J.K. Rowling to Build Private Hogwarts Replica Playground For Her Kids

Posted 7/25/12 3:45 pm EST by in books

JK Rowling

By Elizabeth Lancaster @lizzydl

Potterheads everywhere are about to get very jealous of some little kids.

"Harry Potter" author J.K. Rowling is building a private Hogwarts playground for her kids. As the creator of this intricate world, Rowling's 40-foot adventure playground is sure to not only include all sorts of sophisticated details, but hold design much nearer and dearer to her vision of Hogwarts.

The playground replication of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry will be built in the backyard of her Edinburgh, Scotland, castle mansion for a whopping $232,919. But being worth a reported $869.5 million herself, this venture won’t exactly break the bank.

>> Cover For J.K. Rowling's Post-'Potter' Novel Revealed

Fortunately for Rowling and her children, the project does not seem to be an inconvenience for neighbors even though it is so large that Rowling needed a planning permit for construction. The author is, unsurprisingly, very well-liked in the neighborhood, with one neighbor telling MailOnline (via Contact Music), "Nobody around here is going to make a fuss about the tree houses for her children. It's her cash, she can do what she wants with it."

>> J.K. Rowling's 'Blackly Comic' Post-Potter Book Gets Release Date

Each of Rowling's two children will get their own two-story tree house, which are being custom built by luxury tree house makers Blue Forest UK.

We didn’t know it could get better than the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, but boy were we wrong!

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Katy Perry Set To Newest Face (And Investor) In Popchips

Posted 7/25/12 3:00 pm EST by in Katy Perry

Katy Perry

By Zachary Swickey

Who better to be the face of Popchips than one of the biggest pop stars in the game, Katy Perry? The snack company has announced that Perry will be the newest face of Popchips and will appear in the brand’s advertising campaign this fall.

"I was hooked after my first bite!" Perry said in a press release. "When I discover something good, I want to share it with everyone I know, so I tweeted about it."

It wasn’t long before Popchips came calling. The sultry singer will also be investing in the company and will become a creative partner, joining the likes of other Popchips celeb investors Ashton Kutcher, David Ortiz and Diddy.

The new snack adds to Perry’s expanding empire, which also includes two fragrances, a partnership with video game company Ubisoft and even a producing credit on her recent 3-D documentary/concert film, “Katy Perry: Part of Me.”

Hopefully, Perry won’t have a snafu in her ad campaign like Kutcher, whose ad was criticized as racially insensitive because it featured the actor in brown face to play an Indian character, Raj, a Bollywood producer who was “looking for love.” It wasn’t long before the critical firestorm forced the company to promptly remove the ad from YouTube and Facebook.

A Popchips spokeswoman tried to explain the commercial, saying it was “created to provoke a few laughs and was never intended to stereotype or offend anyone." She continued that the company hopes "people can enjoy this in the spirit it was intended."

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Norman Doray Breaks Down New Single With Eddie Thoneick: 'Celsius'

Posted 7/25/12 2:15 pm EST by in dance

Norman Doray

By Akshay Bhansali

After "Kalifornia" and "Leo" this spring, MTV News was pretty stoked for a visit with French dance music DJ/producer Norman Doray. We had a great chat about Swedish House Mafia's "Farewell," the future of dance music performances and Norman's then-upcoming slate of releases, including a new track cooked up with Eddie Thoneick. The song is called "Celsius," and Norman broke down elements of the song for us.

During his trip to New York, Norman also took part in a video shoot for another banger-on-the-way – Nervo's Doray-produced next single "Something to Believe In." Mark our words, this is a track that will knock your socks off. "Celsius" is available now via Size Records.

Check out our chat with Doray below:

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Kristen Stewart, Justin Bieber, Katy Perry And More Read Hateful Tweets About Themselves On 'Jimmy Kimmel Live'

Posted 7/25/12 1:20 pm EST by in Television, Tweet Beat

Kristen Stewart

Twitter is famously a forum where you can say just about anything about just about anyone without any consequences. You can blast your mouth off, say terrible, terrible things for no good reason about people you've never met and sometimes even get away with threatening people.

Of course, the people getting trashed talked the most on the social network are celebrities. People just love to say horrible things about singers and actors, and last night on "Jimmy Kimmel Live," the host had multiple stars read and react to hateful tweets about themselves.

Justin Bieber, Zooey Deschanel, Kristen Stewart, Katy Perry and Snooki are among those who get a lion's share of vitriol tossed their way through social media, mostly because they just aren't some people's cup of tea. But if Twitter has taught us one thing, it's that every individual is entitled to share their self-important, hyperbolic opinion with as many people as possible because the things they have to say are extremely valid and worthwhile …. like, "I would rather chop my arm off and f**k myself with my detached limb than watch 'Katie [sic] Perry the movie.' What the f**k is wrong with the world." We're really glad someone shared that.

