You won’t believe how much Paul McCartney was paid for the Olympics Gig : Marilyn Monroe 50 Years Later, Her Star Power Shines On :The Real Price To Pay If You Want To Be Iron Man : aforadio.com

——————————————————————-

Paul McCartney Olympics Payment: Singer Paid One Pound ($1.57) For Big Gig

LONDON — Don’t spend it all in one place, Paul.

London Olympic organizers say former Beatle Paul McCartney and other star performers who took part in Friday’s opening ceremony essentially donated their time – receiving a mere pound ($1.57) – for their performances.

The nominal fee was offered to make the Olympics contracts binding – but pales in comparison to the millions big names like McCartney can command for a stadium gig.

Other performers such as Mike Oldfield, Dizzee Rascal and Emeli Sande are also thought to have received the nominal fee.

Director Danny Boyle’s “Isles of Wonder” extravaganza featured British music that spanned generations, right up to live performances from two of the hottest homegrown acts of the moment: grime star Rascal and the band Arctic Monkeys.

——————————————————————-

‘Iron Man’ Cost Of Suit & Gadgets: The Real Price To Pay If You Want To Be Iron Man Tops $1 Billion

It costs a lot of money to be Iron Man. No, really: To be Iron Man, who you know from the “Iron Man” films with Robert Downey Jr., you need $1.6 billion.

The cost of being Iron Man, from his gold-titanium exoskeleton to his arc reactor and Audi R8, adds up to that lofty sum, according to MoneySupermarket.com. Previously, the British online financial marketplace estimated that it cost $682 million to be Batman, which seems like chump change considering Tony Stark’s high cost of operation. Stark’s suits alone cost more than Batman’s entire arsenal.

Somewhere atop Stark Tower, we bet Iron Man is having a good laugh at his superhero friend’s small (mis)fortune.

Starring Robert Downey Jr., James Badge Dale, Jon Favreau, Don Cheadle, Ben Kingsley, Rebecca Hall, Guy Pearce and Gwyneth Paltrow, “Iron Man 3″ is due out in theaters on May 3, 2013.

Take a look at the infographic below and tell us what you think of MoneySupermarket.com’s “The Cost of Being Iron Man” in the comments.

——————————————————————–

Julie Newmar, Original Catwoman revealed that “in a way” she does not like the evolution of the “Batman” series.

Julie Newmar became a part of Hollywood history when she starred as Catwoman in the 1966 “Batman” television series, but Newmar isn’t exactly thrilled with Christopher Nolan’s 2012 adaptation, “The Dark Knight.”

During an interview with Michael Yo for Yahoo’s “The Yo Show,” Newmar revealed that “in a way” she does not like the evolution of the “Batman” series.

“It’s dark,” Newmar told the show. “I think we had so much fun in the 60s, 1966 to 1968. And then Vietnam came and things sort of got darker and darker and darker.”

She also thinks the costumes make a difference.

“What with all the costumes that they have to wear now, there’s a lot that you can’t see anymore,” she told Yo. “You know, when you have everything sort of padded out and very macho and all that kind of thing. It’s as if the costume acts for you.”

On the television show, Newmar portrayed the more campy side of the Catwoman character while wearing the iconic black latex costume

“I remember sitting back in the fight scenes,” she said in the interview. “Catwoman would just kind of sit there in the fight scenes and she just sort of file her nails like that. She couldn’t be bothered with all that nonsense.”

Newmar does not have a favorite Catwoman aside from herself, though she particularly likes Michelle Pfieffer, who starred in Tim Burton’s 2002 “Batman Returns,” as an actress and believes that Anne Hathaway, who stars in this year’s “The Dark Knight Rises,” is “divine.”

The 78-year-old admitted that she has not yet seen “The Dark Knight Rises,” but remains curious about the further evolution of the long-running franchise.

Not all those who have seen Nolan’s trilogy would disagree with Newmar.

When Michael Fine, a syndicated film critic and host of the blog “Hollywood and Fine,” posted the first negative review of “The Dark Knight Rises” on Rotten Tomatoes, he received death threats, Time previously reported.

