Jolie created her tv screen debut as a kid alongside the girl father Jon Voight around Lookin’ to Get Out (The early 80′s), but your ex film employment began around earnest 10 years later while using low-budget production Cyborg Couple of (1993). Your ex first primary role in a very right to bare legs major video was in this cyber-thriller Hackers (1998). She starred while in the critically commended biographical television flicks George Wallace (1997) in addition to Gia (1998), plus won a great Academy Give for Best Aiding Actress to be with her performance inside the drama Woman, Interrupted (Late 90s).

Jolie achieved large fame right after her counsel of gaming heroine Lara Croft in Lara Croft: Grave Raider (2001), as well as established their self among the highest-paid performers in Movie with the Grave Raider sequel The actual Cradle with Life (2004). She tough Atlanta bankruptcy attorney her name as a foremost action celebrity with Mister. & Mrs. Smith (August 2005) and Sought (2008), which will marked your ex biggest non-animated private successes up to now, and been given further crucial acclaim performances inside HGH Energizer dramas A Great Heart (’07) and Changeling (2007), which gained her some sort of nomination for an Academia Award for the best Actress.

Separated from characters Jonny Lee Callier and Billy Baby trend Thornton, Jolie now lifestyles with professional Brad Pitt, in the relationship which includes attracted www.ilomessina.org world-wide media focus. Jolie and Pitt currently have three acquired children, Maddox, Pax, as well as Zahara, and 3 biological young children, Shiloh, Knox, and Vivienne.

Early A number of Her Family

Made in New york, California, Jolie will be the daughter regarding actors Jon Voight and also Marcheline Bertrand. She is the actual sister connected with actor Wayne Haven, cousin of singer-songwriter Processor chip Taylor, and goddaughter connected with actors Jacqueline Bisset in addition to Maximilian Schell. On her dads side, Jolie is definitely of German born and Slovak nice, and on your ex mother’s section, she is connected with French Canadian, Nederlander, and The german language ancestry. affiliate marketing She’s also professed to be aspect Iroquois through the girl mother, while Voight has said of which Bertrand was “not severely Iroquois.”

Soon after her parents’ splitting up in 1976, Jolie plus her sibling went to settle for their mom, who left behind her performing ambitions to target raising the woman children. Since a child, Jolie regularly discovered movies together with her mother and then explained that had encouraged plaque attack her curiosity about acting; she’d not recently been influenced by the woman’s father. While she appeared to be six years of age, her mommy and stepfather, filmmaker Expenses Day, shifted the family in order to Palisades, New York; they will returned in order to Los Angeles five-years later. The lady decided your woman wanted to behave and enrollment at the Lee Strasberg Theatre Initiate, where your woman trained for 2 years and showed up in several step productions.

Within the age of Age 14, Jolie dropped outside her performing classes along with aspired to become a memorial service director. Your woman began being employed as a fashion type, modeling primarily in Are generally, New York, in addition to London. In those times, she used black clothes, slim ts experimented with utensil play, in addition to went out moshing along with her live-in boyfriend. 2 yrs later, as soon as the relationship obtained ended, the girl rented a condo above a storage a few obstructs from the woman mother’s property. She made a comeback to theatre studies in addition to graduated coming from high school 12 months early, although in recent times she gets referred to this era with the watching with interest, “I am continue to at heart-and generally will be-just your punk children with body art.”

Jolie dealt with episodes of taking once life depression in the course of her youngsters and beginning twenties. The girl felt out of the way at Beverly Hillsides High School one of several children of several of the area’s wealthier families, seeing that her mummy survived with a more minimal income, and she or he was mocked by different students, that targeted the woman for being particularly thin and then for wearing spectacles and brackets. She think it is difficult to on an emotional level connect with people, and as a result your lover started to self-harm; eventually commenting, “I accumulated knives and also had certain items around. For reasons unknown, the practice of having reduce myself as well as feeling this, maybe sensation alive, experiencing some kind of generate, it was mysteriously therapeutic in my opinion.” Your woman also started out experimenting with medications; by the day of 20, she’d tried “just with regards to every pharmaceutical possible,In . including strong drugs.

Jolie has had a hard relationship along with her father. Caused by Voight’s marital cheating and the ensuing breakup associated with her parents’ marital life, she appeared to be estranged out of her papa for many years. People reconciled and he shown up with her inside Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (Late 2001), but their marriage again ruined. In This summer 2002, Jolie-who received long employed her centre name for a stage brand to establish her very own identity being an actress-filed a ask to officially drop Voight since her surname, that has been granted for September 10, 2002. Inside August of their year, Voight advertised that his or her daughter experienced “serious mental problems” upon Access Showmanship. In response, Jolie introduced a statement throughout Argan oil which your woman indicated that your woman no longer planned to pursue some sort of relationship together with her father. Your woman stated that they did not would like to publicize the woman’s reasons for their particular estrangement, but mainly because she had followed her daughter Maddox, she would not think that it was healthy on her behalf to escort Voight. In 2009, Jolie just as before reconciled with her pops after a seven-year estrangement.

Career

Earlier work: Early in the eightys; 1991-1997

When the lady was 6 years old, Jolie has a small aspect in Lookin’ to leave (1982), the big game co-written by in addition to starring the girl’s father, Jon Voight. The lady committed to behaving at the ages of 16, yet initially thought it was difficult to cross auditions, often currently being told that they was “too darker.” The girl appeared within five regarding her brother’s college student films, manufactured while he visited the USC Education of Movie Arts, plus in several popular music videos, such as Lenny Kravitz’s “Stand by This Woman” (1991), Antonello Venditti’s “Alta Marea” (1991), The Lemonheads’s “It’s In relation to Time” (1993), plus Meat Loaf’s “Rock and also Roll Ambitions Come Through” (Michael went bonkers). She begun to learn from the girl father, since she observed his way of observing individuals become similar to them. His or her relationship during this time period was a lesser amount of strained, by using Jolie realizing that they are both “drama a queen.”

