• Check out Emma Stone's 'Amazing' red carpet looks

    This is a message for Emma Stone: Maybe Jim Carrey, in all his creepy, close-up goodness, was onto something when he called her "all-the-way beautiful" in his YouTube love letter.

    John Macdougall / AFP - Getty Images

    Emma Stone at a photocall for the Berlin premiere of "The Amazing Spider-Man" on Wednesday.

    The actress has been casting her web of attraction around the world as she helps roll out the much-anticipated "The Amazing Spider-Man." Alongside her onscreen superhero and real life boyfriend Andrew Garfield, we've seen Stone walk the red carpet for premieres in Tokyo, Seoul, Moscow, London, Paris and Berlin so far.

    Stone, a natural blonde who sometimes goes red, is the cover subject of the latest New York magazine. Her "Spidey sense is tingling," says a promo for the article, "she knows you're watching her." Great, now we really feel creepy. But the 23-year-old actress says of that Carrey video, "I was so flattered I can’t even tell you. Honest!"

    That doesn't mean she's buying all the attention she gets for her looks. "The pretty thing ... It was never a value to me growing up," Stone told New York mag. "I always thought I was like the goofy, wonky one.

    "I don’t actually recognize the person that’s out there," she says of her red-carpet persona. "It's like there’s this outside person, and there’s me."

    Reuters, Getty (2), AP

    EPA, Getty (2), Reuters

    In a business full of stars and wannabe stars who can't wait for the next flashbulb to go off in their face, Stone's take is a refreshing one. And now, our bottom lip is quivering, just like Jim Carrey's at the end of his video.

    Are you an Emma Stone fan? What films have you liked her in? Tell us over on Facebook.

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  • Axl Rose face-plants during Guns N' Roses show


    Oh Axl Rose. You're clearly not the spry, energetic young rock star you once were at the height of Guns N' Roses' fame. When the latest version of the band performed at Hellfest in France on Saturday, Axl fell face first onto a platform on stage during "Sweet Child o' Mine."

    Keep your eyes on the right side of the stage:

    Sure, the veteran performer recovered quickly, but perhaps he wasn't feeling so hot on this tour. A full video of the Saturday gig on YouTube revealed a totally uninspired performance of "Sweet Child" by the GNR frontman. (The clip was later yanked, but here's a performance of a similar energy level from Axl on April 6 in the Netherlands.) That fall would've been totally excusable had he been channeling a smidgen of the energy he once had on stage. But instead of running, jumping and dancing around vigorously as he once did, the frontman strolled slowly back and forth during the performance of one of the band's biggest hits. No wonder the crowd seemed to lack energy as well. (No dancing at a rock show? No moshing? What is this world coming to?!?)

    And no, Axl's certainly not the first (nor will he be the last) performer to fall. Check out these others:

    Jennifer Lopez quickly recovered at the 2009 American Music Awards:

    Steven Tyler in South Dakota in 2009, where he unfortunately sustained some injuries:

     

    Kanye West in Norway in 2011:

    Lady Gaga in Houston in 2011:

     

    Have you ever witnessed a performer stumble during a concert you attended? Tell us about it on Facebook.


     

     

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  • 1990s boy band 98 Degrees reuniting for one concert

    Kmazur / WireImage

    98 Degrees in 2001.

    98 Degrees is back … for una noche. During a spot on "On Air with Ryan Seacrest" on Wednesday, Nick Lachey and his brother Drew announced that 98 Degrees, which also includes Justin Jeffre and Jeff Timmons, will be reuniting for the Summer Mixtape Festival in Hershey, Pa. on Aug. 18.

    PHOTOS: The biggest boy bands of all time

    "We're very excited about the opportunity, and we've been toying around with the idea for a couple years of: 'if we got back together, when would be the right scenario, and this music festival right here just kind of seemed like the right time to get back together and do a show and kick the tires and see how it feels," Drew, 35, explained during their call-in.

    Nick, 38, who is expecting his first child with wife Vanessa Minnillo this year, went into detail about dispelling a 98 Degrees reunion tour rumor that had popped up back in April.


    PHOTOS: Nick and Vanessa Lachey's hot bodies

    "I didn't say we weren't going to do it, but there was some speculation about a full tour happening this summer and our fans have been kind of eager to see us get back together," he explained. "I just wanted to make sure that they understood that a full tour wasn't happening this summer, but obviously very excited to announce that we're doing this big festival in Hershey in August. So, that will be our one and only appearance."

    PHOTOS: Stars in concert

    This will be the first reunion show for the "Give Me Just One Night (Una Noche)" quartet, who split in 2002 to pursue individual projects.

