Sabtu, 14 Agustus 2010

MTV News

MTV News


Drake Wishes Lil Wayne Could Join Him For 2010 VMAs

Posted: 13 Aug 2010 01:38 AM PDT

'We could get him out for a day,' MC says of his incarcerated mentor.
By Jayson Rodriguez


Drake
Photo: MTV News

TORONTODrake will make his VMA debut next month when he performs at the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards, and the Thank Me Later star is already thinking about making a grand entrance.

He has some history to compete with — it's hard to beat Diddy arriving via yacht or T-Pain riding an elephant into the festivities.

Drake is still wrapping his thoughts around some ideas, but one plan he wishes he could execute is to step onto the VMA red carpet with Lil Wayne.

"That would be the illest moment," Drake said while taking a break from a VMA promotional shoot. "Mob through. The whole Young Money. ... Nobody knew about it. We just all show up. ... Or we could get him out for a day. And even if he had to wear a jumpsuit or something."

Wayne began his one-year prison sentence for a 2007 gun charge March 8. Unfortunately for Drake, according to prison records accessed by MTV News in July, Lil Wayne has a projected release date of November 4, two months after the VMAs, which will take place September 12 in Los Angeles.

Drake, Kanye West, and Florence and the Machine were announced earlier this week as this year's VMA performers.

The 27th annual MTV Video Music Awards will be broadcast live from the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles on September 12 at 9 p.m. ET. Fans can go to VMA.MTV.com (or text VMA to 97979 if they are Verizon subscribers) to vote for the winners from now through September 12.

How do you think Drake should arrive at the VMAs? Share your ideas in the comments.

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Snooki And Vinny Cuddle Up, Sammi And Ron Make Up On 'Jersey Shore'

Posted: 13 Aug 2010 03:08 AM PDT

The Jersey gang brings new acronyms and 'CSI' homages to Miami.
By Mawuse Ziegbe and Jim Cantiello


Ronnie, Vinny, Pauly D and The Situation
Photo: Emily Shur

"Jersey Shore" is back on the air, and with its return comes the return of many a "did-that-really-just-happen" moment. The episode that premiered Thursday (August 12) did not disappoint on that front — but in case you were blackout drunk and smacked up your only allies in your Miami beach house, here's the lowdown on what went down.

#5. The Situation Channels David Caruso

We got to see the tail end of the Angelina-Situation-Pauly D flap play out. 'Lina knocked back a few too many when she hit the club with Sitch and Pauly, and she ended up endangering DJ P's gravity-defying tower of tresses with a couple of knocks to the head. There was this whole exchange where insults like "delusional" and "delusionalable" were flung about, and Mike had a reverse-"CSI: Miami" moment when he ripped off his glasses in disbelief.

#4. Random Gelato Dude

Sammi and Ronnie keep going back and forth with their kinda-committed relationship, which Ron Ron doesn't make any better by creepin' in the club with other chicks. But they did reconcile at work, and the smile that brightened up the face of a bystander at the gelato joint almost made the whole mess endearing.

#3. M.V.P.

The "Jersey Shore" crew has given us G.T.L., G.F.F. and I.F.F. On this episode, they launched another acronym into their letter-filled lexicon: M.V.P. When power fist-pumpers Mike, Vinny and Pauly embark on a guys' night out, they dub themselves M.V.P. — and not M.V.P.A., much to Angelina's dismay.

#2. We Got A Floater!

Even armed with a clever moniker for the Jersey-to-Miami trio, M.V.P. night turned out be a major bust in more ways than one. The guys unwittingly brought home a selection of ladies who apparently violated the specifications of the guys' Grenade-Free Zone. But things really blew up when one of the girls' falsies fell out of her bra.

#1. Snooki and Vinny, Sitting ... On A Beanbag

Snooki and Vinchenzo — as he likes to be called — got extra close. Snooki took a call from her man while cozying up to a passed-out Vinny on a beanbag chair and later followed him to the bedroom for some rip-roaring belching and alcohol-fueled affection. When Vinny woke up next to Snooks in the morning, he asked the question on everybody's mind: "Did I do the unthinkable?"

What was your favorite moment from this "Shore" episode? Tell us in the comments!

Don't miss "Jersey Shore" every Thursday at 10 p.m. ET/PT on MTV.

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Eminem's 'Lie' Video Shoot Was Like An Acting Workshop, Director Says

Posted: 13 Aug 2010 03:08 AM PDT

Joseph Kahn says Megan Fox and Dominic Monaghan didn't have an easy job on 'Love the Way You Lie' set.
By James Montgomery, with reporting by Matt Elias


Joseph Kahn
Photo: MTV News

Given that he's one of the biggest names in music videos and his latest project featured both Eminem and Rihanna, Joseph Kahn should have had no problem casting the two leads for the "Love the Way You Lie" video. And yet, he considers himself "incredibly lucky" to have landed both Dominic Monaghan and Megan Fox for the clip.

"Megan is one of those choices, like, whenever you write a music video, you go, 'I want a girl like Megan Fox,' " Kahn told MTV News. "I guarantee, like, 95 percent of music videos, they write, 'I would like a girl like Megan Fox.'"

Kahn said Fox is so popular, he didn't initially consider her participation a possibility. "We were actually looking around for some other actresses, and then, midway through, I just thought, 'Why don't I just try this?' " he said. "I mean, I have the biggest artist in the world, with the hottest song on the planet, with the hottest female artist ... and it's a meaty role. It's not like you're just slipping in there and looking pretty."

Fortunately for Kahn, Fox is an Eminem fan, and she loved the song and the role. "So, she said 'yes,' " he said. "I was blown away."

On the other hand, the director said he considered courting Monaghan right away. "I wanted him because he's an actor who can bury himself [in his roles]," Kahn said. "You can do anything with him, and essentially, he's a villain through all of [the video], and I think he did a great job."

So, with two big-name actors on set, and only two days to shoot the entire video, Kahn had his work cut out for him. Monaghan and Fox were going to need to channel conflicting emotions — anger one second, passion the next — and do it quickly. As the director, it was up to Kahn to help them harness all of that — often at a moment's notice. Luckily for him, he had two of the best to work with.

"I just told them: This is not like a normal film. We have two days on set, and we have to think of it as an acting workshop, because you're going to have to ramp up into emotions in two seconds, you're not going to know what the story is, and you're going to have to trust one another," he explained. "I'm asking them to go from zero to 100 in two seconds, so they were using all their techniques as actors. Dom would be calling her names, she'd be calling him names ... to see them turn it on like that, it was really a fascinating acting study."