Perry seems to be too. "I'd pay to see that," she says in response to the tweet. Bieber, Stewart, Deschanel, Snooki and more all get in on the act as well, in a funny clip that will hopefully make people realize their thoughtless words can make them the subject of ridicule too.

These stars have a much better sense of humor about their haters than we think we could muster!

Check it out:

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Michael Phelps Catching Up On 'Breaking Bad' At Olympic Village

Posted 7/25/12 12:32 pm EST by in Michael Phelps, olympics

Michael Phelps

By: Uptin Saiidi (@uptin)

Michael Phelps needs to win just three medals at the 2012 Summer Olympics to go down in history as the most decorated Olympian of all time. With three days to go, Phelps is all moved into Olympic Village with his fellow athletes and appeared in an interview this morning on the "Today", where he said he's been spending his time watching his favorite shows. "I started 'The Wire' and am catching up on 'Breaking Bad'," he told special correspondent Ryan Seacrest. "A lot of pretty much sitting around and watching movies."

A difficult task in the summer heat, considering he arrived to find out the village doesn’t have any A.C. "We walked in and tried to crank the thermostat down, but nothing was happening all day and they told us in a meeting that we have no air conditioning. Everybody on the team have little college dorm fans that rotate, so we have some air circulating but everybody has to deal with it."

Phelps said he’s a lot better physically than he was in 2008, and mentally he just wants to take things as they come. "Being able to visualize my races and prepare myself for what could happen, what I want to happen, what I don’t want to happen, just so I’m prepared for everything."

This will be the fourth Olympic games for Phelps and he says they will also be his last.

"It’s kind of emotional," he told Seacrest. "I think back over the last 20 years what has happened over my career it’s been a lot of great memories – that’s one thing that I’m looking forward to this week is having a lot of great memories and a lot of great moments."

When you’ve spent most of your life as a swimmer and your entire career has been watched closely in the public eye, it’s hard to imagine life without swimming. But for now, Phelps is just thinking about what lies ahead in the short-term. "I think a lot of things I’ve done through my career haven’t really sunk in yet. I guess the more I move through my life some of those moments will sink in even more. I have a job to finish here that’s why I'm here, that’s why I’m setting out on Saturday to start my journey, and hopefully it's a good one."

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

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British Pop Heartthrob Olly Murs Kicks Off 'Ollympics'

Posted 7/25/12 11:55 am EST by in Music, The Interweb

Olly Murs

Looking to have a little fun as the 2012 Summer Olympics take over his native England, pop singer Olly Murs is challenging his own athleticism – and the prowess of those in his band – by holding his own "Ollympics."

"I'm really excited about it, and of course, I wanted to keep my American fans interested in what I'm doing. I thought this would be really funny and do some viral stuff online, just me knocking around and the band sort of doing different events. It's me against my band," Murs tells MTV News. "The U.S. fans have been tweeting in what they'd like me to do, so we've collected all them together and we've done the Ollympics, which should be fun."

>> Exclusive: Olly Murs Kicks Off His Own 'Ollympics'

For his first challenge, the U.K. pop sensation, who toured the U.S. earlier this summer with One Direction and will release his stateside debut, In Case You Didn't Know (a hybrid of his hit U.K. debut and sophomore albums), on September 25, took on an actual Olympic event: Table Tennis. It did not go well for the 28-year-old heartthrob.

Check out the exclusive clip below:

"I thought that the band wouldn't be as good as they were. We decided the first game is of course table tennis, which of course is an Olympic sport," he says. "I did not win, which is pretty shameful, but you need to watch the rest and you know it's good. It's quite fun."

>> Is Olly Murs The Next Brit to Break? Four Other Pop Stars Who Paved the Way (Poll)

Future Ollympic events will be featured on Murs' website. Fans wanting to join in the fun can tweet at the star @ollyofficial with the hashtag #ollympics.

For the full story, check out MTV News.

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Lana Del Rey To Re-Release Born To Die With 7 New Songs

Posted 7/25/12 11:10 am EST by in Music

Lana Del Rey

By James Dinh

Contrary to earlier reports, Lana Del Rey isn’t planning on releasing a new album anytime soon, but the pop siren is still treating her growing fan base to some new music. While chatting with Australian radio station NovaFM, Rey revealed that she’s dropping a repackage of her major-label debut, Born To Die, in November with seven brand-new songs.