Jolie started out her expert film occupation in Michael went bonkers, when your lover played the woman’s first main role while in the low-budget, straight-to-video science-fiction sequel Cyborg Couple of, as Casella “Cash” Reese, any near-human robot, made to seduce your ex way into an adversary manufacturer’s secret headquarters and then self-detonate. Jolie was disappointed with all the film that they did not audition once again for a yr. Following a aiding role from the independent motion picture Without Data, Jolie starred as Kate “Acid Burn” Libby in the first Movie picture, Online criminals (1995). The fresh York Instances wrote, “Kate (Jennifer aniston) stands out. Like she scowls far more sourly than [her co-stars] and is particularly that extraordinary female nuller who rests intently on her key-board in a see-through best. Despite your ex sullen posturing, which is pretty much everything role necessitates, Ms. Jolie offers the sweetly cherubic appears to be of the girl’s father, Jon Voight.In . The movie did not make a profit on the box business, but designed a cult following following its training video release.

The girl next made an appearance in the 96 comedy Appreciate Is All There exists, a modern-day reduce adaptation involving Romeo and Juliet collection among 2 rival French family diner owners inside Bronx, New York. While in the road film Mojave Moon (1996) the lady played a new woman which falls pertaining to Danny Aiello’s middle-aged character, as he develops emotions for her mom, played by means of Anne Archer. That similar year, Jolie additionally portrayed Margret “Legs” Sadovsky, amongst five teenager girls whom form a great unlikely attachment in the video Foxfire after they pummelled a teacher who have sexually stressed them. The actual Los Angeles Instances wrote with regards to her efficiency, “It took lots of hogwash to cultivate this persona, but Jolie, Jon Voight’s ko daughter, gets the presence to get rid of the typecast. Though the tale is read by Maddy, Hip and legs is the subject matter and the switch.”

Around 1997, Jolie starred together with David Duchovny while in the thriller Playing Lord, set in your Los Angeles underworld. The film was not been given well by way of critics; Roger Ebert spotted that “Angelina Jolie confirms a certain temperature in a form of role that may be usually tricky and intense; she appears too awesome to be [a criminal's] significant other, and maybe she actually is.” Your lover then made an appearance in the telly film Real Women, some sort of historical intimate drama emerge the Usa West in addition to based on the e book by Janice Hardwoods Windle. That calendar year, she likewise appeared for a stripper from the music training video for “Anybody Witnessed My Child?” by way of the Rolling Gems.
Breakthrough: 1998-2000

Jolie’s career began to strengthen after your lover won a new Golden World Award to be with her performance around TNT’s George Wallace (1997). The woman portrayed Cornelia Wallace, the next wife with Alabama Governor George Wallace, performed by Whilst gary Sinise. The flick was incredibly well-received by naysayers and earned, among additional awards, a Golden Planet Award for the most powerful Miniseries or Television system Film. Jolie likewise received the Emmy Award nomination on her performance.

Within 1998, Jolie starred throughout HBO’s Gia, portraying supermodel Gia Carangi. The particular film chronicled this destruction connected with Carangi’s life plus career resulting from her being hooked on heroin, plus her downfall and dying from Is great for the mid-1980s. Vanessa Vance through Reel.net noted, “Angelina Jolie received wide reputation for her purpose as the titular Gia, and it’s really easy to see the key reason why. Jolie is crazy in her portrayal-filling your part with lack of feeling, charm, along with desperation-and her factor in this flick is quite likely the most beautiful coach wreck possibly filmed.In . For the minute consecutive 12 months, Jolie won some sort of Golden Planet Award plus was selected for an Emmy Give. She furthermore won the girl first Display Actors Guild Prize.

In accordance with Shelter Strasberg’s method working, Jolie reportedly chosen to stay in individuality in between views during lots of her early on films, and consequently had received a good reputation being tricky to deal with. Even though shooting Gia, your lover told her then-husband Jonny Lee Miller that they would not be capable to phone them: “I’d tell him: ‘I’m on your own; I’m passing away; I’m lesbian and gay; I’m not likely to see you regarding weeks.’” Just after Gia wrapped in The mid nineties, Jolie announced that they had quit acting once for all, because the girl felt that they had “nothing different to give.”[34] Your woman separated coming from Miller in addition to moved to Ny, where the girl enrolled from New York University or college to study filmmaking plus attend crafting classes; your woman later defined it as “just beneficial to me to recover myself.”[34] Motivated by the girl Golden Entire world Award succeed for George Wallace and also the positive vital reception with Gia, she started again her occupation.

Jolie returned for you to film from the 1998 hoodlum movie Hell’s Kitchen’s. Later in which year, your lover appeared within Playing off by heart, part of a good ensemble toss that integrated Sean Connery, Gillian Anderson, Ryan Phillippe, plus Jon Stewart. The movie received generally positive reviews, as well as Jolie was recognized in particular. This San Francisco Explain wrote, “Jolie, operating through an over-written part, is often a sensation since the desperate clb crawler learning realities about what she actually is willing to chance.” Jolie acquired the Discovery Performance Give from the Country’s Board involving Review of Motion Photos.

In 2000, she starred inside comedy-drama Pushing Jar, alongside Sara Cusack, Billy Bob Thornton, in addition to Cate Blanchett. The video received your mixed wedding party from pundits, and Jolie’s character-Thornton’s sexy wife-was particularly belittled. The Buenos aires Post submitted, “Mary (Angelina Jolie) a totally ludicrous publisher’s creation of some sort of free-spirited woman whom weeps over hibiscus flowers that pass away, wears a lot of turquoise engagement rings and becomes real lonesome when Russell stays entire days away from home.” She subsequently co-starred with Denzel Wa in The Bone tissue Collector (The late 90s), an adapting to it of a offense novel through Jeffery Deaver. Jolie played the law haunted by the woman cop dad’s suicide, which reluctantly allows Washington find a serialized killer. The film grossed $151 trillion worldwide, although was a crucial failure. This Detroit Free Press determined, “Jolie, while generally delicious to observe, is simply in addition to woefully miscast.”

