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Warner Brothers Acquires Movie Rights To Donna Tartt's 'The Goldfinch'

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Donna Tartt’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Goldfinch is set to become a feature film, as Warner Brothers has acquired the movie rights to the book. The movie will be co-produced by Rush Hour director Brett Ratner, as well as Brad Simpson and Hunger Games producer Nina Jacobson.

The Goldfinch, Tartt’s third novel, has sold at least 1.5 million copies, despite clocking in at an intimidating 784 pages -- a length that may pose a challenge for the film adaptation. The novel, a coming-of-age story about a boy whose grief over his mother’s senseless death is assuaged by his dangerous and illegal love for a priceless painting, drew comparisons to Charles Dickens upon its publication and has continued to command critical attention and popular sales.

The Pulitzer Prize and a spot on the bestseller lists aside, it hasn’t been all smooth sailing for The Goldfinch. The book failed to make the longlist for the Man Booker Prize and was recently the subject of a Vanity Fair article that questioned whether Tartt’s writing qualified as art. The Goldfinch’s major new movie deal must be a welcome dose of good news for Tartt, who famously spent 11 years writing the sprawling novel.

Let’s hope it’s also good news for fans of The Goldfinch. Though Warner Brothers also bought the movie rights to Tartt’s 1992 book, The Secret History, at the time of its publication, no film has resulted from the deal as of yet.

The 11 Best Buys From IKEA's 2015 Catalog

Iggy Azalea Lands Cameo In 'Fast & Furious 7'

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Iggy Azalea is taking her chart-topping reign to the big screen. Vin Diesel told SkyrockFM that the "Fancy" singer had a small part in "Fast & Furious 7." When asked if he'd rather dance to "Fancy," "Wiggle" or "Problem," he said, “Iggy Azalea — I just worked with her two weeks ago. I guess you’ll be the first person that knows this -- we casted [sic] her in 'Fast & Furious 7.' She has a cameo in 'Fast & Furious 7.'”



Diesel will, of course, reprise his role as Dominic Toretto in "Fast & Furious 7," which is slated to open April 3, 2015. The film also features Dwayne Johnson, Michelle Rodriguez, Jordana Brewster, Tyrese Gibson, Chris "Ludacris" Bridges, Elsa Pataky, Lucas Black and the late Paul Walker.

Rita Ora, who Azalea collaborated with on "Black Widow," had a small part in the last installment of the series. We can probably assume Azalea's role will be about as big as this bizarre one:




Thanks To 'Guardians Of The Galaxy,' Chris Pratt Is Our Next Giant Movie Star

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"Attitude is contagious," Chris Pratt told HuffPost Entertainment during a recent interview. "All the time."

At the moment, Pratt's attitude is one of absolute joy. Just in the last few days, the 35-year-old has watched the Brickyard 400 from Tony Stewart's pit box ("UN F***ING REAL!!!" Pratt wrote on Twitter), rang the bell at the New York Stock Exchange, surprised a group of New York City students at a movie theater and appeared with David Letterman on "The Late Show." His energy in boundless, and it's all because of "Guardians of the Galaxy."

"I don't have a lot of experience running around and promoting a movie in which I'm the lead, so I feel like I'm getting spoiled right off the bat," Pratt said of the latest entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. "I don't know what I'll do if I'm ever in a movie that I hate. But so far, people just genuinely like the movie."

There's a reason for all that "Guardians of the Galaxy" goodwill: It's great, at once a throwback to "Raiders of the Lost Ark," "Star Wars" and other adventure movies that men and women in Pratt's age group loved as kids, and also a leap forward for the increasingly homogenized superhero genre. Directed by James Gunn, "Guardians of the Galaxy" is cool and shaggy and funny and heartfelt and weird; a key moment in the third act hinges on an impromptu dance. Pratt is a big reason why it all works: He stars as Peter Quill, the leader of the ragtag Guardians of the Galaxy, and steps up with a performance that recalls the best elements of Harrison Ford, Tom Hanks, Tom Cruise and Andy Dwyer, Pratt's "Parks and Recreation" alter ego. ("I've seen the future of male movie stars," Pratt's "Parks and Recreation" co-star Rob Lowe wrote recently on Twitter, "and its name is Andy Dwyer.")

Ahead of the release of "Guardians of the Galaxy," Pratt spoke to HuffPost Entertainment about his fears that the project would fail, his hopes for a sequel and the time he entered a dance contest on a cruise ship.

chris pratt

"Guardians of the Galaxy" was a risky idea for Marvel, but the end result is perhaps the studio's best movie yet. When did you realize it had worked?
About three weeks ago, when I saw the film. Leading up to that, I had been having nightmares that it was terrible. In London, during production, I had a hunch we were doing something special, but you don't know if you're deluding yourself by having those feelings. You have to lower your expectations so that you're not heartbroken if the movie comes out different. The truth is you just can't tell if it's going to be good. There are just so many steps that follow wrapping principle photography. All the music, all the animation -- especially in a movie like this, when there are two characters who aren't even there -- all of the worlds, the way they look and the way the movie flows together. Especially when it shifts through tones like this, where it's funny in one minute and very dramatic the next minute. That's a difficult balance to find in the post-production process. In the course of the filming, I was worried. I didn't know if it was going to be as good as it is. I was just so relieved when I saw it. I loved it. I could tell it was very, very special.

During production, were you at least able to tell that what you were doing was great?
No [laughs]. I wish I did. I had a feeling that some of it was really working, but you just don't know. That's the truth. Seeing the movie now, I am very proud of the performance and the way that it all came together. That's the result of a lot of embarrassing failure on set. You have to wade through moments that don't work, and trust that your director and your editor really want to make your performance work. I was really doing a lot of different things. I was just trying a lot of different things and really learning on this job. In the grand scheme of things, I'm still very new to this. Luckily, they captured enough good stuff and were able to find it in the edit to make it a complete performance. Maybe one day I'll be able to know I did a great job while I'm on set, but I'm not there yet. I was still just really embarrassed and full of anxiety that I was blowing it the whole time.

But that freedom to fail has to be liberating for you as an actor, right?
Yeah, I don't think that's how they prefer to work. If you miss, you have to shoot again. You hope that the adjustments you make will allow you to hit a bullseye next time. There were a lot of times where it was six, seven, 10 takes in, and James was like, "This is not working." So we were really finding it together. Maybe I'm giving away secrets here, but this stuff is not easy. You want it to be easy, but it's not.

This is an old cliche, but it's true: The more effortless something looks, the more effort it probably took to achieve.
There was a lot of working. There was one particular day where we did the "12 percent" scene. It's about a seven- or eight-page scene. We had 10 and a half hours of footage for that scene. It's a seven-minute scene. I was chopping away for 10 and a half hours before that tree fell. You know what I mean? If you cut it together, you can make it look like I cut the tree down in one swing. But that took a lot of time.

You have a couple of dance numbers in this movie. How much time and preparation went into those scenes?
There was definitely some homework that went into it. The character and myself are very similar in terms of who we were as kids. We're the same age and from the same era. Literally born the same year. Everything I know about this character, I took from everything I was when I was 9. In terms of dancing, I loved Michael Jackson, some "Saturday Night Fever," a little early hip-hop. I was the guy who would enter a dance contest in eighth grade and just do the Running Man for 20 minutes. And I'd get a solid third place. In fact, my brother and I both entered a dance contest as kids on a cruise ship, and we got third place out of four groups.

That's good!
Yeah, pretty cool. We didn't come in last. I just feel bad for the people who got fourth place and lost to two 12-year-olds who did the Running Man for the entire duration of "Everybody Dance Now."

Well now they can say they lost to the star of "Guardians of the Galaxy."
[Laughs] Yeah, that's right. I have a feeling their relationship is already over. It's too late.

