Video After The JumpLondon Times Online Reports
The director Steven Soderbergh compared casting the 21-year-old porn actress Sasha Grey as the lead in his latest film to working with Brad Pitt. The interest in the sylph-slim, smoky-eyed actress, he explained, would be greater than the interest in the movie itself, a useful boost given that The Girlfriend Experience is firmly positioned at the defiantly uncommercial end of the Soderbergh spectrum.
Grey’s might not be a name that resonates through every household, but she has made her mark in the three years that she has been active in the adult entertainment industry. Last year she was the youngest person to win Adult Video News Awards’ Female Performer of the Year gong.
I witnessed the Sasha factor first-hand when I hosted a question-and-answer session for The Girlfriend Experience at the Barbican cinema in London. It wasn’t the stampede of autograph hunters at the end of the evening that surprised, however, rather the fact that about half of them were young women.
The path from porn to mainstream cinema, though not exactly well-trodden, bears the footprints of a few determined individuals. Marilyn Chambers, a sensation from the hardcore film Behind the Green Door, assured her cult status by starring in David Cronenberg’sRabid in 1977. The director Catherine Breillat twice cast the Italian stud Rocco Siffredi as art-house beefcake in her feminist-tinged erotic essays Romance and Anatomy of Hell, but Siffredi subsequently focused his talents on the porn sector, directing and starring in a series of self-celebrating titles such as Rocco Ravishes Ibiza and Rocco’s Dirty Dreams (parts 1 to 6). John Waters gave the teenage porn actress Traci Lords her first break in Crybaby but, while she went on to have a reasonably prolific career in mainstream cinema, it’s worth noting that the highest-profile title she has appeared in over the past decade was Kevin Smith’s Zack and Miri Make a Porno.
So making the jump from porn to a wider public is possible. The challenge seems to be staying in the mainstream once the idea of “novelty” casting has grown old. So will Grey be the one to break the mould?
There is no denying that she is different. With her pellucid skin, petite frame and dramatic sweep of nearly waist-length brunette hair, the physical contrast to the porn-star stereotype is striking. The bulging, overripe artifice of her fellow performers accentuates her soignée delicacy and chic.
But it’s not just her looks that set her apart. Grey is smart. She has an autodidact’s appetite for art and literature and an achingly cool list of references. She is probably the only porn star whose MySpace page lists among her interests Jean-Paul Sartre, Baudrillade, Nietzsche, French new wave and Italian neo-realist cinema alongside “my ass and gash”. The Grey mythology states that, when she was choosing her professional name, she originally considered the name Anna Karina in homage to Jean-Luc Godard’s wife and muse.
In addition to her adult work, Grey models, has recently ventured into theatre and, with the sound designer Pablo St Francis, records brooding experimental music under the name Atelecine.
But brains are only so much use in the porn industry and what really caught the attention of the adult entertainment world was the gusto with which Grey approached her scenes, and her vocal appreciation of S&M and consensual humiliation. In her very first film, Grey invited Siffredi, her partner in the scene, to punch her in the stomach. Given that Siffredi’s oeuvre contains scenes in which he forces his sexual partner’s head into a lavatory, one might assume that Grey’s suggestion would be par for the course. It wasn’t — and word of her performance spread through the industry like a rash.
In person, Grey is immaculately poised and put together. She’s articulate and unflappable, even when, inevitably, questions turn to matters intimate. Unexpectedly, she’s also quite giggly, perhaps because one of the hazards of talking to a porn actress is that even the most innocuous question is suddenly sticky with innuendo. “So, tell me about Soderbergh’s directing technique — did he give you your head? Er, I mean, did he use a firm hand?” I’m drowned out by Grey’s laughter.
Grey was brought up, the youngest of three children, in a working-class neighbourhood in Sacramento, California. Her parents separated when she was 5. Perhaps because of her mother’s Roman Catholicism, Grey associated a certain amount of guilt with her nascent sexuality. “Growing up, I was the oldest virgin out of all my friends. When I finally started having sex, I thought, ‘I can’t believe I have been made to feel this way all this time.’ That’s not to say, ‘Teenagers, go out and have sex, it feels good.’ That’s irresponsible. It’s more that when you are ready, and you do start to understand it, don’t feel guilty about it.”
