Frank Castle's Family

MTV: Vampire Diaries Episode Preview

2012-02-09T13:43:00.000-08:00

We never take this job for granted. No matter how many times Hollywood Crush gets invited to screen an episode of "The Vampire Diaries" a day early on The CW lot, followed by a juicy Q&A with passionate, articulate and always engaging show-runner Julie Plec (and sometimes, a few cast-members), it never gets old. And tonight's "Dangerous Liaisons" is one of the steamiest episodes of "The Vampire Diaries" in history (complete with a brand new hookup) while alternately one of the series most mythology-rich episodes, balancing the ever-deepening story of the Originals against the backdrop of the burning love triangle long at the show's center.

CLICK HERE to read the rest of my report.

MTV: Box Office Report

2012-02-06T10:54:00.000-08:00

The Super Bowl couldn't stop another found-footage flick from topping the box office.

Box-office receipts were up more than 30 percent from last year's Super Bowl weekend as "Chronicle" took the #1 spot with Daniel Radcliffe's first post-"Potter" flick, "The Woman in Black," close behind at #2. "Chronicle" took in $22 million while "Woman in Black" earned $21 million, according to studio estimates. CLICK HERE to read the rest of my report.

MTV: Avengers Assemble! Super Bowl Trailer

2012-02-05T18:23:00.000-08:00

Captain America is from Brooklyn, New York, so he's probably a Giants fan, right?

Well, if the new trailer for "The Avengers" is any indication, Cap will have bigger things to think about than the Super Bowl this summer. The game was a big deal and all, but comic book movie fans also assembled in front of televisions and computers on Sunday (February 5) to watch a different group of uniformed supermen (and women) go to battle in ways we've never seen before.

Marvel Studios debuted the second full-length trailer for the summer's "Avengers," and boy, did it deliver, true believers! An extended version appeared on the flick's official Facebook page moments after the commercial aired during the game. CLICK HERE to read the rest of my report.

MTV: 'The Secret Circle' Recap: 'Medallion'

2012-02-03T11:18:00.000-08:00

What better way to celebrate someone's birthday in Chance Harbor than with witch drugs, sharp objects, evil jewelry and a steamy forbidden kiss? Adam's ex-girlfriend and his dad threw a birthday party for him on this week's episode of "The Secret Circle," but all of the real action happened elsewhere. John Blackwell is definitely alive! Cassie is getting darker! And Jake made out with Faye!

CLICK HERE to read the rest of my report.

Billboard: Van Halen!

2012-02-02T11:10:00.000-08:00

Last night, I was one of a few hundred people who got to watch an hour long private performance by Van Halen: David Lee Roth, Eddie Van Halen, Alex Van Halen and 20 year old Wolfgang Van Halen. Three new songs and a ton of classic hits. I was so close to the stage; it was mind-blowing. All of the photos in this accompanying story were taken with my iPhone 4GS!

HOLLYWOOD, California -- Henson Studios is located just across the street from Crazy Girls. It's hard to imagine a better place than the crossroads between Kermit the Frog and a Hollywood strip club for David Lee Roth to lead Van Halen through a hit-packed club show. With three giant video screens and a wall of EVH amplifiers loud enough for an arena, the newly recharged band were agile and full of smiles as they performed Wednesday in front of a few hundred VIPs deep inside Charlie Chaplin's old stomping grounds.

CLICK HERE to read the rest of my report and check out all of my photos.

MTV: 'The Secret Circle' Shelley Hennig Interview

2012-02-01T14:46:00.000-08:00

What's in-store for Diana on "The Secret Circle"? Party planning, getting all hopped up on Devil's Spirit, moving on from Adam and siding with Cassie when John Blackwell creates division within the high school witch group, for starters. Speaking to Hollywood Crush by phone, Shelley Hennig told us all about her character's arc over the next few episodes, her new castmates and her recent private hip-hop dance class. CLICK HERE to read the rest of my report.

MTV: Box Office Report

2012-01-30T17:11:00.000-08:00

It must be wintertime, because Liam Neeson is #1 at the box office again.

Following the January 2010 release of "Taken" and the February 2011 success of "Unknown," Liam Neeson returned to theaters in another action-heavy role with "The Grey" over the weekend and beat back all other contenders. "The Grey," about a group of oil workers stalked by wolves while stranded in the Alaskan wilderness, debuted with an estimated $20 million.

CLICK HERE to read the rest of my report.

Scroll down to watch my interviews with Neeson et al from "The Grey."

Megadeth: The Killing Road

2012-01-24T13:21:00.000-08:00

Alice In Chains, Stone Temple Pilots and Korn all supported Megadeth at some point in their careers. I recently put together a piece about Megadeth's opening acts for Roadrunner's website, which includes new quotes from drummer Shawn Drover. You can read it all HERE.

"The Grey" Cast Interviews

2012-01-23T17:12:00.000-08:00

I loved director Joe Carnahan's "Narc." His new movie, "The Grey," is incredible. Beautiful, truly terrifying, visceral & the most artful use of editing in recent memory. I was absolutely captivated.

