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Friday, September 28, 2012

'SONS OF ANARCHY' ACTOR JOHNNY LEWIS DEAD AFTER ALLEGEDLY MURDERING ELDERLY WOMAN

Reports are surfacing that actor Johnny Lewis, famous for his role as Kip "Half Sack" Epps in the first two seasons of the FX Network series Sons of Anarchy, has died after falling from a roof—shorty after murdering an 81-year-old woman.

Yes, you read that correctly.

According to TMZ, cops believe Johnny was high on either PCP or meth at the time he allegedly killed the woman and then fell to his death.

Lewis was found in a driveway yesterday morning in the Los Feliz neighborhood of Los Angeles, and the elderly woman who owned the home was found dead inside. Lewis had been renting a room from the 81-year-old victim.

Law enforcement also tells TMZ that shorty before his death, Lewis fought with two men, who claimed Lewis fought with "super-human strength" and was "phenomenally strong."

"It was a tragic end for an extremely talented guy, who unfortunately had lost his way. I wish I could say that I was shocked by the events last night, but I was not," Kurt Sutter, creator of Sons of Anarchy, wrote on his website. He continued by adding, "I am deeply sorry that an innocent life had to be thrown into his destructive path."

If you remember, Lewis dated pop superstar Katy Perry back in 2006 in a often-publicized relationship. Lewis was 28-years-old.

The details surrounding these deaths are too bizarre, so we'll just end it with an appropriate "R.I.P."

David Geffen on New PBS 'American Masters' Film: 'Wow, Did I Do That?'

American Masters creator and executive producer Susan Lacy premiered her latest installment of the Emmy-winning series, Inventing David Geffen, at the Toronto International Film Festival, but the two-hour rags-to-riches tale will air in the U.S. nationwide on PBS Nov. 20 at 8 p.m. (ET/PT).

Now 69-years-old, the notoriously interview-shy Geffen told the TIFF audience in a Q&A alongside Lacy that he was "incredibly flattered" by the film and that he had "forgotten most of it." "I thought, 'Wow, did I do that?" He added that he had nothing to do with the content, bad or good. "I didn't ask her to change anything," Geffen said of Lacy and later added, "I just wish my mother was around to see it. She'd be so proud."

David Geffen: 'I'd Kill Myself' Rather Than Get Into Music Business Today

Described as everything from "outspoken" to a man "not known for being warm and fuzzy," Inventing David Geffen begins with comments from a range of Geffen's friends, colleagues and clients, including Neil Young, Tom Hanks, Don Henley, Cher, Jackson Browne and Steve Martin. In all, Lacy interviewed more than 50 people (Elton John to Irving Azoff, Elliot Roberts to Mo Ostin, Jimmy Iovine to Steven Spielberg) to tell this unparalleled story of a young man with movies on his mind who left Brooklyn for Hollywood the day he graduated from high school.

When he learned "you can be an agent and know absolutely nothing," he knew he fit the bill and returned to NYC to take a job in the mailroom of The William Morris Agency - after lying on the application. From there, the hard-working Geffen with an eye and ear for musical talent signed his Jessie Colin Young and The Young Blood and Laura Nyro. He avoided military service by telling the psychiatrist he was gay (he did not come out publicly until 1992) and dove right into his career.

So began a trajectory in show business that made him one of the most powerful entertainment figures in America - and a billionaire.

Lacy packs a lot into Inventing David Geffen: most notably the building of Asylum Records, Geffen Records, Geffen Films and DreamWorks; the partnerships he formed; his passion for deal-making; the artists for whom he went to the ends of the earth; the betrayal he felt when Nyro signed with Columbia (he calls it "the single most devastating thing that happened to me at that time"); the devastation his artists felt when he sold Asylum; his love affair with Cher (she calls him "the most loving boyfriend in the world"); a misdiagnosis of bladder cancer that changed his view on life; his acceptance of his sexual orientation; and phenomenal philanthropy, particularly to a range of medical causes. She also covers the source of his drive: a passion for movies that began as a child, troubles with school that stemmed from dyslexia and his ultimate fear of failure.

