'Breaking Dawn' Breakouts: Will New Castmembers Become Big Stars?
We take a look at the résumés of new 'Twilight' vampires Lee Pace, Noel Fisher and more.
By Eric Ditzian
Noel Fisher
Photo: Frazer Harrison/Getty Images
Last summer, no one knew who Xavier Samuel was. Then he was cast as the vampire Riley in "Eclipse" and suddenly found himself an object of fascination in the "Twilight" community.
Now a new crop of actors, many of whom are largely unknown, have joined the franchise for "Breaking Dawn," the two-part finale of the supernatural series. Summit Entertainment announced on Wednesday that the studio had cast the members of the Amazon, Egyptian, Irish and Romanian vampire covens and the American and European nomads. Following on the heels of Samuel in "Eclipse," which of these folks might become the fresh breakout stars of "Breaking Dawn"? Let's take a look.
Lee Pace: The 31-year-old "Pushing Daises" star is easily the biggest name announced this week. And that gives us a hint that his character, Garrett (one of the American nomads), will likely play a meaty role in "Breaking Dawn." Canceled last year, "Daises" was a critically lauded show that was perhaps a bit too quirky to attract a mainstream audience. Pace, though, is an immediately likable fellow with a boyish grin and an old soul. Expect to hear a ton about him in the coming months.
Noel Fisher: This former child actor is perhaps best known for his part in "The Riches," an AMC drama in which he excelled, going to toe-to-toe with Eddie Izzard and Minnie Driver. He's one of those actors who can communicate a damaged rage with just one intense stare. His character, Vladimir (part of the Romanian coven), is not so much a smoldering vamp in the vein of Edward Cullen as a straight-up creep show. Yet that won't stop fans from clamoring for the 26-year-old Fisher's attention.
Judi Shekoni: The glamorous British actress is set to portray Zafrina of the Amazon coven. The part, which draws her into close contact with Bella and Renesmee, should give Shekoni a bunch of lines. That screen time, combined with her striking good looks, could set the actress up for an outpouring of affection from Twi-hards.
Joe Anderson: It's unclear how large Anderson's role, as European nomad Alistair, will end up being. But the guy has got acting chops: He turned what could have been a disposable supporting part in "The Crazies" into the film's most compelling character. It'll be interesting to see his look in "Breaking Dawn," as Alistair is described as having dark hair, while Anderson is a natural blond. Regardless, the 28-year-old Brit deserves more than a passing glance from the "Twilight" community.
Check out everything we've got on "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn."
For young Hollywood news, fashion and "Twilight" updates around the clock, visit HollywoodCrush.MTV.com.
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Usher Dazzles On The VMA Stage With 'DJ' And 'OMG'
Ush combined his legendary dance skills with spectacular special effects.
By Rochell D. Thomas
Usher performs at the 2010 VMAs
Photo: Kevin Mazur/ WireImage
Call it what you will: talent, swag, skills. But one thing's true about Usher Terry Raymond IV: When he steps on the dance floor, some mysterious thing comes out of him and puts the G in groove. After he was tapped to perform at the 27th annual MTV Video Music Awards, executive producer Dave Sirulnick challenged Usher to "show why you're king," and the 31-year-old Grammy winner didn't disappoint.
As predicted by the lucky few who got a peek at Thursday's practice performance for his hit "OMG," Ush pulled off moves that would make the late great Michael Jackson jealous in a mammoth stage production that included more special-effects bells and whistles than a summer blockbuster.
Usher opened the performance with "DJ Got Us Fallin' in Love," perched two flights above the stage on a ledge surrounded by blinding green laser lights. Then he slid, with the help of barely visible wires and mounts, down a flight, all the while popping and locking. When the father of two finally ticked his way down to stage level, he was surrounded by an army of dancers also clad in black suits with white stripes designed to toss and catch special effect lights.
Directed by Anthony Mandler, Usher's "OMG" clip earned Best Male Video, Best Dance Music Video and Best Choreography Moonman nominations. During the pre-show, Lady Gaga's "Bad Romance" beat it in the Best Dance category, where Raymond was, for many, the lead contender.
If Usher was disappointed, he didn't let it show. When he launched the "OMG" portion of his performance, the stage seemed to disappear, as red laser lights moved forward in blinding configurations spelling out O.M.G. and Usher's name. More dancers lowered from the ceiling on Cirque du Soleil-esque contraptions, dipping in and out of the red beams. Such a 3-D light display could probably have been seen from the moon, if it weren't for the roof of the Nokia Theatre.
Usher ended his set standing, head back, with his arms outstretched in the Jesus pose. He didn't say a word. Didn't need to.
The Moonmen have all been handed out and the stars have gone home, but there's plenty of 2010 MTV Video Music Awards news, interviews, behind-the-scenes scoop, party reports and more still to come, so keep it locked on MTVNews.com.
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Justin Bieber To Release Line Of Dolls
Pop star's figurine collection, due in December, will sing and re-create looks from videos like 'Baby' — signature 'do included.
