Beyonce Says She Wants To 'Make My Own Genre Of Music'

Singer is in the studio working on Sasha Fierce follow-up.
By Gil Kaufman

Beyoncé
Photo: Getty Images

Beyoncé doesn't have that much left to prove in her career. She's a megaplatinum artist, an accomplished actress, half of one of the most successful musical couples in history and a fashion icon.

But on the follow-up to her smash 2008 Grammy-winning album I Am ... Sasha Fierce, the singer is aiming to carve an entirely new lane for herself.

"I love to dance, I love to sing, and I'm actually in the studio now writing songs and producing," the singer told "Entertainment Tonight" from the set of a new commercial she's filming for Vizio televisions. "I have a lot of live instruments that I'm putting into the tracks to try to change the sound and make my own genre of music." The commercial will debut on Thanksgiving day, just after the singer rocks prime-time TV with an ABC Thanksgiving special entitled "I Am ... World Tour."

Among the producers and songwriters working with Beyoncé on the new, as-yet-untitled album is Ne-Yo, who helped write one of the 29-year-old singer's biggest hits, "Irreplaceable."

Ne-Yo told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that Beyoncé's fourth solo effort is "coming along nicely. I can't speak too much on it, but it's another direction for her, and she's carving out her own niche. ... In a minute nobody will be in Beyoncé's lane. They really can't get in her lane now, but they really can't get in her lane after this album."

In the meantime, producer Jim Jonsin, who produced her song "Sweet Dreams," has also said he has some new directions in mind for Beyoncé. "I'd like to take it even more Depeche Mode-ish, like '80s electro with just some hard drums," he told Rap-Up TV. "I'd love to go there."

That fits with what songwriter Sean "The Pen" Garrett recently told Entertainment Weekly. Garrett, who was behind such hits as "Video Phone," "Diva" and "Upgrade U," said that he was slated to hit the studio with Beyoncé in September and that the results would be hard-hitting.

"I think we are doing a lot of uptempo records for this one," he said. "She's in such a good place right now in life that she is interested in making party music, definitely."

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Is East Coast Blizzard To Blame For Scrooge-Like Christmas Box Office?

Snow isn't the only thing that kept 'Little Fockers' and other films from raking in the bucks.
By Tom DiChiara

Ben Stiller in "Little Fockers"
Photo: Universal Studios/DW Studios

Holiday weekends often equate to big bucks at the box office. And while Christmas weekend doesn't always pack the punch of a Labor Day, Memorial Day or Fourth of July, it has been known to generate its fair share of cash. There are an abundance of revenue-friendly family flicks, Christmas Day movie marathons have become a popular tradition and mall-goers often take a break from hitting up post-holiday sales to catch a film.

But what happens to those Christmas-weekend box-office numbers when almost the entire East Coast, from North Carolina through Maine, is pummeled by a blizzard on December 26? Safe money would bet that B.O. revenues drop as precipitously as 2 feet of snow. And though those numbers probably chilled Hollywood execs to the bone, they weren't just due to the blizzard.

The lackluster $30.8 million take of "Little Fockers" topped the charts for a weekend that was down a whopping 48 percent from last year's Christmas-weekend receipts of $270 million (an all-time record for any weekend, by the way). But a quick look at the numbers suggests that while snowy weather certainly didn't help matters, it was not to blame for the Scrooge-like turnout at the box office.

For starters, Christmas Eve, a notoriously slow movie-going day, fell on a Friday this year, eating into a big slice of the weekend box office. "Fockers" was the day's top-grossing flick with a paltry $4.95 million. By comparison, the movie earned about $7.2 million on both Wednesday (when it opened) and Thursday, and took in $14.6 million and $11.3 million on Saturday and Sunday, respectively. More to the point, "Fockers" saw its box-office haul drop just 23 percent from Christmas Day (Saturday) to Sunday, when the snow hit. That number is in line with normal Saturday to Sunday decreases. Meanwhile, "True Grit" saw its earnings fall a mere 6.5 percent from Saturday to Sunday, while "Tron Legacy" and "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader" dropped only around 1 percent, and "Yogi Bear" and "Tangled" saw their revenues increase over the same two-day period.

Numbers aside, one can't ignore the possibility that the movies in theaters this Christmas simply weren't as appealing to moviegoers as those in previous years. Last year's record-setting weekend was spearheaded by the one-two-three punch of "Avatar," which raked in $75.6 million in its second week of release, "Sherlock Holmes" ($62.4 million) and "Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel" ($48.9 mil).

Though "Little Fockers" had a built-in audience, its 2004 predecessor "Meet the Fockers," which led the B.O. the last time Christmas fell on a Friday, wasn't as well-received as the franchise's first entry, 2000's "Meet the Parents." Combine that with the fact that "Little Fockers" didn't exactly wow critics (it scored only an 11 percent rating on review aggregator RottenTomatoes.com), and it's not hard to see why the threequel failed to snag blockbuster numbers. And, while the Coen brothers' Western "True Grit" rode a wave of critical praise to a second-place finish and an impressive $24.9 million gross (the biggest opening for a Western ever), that wasn't enough to make up for a shallow field of holiday-weekend contenders.

In other words, Mother Nature is off the hook for this one.

