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aziz ansari tapped to host ’2010 mtv movie awards’

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Aziz Ansari, one of the hottest stand-up comedians in the industry, has landed his biggest gig to date: hosting the 2010 MTV Movie Awards.  The show will be held on June 6 at the Gibson Amphitheatre in Universal City.

Aside from his stand-up career and role in Knocked Up, you might know Ansari from his role as Tom on Parks and Recreation.

Not to look too far ahead and predict the MTV Movie Awards (because, as we all know, it’s one of the many award shows that don’t matter), but there’s an excellent chance The Twilight Saga once again sweeps all of the show’s major awards.  It did so at last year’s award show, which Andy Samberg hosted.

As Ansari’s negotiations with MTV to host the Movie Awards neared their conclusion, the comedian watched Twilight and New Moon and posted some thoughts on Twitter.   One Tweet included…

“Never thought I’d see a dude pull up in a Subaru Forrester with such authority. … #TwilightAziz“

I think he’ll do just fine if he pokes harmless fun at New Moon and its actors like he did in the #TwilightAziz set of tweets.  It will make the show much more watchable than last year, even though it’s obvious who’s going to win all the major awards.

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This post was written by Eric Van Dril.  For more of his writing, visit RipcordNews.com.

Book Talk: What’s better than books? Movies?

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Better than books?

We all have at least someone in our life who does not like to read. Whether it’s a friend, spouse, parent or sibling. It just can’t be helped. Not everyone embraces the euphoria that reading offers. While I don’t understand how people survive on a day-to-day basis without reading, I certainly don’t want alienate all non-readers and shut them out of my life. So here is the conundrum: Given that I love to read and like to discuss books, how can I incorporate my non-reader friends into my life and conversations? Answer: Movies.

Everyone likes movies. And so many books are eventually made into movies. So I figure, the non-readers in my life can see the movie. I’ll read the book. Then we’ll chat. In order to make this work, the trick is to find movies that adhere to the book as much as possible and really do the book justice. Because, let’s face it, some movies made from books are absolutely horrible when compared to the book and some are so different from the book that “based on the book” is hardly an apt characterization.

To aid readers and non-readers alike, I put together a list of my top 10 book and movie combos. These are simply books I thought were good and were adapted into movies equally as good or better. “The Soloist” by Steve Lopez is released on film April 24. So if you read fast, you can put my plan into action.

- NATALIE

“To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee
Atticus Finch is without a doubt one of my favorite characters in any book ever written. Gregory Peck, who portrays Atticus in the movie, is amazing.

 

 

 

“Twilight” by Stephenie Meyer
If you don’t know about this book and movie you’ve been living under a rock, and there is nothing I can do to help you.

 

 

 

 

“The Devil Wears Prada” by Lauren Weisberger
I know. I know. Not exactly a literary classic, but the book was entertaining, as was the movie.

 

 

 

 

“Count of Monte Cristo” by Alexandre Dumas
This is not an easy read but well worth the effort. The movie, released in 2002, leaves out some important parts (which is not surprising given the length of the book) but adheres to the major plot points.

 

 

 

“The Other Boleyn Girl” by Philippa Gregory
The book was saucy and scandalous to say the least and the movie starring, Scarlett Johansson, Natalie Portman and Eric Bana, is equally saucy and scandalous.

 

 

 

“Pride and Prejudice” by Jane Austen
The most recent movie version was released in 2005, but I recommend the British Broadcasting Corp. made for TV version starring Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy.

 

 

 

“Absolute Power” by David Baldacci
The book is action packed. As for the movie, can you really go wrong with Clint Eastwood and Ed Harris?

 

 

 

 

“House of Sand and Fog” by Andre Dubus
Both the movie and the book are absolutely beautiful and depressing.

 

 

 

 

“Little Children” by Tom Perrota
The movie was released in 2006 and stars Kate Winslet. There are a number of glaring differences between the book and the movie (for example, the endings are completely different) but both were so good I had to include “Little Children” on my list.

 

 

 

“A Civil Action” by Jonathan Harr
The fact that I am an attorney may make me a little biased, but I thought both the book and the movie were compelling dramas.

vanessa hudgens won’t join new moon

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Sorry Twilight and High School Musical fans, but those rumors about Vanessa Hudgens joining New Moon seem to be false.