Jolie future took this supporting position of the sociopathic Lisa Rowe with Girl, Disturbed (1999), a adaptation connected with former intellectual patient Susanna Kaysen’s precious moment of the same title. While Winona Ryder unquestionably main personality in what had been hoped being a comeback to be with her, the picture instead noticeable Jolie’s final discovery in Movie. She gained her 3rd Golden Entire world Award, your ex second Display screen Actors Guild Honor, and an School Award for the very best Supporting Presenter. Variety spotted, “Jolie is excellent since the flamboyant, reckless girl exactly who turns out to be significantly more instrumental versus doctors within Susanna’s rehabilitation”.

In Year 2000, Jolie appeared in their own first summertime blockbuster, Eliminated In One minute, in which the lady played Eva “Sway” Wayland, the ex-girlfriend associated with car crook Nicolas Cage. A role ended up being small, and also the Washington Write-up criticized this “all she will in this dvd is stay around, trying to cool off, modeling people fleshy, pulsating muscle-tubes in which nest and so provocatively around her the teeth.” Your woman later spelled out that the motion picture had been any welcome aid after the mentally heavy purpose of Lisa Rowe. That became the girl’s highest grossing flick up until after that, earning $237 zillion internationally.

International Success: 2001-present

Although known for her behaving abilities, Jolie’s shows to date experienced often not necessarily appealed to a large audience, yet Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (Late 2001) made your ex an international movie star. An difference of the well-known Tomb Raider video game, Jolie was necessary to learn a Indian accent plus undergo intensive martial arts exercising to play your title purpose of Lara Croft. Your woman was frequently praised on her behalf physical overall performance, but the film generated typically negative reviews. Leaning commented, “Angelina Jolie was developed to play Lara Croft however [director] Simon West creates her quest into a bet on Frogger.” The film was a global success however, earning $275 zillion worldwide, in addition to launched the girl’s global name as a feminine action superstar.

Jolie then starred opposing Antonio Banderas as their mail-order bride throughout Original Sin (2002), a thriller in accordance with the novel Waltz within Darkness by means of Cornell Woolrich. The flick was a big critical disaster, with The Los angeles Times figuring, “The story falls more precipitously compared to Ms. Jolie’s neck-line.” Throughout 2002, your woman starred in Life or something like that Like It for an ambitious tv reporter that’s told that they will perish in a week. This film ended up being poorly obtained by naysayers, though Jolie’s efficiency received beneficial reviews. CNN’s Paul Clinton published, “Jolie is excellent in their role. Regardless of some of the preposterous plot issues in the middle of your film, this specific Academy Award-winning occasional actress is exceedingly plausible in her voyage towards self-discovery and also the true specification of fulfilling existence.”

Jolie reprised your ex role when Lara Croft in Lara Croft Grave Raider: The Holds of Lifestyle (2003), which often established the girl among Hollywood’s highest-paid performers. The follow up, while not seeing that lucrative because the original, received $156 million on the international pack office. The girl appeared while in the music movie for Korn’s “Did The Time”, which was employed to promote a film. That will same calendar year, she starred inside Beyond Boundaries as a socialite whom joins guide workers around Africa along with Asia. Your film replicated Jolie’s real-life interest in offering humanitarian comfort, but it had been critically as well as financially not successful. The La Times published, “Jolie, as your lover did in their own Oscar-winning role with Girl, Disrupted, can bring electrical power and believability to help roles that contain a reality she will understand. She could also, observe the Lara Croft motion pictures, do regarded cartoons. Though the limbo of a cross character, your badly authored cardboard individual in a fly-infested, blood-and-guts globe, completely failures her.Inch

In ’04, Jolie starred alongside Ethan Hawke inside the thriller Taking Everyday life. She represented an Federal bureau of investigation profiler summoned to help Montreal police force hunt down some sort of serial fantastic. The movie been given mixed reviews along with the Hollywood News reporter concluded, “Angelina Jolie performs a role of which definitely seems like something this lady has already accomplished, but your woman does bring an distinguished dash involving excitement plus glamour.” She furthermore provided a voice from the angelfish Lola in the DreamWorks super-hero movie Shark History (2004), along with a brief visual appeal in Skies Captain along with the World of The day after tomorrow (2004), the science fiction voyage film chance entirely by using actors when in front of a bluescreen. Of which same 12 months, Jolie played Olympias around Alexander, about the lifetime of Alexander the Great. The particular film hit a brick wall domestically, which will director Oliver Jewel attributed to disapproval with the depiction connected with Alexander’s bisexuality, but it prevailed internationally, having revenue with $139 million outside of the United States.

Jolie in that case starred opposite Mr brad pitt in the August 2005 action-comedy Mr. & Mrs. Henderson, which conveys to the story of your bored husband and wife, John along with Jane Jackson, who figure out that they are both equally secret assassins. A film been given mixed reviews, although was usually lauded to the chemistry regarding the two prospects. The Superstar Tribune noted, “While situation feels incomplete, the movie becomes by with gregarious charm, galloping vigor and the stars’ thermonuclear display chemistry.Inches The movie won $478 million around the world, making it most significant hits involving 2005.
Jolie as well as partner The actor-brad pitt at the Cannes Movie Festival with 2007

Jolie following appeared throughout Robert Environnant les Niro’s The Good Shepherd (2005), a film with regards to the early reputation of the Central intelligence agency, as noticed through the view of Edward cullen Wilson, an officer according to James Christ Angleton and experienced by Shiny Damon. Jolie played the encouraging role connected with Margaret “Clover” Russell, Wilson’s abandoned wife. Good Chicago Tribune, “Jolie age ranges convincingly all through, and is blithely aren’t bothered with the best way her breakable character is on its way off with regards to audience empathy.”