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

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Britney Spears: A Look Back At Her Singles ... So Far

With her new album due in March, we revisit some of the pop princess' many hits.
By Jocelyn Vena

Britney Spears
Photo: Jive

Now that Britney Spears has announced that she will be releasing a new album in March 2011, fans must be wondering what her latest musical endeavor will sound like. The as-yet-untitled effort is a follow-up to 2008's well-received Circus, which helped resurrect the singer's career after a dark time in her life. No information regarding the upcoming album has emerged, but Britney's faithful followers have watched her change up her look and sound with each single over the span of her decade-plus career, as she evolved from a bubblegum-pop princess to a sexy dance-club siren. Let's trace Spears' musical journey by taking a look at some of her most memorable tunes.

In 1999, a fresh-faced Spears released " ...Baby One More Time" (produced by Max Martin), the title track off her massive debut album. She got the conversation about her sexuality started thanks to a provocative video in which she danced around in a Catholic school uniform, as well as the song's equally provocative lyrics, where she longingly sang, "My loneliness is killing me/ I must confess, I still believe/ When I'm not with you I lose my mind/ Give me a sign/ Hit me baby one more time." It's to be noted that the song originally was intended for TLC.

In the video for "Oops! ... I Did It Again" (produced by Martin and Rami Yacoub), Spears' smash from the 2000 album of the same name, the pigtails and skirt were gone, replaced by a red catsuit. That visual, as well as the song's lyrical content, reflected Spears' evolution from naughty schoolgirl to intergalactic sex kitten, both in her video and on the song's lyrical content.

For "I'm a Slave 4 U" (produced by the Neptunes) off 2001's Britney, Spears declared her sexual independence. No longer was she just teasing about the idea that she loved the beat of dance music and how sexy it made her feel, instead she was explicitly sharing it with the world. Plus, who could forget all the sweat in that video.

In 2003, Spears teamed up with the Queen of Pop, Madonna, for "Me Against the Music" (produced by Christopher Stewart and Penelope Magnet), the sexy lead single from In the Zone. While the darker, more synth-heavy "Toxic" would become the album's defining tune, "Me Against the Music" picked up where "Slave" left off: Spears battling the demon she has inside of her that just loves to come out on the dance floor.

After a few years of not putting out any music, Spears hit the club again with 2007's "Gimme More" (produced by Danja) off the aptly titled Blackout. Between the release of In the Zone and Blackout, Spears had married, divorced and become a mother — she also had started to act erratically. The track, which relied more heavily on underground dance and electro than most of Spears' previous singles, was a highly sexualized tune about getting it on.

After the darkness of Blackout, Spears got back to her fun and frolicking old ways on the 2008 Circus single "Womanizer" (produced by the Outsyders). The track was a return to form for Spears after the lackluster response to Blackout, and it brought the discussion back around to her music and away from her sometimes topsy-turvy personal life. In the song's video, Spears gets back at a player, and really has the last laugh. The clip also features ffotage of a completely nude Britney in a steamy sauna.

In 2009, Spears shot to the top of the charts with the danceable track "Three" (produced by Martin and Shellback) off The Singles Collection. The tune was an instant smash, and featured Spears robotically singing about a ménage à trois over a club beat.

As for what's next for the singer, very little is known about her forthcoming album, although a couple of her producers have dropped some hints. Dr. Luke said that the music will "be a departure from what you've heard," while Danja called it "hard-hitting, uptempo [and] high-energy." Spears, meanwhile, is very clear about how she thinks the record is sounding. "I AM IN L-O-V-E WITH IT!" she tweeted.

Are you looking forward to Britney's new album? Share your thoughts in the comments.

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Justin Bieber's Big New Year's Plans: 'Hanging Out'

After a whirlwind year, the 16-year-old plans to chill with his family on Friday night.
By Kara Warner, with reporting by Mawuse Ziegbe

Justin Bieber
Photo: Chris McKay/ Getty Images

Unlike the multitude of stars descending upon Las Vegas, Miami and New York City on Friday to celebrate New Year's Eve, there are a few who will be keeping a much lower profile as they ring in 2011. Like 2010 superstar Justin Bieber, for example, who said recently that his big plans consist of him getting some much-needed rest and spending time with his family.

"For New Year's, I'm just hanging out," Bieber told MTV News last week. "I'm just going to be with my family. Just being with them and relaxing, because I've been go, go, go for the past three years."

Judging from his recent tweets, the 16-year-old phenom is making good on his plans so far.

"Another solid day hanging with the family and friends. love the #holidays," he wrote on Monday. "New years is coming....what is gonna be your new years resolution?" Then yesterday, he tweeted a message focused on R&R: "Need the rest. #grateful."

The soon-to-be big-screen star (his film debut, "Never Say Never," opens in February) later commented that he's grateful for everything, from his success to all the rumors about his love life.

"Chillin and happy. It's been a fun year with a lot of blessings," Bieber wrote on Twitter. "Some crazy rumors but so much love and memories. We r just gettin started!! So enjoy the holidays. Get crazy and have some laughs. Life is too short. At least that is what they tell me. #newyearsIsComin"

What are your plans for New Year's Eve? Big blowout or low-key evening in? Tell us in the comments!