I know, I know.  It would have brilliant synergy between the two budding franchises, and would have kept Hudgens very much relevant in the minds of America’s youth.  But Hudgens people are denying the claims.

“I don’t know anything about the audition,” Hudgens representative told ecanadanow.com. “As far as I know, it’s just a rumour.”

That’s too bad really, because I think she would fit in perfectly in New Moon. I don’t know what character she would play, but I think Hudgens presence alone would usher many new people to go see New Moon and buy the books, perfume, action figures and everything else that the Twilight franchise has to offer.

What do you think?

update: twilight’s taylor lautner

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Two days ago, we wrote about breaking Twilight news where Taylor Lautner, who many speculated wouldn’t be back because of the significant physical work Lautner had to do for his role inNew Moon.

Well, Lautner was given a vote of confidence by Stephanie Meyer and the rest of the Twilight-series producers because of the hard work he has been putting in to prepare for the Twilight sequel.

Lautner premiered his new physique for the first time yesterday, and it looks like he’s a frequent visitor to GNC. Here’s a link to the picture, if you’re interested.

twilight news: taylor lautner is back as jacob black

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Somewhat shocking Twilight news broke today: Taylor Lautner, who plays Jacob Black, will return for New Moon after showing Stephanie Meyer and the rest of the film makers that he is dedicated to the part.  Specifically, Lautner is in the early stages of putting on a lot of weight for the sequel.

“The characters in Stephenie’s books go through extraordinary changes of circumstance and also appearance; so it is not surprising that there has been speculation about whether the same actor would portray a character who changes in so many surprising ways throughout the series,” director Chris Weitz wrote on Meyer’s website.

There was indeed a great deal of speculation amongst the Twilight fan base about Lautner’s dedication to the role.  But Stephanie Meyer is pleased, and it seems like what she says, goes.

“I’d just like to add that I was very much a part of this decision,” Meyer said. “My first priority was always what was best for New Moon - what was going to give us the best possible movie. I’m truly thrilled that Taylor was the one who proved to the director, to Summit, and to me that he is the best possible Jacob we could have.”

get your twilight perfume for, well, a lot

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Hey kids.

Ever wonder what Bella Swan smells like?

Me too.  I personally picture Bella’s scent as a mixture of diapers and Cinnamon scented candles.  But it seems that I’ve been proven wrong.

If you do wonder what Swan smells like – and would like to smell the same – head on over to Hot Topic.  The online story is peddling the newly-licensed Twilight perfume.  It doesn’t smell like I thought.  Much worse actually.

The perfume, which comes in a red apple-shaped bottle, smells like a mixture of lavender and freesia.

Gross.  And $48 bones for a 2.7 ounce bottle?

I’ll stay natural, thank you very much.  But if you want to smell like Bella smells (or, at least, what the heads of the Twilight picture her smelling like), then get your parent’s credit cards out and go to town.  With their permission of course.

Natalie talks about … books Baby!

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I recently finished reading four books by Stephenie Meyer — “Twilight,” “New Moon,” “Eclipse” and “Breaking Dawn” — commonly referred to as the “Twilight” series. When I first decided to read the “Twilight” series, I was perfectly comfortable with my decision. I was completely unashamed of the fact that I looked forward to getting home from work at night to learn what would happen in the lives of Bella (a teenage girl), Edward (her vampire boyfriend) and Jacob (her werewolf best friend). 

Like I said, at first, I was totally unashamed.

Then, as I was heading home from work one day, “Breaking Dawn” in hand, eager to find out what would happen next, I passed a young girl about twelve years old exiting a middle school and lo and behold, she was carrying the same book. Part of me wanted to yell out to her “Hey, I’m reading ‘Breaking Dawn’ too. How COOL!”

Another part of me wanted to run home and grab the first literary classic I saw and start reading. So I did. 

