Justin Bieber's Next Big Adventure: Pee-wee Herman's Movie?

Pee-wee makes a plea from Comic-Con for singer to cameo in his Judd Apatow-produced film.
By Terri Schwartz, with reporting by Eric Ditzian

Justin Bieber
Photo: Jamie McCarthy/ Getty Images

SAN DIEGO — Beliebers are in luck, because Justin Bieber might be heading to the big screen once again soon, if Pee-wee Herman has his way.

Turns out Herman, who has been working on a new film alongside producer Judd Apatow, has recently written the VMA nominee in as one of the celebrity cameos. The only problem? Bieber doesn't know yet.

"I can't really tell [what the cameo is], but he makes an appearance toward the end of the film," Herman (actor Paul Reubens, but we definitely interviewed Pee-wee) told MTV News at San Diego Comic-Con. "He doesn't know about it yet, so if you're watching this, Justin!"

That's not the only grade-A cameo Herman has written into the script. He has his eyes on lots of stars — and the White House.

"There's a party scene in the film that I think will have a lot of the stars. We just wrote President Obama into them. We have an offer out to him," Herman unveiled. Will any other government officials be given a role in the movie? "Sarah Palin wasn't asked. I have to draw the line somewhere, and unfortunately that's where it was drawn. I'm sorry, Sarah, I'm sorry," he whispered.

The script for the currently unnamed comedy is being looked at by Universal Studios at the moment, and Herman said he hoped filming could begin within the next couple of months. It only helps that he has Apatow in his court and that the director/producer has words of wisdom to pass on to Herman to make the best comedy he can.

"He's given us the same advice over and over again, which is 'emotional arc,' " Herman explained. "He wants the character to go through an emotional arc and to come out on the other end arced. So that's what we're doing. We're adding an emotional arc. Emotional growth, so there's a change in Pee-wee Herman during this film. Pee-wee makes a change."

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

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Amy Winehouse's Influence Goes Beyond 'Rehab'

Experts reflect on how the singer's unique throwback sound continues to open doors for new artists.
By Gil Kaufman

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Amy Winehouse released just two albums in her lifetime and performed only a handful of gigs in the U.S. at the peak of her popularity in 2007. But just days after Winehouse's death at age 27 of yet-undetermined causes, she is already being spoken of as an iconic singer whose unique fusion of jazz, soul, R&B, girl-group swing and hip-hop swagger has inspired a whole generation of singers.

"I think that her success at the time when Back to Black came out here, and the aftermath of that, continues [to have an impact]," said Sirius satellite radio host Jenny Eliscu, a contributing editor at Rolling Stone magazine who wrote a cover story on Winehouse in 2007 that chronicled the then 23-year-old's chaotic personal life. "It reminded people that there was a way to do a retro style the way she did it and have it sound totally modern. It had that instant-classic factor."

MTV celebrates Amy Winehouse's music with a special show this Wednesday.

Eliscu said the sound of Back to Black was so riveting at the time because it pulled off that rare trick in music: It reminded fans of all the great music that influenced her without sounding like she was merely copying her heroes.

"Winehouse opened the door to music that sounds like Adele," Eliscu said, referring to the "Rolling in the Deep" star who wrote a touching tribute to the "Rehab" singer on Monday. "In the long term, the thing we will see is whatever door Adele opens by having Winehouse open the door for her will then be opened for someone else, whether it's Winehouse's retro soul [goddaughter Dionne Bromfield] or that kind of sound that would not have returned to the mainstream if not for the great songs in the modern style that [Winehouse] wrote."

As her small catalog raced up the iTunes charts in the wake of her death, and Back to Black was tipped to re-enter the Billboard 200 on Wednesday (after tallying just one day of posthumous sales), Billboard associate director of charts/radio Gary Trust said Winehouse's influence is destined to be much larger than mere sales.

Read our Winehouse tribute: In Memoriam, 'Troubled' Wasn't The Right Word

"She only had two albums on the Billboard 200 [2006's Back to Black and 2003's Frank] and two songs on the Hot 100 ['Rehab' and 'You Know I'm No Good'], and you would think she was a one-hit wonder, but she really did bring that sound — that soulful British pop — to a whole new generation," said Trust, referring to such singers as Adele, Jessie J. and Duffy, who have all put their own spin on the sound that Winehouse pioneered.

"It's more of a common sound now, and it's a testament to her that people consider her such an influence when she had only had one big hit," he said. "They got into her music deeply, and that influence is much bigger than her chart history shows."

While Winehouse will surely pop up on the Billboard album charts this week, Trust predicted her presence will be bigger still next week.

Trust also said the iTunes bump is yet another example of how big an impression Winehouse made in a short time. "This is the biggest thing since Michael Jackson died, and now in the digital era, you can sit at your computer and find out about something like this on Facebook and then be on another screen buying the songs on iTunes."

Celebrate Amy Winehouse on Wednesday night at 6:30 p.m. ET/PT, when MTV will air an encore presentation of a performance she taped in the MTV studios in 2007.

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Usher To Donate Gadhafi Money To Charity

'I will be donating all of my personal proceeds...to various human rights organizations,' singer says of concert linked to Libyan dictator.
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R&B superstar Usher announced Friday (March 4) that he was donating to various charities proceeds from appearing at a private event at St. Barts linked to Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi, according to a statement made to the Associated Press.

The Grammy award winner's renouncement comes after similar announcements from singers Mariah Carey, Nelly Furtado, and Beyoncé, all of whom were revealed to have performed at private concerts linked to the Middle Eastern leader, who has faced open revolt and major political uprisings since February.

"I am sincerely troubled to learn about the circumstances surrounding the Nikki Beach St. Bart's event that took place on New Year's Eve 2009," Usher said of the concert, at which he appeared alongside Beyoncé but did not perform. "I will be donating all of my personal proceeds from that event to various human rights organizations."

Usher has already begun the process, having made a donation to Amnesty International, the AP reports. The exact size of the donation is not known.

The New Year's Eve gig was reportedly for Moammar's fourth son Muastassim, who an unnamed music industry source told MTV News has a history of throwing lavish parties "jammed" with supermodels.

Beyoncé, who sang at the event, donated all proceeds from her performance to the Clinton-Bush Haiti Fund, established in the wake of the Haitian earthquake.

"All monies paid to Beyoncé for her performance at a private party at Nikki Beach St. Barts on New Year's Eve 2009, including the commissions paid to her booking agency, were donated to the earthquake relief efforts for Haiti over a year ago," the "Halo" singer's publicist said in a statement to The Huffington Post. "Once it became known that the third-party promoter was linked to the Qaddafi family, the decision was made to put that payment to a good cause."

Singer Nelly Furtado tweeted February 28 that she plans to make similar amends.

"In 2007, I received 1million$ from the Gadhafi clan to perform a 45 min. show for guests at a hotel in Italy," she tweeted. "I am going to donate the $."

The leader of Libya since a successful military coup in 1969, Gadhafi has reportedly lost control of much of his country as a result of widespread uprisings. The United Nations voted unanimously to refer the dictator to the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity.

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