Lady Gaga's 'Born This Way' 'Sounds Very Familiar' To Madonna

There was a hot debate raging about 12 months ago when Lady Gaga dropped her song "Born This Way," with people questioning whether the song sounds too much like Madonna's 1980s hit "Express Yourself."

As the discussion went viral, fans, critics and even Lady Gaga herself weighed in on it. Now, as Madge preps the release of her next album, M.D.N.A., and her film "W.E.," she's finally weighing in on the controversy. Madonna, known for her curt, pithy responses when asked about anyone who might take a cue or two from her playbook, sat down with ABC News recently and had some choice words for pop's latest princess.

"I certainly think she references me a lot in her work. And sometimes I think it's amusing and flattering and well-done," she explained of her onetime "Saturday Night Live" co-star. "When I heard ['Born This Way'] on the radio ... I said, 'that sounds very familiar' ... It felt reductive."

When asked if "reductive" was good or bad, Madonna replied, "Look it up."

The Queen of Pop did call Gaga "a very talented artist" and explained that she thinks that she's making a "statement about taking something that was in the Zeitgeist, you know, 20 years ago and turning it inside out and reinterpreting it."

Madonna also addressed her apparent penchant for kissing female pop stars. She recently made headlines when her "Gimme All Your Luvin" cohort Nicki Minaj tweeted that Madge had kissed her on the set of her video.

In true Madonna fashion, she brushed it off, saying, "It was her birthday. I gave her a birthday kiss. No tongue!"

Of course, Nicki is not the first pop star Madonna has locked lips with. Back in 2003, Madge shared kisses on the VMA stage with Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera. "Nice moment, good kisser. Cool," she remarked of Spears. When asked if she would kiss Spears again, she replied, "No, I already did it. I don't like to repeat myself."

For those who may have missed the "Nightline" interview on Thursday, it will air on Friday night (January 13) on "20/20."

Bridget Moynahan Britney Spears Brittany Daniel Brittany Lee Brittany Murphy Brittany Snow Brittny Gastineau

Lady Gaga Gushes About Beyonce's Future Motherhood Skills

Lady Gaga and Beyonc� are besties, and when the Mother Monster sat down with "The Insider," she gushed about her pal's skills as a soon-to-be mommy.

"Of course she is [going to be a good mom]. That's a tremendous understatement," the singer said. "She's the nicest female I've met in the industry. She's wonderful!"

The two have quite the history together. Gaga and Beyonc� have appeared on two tracks (and in two videos) together for "Telephone" and "Video Phone." And while Beyonc� is nearing motherhood, Gaga admits she wants to wait a bit longer before giving birth to anything ? but new music, that is. "Someday. Long, long day from now!" she said. "My next baby will be my new record."

When MTV News caught up with Gaga last month, she opened up about her plans to release the follow-up to Born This Way. "I've started writing it and I have the name for it and all the concepts are beginning to flourish and take place," she told MTV News.

But much like Beyonc� and her baby, a due date for the Mother Monster's next album is still to be determined. "I'm excited to put it out, but it's not done yet. So I'll put it out when it's done."

Meanwhile, one psychic who spoke to MTV News helped us try to nail down just when we should expect Jayonc�'s baby. "I feel that Beyonc�'s 2012 is going to be very, very exciting," Jesse Bravo told MTV News. "I get the date of January 8 to January 14 of her giving birth to her first son."

When do you think Jayonc�'s baby will come? Make your predictions in the comments!

Emma Heming Emma Stone Emma Watson Emmanuelle Chriqui Emmanuelle Vaugier Emmy Rossum Erica Leerhsen

Oscar's Best Song Category: Why Only Two Nominees?

Tuesday morning's (January 24) announcement of the 2012 Oscar nominations delivered plenty of surprises. Michael Fassbender ("Shame"), Albert Brooks ("Drive") and Charlize Theron ("Young Adult") were overlooked in the acting categories, while Melissa McCarthy ("Bridesmaids"), Rooney Mara ("The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo") and Max von Sydow ("Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close") scored surprise nominations. But perhaps no category was more head-scratching than Best Original Song.

Despite the fact that a short list of 39 tracks were eligible for nomination, only two were named ? "Man or Muppet" from "The Muppets" and "Real in Rio" from "Rio" ? leaving tunes from Elton John and Lady Gaga, Pink, will.i.am, Zooey Deschanel, Elvis Costello and Mary J. Blige shut out of the competition.

Many Oscar-watchers were left wondering why the Academy would opt away from the traditional five contenders in favor of just two little-heard songs. Well, a closer look at the Oscar rule book shows it's probably less a case of choosing to nominate only two songs than it is simply a case of a single song scoring enough points to secure a nod, and then bringing its closest competition along for the ride.

Oscar nominations are arrived at using a very complicated weighted system in which members of the Academy, voting exclusively for members of their own branch (i.e. actors chose the acting nominees, directors vote for directors, etc.), rank contenders in order of preference. From there, a "magic number" is determined that relies on the number of ballots cast for a category, along with a specific mathematical equation. Ballots are tallied and contenders are eliminated through several rounds in a process that tabulates factors like first-place mentions and so on. Once a contender reaches the magic number, they are an Oscar nominee. (The folks over at EW's PopWatch break down the selection steps in great detail.)

So this is how the nominees are determined ? with one exception: Best Original Song. In 2009, when the Academy opted to up the number of Best Picture nominees to 10 (the voting body has since altered that number), it also changed the rules for Best Original Song. As Billboard points out, members of the Academy's music branch now "assign each song a numerical score between 1 and 10, and if no song receives an average of more than 8.25, there are no nominees. If only one song tops the threshold, as clearly happened here, the next highest vote getter secures a nomination as well."

This year's Best Original Song category boils down to this: either Bret McKenzie's "Man or Muppet" or "Real in Rio" by songwriting trio Sergio Mendes, Carlinhos Brown and Siedah Garrett secured a score of 8.25 or better, earning a nomination and pulling the #2 vote-getter into the fray. Simply put, members of the music branch didn't award any other song, including John and Gaga's duet "Hello Hello" or Blige's "The Help" track "Living Proof," a score high enough to secure a nomination.

But lest you think that this means the category is all but locked, think again. While selecting the Oscar nominees is an intensely mathematical process, picking the winners is much easier. Once the nominations are decided, every member of the Academy can vote in each category and the nominee that receives the most votes wins. Easy enough. And since actors are the largest voting block of the Academy? and would have had nothing to do with the tracks selected to contend for Best Original Song ? it's anyone's game.

See the complete list of Academy Awards Nominations.

Jennifer Gimenez Jennifer Love Hewitt Jennifer Morrison Jennifer ODell Jennifer Scholle Jennifer Sky Jenny McCarthy

Oscar Isaac: 'Bourne Legacy' Star Jeremy Renner Is The Real Deal

Oscar Isaac is prepping for one very awesome 2012. His Madonna-directed film, ?W.E.,? opens next week and he?s about to start filming the Coen Brothers' next project, ?Inside Llewyn Davis,? where he plays the title character.

And in a sea of complicated and unusual projects, Oscar is also set to star in the Bourne franchise reboot, ?The Bourne Legacy,? alongside choice talent like Jeremy Renner (oh, you know, the new Matt Damon), Ed Norton, Rachel Weisz and Joan Allen.

When MTV News recently caught up with the actor at the premiere for ?W.E.? in New York City, he seemed genuinely excited for the highly anticipated "Bourne" reboot, set to hit a cineplex near you this August.

?I haven?t seen [any footage yet],? he said with a good laugh. ?Oh yeah [I?m excited]. It?s gonna be incredible. [Director] Tony Gilroy is the man, amazing, and Jeremy is such a great guy.?

Renner will famously fill the void left vacant by Damon?s departure from the long-running franchise, as a new character -- Aaron Cross -- who coexists in the same universe as super spy Jason Bourne. And, for anyone who might have reservations that Renner isn't the right man to star in the newly imagined ?Bourne? flicks, Isaac believes you should think again.

?I mean he?s the real thing,? he assured us. ?I would not screw with him.?

What do you think of incoming "Bourne" franchise star Jeremy Renner? Are you looking forward to the reboot? Sound off in the comments section and on Twitter!

Tags Jeremy Renner, oscar isaac, the bourne legacy

Daisy Fuentes Dania Ramirez Danica Patrick Daniella Alonso Danneel Harris Deanna Russo Denise Richards

Andrew Jenks: My Day In The Mitt Romney Bubble

TAMPA, FL ? I have been traveling like a mad man for a long time. But nothing compares to Monday, the eve of the Florida Republican primary. I got the chance to be a part of the traveling press corps and follow Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney everywhere he went. For a political junkie like myself, it was like living a dream.

