Elton John, Emily Blunt premiere 'Gnomeo & Juliet' in Hollywood

Emily Blunt, Disney's latest leading lady, might sum up her new flick "Gnomeo & Juliet" best: "I thought, 'This story's definitely not been done before, garden gnomes doing Shakespeare.'"Indeed the kitschy lawn characters bring the classic "Romeo and Juliet" to life in the new animated film, which was given its world premiere Sunday at the El Capitan Theater in Hollywood.

Elton John gave fans a thrill with an appearance (he and partner David Furnish served as executive producers on the film) and even surprised lucky ticket holders after the 3-D screening with numbers such as "Crocodile Rock."

Elton collaborates with Lady Gaga on a duet for the soundtrack, a cutesy pop track called "Hello Hello." The ditty plays when Blunt's Juliet first meets her Gnomeo -- voiced by James McAvoy.

On the red carpet, McAvoy discussed having the legendary singer as a boss.

"It's quite intimidating," he said. "I'm trying not to look at him right now because I'd probably melt."

Following the performance and screening, a sweet dessert reception was held across the street for cast and crew. Click the pic of Gavin Rossdale, above left, to see more photos from the "Gnomeo and Juliet" red carpet.

Source:http://www.latimes.com/

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Elton John feels like 'second-class citizen'

By DERRIK J. LANG, AP Entertainment Writer
LOS ANGELES – Sir Elton John is "fed up" with being a treated like a "second-class citizen" in the U.S.
That's why the 63-year-old gay singer said he took a stand last week during a performance at a private Beverly Hills fundraiser for the ongoing legal challenge to California's gay marriage ban. The outspoken British piano man, who became a parent to a baby boy on Christmas Day with partner David Furnish, added that "as I get older, I get more angry about it."
"In this country, we need more dialogue," he said during an interview Friday. "We don't need any more stone throwing. We don't need any more vitriol. We need people to say, 'OK. I'm straight. You're gay. Let's get along. I'm Republican. You're Democratic. Let's work together.' I'm sick and tired of people being hateful to each other in this country."
John disappointed some gay rights activists after California's Proposition 8 banning gay marriage passed in 2008 when he said he had no desire to get married and was satisfied with his civil partnership in England. He sang a different tune Wednesday when he praised the effort to overturn Proposition 8 and promised to do everything he could to support it, even though he is British.
The couple's son, Zachary Jackson Levon Furnish-John, was born in California through a surrogate mother. John said he was disappointed that members of the Church of England questioned his parenthood in the days following his son's birth. He insisted that he's not against religion and that "Jesus was a wonderful, compassionate man, who forgave on the cross."
"Everyone is entitled to have their own beliefs and their own spirituality," said John. "The big difference is that the dogma of the church can be so hateful and divisive. It's stuck in the stone age. We don't live in the stone age anymore. The church is losing people left, right and center because people are fed up with the rhetoric that they're giving them."

Source: Yahoo News

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