I reached for “Wuthering Heights” by Emily Bronte. “Wuthering Heights,” first published in 1847, is essentially the tale of a doomed love affair between Catherine Earnshaw and a man named Heathcliff. Many people love “Wuthering Heights’”and consider it the best of the Bronte sisters’ (Charlotte, Anne and Emily) novels. In fact, “Wuthering Heights” was one of Bella’s (the main character in the “Twilight” series) favorite books. Bella often quoted portions of “Wuthering Heights” and compared her love for Edward (her vampire boyfriend) to Catherine’s love for Heathcliff.

After much deliberation, I have decided to take a stand on behalf of closet “Twilight” readers everywhere and admit that I enjoyed the series much more than “Wuthering Heights.” I did not relate to Emily Bronte’s characters and the story did not make me want to run home to find out whether Catherine would come to her senses and marry Heathcliff. 

I was more interested in the story of Bella and her vampire boyfriend. In fact, “Wuthering Heights” just made me mad. I understand and appreciate that it is a classic but unlike “Persuasion” by Jane Austen (which was WONDERFUL), “Wuthering Heights” is not a classic I would recommend.  

I would however recommend the “Twilight series.” If you are looking for a fun read that will most certainly take your mind off the often too serious adult world we live in, the  “Twilight” series is perfect. What could be better than a tale of teenage angst mixed with vampires, werewolves and the occasional battle of the underworlds? But make sure to start with book one, ‘Twilight,’ as each book builds off the previous.

– Natalie

four christmases makes nearly $50 million

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Four Christmases took in an impressive $46.7 million this weekend, in an amount that can be equated to the Thanksgiving holiday (coupled with black Friday) and the fact that schools were out because of that holiday.

With its’ performance over the weekend, Christmases became the third highest grossing film to open over the Thanksgiving holiday.  Toy Story 2 debuted to $80.1 million, and last year’s Enchanted opened to $49.1 million.

The team of Reese Witherspoon and Vince Vaughn easily defeated competition from Twilight, Bolt, Quantum of Solace and Australia.  Those four films, respectively, took in $39.5 million, $36 million, $28.1 million and $20 million over the five-day gross period.

The most interesting performance from this weekend wasn’t in the top-five. 

Milk, Gus Van Sant’s film starring Sean Penn, pulled in $1.9 million in just 36 theaters.  Milk, at the moment, is one of the favorites for the Best Picture Oscar.

On a personal note, I saw Role Models last night, and it was one of the most enjoyable movie-going experiences I’ve had in a while.  I highly recommend it, unless you have young kids (like one couple had last night), then you might want to protect them from the movie’s foul language and actions.

Did you see any of these films over the weekend?  What did you think about them?

twilight fever sweeps hollywood too

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Twilight easily became the biggest movie of this weekend, raking in a projected $70.6 million.  This trounced the pre-weekend projections, which had the filmmaking $50-$60 million.

And the Hollywood youth, much like the youth across the rest of the country, is also in love with the film.  Especially its main character.

“I told my boyfriend, I was like, ‘Edward Cullen… I mean, find me a vampire, you might be done…!’” Hilary Duff recently told WENN. “He’s handsome.”

There are thousands of stories like this among girls Duff’s age and younger, and one shouldn’t be surprised to see Twilight make $40 million in the coming week because of the re-watchable factor that movies like Titanic and The Dark Knight had.

twilight sequel announced

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After raking in an astounding $35.7 million on its first day (yesterday), Summit Entertainment announced that they will make a sequel to Twilight. 

The vampire love story aimed toward the highly-coveted younger demographic premiered Friday in 3,419 theaters, and pulled in $7 million at midnight showings alone.  It was projected to make between $50 million and $60 million, but is expected to trounce that projection.

The Twilight franchise figures to be a cash cow for Summit – with a total of four extremely-popular books from Stephanie Meyer.  The series has sold over 17 million copies since they came out last year.

The title of the second book in the series is “New Moon,” and the story centers around Edward Cullen’s forbidden love affair with Bella Swan in order to keep her safe from a rival vampire.  Of course, if you’re reading this, you already know that and have read the book already. 

“I don’t think any other author has had a more positive experience with the makers of her movie adaptation than I have had with Summit Entertainment,” Meyer said in a statement.

A projected release date for the second film has not been announced yet.