CLICK HERE to watch my interviews with Liam Neeson, Carnahan and a few of Neeson's castmates.

AP: METALLICA!

2012-01-23T09:30:00.000-08:00

Last week, I had the chance to chat with KIRK HAMMETT!

Metallica is, of course, my favorite band of all time.

I interviewed Kirk and James back in 2003 for an MTV News piece about Johnny Cash. I got to spend about 30 minutes talking with them in their jam room, where I had just rearranged their guitars to get a better looking shot (!), and it was mind-blowing. Kirk asked me if I was sticking around for the show, but MTV had me on a flight back to Los Angeles from their Salt Lake City tour stop before they were supposed to go on. "Why don't you tell them we were late, that we were being rock stars, and that you missed your flight?" I'm still kicking myself for being a company man and declining that suggestion.

I also got to ask the entire band a question at the Sundance press conference for Some Kind of Monster. It was via satellite, as the band was in Hawaii while the film's directors and us journalists endured the snow. But chatting with Kirk one-on-one at this invite-only Metallica event in Los Angeles? It's something I will remember and cherish always. I felt truly blessed!

To read my recap of the night and my interview with Kirk, click HERE.

*Photo by Jonathan Weiner

MTV: Box Office Report

2012-01-23T09:17:00.000-08:00

A new vampire and werewolves sequel managed to fend off the latest from George Lucas at the box-office. Of course, this wasn't "Twilight" versus "Star Wars," but rather, "Underworld: Awakening" vs. "Red Tails." CLICK HERE to read the rest of my report.

"Man on a Ledge" Cast Interviews

2012-01-20T17:51:00.000-08:00

In which I compare Sam Worthington's career arc to Metallica in a roundabout way (he started with his Black Album and is working his way backward to No Life 'Til Leather) and he disses "S&M." CLICK HERE to watch my interviews with Worthington, my new celebrity crush Genesis Rodriguez, Elizabeth Banks (who describes her nipples to me) and the rest of the cast of "Man on a Ledge."

MTV: 'The Secret Circle' Recap: 'Witness'

2012-01-20T14:11:00.000-08:00

Jake has returned to "The Secret Circle" in a major way and more importantly set the stage for the return of a major player we haven't even seen: Cassie's father! Last night's episode, "Witness," ended with Cassie and Jake's discovery that her father isn't in his casket. As Hollywood Crush (and reader's of L.J. Smith's books) has long suspected, John Blackwell is in fact alive and kicking somewhere.CLICK HERE to read the rest of my report.

AP: Falling In Reverse

2012-01-19T14:49:00.000-08:00

This is my latest cover story for Alternative Press. My first cover for the magazine was about Dashboard Confessional, over a decade ago. A second Dashboard cover followed, then the Sing the Sorrow era AFI cover story, Coheed & Cambria, some shared byline action on some Taste Of Chaos and Warped pieces, the complete Oral History of Vans Warped Tour and the Devil Wears Prada, which was in 2008. I'm proud of each of them in various ways, for different reasons. Ronnie Radke's charisma is undeniable. Hanging with him at Epitaph, in my car, on a mini-golf course, at a restaurant and during the cover shoot (followed by a phone conversation after all of that) provided several opportunities for me to really capture where he's been, where he's at and where he'd like to be headed. Issue streets next month. Head over to AltPress.com for more information.

'Justified' Cast Interviews!

2012-01-19T12:35:00.000-08:00

One of my favorite series on television right now, "Justified," returns this week! I was thrilled to be invited to cover the premiere event in Hollywood recently. Check out my interviews with Timothy Olyphant, Walton Goggins, Natalie Zea, Joelle Carter, Erica N. Tazel, Stephen Root, Mykelti Williamson, Jacob Pitts, David Meunier, and Raymond J. Barry. Pay special attention to figure out exactly why Tim and Walton are buttoning my shirt in that photo. Watch at MovieWeb.com.

MTV: 'Secret Circle' Chris Zylka Interview

2012-01-19T12:27:00.001-08:00

It wasn't long after Chris Zylka was added as a series regular to "The Secret Circle" that his conflicted witch-hunter character all but disappeared. Sure, there was some lurking about here, the cloak-and-dagger rescue of the occasional damsel there, but Jake was mostly absent save for in Cassie's vivid dreams. All that changed of course when Chance Harbor's bad boy descended the basement staircase at the end of last week's episode just as Cassie finally decided to make out with her potential soulmate Adam. Speaking to Hollywood Crush by phone, Chris told us all about Jake returning in a big way in tonight's episode, "Witness." CLICK HERE to read the rest of my report.

MTV: Box Office Report

2012-01-18T18:51:00.000-08:00

This weekend, moviegoers decided that for Mark Wahlberg, nothing is forbidden."Contraband" was the #1 movie in America with a solid $28.8 million debut over the four-day weekend, according to studio estimates. The action thriller, which takes places in the world of drug-smuggling, beat Disney's 3-D re-release of 1991's "Beauty and the Beast," which opened to $23.5 million.

CLICK HERE to read the rest of my report.

