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Rihanna Calls Acting ‘A Challenge’ — But ‘I Like That’

‘Acting was a whole different world,’ the singer-turned-actress tells MTV News, comparing ‘Battleship’ to her music videos.
By Kara Warner, with reporting by Josh Horowitz

Rihanna in “Battleship”
Photo: Universal Pictures

Given Rihanna‘s illustrious and commanding presence in all her music videos, it seems as though the Caribbean-born superstar’s experience performing in various clips would be the perfect training ground for her eventual transition into full-fledged acting.

When MTV News sat down with Rihanna recently to discuss her acting debut in “Battleship,” we asked if her work in music videos helped prepare her for her role in the film.

“Training ground? Maybe not, it wasn’t exactly that,” Rihanna said. “For me, acting was a whole different world. We make mini-movies with music videos, but there’s always a song track that’s playing, you don’t have to speak, so [with acting] you have to tell that emotion with the tone of your voice, and I have an accent, so I had to change it to a bit of an American accent for this movie, so that was different,” she explained.

So might we see more of Rihanna’s acting skills in future films? We asked the “Where Have U Been” singer if having her first film under her belt has given her the confidence to go out and conquer more movie roles.

“It will always be brand-new, because it’s a whole different project every time, it’s a whole new person,” she said. “There’s nothing you can have under your belt with acting, not in my opinion, because I’m not a natural. This isn’t my first [career choice], so I don’t know. I think it’s always going to be a challenge for me, but I like that.”

Check out everything we’ve got on “Battleship.”

For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com.

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Ashton Kutcher To Return To MTV’s ‘Punk’d’

Master of pranks will host a special episode ahead of the MTV Movie Awards on June 3.
By Kara Warner

Ashton Kutcher
Photo: Getty Images

If you haven’t been keeping up with our bright and shiny new episodes of “Punk’d,” then you’ve missed a star-studded lineup of guest punk-ers and punk-ees including Justin Bieber and Taylor Swift, Lucy Hale and Josh Hutcherson, and Miley Cyrus and Liam Hemsworth.

If you think it can’t get any better than that group of noteworthy, fun-loving and slightly gullible individuals, think again, because the show’s godfather himself, executive producer Ashton Kutcher, will return to host a special episode of “Punk’d” on Sunday, June 3 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on MTV, as part of the 2012 MTV Movie Awards pre-show.

Kutcher is coming back with bigger punks than ever before, and his targets are two of the hottest celebrities in Hollywood, the identities of whom will be revealed soon. Fans will see some of the most elaborate and outrageous punks only the master himself could pull off.

Once the shock and awe has worn off from Kutcher’s expectedly memorable antics, don’t forget to tune in on Thursday, May 31 at 10 p.m. ET/PT, when host Kellan Lutz pulls off hilarious punks on “Awkward” star Ashley Rickards, “Friday Night Lights” actress Aimee Teegarden and “Rock of Ages’” star and “Dancing with the Stars” alumna Julianne Hough.

The MTV Movie Awards will air live from the Gibson Amphitheatre in Universal City, California, on Sunday, June 3, at 9 p.m. ET/PT on MTV.

Head over to MovieAwards.MTV.com to vote for your favorite flicks now! The 21st annual MTV Movie Awards air live Sunday, June 3, at 9 p.m. ET.

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‘Anchorman’ Legend Lives On With New Poster

Fans get a sneak peek at ‘Anchorman: The Legend Continues’ (or, at least, the guys’ feet) in first official poster.
By Fallon Prinzivalli

“Anchorman: The Legend Continues” poster
Photo: Paramount

The road to the highly anticipated “Anchorman 2″ has been a long one. Since “Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy” arrived in 2004, there were reports from cast and crew confirming a sequel and announcing a script was in the process of being written.

But the words were then taken back, leaving fans dizzy and disappointed believing they wouldn’t see the anchormen reunite. Finally, when all hope was lost, Ferrell made a surprise appearance on “Conan” as the legendary Ron Burgundy to announce that the sequel was greenlit.

With the “Anchorman 2″ teaser trailer playing before Sacha Baron Cohen’s “Dictator,” the Lebanese Cinema Movie Guide released the first official poster. It shows the Channel 4 news team’s feet standing on set in the studio, the bottom of their suits — including Ron’s signature burgundy number, presumably not bought at the toilet store — keeping it classy as always. The official title of the film appears at the bottom in big, bold print (“Anchorman: The Legend Continues”) with a release date of 2013.

While the film is still in the very early stages of development, the first movie’s director and co-writer Adam McKay will reunite with Ferrell to pen the script and the principal cast is set to return, including Steve Carell and Paul Rudd. When MTV News spoke with McKay back in 2010, he told us he expected much of the cast to come along for the sequel.

