Queen Latifah performed 'America the Beautiful' before Underwood's rendition of 'The Star-Spangled Banner.' By Kyle Anderson
Carrie Underwood excels no matter what the context. Fresh off her headline-grabbing contribution to the Michael Jackson tribute at this year's Grammy Awards (where she adroitly weaved her way through Jackson's "Earth Song"), Underwood took the microphone in front of a sold-out Sun Life Stadium in Miami to deliver a killer rendition of "The Star-Spangled Banner" before the kickoff to Super Bowl XLIV.
Before Underwood performed, Queen Latifah sang "America the Beautiful" flanked by a children's choir. Latifah broke it down during the tune's finale for a jazz-inflected, gospel-tinged capper.
Then it was time for Underwood. Following the presentation of the colors, the "American Idol" alum took the stage wearing a white jumpsuit accented with silver chains and a silver belt. During her performance, the broadcast cut to scenes of soldiers in Kabul, Afghanistan, standing at attention. At the song's climax, the crowd was treated to fireworks and — in a Super Bowl tradition — a flyover by a quartet of fighter jets. Players, coaches and fans were visibly moved by Underwood's stellar performance.
The singer is the latest in a long line of blockbuster stars who've started the Super Bowl with the national anthem. At last year's game, fellow "American Idol" contestant Jennifer Hudson performed the song before the Pittsburgh Steelers defeated the Arizona Cardinals. Other recent notable "Star-Spangled Banner" crooners include Jordin Sparks (another "Idol" alum), Billy Joel, Alicia Keys, Beyoncé and Mariah Carey.
Underwood also joins a number of musical guests at this year's face-off between the Indianapolis Colts and the New Orleans Saints. The Who will take the stage for the annual half-time show, where they will showcase some of their greatest hits, including "Who Are You," "Baba O'Riley" and "Won't Get Fooled Again." On Saturday night, fans were treated to Super Saturday performances from Barenaked Ladies, O.A.R. and Robert Randolph. And the weekend got started on the right note with the 2010 version of VH1's "Super Bowl Fan Jam," which provided performances by Rihanna, Young Jeezy, Timbaland and Justin Bieber.
'Twilight' star's photo reportedly gets court security guards in trouble. By Jocelyn Vena
Earlier this week, "Twilight" star Kristen Stewart was on jury duty, and now details about the case she sat on are emerging. Stewart was reportedly a member of a Los Angeles County jury that was deciding the fate of a man accused of trying to solicit a prostitute.
According to TMZ, Stewart sat on a three-day trial; the defendant was found not guilty of trying to pay an undercover police officer for sex. The man pleaded not guilty, with his defense attorney arguing that since he does not speak English very well, he didn't understand the situation he was in with the undercover cop and was therefore innocent.
TMZ further reported that when the trial was over, Stewart asked to keep her juror badge and was allowed to. However, a security guard who posed for a photo with the actress at the courthouse earlier this week may be in hot water for snapping a shot of Stewart, according to E! Online.
The security guard reportedly asked to take a photo with Stewart, who did so. The photo was then posted online by the guard's friend's wife before it was quickly picked up by various media outlets and made public. Now it seems that the people involved may have violated some rules and may lose their jobs for taking a picture with the actress.
"Cancelled because unfortunately the photo that went up from Kristen in court was stolen and put on several blogs and got to the media and reached the ears of the court," the wife wrote online. "Right now my husband and the security guard are in trouble for it having gone up and second because it is confidential when celebrities are in court. Now I feel bad. ... I am really scared, because I think it is possible that they could lose their jobs."
Monjack insists that Murphy was 'not that ill' on the day she died. By Larry Carroll
On Thursday morning, Brittany Murphy's family, friends and fans got some degree of closure as they learned the reasons behind her shocking death on December 20. Now her husband is reacting to the coroner's belief that Murphy's death could have been prevented — and speaking out about the tragedy that left him "ridiculously upset."
"Everything [surprised me and Brittany's mom about the report]," screenwriter Simon Monjack told People magazine. "I expected [the cause of death] to be her heart."
Nearly eight weeks after her death, the Los Angeles County Coroner's office released the results of its investigation Thursday morning, ruling that the "Sin City" actress had died of pneumonia complicated by an iron deficiency, anemia and multiple drug intoxication. The death was ruled an accident.
Insisting that Murphy was "not that ill" the day she died, her husband told the magazine that everything seemed normal. "She wasn't coughing up. I've had pneumonia and coughed up handfuls of spittle. So yeah, everything surprised us, everything."
