When watching animal documentaries, I sometimes think yes, this doesn’t need the gravitas of Morgan Freeman to keep me hooked. While I do love Mr. Freeman’s voice (getting him to read me a bed time story is at the top of my bucket list), animals are pretty entertaining on their own.
Just watch this video of penguins just being penguins. They’re so freaking cute slipping and sliding all the over place. It also wouldn’t even be out of place if you yelled, “Go home, penguin! You’re drunk!” right after they fall. Ugh, penguins. Why are you so cute?
Proving once again what an amazing woman she is, the trailer for Beyonce’s documentary “Life is But a Dream” features some up-close and personal moments of the star.
In the video, we witness a vulnerable and low-key Beyonce as she is shown traveling, rehearsing dance numbers and examining her pregnant belly.
“I always battle with how much do I reveal about myself. How do I stay current? How do I stay soulful?” Beyonce says in a voiceover during the trailer.
“People see celebrities and they have money and fame, but I’m a human being,” Beyonce explains in a “celebrities are just like us” moment. “I cry, I get scared, I get nervous just like everyone else.”
I love seeing this side of Beyonce because it’s refreshing to see her admitting her weaknesses and asking personal questions about life like any human being would. She is truly one of a kind.
“Life is But a Dream” premieres on HBO on February 16 at 9 p.m.
Watch the trailer below:
Jay-Z decided to ride the subway to a concert at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center causing MASS PANDEMONIUM I TELL YOU among us mere plebs. He ended up chatting with a 67-year-old artist named Ellen Grossman, and the adorable encounter was conveniently caught on camera for his documentary Where I’m From, but more importantly, for the Internet to obsess over.
Grossman didn’t recognize who he was and upon noticing all the fandemonium asked if he was famous.
“Yes. Not very famous, you don’t know me,” he replied. “But I’ll get there.” Then he introduced himself as “Jay” and shook her hand. When he tacked on the “Z” she realized who he was. ”Oh you’re Jay-Z! I know about Jay-Z.”
Of not recognizing him right away, she told The Washington Post: “I was aware Jay-Z was famous and existed, but I didn’t know how famous.” She added: “I’ve become much more aware of what he’s done and who he is… And as I checked him out, I realized, how embarrassing that I didn’t know who he was!”
Grossman shouldn’t be embarrassed as I’m guessing it was actually pretty humbling for the rapper to have a normal conversation, without the person having any preconceived ideas about him. How often does he get to introduce himself to someone like that?
Watch it here
Katy Perry didn’t listen when her ex-husband Russell Brand asked her to axe any footage of him in her new documentary “Part of Me.”
According to The Sun, Perry and her producers did consider Brand’s request to be eliminated from her movie, but decided to keep it in so the film could flow better.
“When Katy first decided to make the movie in 2010, Russell agreed to be filmed on the condition he got to see the final edit. Being a fly-on-the-wall documentary, he knew full well that it was going to be warts and all — and wasn’t best comfortable with that. But Katy persuaded him to do it,” the source revealed. “Now they have broken up, she can keep whatever she wants in the film.”
Personally, I think it’s a bit rude to not consider Brand’s opinions. Since he was part of her life, what’s personal should be allowed to stay personal. Their lives are public enough!
But of course, only time will tell. Each half of the former couple have spoken highly of one another. Perry recently told Ellen Degeneres that she will show everything in a “tasteful way.” So perhaps, Brand won’t look evil on screen!
Meet the Fokkens. They’re two of Amsterdam’s beloved prostitutes and they happen to be twins with 40+ years of experience. Louise and Martine Fokkens freed themselves from the control of their pimps, ran their own brothel and set up the first informal trade union for prostitutes. So it’s not surprising that they’re familiar faces in Amsterdam’s Red Light District.
This documentary looks surprisingly endearing. It pays homage to the two women, who are both bidding farewell to the industry. It also follows the quirky pair in their home, at work, and then to the sex shop where they talk about vibrators.
The film also takes a serious look at how the industry has changed in Amsterdam. In the old days, the local copper would tap on the window if a girl was showing too much ankle (gasp) and now the girls deal coke from the cubicles.
The film will hit small screens this summer and is expanding to major theatrical markets in September or October.
Watch it here:
Two different artists, from two different generations, making two different genres of music have banded together for a special documentary.
“ReGENERATION” is a documentary about remixing and collaborating artists from different times and styles. It’s co-produced by the Grammys and Amir Bar Lev (“My Child Could Paint That”). Oh, and it’s strategically narrated by Ryan Gosling.
Featured in the film are Mark Ronson paired with Erykah Badu, rapper Nas and the Berklee School of Music Orchestra and DJ Skrillex with the remaining members of the Doors.
