Michelle Obama Has 'Profound' Meeting With Nelson Mandela

We get an inside view of the first lady's meetings with South African leaders.
By Eric Ditzian, with reporting by Lola Ogunnaike


Michelle Obama and Nelson Mandela
Photo: Whitehouse.gov

All this week, first lady Michelle Obama has been touring Africa with her mother and daughters as part of her ongoing work to engage and empower young people at home and abroad. Journalist Lola Ogunnaike has been covering the entire trip for BET as part of an upcoming special, "Impact on Africa: On a Mission With the First Lady." Ogunnaike called MTV News to share her insight and exclusive information about the experience. These are her words.

First lady Michelle Obama met with Graça Machel, Nelson Mandela's wife, at the Nelson Mandela Foundation earlier this week. It's clear to me the two of them enjoy a genuine rapport. Graça really seems to have an affinity for our first lady. She walked her around the museum, and the two of them looked at everything from old diaries to old itineraries to books to letters that he'd written.

One of the facts that seemed to take Obama aback was that at one point while Mandela was incarcerated — because he was incarcerated for 27 years — he was allowed to write only one letter every six months. You could see her face recoil. Can you imagine being able to communicate with the outside world only once every six months? I think it was something she was amazed by and which moved her in a profound way.

The first lady's mother and two daughters were there, and she joked with her daughters that they were going to be quizzed later on everything they'd learned. That got a cute laugh from the crowd.

The first lady also met with Nelson Mandela. It was a private meeting, but when I spoke about it with her during our interview, she said it was like meeting with family. It was one of the most profound moments of the journey for her. It was clear to me that it was a moment she'll hold dearly in her heart forever.

When she spoke about meeting him, her eyes lit up. She never thought she'd have the chance to meet him, let alone to have the opportunity to have her family meet him. To be sitting there with someone who was so instrumental in changing the direction of the world — and that's not an overstatement — was both a full-circle moment and a call to action for her.

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Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1666403/michelle-obama-nelson-mandela.jhtml

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Emma Watson: "I'm Addicted to Learning"

In promotional mode as the release of the final "Harry Potter" is less than a month away, Emma Watson is featured in the July 2011 issue of UAE's University magazine.

The Hermione Granger hottie stylishly posed for a range of photos taken by photographer Mariano Vivanco while chatting with the publication about topics ranging from shortening her hair, the new "Harry Potter" film and being addicted to learning.

Highlights from Miss Watson's interview with University magazine are as follows:

On whether or not she's worried about always being seen only as her "Potter" character:
"It?s funny, everyone keeps asking me that. I don?t feel scared at all. She is such an amazing role, such an amazing character. I don?t really want people to forget."

On role models as far as actresses are concerned:
"There?s a few: Jodie Foster, Gwyneth Paltrow, Hilary Swank, Cate Blanchett, Meryl Streep, Natalie Portman. Those are the kind of actresses that I idolize I guess. But I follow my own path I think."

On shortening up her hairdo:
?With short hair you?ve got to be a bit bolder, there?s nothing to hide behind. So it?s made me be bolder in my fashion choices. It?s actually made me more confident as a person I think. I?m not sure why that is. But it has.?

On whether her massive bank account and height of stardom are scary:
"The fame aspect has certainly been intimidating and overwhelming at times. And that kind of stigma that surrounds being a child actress. Journalists have actually asked me ?do you think you?re messed up?? I don?t know what they expect me to say. I don?t know really how to answer. But from the get-go, there?s always been that kind of expectation that we were sort of doomed in a way. But I don?t feel that way. Actually the fame was quite progressive. It sort of built, it didn?t?it got bigger and bigger as time went on. I was known for Hermione before I was known for being Emma Watson. So it?s been more of a gentle transition into that."

On the frightening scenes from the final "Harry Potter" film:
?It was a bit scary at times. We didn?t really have much training or much warning sometimes. As much as they can prepare you or put stunt doubles in there, there?s a certain amount that you have to do yourself. You can?t get away from doing nothing. I guess that was scary.?

On keeping so busy with school and work despite being financially set for life:
"I just love learning. I?m like addicted to learning. I just want to know as much as I possibly can. It?s never enough for me. And I?ll never stop. I just really love knowledge. Addicted!"

Source: http://celebrity-gossip.net/emma-watson/emma-watson-im-addicted-learning-518146

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'Cars 2': The Reviews Are In!