Inside 2007, Jolie built her directorial very first with the written A Place with time, which conveys daily life with 27 regions around the world throughout a single few days. The picture was processed at the Tribeca Video Festival as well as was created for distribution so that you can high educational facilities through the Country wide Education Connection. Jolie then starred seeing that Mariane Pearl from the documentary-style drama A new Mighty Cardiovascular system (2007). Based upon Pearl’s memoir of the name, a film is one of the kidnapping and hard of your ex husband, The actual Wall Streets Journal press reporter Daniel Pearl, within Pakistan. The video was recorded in Pune, Asia, and had the premiere with the Cannes Film Celebration. The Showmanship Reporter identified Jolie’s performance seeing that “well-measured and transferring,” competed “with respect as well as a firm understand on a challenging accent.Inch Jolie was selected for a Wonderful Globe Honor and a Display Actors Guild Accolade for her overall performance. Silk n Sensepil She in addition played Grendel’s mum in the lively epic Beowulf (The year 2007), which was designed through the movement capture strategy.
Jolie as Christine Collins about the set of Changeling within Baby Bullet 2007

Jolie co-starred beside James McAvoy as well as Morgan Freeman in the 2009 action flick Wanted, a good adaptation of any graphic fresh by Tag Millar. The motion picture received traditionally favorable reviews as well as proved a world success, generating $342 million globally. She likewise provided the actual voice connected with Master Tigress from the DreamWorks animated flick Kung Fu Panda (2008). Together with revenue connected with $632 million around the world, it evolved into her greatest grossing film so far. That exact year, Jolie required on the cause role with Clint Eastwood’s drama Changeling (The year 2008), which had the premiere in the Max Burn Cannes Film Pageant. Based in element on the Wineville Chicken house Murders, your film celebrities Jolie as Christine Collins, that’s reunited with your ex-girlfriend kidnapped son throughout 1928 Los Angeles-only to achieve the youngster is an impostor. This Chicago Tribune famous, “Jolie really does well in the quiet before the tornado, the views [...] whenever one using male recognition figure to another belittles her with their risk.” Jolie been given a nomination on an Academy Accolade, a Glowing Globe Merit, a Tv screen Actors Guild Prize, and a BAFTA Merit.

Jolie next starred while in the 2010 thriller Sodium, her 1st film in 2 years. Your woman starred alongside Liev Schreiber because CIA adviser Evelyn Salt, whom goes on the actual run after the girl with accused of as being a KGB sleeper real estate agent. Originally composed as guy, the character right to bare legs Sea salt underwent the gender alter after a Colombia Images executive proposed Jolie for the function to representative Phillip Noyce. The video was a global success by using revenue with $294 million. That received varying to good reviews, with Jolie’s operation earning compliment; Empire said, Shake Weight “When it comes to advertising incredible, mad, death-defying antics, Jolie possesses few competitors in the measures business.Inches She furthermore co-starred with The actor-brad pitt in The Traveler (2010), that is a major vital failure. Smoke Assist Moving Stone authored, “Depp and Jolie strike career levels, producing a chemistry with high-fashion zombies.” From a slow start off at the household box place of work, the flick went on to be able to gross $278 thousand worldwide. Magic Mesh Jolie obtained a suspect Golden Community nomination, which was pondered to have been recently awarded only to ensure the girl high-profile presence within the awards wedding ceremony.

In 2011, Jolie reprised your ex voice position as Expert Tigress in the computer animated DreamWorks sequel Kung Fu Panda A couple of. It started to be her second-highest grossing motion picture to date, www.ashdonaldson.com gaining in excess of $500 mil at the foreign box place of work. She will in addition make the woman’s directorial feature first appearance with In your Land involving Blood as well as Honey (This year), a love history set over the Bosnian War. This film ended up being shot around October 2010 and beyond using community actors and is Xtreme NO particularly scheduled intended for release around December.

But as the initial shock of the pair’s reunion subsides, and both remixes begin to diffuse into the collective conscience, we’re left with one rather important question: Beyond all the (very public) handwringing the songs have created, are they actually any good? Early opinions from critics have been lukewarm at best (and downright hostile at worst), mostly because it seems they have a difficult time separating their feelings about Brown ? and his 2009 assault of Rihanna ? from their feelings about the songs themselves. And really, you can’t blame them. In a lot of ways, it’s impossible not to view the “Cake” and “Music” remixes through the prism of the past three years.

Still, with opinions still being formed (and feelings still fresh), we reached out to some of our favorite music journos to get their take on the songs and Rihanna and Brown’s unlikely collaboration. Here’s what they had to say:

” ‘Birthday Cake’ was pretty much destined to be a smash when Talk That Talk was released with only a snippet of it. … The 78-second bit of The-Dream-produced track inspired hosannas from members of the Rihanna Navy who couldn’t wait for the full thing to be released. … Putting Chris Brown on the [remix] (and having him sing ‘I wanna f— you right now,’ which Rihanna sang on the fade-out of the TTT version, as his opening gambit) seems almost like overplaying her hand. Like, this song was going to be a big deal to her fans no matter what, so why add the controversy to it? Then again, the past three years of her career have, it seems, been about her taking control of her public image in a big way ? from enacting revenge fantasies in ‘Man Down’ to singing about sex a lot ? and adding Brown to a song about fetishistic sex is a way for her to do just that, to implicitly flip off people who she sees as paternalistic or overbearing while engaging in what she calls ‘chiefin’.’ Every gossip item about the two of them getting back together or hanging out, every angry/sad/exulting blog post, every public tweet they direct to one another when presumably they could just DM back and forth, keeps them ? and the songs ? in the news. Meanwhile, Brown’s song and Rihanna’s contribution to it are both pretty bland, a ‘Party Rock Anthem’ with no shuffling and even less whimsy. At one point, Rihanna does the phrase ‘I love you,’ which will no doubt get tongues wagging. I am pretty much grossed out by the whole thing, to be honest.” ? Maura Johnston, Village Voice