As we covered hundreds of miles, leapfrogging from Jacksonville to Tampa and beyond, I had one goal: to ask Romney about Florida's new voter registration laws and other issues facing young Americans. The former Massachusetts governor hadn't taken a question from the press in more than a week. Still, we were rock stars ? well, political ones anyway.

After an early-morning rally at a local heavy equipment seller, we hustled to the Jacksonville airport, where I stood on the tarmac as I was patted down by security. Then I stood in awe as the possible future president got the same treatment.

I was told not to film it, but I had to. What if TSA found a gun in Romney's belt? One of Romney's guys who knows me (and knows I am sometimes up to no good) yelled, "Jenks! Not the TSA!" So, I pretended I was filming a bird and apologized.

"That must be weird," I said to the TSA agent afterwards.

"I've done a lot weirder," he replied. I'm still not sure what that meant. Once we were on the plane, I tried to get as close to Romney as possible so I could get my question in, but I was told to sit toward the back. An NPR reporter told me I could sit as far up as the emergency exit row, but maybe he was just hazing the new kid.

I was enjoying some cherries, cheese and crackers provided by Team Romney when the press corps suddenly stood up and the lights turned off. I thought to myself, "I must be on the wrong plane, right?" That's when they all started singing "Happy Birthday."

The next thing I saw as I recorded this odd scene was the governor delicately walking alone down the dark aisle carrying a birthday cake with candles lighting his face. His expression said, "Why the heck am I carrying a huge, wonky cake as a plane full of photographers capture my every move?" But he seemed relaxed.

For one strange moment, I wondered if this was the future president. When he laughed, we all laughed, and it all seemed kind of normal ? celebrating a birthday. But after he cracked a few jokes and doled out chips to everyone, the plane took off, and for the remained of the day I could only see Romney from afar.

"Does Governor Romney do that often?" I asked a German reporter as he chowed on a roast beef sandwich provided by the campaign. He smiled. "You must have come on a special day."

On the plane and bus everyone does their own thing. They are friendly and some joke around, but mostly they sleep, read books on Romney, go through their notes and type on a variety of devices to get their stories in on time. They seem pretty resigned to getting just a few tidbits of actual news on any given day.

The day's final event was at a retirement community called The Villages. As we approached I joked with an ABC reporter that this would probably be the low-key event of the day ? just the governor speaking with some senior citizens. She laughed at me. When we stopped, there were barricades up ? a lot of them. It was loud. More than 1,000 seniors filled the picture perfect town square as giant video screens rolled footage of visits from past presidential candidates and dignitaries.

By the time Romney took the stage, after just a few events, I knew his speech word-for-word. The opening jabs at Newt Gingrich, a recitation of his favorite verses from "America the Beautiful," and the same story about the cross-country trips his family took when he was a child and ample fire aimed at President Obama's policies.

He finished with a terse comment on how our current president has been reckless, anti-military and anti-business. A few reporters and I agreed that the only story breaking at this point was that Romney actually sang "America the Beautiful" this time around.

And that was it. The day before the biggest primary we have had so far, I celebrated a birthday, went to a concert at a nursing home and learned the words to "America the Beautiful." Sometimes this journey hasn't felt serious enough. I am not always sure that I am covering anything of substance, but hopefully I will return with stories bigger than a TSA pat-down or a nursing home mosh pit.

MTV is on the scene in Florida! Check back here around the clock for up-to-the-minute coverage on the primary caucuses and stick with PowerOf12.org throughout the 2012 presidential election season.

Jaime Pressly Jamie Chung Jamie Gunns Jamie Lynn Sigler Janet Jackson January Jones Jennie Finch

Andrew Jenks: My Day In The Mitt Romney Bubble

TAMPA, FL ? I have been traveling like a mad man for a long time. But nothing compares to Monday, the eve of the Florida Republican primary. I got the chance to be a part of the traveling press corps and follow Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney everywhere he went. For a political junkie like myself, it was like living a dream.

As we covered hundreds of miles, leapfrogging from Jacksonville to Tampa and beyond, I had one goal: to ask Romney about Florida's new voter registration laws and other issues facing young Americans. The former Massachusetts governor hadn't taken a question from the press in more than a week. Still, we were rock stars ? well, political ones anyway.

After an early-morning rally at a local heavy equipment seller, we hustled to the Jacksonville airport, where I stood on the tarmac as I was patted down by security. Then I stood in awe as the possible future president got the same treatment.

I was told not to film it, but I had to. What if TSA found a gun in Romney's belt? One of Romney's guys who knows me (and knows I am sometimes up to no good) yelled, "Jenks! Not the TSA!" So, I pretended I was filming a bird and apologized.

"That must be weird," I said to the TSA agent afterwards.

"I've done a lot weirder," he replied. I'm still not sure what that meant. Once we were on the plane, I tried to get as close to Romney as possible so I could get my question in, but I was told to sit toward the back. An NPR reporter told me I could sit as far up as the emergency exit row, but maybe he was just hazing the new kid.

I was enjoying some cherries, cheese and crackers provided by Team Romney when the press corps suddenly stood up and the lights turned off. I thought to myself, "I must be on the wrong plane, right?" That's when they all started singing "Happy Birthday."

The next thing I saw as I recorded this odd scene was the governor delicately walking alone down the dark aisle carrying a birthday cake with candles lighting his face. His expression said, "Why the heck am I carrying a huge, wonky cake as a plane full of photographers capture my every move?" But he seemed relaxed.

For one strange moment, I wondered if this was the future president. When he laughed, we all laughed, and it all seemed kind of normal ? celebrating a birthday. But after he cracked a few jokes and doled out chips to everyone, the plane took off, and for the remained of the day I could only see Romney from afar.

"Does Governor Romney do that often?" I asked a German reporter as he chowed on a roast beef sandwich provided by the campaign. He smiled. "You must have come on a special day."

On the plane and bus everyone does their own thing. They are friendly and some joke around, but mostly they sleep, read books on Romney, go through their notes and type on a variety of devices to get their stories in on time. They seem pretty resigned to getting just a few tidbits of actual news on any given day.

The day's final event was at a retirement community called The Villages. As we approached I joked with an ABC reporter that this would probably be the low-key event of the day ? just the governor speaking with some senior citizens. She laughed at me. When we stopped, there were barricades up ? a lot of them. It was loud. More than 1,000 seniors filled the picture perfect town square as giant video screens rolled footage of visits from past presidential candidates and dignitaries.

By the time Romney took the stage, after just a few events, I knew his speech word-for-word. The opening jabs at Newt Gingrich, a recitation of his favorite verses from "America the Beautiful," and the same story about the cross-country trips his family took when he was a child and ample fire aimed at President Obama's policies.

He finished with a terse comment on how our current president has been reckless, anti-military and anti-business. A few reporters and I agreed that the only story breaking at this point was that Romney actually sang "America the Beautiful" this time around.

And that was it. The day before the biggest primary we have had so far, I celebrated a birthday, went to a concert at a nursing home and learned the words to "America the Beautiful." Sometimes this journey hasn't felt serious enough. I am not always sure that I am covering anything of substance, but hopefully I will return with stories bigger than a TSA pat-down or a nursing home mosh pit.

MTV is on the scene in Florida! Check back here around the clock for up-to-the-minute coverage on the primary caucuses and stick with PowerOf12.org throughout the 2012 presidential election season.

Amanda Marcum Amanda Peet Amanda Righetti Amanda Swisten Amber Arbucci Amber Brkich Amber Heard

Oscar's Best Song Category: Why Only Two Nominees?

Tuesday morning's (January 24) announcement of the 2012 Oscar nominations delivered plenty of surprises. Michael Fassbender ("Shame"), Albert Brooks ("Drive") and Charlize Theron ("Young Adult") were overlooked in the acting categories, while Melissa McCarthy ("Bridesmaids"), Rooney Mara ("The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo") and Max von Sydow ("Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close") scored surprise nominations. But perhaps no category was more head-scratching than Best Original Song.

Despite the fact that a short list of 39 tracks were eligible for nomination, only two were named ? "Man or Muppet" from "The Muppets" and "Real in Rio" from "Rio" ? leaving tunes from Elton John and Lady Gaga, Pink, will.i.am, Zooey Deschanel, Elvis Costello and Mary J. Blige shut out of the competition.

Many Oscar-watchers were left wondering why the Academy would opt away from the traditional five contenders in favor of just two little-heard songs. Well, a closer look at the Oscar rule book shows it's probably less a case of choosing to nominate only two songs than it is simply a case of a single song scoring enough points to secure a nod, and then bringing its closest competition along for the ride.

