Mira Sorvino on faith and 'Dandelion Dust'When Mira Sorvino had to step into the shoes of a mother who’d given her child up for adoption in the movie “Like Dandelion Dust,” based on the book by Christian author Karen Kingsbury, she found that the experience had a marked effect on her. Sorvino describes the film, which is “about two families who were at war with each other over one child,” as both beautiful and heart-wrenching, but also an examination of faith. “The faith element of it [was] definitely strengthened for me even as I was shooting it because I felt like the character sort of needed redemption – needed forgiveness - not only from people in the film, but from God for what she considered to be a horrendous thing that she’d done, which was give up her own child,” Sorvino said. The actress wouldn't describe the film as "overtly religious," noting instead that “a faith-based audience” could definitely find something that touches them within the film. Florence + The Machine behind the scenes at the VMAsIf you were previously unaware of Florence + The Machine, you probably know who the group is now after a solid performance at the MTV Video Music Awards on Sunday. Led by 24-year-old songstress Florence Welch, Florence + The Machine has racked up both critical and commercial success with her powerful vocals, and CNN.com got to go behind the scenes with the London-bred musician as she prepped for Sunday's show. Check out the video to see how she made the magic happen, and then head over to her website to find out more. Behind the Scenes on 'Showbiz Tonight': The Ines Sainz debateThe "Showbiz Tonight" staff carried on one very big debate this morning about Ines Sainz, the sports reporter who received an apology from the owner of the New York Jets after she complained she was harassed by the players in the locker room. We were going back-and-forth over whether a reporter’s manner of dress actually invites the cat calls and the hoots and hollers from the players in the locker room. Producer Kristyn Martin defended her in our meeting today saying, “It’s a slippery slope when people start criticizing a beautiful on-air correspondent and saying that her looks created unwanted male attention. Aren’t most on-air people beautiful? In every case it’s wrong and dangerous to go to the mentality of, ‘she was dressed in a low-cut top – she asked for it.’” Reality hits the runway at NY Fashion WeekMalan Breton is one of "Project Runway's" most popular cast members - even after being ousted in the second episode of season 3 - and his show made a triumphant bow at New York Fashion Week. With a full orchestra accompanying the models gracing the runway, his show not only featured designs for both men and women, but also a very cute black poodle, much to the crowd's delight. Seated in the front row was a bevy of reality television's best, from Nole Marin - the former judge on "America's Next Top Model" as well as current fashion editor at Runway Magazine - to Denise Richards. Surprise, surprise: MTV VMAs pulled in huge ratingsWell, what a surprise: MTV’s 2010 Video Music Awards was a ratings bonanza on Sunday night, pulling in the largest audience of any telecast on the network since 2002, according to a press release. That equates to 11.4 million viewers tuning in to watch the program, which will be in MTV’s history books as the third most-watched show of all time for the network. (Of all time!) It’s possible that many were tuning in to see how that whole Taylor Swift/Kanye West storyline would end; ratings were up 33 percent from the previous year, when West’s actions at the awards ceremony spawned the "Kanye shrug" and a quote that will probably never be erased from the cultural lexicon. So about Lady Gaga's meat dress...Fashion is all about taste, and as Gaga proved on Sunday, her particular palate includes cuts of meat. The 24-year-old star’s rep confirmed to CNN that yes, that was indeed real meat the singer was encased in as she accepted the Video of the Year VMA at the MTV awards show, and Gaga repeated the look when she appeared on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" on Monday. DeGeneres pointed out that the “Bad Romance” singer has donned meat before, like when she was on the cover of Japanese Vogue. Mickey Rooney on hanging with Hollywood's A-listHe ruled the box office in the 1930s and now 88-year-old Mickey Rooney is back on Hollywood's A-list. The big-screen legend, who mingled with silver-screen stars like Judy Garland and Cary Grant in his heyday, says that he and wife Jan now pal around with the likes of Brangelina and Tomkat. Rooney, who still acts and performs in nightclubs, told the New York Post: "Jan and I know Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie. My wife Jan sang at Anthony Hopkins’ wedding — and who walks up and talks to me but Tom Cruise? A real gentleman." Joaquin Phoenix headed back to 'Letterman'In February, 2009, Joaquin Phoenix made an appearance on David Letterman’s “Late Show” that left viewers wondering if he was acting or if he'd indeed completely lost it. At the time, the actor walked onto the set with a beard obscuring most of his face, sunglasses to conceal the rest of it and no desire to actually be interviewed, it seemed. Letterman tried to coax something out of the star in hopes to save the interview, but ended it by saying he was sorry Phoenix couldn't be there that night. Well, according to the New York Times, Phoenix will head back to “Letterman” on September 22 – although which persona he’ll be bringing remains to be seen. Perhaps he’ll explain what exactly is going on with his documentary, “I’m Still Here,” which is currently playing in limited release. GLAAD calls 50 Cent out for insensitive tweetNote to 50 Cent: Folks don’t like it when you joke about sexuality and violence. The New York Post reports that The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) has mounted a campaign against the rapper after he got into a bit of a Twitter feud with blogger Perez Hilton. "Perez Hilton calld (sic) me [expletive] so I had my homie shoot up a gay wedding,” Fiddy tweeted. “Wasnt (sic) his but still made me feel better.” Crowning a winner on 'Bachelor Pad'Last night's season (or series) finale of "Bachelor Pad" began with host Chris Harrison bringing the three remaining couples together to announce the "most important competition" of the game - a ballroom dancing showdown. The couples headed to some random dance studio, where they were paired with a pro from "Dancing with the Stars" to learn a dance in less than a day. We watched them practice, practice and practice some more, and realized they won't make it to Carnegie Hall anytime soon. When it was time for the dance, the couples had to perform before a panel of "celebrity" judges. And by "celebrities," I mean three former "Bachelor" and "Bachelorette" stars who also performed on "Dancing with the Stars" - Melissa Rycroft, Jake Pavelka and Trista Sutter. (What, you actually expected real celebrities?) |
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Our daily cheat-sheet for breaking celebrity news, Hollywood buzz and your pop-culture obsessions.
Nigel Lythgoe previews 'Idol' finale, big 'SYTYCD' changes http://t.co/Yz1CLtGo 9:56 pm UTC, May 22 2012
The Buzz Today http://t.co/wsKXZ36d 9:42 pm UTC, May 22 2012
Estefan on playing mom in 'Glee' finale http://t.co/8xnuP34d 9:42 pm UTC, May 22 2012
John Mayer says his 'Shadow Days' are over http://t.co/kANCHuhU 8:04 pm UTC, May 22 2012
'Bad' reissued in deluxe edition http://t.co/sslu1VIz 6:41 pm UTC, May 22 2012
Marquee's lists to follow:
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