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Britney Spears' 'Hold It Against Me' Could Be Next Single

Pop star's yet-untitled new album is due in March.
By James Dinh

Britney Spears
Photo: Kevin Mazur/ WireImage

Britney Spears, who has kept relatively quiet since her high-profile guest spot on "Glee," is reportedly readying the release of a new single called "Hold It Against Me" off her yet-untitled new album, due in March.

According to PopJustice.com, "Hold It Against Me" will be first single from her new album and features production credits from Spears hitmaker Max Martin and Dr. Luke (Ke$ha, Katy Perry). Rumored lyrics to the tune recently surfaced on the Internet, but Dr. Luke took to Twitter to dismiss them: "I / we never wrote a song called 'don't hold it against me'.... BewaRe of InaccuraTe info kids ;-) We did write 'hold it against me' but those lyrics are NOT the lyrics ...."

Spears hinted about her work with the duo just a few weeks ago tweeting, "Just finished recording a monster with @TheDoctorLuke and #MaxMartin. Get ready..."

Word of new Spears music originated from the pop star herself one week ago, when she thanked fans for their birthday wishes and announced that her new album would drop in March. "I'm almost done with my new album and it will be coming out this March," she said on Twitter. "I AM IN L-O-V-E WITH IT!"

But what would Britney's music be without her signature choreography? It looks like the megastar is also gearing up to reunite with her former dancer/choreographer Brian Friedman, who worked with the singer on the remix clip for her tune "Overprotected." In a Facebook message, the dance mastermind wrote, "Hey everyone... won't be back from London till the late teens of December. Y'all better get your dancing shoes out cuz it's time for me to 'Hit you baby one more time...' Yes, Britney and I are back in action! Werque!"

If that weren't enough, the songstress also announced on Twitter that she teamed up with high-fashion photographer Mario Testino for a new photo shoot.

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Beyonce Jokes She's Been Pregnant With Concert Special

'I was pregnant with this DVD,' she laughs to MTV News as 'I Am ... World Tour' is set to air Thanksgiving Day on ABC.
By Jocelyn Vena

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Photo: MTV News

Beyoncé never really seems to slow down, so when the time came to choose a director for her concert special DVD "I Am ... World Tour," the singer decided to take on those duties too. It's an accomplishment the singer jokes may have sparked those pregnancy rumors.

"I was pregnant with this DVD, yes!" she joked to MTV News.

The DVD hits stores on November 30, but fans can catch the 90-minute "I Am ... World Tour" TV special when it airs on ABC Thanksgiving night at 9:30 p.m. ET. Beyoncé opened up about what it was like to sit in the director's chair.

"Well, I've done some co-directing for music videos [but] this was definitely a big step for me, and I'm so thrilled," she said at the New York City screening for the flick.

Beyoncé said she was completely hands-on, deciding which moments made the final cut and which ones wound up on the cutting-room floor. "It was hard work," she said. "I learned so much. I have a new respect for directors and I think I would like to do more of it."

Her parents, Mathew and Tina Knowles, who also attended the screening over the weekend, said the film gives B the recognition she deserves after years of collaborating on many of her own videos.

"I'm really excited about this because Beyoncé has been making little short films and really helping to direct her videos," Tina told us. "So it's nice that she'll get credit for doing something that she really loves doing and that she's very talented at."

Dad Mathew recalled all of the effort his superstar daughter put into the special. "I'm so proud," he said. "I had an opportunity [to see the film], I've been to Houston with a screening; I've been to Bentonville, [Arkansas], with a screening, and to see the excitement from the audience, what an incredible job Beyoncé did as a director in the editing, I'm just so proud. Hopefully, all the fans go out and get the DVD and soundtrack and look at that ABC special coming on Thanksgiving."

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'Little Fockers' Director On Sequel

'It's funny because the end has kind of a setup for a sequel,' Paul Weitz says.
By Kara Warner, with reporting by Eric Ditzian

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As the "Fockers" franchise has been wont to do throughout its 10-year run, the third installment in the highly successful franchise, "Little Fockers," brought in major box-office dollars once again during its opening weekend. This more than proves that it doesn't matter that audiences had to wait six years between "Meet the Fockers" and the latest film: They like to see Robert DeNiro get silly with Ben Stiller. And Dustin Hoffman and Barbra Streisand, for that matter.

Given the success of "Little Fockers," the next question on inquiring minds is, "When are they shooting a sequel?" When we caught up with director Paul Weitz recently during the press tour for "Fockers," we asked him what talk he'd heard about a potential fourth film.

"There's been none with me," Weitz said, indicating that this directorial romp with the "Fockers" will be his one and only. "I would be the first in line to buy a ticket [to the fourth film]," he said.

But even though it sounds like Weitz won't be involved in moving the Fockers forward, he had a pretty good idea of why people think there might be one planned.

"It's funny because the end has kind of a setup for a sequel [minor spoiler alert ahead!], where they say 'We're buying the house two doors down' " Weitz said. "Which was really a last-second thought by [screenwriter] John Hamburg. It wasn't sort of a calculated 'Alright, what's the sequel going to be,' " he explained. "But it does seem like a good setup for a sequel!"

Would you like to see another "Fockers" film? Tell us in the comments.

Check out everything we've got on "Little Fockers."