Oscar nominations are arrived at using a very complicated weighted system in which members of the Academy, voting exclusively for members of their own branch (i.e. actors chose the acting nominees, directors vote for directors, etc.), rank contenders in order of preference. From there, a "magic number" is determined that relies on the number of ballots cast for a category, along with a specific mathematical equation. Ballots are tallied and contenders are eliminated through several rounds in a process that tabulates factors like first-place mentions and so on. Once a contender reaches the magic number, they are an Oscar nominee. (The folks over at EW's PopWatch break down the selection steps in great detail.)

So this is how the nominees are determined ? with one exception: Best Original Song. In 2009, when the Academy opted to up the number of Best Picture nominees to 10 (the voting body has since altered that number), it also changed the rules for Best Original Song. As Billboard points out, members of the Academy's music branch now "assign each song a numerical score between 1 and 10, and if no song receives an average of more than 8.25, there are no nominees. If only one song tops the threshold, as clearly happened here, the next highest vote getter secures a nomination as well."

This year's Best Original Song category boils down to this: either Bret McKenzie's "Man or Muppet" or "Real in Rio" by songwriting trio Sergio Mendes, Carlinhos Brown and Siedah Garrett secured a score of 8.25 or better, earning a nomination and pulling the #2 vote-getter into the fray. Simply put, members of the music branch didn't award any other song, including John and Gaga's duet "Hello Hello" or Blige's "The Help" track "Living Proof," a score high enough to secure a nomination.

But lest you think that this means the category is all but locked, think again. While selecting the Oscar nominees is an intensely mathematical process, picking the winners is much easier. Once the nominations are decided, every member of the Academy can vote in each category and the nominee that receives the most votes wins. Easy enough. And since actors are the largest voting block of the Academy? and would have had nothing to do with the tracks selected to contend for Best Original Song ? it's anyone's game.

See the complete list of Academy Awards Nominations.

Brittany Snow Brittny Gastineau Brody Dalle Brooke Burke Brooke Burns Busy Philipps Cameron Diaz

Spike Lee Stands By 'Red Hook Summer'

Director Spike Lee's "Red Hook Summer" isn't all it appears to be. The religiously-charged drama about an Atlanta boy sent to spend the summer with his Brooklyn-based estranged grandfather, a preacher, has a dark secret at its core, one that Lee intends to "keep on lock."

"Everything is evolution," the celebrated New York filmmaker told MTV News at the Sundance Film Festival about his movie's origins. "I don't know anyone who the first time they sit down to talk has [a story] mapped out from beginning, middle and end. It was the evolution of a germ of an idea and we kept building layer upon layer upon layer."

Where did that germ of an idea come from, you ask? Believe it or not, the answer is none other than horror novelist Stephen King, at least in part.

"We wanted to make a film about young black kids, like 'Stand By Me,'" said Lee. "I love that film. Where's the people of color version of that film? I'm not saying this is it, but that's the type of film? I want to see that. James and I wanted to see this film in a theater. We wanted the world to see these characters in this isolated part of Brooklyn, Red Hook."

Lee's Sundance entry is not the only high profile project on his radar at the moment. The filmmaker is currently working on the American adaptation of "Oldboy," starring Josh Brolin and potentially Mia Wasikowska. When the subject was brought up, Lee's lips were shut tight.

"We'll see. Still working on it," he said of the film's progress. "People are fanatical about that film and they've let me know. We're not scared of anything, but right now we're focusing on 'Red Hook Summer.'"

The 2012 Sundance Film Festival is officially under way, and the MTV Movies team is on the ground reporting on the hottest stars and the movies everyone will be talking about in the year to come. Keep it locked with MTV Movies for everything there is to know about Sundance.

Tags oldboy, Red Hook Summer, spike lee, Stand By Me, Sundance 2012

Hilary Duff Hilary Swank Isla Fisher Ivana Bozilovic Ivanka Trump Izabella Miko Izabella Scorupco

Malin Akerman's 'Inferno' Has 'No Porn,' Is 'Very Dark'

Demi Moore's exit from "Lovelace" has given a lot of attention to the currently filming biopic of the "Deep Throat" star. But there are more than one Linda Lovelace films in development at the moment. There's also the Malin Akerman starring "Inferno" to consider -- though much like the fiery title, Akerman believes it's time to light a "fire under" the project, or walk away entirely.

"Either we have to do it now, or we have to let it go," she told MTV News at the Sundance Film Festival. "That's one of the potentials that might be happening within the next month or two. We'll see."

Akerman thinks that both "Inferno" and "Lovelace" can coexist, however, due to tremendous differences between the movies.

"They're very different films, even though they're about the same [person]," she said. "They're adapted very, very differently. We've had the privilege of seeing the other film, and it's beautifully written, but it's really different from the one we're doing. It'll be two different versions of her life story."

Different in what ways, you ask? Take it from Akerman: "It's very dark. It would be delving into some dark, dark places. It's very much about an abused woman and what life is like being in that situation."

Another important thing to note: "I'm not making a porn, I promise. No porn. You can go to the XXX stores for those."

"Of course it's a little bit daunting when you have somebody out there already doing [a similar movie], but at the same time, it becomes more of a challenge. It's exciting," Akerman said of the "Inferno" process. "This will be a bit darker, and crazy, but beautifully written. I really do hope we have the opportunity to do it."

Tell us what you think of the news in the comments section and on Twitter!

Tags Inferno, Malin Akerman, Sundance 2012

Daisy Fuentes Dania Ramirez Danica Patrick Daniella Alonso Danneel Harris Deanna Russo Denise Richards

Exclusive: 'Phantom Menace' 3D Preview From 'Star Wars' Insider

As the "Star Wars" saga joins the 3D revolution with the coming theatrical release of "Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace" on�February 10th, our good friends at Star Wars Insider magazine are marking the occasion with a special celebratory issue. And we're marking that occasion with our very own preview of that upcoming issue, right here on MTV Movies Blog!

We have an exclusive preview from the upcoming "Phantom Menace" themed issue, featuring an interview with Industrial�Light & Magic?s John Knoll. The interview gives the lowdown on the creative�process behind the new 3D format that "Star Wars" fans are about to enjoy. Take a look beyond the break.

Star Wars Insider: How far back does the idea of Star Wars in 3D go?
John Knoll: Toward the end of working on Episode III, Rick McCallum, George Lucas, and I started seeing 3D samples. I remember seeing a reel where a bunch of scenes had been ripped from DVD from various films, including Star Wars. I remember feeling that a lot of the space and the dimensions weren?t quite right on it, but I thought it was pretty neat and so cool to see it in 3D. I remember George saying at the time, ?Yeah, I think I want to do this.? �

So when you start a conversion, do you start from the beginning or the middle or the end?
We worked in an odd order, because with Episode I, we were also doing a restoration. One of the first questions that my Associate VFX Supervisor, Dorne Huebler, and I started asking, was that if we were going to take this movie and cut it up into 2,000 separate pieces, we had an opportunity to upgrade what those 2,000 separate pieces are. It seemed like we had a perfect opportunity to go back and create a cleaner, sharper and purer version of the movie.

In fact, the window was closing on that; these archive tapes don?t last forever and they haven?t been meticulously catalogued and archived because no one thought that was really the master of the film, so it wasn?t clear that we were going to be able to find all of them.�

Where did you find them?
They were in a variety of places. It was some work to find them and we found about 98 percent of them. So we went back to the original material, and if you look, you?re actually seeing about eight percent more movie than in the original release. In the original, there was a little bit of cropping, so you lost a little bit of information. We have slightly more of an image now.

So did George see the whole movie as it was improved?
Yes. We weren?t doing the reels in order, so he saw individual reels?but not in story order?until we had gotten an approval from him on all those reels. Then he saw a later iteration where we?d done a final polish on all of those, and then we saw it all the way through, in order, so we could see how it ran as a full two-and-a-half-hour movie.

Were there some scenes that worked really well or that you were particularly happy with?
It?s interesting that what makes good stereo opportunities is often very counter-intuitive. A lot of people think that the big stereo moments are going to be big space battle shots and, for instance, the Podrace. But much of the time you?re looking at wide shots, which are where all the spectacle happens--but with nothing particularly close to camera, there aren?t a lot of great stereo opportunities. There definitely is depth, but it?s not eye-popping depth. The best stereo comes in the more quiet character moments, because you?re in close with your characters and there are lots of depth opportunities there.