You and James announced "Guardians of the Galaxy 2" at Comic-Con. Have you given any thought to where you want that film to go?
Honestly, I don't think a second goes by where part of me is not thinking about it. We've had a lot of conversations. The galaxy that has been opened up here is very, very rich. These characters are rich. We have more origins we can get into with all of the characters in "Guardians of the Galaxy." There are several incarnations of the Guardians of the Galaxy in the comics, so I'm hoping we can see one or two new characters or different characters who we haven't met yet. There's obviously the potential crossover to the "Avengers" characters, but if it were up to me, I'd like to leave it in space and explore the universe that really only the truest Marvel fans have ever even heard about. Just open up this epic space opera again. I'd like to avoid bringing it to Earth. I think that's what makes "Guardians of the Galaxy" so special.

This interview has been edited and condensed.

Hey, They Made Another 'Night At The Museum' Movie

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Combined, the first two "Night at the Museum" movies earned just under $990 million in global grosses. With that in mind, here's the trailer for part three: "Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb." Ben Stiller returns to lead the fantasy adventure, with Robin Williams, Owen Wilson, Steve Coogan, Dan Stevens, Ricky Gervais and Rebel Wilson along for the ride as co-stars. Wilson and Coogan get peed on by a monkey at one point. Directed by Shawn Levy, this is expected to be the franchise's final installment. "Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb" is out on Dec. 19.

Linda Simpson Presents 'The Drag Explosion, Part Two'

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Celebrity drag queen Linda Simpson is back with the second installment in her iconic "The Drag Explosion" photo series, which offers a look at drag culture in New York City during the '80s and '90s.

Presented as a narrated slideshow, "The Drag Explosion, Part Two" builds on Simpson's previous set of photos from this defining moment in drag history, the first of which showcased at the likes of MoMA PS 1, Participant Gallery and the New School. The world premiere of the second half of "The Drag Explosion" project, slated for Friday, August 1, will serve as a reflection on life lessons Simpson learned as a queen, as well as comparing hot-button issues affecting the drag community then and now.

drag explosion

"In the mid ‘80s, drag was thriving in the East Village, including the annual outdoor festival Wigstock," Simpson previously told The Huffington Post. "Then drag expanded to the entire nightlife scene; all of the clubs were clamoring for drag queen hostesses, go-go dancers, door people, etc. When RuPaul hit it big in 1992 with her song “Supermodel,” it triggered an incredible amount of pop culture attention for the entire downtown drag scene. Every magazine and television talk show was heralding this new “trend,” and there were a zillion drag-themed music videos, movies, television shows and fashion shoots. It was the first time that drag really broke through to the mainstream."

drag explosion

"The Drag Explosion, Part Two" will take place this Friday, August 1, at 7:30pm at Dixon Place in conjunction with the NYC HOT! Festival. Head here to purchase tickets or here to read more from Simpson about her time in the scene and "After Dark."

An Exclusive First Look At The Other-Worldly Art Of Burning Man 2014

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One of the very best things about Burning Man, the week-long, post-apocalyptic celebration of creative expression that pops up in the Nevada desert each August, is the awe-inspiring collection of art on display.

The installations and the “art cars” roaming through the two-mile stretch of temporary city render humanity’s capacity for imagination limitless. Where else in the universe would a giant, fire-breathing steampunk octopus glide past a 55-foot tall, LED-powered homage to the female form?

The Huffington Post was lucky enough to preview a handful of the projects that will be on hand at this year’s event, which kicks off in mere weeks and is built around the theme “caravansary.” As artists scramble to put the finishing touches on their brainchildren and raise the final funds to bring their weirdest dreams to life, we’ve rounded up what will undoubtedly be some of the most influential works of Burning Man 2014.

From a giant, glowing vagina to a collection of mechanical lotus flowers that light up to the rhythm of your heartbeat, take a look at some of the bizarre creations that will grace the world's dustiest canvas this year (Grover Norquist not included):

Embrace

embrace

Though enormous in scale, the piece is simple -- a 72-foot sculpture of two figures embracing. But creator Matt Schultz hopes his work will convey a deeper message to onlookers, one that was inspired by the loss he felt when his stepfather passed away two years ago. “Embrace is a reminder to take the time out of your busy life to spend time with those that you love,” he told HuffPost. “We hope that people will think of all of the relationships in their lives, past present and future, and consider what has made them so important.”


The Super Pool

super pool

The Super Pool is a bigger and more badass version of the legendary Burning Man installation The Pool. For this new and improved iteration, sculptor Jen Lewin has created a 5,000 square foot immersive LED playground where participants can interact with circular pads of light through their own unique movements. “Imagine a giant canvas where you can paint and splash light collaboratively,” Lewin told HuffPost in a statement.


Minaret

minaret

Bryan Tedrick’s climbable psychedelic totem pole first debuted at Burning Man in 2010, and he’s reprising it this year. “This lighthouse of the desert draws people to it and naturally becomes a point to gather and meet,” he explained, adding that the trip to the top is not for the weak of mind or body. “The climb can be arduous, a gritty challenge progressing from the coarse to fine, from the earth to the sky, from the physical to the spirit.”


Wheel of Fortune

wheel of fortune

The all-female designed and produced installation features a massive spinning wheel emblazoned with tarot card designs, a gazebo area where spectators can relax and, of course, a chandelier made of fire. And it’s all powered by solar energy, to boot. “It’s made of salvaged and reclaimed materials and will also act as a large compass, a place for personal reflection, card readings, high teas, and insight,” project designer Jill Sutherland told HuffPost in a statement.


The Vulvatron

the vulvatron

Who’s more fit to build a behemoth tribute to the female anatomy than a group called the Clitterati? The 18-foot tall, LED-lit vagina will also feature video projections of feminine forms and sensory fabrics called the “erogenous zone.” “We’re delighted when the name makes someone uncomfortable,” the Vulvatron’s lead designer, Rebecca Frisch, told HuffPost in a statement. “We’re using this opportunity to engage in conversation, and we’re eager to help each other explore our triggers and push social boundaries imposed by our culture.”


Pulse and Bloom

pulse and bloom

An entirely interactive experience, Pulse and Bloom is made up of 25 mechanical lotus flowers. When participants touch the flowers, they light up to the specific rhythms of their heartbeats. “We want to use technology to make our inner invisible worlds more visible,” artist Saba Ghole told HuffPost.


Lost Tea Party

lost tea party

More art caravan than art car, the Lost Tea Party will traverse the playa as a train of enormous teapots breathing real steam. Revelers are encouraged to climb aboard and will be guided by “bedouin tea-pod pullers dressed in traditional desert garb.” According to the artist Wreckage, who’s spearheading the project with the Mutoid Waste art collective, the piece looks like the unlikely union of Alice in Wonderland meets Lawrence of Arabia.


The Wheels of Zoroaster

wheels of zoroaster

This year’s Wheels is the sixth iteration of a series of human-powered spinning fire wheels that artist Anton Viditz-Ward told HuffPost are inspired by watching Burning Man’s legendary fire dancers.


Celestial Mechanica
celestial mechanica

Viewers are encouraged to interact with artist Jessika Welz’s churning, 50-foot replica of our planets revolving around the sun. “We’ll provide the opportunity to experience our solar system’s beauty and power with all five of your senses,” Ashley Ortega, who volunteers on the team creating the piece, told HuffPost. “At night, each planet will glow from within.”


ParaSolvent

parasolvent

First time Burning Man artist Dan Benedict, who hopes to keep the aesthetics of his piece a surprise until it debuts, describes the project as “a large ring of red parasols that pass through a human figure while closed. As the parasols exit the figure and rise they open, blossom toward the apex and close again on their way down.” He added that, as a former member of the Mormon church, he often turns to his art as a means of connecting with others.


Return of the Racken

racken

“We are the only art installation you’re supposed to lock your bike to,” artist Tyler Fuqua told HuffPost of his octopus-shaped creation, which first made an appearance at last year’s Burn and has since been updated with new tentacle sections. “I mean, who will forget they locked their bike to a giant octopus?”


Squared

squared

Charles Gadeken’s 50-foot-tall tree, made entirely of LED-lit cubes attached to square steel tubing, “reflects the universe of complexity, mystery, and serendipity that defines our journey through time and our emergence into the future age,” he told HuffPost in a statement. “The tree provides shade during the day and a magical light show when from dusk till dawn.”


