Category Archives: Print Media

Vanity Fair scoops inside look at ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ with photos galore

Stars Wars has been taking over the Internet lately; from the spectacular teaser trailer for The Force Awakens, to concrete details about the war-themed Rogue One standalone film as well as a fresh look at EA’s Battlefront video game, the hype train for Disney’s lucrative acquisition isn’t slowing down anytime soon.

Just in time to celebrate Star Wars Day–May the Fourth be with you all–Vanity Fair has pushed out its cover for their upcoming June issue and look above to see who’s adorning it: from L-R there’s John Boyega as Stormtrooper Finn, the completely real and not-CGI new droid BB-8, Daisy Ridley as scavenger Rey, Peter Mayhew’s Chewie, and Harrison Ford back as Han Solo. Famed celebrity photographer Annie Leibovitz was invited to the Force Awakens‘ set to snap the pic.

For more, head over to Vanity Fair. At the bottom of the page you’ll discover a photo gallery packed with never-before-seen looks at Oscar Isaac’s X-Wing pilot Poe Dameron, Game of Thrones‘ Gwendoline Christie as Captain Phasma, 12 Years A Slave‘s Lupita Nyong’o as CGI’d character Maz Kanata, Girls‘ Adam Driver as baddie Kylo Ren, and more. The preceding article is also worth a read; in it, director J.J. Abrams teases an Easter Egg death for Jar Jar Binks, and he also reiterates his reliance on practical effects. Also, there’s video following Leibovitz on set!

Want a copy of the Star Wars-themed Vanity Fair to display on your coffee table? The June issue hits newsstands nationwide on Tuesday, May 12. Star Wars: The Force Awakens hits theatres December 18.

The 2012 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue cover model is…

American Kate Upton, age 19, is the second youngest model to cover the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue. In 2011 she was named SI‘s Rookie of the Year, and this year the teenage blonde bombshell was upgraded to cover model status. Guys, I know, too many words. Inch your eyes below and open the gallery to view more pics from the photoshoot, then dash after the break to watch video.

How does Upton compare to the previous Swimsuit Issue cover girls Brooklyn Decker and Irina Shayk? Sound off in the comment section below, that is, if you ever figure out how Upton managed to keep her breasts inside that top made for a toddler.

Continue reading The 2012 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue cover model is…

Kid Cudi pieces together his life of fame in latest Complex cover story

Rapper Kid Cudi finds himself on the cover of Complex Magazine for the third time in so many years. In this latest cover story interview with Complex editor-in-chief Noah Callahan-Bever, Cudi opens up about his murky past consisting of drinking and smoking, how things have changed for the better managing a sober lifestyle, and the inspiration behind playing guitar and forming the Wizard album. You can read the interview in full right here; below I’ve copied a couple of standout moments.

When asked about why he spend so much time with fellow rapper Kanye West: “I was at another place, another dark place. Me and my girl had broken up. I wasn’t fully healed yet. And being around Kanye and music was my escape. He’s a sober guy, he has a drink every once in a while, but seeing how he throws himself into the studio when he’s stressing about something, I totally admire that. Being around that was therapy for me.

When asked to look two years into the future: “I’m always going to be working on something because I have too many ideas. Every day I come up with some wild fucking idea, some type of scheme. I feel like I have a purpose and if I don’t create then I’m letting myself down. I’ve been given this opportunity for people to listen to me worldwide. I’m just gonna fucking keep rocking and keep rocking and keep rocking until I’m in a wheelchair somewhere.

Browse pictures from the photoshoot below, and watch some behind-the-scenes action after the break.

[Via Complex; DatNewCudi] Continue reading Kid Cudi pieces together his life of fame in latest Complex cover story

The 2011 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue cover model is…

Russian-born 25-year-old Irina Shayk follows Brooklyn Decker as the next cover model of the always anticipated Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue. Shayk was discovered in 2004 and this marks her fifth appearance in the Swimsuit Issue. Shayk, who claims to work out five times a week (um, I believe it), is currently dating soccer superstar Cristiano Ronaldo. Enough words, am I right? Gaze at the SI cover above, then browse through the gallery of images below. The video (sitting after the break) goes behind-the-scenes of her photoshoot in the Philippines. And there’s more where all this came from; head over to Shayk’s main SI page for even more pics and vids.