“Are you ready for a Batman movie for the Occupy Wall Street era?” the Boston Herald’s James Verniere wrote. “Less droll or funny than ‘The Avengers,’ ‘The Dark Knight Rises’ is, however, a dark, surprisingly topical, state-of-the-art pop-movie apocalypse for our times. If you like this sort of thing, you’re going to be in heaven for 164 minutes. If you don’t, allow me to quote Catwoman: ‘Oops.’”

Although Newmar might not have been in line at the opening of the latest “Dark Knight,” the final installment of Nolan’s trilogy raked in more than $289 million at the box office in the first 10 days, MovieFone reported. Apparently, audiences might be content with less camp and more grit.

———————————————————————–

Marilyn Monroe 50 Years Later, Her Star Power Shines On

NEW YORK — Only 11 years after her death, Elton John sang his ode to Marilyn Monroe. “And I would have liked to have known you, but I was just a kid,” went the lyrics. “Your candle burned out long before your legend ever did.”

What John didn’t know was how much truer his words would ring a few decades later.

Monroe passed away a half-century ago this Sunday, a murky death that remains one of Hollywood’s most tantalizing mysteries. But look around: Her legend lives on, more vibrantly than ever. In a development this fiercely ambitious actress surely would have appreciated, the 1950’s bombshell has become a 21st-century pop culture phenomenon.

Just flip through a celebrity magazine: Some of-the-moment young starlet or pop singer will be channeling (or outright appropriating) those platinum locks, the bright red lips, moist and slightly parted, and that joyously, almost defiantly curvy figure, sheathed in something skin-tight and glamorous.

Was that Marilyn on the red carpet at last year’s Teen Choice Awards? No, it was Taylor Swift, wearing a white halter-style dress just like Marilyn’s in “The Seven Year Itch,” in which the actress stood atop a subway grate and let the breeze of a passing train lift her skirts. (Oh, and that dress? It sold at auction last year for a mind-boggling $5.6 million, including commission.)

Was that Marilyn in the Dolce & Gabbana ad a while back? No, it was Scarlett Johansson, all white-blonde hair and ruby lips. And there was Charlize Theron in a Dior ad last year, meeting up with the real Marilyn, not to mention Marlene Dietrich and Grace Kelly, via CGI. Magazine spreads have featured Nicole Kidman, Lindsay Lohan, Rihanna, Michelle Williams, Viola Davis and others having their Marilyn moment.

Madonna, of course, has famously appropriated Monroe’s look into her image. So have singers Christina Aguilera and Gwen Stefani. In June, on what would have been Marilyn’s 86th birthday, Lady Gaga tweeted “Happy Birthday Marilyn – They’ll never take our blonde hair and lipstick,” along with a picture of herself, Monroe-like. Nicki Minaj says she’s “obsessed with Marilyn Monroe.”

On the big screen, actress Williams earned an Oscar nomination for her moving portrayal of Monroe in “My Week With Marilyn.” And one of TV’s most popular new shows is “Smash” on NBC, which follows a Broadway musical based on Marilyn’s life, with two actresses competing to play her.

Heck, there’s even been a giant Marilyn traversing the country: A 26-foot-tall, 34,000-pound statue of the actress, white dress billowing and undies showing, by artist Seward Johnson, now resting in Palm Springs, Calif.

And there are plans for much more – thanks to the purchase in late 2010 of Monroe’s estate, which includes among other things her name and image – by Authentic Brands Group and its partner, NECA. The company’s CEO, Jamie Salter, says he aims to upgrade the Marilyn brand by moving away from cheap souvenirs and developing Marilyn-themed cosmetic lines, spas and salons, sportswear, swimwear, footwear, handbags and more. There are even plans for – wait for it – the inevitable Marilyn Monroe reality show, in which young women would compete to become a new Hollywood icon.

But just what is the secret of Marilyn’s enduring appeal? It depends on whom you ask – and that’s fitting, really, because Marilyn, more than other iconic celebrities, was different things to different people.

There was, most simply, Marilyn the actress – a Marilyn that often got lost in all the hype, despite her desperate aspirations to be taken seriously. Film historian Leonard Maltin laments that many people know Marilyn “as an image and an icon,” but not as an actress.