By James Dinh
Justin Bieber doll
Photo: Splash News
Move over, Barbie, there's a new doll in town. Justin Bieber has cemented his pop-star status with a line of dolls set to hit stores in December. The line of collectible figurines will feature the Biebs decked out in a variety of looks borrowed from his music-video and red-carpet appearances.
Merchandise company Bravado and the Bridge Direct Inc. announced Tuesday (September 28) that fans will be able to purchase the toys in time for the holiday season as they're expected to hit retail stores "on or around" December 4, according to Billboard magazine.
One set, the Justin Bieber Music Video Collection Singing Figures, plays 30-second snippets of the pop star's hits, like "Baby" and "One Less Lonely Girl." The musical dolls are priced at $27.99. Another set, priced at $17.99, is called the JB Style Collection and has the teen sensation flashing his street style or sporting some looks familiar to fans from awards shows and red-carpet events. (The toys are available for pre-order this week.)
One figurine shows Bieber holding a guitar and wearing the green hoodie and jeans from his "One Less Lonely Girl" video. But it doesn't stop at dolls: The Bieber toy line will include a microphone with concert-like sound effects that play snippets of his hits "One Time" and "Somebody to Love." Beliebers can also choose from plush bears, caps and "Team Bieber" tees.
The next chapter in the expanding Bieber empire will be the publication in October of his first book, "Justin Bieber: First Step 2 Forever: My Story." In a statement, Justin said he was excited for fans to catch a behind-the-scenes glimpse of his life.
"Every day I wake up and count my blessings. My fans have played such a large part in all of this and they help me live my dreams every day. I'm excited to share just a little bit more of my world with them through this book. Between the behind-the-scenes pictures and the story I think this is going to be something they can all enjoy. This is just another way for me to say thank you to my fans."
Will you be the first to buy a Justin doll? Tell us in the comments!
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Beyoncé - Video Phone (Extended Remix)
- Artist: Beyoncé
- Label: Columbia, Music World Music
- Director: Hype Williams
- Album: I Am... Sasha Fierce
30 Seconds To Mars, Ke$ha Plan Big VMA Arrivals
Can this year's nominees rival the elephants and yachts of years past?
By James Montgomery
30 Seconds to Mars
Photo: Myriam Santos/ Kayda
For much of the past decade, the MTV Video Music Awards has really been two shows: The one where they hand out the Moonmen, and the one that occurs on the red carpet, where the stars try their very best to outdo each other with over-the-top arrivals.
From yachts to 18-wheel trucks, elephants to horse-drawn carriages, how you arrive at the VMAs has become just as important as whether you take home an award. As you can probably imagine, sometimes, things get a little crazy.
"Usually, artists don't let us know [how they're arriving] until the last minute, which makes things interesting," Video Music Awards Pre-Show executive producer Ryan Kroft told MTV News. "A lot of times, they'll want to do things like land a hot-air balloon on the carpet, or drive a car down the carpet, but generally, the fire marshal frowns on those kinds of things, so we have to tell them 'no.' "
Still, there are plenty of ideas that do get the green light, and they're just as epic as the stars that thought them up. And this year's VMA arrivals are no different, though for aesthetic reasons, they're slightly scaled back.
"In New York, we had stars arriving on a fire truck, a double-decker bus, but that wouldn't play this year," Kroft said. "The carpet is designed to look like the stars are arriving at a Hollywood Hills mansion — white, chrome, glass — so having someone arrive with a marching band would seem somewhat out of place."
But there are big arrivals nonetheless: One of the biggest involves 30 Seconds to Mars, who have already started touting their entrance as being thoroughly crazy.
"30 Seconds to Mars are recreating a scene from their 'Kings and Queens' video," Kroft explained. "They'll have an army of bicyclists arriving with them, and they'll be riding bikes themselves. Most of the bicyclists are from the video."
Going equally big is Ke$ha, who has a few surprises ready for the VMA carpet. We don't want to give it all away, but here's what we can reveal: "Ke$ha has big plans for the carpet. I can't talk about all of them, but she is arriving in a Delorean, which she got herself," Kroft said. "It'll be like 'Back to the Future.' "
And, in keeping with grand tradition, there are still plenty of stars who haven't said how they're going to be arriving — Jay Sean is planning something "big and sexy," Soulja Boy Tell'em has some swaggadocious plans in the works, and Bruno Mars is still plotting, too — and then, there's Lady Gaga, who ... well, you never know what she'll do.
"We still don't know what some people are doing," Kroft laughed. "The only way you'll know is to tune in to the VMA Pre-Show and watch."
The 27th annual MTV Video Music Awards will be broadcast live from the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles on Sunday. The party starts with MTV News' VMA Pre-Show at 8 p.m., followed by the main event at 9 p.m. ET/PT. Fans can go to VMA.MTV.com (or text VMA to 97979 if they are Verizon subscribers) to vote for Best New Artist from now through Sunday.
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Adrien Brody Gets 'Wrecked': Exclusive Trailer!
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Britney Spears - 3
- Artist: Britney Spears
- Label: Jive, Jive Label Group
- Director: Diane Martel
- Album: The Singles Collection
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Usher - Lil Freak
- Artist: Usher
- Label: LaFace Records, JLG
- Director: Anthony Mandler
- Album: Raymond V Raymond
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