Tree of (Im)permanence

tree of impermanence

The Tree of (Im)permanence rises from a tiny toy piano that, when it’s played, activates tubular bell chimes that form its branches. At night, the branches light up as their note is played, and creator Nick Geurts hopes individuals will lead yoga and meditation sessions beneath it. “This is meant to be not only an auditory experience but a journey of self-discovery,” he told HuffPost.


The Last Outpost

the last outpost

A house that will haunt the darkest corners of your psyche, the Last Outpost is an “immersive experience” that tells the story of a group of Burning Man volunteers who mysteriously disappear. “I love slow, psychological, horror and science fiction and fantasy, and this installation is pretty much like building a set for an insidiously scary play that no one has written yet,” artist Shing Yin Khor told Huffpost. “I hope that people will wander through this house, and spend some time unraveling the mystery within it.”


Hayam Sun Temple

hayam sun temple

Designer Josh Haywood drew his inspiration from the Moorish buildings he studied as a graduate student of architecture. He hopes his “tiny palace named for love” will serve as a physical and spiritual retreat for passersby. “The structure provides a refuge from the heat of the sun and an intimate spiritual place for people to gather and rest,” he told HuffPost. “During the night the four pillars illuminate like a giant lantern.”

Lollapalooza Marks 10 Years In Chicago With Latest Romp In The Park

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CHICAGO (AP) -- Once the vagabond of the music festival and touring circuit, Lollapalooza marks its 10th anniversary in Chicago when it opens for three days starting Friday with a lineup including Eminem, Outkast and Kings of Leon.

"We are very into the idea of being an international music event," Lollapalooza founder Perry Farrell said in a recent interview. "But I would have to acknowledge that if it were not for Chicago, that beautiful showroom, I don't think we would be in the position we're in now."

Farrell, the leader singer of Jane's Addiction, started Lollapalooza in 1991. It was a tour until 1997 before a hiatus until 2003. There were struggles in 2004 when the event was canceled just weeks before it was to get underway because of poor ticket sales. But in 2005, Lollapalooza came to Chicago's lakefront Grant Park where it hosted several dozen musical artists on five stages over two days. The headline in the Chicago Tribune the day after the festival ended read: "Successapalooza."

Its second year in Chicago, Lollapalooza grew to about 130 acts on nine stages with capacity for 75,000 people. This year promoters expect 100,000 on each day with as many acts on eight stages. The festival has grown over its years in Chicago, adding food tents with offerings from gourmet chefs and a children's section. And it has brought acts like Lady Gaga, Nine Inch Nails, the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Coldplay to town.

Eventually, Lollapalooza became the basis for the modern festival culture and circuit that has evolved since, including events like Bonnaroo, Coachella and a legion of smaller multiday parties. This year, Lorde, Skrillex, Calvin Harris and Nas are part of the jam-packed lineup.

Chicago city leaders decided in 2005 to let Lollapalooza take over its beloved Grant Park. They now say it was a wise decision, benefiting the city both culturally and financially.

"It's become a global image-builder for Chicago," said Don Welsh, president and chief executive officer of Choose Chicago, the city's tourism and convention organization. "Lollapalooza has become synonymous with Chicago."

Last year, he said, the organization estimates Lollapalooza's economic impact on Chicago was $140 million. This year for the first time the city and Lollapalooza promoters worked with tourism partners in international markets to make tickets available for music fans around the world.

And Chicago Park District officials say festival proceeds have gone to pay for park improvements and educational and cultural programs.

With an event this large, things haven't always been perfect. A thunderstorm moved across Chicago in 2012 and shut down Lollapalooza, forcing promoters to shuffle the lineup. And at least twice parkland was muddied and damaged after the festival, but the promoters paid for repairs.

From his point of view, Farrell says Chicago offers him "no plug-ups or bottlenecks."

"Just being in the presence of Chicago we look damn good," Farrell said. "I have nothing but praise and adulation and I want to do Chicago right."

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Follow Caryn Rousseau on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/carynrousseau

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Online:

http://www.lollapalooza.com

18 Color Photos Of Female WWII Workers That Will Make You Proud(er) To Be A Woman

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It's not that we need a reason to be proud of our womanhood, but when such a beautiful reminder comes along we can't help but share it. We stumbled upon this treasure trove of photos courtesy of imgur user alwaysupvoteducks, a series of color photos chronicling the female workers of the World War II era. And, of course, we wanted to spread the magic.

The following photos feature a selection of ladies so badass they put Rosie the Riveter to shame. The images, likely snapped between 1939 and 1944 as part of the United States Farm Security Administration/Office of War Information, offer a richly saturated view of daily life held for American women during the war. Get lost in the metallic hues and vintage washes below and let us know your thoughts in the comments.


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Styrofoam Stop-Motion Is The Next Beautiful Thing

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Somewhere between El Anatsui's tin tapestries and HA Schult's trash people lies the work of Mikey Please. The animator and director makes movies using mostly styrofoam. The familiar packing material -- so bad for our environment -- turns out to be a fabulous visual material, at once crisp and soft, like the love child of ice and frosting.



Please's latest film, Marilyn Myller, hit the internet this week after earning raves on the festival circuit. The 6 minute short takes a satirical view to artistry. The title character, Marilyn Myller, has great powers of creation; like Please, she crafts whole worlds out of glittery white foam. But to get anyone to notice her, Myller must turn a spontaneous moment in the studio into a neutered, replicable presentation. It's an arc any art student should recognize... that is if they can pay attention in the midst of all that magical styrofoam.

The Louvre Gardens Are Teeming with Rats

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This piece originally appeared on artnet News.


Sarah Cascone

louvre
Photo: Cristian Bortes, via Wikimedia Commons.


The Louvre, one of the world’s leading cultural institutions, is known as the home of some of the greatest artistic achievements of human history. Now, to add to the museum’s attractions? Rats, who have been seen in unusually high numbers, disturbing picnicking museum-goers in the Louvre’s gardens, reports the Telegraph.

The proliferating rodents have garnered mixed reviews from visitors. While some recognize rats as a part of urban life, even citing Pixar’s Ratatouille, which uncovered the lives of Paris’s secret rodent colony while sharing the story of a rat who aspired to become an expert French chef, others are decidedly grossed out.

“It’s disgusting and not what you expect,” Ron Smith of Birmingham told the Telegraph. “I won’t be eating my sandwich here.”

The uptick in the rat population has been a subject of interest for photographer Xavier Francolon, who noticed a surprisingly blasé response to the critters during the two days he spent photographing their movements. “People were sleeping on the lawn while rats chased each other right beside them,” Francolon noted in an interview with the magazine Le Point. “Kids go up to them and chase them as if they were pigeons and picnickers munch on their meals as if they weren’t there.”

“Counted no fewer than a dozen rats scamper across east lawn of Louvre into a hedge this eve,” read a Twitter post from Amy Verner, who seemed unperturbed by the incident. “Maybe Ratatouille was making dinner?”

Normally, points out Francolon, rats are more a fixture of the Parisian night. “What is surprising here is to see them coming out in broad daylight and approaching people who are picnicking without any fear.”

The picnics, however, may actually be emboldening the rodents. “Food waste left on the lawns attracts rats and encourages their proliferation,” a spokesperson for the museum told the Telegraph. “We’re asking people to be more careful.”

Rats have always been an issue in the museum’s gardens, thanks in part to the Louvre’s proximity to the river. Normally, city authorities are able to keep the population somewhat in check, but the recent influx has moved the museum to hire a private exterminator to deal with the issue. The newspaper Le Monde, recently estimated that central Paris is home to as many as six million rats—three times the human population!

Perhaps it should not be surprising that in sharing their city with such a large number of rodent neighbors, Parisians appear somewhat inured to their presence. As Francolon noted, “they eat their pâté, drink their rosé, or quaff their champagne right next to the rats.”


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Photo Project Shows That Pit Bulls Aren't Monsters, They're 'Just Dogs'

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This post is part of HuffPost's ongoing #PitBullWeek coverage.

In 2000, when photographer Jenny Persing moved to Seattle from her native Cincinnati, she'd never even met a pit bull. And with people at every turn telling her to be careful, it was hard not to be wary of them. But in 2006 she adopted her own pit bull, Rain, and began to meet many other inspiring people and pets.

