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On Saturday night (October 23), Kanye West let loose his new short film "Runaway" in a special broadcast on MTV. "Runaway" is a 35-minute opus starring himself and model Selita Ebanks. In the film, Ebanks plays a phoenix (as in the mythical creature) who crashes to Earth and gets saved by West (who plays a vaguely fictionalized version of himself). The two strike up a relationship that ultimately ends in tragedy. Along the way, the film tosses out all sorts of gorgeously rendered scenes and a handful of mind-bending tracks from West's hotly-anticipated upcoming album My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy.

In fact, the greatness of the music and the stunning quality of the film (combined with West's back catalog and his previous success in the music video realm) have solidified West as unquestionably the greatest pop star of this generation. His music has appealed to hip-hop fans, pop aficionados and rock enthusiasts alike, and his approach to video, fashion and public image have made him an instantly recognizable and unique singularity. His work is constantly evolving, and he has managed to be good at just about everything he has ever tried. And he has consistently gone out on a limb, attempting things that are way outside of his comfort zone. It's even a little obscene to think about West as a "hip-hop producer" at this point, as while that is certainly the universe that gave him his start, he has evolved way, way past that world.

And the great thing is that West doesn't just rely on his incredible talent — he also puts in hard work and takes on challenges. When MTV News' Sway asked West about the challenges of making "Runaway," he was up front about everything he had to confront. "Thinking about dressing all of those people. Or finding where the [phoenix] wings were, who would make the wings. Laying the colors, having to go back and forth. Directing myself, 'cause I can make awesome decisions right there," West said. "But when I stand on that piano [in the 'Runaway' scene], I got to make sure Kyle, who is an amazing [director of photography] on this, I got to trust him that he caught that shot the proper way. So it takes a little bit longer, when you have to go around and get behind the camera. So these shots, I would have to go look at it, do it again, look at it again. I had a number of concerns: Is it realistic? Are we getting a good angle? We didn't have Hype Williams-level lighting in that warehouse."

So take a look at West's "Runaway" and try to keep your jaw off the floor. Whether you like it or not, know that you are witnessing the most important pop star of the current generation. He has managed to take popular music and, just like Michael Jackson, Radiohead and others before him, turn it completely on its head while still bringing the rest of the world along with him.

Want more "Runaway"? Stay tuned to MTV News or go directly to our exclusive interview with Kanye West about the creation of this landmark film.

Tags Kanye West, Runaway, video

The work week may be coming to an end, but it will hardly be the end of the action here at MTV News. There are two major events happening this weekend, and MTV News will be on the cutting edge of both. On Saturday night (October 23), Kanye West's hotly-anticipated short film "Runaway" will premiere at 8 p.m. Eastern on MTV. Following the film, MTV News will sit down with West for an exclusive interview about what the viewing audience just saw. The conversation will continue at MTV News, and if you want to get involved in the conversation, just tweet your question with the hash tag "askkanye."

Then on Sunday (October 24), tune in for the MTV News "Hottest MCs in the Game" special at 1:30 p.m. on MTV2. The top five will be revealed, and you can continue the conversation during a special airing of MTV's "RapFix Live," which will feature none other than Nicki Minaj (the number six hottest MC in the game, according to our panel of experts).

But before you jump into your weekend and get excited about these two huge events, why not catch up with everything you missed on the MTV Newsroom Blog this week?

» "Runaway" wasn't the only Kanye West art project to grab headlines this week, as the album cover for his upcoming album My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy caused a bit of controversy.

» There was also a veritable bounty of new music videos this week, including "Whip My Hair," the debut clip from Willow Smith.

» Chris Brown also returned to the heavy rotation video fold with a dance-happy clip for "Yeah 3X."

» The music world was not without tragedy though, as we lost Minneapolis rapper Michael "Eyedea" Larsen.

» We heard another new deeply personal Taylor Swift song this week (from Speak Now, which will hit stores this Tuesday). It was called "Mean," and it joins a great legacy.
Read more...

