As I mentioned in the previous post (and Twittered all night long last night), I was allowed to meet, hang out with and interview Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails in his backstage dressing room right before the final show of the NIN Lights In The Sky Over North America Tour last night. To say it was a dream come true would not convey the amazingness for me. I was allowed to bring David and Darion backstage with me (David video recorded everything, Darion took tons of pics) and they were integral not only in keeping me from losing my mind and freaking the eff out but also helped with the interview to keep the conversation going for as long as possible. Here are a few of the TONS of pics that Darion snapped thruout my conversation with Trent Reznor last night:

TR was so gracious to give me some time to chat with him … he was so warm and inviting, offering us stuff from his craft services pile (he even had a Power Juicer, like the one that Shar Jackson is spokesperson for) and invited us to make ourselves comfortable. That was impossible for me but I think I did a good job keeping myself together. After the jump, check out my full interview with Trent Reznor where we talked about tour plans for 2009, non-music-related projects in the works — and band camp …

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Okay … so there’s no way I can feasibly write a calm post about my day yesterday … but I’m gonna try. First off, Darion and I spent some time in the Forum Shops at Caesar’s Palace Hotel and Casino doing a bit of shopping before he, David and I had dinner at the Eiffel Tower Restaurant at the Paris Hotel and Casino. Then we had to make our way to the Planet Hollywood Theater of Performing Arts before the Nine Inch Nails show started because I was allowed to have a short interview with Trent Reznor himself. As you may recall, I was allowed to photograph the NIN LA show a few months ago but because of time constraints was not able to meet up with and thank TR in person afterward. This time, TR made sure that I got some alonetime with him so we set up the interview for before the show. Honestly, I didn’t want to even mention this interview until I actually happened … I was afraid my heart wouldn’t be able to handle the disappointment if something else went wrong. BUT, I’ll get to the interview in a bit.

Here are a few pics that Darion and I snapped of the show last night. NIN ended their Lights in the Sky Over North America Tour here in LV last night and they put on a show that was, as usual, pretty effing unbelievable. Additionally, I’m posting the setlist, courtesy of the Echoing the Sound messageboard:

01. 999,999 [Intro]
02. 1,000,000
03. Letting You
04. Discipline
05. March Of The Pigs
06. Head Down
07. The Frail
08. Closer [The Only Time Breakdown]
09. Gave Up
10. Corona Radiata [Interlude]
11. The Warning
12. The Great Destroyer
13. Ghosts 21
14. Ghosts 28
15. Ghosts 19
16. Piggy [Ghosts]
17. The Greater Good
18. Pinion [Interlude]
19. Wish
20. Terrible Lie
21. Survivalism
22. The Big Come Down
23. Ghosts 31
24. Only
25. The Hand That Feeds
26. Head Like A Hole
—
27. Echoplex
28. Reptile
29. The Good Soldier
30. Hurt
31. In This Twilight [Zero-Sum Outro]

David tends to hate concerts as he usually is never impressed with live productions but he was very impressed with last night’s show. He kept oohing and ahhing and was so taken with the LCD light-show that he jumped online to find out how the whole thing came together in the first place. Needless to say, I loved every minute of this show. Drummer Josh Freese and keyboardist Alessandro Cortini played their last show as members of NIN and Trent Reznor revealed to me in my interview and to the audience from the stage that NIN will carry on as a paired down 4-piece in the coming year — this is awesome news. TR also announced that NIN will RETURN to the US to do more dates starting in April (he mentioned amphitheaters). It was just a fun night, I can’t even begin to describe. I have to give a shout-out to Pink readers Roxanne and Vivianne who I got to run into at the show last night, it was so nice meeting you both. After the jump, check out video of Trent Reznor saying his goodbyes from the stage on the last night of the tour …

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• Sam Bradford, Quarterback for the University of Oklahoma Sooners, is this year’s Heisman Trophy winner!!! [thanks Sabrina]
• Eff the diet! Michael Phelps reveals that he is puttin’ on lbs. in order to enjoy life.
• Rufus Wainwright reveals that he is not a “big supporter” of same-sex marriage.
• Whew! Denise Richards’s daughters are fine after being involved in a car accident.
• Guns N’ Roses hint that a new album may be on the way, deny the original band is getting back together.
• Luke Skywalker’s light saber sells for $240,000.
• Vanessa Hudgens (High School Musical) is 20, Patty Duke is 62 and Hal Williams (227, Sanford and Son) is 70 years old today. Click HERE to see who else is celebrating a birthday today.
• Don’t forget! The third season finale of Dexter airs tonight! Also, Survivor: Gabon ends tonight as well!!

Felicitations!! It is time, once again, to enjoy the hawtness brought by the Hot Dude of the Week! This Sunday, we’re takin’ things to the sunny beach where chiseled men like to frolic and pose in tiny Speedo underwear while wearing their most fiercest faces — sounds like a divine place, no? Say hello to Matthew:

While temperatures are plummeting all over the place (including here in the desert of Las Vegas, NV which was freeezing last night), it’s always nice to retreat to the land of the Weekend Hotness where it’s always sunny and men like Matthew are usually scantily clad … kinda makes the cold temps not feel quite so awful, right? Even tho we are many months from being able to partake of this sort of hotness in person (well, depending on where in the world you are), I salute Matthew and his efforts to remind us that hawtness can always be enjoyed no matter the circumstance. He strips down and poses for us, y’all. Ain’t he a swell guy? Enjoy!!