    Grab your clear cola and slap bracelets! What's your favorite 1990s band? Tell us on Facebook.

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  • Why does music 'wake' some coma patients?

    After suffering a brain hemorrhage, 7-year-old Charlotte Neve slipped into a coma. The British girl was unconscious for several days and doctors feared she wouldn’t recover. Her mother, Leila Neve, was at her bedside when Adele’s “Rolling in the Deep” started playing on the radio. Leila and Charlotte often sang the song together and Leila began singing along.

    Then something remarkable happened: Charlotte smiled. Within two days, she could speak and get out of bed. Why does music seem to help "awaken" some people from their comas?

    “It was a salient stimulus, something that she is familiar with, like [her] name,” says Dr. Emery Neal Brown, professor of anesthesia at Mass General Hospital and Harvard Medical School and professor of computational neuroscience at MIT.

    Brown suspects Charlotte recovered some brain functioning prior to hearing the Adele song, but it was imperceptible. When she heard the song, she smiled and eventually woke because it held meaning for her (that's the salient stimulus part).  

    “Maybe people have function recovered and we don’t know how to communicate with them,” he says, explaining a salient stimulus varies by person.

    “Whenever memories have an emotional context to them, they tend to hold much more power in the brain and tend to be processed differently,” says Dr. Javier Provencio, director of the Neurological Critical Care Unit at Cleveland Clinic.

    Robin Gibb of the Bee Gees woke from his coma when his family played music for him — music for a professional musician who sang with his brothers would have deep meaningful connections in the brain, sparking a reaction. But for someone who plays tennis or rides horses, a song might not encourage a response. 

    But sometimes, music causes a reaction because the brain processes songs differently than spoken language. In these cases, the region of the brain responsible for song might be working better while the language lags behind.

    “We clearly process music and tonal things differently than language. There are patients [who had strokes] who cannot talk but can still sing,” says Provencio.

    The left cerebral hemisphere controls language, while the right processes song and music. Patients who have damage in the left might respond better to song.

    “They lose the ability to talk and understand. Music therapy is really useful because it is used in the non-dominate hemisphere,” says Dr. James Bernat, professor of neurology and medicine at Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth and a member of the American Academy of Neurology.

    Music therapists such as Lee Anna Rasar at the University of Wisconsin Eau Claire often use music to try to evoke responses from comatose patients. She notes that songs are most effective “if the music is something they knew before that already had meaning.”

    All the physicians agree that doctors still have limited understanding of whether someone will recover from a coma, but if Charlotte wasn’t already healing, she wouldn’t have smiled at the song.

    “Even in a coma, it’s quite common that these people improve spontaneously,” says Bernat. “They wake up and start responding. It isn’t outside the range of what is expected that there would be improvement over time.”

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  • Angelina Jolie looks chilling as fairy-tale villain Maleficent

    Greg Williams / Disney

    Angelina Jolie stars in "Maleficent."

    Evil never looked so good.

    Disney has released the first photo of Angelina Jolie as Maleficent, the infamous sorceress from "Sleeping Beauty."

    The image shows Jolie looking upwards, wearing the sorceress' signature horns, red lips and creepy glowing eyes.

    PHOTOS: Angelina Jolie's Top 10 Red Carpet Looks

    The image was released with the announcement from Disney that filming has started on June 13 in the U.K.


    Disney’s new film reveals the origins of one of their most famous villains, sharing the events that hardened Maleficent’s heart and drove her to curse the baby Aurora in the 1959 classic "Sleeping Beauty."

    Jolie announced that Maleficent would be her next role back in February while at the Berlin International Film Festival.

    "I haven't acted in two years, and I haven't done anything else since this ['Land of Blood and Honey']. The next thing I am looking at is a Disney movie," said the actress.

    EXCLUSIVE: Juno Temple Joins Angelina Jolie's 'Maleficent'

    The film marks the directorial debut for Robert Stromberg, an Academy Award winning production designer ("Avatar," "Alice in Wonderland").

    Elle Fanning stars as Aurora and Sharlto Copley is Stefan, the half-human and half-fairy bastard son of the human king. Juno Temple, Imelda Staunton and Lesley Manville play the three pixie fairies.

    Fans will have quite a wait for "Maleficent," which is set for release on March 14, 2014 in 3-D.

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  • NPR intern owns 11,000 songs, paid for only a few

    Alex Brandon / AP file

    Remember buying records? An NPR intern's blog post has sparked a huge debate about paying for music.