Grey started watching porn when she was 16 and quickly realised that it was something she could do and do well. In the run-up to her 18th birthday she thoroughly researched her chosen career. “When I first started thinking about it, I thought I could put on a British accent and so if anyone said it was me I could deny it. Then I thought, ‘No, that’s ridiculous. If that’s a choice that I’m going to make, I should be 100 per cent proud of it.’ ”
So how do you go about breaking the news to your parents? “My mom and my sister came to visit me about two weeks after I moved to LA. I told them in person. I said, ‘If I want you to respect me and my decisions, I have to respect you and tell you myself, not let you hear it from someone else. I moved to LA to get into the adult business.’
“Obviously my mother wasn’t happy and my sister had a nervous laugh. Now my sister and my brother are both, ‘OK, don’t be a walking cliché and we’ll support what you do.’ And my mother and I still have a good relationship — she doesn’t like what I do, but I don’t like that she’s Catholic. We’re both very stubborn, hard-headed people. My dad said, ‘As long you accomplish what you set out to accomplish, then OK.’ ”
And Grey has accomplished a lot. After reading an in-depth profile of her in Los Angeles magazine, Soderbergh approached her to play the high-class Manhattan escort Chelsea in The Girlfriend Experience, and Grey has two more mainstream cinema roles lined up. She has taken control of her porn work, managing her own schedule, starting up her own production company and branching into directing. “For me, it’s about creating something that can get you off physically and intellectually. Something that’s unpredictable, so you don’t know when to fast forward and when to play.”
After injuring her back in a bus crash, Grey says she has had to tone down some of the rougher S&M scenes. “A lot of those scenes,” she says, smiling companionably over to where her fiancé, the photographer and film-maker Ian Cinnamon, sits. “I really do enjoy them and its part of my sexuality and something I spent a lot of time discovering and developing, but it’s something I want to reserve for home now.”
Having control over her work and her brand so early in her career has to help. But is it really possible for a young woman to enter the world of adult entertainment and come out the other side unscathed? Certainly, the normalisation of porn in popular culture thanks to the X-rated exploits of Paris Hilton, Kim Kardashian et al means that the vilification that might have greeted Grey’s crossover ambitions a decade ago hasn’t materialised. Still, there’s a hint of world-weariness that seems a little sad in one so young. “Everything in life is a transaction,” she announces at one point. Even love? “Everything,” she says firmly.
The Girlfriend Experience is released on Dec 4
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Video After The JumpDJ Lazy K caught up with that new n*gga now, French Montana at Allure Studios. Akon's newest signee gave an impromptu in studio performance of his version of Drake's mega hit "Forever" French never stops grinding, even with his deal deal securely in place, dude stays busy. Young rappers take notes.
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SixShot.com Reports
Dr. Dre and Pharrell will be serving as the executive producers of Game's upcoming effort, The R.E.D. Album.
Game made the announcement via his twitter on Wednesday (November 25).
"The R.E.D. Album is gonna be classic, that’s a promise," the rapper wrote. " Executive produced by Dr. Dre and Pharrell. The music is phenomenal."
The R.E.D. Album is slated to hit stores on February 16, 2010. The set will feature appearances from Chris Brown, Gucci Mane, Cuba Gooding Jr and Akon.
Just Blaze, Cool & Dre, Timbaland and Polow Da Don are among the other producers who will contribute to the album.
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China Daily Reports
Eminem's mother is marrying a bisexual man who tried to sue her last year.Debbie Nelson has revealed plans to wed her agent, Neal Alpert, who launched a lawsuit against her and her co-author for a small percentage of the profits from her book 'My Son Marshall, My Son Eminem'.
The case was, however, dismissed last year.
Despite his lawsuit, it has been claimed Neal is one of the only people not to have "taken advantage" of Debbie and despite his bisexuality, he has "dated more women than guys".
The source added to website RadarOnline: "When it comes to marriage it's not about the sex, it's about being with your best friend,"
"He has always been a gentleman and respectful and never sold her out for a penny, even when he had the chance."
The couple are presently said to be looking at a number of different venues for the wedding.