Tags Chris Brown, Conan O'Brien, Katy Perry, Russell Brand

Last Thursday's (October 14) episode of Total Nonstop Action's weekly "Impact!" show featured a visit from a budding new pro wrestling star: "Jersey Shore" star Jenni "JWoww" Farley, who dropped in on the proceedings for a confrontation with a wrestler named Cookie (a character meant to be a take-off on fellow "Jersey Shore" cast member and pal Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi).

JWoww told MTV News' Jim Cantiello that she has been a fan of wrestling for a long time (she dropped the names of both Hulk Hogan and the Undertaker), but the appearance on "Impact!" was her first time as a participant. She had to learn a lot of things on the fly — especially considering the incredibly short time frame in which she had to work. "I get off my flight, and I'm thinking I'm going in there just for a pre-show interview," she explained to Cantiello. "You know how they have people talking on the big screen to the people in the ring? I thought I was doing that. I get to TNA at Universal Studios, and they were like 'Here's the script, here's the ring you're gonna be in.' And I was like, 'What do you mean?' And they said, 'You're fighting.' So then I had a nervous breakdown."

But luckily, everything wasn't lost for JWoww, who got herself together and proved herself a quick study. Though she had only a brief amount of time to prepare, the segment came off with flying colors and was well-received by the fickle TNA crowd. When asked if she would do it again, she said she would absolutely like a rematch with Cookie. "But that's not much of a match," she teased. "Maybe her and two friends."

Tags Jersey Shore, JWoww, TNA, video, Wrestling

During the past few years, as dance music has made an explosive crossover from the clubs of Ibiza to the worldwide mainstream, perhaps nobody has gained more notoriety than Tiësto. The Dutch spinner and producer has dropped some high-profile jams of his own, is an in-demand remixer and has been heard most recently dropping a handful of bombs on the recently released video game "DJ Hero 2." But while music and dancing do drive Tiësto, there is one inspiration that he has that you might not know about: The National Football League.

In the midst of a conversation about "DJ Hero 2," Tiësto revealed to MTV News' Russ Frushtick that he is a big football fan — so much so that he is taking time off to visit a few of America's finest stadiums. "I'm gonna be doing a little holiday in October, and then I'm going to do my little NFL tour," he said. "I love the NFL and I'm going to travel around the country and see some games."

How does a star from the Netherlands (whose residents are more likely to follow the World Cup style football than its American counterpart) end up such a passionate fan of America's true pastime — and especially a fan of the defending Super Bowl Champions New Orleans Saints? "I went to a game last year for the first time, and was just hooked right away," he explained. "I started following all of the games. I wasn't born in America so I don't have a team, but one of my best friends is a Saints fan, so I became a Saints fan too."

But don't think that he's just that kid you grew up with who loved the Cowboys because they always one the big one. Tiësto is no fair-weather fan. "I like the Seattle Seahawks as well," he admitted.

So look out, football fans, because Tiesto is coming to a stadium near you.

Tags Football, New Orleans Saints, NFL, Tiesto, video

"I was there, and she had this mesh thing on top of it and I didn't even notice. I didn't think anything of it, and I'm pretty sensitive to things my daughter sees and it didn't even strike me as anything. My daughter was there on set with us and she thought [Perry] looked like a Barbie doll, she thought she was beautiful and she loved to watch her. Not to say I don't see other people's point of view — I get it — but it didn't hit me at first, at all."

-"Sesame Street" head writer Joseph Mazzarino, commenting on the controversial outfit that got the segment featuring Katy Perry and Elmo taken off of a television broadcast. Mazzarino spoke to New York magazine's Vulture blog about the incident, which caught him by surprise because he didn't think there was anything controversial about it in the first place.