“We had an idea, and we contacted Steve and Paul and [David] Koechner and Christina [Applegate] and checked in with everyone, and they were all game for it,” McKay said. “It’s a tricky movie, because everyone went and did really well after it, so everyone’s prices went up and everyone’s time got a little more valuable. But at the same time, graciously, Steve and Paul and everyone agreed to cut their price to come and do it, which you don’t see very often in Hollywood — and cut their price substantially.”

Thanks to the cast’s commitment, Ron and the rest of the anchormen are set to hit theaters in 2013. Until then, stay classy, moviegoers.

Check out everything we’ve got on “Anchorman: The Legend Continues.”

For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com.

Juelz Santana And Lil Wayne In A ‘Good Space’ For Team-Up Album

Santana tells MTV News he plans to drop his next solo LP Born to Lose, Built to Win later this year.
By Rob Markman, with reporting by Rahman Dukes

Juelz Santana
Photo: MTV News

Juelz Santana and Lil Wayne’s I Can’t Feel My Face LP has been six years in the making and a good number of the tracks have already been leaked onto the Internet, but when fans will get an official version is anyone’s guess.

“When Wayne reached out to me at the time I just wasn’t in the position to really do things the right way,” Santana told MTV News at Meek Mill’s 25th birthday bash in Philadelphia.

During an interview with MTV’s “Hip Hop POV” host Amanda Seales, Wayne revealed that when he was released from prison in 2010, he hoped he and his buddy Elz could begin new recording sessions for the storied album, but after a January 2011 raid on Santana’s New Jersey studio left him unable to work, Weezy repurposed the beats that intended for Face for his upcomingI Am Not a Human Being II. “At the time my studio had just got shut down, I lost a lot of music so I just had to recuperate,” Elz explained to MTV News. “But I reached out to Weezy, we in a good space.”

I Can’t Feel My Face isn’t the only Juelz project that fans have been clamoring for. It’s been seven years since his last solo album, What the Game’s Been Missing! and considering it earned him an RIAA-certified gold plaque, the wait for Juelz’s next LP Born to Lose, Built to Win is quite the head scratcher. But the rapper assured that he’ll have an album out by the end of the year.

“I’ll probably drop two mixtapes before the album and we gonna get everything right, we gonna get everything back in the proper perspective where it need to be,” he told MTV News. “When I put out my music it will be well worth the wait, that’s all I can say.”

And in case you were wondering about the status of Diplomatic Immunity 3, the long-awaited reunion album with Cam’ron, Jim Jones, Juelz and Freekey Zekey, that idea is still on the table. “Hopefully we gonna get that Diplomat album poppin’,” Santana plugged. “We just want to do that the right way.”

Which Juelz Santana album are you looking forward to the most? Let us know in the comments.

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Rihanna Brings Eye-Popping Sets To ‘Saturday Night Live’

Despite early talk, singer did not appear in any of episode’s skits.
By James Dinh

Rihanna performs on “Saturday Night Live”
Photo: NBC

Marking her third appearance on “Saturday Night Live,” Rihanna proved that the third time’s a charm when the pop titan took over the Studio 8H stage on Saturday for a pair of eye-popping performance sets during the Eli Manning-hosted episode.

Standing before an oversized crystallized spider web in the middle of the black-lit stage, Rihanna began her first number with the buzzing sounds of “Birthday Cake.” It was a surprising song selection that momentarily suggested the possibility of an onstage reunion with birthday boy Chris Brown, but “Cake” ended quickly, instead leading into a medley of her tune “Talk That Talk.”

” ‘SNL,’ put your hands together like this,” she told the crowd.

With her backup dancers on hand, Rih kept the performance straightforward, offering viewers some simple shakes, pelvis thrusts and plenty of swag. One complaint was with the echo effect that was added to her microphone, which made the singer’s vocal sound shaky at times.

However, any issues with the opening number were soon forgotten when the pop star took to the stage for her follow-up performance of her brand-new single, “Where Have You Been.” Fronting an Arabian-themed backdrop and human props, Rihanna threw on a fierce game face and danced her way through the track with steady energy. It was a welcome change to see the Barbadian singer show off some footwork.

Unfortunately, the episode ended without any mention of “Shy Ronnie,” her first digital short, or any Rihanna-featured skits at all, even though “SNL” head honcho Lorne Michaels had told reporters on Wednesday that he was trying to work out the details on incorporating Rihanna into the sketch lineup.

Shy Ronnie may have not made an appearance, but Saturday’s gig was the perfect vehicle to promote her just-released single as well as her big-screen acting debut in the summer flick “Battleship,” which hits theaters May 18.

What did you think of Rih’s “SNL” performances? Let us know in the comments below.

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The Rock Wins Wrestlemania XXVIII, Defeats John Cena

The Rock sealed his history as one of wrestlings biggest entertainers.

Photo: MTV News

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