Continue reading The 2011 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue cover model is…

TIME Person of the Year is Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg (and other TIME Top 10 things)

The man behind the social network has been crowned TIME’s Person of the Year “for connecting more than half a billion people and mapping the social relations among them, for creating a new system of exchanging information and for changing how we live our lives.”  Click here to read the 10-page cover article.  Zuck beat out the trapped Chilean Miners, Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, Afghanistan’s president Hamid Karzai, and The Tea Party.

The zine also named the top ten albums and songs of the year.  Here’s what they had to say about the #1 album, Kanye West’s My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy: “Kanye West can seem like an attention-hungry young child who constantly tugs on his mother’s pant leg, saying, “Watch this! Watch this!” But once Kanye got our attention, instead of a simple somersault, he delivered the musical equivalent of a one-handed back handspring.”  Cee Lo Green’s “F**k You” is Time’s #1 song.  Look after the break to see the full listing of TIME’s top ten albums and songs.

Other TIME Top 10 things worth noting: in the Top 10 TV Series category they included Parks and Rec, Party Down, and Boardwalk Empire; in the Top 10 TV episodes they included Community‘s “Modern Warfare”, Lost‘s “The End”, and Fringe‘s “Peter” (!).  Really digging the selection here.  The Social Network and Toy Story 3 are listed in the Top 10 Movies category, Angry Birds is a top video game, and Merton on Chatroulette, Bed Intruder, and Double Rainbow are favorite viral videos.  Again, look after the break to see the full listings from all of these categories to see if your favorites made the cut.  Or you can opt to head over to TIME to view many other Top 10 categories ranging from popular toys to scientific discoveries.

[Via TIME, here & here] Continue reading TIME Person of the Year is Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg (and other TIME Top 10 things)

‘Glee’ stars smokin’ hot in GQ spread

To call the GQ photoshoot featuring Glee cast members Lea Michele, Dianna Agron, and Cory Monteith provocative is sort of an understatement.  The racy shoot has stirred some controversy this week.  Members of the Parents Television Council calls it a “near-pornographic display”.  PTC President Tim Winter says, “It is disturbing that GQ, which is explicitly written for adult men, is sexualizing the actresses who play high school-aged characters on Glee in this way.  It borders on pedophilia.”  Shortly after the PTC rage surfaced GQ issued a statement defending the spread.  “The Parents Television Council must not be watching much TV these days and should learn to divide reality from fantasy.  As often happens in Hollywood, these ‘kids’ are in their twenties. Cory Montieth’s almost 30! I think they’re old enough to do what they want.”  That is so true.  Montieth is 28, the especially sexy Michele is 24, as is Agron.  These adults can certainly do whatever they so choose.  And that’s the way Sue C’s it.  Now open the gallery below and flick through some sexy Glee goodness.  And if you like words, too, click here to read the zine article.

[Via GQ; EW; Deadline]

Kid Cudi acknowledges his dark past and promises a brighter future in Complex cover story

In the October issue of Complex Magazine Kid Cudi opens up to his fans by journeying back to his not-so-distant dark past.  Beyond opening up about his heavy drug use, his night in jail, and the big reveal that he has a daughter, Cudder talks about his competition (or lack thereof), the meaning behind the tracks “REVOFEV”, “Wylin’ ‘Cause I’m Young”, “Erase Me”, and “Mr. Rager”, and the encompassing theme behind his upcoming second studio album Man on the Moon II: The Legend of Mr. Rager (11/9).

On why he opted to create another dark album, instead of making a fun collab: “When I started making records like “Erase Me.” I wanted this album to be fun, but the dark sh– was my life at that time. I was fighting not to write that sh–. It got frustrating writing a collab album—I just lost interest, and it became more of a task, rather than something I wanted to do. That’s not how it’s supposed to feel. The day it becomes work, you need to retire.”

On MOTM2: “I want my sh– to be like you’re reading a novel, not a Dr. Seuss book. I felt like the last album was too short. This one is a little bit longer, it’s 18 tracks and counting. It’s just ten times better on all levels. The story’s deeper, darker, with no holding back. It’s beautiful, man. It’s an emotional album.”

Head over to Complex to read the explicit three page interview.  Look in the gallery below for some stills from the photoshoot and after the break to find a behind-the-scenes video.

[Via DatNewCudi; Complex]

Continue reading Kid Cudi acknowledges his dark past and promises a brighter future in Complex cover story

Kanye West covers XXL magazine, sheds light on Swift incident

Kanye West is featured in the October issue of XXL magazine.  In addition to gracing the cover wearing his signature heavy chain, Kanye penned his very first article for the magazine and was the creative director of a 40 page section of the special collector’s issue.  In his article “The Exclusive Story by the Man Himself” Kanye sheds light on the publicisized and highly critisized Taylor Swift incident from last year’s MTV VMAs.  Popeater managed to pluck out some choice quotes from the article.