Mazzarino did suggest that had they not shot the segment on the west coast, they might have been able to side step these headlines. "I think we reached out to Katy and said we'd love to do something with her, and when we did, our writer Melinda Ward said, said, 'I'd love to do "Hot N Cold." ' I said, 'Great,' and she wrote a parody of it," Mazzarino explained. "In terms of costumes, if it had been shot in New York, we would have done it different and costumed her. We didn't have a costume department out there [in Los Angeles], and that's one of the reasons that happened."

Tags Katy Perry, Quote, sesame-street

A very happy birthday to Adam Spiegel, better known to the rest of the universe as Spike Jonze. He turns 41 years old today, and has spent the better part of his adult life making films of all stripes, from his groundbreaking music video work to his unusual commercial work to his fascinating approach to feature films.

Jonze first got into the arts via his passion for extreme sports. He got into BMX biking and skateboarding and earned himself an early gig as a photographer for Freestylin' magazine, an '80s BMX-focused periodical. His interest in photography naturally lead him to filming skateboarders doing tricks and staging stunts (that sort of guerrilla style would later inform his work for the "Jackass" television series and movies, where Jonze served as a producer, director and sometimes participant). Since the world of skateboarding brushes up with the world of music, it was only natural for Jonze to dip his toes into the music video waters, a universe where he thrived for years. His resumé reads like a list of some of the greatest videos of all time, including Weezer's "Buddy Holly," Beastie Boys' "Sabotage," Bjork's "It's Oh So Quiet," Fatboy Slim's "Weapon of Choice" and Daft Punk's "Da Funk" among many, many others.

Like many of the video directors of his generation, Jonze graduated to feature films, and he found a like-minded collaborator in screenwriter Charlie Kaufman. Their first feature, 1999's "Being John Malkovich," was a revelatory bonanza of quirky comedy, arresting visual style and strange psychology that made it one of the best films of the end of the millennium. Their follow-up, 2002's "Adaptation.," was just as wildly inventive, fascinating and amazing. For his most recent film, Jonze hooked up with Dave Eggers to create a stirring, disturbing, blissful adaptation of the classic children's book "Where the Wild Things Are."

But his calling card will always be his video work, such as Pavement's quirky, winsome "Shady Lane."

Tags Birthday, Pavement, Spike Jonze, video

Every day a multitude of stars wander through the halls of MTV News to talk about their latest projects and goof around with our intrepid correspondents. But sometimes we catch stars elsewhere, and that's why we put together Spotted!, a daily compendium of stars in the wild.

It has been a rough year for Lindsay Lohan, as her run-ins with the law seem to have finally caught up with her. The troubled starlet has already had one stint in jail and some experience in rehab in 2010. The last time she was in court, the judge guaranteed that if he saw Lohan again, she would be going back to jail, and the concern was the her recent probation violation would send her back to the slammer for a full 180 days. But she caught a break today, as the judge decided that she should be sent back to rehab (where she has spent the last few weeks) rather than go back to jail. She will be due back in court on February 25, 2011, for an update, and she will also be subject to drug testing between the time she is released from rehab and that date.

Lohan wasn't the only star in the public eye, as Kanye West brought "Runaway" to a premiere crowd in New York and Lady Gaga was scene hanging around her hotel in London. Click here for these photos as well as the entire "Spotted" archive, which features over 500 candid shots of stars like Britney Spears, Taylor Swift, Katy Perry, Miley Cyrus, Jay-Z, Justin Bieber, Eminem, Justin Timberlake, Rihanna, Mariah Carey, Jennifer Lopez, Madonna, the Jonas Brothers and Adam Lambert!

Tags Lindsay Lohan, photo, Spotted!

This weekend, Russell Brand and Katy Perry will be tying the knot after a whirlwind romance that saw its first spark at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards. The pair have already arrived in India, where they will be joined by friends and family for what will likely be one of the best parties of the year. The pair make for a fascinating couple, as they both seem relatively unhinged in their public lives but quite grounded and level-headed in private.