"By the time I met Rain, I knew that pit bulls didn't deserve their reputation," Persing told The Huffington Post. "I'd had some dog-walking clients that owned pit bulls, and had started my learning process through them."

"When you don't know the first thing" about pit bulls, she added, the perception that they're dangerous animals is "hard not to believe ... It takes personal experience to get past it."

Since starting the Just Dogs Project, a collection of photos and stories from owners of pit bull-type dogs in the Seattle area, Persing has had no shortage of personal experience with the canines. To Persing, Rain has been an inspiration for art, advocacy and community building. Since June 2013, Persing has been collecting and showcasing stories of the love shared between these supposedly "dangerous" dogs and their owners.

One of her first subjects is her most memorable: Aisha, an older pit bull in Persing's dog-walking group. "She was such a good influence on all the other dogs in our group and helped them kind of become calm, and so I was interested in her story," Persing told HuffPost.

Aisha spent the first 11 years of her life in an abusive home, neglected and beaten by her owner and forced to fight another dog for her food. She was rescued by a woman named Helen Anne, after which point she was introduced to Persing.

"She just really inspired me, that a dog can go through all that she went through and still be part of a family and love and happiness in the last couple years," said Persing. "It was just the best relationship I've ever seen, and they loved each other. She's a big reason why I want to do this."

aisha helen anne
Helen Anne with Aisha, a pit bull who spent her first 11 years in abusive conditions before Helen Anne adopted her.


Cincinnati is one of many cities where pit bulls are banned, but things are looking up for current and future pit bull owners. Eighteen states have banned breed-specific legislation that discriminates against pit bulls, with six more considering similar policies. "People are starting to learn, but there's still a lot of work to be done," said Persing.

Akitas, chows, Rottweilers, Doberman pinschers, German shepherds and huskies are among the other breeds that Persing is looking to feature in her photography project. These dogs often appear on "dangerous dog" lists, and can cause trouble for people looking to rent an apartment or get insurance.

Persing and her dog-walking group have witnessed some discrimination since adopting Rain. "This one lady in specific, she's so angry at us for having pit bulls in a public place all together," she told HuffPost. "Never mind that she was yelling and causing a scene. It didn't seem to matter to her that we all had our dogs on leashes and under control, all sitting nicely and watching the world go by."

Discrimination happens in adoption centers as well. Every year in shelters, according to National Geographic, pit bulls account for 30 percent of dogs admitted, and 60 percent of dogs euthanized. Persing is doing what she can to lower these startling figures.

"Having good pictures [...] just helps adoption tenfold," she said. "If you see a sad picture of a dog [online], you're a lot less likely to be able to see it in your own family, imagine it being your dog. But when you get a good picture, when the dog is smiling and looking at the camera, looking good and happy and friendly, then it just makes all the difference in the world."

millie just dogs

Black dogs face an even bigger challenge in adoption, Persing added. "Heaven forbid you should be a black pit bull."

Despite all this, Persing believes the Just Dogs Project is inspiring people to rethink their feelings on dogs they might have previously felt apprehension about.

"It's important to capture the joy that people have with their pets, because that's why we have pets. It's why we love dogs -- they give us joy and love and acceptance," said Persing.

"To show that, that's what I'm really aiming for," she continued. "There's nothing like dog love."

Below are some of Persing's favorite resources relating to pit bulls:


And check out some photos from Persing's Just Dogs project below:


HuffPost Green is launching a week-long, community-driven effort to bust the myths and raise awareness about pit bulls, a maligned "breed" that often bears the brunt of dated, discriminatory legislation that can make it near impossible for these dogs to find a forever home. You can follow along with HuffPost Pit Bull Week here, on Facebook or on Twitter, where we'll be using the hashtag #PitBullWeek.

The 60 Weirdest Things You Didn't Know About Your Favorite TV Shows

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Use these to impress your next TV date.

Whether you watch it every week or binge it on Netflix, you've probably missed the weirdest trivia fact about your favorite show. Maybe someday, a video streaming service will debut a version of VH1's iconic "Pop-Up Video" for television shows, but until then, this super definitive, end-all list will have to fulfill your desires for bizarre show trivia.

Hit the keys "Command + F" for Macs or "Control + F" for PCs to quickly find your favorite among this collection of shows currently on the air and recent classics.



1. "American Horror Story"

Evan Peters accidentally flashed Jessica Lange and Sarah Paulson, while wearing a cock sock, on the first day of shooting "Asylum."

evan peters

Peters was wearing a hospital gown and didn't think his front would be showing until he was bent over in front of the two actresses. Paulson then kissed Peters on the cheek.



2. "American Idol"

Americans cast more votes in the election of Taylor Hicks than the 1984 presidential election of Ronald Reagan.

taylor hicks

63 million votes were cast for the Season 5 finale as opposed to the 54.5 million votes that secured Ronald Reagan's victory. Of course, people can vote multiple times for their favorite on "American Idol," which isn't exactly supposed to happen in presidential elections.



3. "Archer"

The show may have caused a noticeable bump in parents naming their kids "Archer" in 2014.



According to Nameberry, "Archer" has "risen the furthest in the first six months" of 2014 for male names. There's certainly speculation this has something to do with the "danger zone."



4. "Arrested Development"

David Cross had to fight Fox to keep Tobias' mustache as the executive had a no-mustaches policy.



Apparently, Fox executive Gail Berman had a "standing rule for men in comedies: no hats, no mustaches, no fluffy shirts."



5. "Battlestar Galactica"

Admiral Adama uses a mirror that is sold at IKEA and is called "FRÄCK."

TK gifs

Oh frack, you can buy this mirror for only $4.99!



6. "Bob's Burgers"

Loren Bouchard pitched the show as "a family of cannibals who runs a restaurant."



Fox essentially liked everything about the show except for the cannibalism so it was dropped except for a nod in the pilot. Also, Tina was originally going to be the eldest brother, but since Fox thought the brothers were too alike, Bouchard asked the voice-actor, Dan Mintz, to play the role of an eldest sister character instead.



7. "Bones"

One of the writers, Dean Lopata, first acted as a victim on the show before joining the staff.

bones deschanel

Dean Lopata has since been involved in writing 58 episodes.



8. "Boy Meets World"

Disney wouldn't let any of the actors take mementos from the set after the show wrapped, but Rider Strong stole the leather jacket.

riderstrong

The leather jacket was later stolen from Strong's car, while parked in New York City.



9. "Breaking Bad"

AMC would only allow the writers to use one "fuck" per season as long as it was "dipped."




Although multiple "fucks" are in the script, it seems like AMC would only allow one "fuck" to play sans-bleeping on the air per season. The volume of the "fucks" would still have to be "dipped" lower, according to Vince Gilligan. Thanks to the Internet, here seems to be a roundup of all the 'fucks' the show did decide to keep.



10. "Brooklyn Nine-Nine"

The cast partook in real firearms training before filming.

brooklyn ninenine

Andy Samberg described the crash course as "stuff like how to holster your firearm, how to draw it, where to put your finger unless you're intending to fire, where you would and wouldn't show your gun or badge, what the rules of being undercover are."



11. "Community"

Abed is based off of a real actor named Abed Gheith.

TK gifs

Abed Gheith is an actor and friend of Dan Harmon's. Gheith even auditioned for the role based on himself, but of course, Danny Pudi ended up getting to play the socially unaware student instead.



12. "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation"

The show fired both George Eads and Jorja Fox and then immediately hired them back in 2004.

george eads jorja fox

The network felt as if Eads and Fox were trying to hold up shooting to negotiate for more money.



13. "Curb Your Enthusiasm"

Footage from an episode cleared a man of murder in real life.

curb your enthusiasm

Juan Catalan spent nearly five months in jail before he was released and awarded $320,000 in a police misconduct lawsuit. He was cleared of the murder charge when footage of a Dodgers game taken by the show, proved he was at the game and had an alibi for the crime.



14. "Family Guy"

Seth Green bases Chris' voice off of the character Buffalo Bill from "The Silence of the Lambs."


buffalo bill


Green thought it'd be funny if the Buffalo Bill character tried to do normal things with his strange voice.