“The remixes aren’t terrible, and that’s as much as I’ll say at risk of saying something positive about Chris Brown. … The most important thing to remember is that if you have a problem with these two teaming up: Don’t blame Rihanna. Blame the ravenous, unscrupulous, money-starved record industry for being complacent through this entire event. The whole machine is falling apart, so everyone ? artists like Ludacris and Justin Bieber, their labels and managers, magazines like Vibe who put Chris Brown on the cover, awards shows like the Grammys, TV networks who play Chris Brown videos ? they’re all too afraid to potentially put forth an opinion that would prevent them from being where money is. The fact that everyone except Jay-Z and Miranda Lambert is too chickensh– to speak out against woman-beating is pathetic beyond pathetic. Everyone is too scared to compromise their chance to catch the last remaining dollars during the music industry’s death rattle.” ? Christopher R. Weingarten, SPIN

“Rihanna’s ‘Birthday Cake’ was a standout track from Talk That Talk, even in its original form (as an interlude) ? and more importantly, without Chris Brown. On the remix, all Brown’s aggressive, salacious verses do … is add fuel to rumors circling of their reunion behind closed doors. [And] Rihanna comes back on the song, calling checkmate on Breezy with her suggestive lyrics ? “Remember how you did it?/ Remember how you fit it?/ If you still want to kiss it, come, come and get it” ? making it hard to not be teased into again reading between the lines. ‘Turn Up the Music’ feels like a collaboration that would have fit both artists’ discography during their days coupled up. Although RiRi’s airy vocals blend well with the Underdogs’ dance soundscapes, adding Rihanna to the track doesn’t leave a lasting impression nor elevate the song to higher grounds. Ultimately, it’s not the content of the songs that matter; it’s the statement both singers are trying to make by simply releasing them. The collaborations appear to be a step toward reconciliation between both ? seeing the tracks climb the chart is a bonus. Rihanna wants us to know that she no longer wears the shoes of the victim and Breezy wants to prove that he’s become a better man. This isn’t a personal or professional move; it’s both. Both singers have woven their personal life, a haunting moment in their lives, into a professional move. Though it’s stirred much controversy, I believe it was bound to happen.” ? Erika Ramirez, Billboard.com’s “The Juice”

What do you think of the collaborations? Let us know in the comments.

Izabella Scorupco Jaime King Jaime Pressly Jamie Chung Jamie Gunns Jamie Lynn Sigler Janet Jackson

Eva Green Eva Longoria Eva Mendes Evangeline Lilly Eve Fergie Foxy Brown

If you aren’t excited about the next James Bond movie, “Skyfall,” now there’s a video to ask you “Why the hell not?”

The official video blog for “Skyfall” has officially kicked off with a short clip from director Sam Mendes. You know Sam Mendes, right? The Academy Award-winning director of “American Beauty”? The man who arguably hasn’t made a bad film? Why aren’t more people excited about this?

In the clip, Mendes discusses how he grew up watching Bond and that “Casino Royale” convinced him that a great 007 movie was still possible. Notice how he made no mention of “Quantum of Solace.” The omission can only hint at the new direction for the series, hopefully away from trying to compete with the hyper-kinetic fast punching of Jason Bourne.

The video blog doesn’t reveal much about “Skyfall” itself, but we get some small glimpses of Daniel Craig back as Bond in what looks like an abandoned European electro club. We see mostly his silhouette as he slowly stalks with his standard Walther PPK ready to strike.

Hiring Mendes for the job definitely signals a much needed slowing down, as if the studio listened to hardcore Bond fans and said, “Pump the brakes.” “Casino Royale” struck a chord because of the balance of cooler, tension-filled moments and outright action, plus an emotional connection that was real. Mendes is certainly new to action, but the man has a natural eye for stunning visuals and can clearly handle the human element.

The director hasn’t satisfied all of the fans though, with many afraid “Skyfall” could become too talky of a Bond, but this is an expensive action film. It wouldn?t have been greenlit without the right amount of action.

So, check out the video blog for a sneak peek at what a Bond movie will look like when it’s directed by an Oscar winner.

What did you think of the video blog for “Skyfall”? Let us know in the comments below and on Twitter!

Tags Bond, daniel craig, james bond, sam mendes, Skyfall

Jennie Finch Jennifer Aniston Jennifer Gareis Jennifer Garner Jennifer Gimenez Jennifer Love Hewitt Jennifer Morrison

In the same week that she celebrates 52 weeks on the Billboard 200 albums chart, all of them spent in the top 10, the singer set yet another high-water mark when she notched the biggest sales week yet following her Grammy Awards comeback. In the wake of her six-for-six night at the awards show, Adele rolled up her biggest sales week to date, moving 730,000 copies, more than doubling her previous high mark of 399,000 for the week ending December 25, 2011, according to figures provided by Nielsen SoundScan.

The last album to sell more copies in a single week before Adele’s big jump was Lil Wayne, whose Tha Carter IV moved 964,000 in August 2011. To put her giant leap into perspective, in her 52nd week on the charts, Adele moved the third-highest amount of product of any artist in the past year, surpassed only by Lady Gaga‘s Born This Way (1.1 million) and Weezy, and coming in ahead of highly anticipated chart bows by Drake (631,000), Coldplay (447,000), Jay-Z and Kanye West (436,000), Lady Antebellum (347,000), Beyoncé (310,000), Britney Spears (276,000) and Chris Brown (270,000).

Among the other records Adele set with her massive week:

» The biggest weekly sales increase following a Grammy win in the, um, 21-year history of SoundScan. With her 207 percent bump, Adele beat the previous record holder, Norah Jones, who sold 621,000 (a 331 percent increase) following her five Grammy wins in 2003 for Come Away With Me.

» With her massive sales hike, Adele became the first artist to go double-platinum on iTunes.

» With 21 non-consecutive weeks at #1, Adele now holds the record for the longest #1 album by a woman in Billboard history, beating the record formerly held by the late Whitney Houston’s soundtrack to “The Bodyguard.”

And it wasn’t just 21 that got the Grammy love. Adele’s debut, 19, zoomed up five spots to #4 thanks to a 144 percent sales increase, with 87,000 copies sold, setting another one-week sales best by eclipsing its previous high of 71,000 units shifted for the week ending December 25, 2011.