The source added: "It's going to be a nice-sized wedding, that's for sure."
Debbie claimed she wrote her book about her son - real name Marshall Mathers - to "set the record straight" about his upbringing and prove she was a good mother, contrary to his claims.
She said: "After his first album 'Infinite' flopped, he reinvented himself as white trailer trash with a crazy welfare mom. I was shocked when I first heard the lyrics - but he constantly reassured me it was all a big joke. I went along with it for Marshall's sake."
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AllHipHop Reports
The family of slain rapper Dolla will celebrate his 22nd birthday today (November 25th) with the release of a brand new mixtape titled The Miseducation of Dolla.
Dolla, born Roderick Anthony Burton II, was gunned down in front of the Beverly Center on May 18th 2009.
Just hours after the shooting, police arrested Aubrey Louis Berry, 23, as he attempted to flee California via a flight from Los Angeles Airport, back to his hometown of Atlanta.
“Just a few hours before the incident, I spoke to my son and he was on his way home catching a flight out. I stay close to the airport, so he used to stop by," Dolla’s mother Dawnee Robinson exclusively told AllHipHop.com. "He told me what he wanted for dinner. He wanted some yellow rice, cabbage and chicken wings. So I went to the store and made sure I had everything. So when I got the call, I was cooking his dinner.”
While numerous reports have made references to Dolla’s alleged ties to the Crips street gang, Dolla’s mother denied those claims and said her son was simply into Hip-Hop music.
“He's always been inquisitive and ambitious and wanted to know everything about everything,” Ms. Robinson told AllHipHop.com. "[He] read everything in sight. Asked a lot of questions and he's always been, you know just a light. I’m so blessed Allah chose me to be his mother.”
While Dolla’s music may have reflected the street life, his mother claimed he was an aspiring rapper who was trying to fulfill his dreams through music and modeling, when he was murdered in cold blood.
“My son was always working, always in the studio,” Robinson revealed. “He spent a lot of time at home with us when he wasn’t on the road. So you know, whatever caused this person to murder my son, I'm still in total disbelief and can't understand what would, provoke anyone to do something like,” an upset Robinson stated.
Dolla started rapping at the age of 11 and after a short lived deal with Dreamworks, he was signed to Akon's Konvict Muzic record label in 2007.
Akon made a cameo appearance on Dolla's biggest single "Who the F**k is That," which also featured Florida producer/rapper T-Pain.
The rapper was in Los Angeles recording material for his debut album for the label, when he was shot and killed near the V.I.P.valet parking area of the Beverly Center.
“He was finishing his album and mixing his mixtape. It was also his girlfriend's 23rd birthday that lived in Los Angeles, but she goes to school at Clark [Clark-Atlanta University]. So he was killing three birds with one stone. Mixing, finishing up his music and enjoying her birthday weekend. So that's why he was there."
Aubrey Louis Berry, 23, is charged with murder and assault. He claimed that he acted out of self defense after Dolla and his crew threatened him in the Beverly Center.
The former promoter from Atlanta is being held on $2 million dollars bail for his role in the murder and has pled not guilty to the charge.
Sources told AllHipHop.com that prosecutors are seeking the death penalty against Berry for the murder of Dolla.
While Dolla’s mother expressed grief over the fact the two young men had lost their lives, she did state that she wanted to see justice pursued to the full extent of the law.
“Hey, all I know is that is not OK to go around shooting and killing people,” Robinson told AllHipHop.com. “That's not what I believe in. That's not what my son believed in and I feel that anyone who is so bold to take another life, for no apparent reason, I feel that they should be prosecuted with full extent of the law and that's how I feel."
Dolla’s new mixtape The Miseducation of Dolla hit the internet today, along with two previously unreleased tracks, “Ghetto Prayer” featuring J. Valentine and “Gonna Be Alright.”
"His legacy is a great one,” Robinson stated. “I believe that you know in due time you know Bu [Akon’s brother/business partner], Akon and Damian Jackson, Dolla’s manager and mentor will make the step to put things out really soon. The mixtape came out today on his birthday as a free download. We just want him to heard."Read more…
BBC Reports
Sade are to release their first studio album for a decade in 2010, record company Sony has announced.