MTV: Ricky Gervais' 5 Best Globes Jokes

2012-01-16T09:30:00.000-08:00

In several interviews, Ricky Gervais made it clear that he felt a responsibility to skewer the rich and famous assembled at the Golden Globes this year. It's not about the people in the room; it's about the people watching at home. We are in a deep economic crisis, after all. Let's get this in perspective: They're the wealthiest, most privileged people in the world," he told Esquire in a recent interview. Many of the promotional spots leading up to his return as host took this angle, as well.

This year, the co-creator and co-star of the often fame-and-fortune skewering "Life's Too Short," "The Ricky Gervais Show," "An Idiot Abroad," "Extras" and both the U.K. and U.S. version of "The Office" saved most of his acerbic venom for several folks who weren't in attendance: Kim Kardashian, Justin Bieber, Adam Sandler and Eddie Murphy. And a few of the jokes directed at larger targets seemed to have compliments thinly hidden in their premises: Clooney is handsome, Firth is well-loved, Portman puts family first. Hardly biting.

But in fairness, Gervais promising to up the ante from his stellar performance last year is a bit like Paul McCartney promising to outdo The White Album. Some things in art and life come down to time, place, circumstance and the right convergence of events (Ricky would probably be upset if we suggested divine intervention). And while another comedic actor may have had the edgiest joke of the night ("Hello, I'm Seth Rogen, and I am currently trying to conceal a massive erection," said while standing about a foot away from Kate Beckinsale), Gervais certainly still generated several laughs. "It's so good having a job where you can get drunk and say what you want. And they pay you," he said at one point during the telecast.

CLICK HERE to read Gervais' five best jokes from last night's show.

MTV: Golden Globes Recap

2012-01-16T09:26:00.000-08:00

On Sunday night (January 15), George Clooney and "The Artist" continued their awards-season domination while Ricky Gervais giddily piled on the humiliation as the 69th annual Golden Globes went down in Hollywood.

The returning host kept his most pointed barbs confined to the monologue, while the Hollywood Foreign Press Association spread the love a bit more evenly than some predicted, with Globes for stars like Meryl Streep and Michelle Williams. Expected winners also took home statues, with Clooney nabbing Best Actor and "The Artist" winning Best Motion Picture - Comedy or Musical; the actor and film, like Best Supporting Actor Christopher Plummer and Best Supporting Actress Octavia Spencer have been cleaning up this month. CLICK HERE to read the rest of my report.

MTV: 'The Secret Circle' Recap: 'Fire/Ice'

2012-01-13T07:00:00.000-08:00

Cassie and Adam finally kissed, Jake returned, the school dance caught fire and Faye made a power move that backfired in a major way! There were heavy duty happenings in Chance Harbor on this week's episode of "The Secret Circle," with some of the sexiest moments this show has attempted, new angles to the two intersecting love triangles and ever furthering mythology, to boot. CLICK HERE to read the rest of my recap of last night's episode of "The Secret Circle."

MTV: Critics Choice Movie Awards Wrap-Up

2012-01-12T20:02:00.000-08:00

Donald Glover wagged his tongue at, George Clooney talked Naugahyde leisure suits, Patton Oswalt drank scotch, and a pair of Muppets chimed in via satellite as "The Help" and "The Artist" cleaned up at the 2012 Critics' Choice Movie Awards.CLICK HERE to read the rest of my report.

MTV: 'The Secret Circle' Scoop

2012-01-11T17:26:00.001-08:00

Last week's mid-season premiere of "The Secret Circle" saw Cassie Blake exploring her dark side. Tomorrow night's "Fire/Ice" will continue down that path, as the young witch at the center of the Circle endeavors to uncover more information about her father. Speaking to Hollywood Crush, the 21-year-old actress talked about Cassie's Anakin Skywalker-like flirtation with the dark side, the developing love triangle, the show's digital effects and whether or not John Blackwell may still be alive and kicking. CLICK HERE to read the rest of my report.

MTV: Box Office Report

2012-01-09T16:25:00.001-08:00

Box-office prognosticators, beware: "The Devil Inside" defied all industry expectations with its $34.5 million debut this weekend.CLICK HERE to read the rest of my report.

MTV: 'The Secret Circle' Recap: 'Darkness'

2012-01-06T09:00:00.000-08:00

Last night was a CW-supernatural-soap-watchers' dream as both "The Vampire Diaries" and "The Secret Circle," which share executive producers, returned with juicy mid-season premieres that set Twitter accounts ablaze. Plenty of little kids these days get "half birthdays," and us avid televised-drama fans get "mid-season finales" and "mid-season premieres," and we certainly aren't complaining. CLICK HERE to read the rest of my recap of last night's episode of "The Secret Circle."

MTV: Box Office Report

2012-01-03T11:40:00.000-08:00

Tom Cruise's domination of the holidays continued as "Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol" remained the #1 movie at the box office, taking in $31.3 million over the New Year's weekend. The fourth entry in the action franchise made an estimated $134 million in just 17 days, which is about what "Mission: Impossible III" made during its entire theatrical run.

CLICK HERE to read the rest of my report.