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

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Pleasure P Declares 'War' On His Detractors Via Twitter

'Half the world think im something that im not,' former Pretty Ricky member tweets about child-molestation allegations.
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R&B singer Pleasure P spent the majority of the past 12 months lying low after allegations of sexual misconduct with a child. Don't expect the new year to go the same way.

The singer lashed out against his detractors via Twitter on Tuesday; presumably, the targets of his tirade were members of his former group, Pretty Ricky.

"Mutha f---as talking bout let it go i aint letting sh-- go half the world think im something that im not yall dont know what that feels like," he wrote. "I had a year to prepare for war now war is about to begin if n---az thought it was over they got another thing coming hahahahahahaha."

The diatribe began when the singer tweeted that he heard what he characterized as "the worst song ever" and asked his followers to guess who recorded the number. Pretty Ricky recently released a new track, "Cookie Cutter," that's been embraced relatively slowly, considering their past work.

Last December, an anonymous source alleged that Pleasure P molested a young child, which the singer responded by calling the charge against him "vile" and "disgusting." A legal document that appeared online traced some involvement in the case back to members of Pretty Ricky's camp. The group denied any involvement in a statement to MTV News at the time. Pleasure P has been pursuing the party he feels is responsible, though he would not confirm that person's identity.

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"We dont do it for the streets we do it for the sheetz lol what it izzzzzzzz," he wrote before posting the record.

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Photo: MTV News

Beyoncé never really seems to slow down, so when the time came to choose a director for her concert special DVD "I Am ... World Tour," the singer decided to take on those duties too. It's an accomplishment the singer jokes may have sparked those pregnancy rumors.

"I was pregnant with this DVD, yes!" she joked to MTV News.

The DVD hits stores on November 30, but fans can catch the 90-minute "I Am ... World Tour" TV special when it airs on ABC Thanksgiving night at 9:30 p.m. ET. Beyoncé opened up about what it was like to sit in the director's chair.

"Well, I've done some co-directing for music videos [but] this was definitely a big step for me, and I'm so thrilled," she said at the New York City screening for the flick.

Beyoncé said she was completely hands-on, deciding which moments made the final cut and which ones wound up on the cutting-room floor. "It was hard work," she said. "I learned so much. I have a new respect for directors and I think I would like to do more of it."

Her parents, Mathew and Tina Knowles, who also attended the screening over the weekend, said the film gives B the recognition she deserves after years of collaborating on many of her own videos.

"I'm really excited about this because Beyoncé has been making little short films and really helping to direct her videos," Tina told us. "So it's nice that she'll get credit for doing something that she really loves doing and that she's very talented at."

Dad Mathew recalled all of the effort his superstar daughter put into the special. "I'm so proud," he said. "I had an opportunity [to see the film], I've been to Houston with a screening; I've been to Bentonville, [Arkansas], with a screening, and to see the excitement from the audience, what an incredible job Beyoncé did as a director in the editing, I'm just so proud. Hopefully, all the fans go out and get the DVD and soundtrack and look at that ABC special coming on Thanksgiving."

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Britney Spears: A Look Back At Her Singles ... So Far

With her new album due in March, we revisit some of the pop princess' many hits.
By Jocelyn Vena

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Photo: Jive

Now that Britney Spears has announced that she will be releasing a new album in March 2011, fans must be wondering what her latest musical endeavor will sound like. The as-yet-untitled effort is a follow-up to 2008's well-received Circus, which helped resurrect the singer's career after a dark time in her life. No information regarding the upcoming album has emerged, but Britney's faithful followers have watched her change up her look and sound with each single over the span of her decade-plus career, as she evolved from a bubblegum-pop princess to a sexy dance-club siren. Let's trace Spears' musical journey by taking a look at some of her most memorable tunes.

In 1999, a fresh-faced Spears released " ...Baby One More Time" (produced by Max Martin), the title track off her massive debut album. She got the conversation about her sexuality started thanks to a provocative video in which she danced around in a Catholic school uniform, as well as the song's equally provocative lyrics, where she longingly sang, "My loneliness is killing me/ I must confess, I still believe/ When I'm not with you I lose my mind/ Give me a sign/ Hit me baby one more time." It's to be noted that the song originally was intended for TLC.

In the video for "Oops! ... I Did It Again" (produced by Martin and Rami Yacoub), Spears' smash from the 2000 album of the same name, the pigtails and skirt were gone, replaced by a red catsuit. That visual, as well as the song's lyrical content, reflected Spears' evolution from naughty schoolgirl to intergalactic sex kitten, both in her video and on the song's lyrical content.

For "I'm a Slave 4 U" (produced by the Neptunes) off 2001's Britney, Spears declared her sexual independence. No longer was she just teasing about the idea that she loved the beat of dance music and how sexy it made her feel, instead she was explicitly sharing it with the world. Plus, who could forget all the sweat in that video.

In 2003, Spears teamed up with the Queen of Pop, Madonna, for "Me Against the Music" (produced by Christopher Stewart and Penelope Magnet), the sexy lead single from In the Zone. While the darker, more synth-heavy "Toxic" would become the album's defining tune, "Me Against the Music" picked up where "Slave" left off: Spears battling the demon she has inside of her that just loves to come out on the dance floor.

