Sorry if you haven’t watched this week’s New Girl yet, but Fox has been promoting this thing all week long, so get out of your cave already! Just halfway into season two of the Fox comedy, Zooey Deschanel’s Jess and Jake Johnson’s Nick shared a super-steamy lip lock at the end of the episode, deceptively called “Cooler.” At first, I screamed, “Noooooo!” — worried that it meant an early resolution to the will-they-or-won’t they tension between the roommates, which can sometimes be the kiss of death for a show. But after reading executive producer Liz Meriweather’s interview with the Hollywood Reporter, my fears are mostly allayed. She felt like a drawn-out tease wouldn’t work in this situation. “I just think it doesn’t correspond to real-life relationships, especially for people the ages of the characters on New Girl, because they are so complicated these days,” she explained. “And I don’t think a kiss means a relationship is going to happen. I don’t think bringing two characters together takes away story possibility; I think it adds a lot of story possibility. Keeping them apart, at this point, felt more fake then bringing them together for me.”
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Posts By Sabrina Rojas Weiss
Ben Barnes, Parkour And Les Miserables: Marie Lu Talks Legend Movie As Book 2 Hits Shelves
As we await the rest of the cast of Divergent to be announced and mark off the months until Catching Fire’s release (about a million years from now, right?), there’s plenty to keep our minds full of paranoid visions of a dark future that can only be saved by a couple of brilliant teenagers. Take, for instance, Marie Lu’s Legend trilogy, whose second book, Prodigy, hit shelves today. If you haven’t picked up the first, let us assure you that it’s not to be lumped brainlessly with all the other dystopian young adult novels out now — largely because of its unique characters, who take turns narrating their story. There’s 15-year-old Day, the Republic’s most-wanted criminal, whose ability to run from authorities and basically leap buildings in a single bound (parkour-style) helps him complete all sorts of Robin Hood pranks, stealing from the government to feed the poor. And then there’s 15-year-old June, the Republic’s star prodigy, who’s about to graduate early from military academy when her older brother (and only family member, since her parents’ death) is brutally murdered, she thinks, by Day. Their interaction is as tense and emotionally complex as the Jean Valjean/Javert conflict in Les Miserables, which Lu says was a partial inspiration for the story.
We caught up with Lu at San Diego Comic-Con last July, shortly after the screenplay for the Legend movie, which is being produced by Wyck Godfrey among others, was handed in to CBS Films. And it wasn’t hard for us to imagine a big showing for the film at one of the Con’s giant halls sometime in the future. “That would be amaaaazing. My fingers are crossed!” Lu said.
While she’s been in the loop on the screenplay, she doesn’t know what will be done as far as casting the movie, especially since it doesn’t yet have a director. (Warm Bodies‘ Jonathan Levine was once attached, but MTV reports that he’s since dropped out.) “I know you can’t find someone that’s exactly the way that I picture them in my head. I think they’ll do a pretty good job casting them in general. There’s only one character that I wrote with an actor in my head, and that was Metias, June’s brother. I always pictured Ben Barnes. I just love Ben Barnes. I’m going to cast him in anything that I write. I’ll squeeze him in there.”
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Is This Justin Bieber Fan-Groping Pic For Real?
Sorry, folks, our lawyers won’t let us post the actual photo in question here, but you know how to click links, so hop over to ONTD for a second and come back here to discuss what the heck is going on with Justin Bieber and his roaming hands. Or not. According to Gawker, this photo was originally posted on Bieber’s fan site and was taken at a fan meet and greet. He may have accidentally grabbed her boob as he was going in for a hug, she may have asked him to grab her boob and he obliged, OR he may have taken a cheap feel because he’s Justin Bieber. Or there’s also option 4: This is another faked photo in a grand tradition of faked Bieber photos.
Update: OK, so Jocelynn, the supposed subject of the supposed groping is on Twitter, and told her followers that Bieber never touched her boob, that it just looks like that in the photo.
IM DYING HAHAHAHHAHA IT LOOKS LIKE JUSTIN'S TOUCHING MY BOOB IN THE PICTURE AHAHAHAHHA I CANT
— Jocelyn ♡ (@JocelynnBieber) January 27, 2013
Still, we maintain that this could all be a big fake. It’s happened before. Last week, a photo of Biebs holding hands with Kylie Jenner was proved to be a doctored old pic of him and Selena Gomez. There was the prank he pulled last year, in advance of his “Beauty and the Beat” video, in which he claimed a laptop had been stolen and released a suspicious nude pic.