Critics enjoy the visual ride but not much else about Pixar's latest.
By Eric Ditzian


Lightning McQueen (voiced by Owen Wilson) and Mater (voiced by Larry the Cable Guy) in "Cars 2"
Photo: Disney

Animated films, much like the big-screen work of Adam Sandler, are so often review-proof. "Hop" didn't give a hoot that critics eviscerated the Easter Bunny tale, opening to $37.5 million domestically on its way to a $176.8 million worldwide total. And hey, "Grown Ups" and "Just Go With It" were two of the most savagely critiqued comedies in recent memory, yet each one deposited a couple hundred million dollars in Sandler's already astonishing box-office pot of gold.

So does it really matter that critics have flagged "Cars 2," Pixar's latest offering and its first sequel outside the "Toy Story" franchise, for a dizzying array of cinematic violations? Nope. The CGI flick is poised to race away with around $65 million this weekend. Kids, and the parents who hold their hands on the way to the theater, will be leading the charge. And they won't care at all that reviewers have harrumphed at the convoluted storytelling, because they'll be too busy gawking at what even critics admit are top-notch visuals.

But if you're old enough to read this, perhaps you might care. And thus we present a deep dive into the "Cars 2" reviews:

The Story
"Who decided to make Larry the Cable Guy the star? I don't know, but his Mater, the dopey, good-hearted tow truck from the first 'Cars,' is the focus of the sequel, which is sort of like basing a fourth 'Toy Story' on Slinky Dog. The star of 'Witless Protection,' among other delights, can only carry a film so far. This time out, Lightning McQueen (Owen Wilson) is goaded, with Mater's help, into entering the World Grand Prix to face the cocky Francesco Bernoulli (John Turturro). ... Mater somehow gets himself involved in international espionage. Someone is trying to sabotage the Grand Prix, and spies Finn McMissle (Michael Caine) and Holley Shiftwell (Emily Mortimer) are trying to figure out who and why. Mistaking Mater for a fellow spy — the idiot act is flawless, Finn tells him — Mater is soon wearing disguises and working undercover, haplessly bumbling his way to success." — Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic

The Storytelling
" 'Cars 2' plays out like two scripts that have been stapled together. Scenes from one script alternate with scenes from the other, and there are separate batches of characters in the U.S., Italy and England, most of whom don't have much to do (every movie could use more of Bonnie Hunt, who voices Lightning's girlfriend, but that's especially true of this movie). The testing of the Mater/Lightning friendship has charm and gives 'Cars 2' what heart it has, but the film spends most of its time on the spy plot, which is not terribly involving." — Chris Hewitt, St. Paul Pioneer Press

The Visuals
"Every frame is rendered so beautifully you wish you could pause it: the uncanny wetness of the ocean waves as Finn performs a daring oil-rig maneuver; the glowing lights of nighttime Paris; the sparkling sunshine on Corsica streets as cars zoom through; the gentle gray mists of London. (Note, though, that the 3-D effects are very subtle; my guess is that you wouldn't miss a thing by seeing this movie in 2-D.)" — Moira Macdonald, Seattle Times

The Missteps
"The tone and emphasis of 'Cars 2' veers off course from the start. Too many guns, for one thing. The whole thing is too weapons-dependent to be charming. There's plenty to watch here, and preteens who found the first 'Cars' a bit pokey won't have the same reaction to this frenetic, globe-trotting follow-up. But I got little pleasure from seeing these cars (plus boats, and a plane) thrown into the spy thriller genre. It's an intriguing story risk at best, a protracted stunt at worst. The greatest Pixar films have sampled, free-form, an unpredictable variety of moods and styles. Here the mash-ups refuse to jell, and even Michael Giacchino's score sounds like someone less talented than Michael Giacchino composed it." — Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune

The Final Word
" 'Cars 2' is probably the slightest of Pixar's films — it sort of plays like an espionage-driven episode of the '60s 'Speed Racer' cartoon, only with the Mach 5 doing all the talking in a universe eerily devoid of humans. But if it's going to be diet Pixar, at least it's action-packed diet Pixar — with overwhelming, detail-choked production design that occasionally had my jaw lowering like a forklift." — Michael Russell, Oregonian

Check out everything we've got on "Cars 2."

For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com.

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1666419/cars-2-movie-reviews.jhtml

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