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Kanye West Says 'Power' Video 'Basically A Trailer' For Longer Clip

Posted: 13 Aug 2010 07:05 AM PDT

Chicago MC also calls his VMA stage-crashing incident 'in poor taste,' on New York radio.
By Mawuse Ziegbe


Kanye West
Photo: Foc Kan/ Getty Images

Kanye West dared to go where few rappers had gone before when he ditched his spit-fire lyricism for Auto-Tune-filtered vocals on his last album, 808s and Heartbreak. Now, in the lead-up to his upcoming album, the Chicago MC is pioneering the way hip-hop videos are made and consumed with his "moving painting" clip, "Power." West, however, says that the 90-second video, which invokes cultural references from the Renaissance period to Greek mythology, is just a teaser for a much more ambitious project.

"I'm working on a film idea for the movie now that you saw. The 'Power' piece was basically like a trailer or moving poster or moving portrait. It's just a different take on the way to do videos," Yeezy told New York radio station Power 105.1 on Thursday. The MC, who, as a rising rapper one flexed his painting and drawing skills for MTV, said the longer version will be packaged as a piece of kinetic art.

"Actually, [we're] doing a 40-minute version of it. It's just a piece of moving art. It's made for you to project it on your wall. We're gonna do a DVD package where it will be kids' first piece of actual art that they can buy and have in their home," West explained. 'Ye then described how he imagines the glacial narrative of "Power" will play out in the longer version: "Just picture the dude with the sword, two minutes of him. [He's in] slow-motion, about to cut my head off. Then the girl just crawling on the ground, like slow-motion," West said.

The less-than-two-minute-long "Power" clip has stirred confusion among some fans who thought that the 90-second video was mistakenly cut short. However, 'Ye explained that the technologically involved production process meant that the video would have to cut down on running time in order to bulk up on visual interest.

"It just couldn't have been longer. If it had been any longer, it wouldn't even [have] been out by now," 'Ye laughed. "I see on Twitter [people are] like, 'Man I'm waiting for the whole video,' I'm like, 'OK, it's gonna be a long wait.' "

Making the actual "Power" song was also very time-intensive and 'Ye said that he spent thousands of hours tweaking the record.

"A song like 'Power' took 5,000 hours, like literally 5,000 man-hours to do this one record. That's the amount of time I was putting into every song on the album," West revealed.

His latest single, "See Me Now," was also a time-consuming enterprise. "The joint that we just dropped today, with Beyoncé and Charlie Wilson, I've been working on that song for two years."

With carefully-crafted songs under his belt, it appears Yeezy has a few tracks to work with for his performance at the MTV Video Music Awards on September 12. And 'Ye insisted there won't be a repeat of last year's stage-crashing outburst since he's curbed his drinking, among other things.

"I'm in a different place in my life," West said. "I was drinking to try to deal with ... what I feel may have been unjust at the time. The biggest drawback and the mistake that I made with that was the timing, because the timing was in poor taste. My brand is not that of poor taste. That's where everything went downhill," Yeezy reflected. The MC also said he didn't want his reputation for getting on a soapbox to affect his opportunities to create music.

"I wouldn't do it again because it could somehow hinder what I want to do now with my next music," West said. "There [were] two things that I was kinda known for over the past six years of my career: It was making good uplifting music that people wanted to listen to in the club and that touched them in a certain way and it was also these crashing-the-Internet moments. The thing is, those crashing-the-Internet moments could somehow hinder making the good music and people appreciating it."

What do you think a 40-minute version of "Power" would look like? Let us know in the comments below!

The 27th annual MTV Video Music Awards will be broadcast live from the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles on September 12 at 9 p.m. ET. Fans can go to VMA.MTV.com (or text VMA to 97979 if they are Verizon subscribers) to vote for the winners from now through September 12.

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Justin Long 'Would Love To' Star In 'Die Hard 5'

Posted: 13 Aug 2010 07:05 AM PDT

'I don't know if I'm going to get my hands on it,' he laughs about the Bruce Willis franchise.
By Kara Warner


Justin Long
Photo: MTV News

In addition to having some wacky moments, Bruce Willis dropped some exciting tidbits on MTV News at last month's San Diego Comic-Con, revealing, for one, that "Die Hard 5" is "imminent."

When we caught up with his "Die Hard With a Vengeance" co-star Justin Long, we asked him how he might be involved in the imminent, as Willis described it, fifth installment of the misadventures of John McClane. Apparently, Long needed a quick vocabulary lesson before responding.

"Nice try, Bruce, for making up a word. I think he meant emasculate," Long joked while promoting his September 3 flick "Going the Distance." "No, I heard it was imminent and as soon as I looked up the word, I got excited." But Long said his excitement was unfortunately short-lived, his mood tempered somewhat by what he said was an awkward exchange with a film studio executive.

"I had a meeting recently at Fox about doing a romantic [comedy]," Long explained. "And the guy in the office next door, he was in charge of the new 'Die Hard,' [so] I said, 'Do you mind if I pop my head in?' So I met him and I was like, 'Ummm?' " the actor recalled, gesturing with his hands in a motion that suggested "what about me?"

"He was equally vague in his gesture back to me," Long said. "So I didn't get a good feeling that I was going to be a part of the imminent 'Die Hard.' I don't know if I'm going to get my hands on it." He added, "I would love to."

With or without Long, it seems a decision about whether the film will actually happen is still up for debate.

What do you think about Long's character coming back for a fifth "Die Hard" movie? Tell us in the comments!

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

50 Cent's Original 'Black Magic' Tracks Still Exist, Lloyd Banks Says

Posted: 13 Aug 2010 05:32 AM PDT

The MC tells 'RapFix Live' that a finished G-Unit mixtape is also in the vaults.
By Mawuse Ziegbe, with reporting by Sway Calloway


Lloyd Banks on RapFix Live on August 13
Photo: Jonathan Goldner/ MTV News

50 Cent has backed away from the dance music sound he originally envisioned for his album Black Magic. Although Fif may not be putting a trance or deep-house spin on his gritty street records, Lloyd Banks says that the mercurial 50 doesn't dispose of his music — even if it's never released.

"[50's] mind runs all day. I go to sleep about 7 a.m. from being up writing all that time, and he's getting up at that time, thinkin'. He might come to my room three times [a] day like, 'I got this idea,' or 'I got that idea,' " Banks said while appearing on "RapFix Live" on Friday (August 13). "He changes up a lot. [The] material never goes anywhere though."

Banks said that even though 50 stays on the move, the G-Unit boss has been working constantly on his upcoming album. "I heard a bunch of material for that project," Banks said. "All of it [was made while] traveling and being around. He made most of it in a ... studio-truck type of thing."