Soldier of Love is the follow up to the band's 2000 hit record Lovers of Rock, and is only the sixth studio album in a career that has spanned 25 years.
Sade, fronted by 50-year-old Sade Adu, have sold more than 50 million records worldwide since the release of their debut album, Diamond Life, in 1984.
The new album will be released worldwide on 8 February 2010.
Each of their five previous records reached the top 10 of the US album chart, while all but one repeated the feat in the UK.
The group, made up of Adu and her long-time bandmates Stuart Matthewman, Paul Spencer Denmann and Andrew Hale, are best known for hits like Smooth Operator, Your Love is King and No Ordinary Love.
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HipHopWired Reports
Gang life used to be a means to bring together Black men and form a type of Brotherhood. Although prejudged as something negative and only bringing trouble, the origination of the Bloods and the Crips wasn't based around violence, but more of an outlet to build family relations.
These days, gangs have been a catalyst to crime and increased violence within the community as the youth, whether due to ignorance or immaturity, have used their affiliations as a way to intimidate those that are outside of the set. Gangs have sporadically popped up across the country leaving chaos at their footprints.
As a Crip of the old school, Snoop Dogg caught up with DJ Green Lantern to speak on the current status of gang life and how it has transitioned drastically from what it was initially.
“Me personally, I feel like if you banging outside of California, stay there cause if you come back to California where it originated at, we have different sets of rules and regulations that don't apply to you n*ggas and you will become victim of circumstances
“I'm proud, but at the same time, I'm disappointed because there's no understanding. It's cool to be in a gang, it's cool because gangs breed love and family and friendship. A lot of people don't understand the positives of being in a gang. If there's no understanding or explanation of why this gang was created, what's the origins of this gang, the rules and regulations, then it becomes a disappointment.”
Feeling as though many are heavily influenced by the media, many are feeding into the visuals portrayed on the television or movies and are allowing others to infiltrate their thought process to give them false representation of being in a gang.
“I feel like a lot of these guys watch TV and they see it, then a couple of guys come from out of town and they brainwash them and they get em and they just gangbangin' for no reason. When we was doing it, we was brought up in it. We understood the rules and regulations. We were there for the foundation. We knew why we were getting involved and knew the consequences. These youngsta's that's in it right now don't understand the consequences. They don't realize that their life is on the line every five minute.”
The rapper also spoke on reppin' sets in Hip Hop and how some artists may need to watch how much they expose themselves when they are on music videos and on the Internet.
“Then, when you find a young rapper who takes on the gangbang mode, who ain't from California, and he goes to California, and some real n*ggas ride up on him from the other side, it's like ‘N*gga, what you was claiming? We done already did our YouTube research on you and all that. You flaggin that sh*t and you ain't really a real one?'”
Without naming particular rappers, Snoop stated that there are certain rapper flaggin sets in different areas of the country, but will be quickly approached when they arrive in California. Without particular badges and documentation from people on the West Coast, some of these rappers have landed themselves in hot water once they touched down into the state.
“I've always expressed on songs that if you come to L.A., you need to come get at a couple of people, I'm one of them. If you don't get at me, you're in trouble.”Read more…
SixShot.com Reports
R&B superstar Chris Brown will not be appearing on Timbaland's upcoming effort Shock Value II.
According to TMZ, an insider claims that Brown was slated to appear on a track called "The One I Love" but was removed from the song due to his legal troubles.
Timbo's manager, Marcus Spence, confirmed that Brown was dropped from the song but insisted the move as amicable.
"It was a creative decision for both parties," said Spence. "There's nothing against Chris. We love Chris."
As reported earlier, Shock Value II will be hitting stores on December 8th. The set will feature appearances from Justin Timberlake, Katy Perry, Miley Cyrus, The Fray, Chris Daughtry, Nickelback's Chad Kroeger, Brandy, Keri Hilson and Young Money rapper Drake.
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Vibe.com Reports
With Thanksgiving approaching, Tyler Perry has started the spirit of giving and saying thanks in the right way--donating $1 million to the NAACP.