In the first full chart week after her death, Houston’s only greatest-hits collection, Whitney: The Greatest Hits, saw a sales increase of 174 percent, shifting 175,000 copies to move up four spots to #2.

The rest of the top 10: Now 41 (#3, 94,000), 2012 Grammy Nominees (#5, 85,000), Van Halen‘s A Different Kind of Truth (#6, down 69 percent in its second week on sales of 58,000) and Paul McCartney‘s Kisses on the Bottom (#7, 58,000).

A number of acts also got a significant Grammy boost, including performer Bruno Mars, whose Doo-Wops & Hooligans rose 133 percent on sales of 38,000, bumping it up 22 spots to #8; Lady Antebellum, whose Own the Night was up eight to #9 (37,000, up 47 percent); and the Civil Wars, who rocketed up 31 spots to #10 with Barton Hollow (36,000, up 178 percent).

Coldplay got a more modest boost from their performance, as Mylo Xyloto inched up three spots to #11 on a 26 percent sales increase to 35,000, while Grammy winners Foo Fighters were up 134 percent and 28 spots to #21 with Wasting Light (23,000).

Further down the line, two other Houston albums, her self-titled debut and the soundtrack to “The Bodyguard,” both sold more than 17,000 copies, seeing respective sales increases of 113 and 123 percent.

Over on the iTunes charts, Grammy performer Katy Perry topped the singles tally with her new single, “Part of Me,” followed by Houston’s iconic cover of “I Will Always Love You,” Adele’s “Rolling in the Deep” and “Set Fire to the Rain” and Kelly Clarkson‘s “Stronger (What Doesn’t Kill You).”

Coming in at #6 were buzz band fun. with “We Are Young,” Nicki Minaj with “Starships,” Brown’s “Turn up the Music,” Adele’s “Someone Like You” and One Direction‘s “What Makes You Beautiful.”

21 was at #1 on the iTunes albums chart, followed by Houston’s greatest-hits comp, the Civil Wars’ Barton Hollow, Adele’s 19, Coldplay, the Grammy compilation, Mars, Clarkson’s Stronger, the Fray‘s Scars & Stories and Grammy winner Bon Iver‘s self-titled album.

With Houston’s chart record in the rearview, next up for Adele is the 24-week #1 reigns of the “Saturday Night Fever” and “Purple Rain” soundtracks. She should be safe for another week, as the only competition coming up in the next chart frame is from Sleigh Bells, Tyga and fun.

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According to the Hollywood Reporter, “Justin Bieber: Just Getting Started” is scheduled for release in September. The singer’s second official photo book comes on the heels of “First Step 2 Forever: My Story,” which was released in October 2010 and sold more than one million copies in 25 languages.

The new book will include information about the 17-year-old singer’s most recent tour and the making of his record-breaking concert documentary, “Never Say Never,” as well as the sessions for Believe. Among the bold-faced names that have popped in so far to lay down tracks for that album are fellow Canadian Drake,? who has long wanted to work with the pop star.

Kanye West? is also reportedly slated to contribute to the disc, which is scheduled for release later this year. Super-producers Pharrell, will.i.am? and rapper Lil Wayne are among the other names that have been tossed about as possible collaborators. Believe is the follow-up to the Christmas-themed Under the Mistletoe, which was released in late 2011.

Given his advancing age and the influence of a new group of collaborators, the effort is promising to be a step in a new direction for the multiplatinum teen idol. “The only conversation we’ve had about Justin’s album that we’re about to do is it’s really important that it’s the proper transition, because we’ve seen him [with] ‘Baby,’ now we’re watching him grow up,” Bieber’s longtime vocal producer, Kuk Harrell,? told MTV News in November. “And we can’t just throw him into the adult game right away. It has to be the proper transition. There’s a record in between.”

In the meantime, fans will have to settle for watching Bieber help re-launch MTV’s iconic “Punk’d”? hidden-camera show, which relaunches next month with a rotating slate of guest hosts.

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It’s anyone’s guess what this year’s attendees will be wearing on Sunday night at the 54th annual awards show, but MTV News will be camped out on the carpet for a full three hours before the festivities kick off and we’ll be keeping our eyes peeled for all the outrageous looks and fashions.

Click for photos of our most-shocking Grammy red carpet moments!

In the meantime, we thought it was worth a look back at some of the legendary entrances from Grammys past:

Lady Gaga egg: Sure, Justin Bieber toted his pet snake to last year’s show, but it was, of course, Lady Gaga who turned the most heads by getting carried down the carpet in a giant, see-through egg that she incubated in before emerging later in the night for her performance of “Born This Way.”

Britney gets bodied: Britney Spears has long prided herself on wearing what she wants, when she wants. But someone should have pulled her aside in 2010 before she exited the car in an oddball Dolce & Gabbana bodysuit overlaid with a lace dress that turned heads for all the wrong reasons.

M.I.A.’s pregnancy chic: With her middle finger firmly tucked into place, the rapper/singer made her way into the 2009 show while nine-months pregnant in a cartoony, ruffled blue maternity dress and matching sneakers.

Coldplay play dress up: It was kind of cool when Coldplay stuck with their bold Sgt. Pepper’s-style suits for the whole Viva La Vida tour. But when they wore them to the 2009 show, it just felt … silly.

OK Go … back to the drawing board: Viral icons OK Go are experts at drawing attention to their music with trippy, how-did-they-do-that videos. They drew mostly sniggers, though, when they donned matching brocade curtain-looking red-and-gold suits to the 2007 show. Their smartest move may have been to cover their faces with red cloth.

R. Kelly, man of mystery: Kels has made a career out of being inscrutable , but his bold sartorial choice at the 2004 Grammys was, well, weird. From the neck down he wore an elegant three-button black suit and tie, but the matching Robin mask? Who knows?

Alicia Keys gets funky: Nobody really knows what Keys was thinking in 2002 when she walked the carpet wearing embroidered jeans, sandals, a white tank and a sheer green sari-like shift with a built in, bedazzled headdress.