After a few years of not putting out any music, Spears hit the club again with 2007's "Gimme More" (produced by Danja) off the aptly titled Blackout. Between the release of In the Zone and Blackout, Spears had married, divorced and become a mother — she also had started to act erratically. The track, which relied more heavily on underground dance and electro than most of Spears' previous singles, was a highly sexualized tune about getting it on.

After the darkness of Blackout, Spears got back to her fun and frolicking old ways on the 2008 Circus single "Womanizer" (produced by the Outsyders). The track was a return to form for Spears after the lackluster response to Blackout, and it brought the discussion back around to her music and away from her sometimes topsy-turvy personal life. In the song's video, Spears gets back at a player, and really has the last laugh. The clip also features ffotage of a completely nude Britney in a steamy sauna.

In 2009, Spears shot to the top of the charts with the danceable track "Three" (produced by Martin and Shellback) off The Singles Collection. The tune was an instant smash, and featured Spears robotically singing about a ménage à trois over a club beat.

As for what's next for the singer, very little is known about her forthcoming album, although a couple of her producers have dropped some hints. Dr. Luke said that the music will "be a departure from what you've heard," while Danja called it "hard-hitting, uptempo [and] high-energy." Spears, meanwhile, is very clear about how she thinks the record is sounding. "I AM IN L-O-V-E WITH IT!" she tweeted.

Are you looking forward to Britney's new album? Share your thoughts in the comments.

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'Little Fockers' Cast On What They Missed Most Since Last Movie

'For me, it's always exciting to come to work with Mr. DeNiro,' Ben Stiller says of his co-star.
By Kara Warner, with reporting by Eric Ditzian

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Photo: MTV News

It's hard to believe that it's been six years since audiences were treated to a Fockers film. "Meet the Fockers," the sequel to "Meet the Parents," was released in 2004. Even more difficult to believe is that it's been a full decade since the original opened in 2000. With the arrival of the third installment in the franchise, "Little Fockers," opening Wednesday (December 22), we wanted to know what the castmembers missed most about each other during their long six years away from the Focker and Byrnes families.

"Cuddling," Dustin Hoffman, who plays Ben Stiller's father Bernie Focker, joked. "We hadn't cuddled for six years."

"Cuddling, that was a good one," Owen Wilson agreed. "There's something about this guy, I can't keep my eyes off him ... my hands off him. You just want to hug him."

"Owen and I work very similarly together," Hoffman explained of their affection for one another. "And we yearn for the time when we can have an entire film together."

"That would be nice," Wilson said. But when asked about the long hiatus between films, Hoffman seemed to enjoy the break.

"I kind of like the blessed relief of not having to do another 'Fockers' for six years," he said with a chuckle.

"Yeah, I think it is nice to let it percolate," Wilson added.

The actresses who play onscreen mother and daughter noted that the passage of time has been met with many milestones, both in the film and in real life.

"Now we have children," Blythe Danner said. Gesturing to co-star Teri Polo, Danner continued, "She didn't have children in real life when we started 10 years ago. I didn't have grandchildren 10 years ago in real life. So we're mature women now. We've all matured, in positive and negative ways."

"Speak for yourself!" Polo joked about the "mature women" comment. "There's a dance, a familiarity, a dance, a rhythm, a song that you just fall back into," she said of coming back to work with her "Focker" castmates. "When you walk onto the set for the first time after five years and see Robert DeNiro, it's just awesome. Believe it or not, he's a warm man," Polo added. "He's a man of few words but very warm." Speaking of DeNiro, Stiller insisted his legendary co-star was happy for time away from him.

"He didn't miss me," Stiller said. "For me, it's always exciting to come to work with Mr. DeNiro. I feel like after 10 years I finally feel OK calling you 'Bob.' I finally feel like I'm not forcing that," he said. "It's always great to have a chance to work together, the whole cast, it's always fun to see everybody."

Check out everything we've got on "Little Fockers."

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

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'Glee' Britney Spears Episode Slammed By Parents Television Council

Group describes show as 'an endorsement of narcotics abuse, public masturbation, and school-sanctioned burlesque.'
By James Dinh

Heather Morris in the "Britney/Brittany" episode of "Glee"
Photo: FOX

Last week's episode of "Glee" found Sue Sylvester (Jane Lynch) shouting, "It's a Britney Spears sex riot!" as she attempted to put a stop to the glee club's saucy rendition of "Toxic."

But she's not the only one who had an issue with the Spears takeover at William McKinley High School. The hit Fox show has come under fire as the Parents Television Council has deemed the "Britney/Brittany" episode the "Worst TV Show of the Week" due to the broadcast's "explicit sexual content."

A message posted on the organization's website decries the episode's "skimpy outfits" and "sultry grinds" during "I'm a Slave 4 U." And even though "Glee" castmembers show very little skin in the re-creation for the 2001 Madonna duet "Me Against the Music," the PTC said the interpretation included "plenty of girl-girl bumping and grinding."

According to the group, the tribute to the always-controversial Spears wasn't appropriate because the singer is far from a suitable role model.

