Eminem is hosting an official Stan look-alike contest tomorrow, so get your hair bleach ready
For you youngins, the now-commonplace term "stan" (which has warped from its original meaning of "an obsessive, unstable fan" to anyone with a personal passion for a particular star) is pulled directly from Eminem's rap oeuvre, originating from the 2000 song of the same name. (The word was officially added to the Oxford English Dictionary in 2017.) In the track's memorable, eight-minute music video, actor Devon Sawa portrays the titular Stan, an obsessive Eminem fan who models his looks after the rapper and turns violent when the musician doesn't respond to his letters.
On Tuesday, August 6 at 3pm, as part of a larger "STANS" immersive pop-up held in collaboration by Eminem and Complex, participants can pull up to 620 Broadway in Soho in their best Stan ensembles (think white tees and bleached hair) for a chance to win a special prize. It's the latest in a wave of lookalike contests that have crashed onto NYC streets, centered on Timothée Chalamet, Pedro Pascal, Adam Sandler and more.
Held for one day only, from 11am to 7pm on August 6, the curated pop-up experience is in celebration of the release of Eminem's new documentary film STANS, which is a deep exploration on the nature of fandom and examines the famously private rapper and his complicated relationship with his legendary public persona. The doc will premiere tomorrow evening at The Rooftop at Pier 17 in the Seaport.
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The Independent
2 days ago
- The Independent
LL Cool J takes the mic for the 2025 MTV VMAs, where Lady Gaga rules nominations
LL Cool J has snagged wins, co-hosted and performed atop the MTV Video Music Awards stage. Now, the Grammy-winning rapper-actor-author is going solo to host the 2025 awards ceremony. He's retaking the stage, this time without Nicki Minaj and Jack Harlow, with whom he co-hosted in 2022, the VMAs announced Thursday. He's also up for the best hip hop award for his single 'Murdergram Deux' featuring Eminem. The single is part of his most recent album, 'THE FORCE,' which released in September and was his first album in 11 years. LL Cool J is a longtime champion of the VMAs, having won his first Moon Person in 1991. He became the first rapper to receive the Video Vanguard Award, in 1997. He also performed in an all-star tribute to hip-hop's 50th anniversary in 2023 and a celebration for Def Jam Records' 40th anniversary last year. Here's everything you need to know about this year's MTV VMAs, so far. When are the MTV Video Music Awards? The 2025 VMAs will air on Sept. 7 at 8 p.m. Eastern, live from the UBS Arena on New York's Long Island. Can I stream the VMAs? Yes, the show will be broadcast by CBS for the first time, and also simulcast on MTV and available for streaming on Paramount+ in the United States. Who's nominated for the VMAs? Lady Gaga is leading this year's awards with 12 nominations, including artist of the year. The 'Mayhem' singer was nearly tied with Bruno Mars, who has 11 nods. The pair's duet, 'Die with a Smile,' is up for four awards, including song of the year. Gaga's plethora of nominations dethrones Taylor Swift, who held the top spot for two years. This time around, Swift received one artist of the year nomination. The two are accompanied by Bad Bunny, Beyoncé, Kendrick Lamar, Morgan Wallen and The Weeknd in that category. Gaga and Mars are followed by Kendrick Lamar with 10 nominations, ROSÉ and Sabrina Carpenter with eight each, Ariana Grande and The Weeknd with seven each and Billie Eilish with six. Charli XCX also received love with five nominations for her 'Brat' Summer success 'Guess,' featuring Eilish. Bad Bunny, Doechii, Ed Sheeran, Jelly Roll, Miley Cyrus and Tate McRae have four nominations each. How can I vote for the VMAs? Fan voting across the 19 categories is live now on the VMAs website. Voting closes on Sept. 5 at 6 p.m. Eastern, except for the best new artist category, which will accept votes into the live show. The public can vote up to 10 times a day until voting closes. Who will be at the VMAs? Performers, presenters, special guests and the recipient of the Video Vanguard Award have not been announced yet. The Video Vanguard Award was given to Katy Perry last year. Previous recipients include Shakira, Beyoncé, Nicki Minaj and Madonna.
