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‘It was the first thing I’ve ever done that was this physically demanding on top of an emotionally demanding part,’ she tells MTV News.

Natalie Portman on 'Black Swan'

For as beautiful and ethereal as the world of ballet appears to be, whether via live performance or in movies, Darren Aronofsky and Natalie Portman have gone to great lengths to shatter that pristine exterior in their new film, “Black Swan,” which arrives in theaters Friday. When MTV News caught up with Portman, we asked her what she went through in order to get into her character’s dark and disturbing world.

“It was really extreme,” Portman said of her physical commitment to the role. “And I definitely felt both physical and mental aftershocks from the experience, because it was the first thing I’ve ever done that was this physically demanding on top of an emotionally demanding part,” she said. “And it’s great. I mean, the kind of discipline that it demands also puts you in that space for the acting part. But yeah, it affects you in ways. I’ll probably figure out how it affected me in, like, five years. I’ll look back and go, ‘Oh, that’s why I did that and that and that.’ ”

Portman also said that, although she and Aronofsky first discussed the project nearly a decade ago, she needed more age and experience to tap into certain aspects of her character.

“For me, it’s really about someone going from a position, an artistry where you’re trying to please other people, to a position where you’re finding pleasure yourself,” she said. “And Vincent [Cassel]‘s character, though it seems that he’s sort of puppeteering this character, he is really guiding her towards becoming an artist and is really teaching her how to find her own pleasure and make a true expression of herself, that it’s about her.”

The 29-year-old went on to say that she related to her character finally realizing that it’s not her job to make others happy. “It’s about breaking out of a system where you’re easily replaceable by the next girl who looks like you. And I feel like my 20s were about that, and probably into my future, I’m sure it’ll continue being that way,” Portman said. “But the older you get, the less you care about what other people think and the more you just want to be your true self and express your true self.”

Source: MTV.com

Lil Wayne is approximately halfway through his one-year jail sentence, which began March 8 when the superstar MC turned himself into authorities after reaching a plea deal. According to prison records accessed by MTV News, the rapper has a projected release date of November 4.

Pending any violations or infractions for behavioral issues, the rapper is expected to see the light of day eight months after entering prison.

While Wayne has been away, however, his presence has remained potent. His protégé Drake debuted atop the charts with Thank Me Later, on which Wayne served as an executive producer.

The Toronto MC visited Lil Wayne in prison last month and told MTV News about the experience. “He kept looking to the window,” Drake said. “He’d look up at the window almost like he’s looking right through it. It’s frosted, so you can’t see out. I was like, ‘Why does he keep staring through the window? There’s nothing out there.’ To him, there’s a whole world moving out there that he hasn’t seen for so long.”

In addition to Drake, Diddy and Fat Joe have also ventured to Rikers Island to see Lil Wayne. Joe said the New Orleans native was in good spirits and appeared to be making the best of a bad situation through humor.

“He’s doing fairly well,” Joe told MTV News. “Way better than I thought he would be doing. He was telling me some crazy funny story about him and this older guy. They always going back and forth with each other, arguing. To hear him say it, it’s like Archie Bunker [with this guy].”

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Today in “Old media versus the Internet,” the Wall Street Journal is reporting that major studios ABC (owned by Disney), CBS (part of CBS Corp) and NBC (owned by GE) have joined Hulu in blocking Google TV from accessing the available television episodes on their websites.

Various timeworn concerns such as lack of a viable business model for content owners, content being cannibalized by the Internet as well as Google’s as of yet unknown position on piracy led to each individual network’s decision to opt out.

A Google spokesperson told the WSJ:

“Google TV enables access to all the Web content you already get today on your phone and PC, but it is ultimately the content owners’ choice to restrict their fans from accessing their content on the platform.”

Heh.

MTV, Fox and HBO are still available on Google TV, which surfs the Internet and allows you to view web content on your television through compatible devices, although Fox has not yet decided whether it will keep working with the service. Shows from other sub-networks like the CW and Lifetime are also still accessible, despite those networks being controlled by some of the parent companies listed above.

Looks like Google TV is the most recent battlefield in the three way war between Madison Avenue, Hollywood and Silicon Valley. It’ll be interesting to see who (if anyone) wins.

A new Michael Jackson video is to be released as part of a boxed collection of all Jackson’s music videos, it was announced Wednesday.

The three-DVD collection, ‘Michael Jackson’s Vision’, will hit stores Nov 22, and will feature re-mastered video and audio of such Jackson classics as ‘Thriller’, ‘Bad’ and ‘Black and White’.

Produced by Jackson’s estate in conjunction with Epic/Legacy Recordings the boxed-set will also include the video Jackson made to the never-before released recording ‘One More Chance’, which was penned by R Kelly.

According to a statement by the producers, the 4.5 hours of video recognise Jackson’s ‘pioneering short films that transformed the entertainment industry with timeless, pop culture classics’.

‘The simultaneous emergence of MTV as a television force and Michael Jackson’s breakout as a global superstar provided the most epochal musical/cultural shift since The Beatles,’ the producers said. ‘Michael Jackson redefined and established the perimeters, and parameters, of an entire new medium.’

Caitlin Sanchez is only 14, but she just filed a very grown-up multimillion-dollar lawsuit against Nickelodeon, MTV Networks and Viacom.

Dora The Explorer, Fails to follow her lessons.

Sanchez was 12 when she was hired as the voice of Nickelodeon’s hit animated series “Dora the Explorer.” She was paid $5,115 per episode and allegedly promised a cut of Dora’s lucrative merchandising revenue. Now, after being dismissed from her role because she reached puberty and could no longer provide the right-sounding voice, Sanchez has some observers questioning the network’s practices in hiring minors.

The teen says that she signed an “unconscionable” contract without the advice of an attorney. Instead, Sanchez, her parents and her agent (who is now said to have been inexperienced) were given 22 minutes to sign the deal or lose the “Dora” gig.

The 35-page complaint goes into intricate detail about what allegedly happened. Representatives for the network are said to have made promises that Sanchez would reap substantial compensation from merchandising and residuals on the billion-dollar brand. Instead, Nickelodeon allegedly “used convoluted payment deduction clauses and additional free services provisions to underpay Caitlin for her acting and recordings, force her to work hundreds of hours marketing the Dora Brand for free … and withhold her residual payments and merchandise percentages, all contrary to what she was originally promised.”

The damages add up to “many million dollars,” according to the lawsuit.

A spokesperson for the network wouldn’t comment on this aspect of the case or its protocol in handling contracts with minors. Instead, Nickelodeon issued this statement:

“The claims being made are baseless. Unfortunately, Caitlin’s voice changed and she was no longer able to portray the Dora character, as happened with the actress who originated the role. Caitlin’s contract was extensively negotiated through her agent and in compliance with her union. She was well compensated for her work and for personal appearances. We have enjoyed working with Caitlin on ‘Dora the Explorer’ these past three years, and we did in fact offer her a contract for other work with us.”

Previously we reported that Lindsay Lohan was granted bail but was yet to apply for it. Well she has now applied for it and is out of jail!

Lindsay Lohan Released from Jail

Lohan posted $30,000 bail and was released according to a Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department spokesperson.

As we previously stated she has been ordered to wear the SCRAM Bracelet to monitor her drug usage. Her next court hearing is on October 22nd. Wonder if she can survive till then, hmmmm…

The last time Lindsay was ordered to wear the same SCRAM bracelet, it went off during an after party for the MTV Movie Awards. She claimed someone spilled alcohol on it.

She was released from the rehab less then the month back. Looks like rehab is not working for her.

Hope she can stay out of trouble till October 22nd. *fingers-crossed*

Last year, When Taylor Swift was awarded in MTV video awards, Kanye west interrupted and openly criticized her  the award should have been given to Beyonce.

Within a week, the singer called up Taylor and he apologized to her for his comments. Which i believe Taylor refused.

Since then the pop singer is trying to convince Taylor to accept his apology. And the latest is the Song drama from Kanye West.

“I wrote a song for Taylor Swift that’s so beautiful and I want her to have it,” he said on his Twitter Saturday morning. “If she won’t take it then I’ll perform it for her.”

The hip-hop artist is still offering up I’m sorries, calling her “justa lil girl with dreams like the rest of us” on his Twitter.

“She deserves the apology more than anyone,” he Tweeted, before thanking the creators of Twitter for making a public platform for expression. “We’re both artist[s] and the media and managers are trying to get between us. Everyone wants to capitalize off this [in] some way.”