Commenting on the coroner's assertion that Murphy's death might have been avoided if she'd only gone to see a doctor, Monjack refused to speculate. "I don't know what he said so I don't want to comment on what I haven't seen," he explained, adding that as far as he was concerned it was "case closed" on his wife.
"As the coroner said," he explained, "there's no foul play."
Some have expressed a belief that Monjack himself should be investigated for Murphy's death, but the coroner quickly dismissed any such talk. "He was never considered a suspect," coroner's Assistant Chief Ed Winter told the magazine. "No one's criminally liable here, because this has been ruled an accident."
'It gets a bad rap ... it's a good city,' Jessica Biel says of the setting of the romantic comedy. By Jocelyn Vena, with reporting by Ryan J. Downey
While quite a few romantic comedies feature scenes of people falling in and out of love in the hustle and bustle of the Big Apple, there aren't as many that take place in Los Angeles. But Garry Marshall's latest rom-com "Valentine's Day" focuses on the romantic dalliances of L.A.'s most lovestruck inhabitants.
"We needed that. This is a city that takes a lot of abuse — and New York, they have some great romantic comedies, and it's nice to have one from a guy that loves L.A.," George Lopez said about the flick, opening Friday. "It's good when you see it."
Like Lopez, Jessica Biel agrees that L.A. has definitely been underrepresented in the rom-com community for too long. "It is a great city," she said. "It gets a bad rap — a bad rap for sure. It's a good city."
Jamie Foxx thinks the city's quirks make it the perfect place to stage a movie about falling in love on the most romantic day of the year. "[L.A. has] so many nooks and crannies and it's so interesting how you find romance," he said.
Topher Grace noted that the L.A. in the film is not "Hollywood L.A.," and Anne Hathaway explained that another Marshall flick shaped her ideas of L.A. "One of my favorite movies growing up was 'Pretty Woman' and I remember when I first came out here — that and 'Clueless' [made me think] it's going to be just like that and I like that this movie is like this."
'Twilight' star will stretch his limbs for new franchise role. By Josh Wigler
Team Jacob has reason to celebrate: "Twilight" star Taylor Lautner has signed on to star in "Stretch Armstrong," based on the action figure from Hasbro.
The Hollywood Reporter announced Lautner's commitment to "Armstrong," Universal's upcoming 3-D adaptation of the Hasbro toy property slated for release at some point in 2012. The film was initially scheduled for May 15, 2011, before Lautner's involvement.
"Stretch Armstrong" focuses on an uptight spy who inadvertently exposes himself to a formula that allows him to physically stretch his body to great lengths. With his newfound ability, the spy is forced to not only re-adjust to everyday life, but also to rethink his own crime-fighting tactics.
"In the past two years, Taylor has emerged as a real star at the global box office," Universal co-chairman Donna Langley told THR. "He brings the perfect balance of energy and athleticism to the role of an unlikely superhero with a fantastic superpower."
Interestingly enough, "Stretch Armstrong" isn't the only action-hero franchise Lautner has been linked to in recent months. Following the actor's contagious success as Jacob the werewolf in the "Twilight" franchise, it was announced that Lautner was in talks to headline "Max Steel" for Paramount. He has also signed on to star in "Cancun," an action film that thrusts the young star into the role of an out-of-place college student who has to free his friends and girlfriend while vacationing in Cancun.
With his three upcoming roles, it's clear Lautner is being positioned as an action star for a new generation of young moviegoers.
Amanda Seyfried and Tatum Channing in a valley of tears.
"Dear John" is a movie that tells all you need to know right in the title: soldier boy meets perfect girl; they bond, kiss, irritate a jealous suitor; boy ships out for combat, girl pines at home; love letters criss-cross the sea in torrents; she suddenly stops writing; months pass; then he receives ... one last letter. I'm afraid the boy's name is in fact John.
The most interesting thing about this picture — the thing that might make it work for a viewer in a certain woozy frame of mind — is the deadpan sincerity that director Lasse Hallström brings to the material. He doesn't see the story as a shop-worn anachronism (it's set in 2001, but it feels like 1944), and he doesn't milk it for heart-wringing sentiment (the plot does all the milking on its own). He plays it straight, and invites us to sniffle along if we want. There's something kind of admirable about this, I guess, in a going-down-with-the-ship sort of way.