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Ex-Footballer Kwame Harris Not Doing Much For Gays In Sports With This Assault Lawsuit
Here’s an unfortunate one-step-forward, two-steps-back scenario. As gays are serving openly in the military and the Boy Scouts are considering a teeny-tiny advancement toward allowing gay members and leaders in the don’t-ask-don’t-tell vein, gay men in sports are still overwhelmingly remaining in the closet. And now they’ve got the story of former Oakland Raider/ San Francisco 49-er Kwame Harris as an example of what not to follow. According to the San Mateo Daily Journal, Harris is charged with felony domestic violence and is being sued for assault and battery by an ex-boyfriend over an altercation that allegedly began over an argument about soy sauce and stolen underwear. Really.
In August 2012, Harris and Dimitri Geier, who were no longer romantically involved, their lawyers say, were having dinner at a Chinese restaurant before Harris was going to take Geier to the airport. Apparently Geier upset Harris by pouring soy sauce on a plate of rice. Which, again, this is really doing a lot to advance the public’s perception of gay men. The argument continued outside, where Harris reportedly pulled down Geier’s pants and accused him of stealing his underwear (OK, now this is sounding like a fight among sorority girls or something).
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Chris Brown, Frank Ocean Caught Not Fighting On Tape, But Chris Feels Crucified Nonetheless
You know a really great way to win public support for yourself? Compare yourself to Jesus Christ on the cross. At least that’s what Chris Brown in his notorious foot-in-mouth social media manner must have been thinking yesterday when he posted a painting of (a very muscular) Jesus on Instagram with the caption, “Painting the way I feel today. Focus on what matters.” This was after we all learned that his posse got into an altercation with Frank Ocean’s posse in the parking lot of a recording studio on Sunday night.
If we’re to believe CB’s lawyer, Mark Geragos (and/or the sources who spoke to TMZ), there is some truth to the Christ analogy. Reportedly, there is surveillance footage that shows both Brown and Ocean stayed out of the melee and left any fighting up to their entourages. The only glitch being that this video didn’t capture the beginning of the fight, so it basically proves nothing. These sources also explained to TMZ that Chris didn’t stick around to talk to the sheriff’s department because his lawyer had advised him to get far, far away from any site of trouble.
Except we think he meant before any fights started, not after.
[Photos: Instagram, Splash News Online]
Related: Chris Brown And Frank Ocean Fight Over Parking Spot? A He Said-He Said
Amanda Seyfried, Jennifer Lawrence Hit Their Stride In Navy: SAG Awards Style Points
When we decided to track the awards season fashions of Amanda Seyfried, Jennifer Lawrence, Bradley Cooper, Anne Hathaway, Kerry Washington, Jessica Chastain, Eddie Redmayne and Emma Stone, we had no idea how much they’d fluctuate from gorgeous to meh to bleh and back again from week to week. As you can see in the graph above, these stars’ Style Points have been fluctuating madly. And since we’re basing this “race” on the opinions of esteemed experts — Glamour online style editor Nikki Ogunnaike, Yahoo! Entertainment’s New York bureau chief Breanne Heldman, MTV Style’s associate editor Maud Deitch — along with our own Ambika Muttoo and Sabrina Rojas Weiss, we don’t think this is just due to our own arbitrary moods. Last night’s SAG Awards saw an abrupt change of position as Amanda and Jennifer got their acts together and showed up in stunning (and matching!) navy gowns. Oddly enough, last week’s front-runner Kerry Washington sank to the bottom with her white Rodarte. Emma Stone was a no-show at this event — now we’re wondering if she’s skipping out on the rest of this awards season altogether, which would be a shame for us fashion voyeurs. But we have the other seven to enjoy below:
Amanda Seyfried
Breanne: +5. “Yes! Finally! This Zac Posen dress does everything I’ve been wanting for Amanda all awards season and then some. Extra love for the necklace.
Nikki: +4. “To say I’m obsessed with this Zac Posen dress would be putting it mildly. The dark blue color against her alabaster skin made for an amazing contrast while the mega train added an appropriate touch of drama.”