15. "Freaks and Geeks"

Paul Feig and Judd Apatow didn't think James Franco was attractive and that his mouth was too big for his face for him to be a star.

James Franco was the best looking male on Earth in freaks and geeks.. Im a guy... no homo

The full shocking quote: "We thought his mouth was too big for his face and he seemed perfect to be a small-town cool guy who wasn't as cool as he thought he was. When all the women in our office started talking about how gorgeous he was, me and Feig started laughing because we just didn't see it." Actually what.



16. "Friends"

Matthew Perry was Courtney Cox's "man slave" on set due to losing a bet.

chandler

The bet was over which movie an Anthony Michael Hall line came from -- either "Weird Science" or "The Breakfast Club" -- and was settled by finding Hall on a neighboring set of "Friends" to set the record straight. After Cox told the story on Jay Leno's show, she rang a bell and brought Perry over to her as he held a box of tissues. The arrangement apparently lasted for months.



17. "Friday Night Lights"

During the first few seasons' opening credits, Jesse Plemons' name is the only one that corresponds to when he's onscreen.



You can watch the opening credits and see for yourself above.



18. "Futurama"

Writer Ken Keeler developed a real mathematical theorem called the "Futurama theorem" solely to be used in an episode.



According to a fan wiki, it's "the first known theorem to be created for the sole purpose of entertainment in a TV show." Ken Keeler has a Ph.D. in applied mathematics.



19. "Game of Thrones"

The show is filmed in the same factory that made the RMS Titanic.

george eads jorja fox

The factory is in Belfast, Ireland, and you can take a tour of Titanic Studios.



20. "Girls"

HBO fired Lena Dunham from a different project right before "Girls" was picked up.



In 2011, Lena Dunham almost had a role in the mini-series, "Mildred Pierce," but ended up getting dismissed from the set after only half a day. The producer, who now produces "Girls," later told Dunham that her acting had been very bad at the time.



21. "Gossip Girl"

CW felt that Ed Westwick looked like a serial killer and had doubts about him being a romantic lead.



Westwick had originally auditioned for the role of Nate Archibald, but the network apparently thought he was too scary. Luckily, he ended up getting the role of Chuck so he could fulfill his destiny in becoming half of the greatest television couple of all time.



22. "Grey's Anatomy"

The writers created a gossip novel based on the show that's considered canon and it's written in blog posts and text messages.

george eads jorja fox

It's called "Grey's Anatomy: Notes from the Nurse's Station (Overheard at the Emerald City Bar)" and probably deserved the Pulitzer.



23. "Homeland"

Morena Baccarin and Claire Danes were in the same public school homeroom growing up.

claire danes morena baccarin

The two went to junior high together and were in the same homeroom for about a year. Apparently they had the same bully.



24. "House of Cards"

The actors who play President Garrett Walker and the Secretary of State are married in real life, which David Fincher didn't know when casting.

michael gill jayne

Michael Gill and Jayne Atkinson have been married since 1998. They auditioned separately for their respective roles in the show.



25. "How I Met Your Mother"

Josh Radnor has a severe allergy of dog dander which made filming scenes with Robin's dogs extremely difficult.

how i met your mother

In his own words, Radnor claims, "I haven't left the house without a packet of Kleenex in my back pocket for as long as I can remember," due to his allergy to dogs. Eventually they wrote Robin's dogs out of the show, but not before one scene with a Dalmatian required the paramedics to show up.



26. "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit"

The character of John Munch has been in many other shows including "The Wire," "30 Rock" and "The X-Files."

richard belzer

John Munch, played by Richard Belzer, has actually appeared in 12 different projects.



27. "Lost"

The "Lost" pilot was so expensive that the Chairman of ABC was fired for greenlighting it.



Apparently Disney execs weren't too happy with Lloyd Braun for greenlighting the $12 million pilot before it even had a script. Even after his firing, Braun's voice could be heard before episodes: "Previously on 'Lost.'"



28. "Mad Men"

January Jones and Christina Hendricks both made their acting debuts in a television film called "Sorority."

january jones christina hendricks

Although the movie is pegged to 1999 which would mark the beginning of both actresses' careers, it's unclear when exactly this MTV project was filmed and whether it was actually ever released. So be slightly skeptical about how perfectly the fates aligned on this one. Regardless, you can watch it on YouTube.



29. "Modern Family"

Despite the character's simple-mindedness on the show, the young actor who plays Luke is a real life genius.



Nolan Gould is a member of Mensa and graduated from high school at the age of just thirteen.



30. "Nathan for You"

To keep from laughing, Nathan will act like he's picking something out of his teeth with a finger and if that doesn't work he then asks for floss.

nathan

During a Reddit AMA, Nathan Fielder mentioned that one of the hardest moment to keep himself from laughing was when the gas station owner said he drinks his own grandson's urine.

Image: Hulu



31. "NCIS"

Upon her arrival to the show, actress Lauren Holly went against Mark Harmon's wishes to ignore his birthday and instead held a massive party.

lauren holly

According to a Mark Harmon fan site, Harmon responded to the whole studio set and crew being decked out in party supplies by telling Holly, "Payback's a bitch."



32. "New Girl"

Jake Johnson and Max Greenfield texted each other throughout their auditions to make sure they weren't matching clothes or colors.

jake johnson max greenfield

Apparently, the audition process was lengthy enough for Johnson and Greenfield to become fast friends and so neither of them wanted to cancel the other out from getting hired.



33. "Orange Is the New Black"

There are multiple theories as to why Red got her nickname, besides the color of her hair.

the wire couch

Kate Mulgrew's character could be called "Red" because of the hair. Or it might be a reference to the red communists due to the character's Russian backgrounds. Or the nickname is referencing Morgan Freeman's character in "The Shawshank Redemption" as he smuggles contraband for the other inmates. Or it's all three.



34. "Parks and Recreation"

Perd Hapley is actually a real news reporter and also leads a jazz band.



His name is Jay Jackson and you can book his jazz band "for Concerts, festivals, corporate and private parties, weddings, Bar/Bat Mitzvahs and more." The booking number is 805-660-9191. Jackson also owns a company called Los Angeles Reporter's Clinic that helps people break into TV news reporting. Here's a video of his own reporting.



35. "Portlandia"

The feminist bookstore is real.

portlandia

The bookstore is called "In Other Words." They're currently looking for volunteers, so check it out.



36. "Saturday Night Live"

When the show first started, another show was called "Saturday Night Live," hence the iconic opening line being worded, "Live from New York, it's 'Saturday Night.'"

the wire couch

The other show was called "Saturday Night Live with Howard Cosell" and only lasted between 1975 and 1976.



37. "Saved by the Bell"

Mark-Paul Gosselaar dyed his hair blond for the role.



Gosselaar dyed his hair blond for six years while filming the show as his hair became more brunette as he aged. He was blond at 10, but that didn't last very long.



38. "Scandal"

Actress Katie Lowes was Connie Britton's babysitter before she landed a role on the pilot.

katie lowes

Britton said, "I was so upset when she got this little pilot. I think it was really pretty selfish on her part, I'll be honest." She was joking of course, but she did say she was a tough boss.



39. "Seinfeld"

Elaine's father was supposed to be a recurring character, but the cast was so scared of the actor that he was dropped.



The actor, Lawrence Tierney, stole a butcher knife from the set and then when he was confronted about it re-enacted the "Psycho" stabbing in Jerry's direction while making the classic noises. The character was also based off the novelist Richard Yates, who was the father of a girl Larry David dated.



40. "The Simpsons"

Marge Simpson was originally supposed to have bunny ears underneath her blue hair.

jake johnson max greenfield

Groening explained that his original plan was for Marge to be secretly a character from one of his previous comics called "Life in Hell" and that she'd be hiding bunny ears under her hair. When he eventually pitched the idea to other writers on the show, it was shot down. The show has ended up referencing the other comic in many other occasions.



41. "The Sopranos"

A 15-year-old Lady GaGa appears in Season 3.



GaGa played a friend of Tony Soprano's son and smoked a cigarette.



42. "South Park"

Kenny is based off a real kid that Trey Parker went to school with.