Ray Manzarek spoke to Rolling Stone a few months back, explaining of the musical connection he had with the young dubstep dynamo.
“Basically, it’s a variation on ‘Milestones,’ by Miles Davis, and if I do say so myself, sounds fucking great, hot as hell,” he says.
You either love dubstep or completely despise it, but you have to admit this pairing is so offbeat, it compels you to watch the entire doc and listen to the whole song (if you can stomach the heavy bass and disarray synth.
You can watch the mini-doc of their collaborative “Breakin’ a Sweat” below. NOTE: it’s not safe for those with epilepsy.
Oh no – a Soulja Boy documentary?? Yes, unfortunately Soulja has his very own documentary coming out, telling the story about his rise to fame as an Internet star.
The movie release is timely considering he dropped a mixtape last week called “Skateboy.” Soulja Boy: The Movie, hit shelves in just a few weeks.
Soulja Boy told XXL what the movie is all about:
“Yeah man, it covers just so much! It goes from the first single, to the “Crank Dat” dance craze, to the YouTube views, to the third album not doing good, to the robberies, to the sold out concerts; tours across the world, Brazil Amsterdam, London, Paris, Tokyo, Japan, the whole United States. It’s just gonna give all the fans just that insight that they lookin’ for. They wanna know as much as they can about they favorite rapper, and that’s what this movie [is] here for.”
Do you think anybody is actually going to pay money to buy this movie?
Hunter Hayes is getting his own special on Great American Country which will chronicle his life. Hunter is only 20 years old, but he has been playing since he was 17.
“When I was young my parents noticed me taking a liking to music, “ Hunter said. “Music was my soccer game, it was just what I did. I think I started so young, I didn’t know what nervous was.” By the time he was six years old, he was regularly sitting in with bands and gaining a following.
“As I started to grow up I started to take in a lot of different music, primarily country,” he said. “I was playing music long before I was writing it. I think I started writing it because I got tired of playing everybody else’s stuff and wanted to say my own thing.”
Introducing: Hunter Hayes premieres November 1 at 10/9 CT on GAC.
A documentary is currently being made by one of his Lil’ Wayne’s friends where Wayne admits he had an addiction to Sizzurp. Sizzurp is a codeine-based drink.
Wayne says he started drinking it because his idol Pimp C would rap about it. However, as Wayne became more famous he became dependent on the drink to deal with the pressure.
In the video, Wayne says he doesn’t use the stuff anymore because,”I’m not sick anymore.”
If you dislike Soulja Boy, perhaps you just don’t fully understand him. Well, you are in luck! There is a new Soulja Boy documentary coming out which should clear up misconceptions about the rapper.
Soulja Boy – The Movie will take an in-depth look at the artist, and discuss his power of social media and his musical talent. The film is directed by Peter Spirer, who has made films about Tupac Shakur, Notorious B.I.G. and the Beefseries.
Spirer says, “Soulja Boy is undoubtedly one of the most creative, entrepreneurial hip-hop artists I have ever dealt with. His ability to monetize the internet and his grasp of social media is unparalleled. I think sometimes the press, the public and his peers dismiss him due to lack of understanding or jealousy, and that’s where I hope my film comes in — a straight forward intimate look at a talented young man.”
Will you go see it?
As we all know, HBO debuted the concert event “Lady Gaga Presents the Monster Ball Tour: At Madison Square Garden” this weekend, delivering 2 hours of musical and visual brilliance from Gaga’s ‘Monster Ball’ tour.
Sure, everyone is buzzing about the documentary. But one of the most talked-about moments of the special was Gaga’s soulful backstage A Cappella rendition of “Born This Way,” which kept everyone screaming for more during the closing credits.
Take a listen below. If you have, at any moment, ever doubted Gaga’s singing capabilities, you can take that back right about now. Such power, such soul!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=84Gp5Dr4p7E
Gaga’s much anticipated HBO special began shooting today according to Radar Online.
Paparazzi caught the pop sensation in between takes sporting torn fishnets, a huge hair poof, and spiked fingerless gloves.
Gaga tweeted excitedly about the event, exclaiming “What a dream come true! Filming my HBO special of the Monsterball today.”
She also spilled some new info about the video for her new hit, “Born This Way,” which has apparently finished post-production and could be release any time now. “Announcement soon! X” the chanteuse added coyly.
Looks like it’s gonna be a busy year for Gaga! Are you excited about her upcoming announcement?
Canadian audiences missed out on a piece of Michael Jackson history by not being able to see the documentary “Gone Too Soon.” Now the owners of the film are going after the distributor who did not live up to his contractual obligation.
TMZ reports Objective Films, LLC has filed a lawsuit against a company headed by Pierre Turgeon. In the lawsuit Objective claims they sold the French and Canadian distribution rights to Pierre’s company in exchange for $100k back in 2009.