What are your hopes for the movie?
It was definitely not an objective to have an in-your-face, ?Wow, look at how stereo this is? experience. The idea was to try and make it was as naturalistic as possible, as though we hadn?t really shot it with stereo cameras. So, there?s really no gimmicky stuff poking out into the camera; it?s really more of an immersive thing.�

To read more, pick up the new issue of Star�Wars�Insider�magazine, which hits stores in�the US and Canada on January 31st�and in the UK and Ireland on�February 9th.

Tags star wars, The Phantom Menace

Amy Cobb Amy Smart Ana Beatriz Barros Ana Hickmann Ana Ivanovi Ana Paula Lemes Ananda Lewis

Rick Ross Birthday Bash Boasts Dr. Dre, Diddy

MIAMI ? Rick Ross cemented a weekend of jet-set partying for his 36th birthday in ultimate style Sunday night at his home base in Miami, surrounded by some of his closest friends and thousands of fans. Club Amnesia was packed wall to wall with almost no wiggle room, filled with hip-hop heavyweights and club revelers watching closely, competing to get a shot of the action.

Ross ascended from a chauffeur-driven black Maybach shortly after 1 a.m. with companion DJ Khaled by his side. Decked out in his signature coconut-colored silk threads, the hefty MC was swiftly ushered by his Maybach Music entourage inside the venue.

Fans cheered, "Happy birthday, boss," as an elated Ross made his way to Amnesia's top-level VIP area, where dozens of music celebrities ? including producer/singer Sean Garrett, actor Evan Ross and powerhouse producer Dr. Dre ? were waiting in the wings for his arrival. Dre was easily the night's most-talked-about guest, as the sight of him and Ross together confirmed their union after being spotted hanging out together in Miami recently.

Soon after Ross, the celebrity arrivals began to flow in sync with the hundreds of bottles of Moet Rose champagne and Ciroc vodka that were delivered to his seating area. Party host Diddy showed up soon after with an entourage consisting of new Bad Boy artist French Montana, Cassie and his son Justin. Minutes later, Wiz Khalifa and girlfriend Amber Rose joined the party.

"This is your night!" Diddy shouted at Ross, alongside a grinning Khalifa by his side. Ross, with Dre directly behind him, raised a glass filled with pink bubbly.

As the night continued full steam, other hip-hop artists including the LOX, upstart Chicago crew L.E.P. and singer the Dream separately made their way to greet the Bawse. At one point, there were whispers that Young Money superstar Drake was also present in the building, but the Canadian MC was nowhere to be seen.

One of the most-touching moments of the night was a snapshot of Ross and former business manager and Poe Boy head E-Class exchanging hugs and pounds. Class had been a longtime associate of Rozay since his earlier days, until the two had a recent falling out that ended their business relationship.

Wrapping up the night in traditional fashion, Ross and his MMG family exited the empty-bottle-strewn VIP area and made their way to the stage for an impromptu performance. Ross gave the audience their money's worth, performing hit after hit from his war chest of club anthems.

"They say I'm getting money, must be Illuminati/ Talking to the Holy Ghost, in my Bugatti," Ross rapped on the track "Holy Ghost" off his Rich Forever mixtape. "He knockin' on the door, don't let the devil iiiinnn."

On this night, the larger-than-life MC had his way, no doubt to be blessed with another banner year.

Amanda Detmer Amanda Marcum Amanda Peet Amanda Righetti Amanda Swisten Amber Arbucci Amber Brkich

Lady Gaga Gushes About Beyonce's Future Motherhood Skills

Lady Gaga and Beyonc� are besties, and when the Mother Monster sat down with "The Insider," she gushed about her pal's skills as a soon-to-be mommy.

"Of course she is [going to be a good mom]. That's a tremendous understatement," the singer said. "She's the nicest female I've met in the industry. She's wonderful!"

The two have quite the history together. Gaga and Beyonc� have appeared on two tracks (and in two videos) together for "Telephone" and "Video Phone." And while Beyonc� is nearing motherhood, Gaga admits she wants to wait a bit longer before giving birth to anything ? but new music, that is. "Someday. Long, long day from now!" she said. "My next baby will be my new record."

When MTV News caught up with Gaga last month, she opened up about her plans to release the follow-up to Born This Way. "I've started writing it and I have the name for it and all the concepts are beginning to flourish and take place," she told MTV News.

But much like Beyonc� and her baby, a due date for the Mother Monster's next album is still to be determined. "I'm excited to put it out, but it's not done yet. So I'll put it out when it's done."

Meanwhile, one psychic who spoke to MTV News helped us try to nail down just when we should expect Jayonc�'s baby. "I feel that Beyonc�'s 2012 is going to be very, very exciting," Jesse Bravo told MTV News. "I get the date of January 8 to January 14 of her giving birth to her first son."

When do you think Jayonc�'s baby will come? Make your predictions in the comments!

Estella Warren Esther CaÒadas Eva Green Eva Longoria Eva Mendes Evangeline Lilly Eve

Spike Lee Stands By 'Red Hook Summer'

Director Spike Lee's "Red Hook Summer" isn't all it appears to be. The religiously-charged drama about an Atlanta boy sent to spend the summer with his Brooklyn-based estranged grandfather, a preacher, has a dark secret at its core, one that Lee intends to "keep on lock."

"Everything is evolution," the celebrated New York filmmaker told MTV News at the Sundance Film Festival about his movie's origins. "I don't know anyone who the first time they sit down to talk has [a story] mapped out from beginning, middle and end. It was the evolution of a germ of an idea and we kept building layer upon layer upon layer."

Where did that germ of an idea come from, you ask? Believe it or not, the answer is none other than horror novelist Stephen King, at least in part.

"We wanted to make a film about young black kids, like 'Stand By Me,'" said Lee. "I love that film. Where's the people of color version of that film? I'm not saying this is it, but that's the type of film? I want to see that. James and I wanted to see this film in a theater. We wanted the world to see these characters in this isolated part of Brooklyn, Red Hook."

Lee's Sundance entry is not the only high profile project on his radar at the moment. The filmmaker is currently working on the American adaptation of "Oldboy," starring Josh Brolin and potentially Mia Wasikowska. When the subject was brought up, Lee's lips were shut tight.

"We'll see. Still working on it," he said of the film's progress. "People are fanatical about that film and they've let me know. We're not scared of anything, but right now we're focusing on 'Red Hook Summer.'"

The 2012 Sundance Film Festival is officially under way, and the MTV Movies team is on the ground reporting on the hottest stars and the movies everyone will be talking about in the year to come. Keep it locked with MTV Movies for everything there is to know about Sundance.

Tags oldboy, Red Hook Summer, spike lee, Stand By Me, Sundance 2012

Donna Feldman Drea de Matteo Drew Barrymore Ehrinn Cummings Elena Lyons Elisabeth Rˆhm Elisha Cuthbert

Lady Gaga's 'Born This Way' 'Sounds Very Familiar' To Madonna

There was a hot debate raging about 12 months ago when Lady Gaga dropped her song "Born This Way," with people questioning whether the song sounds too much like Madonna's 1980s hit "Express Yourself."

As the discussion went viral, fans, critics and even Lady Gaga herself weighed in on it. Now, as Madge preps the release of her next album, M.D.N.A., and her film "W.E.," she's finally weighing in on the controversy. Madonna, known for her curt, pithy responses when asked about anyone who might take a cue or two from her playbook, sat down with ABC News recently and had some choice words for pop's latest princess.

"I certainly think she references me a lot in her work. And sometimes I think it's amusing and flattering and well-done," she explained of her onetime "Saturday Night Live" co-star. "When I heard ['Born This Way'] on the radio ... I said, 'that sounds very familiar' ... It felt reductive."

When asked if "reductive" was good or bad, Madonna replied, "Look it up."

The Queen of Pop did call Gaga "a very talented artist" and explained that she thinks that she's making a "statement about taking something that was in the Zeitgeist, you know, 20 years ago and turning it inside out and reinterpreting it."

Madonna also addressed her apparent penchant for kissing female pop stars. She recently made headlines when her "Gimme All Your Luvin" cohort Nicki Minaj tweeted that Madge had kissed her on the set of her video.

In true Madonna fashion, she brushed it off, saying, "It was her birthday. I gave her a birthday kiss. No tongue!"

Of course, Nicki is not the first pop star Madonna has locked lips with. Back in 2003, Madge shared kisses on the VMA stage with Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera. "Nice moment, good kisser. Cool," she remarked of Spears. When asked if she would kiss Spears again, she replied, "No, I already did it. I don't like to repeat myself."

For those who may have missed the "Nightline" interview on Thursday, it will air on Friday night (January 13) on "20/20."