"Glee earned its highest ratings ever with this Britney Spears tribute, drawing 13.3 million viewers," the message continued. "A scary thought considering that the mostly young teen/tween audience basically witnessed an endorsement of narcotics abuse, public masturbation, and school-sanctioned burlesque. But perhaps most troubling is the deification of a troubled pop star into a symbol of empowerment and self-esteem. Considering her stints in rehab, her very public breakdowns, and her questionable parenting skills, there is absolutely no way Spears should be considered a role model. The producers of the show can spare us the old song-and-dance about fallen celebs turning their lives around. What's next? Portraying Ike Turner as a reformed feminist?"

Spears knows controversy and criticism far too well. Since the beginning of her career, she's always raised eyebrows with everything from her sex-kitten public image to her sometimes-questionable parental judgment. While the pop star has played it relatively safe since her comeback, the singer did make headlines last year for her suggestive single "If U Seek Amy," the third offering from her album Circus.

Do you think the "Britney/Brittany" episode of "Glee" was inappropriate? Tell us in the comments below!

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Kelsey Grammer Wants A Quickie Divorce So He Can Marry His New Fianc�e

Former Cheers and Fraiser star Kelsey Grammer, who is currently still married to Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star Camille Grammer despite the fact that he has been carrying on an extra-marital affair [which included a failed pregnancy] for the past year, has petitioned the judge overseeing his divorce to put the proceedings on the [...]

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Justin Bieber And Chris Brown Team Up For Song

Brown tweeted that the song will drop 'at the top of the NEW YEAR!!!'
By Jocelyn Vena

Justin Bieber
Photo: Jeffrey Ufberg/ Getty Images

Justin Bieber has never shied away from a good collaboration. At the ripe old age of 16, the singer has worked with everyone from Sean Kingston and Ludacris to Kanye West and Raekwon. Now it looks like he has found a new collaborator: Chris Brown tweeted that he and the Biebs plan to drop a joint song this weekend.

It's unclear whose album the song is for, but Brown seemed enthusiastic about the collabo. "ME and @justinbieber got a BANGER/SMASH record for all the fans out there at the top of the NEW YEAR!!!" Brown teased. "2011."

Bieber had hinted at a possible collabo with Brown back in October on his Twitter, sharing a thinly veiled message with his fans about a duet with the "Deuces" singer. "Kinda hyped rt now. for a new single teamed up with one of my friends and an artist I used to sing covers of on youtube. BIG RECORD. SMASH!!" He then tweeted a video of himself covering Brown's "With You."

After Brown's assault of then-girlfriend Rihanna, the singer hit a personal and professional low. But he seems to be making his way back into the spotlight, with Keri Hilson co-signing his return. "People are already putting [Brown] back in their good graces, 'cause they see his remorse," Hilson told MTV News. "And I know people are saying, 'Is he really a man? You have him on your album.' I mean, yeah. To me, a man is someone, you don't go backwards in life. You learn from your mistakes, and you don't do it again. You show remorse, and you move on. You move forward onto bigger and better things. That's a man trait."

Meanwhile, Bieber has been busy working on new music. MTV News recently caught up with him while he was hanging with Diddy in the studio, and both he and Rascal Flatts frontman Gary LeVox have confirmed that they're working on new music together for the pop star's 2011 album.

What do you think of a Bieber/Brown team-up? Share your thoughts in the comments!

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Katy Perry Stands By Her Man

I told you yesterday about Russell Brand being arrested after allegedly getting into an altercation with a paparazzo. Here are the pictures of Russell and Katy Perry arriving at the airport before the scuffle broke out.

And here's what Katy had to say on twitter about the incident:

If you cross the line & try an put a lens up my dress, my fianc� will do his job & protect me. #standbyyourman #don'tf**kwiththeBrands.

If it's true that the paparazzo was trying to get a picture under Katy's skirt, then the paparazzo is the one who should've been arrested! Talk about crossing the line. And I've heard of paparazzi trying to do that, so it doesn't sound so improbable to me.

Hopefully this will be resolved without too much fuss.

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Dave Grohl, Josh Homme, John Paul Jones Unveil Supergroup

Them Crooked Vultures make their debut with a post-Lollapalooza set.
By James Montgomery

Dave Grohl (file)
Photo: Jewel Samad/AFP/Getty Images

Officially, Lollapalooza ended Sunday night in Chicago's Grant Park, with dueling sets from the Killers and Jane's Addiction. Unofficially, it ended very early Monday morning, across town at venerable rock club the Metro, with a surprise show by Them Crooked Vultures.

To the unfamiliar, the Vultures might seem like an odd choice to close out Lolla weekend ... until you realize that they're made up of Foo Fighters frontman/ former Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl, Queens of the Stone Age mastermind Josh Homme and Led Zeppelin legend John Paul Jones. And their gig at the Metro was their world premiere.

According to some reports, the Vultures actually turned down Lollapalooza founder Perry Farrell's request to replace the Beastie Boys as headliners at the festival, opting to debut in front of some 1,100 super-psyched fans at the Metro, rather than 75,000 in Grant Park (tickets for the gig were announced via Foo Fighter/ QOTSA fan clubs). Meaning that, in a lot of ways, this was the most sought-after ticket in town.