The "Any Girl" MC even revealed that the Unit has recorded a mixtape that's ready to hit the streets. "We got material," Banks said. "We got a whole 'nother mixtape done in the studio, chillin.' " Banks added that when the 'tape will see the light of day is up to 50. "Whenever he feel like he want to pull that trigger," Banks said.

50 has been staying busy with his Hollywood hustle and, of course, keeping up his time-honored tradition of beefing with fellow hip-hop stars like Fat Joe and Shyne. However, his last two albums, Curtis and Before I Self Destruct, didn't move the same jaw-dropping numbers as his previous efforts and the core G-Unit team has been whittled down to just Banks, Tony Yayo and 50.

Banks said that the Queens mogul plans to rule the rap game once again, and when asked about the recent criticism the G-Unit honcho has endured, he revealed that 50's response is "I'ma get 'em."

"He'll just come out of nowhere. I be having to tell him, 'You ain't gotta tell me n---a, I know. I already know what's there 'cause I hear it,' " said Banks. "That fire ... it ain't gonna go nowhere."

Banks insisted that the whole Unit is ready to prove themselves on their upcoming projects. "[50's] material's gonna be crazy, man. All I can say is just wait and see," Banks assured fans. "What I'm doing right now, [there's] nothing more he wants to see than that. That just gets everybody hyped up again. [Tony] Yayo will call me like, 'Yo, it's on!' That's like the energy that's around the unit right now."

What do you think 50 Cent's Black Magic album sounds like? What do you think is on the unreleased G-Unit mixtape? Let us know in the comments below!

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'Scott Pilgrim' Vs. The Adaptation: Comparing The Comic And Movie

Posted: 13 Aug 2010 01:54 AM PDT

We take a look at what was lost and gained in the translation from page to screen.
By Eric Ditzian


Michael Cera in "Scott Pilgrim vs. the World"

As it made its way to this week's screen debut, "Scott Pilgrim vs. the World" faced a challenge that comes with all adaptations from comics to film: How faithful do you stay to the established, beloved source material and how much do you strike out on your own, creating new plotlines and aesthetics?

There's no one answer. "Batman Begins" and "The Dark Knight" drew deep inspiration from classic DC Comics issues, while "Wanted" strayed far from its original basis. But it's always interesting to see where filmmakers draw their creative lines. In adapting Bryan Lee O'Malley's six-volume "Scott Pilgrim" graphic novel series, Edgar Wright decided to compress six books into one film, and as a result had to ditch a slew of storylines.

At the same time, he and his team stayed extremely faithful to the series, incorporating dialogue, major plotlines and O'Malley's manga-style look. MTV News' Splash Page blog, which has been providing inexhaustible coverage on the books and the film for two years, put together a very cool video that explores these very questions and makes clear that the novels and the movie share a lot in common.

"You have to have that graphic novel as your base," visual effects supervisor Frazer Churchill told MTV News. "And Edgar made it clear he wanted to be very, very faithful to the comics. And if you compare the [movie's] finished frames to the comic book panels, it's pretty much spot on."

"But when you're adapting black and white lines on a page into a colorful film image, there's a lot to do in translation," he added. "You're mixing photographing real people, adding visual effects and so much more in order to realize a simple drawing on the screen."

Check out everything we've got on "Scott Pilgrim vs. the World."

For breaking news and previews of the latest comic book movies — updated around the clock — visit SplashPage.MTV.com.

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Fabolous Says He's 'Good' After Having Tour Van Stolen

Posted: 13 Aug 2010 04:14 AM PDT

'It was stripped down like a Magic City dancer,' Fab tells MTV News of recovering the car in Washington, D.C.
By Shaheem Reid


Fabolous
Photo: MTV News

Some fun-loving criminals made traveling arrangements for some of Fabolous' entourage a little more difficult this past weekend in Washington, D.C. The Brooklyn MC had a show in the area, and after his performance he discovered his crew's transportation had been tampered with.

"That was one of the few things on the Internet that was true," Fab confirmed to MTV News on Thursday in the Bronx.

"I had shows in D.C. this weekend. One of the turtle-top vans wound up getting stolen," he continued. "I don't know how, even the police were mind-boggled by it because it was parked right next to the Secret Service building. They found it though. It was stripped down like a Magic City dancer. It happens. I didn't know people really go hard and steal cars like that. I think I tweeted, like, 'Yo, do people really still steal cars?' I thought that was something that kinda like fell off. What are you gonna do with a car after you steal it? Joyride? But I guess you can get some parts. But a turtle-top? You're taking a big-ass van. Hopefully, it helped somebody out in their time of need.

"I was good," Fab laughed, correcting the record about his personal mode of transportation. "Let's not get that mistaken. I had another ride. But my boys, they were in a little jam. We figured it out, made a police report. I thought it got towed at first. But we figured it out, made a police report, came back to New York. I don't fault D.C. for it. Your van can get stolen anywhere I guess. I always have fun in D.C. [though]. D.C. shows me a lot of love."

Fabolous' next project is The Grieving Music, an EP inspired by his DJ Drama-hosted mixtape There Is No Competition 2: The Funeral Service. The EP is due September 6.

Are you excited for Fab to drop new music? Tell us in the comments!

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Kanye West Surprises New York With Secret Black-Tie Show

Posted: 12 Aug 2010 10:02 PM PDT

John Legend joins Yeezy for glitzy, 90-minute performance held for select few recipients of late-night email invite.
By Shaheem Reid


Kanye West performs in New York on Thursday
Photo: Whitney-Gayle Benta/ MTV News

NEW YORK -- The self-proclaimed "world's greatest entertainer," Doug E. Fresh long ago tagged his cohorts with the name the "Get Fresh Crew." The partygoers who came out to for Kanye West's secret/ super-late party at Rosewood in Manhattan could have easily been given that title too.

An e-mail went out to a select group late Thursday evening, alerting recipients that West and John Legend would be holding a function. If not quite a black-tie affair, the invite asked guests to be suited and booted. No exceptions. Also noted in the message was a phone number to call to learn the address of the venue, which was Manhattan's Chrystie Street club, the Box. The stage set-up was pretty simple: a baby grand piano at which Legend sat, two microphones (one just for Auto-Tune), an 808 beat machine and a keyboard.

With just a little more than 200 in attendance, seeing Kanye and Legend together in such an intimate setting conjured up memories of the 2001/2002 era when the two would gig at various underground clubs. Kanye was, in a word, dynamic. The Chicago MC has created three classic LPs (his rap-heavy first three) and amassed more than a dozen Grammy Awards in the decade or so since we first saw him at those clubs. West returned to the small stage on Thursday as if it were his alma mater. A great showman, Yeezy put on a genre-blurring, mesmerizing show.