Christina Ricci Chyler Leigh Ciara Cindy Crawford Cindy Taylor Cinthia Moura Claudette Ortiz

Exclusive: Foo Fighters Go For Gold In Grammy Promo

The countdown to the 2012 Grammys is on.

Last week, we got a sneak peek at a few promo photos of host LL Cool J and nominees Nicki Minaj and Taylor Swift. This week, MTV News has landed an exclusive first look at the television ad campaign featuring the 25-time-nominated Foo Fighters, who are up for six Grammys this year, including Album of the Year and Best Rock Album for Wasting Light.

Check out the complete list of 2012 Grammy nominees.

The 30-second teaser, which debuts Tuesday night on CBS, opens with an aerial shot overlooking a bejeweled city, reminiscent of the Emerald City from "Wizard of Oz" but all in gold, not green. Over the opening notes of the Foo track "Bridge Burning," the camera starts to zoom in toward the center of the city, with the gem-like walls exploding into pieces around the shot. From the golden and dusty debris, the Foos emerge individually rocking out to the song. First Taylor Hawkins, then Dave Grohl, followed by Chris Shiflett, Nate Mendel and Pat Smear.

The promo ends with the Grammy slogan ? "We Are Music" ? etched into the rock formations.

According to a statement from the Recording Academy, the focus of this year's ad campaign is on the "raw emotion in music that connects fans and artists and transcends the Grammy stage. It's that moment where the artist is ready to push the music out and the fan is ready to receive ? that's the true power of music."

The stylized visuals in the video spots are aimed at exposing and enhancing the emotions of this year's nominees and their songs.

In addition to the promo featuring the Foo Fighters, look out for additional spots from TBWA\Chiat\Day Los Angeles with Adele, Bon Iver and Skrillex, as well as the print campaign, which features Grammy winners and current nominees Bruno Mars and Paul McCartney.

The 54th annual Grammy Awards air live Sunday, February 12, at 8 p.m. ET on CBS.

What do you think of the Foo Fighters promo? Let us know in the comments!

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Emilio Rojas Reaches His Breaking Point

Main Pick
Headliners: Emilio Rojas and DJ Green Lantern

Representing: Rochester, New York

Mixtape: Breaking Point

Real Spit: Emilio Rojas has reached his breaking point, and on his mixtape of the same name, the Rochester, New York, MC proves he's ready to break through ? whether the rap world is ready or not.

"I named the tape Breaking Point after the record 'Breaking Point' that we dropped in April [2011]," Emilio told Mixtape Daily. "The record just had a really good response, so it just made sense."

The title track details all of the problems the MC has endured in the rap game and beyond. For Rojas, the drama started at home ? or so he says on the song, because when he's talking about his childhood, Emilio spills his guts in a dramatic manner reminiscent of Eminem. First, he reveals that his birth was unplanned by his parents, and then he really goes in.

"My daddy learned she was pregnant and he was so angered/ He tried to end it, I'm no stranger to coat hangers/ He getting livid, sittin' in on the clinic visits/ And now he waitin' on drama like it's an intermission/ He takes it out on my mama 'cause he was into hittin'/ And yeah, that's probably the reason my sister is into women," Emilio rhymes.

"When we wrote the record, there was a lot of stuff that was goin' on. Everybody who's in the industry knows how frustrating the industry can be," he explained. "So I was kinda venting on the record."

On "SPIC," Rojas switches gears, showing more pride in his upbringing. Despite being raised by immigrant parents and facing racism, Emilio beats his chest with pride over the stereotypes, eventually flipping them by drawing power from his family's struggle. On "Middle Finger," he shows yet another side by getting political about corrupt cops.

The relative rap newcomer gets a hand from the Grammy Award-winning production trio J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League on "Pimpin." While big-name producers and R&B singers help out on Breaking Point, there are no rap features. Instead, Emilio proves his rap worth with potent bars on tracks like "Classic." With "Blame Me," he slows things down and shows off his singing voice. And the midtempo R&B-laced love song makes it clear that ER is more than just a rapper's rapper; there's definite hit-making potential there.

By the end of the 12-song ride, ER proves that he belongs. Already, there are rumors of a hook-up with Rick Ross' Maybach Music Group, but who knows if that will ever pan out? Granted, this is Rojas' fourth mixtape, but when it's all said and done, Breaking Point will probably mark Emilio Rojas' official arrival. Welcome!

Joints to Check For "Pu--- & Cologne": "It's pretty obvious what the record's about. The record is hard, it's street and we go in. It's ignorant enough for people to have fun singing it because they feel like they shouldn't be singing it."

"One Last Time": "It's produced by the homey V12 the Hitman; it features Emanny, he does a lot of work with Joe Budden. It's a breakup song, I'm good at those. It's basically just telling a girl like, 'Look, this isn't working but we're sticking with it just for the sex. So let's just get it in one last time and go our separate ways."

"Breaking Point": "It's just about being at that point where your back's against the wall, you're sick of all the bull. That's the point where you decide, 'All right, this is either gonna break you or you gonna break."

For other artists featured in Mixtape Daily, check out Mixtape Daily Headlines.

Heidi Montag Hilarie Burton Hilary Duff Hilary Swank Isla Fisher Ivana Bozilovic Ivanka Trump

'The Grey' Director Joe Carnahan Talks Controversial Ending

After three years, we essentially have a new movie tradition on our hands. Since 2009, a Liam Neeson film has opened every January, earning around $20 million in its opening weekend. That much money during one of the box office's most consistently bad months more than proves Neeson's worth as a cold-weather action star.

And it doesn't get much colder than "The Grey." The Arctic thriller won the box office in a surprisingly good weekend for business. Though it made slightly less than Neeson's previous two January releases, "Taken" and "Unknown," the success of "The Grey" signals the star's continued drawing power.

The $20 million take seems even more impressive when you consider that Open Road advertised the movie as little more than Liam Neeson versus wolves. Anyone who saw "The Grey" can attest to a much different picture, one distinctly lacking any of the promised wolf punching. The film plays out much more like an existential drama about men surviving in the wilderness than the supposed "Taken" with wolves premise.

There are spoilers ahead for those who haven't seen the film.

As those who saw "The Grey" this weekend will recall, after the wolves pick off the survivors of the crew one by one, Neeson's character, Ottway, moves on as the only man left. He holds onto the wallets of the men who have died in order to preserve some sort of legacy for the forgotten oil workers. The flashbacks to Ottway's wife or girlfriend throughout the film suggest that she left him, but the final look back reveals her illness and presumed death.

After cursing God, Ottway finds himself in the wolves' den, the center of all the evil that has been hunting him. The poem his father wrote persuades him to continue to fight despite overwhelming odds. He tapes a knife and broken bottles to his hands and prepares to fight. The screen goes dark suddenly, and the film ends without showing Ottway's fight, leaving the audience to fill in the blanks and think about what they've seen.

Director and co-writer Joe Carnahan spoke with MTV News about the creative decisions behind the ending, choices he felt obligated to make. "I felt that to end it any other way, I felt that would be spoon-feeding the audience something that I wasn't interested in spoon-feeding them," Carnahan said. "I think the movie's about something as massive and as mysterious as life and death."

Regardless of how you feel about the ending ? whether it signals to a deeper meaning or just leaves promises unfulfilled ? Carnahan deserves credit for shirking the expected Hollywood ending. Though fans showed support with ticket sales, the CinemaScore exit polling was not as approving. "The Grey" earned a "B-" from audiences, two marks less than its weekend competition"Man on a Ledge" ? which earned a"B+" ? and the same score as "One for the Money."

Even if audiences were mildly disappointed as the CinemaScore suggests, Carnahan sees his story as one that required the ending he gave it. "I think it's like, you have to decide for you: Is it a movie about a man living and dying or is it a movie about a man fighting a wolf?" Carnahan said. "Because I think it is incidental, at least in my mind, compared to the great questions that it creates in the end."

Have you seen "The Grey"? Leave your thoughts on the movie in the comments section!

Cheryl Burke China Chow ChloÎ Sevigny Christina Aguilera Christina Applegate Christina DaRe Christina Milian

Justin Bieber Set To Host 'Saturday Night Live'?

Big news! While NBC has not officially announced it, it appears that teen pop superstar Justin Bieber may be hosting "Saturday Night Live" sometime in 2012.

The buzz comes courtesy of frequent "SNL" host and "30 Rock" star Alec Baldwin, who during a Monday broadcast of his WNYC podcast "Here's the Thing" interviewed "SNL" executive producer Lorne Michaels. During the chat, Baldwin begins to read from the "legendary cork board" in Michaels' office that includes the roster of confirmed hosts for the show and in so doing inadvertently announced that Bieber may host the show and act as its musical guest.