[Photo credit: All American Guys]

The Hills stars and newlyweds (?) Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt spent part of their day yesterday doing a bit of Xmas shopping on one of the most paparazzi-friendly streets in SoCal — Robertson Blvd. in West Hollywood, CA. I sure hope they weren’t lookin’ to do some private shopping out of the public eye because … well … look at that, the couple got papped while trying to shop. Oh darn it. Well, at least Speidi were good sports about all the cameras trained directly on them … here are a few pics of the happilyweds (we assume) on their shopping excursion yesterday:

You gotta admit, these two really know how to have fun with their celebrity. They may be cheeseballs of the HIGHEST degree but at least they’re having fun with their notoriety. I don’t understand how they can pose for some of these photos with straight faces but … folks, they’re pros. Happy Holidays from Speidi to YOU!

[Photo credit: Splash News, INFdaily]

In Touch Weekly magazine is reporting that Naomi Watts has given birth to her second child with husband Liev Schreiber this weekend in a hospital in NYC. At the time of this posting, no other publication is reporting this news … so either In Touch has the scoop or they’re just completely wrong. Here is the full text of the In Touch announcement, which is painfully bare of deets:

Christmas has come early for Naomi Watts and partner Liev Schreiber! In Touch can reveal exclusively that the actress, 40, had their second child in New York early this morning. The couple already have one SON.

At this point we don’t know if the baby is a boy or a girl, nor do we know what time precisely it was born … hell, we don’t even really know if any of this is true but it seems prudent to me to pass along the info. We should know shortly if the new Watts-Schreiber baby was really born this weekend. I think tentative Congrats! are in order.

UPDATE: E! News confirms that Naomi did give birth yesterday and reveals she brought forth another baby boy … no name has been specified.

[Photo credit: Splash News; Source]

In an effort to put fears at ease and allay any initial concern, Chris Weitz (the man who directed the big screen adaptation of The Golden Compass and who has just been named as the new director of the Twilight sequel New Moon) has posted a letter written directly to “fans of Twilight, New Moon, Bella, Edward and Jacob” on the official website of Stephanie Meyer, the author of the Twilight Saga books. Here is a message left to fans by Meyer herself that prefaces this letter from Chris Weitz and then the actual letter written and attributed to Weitz as was posted online this weekend as well as :

Hey guys,

There’s been a lot of worry and speculation on the boards lately, and I want to let you know what’s going on. First of all, like you, I’m sad that Catherine is not continuing on with us for New Moon. I’m going to miss her, not just as a brilliant director, but also as a friend. She has such a distinct, authentic voice that did amazing things for Twilight. I’m looking forward to every movie she does in the future. And she didn’t leave us empty handed. We still get the benefits of her amazing casting and the beautiful visual world she created. This foundation puts us in a good place for New Moon. Summit Films is moving forward with a new director for New Moon. They’ve asked Chris Weitz, director of American Pie, About a Boy, and The Golden Compass, to join us, and I am very pleased to announce that he’s agreed to be a part of our Twilight world. I’ve had the chance to talk to Chris, and I can tell you that he is excited by the story and eager to keep the movie as close to the book as possible. He is also very aware of you, the fans, and wants to keep you all extremely happy. (Torches and pitchforks are not going to be necessary.) I’m excited to work with Chris and I think he brings a lot to the table, not the least of which for me is that he wrote the screenplay for and directed one of my favorite movies of all time, About a Boy. I’m really looking forward to seeing his vision for New Moon. Below is a letter from Chris to you. I think you’ll get a glimpse in this note of how cool it’s going to be having Chris as part of our community.

HMMM. On the one hand, I am very happy to see that Chris either decided or was encouraged to write a letter directly to fans. I think this shows a bit of commitment to making sure he is going to at least try to make the best film he can because he genuinely cares for the fans (or at least sounds like he cares). I am concerned to read that the letter implies that Weitz has just now read the Twilight Saga books. The first line makes it pretty evident that he has no real experience with the stories … and is supposedly to start preproduction on New Moon this coming week. That’s not to say he can’t handle the job, in fact I suspect many directors aren’t fully versed in the stories they direct before they get down to the work of movie making but … still …

As much as Stephanie Meyer says that we can put our “torches and pitchforks” away, I think there is cause for concern. The Golden Compass movie was by pretty much all accounts a failure and it was based on one of the most amazingly inventive and beloved books. It is possible the same could happen with New Moon. I’m never one to prejudge scenarios like this … but I think it’s OK to be concerned. I guess we’ll have to wait and see … at least we won’t have to wait long, New Moon is slated for a November 2009 release in theaters. Alls I know is that Weitz better do right by Jacob … the next movie is Jacob’s time to shine … he best not let any of us down. What do y’all think … worried?

[Source, thanks Jessica]