Taking the stage just after midnight, the Vultures — Grohl on drums (of course), Homme on guitar and vocals, Jones on bass and keys and frequent QOTSA contributor Alain Johannes on guitar — ripped through 12 songs in 80 minutes, all taken from their upcoming debut, which may or may not be called Never Deserved the Future, and may or may not be hitting stores on October 23 (early "promo" videos touting both those facts were revealed over the weekend to be hoaxes perpetrated by QOTSA fans).

The songs, with appropriately Homme-ian titles like "Scumbag Blues," "Mind Eraser (No Chaser)," "Caligulove" and "Interlude w/Ludes," sounded pretty much how you'd expect, given the band's pedigree. They rocked, hard — Chicago Tribune critic Greg Kot described them as "fresh, invigorating and just plain nasty" — delving off into psychedelic, reverb-filled excursions and exploring proggy territory, "both of the old-school Yes variety, and the more modern Tool flavor," according to the Chicago Sun-Times' Jim DeRogatis.

It's not known if Monday's Metro performance was a one-off event for the Vultures — there have been whispers of a full-blown tour, but a spokesperson for Homme had not responded to MTV News' request for comment at press time. Nor was it clear whether or not they'll have an album out in October.

Early Monday, a Crooked Vultures Twitter account, which had previously posted links to the band's official-looking Web site and the Metro's online ticketing site — posted a link to what appears to be the group's first bit of official merchandise: a Deserve the Future T-shirt. Cost: $30.

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Lady Gaga, Alicia Keys, Taylor Swift Top Charitable Celebs List

DoSomething.org announces its 2010 'Celebs Gone Good' roundup.
By Terri Schwartz

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Photo: Dimitrios Kambouris/ WireImage

MTV News already recognized Lady Gaga as being the most important Woman of the Year (and our most fashionable), but we weren't the only ones taking notice: DoSomething.org listed their top 20 most charitable celebrities of 2010, and unsurprisingly, Gaga took the #1 spot.

DoSomething helps young people develop causes they care about, and the organization said Gaga represented that spirit this year more than any other artist. From calling for an end to the military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy (which was recently repealed) to hosting a "Hands Up for Marriage Equality" event, Gaga focused on helping others.

Fellow pop star Alicia Keys was #2 on the "Celebs Gone Good" list. As the founder of Keep a Child Alive, Keys worked harder than ever to provide AIDS treatment worldwide and raised $1.1 million with her Digital Death Campaign, thanks to the help of celebrities such as Gaga, Kim Kardashian, Usher and Justin Timberlake.

Coming after Keys on the list was America's newest sweetheart Taylor Swift, who earned her spot by donating $500,000 to relief efforts after Nashville flooded earlier this year, as well as by joining Scholastic's READ NOW program to promote literacy.

Rounding out the top five were Ashton Kutcher and his wife, Demi Moore, who launched the DNA Foundation to help stop child sex trafficking and met with world leaders to end slavery worldwide, and Ellen DeGeneres, who teamed up with the Trevor Project to combat bullying and raised more than $150,000 for LGBT people struggling with mental-health issues.

Nick Jonas came onto the list at #6 thanks to his becoming the National Chair for "Walk to Cure Diabetes" as well as his portion of the Jonas Brothers' Change for the Children Foundation.

Matt Damon placed #7 for his Water.org organization, while Leonardo DiCaprio was #8 for donating $1 million to the tiger-preservation foundation Save Tigers Now.

Oprah was #9, and Justin Bieber snuck into 10th place after dedicating a music video to children battling illness worldwide and donating $150,000 to a Buffalo, New York, hospital. He also worked with Pencils of Promise to build schools and increase education opportunities for less-fortunate children, and dedicated $1 of every concert ticket sold to the organization.

Shakira, Betty White, Eva Longoria, Sophia Bush, Alyssa Milano, Sandra Bullock, Wyclef Jean, Prince William, Stephen Colbert and AnnaLynne McCord were the other 10 celebrities recognized for their charitable efforts this year.

After debuting his recent buzz cut and his own charitable efforts, it looks like "Charlie St. Cloud" star Zac Efron might be making a run to place on next year's list.

Who do you think was the most charitable celeb in 2010? Tell us in the comments below!

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Lady Gaga Calls Born This Way Her 'Most Innovative' Work

Gaga tells BBC new album crosses genres, from electronic to rock and roll
By James Montgomery

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Lady Gaga hasn't exactly been shy when it comes to describing Born This Way, calling her upcoming record everything from "almost perfect" to "the greatest album of this decade."

And, in a new interview with the BBC, she continued that trend, calling Born her "most innovative" work so far, and promising her fans a musical experience unlike any they've ever heard.

"[The album is] a marriage of electronic music with major, epic, dare I even say, metal or rock and roll, pop, anthemic style melodies with really sledge-hammering dance beats," Gaga said, immediately before jumping onstage at London's O2 Arena. "I think that lyrically this album is more poetic ... It's really written by the fans, they really wrote it for me because every night they're funneling so much into me. So I wrote it for them. Born This Way is all about my little monsters and me, mother monster."

Echoing something she's been saying since the summer, Gaga promised that the album is "finished and all," but that she's currently "fine-tuning everything."

"It's kind of like the post-operative stage of the album," she said. "I've already done the full heart surgery. I'm just sewing myself back up again."

And, to that end, she added that her monsters might not have to wait much longer to hear the album's first single — the title of which is still unknown — telling the BBC it would be released in February 2011, with the album arriving "shortly after."