It was technically Friday (August 13) morning already when West and Legend took the stage to begin performing (around 1:30 a.m.), at the function he dubbed "Rosewood." Although a Kanye show is typically well-thought out and carefully crafted, Kanye seemed to have no weight on his shoulders last night. He wasn't afraid to flub lines, nor to tell the audience when he did. He read lyrics from a sheet of paper for when he launched into a cover song. So what. It was 90 minutes of amazing.

Standing at the mic, Kanye kicked off his set with "Homecoming"; Legend sang the hook. Both performers were suited up, dressed in ensembles worthy of an awards show red carpet. West told John to take it back to old times and that led into "Heard 'Em Say." Later, Legend began slowly stroking the keys and singing "If This World Were Mine." This segued into the music speeding up before Kanye performed a verse from the song he produced for Teflon Don Rick Ross, "Live Fast, Die Young." After the rapping, 'Ye hopped on the on drum machine while John continued on piano, where a bottle of wine and a glass were set aside for Kanye.

There were brilliant moments of improv like when Kanye started performing his "Pinocchio Story," which hasn't been officially released, or when Legend started singing the Rihanna vocal riffs from "Run This Town."

Kanye has been making a series of surprise appearances recently. Where do you hope he'll turn up next? Tell us in the comments!

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Snooki And Emilio: Their 'Jersey Shore' Love Story

Posted: 13 Aug 2010 12:14 AM PDT

MTV News takes a look at the romance between 'Jersey Shore' star Snooki and her one-time beau Emilio.
By Jocelyn Vena


Snooki
Photo: Jerritt Clark/ Getty Images

The flame that burned between Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi and Emilio Masella may have only burned for a short time, but its flame was bright — and it was visible on this season of "Jersey Shore"

Early on in season two, Snooki declared that she was through with her search for true love. But it seems that while you can take Snooki out of the Jersey Shore, you can't take the Jersey Shore out of Snooki.

When the season opened, Snooki declared herself "done Snookin' for love"; at the time, she had been in a relationship with Emilio for two and a half months. In January, she spoke to MTV News about Emilio and the chemistry the two of them shared.

I like that he's a dork, a guy that can laugh and joke around, and he also is a guido," she said. "So, it's like the perfect guy — so we just click, and we're so hot together.

"How did I meet him? Facebook," she continued. "That's sad, huh? I met him before the show. We talked on Facebook a couple weeks before the show. It wasn't anything too serious. I know he's not talking to me because I'm on the show, 'cause he knew me before, kind of. My dad's a little worried about it."

Even then, though, Snooki expressed her concern over her relationship with Emilio, especially given all the temptations of life in the spotlight. "I am worried because, you know, I like the kid a lot. But ... if there's, like, an opportunity [during the filming of 'Jersey Shore' season two], that's going to be fun."

Snooki wasn't lying. When she and castmate Vinny shared a bed this season, it caused a rift between her and Emilio. But despite that breach of trust, Emilio isn't giving up.

"I'm heartbroken. I came here to see Snooki and I don't know if she wants to see me," Emilio told MTV News while visiting Seaside Heights, New Jersey, recently. "Hopefully it'll all turn out good and I can get my girl back. If not, I'm gonna have to move on &8212; I mean I seen her holding some other guy's hand the other day, [and] it kind of pissed me off.

"But I'm trying to stay good, not fight. I'm a sweet boy. I'm a lover, not a fighter."

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'Scott Pilgrim vs. the World': The Reviews Are In!

Posted: 13 Aug 2010 03:42 AM PDT

One critic hails a 'more heroic' portrayal by star Michael Cera, while another calls the comic book flick 'one long, sneering in-joke.'
By Eric Ditzian


Michael Cera in "Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World"

Depending on who you hang out with and what websites you frequent, "Scott Pilgrim vs. the World" is either the most authentic coming-of-age love story that's ever been told about kids who grew up with 8-bit video games or a movie that will leave you screaming, "Death to hipsters!"

What else is there to say? To read through reviews of Edgar Wright's film is to understand how fully a critic's biography and aesthetic vision influence his or her writing. We bring our own personal baggage to the cinema, even if we all feed from the same bin of stale popcorn.

We've gathered together a few of these wildly divergent reviews. Before making up your mind about whether you're a "Scott Pilgrim" fan or hater, you can check out what the critics are saying. Or better yet, see the movie yourself, and then make up your mind.

The Story
"Over-explaining Scott Pilgrim's plot would take away from the Pop Rocks-exploding fun. Scott (Michael Cera) is the 22-year-old bassist for a mediocre Toronto punk band called Sex Bob-Omb. (Their songs, which I found a bit too realistically mediocre, were written by Beck.) Scott has a sassy gay roommate (Kieran Culkin), a meddling sister (Anna Kendrick), and a girlfriend, Knives Chau (Ellen Wong), a Sex Bob-Omb superfan who's still in high school. But Scott falls hard when the purple-haired, poker-faced Ramona Flowers (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) moves to town. To win her, he must not only summon the courage to break up with Knives; he must defeat an evil legion of Ramona's seven exes, who include a vegan rock star (Brandon Routh), a Bollywood-dancing Goth (Satya Bhabha), and twin Japanese DJs (Shota and Keita Saito)." — Dana Stevens, Slate.

The Visuals
"The movie does everything its makers can dream up to imitate a manga: Screens split in half and then in half again. Action speeds up or slows down. Comic book word sounds — 'whoosh,' 'r-i-i-i-i-n-g,' 'thud' and the like — pepper the screen. Backstories about exes are told in rudimentary sketches. The movie frame becomes a graffiti zone where the filmmakers can insert all sorts of written commentary including the fact that a character has to pee." — Kirk Honeycutt, The Hollywood Reporter.

Michael Cera
"As Pilgrim, Cera is more assertive and, yes, heroic than he has been in most of his work (though there is 'Youth in Revolt' to bear in mind). He's gone past the stammering gawkiness of his early work into something less adolescent, if not fully mature. The transformation hasn't reached a conclusion yet, but it's interesting to watch." — Shawn Levy, The Oregonian.

The Director
"Much of the movie's whacked-out humor is the work of the director. Wright's facility with eccentric ornamentation — bursts of canned laugh-track laughter, proudly cartoonish graphics, dreamscape enchantments and sudden split-screenery — is irresistibly endearing; and his whiz-bang editing is a marvel throughout. (He's always one step ahead of the viewer, suddenly taking us places we didn't realize we were ready to go to yet.) And the script, which he co-wrote, is a feast of deadpan throwaways. ('I've dabbled with being a bitch,' says Ramona. 'My brother is permanently enfeebled,' notes Stacey.)" — Kurt Loder, MTV News.