Channing Tatum, whose formidable studliness seems unencumbered by any knack for emotional projection, plays John Tyree, a Special Forces sergeant home on leave to visit his morose father (the always solid Richard Jenkins). Amanda Seyfried, a more engaging performer than Tatum, plays Savannah Curtis, a college student who has also come home, on spring break in her case, to visit her wealthy parents. Savannah loves horses and helping the unfortunate, and she's thinking of changing her major to special education so she can open up a riding school for autistic children. I wouldn't lie to you about this. Savannah and John meet when her purse drops off a pier and he dives into the water below to retrieve it. Sooner than you might imagine, or certainly believe, they fall madly in love. But then they must part, she to return to school, he to combat duty. Before long we see him with his unit, patrolling around in dusty, sun-baked ... Afghanistan? Someplace with a lot of Arabs, anyway.
The letters begin. She's prone to write things like, "Two weeks together, that's all it took — two weeks to fall in love with you." He gives forth with, "I miss you so much it hurts." I won't go on, although they do, God. Then 9/11 happens. In a surge of patriotism, the other soldiers in John's squad immediately volunteer to reenlist for two years. John doesn't, at first, but then he does, for reasons that are unclear to us and even to him, apparently. Back in the States, Savannah isn't happy to hear about this decision; and since we know that one of her hometown neighbors is a lovelorn single dad (Henry Thomas) with a cute autistic son, we begin to get just the faintest inkling of what will happen next.
"Dear John" is based on a novel by Nicholas Sparks, whose work has enabled such previous weepies as "The Notebook" and "Message in a Bottle." Although I won't be reading this particular book in this particular lifetime, I presume it's Sparks who cooked up the strained subplot about the collecting of rare coins, which allows John to establish his age by saying, "I was minted in 1980." The book was a best-seller, but who is the audience for this movie? I can't imagine many men who could witness its goopy trailer without rearing back in horror. And one woman I know who saw the film insists that it is not a chick flick. (She was put off by the scene in which John determines Savannah's suitability as a girlfriend by making sure she doesn't smoke, drink or "sleep around.") But if it's not a movie for women, and certainly not for men, that leaves, what, jaded projectionists? Developmentally challenged children? Horses?
Writer/director discussed the possibility of a follow-up to the highest-grossing domestic film of all time on 'Larry King Live.' By Eric Ditzian
On the same day that "Avatar" was officially announced as the highest-grossing domestic film of all time ($601 million at the box office and counting), writer/director James Cameron appeared on "Larry King Live" to talk all things blue and alien, as well as a tiny bit about the sequel that we all know by now is going to happen.
"[W]e have had some technical discussions of how we would do it," Cameron said on Wednesday's program.
That vaguely worded statement might jibe with rumors circulating on the Web that technical crew for an "Avatar" sequel are already being hired. One might have hoped for King to follow up with a probing question or three, but the CNN host seemed content to move on. Sit-down interviews with Cameron are hard to come by these days (unless you're Oprah), so King's interview represented a significant missed opportunity to reveal breaking news. Instead, King spent his time rehashing the cinematic past, talking B.O. numbers and giggling over a mockup of himself as a blue Na'vi alien.
What else was there to discuss? Well, we know from actor Joel David Moore that the cast have been involved in discussions about a sequel. And we know from producer Jon Landau that the pressure's on to jump right back into a sequel rather than start a different project. And we know Cameron has a pretty good idea of where the next story will go.
All or any of this information would have provided the basis for a compelling line of questioning, but it was not to be. Oh, Larry, what could have been! For now we'll have to wait, both for word from Cameron's Fox overlords and for the man who's made the top two highest-grossing films ever to get to work. "I have a trilogy-scaled arc of story right now, but I haven't really put any serious work into writing a script," Cameron told us in December.
'At first I thought it was a joke,' MC says of incident he claims was an attempt on his life. By Shaheem Reid, with additional reporting by FLX Derte
After being shot at an Atlanta car wash and hospitalized on the morning of January 19, Atlanta rapper Waka Flocka Flame was released and returned to his home on Sunday. MTV News spoke with the MC on Tuesday in his first sit-down interview since the incident.
The New York-born MC (real name: Juaquin Malphurs) was shot in the arm in what he said was an attempt on his life, not a random burglary as police initially said.
As he sat in his home outside Atlanta on Tuesday, Flocka seemed to be coming to grips with the ramifications of the incident, but also inserted humor into the conversation.
"How I feel?" he responded when asked, taking a long pause to find his words. "I probably feel like this is like my first day of school. You know how you go to school and you're insecure about your clothes? I'm insecure about how a person will take [the story of] what happened — the truth. I'm excited, though. I'm trying to get right but the arm and back is killing me. The [prescribed] pills ain't working right."
Flocka said that on the night before his shooting, he enjoyed a night out, performing at a local club and partying with DJs Drama and Holiday.