"The biggest names in the business are coming here thirty-something years [after 'SNL''s debut] to host the show," Baldwin says (via The Huffington Post). "Ben Stiller, Melissa McCarthy, [who] won the Emmy award, and Katy Perry's coming and Jimmy Fallon, who's double-dipping on your payroll, Jonah Hill, and I don't want to ruin any other names, [but] Bieber's confirmed, he's the music and the [host]."

Interesting!

While he's never hosted the show, Bieber was featured as the musical guest during an April 2010 episode hosted by Tina Fey and appeared in a few sketches.

Are you psyched for Bieber to host 'SNL'? Let us know in the comments below

Tags Justin Bieber, saturday-night-live

Isla Fisher Ivana Bozilovic Ivanka Trump Izabella Miko Izabella Scorupco Jaime King Jaime Pressly

Emma Stone, Natalie Portman Shine On SAG Red Carpet

The style competition is really heating up as awards season rolls on, and at the SAG Awards on Sunday night, it was all about taking risks. A-list actresses brought out their best designer dresses for the event at the Shrine Auditorium, showing off not-so-subtle slits and striking pale-white and sleek-and-chic black gowns.'

"There were a lot of beautiful black gowns on the carpet last night," Celebuzz producer Rachel Maresca said. "We saw Angelina Jolie in black, we saw Emma Stone, we saw Ashlee Simpson."

For photos of the stars on the red carpet, click here.

Also stunning in a black Marchesa lace gown was Stacy Keibler, who managed to stand out while walking the carpet alongside boyfriend and SAG nominee George Clooney.

"I think who nailed it the best was Stacey Keibler. She came arm-in-arm with George Clooney in a black lace Marchesa dress. She's been supporting him at all the award shows. She really stood out herself last night," Maresca said.

The women of "Glee" hit the carpet in silver. Lea Michelle wore a high-slit Versace gown, while Naya Rivera wore a beaded Naeem Khan dress with a plunging neckline.

"It's comfortable and I really like the color, and I like the silhouette as well. It's heavy, but it's good," Rivera told MTV News.

The undisputed red-carpet winners of the night were the stars of "The Help," who won top prize for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture. Stone wore a black lace Alexander McQueen dress, while her co-star and winner for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actress in a Supporting Role Octavia Spencer sparkled in a silver Tadashi Shoji gown. SAG Award winner for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actress in a Leading Role Viola Davis was glowing in a white Marchesa gown, and SAG nominee Jessica Chastain decided to go with a pop of color in custom Calvin Klein.

But it was Natalie Portman who stood out above the rest. Last year's best actress winner for "Black Swan" flaunted her post-baby body in a strapless burgundy gown by Giambattista Valli.

"She looked very elegant," Maresca said. "She really wowed everybody."

Share your favorite SAG red-carpet looks on our Facebook page.

Track all of 2012's hottest red-carpet stunners from awards season at MTV Style and come back to Style every day for the latest fashion news.

Deanna Russo Denise Richards Desiree Dymond Diane Kruger Dido Diora Baird Dita Von Teese

'Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter' Is 'Mind-Blowing,' Says Mary Elizabeth Winstead

In MTV News' recent visit to the set of "Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter," we learned that the movie will be anything but a traditional look back at the life of our 16th president. Most biopics about Lincoln don't involve Honest Abe utilizing his own custom form of axe-centered martial arts.

"It's a very unique take," Mary Elizabeth Winstead told MTV News at the Sundance Film Festival, in what may be the biggest understatement in movies this year.

We caught up with Winstead, who was in Park City for her new movie "Smashed," to talk about playing the woman behind the presidential undead killer, Mary Todd Lincoln. Unfortunately for the actress, her role as Mary Todd doesn't involve much axe-throwing.

"I'm kind of on the sidelines, but I'm very suspicious of my husband's [actions] and what's going on in his life," she said. "I know that he's hiding something from me. You sort of see me piecing things together."

"Vampire Hunter" comes out of the twisted minds of author Seth Grahame-Smith and the film's director Timur Bekmabetov. Having not seen the finished product yet, Winstead couldn't even begin to explain what we'll all see when the movie opens in June.

"I honestly have no idea what to expect, even though I'm in the movie," she said. "It's really hard to promote in a way because I haven't seen it, but I know it's going to be just mind-blowing. It's not something I can really visualize myself, because it's so unique to him visually."

Are you looking forward to seeing "Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter"? Let us know in the comments below and on Twitter!

Tags Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Smashed, Sundance 2012

Christina Applegate Christina DaRe Christina Milian Christina Ricci Chyler Leigh Ciara Cindy Crawford

Five Ways The SAGs Predicted The Oscars

So much goes into predicting and ultimately deciding Oscar nominations that it can be difficult to decide which award shows to pay attention to and which to ignore. This week's Oscar nominations, however, proved that one award show in particular can be very useful in predicting some of the Academy's more surprising picks.

The Screen Actors Guild Awards announced their nominations weeks before the Academy's and showed that their picks should not be overlooked during award season. SAG both honored and turned away many of the same performances that the Academy shocked and snubbed earlier this week.

Here's our breakdown.

Demi�n Bichir
The "A Better Life" actor had stayed just outside the award conversation for most of the season, earning some recognition with critics' circles, but never snagging a big nod. That changed with the SAG awards, which gave Bichir recognition that the Academy echoed weeks later.

Michael Fassbender
One of the most daring roles in film this year didn't yield award returns to the man who bared it all, Michael Fassbender. He may have earned a Golden Globe nomination for his role as a sex addict in "Shame," but Fassbender didn't repeat for the Screen Actors Guild and was ultimately shut out at the Oscars. It just goes to show that nudity doesn't always mean awards.

Jonah Hill
If the Golden Globes nominate a big star, it's never a guarantee that an Academy Award nomination will follow. While Hill was a more likely nod than Bichir was before the Oscar nominations, he was far from a lock. The SAG nomination certainly helped bolster his chances, and when the Academy's nod came weeks later, it was much less of a surprise.

Albert Brooks
Throughout award season, Brooks made no secret of the campaign to get him a nomination for his villainous role in "Drive." He joked openly and often about his nominations and wins, but when he missed out on a SAG nomination, the laughing stopped, and the conversation changed. The Academy snub this week came as only a mildly surprising disappointment.

Melissa McCarthy
The "Bridesmaids" breakout went through a series of ups and downs during her campaign for a nomination. The buzz around the role and the film's popularity catapulted McCarthy into the conversation, but a snub at the Golden Globes made some doubt that the Academy would recognize a comedic role. Fortunately for McCarthy, she rode the wave of the SAG nomination and turned it into her ticket to Oscar night.

Tell us what you think about the SAGs in the comments section and on Twitter!

Tags SAG Awards

Arielle Kebbel Ashanti Ashlee Simpson Ashley Greene Ashley Olsen Ashley Scott Ashley Tappin

Exclusive: 'Phantom Menace' 3D Preview From 'Star Wars' Insider

As the "Star Wars" saga joins the 3D revolution with the coming theatrical release of "Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace" on�February 10th, our good friends at Star Wars Insider magazine are marking the occasion with a special celebratory issue. And we're marking that occasion with our very own preview of that upcoming issue, right here on MTV Movies Blog!

We have an exclusive preview from the upcoming "Phantom Menace" themed issue, featuring an interview with Industrial�Light & Magic?s John Knoll. The interview gives the lowdown on the creative�process behind the new 3D format that "Star Wars" fans are about to enjoy. Take a look beyond the break.

Star Wars Insider: How far back does the idea of Star Wars in 3D go?
John Knoll: Toward the end of working on Episode III, Rick McCallum, George Lucas, and I started seeing 3D samples. I remember seeing a reel where a bunch of scenes had been ripped from DVD from various films, including Star Wars. I remember feeling that a lot of the space and the dimensions weren?t quite right on it, but I thought it was pretty neat and so cool to see it in 3D. I remember George saying at the time, ?Yeah, I think I want to do this.? �

So when you start a conversion, do you start from the beginning or the middle or the end?
We worked in an odd order, because with Episode I, we were also doing a restoration. One of the first questions that my Associate VFX Supervisor, Dorne Huebler, and I started asking, was that if we were going to take this movie and cut it up into 2,000 separate pieces, we had an opportunity to upgrade what those 2,000 separate pieces are. It seemed like we had a perfect opportunity to go back and create a cleaner, sharper and purer version of the movie.

