We found another famous car here at the Universal lot. Actually, it’s more of a van. I had heard rumours from the team that the Mystery Machine — complete with a real-life Scooby Doo and a guy dressed as Shaggy — had been driving around, so we had to track it down.
Along with digital producer Brian, we headed back to the famous-car graveyard that we had found the day before where the “Back to the Future” DeLorean and the Trans Am from €œSmokey and the Bandit” are slowly rusting away. And there it was: the green-and-orange VW wagon with the words “The Mystery Machine” sprawled across it.
It was in really good shape — the exterior was immaculate and the interior was just as good, with giant Scooby snacks in the window and five big black-and-red buttons (not sure what they do). The inside was also decked out with speakers and, from what I hear, every day Scooby and Shaggy drive around the Universal Studios lot saying hi to fans. The guy dressed up in a green T-shirt and mop-top brownish-red hair talks over a speaker, while the giant brown Great Dane hangs half its body out the window. That has to be a great job!
By the way, ever wondered what the Mystery Machine smells of? DOG!!!
If you know anything about Rose McGowan, it’s probably that the actress used to date over-the-top rocker Marilyn Manson or that she’s notorious for bad-girl, vixen-esque acting roles.
So when we ran into the star at the Burberry event celebrating the opening of the British company’s new headquarters in New York and asked her who her Hollywood crush is, we kind of expected McGowan to say something that made more sense — like Johnny Depp. Or Adam Lambert even — someone with at least a little bit of edge or controversy. But no.
Instead, we got an answer no one was expecting: Cary Grant (also random) and — wait for it — Zac Efron.
Yes, Disney’s boy wonder and generally squeaky-clean teen heartthrob is Rose McGowan’s celebrity crush.
Say what? Aside from being 14 years her junior — not that he has a problem with
older women — Zac just doesn’t seem like McGowan’s type.
The revelation even seemed to shock Rose herself. The look on her face after she made the confession was pretty priceless. And when I finally picked my jaw up off the floor and asked her why Efron, McGowan said, “I don’t know! Because there’s something wrong [with me].”
Hey, there’s nothing wrong with loving Zefron — he’s a big hit in the MTV Newsroom. But we have to admit, a McGowan/Efron pairing is, as one of our writers put it, a little “twisted.”
But we couldn’t let the former “Charmed” star go without asking her about her secret crush’s chances at this Sunday’s MTV Movie Awards. McGowan stood by her man when I asked if Efron will take home the trophy: “Odds are!” she yelled.
There are just two days left before the big night on Sunday when the MTV Movie Awards take over the Universal Studios lot here in Universal City, California.
The team of lighting technicians, engineers, stage designers and riggers all worked overtime and well into the night to create what is, in my opinion, the best-looking stage we’ve ever had here at the Movie Awards. From the massive, sweeping staircase that the presenters and performers walk down to the two giant robots onstage and the massive screens and thousands of lights, it looks amazing — and it’s not even finished yet!
Andy Samberg just walked onstage to start rehearsing so I couldn’t help but stick around for his opening lines. If his opening monologue is anything to go by, he’s going to be very, very, very funny!
But what I’m really looking forward to is the Eminem rehearsal. It will be his fourth time performing at the awards (a record!), and no doubt it’s going to be a performance you are not going to want to miss!
The red carpet is slowly coming together, as is the afterparty area. We’re nearly there … the MTV Movie Awards are this Sunday at 9 p.m. ET!
With all this gossip about Susan Boyle’s purported meltdown and speculation that she almost quit the show and is now holed up in a safe house away from the prying eyes of the paparazzi, it’s easy to forget one little thing: She hasn’t won anything yet.
The “Britain’s Got Talent” finale isn’t set to take place until tomorrow night, at which point nine other contestants will be singing, dancing and otherwise competing with Boyle for the crown and the chance to perform in front of the queen. With that in mind, MTV News took a look at the remaining field to give our take on who’s favored to triumph:
Susan Boyle
Who else in the competition has become a household name? Who else has been trailed relentlessly by tabloid hounds? Who else was granted an audience with Her Holiness Oprah Winfrey? Of course, all this exposure could lead to a Boyle backlash. And there’s no doubting that Susan’s performance of “Memory” last weekend was, at least initially, shaky. But come on — front-runners always win, right Adam Lambert? Maybe not. Still, all Boyle needs to do is step out onto the stage and do what she does best, what made her a household name to begin with: sing.
Chances for Victory: 4.5 out of 5
Shaheen Jafargholi
The dimpled 12-year-old who lives with his mom and his cat got off to a rough start during his first performance, when judge Simon Cowell cut him off just a few lines into his cover of Amy Winehouse’s “Valerie.” Good thing he did, because Shaheen then busted into a super-soulful rendition of Michael Jackson’s “Who’s Lovin’ You” and rocketed into the top tier of “BGT” contenders. For his semifinal performance, Shaheen again chose a song that didn’t seem to suit a preteen boy: “And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going” from the musical “Dreamgirls.” But the kid has got a serious set of pipes on him, and he’ll sound great singing the freaking phone book.
