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Tag: Despicable Me 2

  • Pharrell Williams’ “Happy” Ushers in International Day of Happiness

    It appears that people all over the world are feeling a stream of joy lately-uploading funny dancing videos to YouTube and posting lighthearted tweets with hashtags #gethappy or #HappyInternationalDayofHappiness.

    So, who is to blame for all this happy fever going around?

    Well, of course music artist Pharrell Williams and his Despicable Me 2 theme song, “Happy.”

    Ever since the song has hit airplay, thousands of people across the globe have been catching on to the upbeat, funky tune.

    Williams and the United Nations Foundation recently teamed up to make March 20 the International Day of Happiness, “celebrating the happiness and well-being of individuals and communities everywhere.”

    He has encouraged fans to donate to the organization and upload their version of the song to his 24Hoursof Happiness website.

    Tons of parody videos and music covers of Williams’ song are now taking the World Wide Web by storm, showcasing a lot of happiness both in the U.S. and internationally.

    Check out Tokyo’s version of being #happy:

    Tahiti shows off their beautiful weather along with some happiness:

    A cover by the Detroit Academy of Arts and Sciences singing “Happy” goes viral:

    Even our furry friends know how to be happy. Check out this rendition of the song:

    “Happy” has made such a major impact that a Virginia Pilot columnist suggested the song be adopted as the anthem for Williams’ home state of Virginia, which doesn’t have a state song.

    (And may I just add…I’m from Virginia Beach, Va., so the answer for me would be HELLZ YEA!)

    Additionally, “Happy” has held top spot on Billboard charts for four consecutive weeks now. It also ranks No. 1 in over 80 countries and is the leading song on the R&B charts.

    Nothing is quite like the original! Very entertaining and you can’t help but to feel HAPPY:

    In a February interview with the Los Angeles Times, Williams mentioned how humble he was to know that his song received such great feedback since it’s “bigger” than anything he has ever done.

    Even Chris Meledandri of Illumination Entertainment, which made the Despicable Me films for Universal Pictures, said that the tune is contagious by nature.

    “When you look at the history of songs written for films, the ones that [have] broken out to have a meaningful life beyond the film are very rare,” he said. “There’s an infectious quality to ‘Happy’ that just resonates.”

    To see some of Williams’ favorite “Happy” videos for International Day of Happiness, watch it here.

    Image via YouTube

  • Jessica Biel Hits the Oscars Red Carpet Without Justin Timberlake

    Jessica Biel showed up on the Oscars 2014 red carpet without husband Justin Timberlake.

    The actress told Ryan Seacrest that Timberlake was “out on tour, busy working,” referring to her husband’s 20/20 Experience tour. Timberlake performed in Boston last Thursday and will be in Ft. Lauderdale Tuesday night.

    Biel made several best-dressed lists Sunday night with her floor-length silver Chanel Haute Couture gown, Tiffany jewels, Manolo Blahnik heels, and loose side-swept Veronica Lake-style hair.

    Biel and Jamie Foxx presented the Oscar for best original score. The award went to “Let It Go” from Frozen. Other nominees were “Happy” from Despicable Me 2, “The Moon Song” from Her, and “Ordinary Love” from Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom.

    Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez composed the music and lyrics for “Let It Go.” Idina Menzel performed it in her role as Queen Elsa. Menzel also performed the song live at the Oscars Sunday evening.

    Biel turns 32 today and her plans involve “… jumping on a plane, of course.”

    Biel most recently starred alongside Kaya Scodelario in 2013’s The Truth About Emanuel and prior to that was cast opposite Gerard Butler in the romantic comedy Playing for Keeps. She is best known for her role as Mary on the long running series 7th Heaven.

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Pharrell to Perform “Happy” at Oscars

    Pharrell is just everywhere these days. The Renaissance man will be on our televisions yet again performing at the 2014 Acadamy Awards.

    The musician will be performing his upbeat pop song, “Happy.”

    The tune might sound familiar because it was featured in the Despicable Me sequel that came out last year.

    The track is also nominated for Best Original Song along with U2’s “Ordinary Love” from Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom, Karen O’s “The Moon Song” from Her, and “Let It Go” from the Disney’s Frozen.

    Pharrell is no stranger to cleaning up at award shows, recently taking home wins for Producer of the Year-Non Classical, along with Best Pop Duo/Group Performance, Record of the Year and Album of the Year for his work with Daft Punk on their album Random Access Memories.