Objective claims they received $50,000 but Pierre reneged on the other half. Objective was able to get the flick distributed in France … Canada wasn’t so lucky. Objective further claims Turgeon never really wanted to do legitimate business with Objective, however he just wanted the MJ affiliation to inflate his stock price.
Turgeon tells a different story to TMZ — saying, “The movie was bad … so we applied the clause (in our contract) that enabled us to not pick up the rights to the movie.”
He adds, “We paid in advance in good faith $50,000 for the project … We plan to get back our $50,000.”
Mel Gibson’s crazy famewhoring ex, Oksana Grigorieva, is reportedly using a cameo he made to prove his emotional instability and incompetence.
TMZ reports that the documentary, a film about Australia’s National Institute of Dramatic Art entitled “Acting Class of 1977,” includes some footage of Mel talking about his emotional and mental issues.
Mel reportedly says “I had really good highs but some very low lows. I found out recently I’m manic depressive.” Oksana’s lawyers plan to use the statement to paint Gibson as too unstable to care for the couple’s child, Lucia.
Hmmm, it could be strong evidence in their case…We’ll have to see how the chips fall on this one.
You probably remember the appearance that Joaquin Phoenix made on the Late Show with David Letterman last year. Phoenix came on the show wearing dark sunglasses and rocking a shaggy beard. His weird look was then only emphasized by how he acted—and apparently it was an act. The uninterested answers and the declaration he made about entering the hip-hop music industry were completely fake.
Casey Affleck, who directed the film I’m Still Here, which supposedly documents Joaquin Phoenix’s life for the past two years, says that almost every part of it was an act. “It’s a terrific performance, it’s the performance of his career,” Affleck told the New York Times.
The film was released last week and faced some big criticism and its credibility was attacked, prompting Affleck to speak out about the film.
“I never intended to trick anybody,” he said. “The idea of a quote, hoax, unquote, never entered my mind.”
I’m Still Here definitely has the elements of a hoax though—a lot of significant scenes in the “documentary” include actors playing different parts, including Phoenix’s family and prostitutes.
What do you think about the film? Is it a true piece of art or a huge piece of trickery?
If there are three things in the movie world I tend to avoid like the plague, they’d probably be sports stories, war flicks, and movies where an endearing and lovable primary character dies (I’m looking at you, Disney’s Bambi). Which is why I was so pleasantly surprised by Amir Bar-Lev’s newest Sundance supported documentary, The Tillman Story. Sure, there’s some football and some war and somebody really nice dies, but there’s a fourth element that got me totally invested in the story. Think of it this way: have you ever thought that the government was, well, maybe totally making stuff up and/or strategically hiding the truth to get you and the people you love to do something like, say, go to war? Yes? What a coincidence! The Tillman Story totally exposes the Bush administration doing exactly that.
Many would agree that Jay-Z is the official ambassador of New York City. As one of the World’s greatest entertainers, Jay-Z feels most at home in New York’s Madison Square Gardens. To honor this relationship, MTV News is reporting that Absolut Vodka has teamed up with Jay-Z to produce a documentary about his bond with the arena. The film titled “NY-Z” has landed online and is directed by Danny Clinch.
“New York, New York, is my foundation, it’s the center of my growth, it’s the muse for my art,” Jay-Z says in the clip. “It’s where I grew up. It’s the thing that I have a lot of pride in.”
Most North American fans of Blur weren’t able to catch the British rockers during their 2009 summer tour. If that’s the case, you’ll probably have to settle for the next best thing: the small screen.
“No Distance Left to Run” is a feature length roockumentary that follows the band throughout their summer tour. It was the first time in years that Blur rejoined forces to play together — and you can bet enough happened in between that time to fill up notebooks worth of song lyrics.
However, the movie also focuses on their successful, yet rocky past as brothers; brothers in the sense of their bond as opposed to their blood. You see, the band members all have sisters but no biological brothers. The film starts off with Blur explaining how close they are. But they’re also distant to each other in a way only brothers can be.
Blur fans will be happy to know the movie doesn’t go more than five or 10 minutes without some music. This makes perfect sense judging by the number of hits Blur produced between the late ‘80s and early 2000’s.
Isn’t America a great country? Be investigated for the death of the World’s biggest pop star and get your own TV special. According to TMZ, Dr. Conrad Murray has landed a deal with a British documentary producer to film the Doctor’s first day back at work in Houston. A spokesman for Dr. Murray told to TMZ that the production company was “interested in the reaction of patients to his return.” The footage has actually already been shot, but will not air until the investigation of Jackson’s death is completed.
At andPOP we are all about creating efficient interviews that get straight to the point. In that spirit here is our interview with Chris Rock after the Toronto premiere of Good Hair.