"It's not a new album; it's more like an afterthought," she explained to host Tim Blackwell. "It’s the ‘Paradise Edition’ of Born To Die. It’s, like, seven new songs that kind of put a period on the statement I was finishing when I was making the record."

Describing the re-release as nothing short of “beautiful,” the H&M spokeswoman said her writing grind continues even on the road. "I’ve been writing slowly for the last seven months since I finished the record," she continued. Here’s to hoping “I Sing The Body Electric” makes the final tracklist!

News of the "Paradise Edition" of the LP is yet another goodie that the songstress has spoiled her fans with in recent weeks. Even though we're still pressing re-play on the singer’s A$AP Rocky-featured clip for “National Anthem,” Lana pushed forward with her classic Hollywood-styled video trend by unveiling the visual for “Summertime Sadness” late last week. Featuring a cameo by actress/model Jamie King, it's hard not to love a video about a twisted lesbian love affair that ends in suicide? Sure, it’s a bit morbid, but as Lana says, "We we’re born to die."

Get More: Music News

Are you excited for the "Paradise Edition" of "Born To Die"? Let us know in the comments below.

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'Modern Family' Cast File Lawsuit In Ongoing Contract Dispute

Posted 7/24/12 5:25 pm EST by in Television

Modern Family

Contract negotiations for the upcoming season of "Modern Family" just hit an epic snag: the show's six principle adult cast members Ty Burrell, Julie Bowen, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Eric Stonestreet, Ed O'Neill and Sofia Vergara are suing the show's producer, 20th Century Fox, to void their current contracts, according to The Hollywood Reporter

The show was supposed to have its first table read for the new season today (July 24), but it was canceled at the last minute as the show's stars attempt to renegotiate their contracts with Fox. Negotiations are not going well, with the cast of the top-rated sitcom rejecting an offer that would have reportedly paid $150,000 per episode plus a $50,000 per episode bonus for this coming season, $200,000 per episode for next year's fifth season, $225,000 for the year after that, and up to $325,000 for a hoped-for ninth season.

While the cast is indeed looking for more money – they were angling for a flat $200,000 each for season four, and as much as double what Fox is offering for the theoretical season nine – a major point of contention in their contract dispute appears to be longer-term contracts they signed at the start of the show. THR reports the cast members want their original contracts voided, claiming they violate a Californian labor code that declares "contracts to render personal service may not be enforced beyond seven years from the commencement of service under it."

Burrell, Bowen, Stonestreet, Vergara and Ferguson were reportedly paid $65,000 per episode for season 3, while O'Neill, who started the show at a higher salary than his then-lesser-known (at the time) cast mates, earned $105,000 per episode.

O'Neill was not initially involved in the lawsuit because he was engaged in a different, but apparently equally contentious, negotiation. He has since reportedly joined his cast mates in their suit out of solidarity.

Deadline reports the suit took 20th Century Fox by surprise. Studio execs expected the actors to show up for work as their contract negotiations continue.

The cast's decision to boycott today's table read and sue is not unlike a move made by the cast of "Friends," who also negotiated their contracts together, ahead of the show's third season in 1996. The stars formed a unified front and threatened to boycott production unless they received salary increases to $100,000 each per episode. The tactic worked, and the cast not only got their raise, but their salaries rose as the show's popularity stayed strong, culminating in the cast earning $1 million each per episode by the end of the series.

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Bruce Springsteen Reveals He Dealt With Suicidal Thoughts And Depression

Posted 7/24/12 3:30 pm EST by in Bruce Springsteen

Bruce Springsteen

by Zachary Swickey

Bruce Springsteen, one of the most revered artists making music, has revealed that he had suicidal thoughts in 1982, the year that his bleak-but-iconic album Nebraska was released, according to a new profile in this month’s New Yorker.

Springsteen suffered bouts of severe depression in the early '80s, according to his friend and biographer Dave Marsh.

"He was feeling suicidal. The depression wasn’t shocking, per se. He was on a rocket ride, from nothing to something, and now you are getting your ass kissed day and night," Marsh writes. "You might start to have some inner conflicts about your real self-worth.”

"My issues weren’t as obvious as drugs," Springsteen told the New Yorker. "Mine were different, they were quieter – just as problematic, but quieter. With all artists, because of the undertow of history and self-loathing, there is a tremendous push toward self-obliteration that occurs onstage."

"It’s both things: there’s a tremendous finding of the self while also an abandonment of the self at the same time. You are free of yourself for those hours; all the voices in your head are gone," he added.

The profile also reveals that The Boss began seeing a psychotherapist in 1982, just as his sixth studio album Nebraska was released.

Springsteen's seventeenth studio album, Wrecking Ball was released in March of this year and took the #1 spot on the Billboard charts.

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