The Dissenters
"The story and characters of 'Scott Pilgrim vs. the World,' then, are negligible. But fans of the novel aren't likely to care, reserving their most passionate interest for how director Edgar Wright has brought their precious antihero to the screen ... He dials 'Scott Pilgrim vs. the World' up to 11 within minutes, leaving him nowhere to take the narrative energy. Trippy onscreen titles ('Riiiing!' when a telephone rings, 'Dddddd' when someone plays the bass), Super Mario Bros. graphics, light saber duels, jump cuts, screen wipes, zingers, quips and doggerel — it's all played with the same emphasis and knowing insularity. Unless you can hear its particular whistle, 'Scott Pilgrim vs. the World' is a grind, as monotonous and enervating as one long, sneering in-joke." — Ann Hornaday, The Washington Post.

The Final Word
"There is plenty of [visual wit] in 'Scott Pilgrim vs. the World' — fast cuts, off-kilter puns, sight gags and sound effects in such profusion that you may want to see it again as soon as it's over. But underneath is a disarming sincerity and a remarkable willingness to acknowledge ambivalence, self-doubt, hurt feelings and all the other complications of youth. At the end, the movie comes home to the well-known territory of the coming-of-age story, with an account of lessons learned and conflicts resolved. But you'll swear you've never seen anything like it before." — A.O. Scott, The New York Times.

What did you think of Michael Cera's latest flick? Share your reviews in the comments!

Check out everything we've got on "Scott Pilgrim vs. the World."

For breaking news and previews of the latest comic book movies — updated around the clock — visit SplashPage.MTV.com.

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Stephanie Pratt Recalls Fooling Club Bouncers On 'When I Was 17'

Posted: 13 Aug 2010 03:18 AM PDT

In this week's episode, which airs Saturday at 11 a.m., the 'Hills' starlet recalls posing as a married woman to get past ID checks.
By Mawuse Ziegbe


Stephanie Pratt appears on "When I was 17"
Photo: MTV News

Many OMG moments on MTV's "The Hills" went down in Los Angeles' most exclusive nightclubs. Way before castmember Stephanie Pratt waded into the show's drama, she learned how to navigate the city's nightlife.

On the latest episode of "When I Was 17," which airs Saturday at 11 a.m., Pratt remembers that she didn't let a little thing like her age get in the way of clubbing.

"When I was 17, all of my friends were 21 and going out to clubs on school nights, and I obviously wanted to go with them. So, I'd get to clubs, and I had such a baby face at 17, and [bouncers would] be like, 'There's no way you're 27,' " Pratt said. The reality star, who was 17 in 2003, says that with a little sophisticated banter she was able to wriggle past the velvet rope.

"I had 'borrowed' my mom's cocktail ring and I used to wear it on my wedding finger and say to the doorman, 'You are just such an angel, I'm actually married!' " Pratt explained. "And they'd be like, 'Oh, well. In that case, come right in.' "

Pratt's buddy Mike said the sneaky tactic reflects the starlet's deeply held desire to make the scene.

"Stephanie is gonna get what she wants. So if she wants to get in that club, she's gonna do whatever it takes," Mike said.

Once Pratt got past the velvet ropes, she would have another issue to deal with: sleazy guys.

"The worst part is that I would get hit on at these clubs and I really thought I was just being really nice and I'd be like, 'OK, it was so fun talking to you for two hours,' " the "Hills" star continued. "They'd be like, 'You're not gonna come home with me?' and I'd be like, 'Oh, like a sleepover?' I was just so naïve. I didn't know that they were just up to no good."

This week's episode of "When I Was 17" -- which features Pratt, Kelly Rowland and Enrique Iglesias -- airs Saturday at 11 a.m. on MTV.

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'Eat Pray Love': The Reviews Are In!

Posted: 13 Aug 2010 02:24 AM PDT

Before you head to the theaters, find out what critics had to say about Julia Roberts' globe-trotting flick.
By Eric Ditzian


Julia Roberts in "Eat Pray Love"
Photo: Sony

Earlier today, we took a look at what the critics are saying about "The Expendables," Sylvester Stallone's bullet-riddled action flick that should reel in around $30 million this weekend. The likely candidate for second place at the box office is a film that couldn't be more different than Sly's shoot-'em-up popcorn adventure: "Eat Pray Love," Julia Roberts' globe-trotting journey of nonstop noshing, sexual awakening and inner peace.

Not that the two films have nothing in common. They both take place in exotic locales and have main characters who shake up their personal lives. And they both have received decidedly mixed reviews. Here's what critics are saying about "Eat Pray Love":

The Story

"Based on the memoir by Elizabeth Gilbert, it's the story of a successful writer (Roberts) who, like Dante, finds herself in her mid-thirties feeling lost and without direction. She ends her marriage to her sweet but hapless husband (Billy Crudup) and, after the obligatory affair with a sensitive young hunk (James Franco, of course), she decides to renew herself through travel. First she'll go to Italy and enjoy good food. Then to India, to pray in an ashram. And then to Bali, to find love." — Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle

Julia

"Roberts doesn't look much like Liz Gilbert — although she has indeed absorbed some of her mannerisms — after all she gets paid to look like Julia Roberts. She gives a nice performance here, ranging from brassy to vulnerable to drunkenly flirtatious. It isn't her fault that the script tries to jam a memoir into the romantic-comedy template, spiced liberally with New Age nostrums, and can't quite get it right." — Andrew O'Hehir, Salon

The Adaptation From Book to Screen

"The film's most crucial constituency — the book's rabid fans — are likely to feel well served by Murphy's adaptation, which hews pretty faithfully to Gilbert's story. (He veers off the path most wildly in India, where he was stuck filming Roberts meditating, or trying to meditate, for hours on end, full stop.) And even newcomers, men included, can enjoy being swept up in the film's lavish third chapter, where Gilbert meets a seductive Brazilian named Felipe (Javier Bardem) and embarks on a luscious love affair amid the verdant terraces and soft beaches of Bali." — Ann Hornaday, The Washington Post

The Look

"Shot in burnished magic-hour light (the crew must have toiled feverishly over a hundred dawns and dusks), with rapturous attention paid to dishes of prosciutto and melon, and to the dishy men in Liz's life (Billy Crudup as the husband she leaves, James Franco as the rebound beau and finally, Javier Bardem, as the hopelessly sensitive, sensual soul mate), the film is a glorious travelogue, a charmer." — Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer

The Final Word

"For a film about a woman whose motto is 'I'm through with the guilt,' Roberts and [director Ryan] Murphy & Co. have delivered a guilty pleasure. It's great to see her in something this light again, looking much as she did 10 years ago. 'Eat Pray Love' allows Roberts' longtime fans to travel the world, and back in time with her. If only we all could eat until we pop and age in reverse and still have the glow of amber backlighting." — Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel

Check out everything we've got on "Eat Pray Love."