Toni Braxton lets it all hang out: Sometimes it’s what you don’t wear that gets attention. In 2001, singer Braxton sported a barely-there white “dress” that hardly covered her assets with strips of material that dangled in the front and back.

Jennifer Lopez’s plunging neckline: Way before she was an “American Idol” judge, Lopez sent hearts racing in 2000 with her instantly infamous plunging neckline Versace gown.

Chaos! Profanity! Wardrobe malfunctions! Don’t miss our Grammy red-carpet live stream this Sunday, February 12, for a full three hours of mayhem, starting at 5 p.m. ET on MTV.com. And the fun doesn’t end Sunday: MTV News has you covered for all the Grammy red-carpet fashion, Grammy winners and Grammy news until the hangover wears off!

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It’s anyone’s guess what this year’s attendees will be wearing on Sunday night at the 54th annual awards show, but MTV News will be camped out on the carpet for a full three hours before the festivities kick off and we’ll be keeping our eyes peeled for all the outrageous looks and fashions.

Click for photos of our most-shocking Grammy red carpet moments!

In the meantime, we thought it was worth a look back at some of the legendary entrances from Grammys past:

Lady Gaga egg: Sure, Justin Bieber toted his pet snake to last year’s show, but it was, of course, Lady Gaga who turned the most heads by getting carried down the carpet in a giant, see-through egg that she incubated in before emerging later in the night for her performance of “Born This Way.”

Britney gets bodied: Britney Spears has long prided herself on wearing what she wants, when she wants. But someone should have pulled her aside in 2010 before she exited the car in an oddball Dolce & Gabbana bodysuit overlaid with a lace dress that turned heads for all the wrong reasons.

M.I.A.’s pregnancy chic: With her middle finger firmly tucked into place, the rapper/singer made her way into the 2009 show while nine-months pregnant in a cartoony, ruffled blue maternity dress and matching sneakers.

Coldplay play dress up: It was kind of cool when Coldplay stuck with their bold Sgt. Pepper’s-style suits for the whole Viva La Vida tour. But when they wore them to the 2009 show, it just felt … silly.

OK Go … back to the drawing board: Viral icons OK Go are experts at drawing attention to their music with trippy, how-did-they-do-that videos. They drew mostly sniggers, though, when they donned matching brocade curtain-looking red-and-gold suits to the 2007 show. Their smartest move may have been to cover their faces with red cloth.

R. Kelly, man of mystery: Kels has made a career out of being inscrutable , but his bold sartorial choice at the 2004 Grammys was, well, weird. From the neck down he wore an elegant three-button black suit and tie, but the matching Robin mask? Who knows?

Alicia Keys gets funky: Nobody really knows what Keys was thinking in 2002 when she walked the carpet wearing embroidered jeans, sandals, a white tank and a sheer green sari-like shift with a built in, bedazzled headdress.

Toni Braxton lets it all hang out: Sometimes it’s what you don’t wear that gets attention. In 2001, singer Braxton sported a barely-there white “dress” that hardly covered her assets with strips of material that dangled in the front and back.

Jennifer Lopez’s plunging neckline: Way before she was an “American Idol” judge, Lopez sent hearts racing in 2000 with her instantly infamous plunging neckline Versace gown.

Chaos! Profanity! Wardrobe malfunctions! Don’t miss our Grammy red-carpet live stream this Sunday, February 12, for a full three hours of mayhem, starting at 5 p.m. ET on MTV.com. And the fun doesn’t end Sunday: MTV News has you covered for all the Grammy red-carpet fashion, Grammy winners and Grammy news until the hangover wears off!

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Clooney’s journey to Sunday night’s 2012 Oscars took a familiar path through the festival circuit with releases in the second half of the year, one carefully engineered to spell awards success, but the two films that got him there and the work he did cover a wide spectrum in filmmaking.

“Ides of March” took shape late in 2010, when Clooney signed on to wear three hats for the film: actor, producer and director. His fourth directorial effort to date, the political drama follows a young junior campaign manager (Ryan Gosling) as he struggles with the moral dilemmas of supporting a presidential candidate, played by Clooney.

Based on Beau Willimon’s play “Farragut North,” the script for “Ides of March” earned Best Adapted Screenplay nominations for the original author, Clooney and his frequent collaborator Grant Heslov. Though Clooney’s well-known political affiliations and beliefs stood in the foreground, the man himself took more of a backseat, limiting his onscreen role to a few keys scenes.

During awards season, the film made a small mark, after debuting to only mildly positive reviews. It did, however, take a spot on the National Board of Review’s top 10 of the year and earned four Golden Globes nominations, including Best Picture (Drama) and Best Director.

In “The Descendants,” Clooney took a familiar spot as leading man, but the role of Matt King required him to be anything but his usual model of suave confidence. As a soon-to-be widow, Clooney fully adopted the dopey mantel of an Alexander Payne hero in the tradition of Paul Giamatti in “Sideways” and Matthew Broderick in “Election.”

But unlike his predecessors as a lead in one of Payne’s films, Clooney’s character remained almost entirely sympathetic throughout the film, thanks in large part to the believability of the acting. He effortlessly took on the role of an utterly clueless father with good intentions, helping make “Descendants” such a true and touching film.

In the week leading up to Oscar night, Clooney stands neck and neck with fellow nominee Jean Dujardin as the favorite. It would be Clooney’s second win for acting, his first coming in 2006 as supporting actor in Stephen Gaghan’s “Syriana.”

However Sunday’s ceremony might shake out for Clooney, he has proven himself a mainstay for the Academy Awards, and ? whether he’s acting, directing, writing or producing ? someone who will continue to appear on shortlists for years to come.

The MTV Movies team has the 2012 Oscars covered! Stick with us for everything you need to know leading up to the awards show, and on Sunday, February 26, tune into MTV.com at 5:30 p.m. ET for our three-hour red-carpet live stream and updates on the night’s big winners.