Ambika: +5. “I cannot find fault with this gown. I also want to have babies with the color. Amanda likes these structural elements in her gown, and often gets them wrong. But when she gets it right, look out world. This Zac Posen gown is the apex of those rare moments.”
Maud: +5. “I love this. Pairing that epic Zac Posen fishtail with that enormous Lorraine Schwartz pendent? Inspired styling choice. This is one of the first of Amanda Seyfried’s looks that made me totally forget that she was ever in Mamma Mia! She looks like a true movie star.”
Sabrina: +5. “Amanda was hilarious on the red carpet, telling E! she hoped Les Miserables wouldn’t win because she was scared to walk up the stairs in that gown. No matter how good Argo is, I think we were tragically deprived of that sight. Also, I want (a knockoff of) that necklace now.”
Average score: 4.8
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Jennifer Lawrence Is Definitely One Of Us: From My Super Sweet 16 To SAG Awards Dress Malfunction
Every day, we love Jennifer Lawrence a little more, as she continues us how much she is both a gorgeous superstar and an everygirl. On the red carpet of the SAG Awards, she was all superstar: You absolutely could not tell she was battling walking pneumonia as she strutted her stuff in a navy Dior Haute Couture gown.
Then, she was the everygirl even as her name was announced as the Best Female Actor winner. The clever way the skirt of the gown was wrapped proved to be a hazard as the bottom was apparently caught under someone’s foot or chair, revealing a gaping seam at her thighs as she hugged her parents and co-stars and stepped onstage.
Chris Brown And Frank Ocean Fight Over Parking Spot? A He Said-He Said
Full confession: We have almost come to blows with people over parking spots. Almost. But apparently, if you’re Chris Brown and Frank Ocean, accompanied by you’re entourage, and the spot in question is outside a recording studio, that “almost” turns into full-on fight with the sheriff’s department being called. Who hit whom and who started it? Here’s what we know so far:
Chris’ version: According to TMZ, sources close to Brown say the singer was leaving the Westlake Studio on Sunday night when Ocean and Co. blocked him from getting out, saying, “This is my studio, this is my parking spot.” When Brown went to shake his hand, a member of Ocean’s entourage went in for the attack, and one of Brown’s guys stepped in and hit Ocean’s guy. That’s when Frank went after Chris. Brown and his reps haven’t commented directly on the altercation, but he did post a photo of himself in the studio on Instagram with the caption: “Working on my album. Not working on negativity. Focus on feeding ya family. Bulls— will forever be in the shadows.”
Frank’s Twitter version of the story:
Read more…got jumped by chris and a couple guys. lol. i only wish everest was there.
— frank ocean (@frank_ocean) January 28, 2013
Amanda Seyfried, Tina Fey, Kiernan Shipka & More: The 15 Best Dressed At The SAG Awards
The SAG Awards were full of lovely ladies and gents in black and blue who did not in any way remind us of bruises, along with welcome splashes of silver and purple, but what we loved across the board on the 15 outfits we’ve selected below is the way their cuts play up the perfect bodies of their wearers. Amanda Seyfried feared walking in her glorious Zac Posen, and Jennifer Lawrence almost tripped on her Dior as she stepped up to accept Best Female Actor, but we appreciate the sacrifices they made in the name of fashion. Tina Fey continued the winning streak she began at the Golden Globes, and Kiernan Shipka continued the one she’ll probably be on for decades more to come. It was all a pretty good showing for yet another contest for a naked statuette!
[Photos: Getty Images]
Michelle Dockery, Naya Rivera Bring Major Sideboob, Cleavage To SAG Awards
More like the not-so-SAG-gy awards, amiright? The Screen Actors Guild (and AFTRA, for those of you who are all union savvy) Awards are considerably less flashy than the Globes and the Oscars, but that doesn’t mean some actresses were going for dull and demure on the red carpet tonight. Dowton Abbey’s Michelle Dockery and Glee’s Naya Rivera, for instance were flashing a little something extra. Michelle’s Ralph Rucci was spiced up with a sheer side panel that left us wondering how she was defying gravity so nicely. Naya’s Donna Karan Atelier was heavy on the texture detailing, which didn’t distract from the nice bit of cleavage she had on display. So on this important night when actors congratulate each other on their very important work, we ask you this very important question:
[Photos: Getty Images]