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

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Lady Gaga Says Her New Album Is 'Utter Liberation'

Posted: 13 Aug 2010 01:54 AM PDT

Pop star tells i-D magazine she wants to 'create the anthem for my generation.'
By James Dinh


Lady Gaga
Photo: Getty Images

Lady Gaga may have caused a stir with her recent talk of sex and drug use, but the singer knows that in the end it all boils down to the music. In the pre-Fall issue of i-D magazine that surfaced online on Friday (August 13), the songstress opens up about what she has planned for her upcoming album.

"The new album is my absolute greatest work I've ever done, and I'm so excited about it," Gaga said of her still-untitled album. "The message, the melodies, the direction, the meaning, what it will mean to my fans and what it will mean to me in my own life — it's utter liberation. I'm on the quest to create the anthem for my generation for the next decade, so that's what I've done."

While the singer has frequently worked with producers like RedOne ("Bad Romance" and "Just Dance"), Gaga plans to keep her sound fresh with a line of new producers on the forthcoming project. But she's keeping them a secret, saying, "I will never tell because as soon as I tell, everyone starts working with them. So all I can say is that nobody knows who they are. They're all new."

And for those who were wondering if the Elton John-esque ballad "You and I" was an indication of the project's sound, Gaga said, "It's not totally indicative of the new album sound; it's just a really big rock-and-roll hit."

The pop star confirmed that the song, which she first performed at Elton John's White Tie and Tiara Ball in June, will appear on the LP. "I do have these hopes that it could be a great rock crossover record, so I'm going to put my producer's hat on and get it to a place where I feel like it could reach the masses," she said. "It's a beautiful, beautiful lyric and melody. I wrote it at the piano I grew up playing in New York."

Despite the success of Gaga's collaborations with Beyoncé, she said she's "not entirely sure" if she'd like to collaborate with anybody this time around. "At this moment, I don't want to feature anyone; I just want to stand on my own two feet," she said.

But if the pop star does change her mind, there's one female rapper who will please her legions of fans: Nicki Minaj. When i-D asked the singer if she could do them a favor and collaborate with the Young Money darling, Gaga was pensive, saying, "OK, I'll think about it."

And as the Lady Gaga train keeps on rolling, the pop star had a rather interesting response as to how she plans to create longevity in her career: "I will always have as much penis as I do vagina. And, no, I'm not going to explain that; it's part of the answer."

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Kanye West Confirms Bon Iver Cameo On Upcoming Album

Posted: 13 Aug 2010 01:54 AM PDT

Collaboration, called 'Lost in the World,' will appear on MC's fifth full-length, due in November.
By James Montgomery


Kanye West
Photo: MTV News

Kanye West has always been a man of discerning taste — check the roughly 18,000 fashion-related posts on his blog, or his sampling of Daft Punk on his massive hit "Stronger" — but earlier this week, when rumors began circulating that he was working with austere indie auteur Bon Iver (aka Justin Vernon), they seemed, frankly, too discerning to be true.

But on Friday (August 13), West confirmed that Vernon will appear on his upcoming new album, which is supposedly due November 16.

"I called [Vernon] and we ended up becoming, like, really good friends, playing basketball together every day, and going into the back studio and just recording his parts," West told Rolling Stone. "He's similar to me, like where he just does sh--; so people would be like 'Oh sh--, how did you do that? How did that happen?' "

West and Vernon collaborated on a song called "Lost in the World," which features re-recorded vocals from the Bon Iver track "Woods." West told Rolling Stone that he became a fan of the song, which features Vernon's Auto-Tuned vocals, when Ed Banger Records honcho Pedro Winter played him the track and talked about his plans to sample it. West then asked Winter if he could use the song instead, and quickly flew Vernon out to Hawaii.

The two quickly bonded (we like to imagine it was the basketball that did it), and West now counts Vernon as one of his friends.

"He's just a really cool guy to be around," West said.

On Friday, Vernon talked about the collaboration, and the pair's budding friendship, in an interview with Pitchfork.

"I think he's very aware of the person he is, and I applaud him for that," said Vernon. "It takes a lot of strength just to stay how he is amongst all the sh-- that he's subjected to. But I found him extremely like a bro. You could talk to him about whatever."

It's been a busy 24 hours for West. On Thursday, he announced that he would appear on the Video Music Awards on September 12; Thursday night, he performed at a secret black-tie show in New York City.

Are you excited for Kanye West's new album? Let us know in the comments!

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Ke$ha Ready To Face Justin Bieber, Lady Gaga At The VMAs

Posted: 13 Aug 2010 01:14 AM PDT

'It's gonna be hard taking the Biebs down,' the 'Tik Tok' singer tells MTV News about her Best New Artist nom.
By Jocelyn Vena, with reporting by Christina Garibaldi


Ke$ha
Photo: MTV News

Ke$ha will storm this September's Video Music Awards with four nominations — she picked up three for her infectious breakthrough single "Tik Tok," as well as one for "My First Kiss," her duet with 3Oh!3. But the singer isn't quite sure she'll be able to wrest the Best New Artist Moonman from windswept heartthrob Justin Bieber.

"It's gonna be hard taking the Biebs down," she told MTV News. "It's gonna be hard, but my fans — we can do it!"

Justin Bieber isn't Ke$ha's only stiff competition on September 12; the brash singer is also up for Best Female Video against heavy hitters like Lady Gaga, Beyoncé and Taylor Swift. But she hopes that her fans will party all over the ballot box and sweep her to victory.

"I have no idea! Gaga and Beyoncé and Taylor Swift — everybody in there I respect, so it's kind of like I have no disses to throw," she said. "That's a tough category. ['Tik Tok'] was my first video, so that really is exciting. I had no idea what I was doing. It was my first time making a video, so it's really kind of cool. I'm excited to see if I and a chance, but I think we can take them. Can't we? I'm down to try!"

After she found out about the nominations, she tweeted her excitement, saying, "I don't even know what to say. I'm so grateful and thankful and stunned and excited. I can't even put into words actually how much this means to me ... thank you to every single one of my fans ... I'm f---ing losing my sh--. I'm so stoked!!!!!"