He said he chose to check into a hotel rather than drive home. The following morning, he intended to get an oil change for his car but wanted it washed first. The shooting took place at the Bubble Bath car wash.
Waka admitted not being very cognizant of his surroundings at the time. He first called his mother and manager, Debra Antney, who also manages Gucci Mane, Nicki Minaj and OJ Da Juiceman through her Mizay Entertainment business — and then made another call. Flame put his phone down and turned to talk to his friend B.C., who was in the passenger seat. With his window rolled down and his head turned, Flocka said a man ran up to the car and stuck what looked like a Glock 19 handgun in his face.
"I [was] like, 'Good night.' I ain't know what to do," he recalled. "At first I thought it was a joke — I thought it was one of my friends playing, like, 'Boy, you slippin'.' Then [the gunman] said, 'Boy, you already know what it is. You slipped.' I was like, damn!"
Immediately, the rapper started thinking of ways to escape the predicament.
"I had three alternatives," he said. "Back [the car] up. I thought, 'He would probably shoot me in my face. I ain't trying to go out.' I'd rather fight for my life, get shot fighting. Or I could hit him with the car on some crazy Tom Cruise-type stuff. He probably would have shot my partner, then shot the car.
"I'm thinking like, 'I don't feel like paying for this car's damage. I ain't got time for that,' " he added with a smile. "A third alternative was my jewelry: Why not hand him my jewelry and try to get out of the car so I could have some defense. I had a ring on, a watch, my chain on and my bracelet. I took my ring and was like, 'You can get it, man.' I started getting the quick stuff off, making him feel like he's the winner. So I took my ring off, took my bracelet off, gave it to him, took my chain off slow."
Waka recalled that when he started to pretend he was having trouble taking off his chain and watch, the assailant let his guard down and allowed him to get out of the car. The last item to come off was a Breitling watch. Waka hung the watch on his fingertip and when the gunman reached for it, the MC grappled with him and reached for the firearm.
When he leapt forward, the assailant shot him. The bullet hit Flocka's right arm and traveled into his torso. Pain coursed through the right side of his body.
"He took off. I wanted to chase him so bad," Flocka told. "It's like taking your pride, your dignity, but it's nothing I could do. My friend, mind you, I don't know what he was thinking. I wish he would have got out and fought with me. But sh--, it's over with."
The police have not announced a suspect in the shooting.
Fearless fans put the haters on the defensive. By MTV News staff
The Taylor Swift haters may have been out in force after MTV News published our "Why You Shouldn't Hate On Taylor Swift" article in response to what appears to be a budding backlash against the singer, but her fans rallied to her side on Wednesday (February 3). That's not to say there weren't negative comments in our article on the original round of comments, but the haters were on the defensive.
Below are some of the most interesting comments, lightly edited for grammar and content, and please note that the opinions expressed therein are those of the commenters, not MTV News. But don't think the debate has to end here. If you want to have your voice heard, sound off in the comments below. Let the debate go on!
And with that, we turn the floor over to you:
"Taylor is amazing and she does sing very well. I have seen her live three times and she has been awesome!!!! So she was a little off at the Grammys, but her Fearless CD DESERVED Album of the Year! It was the biggest-selling CD of 2009 and she was rewarded for that and her great songwriting!!!!!!!" (Flower)
"Um ... let me defend my case. People, go look at her 'SNL,' VMA, and CMA performances. Notice she can't hold a key. It wasn't till now that people saw how much she stunk, how pathetic. I knew this right from the beginning. When it comes to album of the year, [Lady Gaga's] The Fame was a work of art. I dont understand why Taylor deserved it, I was hoping for Kanye to pop out and be like 'Yo Taylor, I'mma let you finish but Lady Gaga had the best album of all time.' " (Jhonny)
"I have also seen Taylor three times in concert and the fourth will be at Gillette Stadium. I love her concerts and the performances she gives are awesome. I will go to all her performances in my area and I love her voice, I love her singing. I have all her CDs/DVDs and as for the bashers, it's just like you said in the article: They hide behind there computers and say the nasty and hateful things and don't have to be accountable for their abusive behavior." (Tommy)
" 'If she couldn't sing, then why would she be winning Grammys and CMA Awards, which are both voted on by professional musicians?' And by professional musicians, you mean Randy Jackson's personal assistant and Twitter followers, right? Whatever. Lady Gaga should have won that. Her songs are EVERYWHERE and appeal to a more broad audience. Taylor Swift is too tween, and her live vocals are reedy and weak AT BEST. Also, am I the only one who thinks every single song she puts out sounds EXACTLY the same? She is a talented songwriter, but so is Lady Gaga ... and her album deserved that so much more." (MsMandee)