    See Pharrell perform with Daft Punk at the Grammys.

    Recently Pharrell was in a little hot water with fellow-musician Franz Ferdinand over “borrowing” a riff.

    Franz Ferdinand frontman Alex Kapranos posted to twitter saying that Pharrell borrowed a riff from the band’s hit “Take Me Out” for Paloma Faith’s “Can’t Rely on You” that Pharrell not only appeared on but produced.

    It seems the two have worked out their little spat but don’t be surprised when you see Pharrell making headlines again. It’ll happen soon.

    Image Via YouTube

  • Pharrell Williams Nabs Oscar Nomination

    If you thought multi-platinum selling singer, songwriter and producer Pharrell Williams had a big year in 2013, just brace yourself. It looks as though 2014 will only elevate his career even more.

    Williams, who was a fixture on the Billboard charts last year with hits like Robin Thicke’s “Blurred Lines” and Daft Punk’s “Get Lucky,” has added  yet another accolade to his list.

    The N.E.R.D. rapper has received his first Oscar nomination for his work hit record “Happy,” which appeared on the Despicable Me 2 soundtrack album.

    According to ABC News, when Williams was asked about his reaction to the nomination, he was literally rendered speechless.

    “Uh, I’m speechless,” he said in an interview on Thursday, Jan. 16. “Man, I am over the moon.” He was then asked what he was doing when he received the news of the esteemed nomination. But, once again he was still at a loss for words. “Man, I’m sorry, I don’t know,” he said.

    Although he couldn’t recount what he was actually doing at the time he received the news, he did note “Happy” as ‘one of his best works.’ He shared that the most gratifying aspect of the record was that he made it with his eyes closed.

    (image)

    Williams, also known as Skateboard P., has been quoted for “hearing colors” which sets the tone of his music, so his declaration of the “eyes wide shut” creation is yet façade of his eclectic musicianship. The Lap Dance rapper also recounted that the song was actually recorded a total of nine times before reaching a level of perfection that was satisfactory to his standards.

    (image)

    “It’s some of my best work and that’s because in the process I made it with my eyes closed,” he said. “That’s not a reflection of any sort of superiority in any way, shape or form. I didn’t do a lot of looking around to try and figure it out. I just closed my eyes and made it by feeling it and I think that’s why I am most proud of it.”

    However, the Oscar nomination isn’t the only form of recognition he’s received for his blow-out year in music. Williams is a driving force for the 2014 Grammy Awards. He has seven Grammy nominations in five different categories including ‘Record of the Year’, ‘Album of the Year’, and ‘Producer of the Year’.

     Image(s) via Wikimedia Commons | Pharrell Williams – Happy  Facebook | Pharrell Williams (1) (2)

  • Pharrell Williams Shares 24 Hours of ‘Happy’

    Pharrell Williams has created a music video called 24 Hours of Happy, and it’s fast becoming a music sensation. Featuring lots of dance improvisation on behalf of Tyler, the Creator, and Odd Future’s Earl Sweatshirt and Jasper Dolphin–the guys walked around without the aid of a choreographer or any costume expertise, and lent a hand filming the hilarious and very catchy video. It takes place over a 24-hour time period and can be found in excerpts featuring specific times of day.

    “We got out, they played the song, we walked down the block, five minutes later we’re driving back to our cars, and we left,” Tyler said. “It was sick.”

    The video features hundreds of obscure and often quirky people, and moves through a 24-hour time span in real time, as they all dance through L.A. A few additional celebrities are seen in the video, too.

    Williams has definitely enjoyed a huge year musically, with his hand in both Robin Thicke’s Blurred Lines and Daft Punk’s Get Lucky. 24 Hours of Happy may be the proverbial icing on his 2013 cake.

    Happy was written for the Despicable Me soundtrack, and is G-rated. Dubbed a ‘four-minute composition layered over a gospel chord progression and an up-tempo organ thrum that invites listeners to clap along, “if you feel like happiness is a truth.”’ Now some ‘night life slink’ has been added to the song, in what has made Pharrell Williams the creator of the very first 24-hour music video.

    Williams even shared the making of the video with his Twitter followers.