Monroe showed off her dramatic chops in “The Misfits,” for example, and “Bus Stop.” But she is probably best remembered for her delightful comic turns in “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes” as the gold-digging Lorelei Lee who sang “Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend” in that classic pink gown; as the sensuous but ditzy Girl in “The Seven Year Itch”; and as sexy band singer Sugar Kane in “Some Like it Hot.”

“Marilyn just leaps off the screen,” says Maltin. “She has a luminosity that transcends everything else.”

Still, an entire younger generation is enamored of her for something completely different, says Brandon Holley, editor in chief of Lucky magazine, which draws women in their 20s and 30s.

“I think most women under 40 haven’t seen her movies,” Holley says. “For them, she’s a style type – the ultimate hourglass figure. And a lot of women identify with that.”

Christopher Nickens agrees. “Marilyn was the epitome of a certain kind of feminine ideal,” says the co-author of the recently released “Marilyn in Fashion,” a rare look at Monroe’s influence in that field. Her key fashion legacy, he says, was to bring body-conscious clothes into everyday life, with elegance.

Though she wasn’t seen as a fashion icon during her lifetime, Nickens thinks Marilyn shared something with other style icons like Jackie Kennedy, Grace Kelly, and Audrey Hepburn. “They didn’t follow trends,” he says. “It’s about knowing yourself and what works for you, and having that confidence.”

Confidence isn’t necessarily something one associates with Monroe, of course. In that Elton John song, “Candle in the Wind,” she’s a beautiful innocent victimized by a terrible Hollywood machine – people who “whispered into your brain” and “set you on the treadmill” and “made you change your name.”

That falls into a familiar victim narrative about Monroe, who was indeed victimized as a young girl, according to multiple biographers. Born Norma Jeane Mortenson in 1926, she spent much of her childhood in foster homes, and there are allegations she suffered sexual abuse.

But a victim of Hollywood? Monroe’s latest biographer, Lois Banner, begs to differ. She says Monroe the movie star “was a constructed image” – one the actress herself worked very hard to invent, from the dyed hair (Norma Jeane was a brunette), to the makeup, that breathy voice, and the famous “wiggle walk.”

And her dumb blonde screen image? Nothing like her, says Banner, a professor of history and gender studies at the University of Southern California. “She was extremely intelligent.”

But why has Marilyn’s appeal only gotten stronger? “First of all, she died very young,” says Banner, freezing her image for eternity. But another reason is the existence of thousands of photographs of Marilyn, bursting with life. “She’s conceivably the most photographed person of the 20th century,” says Banner. The author’s third reason is more cynical: “There’s a lot of people making money off her,” she says.

Which brings us back to Salter, whose company is also using social networking to court a young consumer base for the Marilyn brand.

On Facebook, Marilyn has three million-plus fans, 70 percent of them under the age of 24. She also has some 53,000 Twitter followers. Salter’s brand vision? “To seduce the world with products that capture the iconic personality, style, glamour and elegance of the legendary actress,” according to the promotional materials.

“Look at what Marilyn was,” Salter says in a telephone interview. “She’s a total fashion icon. She invented the red carpet. She knew her brand.”

“I’ve got the best model in the whole world.”

——————————————————————

Scarlett Johannson Sings ‘Bonnie & Clyde’ With Lulu Gainsbourg

Scarlett Johansson is no stranger to the recording studio — the actress has released an entire album of Tom Waits covers, for instance — so it should come as little surprise that she’s put out a new song. The “Avengers” actress has teamed with French recording star Lulu Gainsbourg for the jazzy, sing-speak-y “Bonnie & Clyde.”

The song is part of Gainsbourg’s tribute album to his father, Serge Gainsbourg. (Johansson’s part was initially revealed last year, but this is the official release.) Among other famous faces on From Gainsbourg to Lulu are Iggy Pop, Rufus Wainwright, and Johnny Depp and Vanessa Paradis. (That collaboration is notable, of course, since Depp and Paradis reportedly broke up after 14 years together earlier in 2012; click here for a listen.)

Johansson doesn’t have to do very many vocal gymnastics during “Bonnie & Clyde,” but she keeps her part decidedly smokey and sexy. Tres French, as it were, which is kind of perfect since Johansson is singing the part made famous by Brigitte Bardot on Serge Gainsbourg’s original 1968 song. As for Lulu, his deep voice is hypnotic in a fashion similar to a lava lamp.

