The daily gossip: Miley Cyrus' 'Wrecking Ball' video has a new director's cut, and more

1. Miley Cyrus' "Wrecking Ball" video has a new director's cut

Miley Cyrus' "Wrecking Ball" music video debuted just two weeks ago, but if there's one thing we can all agree on, it's that the onetime Hannah Montana star is underexposed. Fortunately, Cyrus has bequeathed the universe a "director's cut" of the video — which features nothing but an unbroken, four-minute take of Cyrus' face in extreme close-up as she lip-syncs the song's lyrics. The video ends with a director's credit for Terry Richardson, who did an admittedly thorough job of putting the video camera on a tripod and pressing "record." [Entertainment Weekly]

………………………………………………………………………………

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

2. Game of Thrones' fourth season will include death, sex

In a shocking about-face from the show's normal emphasis on hugging and learning, Game of Thrones star Kit Harington has revealed that the show's upcoming fourth season will feature some rather adult content. "You'd think they'd tone the deaths down, but they don't," said Harington. "They've realized that's a successful option, so they're just killing more people than they've ever killed." Harington added that the fourth season also has "plenty of sex," so at least the characters will be happy before they're brutally slaughtered. [CNN]

………………………………………………………………………………

3. TLC admits it needs more than Here Comes Honey Boo Boo

TLC — which used to stand for "The Learning Channel" before the channel dropped even the barest semblance of respectability — has spent the past couple years riding high on the success of Here Comes Honey Boo Boo. But all good things must come to an end, and when the Honey Boo Boo craze is over, TLC will "need more consistent delivery," admitted Chief Financial Officer Andy Warren. It's almost like predicating your channel's entire success on a reality show about a child beauty pageant contestant is a bad idea. [Variety]

………………………………………………………………………………

4. Paul Schrader is surprised that Lindsay Lohan is unreliable

Everyone knows that the most respectful way to confront someone is posting an open letter on Facebook, so The Canyons director Paul Schrader has taken to the film's official Facebook page to express his irritation with star Lindsay Lohan. "I am mystified and disappointed by LL's refusal to support The Canyons," wrote Schrader. "I can only surmise that Lindz had decided that Canyons is part of a reprobate past she must put behind her in order to move forward." Schrader has a point — why would Lindsay Lohan want to put such a well-received movie behind her? [Film.com]

………………………………………………………………………………

5. Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium director Zack Helm isn't big on Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium

In last week's episode of Breaking Bad, protagonist Walter White was subjected to a fate worse than death: An extended stay in a cabin with nothing but two DVD copies of Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium. But if Heisenberg needs a sympathetic ear, he can call up Mr. Magorium writer/director Zack Helm, who's happy to attest to the film's awfulness. "Having myself endured the ignominy of watching the Technicolor train-wreck that is Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium multiple times every day for over a year, I can attest to it being the perfect Kafka-esque Hell for a character of such moral ambiguity as Walter White," said Helm in an interview with TMZ. "That is exactly two more copies than are allowed in my house." Sounds like somebody just cracked the Breaking Bad ending. [TMZ]