Download MTV's The Hills on iTunes

The Hills is back for season 4, and the girls are beginning to make some big decisions that will set the course for the rest of their lives.

While Lauren struggles to balance the tension between her roommates, Audrina and Lo, she starts dating Doug, an old flame from Laguna Beach. Meanwhile, Brody, Audrina and just about everyone else warn Lauren not to trust her new friend, Stephanie Pratt (Spencer's sister). And when Lauren makes a surprising discovery about Stephanie and Doug, she realizes that her friends might be right.

Just as Audrina thinks it's time to let her boyfriend Justin go and begins dating Colin, Justin turns up the heat in their relationship, leaving her torn. Whitney rises up the ranks at People's Revolution much faster than she expected and meets a model in New York who could possibly sweep her off her feet. And Heidi deals with the consequences of moving back in with Spencer, including putting her job at risk. As if that wasn't enough, Heidi's sister Holly comes from Colorado for an indefinite visit, putting some serious pressure on her renewed relationship with Spencer.

During season 4 of The Hills, life in Los Angeles only gets more complicated as friendships, relationships and loyalties are tested like never before.

Series 4 of The Hills started last Sunday night on MTV and to get yourself in the mood, download an exclusive free clip which goes behind the scenes at The Hills UK aftershow party and gives you an idea of what to expect from Series 4.

MTV True Life is now casting for "I'm a Fanboy"

ARE YOU A FANBOY?

MTV’S TRUE LIFE WANTS TO HEAR YOUR STORY!

Are you a young person who is obsessed with a certain book, comic, or video game? MTV’s True Life is looking for young people who are die-hard fans of certain brands, characters, or fantasy series.

Are you obsessed with comic books, anime, fantasy, or manga? Do you like to dress up as your favorite character and attend conventions with other fans? Have you ever waited in line overnight for a book, movie, or video game release? Do you have tattoos depicting your favorite brand or characters? Have you ever missed work, school, or other important events to engage in role-playing or cosplay? Are you misunderstood by your family or significant other because of it? Do you aspire to author your own graphic novel or comic series despite your parents’ disapproval?

If you appear to be between the ages of 16 and 28, and want to share the story of your fantasy obsession, email us at fanboy@mtvn.com with all of the details. Be sure to include your name, location, phone number and a photo, if possible.

Tell MTV why you need to be seen and heard. This is your chance to let others see what your life is all about!

"Padme" wins the George Lucas Selects Award at Comic-Con

A reader sent me the following, which I wanted to share with fellow Star Wars fans!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

The comedy short Padmé won the George Lucas Selects Award at the 2008 Star Wars Fan Movie Challenge, held at the San Diego Comic-Con. Producers Jason Ginsburg, Robert Reeves, and Kevin Walsh accepted the top prize, beating thousands of other entries and over forty finalists.

Padmé has been a fan favorite since its debut on Atom.com (co-producer of the awards), garnering great reviews from Star Wars fans, bloggers, the science-fiction site io9, and the Times of London. The honors continued when George Lucas himself named Padmé his personal favorite.

A parody of Juno using Star Wars characters, Padmé pokes fun at the similar tales of two sets of teens who learn that teen pregnancy is no joke -- unless you mix in some hip teen dialog and the Dark Side of the Force. Ginsburg, Reeves, and Walsh even created Star Wars versions of Juno's famously quirky songs.

"We're truly honored that Lucas picked us," said co-producer and performer Jason Ginsburg after the ceremony. "We were up against films with much bigger budgets. The three of us shot Padmé at five locations in five days, played half the roles, and served as our own crew."

"The other winners are all top-quality entries spanning several genres," said writer Kevin Walsh. "After seeing them all again at the ceremony, we were surprised and humbled to take home the ultimate trophy."

The film's cast includes Lisa Vendette (star of the web series Hollywood Acting Class) in the title role, along with Gerald Webb, Robin Johnstone, and Riley Rose Critchlow. The three producers also appear in the film; Ginsburg alone portrays Yoda, C-3PO, Darth Vader, and the Emperor.

Celebrity guests at the awards ceremony included Kevin Spacey, Reneé O'Connor (Xena: Warrior Princess), Danny Kastner (The Apprentice), and Kyle Newman, director of the upcoming MGM film Fanboys.

The Star Wars Fan Movie Challenge is an annual short film contest sponsored by Lucasfilm and Atom.com, a comedy website owned by MTV Networks. Spike TV will air a special featuring all of the 2008 winners this fall.

Padmé can be found exclusively on the Atom site, at:

http://www.atom.com/funny_videos/sw_padme/

REEVESREEL is a production and visual effects company founded by Robert Reeves. Reeves directed and starred Cheap Seats, which won the Best Comedy award at the Star Wars Fan Movie Challenge in 2005. Reeves' movie Wheeled Migration (a mockumentary about shopping carts) played in festivals such as the 48-Hour Film Festival, the Comic-Con International Film Festival, and the Universal Studios Film Festival where it won for Best Documentary and Best in Show. ReevesReel can be found at www.myspace.com/reevesreel.

ReevesReel contact: reevesreel@earthlink.net, 818.822.9237

EVIL GENIUS ENTERTAINMENT is a production company founded by USC film graduates Jason Ginsburg and Kevin Walsh. Together, they have written several award-winning feature screenplays and created comedy content for the National Lampoon and mobile phones. Individually, Kevin Walsh is the co-creator of the comic book series Salem: Queen of Thorns (BOOM! Studios). Jason Ginsburg has received high praise for his satire of 24, Jack Bauer's Day Off. Evil Genius content can be found at www.evilgents.com.

Evil Genius Entertainment contact: evilgent@evilgents.com, 310.890.0323

Jungle Joost™

This afternoon I received confirmation from Joost™ that I'm now an official beta tester for their peer-to-peer streaming video client (Intel-based Mac support only, although a PowerPC build is in the works).



Joost™ is a new way of watching TV on the internet, which uses new and established technologies to provide the best of both the internet and TV worlds. We're in the process of making it as TV-like as we can, with programmes, channels and adverts. You can also see some things that we think will enhance the TV experience: searching for programmes and channels, for example, as well as social features like chat. There are many more new features to come!

How does it work?

Joost™ uses secure peer-to-peer technology to stream programmes to your computer. Unlike other TV and video-based web applications, it does not require users to download any files to their computers or browse through complicated websites.

Viacom Inc. and Joost entered into a content provider agreement for the Joost platform on February 20, 2007. Under the agreement divisions of Viacom (including MTV Networks, BET Networks and Paramount Pictures) will license their "television and theatrical programing" to Joost™.

As yet I don't have any invitation tokens to give out to regular readers. However, anyone who leaves a non-destructive comment (on any of my posts) will be given first consideration.