The 27th annual MTV Video Music Awards will be broadcast live from the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles on September 12 at 9 p.m. ET. Fans can go to VMA.MTV.com (or text VMA to 97979 if they are Verizon subscribers) to vote for the winners from now through September 12.

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Lloyd Banks Signs Deal With EMI

Posted: 13 Aug 2010 12:23 AM PDT

'Fans can expect The Hunger for More 2 on November 23,' Banks announces on 'RapFix Live.'
By Jayson Rodriguez


Lloyd Banks on RapFix Live Friday
Photo: Jonathan Goldner/ MTV News

It wasn't LeBron James' "Decision," but Lloyd Banks had fun on "RapFix Live" relaying info about his new record deal.

"I decided to take my talents to EMI," the Queens rapper told MTV News' Sway, putting his twist on King James' spiel. "[Fans] can expect The Hunger for More 2 on November 23. On G-Unit/ EMI."

The announcement comes after a brief independent period for Banks.

Banks was signed Interscope Records after 50 Cent's ascent, joining Eminem and Dr. Dre on the roster and solidifying it as one of the most dynamic hip-hop entities in the music industry. But after a disappointing sophomore set, which included records leaking long before the release date, Banks parted ways with his recording home. He was still aligned with G-Unit Records, however, just without distribution.

But earlier this year, after he dropped "Beamer, Benz, or Bentley" featuring Juelz Santana, major labels starting courting him once again.

Banks passed up offers from Interscope and Def Jam, though the latter label featured newly minted executive appointee Sha Money XL, who once served as the president of G-Unit.

"I just came out of a situation with Interscope, and being there for years and knowing what it feels like to go through the shakiness in the system when priorities get shuffled," Banks explained of his decision to avoid a long-term contract. "So, not really excited to jump into a situation where I have a requirement for a few albums."

The G-Unit rapper thanked his fans for supporting him during his independent run via iTunes purchases of "Beamer, Benz, or Bentley" and "Officer Down."

He declined to confirm whether his G-Unit cohort Tony Yayo would join him over at EMI, but a press release sent out shortly after the "RapFix Live" webcast announced that Yayo would also release a project on the label next year.

What do you think of Lloyd Banks' decision? Sound off in the comments.

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Foxy Brown Says Firm Reunion Is Up To Nas And Cormega

Posted: 13 Aug 2010 01:47 AM PDT

'I'm the link that can bring each one of them together,' Foxy tells Mixtape Daily.
By Shaheem Reid


Foxy Brown
Photo: MTV News

Cornerstone Credentials: Foxy Brown and the Firm

The Firm are one of one. We haven't seen a collective quite like them. Back in the '90s, Nas, AZ, Foxy Brown and even Nature were able to drop endless classic material on mixtapes, be a part of the historic Puff Daddy-headlined No Way Out Tour and drop one platinum group album on Dr. Dre's Aftermath imprint.

For the past few years we've seen live hints at a reunion of the Firm. The core four, Nas, Foxy Brown, AZ and Cormega have performed together at shows in various permutations, but never all four at one time. Foxy Brown says everyone has talked about a real reunion, but differences between the Queens half of the group have to be ironed out first.

"We all sat down and conversed," she told MTV News recently. "We all know if it's not the main four, the only four, it can't be. Nas, myself, AZ and Cormega, that is the Firm. There is no other artist that can substitute for Nas, AZ, Cormega and myself. If all four of us can't do it, it can't be done."

Brown says she's still on great terms with the others.

"AZ and myself are inseparable throughout the years. He can walk in my house and go inside the refrigerator, get whatever he wants," she said. "Cormega is like my brother. You know Nas, Nas has gone his way. He got married and has gone through his own stuff. I went to prison, lost my hearing. We all just had our lives take different turns. We realized that everywhere we go, people are like, 'The Firm, the Firm.' A was like, 'We gotta do this.' That's when the rumors started."

During a recent concert in New York, Brown brought out AZ and Cormega. She says that before they all can fully reunite, Nas and Mega have to work things out.

"He and Cormega — everybody knows the legendary beef between them," she assessed. "So, [the challenge is] getting them in the same room together. Nas had a concert at Lincoln Center two Christmases ago. AZ wasn't there, but me and Cormega came out. So they can get in the same room together. And they can kind of alleviate the bullsh-- and say, 'Let's get this money now.'

We're older, let's get this money. "We started as babies," she added. "We were babies, like '96, '97, selling millions of records together. We have history together. I'm the one that's close to each one of them. I'm the link that can bring each one of them together. So it's Nas getting in the same room with Mega. And then we're good. His personal feelings with Mega, they have to work that out. Once they do that ... They have a history that AZ and I can't relate to. There's something they have to work out. I know I can get them together."

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Rihanna Dazzles At Sold-Out New York Show

Posted: 13 Aug 2010 06:08 AM PDT

Ke$ha gets Last Girl on Earth party started at Madison Square Garden, as Rih powers through her numerous hits.
By Jocelyn Vena


Rihanna performs at Madison Square Garden on Thursday
Photo: Jamie McCarthy/ WireImage

NEW YORK -- Before Rihanna came onboard for the Last Girl on Earth tour at Madison Square Garden on Thursday night, Ke$ha, completely covered in glitter, got her personal party started with her club banger "Blah Blah Blah."

"I cannot believe I am playing a show at the f---ing Garden. Holy sh-- balls," she screamed to the crowd midway through the song. "Are you guys having a dance party?" she later asked the excited crowd.

Ke$ha's set was much like she is: sparkly, glittery, a little messy, but, overall, a good time. She played all her hits, including "Take It Off," "Your Love Is My Drug" and the song that got all of MSG dancing, "Tik Tok."

While the fans were tickled with delight for Ke$ha's set, they really went nuts when Rihanna emerged onstage in a billowing black dress, with glowing lights inlaid into it. The star was ready to share with the audience her "dreams and nightmares," as a projected video explained. The searing guitar of "Russian Roulette" welcomed the red-headed singer to the room before she belted out the ballad and kicked the show off. After a quick change into a blush-colored, shimmering bodysuit, she went right into her crowd-pleaser "Hard," during which she very proudly rode her own baby-pink military tank.

During "Disturbia," Rihanna embraced her inner Goth, thanks to dancers dressed as crow-like figures on stilts. After a short intermission, Rihanna declared her "Rockstar" status and played a little air guitar in a latex bodysuit and thigh-high boots. "Rude Boy" brought out the sassy and sexy Rihanna fans have come to love.