"You may think Swift is a bad live performer. And you may feel that Swift hasn't brought a unique style, personality or energy to the industry. But that's all irrelevant here. She did not win'Performer of the Year' or 'Artist of the Year' or 'Singer of the Year' or 'Person of the Year.' She won Album of the Year. People should be criticizing that album and its shortcomings, not looking at Swift and her shortcoming. Anything outside the recordings on that 13-track album is irrelevant. Who cares if she can or can't perform those songs live? Who cares about Swift's personality or image? That's not what the award was for. The award was for the album — which was a first-rate record." (Brad)
"Team Kanye West! He was right all along, and most people know it in their hearts. Taylor did not deserve the VMA over Beyoncé, and she didn't deserve the Grammys either. Note to Taylor: learn how to sing on-key, or get off the stage!" (TSharky)
"TAYLOR SWIFT WON ... no one can change that. And for the people saying she can't sing ... SOMEONE or 5-million-plus people in the U.S.A. disagree because they all bought her album ... that is not including worldwide sales. I mean, none of the other artists had their album on two different charts at #1 on numerous occasions. Don't get me wrong, I loved the other four artists in the category and I own all 5 CDs, however the other combined sales barely outsold Fearless, which in the world of the Grammys means she deserves to WIN!" (Linz_3210)
As a Best Actress and Worst Actress nominee, Bullock continues on a divergent career path. By Larry Carroll
For seven long years, she was the girl in that failed movie/ TV show that you vaguely recognized. In 1994, she took the bus ride from hell with Keanu Reeves and became America's new sweetheart. Now, after a decade and a half as the A-list star of various chick-flick hits, Sandra Bullock has begun a new stage of her career: Oscar nominee.
Oddly enough, Bullock's sweet success was made bitter by another distinction: a Razzie nomination for Worst Actress. Being simultaneously nominated as the best and worst at your job is something truly rare. Yet, for Bullock, such a dichotomy seems oddly appropriate.
"I could not begin to tell you about the plot of the movie, because we'd be here for one hour and 35 minutes. I literally can't. Next question," Bullock said at the premiere for "All About Steve," the film behind her Razzie noms. "It's not complicated, but if you had to summarize your life in one little sentence for the media, could you do it?"
It certainly would be hard to briefly summarize Bullock's life. Born to a German opera singer and her voice coach, Bullock's maternal grandfather was a rocket scientist and the family moved frequently all over Europe and the U.S. A high school cheerleader who quit college only three credits short of graduating, she moved to Manhattan and worked as a coat checker to support herself. After starting out in junk like the TV movie "Bionic Showdown: The Six Million Dollar Man and the Bionic Woman" and the short-lived TV adaptation of "Working Girl," she broke through in 1994's "Speed." (That's three sentences — we cheated.)
"The worst thing that ever happened [after I became famous] was I was in a toilet stall at a club, and a camera came in underneath," Bullock told us once of the downside of becoming a household name. "[It was] a still camera. I think I got everything covered pretty much, but you just go, 'Oh my God, do you think I won't just swing this stall door open and clock you one?' But first, you have to pull the pants up, and it could get to be messy. That's when you realize there are boundaries that will be crossed.
"Now I'm prepared for [fame], and I don't use stalls anymore," Bullock explained. "I hold it."
That fame is only going to soar further now that, at age 45, she pulled off the back-to-back hits "The Proposal" and "The Blind Side," the latter of which earned her a Best Actress Oscar nomination as outspoken football mom Leigh Anne Tuohy. But despite her hugely successful year, the dichotomy of her Oscar/Razzie noms reminds fans that for every "Blind Side" she has an "All About Steve," for every "Speed" there's been a "Speed 2: Cruise Control," and for every "Miss Congeniality" her fans have had to sit through a "Two if by Sea."
Much like such stars as Bruce Willis, Jim Carrey and Dennis Quaid, all her decades of hits had never translated into an Oscar nomination — until now. There have been some apparent Oscar-bait movies ("28 Days," "Crash," "Infamous"), but according to Bullock, she wasn't even aiming for awards when she relented and agreed to be in "The Blind Side."
"I'd always assumed that the road to Oscar was planned. I thought people chose projects that were considered 'Oscar-worthy,' " Bullock said after learning about her nomination. "No one wanted to make this film. I didn't want to make this film for the better part of the year. Everyone is as blindsided — can I say that? — as I am."
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