In fact, the window was closing on that; these archive tapes don?t last forever and they haven?t been meticulously catalogued and archived because no one thought that was really the master of the film, so it wasn?t clear that we were going to be able to find all of them.�

Where did you find them?
They were in a variety of places. It was some work to find them and we found about 98 percent of them. So we went back to the original material, and if you look, you?re actually seeing about eight percent more movie than in the original release. In the original, there was a little bit of cropping, so you lost a little bit of information. We have slightly more of an image now.

So did George see the whole movie as it was improved?
Yes. We weren?t doing the reels in order, so he saw individual reels?but not in story order?until we had gotten an approval from him on all those reels. Then he saw a later iteration where we?d done a final polish on all of those, and then we saw it all the way through, in order, so we could see how it ran as a full two-and-a-half-hour movie.

Were there some scenes that worked really well or that you were particularly happy with?
It?s interesting that what makes good stereo opportunities is often very counter-intuitive. A lot of people think that the big stereo moments are going to be big space battle shots and, for instance, the Podrace. But much of the time you?re looking at wide shots, which are where all the spectacle happens--but with nothing particularly close to camera, there aren?t a lot of great stereo opportunities. There definitely is depth, but it?s not eye-popping depth. The best stereo comes in the more quiet character moments, because you?re in close with your characters and there are lots of depth opportunities there.

What are your hopes for the movie?
It was definitely not an objective to have an in-your-face, ?Wow, look at how stereo this is? experience. The idea was to try and make it was as naturalistic as possible, as though we hadn?t really shot it with stereo cameras. So, there?s really no gimmicky stuff poking out into the camera; it?s really more of an immersive thing.�

To read more, pick up the new issue of Star�Wars�Insider�magazine, which hits stores in�the US and Canada on January 31st�and in the UK and Ireland on�February 9th.

Tags star wars, The Phantom Menace

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SAG Awards 2012 Winners List

The SAG Awards, as we have noted, often have a curious way of letting us know what the Oscars are going to deliver. So when the Screen Actors Guild doled out its golden statuettes on Sunday night (January 29), we couldn't help but feel there were more than a few hints at how the Academy Awards might shake out in a few weeks.

What are we to make of the upset SAG win for "The Help" in outstanding cast in a movie, for instance? Where does this leave "The Artist," which had been looking increasingly, inevitably like the big champ come Oscar night, yet only won outstanding male performance (Jean Dujardin) at the SAGs?

Things were more predictable on the TV side of things. In 2012, for the second year in a row, "Modern Family" (Outstanding Cast in a Comedy) and "Boardwalk Empire" (Outstanding Cast in a Drama and a Lead Actor win for Steve Buscemi) had strong showings. Check out the full list of winners:

Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
"Bridesmaids"
"The Artist"
"The Descendants"
"The Help"
"Midnight in Paris"

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role
George Clooney, "The Descendants"
Demian Bichir, "A Better Life"
Leonardo DiCaprio, "J. Edgar"
Jean Dujardin, "The Artist"
Brad Pitt, "Moneyball"

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role
Michelle Williams, "My Week With Marilyn"
Glenn Close, "Albert Nobbs"
Viola Davis, "The Help"
Meryl Streep, "The Iron Lady"
Tilda Swinton, "We Need to Talk About Kevin"

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role
Nick Nolte, "Warrior"
Kenneth Branagh, "My Week With Marilyn"
Armie Hammer, "J. Edgar"
Jonah Hill, "Moneyball"
Christopher Plummer, "Beginners"

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role
Octavia Spencer, "The Help"
Berenice Bejo, "The Artist"
Jessica Chastain, "The Help"
Melissa McCarthy, "Bridesmaids"
Janet McTeer, "Albert Nobbs"

Outstanding Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Motion Picture
"The Adjustment Bureau"
"Cowboys & Aliens"
"Harry Potter and the Deahtly Hallows - Part 2"
"Transformers: Dark of the Moon"
"X-Men: First Class"

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Television Movie Or Miniseries
Laurence Fishburne, "Thurgood"
Paul Giamatti, "Too Big to Fail"
Greg Kinnear, "The Kennedys"
Guy Pearce, "Mildred Pierce"
James Woods, "Too Big to Fail"

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Television Movie Or Miniseries
Diane Lane, "Cinema Verite"
Maggie Smith, "Downton Abbey"
Emily Watson, "Appropriate Adult"
Betty White, "The Lost Valentine"
Kate Winslet, "Mildred Pierce"

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series
Patrick J. Adams, "Suits"
Steve Buscemi, "Boardwalk Empire"
Kyle Chandler, "Friday Night Lights"
Bryan Cranston, "Breaking Bad"
Michael C. Hall, "Dexter"

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series
Kathy Bates, "Harry's Law"
Glenn Close, "Damages"
Jessica Lange, "American Horror Story"
Julianna Margulies, "The Good Wife"
Kyra Sedgwick, "The Closer"

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series
Alec Baldwin, "30 Rock"
Ty Burrell, "Modern Family"
Steve Carell, "The Office"
Jon Cryer, "Two and a Half Men"
Eric Stonestreet, "Modern Family"

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series
Julie Bowen, "Modern Family"
Edie Falco, "Nurse Jackie"
Tina Fey, "30 Rock"
Sofia Vergara, "Modern Family"
Betty White, "Hot In Cleveland"

Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series
"Boardwalk Empire"
"Breaking Bad"
"Dexter"
"Game of Thrones"
"The Good Wife"

Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series
"30 Rock"
"The Big Bang Theory"
"Glee"
"Modern Family"
"The Office"

Outstanding Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Television Series
"Dexter"
"Game of Thrones"
"Southland"
"Spartacus: Gods of the Arena"
"True Blood"

Screen Actors Guild Awards 48th Annual Life Achievement Award
Mary Tyler Moore

Stick with MTV News all night for the 2012 SAG Awards winners, and don't miss all the fashion from the red carpet!

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Young Money's Cory Gunz Arrested With A Loaded Gun

Veteran Bronx MC Peter Gunz confirmed to MTV News early Sunday (January 29) that his son, rapper Cory Gunz, was arrested for gun possession in the Bronx, New York, on Saturday afternoon.

"The details are still sketchy, but I can confirm that he was arrested with a firearm yesterday in the Bronx," Gunz told MTV News. "They caught him around 2 p.m. in the afternoon with a loaded gun in his knapsack.

"It was definitely an illegal search," Peter added.

Gunz was unable to disclose full details on the incident just yet, but he explained the events leading up to his son's arrest. "I spoke to the arresting officer, and so far, what I'm hearing from him is that they got a phone call at the station saying they should 'look out,' " Gunz said. "According to [the officer], they didn't know he was Cory Gunz. They just saw a bunch of kids following him around.

"What I will say is that the officer that arrested Cory actually happened to be a cool dude," Gunz continued. "After arresting Cory, sitting down with him and talking, he felt bad about the situation."

The 24-year-old rapper was brought to the 43rd Precinct in the Bronx on Saturday, but officials there say he has since been transported to Central Booking, on E. 161st Street in the Bronx.

While this is Cory Gunz's first brush with the law, his father is still worried about the potential fallout from a firearm charge.

"At the end of the day, there's a reason for everything, but at the same time, in New York, it's mandatory jail time," he said. "To go to a precinct and see your son, your junior, in handcuffs, it's heartbreaking. Anytime you see your child in jail, in the cell, in handcuffs, it's very hard. He's walked down some of the same paths that I walked down, but you never want to see your kids go through what you went through.

"This is Cory's first offense, but sometimes they like to make an example out of rappers and people with any kind of celebrity to them."

In April 2011, Cory Gunz and his father starred in the six-part MTV docu-series "Son of a Gun," which charted the young rapper's rise to fame. The younger Gunz is signed to Lil Wayne's Young Money label.

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'Man On A Ledge': The Reviews Are In!

If your impressions about the new action thriller "Man on a Ledge" are based on the film's very-literal title, you're very likely correct in assuming to know a decent amount about the film before entering the theater. "Ledge" is the story of ex-cop and fugitive Nick Cassidy (Sam Worthington), whose seemingly obvious suicidal plan to jump off a building is slowly revealed to be something much more.

Thus far, the critical reception for the film is very different from initial audience reactions. The Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer has "Ledge" at a 22 percent fresh rating from critics, versus a 65 percent fresh audience rating.