As he says at the clip from his 2010 Rock And Roll Hall of Fame induction, included towards the end of the documentary, "I never thought I'd be inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame. I have no talent, except being able to enjoy and recognize it in others." In the epilogue to Inventing David Geffen, we see that he bought the home that once belonged to Jack Warner, the Canadian-born movie studio mogul whose accomplished and creations lured him to Hollywood.

Now in its 26th season on PBS with more than 180 documentaries to its credit, American Masters has earned 24 Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Non-Fiction Series eight times since 1999, 12 Peabodys, three Grammys, an Oscar, and the 2012 Producers Guild Award. Lacy's writer-director credits include Leonard Bernstein: Reaching for the Note (1998) and Judy Garland: By Myself (2004). As a producer she has won Grammys for Lou Reed: Rock and Roll Heart (1998) and No Direction Home: Bob Dylan (2005)

Happy Birthday, Lil Wayne!

Lil Wayne hits the big 3-0 today (September 27).

The rapper and superstar performer celebrates his 30th birthday—coming off another impressive run in his still growing rap career. After killing the game last year with his Grammy-nominated Tha Carter IV release—which sold 964,000 copies its first week—Weezy remained afloat this year with various output. In June 2012, he saw the launch of his skate apparel, street wear line TrukFit and months before that partnered with Mountain Dew for their new Mountain DEWeezy advertising campaign. Aside from his business ventures, the Louisianimal keep his musical output steady flowing with a bulk of guest appearances including alongside Nicki Minaj (“Roman Reloaded”), Tyga (“Faded”), 2 Chainz (“Yuck!”), Curren$y (“Jet Life”), French Montana (“Pop That”), Game (“Celebration”) and more.

His appearance on the latter added in another accolade for the rap star, as he’s now surpassed the late Elvis Presley as the male artist with the most entries on Billboard‘s Hot 100 chart. The single off Game’s forthcoming Jesus Piece album, which features Weezy as well as Chris Brown, Tyga and Wiz Khalifa, landed at No. 82 on the charts making it Wayne’s 109th Hot 100 entry. The previous record held by Presley was 108 between 1958 and 2003.

As he currently gearing up for the release of his upcoming 10th studio album, I Am Not a Human Being II, XXL wishes Wayne a very happy G-Day. Salute!

THE NFL REFS ARE BACK

We went through all of this for $3.2 million dollars?

Pretty much. It cost each NFL owner approximately $100k to get this deal done. The issue that refs and owners got hung up on wasn’t exactly a pay raise, but it was the fact that the referees wanted a pension plan. The referees are essentially part-time employees and the NFL owners weren’t having that.

The refs are getting a pay raise from an average salary of $149k in 2011 to $173k in 2013, and $205k in 2019. Pretty good for a part-time job, huh.

Mary J. Blige Begins Shooting Betty & Coretta

Mary J. Blige is taking a break from her national "Liberation" tour with D'Angelo to begin filming biopic Betty and Coretta, reports Billboard.com.

Blige, who is set to play Betty Shabazz, stars alongside Angela Bassett as Coretta in the Lifetime drama about the friendship the two developed after their husbands were assassinated. "Right now it's a little sad, but I'm enjoying it," said Blige. "It's the death of Malcolm, the death of Martin and the women trying to be strong and get through it."

So far, Blige and Bassett have completed screen tests with hair and makeup to look the part. "I've really been enjoying the whole experience. It's a lot of long days and months and weeks and you know, I'm working my way through it."

The ESSENCE Music Festival alumna is no stranger to acting. This past summer she had a part in Tom Cruise's Rock of Ages. She previously had a supporting role in 2009's I Can Do Bad All by Myself.

Blige also made movie headlines recently when the Hollywood Reporter announced that Zoe Saldana would replace Blige in an upcoming biopic about Nina Simone. Blige reportedly pulled out due to funding issues.

Bringing Nets to Brooklyn ‘American dream’

NEW YORK — Jay-Z has accomplished a lot in his career, but his latest feat has him feeling that like he’s living the American dream.