The single is out on iTunes right now; From Gainsbourg to Lulu is available on Oct. 30.

—————————————————————

Snoop Lion, Diplo & Sway Explain The Reincarnation Of A Legend

Just about a year ago, Diplo and Snoop Dogg were both at the dance music festival Electric Zoo. The elder statesman of West Coast rap was spinning dubstep on the main stage under the moniker DJ Snoopadelic and the superstar producer was doing a characteristically rigorous set in an adjacent tent. Diplo was shirtless by the end of his performance, and Snoop was rapping “The Next Episode” before he finished his.

Fast forward a year, and they’ve teamed up again. Snoop (née Calvin Broadus) and Diplo (Thomas Wesley Pentz — Wes to his friends) have collaborated on a bold move for the former. Broadus has, for the time being, dropped the Dogg act and upgraded to Snoop Lion. The change is a result of his time in Jamaica, where he says he discovered his true inner Rastafarian. As a result, his new album, Reincarnated, is strictly a reggae project.

“Rap is not a challenge to me,” Snoop said at a gathering of journalists and friends Monday night in the backroom of Manhattan’s Miss Lily’s restaurant. “With no disrespect to other rappers, but they can’t f–k with me in rap … I’ve won every accolade you can get in rap, they call me ‘Uncle Snoop’ in rap. When you’re an uncle, it’s time to find something new … I want to feel like a kid again.”

Diplo, who produced the entire album under his alias Major Lazer, sat to Snoop’s right. He said the music was “some of the best” he’s ever made and expressed his respect for the latter’s career shift. “He wanted to do real reggae,” Diplo said. “To sing and find a new voice. It was a dream to work on an entire record [as opposed to a single]. That’s very rare.”

The chat was moderated by MTV’s Sway, who correctly asked Rohan Marley (Bob’s son, who was seated in the audience) if Snoop’s seemingly sudden adoption of the Rastafari ways caused any suspicion on the part of the local music community. “Music is universal,” Marley said. “Jamaica is just a part of music, so we were open to Snoop.”

It’s an important co-sign, because Snoop routinely refers to himself as “Bob Marley reincarnated.”

The 40-year-old once known for repping Long Beach, Calif., insisted that this wasn’t a simple genre change. “It’s not that I want to become Snoop Dogg on a reggae track,” Snoop said. “I want to bury Snoop Dogg, and become Snoop Lion. I didn’t know that until I went to the temple, where the High Priest asked me what my name was, and I said, ‘Snoop Dogg.’ And he looked me in my eyes and said, ‘No more. You are the light; you are the lion.’ From that moment on, it’s like I had started to understand why I was there.”

Others appearing at the presser were Vice Media co-founder Suroosh Alvi (the company has produced a feature-length film that shares the album’s name and will premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival) and Ted Chung (the President of Doggy Style Records). Diplo’s dance music colleague and buddy Alain “A-Trak” Macklovitch was seen mingling in the crowd, as were a host of hip-hop journalists including Eliott Wilson (RapRadar.com) and Shaheem Reid (XXL).

The album’s debut single, “La La La,” is already available on iTunes. “No Guns Allowed,” another track on Reincarnated, seemed dear to Snoop’s heart. “There’s a lot of killing going on in this world, and nobody ever speaks on it until it happens. And I’m tired of it … It’s so tragic that people are still doing stupid things with guns,” Snoop said. “I could have never made a song called ‘No Guns Allowed,’ because I’m supposed to be a gangster and we supposed to keep one on us at all times … But after looking at my life and what it is now and my kids, and all the things that go on in life, I feel like it should be no guns allowed.”

So as an “uncle” in the rap community looks for a new purpose, he hopes to find a new audience as well. “I’ve always wanted to perform for kids and my grandmother, people around the world who really love me and can’t really accept the music that I make. This reggae music is music of love — happiness and sadness.

Listen to “La La La” below. Reincarnated, out via Vice Records, does not yet have a release date. The film will premiere at TIFF, and a photobook will also accompany the album. Crystal Bell also contributed reporting to this article.

huffingtonpost.com