It's the first marriage for both Brand and Perry, so they are each wading into uncharted waters. But Brand already knows the secret to a quality marriage: proper etiquette. The actor, comedian and writer recently sat down with MTV News' Josh Horowitz (ostensibly to discuss Brand's recently-released memoir "Booky Wook 2: This Time It's Personal") to chat about appropriate manners in a number of different social scenarios. Being an Englishman, Brand is well aware of the importance of proper comportment, and he was more than happy to share his secrets with Horowitz.

According to Brand, most situations can be remedied with a simple kiss on the lips. Also necessary: Having a proper solution when your date is in "that time of her cycle," being amenable to going the extra mile during a job interview (including allowing your prospective boss to throw popcorn at you) and eating strawberries out of another person's mouth. In fact, Brand even gets into proper marriage etiquette, which will serve him well this weekend and beyond.

So best of luck to those two crazy kids, and here's hoping that Brand takes all of his own advice.

Tags Katy Perry, Madness, Russell Brand, video

Has it all been in vain? We've been following — nay, obsessing over — the language of the "Jersey Shore" kids this entire season, but when it came to their final fight on Thursday night (October 21), we were stumped as to what it was all really about.

Someone called someone else fake. Another person pleaded for everyone to be real. There was talk of a few head nods that seemed to carry great importance. People yelled, veins popped, Snooki sobbed.

Why, though, was everyone so ticked off? We're mystified. Suffice to say the roomies got super pissed but squashed their various beefs with enough time left to nosh some bacon and sausage before heading off to the airport. Let's leave it at that.

As far as the rest of the episode was concerned, nobody smashed. Nobody threw any punches. Nobody mentioned the words "gym" or "laundry." What's going on? Somebody lay down some straight-forward truth for us, OK? Vinny, can you help us out?

"Say no to hos," he declared midway through the finale, casting a vote in favor of loving relationships, rather than meaningless threesomes with sketchy ladies in dark clubs.

The Situation was not as discerning, happily stepping in and sucking face with those eager women. Nor was he terribly judicious when it came to all the frog legs he munched in the Everglades, leaving him emptying his lunch of the side of the road. Hey, from each according to his ability, to each according to his need.

Perhaps the lesson all along has not been to understand exactly what's going on and why in "Jersey Shore," but to let the crazy wash over you. So let us sit back and take in the season two finale with the very last installment of "Jersey Shore by the Numbers."

Tags Jersey Shore, photo, Snooki, The Situation

Halloween is only a week away, which means it's high time you spent your weekend in a dark room with an unnerving film flickering before your eyes. Luckily, Hollywood has a solution for you in "Paranormal Activity 2," the follow-up to the surprise haunted house hit from last year. The details of the sequel have been kept under wraps (which works better for this movie, as the surprises are part of the fun and the fear), but if the trailers (and the first film) are any indication, it's going to be yet another dive deep into the minds of some paranoid people inside a probably-haunted house. "Paranormal Activity" director Oren Peli stuck around as a producer for the sequel, so the flick retains its spooky undertones, unnerving "found footage" look and general sense of dread that made the first film so thrilling.

In fact, it works so well that a soundtrack is almost completely unnecessary. Still, if you need to get into the spirit of "Paranormal Activity 2," the playlist below should shift you into the correct frame of mind. It's full of homages to spirits (Broken Bells' "The Ghost Inside," Fefe Dobson's "Ghost"), spine-tingling terror (Lily Allen's "The Fear," Sworn Enemy's "Scared of the Unknown") and, of course, sequels (Boys Like Girls' "Two is Better Than One"). There's also Stone Sour's "Say You'll Haunt Me," both for a bit of noise and a whole lot of spookiness. But we begin with Band of Horses' "Is There a Ghost," which might as well be the theme song for the "Paranormal Activity" series entire.

Tags band-of-horses, Cradle of Filth, Fefe Dobson, Lily-Allen, Paranormal Activity 2, video