The 42-year-old music mogul and entrepreneur says when he was a poor kid in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, he never imagined that he’d someday own a piece of a basketball team. Now Jay is an investor in the Brooklyn Nets and instrumental in moving the franchise from New Jersey.

He feels his rags-to-riches story embodies all that is possible in America.

“Yeah I think I’m the American dream,” Jay-Z said. “That whole thing that you could come here and pull yourself up by the bootstraps, like that whole thing what America has always put up to the world that we represent. I feel that. Yes, I’ve lived that.”

Jay-Z made the comments at the launch party for the upcoming NBA 2K13 video game, where he acted as the game’s executive producer.

As a child, he says, he dreamed of glory on the basketball court.

“You know the three-two-one, oh, he hits the winning shot,” Jay-Z said. “But no one was ever on the court saying I was gonna own the Knicks. Yes, it’s way beyond any of my wildest dreams.”

Now as an investor in the Nets, he’s even designed the team’s black and white logo. Brooklyn has not had a professional sports team since the Brooklyn Dodgers left for Los Angeles after the 1957 baseball season.

Rapper Bow Wow, who appears in the video game, says he’s always looked up to Jay-Z, but the move to bring the Nets to Brooklyn immortalizes him.

“I think that’s the biggest inspirational thing for any kid growing up in any ghetto and any suburb, and you can do whatever you want to do as long as you put your mind to it. That’s a great man to follow, right there,” Bow Wow said.

As for his success with music, fashion with his brand Rocawear and now a video game, Jay says his creativity is all over the place.

“When you’re an artist, you can see greatness in all things, and you say, man, I wonder if I can try and tinker with that and maybe if we put the music into (NBA)2K and bring those two cultures” together, Jay Z-said. They “were cousins already, so why not bring the family together and let them sit at the same table?”

The Brooklyn Nets will play in the newly built Barclays Center. But before his new team takes the court for the first time, the rapper will christen the new arena with an eight-show run beginning Friday.

— Associated Press

Yes, Twitter Is an Apple iTunes Affiliate

Twitter has been adding special iTunes preview panes to every tweet on Twitter.com for nearly two years. However, when the company first announced that it would be working with Apple's now-defunct social network iTunes Ping, it didn't mention that it had joined iTunes' affiliate program, and has been adding its own iTunes affiliate ID to each of those links. As such, Twitter has been receiving a bounty (most likely the usual five percent) on all iTunes music sold via Twitter.com's iTunes preview panes.

Even now that iTunes Ping is no more, Twitter continues to insert iTunes affiliate links into tweets about not only music, but also apps. Twitter CEO Dick Costolo said he is thinking about adding time-sensitive products such as concert tickets to Twitter's affiliate marketing program. Twitter is not currently running affiliate links for television shows, movies, or books.

A source familiar with the situation told Evolver.fm that Twitter has been adding its own affiliate ID to links tweeted by users since it first launched that early integration with iTunes Ping, and that it continues to do so today. As we first reported -- due to Evolver.fm's Knar Bedian finding this preview pane while writing a tutorial -- these links do not replace the ones in the main body of the tweet. However, they do replace the user's affiliate link in the iTunes preview area, pictured below:

Twitter's main focus is still said to be on advertising and promoted tweets, trends, and accounts, rather than on becoming a large-scale affiliate marketer, which is probably a good idea.

We did learn something new today: that Twitter really is the iTunes affiliate "wdId=32800." When you purchase music or an app by clicking on one of these iTunes preview links, Twitter -- and not the original tweeter -- gets paid by Apple.

"When you click on a Tweet that's sent via Ping or that contains an iTunes link," reads the original announcement about Twitter/iTunes integration, "you'll see the song or album in Twitter's details pane, with the ability to listen to song previews from iTunes, making the experience even richer."

It makes Twitter richer too, assuming people click through to buy -- though not enough for it to forsake its main strategy of including advertising in favor of becoming primarily an affiliate marketer, from what we hear.

Apple, Twitter, and Linkshare, which administers Apple's iTunes affiliate program in the United States, would not comment on the record. Arriving at this degree of understanding took quite a bit of doing: