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Top 10 election movies


There’s nothing like an election to create drama and tension. To get you in the mood for the upcoming New Zealand elections, James Croot offers a compilation of 10 of the best election movies.

1. Bob Roberts
One of the funniest mockumentaries not to be made by Christopher Guest (This is Spinal Tap), this 1992 film follows the fortunes of a corrupt right-wing folksinger and his crooked campaign for the US Senate. It features music videos, timeless slogans (”the times they are a-changin’ back”) and career-defining performances from Tim Robbins and Alan Rickman.

2. All the Presidents Men

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Hackers release Jennifer Lawrence nude photos


Jennifer Lawrence and other celebrities have apparently fallen victim of a major hacking attack.

A 4chan user claimed to have released nude photos of Lawrence, Kate Upton, and a host of other stars, the Huffington Post reports.

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Joan Rivers’ loved ones stay hopeful


Joan Rivers’ loved ones say that they remain hopeful about her recovery three days after she went into cardiac arrest at a doctor’s office.

“We are keeping our fingers crossed,” her daughter, Melissa Rivers, said in a statement, thanking people who have expressed support for the 81-year-old comedian. Rivers on this weekend described her mother’s condition as serious.

Rivers was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital on Thursday (local time), a day after she spoke at an employee event at Time Inc. in New York. Spectators there said she had appeared to be well.

Rivers is the host of Fashion Police on E! and presides over an online talk show, In Bed With Joan. She also co-stars with her daughter on the WEtv reality show Joan & Melissa: Joan Knows Best

Two of her Fashion Police co-stars tweeted their well-wishes to Joan Rivers and her family Saturday.

“Praying for Joan Rivers and Mel Rivers,” Giuliana Rancic tweeted. “Even though Joan’s the strongest woman I know, every single prayer counts. I love you, Joan.”

“4 the first time in years I got down on my knees & prayed tonight!” Kelly Osbourne wrote. “I encourage U 2 do the same 4 Joan Rivers my grandma!”

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– AP

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Miley: Google worse than drugs


Miley Cyrus thinks Google and Instagram are more harmful to your brain than drugs.

In an interview with Australian show

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Brooding and Barking

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How Beyonce is re-branding feminism


How delicious it was to see storey-high letters blazing the word FEMINIST on stage at the MTV VMAs this week.

When Beyonce performed her song

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Watch: Katy Perry, 17 and self-obsessed


Katy Perry, age 17, was strummy, folky, Christian – and every bit as self-obsessed as you imagine the future candy-pop star would be.

Footage from 2001 has appeared online, from her first tour, courtesy of videographer Jim Standridge.

In it, Perry speaks candidly about covering her ”pizza face” with makeup, cries over her parents, and plays with her hair – a lot.

Interspersed with footage of her playing earnest acoustic numbers on stage are cuts of her on her tour bus, just talking about trivial things.

”Look at all these clothes … it’s great,” she says.

Then: ”Yeah … I’m pretty conceited”.

On the TV in the bus is New Zealand reality show treasure Island, which Perry says features her MC. She calls it ”Survivor, New Zealand-style.”

Standridge wrote in the blurb accompanying the video: ”The other day I was cleaning out some old footage in my office and found 90 minutes of raw footage I had totally forgot about … I quickly put together a short edit of the experience with Katy. Funny how she spent so much time messing with her hair…. In the present day her hair changes colour and style in every photo shoot, music video and performance…. I think Katy has grown into an amazing entertainer and woman. Enjoy.”

Katy Perry Uncensored Raw Talent from Jim Standridge on Vimeo.

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– Stuff

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Scrubs star returns with different voice


When Scrubs creator Bill Lawrence was looking for a strong and dominating actor to play the demanding boss in his new comedy series Ground Floor, he turned to John C. McGinley.

Just like his role on Scrubs, John plays a character, Mr Mansfield, who can strike fear in the heart of those around him with a few choice words.

For the actor, creating such characters starts with the right voice.

“One of the main objectives was to create as much distance between myself and Dr Cox, which in some circles is a kind of iconic TV character,” says McGinley. “I didn’t want to fall into the trap of living in his shadow in any way.

“And so, I started thinking about the voice a lot. Here, I made a cocktail out of George C. Scott and Lee J. Cobb and Jason Robards. I mixed those together and found Mansfield’s voice.”

Ground Floor is a workplace comedy with a romantic twist. Brody (Skylar Astin) is banker at Remington Trust who falls for Jennifer (Briga Heelan), a woman who works in maintenance.

They have to find a way to make their relationship work despite coming from such different worlds. McGinley plays Brody’s boss, who is worried the relationship will be a distraction.

The object of much of McGinley’s humour will be Astin’s character. There is a big difference between their relationship compared with the McGinley-Zach Braff dynamic in Scrubs.

“What’s attractive to me about this series is that he wants Skylar’s character to be his son as opposed to being an unwilling mentor to Zach’s character in Scrubs,” McGinley says.

“This is a guy who has a missing piece and that kind of yearning is something the writers can write for and the actors can play.”

McGinley has brought more to the series than just being a tough boss.

Rene Gube, who comes to the series from the comedy team of the Upright Citizens Brigade, was motivated to work harder on his role as another investment banker looking for the approval of the boss when he saw the work ethic McGinley had from the first day on the set.

“He came with a game that I had never seen before on a pilot,” Rene says. “He gives you so much that if you aren’t delivering on that, it’s a terrible feeling. But, when you are, and things are working, it feels great.”

Skyler Astin comes to the series with a lengthy background in musical theatre. But he is not going to be in a musical episode of Ground Floor in the near future.

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In fact, Astin’s musical abilities are being played down.

“There is an episode where we go to a karaoke bar, which is something money managers do,” Astin says.

“I think it’s great that they’ve given Brody a good voice but not make it so showy and indulgent. It should always be story first then comedy and singing supports that.”

In other words, Astin is also trying to find his right voice for
the series.

For more great stories,

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Feminism breaks the bounds with Beyonce


How delicious it was to see storey-high letters blazing the word FEMINIST on stage at the MTV VMAs this week.

When Beyonce performed her song

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