TK gifs

Parker has said that he went to school with a kid named Kenny who always wore an orange parka that muffled his voice and was also considered the poorest kid in town. This other Kenny would skip school often, which led to the other students joking that Kenny had died. Of course, even after the real life Kenny "died," he'd still come back to school as if nothing had happened.



43. "Survivor"

The show used fake "survivor" body doubles in overhead shots since actual cast members are usually surrounded by cameras.

TK gifs

At least for the first couple seasons, executive producer Mark Burnett admitted that aerial shots were recreated with body doubles to make scenes more picturesque. The show would use lookalikes of the survivors. It's unclear whether the practice continued.



44. "The Amazing Race"

Before founding Toms shoes, Blake Mycoskie competed in the second season and lost by only minutes.

blake mycoskie

Blake Mycoskie competed with his sister, Paige, and placed third.



45. "The Bachelor" & "The Bachelorette"

"The Biggest Loser" has produced more successful marriages than "The Bachelor" and "The Bachelorette" combined.

TK gifs

It is not entirely certain if all "The Biggest Loser" marriages have lasted, but if they have, then the show claims at least five successful marriages. "The Bachelor" only has two (with one not resulting from the final rose) and "The Bachelorette" has also only had two so far, although some contestants are still dating. All in all, the shows haven't been incredibly successful in keeping people together.



46. "The Big Bang Theory"

The show's science consultant often uses actress Mayim Bialik's help, as she has a Ph.D. in neuroscience.

mayim bialik

David Saltzberg is a professor at the University of California, Los Angeles, along with being the show's scientific fact-checker and the person who writes equations on the whiteboards. Saltzberg has said that Bialik "has [his] back on the biology."



47. "The Blacklist"

The numbers "042983" are actually actress Megan Boone's birthday in real life.

the blacklist

Megan Boone plays Elizabeth Keene on the show. She was born on April 29, 1983.



48. "The Colbert Report"

An astronaut convinced a younger Stephen Colbert to make the "T" silent in his last name.

steven colbert

While flying to Northwestern University as an undergrad, Colbert asked an astronaut whether he should make the "T" silent at the end of his last name -- something his father had always wanted to do. In Colbert's memory, the astronaut replied, "Well, I think you know." Presumably, the astronaut was not consulted on whether the "T" in "Report" should also be silent.



49. "The Daily Show"

Jon Stewart was the first guest ever on the show, back when Craig Kilborn hosted.

daily show jon stewart

The first interview took place in 1996 and then Kilborn interviewed Stewart again in 1998, during the second to last episode before the latter host took over.



50. "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air"

Will Smith used to memorize everybody's lines and would mumble them while they were being said in Season 1.



Smith explained it thus: "I would memorize the entire script, then I'd be lipping everybody's lines while they were talking. When I watch those episodes, it's disgusting. My performances were horrible." Apparently he felt uncomfortable about acting with the other stars since they had more experience.



51. "The Good Wife"

Chris Noth said that Julianna Margulies slapping him in the pilot was nothing, because he was slapped so many times on "Sex and the City."

chris noth

Although extremely dramatic on the show, Margulies said it was no big deal in real life. Chris Noth played the infamous "Mr. Big" on "Sex and the City" and certainly had a tumultuous relationship with Carrie Bradshaw.



52. "The O.C."

The set for the Cohen's pool was only 4-feet deep, so the actors would be on their knees while "swimming."

Seth Cohen was awesome!! He definitely would have used imgur!

Despite the set pool being shallow, in real life there was a normally sized infinity pool in Malibu that the show used as a model that can presumably be swam in. Unfortunately, that pool doesn't actually have the iconic pool house that Ryan slept in though, so the nostalgia levels won't be too high while you're swimming laps. Although a separate location from the pool, the Cohen house is also a real place.



53. "The Office"

Apparently, the computers in the office had real Internet connections, so when in the background, cast members would be surfing the web.



Many of the actors supposedly admitted at the end of the series that they could actually use the Internet while fake working at Dunder-Mifflin for shots.



54. "The Walking Dead"

The cast holds special "death dinners" for the actors and actresses who get killed off the show.

Walking Dead

For the first couple seasons, the cast could easily hold these special dinners for cast members who'd been killed off without leaking spoilers. Now that fans are savvy about the special event, the surviving actors and actresses have to go through more elaborate lengths to disguise the dinner as just normal hanging out.



55. "The West Wing"

Aaron Sorkin didn't intend for the president to be a recurring part of the show.



The show was supposed to follow just the senior staff, but Sorkin decided it'd be too "hokey" if you just saw the president leaving scenes constantly. He also didn't even mean to pitch the show and just did it off the top of his head when he was surprised by a pitch meeting he thought was just lunch.



56. "The Wire"

The original orange couch was pulled from a dumpster, but when the show was picked up, $5,000 was spent to replicate it as someone accidentally threw it out again.

katie lowes

How do you recreate a "perfect" dumpster couch from the Marble Hill area of Baltimore, Maryland? Location scout and production designer Vincent Peranio describes it like this: "We had to make that couch. Make the frame, send away to Scalamandre in London for the fabric because they were the only place that had crushed orange velvet. It was not popular at the time we were shooting the show. Then we had to age it, split it, pull the stuffing out. It ended up being a $5,000 couch. But we made it as close as possible to the other couch. I don’t think anybody knew. We didn’t even tell the producers."



57. "True Blood"

Sam Trammell prepared for his shirtless scenes by embracing hangriness.

My friend confused the show Blue Bloods with True Blood. Heres the difference.

Perhaps not the best advice, but Trammel, who played Sam Merlotte, said in a Reddit AMA that there's "tons of work to do when you have to be naked [on screen] and a lot of being 'hangry' -- so hungry, you're angry." He said in preparation, he really cuts down his calories before such a scene.



58. "Twin Peaks"

The population written on the welcome sign is considered an official typo and not the true population of Twin Peaks.

lost tv show

As the legend goes, the town was originally supposed to have a population of 5,120 versus 51,201, but ABC required the show to add the zero as they didn't think Americans would watch a show about such a small town. In the canon supplementary visitor's guide to the town, it is said that the sign simply has a typo.



59. "Veronica Mars"

Rob Thomas named characters on the show after people from the Austin, Texas, music scene.

veronica mars

Thomas went to school in Austin and spent much of his early adult life in Texas and so he dropped references to the music scene in his writing. A complete list of references can be found at Texas Monthly, including a reference to the writer of that article.



60. "30 Rock"

Donald Glover was still a resident assistant at New York University when he started writing for the show.

TK TK gifs

Donald Glover told New York Magazine that he "literally had [his] RA pager go off the first day of work." He ended up graduating from NYU in 2006. Also, Glover wrote the fan-favorite song, "Werewolf Bar-Mitzvah."


All images Getty unless otherwise noted.

Singer-Songwriter Eli Lieb On 'Zeppelin' And Being An Openly Gay Artist In Today's Music World

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It’s hard to believe it’s already been a year since Eli Lieb earned a permanent spot on our playlists with his 2013 power-pop single, “Young Love.”

The openly gay singer-songwriter, 34, has kept a high profile since then, connecting with his fans on YouTube, Twitter and other social media outlets. His cover of the Miley Cyrus smash “Wrecking Ball” nearly broke the Internet after winning raves from “Pretty Little Liars” star Lucy Hale and Adam Lambert.

Lieb, who currently resides in Los Angeles, has been clocking in studio time with writer-producer John Feldmann (5 Seconds of Summer, Panic! At the Disco). This month, Lieb released the video for his new single, “Zeppelin,” a month after "Safe In My Hands," which he co-wrote, was used as the soundtrack for Allstate Insurance’s LGBT Pride Month campaign of the same name. But that’s not all: Lieb says a full-length sophomore album is in the works, while he's got a second video prepped "sooner rather than later."

Lieb took time out from his busy schedule to speak to The Huffington Post about "Zeppelin," a possible Adam Lambert collaboration and being an openly gay artist.