"Is New York City in the house?" she asked before she sang a medley of "Love the Way You Lie" and "Airplanes," and then transitioned into "Hate That I Love You." "I can't hear you, New York! Anybody out there ever been in love?" she asked. For "Rehab," she lounged sexily on a chaise.

Things got spicy when Rihanna, flanked by two dancers doing saucy acrobatics, sang her Spanish-tinged "Te Amo." Then, dressed in an all-white "bandage" bodysuit, she kicked it old-school with her jam "Don't Stop the Music," throwing a dance party inside of a large cube onstage.

After displaying her guitar skills earlier in the night, Rihanna played some drums before performing a rock-influenced version of "SOS." She then addressed the crowd: "Thanks, all of you who bought a ticket tonight to come see me. I'm at Madison Square Garden and thanks to you guys, we sold out Madison Square Garden -- thank you so much." Then she sang "Take a Bow" before, well, taking a bow.

She kicked off an encore with "Wait Your Turn," in sparkly, knee-high boots, a matching newsboy cap, bra and spandex shorts. Rihanna played her second medley of the evening, combining party jams like "Live Your Life" and "Run This Town." But she ended the night on her biggest hit, "Umbrella," and in a dizzying sea of confetti, with fans singing along, she told the crowd, "Thank you so much."

The show not only displayed her vocal abilities, but also her unabashed performance style; her world is part "Mad Max," part "Twilight" and part OK Computer -- and all Rihanna.

What did you think of Rihanna's New York show? Tell us in the comments!

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'Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World': Five Secrets Revealed!

Posted: 13 Aug 2010 09:51 AM PDT

Visual effects supervisor Frazer Churchill tells MTV News how practical effects, CGI wizardry were used in film.
By Eric Ditzian


Michael Cera in "Scott Pilgrim vs. the World"
Photo: Universal Pictures

To say moviegoers have never seen anything like "Scott Pilgrim vs. the World" is not exactly true. Pop culture has been suffused with its various in-your-face references — from "Super Mario Brothers" coins to "Seinfeld" bass lines to Japanese manga visuals and beyond — for decades. But what no one has ever seen is a film that so seamlessly and energetically gathers them all together into a neon pastiche of flashing graphics, sound cues and linguistic nods.

What makes this entertainment patchwork all the more impressive is that it takes place within a recognizable world: neighborly, snow-covered Toronto. Welcome to magical realism, 21st-century-cinema style. Scott Pilgrim (Michael Cera), the sleepy-eyed hero, fights off his girlfriend's nefarious exes in a series of video game-influenced battles and shuffles his way through life as bright graphics pop up to introduce characters and moods.

How did the filmmakers pull all this off? And where did they get all these references? Visual effects supervisor Frazer Churchill was kind enough to walk MTV News through the creation of some of these cultural odes, as well as to talk about the film's mixture of practical effects and CGI wizardry. Here are five "Scott Pilgrim" secrets revealed. Beware of mild spoilers below!

"Arkham Asylum" and "Soulcalibur" References
Many of the video game references are fairly obvious — "Super Mario," "Street Fighter" — but others are less so. Pay close attention during the fight scenes, and you'll see what we're talking about.

"Often we'd be in a fight sequence and when people get hit, these impact graphics appear, as per a game," Churchill said. "We'd go and look for a game that had a cool impact graphic that fit well with the scene. We had 150 people on our crew, so we had a good research base. We found impact graphic ideas from 'Batman: Arkham Asylum' and 'Soulcalibur.' "

Once they found a suitable reference point, the trick was to make the graphics "feel photographic, rather than graphic" — as in, part of the real world, rather than part of a video game. "Sometimes we would take the graphics and split them apart into their various color channels, so you had this kind of film look, like chromatic aberration with a lens, and there's a slight red, green and blue fringing to a graphic," he said.

How They Created the "Pee Bar" Scene
One of the funniest scenes in the film is one in which Scott heads into the bathroom and a graphic "pee bar" meter floats over his shoulder. When he drains the meter and opens the door again, the apartment is gone and a dreamscape exists behind him. You might think director Edgar Wright employed some fancy CG work there, but it was all done with practical effects.

"That's actually a set that's on wheels," Churchill said. "As he walks in, the door closes, and 15 grips wheel the set away and wheel another one into place and he walks out into a dream corridor. It's not a green screen shot. If you were to hear the real sound from the shot, you'd hear these enormous shuffles and rumbles as the set was being rumbled away."

What Is CG and What Is Real
That bathroom scene is just one example of the seamless merger of CG trickery with practical effects. Churchill revealed to us a few instances of what's real and what was created inside a computer. One ethereal scene in a park, when Pilgrim and his girlfriend Ramona Flowers (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) hang out on swings in the snow, looks like it was shot using a blue screen, but Churchill revealed, "We went up to a park in Toronto and shot at night. We added snow later with CG."

Another scene in which Chris Evans' character skateboards down an enormous rail was shot with a combo of blue screen and CG. "The legs and Chris' reaction are all blue screen and the environment is CG, but it's based on an actual location," Churchill said. "Those Casa Loma steps exist, but we exaggerate them a lot.

"The desert of Scott's dreams is purely blue screen," he added. "For the subspace, they're floating on a wire rig in front of a blue screen and we added everything later."

Notice "Naruto"
In addition to the video game references during fights, Wright also incorporated the look and feel of manga. He actually culled together some of his favorite cartoons and handed them off to Churchill and his team, which they then reconstructed with CGI technology.

"We had a reference reel of cartoons and manga series like 'Naruto,' which was a big influence because it has those 'killer moves,' " he explained. "In 'Street Fighter' or 'Mortal Kombat,' there will be a 'killer move,' but in 'Naruto' you've got that real manga style, so when somebody gets hit with a 'killer move,' the background will drop out and a huge graphic will be superimposed behind them."

The Secret of Pilgrim's Flaming Sword
During Scott's climactic battle, he ends up pulling a flaming sword from his chest. Once again, the filmmakers employed a combination of computer and physical effects to get exactly the right look.

"We had a metal chest plate strapped to him with a sword piece welded to it, [and] the handle and the blade has these red LED lights on it," Churchill said. "So when he's leaning back, he's got the sword strapped to his chest, and he grabs the handle, which is real. And then we put in the flames later and erased any trace of the metal prop. When the sword comes out, he has to react. We removed the physical sword and we put in the CG sword. You've got that mix of physical and visual effects, which make the scene work so well."

Check out everything we've got on "Scott Pilgrim vs. the World."

For breaking news and previews of the latest comic book movies — updated around the clock — visit SplashPage.MTV.com.

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