Daily Mail
07-08-2025
- Daily Mail
Original 'Stan' actor reveals what Eminem was REALLY like 25 years ago
The Canadian actor who famously played Stan in Eminem 's iconic music video revealed what it was like working with the famous rapper 25 years ago. Devon Sawa, 46, played the obsessive fan who idolizes Eminem in the 52-year-old singer's 2000 Stan music video, which features the singer Dido. In an interview with the Daily Mail, which took place at the Stans pop-up in New York City on August 6, Devon recalled briefly working with Eminem - whose real name is Marshall Mathers - on set of the music video and explained why there's a 'mystique' about him. 'He was there [on set]. He did the scene where he comes out in the cold. He does the [meet and greet at the] table and then his bus stop [writing the letter] was separately, so we didn't have a lot together. 'But I remember him being focused and just there to work. He was there to work - that's what I remember.' Eminem and Devon first met in the recording studio after he was hired to play the crazed fan - a role he admitted he has yet to know the real reason for why he was approached. It was initially offered to Macaulay Culkin. 'I'll never really know the answer to that, but what I heard was that Dr. Dre [Eminem's longtime producer] was a huge Final Destinations fan and made a suggestion to the team about me, and somehow a friend of a friend knew somebody - a call on a landline - back in the landline days, and they were like, "Do you want to be in the music video?"' 'I met [Dr. Dre] for lunch and we spoke a little bit and then he sent me down to the studio where Em was recording something - I don't know what - and I met him and two weeks later we were on set for Stan,' Devon shared. He went on to say that, at the time, he didn't believe he actually looked like Eminem - until he had help from the stylists on set. 'I didn't feel that, but when we got on set together they cut my hair, they bleached it,' he recounted. 'We did this one scene in the mirror, and they were having a hard time telling who was who. We were pretty close back then [looks-wise].' Surprised by how renowned the music video has become, Devon said, 'I never, in a million years, thought we'd be shooting [a music video] that has lasted this long, and never mind, has created a word ["Stan"] for the dictionary. It's very weird.' The Final Destination actor has, sadly, not stayed in touch with Eminem all of these years, mainly because he believes the Happy Gilmore 2 star is 'hard to get a hold of.' 'I have gone a whole weird path and left acting for a bit, came back and started doing stuff and, apparently, he's really hard to get a hold of,' he insisted. Devon told the Daily Mail: 'I never, in a million years, thought we'd be shooting [a music video] that has lasted this long, and never mind, has created a word ("Stan") for the dictionary' 'It's not like I can just call him... There's certainly a mystique about Eminem.' Little did he know that later on in the evening, he would get the chance to reunite with the 15-time Grammy winner - and this time, introduce him to his son, Hudson, as well. '25 years ago I worked with one of the greatest musicians of all time. Today he met my son. What a ride,' Devon captioned a heartfelt photo of his son with the rapper. Eminem, for his part, recently became a grandfather for the first time when his daughter, Hailie Jade, welcomed a baby boy, Elliot Marshall, with her husband Evan McClintock in April. Earlier in the day on August 6, the Stans pop-up, presented by Complex, hosted a look-alike contestant, which drew many fans to join in on the fun. Devon was on hand to help select the winner, while 'Stans' wondered if the music legend would make a surprise appearance. After Eminem was nowhere to be seen, he ended up surprising the audience at the Stans documentary premiere event, which took place on The Rooftop at Pier 17 and was attended by hundreds of fans. The documentary Stans hit theaters on August 7, featuring rare archival footage, intimate interviews, and an exclusive original interview with Eminem himself as it explores the journey across his career and fan base. He told the screaming crowd, 'When I was writing this song I didn't understand the impact my music was having on people at the time, and it was really surreal to me - and it's still surreal to this day to look out here and see all you, and the fact that my music has inspired you. 'This film is a thank you to all of you for sticking by me for this whole f**king time… I just want to thank you from the bottom of my heart.' Ahead of seeing Slim Shady for the first time in 25 years, Devon told the Daily Mail what he would say if he were to see him again. 'I would just say, "What's up?" I would just say that I've enjoyed his journey as an artist. I'm still a fan.' He continued: 'I would try not to be a Stan. I would try my best not to be a crazy Stan, but yeah, I'm proud of what he's done.' The Heart Eyes actor was able to get an advanced screening of the documentary before it premiered in New York City on Wednesday. Sharing his reaction, Devon revealed, 'I have seen documentary. It's powerful. It's emotional at times. You know, the whole thing with the documentary is that they're using Stan to kind of tell Eminem's stories. So, there's much more going on than just the Stan - that's actually just a small part of the documentary.' Devon, who continues to shoot films, said he's never gotten into the recording studio, himself, and has only appeared in this one iconic music video. 'If you're gonna be in a music video, this is like [up here], you know. This is it. I did the music video and I'm done with that,' he said. 'You got this handful of things that you're really, really proud of and this is definitely one of those things.'
BBC News
07-08-2025
- BBC News
Statue plan to honour 19th Century computing pioneer in Hinckley
Plans have been drawn up to celebrate gifted 19th Century mathematician Ada Lovelace in the town near to where she lived as the daughter of romantic poet Lord Byron, has been widely described as the world's first computer programmer, because of her work with inventor Charles Babbage on his idea for an "analytical engine" in the was born in 1815 in London, but her childhood home was the now-demolished Kirkby Mallory Hall, some five miles (8km) from Hinckley in Leicestershire.A 2.5m (8ft 2in) bronze statue of her is currently being cast and has been earmarked for a spot on the town's Lower Bond Street. A planning application for the sculpture has been submitted by the Ava Lovelace in Hinckley Community Interest approved, the statue would be placed on a stone plinth outside the Hinckley campus of the North Warwickshire and Hinckley College. Project leader Stan Rooney said the move was intended to celebrate Lovelace's links to the area and the location, outside the college, had been chosen to celebrate her contribution to education and maths in particular."We know Ada would visit Hinckley often as a child and would recognise some of the buildings that still stand today in that area."She grew up to be such a celebrated and influential figure."Hinckley was known for its hosiery industry, but that has all but disappeared, and its heritage is now a bit faceless."We hope the statue will help give the town another identity. Privately funded "Ada foresaw so much of the technology that came after her life."She was very young when she died, just 36."She lived longer at Kirkby Mallory than anywhere else during her short life, so it is only fitting that this exceptional lady, who is celebrated around the world, is finally honoured in her childhood hometown."The statue is being cast in Basingstoke as we speak," Mr Rooney mould has already been used to cast a statue of her, commissioned by property developers, for a building in Westminster in London."We are very lucky the sculptor has agreed to allow us to use the mould which keeps the costs down."Mr Rooney said the project was entirely privately funded. He said the community interest company had raised £50,000 so far and was hoping to raise a further £50,000 through council is expected to make a decision on the planning application in September.