The Huffington Post: Congratulations on your new video, “Zeppelin.” Can we look forward to a new album soon?
Eli Lieb: Yes. Right now I’m recording with John Feldmann. I feel super fortunate to have hooked up with him because he’s really awesome. We’ve done a handful of songs already, and we’re just moving forward. I’m really excited with the songs that we’ve done.

I write pop songs; that’s really where my strength is. “Zeppelin” is a straight-down-the-middle, pop-rock song, and some of them get a little more indie sounding. It’s a good mixture of pop and that. I act really quickly, so I would like it to be ready sooner rather than later.

How would you say your sexuality affects your work as an artist and a musician?
It doesn’t impact my work as an artist at all. The only moment when it does is when it comes time to film a video, I’m like, “Oh! I have to have a guy in this, because it’s a love song and that’s accurate to my life.”

But when I actually write music … the creative process has nothing to do with my sexuality other than the fact that I can get entangled with people in the same way that anybody can get entangled with a person. When I think of myself, my sexuality isn’t the defining part of who I am as a musician. I haven’t written about the struggles of being gay because I’ve personally never felt that.

You’ve been frequently compared to Steve Grand (“All-American Boy”), who is similarly open about his sexuality and has used social media to promote his music. How do you feel about that comparison?
I don’t have any problem with it, [but] the only reason there’s any comparison is the sexuality thing. I think you can find a lot of artists who are indie and are working with fan engagement on social media and going about their careers that way. It’s an interesting thing, in this day and age, that our sexuality is the most talked-about thing. In terms of the music we make, I think that we fall into very different categories, but I definitely understand the comparison.

Given that you’re known as well in some circles for your cover tunes as you are for your original music, how important is it for you to establish your own identity as an artist?
It’s really important. I’ve been writing and performing for a very, very long time. It wasn’t until far into my journey that I started covering songs.

[Covering songs] is, honestly, the best way to get noticed. Now, I’ve gotten to a point where I’ve built up a big enough fan base so that my original songs actually do better than my covers.

You penned a new song for Allstate Insurance’s gay-inclusive “Safe In My Hands” campaign for LGBT Pride Month. What was your take on the final commercial?
It was a really amazing collaboration, and I feel very fortunate to have been a part of it. Never in my life did I think that I would become a cartoon! I didn’t ever expect to be a part of social change and be a voice of many, so being involved in something like this that will get a lot of attention and will help people is really incredible to me.

There have been rumors you’re collaborating with Adam Lambert. Any truth to that?
Yeah! I don’t know what I can really say, but we’ve definitely had some studio time together. Adam is, honestly, one of the most genuine people I’ve met in my whole time being in L.A. He’s just a rare person. He is so talented, but as a person, he’s very kind, generous, humble and down-to-earth.

Finally, what's in store for Eli Lieb for the remainder of 2014?
I definitely have another music video coming out … sooner rather than later. It’s another song I’ve done with John Feldmann, and this one I’m extremely excited about. The video and content are going to be very different than anything I’ve done before.

This interview has been edited for length.

Just When You Thought Rom-Coms Were Dead, Along Came Harry Potter

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If a single year's romantic comedies were used to gauge the genre's welfare, 2014 would fail. There haven't been many to begin with, and the latest to hit theaters -- "And So It Goes" -- is downright disastrous. If this is what romance looks like in the 2010s, we're not interested. But wait! There may be hope. "What If" opens in limited release this weekend, and it's everything "And So It Goes" isn't: well-scripted, charming and fresh. Two of HuffPost's entertainment editors, Matthew Jacobs and Lauren Duca, debate why "And So It Goes" flounders while "What If" thrives, and what that means for the genre as a whole.

JACOBS: The rom-com is dead, says just about everyone receiving oxygen in 2014. Sadly, we now have proof in "And So It Goes," one of the few romantic comedies to hit theaters this year. Upon seeing it, all my fears were confirmed: It checks off so many of the genre's once-flourishing tropes, and yet it is unfunny, uncharming and ill-advised.

Maybe I was mostly bummed that its roster doesn't hold up. The movie stars Diane Keaton, who won an Oscar for the rom-com "Annie Hall" and was nominated just a decade ago for "Something's Gotta Give." It's directed by genre extraordinaire Rob Reiner, who made "The Sure Thing" and "When Harry Met Sally." And it plays like a cheap reboot of "As Good As It Gets," probably because it's written by Mark Andrus, who co-wrote "As Good As It Gets." Even with all those power players, not to mention Michael Douglas, the movie couldn't feel more tired.

And yet, Lauren, we found ourselves contrasting this movie to "What If," which leads me to ask: Does the genre have hope after all? What about "What If" made it sing while "And So It Goes" never actually goes anywhere?

and so it goes

DUCA: Going into "What If," I was convinced it had to do something radically different to even be a death rattle for the genre. Instead, it played into all the tropes. The whole thing functioned as a meditation on whether men and women (named things other than Harry or Sally) could be friends. There were activity dates. Heck, it started with a montage of aerial city shots. If there is a check list of traditional rom-com conceits, "What If" left few boxes empty, and yet there was something about it that made the format feel invigorated and new.

Part of that was the writing. Zoe Kazan's character (Chantry) is described as "banter-y" at one point, and that's how I would describe the majority of the dialogue. It's relentlessly witty, which alleviates the more situational humor that rom-coms often rely on. More so than that, though, I feel like it treated its characters as real people. Most rom-com leading ladies are defined by their prettiness, niceness and clumsiness. Chantry was more than a sum of her quirks.

In Kazan's hands, she played as vulnerable and confused, but also a bit selfish. Daniel Radcliffe (Wallace) also put forth an excellent performance as the earnest but self-pitying guy who'd "helplessly" fallen in love with someone who could only be his friend. There were no one-dimensional participants in this meet-cute. Sure, boy meets girl, but both boy and girl had major flaws that got sorted out across all those aforementioned activity dates.

JACOBS: You frame "What If" brilliantly, in part because your descriptions act as antithesis to everything "And So It Goes" offers. Keaton and Douglas' characters are too obviously written to oppose each other, rendering the meet-cute very un-cute. Keaton plays Lucy, the emotional widow with a huge heart, while Douglas is Oren, the crusty growler who lives next door and doesn't want anything to do with anyone who can't contribute to his professional gain. (Again, the "As Good As It Gets" sprinklings loom large.) Ultimately, I didn't want them to be together. Because they shouldn't be together.

The only reason Oren's Grinch-like heart softens is because Lucy steps up to help him care for his granddaughter after his estranged son, who used to be a heroin junkie, drops her off at his doorstep before serving a convoluted jail sentence unrelated to his former druggie ways. From the start, we're so forced to detest Oren that his slow build to regaining humanity and winning Leah's heart is everything you don't want to see. It works wonders for Jack Nicholson in "As Good As It Gets" because his OCD and other neuroses made him interesting outside the confines of his romance with Helen Hunt. With Oren, the lack of charm is damning, and the granddaughter's presence feels like a flimsy ploy to convince Leah that this curmudgeon is worth a second glance.

You mention the "What If" characters being more than a sum of their quirks, which is the opposite of what exists here -- and, I think, the opposite of what the Kate Hudson/Jennifer Aniston/Sarah Jessica Parker/Katherine Heigl movies of the past decade have accomplished. Instead, the characters are their quirks. Except "quirky" isn't even a word I'd use to describe Reiner's take on the plot, so it doesn't even have that going for it. Instead, its characters are just made of building blocks.

whatif

DUCA: That idea of characters as "building blocks" fits perfectly with the way the genre has become tired. I think part of the rom-com's gradual extinction lies in its repetition of this same basic formula. Let's face it, the way two human beings fall in love despite an obstacle (deliberately conflicting personalities, etc.) is not enough to build a compelling story, seeing as that basic arc has already been executed by Kate Hudson/Jennifer Aniston/Sarah Jessica Parker/Katherine Heigl/etc.

"What If" tackles a question that's been asked before -- can men and women be friends? -- except it does so in a way that hones in on the potential immorality of non-platonic friendship. Wallace is doomed to the friend zone because Chantry is in a relationship. That arrangement also delves into the complications of emotional cheating and the pain of wondering about possibilities from the position of an otherwise satisfying relationship. I will say that it wrapped up a bit too neatly (and the conundrum could have been made more accessible if it treated Chantry's boyfriend as less of a caricature), but overall it had something to say.