Chances for Victory: 3 out of 5
Stavros Flatley
File this one under total head-scratcher. A shirtless middle-age man with a potbelly and his pudgy young son pulling off muscle-man stances onstage? The father/son duo locking arms and performing an absurd variation on “Riverdance”? I must be missing something that the rest of Britain isn’t, because the comedic dance troupe won the “public vote” over Shaheen. I guess I’ll defer to Cowell on this one: “I should hate you, because it’s sort of rubbish but brilliant.”
Chances for Victory: 2.5 out of 5
Aidan Davis
Let’s not get ahead of ourselves: The 11-year-old hip-hop dancer still needs to triumph in tonight’ semifinal to earn a slot in tomorrow’s competition. But watch him pop, lock and moonwalk — the Brit’s got talent! Last year a teenage dancing phenom named George Sampson took the “BGT” crown, so it’s anybody’s guess if a been-there, done-that suspicion will hurt Davis’ chances. If you ask me, though, Davis has more style and more grace than Sampson ever had.
Chances for Victory: 1.5 out of 5
Flawless
During their first performance, this group of North London dancers professed a desire to “chase the dream, not the competition,” and then proceeded to flip, kick and twist their way into the finals. Some of their extraordinary moves simply defy description. No doubt they’re more talented than Davis, but they’re missing the 11-year-old’s “aw, shucks” cuteness factor.
Ask any reporter who’s had to cover a red-carpet event and they’ll all probably tell you the same thing: Most of the time, it ain’t glamorous.
They’ll tell you to be prepared to check your shame at the door and get ready to throw some ‘bows in order to keep your spot on the carpet. Well, at least that’s the advice I got from seasoned MTV News vets, hip-hop editor Shaheem Reid and writer Eric Ditzian when I went to them for tips on covering last night’s Burberry event in New York City — and they weren’t kidding.
Last night Micaela Rogers, our rock-star production manager who’s just learning to become a shooter, and myself, news intern and reporter-in-training, packed up our gear and headed to the New York Palace Hotel for a red-carpet event featuring some big names like Orlando Bloom, Claire Danes and Blake Lively.
Burberry pulled out all the stops for their celebrity guests — dazzling lights lining the hotel’s courtyard and a chic white runway. I’m sure the courtyard red-carpet idea seemed like a good idea in theory, but when the weather called for rain, couldn’t you have sprung for some kind of protective tarp, Burberry? I mean, really. A rainy red carpet is little like Britney’s performance at the 2007 VMAs: everyone just wants it to be over as soon as possible. So we were a little worried about which stars would actually make time for us.
First to walk the carpet were Danes and her British beau, Hugh Dancy. Danes and Dancy may have been perfectly polite when they declined to stop for press (I was surprised Danes even acknowledged us erratically shouting her name), but we’re still mad at you, Claire. Same goes for Orlando Bloom, who stopped to talk to one news outlet before brushing past the rest of the line. But we do have to give props to Bloom for his impressive dodging skills — he avoided a reporter from Fox 5 with moves like a NFL running back.
The weather not only made the celebs a little less chatty, it left Micaela rethinking her pink pumps and me regretting wearing a flimsy flowery dress — as Micaela put it, we were the “girliest crew ever!”
After getting snubbed by Justin Long and Molly Sims, and just when our sore feet and wet hair were finally starting to get to us, hope came in the form of the one and only Harry Connick Jr. So, what do you ask Harry Connick, Jr. when he randomly shows up at an event without warning and you have nothing prepared? Well, you ask him about Susan Boyle, of course. After Connick, our luck took a turn for the better. We got some good stuff out of Rose McGowan, Emanuelle Chriqui of “Entourage” and rock bands Parachute and One Night Only.
The award for the most fashionably late has to go to Blake Lively and Penn Badgley, who showed up last at around 10 p.m. (they even missed Burberry’s lighting of the New York skyline). As soon as the couple hit the press line, madness and mayhem ensued. Photogs started yelling, publicists starting running around and everyone starting pushing — but this “girly” crew held our own. Blake Lively wasn’t talking, but her boyfriend Penn was more than willing to wax poetic on his “Gossip Girl” co-stars’ singingcareers and his own music hopes.
As an avid “GG” watcher, I never thought I’d say this, but as of last night, Dan Humphrey totally trumps Serena Van Der Woodsen.
So we braved the rain and made it out of our first red-carpet experience alive — now we’re pretty sure we can take on anything. What’s next, MTV News? Bring it on!
There are just two days left before the big night on Sunday when the 
By Kathleen Newman-Bremang