Oscar-nominated ‘Beasts of the Southern Wild’ gets plug from Michelle Obama at White House

WASHINGTON — Michelle Obama on Wednesday gushed over the Oscar-nominated film “Beasts of the Southern Wild,” calling it one of the “most powerful and most important” movies in a long time in a ringing endorsement delivered less than two weeks before this month’s Academy Awards ceremony.
The first lady commented during a Black History Month workshop at the White House for about 80 middle- and high-school students from the District of Columbia and New Orleans. The movie was set in Louisiana.

Students saw the film, then got to question director Benh Zeitlin and actors Dwight Henry and 9-year-old Quvenzhane Wallis. Wallis stars in the mythical tale of a 6-year-old girl named Hushpuppy struggling to survive in the southern Delta with her ailing father as a storm approaches. Her world consists of a tight-knit, shantytown community on the bayou with wild animals, both real and imagined.
The film won four Oscar nominations, including for best picture, best actress and directing.
Mrs. Obama said she saw the 93-minute film over the summer with a large group of friends and family who ranged in age from 3 to 73, and they were enthralled by it.
“It’s rare these days to find a movie that can so completely and utterly captivate such a broad audience and that was one of the things that struck me about this movie,” she said. “It managed to be beautiful, joyful and devastatingly honest.”
The first lady said “Beasts” makes viewers “think deeply about the people we love in our lives who make us who we are” and shows the strength of communities and the power they give others to overcome obstacles.
“It also tells a compelling story of poverty and devastation but also of hope and love in the midst of some great challenges,” she said.
Mrs. Obama also said it was “cool” that “there are so many important lessons to learn in that little 93 minutes.”
“That a director and a set of writers and producers can say so much in just 93 minutes,” the first lady told the students. “And it doesn’t always happen in a movie, quite frankly, but this one did it, and that’s why I love this movie so much and why our team wanted to bring it here to the White House and share it with all of you.”
Mrs. Obama also used the film to inspire her young audience, noting that Wallis was just 5 years old when she auditioned for the part and Henry, who runs a bakery, had never acted a day in his life.
“You all have to really be focused on preparing yourselves for the challenges and the opportunities that will lie ahead for all of you. You’ve got to be prepared,” she said, urging them to go to school, do their homework every day and follow her husband’s example by reading everything they get their hands on.

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Lady Gaga Cancels Remainder of Born This Way Ball Tour Due to Injured Hip

Sorry, Little Monsters, Lady Gaga is bowing out.
The pop star has decided to cancel the remainder of her Born This Way Ball tour after announcing that she would postpone four shows due to a hip injury.
"After additional tests this morning to review the severity of the issue, it has been determined that Lady Gaga has a labral tear of the right hip," Live Nation said in a release. "She will need surgery to repair the problem, followed by strict down time to recover. This unfortunately, will force her to cancel the tour so she can heal."
Lady Gaga postpones four shows
Initially, concerts scheduled for today and Thursday in Chicago, Saturday in Detroit and Sunday in Hamilton, Canada, had been the only shows canceled, with makeup dates to be announced later, however Mother Monster's injury has clearly become a bigger issue than before.
  
According to the release, refunds for the canceled performances will be available at point of purchase starting Feb. 14, 2013.
Lady Gaga goes on tirade after former assistant sues her
"I've been hiding a show injury and chronic pain for sometime now,over the past month it has worsened," Gaga tweeted yesterday. "I've been praying it would heal." She continued: "I hid it from my staff, I didn't want to disappoint my amazing fans. However after last nights performance I could not walk and still can't."
Gaga added, "It will hopefully heal as soon as possible, I hate this. I hate this so much. I love you and Im sorry."
Here's to a speedy recovery!

The Hobbit picks up technical Oscar

The team from The Hobbit picked up an Academy plaque for 

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey has earned its first Academy Award after being recognised at an early pre-Oscar ceremony in Los Angeles.

The Scientific and Technical Achievement Awards recognize people who have made significant behind-the-scenes contributions to movie making.
The ceremony, hosted by Star Trek co-stars Chris Pine and Zoe Saldana, gave nine awards to 25 people.
Those responsible for the computer graphics in Shrek were also honoured.
Unlike the main Oscars ceremony, which will be held on Sunday, 24 February and will only recognise movie achievements from 2012, the Scientific and Technical Awards gave awards to behind-the-scenes innovators whose breakthroughs in computer technology and other fields have helped make several feature films over a number of years.