The generous donation, which is the largest given by a single person to the long-standing civil rights organization, will be paid over four years, to celebrate the non-profit's centennial anniversary, the NAACP said in a statement.
"I continue to be thankful for the tireless work of the NAACP, and I am proud to be able to help in their mission to fight for the equality of all people, and to work towards the elimination of discrimination against race," Perry said. "Had it not been for the perseverance and vision of the thousands who came before me in the 100 years of this legendary organization, I would not be in the position I am in today.
According to NAACP President and CEO Benjamin Todd Jealous, Perry's contribution will go toward Second Century Society advocacy programs on economic equality, education, health care and criminal justice.
"Tyler Perry exemplifies an unyielding commitment to uplifting and bringing hope to the disenfranchised and those less fortunate," stated Jealous. "Both in his films and in his life, he reflects an impressive ethos of caring and conscientiousness. We are deeply grateful for his support."
"We are honored that Tyler Perry chose to support the NAACP," said Julian Bond, Chairman of the NAACP. "Tyler is a courageous pioneer in bringing positive images of African-American culture and struggles to the screen. His remarkable journey from poverty and childhood abuse to become one of the world's most successful filmmakers and entrepreneurs is an inspiration to us all."
After dropping I Can Do Bad All By Myself and Madea Goes To Jail this year, Perry will release the Janet Jackson-starring Why Did I Get Married Too in April. The movie is the sequel to 2007's Why Did I Get Married. --Jamal MunnerlynRead more…
Video After The JumpMTV Reports
Shakira probably isn't the first name that comes to mind when you think of hip-hop. But since the Colombian pop superstar enlisted the services of Pharrell and Lil Wayne on her latest album, She Wolf, that could change.
"[I'm] starting to understand and assimilate and internalize hip-hop music and hip-hop influences, so I'm trying to incorporate them within my own music," she told MTV News. "Which is a new thing in my life, and I'm completely over the moon. I'm like a kid with a new toy. I'm playing with these new ideas."
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MTV Reports
50 Cent certainly can't be accused of not speaking his mind.
Late Monday, the G-Unit general phoned in to DJ Green Lantern's Sirius Satellite radio show and discussed the lukewarm early sales for his latest LP, Before I Self Destruct — and Jay-Z's possible dig at him during Sunday night's American Music Awards. During his acceptance speech, Jay said, "Men lie, women lie — numbers don't," and then burst out laughing, which many perceived as a response toward 50's recent baiting of Hov.
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EOnline Reports
Attention astronauts: If you see a huge beam of light coming from somewhere near Donny Osmond's house in Utah, be not afraid.
"I'm probably putting it on top of my house with a spotlight on it for all the world to see," Donny told us tonight of his shiny new disco ball trophy.
We hung out backstage after tonight's live season finale of Dancing with the Stars, where Donny was crowned the winner and was downright giddy.
"I'm so happy. I'm so happy. I'm so happy right now!" he sang out. "I'm on cloud nine!"
And he wasn't the only one beaming...
As we interviewed Donny and his partner Kym Johnson, Kelly Osborne proved she's an all-for-one-and-one-for-all kinda gal by jumping right in to smooch them and squeel: "I'm so happy for you, I'm so happy for you!"
(And you know what? We believe her.)
So why was it a different tune for runner-up Mya? And why were the judges so surprised by Donny's win?
"We didn't know who was going to win right up until the moment that they announced it was Donny!" Carrie Ann Inaba revealed to us after the show. "I think we had Mya and Donny matched, but it was emotional, exciting. It was surprising. It was good."
Meanwhile, Mya, who has been a frontrunner all season long, was feeling some conflicting emotions. "There's so much. There's disappointment, dedication, passion and commitment…I've learned multiple amount of things. It's an experience that you'll never forget for the rest of your life and that you want to share with others."
Kelly O. said she has no regrets. "[Before the show], I was the definition of being sick and tired of being sick and tired, and I needed a change. I threw myself in and what I got out of this is priceless."
As the studio cleared out and the contestants were escorted back to their dressing rooms, Donny the Champ still looked shaken as he clutched his disco ball trophy. "I'm numb. I can't believe I'm holding this right now!"
Time to go buy that spotlight.
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