Are you eager to hear Gaga's Born This Way? Tell us in the comments!

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Ke$ha Says Rihanna 'Meant Absolutely No Offense'

'I'm so used to the media flipping my words around,' singer tells Complex.
By James Dinh

Ke$ha on the December 2010 issue of <i>Complex</i>
Photo: Complex

Pop-star rivalry has been around for years. Whether it was Britney vs. Christina or Mariah vs. Whitney, there's always been an underlying competition between your favorite female pop singers. But don't expect any animosity between today's stars, at least not from Ke$ha.

The wilding-out singer, who's the latest Complex cover girl, spoke with the magazine about her pop-star peers, including Rihanna, Katy Perry and Lady Gaga.

"I actually think that's cool," the singer said of the female stars she's being compared to. "Out of that group of chicks, I'm the new bitch on the block, so I'm still getting used to being compared to some of the biggest pop stars in the world, but I don't take any offense to it. That just means people know my records."

Earlier this year, Ke$ha teamed up with Rihanna for the Barbadian bombshell's girl-power trek, the Last Girl on Earth Tour. Despite the duo's pairing, the blogosphere went into a fury when Rihanna recently revealed that she "didn't want the generic pop record that Ke$ha or Lady Gaga or Katy Perry could do."

The party-loving pop star admitted that she hadn't even read the quote, suggesting that the media may have taken Rih's comments out of context.

"I'm so used to the media flipping my words around that I'm sure she meant absolutely no offense to me or Katy or Gaga," said the singer. "Rihanna and me are totally cool, we were just on tour together, and I know that she and Katy are good friends. I don't take any offense because I'm sure it's bullsh-- anyway."

Based on the garbage-bag ensemble she wore to this year's MTV Video Music Awards, it seems that Ke$ha could care less about other people's opinions. "I was trying to look super-hot," she said. "I like to poke fun at when people make fun of me, because I don't take myself that seriously. People say I'm 'garbage chic,' so I thought I'd take it to the next level and make a garbage bag super f---ing chic — and I succeeded!"

As for now, the singer is focusing on her recently released Cannibal, a companion album to her debut, Animal.

Do you think there's competition between any of today's pop stars? Share your thoughts below!

Open the floodgates! It's Mega-Release Week, with Kanye West, Nicki Minaj, Jay-Z, Ne-Yo, Ke$ha, My Chemical Romance and Lloyd Banks all dropping new albums. Stick with MTV News for everything you need to know about the brand-new music.

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Topher Grace On The Complicated Life Of 'Take Me Home Tonight'

The '80s-set flick's depiction of cocaine use was partly responsible for long release-date delay.
By Kara Warner, with reporting by Josh Horowitz

Topher Grace in "Take Me Home Tonight"
Photo: Imagine Entertainment

The inner workings of Hollywood are a perpetual mystery, particularly when film scheduling is involved. The normal filmmaking, script-to-screen process is, in a nutshell, basic: Script is written, produced, filmed, edited, promoted — and voila! It hits theaters. But as many beleaguered writers/producers/directors/actors know, things don't always go so smoothly.

Take, for example, the comedy "Take Me Home Tonight" (formerly titled "Kids in America"), which stars Topher Grace (who's also executive producer), Ana Faris, Dan Fogler, Teresa Palmer and Michelle Trachtenberg. Not exactly an indie, no-name cast, and yet the film completed principal photography in late 2006/ early 2007 and is just now getting released.

When MTV News caught up with Grace recently, we asked him to take us through the producing process that finally led to its release date.

"[The film came from] this idea that every generation had a film that looked about 20 years back," Grace said, adding the fact that no one had captured the spirit of the '80s in film without making fun of the decade. "We wanted to do something that felt like it was literally made in the '80s. So, we brought this to a different studio, and they were very supportive when they made the film, so we're very grateful for that."

What slowed down the process from there, Grace explained, was a hesitation from the studio with several scenes that involve cocaine use. "It tested really well," he said. "It's an audience film. It's not drama, but there was a real hesitation because there is so much cocaine in it, and our feeling at the time was, 'You can't do a movie about Prohibition without alcohol, and you really can't do a movie about partying in the '80s, at the age these kids are, without showing cocaine use."

Lucky for Grace and his producing partner Gordon Kaywin, the film received new life at Imagine Entertainment, via veteran producers Ron Howard and Brian Grazer.

"We had fun producing, but those guys are the real deal," Grace said of Howard and Grazer. "We learned a lot from them, and they're probably the greatest producers of our time. So, they encouraged us to not change the cut, which I thought was a really cool move."

Grace also credited Ryan Kavanaugh, the CEO of Relativity Media (the studio that is now releasing the film), with understanding and helping execute their original idea.

"He understood that you can't make a movie like 'Dazed and Confused' if it doesn't have pot in it," Grace said. "You just can't; it doesn't ring true. It's not that real thing we talk about, and he and his team embraced it, and that's the film we got to see."

The former "That '70s Show" star said he's thrilled with the final result.

"We're so happy with the film. It's creatively exactly what we wanted, and it's exactly the opposite of the normal situation where stuff gets cut," he said. "[For us] it was the opposite: We got to put stuff back in."

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

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