The technique makes Gollum appear more lifelike

Simon Clutterbuck, James Jacobs and Dr. Richard Dorling won for inventing a technique which has made huge advances in bringing to life computer-generated characters such as Gollum in Peter Jackson's The Hobbit.
Richard Mall received perhaps the greatest applause of the night, for his invention of the Matthews Max Menace Arm, a portable device which allows studio lights to be moved and positioned all over a set, often where normal lighting cannot be used because of on-site restrictions or other difficult conditions.
"I am a little humbled to be up here with all this technology, because basically I built something in my garage," Mall said to applause and cheers. He thanked his wife for enduring all the strange noises that had come out of that garage.
His invention has been sold to over 40 countries and used in more than 300 films.
Lawrence Kesteloot, Drew Olbrich, and Daniel Wexler at DreamWorks were honoured with an Academy certificate for the creating one of the most versatile lighting delivery systems in film production,
The system, which combines light, colour and rendering in one, was used in the likes of Shrek and Madagascar.
Portions of the event will be seen during the televised Oscars ceremony later this month.

Emma Watson Talks Kristen Stewart In Vanity Fair Italy

She looks stunning on the cover of Vanity Fair Italy's latest issue, and Emma Watson is frustrated with how folks have treated her fellow movie star Kristen Stewart.

The “Perks of Being a Wallflower” actress explained that KStew’s cheating scandal over the summer wasn’t handled fairly in the public eye.

Emma began, "Those who criticized her are the same people that think that being rich and famous is like being covered in some kind of magic powder that makes life perfect: Nothing can go wrong in your wonderful world.”

"For these people, Kristen deserves all the bad things that have been thrown at her because she had an amazing life and she ruined it."

"I thought that the media picked on her in a very horrible way. Kristen is human, just like everybody else, and she's so young. Everyone makes mistakes, everyone. It's not fair to consider them matters of public interest. On one hand, I can understand why it happened: people felt really involved in her relationship with Robert Pattinson. But it's also true that they both have done everything in their power to keep their relationship as far from the public eye as possible."

Justin Bieber's Mom: Keep Me Out of Abortion Debate!

Justin Bieber finds herself in the middle of a heated debate, and not over whether or her son ought to reconcile with Selena Gomez.

Yes, Pattie Mallette is promoting the film Crescendo because she hopes it will raise money for centers that assist pregnant women - but, no, she is not taking any kind of pro-choice stance.

"The press has been saying that I'm producing an anti-abortion film and taking this big stance," Mallette told The AP. "You know, I haven't shared my stance with anyone and I'm not here to make a political statement, so there's been a lot of assumptions made."

Mallette gave birth to Bieber at 18 and has been open about the pressure on her to terminate the pregnancy at the time. She also attempted suicide many years ago and dabbled in drugs and alcohol.

But the promotion of this movie, Mallette says, is to support programs such as the one that essentially saved her life after she was kicked out of her parents' home.

"The pregnancy center that I lived in is now closed because of lack of funds, so I thought it was a really important thing that [producers are] doing to raise money."

On a lighter side, Mallette was also asked about Justin's butt crack, which he shared last month with Instagram followers.

"I don't want to see him doing that kind of stuff," she said. "But, you know, he's 18. He's making some of his own decisions and he's going to make some mistakes and he's going to make some good choices, too."

DJ Paul to Justin Bieber: Stay Off the Sizzurp!

Take heed, Justin Bieber.

Stopped on the street last night by TMZ, Three 6 Mafia rapper DJ Paul offered up some advice to the young singer.

With photos of Bieber taking sizzurp allegedly making the round, Paul - who is known for his song "Sippin on Some Syrup" - said of the risky cocktail:

"I can't say don't do [sizzurp] because I did my rounds with it. But I stay away from it these days because I had a lot of friends that passed away from it. It's dangerous if you do too much of it."

Seriously, JB. We do not want you to die.

What about Lil Za and Lil Twist? Bieber's close friends who many consider to be bad influences?

"Nah, friends are friends," Paul said. "It's just a phase they're going through."