Read on to see what has the two viewing bodies so divided as we sift through the "Man on a Ledge" reviews:

The Premise
"It's an arresting image, Sam Worthington out on that 40th-story ledge. He's a fairly tough-looking guy, after all, and we know him best as the tooth-gritting blockbuster hero of 'Avatar' and 'Clash of the Titans,' so it's head-spinning to see the man's beefy figure as a speck hovering so precariously close to New York's infinite sky. The camera swirls around Worthington's disgraced former cop Nick Cassidy, inching out past that thin strip of architecture, then back in. What if he trips, or jumps? For a while, anything seems possible, and it's both exhilarating and terrifying. Then the wool comes off, and it's clear that director Asger Leth and screenwriter Pablo Fenjves have ambitions considerably less grand than their protagonist's perch. Cassidy's ledge game ? with all the studio-unfriendly moral ambiguities it entails ? is just a con, a photo op for the crowds, and Nick's apparent desire to exit the material world is a front. What he truly, passionately wants to do is steal some jewelry." ? Andrew Lapin, NPR

The Impact of Practical Effect
"I, on the other hand, was gripping anything in reach, palms dripping, thinking I might not have survived the effects had they been 3-D. Though there were other production sites, serious time was spent actually shooting on that 14-inch ledge wrapping the 21st floor of the Roosevelt Hotel to create the vicarious sensation of being there. Which worked frighteningly well, at least for the vertiginous among us. Oh, that the actual human dynamics of the unfolding story could have been as dramatic, as on the edge as that ledge." ? Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times

The Direction
"Mr. Leth, the son of renowned Danish documentarian Jorgen Leth, has directed only one other film, 'Ghosts of Cit� Soleil,' a highly stylized doc that revealed a soul yearning to breathe free of nonfiction. He has an instinct for weaving sturdy narrative fabric out of intersecting plot lines. ... Amid the hoopla, Mr. Leth takes sobering assessment of media-circuses and mob mentalities: The people down below taking cellphone pictures, the ones yelling 'Jump!'; the callous nature of cops for whom it's all routine. There's the occasional goofy grace note: Kyra Sedgwick, playing a voracious and obviously Anglo television reporter named Suzie Morales, rolls the 'R' in her surname as she signs off, just in case someone missed the point (we've all heard it). In another scene, Mr. Leth takes such pains to strip the shapely Ms. Rodriguez down to her underwear that audiences, who may well be leering, will also be laughing at how obvious it is." ? John Anderson, Wall Street Journal

The Final Word, Pro/Con Style
"Director Asger Leth, making his U.S. feature-film debut with 'Man on a Ledge,' keeps the pace brisk and never allows the tone to stray into self-seriousness, which is crucial for a movie whose premise is so devoutly ridiculous. The script, from Pablo F. Fenjves, provides enough feints and twists to keep us engaged. Jamie Bell and Genesis Rodriguez aren't the most believable of couples, but there's a screwball charm to their comic routine as amateur thieves charged with aiding Nick's scheme. (Leth can't resist inserting an entirely superfluous ? but nonetheless greatly appreciated ? scene of the criminally gorgeous Rodriguez stripping down to a thong in the middle of a heist.) Worthington makes for a likable populist protagonist, even if his Australian accent betrays him on copious occasions, and Harris' disturbingly emaciated frame lends an added menace to his devious plutocrat villain." ? Thomas Leupp, Hollywood.com

"Like last year's action comedy 'Tower Heist,' 'Man on a Ledge' becomes something of a parable of the 99 percent, with Cassidy initially an object of prurient interest for the massed crowds below, then becoming a blue-collar folk hero. That gives the movie at least a frisson of contemporary relevance, but the filmmakers blow that advantage with plot and characterization that require not just a suspension of disbelief but a suspension of eye-rolling reflexes and the nagging impulse to burst into derisive laughter." ? Ann Hornaday, Washington Post

Check out everything we've got on "Man on a Ledge."

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

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Reese Witherspoon Opens Up About Acting In 1991 MTV Interview

Reese Witherspoon is slated to sit down with MTV News on Tuesday for an exclusive interview and premiere of a previously unseen clip from her upcoming film "This Means War." The special, "MTV First: This Means War," will air on Tuesday at 7:56 p.m. ET on MTV.

But before we look to the future, we are going to take a peep at her past. MTV News has uncovered a precious vintage gem, a 1991 interview with the then up-and-comer. "Ever since I was 7," the already precocious and sassy rookie told MTV News when asked whether she had always had her sights set on a career in Hollywood. "I just thought, I always wanted to do something really outgoing 'cause when I was little I was really kind of quiet, but you know, I'd always be really creative at home and stuff, and finally I started, you know, speaking out and doing little things to impress everybody."

She further explained that once she had decided that acting was something she wanted to do, she took the necessary steps to make sure she'd be ready for fame and stardom. "I started taking little acting classes and improv classes and, you know, [that] turned out to be what I was going to do," she said. "I was always going to do something really out there, really far away. Does that make any sense? No, not really."

Later mocking herself and her answer, she teased, "That's nice, Reese. That's real nice."

Following the on-air "First" segment, Academy Award winner Witherspoon will stay for an additional 30-minute interview on MTV.com with MTV News' Josh Horowitz. Fans can be part of the action right away by submitting video or text questions on MTV.com or via Twitter by using hashtag #MTVFirst.

"This Means War," the McG-directed comedy-action film, stars Witherspoon as a seductive female dating two of the world's deadliest CIA operatives (played by Chris Pine and Tom Hardy), whose partnership and friendship are put in jeopardy when they begin to battle for her affections. Instead of talking to her about the love triangle, they try to settle the matter using all of the weapons at their disposal.

The film also stars one of Witherspoon's real-life pals, comedian and "Chelsea Lately" host Chelsea Handler, who gives Reese's character the terrible advice that she should continue dating both men.

Check out everything we've got on "This Means War."

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

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Megaupload Users Plan To Sue FBI Over Lost Files

The drama surrounding file-sharing site Megaupload continued Friday (January 27) as users announced a plan to sue the FBI over files lost during the site's shutdown last week.

Last week, the federal government took action against Megaupload.com, arresting several members of the company on racketeering and copyright-infringement charges. A federal indictment alleged that the site, which allows users to transfer large files, has generated more than $175 million in criminal proceeds and costs copyright-holders more than $500 million in lost revenue from pirated movies, albums and other materials.

According to TorrentFreak.com, Pirate Parties around the world are banding together to file an official complaint against U.S. authorities in an effort to recover the large amounts of non-pirated data, research documents and personal videos that are shared among users on the site.

"The widespread damage caused by the sudden closure of Megaupload is unjustified and completely disproportionate to the aim intended," they announced in a statement obtained by TorrentFreak. "For this reason Pirates of Catalonia, in collaboration with Pirate Parties International and other Pirate Parties, have begun investigating these potential breaches of law and will facilitate submission of complaints against the US authorities in as many countries as possible, to ensure a positive and just result.

"This initiative is a starting point for legitimate internet users to help defend themselves from the legal abuses promoted by those wishing to aggressively lock away cultural materials for their own financial gain."

The Department of Justice said the case against Megaupload is among the largest criminal copyright cases ever brought by the United States. The news broke just a day after major websites like Wikipedia and Google protested against the U.S. House of Representatives' controversial Stop Online Piracy Act, or SOPA, and the Senate's similar Protect IP Act.

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Spike Lee Stands By 'Red Hook Summer'

Director Spike Lee's "Red Hook Summer" isn't all it appears to be. The religiously-charged drama about an Atlanta boy sent to spend the summer with his Brooklyn-based estranged grandfather, a preacher, has a dark secret at its core, one that Lee intends to "keep on lock."

"Everything is evolution," the celebrated New York filmmaker told MTV News at the Sundance Film Festival about his movie's origins. "I don't know anyone who the first time they sit down to talk has [a story] mapped out from beginning, middle and end. It was the evolution of a germ of an idea and we kept building layer upon layer upon layer."

Where did that germ of an idea come from, you ask? Believe it or not, the answer is none other than horror novelist Stephen King, at least in part.

"We wanted to make a film about young black kids, like 'Stand By Me,'" said Lee. "I love that film. Where's the people of color version of that film? I'm not saying this is it, but that's the type of film? I want to see that. James and I wanted to see this film in a theater. We wanted the world to see these characters in this isolated part of Brooklyn, Red Hook."

Lee's Sundance entry is not the only high profile project on his radar at the moment. The filmmaker is currently working on the American adaptation of "Oldboy," starring Josh Brolin and potentially Mia Wasikowska. When the subject was brought up, Lee's lips were shut tight.

"We'll see. Still working on it," he said of the film's progress. "People are fanatical about that film and they've let me know. We're not scared of anything, but right now we're focusing on 'Red Hook Summer.'"

The 2012 Sundance Film Festival is officially under way, and the MTV Movies team is on the ground reporting on the hottest stars and the movies everyone will be talking about in the year to come. Keep it locked with MTV Movies for everything there is to know about Sundance.

Tags oldboy, Red Hook Summer, spike lee, Stand By Me, Sundance 2012

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