    Those who've seen music change from record players to 8-tracks to cassettes to CDs and MP3s know well that the format of one's music collection is far from permanent.

    But that said, a 20-year-old NPR intern managed to strike up quite the controversy last week with her blog post, "I Never Owned Any Music To Begin With."  American University senior Emily White confesses that she has more than 11,000 songs in her iTunes library, is "an avid music listener, concertgoer and college radio DJ," yet only paid for 15 CDs in her lifetime.

    "I wish I could say I miss album packaging and liner notes and rue the decline in album sales the digital world has caused," White writes. "But the truth is, I've never supported physical music as a consumer."

    She goes on to say that she herself didn't "illegally" download most of the songs, receiving some from family, friends, and in one case, a senior prom date who loaded her iPod up with 15 gigs of music. She also confesses to spending hours ripping music from the college radio station where she worked -- apparently viewing all that music acquisition as legal.


    "As I've grown up, I've come to realize the gravity of what file-sharing means to the musicians I love," White writes, but she then goes on to say "I honestly don't think my peers and I will ever pay for albums."

    NPR readers posted more than 500 comments on her post. Some of them bragged about their own large music collections, while others called White a thief, or worse. Others commented on White's dream of a universal digital catalog of all music.

    One of the longest and most publicized responses came from David Lowery, singer/songwriter for Camper Van Beethoven and Cracker, who also teaches in the music business program at the University of Georgia.

    "It doesn’t really matter that you didn’t take these tracks from a file-sharing site," Lowery writes to White. "That may seem like a neat dodge, but I’d suggest to you that from the artist’s point of view, it’s kind of irrelevant."

    Lowery also wrote of two musician friends who killed themselves in part because of declining financial situations, writing "there is no other explanation (for their incomes falling) except for the fact that 'fans' made the unethical choice to take their music without compensating these artists."

    And in a much-quoted line, Lowery wrote, "Congratulations! Your generation is the first in history to rebel by unsticking it to the man and instead sticking it to weirdo freak musicians!"

    Other readers also had their say.

    "How do you suppose the creators of those 11,000 songs in 'your' iTunes library should be renumerated for providing you and others with listening pleasure?" wrote James Blum. "Were you thinking that their purpose in life was to amuse you for free?"

    And some felt that those who criticized White were out of touch. "I honestly don't know what to say to all these commentors who refuse to look at a new situation," wrote Gail Madoff. "Hello? Technology happens? Deal with it."

    The debate didn't end with the publication of White's post. NPR ran a follow-up post, the New York Times picked up the story, and musicians and music fans from all over chimed in on blogs and forums.

    What do you think? Did Emily White steal tens of thousands of songs? Tell us on Facebook.

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  • Neighbor sues Kevin Costner for blocking ocean view with trees

    Arnaldo Magnani / Getty Images

    Kevin Costner.

    Kevin Costner is embroiled in another legal battle. Earlier this month, he won a lawsuit against Stephen Baldwin over the right to British Petroleum's money versus breached bonds. 

    This time, its Pacific vistas versus peeping paparazzi.

    Charles "Rick" Grimm, the actor's neighbor at his beachfront Santa Barbara home, filed a suit for up to $500,000 Monday, alleging Costner breached a 55-year-old contract by planting hedges and trees taller than six feet, blocking the plaintiff's view of the Pacific Ocean, according to court documents obtained by The Wrap.

    Costner allegedly broke a contract put into place when the property was initially subdivided back in 1957. That contract stipulated a six-foot limit to hedges. 

    According to the documents, Costner planted 10-foot conifers to block the view of star-struck vacationers renting Grimm's house. 

    Grimm, who claimed the obstruction devalues his house by half its original worth, wants the court to order Costner to prune the hedges back to the level of the six-foot, ivy-covered fence that divides their properties and to compensate him with $150,000. 

    If not, he wants to be paid $500,000 in damages. 

    Grimm, who owns an investment firm, claimed he spoke repeatedly to Costner's wife, Christine, who said they planted the evergreens to do "what we have to in order to feel comfortable in our own home." 

    When Grimm confronted Costner a few more times about pruning the pine trees, Costner promised, but failed, to trim them, the documents allege. 

    Then, in April, Costner planted at least nine tall Mexican fan palms, which Grimm expected will grow thicker and fuller, further obstructing his ocean view over time. 


    "Costner stated he would not 'back down' on maintaining the hedge and palm trees as he prefers and that he will do everything in his power to secure his privacy," the documents state. 

    The contract was put in place when subdivider Elsie S. Holloway divvied up what became known as the Holloway Tract. Owners of the newly parceled oceanfront properties signed Holloway's declaration stating "no wall, fence or hedge shall exceed six (6) feet in height." 

