My World, was released in November 2009, and was certified platinum in the United States. He became the first artist to have seven songs from a debut record to chart on the Billboard Hot 100.
Bieber's first full-length studio album My World 2.0, was released in March 2010. It debuted at or near number-one in several countries and was certified platinum in the United States. It was preceded by the worldwide top-ten single "Baby". He followed up the release of his debut album with his first headlining tour, the My World Tour, the remix albums My Worlds Acoustic and Never Say Never – The Remixes, and the 3D biopic-concert film Justin Bieber: Never Say Never. Bieber released his second studio album Under the Mistletoe, in November 2011, when it debuted at number-one on the Billboard 200. Bieber released his third studio album Believe, in June 2012, and it became his fourth chart topper in the United States, debuting at number-one on the Billboard 200. Justin Bieber has received numerous awards, including Artist of the Year at the 2010 American Music Awards, and was nominated for Best New Artist and Best Pop Vocal Album at the 53rd Grammy Awards. With a global fan base, termed as "Beliebers", and over 27 million followers on Twitter, he was named by Forbes Magazine in 2012 as the third most powerful celebrity in the world. He had earned an estimated US$55 million in the previous 12 months. As of May 2012, Bieber has sold 15 million albums. Justin Bieber along with Taylor Swift won top honours at the Teen Choice Awards on July 22, 2012.

Kristen Stewart and her life

Kristen Jaymes Stewart or Kristen Stewart was born in 9th of April, 1990. She is an American actress. She is best known for playing Bella Swan in The Twilight Saga. She has starred in other films, including Panic Room (2002), Zathura (2005), In the Land of Women (2007), The Messengers (2007), Adventureland (2009), The Runaways (2010), and Snow White and the Huntsman (2012). She will star in upcoming films in 2012: On the Road and The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2.

See the website of Kristen Stewart

Though the most famous role for Bella in Twilight saga, Kristen Stewart has been a working actor since her years in Los Angeles, California. Her parents, John Stewart and Jules Stewart, both work in film and television. Her mother is Australian. After a talent scout caught her grade school performance in a Christmas play at the age of eight, she appeared on television in a few small roles. Her first significant role came when she was cast as Sam Jennings in The Safety of Objects (2001). Soon after that, she starred alongside Jodie Foster in the hit drama, Panic Room (2002) and was nominated for a Young Artist Award. Praised for her Panic Room performance, she went on to join the cast of Cold Creek Manor (2003) as the daughter of Dennis Quaid and Sharon Stone. Though the film did not do well at the box office, she received another nomination for a Young Artist Award. After appearing in a handful of movies and a Showtime movie called Speak (2004), Stewart was cast in the role of a teenage singer living in a commune in Sean Penn's Into the Wild (2007), a critically acclaimed biopic. A third Young Artist Award nomination resulted in a win for this role. She also appeared in Mary Stuart Masterson's The Cake Eaters (2007) that same year. Just 18, Stewart took on the starring role in Twilight (2008/I) opposite Robert Pattinson who plays the vampire lead, Edward Cullen. Based on a series of the same name written by Stephenie Meyer, the novel already had a huge following and the film opened to fans anxious to see the vampire romance brought to life. Awarded the MTV Movie Award for Best Female Performance, Stewart's turn as Bella continued in the sequels The Twilight Saga: New Moon (2009) and The Twilight Saga: Eclipse (2010). The final installments of the series start filming in late 2010. NOw one of her most awaited film is The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn-part 2 is going to be released on 16 november 2012. See its website
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