The implicit campiness of rom-coms is part of what makes them wonderful. They take place in this para-reality where people fall in love after one is hired as expert to fix the other's life, they accidentally sleep with multiple members of the same family or form competing bets that lead them to realize they don't want to lose each other after a pre-determined period of 10 days. We know that 99.7 percent of the time they're going to end up together, except some bizarro, larger-than-life thing has to prevent them from doing so first. They are always, at least in spirit, going to be defined by the tropes that align with that slightly absurd realm where goofy sidekicks and mix tapes are available in droves. "What If" is a great example of how a rom-com can serve up many of those conventions and still manage to be about something beyond meeting and falling in love.

JACOBS: Exactly. After "Annie Hall" and "When Harry Met Sally" ushered the rom-com into the 1990s, everyone from Garry Marshall to the Farrelly brothers capitalized on those tropes while still crafting something fresh. The genre was also a star-maker (Molly Ringwald, Julia Roberts, Meg Ryan). It's not that the '80s' and '90s' rom-coms weren't conventional -- it's just that their schemes and sidekicks hadn't dried up because, ultimately, the genre was still about characters. Then, in the 2000s, thinking we'd grown comfortable with the "boy" and "girl" in so many boy-meets-girl stories, the genre skimped on characterization in favor of schemes and sidekicks more so than ever before (see: "Maid in Manhattan," "Rumor Has It," "Failure to Launch," "Fool's Gold," "27 Dresses," "The Accidental Husband," "Killers," etc.).

Now that we're so accustomed to the 2000s' rom-com prototype, "And So It Goes" is especially telling because it doesn't really have a scheme, per se, yet it doesn't make up for it with the characterization we desperately need. And what little characterization it does have is off-putting. If it exemplifies what rom-coms have become in the 2010s, it means we're fighting a lose-lose battle. But with "What If," maybe there's hope! Please let there be hope.

DUCA: There is hope, Matt! Of course, what we haven't addressed is the waning interest in mid-budget films, or comedies in general, given they're tougher to sequelize or translate into hits that can metastasize overseas. Part of this "death of the rom-com" discussion is talk of the broader trend in Hollywood's reorientation to mega-hits, which leaves the quieter, CGI-lacking films in the dust. Although, there's something exciting about this depressing reality which doesn't rely on all future rom-coms starring Optimus Prime. The big-budget re-focusing leaves room for an indie renaissance of the genre, something that has the potential to be fully geared up precisely when American audiences start longing for films that are simpler (and marketed to them, rather than so obviously gaming foreign markets). With no major studios looming over the process, I suspect there'll be room for that something new that the genre needs right now. At the very least, seeing the chemistry between Radcliffe and Kazan gives us room to ask: "What If" the rom-com isn't dead just yet?

Qatar World Cup stadium workers earn as little as 45p an hour

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Migrant workers building the first stadium for Qatar's 2022 World Cup have been earning as little as 45p an hour, the Guardian can reveal.

The pay rate appears to be in breach of the tournament organisers' own worker welfare rules and comes despite the Gulf kingdom spending £134bn on infrastructure ahead of the competition.

'Into The Woods' Trailer Makes A Wish, But Not With Songs

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Here's the first trailer for "Into the Woods," Rob Marshall's adaptation of the famed Stephen Sondheim musical. Meryl Streep, Anna Kendrick, Emily Blunt, Chris Pine, James Corden and Johnny Depp all star in what, we wish, will be a better movie musical than "Les Miserables." (Not that anyone would know "Into the Woods" is a musical since no one sings in the trailer.) "Into the Woods" is out on Dec. 25.



Check out photos from "Into the Woods" below.

The 12 Songs You Need To Know This Week

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Each week, the HuffPost Entertainment team will compile and share some of our favorite tracks discovered across the web, whether they are brand new tunes, new music videos or newly discovered artists.

Lil B - “No Black Person Is Ugly”



Lil B blesses us with a song that he posted to YouTube with a question: "MOST POWERFUL SONG OF DECADE?" With a more (and rare) focused flow and a reminder that everyone, no matter the color of their skin or what some magazine prints, is beautiful, Lil B provides us with the answer. He also tells listeners to never breach the right of sexual consent. Lil B is bringing the sunshine. Lil B is a legend. THANK YOU BASED GOD.


RDGLDGRN - “Turn”



Taking the more indie route of their hip-hop, reggae, indie, go-go four-pronged attack, RDGLDGRN's "Turn" tells listeners to "turn up" in the midst of mellowed-out head bobber. It's a little confusing, but what's not confusing is right now, because you're a little drunk, surrounded by your best friends on a cool summer evening and this song just came on, so life is good.


Big K.R.I.T. - “Pay Attention” ft. Rico Love



Big K.R.I.T. proves again and again with each release that he is one the finest rappers in the game. "Pay Attention" allows K.R.I.T. to showcase his perfect Southern flow overtop of spacey production, teaming up with Rico Love for a sexier vibe than his typical output.


For BDK - “What I Must Find”



Stumbling upon the self-described emotional post electronic genre, there is something truly magical about the music For BDK creates. Everything about "What I Must Find" -- the stunning visuals, heart-rending vocals and transient production -- is narcotic and we couldn't quit if we tried.


QuESt - “Automatic”



You may not have heard of QuESt yet, but with tracks like "Automatic," he's guaranteed to become one of hip-hop's biggest names. A fantastic two-part cut, QuESt brings the lyrics, intensity and flow reminiscent of Kendrick Lamar. That's not meant to diminish his individuality, it just speaks volumes when you drop a track that sounds like it could have been one of the best cuts off "Good Kid, m.A.A.d. City."


Jessie J - "Bang Bang" ft. Ariana Grande & Nicki Minaj



Jessie J recruits Ariana Grande and Nicki Minaj for one of the catchiest songs of the year. Driven by claps and a simple beat -- with a dash of gospel -- it's impossible not to break out in dance.


G-Unit - “Come Up”



We've heard a number of freestyles from the freshly reunited G-Unit, and finally we get an original track. 50 Cent said his crew was working like they were fighting for a record deal and the smooth "Come Up" proves it true.


MNEK - “Wrote A Song About You”



MNEK is due for a meteoric rise a la Sam Smith. The 19-year-old U.K. native steadily unleashes his vocal capabilities in "Wrote A Song About You," pairing the club-friendly smash with a set of '90s psychedelic visuals.


Paperwhite - “Take Me Back”



Pigeons & Planes hit the nail on the head when they wrote that we might be reaching critical mass with '80s synth-pop. But Paperwhite does it so right you can't be mad.


Rich Homie Quan - “No Alibi” ft. PeeWee Longway



Rising ATLien Rich Homie Quan's "No Alibi" feels like a throwback to some Juvenile or Youngbloodz without losing touch with the times. Recruiting PeeWee Longway, the rappers trade bars back and forth so seamlessly that it feels like the duo entered the game together.


Peace - “Lost On Me”



English outfit Peace dropped their first single from their upcoming second album and "Lost On Me" is a funky jam that deserves its place among the summer closing jams.


Rustie - “Attak” ft. Danny Brown



Give Danny Brown any beat and he will find a way to rap over it. Give him an incredible beat from rising producer Rustie and he will (continue to) redefine the rap game.

'SpongeBob SquarePants: Sponge Out Of Water' Trailer Brings Everyone's Favorite Seaworthy Crew Ashore

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A new SpongeBob SquarePants movie is heading to the big screen, and this time the Bikini-bottom crew is looking a little different. Starting in the typical 2D format of the TV series, SpongeBob and friends are forced ashore while chasing down the bad pirate, voiced by Antonio Banderas, in order to save their hometown. Enter a brand new 3D look, as well as some sweet superpowers. Watch the trailer below.

This Is How We Do A Post About Katy Perry's 'This Is How We Do' Video

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Fresh from the Internet comes Katy Perry's video for "This Is How We Do," the "Last Friday Night"-y song off Perry's latest album, "Prism." The clip includes a bunch of guys dressed like Pee-wee Herman. Do with that information what you will.

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