Ninja Assassin Director James McTeigue

Ninja Assassin director James McTeigue gives ARTISTdirect.com editor and Dolor author Rick Florino an exclusive look at what he’s spinning in this playlist feature…

A Taste:

Nick Cave, MC Rock Star

James McTeigue knows what it takes to be a good ninja.

About maintaining the kinetic energy on the set of his phenomenal new action flick Ninja Assassin, the director explains, “Obviously doing complicated martial arts takes a lot of time and a lot of energy. I think if the people at the core are really into it and want to do great martial arts, they keep the energy up. It was great in this case!”

Ninja Assassin is everything that a ninja movie should be—artful, nonstop and brilliantly bloody. There’s also an underlying sense of perpetual rhythm that fuels each and every action sequence. The film flows more like a record than a movie with each choptastic moment screeching like a guitar.

McTeigue laughs, “If Ninja Assassin were an album it would be some sort of rap crossed with Nevermind the Bollocks by The Sex Pistols—that kind of crazy energy [Laughs].”

In order to go deeper into the musical nature of the film, McTeigue sat down with ARTISTdirect.com editor and Dolor author Rick Florino for this exclusive interview about the music in Ninja Assassin and what he’s listening to.
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Mike White and Jared Hess of Gentlemen Broncos

Gentlemen Broncos‘, Mike White and Jared and Jerusha Hess sit down with ARTISTdirect.com editor and Dolor author Rick Florino for this exclusive interview about what music they’re listening to…

A Taste:

Black Sabbath, Whitesnake, Journey

“I’m never going to stop rocking,” laughs Mike White.

The Gentlemen Broncos star has no reason to ever stop, especially now that he’s played the film’s wild-maned Dusty. With long flowing locks and a skill with oversized spitball straws, Dusty is quite “rock n’ roll.” He’s the kind of guy you’d see outside of an Iron Maiden show double-fisting two Pabst Blue Ribbons and throwing up the horns, yet Mike imbues a strange calm into the character. It’s that zen which allows for the biggest laughs.

However, Mike wasn’t the only rocker on set. Filmmaker Jared Hess [Napoleon Dynamite] also has a soft spot for some good ole fashion distortion. Mike and Jared sat down with ARTISTdirect.com editor and Dolor author Rick Florino for this exclusive interview about what’s on their playlists. It gets you closer to Gentlemen Broncos, and it gets loud!
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Tobin Bell, Costas Mandylor & Tanedra Howard of Saw VI

In this exclusive interview, Saw VI stars Tobin Bell, Costas Mandylor and Tanedra Howard share what they’re listening to with ARTISTdirect.com editor and Dolor author Rick Florino…

A Taste:

Coldplay, KISS, Citizen Cope, Van Morrison

Saw VI plays out like a symphony of destruction.

It’s the most twisted entry into the franchise yet and, as with all of the previous installments, there’s a malevolently musical undercurrent to the film’s madness.
B However, the stars themselves have quite different iPod selections. Though Satanic death metal and dark industrial would fit the film’s vibe best, you’re more likely to find Tobin Bell [Jigsaw] cranking some Coldplay than Slipknot.

I’ve always thought Chris Martin was way more evil than Corey Taylor anyway, so it’s all good…

Saw VI stars Tobin Bell, Costas Mandylor and Tanedra Howard sat down with ARTISTdirect.com editor and Dolor author Rick Florino for this exclusive interview about what’s on their playlists!
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Leighton Meester

Leighton Meester talks to ARTISTdirect.com editor and Dolor author Rick Florino in this exclusive interview about what she’s listening to…

A Taste:

Empire of the Sun, Tom Petty, Jay-Z

Leighton Meester wants to make you sweat, and that’s just what her music is going to do.

“Somebody to Love,” the first single from her forthcoming debut album, is a bona fide club anthem that’ll be lighting up dance floors for a long time to come. It’s sexy and sassy just like the young starlet. Even though Leighton definitely loves her fair share of dance music, she’s got quite an eclectic playlist overall. The fact that she’s all-over-the-map makes her tunes that much more interesting.

Leighton’s in the studio finishing up the album right now, but she found the time to sit down with ARTISTdirect.com editor and Dolor author Rick Florino for this exclusive playlist feature.

Check out Leighton’s playlist below and be sure to keep an eye out for her debut album!

Leighton Meester’s Playlist:

1. Empire of the Sun

I’ve been listening to Empire of the Sun a lot. They’re amazing! They have a lot of really good songs, but “Walking on a Dream” is one of the most-played on my iTunes. They’re very electro. It’s beautiful music, but it’s a little disco-sounding too. This song holds a lot of memories for me. I started listening to it about a year ago, and it reminds me of dancing all night in my hotel room in Paris drunk on champagne [Laughs].
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Kristen Bell of Astro Boy

ARTISTdirect.com editor and Dolor author Rick Florino sits down with Kristen Bell for this exclusive interview about her favorite music! Check out her playlist and video below…she digs Miley Cyrus and Motown…

A Taste:

Miley Cyrus, The Four Tops, Aretha Franklin, The Postal Service

Kristen Bell is a classy girl.

By glancing at the Astro Boy star’s playlist, a cornucopia of MoTown favorites, it’s easy to recognize that she’s got really good taste in music. However, there is a dark side to her iPod—a VERY dark side.

“I will turn up some Miley Cyrus if it’s on in the car,” she laughs with a stunning smile. “I’m not ashamed of that either; I’m really not [Laughs].”

Cranking a little Miley Cyrus is nothing to be ashamed of. In fact, little miss Montana even encouraged Eli Roth to go apeshit for Inglourious Basterds. Even though Bell’s Astro Boy character, Cora, doesn’t bash in Nazi brains with a baseball bat, she’s still a touch cookie.

Bell continues, “I like that Cora is a little bit mysterious. She acts like a tough girl, but she has all of these young maternal instincts to keep this group of runaways together. She’s kind of like their Peter Pan!”
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Where the Wild Things Are’s Forest Whitaker, Lauren Ambrose, Max Records

Where the Wild Things Are stars, Max Records, Forest Whitaker, Lauren Ambrose, Catherine O’Hara and Catherine Keener share their playlists with ARTISTdirect.com editor and Dolor author Rick Florino for this exclusive feature…

A Taste:

Django Reinhardt, Louie Armstrong, The Smiths

What’s the best way to get really wild?

Well, you can always start by kicking out your favorite jams and going from there!

The cast of Where the Wild Things Are is extremely eclectic and unique, but their respective playlists may be just as wild as they are! Forest Whitaker and Lauren Ambrose both have a devout appreciation for classic jazz, while Catherine O’Hara spends her time enjoying Indian music and Catherine Keener is jamming Karen O. The biggest sonic surprise though comes from the film’s 12-year-old star, Max Records—he loves The Smiths! Well, there’s really no one wilder than Morrissey so it all somewhat makes sense!
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