    A spokesperson for Costner did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

    Pamela Chelin contributed to this report.

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  • Anthony Mackie stakes claim to role in 'Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter'

    Anthony Mackie is ready to rewrite a little history, playing sidekick to President Abraham Lincoln, who spends his evenings chasing down bloodsuckers in "Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter."

    Mackie said his character, onetime slave Will Johnson, is based on a real individual who was freed and employed by the president. "That's a fact!" he told TODAY on the Plaza Wednesday. The film opens June 22.

    Later, Mackie returned with co-star Benjamin Walker, and the pair shared glasses of wine -- from Mackie's own Brooklyn bar, NoBar -- with Kathie Lee Gifford and guest Regis Philbin on the TODAY set.

    "I've got the market cornered on weird interpretations of presidents," said Walker, who plays Lincoln in the film, and starred in the Tony-winning "Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson" as President Andrew Jackson.

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  • 'The Artist's' Uggie to plant paws in concrete at Grauman's Chinese Theatre

    Matt Sayles / AP

    Uggie.

    Uggie, the limelight-courting Jack Russell terrier who became a fixture on the Hollywood scene during last year’s awards-season campaign on behalf of best picture Oscar winner "The Artist," has added another date to his farewell tour as he approaches his impending retirement.

    PHOTOS: It's a zoo this season: 23 awards contenders featuring animals

    Although his trainer Omar Von Muller had said that the perky pooch’s appearance on February's Oscar show would be his last hurrah, Uggie will make one more curtain call at 10 a.m. June 25 at Grauman’s Chinese Theatre to plant his paws in its fabled cement.


    Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, which is releasing "The Artist" on Blu-ray and DVD on June 26, is hosting the event billed as a retirement party, at which the canine celebrity is scheduled to arrive by fire engine. Duff Goldman, the pastry chef featured on Food Network’s "Ace of Cakes," also will be on hand, bringing with him a cake in the shape of a fire hydrant.

    Of course, showbiz performers are notorious for announcing their retirements only to then stage inevitable comeback appearances, so it’s a safe bet Uggie's career is only playing dead.

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  • Could Alec Baldwin face criminal charges in paparazzo incident?

    Alec Baldwin's war with the paparazzi reached new heights Tuesday following an alleged assault on a photographer outside New York City's Marriage License Bureau -- and according to a report by TODAY's Craig Melvin, criminal charges are being considered by prosecutors and investigators.

    Daily News photographer Marcus Santos says Baldwin reportedly punched him in the face and threatened to knock his teeth out, then walked away.

    But a spokesperson for Baldwin put the blame on the paparazzo, saying the photographer was annoyed when someone blocked his shot of Baldwin and fiancee Hilaria Thomas and the photographer ".... pushed past the bystanders and assaulted Alec with his camera. There were no punches thrown, and any subsequent physical contact was simply Alec protecting himself.”

    Santos filed an assault complaint with police on Tuesday afternoon, and according to a Twitter post from Baldwin, may have sought medical attention as well: "The photographer who assaulted me has (belatedly) gone to a hospital claiming injuries," the actor tweeted.


    "The obvious charge is assault," said lawyer Karen DeSoto. "A lot of times in New York that will get downgraded to disorderly conduct as long as there is not substantial injury or intent to cause harm."

    Later on Tuesday, Baldwin was seen shielding himself from scrutiny as he walked into New York's Regency Hotel wearing a bedsheet, but continued taking to his Twitter account.

    "Ppl working in the entertainment industry keep appts w the press on a regular basis," he tweeted. "Paparazzi assaulting you on the street duznt count." Later, he added, "It's sad w the tabloid press. They attempt 2 provoke an incident + when it doesn't pan out, they say u did it anyway... #no1punchedany1"

    Who was out of line, Alec Baldwin or the paparazzi? Let us know on Facebook and follow us on Pinterest!

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  • Sure, she's rich, but can Kristen Stewart act?

    Danny Martindale / Getty Images Contributor

    Why is Kristen Stewart smiling? Perhaps because she earned $34.5 million over the last year.

    There’s more to Kristen Stewart than Bella Swan.

    There’s no doubt that the "Twilight" actress, who toppled Angelina Jolie and Sarah Jessica Parker on Forbes.com’s annual list of highest paid actresses on Tuesday, is a box office draw. But can she act?

    “She couldn't act her way out of a paper bag,” wrote one of our Facebook readers

    "She's a horrible actress! She lacks any inner fire or warmth," wrote another.