    More than 5.5 million people have viewed 24 Hours of Happy on its dedicated site. Imitators are fast creating their own 24-hour videos. Pharrell Williams, however, was the first–and at this point is the best–of all of them.

    Image via Facebook

  • Despicable Me 2 Blows Lone Ranger Away

    Despicable Me 2 opened on Wednesday and promptly shot straight to the top of the box office. The Dreamworks sequel brought in $34.4 million on opening day, and a total of $142 million for the whole weekend, claiming the coveted July 4th weekend crown with ease.

    Meanwhile, the other major film to open during the July 4th weekend – Disney’s The Lone Ranger – did a credible impression of a wet bottle rocket, bringing in a mere $48.9 million for the entire weekend, despite taking second place for the Friday-Sunday timeframe. Of course, that may seem like a decent haul, and for a lower-budget picture it would be. But The Lone Ranger cost Disney $225 million to make. That means that those of you who were hoping for a Lone Ranger 2 (all 12 of you) are likely to be disappointed.

    But The Lone Ranger wasn’t the only casualty in Despicable Me 2’s holiday weekend rampage. Monsters University, the latest installment from the mighty Pixar, took a massive hit, dropping 57% and landing in fourth place for the weekend. On the bright side, Monsters University now stands at $216 million domestically and almost $400 million worldwide, making it the eleventh of Pixar’s fourteen movies to pass the $200 million mark. The film cost roughly $200 million to make.

    Rounding out the top 5 are The Heat and World War Z. The Heat, which stars Sandra Bullock, took in $25 million, while World War Z made $18.2 million for the weekend. Now in its third weekend, World War Z has brought in $158.8 million, and is moving steadily toward its break-even point (it had a budget of $190 million).

  • Despicable Me 2 Teaser And Poster Released

    Universal has released the teaser poster and trailer for Despicable Me 2. Neither of the two divulge any plot details, or even has footage of the film for that matter. This is to be expected, as the film doesn’t even open until July 3, 2013. Here’s the lowdown on what the movie will be about:

    “In Summer 2013, get ready for more minion madness in Despicable Me 2. Chris Meledandri and his acclaimed filmmaking team create an all-new comedy animated adventure featuring the return of Gru (Steve Carell), the girls, the unpredictably hilarious minions…and a host of new and outrageously funny characters.”

    The poster and trailer puts the minions center stage, and sees them singing Barbara Ann by the Beach Boys. It’s unclear if the song will be in the movie, or it’s just a cutesy thing for the teaser trailer. You can check out the teaser and poster for yourself below:

    …and here is the teaser poster.

    DESPICABLE ME 2 Poster

    Below is what some Twitter users are saying about the teaser trailer:

    @priswongg
    Priscilla Wong    Despicable Me 2 is trending :’) can’t wait for that to come out~ if i didn’t have stuff to do right now i’d probably watch the 1st one 2 minutes ago via web ·  Reply ·  Retweet ·  Favorite · powered by @socialditto

    @thaamick
    Luis    Despicable me 2 comes out 2013…..end of the world 2012….fml 2 minutes ago via Twitter for Android ·  Reply ·  Retweet ·  Favorite · powered by @socialditto

    @LisaaGustavsen
    Lisa Gustavsen    Just found out there is a Despicable Me 2..made my day @BandGeek365 3 minutes ago via Twitter for BlackBerry® ·  Reply ·  Retweet ·  Favorite · powered by @socialditto

    @Seyfi_MonsterHy
    Seyfi Akbulut    “Despicable Me 2” Omgggg I love it 1. I cant wait for 2 4 minutes ago via web ·  Reply ·  Retweet ·  Favorite · powered by @socialditto

    @R_ProudLibyan
    Rawia El-Turki    Despicable Me 2 … Yaaaaaay the first one was epic! 6 minutes ago via web ·  Reply ·  Retweet ·  Favorite · powered by @socialditto

    @BruceWayneIV
    ツ Daniel Thorpe™ ツ    Can’t wait for ‘Despicable Me 2’ next year! 6 minutes ago via Twitter for BlackBerry® ·  Reply ·  Retweet ·  Favorite · powered by @socialditto

    @riitamaria
    Rita 🙂    DESPICABLE ME 2? OH MY GOD *excuse me while I act like a kid* 2 minutes ago via web ·  Reply ·  Retweet ·  Favorite · powered by @socialditto