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I say troubling because, really, the Grammys have never been cool (and there is something like five decades of empirical evidence to back up that claim), and voters bestowing the night’s top award on an indie act ? instead of Eminem, Lady Gaga and Katy Perry, each of whom were also nominated ? was a hip, hip move. So it stood to reason that, if one of the stuffiest of award shows could get with the times, then perhaps everyone could. Perhaps the Arcade Fire’s AOTY win fractured the space-time continuum itself, sort of like on “Lost,” when Benjamin Linus turned that wheel and the island started skipping through time and there were actually two islands, one existing in current time and one that was stuck in the 1970s, and that old woman had a pendulum and Jack ended up detonating a hydrogen bomb with a rock or something (“Lost” definitely got confusing for a while there).

What I am trying to say is that it is not entirely inconceivable that, post Arcade Fire, there now exist two Grammy Awards: the one where Led Zeppelin has zero wins (but Sheryl Crow has nine) and the one where cool bands take home the biggest awards. You know, the actual Grammys versus the bizarro Grammys.

It’s an insane theory, yes, and yet, it is also (sort of) backed up by this year’s Grammy nominations. In actuality ? given she had one of the best-selling albums of the past decade and almost single-handedly saved the industry in 2011 ? Adele is not only one of the night’s most-nominated artists, but she’ll probably end up walking away with the most golden gramophones, too. In fantasy, Bon Iver stuns the Dog the Bounty Hunters of the world and takes home three-quarters of the “Big Four” awards. In the grand cosmic scheme of things, I suppose either is probable.

Shoot, at the very least, the theory makes the Grammys a lot more interesting … and impossible to predict. Still, I’m going to try my best. So here are my theoretical picks for the 54th Grammy Awards, where I’ve weighed the actual against the bizarro in a misguided attempt to predict just who will triumph in the night’s biggest categories. Hey, it’s better than just saying “Adele is gonna win everything.” Even though she probably will. It is just a theory, after all.

Album of the Year
» Adele, 21
» Foo Fighters, Wasting Light
» Lady Gaga, Born This Way
» Bruno Mars, Doo-Wops & Hooligans
» Rihanna, Loud

“Actual” Grammys: Dude, come on, Adele wins this one by a mile.

“Bizarro” Grammys: The most bizarro winner would probably be Rihanna, who’s not exactly celebrated as an “album artist,” or maybe Bruno Mars, though, thanks to “F— You” (much-nominated at last-year’s Grammys) and his string of hits this year, he seems to be a favorite among voters.

Continuum-Uniting Winner: Remember in 2009, when Taylor Swift’s Fearless won AOTY and everyone got all upset? Well, it was the year’s best-selling album, too, and at the time, Swift was credited with keeping a sinking industry afloat. Adele’s 21 has sold nearly as many copies as Fearless … and has done so in less than a year. So, uh, yeah, she’ll win this.

Record of the Year
» Adele, “Rolling in the Deep”
» Bon Iver, “Holocene”
» Bruno Mars, “Grenade”
» Mumford & Sons, “The Cave”
» Katy Perry, “Firework”

“Actual” Grammys: It’s Adele’s to lose, though she may face a tough challenge from Mumford & Sons, who not only landed nominations last year, but had 2011′s best-selling rock album based mainly on the strength of “The Cave.” Still, a win by them here would be an upset in every sense of the word.

“Bizarro” Grammys: Got to be “Holocene,” which on the surface, doesn’t stand much of a chance. Still, I can’t shake the feeling that Bon Iver wins something on Sunday, and so, much like Arcade Fire’s Album of the Year win last year …

Continuum-Uniting Winner: … I’m going with the bearded dude from Wisconsin. Look, voters aren’t going to give Adele everything, most likely because they don’t want to deal with the backlash. There’s also the Arcade Fire momentum from last year, not to mention the fact that since this award goes to not only the artist, but the producer, recording engineer and mixer, too, it tends to go to classically constructed tunes (Kings of Leon’s “Use Somebody,” Alison Krauss’ and Robert Plant’s “Please Read the Letter”) as opposed to songs with massive commercial appeal. So I’m taking “Holocene” for the upset.

Song of the Year
» Adele, “Rolling in the Deep”
» Bon Iver, “Holocene”
» Bruno Mars, “Grenade”
» Kanye West, Rihanna, Kid Cudi and Fergie, “All of the Lights”
» Mumford & Sons, “The Cave”

“Actual” Grammys: Again, Adele.

“Bizarro” Grammys: “Holocene,” though how amazing would it be if “All of the Lights” actually won here? Would Kanye even let anyone else talk during his acceptance speech?

Continuum-Uniting Winner: “Rolling in the Deep.” It was 2011′s biggest song, and one look at previous SOTY winners ? massive hits like “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It),” “Rehab,” “Sometimes You Can’t Make It on Your Own” ? well, you can see which way this one tends to go.

Best New Artist
» The Band Perry
» Bon Iver
» J. Cole
» Nicki Minaj
» Skrillex

“Actual” Grammys: Adele. Oh, wait, this is the only category she’s not nominated in (though she did win it in 2009). OK, well, then how about the Band Perry? They’re a country act, and over the past decade, when nominated, country acts tend to win BNA (Shelby Lynne in 2001, Carrie Underwood in 2007, the Zac Brown Band in 2010). Oh, and it doesn’t hurt that their “If I Die Young” was a certified crossover smash, either.

“Bizarro” Grammys: It actually wouldn’t be all that odd if Bon Iver wins here (since, even though I picked him to take Song of the Year, there’s a pretty good shot this is the “Big Four” award he wins), so, can I interest you in some Skrillex?

Continuum-Uniting Winner: Barbz rejoice, I’m taking Nicki Minaj! Why? Well, after a massive year, she was ignored everywhere else in the “Big Four,” so a BNA win would be a nice olive branch extended by Grammy voters. Also, no hip-hop artist (male or female) has won this award since Lauryn Hill in 1999, and how bizarro is that?!? So fittingly, Best New Artist is hers.

Make your predictions for the Grammy Awards in the comments section below!

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