“I stress that the incident wasn’t about Taylor personally. And it definitely wasn’t about race. Where I messed up is, at the end of the day, it’s your show, Taylor. It’s your show, MTV.”

“The relationship with the public and with your fans is like the relationship with your girlfriend. How could I not, at a certain point, be like, ‘I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have been at the awards show. I’m sorry.’ Not that I don’t deserve to get beat up or change who I am inside, to make sure that that doesn’t happen again.”

“I knew I wasn’t in a great spot publicly after the incident, but I would just block it out and work as hard as possible and let my work be my saving grace. In a way, I had thrown a Molotov cocktail at my own career, and it gave me an opportunity, for the first time, to go away and find out who I was. Because I felt very alone.”

Ohh, dark stuff huh?  You can pick up the October issue of XXL on September 28.  The zine also includes stoires on Kid Cudi, Kanye’s G.O.O.D. Music label, and the top 10 producers-turned-rappers of all time.

[Via Popeater; XXL]

The ‘True Blood’ gang poses a bloody sexy stance for Rolling Stone

True Blood stars Alexander Skarsgard, Anna Paquin, and Stephen Moyer posed nude covered in fake blood for the next issue of Rolling Stone, set to hit newsstands August 20.  I have yet to start watching the HBO hit, but from what I’m told it quickly turned into crazy sexy vampire porn.  If that’s the case I’d say this cover is fitting, wouldn’t you?

[Via zap2it]

Meet Daisy Lowe, UK Esquire Magazine covergirl

Director Greg Williams is at it again, this time shooting for UK’s version of Esquire Magazine.  (Previously we’ve seen Greg’s work with Megan Fox and Kate Beckinsale for US’ Esquire Mag.)  Per usual, he uses a super hi-def RED camera, this time with a MX Sensor, to shoot video of covergirl Daisy Lowe that will eventually be converted into stills to use for her spread in the July issue of the zine.  Lowe is a 21-year-old English fashion model.  Watch her prance around in the video above, and check out a handful of the resulting stills in the gallery below.  [This goes without saying but the video and images are NSFW.]

[Stills via egotastic]

Playboy goes 3D

Image: Playboy magazine

Back in the ’50s Hef assigned a photographer to shoot two nude women in 3D; but since it was so expensive to include the 3D glasses at the time the idea was scrapped.  Come this June, however, Hef’s dream will finally become a reality.  The June edition of Playboy will hit newsstands bundled with a new surprise: 3D glasses!  Playboy founder Hugh Hefner: “What would people most like to see in 3-D?  Probably a naked lady.”  Centerfold Hope Dworaczyk will pop out to readers using the packaged anaglyph (blue-and-red) 3D shades.  Says Dworaczyk, “It’s kind of like it says on the rearview mirror.  Things may appear larger.”  From having Marge Simpson as a centerfold to making the centerfold come off the page in 3D, Playboy is trying its darndest to stay relevent and different.  Circulation of Hef’s magazine has decreased from 3.5 million in 2006 to 1.5 million today.  Though I can’t imagine the addition of 3D in Playboy help sales, it surely will be a treat for long-time subscribers.

[Via MSNBC; Gizmodo]

The 2010 TIME 100 List

Every year TIME Magazine puts together a list of “the people who most affect our world.”  People are sorted into the following categories: leaders, heroes, artists, thinkers, and the TIME 100 Alumnae.  Some notable names include… Leaders– Barack Obama, Sarah Palin, Glenn Beck, and Scott Brown; Heroes– Bill Clinton, Ben Stiller, Phil Mickelson, Jet Li, and Serena Williams; Artists– Lady Gaga, Conan O’Brien, Kathryn Bigelow (The Hurt Locker!), Neil Patrick Harris (Dr.H!), Carlton Cuse & Damon Lindelof (Lost!), Lea Michelle (Glee!), Neill Blomkamp (District 9!), Ricky Gervais, and James Cameron (Avatar!); Thinkers– Steve Jobs (Apple!) and Sonia Sotomayor.  Head over to the official website to find the full listing; you can click on every person’s name to read more about them.  There’s also a list of the Least Influential People of 2010 if you’re interested in that, too.

[Via Time]