    But some critics and actors beg to differ. 

    “On the plus side, portraying Bella Swan has brought Kristen Stewart fame, fortune and a (frighteningly) dedicated fan base who thinks she can do no wrong,” wrote Moviefone’s Sandie Angulo-Chen. “On the other hand, there are pockets of film-lovers who can't stand the 'Twilight' films or think Stewart is nothing more than a doe-eyed ingénue.”

    What critics may not know is that Stewart, 22, landed her role in the “Twilight” franchise because she so impressed Emile Hirsch in Sean Penn’s Academy-Award nominated “Into the Wild,” wrote Angulo-Chen. “Stewart is a fascinating young actress who deserves to be considered for much more than taking a part in a paranormal romance that just happened to be a global sensation.” 


    In her most recent film, “Snow White and the Huntsman,” Stewart earned kudos from fellow actor and one-time Oscar host James Franco in The Huffington Post: “The images of Snow White as a leader of immense strength, charging on horseback across the beach at the head of an army, has less to do with her character and more to do with the actress who plays her."

    In 2011, Stewart won a best actress award at the Milan International Film Festival for “Welcome to the Rileys,” an independent film in which she plays a teenage stripper befriended by a middle-aged businessman. In a New York Times review of the film, Monohla Dargis calls Stewart “an exceptionally appealing screen presence, and she makes Mallory’s confusion — the swings between vulgar braggadocio and clutching vulnerability — reverberant and real.” 

    Jason Merritt / Getty Images

    But Stewart is undoubtedly best known for her lead role in the "Twilight" series. While Stewart took the MTV Movie Awards for best female performance in 2008 for “Twilight,” 2009 for “New Moon” and 2011 for “Eclipse,” her portrayal of Bella Swan in the franchise also earned her two worst actress Razzie nominations (for “Eclipse” and “Breaking Dawn – Part 1”). 

    Long before Stewart had ever heard the name Edward Cullen, however, she portrayed Jodie Foster's daughter in 2002's "Panic Room," for which she received her first of four nominations for a Young Artist Award. (The other films for which she was nominated were 2003's "Cold Creek Manor," 2004's "Undertow" and 2007's "Into the Wild.") In 2010, at the height of "Twilight's" popularity, Stewart won BAFTA's Rising Star Award. 

    Stewart’s movies have grossed an average of $65.9 million, according to the-numbers.com. For the final two movies in the “Twilight” series, imbd.com notes that Stewart was paid $12.5 million plus a share of the profits.

    Whether or not you think she can act, Stewart has proven that she has star power.

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  • Miro painting sells for record $36.9M at auction

    Leon Neal / AFP - Getty Images

    Joan Miro's "Peinture (Etolie Bleue), 1927" sold at Sotheby's for $36,946,396.

    Sotheby's set a new auction record for Spanish artist Joan Miro on Tuesday when his 1927 painting "Peinture (Etoile Bleue)" fetched $36.9 million, but elsewhere the sale failed to meet expectations.

    Overall, the auctioneer raised $117.7 million at its impressionist and modern art evening sale in London, just beating the low estimate of $114.9 million but falling short when buyer's premium is taken into account.

    The auction was the first in a busy season of sales of fine art in London which, if the highest expectations are met, could raise up to $1 billion.

    But it painted an uncertain picture, with the New York Times describing proceedings on the night as "lackluster" and "bumpy."

    Confidence in the art market has been sky high in 2012 despite broader economic concerns, with emerging collectors from Russia, China and the Middle East helping push values to record highs as they seek to snap up the most coveted works.

    On offer at Sotheby's was one of Miro's most important paintings, and the previous auction record for the artist of $26.4 million was comfortably eclipsed.

    "His works from this period are supremely modern, timeless and of great universal appeal, making this precisely the type of painting that today's international collectors are prepared to lock horns over, as they did this evening," said Helena Newman, head of Sotheby's impressionist and modern art in Europe.


    The next highest price went to Pablo Picasso's "Homme Assis" which sold for $9.8 million, again just above the low estimate but falling short after the buyer's premium is subtracted.

    A Henry Moore sculpture, "Mother and Child With Apple", was one of the few star performers on a night when 15 of the 48 lots on offer went unsold. It raised $5.8 million, well above pre-sale expectations of $2.8 million - $4.4 million.

    The London summer sales continue on Wednesday with the equivalent sale at Sotheby's rival Christie's. There, the 71 lots on offer are expected to raise between $136.1 million and $199.3 million.

    What do you think about this record sale? Share your thoughts on our Facebook page.

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